Today's fun brought to you by LMNOP...

Today was such a fun day! We were so busy today, and it was unexpected (as I thought we'd lounge  at home), but instead we did some running around!

L: We hit up the Library! One place my children absolutely Love, is the Library! It is Lovely!

She moved.

Books fun!

M: Ronald McDonald came to the library, for a visit, and put on a Magic show. It was Magnificent! Daphne and Charly didn't want to watch, so instead played, but Oliver and Kenna Marveled in it's glory. :)

He is in a trance!

N: No Need to say No today! Taco Bell for lunch had the kids cheering! Some might say "Nasty!", but Not my children! They enjoyed every 'tasty' bite! 

O: They also asked for Starbucks after the library! Obviously, this family loves Starbucks! Of course, I said YES!

 

 P: When Kenna got home today, the first words out of her mouth were "Can we go get my ears Pierced?"Say what?!?!?! Well, we decided we were going to do just that! In the Process, Daphne decided she also wanted to get her ears Pierced. Ok! I warned them of the Pinch of Pain that comes with it, but they were still super Pushy that they NEEDED this. :) So, off we went! They Picked out their earrings, and Poof...done! They did exceptionally well. I was quite Proud!! They Picked out other earrings, so they can change them when their 6 weeks was up! They couldn't wait to get a mirror, to see the finished Product! Then, the asked to get their Picture taken! They have told EVERYONE today of their excursion...the librarians. Ronald McDonald. The cashier. My friends. They couldn't contain themselves! Kenna got Elsa, and Daphne got rainbow flowers.

It was a glorious trip, with loads of fun! I'm so glad my kids had so much fun today!

Funday! Funday! Kind of...

We spent Tuesday afternoon at the sprayground, at a local park! The kids had a good time, but was ruined by 2 kids repeatedly running up to my kids (with cups filled with water, in their hands) and throwing it in their faces. Multiple times, this happened. Twice, one kid got Kenna in the eyes, when she asked them at least once, not to throw water on her. The first time I saw it happen, I went to him, and said "Hey. Please don't throw water in her face. That hurts, and is unacceptable. Okay?" To which he said "Okay". Wasn't 5 minutes later, when Kenna was standing next to me, and he did it again. Seriously?!?!?! So, I yelled at him. "Hey!! Remember, when I said not to throw water in her face; I wasn't kidding". He responded "I heard you the first time." Ugh! Brat! So, I told him not to do it again, with a finger point and my best Mommy voice. This type of behavior is absolutely not okay, and I would not let my kids get away with this. Finally, his Dad called him over. I think Dad was upset because I yelled at his kid, because he gave me the stink eye. Guess what, I don't care. Don't mess with my babies! Anyhow...other than those kids, my children had a fabulous time. This was Oliver's first experience with a sprayground, and he LOVED it!

 After, we had an ice cream/icee break. :) 

 Then, we went home, and Kenna prepared for her first sleepover, that is NOT family! It was such a busy day, and Kenna was so excited for the sleepover, that she could barely wait until 5pm to get here, so I could drop her off. She asked every 30-45 minutes, "How long until 5pm?" It was great! I loved her enthusiasm. :)

Who doesn't love a great birthing story?!?!

Oh my goodness. It's been two years since my last blog. There is so much to update the world on. I had a SON, in February 2014. His birth story is a pretty amazing one...so, I'll start there. :)

My husband and I had decided that after our third daughter (born in 2011) that we were finished having babies. My husband, I think, always wanted a son, but worried that if we "tried just one more time" that we'd end up with twins. That was a story that my nurse told us, when I was delivering my third daughter, that actually happened to her. So, I finally caved, and agreed that we should be done. Well, in June 2013, I found out, that we were being given yet another present, and that we were expecting a baby around Valentine's Day 2013. I was so excited. I had always wanted just one more. So, I did weekly maternity shoots with a friend, and tracked this pregnancy's progress closer than I ever had, because I knew THIS was my last pregnancy. Well, on September 26, 2013, I found out that we were having a BOY. I couldn't believe it. I thought I would never hear those words, even though with this pregnancy, I had 3 gender dreams, all saying BOY. I was so excited at this new adventure we were about to endure.

Last maternity shot before he came.
He was about the size of a watermelon!

So...time is getting close for baby to make his arrival. Hubby and I were still hammering out what his name was going to be. We had finally decided that his name was going to be Oliver. But, the middle name was just driving us crazy. We went back and forth, and round and round. Nothing fit right. At one point, I suggested Oliver Slade, but for those superhero lovers, you know that Oliver Queen (the Green Arrow) and Slade are enemies! I didn't want my son wrestling with himself his whole life, LOL, so we shot that one down. We also tried Oliver Cato. Cato was Green Hornet's side kick. Hubby thought it was great, and the more I heard it, it started growing on me, but then, he shot it down. Finally, we kind of gave up, and said "GARY". Why Gary, you ask?! Well, that's my husband's middle name, my father in law's middle name (but what he goes by), and my step father in law's name. So, it was perfect! We got all the important guys on my husband's side of the family. WELL...Oliver had other plans, and I guess he decided he didn't want that name. So...here's the good stuff, like so good, you wish there was a video of this!!

Delivery time is finally upon us. My sister kept telling me that Ollie was going to have the same birthday as her husband, 2/6. It's 3am, on 2/6, and I start having some pretty harsh contractions. I had been having contractions every night from midnight till 6am, for the last month, that were 2-5 minutes apart, but at some point, around 3am, they made the switch to much more uncomfortable. So, I go and wake hubby up, and tell him, I think it's time to go to the hospital. He got angry because we didn't have a plan in place for late night deliveries, and went back to bed. So, I sat on the couch (thanks honey), working through them. At 330am, he finally gets up, and asks what we're going to do. I say "I'll call my sister and have her come over and hang with the girls, just in case it's another false labor". So, I call...at this point, it's about 345am. She can't get her hubby up, to drive her over. So, she says she's going to call our Mom, and have her come over. Mind you, my Mom is 35 minutes away, in perfect weather, and we had just had an ice storm the night before. So, my Mom calls me, and asks if it's really it, and when I confirm that I really think it is, she gets off the phone, and heads on over.

Mom shows up at around 425am. I go over the school day routine, as quickly as I can, and head out. Hubby can't get the car out of our parking spot, and is basically rocking (in drive & reverse) the car, out of the spot. We get out, and off we go. At 435am, I made a facebook status (LOL) that said "I think this is it! Hospital bound...and we better get there soon!!!!!!!!Omfg!!!!" We were 10 minutes from the hospital at this point. My husband was so calm, cool and collected, and he kept saying "Your water hasn't broken yet. We have time. We will be there soon". He said that, because, with my third, when my water broke, she was born 12 minutes later, so he was trying to calm me down. Well, we make the turn to onto 5 mile (about a mile from the hospital), and my water breaks. So, I really started freaking out then. I knew he was coming, and there was no stopping him. Well, he finally (felt like 10 minutes, but I think it was like 2), turns into the hospital parking lot. When he did, I pulled my britches down. 

I knew he was coming and I couldn't wait. So, I put my hand down, and feel his head, and in that moment, I became doctor and patient. And, in one big grunt of pain/push, he was born. I breathed a sigh of relief and patted his back, in which he started fussing. In the moment, I announced "He's here", and my husband then lost his calm demeanor, yelling "Is he breathing? Is he okay? Is he breathing? Are you okay? Oh my God?!! What the Hell!". That's when the fun really begins!!! Hubby parks at the ER entrance, and runs in a yells "My wife just had a baby in the car". One guy follows him out to see what's going on. They later explained that a LOT of first time dads will yell that, and then the wife is in labor for 10 hours. Ha! Well, my experienced husband knew. So, the lonely guy comes out, and looks at me. I'm sitting in the front seat, and he looks confused. So, I Lion King-ed my baby up, so that he could see him. His eyes were as large as a hockey puck in that moment, and he runs back inside, and out with about 10 people, a gurney, and lots of blankets. It was like 5 degrees Fahrenheit. So, he yells at my husband and me, to NOT open the car. They didn't want to shock the baby. So, they get in position, and next thing I know, I'm being lifted out of the car, and blankets thrown everywhere. I had called my doctor before I left the house, so the nurses knew I was coming in. They were laughing because they had just gotten down to the ER to meet me, before they knew I'd had my son. They were joking that when looking at my file they commented on my fast deliveries. 

In the ER, they made sure my son was okay, and then took me up to the birthing center. There, I was in a triage type of room, and they had nothing prepared. So, they went searching for scissors, to cut the cord, the clamp, needle for stitches, and so on. I made them very unprepared...well, my son did. :) After all was said and done, I had a healthy baby boy that was estimated to have been born at 445am. He was 8 pounds 10 ounces, of pure bliss. He was my heaviest child, of course!

So, we announce his birth to friends and family. My husband called my Mom, when I was in the ER, and he was left to park the car. It was a crazy bit of time. But, hubby's best friend jokingly said "Since he was born in a Ford, you should name him Oliver Ford". We laughed about it, for a bit, and then about 2 hours later, we were like "Yeah. Let's do that!". So, we did! Oliver Ford was born on a cold and icy early morning, in the front seat of our Ford, at 25 miles per hour. I joke and say he is a true superhero...fast and furious. And, he's been that way ever since!
I hope you have enjoyed catching up with me, on his delivery, and I can't wait to share more FUN stories raising 3 girls & 1 boy! My kiddos never make dull days! We are loving our adventure, and living life to the fullest.

Here we are, almost 18 months later!

Swim lessons are a success!

The girls LOVED their first day of swim lessons! The teachers were great, and they really got the girls in the water, and getting comfortable. Charly and Kenna are looking forward to another day tomorrow. I'm looking forward to sleep...I'm exhausted. :)

Kenna doing the alligator crawl!

Charly doing the alligator crawl!

Daphne watching her sisters
       

Time for RIDES!!!!!

Charly is so excited that she now gets
to ride the big rides, solo!

Swings! One of Kenna's favorites!

Daphne waiting for the carousel!

Then, the girls discovered the funny mirrors! At this point, Daphne just wanted to get in the car, so she could go to sleep...so she didn't participate. But, Kenna and Charly hung out here, for about 5 minutes. They would have stayed longer if Daphne would have allowed it! It was so funny!!!

  

And, the Frog Hopper was the last ride of the day. The girls wanted to do so much more...crammed in one day. I had to remind them, that swim lessons are Monday through Thursday, for the next four weeks, so they need not worry...they'll do everything. :) Maybe tomorrow, we'll get to the paddle boats, and a whole 18 holes of putt putt (Daphne got hurt after the ninth hole, so we had to leave...thank goodness I came prepared, with band-aids!).

Overall, the day was a huge success. It wore Daphne out enough that she took a 3 1/2 hour nap this afternoon! She welcomes naps, thankfully!!!