Pirate Party- Invitations

I am going to post everyday something that I have been working on for Preston's party. I have done a lot, probably way too much! I am excited and as long as the weather holds up it will be a great adventure!

Lets start with the invitations, that's always the first thing right?

I used bottles and labeled them with the guest names, this was so to say the envelope. Oh and we hand delivered these. Here is Preston getting ready to make his deliveries
For the inside I made the invitation then wadded them into a ball to add the wrinkled effect. I then dyed them in tea for a few minutes to have an aged color. I laid them out to dry , but before the drying was complete I burned the edges. This works a lot better if the paper is still damp.

Once they were all dry I rolled them up and they were ready for delivery!

Support!

We have had so many friends chipping in to help us during and after Alayna's sickness. Our next door neighbors watched Taylynn and Preston so Aaron could come to the hospital on Saturday. Their daughter was at Grandma's house, but they still took our children in. Also we had my brother in law and soon to be sister in law take them for a few hours that night to play with them and feed them, what a big help!!!
Also Saturday my friend Amy came to the hospital for some company, it was great to have someone to talk to other than hospital staff. Thanks Amy, you made the day sooo much better!
Amy also took the children Sunday morning (yes, she skipped church and she is the pastor's wife) so Aaron could be with Alayna and I. Thank you Amy and thanks Grant for letting her help us out. We'll all get together and watch it on the podcast :)
Sunday we came home with meals ready for us, meals are just such a blessing. I don't know about you but one of my biggest daily stresses is dinner. I really dislike figuring out what to make, cooking it isn't horrible if everyone behaves while I cook, but that is rare. Anyway, thank you ladies for the meals, I appreciate it so much!

And today my friend Ali picked up Taylynn and Preston and took them to a MOPS event for the children, then she took them home and fed them. Oh it was wonderful to have some quite and be with Alayna.

I just wanted to say what a blessing it is to have great friends! And thank you to all you blogging friends who have been praying for us, prayer is so powerful. Thank you for including us when talking to God.

11 weeks

This pregnancy is going by so fast.
I turned 12 weeks on friday, but with Alayna in the hospital I didn't get a chance to blog about it.

Sickness:
I feel good. I haven't really had any morning sickness compared to my other three pregnancies. No headaches either!

Weight:
I have not gained weight...yet!

Cravings:
I crave nothing but eat everything. I love food and always will.

Sleep:
I am really really tired this time around. I get good sleep at night, but still wake up tired.

Gender:
Not sure yet, but I think it's a boy.

Baby size:
My baby is close to the size of a fig and about 1 1/2 inches long.

Belly:
I barely have one, so no picture yet. I have not had to wear any maternity clothes yet.

I don't have my first appointment until 12 1/2 weeks. I am so excited to hear the heartbeat!

Great giveaway here. You could end up winning an entire nursery makeover. I need this otherwise this baby isn't going to have anything but hand me downs!

HOME!

WE'RE HOME!!!!

She is still congested and wheezy, but there wasn't much to be done at the hospital. Her spirits are up just being home. We'll be going to the Dr. tomorrow and see what she has to say.Alayna scooted her self to the edge and put her legs out to get closer to Taylynn and Preston, so sweet!

Let's pray for a good night.

Alayna Part II

Just a quick update on Alayna's condition. She was taken off of oxygen last night around 10pm. So, supposedly, should she continue to do well, Alayna could go home at 10pm tonight. Alayna was also taken off of her breathing treatments today, which was a good sign. However, the nurse thought she wasn't sounding very good when breathing around lunch time, so they did another breathing treatment :( The nurses also removed her heart monitor she was hooked up to, so she is left with her IV and her oxygen monitor hooked up to her.

We are still hopeful that Alayna will get to come home tonight. The doctor will be in to see her around 3pm, so hopefully he will have some good news. Taylynn and Preston went to the hospital to see Alayna today and she was really excited to see them. However, Taylynn and Preston weren't too into the hospital scene, so they weren't quite themselves.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers and we just ask you to continue praying for Alayna.

Alayna update....UPDATED!

Last night Alayna was admitted into the ER fro RSV. She is doing alright, but in need of oxygen so we will be at the hospital at least one more night. I will update more, but just wanted to ask for your prayers. We know prayer is a powerful thing and we'd really appreciate it!

Romans 12:12
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer

I took these pictures this morning because she looked too sweet in her mini hospital gown. I love this little baby and I am ready for her to come home. I'll let you know when she is back home.

Ok so I am home and was supposed to sleep when Taylynn and Preston were taking their nap, but I can't I am missing Alayna too much. I have time to fill you in on all that is going on, so here is the story:

Last night after dinner, I was worried about Alayna because she wouldn't finish the last two ounces of her bottles and I thought she must have an ear infection. The Dr's office was closed so I decided I better take her to express care so we don't have a horrible ear infection without medicine.
Right away the nurses were commenting on her weezing, which I didn't think was a big deal (it is!!!!) So they did an oxygen test and gave her a breathing treatment, no real change so they sent us to the ER with the guess that she might have RSV. Oh and yes, she did have an ear infection. I was right about something :)

We got a room in the ER really fast, but we had x-rays and tests and more breathing treatments, it was rough. Around 11pm we found out we were going to stay the night, so then we began the IV process, which took about 45 minutes but only two pricks. She was not happy, mainly about being held down.

We moved up to the room on the pediatrics floor around 12:30am and had many more things, like night gown, questions, fluids, vitals, more breathing treatments, oxygen and finally Alayna got to go to sleep about 1:30 am....rough rough night!

She sounds a lot better, but she still needs oxygen support. The next time they do the breathing treatments they are going to test her to see if they work because I guess they only work for about 20% of children. I hope it does because we have been doing them every three hours since 7 last night.

We will be in the hospital until she can go 24 hours with oxygen support, so pray she can breath fully on her own. I spent the night with her in her bed last night, it seems to help having me right next to her. Nighttime is when her oxygen seems to drop and she wakes up often but goes back to sleep easy if I am right there.

I just took a shower and packed a bag for tonight, I plan to take Taylynn and Preston into see her. I didn't want to, but I know Alayna would LOVE to see them.
Keep praying for her!
Thanks!

Crafty Day

March is craft month, so I decided to run to the craft store and do a craft. I was inspired by my friend Cyndi to do this one.

First take a look at this letter decor from Pottery Barn, cute right? For 79 dollars, I don't think so!


Now look what I did for about 5 dollars......
I am working on a lot of other things right now, but they are all for Preston's birthday party, so I'll start posting those things in April.

Alayna in the Spring

My camera is back!!!!! The bad news is I don't think it's any better :( I need to test it some more.

So of course I have been taking some pictures to catch up:

Alayna enjoying the spring air, she loves being outside
Alayna sleeping on daddyYes, I do have two other children, pictures to come!

BTW some of our good friends are getting their sonogram today, I am so excited to find out what they are having. No matter what it is I hope we have the same. They have a boy Chase who is 6 weeks younger than Preston and they love being together, so I really hope we have what they have!
Whats really important is that the sonogram goes good the baby looks healthy. They should be finding out about right now, so pray for them.

It's a BOY!

I am wearing green

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Still no camera, so just picture the kids and I dressed in our best green because we are! We went to lunch today to celebrate my friend Kim's upcoming birthday on Saturday. We went to the usual pizza spot Via's.

After lunch was over we were just going to head home but I made a quick decision to try taking the kids to the St Patty parade, we made it and they loved it. They were thanking me in the car for taking them, I guess we'll be going to more parades in our future!

I am ten weeks today and feeling pretty good so far. The morning sickness isn't too bad! I am extremely EXTREMELY tired! I go to bed early and really enjoy my sleep!

On another note, Alayna has been saying Da Da today, her first time was actually on Aaron's birthday, but I couldn't get her to say it. Today I ask her to say Da Da and she did, lets just hope she does it for Aaron.

I hope everyone is wearing green and is having a great day!

Girls night at the Rowhouse

Ali, Keri, me and Cyndi




Friday night some of my girlfriends and I went to dinner at the Rowhouse, a local fine dining restaurant. If you have been reading my blog for a while you know I always take pictures when I go to dinner here because the food is too fabulous not to.
Here is the menu for the night :
* Salad: "Mock" Caesar Salad with Roasted Garlic Croutons
* Soup: White Bean and Swiss Chard
* Vegetarian Entree: Spinach, Artichoke, and Ricotta Focaccia with Wild Arugula Salad
* Entrees 2: Beef Tenderloin, Wine and Mushroom Sauce, Roasted Beet Chips, Risotto
* Entree 3: Sea Bass, Red Pepper Romesco Sauce, Zucchini and Basil Risotto
* Dessert: Blood Orange and Prosecco Sorbet
* Dessert: Goat's Cheese Cheesecake
* Dessert: Chocolate Filled Cream Puffs


Here are the pictures in the order we received them: (Warning this wasn't my camera and it worked much different than mine, so the pictures aren't as clear as I like and I didn't feel like taking a camera class with this wonderful food in front of me :)

We started off with a goat cheese souffle with pesto, garlic and tomatoes- this was my favorite!!!Then we had the soupSalad
Then the three main courses, yes three. Its a sample, so you try everything. Oh I did forget to take the picture before we started eating, so it looks a bit messy.
And finally dessert

We had a great time, with great friends. This was our birthday celebration to each other, and so worth it!