Posts Tagged ‘Try New Adventures’
Joseph Judea Windham is Born!
Posted on: November 5, 2011
- In: Life
- 29 Comments
Joseph Judea {aka Joseph J, Jude, Baby Brother}
Born at 11:08pm on 11/4/11 {his due date, just like big sister Julia}
Weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces and measuring 20 inches
On Friday morning I woke up and ironically tweeted/facebooked this ::
Three hours later, my water broke. Just like my labors with the girls, it took a good hour before contractions set in. So I walked. And walked. And walked. During this time, we got the girls to a friend’s house and talked with our delivering midwife, Monika.
Around 1:30pm, we went to the birthing center. Contractions were about 2 minutes apart, but were not all that painful and were relieved when I rested. But being a third time “quick laborer” Monika felt better if I was nearby in case I transitioned quickly.
Once at the center, I was dilated to 4cm {no change from my check up earlier in the week}. Jonathan and I decided to go walking outside. After an hour, the contractions were picking up in pace, but I was getting tired. We went back into the center and Monika gave me some herbs for cervix stimulation and had me lay down. After a good hour of light sleeping, I realized I had completely stopped contracting. Monika gave me more herbs and Jonathan and I tried walking to bring back the contractions. By 5pm, no progress had been made. We opted to try pumping to create stimulation. I went 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off. Around 6pm contractions were back, but still easy to get through. By 7pm they were causing me a good amount of pain, but were still only coming 2-3 minutes and lasting only 45-60 seconds.
Finally by 8pm, things began to pick up speed. The contractions weren’t getting closer together, but the intensity was overwhelming. I was having to focus on my breathing and bear down from the mounting pressure. Somewhere around 9pm, we decided I should get into a hot shower to help alleviate the pain. This would later prove to have been a mistake.
After 30 minutes in the shower, I was getting overheated and started having the urge to push. I came back out into the room to cool off. Things kept progressing when I said I needed to pee. While sitting, I had more contractions and the need to push was paramount. Monika said to groan through it and lightly push to help open my cervix. At this point things got dicey. While sitting, I couldn’t cool down and began feeling light headed. Everyone started placing cool rags on my back and chest, while Monika kneeled in front of me to maintain communication. Suddenly I felt like I needed to throw up. I stood up, but got very dizzy and sat back down. By this time, I was loosing focus and my ears began ringing {a big uh-oh for me}. I muttered something about feeling faint and then…
I fainted.
I woke up in a complete blur laying on the bathroom floor. Monika was lifting my legs, Jonathan was by my side running my arms and my mom was kneeling by my head. Everyone was telling me to take long slow breathes. It took a good bit for me to realize what was happening. A few contractions hit and then I remembered. I was finally able to get to my feet, and Jonathan held me up while I made it to the bed. By this point I was shivering. I couldn’t stop shaking and felt ice cold. Several sheets and blankets were put on top of me to help warm me up and calm me down.
During this time, my contractions were coming much stronger and beginning to piggy backing. I screamed out my need to push, when Monika gave me the go ahead. I began pushing while Monika massaged {aka, pushed back} the top of my cervix that was still remaining {swear words may or may not have been said – having your cervix “massaged” is a lot more painful than it sounds, especially during contractions}. I knew we were making good progress when I felt the dreaded ring of fire as Joseph began crowning. After what seemed an eternity, Joseph made his way into the world. He was/is a happy healthy baby and already a champ at latching on and eating.
After he was born, I had some major blood loss. I can recall hearing Monika say “her uterus is squirting blood everywhere” {nice mental picture, huh?}. A good 45+ minutes passed with Monika, my mom, the birth assistant, and a second midwife all administering pitocin shots, an IV for fluids, and trying to clamp my uterus to stop the blood loss. Thankfully, while I suspected things weren’t going well, everyone kept reassuring me all was fine. It wasn’t until 6am, and Monika knew I was completely in the clear, before she said they were flirting with the idea of transferring me to the hospital because of the amount of blood I had lost. Praise God for His hand over my life and for keeping me safe!
We were discharged by 8 this morning. They kept us a little later {typical discharge is 6-8 hours after delivery} because they wanted to make sure my bleeding didn’t pick up again. Praise to God again that everything has been smooth sailing since they first got the blood loss under control.
Now about Joseph Judea ::
I have already related how we decided on Joseph, but not Judea. Judea was only recently decided upon. For weeks, we had been considering another name, but it never sat right. Then a week before Joseph was born, Jonathan brought up Judea. We love it for several reasons ::
1. Judea was the birth place of Christ {Bethlehem is located in Judea}.
2. In Acts 1:8, Christ tells the disciples “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
While re-reading through Acts recently, this verse stood out to Jonathan. He was struck with the thought that he is starting and building a legacy founded on Christ for our family and that Judea is the next step in carrying on that legacy {the Gospel going first to Jerusalem and then Judea}. We both love that our legacy is being passed on to our children {and their children, etc}.
3. Judea is the land of the Tribe of Judah. Our own Judah is, and always will be, dear to us.
4. We just love the name Judea {which is derived from Judah and means The Praised One} and love the nickname Jude. And to make it even better, Joseph Judea has his own Beatles song {Hey Jude}, just like his sisters {who have the songs Julia and Michelle}. Yes – that was all planned and thought out, we are crazy folk like that.
Thanks you everyone for all your prayers and support over the last few weeks as we waited for Joseph Judea. We are beyond thrilled to have him in our arms. And I should say, Julia and Hannah are equally as smitten with him as Jon and I are.
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- In: Life
- 19 Comments
The temperatures in Austin have dropped, and I’m already bringing out my fall clothes!
Ok, not really. The temperatures have dropped, giving us low 90’s instead of 110’s. But, with the exception of two mornings this week {when I went outside and it was still in the low 60’s}, I have not brought out any cold weather clothes. However, for the last few weeks I have been working on making a crocheted scarf.
As part of my 30 before 30, I wanted to learn to crochet. While I specified making a pot holder, I decided to go all out and make a scarf after I found some cute yarn at Hobby Lobby. Here is the end product ::
It’s about 50″ long and 8″ wide. Here’s a better picture to show you the length::
Other than to take these pictures, I haven’t worn the scarf. Which gives me even more reason to want the weather to cool off. I’m super excited to actually wear something that I’ve made. And in public no less!
I got some more fun yarn to make the girls each a scarf for Saint Nicholas Day gifts. So far, those are proving to be even faster projects, since they are quite a bit smaller than mine.
What crafty new adventures have you been up to?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
- In: Life
- 15 Comments
Maybe it’s because I had just had a really good workout. Or maybe it’s because I really, really miss running. Or perhaps the crazy heat and pregnancy hormones have finally done me in. Whatever the case may be, last night I signed up for the Austin Half Marathon in mid-February. It’s the same race I ran last year ::
{I was pregnant with Baby Boy and didn’t even know it}
I’ve been debating for a while as to whether or not I should do the race this year. If Baby Boy comes when he is suppose to, it gives me just under 3.5 months before the race to get ready. If he shows up later than expected, that just limits my time.
However, I will say that I’ve been reading up on racing after delivery and will be pacing myself. Unless my body is ready, I don’t plan to run the entire race. My goal is to run 6.5 miles. Anything I can do over that is gravy. The rest of the race I will be walking. I haven’t set out my exact running plan yet, but it will look something like this :: 1 mile walk, 2 mile run, 1 mile walk, etc.
As I’m staring down the final weeks of my pregnancy, I’m realizing I’m going to need some motivation to exercise once Baby Boy arrives. Now that I’ve paid the runner’s registration fee, I can’t back out. Jonathan won’t let me.
Do you have any races you want to run? What’s your motivation for working out?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
Visit Jill at Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursday.
Julia’s First Day of Preschool
Posted on: August 25, 2011
- In: Life
- 12 Comments
Yesterday was Julia’s first day of preschool outside of our home. We’ve been “homeschooling” since last year. After taking off for the summer, we started back again at the beginning of August. But this week, Julia started preschool at a local church. Technically, it’s a mother’s day out program, but they offer lesson plans and curriculum for the students. Julia will be going Mondays and Wednesdays from 9-2. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we will continue her “schooling” at home.
I have to admit, I’m really excited for this new adventure for Julia {and our family}. Our family has really been exploring how homeschooling will look for us and doing something along the lines of a homeschooling co-op. With Julia’s preschool, we are getting our first taste of what a co-op could act as for us. Her preschool follows after Wee Learn, which incorporates biblical foundations through play centered activities. Every class has a verse of the day that the teachers focus on. We have the schedule through September and will be using those verses at home to help Julia with memorization.
While it’s very exciting, it’s still emotional. Hannah spent most of the day ask for Julia {quote “I want my sister!”}. When we picked Julia up, Hannah started crying. Julia ran up to her and showered her with hugs and kisses. They spent the rest of the afternoon playing together {and I should note, there was much less sibling fighting than usual – which is a major plus}. Jonathan was with us to drop Julia off and pick her up. He kept asking me while we were dropping her off if I was going to cry. I did get a pretty good lump in my throat, but managed to not shed any tears. However, when we talked about it through out the day, I did get sad. Not because I think this isn’t a great opportunity for Julia, but because I just missed my baby. We have her daily schedule hanging on our fridge, and it was comforting having an idea of what she was doing throughout the day.
Have your kids, or you, started back to school this week?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
On Becoming a Vegetarian
Posted on: August 18, 2011
- In: Life
- 16 Comments
I’ve flirted with vegetarianism since high school. By flirting, I mean, I’d try it out for a while but never fully commit. Over the last few years I’ve given it a lot of consideration. However, Jonathan loves meat and doesn’t find a meal to be complete without chicken/beef/fish. We’ve made some compromises over time with having vegetarian meals throughout the week, but they weren’t always the biggest hits. A few weeks back, I told Jonathan I wanted to go forward to being vegetarian but wasn’t asking him to come along. Just me. Then I got Eating Animals from Kelsey, to help me better explore vegetarianism. I’ll continue making meals with meat for the family, while I cut out my own. I’m turning into Lisa Simpson; a sole vegetarian in a family of meat eaters.
Currently, I’ve cut meat out of two of my days. I don’t eat any meat at breakfast, lunch or dinner on those days. I’m trying to plan what days to cut out based on how easy it will be to make a vegetarian option for dinner. Meat and pasta? Then I make it a no meat day, since I can easily make a vegetarian option. Fried chicken? Well, I’m southern, so of course I will be eating chicken. By September, I want to be eating 3 days of exclusively vegetarian meals.
I’m giving myself to the end of the year to have a mostly vegetarian diet. Mostly vegetarian because I will continue to eat fish. I’m sure some vegetarians out there will immediately tell me fish is meat and therefore I’m not actually vegetarian. True, true. However, I have some pretty strong feelings about eating fish over other meats. I won’t expound in this post, but will answer any questions someone might have.
Surprisingly, throughout my pregnancy I’ve seen just how easily you can become vegetarian without the sacrifice of vital nutrients. Most people immediately think that meat is their only option for high protein, but that’s really not true. Between beans, yogurt, milk and cheese alone, you open yourself to a huge world of high protein foods. Add in whole grains and in one snack, I can knock back 15 grams+ of protein. Pretty great if you ask me.
I’ve decided to take baby steps toward becoming vegetarian so that my body doesn’t kick into fight or flight and I stand a better chance of making the transition smoother and long lasting. Here’s to becoming a vegetarian!
Are you vegetarian? Or have you ever tried being vegetarian? Do you have any great recipes to pass along?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
Flexing My Crafty Skills
Posted on: August 11, 2011
- In: Life
- 11 Comments
Since making my braided headband, I’ve been trying to really flex my crafty muscles. Be it in the kitchen or something for the house, I am keeping an eye out for what will be a fun little project or adventure.
Recently on Pinterest, I came across this cute idea of turning an unused picture frame into a dry erase board.
The original idea for the board is to be used as a to-do list or menu. I already have a menu/to-do list board, but still really love this idea. I thought it would be really cute as a message board for the girls in their room.
Being the non-scrapbooker, I had no cute paper on hand {which is what the site suggests using}, but I did/do have cute fabric. And I scored double that the fabric goes with the girls’ color scheme.
We always ask the girls “How much do we love you?” and it is met with the reply “too, too much.” I thought it only appropriate to have that as our first message on the board. The fun part is, as the girls get older and start writing, we can turn it into a real “message board” and write notes to each other.
It was super easy to make and allowed me to try something new with low risk {helping me build those crafty muscles!}.
What crafty things have you done lately?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures.
Visit Jill at Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursday.
The Perfect Green Smoothie
Posted on: August 4, 2011
- In: Life
- 7 Comments
{Be sure to enter my giveaway for a copy of The Help}
I love green smoothies. There’s just something about drinking vegetables and fruit that makes me feel like I’m my own personal health guru.
For the last several weeks, I’ve been on a mission to eat plenty of vegetables throughout the day. I’ve been finding it challenging to do that at breakfast, because, really, who wants to eat a salad? Not me. In steps a green smoothie. I can get in some romaine lettuce and kale without ever tasting it.
I took an adapted version of this recipe, adding kale and lettuce instead of spinach, and came up with my own green smoothie ::
I used plain yogurt, half an apple, half a banana, a handful of grapes and then several bunches of kale and romaine lettuce. Blend until smooth and eat.
I don’t tend to measure out my ingredients for smoothies, just eye ball what I think will be tasty. I did try adding juice, instead of yogurt. The consistency was fine, but I figure yogurt has a lot more protein, and a lot less sugar, than juice so I went back to just yogurt. All in all, it’s turned out to be a pretty tasty {and very filling!} recipe.
Have you tried your own green smoothies?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
Visit Jill at Diaper Diaries for Things I Love Thursday.
- In: Life
- 11 Comments
Thanks to Jill, Amanda and Mary, I’ve been craving s’mores like it’s my job. In fact, I’ve even dreamed about them. Crazy, right? Even crazier is that I’ve gone week, literally weeks, without indulging in my cravings. Which in pregnancy world is perhaps the worst form of torture. So, this weekend, when all I could think about was getting my hands on a s’more, I knew it was time to take matters into my own hands.
I bought a small bag of Hershey bars, a box of graham cracker and some marshmallows. I decided to give s’more nachos a go, but didn’t have fudge on hand. I figured I could just melt the Hershey bars and get the same effect, but sadly, I was wrong. Still, a s’more is a s’more is a s’more and they were tasty {though not nearly as good as I’m sure they’d be had I followed the recipe}.
Then last night, after the girls were tucked into bed and my s’more loving was safe from little ones asking to share, I made myself some. As I was preparing my s’more goodness, I was struck with this thought:
“What if I added peanut butter?”
Now, I am a huge, huge peanut butter lover. And peanut butter with chocolate? Clearly a food combination giving to us by God {thank you Jesus!}. So I slathered on the peanut butter and got this:
I have to warn you, there is so much deliciousness squeezed between two little graham crackers that your mind might not know just how to process it all. If you’re like me, you may just sit in utter wonder at what you have just experienced {though some of that might have to do with a quiet house and a good book…}.
Have you ever tried peanut butter s’mores?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday
- In: Life
- 10 Comments
You might remember how I shared a couple of weeks ago about Julia “swimming” on her own with a water noodle.
Last week, we moved on to the life jacket.
And this week?
This week, my sweet little girl is swimming completely on her own.
She started off Monday, while we were visiting Katie. She’d swim a foot or so between Jonathan and Katie. Then Tuesday, at our pool, she started swimming about two feet from the stairs to me.
Yesterday was the big day. In deep water {for her that is} she swam about 4 feet from the side of the pool to me. Completely under water. Without any help.
I can’t tell you just how excited I am for her! She loves it and is really proud of herself {as she should be!}. It is so awesome to see how she’s progressed in the last couple of months, from being nervous about being in the big pool to swimming on her own. She’s rocking it! The funny part is, I really can’t take any credit for teaching her how to swim. Other than her seeing Jonathan and I swimming, I haven’t shown or told her anything {perhaps just that she needs to kick her feet and move her arms}. She’s a natural fish.
How old were you when you learned to swim? Have you ever taught anyone to swim?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
Dollar Movie Days with the Kids
Posted on: June 30, 2011
- In: Life
- 12 Comments
Tuesday I took the girls to a dollar showing of Charlotte’s Web, along with three other mamas and their kiddos. We knew the place would be a mad house, so we arrived early to get seats and the kids settled.
The girls had a blast. Between being in a theatre, being in a theatre with their friends, their way awesome mama {go me!} got them popcorn and a Sprite. Though, let me just say, I need to figure out a better way to bring in popcorn to the theatre cause that stuff is expensive!
Sadly, I’m not so awesome that I can take two kids {one who is potty training} and remember to bring my camera {or even take pictures for that matter}. So this is our only shot of our movie date:
Aside from needing to bring in my own popcorn, I did learn a very valuable lesson about taking both girls to the theatre – sit on the end, not the middle. Because, some little one {who shall remain nameless} will ask to “go potty” at least six times during the movie.
Thankfully, the other mamas didn’t mind keeping an eye on Julia, and let’s face it, a theatre full of kids isn’t exactly going to be quiet and uninterrupted. Even with the multiple potty breaks {the girl stayed dry the whole time!}, it was so much fun treating Julia and Hannah to a mama date. I’m hoping to take them back again in August when they show The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything. This time with my own popcorn.
Have you taken your kids to the movies? If so, what did they think? If not, I highly recommend doing a dollar show just to try it out!
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
Visit Jill at Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursday.
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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