867 people have seen my boobs.

About a week ago I got gutsy enough to post the video of Hailey's birth to youtube.  I have now joined the legions of naked women giving birth in their homes on youtube.  I originally uploaded it so my sister could see it.  I didn't really think I would suddenly be getting so much traffic to it.

But, I think it's kind of cool now.

If you want to see it or share it with anyone here's the link: http://youtu.be/uvgibkTXCu0 (my sister is sharing it with other people she knows already).  I wonder if it is any different than you remember?  I definitely thought I was way crazier than I really was and when Hailey was first in my arms, I was completely unaware that she wasn't breathing or looked so blue.

Today was our 7th Anniversary.  I dropped the kids off with Jeremy's parents and then met him on Bainbridge Island for our date.  It was so sunny and warm!  First we stopped by Jeremy's aunt's tattoo parlor, and I got two new pieces of artwork to take home (most painful ones, yet!).

I love them.  I posted more pictures from the day on my wordpress blog, but only you lovely ladies get to see my finished tattoos.

I was trying to get these to go in a different order, but blogger is not cooperating.  So, first a random picture of Hailey from the park this week!  This is one of her "moves" that she does.  She will pose in it and then look at you and wait for some kind of response.  Normally she has her mouth wide open, so I was lucky to get her with a decent expression.

Before I got the tattoo, she was telling me that the side of the ribcage is really painful.  Then a guy walked in to ask about her rates and when she told him I was getting one there, he was like "oooh...good luck!".  At first I got a little scared, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  I am definitely glad I didn't get anything bigger, though!

After that, we walked down to the new art museum where she has her art on display.  We grabbed a coffee, walked through some shops downtown, and then went out for Indian food for dinner.  The food really wasn't that great - I think I make better curry at home - but no one was there other than us.  It was fun to just sit and talk and not have lots of noise or distractions.

We took our time before heading home just walking around and sitting and talking.  I love bainbridge because there are so many awesome little coffee shops and outdoor seating areas.  It was so warm and light out, we lingered as long as we could before going back to get the kids.

And they had an awesome time.  Shea was saying "Thank you mommy for letting me be at gramma and papa's all day!" ha ha.  Gotta love it when your kids think babysitting is a treat!

This week is a little busy and my last week before school begins.  We have all been sick since last Wednesday (hailey threw up and then it turned into a cold which all of us got and are still getting over), but thankfully are on the mend now.

Candice - this is just randomly in response to your last comment.  I made the pattern myself - they have fit Hailey since she was 6 months old, and it also fit Shea when he was just over 3, so I'm sure they will last her until her diaper wearing days are over.  I'm not sure about a smaller baby, but I'm sure you could adjust the pattern.  I would be happy to trace it and send it to you, or give it to you when you come out for your trip!

Goodnight!

Amazing Life

I believe I've told each of you that Joe and I are getting licensed to become adoptive parents.  It's really happening, people!  I mean REALLY!  We have all our paperwork turned in, and the licensor visits our house on Tuesday for the first of three meetings.  These meetings are interviews, home study, and going over paperwork.

In April Joe and I will get CPR/First Aid/BBP-HIV training certified.

In May I attend a 24-hour "Caregiver Core Training" class.

We have purchased a bunk bed and mattresses and bedding and a gun safe and a medication safe and Joe is finishing up the master bathroom shower, and we have handrails up on the stairs.

And I am frantically organizing and cleaning which isn't really that necessary, but she's going to want to go through all our cupboards and drawers and I want to do my part to make us look functional.  Some things are not going to get done and I have accepted that:

-The garage is going to be an inaccessible mess
-The beds will not be set up
-The lawn will not be mowed
-Joe's office and the spare room that has boxes of Joe's stuff will be most inaccessible

Joe worked 6 days last week and is working 6 days this week so he can't do this stuff and he has refused to ask for help...sigh. 

SO.  I have a friend coming on Sunday to help me clean and a cousin coming on Monday to finish up anything else that needs doing.  The last two days I've been unnaturally strong, resting for about 30 minutes and then doing stuff for 10 minutes.  I want to look as able as possible when the licensor comes, so on Tuesday I am going to stay absolutely still until she comes, so I can show that I am capable.

So today I tidied and cleaned the kitchen (this after making a BIG dinner last night of corned beef, brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes, and soda bread!), tidied and dusted the living room, and have started on my desk, which is the most difficult because I keep running across things I must do before I continue the process.

I know this is a boring post all about "doing doing doing" but I have nothing else on my mind right now!  It feels good to have something with a deadline.  I miss that about working.

Oh and laundry is DONE for the first time in weeks.

This is mostly just a haphazard true "bragger" post.  I am just so happy to have our lives moving in some direction.  And you all know how I have longed to foster or adopt, but was waiting to see if Joe would want to, and suddenly he did!  God is incredible.  Nothing could have made Joe want this except the Lord.  It's really, really happening.

We don't know exactly what it'll look like.  We know the girls we want - sisters who are 14 and 15 - but we don't know if they will still be available by the time we get licensed, or even if we would get accepted to adopt them.  But we DO know that sometime eventually we will adopt or foster children (the licensing process allows us to either foster or adopt).  So that is something to look forward to, even if we don't get these girls.

Even though they have a profile online I don't want to post the link here, so let me know if you want it and I'll facebook it to you!

Life lately- quick update while baby snoozes

Eli is an amazing sleeper at night and for his morning nap, afternoons are another story.  He refuses any and all afternoon naps most days and we end the day quite tired at 7pm when he nurses and goes to bed. Oh man, I can't wait till I figure out afternoon naps with this dude so we are all happier!  He is teething now though so that isn't helping the situation. So much drool, fist chewing and sucking, and evening fussies going on at the Fernandez Household these days. 

Even though afternoons are tiring we have awesome days together. Lots of wiggles, snuggling, nursing, and smiles. Oh and sneezes, how cute are these pictures of him during his sneeze sequence? Haha. 

I have gotten better at tying this wrap forward facing since this picture, but it was quite fun to shop with him like this. The only problem is that he got tired and wanted to nap but had no where to rest his head poor guy. We went to Costco next and I left him in his car seat and he snoozed. 

Eli's two month check up was a doozy.  He got 3 pokes and multiple shots and an oral medication. He was a champ though and only got a little fussy in the evening, but no fussiness (this was before teething). 

Eric and Eli like to wiggle together during the day.  My cats have gotten sooooooo needy since I am home all day now, its enough to drive that mama batty! 

Eli has started gazing into my eyes and smiling and making tons of facial expressions, I love every second of it. 

We celebrated Joe's birthday at my in-laws house and Nana and Grandpa came to see Eli (well and us but mostly Eli).  I am so glad Eli gets to grow up around his great grandparents and I love the love I see radiating out of them when they see him. 

Some of the many faces of Eli.  We have only gotten to hang out outside once so far but he loved it!  I plan on hanging out in the back yard every nice summer day.  We also have a few parks that are really close so we will go to those when he is old enough. 

We went to Moses Lake this last weekend and it was wonderful.  Paul ended up getting friday-sunday off and we headed over at 8am friday during Eli's nap and he slept the entire car ride, it was great! Lots of grandpa and grandma snuggles, picked up a bountiful basket, wiggled and smiled at everyone, played with the blocks my dad is making for Eli (they still arent sanded down so that's why they are still in ML), and flew a remote control plane outside! 

Yesterday I took a 45 minute walk outside with Eli strapped in the Ergo.  He got to wear his big boy jacket and stayed awake for most of the time, gave into his sleepiness at the end.  The cherry blossoms are in bloom, that means spring is here! I love seeing everything budding all around me, it gives me a sense of peace and hope, and makes me so excited for summer. I have had enough of this darkness doom and gloom weather. 

Eli was really fussy at dinner last night and I was trying to make corned beef and cabbage for the first time and needed to be in the kitchen so I strapped him in the wrap, oh man I started laughing when I saw him in the mirror.  Little floating baby head and extremities since I had taken his pants off for his nap! He pooped and it squirted out of his diaper while in the wrap, um gross, thanks dude! I washed everything right away so it wouldn't stain, baby poo is crazy like that.  

He got this sweet outfit from one of our friends. I usually dress him in onesies and leggings, because that is all I have but also because I think everything else is too much work. Well, I LOVE this outfit and can't wait for him to wear it more.  It's 3-6 month size so he will be wearing it as much as possible during this time! 

I went to a dentist appt this morning and luckily my MIL was able to come over and watch Eli. Paul was supposed to be off but his days changed  and I thought I was going to cancel my appt because of crazy insurance stuff (having to switch to Pauls once I lose mine when I officially go per diem) but it all worked out and I went.  Eli ususally sleeps 3-4 hours in the morning, but I swear he knows when I leave the house even when he is sleeping and he woke up!  He was happy for Kathy though which was good and I came home to my sweet awake boy and put him back to bed, where he still is! Silly man. :) 

And there is Eleanor the freak, she runs ahead of me and plops on all the stairs, one day I am going to trip on her because when I am carrying Eli she is hard to see! 

I just finished labeling a bunch of boxes, setting up an early savers savings account for Eli at Becu and now I am going to eat lunch and pray my baby sleeps a bit longer so I can organize our guest room closet.  Exciting life I live :). 

feeling good

We have been observing lent this year again, and we are almost finished with the first full week.  It has actually been much easier this time, but I have been so tired every day this week...until today!  We have been doing a few fast days, and although I haven't actually felt crazy hungry on those days or anything, I have been completely drained of energy and fatigued and ready for bed at like 8PM.  I must have finally caught up (and gotten over my caffeine withdrawals), because today I have felt so so so good - much better than I have in a while.

Even in the midst of being tired, this week has been full and good.  I have had to spend a little bit more time up at the church doing bookkeeper duties, because the treasurer is still out of town, and apparently not getting back until April 1st now.  I didn't realize I would be doing as much for so long, but it has been okay.  Wednesday we had preschool in the morning and then ended up going to Wise Acres (a sort of intentional community in Indianola where some friends of ours live) for a last minute invitation to their weekly shared meal, and then we rushed home for youth group at our house again.  Two girls came, so we ended up just playing balderdash and chatting.  It was nice and relaxed.

Thursday morning I dropped the kids off with Jeremy's mom and then drove out to Bremerton to get more school stuff sorted out.  I'm registered for classes and ordered my books yesterday.  I stopped in the childcare area to talk with someone to see if there were any options I may have not heard about.  Turns out I spoke with the right person and it looks like as long as their is space, the kids will be able to be in a preschool class during the hours I need afterall.  I reworked my schedule again for that campus and it if it works out, they will only have to be there for just over 3 hours 4 days a week in the fall.  We are on the waitlist, so hopefully I don't have to come up with an alternative.

The other day, Jeremy came home with 4 garbage bags FULL of beautiful fabric samples from a lady he met washing her windows.  I called and thanked the lady and she actually has a ton more for me.  She works in some kind of embellishing business and these were all of her old samples she used for clients.  She is moving to Texas and was just getting rid of them.  Super high quality and beautiful stuff.  I can make soooo many things from this.  Some time next week I am going to go out and get the rest.  I just have to figure out where to store it.

I got inspired to clean out our office a little bit.  It has finally gotten warm enough the last few days that it's tolerable to be in there without freezing to death.  I did some purging and organizing and we moved a bookshelf.  I also finished up some projects that have been laying on my desk for months.  Hemmed some pants for Jeremy, and made up some more cloth wipes and diapers for Hailey.  One diaper I had to fix and two others (one shown in the picture below) have been cut out I just hadn't put them together.  They turned out really nice and I'm glad to be able to stretch how often I do the diaper laundry by another day now.

This morning we went out to Silverdale and ran a few errands.  We stopped by Goodwill and Shea found these awesome Buzz Lightyear wings for a few bucks!  Couldn't say no to that.  He was running around all night in them and when he found them he was so excited, he was almost crying.  At dinner he prayed, "I am very, very, VERY Thankful for my new buzz costume!".  Hailey had to try them out for a minute, so here is buzz and woody sort of posing.

With sunnier, longer days, we have been enjoying taking a walk after dinner each night.  The beach is always gorgeous no matter when we are there, but I love it just before sunset.  It's always so calm and quiet.  I am getting excited for summer!

And of course we have been out in the yard a lot!  I took out this old sweater that Shea used to wear when he was Hailey's age for fun and put it on her.  Its fun to see her in some of Shea's old clothes.  Hailey loves to be outside now and is constantly watering things with her little watering can.  She keeps herself very busy while I'm out gardening.

I moved 10 or 12 rose bushes this week to the other garden bed.  I cleared out where the roses used to be and treated the soil with lime and some organic fertilizer.  In a couple of weeks I can plant our peas!

Pregnancy Post!

Finally! I've been planning on posting for about a week now and either I'll forget or I'll have something else I have to get to...this has been a long week!

Before further adieu, here is my first bump picture! 15 weeks!

My bump seems to have gotten a lot bigger just this week, I feel like I'm in that funny stage between normal clothes and maternity clothes.  I have to be more strategic about what I wear.  I wish I could wear more dresses, but it's been so cold lately.  I wore a dress when I took this picture on Tuesday when it was 41F (yes it felt warm enough to stand outside for the photo) and then on Wednesday we got 5 inches of snow, now we're back to -5F.

It's been so fun thinking about the baby and anticipating all things that are going to come.  I can't stop thinking about our baby, I've been looking up ideas for baby rooms, looking at pregnancy websites and stalking all my friends on fb that are either pregnant or have kids...haha.

I also have some ultrasound photos I want to share too!

We had our first ultrasound at 6 weeks to get an accurate date, then a follow up one at 8 weeks.  This one was at 14 weeks.  We're going to find out the sex at 20 weeks and I just can't wait! It's been so fun to see how much are baby has grown at each stage.  I knew babies developed quickly, but I hadn't realized how fast it was that they looked like babies.

Like I mentioned before I had a long week.  On Tuesday I took some students on a historical house tour and baking activity, so that meant that I got home 2 hours later, and then again today I worked an extra 2 hours tutoring a student after school.  I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday!

Justin has a big professional exam on Monday.  The way he explains it is that it's like the bar exam for urban planners.  He had to have two years of work experience to take it and when he passes, he'll officially be an urban planner.  Having this designation will open up more job opportunities for him. He's been studying a lot for it and will be studying all weekend.  It's nice because I have a lot of 'me' time, but things don't feel like they are normal around here while Justin is off studying and it's something that weighs on him, so I'm really looking forward to having it over.

One project I've started working on is a baby quilt for one of my close friends who is expecting.  Last weekend I picked out the fabric.  My plan is to do a chevron-style quilt.  I ironed out the fabric last night and I'm excited to start cutting out the pieces!

Angela and Becca did you ever have bad 'baby brain' while you were pregnant?  I have never been so forgetful in my life!  I am so bad at remembering students' names now and I keep misplacing things and just completely forgetting things.  Sometimes I just feel like I'm losing my mind!  

haha I feel like I was going to write about something else, but I can't remember! 

Well I should get off the couch, we have friends spending the night tomorrow, so the more I get ready for that now the happier I'll be tomorrow after work. My goal: get the guest room ready and then bed. 

chickens are out

It's been a busy weekend!  We got the chicken coop finished (by we, I mean my father in law and Jeremy) and outside and have some happy chickens who spend their days outside pecking.  

It's funny how much more they like people now too!  When I walk up to the fence, they actually come toward me rather than jump away and cower in a corner.  Jeremy's dad did such an amazing job on the coop!  It has lots of doors for access and when they start to lay their eggs, we can just lift a lid over their nesting boxes and pull out the eggs.  

We have had fun giving them scraps now, too.  Shea likes to go out with a little bucket and toss it in to them. Today was the first time I had to shoo a dog away from the coop, too.  An animal could definitely get into the fenced area if they tried, so we keep an eye on them during the day and lock them up in their coop at night.  They are such little work now - I am so glad they are no longer in the garage!

Today it stopped raining for a little bit and the sun was shining, so I had the kids get their boots and coats on and we headed out to the yard.  I was hoping to start moving the rose bushes, but I treated my garden beds with lime and then started pruning back our hydrangea bush when it started to pour!  Oh well.  At least I got the lime in.  Yesterday Shea and I planted a bunch of starts for our garden.  So far we have bell and hot peppers, three varietys of heirloom tomatoes, jade cauliflower, some herbs and chamomile, and I planted something else but can't remember what it was!  Once I get some compost and stuff in the beds (hopefully in a week) I am planning on planting our greens and peas.  I am getting super anxious to get out there before school starts, so I hope that we have some nice days this week.

Last Tuesday I took the math placement test (I only got a 73.  I basically had to get every single question right to test out of math99) so I will have a little bit of a heavier load throughout the year, but it doesn't look like it will be too bad.  I am going in on Friday to meet with my adviser and register for classes, which start in three weeks from today.

The other night, Jeremy and I were up so late just talking and dreaming and making plans for the next 5ish years.  It was so fun to map out our goals and think about the possibilities.  It has been kind of freeing to not be looking for any ministry jobs and to just be pursuing these dreams we have.  I mean, of course our plans might not happen exactly the way we are envisioning them now.  Becoming a midwife is probably going to take me at least 6 years to become certified at the pace I plan on going.  I am planning on taking a break after I finish my AA so we can save up and I be with the kids full-time another year or two until they are school aged.  Community College doesn't look like it will be too taxing on my time away from the kids with the way I am able to spread classes out, but Bastyr is a demanding program and will be a huge time commitment.  I'm not willing to miss out on this time of their lives, and having that perspective makes my end goal not feel like it will never happen.  I can just take my time.

We are even talking tentatively about moving to Bainbridge Island in 2 to 3 years, if things work out.  It would make a lot of things easier.  Jeremy already works on the Island and has connections there through work, plus he grew up there.  They also have one of the best school districts in the state and its a great central location for me to pursue midwifery.  Jeremy wants to complete some schooling at the Seattle School of Theology too, so both of us would want to be close to the ferry for commuting.

SO lots to look forward to and work toward.  We will see how it all pans out, but having a bit of a plan helps me not get so overwhelmed right now with everything.  I like having these stages so I can focus on certain things and not worry so much about the next thing before I get there.

I took a break from writing this post and just got the kids down for their rest time.  They were running around the house giving each other hugs and saying "we looooove each other" (ok, so Shea was saying that, and Hailey was just giggling like a silly little girl).  They have been big on hugging lately.  Cute, but the chasing part of their game was getting old fast.  I read Shea the first chapter of the next Ramona book and Hailey her toy story book.  Now I have two baskets of laundry to fold, lunch dishes to clean and put away, and some food to prep for the week before my Mom and brother stop by.  But the sun just came out and I am tempted to leave it and go out to do more yard...

Baby is sleeping, house is clean, I have a moment to blog

I have been really bad about checking my work email, I feel like if I ignore it then it means I don't have to think about how I am going to have to deal with it?  Anyway I had been emailing my manager as I mentioned before and she said she was getting approval for per diem. Well a coworker and friend texted me and said I was off the schedule and I just got a call from another coworker asking me to pick up 3 twelve hour shifts in May because her vacation was denied and she heard through our manager I was going per diem.  I guess that means everything went through correctly! I am not going to agree to pick up the shifts until closer to the date since they are twelve hour shifts and as of right now that means I would miss 4/5 feedings...that doesn't sound very fun to me, but may is a long way away, so we shall see. 

The weather has been awful the last week or so and Eli and I have missed going on walks so we have been kinda housebound.  I don't like going out on errands and stuff either because I want to figure out his nap schedule and every single errand, whether it be an hour or 4 hours messes up the nap schedule so I can't figure out what his normal should be.  That being said our errand days now take forever because I let everything build up, definitely not worth messing up naps to go to one store! Now, he is a really good baby when we go on errands and sleeps in the car and is happy the whole time, the problem is he cat naps and then he is super tired, fussy, grumpy in the evening but doesn't want to go to bed.  I can't wait to know his schedule and how to keep him happy, because let me tell you, when I have a well rested baby he is all smiles and giggles all day long, and those are the days I don't go anywhere. 

Eli slept 7 hours once and the next night slept 7.5 but then he was back to sleeping his 5.5 hour stretch, which is still good for 9 weeks but man that 7.5 was amazing!  He goes to bed at 8pm every night and has been waking up at 1:30 and then 5 or 5:30 for the day. Yes, that early for the day! He doesn't wake up because he is hungry, just because he is well rested, this makes for one tired mama and I have gotten better at napping a few hours when he goes down for his morning nap which is usually 7am-11am.  

One night Eli was super fussy so even though I had gone on a walk with Kathy in the morning Paul and I went on a walk in the evening to hold little man over till it was time to eat again and go to bed. 

We have started sitting in the bumbo a couple days a week and little man thinks it is super rad. He turns his head back and forth back and forth to see all the lights and pictures. Everything looks so much different when sitting up! 

Eli continues to look more and more like his daddy and it makes me so happy!  We go to Paul's work and visit him once a week.  I get swarmed by all the employees when I show up. I love how they all love Eli. :) 

We went on a hike off of Hwy 18 so Paul could break in his new hunting/hiking boots that he is going to wear while turkey hunting in April. This was probably the first walk Paul wanted to turn around before I gave out because he was wearing two layers of shirts, Eli, and had new boots on. He was so hot and tired and it was crazy elevation gain.  It was good exercise and quite fun though! 

My Aunt Betsy made Eli the most amazing quilt, his name is quilted into the quilt along with all the swirls, it is most definitely a piece to be treasured!

My parents were in town this last weekend, they hadn't seen Eli since the superbowl when he was 4 weeks old, and he is 9 weeks old now! (8 when they visited)  It's crazy how much he has changed, every day, every week brings so many new things with a baby! I love every second of it.

I was holding Eli like I did when he was a new born, out on my arms so I could stare into his sweet eyes (except he decided to fall asleep) and then it hit me how much bigger he has gotten!  His face is so full, his legs more thick, I mean I see him every day and don't notice the growth change until I just sit down and reminisce of "old" pictures when he was born. :) The day all these pictures were taken Eli was boycotting all his naps, well he would go down for a nap but instead of a few hours he would sleep 30-45 minutes, we were both so tired by the end of the day but we went to coldstone as a distraction before bedtime, and to finish off our giftcards that we have had for a few years! Eli loved all the lights and kept whipping his head back and forth back and forth all over the place, it was adorable. 

Paul was off on Tuesday, Wednesday this week and we just hung out together, it was wonderful.  No agenda just time with baby.  We did have Eli's 2 month appt on Wednesday, which I had made not  knowing if Paul would be able to go, so glad he was off!  Eli did so good during the whole appt and only screamed for about a minute as they gave the shots and calmed down 20 seconds after coming into my arms again, what a trooper. Paul said I could still go swimming even though little man was very possibly going to get fussy when we got home, but I went and Eli went down for a nap after having a bit of tylenol for Paul. When he woke up he was kinda fussy, more inconsolable than normal but truly not that bad. He got to nurse as much as he wanted (even when he had just nursed, usually I make him spread out feedings a bit so that he is efficient instead of just snacking every hour and a half). Paul and I took turns walking him around the house and trying to cuddle our non cuddly boy. 

I finally attached one of Eli's pacifiers to this monkey and it is so nice to help keep it in his mouth, and he runs his fingers over the monkeys head as he falls asleep, it's pretty adorable.

Also, that moses basket, it was one of the items I was so excited to use, the item I bought because I love how it looked not because of functionality. Well Eli slept in it one night and has napped in it twice since he needed to be at more of an angle for the first bit of his life so he wouldn't gag on spit up due to his reflux.  Now he sleeps/naps in his crib or the swing and so I have decided to sell it. I was wondering how I was going to store it for the next baby because I was just sure Eli would sleep in it, wrong. Haha, at least my storage problems are solved.  Babies definitely call the shots.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!