It's me again.

So it's been awhile since I've written. Something about adjusting to a newborn, having four kids and a husband home from school, and some other changes I've been making (more about that later) has left me little time to write. I'm hoping in the next few weeks to start some summer reflections. Until then know that everyone here is healthy and we "just keep swimming" through our day.

Celebration Extravaganza!

It was such a beautiful weekend! Not only was the weather wonderful, but our family had much to celebrate. Rebecca received her First Communion, Blaise was baptized and Katie turned 4 this week.

I love baptisms. Bringing new life into the church, hearing the words of blessing and encouragement remind me that I'm not alone.

Thanks to Fr. Brian for getting us in before First Communion and
our Godparents left the country!

I love the smell of Chrism oil. I still find myself smelling Blaise's head, yes it still has the scent of the oil.

Blessing over Blaise.

One of my favorite parts of the rite is:
"The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father."

What more could I ask for my newest little man?

With Godparents Aunt Tyann and Uncle Bob.

Next stop, First Communion. Becca has been waiting for this day since Clare's First Communion two years ago.  She looked absolutely beautiful!

Becca waiting for Mass to start.

Between celebrating the two sacraments and that some of my favorite "church songs" were part of the liturgy this mom couldn't help but wipe back a few tears.

Fr. Brian, Becca and Blaise.

Finally we also celebrated Katie's fourth birthday. We took advantage of  having so many of our family and friends around and made the most of the day! What do you make for a kid that doesn't like cake or cookies or brownies?  An ice cream cake of course! 

She really did have fun! Just making faces for having to take pictures instead of play! 

Just when you think you have it all figured out.

This is not the first time I've been induced. I knew what to expect, how long it should take and what I needed to do to help speed my recovery. I had it all figured out.

Morning of induction 39 weeks 4 days!

7:00am arrive at hospital
8:00am iv started antibiotics and other induction meds begin
1:30pm holding beautiful new baby boy in my arms

Well my plan was pretty much blown from the get go, but I had no idea how far off it would go.

8:30am antibiotics started
9:30am induction meds begin
1:30pm very little progress made and my doctor is held up at the other hospital. There goes my timeline!
4:30pm Doctor comes to break my water and so begins the whirl wind. This part of the story is a little lot hazy for me as I was on pain meds by now. Within 5 minutes several alarms started sounding, my nurse tried to readjust the monitors, but that didn't seem to be helping. More and more nurses started coming into the room I was given oxygen and my doctor was called back in. At some point after my water was broken baby boy put his hand on the top of his head and brought the umbilical cord down with him. After trying to re-position baby it was decided we needed a c-section. Since I don't do epidurals and there wasn't time to get one now, I was put under for the surgery. Last thing I remember is being told to breath deep.
4:47pm time listed on Blaise Alexander Madden's birth certificate paperwork.

8lbs. 8oz. 21 inches long

I don't remember a lot about the rest of the evening. I don't remember holding him for the first time, I don't remember being moved from one room to another. I remember bits and pieces and have watched video. Things continue to come to me, mostly ridiculous things I said. My husband did a fantastic job holding our little guy and documenting those hours I lost during recovery. Recovering from a c-section is much different than what I'm use to. I don't exactly sit still well. I am doing my best to follow all the "rules."

The crew coming to meet Blaise for the first time.

The next day the kids came to meet their little brother, I was in no condition to have the kids visit me the night before. We let them go to school late so we could have some time together. So few things warm my heart like watching the instant love the kids offer. They were so excited to get a turn to hold the baby, all had big smiles on their faces and rarely left the couch just so they could see him a little longer. Corbin is having a little trouble adjusting he fluctuates between being jealous to being extermely possessive of Blaise not allowing anyone else to hold him. The older kids love helping with him.

This is probably one of my favorite photos! I 

We already know like his big brothers, Blaise has hemophilia. Right now we don't do anything with it unless there is a big problem.  As to Corbin's news...his inhibitor levels went up this month instead of down so that is a little obstacle but we knew there would be some bumps in the road.

My boys. Kolbe 11 years, Corbin 20 months, Blaise 1 day!

Timing is Everything

Corbin threw me another curve ball last week. For once it wasn't medically related, he's decided he's done with diapers. Yes, I know I should be completely over joyed I mean who wouldn't be happy to have their child out of diapers before they turn two. But honestly I think his timing stinks! The new baby comes home in just 2 weeks...sounds like a recipe for disaster to me!

I really shouldn't have been too surprised. I mean his sisters all trained very early between 16 and 18 months but he's a boy, I was already planning on  actually and you'd think by now I'd be a pro. I was thinking about all the kids I've had in my care over the years and I think I've had a hand in potty training around 20 kids! Believe it or not, including Corbin only 5 of those were boys and two of those were "mostly" potty trained before they started with me. So really, I'm no expert!

I have to say he's been the easiest ever! We've had just a couple "puddles" on the floor. He was even dry all day when in Kansas City! I must say I am super impressed with that one because he was with his Dad! So here's to the prospect of being a diaperless house! (If even for a few days!)

More good news!

Wednesday Corbin went up to Children's for his monthly inhibitor level check. I was hoping they would be lower but trying not to get my hopes up. Thursday we got the news his levels went down by about half! I am so excited they seem to be dropping quickly, but it also makes me a little nervous about the next step of actually getting rid of the inhibitor.

That still seems like it will be a long time from now, probably because of the more pressing issue of baby coming in just a few more weeks! Nesting is starting to set in, wanting to get everything cleaned up and ready. Been fighting the urge to get his clothes out washed and put away, not sure where they will go just yet. So much organizing and rearranging to be done. Good thing this week is spring break, I should have some extra time to get some things ready. And of course I'll have extra hands around to help out! I'm not sure the family understands what I have in store for them. Wish me luck!

Road Trip!

With just a little over a month until we welcome our newest addition we have a few things we need to get done. One of the fun things is a little family tradition we have, making a gift from the big sibs to their new baby. So, off to Kansas City we go!

After a quick trip to USA Baby for a sit and stand stroller it's on to Oak Park Mall and Build a Bear!

Don't we all look so excited about our new ride! Well, this mom is pretty excited! 

Picking out a bear for our new brother. Grandma Karen and Aunt Cindy were able to join us! Believe it or not we all agreed on one and we don't have any duplicate bears!

This is probably my favorite part. Each kid gets their own heart to put in the bear, the staff has always been great about us taking so many hearts for one bear! We followed all the directions, warming the heart, hugging it, and finally giving it a kiss and making a wish for our new baby!

Everyone got a turn to wash the bear before the hard part....picking out clothes!

Corbin likes his new ride and gave the bear lots of snuggles! 

We ended our visit at Oak Park Mall with a ride on the Carousel. Thanks Aunt Cindy! 

This is what it looked like when we finally made it home! So tired! It was a quick trip and we weren't able to catch up with any of our fantastic friends that live in KC, but I was able to cross a couple of items off my pre-baby to get list!

War on Clutter

We're at war at the Madden house. It's a war on paper clutter. We had been losing, sure we'd win a battle here or there, but stacks of paper were on just about every surface of my kitchen counters. Then earlier this week I helped my oldest clear out several months of graded papers from his book bag. Wonder how that happened? I've decided I (we) need to set a better example.

See, I use to be so organized. Once upon a time, my tables were all clear, my files were all updated and in there proper places and I could tell you where to find things. Now horizontal space is fair game for stacking "stuff", my files are in boxes waiting to be dealt with and I may know where something is, but I have to be the one to get it. I can't just tell you where it is. (This makes my husband a little crazy.)

Now you may be thinking, "of course you have lots of paper. You have several kids in school and two home businesses." This is true, but I really believe it doesn't mean we have to live in a state of CHAOS! I do not expect my house to look like a page out of Better Homes and Gardens. But I think in our crazy schedule a little more organization could bring us some peace. I've been reading "Absolutely Organize Your Family: Simple Solutions to Control Clutter, Schedules &Spaces"

It has some good ideas, some of which we've already done. Like start planning our summer calendar, granted some of that was from necessity. Camp enrollment already started and these camps fill quickly. By having our swim meets and other activities already on the calendar we could see when a good week would be for us. Other ideas just won't work for us, and that's ok. It's not about following someone else's plan, but finding a balance that works for us. I've done Flylady I really liked it. I felt like I got things done, my house was presentable and I liked the "you can do anything for 15 minutes" concept. Just not sure it's completely for us either.

Bottom line. Somethings gotta give around here! I spent yesterday getting rid of the paper clutter in my kitchen, it felt great! The kids pitched in getting rid of papers that weren't important to them. I know it's going to be important to have their help completing and maintaining this process. We believe in chores around here. And no they don't get allowance for them. But that's another post altogether.