Dear Trevor,

Thanks for the remote

It is awesome.

A post without pictures. I know I will be in trouble with Grandma again, but here goes...

Logan decided he wanted to make a gift for his daddy for Christmas. We talked about it for a while and decided he wanted to SEW a hat.

Since our second car is still not working, I sent him to the store with Aunt Alysa to pick out fabric for said hat.

He came home from shopping more excited than I have ever seen him. He pulled his purchases out of the bag, excitedly showing and telling me how he was going to make the hat.

I pulled the sewing machine out and put the pedal up on a box so he could reach it with his little legs.

We excitedly cut and pinned and sewed. I was not allowed to do much, just give advice here and there, but my little Logan did most of the work.

After the last stitch was in place, and all the strings were cut, he proudly held it up for me to see.

It is the most wonderful hat my eyes have ever beheld. Crooked seams and even a poofball on top.

Logan's daddy will be so proud to open his present on Christmas!

Playing Catch Up

It has been a while since I posted about what we are up to. So here we go. In no particular order I give you A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE MISSELDINES nothing held back. That means you get to see everything...

It snowed and I sent the kids out to play. All they did was walk around making footprints. I guess I need to show them how to make a snowman or something.




Next we have a picture of me and Phoebe in front of my current pile of laundry to be folded. I told you I am holding nothing back! I have just gotten out of the shower and have no makeup on. Well, except for the part that is smudged under my right eye.

Logan wanted in on the picture


And then we have a funny movie. Well, it is really about nothing, but if you wonder what we look or sound like these days then take a look!



Oh I guess I should comment on the video. Did you notice the dirty diaper in the corner by my naked baby? The pile of coats by the banister? The toys out of their cubby? The Vacuum sitting on the floor (I was in the middle of vacuuming when Logan decided he wanted to make this video). I am still in my pajamas. Samantha has bed head. Well lets face it. My house is a mess!

And I guess the cats out of the bag. Samantha is almost potty trained. I can't handle two kids in diapers! You like how the potty chair is right out in the middle of the family room?

The End.

Look Who's 3 Months Old!!!

It's true! Phoebe is three months old. She's the sweetest little girl ever made! We are so glad to have her in our family.

to work-out or not to work-out....THAT is the question

A few weeks ago I joined a Biggest Loser competition. Just a little one. There are about 18 other "losers" involved.

I have never really had a problem losing the weight after having a baby.

But this time I am having a problem finding the time to exercise. Finding the time to shower. Finding the time to eat healthy. Finding the time to clean the house. I could go on and on. And that is just the start of everything I am having a hard time finding the time to do.

But I am no quitter. I am going to win this competition. I am going to lose this weight. AND I am going to find the time to get everything done that I have to do.

So take that Father Time!

There Shall Be No More Sappy or Sad Posts!

Well, the title says it all. I myself am getting tired of all the ups and downs of this no job roller coaster of emotions thing. So today will be my last and final sappy post.

First some good news.

Trevor got a job. It's not as a lawyer, since there seem to be none of those around these days, but as a paralegal. Turns out as I was going through a box of old papers from his undergrad days that Trevor got his paralegal certificate and we had both forgotten about it. Maybe it was inspiration to look through that box, because not long after that a job posted for a paralegal.

My heart is full as I think about the past few months and how much of a struggle they have been. We could not have made it if it weren't for the generosity of our families who bolstered us up with lots of pep talks and wonderful words of encouragement. Helping us find clothes for our kids and household essentials. Words cannot express my gratitude to you guys. Thank you!

I know this job is not as a lawyer, and that basically STINKS! But I am so grateful that we finally have an income that it doesn't matter one ounce to me.

So goodbye to all the sad and depressing posts. I will NOT be visiting them again.

Hello new day!

I love these moments as a mom. No kids fighting or arguing. Sweet sweet moments.

This one is for Grandma. She sure looks cute! *wink wink*

Dear Phantom Letter Writer,

Thank-you

All is well.

My mom is wise.

She always knows just what to say.

The other day she was chatting about how she loves the song "Consider the lilies". She said it is one of her favorite songs to listen to these days. She and my dad are serving a proselyting mission in Texas.

I hadn't listened to that song in a while.

I found a video someone made to the accompaniment of the MoTab choir singing.

It was heavenly. I cried. I cried over and over as I watched it over and over.

It touched me deeply.

I wondered how it pertains to my life right now.

Life is hard, I mean REALLY hard at the moment. But just because it is hard, it doesn't mean I am alone or forgotten. He carries my burden with me. He knows my trials.

I am not forgotten.

How did my mom know I needed to be reminded of these things?

My mom is wise.

Phoebe's Blessing Day In Pictures

My Guilty Pleasure

It's no secret that I LOVE photography. Growing up I enjoyed watching my dad play with his cameras and dreamed of one day being like him.

I sold all our furniture and anything that wasn't nailed down to get enough money to buy my camera. And it was worth every penny. The only stipulation I gave myself was that if we were going to spend all that money on a camera, then I sure as heck better learn how to use the thing.

So I'm not saying I'm Natalie K. or anything, but I think I've gotten better. I'm still working towards the goal of going back to school, but it may be a few years. So until then I'm faking it. And if you haven't noticed the link on my sidebar, I started a blog to track my journey. It's nothing huge, just a little spot to post successes and failures.

Hope you enjoy the ride.

LIFE

Alyson here. Just a quick update on life and how we are doing. Trevor is off to another job interview this morning. Only feels like the 157th one he's gone to. It gets discouraging after a while.

We put a new front door on the house last night. It looks awesome, but let in like 50 flies while the door was off. Logan and I have been on fly patrol ever since. He follows me around with the swatter. After I swat and kill a fly, he swats it and claims he was the one to kill it. Kids.

We gave up on selling our truck. It's listed $2000 below blue book and still haven't had anyone interested. Not even ONE e-mail. No one wants a truck these days. This truck has been a huge blessing to our family and I hate to see it go, but we need something bigger and with better gas mileage!

Phoebe's blessing will be this weekend. If anyone is in the area, e-mail me and I'll tell you where our building is.

Today I was mad, I mean really mad at Trevor. It was a silly little argument.

One thing I do when I'm mad is clean the house.

Another is to do something creative.

Today I decided to be creative.

I decided to take pictures using this really cute shower curtain I have as the backdrop.

HaHa!

No. I'm serious.

I threw Samantha (who was playing with Logan's cowboy boots) in front of the curtain and started snapping away.

Today I learned a valuable lesson.

Shower curtains DO make good backdrops!

The Bar Ceremony!

Lat week Trevor became a member of the bar. Whoopee! Here is the ceremony in pictures.

Here are the people walking in. I don't know what you call them... the fellow bar passers?

Here they are taking the oath.

Look who we ran into! The Calls! It was so good to see friends!

Congratulations Trevor! We love you!

Things are looking up!

Well, I've been so busy with a new baby around, but I wanted to post about our news.

Trevor passed the bar!

Here's hoping a job is not far behind!

A Birth Story

So who wants to hear Phoebe's birth story huh?

Yeah, I didn't think you would, but this is my blog and I'm going to tell it anyway.

I went in Tuesday morning at 8:00 to be induced. Mind you I was going to be induced with prostaglandin gel and NOT pitocin. I was nervous to the point of feeling like I could puke at any moment. Samantha's birth was still fresh in my mind, and it was a HORRIBLE pitocin induced ordeal.

We filled out paperwork for an hour and they put a line in me for "just in case" due to my platelet problem, then at 9:00ish they finally got started with the gel. I was having contractions right away, but they were only 15-30 seconds long and maybe 5 minutes apart. Nothing really happening.

Apparently those "baby contractions" as I called them were really the real deal. They checked me and I was already an 8!! We were all surprised!

My midwife then broke my water and that's when the "real" contractions started. It was awesome. No really. I couldn't have had a better experience. I felt so in control of the pain. Don't get me wrong it was very painful, but I never lost my control.

Soon after that it was time to push. Not my typical one or two pushes, but maybe 5 minutes or so. It wasn't that bad, but I definitely prefer smaller babies.

Out she came with her cute but annoying little cry. (no really. you should hear it.)

This is where my story really frustrates me.

I was in a LOT of pain afterwords. I asked for pain killers. They brought ibuprofen. I asked for something stronger. They brought some other pill that did NOTHING.

I should explain the reason for my extreme pain. Because Phoebe was so big and came out so fast, my uterus was not aware that there was no baby in there anymore. It was not contracting back down.

They kept kneading my stomach and I kept gushing blood out. They were changing the pads a lot and keeping them in the bathtub to weigh. It was very painful. This went on for two or three hours.

The nurse looked worried. I saw it in her eyes. I still hadn't held Phoebe yet. I didn't even get to nurse her. She had FORMULA!!

The nurse left to talk to my midwife who was busy delivering another baby. She came back with a large bag of pitocin. She hooked it up to my line. "this should only take about 15 minutes" she said. The pitocin was to get my uterus to start contracting down and stop bleeding.

I felt it right away. I started breathing really fast. They must have forgotten I had no real pain killers in me. It was SO painful! I felt like passing out. I told the nurse. She made me smell some smelly cloth she had. I asked for something stronger to take care of the pain. She left again.

She came back with STADOL!! HOORAY!

She put it in my line. I was in heaven.

An unfortunate side effect of this drug is extreme sleepiness. I was out.

I came to finally after 2 hours. I held my baby. It was awesome. I am in love.

The end.

Wow oh wow! I thought being a mommy was good with two kids, but life with three is AWESOME! Of course it has its trying moments... let's be real here. Logan and Sami are being real brats lately, but those sweet tender moments when they act like little angels makes it all worth while.

I love being a mom!

And yes, I'm still on a high from Phoebe being born. Can you tell?

Samantha is so sweet with Phoebe and gives her lots of little smoochies. Just one little hitting incident so far, and that was an accident. She is clumsy like her mom.

Logan loves little Phoebe also and has been such a big help. He is my go-to guy for diapers and wipes, and has been so good at keeping Sami entertained while I am busy with the baby.

And here's an eyes-wide-open shot for you guys. We are all in love with this little girl.

I'm in love!

Introducing

Phoebe Jane9 lbs 15 oz

Basically 10 lbs. yeah.

No drugs. ARGH!

It was awful, but worth it.

Keeping It Real

My due date has come and gone.

The past few weeks have been a never ending sea of emotions.

With bloody noses that would not stop bleeding, tons of hard contractions that go no where, and I even hurt my back really bad trying to do too much around this place.

I am very independent don't you know.

We have tried everything to get the baby to drop since they have told us that until she drops she won't come out, but this baby just doesn't want to come out on her own.

If I have learned anything over the past couple months it is this: Everything happens in the Lord's time.

As I recently told my mom, it is our recurring theme.

So I put my trust and faith in Him.

Everything happens in the Lord's time.

And if that never happens, then next week I will be induced.

What's newsy around here...

Okay. Bad Alyson. Bad.

I know it has been way too long. I have been putting off writing anything since life has been so busy lately.

First of all, NO BABY YET!!!!! I think this little girl is content to stay as long as she can or until she is booted out. I am really okay with it this time. I am not feeling the discomfort I felt with Samantha. Remember how big I was with her? Think beached whale.

The doctor says this baby is definitely not small. Great. I'm going to deliver another toddler. But again, somehow I am feeling okay with it all.

As for my blood problem. Would you all do me a favor and say a little prayer for me? It is a little worrisome and maybe this is the reason I am not in a hurry to have this baby. I'm just too scared for what could go wrong during labor. I'm sure you don't want to hear the details, so I won't burden you with them.

_____________________________________________________________

My little Logan had a birthday. He is a FOUR-year-old now!

Completely, 100% Unprepared

I had a doctor appointment this week and she said everything looks good to go. And that's when it hit me. WAIT. WHAT?

It can't be time yet. I'm not ready.

I have a condition where my blood platelets are much lower than normal. This basically means I can't have an epidural during labor. If I were to have one, it would put me at great risk of becoming paralyzed. Also my blood won't clot as well and I bruise easier. I find out this week exactly how bad my case is.

I haven't had an epidural yet, so I think it's really no big deal.

The big deal for me is that we could be bringing a baby home any time and I have nothing ready! That's it. I've got to go unpack some boxes. This baby has to wear something!

Pretty in Blue

Yesterday I finished this super cute tutu for Samantha. I thought it would be fun to go take some pictures. We headed out in search of some railroad tracks. You have to know how obesessed I have been about all the tracks we have around here and how badly I wanted pictures on them. So we went to the train depot in our small downtown section and what do you know? The tracks are all fenced off. DUMB! However, we found a really cool speakeasy right next door that had some old cool brick. We stopped there for a few minutes and took some pictures, then went in search of some more tracks. We drove around awhile before we found these.....as seen below.

We weren't there very long. Sami was screaming and Logan was scared of being hit by a train. It was a disaster! I got one good picture on the tracks and even then....Sami has a tear streaked face. Not long after we got there, a really dumb guy stopped his car and was yelling at us to get off the tracks because we were idiots and a train was coming. He had all sorts of profanities coming out of his mouth. He said he was calling the cops on us and he WOULD NOT LEAVE! I was a little scared! My sister who was with me started yelling right back and I think intimidated him enough that he finally left.

All in all it was a waste of an hour, but we did get a few keepers at the speakeasy.