Thanks, Aunt Kik!

Valentines day sucks.

Okay, not really, but I have never been a fan. I don't need a day set aside to remind me that I love Sean. And he concurs. But, alas, we have to conform to the marketing beast. A card and a hug will suffice. But I'm doing a list of things I love, and hate, at this particular moment in time to pay homage to Valentines day.

Things I'm loving:

1. Strawberry Ice Cream
2. White Cherry Blossom Bubble Bath
3. Game Show Network and Vintage Game Shows
4. My Nice Warm Bed
5. Sleep

Things I'm hating:

1. Milk Flakes When You Open the Milk Lid
2. Headaches
3. Cold Weather
4. Rude People
5. 3 Year Old Attitude

My new toys

Funny how when I told Sean our washer was on the fritz, he thought it would be fine for a few more years. And yet, when for the last month he had to take over the laundry duty, he suddenly gets the itch to buy a new one. And of course the dryer to match. Either way, I got the ones I wanted, regardless of how it came to be.

Do I have a story for you.

Here's Emma and Maggie at the hospital on the day we brought Gretta home. What a wonderful day it is, bringing home a new baby. They're so sweet and vulnerable. Well, notice in the picture that both big sisters are looking a little pale. I should have known to stay an extra night in the hospital. The paleness should have been a dead give away for what was awaiting me that fateful night.

Here I am, a new mom for the third time, two days post op, and battling a particularly heinous bout of the baby blues. As I lay crying in bed at 2 AM, wondering what I was thinking having a third child, and knowing in my heart that I have ruined all our lives by doing so, in walks Emma. Now, Emma is a known early riser, but this was especially early, even for her. She then announces she doesn't feel so well. I ask her if she's gonna throw up, and she says she doesn't think so. I tell her to get her bowl anyway, just in case. About 10 steps around the bed later, and out it comes, all over my bedroom floor. Now I know I've ruined our lives. I burst into tears, just knowing that Emma is going to give Gretta some tropical disease that will kill her, and Sean calmly cleans up the mess. Now in addition to me feeding the baby every hour, and crying constantly, Sean is up emptying the barf bowl every 10 minutes for the rest of the night. At the doctor the next morning, we find out she has Strep. Again. 10th time this year. No kidding. But they assure us that Gretta can't get it, so we both feel better about that.

Skip ahead a few hours to 6 PM that night. Here I find Maggie curled up in a ball on my bedroom floor, cheeks flushed with fever, and shivering. I just knew it. Strep. Sure enough, thanks to late night KidsCare, she has it too. Now I have two kids with strep, a brand new baby that I'm trying to nurture, and me with the baby blues. Thank goodness for Sean, who ran to get prescriptions, Ginger Ale, and various other necessities, who cleans up vomit with no complaint, and who rubs my back while I cry for the next 3 days. I knew I loved him for a reason.

So needless to say, I'm pretty sure that was the absolute worst situation imaginable to come home to, and I don't plan on doing it again any time soon. We've all recovered nicely, and the baby blues have passed. I think we're all to the point now where we can't imagine not having Gretta around, and that's a nice feeling. Not nice enough that I will do it again, but nice nonetheless.

My, how she's grown!

At todays 2 week check up, Gretta weighed in at a hefty 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 19" long. What a porker!









Spencer and Gretta. He drove down from Logan on Saturday just to see her. He got here at noon, and left at 4. A four hour drive just to see his newest niece. What a sweetie.

A week gone by

Well, a week has passed very quickly with our new addition. She is a wonderful little baby. She sleeps a lot, even during the night, and barely cries when she needs something. I'm sure that will change as she gets bigger, but for now I'm enjoying the serenity of a newborn again. Why can't they stay little forever? I'll post more pics when they get uploaded from Sean's camera.

Gretta Holland Clayton

Well baby Gretta has arrived. Now just so you all know this is not Keli it is her other half Sean and it is my first time blogging but I have strict instructions from the 'boss', so here it goes.

Stats=

5 lbs 6 oz

18 1/2 inches long

born at 4:42 PM (MST)

lots of blonde hair....and Grandma Jeanette's ears.

Keli and Gretta are both doing great!

Boil some water, get some clean sheets!

She's coming! 4:00 today. We're heading to the hospital now, so check back for pictures.

Can I just say....

Bed Rest SUCKS! There is no "rest" involved. It is way more stressful to figure out how you're going to get laundry done, the kids dropped off and picked up, the dishes done, the cobwebs swept, and fix breakfast, lunch and dinner for a family, all from the confines of ones couch or bed! Thank heavens Sean has a job that allows him to be flexible. Meanwhile, the blood pressure is stable, but we're hoping for a delivery date sometime next week. This week is just to fatten up the little fetus so she's nice and cute when she arrives.

Moral of this story: Don't be afraid to be VERY proactive with healthcare. Had I not "known" something wasn't right, I would very possibly be endagering my baby by wandering around with BP through the roof! Second opinions save lives, people!

He's baaaack.

Sean finally returned from Chicago. We really missed him. It's funny how you don't appreciate a spouse until they aren't around to do their thing and help out. And he helps out a lot! The girls were very excited to see him, and he brought them cute Teddy Bears as a welcome home gift. These pics are of the Bean in Millenium Park, and of the city from the top of the Sears Tower. I think the big black tower is the Hard Rock Hotel, where he stayed.

Guess what?

I just ate an entire loaf of garlic bread for lunch. And it was delicioso. Now I have a nice garlicky scent to share with Sean when he gets in from Chicago. Ha ha ha. Oh yeah, and our baby will be born on February 12th at 7:30 AM. Although I'm due on the 13th, and my dumb doctor won't schedule me before then, and I'm pretty sure she'll want to be born before that. But as for now, that's her day. Carry on.

Thanks, Phoebers.

My pirate name is:

Dirty Bess Cash

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
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This week....

We've successfully recovered from Christmas and New Year's, and now a new year is well under way. I honestly cannot believe it is 2007. Wow, time flies as you get older. But this has been quite a week to start off this new year. Last Monday night we spent in Labor and Delivery, and nope, no baby, but almost. Gotta love a little preterm labor to get the adrenaline going. One little shot and all is well, at least for another 2 weeks. Emma started back to school (thank goodness!), and poor Maggie was left all alone at home with mom. The first day Emma was gone, Maggie wandered through the house calling her name. It was hilarious. Sean came down with a tragic killer cold (aren't they always worse when the men get them?), but managed to survive it by being in a drug induced coma for 3 days. We went and saw Happily N'Ever After, cute, but kinda weird for my taste. Sean left for Chicago today for the week. He "gets" to attend an expo on packaging and automation. Sounds superfun. He did visit the Sears Tower today, and said it's awesome. As for the girls and I, we plan on spending some relaxing time at home, and maybe getting dinner one of these nights. That's pretty much it for this week, hopefully next week we'll know our EXACT date for delivery. I'm hoping for the 5th, but I would take anything after the 1st, since that's when our insurance changes. Maybe I will just go on the 1st, and not have to wait any longer than absolutely necessary. Wouldn't that be nice.

Happy Anniversary

Nine years of wedded bliss. What more can I say?

Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas this year. Emma scored a sweet new Elektra Beach Cruiser, and Maggie got her much wanted Dora Talking Kitchen. It was a great time. I'll post more pics later.

To the North Pole we go

Sean and I have a tradition to help me through the Holidays. You see, I'm not a huge fan of Christmas. I mean, I'm a fan of the birth of Christ and all that, but I struggle to feel the true spirit of the Holiday due to stress and anxiety. So our first year married, we decided to go stay in a Bed and Breakfast a couple of weeks before Christmas, and get all of our shopping done that weekend. It turned out to be a nice idea. We plan what we want to buy for each person, and after a nice evening of dinner out without kids, we hit the shops. Our Credit Card is smoking by the time we're done, but It is such a nice feeling to focus on gifts for one whole weekend, and then the Christmas spirit is more easily felt. So again, we're heading for the "North Pole" as it's come to be called. The girls give us their Christmas lists, and we tell them we take a special road just for grown ups to the the North Pole. We give the lists to Santa, and return the next afternoon, the children none the wiser. Now don't get me wrong, I don't enjoy the fib that is Santa and the North Pole, but I think the kids enjoy the thought of Mom and Dad alone with Santa discussing their wants and needs for the Holiday. It makes them feel very important. And they get to spend the night with Grandma, which is probably more exciting for them. So off we go, to the North Pole. If there are any requests for Santa, be sure and get them in before tomorrow afternoon!

She's getting back to her roots.

When Maggie was about 7 months old, for Mothers day Sean gave me Bebe, our Shih-tzu. I remember it well because even though I still had a baby in the house, she was sleeping through the night. It was Bebe whom I had to get up with 3 or 4 times a night to tend to. It was definitely harder than having a newborn. But last week when we put up our tree, she copped a spot beneath it, I'm assuming to remind me that she was, and is, a gift. Now that we've had her for a couple of years, she has developed into a wonderful pet. She rarely bites, never barks, and has her own little doggy door to go in and out. I say rarely bites because she has this little thing with close eye contact. But it only takes once, and you learn your lesson. Needless to say, we love her, and she will always be my little gift.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We set up our tree on Friday, and today we woke up to about 4" of snow! So fun! The kids came bouncing in at 7:00 this morning so excited to see snow. Like it was their first time or something. Although along with this wonderful snow came bitter cold temperatures. It was 10 this morning when Sean left at 5:30. It had risen to a balmy 18 by 7:00. I think the estimated high is somewhere around 20. A little chilly.

Things I'm thankful for

Here goes. The requisite Thanksgiving post. I just hope I can think of everything I'm thankful for.

1. My family (All of them, spouse, kids, parents, even the in-laws)
2. Friends
3. A good ward
4. Sean's good job
5. Being a stay at home mom
6. A sense of humor
7. A simple life
8. Always wanting more
9. Not needing more
10. Naps
11. Tylenol
12. Padded chairs
13. Being able to keep a secret
14. Anti-depressants
15. A growing belly
16. Pull-ups
17. 400 thread count sheets
18. Long drives with good conversation
19. Unfinished projects
20. Good kids!


I think that sums it up for the most part. I'm sure as the day goes on I'll think of more, and maybe I'll post them too. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it reminds me how much I have to be thankful for. I am very blessed, and sometimes I wonder why. I feel very undeserving most of the time, but I'll take it!

Field Trips

I was listening to the X96 Radio from Hell Morning Show this morning, and they were talking about how one of the host's kids is going to Arby's for a field trip. Several other people called in telling stories about visiting McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Hardee's, and other similar places. Emma had a walking field trip last year in which they visited the Auto Zone, the Wonder Bread Outlet, and the 7-Eleven. This year they visited Albertsons. I'm just curious, where have you or your kids been on field trips? Anywhere cool, or unusual, or just plain strange, a la Auto Zone.