The iPad!!

I think the first words out of my mouth when I first heard about the iPad were 'That is so stupid. Who would ever want a giant iphone???'. Well, I am eating my words now because we got one and I love it!

After reading and listening to many people talk about the iPad, Paul thought it might be pretty cool. I was slowly coming around, but we really didn't have a need. That is until the wireless card on my laptop overheated to its death and we discovered it would cost around $400 to fix. We also learned that Compaqs often have this problem and shorty after the wireless card dies, the motherboard dies. It's almost 4 years old, so I guess it's time. Anyway, we decided this was the perfect excuse to buy the iPad, and Paul even went to the mall at 8pm last Thursday only to discover they were sold out. He called the next morning and the store had recieved a shipment, so he headed over to pick it up and we were proud owners of a 16 gig iPad by noon.

I must admit it's pretty cool - much cooler than I thought. Here's WHAT I LIKE:
1. Quick on/off - it's turns on in a second and off in a second. The laptop took several minutes to boot up, so if I wanted to look something up quickly, it wasn't going to happen in less than 5 minutes.
2. Long battery life - enough said. I've never had a laptop with a battery that actually worked.
3. APPS!!! - The apps are really cool, although I really haven't fully explored them. Paul has been finding all kinds of cool things. So far, I have a calendar and calorie counting app. Paul has found much more interesting things like a magazine reader (download issues of mags you like), Pandora (which I really like), weatherbug, ABC (to watch shows), Chipotle ordering, and several others.
4. Portability - it's so easy to carry around. If I want to look up a recipe, an actor on imdb, check my e-mail, facebook, etc. I can do it quickly (see #1) and anywhere I want (bathroom, kitchen, outside, baby's room, etc.). And, it's so light and small, I can easily check things anywhere while doing other things like feeding a baby, walking around, cooking, talking on the phone etc. YOu just can't do that with a laptop.
5. Screen quality - it's very sharp and clear. Great for TV shows and pictures.

THINGS I DON'T LIKE AS MUCH:
1. Internet is limited - there are some features on the internet that don't work as well. For example, I can't chat with online friends on facebook. We have a desktop, so it doesn't really matter that much.
2. You can't print - there is no print feature, so I can't print anything from the web. Hopefully they will fix that in the future.
3. You can't do 2 things at once - Windows is really great for that. For example, I can't listen to Pandora and do anything else online like facebook or searching for things.
4. The Keyboard - it's pretty good, but I'm old fashioned, I guess, and I like my keyboard for fast typing. I can type pretty well with the touch screen keyboard, but it wouldn't (in my opinion) be so great for doing something like writing a blog. To its credit, it is big and pretty accurate when touching it.
5. USB - there is no USB port, so I can't do things like upload photos from a camera or install any other kind of software. But, I don't really think it's supposed to fully replace regular computers.

The iPad serves a particular purpose, for us at least. We used the laptop mostly for using the internet and checking/writing e-mails. So, for that, it is great. If we are watching a movie and want to know who that familiar actor is, we can turn it on and look up imdb.com in a matter of seconds. I can quickly check e-mails, facebook, weather, airplane status, recipes, etc. from anywhere in the house very, very easily. We still have our desktop for word processing, photo storing and editing, document storing, etc. We can take it on the road and use it easily anywhere there is wireless. So, overall we love it so far! I give it a 'B' because I think there are some things that can be improved, but hopefully that will come with time.

We are OUTNUMBERED!!!

Our parents are gone, and now it's just Paul and me vs. three kids. We were extremely lucky to have near constant help for an entire month after Zoe was born, but the honeymoon is over. And, reality smacked us hard in the face the first morning after my parents left. A newborn spends a fair amount of time awake at night needing to eat. As a result, this leaves Mom and Dad extremely tired, exhausted and zombie-like come morning. When the baby last eats at 5am and parents finally fall back asleep around 6am, it's near impossible to open one's eyes when 2 energetic toddlers come racing into the bedroom at 7am wanting pop-tarts and Dora the Explorer. So, morning 1 without Grandparents to feed and entertain energetic toddlers was ugly. Paul gave them food, turned on the TV and returned to bed for hopefully a little more sleep. But, NO. The pop-tarts were scarfed, the kids now wanted cereal, Dora ended, and they decided it would be the perfect time to antagonize each other by taking the other's monster truck or doll and running around the house. Ugh. Time to get up and face the day.

Well, we made it through that day and the five days since, and each day is a little easier. The kids returned to daycare, and were a little upset about it the first day back, but have since returned to their normal selves. They do much better on a their normal school schedule - they enjoy their friends and activities at school, especially when the alternative is a tired Mommy and crying baby at home.

Zoe is doing great so far. She is very different from Sophia already. She sleeps 3-4 hours at a time at night, and loves to be held and carried around in the bjorn. I am still breastfeeding, but have been supplementing with formula, especially when we are out and about and I can't easily feed her. She was having a hard time with the initial formula I tried, so I tried another kind for fussiness, and finally we hit the jackpot with soy formula. She never vomited (thankfully!!), but would just cry for an hour or 2 after feeding her and seemed constipated. It's extremely difficult to have a baby who just cries and can't be comforted. I feel for every mother with a colicky baby. She's happy and Thomas & Sophia are sweet and gentle with her. They push her on the swing, give her kisses and yell at me to feed her when she cries (You've got to feed her, Mommy!!!).

I am slowly recovering and feel better each day. I"m still sore and am not supposed to lift anything or do anything strenuous for another week, which is difficult, but I can definitely tell when I've done too much. My 6 week appointment is next week, so hopefully I"ll get the OK to start working out again. I'd really like to fit back into some of my clothes so I don't have to buy new stuff for when I go back to work in May.

We are surviving, and are really glad to know that this will be our last go-around with a newborn. Our eyes are heavy, our house is messy, but we know it won't be forever. We are outnumbered - someone always wants something, needs something, is having a crisis or needs a diaper change and between the 2 of us we are just barely keeping everyone satisfied. I"m sure we will eventually find a good balance, especially as the kids get more independent, but until then we are taking it a day at a time. And, above all, we are ecstatic to have the three most beautiful children anyone can ask for, even if it's leaving us a little googly eyed and delirious!

Baby Zoe Arrives!

Baby Zoe has arrived!! Paul and I headed to the hospital at 5am on March 10 for my c-section. We got there and immediately began prepping for surgery. One of the first things the nurses did was give me an IV, and it was probably the worst part of the whole experience!! The first nurse saw a big vein and tried to get the IV in, but it didn't work and was EXTREMELY painful. So she tried the other arm, and it still didn't work. It hurt SO SO bad, and I became nauseous and light headed, and Paul said I turned a funny greenish color. So, they went to get the nurse who puts IVs in newborns, and she did it just fine. I didn't have a problem last time, but I guess the big veins sometimes are deceiving. Ugh. I was so happy when that was over!

After they finished checking my vitals and doing everything they rolled me down to the operating room. It was FREEZING and I was totally nervous so I was shivering pretty bad. They administered the spinal epidural, brought Paul in and began. It was really strange being completely numb from the ribs down, but luckily it wore off after a couple hours. It was probably about 20 minutes later and she was on her way out!! Zoe was crying before she was all the way out, and once she was all the way out she really showed off her lungs. The doctor and nurses all commented how big she was and when they finally weighed her she was NINE pounds! And, a week early, so I'm really glad we elected to do the c-section. My doc also said she did not look like she was going to be making an entrance into the world any time soon, so it was definitely the right choice.

The whole thing was over pretty quickly and I went back to my room to rest. I was pretty out of it for the whole day and could barely keep my eyes open due to the anesthesia. My parents were there and eventually went to get Thomas and Sophia from school in the afternoon to visit. Sophia's teacher made her an awesome 'Big Sister' crown and they were happy to see Mommy and the new baby.

I slept most of the day, and then the morphine started wearing off, making my face extremely itchy. It was really wierd and I could not stop rubbing my nose and face so they gave me benadryl to alleviate some of the itching. It went away by Friday (Zoe was born on Wed.), but it was definitely a very strange sensation.

I stayed in the hospital until Saturday, which was awesome because I was able to really rest knowing that Zoe was well taken care of in the nursery and brought to me whenever she was hungry. They would have released me on Friday, but my insurance paid for up to 5 days in the hospital, so I stayed an extra day. I think I would have been too tempted to do too much if I came home on Friday. As it was, I was in a good amount of pain when I got home, was pretty weak and it was made a bit worse by having to move around more to tend to the baby than I had to in the hospital.

I'm getting better slowly but surely. The doc said there were 7 layers of stitches, so it's no wonder that moving around and doing things have been pretty taxing. But, Zoe is doing very well. She's eating like a champ, and looked great at her first doctor appointment. She seems to have her days and nights mixed up because she sleeps awesome during the day and then doesn't really want to go to sleep in the evenings until 1 or 2am. So, we'll work on that, but in the meantime it is awesome to have my parents here to help because I don't know how I would survive otherwise. Thomas and Sophia are adjusting, and they haven't been going to daycare, which I think it causing some stress. Between the new baby, Mommy not being able to do much, having a totally different schedule than before, they are a little extra whiney, but that is to be expected.

Anyway, all is as well as can be expected at this point! We're tired, but absolutely loving our newest addition!

Baby Zoe Set to Arrive March 10!

I had my doctor appointment today, and it was decided it would be best to have a c-section next week. The medical reason for this is because I had a 4th degree tear with Sophia because she was so big and came out a little sideways (if you want more info on what that means, see this: http://www.babycenter.com/0_perineal-tears_1451354.bc - this was the most toned down version I could find). My doctor said that if tearing like that happens a second time (and if you read about it, it occurs often when there are big babies - Sophia was big at 9 lbs and Zoe will probably be big as well), it often doesn't heal correctly and can lead to bowel problems later on. And, if there is one thing I am uninterested in, it is bowel problems later on.

It also works nicely so that I can have a couple more weeks off, and as a result I won't have to return to work until the 1st or 2nd week of May making our childcare problems much more manageable. So, I'm pretty excited about that. I was also going to have my tubes tied at the same time, but since I'll be at a Catholic hospital, they don't allow that! I was pretty taken aback by that rule, but my Doc said that is one rule the Nuns were sticklers about. So, that means the ball is Paul's court as far as that department is concerned . . .

So, we are excited, and I'm feeling happy and relieved that the end is in sight as far as this pregnancy is concerned! I have one week left to enjoy and finish last minute preparations. I hope I don't get too relaxed and relieved, though, and go in to labor early. I will still have a c-section if that is the case, but I have a bunch of friends coming to stay at my house this Friday and I will be mad if I go in to labor before that! I only get to see these people once a year, if that, so we just need to hold out until Saturday afternoon or later!

I'll keep you all posted, but that's the scoop for now!

Yay! I"m Full Term and Done With Work!

I was officially full term last Monday! I had a doc appt on Wed., and there hasn't been any more progress as far as dilating, which I expected. I was 1 cm dilated with Sophia for about a month. So, we wait . . .

Friday was my last day of work. I am glad to be done for now as I just don't have the energy to do a good job, and I simply can't stand on my feet for even a half day. The kids were sweet and several gave me hugs and wished me luck. They all wanted to make sure I was going to send pictures of the baby once she arrives, so it was very sweet. I hope she doesn't decide to come this week - I need some time to just relax and finish up getting everything ready before baby arrives.

Paul has a science conference this week in the Woodlands (about an hour away), and many of our good friends will be in town for it. So, it will be a very busy week for him, but I don't think he's going to stay the night up there. He does have a poster to present on Thursday night, so I REALLY, REALLY hope nothing happens before then! Then, on Friday night we have about 5 people coming to stay with us and hang out. I'm excited to see everyone, so Zoe can arrive any time after Saturday, but not before!

I must say I"m getting rather irritated with people. On Friday a lady asked when I was due, and so I told her March 17. She looked at me and said 'Are you sure it wasn't Feb. 17??'. I was a bit taken aback, since I am aware of how stinkin' HUGE I am right now, but it's not like you have to rub it in!! I said, well, look at my husband, he's a big guy. But, I don't think she was listening. It also seems like people are looking/talking at my belly, which is understandable, but annoying. Oh well. It's almost over! And, many people have been very nice, so I guess it balances all out. One lady told me my skin looked nice, and lots of people open doors for me or offer to help me out. But, it's never the nice people who stick out in your mind! Anyway, there's not much else to report. I'll keep you posted!

Opossums and Pains

This week we caught a opossum in our garage. He apparently got in somehow, got into a bunch of water bottles and old easter candy and somehow got stuck under a ladder that fell over and dented Paul's car a little. :-( I discovered him, but had to get to work, so Paul took him to animal control. They said they'll take him far away and release him somewhere, but not sure how true that is. I just hope he won't find his way back to us! The night before that, Thunderball got into a fight with a stray cat that comes around and eats all the cat food and got a nice bloody food. Paul was able to wash him up and he seems fine. I LOVE living where we do - with the creek and wooded areas behind us, but we are wildlife central! I can handle the furry mammals - I just don't want to come in to contact with any of the poisonous snakes that come around here. Our neighbor had one in her pool (water moccosin? not sure) as well as a snapping turtle, so I would say those little guys are especially not welcome!

So, our renter wants out of his lease early. I know he's going through a divorce and someone spray painted 'sex offender lives here' on our garage door (he fixed it and repainted), but something else must be going on because he wants to get an apartment. So, either he's having extra legal troubles or he's getting not feeling welcome in the neighborhood anymore. There are lots of kids and when the sex offender thing happened they were all very concerned that we rented to a sex offender. He's not one according to the registry and all we know, but there must be an ugly situation to provoke that. I don't think random people just run around spray painting that on random garage doors. Anyway, so our house is now back on the market for sale or lease, and we've had several showings, so that is good. We won't let the renter out early unless we sell or lease the property. Apparently we had an offer for a 6 month lease to a person with bad credit and 2 dogs. Jeff, our realtor, quickly said NO. So, I hope something happens, and with the tax credit going through April maybe we'll get some kind of offer.

**37 Week Update!!**
So, I'll officially be 37 weeks tomorrow. I am 1 cm dilated, but I was that way for about a month with Sophia, so it doesn't really mean anything. The baby continues to move alot, and I continue to be uncomfortable. I have pulled a muscle in my right rib area, and it HURTS pretty bad. I think it was from coughing alot when I was sick and then picking up the kids at some point probably didn't help it. My doc said it pretty much won't go away until I have the baby. Yay. It makes getting comfortable for bed very difficult and I'm pretty sore in the morning, but there's nothing I can do. I've also been having lots of Braxton-Hicks (fake) contractions. I thought maybe I was going into labor last night, but they went away. I didn't have those with Sophia at all, but I guess they can go on and on and pretty much mean nothing as far as when I'll go in to labor. This week is my last week at work (!!!!) and the following week Paul has a conference in the Woodlands (1 hr north of here) that he needs to go to. He may stay the night 1 night, but we have 5 friends coming to stay the night at our house on that Friday, so it would be very inconvenient of the baby to come before that! So, I guess she's in the clear to arrive any time after March 6! Anyway, that's about it. Sophia will only be referred to as Sophia or 'Big Sister', and Thomas told the babysitter last night all the things he was going to do to help Baby Zoe. So, they are ready, or at least as ready as they are going to be!!

My shower!

My friends at school threw me a shower last Wednesday after school. It was simple, but really nice, and Paul and the kids were able to join us. We had cake, punch & fruit and everyone was very generous. We recieved several super cute little outfits, an awesome diaper cake and a bunch of gift cards! I am so lucky to work at a great school with great people. That is definitely one of the advantages of being at a small school - the entire staff knows each other which creates a more family like atmosphere. Since we don't know tons of people here and our closest relatives live an hour away in Houston and Katy, it's nice to have someone to celebrate with.

The kids had lots of fun and a fellow teacher's wife brought their 2 kids (who are the same age as Thomas and Sophia) and they ran around playing with balloons and eating cake. There are a few pictures below of the cake and gift table, but I don't have any others.

**ALMOST 36 WEEKS UPDATE**
I'll be 36 weeks on Monday. The baby noticeably dropped from last Sunday to Monday. That can happen anywhere between a few days to weeks before labor. I can breathe a bit better, but now my lower back hurts more and she seems to push down & stretch out which hurts. As a result, I've significantly slowed down. I have 2 weeks left of school and then we have some friends visiting in town for a meeting, so I hope she doesn't come early!

Pregnancy Week 35 Update

Tomorrow I will officially be 35 weeks along, so only 5 more weeks to go!!! I am officially very uncomfortable, especially at night. My back hurts in the morning and the baby is starting to like to stretch out, which hurts. But, I'm thankful because last time my back starting hurting somewhere along month 5 and never stopped. The baby seems to be fine and moving around ALOT! My doctor says she's probably right along target, size-wise, but then again last time she thought Sophia was maybe 7 pounds the day before had her (she was 9 lbs). I have 3 weeks of teaching left, and I"m very excited about that. I really hope that I go to my due date just so I can have some relaxation time before the baby comes.

I've also had a cold for about a month now. It started going away, but then Sophia got sick last week and at the same time my cold started resurging. So now I"m coughing again and am pretty stuffed up. I imagine it doesn't help that I can't get a decent night's sleep. Oh well. We put Zoe's crib together and put her bedding on it, and we just about having everything we need for when she arrives! I LOVE her bedding - it's so much cuter than it looked online:

Sesame Street Live!

We took the kids to Sesame Street Live yesterday, and they had TONS of fun! They sat so well throughout the whole show, and were both clapping, singing and waving to all the characters. Elmo was the definite favorite as it seemed to be for most of the kids there - it seemed that everyone had an Elmo shirt on! The show was very well done, the singing and dancing was great, and it was alot of fun!

They sold all kinds of souvenirs, but it seemed like the cotton candy was at the top of the list for most of the kids. I am not so sure that an arena full of toddlers all hopped up on cotton candy is a good idea, but we had to succumb as well. During intermission a guy came out with about 200 Elmo balloons, so Paul took the kids down to get one thinking they wouldn't be too expensive. Well, after standing in a long line he discovered that they were TEN DOLLARS!!! For a stupid balloon!!! It really is a good strategy on their part - get the kids excited, get the parents to stand in a long line and don't tell the price, so that parents are forced to buy the severely overpriced balloon (which better be filled with Gold confetti) just to avoid a major tantrum. So, Paul made a deal with Thomas to get the $4 cotton candy instead of a balloon. Sophia still got a balloon. Luckily, we went to the 10:30am show, so Thomas had all day to burn off all that sugar! At least the balloon is mylar and we should be able to enjoy Elmo's head in our living room for awhile.

Sophia was so great throughout the show considering she'd had a fever for the past 2 days. Thankfully, it was gone the morning of the show. But, she threw a very impressive tantrum the ENTIRE way home - all 35 minutes. She was totally pooped and took a good nap. Thomas and Paul later went to the Monster truck show with some friends leaving me and Sophia to have much enjoyed girl time together!

Happier Things . . .

On a happier note, I have been getting ready for baby Zoe's arrival! I just ordered her bedding because I saw it was on sale, so I can't wait to get it!! Here's a picture:

I ordered it from The Gap, and I just LOVED the colors and the pattern. We have also cleaned out the downstairs office, which will be her temporary bedroom until I don't have to feed her in the middle of the night anymore and we are getting ready to set up the crib so everything will be ready. She will sleep in the pack-n-play bassinet in our room for awhile, but I like having things ready.

I've also washed and sorted through all of Sophia's old baby clothes and there's definitely not as much as I thought. I think I gave some away and threw away clothes that were ruined. But, that just means I get to go shopping!! I also got the little outfit and matching blanket I want to bring her home from the hospital in. It's soo cute! Here's a picture:

We've also started seriously potty training Sophia - we started on Wednesday and yesterday (Friday) she didn't have any accidents at school!!!! She had 2 when she came home, but still, she's doing awesome! And, she of course loves her new Dora and Minnie Mouse 'underpanties' (that's what she calls them - Thomas calls his 'underwears'). So, she's doing well. We are getting ready for Thomas to turn 4 next week (on the same day my 'little' brother turns the BIG 3-0!!! Both kids have been telling everyone who will listen about their new sister and all the things they will do to help. Thomas said he will bring her one of his blankets and Sophia is very excited about helping to feed a bottle to her (she may be disappointed that she won't have a bottle for awhile, but hopefully she'll be equally excited about holding her and covering her with blankets!). So, things are going well around the house. I'm slowing down significantly, but that's just what happens!!