The Long Family

The End of 2011

2011-12-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

Ugh.... I know I have so many things to update ya'll on (Christmas, Thanksgiving, pictures, etc...) but it has been a gloomy cold day and I feel like working my frustrations out thru a wee bit of complaining and then some pep talk by finding ways to fix all my crap! But seeing that I am the only one that really reads this... no one should get bored over this post but myself, right?! :) As for the complaining part... I know... I hate complainers! Actually it drives me nuts when people can't find the good in anything! But that is not what this is... there is good in my life and I am not a terrible person (I am actually a pretty spectacular lady... and ya'll that don't spend more time with me are missing out!) but there is so much I need to improve on if I am gonna be ready and strong enough for the challenges that lie ahead!

So 2011 is coming to a close and I have read some friends blogs about how they did on their 2011 goals. My 2 goals were to read the scriptures (epic failure- F) and to end the year the same weight that I started it (I gots 8 lbs. left- not bad for having had a baby 4.5 months ago and having gained 40lbs over the pregnancy... but not what I was hoping for so I guess I would give myself a C+) and both of which I did not do so good with! I always seem to just get by in life, "as long as I make it thru the day then tomorrow will come and it will be better," and tomorrow always comes and it is the same ol' story. I hate it! I know I have a life time of bad habits working against me and that can't be changed over night, but still... seriously when am I gonna do something besides sit on my butt? I go back and read over my short time up at college when I actually wrote in my journal... talk about depressing! No wonder I don't write in a journal... it is nothing but a bunch of "I am not good enough" crap that no one in their right mind wants to read! So I am wondering... when am I gonna change and what do I gotta do TO change?

I guess what I need to do is write down everything I wanna change and then pick a few things to work on and hopefully succeed at and then go from there. This post will be my reminder (that can't get lost or thrown away) of what I am truly working for... so if someone happens to read this just know this is for my benefit, not for your entertainment and pleasure!

So here is the perfect me (all nicely organized into categories):

FAITH and Character:

Go to temple at least once a month if not more

Read scriptures daily

Attend all my church meetings

Family Home Evening

Family scripture reading

Listen to all of the conference talks during conference

Serve others and be aware of others needs

Personal Prayers night and day

FITNESS & Physical:

Exercise daily

Weigh 135-140ish lbs

Have a small chest (surgery or losing A LOT of weight?? this is probably impossible but still I can dream, can't I?)

White teeth

Tighter stomach

Tan skin

FUN & Improvements:

Practice piano and singing daily

No swearing (yikes... this is a bad one... it is just plain funny though! swear words just are funny! But I realized it was out of hand when I called my dad a certain B word that is much like fish poop while playing a board game...oops!)

No talking bad about anyone (I try... man I try... but some people do stoopid stuff that deserves to be laughed and talked about!)

Find a hobby and projects to keep me busy

Be a better friend (so I will be ready when I find my kindred spirit)

Have a closet full of nice flattering clothes (hmmm... this may take a life time!)

Get up at a reasonable time and actually start my day (instead of lounging on the couch till noonish)

Never be late ( HA! remember this is dreaming... these are not all possible, feasible attributes I can acquire!)

Pick up a skill that I can earn money at home from

FINANCES:

Get out of debt

FAMILY & Home:

Make beds every day

Play with my kids daily Have dinner made or cooking when Tony gets home (maybe start with a menu plan?)

Keep my house clean (as in visitor clean- Don't just lay... put away!)

Make breakfast/lunch for my hubby

Keep a journal for me and my kids

Keep my table and counters clear of junk build up

Try making a new meal every week

I am sure there is more that we can add later... but this will do for now! Obvious as it is... I am no where near what I wanna be! Which won't be bad if I have a life time to change... but what if I only have today left and I wasted my whole 26 years of existence? True the physical attributes really don't matter in the eternal scheme but everything else? Man... when I see God (which is coming closer with each day I sit on my butt doing nothing) He is gonna be so disappointed in me! They read a Christmas poem ('Twas the Night Before Christmas but changed to the 'Twas the Night Before the Jesus Came) at our Relief Society Christmas party this year. Here is the clip that got me....

When out of the East there arose such a clatter.
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray
I knew in a moment this must be THE DAY!

The light of His face made me cover my head
It was Jesus! returning just like He had said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in His hand
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;
When He said "it's not here" my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love
He gathered to take to His Father above.
With those who were ready He rose without a sound.
While all the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.

The part about "it's not here" totally killed me! I do NOT want that to be me and my family! So with 2012 nearly upon us I am making my New Year's Resolutions... 5 of them... one for Fun, one for Family, one for Finances, one for Fitness, and one for Faith. If I can accomplish 5 a year.... in 6ish years maybe I won't feel so unready and so inadequate!

Fun: Do projects to keep me busy and try something to earn money from home

Family: Family Home Evening EVERY Monday night and keep my house cleaner!

Fitness: Lose the rest of my baby weight plus 5 lb and exercise 3 times a week

Finance: Pay off $3000 of our huge amount of debt!

Faith: Daily Personal Scripture study and up my temple attendance

So that is it! I may work a wee bit on some of the other stuff. But I won't be devastated if they don't fall into place. But these 5+... I am really gonna try hard to achieve them! Wish me luck and have a happy new year!!

Family Pictures

2011-10-20T09:29:00.001-06:00

Not bad for having had a baby 11 days before, right? Thanks to my wonderful friend, Allison Miller, and my sister (who took just the close up of Coop) for taking some amazing photos of my sweet little family!

Kian's Arrival

2011-10-20T09:19:00.001-06:00

Pregnancy was pretty uncomfortable this time around. By the end I was having contractions frequently and so much pressure and I was pretty much miserable! I decided not to keep up with it on my blog this time cuz I don't wanna remember it or else I may not have another one! I really hate how fat I get, how uncomfortable it is, then all the after stuff.... it is all a bunch of poop and I HATE it all! I really want to be done having kids but I guess we will see in the next couple of years. I don't mind having a newborn... I just hate the pregnancy!
So by about 36 weeks I was dilated to a 2 and 75% effaced. I thought for sure this little bugger would come on his own. The last week I had 2 nights of close contractions but by about 2 AM both nights they just plain ol' stopped and another night without a baby. Just in case Kian did decided to come on his own we had Mik's fiance, Amy stay with us 3 nights the last week to be there for Coop instead of having to wake someone up in the middle of the night to come watch him! Then Tony's folks came into town and stayed with us. It was nice to know Coop would be taken care of and we wouldn't have to worry about that in the middle of the night!
Anyway... 38 weeks came, I was to a 4 and about 80% and still he did not come on his own! So we scheduled to be induced on the 6th (39 weeks). 4:30 that morning we called in and we were able to immediately go in at 5 AM. By 6 I was hooked up and on my way. We were so bored sitting there so we rented a good movie that really kept my attention and I hardly paid attention as the contractions slowly started to come which were mild and easy, breezy. By 8:30 they broke my water and immediately the contractions came on so strong I could hardly breathe! The good part was the moment the water broke in walked the epidural guy (same guy as last time and boy do I love him!). While he was hooking me up and I was praying the guy would hurry I seriously could feel the baby move down. Weird feeling! Dang water was just in the way and if it would have broken early I probably would have had the kid on my own like a week before!
Anywho maybe 10 painful contractions later the epidural started working! It was so easy compared to last time! As soon as the guy left the movie was turned back on. By 9:30 I told the nurse (who was awesome btw and I was lucky to have her the whole time (except the middle of the night)) that I felt alot of pressure. So she immediatly checked me and was like..."uh I better get ready for a baby to come and get the doctor!" We called the folks and they headed out the door to head to the hospital. By 10 the doctor, same as last time yet I liked her so much more this time, came in and she had me push thru 2 contractions and out popped Kian and that was that! Super easy... didn't even mess up my hair or make up! HA! And within 10 minutes in walk both our parents! I felt so good compared to last time... I kept saying, "I feel so good I could run a marathon!"
Kian James Long- 10:15 AM, 7lbs 14oz, 20.5 in with LOTS of hair, ears flat against his head, and the cutest little cry! I love that moment when the baby finally arrives and with the love of my life by my side our beautiful baby is laid in my arms and the world seems so beautiful and so peaceful and everything is so right! The love you feel is so strong and seriously takes my breath away! It is a beautiful moment that I won't forget with either one of my boys!
After one night in the hospital we were able to go home and actually relax and get some good sleep! Both mom and baby are happy and well and adjusting just nicely to their new life!! I guess after such an easy birth and such a sweet, beautiful, easy-going little guy it was worth it! I sure do love being a mom even if it means being pregnant to get the little cuties here!

Catch Up Till End of July...

2011-09-12T16:52:00.000-06:00

Back in May (mother's day weekend) Tony's folks came down and we all went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate Tony's sister's birthday. There, I entered a drawing and ended up winning! I won a $400 basket of stuff... hair cut/color, manicure/pedicure, massage, Scentsy stuff, Texas gift card, and microdermabrasion. So beginning of July started with me getting pampered! LOVED it!

The 4th of July weekend my cousin and best friend, Bridgette, and her hubby and 2 kids stopped by for dinner. Man, I wish she lived closer! I love her so much and even though we are so different in some ways we are so much the same in others and will forever be the best of friends! I hope we always stay close and our families always get along! The 2 boys get along for the most part... they sure had fun running naked thru the sprinklers though!

Man, I love these two! Aren't they handsome?

The 4th we had yummy crepes for breakfast then left for the Rexburg parade with some friends. It was long and hot but still fun! Coop's favorite was the candy, the horses, and the cheerleaders/dance teams (should I be worried?). Then we had meant to go to the splash park with our friends but there was family drama (due to my Gramma recently moving back around here) so we rushed home only to spend the afternoon bored and alone. So we went swimming in Coop's tiny little pool... that's right, Tony, me, Coop, and my huge belly bump all sat out back in a tiny pool! It was fun! Then we went to my folk's for a BBQ which ended up to be more drama (Tony and my brother in law got in an argument and my mom told them to get the blankity blank out of her house if they couldn't behave). Needless to say the party ended pretty quickly! So then we left for the fireworks with some friends. I LOVE the firework show here! It is not the 4th without 'em! Anyway... it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.... but in the end all the fun outweighed all the crap of the day!

This summer my brother proposed to his wonderful, sweet girl friend! We all love her and she is so good with the kids and so good for my brother. My brother has been on a wayward path for a while now and it is so good to see him coming back around! I see the brother I remember and love so much more now that he is with her! Anyway he was able to baptize her the beginning of August and it was an amazing, amazing day! I am so proud of her and once again proud of him and I can't wait for her to be part of the forever family! They are getting married at the church November 5th and hopefully sealed in about a year! I am so happy to have a sister-in-law that loves us and will be another sister to me and hopefully the best of friends!

The rest of the summer was filled with playing outside, going on walks, playing in the pool and sprinkler, Tony went to several local baseball games with friends, he played softball for work until he hurt his elbow (which he broke on his mission and is now messed up), went to his works picnic and won a free personal day (not the grill or TV we wanted but still nice!!), sat on the couch watching the series 24, and just enjoying life and awaiting the arrival of our new little one! Good, good, summer! Wish it wasn't over!

Catch Up Till End of June...

2011-09-12T15:51:00.001-06:00

So spring and summer has passed by so quickly and I have blogged NONE of it! So here is the sweet and condensed version of the past 4 months!

We spent Easter with my family this year. Coop and his friend London had their own little easter egg hunt in our back yard and loved it! We tried to make it to a community one, but it was over within 2 minutes and we didn't make it in time! Next year I guess! Here they are... they fight like crazy but still somehow always wanna hang out together!

I did lots of projects this spring and summer (starting in May and finally sorta finished like middle of July)... Coop's room was painted and shelves built, bathroom painted and hooks for towels put up, dining nook was painted with a chair rail and pics on the wall, and Kian's room was painted. Kept me busy instead of gaining weight while sitting on the couch eating junk food all summer!

Cooper had a family party for his 2nd birthday! I made the cake and it tasted REALLY good, but was such a pain and was falling a part! Next year... I buy one! Can't believe my baby is TWO! He is such a good boy (except for his I-am-tired tantrums) and I love him so much! I would never go back to life without him!

Memorial Day weekend we went to the zoo with some friends! I am so glad we have friends and they have kids that are Coop's age for him to play with! Coop loved the Zoo... he is obsessed with any and all animals (although horses, dogs, and lions are still his favorites!).

The zoo here is pretty weak sauce, but the lions were actually out, awake, and close. It was cool to see them actually be something other then lumps!

In June, Tony's brother came down with his kids and fiance and her little boy. He has only come down like twice in the past 15 years so the family was super excited! They went down to the falls one afternoon, had dinner at Tony's sister's house one evening, and then they all came over to roast marshmallows on our new, and very enjoyable, fire pit one night. We have used our firepit quite a few times this summer... with Tony's family several times, my folks, neighbors... it has been REALLY fun!

Life

2011-04-27T21:45:00.000-06:00

Well, so months and months have gone by AGAIN and yet everything is just about the same!! Life is going good and we are all happy and healthy! I am now 25ish weeks and the baby is just fine and after some blood work and a priesthood blessing found out that this baby will be just fine and there is no need to even worry!! YEAH!! I feel like poop already but what can you do? I am super excited to add the elimate of hot weather to my already sciatic nerve pains, heartburn, sleepless nights, and aches and pains!! YEAH!!
As to the gender... at 17 weeks the specialist old me he thought for sure it was a girl! Yeah... I bought the cutest outfits and had everything all planned, name and all. And then at 20 weeks my little girl had grown a penis, even played with it during the ultrasound just to make sure we knew it was there!! So plans changed! See... God heard me say, "yeah.. a girl!! now we can be done!" and He didn't like that so suddenly a little peter popped out to insure that I would have more the 2 kids! Cruel, I tell you!! I was perfectly fine with 2! Oh well, the more the merrier, right??
Anywho.. so August 13th (hopefully a few days earlier to spare me a few days of discomfort) Kian James Long will be joining our fam-damily!! (it is pronounced Ian with a K... just so ya'll aren't confused!) The James comes from Tony's mom's side of the family. I was doing some research on some ancestors and found that Tony has 2 ancestors that joined the church and went to Nauvoo and knew Joseph Smith and were there when the saints had to flee Nauvoo. Pretty cool, huh? This family, James Davenport and family, were sealed in the temple just before leaving, then packed up and headed out with the saints. James was called as the 11th captain of ten in the first 143 saints that went across the plains. Then he traveled back and forth several times helping get his family across the plains. I dunno just seemed like a very faithfully, honorable person for my boy to be named after.. and so it is, after MUCH debate, Kian James!
Cooper is doing good, cute as always. Tony is good and working hard and loving his job and the people he works for. I am good, as stated before. And life is just... going!! We have our ups and our downs, our troubles and worries, but then we have incredible blessings and we know that the Lord is watching out for us and all will be well if we but just endure and endure it WELL!!
Not much else to say... wish there was but then again excitement isn't always good excitement and so I will take the usual mundane happenings instead!!

2011-02-23T11:28:00.003-07:00

I know... I know... my last post was FOREVER ago! I am such a slacker! I have felt so awful since Christmas that I have done nothing but sit on the couch and gag!! I am now 15 1/2 weeks and feeling a little better... still tired and I still gag alot but not throwing up or anything. I also have ot gained a single pound!! I am hoping I can make it till 20 weeks like that and then I will have my whole second half to gain up to 35 pounds!! That seems reasonable right? All I know is I am not leaving the hospital weighing as much as I did last time! I WILL NOT weigh as much as I did for freakin 18 months afterwards!! No way, no how!! My goal is to lose all the weight by the first of the year... that will give me 4 1/2 months. Yikes!! I can do it!!

Ok so I will talk about the baby in a while... Christmas!! Tony's parents came down and we hung out with them and his sisters family laughing at old family videos on the 23rd. It was quite entertaining! Then on the 24th when Tony got off work we headed up to a cabin in Island Park. We started the weekend off with getting our freakin 2 wheel drive truck stuck cuz the dummies didn't come and plow like they said they would. But it made for some good memories! Then we just got to sit and relax and it was alot of fun.... well until Christmas morning came and good old morning sickness hit!

(Our views early Christmas morning and Christmas day...Gorgeous!!!)

(We played in the fresh new snow for a bit... I didn't feel well so I did not play for long. But Coop got pulled around in a sled for a while and everyone else went snowshoeing and really had fun with that.)

Hum... New Years I think we stayed home and went to bed... how boring are we? Oh and I thought I would document my New Years resolutions. I am not big on these cuz they go to pot the next week.. but I think they are reasonable. My goals: to end the year the same weight I started it at.. that means lose all baby weight by January AND to make scripture studying a habit. I don't have to do it every day (things happen) but by the end of the year to make it so that if I do end the day without reading I feel incomplete. does that make sense? And that's it... next year (if i complete my goals this year) I will pick to more reasonable goals and maybe in like 40 years I will almost be the person I wanna be but at least I am trying and working towards the "perfect" me!!

Since then Choir has started up again and I think my voice has changed.... I can barely sing above a middle C when I used to go another octave and then some! AH... and of course all of the songs this time are HIGH! It is going to be a patriotic theme and every one of the songs is awesome and I am sure I will cry at all of them (silly hormones!!). I am really enjoying it and if I can ever come up with the money to pay my dues... I think I will stick with it for a long time. Other then that I have been doing NOTHING... not even hanging out with friends and barely going to church! I think the awful weather outside is contributing to that a bit.... it along with feeling like poop I have no desire to put on my game face and try to care!! UGH! as for Mary Kay... yeah, not my thing, esp while being preggo and not wanting to do anything!! I am hoping for a children's choir conductor position.... more like praying and begging! We shall see in the next day or so. It would be perfect and fun and we need the money desperately!!

As for Tony he has been working away! Still loving his job and the people he works with... tease with them more then he works, I think!! He got an Xbox 360 for Christmas along with some of those shoot 'em up kind of games and he has been playing that alot... either online, with friends, or by himself. It is nice for him to be able to invite the guys over and he has a chance for "male bonding." He has also been playing basketball 1 -2 times a week at the church... which is great that it gets him off the couch!!! HA!! At least one of us is being somewhat active!!

Cooper is growing and becoming such a little man! He is loving Cars and The Incredibles right now and seems to watch them 10 times every day. He got a little plastic Lightening McQueen and a Sally car for Christmas and destroyed them so we had to go out and buy him some of the die-cast cars and he has to have them to go to bed at night. It is cute! As for bedtime... we are pretty strict about it now; 9PM instead of sometimes 10-11- even 12! It has become routine and he does really well and there are never any tears. He has a big boy bed now and has fallen out a few times, one time getting stuck between the bed and a book shelf... talk about traumatizing... but with his new bed he sleeps thru the night!! LOVE IT!! he can fold his arms (when he wants to) for prayer and says amen, he can tell us when he is poopie (which is quite funny... he says poopie then comes and turns and backs his butt towards our face so we can smell his pants), he loves to make phone calls, he has this really funny fake laugh he uses esp. when talking to someone on the phone, he has learned how to "play dead", and he loves to wrestle. He likes to get down to his diaper and he spreads his legs and throws out his arms and chest and roars then runs and tackles you. He loves to just play rough!!

As for the baby... like I said 15 1/2 weeks. I started with a new doctor and did not like him so after a battle I changed back to my old doctor and immediately felt better about the situation. So at 13 weeks I was finally able to see my baby!! Healthy and normal looking so all is good there. They do say I have a low-lying placenta which could cause problems later on but most of the time the placenta gets pushed back up away from the cervix before delivery. Oh and then get this.... so my blood type is 0+ but since I had my first kid and a blood transfusion when they test my blood they are picking up RH antibodies. Technically they shouldn't be allowed to co-exist in blood. So I can't have the RhoGam shot b/c it won't work with my blood type but that means the antibodies in my blood, if my blood passes thru to the baby, could see the baby as a foreign object and try to get rid of it. The dr. says it is very uncommon and she isn't sure what this will mean for the baby. So they are sending me to a blood specialist who will be able to ask all my questions. Alot of it is if blood passes thru to the baby, what the baby's blood type is, what kind on antibody it is, how strong of an antibody it is, and the list goes on. If it does try to attack the baby, they could do a fetal blood transfusion near the end of pregnancy but that will only give the baby enough good red blood cells to last for a few weeks for the baby to develop more. So does that mean if they find the baby in distress from my body attacking the baby they are going to have to take the baby early and how early and.... ahh! Too many questions!! It is more stress added to the whole baby process that I don't need... I already stress too much about every pain and what not. But I intend to have a blessing before I see the specialist and things will work out just fine. Sounds like the baby will be ok, just maybe early and maybe have jaundice or anemia when it is born. But it should be all ok... I just make everything worse in my head!! So I will let you know when we talk to the specialist!!

Well, that is life right now. A whole bunch of good!! Makes me wonder when the bad is going to hit!! It can't stay this easy and good for long, right?

The past couple of months....

2010-12-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

Once again I have slipped on keeping up with the blog!! Time just flies when you are having fun... or stressed! I dunno why when the holidays roll around everything has to happen and there is tons of stuff going on!! Let's start back way back in September. Silly me rear ended someone and my piece of crap car was worth less then it was to fix it. So the insurance trashed it, gave us more then it was worth and we bought a pickup... a 2001 Ford F150 4 door. It guzzles gas like crazy but Tony had to have it and I must admit it is fun!!

Beginning of October we went to my cousins wedding in Utah and got family pictures done. Then we stayed relatively calm until Halloween (which I already posted about). Then November came and we celebrated my brothers birthday with family. Then I finally turned 25 and I can rent a car if I ever wanted to!! Yippee!! My good friend spoiled me, we went out for chinese (my fav) with friends and then a few days later Tony took me to see a movie I had really been wanting to see. For my gift... I splurged and bought me some new clothes! Man it feels good to fit things and feel attractive which by the way I finally reached my pre-Cooper weight!!!! Anywho... middle of November the long awaited Deathly Hollows movie came out and we went with some friends! Can I say amazing?!! Two days before Thanksgiving Tony and I had the pukies, next day inlaws came down and we celebrated Thanksgiving at our house with them. We had a huge snow storm right before they came down... it was beautiful but made traveling for the holidays a real nightmare! But they made it safe and we had a good time with them... it was very nice to not have to worry about all the food (esp. the turkey) by myself! Then came the the end of Tony's training at work and a pay raise. It is nice to make more then crap each month! Things are still tight, but at least there is hope!! End of November we celebrated my sisters birthday.

Beginning of December we celebrated our anniversary by attending the ward Christmas party and then Tony went to go shoot zombies at a friends house. I didn't complain... it is just another day and when you got no money, what can you do?? The next night we made up for it by going to Tony's work party which was AWESOME. They took us out to Carino's, then bowling, and we won $75 in gift cards. It was fun and we left feeling pretty good!!! Then we celebrated my mommy's birthday with the fam. The next night my choir, the Choralaires, had their Christmas concert which was so much fun!!Yes, there are a bunch of old ladies that never talk to me, but I got a few friends there and it is fun and I love to be able to sing and perform!! I could stand up on the stage with the lights shining down every night!! I LOVED it!! It was a great way to start the Christmas season.

And now it is almost Christmas and I cannot figure out where the time went?! I have not even watched a single Christmas movie!!! AHHHH!! And I have only added to the busy- ness of things.... in hopes of trying to make some money to pay bills and yet not work out of the home I signed up for Mary Kay. Let's just say I have mixed feelings: t is overwhelming, and yet I am excited to see what could happen. I hope to make it work but we will see! It is either that or go out and get a night job. Well, but we have some awesome news that would make that difficult.... we are expecting!! We are due like August 13th!! Yeah!! But the first few months I could be sick, which would suck working at night and puking and then a few months later I will be taking maternity leave. So pretty much no one would even want to hire me now!!! So anywho!! There goes finally losing all my baby weight!!

So, we still have a high school choir reunion and concert, girls night Christmas party, inlaws coming down, Christmas in a cabin at Island Park with my family, a Mary Kay Debut party, New Years and celebrations, 30 facials I got to do by the 7th (SO LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LETTING ME PRACTICE ON YOU... hint hint), beginning of the new season Choralaires party, and then our first baby appt. and ultrasound!! Ah! I need life to slow down or I may just burst!!

As for Coop... man, he is so flippin cute... the light of my life!!! He LOVES Toy Story and begs to watch it over and over and over. He screams out "Woooy" and "Bu" all the time and gets super excited when he sees anything Toy Story. He is still obsessed with Sponge Bob and really likes Dora the Explorer now.... hmm, I think I let him watch too much TV, you think?! He is measuring 70ish percentile in height, in the teens for weight (which he can pack down a ton- like a whole happy meal- so I don't know why they say he is so skinny), but he takes after his momma and daddy when it comes to his head... he measures in like the high 90's!! Haa!! He is just a little top heavy! The doctor says he should know about 5-10 words, but he is way past that. I think we counted over 30!! Yup, my kid's a genius!! Let's see... what else? He has graduated to a toddler bed and here soon to a big boy bed! He loves to carry around this little baby doll (he is a kid... he can do that! we will worry when he does it at an older age but for now little boys can learn how to be soft with babies, ok?) He is so cute with it... he kisses it and rocks it and sings "rock, rock" like his Boppy does to him, and makes sounds like it is crying then shhhes it and shares his drinks with it.... I am just so excited for him to be a big brother!!!

Anywho...life is good!! Finances are a BEEEEPPPP but hopefully we can come up with creative was to make extra money and life can sure be stressful at times.... but the Lord blesses us with tender mercies every day and we have got each other, a home, a job, and our health. We are doing pretty good!! Here are some pictures of the past couple months... ENJOY!!!

I just had to share these... they are during our thanksgiving meal. Man, my kid is spastic and keeps us entertained and chuckling all day every day!!

Halloween

2010-12-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

Halloween this year was great! A couple of nights before some we carved pumpkins and made caramel apples with some friends, then the night before we had a party with a bunch of our friends, that night we went to my sister in laws house for yummy soup, then went trunk or treating at the church parking lot, and then spent the next couple of days eating candy!! It was fun to dress up and actually celebrate the holiday (never did all growing up) and to see Coop in his cute little lion costume and how darling it was each time he said "trick or treat!"

If you can't tell we were Dorothy, the Lion, and the Scarecrow. Aren't we cute??!!

Coop and his cousins (Tinkerbell and Peter Pan)

Boating

2010-09-23T15:38:00.000-06:00

My good friend's dad has some boats so she invited a bunch of us to go up to the reservoir for a day of tubing. it was so much fun hanging out with good friends and getting to make some new ones! I did not like the tubing... I was terrified to be flipped over backwards into the water and we were being bounced around like rag dolls... so it was a big possibility! I'd much rather sit on the dock, visit, and soak up some rays!! But all in all.. good times...good times! (there's a new post after this one...keep reading!!)

Our little family vacation

2010-09-23T11:17:00.000-06:00

Tony's parents have time shares and they were so kind and let us use some to stay for a few days down up Ogden Canyon in beautiful Eden, UT. My cousin and he husband and boy came with us and although it was short and just Utah... man it was fun to get away and have fun!! We swam, went to the Hoogle Zoo, went to Park City outlet malls, ate good food, visited family, goofed off... it was great!! (there's one more post after this!!)

Goodbye summer!!!

2010-09-23T11:07:00.000-06:00

My oh my... summer has come and gone and all I did was blink!! It was a wonderful summer and I am glad for fall but not excited for winter! Coop is now just about 16 months (AHHH) and is tons of fun and lots of trouble!! He loves to climb and all the time I am finding him on the table or up on the counter, and yes he has fallen off but does he learn?? NO!! He stands up and gets right back up there. I am not working now so we find ourselves bored and doing nothing all day... thus I am sleeping on the couch. One day I woke up to find a poopie diaper on me, Coop standing next to me with poop all up his arms and legs, poo on the carpet, and my dining room wall and floor nicely decorated in POO!! AH! I almost beat him! I hurried and took him to the tub and cleaned him up then let him play for a minute or two while I started the clean up of the wall and floors. Not more then a minute later he started screaming... went back there to find he was eating the soap and had decided he didn't like it and was mad!! It was then I called Boppy (my mom) and told her to come save her grandbaby!! He has also been getting in the last of his teeth and boy, is he a pill!! He went to nursery with his daddy this last Sunday and LOVED it! Wish we could just leave him there even though he is not old enough yet!! Tantrums are a daily thing, but thank goodness he still takes 2 naps a day!! He loves to read... every night we must read a book and he climbs up in our laps (love it) and read one after another. Then when it is time to go to bed, he pulls up his blankie and tucks himself in and then reads a book in bed. Coop still does not sleep thru the night, but he no longer has bottles in the middle of the night! Any more we pick him up and hug him, get him a drink of water, then read him a short book and put him back in bed to read... a short 5 minutes so it ain't so bad. Coop loves to be outside, although I am a bad mom and hate to take him out there just to watch him get into everything. I can do that inside on the couch with a TV to entertain me!! Him and dad go out and play basketball. He loves balls and has got a pretty good arm!! He also loves the neighbors toy car and everytime we are outside he steals it... the little thief!! But even though he is a terd and is so naughty sometimes... he is a bundle of joy and we play and play and run and giggle and he is constantly making us laugh and giving kisses and man, we love him! He makes our life good!!! Here are some pics of my big boy and his adventures!!

As for Tony.. he got a job!! YEAH!! He is in the middle of training at the Bank of Commerce. He seems to really like it and comes home tired but excited about the job, the people he works with, and what the future might hold for him there at the bank. The training pays more then the last job but not much. Come the end of November (end of training) when he takes his position as administrative asst. he will get a raise... and I am hoping a good one so we can start to get our sorry butts out of some debt!!

As for me... I hate staying home all day every day! It is miserable! By the end of the day I just wanna... I dunno.... beat my head into the wall a thousand times!! My mom is busy alot of times, friends are either working, pregnant and sick, or busy, and my sister is always hanging out with other people or wants to be home alone. So I am alone!! I spend lots of time on the computer planning parties and programs and decorating and ideas that I know will never happen but it least it gives me something to do. For the last month I have been working out...yes, lazy me working out! (well, the last 3 days I have been busy, forgetful, or no car seat to get there but other then that...) I must say I feel good but I hate doing it! I hate the sweat, being tired, taking up the time to do it, the pain while in the process... it all sucks. And I feel like i have lost nothing and still look fat. But I suppose I am gaining muscle and losing fat...or at least I hope! I have been running about 3-4 days a week at night (1 mile) and then in the morning I go to the church with some sisters in the ward and work out for 45 minutes to an hour. I have also been trying to squeeze in a walk with family before I run. Hopefully I will lose 10 lbs by December, but we will see. I have also joined a local all womens choir. They are all pretty old so I feel out of place and it in no means compares to my amazing experience with high school choir, but at least I am using my talent before the Lord decides to take it away. Oh and Tuesday I got myself into car accident. I was coming off the interstate and came to a stop behind a car at the stop sign. The car in front of me started to pull forward, so I looked to the right and put my foot on the gas and started to pull up the white line. Well, the lady never really pulled out...she only pulled forward to get a better view to make sure it was safe to pull out. So I rear ended her! Not much damage. Her car a piece of plastic fell off the back and has a small scratch or two (but b/c cars are crap nowa days and the cheap plastic piece is the entire back it it will all have to be replaced). My car the lights are pushed in, the grill is bent in, and the hood is bent up a bit. Not bad but enough that I can't open the hood to replace fluids or fix anything, can't drive it at night cus of the lights, and looks more like a trashy persons car then a teeny bopper's car. Plus I got an $85 ticket! At least Coop and I are safe... gotta keep reminding myself of that!

Well... that is life as of right now; a perfect mixture of goodness and stress!

The Story of the Globos

2010-08-08T21:46:00.002-06:00

We are currently looking for a job and boy, oh boy, is it fun! There is nothing available around here and we really don't wanna move. It is just frustrating and scary and soon student loans will need to be paid each month and Tony's job just doesn't cut it! And so... my faith has been wavering. I can't decide if I am faithful and I know that if I am doing what I am supposed to then the Lord will see to it that everything works out just right. OR... whether I have faith or not if He wants us to "learn something" He is going to just sit and watch with amusement while we squirm down here until He feels like doing something. Anywho... in one of my faith wavering moments my friend sent me this.... The Story of the Globos. It is from an email her cousin, who is serving a mission in Argentina, sent to her in one of her faith wavering moments. It lifted my spirits!

"Think back to our Christmas phone call when I told you about globos, which are floating paper lantern that Argentines light on Christmas Eve and New Year´s. The first globo I ever saw was from the top of a roof in Rio Segundo. I looked up and saw this incredible glowing light just hovering above my head in the dark, summer sky. A few wise little children explained to me that after lighting a globo, one must send it off into the air and watch it float up into the sky like a helium balloon, until it disappears from sight. Each time someone sends their globo off into the sky, they make a wish. If the globo floats high enough to disappear out of sight, the wish comes true. And it´s quite the site, to see so many globos flying so high. So many wishes in the sky. But as I watched the globos, I immediately became transfixed by something else. One globo directly above my head, by its own flame, ignited into a magnificent fire. As it caught fire, the flames danced across the sky, sparks falling to the air below. And it was beautiful. I found myself suddenly more interested in the globos igniting on fire than on the globos floating perfectly into the sky.

Each time a globo caught on fire the kids would scream, ¨No! No! Aaaah!¨ The wish wasn´t going to come true. I couldn´t help but thinking, however, that such is life. Sometimes wishes don´t come true, or at least not in the way we expected them to. Sometimes they don´t go where we wanted them to go. Sometimes our wishes catch the fire of their own flame, and instead of floating up to the stars with the rest, they ignite in unexpected and unconventional ways. And it´s different, and startling, and not according to plan. And yet, despite all of that, it doesn´t stop being beautiful. It doesn´t stop being purposeful. There´s a lot to be learned from a wish that comes true in a different way than one anticipated... a lot to be learned from a globo on fire."
(written by Elder McKay Nield)

Graduation

2010-07-26T13:42:00.003-06:00

Finally... after many years of torture, stress and grumpiness... he is done! Tony graduated July 23rd, 2010 from BYU-Idaho with a Bachelors degree in Business Management with an emphasis of Finance. What a glorious day! Although we knew it would be a VERY long ceremony, Tony decided to walk anyways. He was so cute in his graduation get up! I was just so proud that he made it (there were many days I thought he never would finish)!! His parents came up for a week and a half to hang out and attend Graduation with us. Coop was spoiled rotten with attention and loved every minute of it! They went to the zoo, Coop and I took my niece out one evening while everyone else went to a dumb baseball game, we worked, we played, we enjoyed each others company, and ate lots of yummy food! Now it is time for Tony to find a good paying job so we can get our butts outta debt!! With the job market the way it is... keep us in your prayers!!

4th of July and Reunion

2010-07-26T13:11:00.002-06:00

I love the 4th of July! it is my second favorite holiday, right behind Christmas. This year we spent the 4th up in good ol' Montana with Tony's folks. The fireworks were nothing compared to the Idaho Falls show, but it was pretty good for a town that is nothing more then 2 bars, a school that fits all grades on one small 3 building campus, and a tiny grocery store. Coop wasn't sure about the fireworks; it wasn't the loud noise but the bright sparkly lights.... what a wuss!! He sure loved being up there with his Gramma and Grampa, though!! He is definitely a Grampa's boy!

Our main reason for going up to Montana was to go to Tony's ten year reunion. Out of 26 kids, 11 showed up. It was nice for Tony to see everyone, but was not the worth the price of admission ($14 for sub sandwiches and $5 for a port-a-potty we didn't even use). Coop loved it! He ran all over that park, I swear he covered every square inch! He definitely loves going and doing and getting messy.... he is a true boy thru and thru!!

Friends

2010-07-26T12:48:00.000-06:00

I am so lucky to have good friends! We try to get together as families at least once a month (sometimes more) and now that I am a stay at home mommy I get to play with friends all through the week. I love it!

Cooper's 1st Birthday Bash!!!

2010-06-16T09:58:00.001-06:00

This is usually Janna's thing but I thought I would help her out.

We had my family and Janna's family over for Cooper's 1st birthday, Janna made a monkey cake for Coop which you can see from the pictures he demolished. Because we don't really like cake too much we had banana splits for everyone. Coop got lots of toys and clothes, he most likes the toys :)

2010-05-12T09:57:00.000-06:00

I know it has been a LONG time since I have posted. But to be truthful, not much has happened.

Tony finished his winter semester and started up again the middle of April. It is his last semester, which includes: his "senior project" where groups do some financial consulting for companies in Rexburg, his internship which is just at the same job he has been working at the past 5 years, and then 15 credit hours of classes. Needless to say he is doing homework all the time and there is not much else going on. But he will graduate July 23rd...yeah!! Oh he has gotten a calling finally, and it seems like it is one he will actually like to do.... sunday school presidency first counselor. So he wanders the halls collecting rolls and ringing the bell. Wooweee!!

Coop is getting in his top and bottom molars which makes him CRANKY and whiny. He is every where and into everything. Middle of April he took his first steps all by himself and it has been a slow process ever since. He once and a while adventures off to walk between the couch and a toy, his shoulders all scrunched up and his hands a waving all over the place. But for the most part he prefers crawling right now and we have to force him to walk going back and forth between Daddy and me. He is just over 20 lbs and just about one so we bought him a new car seat and turned in facing forward. He loves being able to watch us which makes driving with him so much easier!! What else?? Um... he waves now! He can't wave bye bye, he doesn't understand that yet, but he knows hello. When we get up in the morning and open his blinds I always say, "Good morning, world!" and he waves. And when I put him down for a nap, and he is actually wanting to go to sleep and not yelling at me to take him back out of the crib, he just smiles at me and waves as I close the door. He also says "Boppy," which is what we call his Gramma Anderson (my nephew first started calling her that and it has somehow stuck). Well, it is more like "Bop," but I think that is what he is saying. Other then that... that is our Cooper Pooper as of right now. He is just the cutest thing and I love being his mommy. Even when he is screaming at me and fighting me when I am trying to wrestle to change his diaper... man, I love him! My life would be dull and absolutely terrible without him! He just makes me happy and all I wanna do is hug him, and squeeze him , and kiss him all day every day!

As for me, I am loving (for the most part... I have my days) my calling. I am on the enrichment board and amazingly enough I am actually doing my job! That doesn't happen much cus I hate being told what I have to do. But it is fun planning activities and what not, it keeps my brain from thinking depressing, negative things about life, the world, and myself (I tend to do that!). I am also still working at the Charter School as a 6th grade aide. Once again I have my days but for the most part I love it! Unfortunately I actually have to work when I go, but whenever I have the chance I goof around with the kids. One of the kids cam up to me the other day and said, "Ms. Janna, you are just like a big kids stuck in a grown up body. It's great!" It is true! I would much rather "hang" with the kids and be their friend then tell them to walk in line or not call each other names or what not! The school year ends on the 28th and then I am done. I really think I am going to cry. Those kids have become my kids and I love them as such. They are my friends, if that is ok and normal for a 24 year old to be friends with 12 year olds?! I am truly going to miss them! What else for me??? Pretty much nothing! I spend my time watching good shows like Lost (which as of last night has gotten WEIRD), Castle, NCIS, Hannah Montana, and Suite Life on Deck, and surfing the many crafty blogs out there, wishing I had the money, talent, and space in my house to do all that cool stuff. And that is me in a nut shell.

So as you can see life is just...life! Stressful and unforgiving at times and then simply and utterly beautiful at other times!

Here are a few photos of Coop doing the same ol' sitting-in-his-jammies-hanging-out sort of thing. Nothing exciting. We are getting family photos here in the next month, so I will try to post those. I will also try to get more pics of Tony and I in here too. We may be goofy looking and I hate being photographed, but I wanna preserve the memories!

Pictures of Cooper

2009-12-29T22:57:00.000-07:00

Cooper went with us to watch a Griz game at Iggy's sports bar, along with some of Tony's hometown friends.

Cooper still loves taking baths, but now he can sit up and roll around in the water without trying to drown himself! Makes my life easier!

Coop loves to play x-box with his Daddy. Which by the way, I do believe he knows how to to say, as well as mom and ba-ba. Tony will argue it but I know he can say it and he knows what they mean!

He is so close to crawling. Any day now, that's for sure! Right now he army crawls to get where he wants to go, and he is always wanting to go somewhere. It is so cute when he crawls up to your feet and reaches up to you and looks at you like "hold me, mommy!" I love it!

This is his new outfit he got from Gramma and Grampa Long for christmas.

Daddy and Coop, chillin after bath time!

He now has 5 teeth (one more on the way), he can talk your ear off (most of which is complaining), growls like a lion, gets into everything he is not supposed to, and he knows how to clap! He is just about the cutest thing there ever was and I love him to pieces! And every day he gets bigger and more grown up and I want him to stay my little baby forever!

Christmas

2009-12-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! We spent Christmas eve playing with our new toy - a Wii (most of which was paid for by a gift card from Tony's work...which was a very nice and wonderful surprise). Then we went over to my folks house and played games with my mom and dad and brother. It was alot of fun! Every once and a while Tony comes out of his cranky shell around others and is just a hoot! We laughed and laughed! It was a wonderful thing to be so content as a family...normally there seems to be contention and stress. Then Christmas we went to my folks again and all of us had dinner together. Later that afternoon we went over to Tony's sister's house and played on their new Wii with everyone. It was nice... instead of everyone going off to different rooms and watching some sort of sports game, we all sat down stairs and played and laughed! It was good and I greatly enjoyed being together and getting to spend some good times with my niece and nephews! Ahh... the technology of the Wii- bringing families closer together! Tony has had this whole week off wich has been great ( I really like that word right now... just so many things seem so great!) We have had lots of lazy time which is nice before Tony having to go back to school and me back to work after a 3 week break (which I am totally not looking forward to! Man, those little 6th graders, as much as I love them, can give me a head ache!). On Thursday Tony's folks get to come down and spend the beginning of a new year with us! So over all, christmas break has been and will be GREAT!!

2009-11-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

So Cooper can almost sit up! He can do it for a little while until he gets all excited and starts jerking his body around, then he falls right over! He is now a week and a half shy of 6 months, weighs 17 lbs 8 oz, has two bottom teeth, giggles and babbles all the time, gives sloppy baby kisses, rolls all around the house to get where he wants to go, and has learned to throw tempertatrums when he doesn't get what he wants (uh oh...just like his mommy!). He is just the gosh darn most cutest thing ever! Oh and my favorite part right now is when he wakes up or is falling asleep he will reach up and put his hand on my cheek and just hold my face! I love it!!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Yeah!! It is November... Thanksgiving here we come! I love this time of year; all the cooking and baking, the first snow, family and friends gathered round, and then Christmas right around the corner. And so...with it being the season of Thanksgiving, I thought I would express thanks for the many blessings I have!

the Atonement, Cooper, my Dad, Electricity, Eternity, Family, Freedom, Friends, Girls night, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, good Health, Heavenly Father, hoildays, Home, our Jobs, Knowledge, Love, Make-up, my sissy Maren, my Mom, MUSIC, nature ('cept for bugs, rodents, and dirt), Opportunity, Pajamas, Prayer, Priesthood/blessings, Rest, my Savior, seasons, Toilets and toilet paper, Tony, United States Of America, Vacations, my Ward, Weekends, Yummy-Food

I am sure there is more I am thankful for, but oh well, maybe I will add stuff in as I remember! Happy Thanksgiving, everbody!!

2009-10-15T09:59:00.000-06:00

With Halloween right around then corner (not that I am that in to Halloween) and thus being the season of scares and terrors, I thought it would be fun to share my own scares and terrors (or the things I am most scared of). Two lists... one for the things that are ridiculous and then one for the things that are more meaningful... and neither one are in order.

Ridiculous Scares:
1. Birds
2. Darkness
3. Heights
4. Bad Guys
5. Halloween Haunted Houses
6. Scary Movies and cop shows (like NCIS/ CSI)
7. Someone hiding behind the shower curtain or in our crawl space
8. Knifes... being stabbed

Meanignful Terrors:
1. Pain
2. Losing a loved one (esp. my husband or child)
3. Serious Illness (for me or for someone I love)
4. The Second Coming (must not be prepared, eh?!)
5. Someone breaking into my home
6. Being raped
7. Not having been righteous enough to get to be with my family forever
8. Satan's Power
9. My kids going down the wrong path

Anywho!! Hope you have a Happy (and safe!) Halloween, everybody!

2009-10-14T22:06:00.000-06:00

We are just posting this for Gramma and Grampa! They live a ways a way and miss out on seeing the little guy! So we thought we'd drop them a hello! We love you, Gramma and Grampa!!!!

(We recorded it once and Coop was just a talkin and yellin... and farting. Very cute indeed! But goofy Dad messed up and lost the recording somehow. So the second time around we had to try and get him to talk... thus Tony in the background sounding like he is constipated!)

Logan Trip

2009-10-09T16:33:00.000-06:00

We went to Logan to see the Sunderhaus family, they were up from Mesa to visit Jacque and Curt who live in Logan. We had a really fun time hanging out with them on Friday and Saturday, wish we could see them more often.
Gramma Wendi just fell in love with Cooper from the moment she saw him. She spoiled him rotten the whole time we were there, and Coop loved every minute of it. Grampa Herb sure loved him too. Cooper is so lucky to have 3 sets of grandparents.

Cooper w/ Gramma Wendi

Cooper w/ Grampa Herb

What a flippin cute kid!!

Now that is the way to watch conference.

the end of summer

2009-09-15T17:51:00.000-06:00

Well, summer has gone by fast and not much has gone on all summer long. The number of somewhat productive/exciting things we have done this summer is pretty small. We went to the reunion, put in a sprinkler system, did yard work and planted trees and bushes, put in a patio, went to Gramma and Grampa Long's house for Labor Day, started going to high school football games and Coop LOVES it, and then just little things like went to see Harry Potter, had an outdoor movie night, lots of girls nights out, Tony started playing softball, and watching the seasons of Friends. Other than that.... we have been a pretty boring bunch!

As for Cooper...oh my goodness...everytime I look at him he looks like he has grown a BUTT LOAD!! He is so big and most definitely the cutest baby of all time (and it is not just because I am his mom that I say that... it is the truth!) He smiles all the time and is just a bundle of joy! I look at him sometimes and just become overwhelmed with how much I love him! He had his first cold this past week which turned into a ear infection! It is so sad to see him not feel good... his cute little cry becomes the saddest little cry and I just cry for him, the poor thing! He is on some meds and seems to be doing so much better. When we went to the doctor yesterday found out he weighs 14 lb 12 oz! One pound more and he has doubled his birth weight and he is not even 4 months yet! Oh and the most exciting Cooper news... he can roll over! He just did it today! Yeah!! I guess I better start watching him instead of leaving him places!
This is Coop and his Boppy. Everytime I said "smile" my mom would open her mouth super wide... silly Boppy!

This is Coop at his first football game. The stands were packed and it was way load but he Loved it! All smiles as usual!

Random pictures of my baby boy

2009-07-28T12:39:00.000-06:00

Gosh he is a cute kid!!

With his big ears he looks like and elf or an imp

Coop just loves bath time!!

We went to eastern Montana for the Long family reunion. Other then the fact that it was several nights of camping (ticks, misquitos, dirt, heat, uncomfortable sleeping conditions, and smoke) which I hate, it wasn't all that bad! We went jet skiing for just a wee bit, on a rid along the resevoir on a little scooter, good food I didn't have to cook or clean up after, and good company.

4 generations

my smiling baby boy

2009-07-08T11:42:00.000-06:00

Coop smiles when falling asleep. He obviously likes to go to sleep as much as his mommy!

The 4th of July Weekend

2009-07-08T11:08:00.000-06:00

For the 4th Tony's Mom and Dad came down to stay. We worked all day Friday adding on to our back patio. That night within a matter of minutes, my whole body was covered in HUGE hives. After watching them just get worse and worse, we decided to go into the ER. After 2 or so hours there I got 2 benedryl, some nasty tasting medicine mixed with, I am sure, a very expensive cup of apple juice, and one shot in the arm then they charged us $700 and sent me home. Unfortunately the hives still lasted for several days afterwards. You can sorta see them on my arms in some of the pictures... if not my face sure shows my discomfort! Not sure what I was allergic to, but I certainly don't want them to ever come back! They were miserable not to mention expensive!
Saturday we had a barbie-Q with my folks then a few hours later had another one with Tony's family. Then off we went to the park to watch the fire works. On Sunday Coop was blessed. My close family was there and alot of Tony's family came... it was nice to have them all there with us. After church, everyone came over and had brunch. I thought it was going to be alot more special and meaningful of a day... but the benedryl they had me on made me so sleepy I don't even remember most of it! Oh well, what can you do!?
All in all it was a busy, tiring, and expensive weekend. Coop sure enjoyed all of the attention he got from Gramma and Grampa Long and I enjoyed the 3 nights of Tony and his mom taking care of Coop seeing that I was too drugged up to wake up myself.

Cooper Pooper

2009-06-19T19:14:00.000-06:00

Fears of being a MOM

2009-06-09T20:33:00.000-06:00

Man oh man... I think the hardest thing about being a mom is not the constant feedings and crying and poopie diapers but all of the new fears that arise. There are so many things that could go wrong, so many things that could hurt my little guy, that could pull him down and lead him astray. So many things could destroy this little precious body and soul that has been intrusted to my care and that scares me so badly. I just want him to always be safe, to always be healthy, to be smart and talented, to never know true fear or hunger or sadness. I never want him to be alone, to feel unworthy, to go astray and sin. I suppose all mom's feel that way and it is a feeling that one cannot comprehend until they have the responsibility of being a mother and care taker placed upon them. I just wanna keep him exactly how he is right now, asleep in his little bed, breathing soundly, looking cute as can be, safe and warm and innocent (not packed full of raging hormones). Right where I can hold him when he needs comforting and love and I can keep him, for the most part, safe from the scary things of the world. But I guess that is where faith comes into the picture... faith that God knows what is best for my baby and whatever may happen, whether it be some sort of disease or accident, the temptations of the world, bad guys, natural disasters, etc... that God is in control and that we are sealed together as a family for all eternity and that love and bond cannot be broken!

The details

2009-06-06T09:43:00.000-06:00

So now that I am feeling almost human again I thought I would jot down all of the details for all who are intertested.
We were scheduled for an induction at 5 AM on Thursday the 28th. As directed we called at 3:30 AM to see that a room was available and, of cource, there was not one. So we called again at 9AM... still no room. They then called us back and told us to be there at 10. We arrived at the hospital at 9:45 only to be told that 5 minutes before some lady came in, already in labor, and stole my room. AHH!! After about an hour and half or more of sitting around we were finally able to check in and get up to a room.
By about 12:30 I was finally hooked up to the pitosin. After almost a full bag of pitosin and crankin the IV drip up to a 10 (which they say is about where people normally start feeling strong contractions) poor little me was still sitting there feeling hardly anything. They changed the bag of pitosin, just in case it wasn't mixed right, and continued to crank up the dosage of pitosin to like a 20! Finally I started to feel something.
By 8 PM I was getting quite uncomfortable and yet was still only dialated to a 2. AHH! By 11:30 PM the doctor finally graced us with her presence and decided I was at a 3 and she broke my water. I believe that at about this point (although I am not positive because time didn't seem to matter so I didn't keep very good track of exactly when things happened) Coop went into distress. All of a sudden 6 nurses were running around the room and flippin me this way and that and pokin me with this and that. I asked one of the nurses if I should be nervous for the baby or a chance of a c-section. She just patted my hand and said, "Yeah, I would start to be a little nervous." Great...thanks lady! I just started to cry at that point. I guess his normal heart beat was like 150ish and it dropped to like 56 bpm. But they got him to calm down by putting me on oxygen and from then on I had to keep the mask on. I hated it. I felt like I couldn't breath, which is odd seeing that it is there to help you breathe... but for me I just felt like I was going to suffocate.
So still only dialated to a 3, I found the pain quite unbareable. Tony just kept breathing with me and telling me how good I was doing. Bull poop... I was whining like a big ol' wimp for any sort of meds they would give me. So they gave me some meds through my IV (twice) that helped for about 3 hours. I was so loopy on that medicine I couldn't even open my eyes without the room spinning and I talked really sluggish. I loved it! But unfortunately it had to wear off. Tony started breathing with me again, which I must say I could not have done it without him. He was so good and helpful and loving and, heck... if he could help make this baby he could help bring it into the world and he sure did! By the end he was almost as tired as me... well almost!
Anywho... so at this point I began to feel like I was going to lose it. I told Tony to get the nurse to come check me to make sure I was far enough along for an epidural. I told him he needed to do it right then seeing that it would probably take a little while for the person to actually show up and the guy needed to be done administering the epidural before it got too bad and I would totally lose it. He just kept telling me to breathe and that I could do it. But I knew I couln't do it for much longer.... so I grabbed his hands tighter and jerked them and said he had better go get that nurse.... and pronto! I remember being quite mad and being forceful about the matter but Tony will tell you otherwise. Maybe I was too tired to sound any meaner then I actually did!
Thankfully, the nurse walked in right then and said she would call for the epidural guy to come in but that it would take 15 - 20 minutes. I was so mad at Tony... if he would have gotten the nurse to get the guy 20 minutes before like I had asked I would have been numb by then! GRRRRR!
Well, the guy came in and was the nicest guy ever and the epidural was in within minutes! As he was leaving I told him I loved him... he just laughed and said "Well, thank you and I love you too!" Then the nurse hurried and checked me and I was at a 5! Yeah for me... half way there! After that I immediately feel asleep for quite awhile. The nurse came in and woke me up to check me again. I was at an 8! So she had me do some trial pushes to get my cervix to finish its thing. Then she turned off the light and out I went again.
Finally at about 2ish, the nurses came in and started putting hands all up in there and pulling this way and that and trying to pry my poor cervix apart. It was not so pleasant. By the time I actually started pushing (about two hours later), after pressing the button to release more of the epidural twice, I was so bruised and there was so much pressure and the epidural didn't even seem to be working. I kept asking "Well, shouldn't I be numb? I can feel all of that!" They told me that the epidural didn't fix the pressure pains. Great!
So at about 3:30 - 4ish they had me start pushing. Meanwhile they were still down there, up to there elbows pulling me this way and that. I guess his head was facing up and he kept getting caught on the bone so they were trying to get me open enough for him to slip past that.
So, I would have a contraction about every 45 seconds to a minute and would push 4 times, 10 seconds each with only a breath inbetween. With the oxygen face mask on, by the time I got to the middle of the 4th push I would start to gag. I almost threw up several times into my mask. It was awful! And poor Tony had a hard time with the smell. With all of the odd junk coming out from down there, Tony kept getting queasy and had to put on a face mask. I was so worried about him..he looked so tired and was quite greenish.
At about 5 AM they tried the fourceps... twice. But I was too uncomfortable and would tense up and the doc couldn't get them up there far enough to work. She kept hesitating to use the vacuum because she said they were not likely to work. Finally she decided to use them. After two time of using the vacuum and two sets of pushing... 5:55 AM little Cooper Anderson Long was born. I just started to bawl... I dunno if it was because he was so beautiful and all mine or if I was just glad it was over.
After the placenta came out, I hemorrhaged. So the docter went back up there with these big long metal tools pulling one way with a nurse pulling the opposite way to try and see up there to see if I tore. After a long time and a bunch of complaining from me, she finally decided nothing was wrong.
Then it was on to recovery. They told me that I lost alot of blood and that they needed to monitor it. So the night of the 29th they checked it. Then they checked it the next morning and said it was lower and that they were considering a transfusion. That night they finally took my IV out because it was beginning to bruise and they had stopped pumping me with liquid the night of the 29th. They had left it in just in case I needed the transfusion, but when they took it out I assumed it to mean I was ok. So the next morning, the day I was supposed to go home, they came in and checked me blood again. A couple of hours later, in walks the doc and says, "You lost 1/2 of your blood supply and we are a little concerened about your recovery. It may take 3 months before you can even function normally if we don't do it, but it is up to you." Well, great! If they had told me at the beginning I had lost 1/2 of my blood supply I would have said yes...give me the blood. But the day I was supposed to go home? Ugh...I just started to cry!
Well, I decided to go ahead and do it. They tried and tried (5 times) to start a new IV but my viens were so small from lack of blood. I felt like if I drank anything I would have water shooting out of all my holes from attempted IVs! Eventually they got it and in came the blood...which took all day long. I finally went home sometime after dinner that night.
Now I am home, exhausted, have muscles in my back screaming at me, weakness, swelling everywhere, stiches from tearing, symptoms exactly like morning sickness (can barely hold my food in from either end) and very much so hormonal. But I am getting better each day and I have a beautiful baby boy who is so mellow and calm and I can't wait to be completely recovered and past the exhaustion a little bit so I can enjoy being a mom!

More Pics of the little guy.

2009-06-01T22:24:00.000-06:00

Cooper Anderson Long

2009-05-30T10:30:00.000-06:00

5/29/09

5:55 am

7 lbs 14 ounces

20 1/2 in

Cute as a button!

Mom was exhausted.

Shortly after birth.

One Happy Daddy!!

Rylie loves little Cooper!

Yup.... still pregnant

2009-05-26T03:02:00.000-06:00

Still no baby! Pain in the butt child! So - I will be induced bright and early (5 AM) on thursday and I am not too excited about that. I really wanted him to just come on his own, but ever since we first started trying to have kids nothing has gone the way I wanted. Stinking kid is taking over and he'll do whatever he pleases, including show up when he is darn tootin ready to! Too much like his momma! Just wait till he gets old enough... he is going to be grounded all the time for being disobedient and ornery! Pay back, child! Anywho... wish me luck! I have heard that being induced hurts like the dickens because the contractions come on so much faster and harder. I have also heard that there is a bigger chance of having to have a c-section when being induced! AHAH... I do NOT want that! Well hopefully by mid thursday our little Cooper Pooper will have finally come to join the party! Hurray!!!

Dash it all!!!

2009-05-13T15:57:00.000-06:00

So I went in for my 38 week appointment today. The kid is going to be in there forever! I have 10 days left and yet she (my doctor) says that my cervix is still so tight light couldn't even squeeze through!! This means that I can't have my membranes stripped or be induced until I start to "ripen" even a tiny bit! AHHAH this sucks!!

Complaining and whining

2009-04-29T07:27:00.000-06:00

AH! So I am done...officially and completely had it! I don't know how people do this more then once let alone sometimes 5, 8, 10, 15+ times! It can not be healthy what goes on inside a pregnant ladies body... all those organs begin shifted and scrunched and kicked at! Not to mention what it does to your muscles, joints, bones, and of cource your mind! Or heck...what it does to your outsides is not so pretty either!! I used to want to be done so I could see the little guy and hold him and what not. Now... I want him out so I can feel somewhat human again! Give the kid to the nurse, a friend, Tony, a relative...make them hold him for a good long 3 hours so I could actually get some comfortable sleep! AH!

Yeah so I woke up this morning... no I take that back, I don't think I was ever asleep. Maybe the first hour after I turned out the lights I slept, but it was so filled with dreams of me and Tony fighting, or me fighting at Tony and maybe hitting him once or twice that it certainly didn't do me much good! SO, I got out of bed this morning, feeling like I had been hit by a semi, almost in tears from just wanting to sleep -(For those of you who don't know, my body does not function well unless I have at least a good 8 hours of sleep, if not 10-15 hours! I just need sleep!) -walked into the bathroom and there on my face is an ink stain. I wrote on my hand yesterday to remind myself to do something...well I won't forget now cus it is on my face!! My lip is split open from us having a fan on in our room cus I am too hot at night and now the split in my lip is swollen and puffy and I assume a cold sore. Then a I walk out to make Tony a sack lunch and had an overwhelming urge to puke! Didn't actually do it but when I pulled out that bag of chips to put into Tony's lunch... man they stunk something fierce and I had to pause and breathe for a moment or two.

Then I sat down to study some for a stoopid praxis test I have to take; a test I have to take or else I can't keep my job next year. Yeah, the potlickers tell me when they hired me last August that I had the equivalent amount of college credits to that of an associates degree and that I did not need to take the praxis test, which it is required to either have an associates or pass the praxis test to work as an aide there at this charter school. So half way through the school year they tell me I am fricken 6 credits off and that I need to take the test (don't know how they missed that or misunderstood the amount of credits I had the first time around but oh well...). They told me that they would be doing the test there at the school as a group, and they would notify me when they would do so. So I waited and asked and waited and asked and got more pregnant and bigger and asked and waited... and hear nothing back about it for several months. So I just started getting praxis books from the library and started studying.. and man, it seemed like a ridiculously hard test for just an aide to be taking! Then like two weeks ago I hear that people have already taken the test and somehow they forgot about me. Thanks for telling me, people!!

So I go to the principle to find out what the heck I needed to do and after finally hearing back from her, I find out that A) I had been studying for the wrong Praxis test, and B) even though the school year had only 5 weeks left... I had to still take the test and by the end of the year cus she was busy all summer. I then started to question if they forgot me on purpse but the principle assured me that people had just been trickiling in to take the test whenever they wanted to over the ast month or so and that there was still one or two left who had to take it and that I had not been forgotten.... so more like they were unprofessional and just let all these people there at the school whose jobs depended on taking this test or not guess as to what they were supposed to be doing. So I get like a week of studying time for the correct test cus oh so smart people with degrees there at the school can't tell me the right test and I have to do it 9 months pregnant and meanwhile I am the worst test taker ever cus I fall asleep through the test! Yeah! If only they would have let me know all this crap way back when they first told me I was going to have to take it or even better, when I first got hired! And the fact that I need to prove that I can or can not take a test to be able to keep a job where I make copies, grade papers from a teachers edition book, and babysit on the playground is ridiculous to me!

Anywho so studying for this test this morning, becoming very much so discouraged (believe me, I am not a test taker...the ACT's were a nightmare, hyped up on red bull, all three times I took it and still did miserable!)... then it was time for prayer before Tony left for work and as I started to pray I said, "We thank thee for this day ahead of us"... and I paused.............. I am so not thankful for this day ahead of us! One more day of feeling awful and weepy and worrying and scared and even if the kid did come it would just mean more of no sleeping, stress, worry!!! And I can't even be thankful for the rest we had the night before and wish it was still nighttime cus I didn't get any sleep anyway and couldn't stay in bed even if I wanted to cus if I did I swear to you my hips would be crushed from the weight I am carrying!

AHAHAHHAHAHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHH!!!!!

I know I am complaining and you don't wanna hear it but this is for my future references, not yours!!!! When I get all baby hungry in a couple years I can look back at this and say..."Oh yes, something to be thankful for, Lord.... birth control!!!"

Back to Normal

2009-04-16T07:47:00.000-06:00

YEAH!!! They are done with my house! After 4 weeks of them taking their sweet time they are completely done and we have our house back to ourselves. The only hard part is remembering how to cook meals on our own again! Living with my mom for most of that time definitely spoiled me and I decided when I become rich I am hiring a cook!! So yeah the kitchen is all put back together and the new colors are gorgeous and then I have finally been able to get around to working on Cooper's room and it is almost done. My mom and I made the bedding so when it is completely done I will post pictures of our beautiful creation! Not much else to say... so I am going to go back to bed and enjoy a house free of smoking, scary construction workers!!

My UGHS....

2009-04-04T09:20:00.000-06:00

So I officially have stretch marks. I am sure you all wanted to know... but it is most depressing. Anyone that can get through all of pregnancy without getting any.... I curse you! Sad what a cute, very much so loved and wanted baby can do to one's body! Totally not attractive and certainly not comfortable. There is no sleeping at night, no sitting through a movie or even a short car ride to the mall, no standing or walking for longer then what it takes to get to around the house without swelling, and the heartburn could kill a person! UGH! Ready to be done for sure! Only another 7 weeks!

We are also still at my folks house. The damage of our kitchen/dining room was pretty bad and taking forever to get all fixed and put back together. Yes it is free food, practically no chores, and I don't have to sit at home all by my lonesome, but Tony and I have found that having your own place is something that is very much so take for granted until you lose it. Plus, the stress my younger brother and his irresponsible, self-centered ways causes on my parents rubs off on me alot more when I am around it every waking moment. Not so fun and either my kids will behave how I want them to or I will beat them senseless!! UGH!!

Tony is almost done with this semester (with another 3 and an internship left) and the poor guy is wearing out. I wish he could just be done, for his sake more then mine, so the stress of it would just go away. UGH! Almost there and I am very much so proud of him for sticking to it, even if he only does it to avoid the consequences from me!

And my last "ugh" is how much is due for our deductable... $1000! Yeah right....and that is going to come from where? We are thinking about doing the $7500 tax credit (for buying a house last year) and paying that off instead of borrowing from family. Which then we could do a sprinkler system so I don't have to learn to keep a yard alive as well as a baby alive, we would finish the garage, put on a front deck, do a small back patio, do cement edging around some flower beds, put on a screen door on the front, replace all the cheap blinds with vinyl ones, and replace our awful gas stove with an electric... and maybe buy paint so I can slowly start painting the house... and it will help us out this summer when I am not working and Tony is only working part time and we suddenly have diapers and possible formula to buy. All those things would be nice to do to our house but I can't decide if I really want to borrow more money especially when it is from our lovely, Obama government (no offense to anyone). Anywho... money is such a pain and I wish it grew on trees...or at least alot more of it came through our pay checks each month! UGH!

Aren't "ughs" lovely? Gotta have them to love the good times and at least my "ughs" aren't too bad. I'd certianly take my "ughs" compared to facing others! We are definitely blessed!

A Mold Problem

2009-03-27T07:30:00.000-06:00

So late Saturday night we found we had a smal leak behind the fridge...where the ice maker hooks up to the wall. well a an hour or so passed and we realized this was no small leak! Tony crawled down in to the crawl space below the house and found 2 inches of standing water and upstairs found lots of mold and water oozing out between the grout of the tiles in the kitchen and dining room. In the middle of the night parents were called to figure out what to do and how to fix the leak. Sunday morning a plumber came and fixed the leak. The next day insurance was called, the restoration company was called and within a couple of hours our kitchen was destroyed. Huge fans blowning to dry things up and hepa fans to stop the mold from getting worse or moving to another part of the house. Within a day our entire floor, clear through to the crawl space had been removed. what a mess! but so glad we caught it now. Fortunately, insurance will cover it except our deductable...$1000 which is more then we have! Oh well, it could be worse. Just glad that we are doing what the Lord requires of us so when He sends us a situation that is poop He follows up by a good lesson learned, a little extra help and strength, and angels to help us along! The angels this time would be All American Cleaning and Restoration and my parents who we are staying with. Ah... the joys of owning your own home!!

My House Plan

2009-03-19T16:28:00.001-06:00

Finally...my house pictures!!!

2009-03-15T09:09:00.001-06:00

This here is my Kitchen. We love the long bar. We eat there most of the time and, unfortunately, it becomes a parking place for all sorts of junk!

My kitchen from a different angle.

These next three are the living room area. I love that the kitchen, dining, and living room is one big, open room.

Here is the dining area... kinda small but we never use the table unless we have company and no one comes to see us so it doesn't really matter. I am slowly working on a family picture wall behind the table, but seeing that we don't want just pictures of two goofy looking people up there and this baby is taking forever to come... it is kind of a blank spot right now.

Here is the master bedroom with once again a blank spot on the wall. I am wanting to build a big huge shelf, but that takes money and someone who knows how to build a shelf...which is not me or Tony. So eventually it will get done!

Here is the master bath. It just has a shower in it and it needs blinds over the window (not shown...obviously) but it is nice to be able to just roll out of bed and the bathroom is right there instead of down the hall... esp. when there are at least 5 bathroom trips a night! Dang babies pushing on fluid filled organs!!

Here is bedroom #2. You can't tell it but it needs a paint job, i need to paint that window/mirror and lower it, and we need to actually have pillows on the bed, but no one ever sleeps there. But when someone does come it is very nice to have! It is really a computer room with a bed, not a bedroom with a computer.

Here is the extra bathroom... always nice to have an extra bathroom for those emergencies. And seeing that we never use it, it stays clean for company.

Yikes!!

2009-02-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

So I have hit scared! I started watching and reading alot of stuff on the labor and delivery part itself and I just started to bawl! I have reached terrified especially now that it is getting so close that it has become real and not just a dream! I have never experienced real pain before and so I don't know how or even if I can handle it. It scares me to know that it hurts so bad that you just kinda loose control over yourself... I don't wanna do that! And I decided no more educating myself about labor. I would rather just get thrown into it and figure out what to do then. None of this preparing stuff... the more I learn about it the more I decide that I don't wanna even go there! If you have any tips, suggestions, methods of enduring pain, breathing techniques, etc... let me know! And no telling me that it is great, that it only lasts so long, and that it will be worth it in the end cus you are not about to go through it again... you've got the kid and have forgotten how NOT fun labor is! *Smile*

Best Friends

2009-02-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

So my cousin and her husband came up a weekend or two ago. Man, I love spending time with them! I love how well Tony and Jeff get along and that even though Bridge and I are older we are still best friends just like when we were kids! And now, with their little boy, Braxton, and our future little boy, Cooper... it is going to be so much fun! The boys can take the little boys and teach them all about their burping and farting and their football and their baseball... cute!! Anywho... I love having couple friends, esp. the kind that are technically sealed to you forever and so even if you move away or make them mad it is just too bad cus they are stuck with us forever!

The second picture is their baby boy, Braxton, who is 5 months old and my niece, Emmy, who is 7 1/2 weeks old. Ah... cute babies!!

My Baby Bump that looks more like I am FAT!

2009-02-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

So here it is...finally! My preggo picture! No wonder I have not posted one or even taken one as of yet! I don't look pregnant... I look FAT! Oh well, you win some and you lose some!

My Many Loves

2009-02-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

So my sister did this on her blog and I really liked it. So.... I thought, especially with it being right around the time of Valentine's Day-the day all about love- I would do the same. I am a copy cat... I know!

I have many favorite things. Many Many. Some things I love and some I love a lot, and yet others I love gigundo amounts. Here's a few, but don't assume this is all. I am sure I will leave out may important things. This is a sampling of my many loves. Maybe someday I'll expound on some of them.

Tony. I love Tony! Not just a little bit, but a whole lot! And no... it is not just because he physically keeps me alive and well... (I don't take care of myself and without him I would be on the street and starving, almost dead!) He is, without a doubt, the one I am supposed to be with forever and I would not want it any other way. He truly completes me and I could not imagine life without him in it. In the morning when he leaves for work and school I almost cry (I am such a winney) because I hate that I have to spend the day without him. I always wonder what the day could bring to our lives and if it could possibly be the last time I see him and that thought alone kills me! So I love my Tony!

Ice Cream, all of it and big bowls of it. Fruit...right now esp. grapes. An expensive, butterfly cooked steak. String cheese. Believe it or not, lobster. Chocolate. Baked potatoes with lots of butter and sour cream. Salads. Hot fudge brownie sundaes!

Big, home baked meals and with a table full of company.

Family, both my family+ and Tony's family+...esp. my mommy and my sister. I think I call them like 100 times a day cus I couldn't do anything without their advice and expertise. Also, big family get togethers with all the kids running around and playing and laughing and knowing that this will last forever.

The ocean.

Warm weather... I don't just love it, I NEED it!

Music. Music speaks to a person's soul in ways words cannot. It can be so powerful at times, even a silly love song on the radio, that I get goose bumps and my heart just swells. And even though I may have heard a song many a times, one day it will come on and for that moment it is as if that song was written for me, as though it was speaking directly to my soul... to comfort me, excite me about life again, boost my spirit, build my testimony, and give me strength.

LOST. Man, that show is good! Every day LOST is on is a good day!

Expensive products. I don't buy them ( I am poor) but when I get to use them...man they make you feel good!

Comfy beds and pillows.

Warm showers, electricity, and flush able toilets.

Weekend activities. I could not survive a week or even a day if I did not have things to look forward to... so I love it when we have an activity planned or company coming.

Babies... esp. when they have a mom of their own to hand them back to. And then, my own! He hasn't been born yet so I may love him more in me then out, we shall see... but I love him so much even right now that I just can't hold myself together.

The smell of rain, freshly cut grass, swimming pools and sun screen, barbeque's, chimney smoke on a cold snowy day, freshly baked goods, sexy men's cologne.

The sound of a summer evening (dog's barking, kids playing and laughing, sprinklers, lawn mowers, etc...), the sound of rain, a stream esp. while camping, the ocean, a deep bass voice, the mournful sound of a cello, the sound of the garage opening at the end of the day and the car pulling in, a men's choir.

The feeling the Spirit can bring... a tingling sensation full of peace and joy that almost takes your breath away.

Friends that are people I can look up to. My cousin and her husband, Brigde and Jeff! I am so glad she married him... we have so much fun with the two of them. The Sunderhaus family... they are so much fun and so kind and I look up to Wendi so much! My Uncle Greg. My dad-in-law, Irv. My husbands cousins, Jeanne and Suzy. And my Gramma and Grampa Rives!! Plus many more... but these are the ones I have on my mind right now.

Vacations and relaxation... having nothing to do but nothing!

There is so much more...but I will end with this! Once and a while I will add more to my list!

2009-01-15T20:30:00.001-07:00

We found out this week that we are having a BOY!!! Tony is so excited and I am just glad to find out that everything seems normal and healthy so far...and that I haven't gained too much weight! So a boy... we have decided to name him Cooper Anderson Long (NO! not after the news guy whose name is Anderson Cooper who I didn't even know existed until I mentioned I liked the name Cooper with Anderson!) I really want to name one of our kids after my dad and especially after my Grampa Anderson. Unfortunately their names are Bobby Duane and Danny Lynn, neither of which are names I want my kids to be named. So Anderson it is! Anyway! I can't believe that a person is growing in me. It is almost unbelieveable. And then to think that it is my baby, makes me all mushy inside. I can't wait till the darn thing comes out and I can hold him and no one can take it away or tell me I have to "use sanitizer" before I hold him. I am really excited to see Tony with him... he has not really had too much experience with babies but man oh man he is going to be an awesome dad. SNIFF... makes me all teary-eyed!

Our New House

2008-12-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

So we bought a house! It is so exciting but so much responsibility. Unfortunately, with the holidays and being out of town for a whole week, I have not been able to finish all the unpacking which means no pictures yet. I will try to post some here in the next week or so. Anywho...it was definitely the best and biggest Christmas present I have ever recieved!

Home Sweet Home

2008-12-05T11:08:00.001-07:00

These are the pictures of the outside that the realtor took when it was first put on the market this summer.

The Beginning of Our Family

2008-12-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

Tony and I found out we are finally going to have a baby! We have been trying for a year or so and been praying like heck for it to happen. Now that we are finally pregnant, we know that God was just doing things on his time schedule and this baby is supposed to come to our family at this time. We are both so excited to be parents! we talk all the time about what to teach our kids and how to treat them and the things we will do for and with them... it will be hard but we are both so ready!
I am now 16 weeks along and finally over morning sickness, which is the worst thing ever! I normally love food, but I have definitely decided it is a worthless waste of money especially when it is just going to be puked up and not even enjoyed!
When we first thought I might be pregnant, I couldn't wait till morning to take the test. So I got home from work and went immediately to take the test. Normally I sit and watch it but I forced myself to walk away and when I came back into the bathroom I just started screaming. I ran out into the next room and jumped into Tony's arms, knocking him over and smacking him a good one in the nose! Then we immediately called anyone and everyone to tell them the news!
Gosh, I am excited.... and super scared!!!

YEAH!!!!!!

2008-09-27T09:47:00.000-06:00

This week we found out we are finally going to have a baby! Granted, it was only a home test that read positive but still.... We were not expecting it at all! We have been trying for a year and a half and were beginning to think we were broken! But alas, God was just following His time schedule and not ours. So we definitely know that this is the right time for this baby to join our family! Now we just need 7 1/2 months to pass by quickly and easily!