A few little funnies

Little time for blogging as it feels like yesterday, I had Cora and now she is 7.5 months. Did I mention I have an almost 5 year old, just merely typing it makes me want to break out in bitter sweet tears.  Oh don't forget my baby boy who is not so baby any more but a boy who is almost 3!  Life is going way too fast so we are trying to soak it up!

Life with my 3 littles is amazing but comes with a few changes.  3 means you have to be a lot more careful in public because you only have 2 hands.  So we are well planned and go over the rules, the goal maintain control and keep everyone safe while not breaking anything. We are successful 99% of the time!  We won't talk about the other 1% where mom's look at you and know exactly what you are going through and people without children think, "if I had kids....."

But I thought I would leave you with some absolutely adorable stories about my babies!!

Malachi is my ornery, sweet boy.  One minute he is just doing something you could never think a toddler would think of such as, Just this week he was mad at me because I made him go to the bathroom by himself (which he 100% can and I believe in making my kids be self sufficient to set them up for success in adulthood) and he comes out in the cutest scrunched face and says, "I tried to go to the bathroom like a big boy and missed!"  What!  You never stand up, we go in there and he missed, he got everything but the toilet.  Bath number 4 this week and it is only Tues!  In the same hour, he grabs my hand while I am sitting and says, "You are my best friend."  Something he does often and says with such sincerity!

Niah, is my compassionate girl!  She thinks about people and feels others emotions (similar to me).  I was hanging the stockings and she asked whose stocking is whose.  I began to tell her and I said I am one short so I will have to buy one for me.  She replied, "Mommy you can have mine until you get yours"  Of course I told her, "We can share."

Malachi has just now figured out he can climb out of his bed and he was taking a nap and I kept threatening him and knew the next time he got out I was going to have to lock the door.  He of course got out again and he saw the door was being locked.  He began to beg me not to lock the door.  I told him I would give him one more chance and his response was which has does often, "Mom I just really need you to pray for me."

Cora is army crawling everywhere!!  All over the house, she goes.  She is really struggling with separation anxiety and begins to cry if she crawls out of the room I am in or I leave the room.  She has begin to play the game where she won't let certain people hold her and then smiles as she turns away.  She has began eating food.  Did I mention I can not believe my baby is mobile!!

So we enjoying life and embracing the chaos!!

Cora Faith's Birth Story Part 2

Sorry for the delay but hey I have 3 babies, 4 and under, so sometimes things don't happen in a timely fashion.  We are also busy doing life and having fun.

As we are driving to the hospital, the contractions begin to have a little pain with them and they were beginning to be pretty close.  I was sure that I was in labor at this point but I was hoping that I was progressing, as far as dilation goes.  We get to the hospital and I start filling out the paperwork.  The nurses were surprised my contractions were so close since I called in and very nonchalantly acted like I could be in labor but maybe not. 

They took me back to a room and decided to check me.  It was 10:15 pm and I was between a 7-8 dilated and I was a station 0.   Then the nurse said, "your water is right there.:  Matthew said, "bring on the epidural" and I said, "let's wait."  So we called our families and let them know I was in fact in labor and this baby was coming.  If I had her in the night another doctor in my doctor's office would deliver her because he was on his way home from being out of town. But she was in fact going to let me try for a vbac as well.

The contractions were getting stronger and harder and they decided at 11:15 to check me again.  They said you are still around a 7-8.   The nurse kept saying, "your water is right in the way of allowing your baby to come down and help with progression.  If it wasn't night time we would have the dr come in and break your water and you would probably have the baby right away but we can't call her in unless you are having the baby or something is wrong."  So at 11:40 we decided to get an epidural since there was no progression and we could literally be waiting all night for the dr to come.

My hopes of having a baby at night and being home by morning to surprise the kids with their new sister slowly started to diminish as I learned that a doctor is not going to come in unless there is a baby ready to be born at that very instant.  So we tried to rest and I secretly kept hoping that my water would break on its own but I was way to anxious to sleep.

At 7:15 the dr., my doctor, came in and broke my water and left to go change.  The nurse came in and told me to do a few practice pushes we did one push and she said don't do anything this baby is coming!  She had someone run to get the doctor.  The next thing I know is a few pushes later, my sweet baby girl was in my arms.  She was born at 7:47 am and weighed in at 6 lbs 12 ounces and was 19 inches long.

I was hoping to be released soon, I just needed my pediatrician to discharge the baby, when I was sorely disappointed that she was not going to discharge us because she was out of town.  I then secretly thought I should have had the baby at home (kidding, kind of).

My babies came to see me and meet their new sister and it was so sweet to have my 3 babies together.

We waited the entire day before we named our sweet girl and came up with Cora Faith.

We were home from the hospital and home by 10 am that next day and my heart was so happy and relieved to be home with my 3 babies!

Cora Faith's Birth Story

Lets begin with the past before we get into her story.   With Niah I was induced at 41 weeks and was barely dialated to a 1.  Never had a braxton hick or pre labor contraction only felt contractions on pitocin.  Malachi, his labor was so weird I was 4 at one appt and the next week I was 6, never felt any contractions.  Went to the hospital a few hours after my drs. appointment only because my husband was a nervous wreck (dr jokingly asked my husband if he was ready to deliver a baby in car when I told him I was not ready to go to hospital) not because I thought I was in labor.  Turns out I was in labor having active contractions, I could not feel them and I was dialated to a 8 when I arrived at hospital.  I started feeling contractions after I started pushing but it was more painful when the dr tried to hook the vacuum up then the contractions.  I pushed for almost 3 hrs before we ended up with a c-section.

This was while I was at home having contractions 

Skip to March of this year.  Baby number 3, so ready for her to be here but also did not get my hopes up that she was coming anytime.  I am pretty comfortable in my 3rd trimester and it does not bother me to be pregnant so I just decided I was not going to anticipate an early arrival to be let down when she did not make it.  I also knew that she was measuring really small and I was planning to go to 41 weeks because I did not want pitocin.  I also knew I had not had any type of contraction, braxton hick, nothing.  At my 39 week appt, I was dialtated to 3 which was the same thing I had been since my 37 week appt and 50% effaced.  I went to silver dollar city at 38 weeks thinking the long day of walking would change something but no change anywhere.  I just went on with life trying to put as far back as possible baby was coming and went about life enjoying my 2 babies.

  Playhouse project we had been working on
March 24, Malachi went to ER for ear infection.  My thought, "Good thing I am not having this baby so I can take care of my lilttle man."  March 29, was a sunday, we went to church, I did children's church.  When we got home, I and the kids took a nap, Matthew worked in playhouse.  When we woke up from nap the kids wanted to go for a walk.  We walked around, Malachi (2) walks for a few feet than always wants to be carried.  I carried him, Niah (4) walked, and came home.  We then decided to go to my mom's house to finish baby girls, "bring home from hospital outfit."   We finished the outfit and it was getting close to bedtime, the kids and I went home.  I started getting the kids ready for bed and felt a cramp.  It was around 7ish and I felt a few more while I was getting the kids ready for bed and I began to wonder, "are these contractions or just braxton hicks?"  Around 8 I got in the bathtub, they continued and as I was in the bathtub I decided to time them.  I was timing them about 4 minutes apart.  I was not really worried but began to think if I am in labor maybe I should call Matthew.

  This was 4 days before I went into labor

I called Matthew, "Hey honey, will you come up to the house for a second?'  He was in the playhouse.  I was still in the bathtub very calmly said, "Honey, I am not sure but I think I may be in labor?  But I am not sure?"  He answers with, "How close are your contractions? Maybe you should call the hospital?"  He went to the playhouse to clean up and I called the hospital but was in no hurry to get to the hospital.  I got out of the bath started packing a bag, cleaned the house a little, Matthew waited anxiously for me to say lets go!  I didn't so he finally said let's go to the hospital.  We took the kids to my mom's house, didn't tell anyone that we were going because I didn't want to be in false labor.  Now contractions were 3 mins apart.

Come Back for part 2

A little extra Income

Remember, at the beginning of the year, I had a goal, a pay off my house goal, and a give more than we have ever given before goal.  Well all of that inspired me to do something I never thought I would do, I signed up to sell products.  Not a makeup company as you are all familiar with but a Health and wellness company called ItWorks.

I watched as friends and acquaintances were making huge bonuses while selling products I was already buying.  I inquired about it in January on how it all works and just kinda researched the company and thought about it.  The day I got home from the hospital after having my 3rd baby I decided to go for it.  A little scared but really excited for the opportunity to make more money to help pay off our house and provide for our family.

I am so glad that I did sign up.  I am one month in and have already had more success than I thought I would.

The reason I joined.

The products I sell. Only a few of the great products.

Looking to find out more about these products or how to help your family financially let me know.  I am excited about how this will help us reach dreams and goals for our family!  

Email me at cbwasham@gmail.com

Sickness, snow, baby prep, road trips and much more

I came back from Florida (I will cover our great vaca soon)sick, not just a little sick but it hurts to breathe sick.  You do not get any sleep sick, your throat is constantly throbbing and all you want to do is sleep. 2 weeks worth of sick.  My husband got sick over her birthday weekend of all times.  Then my daughter, Niah got sick.  Unfortunately she inherited my throwing up when sick and got a terrible stomach bug that dehydrated her and resulted in an er visit for fluids.  We left with a perky child that wanted a new toy as opposed to the very pitiful child we walked in the doors with.  We now know how to prevent this in the future with dr. recommended treatment, thank goodness!!.  My son, Malachi has a small cough for the last 2 weeks, mainly because he is too small to get rid of the drainage and it is not a constant cough just here and there.  It seems anytime right before you have a baby everyone gets sick.  We have had 2 good snows the month of Feb, all since we have came home from Florida!  My kids are not fans of the cold, but they do like the snow.

                                                                     Snow Fun

Which leads me to whats next, pregnancy, we are at 36 weeks, YAY!!! I have never had any cravings in any pregnancy but I am pretty sure that I have 2 things I just love for the last few months that may be pregnancy cravings, they are ice and carrots.  I could chomp on both all day long, and actually take carrots or a glass ice of with me anywhere I go.  I actually take a huge cup filled with a drink, heavy on the ice and eat the ice all day not too look too crazy with the ice.  I am on weekly appts with the dr.  They are estimating if I make it to my due date baby will be around 6lbs (which is what we want)!  Baby is not engaged which means she is not coming anytime in the next few weeks so she may make it to her due date.  She could be like Niah and be late but we she can not be induced with a vbac so I guess she is in there till she is ready!  Ultrasound said everything looked great and healthy.  My belly is as hard as a rock and as big as a basketball.  The only other thing that has gained a lot of weigh and size is my feeders (as Niah says).

                                                   Baby bump Look at that belly

Baby Prep is now starting, I have started washing all of the newborn clothes and hanging up..... way too many clothes (Niah's clothes, Kiah's clothes, and clearance steals)!  I just love to see all of my favorite clothes that Niah had to come out of the boxes and on to the hanger for a new baby.   I now feel the need to disinfectant our entire house since we have been sick.  Also, I am going to shampoo all of the very little carpet we have to get any dirt out and then ban anyone from spreading germs with their shoes through my house.  I already steam all other floors weekly.  Baby girl can not come home to germs.  Getting all newborn gear out and put together.  Lots of talk with Malachi about baby so I know he understands and will adjust.

I have lots of special surprises for my two little loves before baby.  We have a baby related activity so they can feel apart of the process of new baby and a fun activity planned.  I have individually things planned special for them as well as joint things so they can get some special time in with Mommy before baby.  The biggest thing they are looking forward to is our trip to Big Cedar and to go to SDC.  This is one of our favorite activities and we wanted to go one time before baby came because it will be awhile before we get to go again.  So we are headed on a little last getaway as a family of four the middle/end of March.

                                   This is a pic from our trip to Florida

Life is busy but full of so many wonderful things.  We are so excited for our addition and believe that children are the greatest part of our life!  I can not imagine life without my littles!

Getting ready for our Baby Moon

A baby moon is a trip you take before you have another baby.  With Niah we went to Mexico, with Malachi we went to Florida and with baby #3 we are Going to Orlando.  It will we our last trip as a family of 4.
                                                  
                                                This is our first baby moon

I mentioned the trip back at the end of the summer and then life got busy and we had been so busy we just thought we do not really need to go on a trip.  Then the end of January came and I was weary with work, holiday activities, and Malachi's Birthday.  It was a month of non stop, not a single normal week and I love activity but I absolutely love normal and being a home body.  I purposed the idea to Matthew about the trip and he was on board.

                                    This is our second baby moon ( I could not find a family pic)

 I prayed about the trip and ask God to help me find all the details with in our budget.  A very low budget I gave myself, with airfare, activity tickets, and hotel.  God does care and he opened the door in great ways!  Everything came into budget, we are staying at 4 star hotel in a beautiful 2 bdrm villa (we need space) for less $90 a night.  I got great deals on tickets and was even gifted some tickets.

We have lots of activities planned with friends and family (that will be there) and special activities planned for just our family to embrace this last trip of a family of 4.  I am most excited to take my kids to Magic Kingdom, and the funny thing is my kids do not want to see a single Disney Character (Niah does not see it realistic to have large characters and it scares her and Malachi just goes along with Niah) but ride the rides!  So as recommended by a sweet friend, we signed up for Fast Passes on the known busy rides.

                                                   My kids fly so much better than riding in a car!

So as I prepare for the trip, I think what a special treat this is.  It will be so nice to get away and enjoy being a family of 4 to come back and embrace and be excited for becoming a family of 5!  If your wondering I will be 33 weeks on the trip (Yes, Yes I can ride most of the rides at Magic Kingdom, I did print the list off of rides not recommended) and when we return 6 weeks or less till baby girl comes!!  All of this to say I am so ready to get away!!

Baby #3, 30 weeks or somewhere in there

I started writing this post somewhere are 27 weeks and just not finishing!

Baby Girl is growing and growing!!  She started out being very active and was a nonstop mover and then decided to hibernate for the winter and is moving less (more at night than anything).  Carrying high as normal, as the bump grows it just keeps moving up.  Pregnant life, is not much different once I get past the 13th week of terrible throwing up then  I feel great except for the occasional rib aches.

Niah loves to feel the baby she puts her hand on my tummy and just leaves it there.  I am so anxious for when the baby is bigger and Niah will be able to see when her feet and hands push out.   Malachi talks about baby and loves babies but does not grasp their is a baby growing inside of me.  He does grasp we are getting a baby though.  Niah pretends she has a baby in her tummy and it is due the same time my baby is due.  She says things like, "Malachi come feel my tend baby or listen to my tend baby's heartbeat."

All the details are worked out with the hospital on same day discharge.  The only visitors allowed after the baby is born will be Matthew, Niah, and Malachi at the hospital so that I can get discharged quickly.  Then we are looking forward to getting settled in our normal routine at home with a new baby.   Niah is most excited that I am not staying the night.  She likes all the details and has already got every detail confirmed and was very worried about me staying the night at the hospital and did not want that.  She can tell you every dr. involved for the birth and the baby.  She has already formulate rules on who and when people can hold the new baby which involves just Me and her right now :-)

After the holidays and Little Man's big 2 year birthday will be full of preparations for the new baby girl.  Getting all of the clothes out and washed and ready to go.   Rearranging of rooms for everyone and adding room for baby girl.   Weeding out things we do not need such as toys, clothes, and ect.  Pulling out all newborn toys and equipment.  Thankfully we will not need anything for baby girl except the huge, ongoing expense of diapers.  I have started going through Niah and Kyah's clothes and I can not believe the amount of clothes.  I have soo many I do not have room for them.

As far as a name goes we have not even talked about a name but I am trying to incorporate something from my name to baby girl since Niah has my middle name and Malachi has Matthew's middle name.  We don't have a theme or anything to the first name we look for a unique meaningful name that no one we know has the name and won't appear on any most poplar list.  We also never pick a name until we see them because we want the name to fit them.  You can instantly tell if a name goes with them but we have always had a list of names we liked.

We are praying for our new addition and so excited for the joy she will bring.  The anticipation is growing and I am so excited for her arrival.

Chugga Chugga Two Two! Malachi Turns 2

Last Saturday we celebrated Malachi's 2nd Birthday.  He has an absolute love for trains right now so the theme was Chugga Chugga Two Two, and the party was decked out in trains with a special surprise of a ride on train for a present (More details to come on the Party).  Anyways, Malachi's actually Birthday was this Wednesday.  So we made the day very special for him.  We went to lunch where he got a special treat and all the waiters sang to him, then we went swimming, and after dinner he got a cupcake!

I can not believe that it was 2 years ago that my sweet baby boy came onto this earth.  The time has literally gone way to fast as it always seems to with your kids.

Malachi is a spunky little boy, that is all boy!  He loves trains, dump trucks, and helicopters.  He never goes anywhere without his Thomas the Train and we are up to 3 of them to make sure we can find one at all times.  He has always been my cuddle bug that loves to come up to me lay his head on my shoulder and as the cuddling is shorter he still always runs up and wants to lay his head on my shoulder for about 1.2 seconds.  He absolutely loves and adores his Daddy.  He loves to play and be with him.  Will usually asks when we get home where he is at.

Malachi knows what he can get away with, with each person.  He knows that he can prolong bedtime with Daddy.  He will call out after we lay him down, "I need more ice," a few minutes later, "I need lotion, itchy," a few minutes later, "I need something to eat."  I eventually have to go in there and tell him Daddy is not coming in his room and it is time for bed, he immediately lays down and goes to sleep.  Malachi is not afraid of a spanking and most of the time it does not even bother him.  We have really started to stay on top of discipline with him as he is always trying to push the limits but once he knows he will not win he usually begins to straighten up.  He loves adventure and will test the limits but he wants to make sure Mommy or Daddy is near by.  He has really gotten into amusement rides and gets mad if he can't go on a ride that Niah can he gets upset.

Malachi is an excellent self entertaining and can fiddle and play with things for long amounts of time.  Since Niah has gone to preschool, Malachi has enjoyed his special outings with mommy on preschool days.  After we pull out the parking lot he immediately begins to make request of what he wants to do next.  Malachi's favorite foods are; chocolate, baked beans, refried beans, french fries,  tacos, chips of any kind, and chocolate milk.  Malachi has a huge vocabulary and usually talks in complete sentences.  He is a much better communicator than most 2 year old boys.  Malachi loves to sing, his favorite songs to sing right now are Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells, Old McDonald, and Happy Birthday.  You can usually hear him sing one of these songs when he is going to sleep.

 

I can not believe how much he has grown!

We love our sweet little boy and can not imagine life with out him.    I can not express how thankful we are to have him and that I get to be his mommy.  

The Goal

The husband and I have been talking about our budget a lot lately and it has always been a goal to pay off our house but we have been inspired.  We have 11 yrs left on the 15 year loan but with extra payments we have made along the way over the last 4 years it would be paid off in 9.5 years.  The goal.... to pay it off in 4 years.

I found a lovely blog on Dave Ramsey's site, The View Along the Way, and they made it seem so possible.  The reward, financial freedom.  A big goal for my husband is building our retirement and savings but when you do not have a house payment you can just apply your entire house payment to retirement!  My goal is to have the freedom to use our house payment where we need it whether it be savings, a vacation, or a repair to the house, wanting financial freedom, that the largest percentage of our budget is no longer applied to a house payment.

The Commitment

1.  Give!  - We believe in tithing and giving to our missionaries!  We plan to always give and increase our giving as God blesses us!  We believe in giving back to our Father because everything we have is His.
2. Eat out less - We eat at home a lot for dinner but found that we were going through drive thru, through out the week that were really making us spend more than we realized.  I am taking cash each week from what we budget and that is it for eating out and anything extra I buy (Starbucks, treats for the kids).  Matthew is taking less than that since he only buys for one and I buy for 3.
3. Balance extras and outings - We will cut back on any big vacations and just continue to go on our small getaways through out the year (which is vital for our sanity and family time).  My kids favorite outing is an activity center I take them to and running errands.... Good news, activity center is already paid for with a very cheap season pass of $30 bucks (I had family buy the new season passes for 2015 for presents).  Running errands is one of Niah's favorite things and that will always happen.
4.  We plan to cut our things and stuff that is not needed.  My kids have an over abundance of toys and stuff so for over a month now ever week Niah and I go through and pick out an item she no longer plays or needs to donate.  Then we talk about how there are kids that do not have toys and we can help them.  The great thing is that it is getting rid of clutter while teaching my kids to think of others because now it is second nature to her to say, "Mom lets give that to someone else that needs that.  This helps on not having them ask for unneeded items at the store.  We need and want less.

We may have to make a few sacrifices in the next four years meaning we may not go out to eat as many times as we want or go on a fancy vacation but in the end the reward is well worth the sacrifice.  Financial freedom of not having debt.  The goal is HUGE, to think about it as a whole can be overwhelming or even seem unattainable but to think about it on a daily/monthly goal so much easier.

I will try to update on things that work for us and do not work and things that help us for anyone that may be working toward or thinking about working toward this same goal.  If anyone has here now or has been and is on the side share your advice and what worked for you.