Boy, oh boy!

So... we are officially having a sweet baby boy! I am over the moon excited and already hopelessly in love. The kids are also very excited to be having a baby brother. None of them have ever had a baby brother since Lucas is the oldest. Molly is a little unsure, in fact she cried. I promised she would love him when he gets here and that was all the consolation she needed. She is now of the opinion that we should name the baby spaghetti and meatballs! Oh, Molly! The baby is now affectionately referred to as "meatball".

Due to an anti-body that I currently have (probably from one of my miscarriages) my pregnancy is considered high-risk. Since the beginning of this pregnancy my doctor has been checking my anti-body levels monthly. The last 2 months my levels have doubled and then doubled again. Now that my anti-body levels are a little higher I have to go to the perinatologist at the hospital every 1-2 weeks to have MCA scans to check the baby for signs of anemia. It sounds kind of intimidating but, it is a level 2 ultrasound where they measure how fast the baby's blood is flowing in his brain. Too fast would be showing signs of anemia which would be cause for intervention. At that point we would need to go to a hospital in either Chicago or Milwaukee to do an intra-uterine blood transfusion. It's not likely that it will get to that point, but not impossible. If at some point the baby's anemia becomes life threatening they will deliver the baby early and treat his anemia and related issues from the outside. We have every reason to be hopeful. The plan is to keep checking the baby with the MCA scan every week or two and go from there.

I had my first scan today and everything was perfectly healthy and normal. I continue to hope and pray for continuing good news. So, I have A LOT of doctor appointments in my future but it will be great to see our sweet boy and watch him growing every week on all those scans. Here are 2 pictures of our boy from today!

Goodbye facebook, hello old friend...

So I have officially been done with facebook for about 2 weeks now. What a relief! I don't miss it. I don't miss the drama and the annoyance and I certainly don't miss the compulsion to check it all the time either. Nothing happened. I am not offended or mad at anyone. It was just time for me to be done and I am happy with my decision.

My poor blog has been severely neglected during my love/hate affair with facebook. My plan is too spend more time here and document all these precious things in my life that are flying by way too fast. That and I promised my Aunt Karen that I would blog if I wasn't going to be on facebook anymore. Look at me keeping my promise!

We have had a crazy busy summer and school is going to be starting in just another month. We are busy and that is just life with 4 kids. I hope I can keep up with 5. We will soon find out...

It's true! We are expecting a new sweet baby in our home January 24th!!! Everyone is very excited and everyone is chanting boy vibes under their breath too. Please be a boy! Not that 4 girls in 7 years wouldn't be fun, but oh, we all want it to be a boy. I would love having my two sweet boys as bookends to our family. I am about 15 weeks and still feeling sick. Part of me is done with being sick but another part of me is happy for those pregnancy symptoms. It means I am still pregnant. Having suffered too many losses in the last year, I am grateful to be sick. I am just counting my blessings and trying to enjoy this pregnancy.

I have lots of pictures from summer that I want to post and a belly picture in the works too. Way more than I can catch up on but I will work on a summer highlight reel for you Aunt Karen!

This year I will become more invisible...

The Invisible Mother

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock?, Where's my phone?, What's for dinner?'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe.I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was Almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.

No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it there...'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.

This was sent to me in an email some time ago and I kept it knowing I would want to read it again. It's the start of a new year and everyone is setting new goals and making resolutions, including myself, but it just wasn't really setting very well with me. I have my ever long list of things I would like to quit doing (drinking soda), start doing (exercise at least occasionally), and be better at (you name it...). I think it is time for me to be the kind of person I really want to be and stop wishing I was her. I am going to be a builder, a builder of my family, my children, myself, and those who I come in contact with. I can choose love, service, and sacrifice over bitterness, hurt feelings and selfishness. I can choose to do more of what He sees and less of what only others can see. Some of those choices will be easy ones and others will be much more difficult, but I can't see how this can do anything but make my life better and more fulfilling. I am ready for a new year, making better choices, loving more, giving more, and taking less, even if that means being invisible to some at times.

a choice...

Since I last posted we have traveled to Indiana and back twice, had 1st day of school, 2 birthdays (including our very first slumber party), BELLA TURNED ONE, started ballet again, played flag football, dressed up as Harry Potter, Tinkerbell, Sleeping Beauty and a ballerina, built an amazing fire pit in our yard, traveled all the way to Washington D.C. for a family reunion/Thanksgiving, had the first beautiful snowfall of the season, had the first nasty flu of the season, chopped down and decorated our Christmas tree and so so much more. No wonder I have had no time to blog!

I love looking back at all the pictures and all the memories. It almost always makes me cry, in a happy way. Who am I kidding? I am just a crier, happy or sad. I want to do better at recording all of these precious moments so that I will always remember them. It's hard to find the time or to at least make it a priority. Sometimes in life we go through really hard things, things that are devastating and heartbreaking and those things change us. When those things happen, because they do happen to all of us, the last thing I want to do is examine my life for things to write about in my blog. Those are the times when it is hard to see the hand of the Lord in my life and when I need to see it the most. It's often or maybe always so much easier to wallow than to search. I am choosing to stop wallowing and start searching. I have many many blessings in my life and I am choosing to start seeing them, acknowledging them and being grateful for them. It's a much better place to be and I do believe it is a choice we can make.

love this little holiday gem from 2004

Summer = together, I like together...

I am feeling the need to blog lately. I am also feeling that my blog needs a face lift. I will need to enlist the help of my husband for that. So much has happened and I am loving having all my little blessing home and around me everyday! Not that there wasn't a transition period! We have successfully made it through that transition and now life is sweet again.

First there is my sweet baby Bella who is 8 months old! She was born and I blinked and now she's big and eating food and drinking juice in a cup! She is teething and so not happy about it, which is a change for Bella. Bella is always happy and a total mama's girl. I love that! She loves to be tickled and she loves when any of her sisters or brother pay attention to her. I swear her hair gets more red everyday and it's gorgeous! I love my little red hair girls. Bella is just happy and sweet and perfect and I am still so in love with my dream baby!

Molly is having a great time with the big kids home. She missed them, a lot. It was Molly who had the hardest transition. She's used to running the house while the kids are at school and having lots of my attention. She has finally found her way with everyone home and now she's loving life again. Molly just finished her first ever dance class and she LOVED it! My little Molly looked so tiny next to the other girls, but she did great. She keeps asking when it's time to go to class and it's over now and she is sad. There is no substitute for dance. Molly will be signed up for dance again in September and she's already asking me how many days until September? Molly is trying swim lessons right now but she'd rather not. Usually, Molly loves the water and she wants to swim on her own. At swim lessons she sits on the side and cries and says she doesn't want to get her bow wet (even when she's not wearing a bow!) Who knows why Molly does anything? She is the reason for all of my gray hairs! She goes to the potty when SHE wants to and she goes to sleep when SHE wants to. She must wear a skirt or a dress everyday and she loves jewelry and sparkly shoes and magic wands, but she also loves dirt and mud and Lucas's bakugan's. She's always saying,"Remember when... That was so funny!" Molly is an individual and she does things in her own way and in her own time. She has been that way since before she was born. I am learning to accept this about Molly. With that acceptance has come less battling and much more laughter and enjoyment. I am still working on it, but oh how I love that girl who looks just like me.

My cute red headed Emma and her cute pink glasses that always slide down her nose making her look like a little grandma. She is so sensitive and so nurturing and so much like me that she drives me crazy! Emma has been doing cheerleading for the past 3 weeks and she loves it. In a few weeks she will start swimming lessons too and she can't wait. I love when Emma is home. She floats so easily between playing with Molly or Bella and playing with Lucas. She loves to help and be domestic. She is always wanting to cook and she can fold a whole basket of towels PERFECTLY (half, half again and then in thirds)! She is so excited for first grade and hoping for the same teacher Lucas had. She loves and looks up to her big brother so much. She is so so smart and loves to read. She is always reading and I do mean always, in her bed walking down the hall, walking down the stairs, in the car, in the bathroom, when she is supposed to be playing with friends or cleaning. ALWAYS! I wish she had more confidence. I pray and worry about that for her all the time. I want her to know that she is good, strong, smart, capable, worthy and loved. How do I make sure my daughter knows that? It took me a LONG time to know that and I still struggle with it.

Lucas is loving summer. All the sports he could want! Finally learning to ride a two wheeler has made bike riding suddenly so much more fun and finally losing a tooth! Lucas has also discovered the wonderful world of Harry Potter and he has caught the fever. I am amazed that he has read the first 4 books in the last 6 weeks!!! I told him I would read the books with him, since I had never read them. It's hard to keep up with him. We are both enjoying talking about the books and sometimes staying up late and cuddling up while we read a chapter together. Lucas has always been my cuddler. Lucas is playing coach pitch baseball this summer and starting swim lessons soon too. He's just having fun being outside and playing with friends. He finished 1st grade in a blaze of glory playing the lead part in his class musical. It was so fun for him and so fun for me to watch him. I think he caught the acting bug! Lucas is growing up so fast and takes good care of his sisters, but still wishing for a brother. We will have to wait and see. The jury is still out on that topic...

Joe is busier than ever before, if that's possible. He's transitioning to a new role at work and feeling good about that. He is the young men's president in our ward and I never knew how much work that was going to be. Holy Cow! It's only been about 9 months so we are in for the long haul on that one. Joe works hard and he works hard for us. I know that. I do. I have to remind myself constantly. Joe never does anything half way or just enough and it's a wonderful quality to have. But, honestly I struggle with it. I struggle with it A LOT. He is gone a lot (work and church responsibilities) and that means the kids and I are on our own a lot. I just miss him when he's not around. I miss him a lot. I am trying harder to just be grateful for when he is here and not thinking how long until he is gone again. It's hard for me and I will never be great at it, but I am trying. I know that when we put the Lord first in our lives, serve first, that everything works out and falls into place. Doors are opened, blessings come. Now if I could just remember those truths when the kids are fighting and the baby's crying and there are mountains of laundry and dishes in the sink spilling over to the counters and cereal smashed all over the floor and earwigs in the basement and the toilet flooding and the toddler has peed on the couch yet again and Joe is out of town on yet another business trip, if I could remember then...that would be something.

I love summer. I love having my family all together. The time we share together is so precious. There is so much I want my children to know and I feel the urgency. I want them to know who they are and where they came from and what they can become. I want them to know that I love them and the Lord loves them. That's what I want and that's what I am trying to do here at home everyday. That's why today instead of starting dinner we played 4 square in the driveway while Bella was napping. And why when I was putting Bella down for her nap, I let her nurse and snuggle as long as she wanted. I didn't look at the clock or think about the next thing on my very long, ever growing to do list. I was just there in the moment with my sweet baby, breathing in that wonderful scent trying to capture that memory.

Then and Now

Today I am thinking about this...

I really love these kids! I think they are so adorable and so amazing. I couldn't be more proud of them! Where does the time go?

The best Valentine EVER!

My Mom, My Valentine...

Mom, I love you more than pumpkin pie. I love you more than my dad. I even love you more than football. I love you like a moon loves night. I love the smell of your potato soup. I love the taste of your baked potatoes. I love the sound of your heart beat. I love the feel of your head against mine. I love when you find time to cuddle with me. I love you, I love you, I love you, I do!

From your kid, Lucas

It's been awhile...

I really have done more in the last 4 months than have a beautiful sweet baby. It's definitely the best thing I have done, though. Life with 4 kids is crazy busy, but most of the time I love it. It's hard,but good hard.

I totally missed all the holidays so here is a really quick highlight version with some too cute to be missed pictures.

Thanksgiving:

I had my first official Thanksgiving at home and I loved it! My mom and my sister came up and we had so much fun. I had a great time cooking and baking and everything turned out great, even if I made WAY too much food. The day after Thanksgiving I went shopping with my mom and Jaimee (and Bella too!) at 5:00 in the morning! The next day we took the kids and Jaimee to get our very first REAL Christmas tree. The deal I made with Joe a long time ago was when we have a house then we can get a real tree. I have to say that I LOVED having a real tree and I don't think I can ever go back now.




Just before Christmas:

Right before Christmas we got a phone call letting us now that my great grandma had passed away. She was an amazing woman and always very special to me. Emma is named after her and the two of them had a special connection. While we were all sad to see her leave this world, we know that we will be with her again someday.

It was nice to be with all of our extended family. Most of them had never met Molly so we had 2 beautiful girls to introduce. I think it's safe to say that my cousin David and Bella are officially in love!

Christmas/New Year's:

We got back from Indiana the day before Christmas Eve and had a million things to do. It was a little crazy but we made it and ended up having a great Christmas with all the kids. Band Hero was definitely the biggest hit and a huge surprise to Joe thanks to my mom! We have several budding rock stars in our family and I am pretty sure Emma is ready to change her name to Taylor Swift!

New Year's was the typical lots of game playing and a crazy hard 1000 piece puzzle. Lucas and Emma made it to midnight, but Molly passed out on the floor about 10:00.

I really love being at home with our little family during the holidays. It's great to be with our extended family but I am loving the peace of just being home together. This year Joe took off work for the 2 weeks that the kids were home. It was heaven! We all loved having him home and were really sad when it was time to go back to work. I really love my husband and it was great to have 2 weeks to spend together laughing and falling in love all over again like a bunch of teenagers!


Now:

Now Bella is 3 months old!!! Lucas is about to turn 7! Molly is doing AWESOME at potty training!!! Emma is doing great at her ballet class and the recital is coming up soon! Joe, of course, it out of town this week and busy being young men's president. I am recommiting to being a good wife, a good mother, finding more patience and finding joy in the small everyday moments of motherhood.

Beautiful Happiness

Bella Felicity McGuire was born Monday, October 26, 2009 at 6:46 p.m. She weighed 8lbs. 14oz. and was 21" long. There are no words for how in love with this beautiful girl I am. She is a dream baby. We only ever hear her cry when she is getting her diaper changed and then she's totally content again. Oh, and she sleeps...at night even! I think I have some kind of magic sleeping powers. All 4 of my babies have been great sleepers right from the start and they still are. So here is the birth story for all those interested. True to form, I was induced late. After arguing with my doctor for 9 months about how this was going happen, she induced me without me having to convince her. So Joe and I went to St. Mary's Friday afternoon about 11:30. Everyone was so nice and expecting me and knew my name. That was very comforting because I was so nervous about having a baby in a new place. I had wonderful experiences in the past and I didn't know what to expect here in Madison. I was in a hurry to get started but it was about 2:00 before I was hooked up to the pitocin. Then we walked and walked and played a Twilight trivia game on the iphone. After about 10 laps I was tired and we headed back to my room. Then the doctor (who was not my doctor but I loved her way more then my own) and the resident (who I did not care for at all) came in. Not much was happening up to that point. I was having a few contractions but nothing that I was really feeling. While they were there I had a horrible contraction that I was feeling right in my back and I thought I was going to die because it lasted so long. Then nothing again for a while. Sometime around 4:00 I was getting pretty regular contractions that were very strong and lasting a REALLY long time. I was still just 4cm and my water hadn't broken yet, but I was ready for my epidural. So about 20 minutes later the anesthesiologist came to my rescue. The relief lasted about 5 whole minutes before I was feeling serious pressure that I could hardly stand. The resident and the nurse said it was just my bag of water and as soon as it broke the pressure would be gone. Just a few minutes later my water did break on it's own and then the pressure was worse. The babies heart beat kept going down with contractions and they some how manged to get me on my hands and knees. I wasn't feeling the contractions just a lot of pressure. The resident checked me said I was 6cm then he left the room. Literally a minute later the doctor checked me and said I was ready to push. The baby was still up pretty high but as soon as I started pushing she came right down. Her heart rate was still dropping with the contractions so the doctor asked if she could make a little cut just to help get her out faster. I think I said something to the effect of I don't care just get her out!!!. Next push Bella was born, beautiful pink and screaming. They were worried that cord might have been around her neck but it wasn't. It was just a really fast labor and she was ready to come out. It was wonderful to get to hold her right away. With all the complications Molly had, it was several hours before I saw her and longer before I could hold her. Having that time with Bella right away was something I did not take for granted. She was finally here and healthy and she was mine. And per her father's request she did show up in time for Monday night football kickoff! Daddy has another little princess and I swear she swoons when he speaks Italian to her. Bella's name means "beautiful happiness" and so far she has lived up to her name.

*On a side note, I appreciate that residents need to learn. I do not however appreciate that they need to learn about stitching on me. It a little unnerving to hear the doctor, on more than one occasion say,"No! No! Not like that." I just tried to block it out. I also forgot how painful those stitches are to heal from. I hadn't had them since Lucas was born. Stairs are not my friend!

Some Beautiful pictures of my beautiful Bella:




*pictures by Jenifer Lee

First day of school for Lucas AND Emma...

September !st was the first day of school for my 2 big kids. How is it possible that we have 2 kids in school??? It happened so fast!




Emma started kindergarten and has the same teacher that Lucas had last year. It was good for her to start out with that comfort level and we LOVE Mrs. Schauf. She has 2 little girlfriends that she sits with everyday and now there is a new friend, a boy named Ayden that she likes to play with too. Emma seems so grown up now. She had a little more apprehension then Lucas did about starting school, but within a few days she came into her own. No more taking her inside or even walking her to the front door. "Just drop me off at the curb Mom." Emma is making friends and having fun and today she got to be the sharing friend (show and tell) which is exciting and last week she got to celebrate her birthday on the 3rd day of school, complete with cupcakes from Mom. Emma may be the youngest kid in her class, but she was so ready for school. She can hardly stand the weekends because she wants to go to school. Emma is doing great. I couldn't have hoped for a better start to the school year for her.





Lucas moved on up to the the PC (primary center where 1st and 2nd grade attend, across the field from Emma's school). He was so excited to start back to school and see his friends. There are a few people in his class that he knew from last year, but Lucas has already made a ton of new friends. He loves his teacher Mrs. Prehn. She plays the guitar and their class puts on a musical later in the school year. Lucas has already got a few rewards for making good choices and being a good friend to his classmates. He loves playing basketball at recess with some 2nd grade boys that he met. Then when school is done he walks down to Emma's school where the girls and I are waiting. Lucas is thriving as usual. And just like my little brother, Lucas has already lost a jacket before the end of the second week of school!

I somehow made it through the start of the school year without any tears! Even without all the water works, it someways it was harder to leave my daughter on the first day of school than my son. I just have more of an urge to protect her or something. Molly is adjusting to being alone with Mom all day. She is a self entertainer and I am so grateful for that! And now that it's quiet around here Molly finally started talking a ton and using complete sentences. She was just waiting for a chance to talk! We all survived the beginning of a new school year and we are going to our first school sponsored activity tomorrow night. Now onto preparing for our new baby who should hopefully be arriving in about 5 1/2 weeks...

A few cute pics to tide you over...

A few of my favorite summer photos:

We're still alive, if there was any doubt...

All though it may seem as if we have just disappeared of the the face of the Earth, we have not. We've just relocated. We found and bought (with much much drama) a house we adore. Still working on unpacking, getting the baby's room ready and how exactly to care for our 1.2 acre yard that is currently harboring house guests...moles. Most of the summer has been spent planning, packing, moving and unpacking. We also played soccer and t-ball, went to 6 Flags and a trip to Indiana too. In the last few weeks I sent my 2 oldest to kindergarten and first grade, celebrated Emma's birthday and moved into our new house. I think we were trying to see how many life changing events we could go through at one time and besides everything is more fun when you are 7 1/2 months pregnant! I will at least try to post about the big stuff I missed like first day of school, Emma's birthday, the new house, and the latest baby news. They all deserve there own post and there are some cute pictures you need to see too, like Emma's new short hair cut! I just need to get through this weekend and maybe then I can blog a little before baby #4 shows up.

Good news from the eye doctor...

Emma had her eye appointment after 2 months of patching. I was nervous about what the results were going to be. I was just hoping that it was working and maybe we could patch a few less hours. Emma did AMAZING!!!! In just 2 months of patching her vision her weak eye imporved 6 lines on the eye chart! SIX LINES!!!!!!!! That is so amazing. She went from only being able to see the big E and squinting and straining to see the next line, to reading just 4 lines from the bottom. She is now just 4 lines away from 20/20 in her weak eye with her glasses on! We celebrated by going out to lunch at McDonalds. Dr. Bradfield said she has never seen such drastic improvement in such a short amount of time of patching. Now we only have to patch 6 hours a day and we go back in 2 more months for another check up. Her glasses prescription stayed the same. We should have more to report in 2 months. We are hoping that by then we will be down to 4 hours of patching a day so Emma won't have to wear her patch to kindergarten. Emma is fine wearing her patch to school, but Mommy doesn't want to if we don't have too!

Other news:
We have a very busy month with tap and t-ball, Daddy traveling for work, going to 6 Flags and coming to Indiana the 1st of July. Summer is going to fly by. We are still looking for a house and hoping to find one before the baby comes, but we'll see.

It's a ...

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, another little girl for us. We were all hoping boy but we are excited about having another girl. The very first thing when we started the ultrasound it was obviously a girl. When the ultrasound tech told us neither Joe or I said anything. Then she let me go empty my bladder a little and when I came back I said,"Can you believe we're having another girl?!?" I think I was a little in shock. Girls are fun and I've definitely got this girl thing down. I am a little nervous about having 3 teenage girls at the same time, but I guess we've got awhile until then! Knowing the sex of the baby does make this all feel more real and the kids are having fun talking to her now that they now she's a girl. But having so much girl stuff already I can hardly justify a shopping trip for this little one! Maybe some new hair bows... Sorry it took me so long to post this. I figured I had already talked to anyone that was dying to know.

I've been wrong every time...

Blue or Pink...what do you think?

*results coming next Tuesday...

I hear a beat...how sweet

Today I had an OB appointment and I actually got to meet my doctor for the first time. I don't know that I will ever love any doctor like I did my old one, but I am willing to try. She seems nice enough and I guess we will see as time goes on. I did ask about inductions, since I have NEVER actually gone into labor on my own. She said she won't let me go more than 2 weeks over. She wants to give my body a chance to do what it's supposed to. 2 weeks!!! I think a week over is plenty. If I go 2 weeks over I will be having this baby on Halloween! So the doctor and I are getting to know each other and we will talk some more about going 2 weeks over as things progress. The best part about today was finally getting to hear that precious heart beat. It was the most wonderful sound. I had seen the heart beat on an earlier ultrasound, but it was much sweeter getting to hear it for the first time. I am already getting anxious to meet this little one, but there is still a long way to go.

March Madness McGuire Style...

* This is especially for my Aunt Karen who was apparently complaining about my lack of blogging over Easter weekend. You know I love you!!!


I am a blog slacker and you all have let me know it in oh so many ways. So I'm back or at least I am playing catch up on all the major things from the last month. Sit back and enjoy because this is going to be a LONG post.

1. My sweet little Molly Genevieve turned 2! I really can't believe that she is 2. It still makes me sad. Time goes by so fast and they just keep growing up. It feels like only yesterday she so dramatically entered the world. 2 weeks in the NICU and then 4 weeks after that we moved to Wisconsin with a tiny baby on tons of medication and an apnea monitor. Molly is still small but she is mighty and spunky. She is very playful and she has the most girly little giggle. Molly has some serious hero worship going on with big sister and would rather die than be separated from her. I hope my girls always stay this close. Molly loves all things Diego and is just starting to pretend play. Molly also is a Taylor Swift fan. Multiple times a day she turns the cd on in the cd player and dances her little heart out and sings a long! It has been a whirlwind romance with my youngest daughter these past 2 years and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Finally a kid who looks like me and broke through those McGuire genes (not that they're not good looking genes)!



2. Back in January my beautiful sweet Emma got glasses, cute pink glasses and she loves them. We thought that was the end of the story... but it wasn't. We went back to the eye doctor for a check up and her vision had not improved. Emma has amblyopia, sometimes called a lazy eye. We had noticed her one eye sometimes crossing which is why went went to the eye doctor in the first place. The doctor seemed to think that just getting glasses would help, but it didn't help at all. We left the eye doctor with the news that Emma would have to wear a patch over her strong eye to force her brain into using her weak eye. So now Emma has to wear her patch every day for 8 hours. It was shocking news and I was really emotional about it. Emma is doing amazingly well wearing her patch. The first day was a battle with lots of tears, but since then we've had no problems. She even brings me her patch every morning to put on! I am so proud of her! The patch Emma wears is kind of like a big band-aid. We did order some with cute designs on them for my girlie girl. She's all about accessorizing these days. My big concern is how long are we going to have to do this for. The doctor was unwilling to give me any kind of time frame other than,"at least a year". The hope is that with total compliance that the number of hours will go down every few months as her eye improves.



Other Emma news... On Friday Emma has kindergarten screening which is the first step in trying to get Emma to kindergarten early. She misses the cut off date by 2 days and she's so ready for school. Next week Emma starts her tap class again and later in the summer she going to try her hand at soccer. Emma is doing great despite her present challenges. She is such a good sister and always very willing to help.

3. Oh, and I turned 29 for only the first of many times to come.


4. This is for the 2 people who don't know or haven't figured it out yet...

I'M PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


We couldn't be more excited! I am 13 weeks and due on October 19th, grandpa Bill's birthday. And yes, I am only 13 weeks even though I have been showing for a good 8 weeks now! So much for keeping a secret. The kids are really excited and Lucas is really hoping for a brother. "Please no more girls Mom!" I am a little nervous about having a baby in a place that is so unfamiliar, but Cindy has promised to come stay when the baby comes.

5. I think that's about all I can handle for now. We had a great Easter weekend that came at the end of a great spring break (pictures to come). We took a little mini vacation to Rockford, Illinois and swam in the pool and played miniature golf and go karts. This week Molly has a terrible cold and Joe is in San Fransisco for the week. We are a little sad and lonely without Joe, but we are hanging in there. Time to get the kids to bed. Molly already went to bed at 6 because she wasn't feeling well. Here's a little treat for all of you who love to complain about how you need a new picture of all 3 of the kids.

This is as good as it gets!

Molly in the morning...

One of my most favorite things is getting Molly out of bed in the morning. She wakes up sooo happy everyday. As soon as I walk in her room she starts running laps around her bed and jumping. Then she starts talking and babbling so fast that I can't understand a word she says. It's like she had the best dream and she can't wait to tell me all about it. She showers me with tons of hugs and kisses on the way to change her diaper and then she starts with the family list. Every morning she goes down the list...

"Where's Dad?" ..... "Dad's at work."
"Where's Bubba?" ..... "Bubba's at school."
"Where's Memma" ..... "Memma's playing down stairs."
"Where's Mimi (mommy)" ..... "I don't know. Where?" ... "Right there!"
(repeat 10 times)

Then it's off to breakfast where Molly tells me she wants cho's and toes (cheerios and toast) and nik (milk) please. The rest of the day she's a typical almost 2 year old with tantrums, moments of joy and silliness, and the beloved afternoon nap, but mornings with Molly are sweet and special and something to get out of bed for.

February in review...

(I tried to upload pictures but it would only do one, then it would crash. So, I will try to post pictures some other time)

Well I have been a slacker blogger for the month of February and not for lack of worthy material either. February is a busy time in our family with lots of birthdays. So this is what we did this month:

Sometime the first week of February Emma got glasses, not just any glasses...pink ones. She loves them and is doing so great wearing them. She looks so cute in her glasses and I am just glad that she likes them. Another first for Emma this month was her first Valentine from a cute boy at church! So cute!!!

February 5th Lucas turned 6 years old! For some reason 6 just seems so much older than 5. We had our first "friends from school" party and it was so much fun. We went sledding on the big hill near our house in very slushy almost gone snow. Then the kids had a great time doing a Daddy made "Batman in training obstacle course" in the back yard. The party was a success and it was nice having family here too. Lucas is already planning for next year.



February 14 was Joe's 29th birthday. It was pretty low key. The kids had fun making and decorating Daddy's cake. And we are still having fun reminding Daddy that he is older than Mommy now, at least for 2 more weeks. That night we went to a stake Valentine's dance at church. We were prepared for it to be lame, but it was actually fun! Joe and I really like going to dances. We've gotta find a way to chaperon some youth dances. We probably wouldn't be the best chaperons though...

Since then it just been someone with a cold or the flu or something like that. Molly has been very busy learning to take off her clothes and her diaper in her bed. Not my idea of fun! She is the first one of my kids to do this. In fact she is the first one of my kids to do lots of things like that. She has been Emma's side kick all day everyday and they get into lots of trouble together. Just last week Molly again took off all her clothes and her diaper and colored with markers all over her body. I'm pretty sure that she had some help with that one!

March is filled with even more birthdays so I will try to keep up better!

25 random things about me...

1. I love Christmas; the sights, the sounds, the smells, everything about it. I even start listening to Christmas music in September. It drives my husband crazy.

2. I met my husband at E.F.Y. when I was 17 and I knew he was the guy I was supposed to marry. We took a round about way of getting there, but nothing has ever been so right.

3. More than anything else right now I want to be pregnant. Nothing is worse than losing a baby when all you are hoping and dreaming for is a baby.

4. I really love my brother. He is a great guy and a great Uncle. I wished he lived closer. I really miss him and I am so happy that he is going to be here on Friday.

5. I get together every Thursday night with my 2 best girlfriends for my own personal sanity. I don't know how I ever survived without it before.

6. I don't have a sweet tooth. I prefer chips and fries to cake and candy.

7. I love cooking dinner for my family and trying new recipes. I can cook , but baking...not so much.

8. The only dream I had as a girl was to be a mother. I am living the dream and it really is a dream come true.

9. I am way too sensitive and I cry at the drop of a hat. It's the one thing I wished I hadn't passed along to my son.

10. I love flip flops and I have them in all kinds of colors, some with bows, some with sequins, etc... I know they are terrible for your feet, but I love them anyway. I even wear them to church.

11. I really want to learn how to sew. I am getting a sewing machine for my birthday next month. Anyone want to volunteer to teach me how to use it?

12. In college I made extra money doing hair for all the fraternity/sorority formals. It was a lot of fun. That's why my girls have long hair. I love to play with it.

13. I am completely obsessed with Twilight. It is a serious problem. I have read all the books more times than I am willing to admit, but lets just say it's more than 4! I can't stop.

14. I am a meat and potatoes kind of girl. Growing up we had roast and potatoes every Sunday and I hated it. The first time I came home after being away it was the first thing I asked for.

15. I never do dishes. My husband does has and always will be the official dish washer in my house.

16. I am really anal about how I do my laundry. I inherited this from my mother.

17. I don't like t.v. and I don't like it when my kids watch t.v. I really could live without it, except for during football season...

18. Tom Brady is my celebrity boyfriend. We've been together since his college days in Michigan. I'm willing to over look his illegitimate child, super model girlfriend and the fact that the Patriots are a bunch of cheaters, because he is REALLY HOT and no one should look that good in a football uniform!

19. I used to coach cheerleading and it was so so much fun. I really miss it and I am trying to figure out away to get involved here.

20. When all my kids are in school I will go back to school too. School was fun and I was good at it.

21. I play fantasy football and I like it. Oh, and I always beat my husband too!

22. I really like having painted toe nails, but I prefer my finger nails to be naked.

23. I am shy and sometimes people take it the wrong way like I am stuck up or something, but I really am just shy. In high school all my friends were guys and mostly in college too, but after you get married you really have to learn to be friends with girls. I think it's hard, but I really do want to be your friend!

24. I have serious house envy of all my friends. I REALLY REALLY want a house.

25. I am very flexible. My elbows are double jointed and I can still do the splits, seriously.