Party of 4

Life lately has been wonderful.  And I'm not being sarcastic either.  I thought by almost 2 weeks into this 2 kids thing, I would have already had several crying fits, have lashed out at my husband, and possibly reconsidered the idea of having a 3rd, however, so far, knock on wood, it's been the opposite.  Kellen has been such a joy.  He fits so perfectly into our family, like he was always there.  Feedings are going as well as I could have hoped.  He's a decent sleeper, although last night he decided to stay awake until 4am :).  But all together it's been a great experience.  Don't get me wrong, I know this isn't the case for many moms when they bring a new baby home, so please know that I'm aware I'm very fortunate.
We went to pick out a Christmas tree when Kellen was only 5 days old.  Farrah is very into decorating so I knew it would be a big hit with her and she loved it!  She put all the ornaments in one spot and put all the purple ones together so I had to do a little rearranging after she went to sleep so the tree didn't look lopsided. I don't know if it's the holidays or what, but I'm feeling extra chipper these past few weeks.  I'll blame it on the hormones.  It's just so incredible to see my kids happy and healthy.  Blessed beyond measure!

Kellen's first bath.  He looks so much like daddy :)

This is her standard picture face now.  I can't take a picture without this face turning up.  In fact most of the time we ask her not to smile in pictures for this very reason.


Life lately has been wonderful.  And I'm not being sarcastic either.  I thought by almost 2 weeks into this 2 kids thing, I would have already had several crying fits, have lashed out at my husband, and possibly reconsidered the idea of having a 3rd, however, so far, knock on wood, it's been the opposite.  Kellen has been such a joy.  He fits so perfectly into our family, like he was always there.  Feedings are going as well as I could have hoped.  He's a decent sleeper, although last night he decided to stay awake until 4am :).  But all together it's been a great experience.  Don't get me wrong, I know this isn't the case for many moms when they bring a new baby home, so please know that I'm aware I'm very fortunate.
We went to pick out a Christmas tree when Kellen was only 5 days old.  Farrah is very into decorating so I knew it would be a big hit with her and she loved it!  She put all the ornaments in one spot and put all the purple ones together so I had to do a little rearranging after she went to sleep so the tree didn't look lopsided. I don't know if it's the holidays or what, but I'm feeling extra chipper these past few weeks.  I'll blame it on the hormones.  It's just so incredible to see my kids happy and healthy.  Blessed beyond measure!

Birth Story

 Kellen is here!  He's been such a joy to have in our lives.  It already feels like he's been a part of our family forever.  He came at 39 weeks and 1 day.  Being that Farrah was late by 4 days I figured he'd be late too but he had other plans :)
I went in Wednesday morning for my weekly Doctor's appt and when the medical assistant took my blood pressure she said it was a little high.  She said I'd just meet with the Doctor like planned and then she'd take it again after the appt.  I met with the Doctor.  She didn't seemed concerned.... it wasn't that high.  My husband had planned on dropping Farrah off at preschool and heading straight to work while I was at my appt so I was surprised when the medical assistant knocked and said my husband was there.  So glad he ended up coming!  So anyhoo I finished the appointment and went to have her re-take my blood pressure.  She took it and said "Well it's the same so she wants you to go down to Labor and Delivery and have them monitor you now."  My husband and I looked at each other a little dumbfounded.  We weren't expecting that.  So we walked down still not thinking much.  I thought they'd just monitor me for a bit and send me home.  They hooked me up to have my blood pressure automatically taken every 5 minutes.  It kept going up.  They ran blood work thinking I might have pre-ecclampsia.  The Doctor came back in telling me the results looked great and that..... she paused when she saw my latest blood pressure reading.  She was ready to send me home until she saw the latest blood pressure numbers.  Now they wanted to induce.  Again... dumbfounded.  Wasn't expecting to bring a baby home then.
So they sent us over to a delivery room and started a medication that is supposed to soften the cervix.  It's a pill you take every 4 hours for up to 5 doses.  So I had the first dose and I started having some contractions.  Nothing super intense but definitely painful.  Then they died down and it was time for the next dose.  At this point it was about 8:30pm and my family were there to hang out for a while.  The next Doctor that was on for the night came in and told me that this medication could take a while.  Up to 3 days..... 3 days?  Ummmm I know labor is supposed to take a while but 3 days?  At this point my family decided to head home and they'd be back in the morning.  My husband went home to let the dog out (thankfully Farrah was staying with friends).  They gave me some pain medication in my IV to help me sleep so that I could rest up for this long haul.  I think I had only been asleep for maybe 5 minutes when it seemed like the pain medication was starting to wear off and all of a sudden I felt my water break.  The nurse came in and was shocked to see how fast I had gone from 1-5 centimeters.  My husband came back shortly after that thankfully, because my contractions just started going crazy.  They were so intense and less than a minute apart.  At this point I was calling for the sweet relief of an epidural.  Thankfully he came relatively quickly and I didn't have to endure those terrible pains for longer than 45 mins or so.  As soon as I got the epidural they told me to sleep because I'd need the rest to push.  Sure enough, after about 5 minutes of sleep I woke up feeling the urge to push.  I called the nurse in and she said she was hesitant to check me because there was no way I would be fully dilated that fast.  The midwife came in and said she'd check me, and sure enough 10 centimeters!  I had gone from 1-10 centimeters in about 3 hours in what was supposed to take 3 days.  I pushed for 15 minutes and he was out.  He arrived at 2:16am on Thursday. He weighed 8lbs 1oz and was 21 inches long. 
Life as a mom of 2 has been great so far!  I'll update you more next time.  I believe this post has been long enough!  But here are some pictures of our new little man. 

I must have jinxed it

My last post must have put me over the edge because I went in for my doctor's appt and left with a baby!  Birth story to follow later (when I have a few spare moments so it may be a while.) We're both healthy and home now getting settled in.  Welcome to the world Kellen!  We love you so much already!

Yes I'm still pregnant

What a crazy week it's been.  I have a Doctor's appt today and I'm afraid to step on the scale.  Between Thanksgiving, Farrah's party, the leftovers from the party, and then a memorial service and reception yesterday with lots of food, I'm dreading that step on the scale.  I'm contemplating not even looking at the number.
Anyhoo, I'm officially 39 weeks and 1 day pregnant.  And I feel every minute of it and then some.  This past week has been pretty rough on me physically.  I was having lots of contractions last week but they were inconsistent and then they just went away.  Then I started getting shooting pains on the left side of my butt.  I believe it's from him sitting right on a nerve that causes the shooting pain.  The major swelling started this past weekend too.  My feet were so swollen last night that my ankle was actually wider than my foot.... hot, I know!  I woke up last night and my left hand had felt like it had fallen asleep.  It was tingling and quite frankly pretty painful.  I've been dealing with pregnancy related carpel tunnel for the past 6 weeks or so, but this took it to another level so I was actually a little nervous about it.  I can handle aches and pains, but I get worried about what it all means for my health or the health of the baby.  Luckily I have my Doctor's appt today so she can tell me like it is and help me stop worrying. 
So after all the griping, how about a Thanksgiving recap! :)
I lurrrvvveee me some Thanksgiving!  Fall is my favorite season and Thanksgiving is the most fall-icious day of the year in my opinion so I'm all about it.  This year we went to my parent's house like we've been doing for the past few years.  Farrah is the only kid in the family, so it's interesting trying to entertain her.  Luckily my kid is very food motivated so Thanksgiving is a good fit for her.  I made my pumpkin cake because it was requested by my aunts and then I tried a new corn side dish that was amazing!  Thank you pinterest!  Then my dad did most of the rest of the cooking.  Their kitchen is a little limited on work space and my dad gets easily stressed which never works out for the holidays so I offered up my house for Christmas this year.  It's a pretty good house for entertaining.  And quite frankly, I'd rather have it at my house this year than have to pack up all the newborn stuff and head to someone else's house.  So hopefully that works out. 
We also celebrated Farrah's birthday this weekend even though her actual birthday isn't until Dec. 3rd.  Didn't want to risk baby dos crashing her party.  It went really well but I'll hold off on details and pics until the next post.  I have more pictures to upload. 
I realized I hadn't taken any pictures the entire day on Thanksgiving so when we were about to leave, I forced my sister to attempt to take some pictures of us.  Farrah has been making picture taking difficult.  She makes ridiculous faces everytime. So the following sequence of pictures were our best attempt.  There were actually many more that were worse than this believe it or not.  And if you're wondering what that purple thing is on her head, it's her headband that she made that I can't seem to separate her from.  She loves that thing!  We get interesting stares from people probably wondering where I would buy such a thing. 

I hope you all had a wonderful day with your families!

38 weeks

38 weeks!  I never thought I'd see the day!  This pregnancy has been nothing like the first one, but as long as I get another healthy baby out of it, it was worth it!  This is a crazy week for us.  Of course we have Thanksgiving Thursday and then Sunday is Farrah's birthday party.  Her birthday isn't until Dec 3rd but I didn't think it was a good idea to wait because I might either be in labor, or have a newborn, and either way, I didn't want to deal with it.  So let's just keep our fingers crossed that this little guy can hold out until after Sunday so Farrah's party doesn't get disrupted.  She's so excited.  When trying to come up with an easy theme, I finally decided on purple.  She LOVES purple.  Like I've never seen a kid love a color so much for so long.  So far, this isn't a phase... knock on wood.  She's loved it since she was learning her colors back around 15 months.  Everything has to be purple.  So needless to say, she's excited about her purple party.  I however, hope I can deliver a halfway decent party.  I didn't think about the fact that shopping around Thanksgiving is a nightmare.  Grocery stores are crazy and everything else is going to be crazy after tomorrow too.  I'll brave the craft store today to see what I can find. 
Here's an update on the pregnancy:
38 weeks:

• How big is baby?
  Your baby's the size of a pumpkin!
  Baby is about 18.9 to 20.9 inches long and weighs about 6.2 to 9.2 pounds. His head is now about the same circumference as her abdomen.

• Total weight gain: about 30 lbs.  I lost a lb this week which I'm pretty stoked about because all throughout the pregnancy I wasn't gaining much and then these past 6 weeks I've been packing on the weight.  I was hoping to stay at about 30 lbs so I'm still holding out hope!
  

• Maternity clothes? When I leave the house yes, otherwise it's my husbands big shirts and sweatpants.

• Stretch marks? Still have the ones on my stomach and hips from last time, but it doesn't seem like there's any new ones thank God.  I think I already have my fair share. 

• Sleep: Turning over in the middle of the night quite a bit which is a chore itself.  Trying to flip this big belly over is no easy feat!  Plus I get up at least twice to pee.
  

• Best moment this week:  Having my husband home yesterday as well as Thursday, Saturday and Sunday coming up.  I can't remember the last time he had a Saturday off.  I'm clinging to every moment.
  

• Miss Anything? I'd like to have a glass of wine (or 2) tomorrow with my Thanksgiving feast so I'll say that's what I miss :) 

• Movement:He's run out of room so it's significantly less than his acrobatics from before but still feel him moving pretty often.  Always on my right side because apparently he's sideways and that's where his limbs are. 

• Food cravings: No real cravings... just general overeating :)

• Food aversions: Nothing really.  It all sounds good. 

• Gender: Still boy!

• Labor Signs: some contractions here and there but nothing significant.

• Symptoms: Back aches and I've got a major waddle going on.

• Belly Button in or out?  It's not really in or out, it's totally flat. 

• Wedding rings on or off? Off.  Darn!  Was hoping I could keep them on the whole time.

• Looking forward to:  Family time this week before the craziness of 2 kids begins. 

So that's it for now!  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I'll be back with updates from the holiday and the birthday party.

"Those days"

Every mom knows what I'm talking about.  One minute, you're staring at your child in awe of what a miracle they are.... and then you have one of "those days."  One of those days in which you wonder how you got yourself into this mess.  Pregnancy is definitely different the second time around.  For the majority of this pregnancy, I would forget I was even pregnant.  I was so busy taking care of my toddler that it would only cross my mind a couple times a day.  But towards the end is when it really hits you.  I'm huge.  My body is feeling it.  But instead of resting like I could do last time around, I have a preschooler to take care of that still needs to be fed, bathed, played with and not made to feel like her new sibling is already taking all the fun out of mommy.  So needless to say, while I'm holding on to these few moments I have left as a mommy of 1, I'm looking forward to having my body back. 
This past weekend, I had one of "those days."  Well really, one of "those weekends."  Abe was working 2 back to back gigs which meant he was gone from early morning until about 2:30am both days so Miss Farrah was going to be solely my responsibility all weekend.  Sounds easy enough I mean, I am her mom right?  Sunday afternoon is when the efforts of the weekend started to make my body hate me.  And of course, in true kid fashion, my kid decided this would be the perfect time to act out like I've never seen before.  My normally non-bratty child became a full blown fan of the word "no" combined with a stink face.  Did not cooperate and instead of going to sleep like she normally would, decided to scream her face off, and then when I went to check on her after a while, bolted out of her room and into my bed.  I finally caved after 2 hours of this back and forth, not to mention 2 hours of me crying out of frustration and exhaustion, and put her in our bed and went to sleep with her. 
It's these days that make me question what's to come with 2 kids.  If I have days like this with 1, what are my days going to be like with 2?  I wish I had the answer, but I guess I won't know until I'm faced with it.  Until then I'm comforted by the days that are much more common around here.  The ones where yes, I'm exhausted at the end of the day, but still have a smile on my face.  The ones where she tells me she loves me and that I'm her best friend.  The small bits of appreciation and cooperation are all it takes to recharge my batteries. 
Here's a glimpse into that weekend:

Yep.... that's her finding a bottle of my lotion and squeezing it all over.  I probably should have stopped her instead of taking a picture but I needed some type of evidence for my gripe session with her daddy when the weekend was over ;)  Mommies of 2+, tell me it's not as bad as I'm imagining it's going to be.

Only a week late

 Happy Belated Halloween!  So much has happened this week I don't know where to begin.  Let's start with last Tuesday.  I had another ultrasound because my doctor wanted to see one last time if the placenta had moved out of the way before the scheduled the c-section and wouldn't you know it, that dang placenta finally moved out of the way.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute.  So the good news is, I'm officially in the clear and off bedrest.  I can finish the rest of my pregnancy as usual and have a natural delivery whenever he decides to make his appearance instead of a c section next week.  We were all shocked, even my doctor.  So I'm back to business as usual.  It took me a few days to get used to being up and moving around.  That first day when I had Farrah and we went to run a few errands was such a shock to my body I had to lay down the rest of the day.  I guess I overdid it that first day :)  But I was so excited to go to the grocery store, target, and just be a normal mom with my girl.  Things you take for granted.
So the next day was Halloween and I was so excited that I was now able to attend her preschool costume parade and go trick or treating with her.  In true Farrah style, she wanted to be Ariel.  She loves her some little mermaid.  She was excited when we first got there, but then when the parents left to line up on the street she got upset that we were leaving and started crying, hence all the pictures of her looking sad in her costume.  It was our first time actually taking her trick-or-treating and we didn't want her on sugar overload so we just took her to a few houses in our neighborhood of people we knew.  She thought it was the coolest thing that you could knock on someone's door and they will give you candy.  She didn't quite understand it's only on Halloween and has been asking to go trick or treating again.  She inherited my sweet tooth.

On Sunday my friends threw me a surprise "non-shower."  I gave specific instructions that I didn't want a shower this time because it's my second time around and I already have everything we need.  We got everything in gender-neutral colors last time for this reason.  But there was a knock on the door Sunday afternoon and I, in my huge fat pants and shirt opened the door to find 10+ of my closest friends yelling "Surprise!"  Needless to say, I was surprised and embarrassed at my appearance.  But if I'm keeping it real, all of these close friends have seen me looking like that and worse many times.  So I scurried upstairs to change and came back down to hang out with everyone.  We got some adorable little boy clothes and boy accessories.  We are going to have one well-fitted little man.  I just love little boy clothes.  I'm glad it wasn't a traditional shower, and I'm glad I still had a chance to see all my friends before he arrives. 
That's all I'll share for now.  Hoping to have more time to post this week.  Lots more on my mind.

Dear Farrah

I sit here realizing that our days as a family of 3 are numbered.  Any day now, your brother could make his appearance, and a world that once revolved around you, will now revolve around you and a tiny baby boy.  I used to watch this show on TLC called "A Baby Story" and anytime the woman was getting ready to have her second child she would always break down about the thought of her first child.  I never understood that.  Until now.  You have been my entire world for the past 3+ years since we knew you were on your way.  In a strange way, I get defensive and think I don't want to share my time with any other kids, and then I realize this new kid is going to be equally as much my kid as you are and I will love him just as much.  It's just hard to imagine that I could possibly expand my heart enough to love another baby as much as you. 
You seem excited to meet your brother.  Up until this point, I haven't heard you say one negative thing about the new baby that's coming.  In fact all you've been is excited and wondering when he's coming to play with you.  I wonder if you truly understand the changes that will take place when he comes.  I've second guessed our decision to have another child, knowing it will take away from you in some ways, and then I realize it's the best thing for you.  Both your daddy and I have said that our siblings were such a huge part of our lives and we can't imagine not having them in our lives.  Yes this will change things in some ways, but I know you deserve the chance to be a big sister.  To teach him all of the things you know.  To look out for him.  To love him.  You will be an amazing big sister. 
Before our family of 3 becomes a family of 4 I want you to know how loved you are.  You are not only a gift to your dad and I, but you are a gift to the world.  I love you more than I could ever explain, and if you were the only child I was ever able to have, I would consider myself the luckiest mom in the world.  But lucky for you, you'll have a life long buddy to go through life with.  When your dad and I are gone someday, you will always have each other.  Thank you for all you've taught us over these past 3 years.  You are one special girl. 
Love you to the moon and back,
Mommy

21st century mom problems

I have many good memories from my childhood.  My parents did a great job.  Definitely things I would have done differently, but the fact that both my sister and I are normal, productive members of society without arrest records means they must have done something right :)  I do however remember the craziness of our days.  My parents both worked very hard.  There was a point where my mom was working nights at a grocery store and ran a home daycare during the day.  When she slept, I don't know.  Add that to all the activities us girls did and life was crazy.  I don't ever remember my mom sitting down.  She ate her breakfast over the kitchen sink or in the car on the way to wherever she was headed.  At nights when my sister and I would watch a tv show or play with our toys she would be racing around doing laundry, cleaning, and whatever other household duties hadn't been completed.  I remember wishing she would just sit down for a minute to watch our show with us, or sit down to just be with us.  I promised myself I would do things differently when I had a family. 
I'm starting to understand more what it must have been like for her, and sympathize.  Being a parent is difficult.  There are so many things to juggle that I think sometimes it would be easier if the hospital just send each baby home with an assistant for the parents.  That way we could give 24 hr. undivided attention to our kids.  Unfortunately, duty calls..... and the dirty floors, uncooked dinner, laundry, errands, etc.  But I started realizing what things are necessary to run a household and what things just eat up my time.  One thing us 21st century mamas have is the added obligation of technology.  Especially being that I have a home based business, my phone is attached to my hip.  Between email, texting, facebook and phone calls it's practically a full time job to keep it up.  If these things existed when my mom was raising us, I may have never seen her. 
As I was laying with Farrah the other day playing puzzles with her, I had my phone in my hand, checking facebook and I thought "I don't want her to have these memories of me when she gets older."  I'm physically there, yes, but what does it matter if I'm there if my face is buried in my blackberry?  And why is it even necessary to check these things right when they come in?  If I don't return a text instantly will myself or my business spontaneously combust?  Not likely.
So I made the conscious decision to put the phone down.  To rid myself of the temptation I have to put physical space between myself and the phone... bad I know.  If I'm upstairs with her, my phone needs to be downstairs to avoid the temptation.  I have no idea if I've already done some damage... I surely hope not, but she is a kid that likes people to be involved in whatever she's doing.  She says things like, "Mama, do you want to sit down right here next to me?" or if I put on a show for her she immediately says "Mama do you want to watch this show with me?"  It matters to her that I'm there.  And it matters to me.
Now don't get me wrong, there are things I have to do as her primary care giver and person that does most of the house stuff that she will have to be a part of but I try to include her.  She "helps me" fold laundry, put things away, even cook.  She has to tag along on all the errands.  Since I work from home, when she's at preschool I have to use that time to work so the household stuff has to be done with her in tow.  I hope that it makes her a stronger kid in the long run.  Isn't that what all us parents what really?  Our kids to have a happy, healthy childhood filled with good memories.  It's easy to second guess choices you've made.
You do the best you can and hope your kids turn out ok, but this 21st century mama is leaving my 21st century blackberry behind when I have my mommy hat on. 

How about you?  Any experience with this?  I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

4 years

 Thursday marked 4 years of wedded bliss.  Craziness, but blissful craziness.  I feel like that special day was last week, not 4 years ago.  And yet so much has happened in the last 4 years.  We purchased our first home, my husband finished his Master's, made a career change and got promoted.  I promoted myself in my business and earned my first free car, something I've dreamed of since the day I started my business.  And of course, our beautiful baby girl that has now turned into my big girl and her baby brother on the way. 

 It has been one wild ride.  Another reason my faith in God is so strong is because I honestly believe there is not another person on this planet better suited for me than him.  I don't think anyone else could handle me :)  And he brings normalcy to our abnormal days.  He calms me like no one else can.  He is simply the best.

And now we're about to embark on a new adventure.  Parents of 2.  We're going to be boy parents instead of just girl parents.  Kind of surreal.  Life is about to get even crazier.  Not sure what we're in for, but I do know that there's no one I'd rather take on this new adventure with than him. 

No news is good news.... I guess?

I have to say, fall is finally hitting Northern California.  Early October was filled with above 100 temps and I was worried I might be jipped out of my favorite season.  But today as I sit here sipping my coffee in my sweats, I am so happy to be in the thick of my favorite season.  I hope it stays like this because I don't do 100+ degrees ever, but especially in October. 
So I had my "big" ultrasound on Tuesday.  The ultrasound tech's do their job, but really aren't allowed to interpret what they see so I left there without knowing what was going on and waiting to hear from my dr.  The next day I got an email saying basically that the placenta has moved 1 cm but it's not enough so they want to do another ultrasound at 35-36 weeks to see if there's any improvement and if not, schedule a c-section.  So I emailed back to ask about the timing of the c-section because the high risk Dr. I saw had said that if this ultrasound didn't show improvement they would schedule the c-section for 36 weeks.  My dr. replied that she's in touch with the high risk dr. now and that she will let me know her opinion but if I don't have anymore bleeding they will try and hold off until 38 weeks which would put us at right around Thanksgiving.  More of an answer than the first email I guess but still nothing I can plan around.  Oh kids..... even before they're born they know how to take control and throw our "plans" out the window.  Gotta love it!  Hopefully I'll have more updates soon!

Sicko

It's been a while since I've felt like posting.  And to be honest, I'm not feeling very inspired right now to post either but since it's been so long I'm feeling a little blogger guilt.  I'm starting to go a bit stir crazy.  I told my husband I came to the realization that much of my self worth comes from productivity.  I'm obsessed with to-do lists, I love seeing what I've accomplished at the end of the day, and when I can't do that, I start to feel worthless.  I'm just ready for next week's ultrasound and to have some answers.  I hate not knowing so hopefully this will at least bring me some satisfaction in knowing what to expect.
Farrah woke up Wednesday morning with a fever and a nasty cough.  Didn't get much sleep last night because my poor baby was in bed with us.  She's still sick today and tomorrow my mother-in-law is coming to visit us for about a week so I hope she's better by then.  All of us have been looking forward to her visit so much.  Especially Farrah.  She keeps saying "Nana's coming to visit me."  Here's hoping Farrah will be well enough to enjoy her visit. 
Wish I had more to report but alas, until Tuesday, I have little excitement to share.  Until Tuesday!

Weekend Recap

I had a wonderful weekend.  One of the best I've had in a while.  So why not share with my internet friends, right?  I was a little nervous about Saturday.  It was the first day that I've had Farrah the entire day by myself since my first hospital stint.  My entire placenta previa support group was all out of town and Abe works all day every Saturday so from 7am-8pm I was going to have to attempt to occupy her while lying down or sitting down.  All I have to say is, thank you pinterest!  I came up with a handful of crafts for her and I to do together.  I did break the rules a little bit and we went to Panera for a quick breakfast and then to Michael's to get all the supplies we needed for our day of crafts... shhhh don't tell. 
The first thing we did was a "science project."  I can't make fun though because this is about the extent of my science skills.  When she gets older than 5 she will have to ask her dad about any science or math related questions.  I filled a glass baking dish with a box of baking soda and then we filled several small bowls with vinegar and food coloring.  Then we took a dropper and she filled it with one of the colors and dropped it on the baking soda and watched it fizz.  She loved it!  Occupied us for at least a half hour which for a toddler is pretty good. 
Then we found this gem on pinterest.  She played with the magnets and the sheets for a few minutes but then she was excited to put the magnets all over the fridge and make a "special design for daddy."  Still kept her occupied so I won't complain.
While I'm not able to run around and play with her like I would like to, I'm glad I can still be productive in my time with her without plopping her in front of the tv and ipad all day.  But if I had to do that.... well than don't judge me :)
Sunday was one of the best days I've had in a long time because my husband didn't have to work and probably for the rest of the weekends between now and when the baby comes he will have to work Sundays so I treasured every moment of that time together.  I didn't return a single text, facebook, or email or even think about my business really.  We had bagels in the morning and then we watched the 49ers game while Farrah played with the Halloween decorations we had taken out of the garage to get us set up for the season.  I was so happy my husband could watch the football game.  I can't remember the last time he was able to sit and watch any type of sports game semi-uninterrupted.  After the football game we were lazy for a while and then went to my parents house for dinner.  I haven't seen them in a long time and we were waiting to tell them the baby name until we told anyone else so we were able to finally tell them what their grandson's name is.  Drumroll please...... Kellen!  Kellen is a name I've always liked, but it also combines my parents names so I thought it was extra special.  Luckily my hubby really liked it too.  It was a much needed day or recharging our batteries to take on these next 5ish weeks until the baby comes.
Monday morning I had a checkup.  Not much to note although I'm going to be super vain and say I was pumped when she told me I've only gained 16 lbs. overall.  I thought it was more than that but I guess I was off.  Last time I gained almost 50 lbs with Farrah and I had such a hard time getting it off.  I never really lost it all and not to mention the toll it took on my emotions was not fun. So I'm excited to not have to deal with all that this time around.  Unless I somehow gain 34 lbs in the next 5 or so weeks :)
I'm counting my blessings after a wonderful weekend with my family.  Plus fall is here and there's something in the air, even if it is still on the warmer side here, that tells me it's time for my favorite season of all.   Bring on the pumpkin! 

Pregnancy hormones

Up until recently, I didn't think I'd fallen victim to the stereotypical pregnancy hormones that can overtake you during the emotional roller costar that is the 9 months of pregnancy.  But it all came crashing down this week.  Multiple instances, multiple reasons, no reason at all, a whole litany of emotions have overtaken me this week.  My poor husband!  It started this week on a day where Farrah had preschool, then my wonderful friend picked her up for me and took her back to her house, then my other friend picked her up and took over for a while until it was pretty much Farrah's bedtime.  When she got back and I was getting her into bed, I felt so bad that I had gone the whole day without seeing her and then it hit me like a ton of bricks.... things are never going to be the same as they were before.  When I found out I was pregnant, I thought I had 9 months of quality time with my sweet girl before things permanently changed, but because of complications, I can't be the same mom as I was before and spend the same amount of time with just the 2 of us until I'm done with this pregnancy, and well, when I'm done with this pregnancy I will have a new baby to look after too.  The tears started flowing..... and I couldn't stop.  Even typing this makes my eyes well up.  Hard to imagine a life different than the one I've created with this family of 3 over the past few years.  But I remind myself that before Farrah came along I had no idea how it was going to work and now I can't imagine my life without her.  Now I'm faced with the same thing.  I don't know how I'll juggle both kids on top of the rest of my life but I have faith it will come together like it did last time.
Ohhhh... and then there was my crying fit after watching an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashian's.  That's what made me think maybe my hormones are just kicking in :)  That and maybe a little bit of cabin fever. I'm realizing that maybe I was much more of a controlling person than I realized, and when put in a situation where I lack control of pretty much every aspect of my life for the next few months might be getting to me more than I realized it would.  God must be teaching me a lesson.  In fact, I know He is, and I just have to take it in.  I never doubt things will work out.  I'm an eternal optimist in that way, I just like to control things in the mean time :)  Guess that won't be happening in the mean time. 
In other news, I've completely slacked on my pregnancy updates and pictures this time around so here are a few tidbits to tide you over:

How far along?  28 weeks

• How big is baby? Putting on layers of fat, your baby now weighs in around 1.5 to 2.5 pounds and measures about 13.6 to 14.8 inches.

• Total weight gain: As of my last Dr.'s appt I'm up about 18 lbs.
  

• Maternity clothes? yep, maternity pants, some maternity some regular shirts and dresses.  But I mostly wear my hubby's oversized shirts and basketball shorts.  Who needs to look cute when you're laying around the house all day?

• Stretch marks? No new ones.  I got quite a few on my belly last time around so I'm hoping that between not gaining as much this time and slathering some cream on my belly I won't make it worse.  

• Sleep: sleeping good, getting up once or twice a night to pee, but able to fall right back to sleep and sleep comfortably.
  

• Best moment this week:  My conversations with Farrah.  I never thought I would enjoy conversation with a preschooler but she has had so much to say recently and I just want to take it all in.
  

• Miss Anything?  Being active.  Strangely, cooking and cleaning!  I'm realizing now how valuable I really am to this household.  I guess I did a lot more than I realized. 

• Movement:  I have a feeling we're in trouble with this little boy.  He is sooo active.  Even from as early as 20 weeks people were able to feel him kicking from the outside very strongly.  Even the nurses in the hospital during my stays have commented on how much he moves.  You don't have to tell me!  I'm the one that feels it all day. 

• Food cravings:  Haven't had many cravings.  Just kind of eating whatever at this point.  Whatever hubby cooks, whatever people have brought by the house.  Can't be picky! :)  But I do want to drink cold water pretty much all day long.

• Food aversions: nothing really.... that stage ended a while ago.

• Gender: Definitely a boy.  After several ultrasounds now we were able to get the proof we wanted.

• Labor Signs: Nothing this week thankfully.  Just hoping it stays that way for a while. 

• Symptoms: Starting to feel much more pregnant.  Some lower back pain.  It's much more of an effort getting up and laying down.

• Belly Button in or out? In!  Don't think it will pop out.  Didn't with the last pregnancy.

• Wedding rings on or off? On! Which is a major accomplishment considering last time I had to stop wearing them about half way through the pregnancy and couldn't get them back on for about a year and a half after she was born.

• Looking forward to:  32 week ultrasound.  At that point they'll be able to tell me if the placenta has moved and I'll be able to deliver naturally around 40 weeks or if it hasn't and I'll have to have a C-section around 36 weeks.  Kind of a big difference in my book.

• Milestones/what's going on inside: Just making it another week!  Everyday I know he's getting stronger and stronger and I'm grateful.  Keep cooking little man!

Cast of Characters

Sorry for the gap between posts.  I ended up in the hospital again for another bleed over the weekend.  Thankfully it wasn't as bad and they just monitored me this time for a couple hours and sent me home.  Bed rest just got kicked up a notch.  I have to really take it easy.  I am beyond blessed to have so much help.  I can't believe I've never blogged about some special people in my life because they are so special and such a big part of my life that it seems silly that they wouldn't be all over this blog, but alas, I'm slacking.  So I want to introduce you to team "keep baby in as long as possible!"  Here they are, in no particular order:

Meet Tina!  Tina and I met because of my other bestie Carla who you'll meet in a minute.  We've been friends since college and her and her amazing hubby Anthony bought a house 3 doors from ours which brought us even closer.  Then, a little over a year ago she decided she had enough with her 9-5 and joined my Mary Kay team so now we're coworkers!  So needless to say, we're close.  Tina and Anthony have been awesome to help out however they can during these last few weeks.  She picks up Farrah from preschool and brings her back home, helps me with cooking and cleaning, and both times I had to get to the hospital, they ran over to the house to stay here with Farrah while we jetted off to the hospital.  I highly recommend you all to buy a house near your friends :)  Thanks Tina!

Meet Carla!  Obviously an old pic folks.  I definitely don't drink while pregnant, although I do dream about the days when I can have one of these glorious cocktails again.  This is Carla.... or as Farrah calls her, Auntie Caca.  Carla and I met the day I moved to Santa Barbara my freshman year of college.  She lived in the dorm across the hall from me and we've been inseparable ever since!  She's bounced around from city to city and then met the love of her life and decided to buy a house on our street too since she's also friends with Tina!  I mean, come on folks, who has their 2 best friends living on their street?  I'm so fortunate!  She and her fiancee even lived with us for a bit while they were saving for their house.  We are blessed to have her and Jeremy as friends, neighbors, and really family at this point :)  She comes over after work pretty much everyday and plays with Farrah until Abe gets home so I can rest and lay down per Dr.'s orders!  And she brings me frozen yogurt... score!  They're the best!

Meet Kassidy!  My one and only sibling.  Just the 2 of us.  She loves playing with Farrah and comes over on her days off to watch Farrah, clean, whatever I need to make sure I stay off my feet.  I'm so grateful to have her.  There's nothing like being one of only 2 kids.  There's no one else in the world that understands my life from birth to present quite like she does.  And Farrah loves to play with her auntie too :)

Meet my parents!  Yep I'm busting out the wedding pics.  It's sad I don't have that many pictures of my parents.  I'll get on that.  They have been gracious enough to take Farrah on Saturdays as Abe works all day every Saturday and I'm just not in a position to watch Farrah by myself right now for more than an hour or so, let alone for 12-15 hours straight.  Farrah loves going to Grandma and Papa's house.  Probably because she gets spoiled there :) 

Meet my love!  The very best person in the universe qualified to handle me and all my craziness, preggo or not.  This is the Abe that you all hear about so frequently.  This is a very old picture but it brings a smile to my face everytime I see it. It was about a year after we started dating so.... 6 1/2 years ago or so.  He is the best husband and father ever.  I know I'm biased but seriously folks... the best.  He works long, hard hours and then comes home to cook and clean and take care of Farrah while I lay around and am pretty much useless.  He never complains.  He wants a healthy baby just as much as I do, so he does what he has to do.  I'm beyond grateful to call him mine.  I thank God everyday for placing him in my life and allowing us to be parents to our children.  Love you babe!

There are countless other people that have helped us but these are the ones I wanted to highlight for putting their lives on hold at times to help us.  We also have lots of family that don't live locally that have offered up love and support which helps carry us through.  My friends from the MOMS club have also been wonderful to bring meals and watch Farrah when they can.  How we got so lucky I'll never know.  This experience has taught me what true friends really are and I only hope I can do the same for them some day... although I hope it's never due to a bed rest situation and more of a happy situation like a vacation or something :)  Either way I'll be there someday to pick up where they left off.  Thanks to you all! 
Love,
Krista, Abe, Farrah, and baby #2

So far, so good.

So I've been home from the hospital for 4 days now.  No more bleeding.  Thank you God!  I went to go visit a high risk pregnancy doctor yesterday.  I made sure to ask all the questions I could think of while I was there.  I'm bad at forgetting stuff and then kicking myself later when I didn't ask. 
Here's the low down:
The Dr.'s suggested I should expect to have another bleeding episode because it doesn't look like the placenta is moving.  If I do, I'll need to stay in the hospital longer.  And if I have a 3rd bleed, well, plan on staying in the hospital for the rest of the pregnancy. 
Assuming the placenta doesn't move, I will have to have a scheduled C-section.  This, I knew.  If that happens, they will schedule it for 36-37 weeks.  This I didn't know.  I'm now wrapping my head around having an early November baby instead of an early December baby and 1 less month to prepare for this new arrival.  When I asked why, I was told the risk to me is much higher if we wait than the small chance the baby might not have fully matured and need more time in the hospital.
Baby weighs about 2 lbs. 1 oz. which is in the 60th percentile for his gestational age.  That's better than I was expecting so I'm happy about that. 
As far as bed rest goes, they want me laying down as much as possible, but not confined to the bed because if I'm not moving I risk have a blood clot.  So lay down as much as you can, but get up every once in a while to move around and then lay back down again. 


That's pretty much it.  It was nice to be reassured on some things but also scary when they mention things that can go wrong, even if the risk is low, it's just not fun to hear about hemorrhaging and all that fun stuff.

In other news, last night was Farrah's back to school night at preschool.  So cute!  Her teachers are just wonderful and I couldn't be happier with the place we've chosen to send our big girl a few mornings a week.  She seems to be right on track which is great.  The teacher did mention that she can be very soft spoken and get quiet when in a large group setting but a much different kid one-on-one.  I noticed something like that but couldn't put words to it until she put it that way.  It's funny because both my husband and I are the same way.  A little quiet until you get to know us and then we're totally loud and talkative.  Guess that's one of our traits that rubbed off on her :)  My favorite thing was seeing their "self portraits."  All the other kids pictures looked like they were somewhat attempting to draw a figure or had a purpose behind their painting, with 1 or 2 colors.... and then there was Farrah's.  A huge blob taking up the whole page with every color imaginable.  I just love her so much.  She really is incredible. 

So that's that ya'll.  Thanks for checking in on me.  I feel like God is at work in our lives stronger than ever.  And for that, I am so grateful. 


Sales ends today!

Scariness

Yikes... where to begin.  The past 30ish hours have been a whirlwind.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I was diagnosed with placenta previa which basically means the placenta implanted too low, and in my case is completely covering the cervix.  I was told there is a chance it might move and I'll be able to deliver normally, but if not I would need to have a c-section.  I was also told there was a possibility I would start bleeding.  Fast forward to yesterday morning.  My alarm went off, I laid in bed for a while saying my prayers like I always do, got up and walked to the shower and then I felt it.  I was bleeding.  A lot.  I yelled at my hubby who was still asleep to get up because I was bleeding.  He jumped out of bed and calmly called labor and delivery.  He had them on speaker phone and while of course I was on edge, when I heard the tone in the nurses voice I got really nervous.  She asked how far we were from the hospital and we said 5 minutes and she said ok good then you don't need an ambulance just get here as fast as you can.  An ambulance?  The notion of an ambulance is what made my nervousness spike.  So we called one of my best friends at 6:30 in the morning and asked if she could come stay at the house with Farrah while we went to the hospital.  Did I mention I have 2 of my best friends that live on my street?  God is good.
We arrived at the hospital.  They checked me out and said that the placenta was still very low and that was what was causing the bleeding.  Then they proceeded to mention that if the bleeding didn't stop, they would need to get the baby out.  Ummmm.... I'm only 26 weeks.  That can't happen.  This baby needs to cook for another 14 weeks.  So all I could do was lay there and pray the bleeding stopped.  They had me to an ultrasound to see how big baby was, wouldn't let me eat anything in case of a c-section, mentioned if they had to they would give me something that would help to mature the baby's lungs.  All things I didn't want to hear.
They kept check me and it seemed the bleeding had stopped.  But they wanted me to stay all day to monitor me.  They were in touch with high risk obgyn's at another hospital that wanted me to stay overnight, but since I live 5 mins away they were ok with me going home as long as the bleeding had subsided for at least 12 hrs.  In the meantime I still couldn't eat.  I hadn't eaten anything since 9pm the night before and when I was finally given the go ahead to go home we went straight to the nearest In-n-out and I had a cheeseburger fries and a shake because this mama was hungry!  :)
I am now on modified bed rest.  Not an easy thing for me to wrap my head around when I've got a 2 1/2 year old and a business to run but I know I can't do it all.  So me and my bed and my dvr will get to know each other very well over the next few months.  Just pray for no more bleeding!

So this mama is going to be homebound for a while but I still need to keep my business running so I'm running a Mary Kay sale!  If you do not currently have a Mary Kay consultant you are eligible for 20% off all products!  Check out my website www.marykay.com/kristanaldjian and help support a laid up mama!

Things I've learned from being a Stay at home mom and a Working mom

I'm in a very interesting position of being both at SAHM and a WM all wrapped up into one.  I realized the other day that I have learned so much by being on both sides of the fence.  Here are some nuggets... take it or leave it, but it's been what I've seen from my experience.
From the SAHM side:
-Hardest.Job.Ever.  Hands down.  There is no paying job out there that could live up to the amount of energy, dedication, time, and stress that staying home with children does.
-Most rewarding job ever.  Worth every second.  You get to experience all of the firsts, watch them grow and learn, be there to scoop them up when they fall and get all the love and cuddles you could want. 
-Most SAHM's I meet carry some kind of guilt about not "providing" for their family.  While they know how valuable what they do at home is, they're still a part of them that feels the need to ask their husbands about any purchase that's for themselves. 
-We do not sit at home watching TV and eating bon bons all day contrary to popular belief.  The to-do list never ends.... never.  Cooking, cleaning and raising smart, self-sufficient children is no easy feat. And the next day, you have to wake up and do it all again.  Whoever wants to invent something that keeps the house clean after you clean it once can go ahead and do that now. 
- We appreciate our husbands.  I can't speak for all marriages but most SAHM's I meet all carry the same sense of love and admiration for our husbands.  While we do work hard at home, we know that our husbands take on the financial strain when we choose to stay home. 
- Time out of the house with friends is vital.  Even if we have to bring the kiddos with us, it's better than being cooped up in the house all day with nothing to listen to but Dora and Elmo.  We don't have coworkers that we get to have conversations with.  No lunch breaks.  Nothing to recharge.  My friends are the reason I'm sane (most days.)

WM side:
-The option to stay home full time isn't there for most of us.  Bills, bills, bills!
-The guilt when you leave never leaves you.  While I'm fortunate to not have to leave too often, it's still hard when I do and she gets upset.  I always remind myself why I'm doing this.  It's for my kids.  Nothing else.
-The last thing you want to do when you come home from work is clean and cook, but someone's gotta do it!
- We miss out on a lot of the fun daytime activities you can do with kiddos while you're working.  Park playdates, zoos, etc are more difficult to do in the evening hours. 
-It's easy to feel like you're being pulled in a million different directions.  You leave one thing and you have to be "on" at the next thing. 

From both sides:
-We're way to hard on each other as moms.  Formula vs. Breastfeeding, cloth diapers vs. disposable, co-sleeping vs. crib, working mom vs. stay-at-home mom.  When you're a new mom and you're already feeling incredibly insecure, the last thing you need is for other mom's to be judging your decisions.  Be kind to one another.
- I find myself playing the blame game when I get frustrated... on both sides.  Yes, I too am guilty of this.  "Ughhh my SAHM friends just don't understand that I can't make it to everything all the time." "My WM friends treat me like I'm some silly little housewife."  It comes back to being kind to one another. 
-We all just want our kids to be happy and healthy.  And we go about that the best way we know how.
-We all are insecure with our decisions.  I have yet to meet one mom that is 100% confident in her decision to either work or stay home and never questions herself.
- As someone who's on both sides of the fence my realization boils down to this:  The grass is not green on the other side.  The grass is green where you water it.

Make the best of your situation!  And be an advocate for the moms of the world.  We need each other more than you know.

Me, Myself and I

I realize that this blog began as a way for my family and friends that don't live nearby to keep in touch with what was going on in our lives, and that the star of my blog is Miss Farrah.  However I also know there are people that read my blog that don't know us personally and might like to know who this chick is that's writing all these posts.  Here are some fun facts about myself that even people who know me may not know.

• I am a diet soda addict.  Although, because we're on a budget, I don't buy it for the house, but when we go out, it's hard for me to resist a diet coke.  I used to drink about 3 a day.... it was bad.
• I'm semi-claustrophobic.  Not really to the extent of breaking out into a sweat in an elevator, but more so when my personal space is being cramped.  My poor husband knows I'm ok to cuddle for a minute or two, but then I've reached my limit because I start feeling anxious with the crowded feeling.  I'm a weirdo.
• Music was a huge part of my childhood.  I was in multiple choirs, one from the age of 6-18, and took piano lessons from the age of 6-18.  I was also in some musicals in high school.  I wish I had more to show for it.  Once I got to college, I pretty much stopped cold turkey and have lost a lot of my musical abilities.  It's really important to me that my kids learn about music because it made such an impact on my life and I want them to experience those same things.
• I lived in Spain for a semester.  My junior year of college, my friend and I did the abroad thing.  We chose Alcala, Spain which is about 40 mins outside of Madrid because we didn't want to live with a family and this one allowed us to live in student housing.  It was one of the most defining experiences of my life.  When I left there, I could confidently say I was fluent in Spanish in a way that my 7 prior years of taking it and a Spanish minor could never really equate to.  Not only that, but I navigated Europe pretty much on my own and turned out fine :)  I was pretty darn proud of myself. 
• When I was a little kid, I want to say maybe 4 or 5 yrs old, my parents took my sister and I to an animal place called Marine World and when we were in the petting zoo I got trampled by 2 llamas that were chasing each other bc they were in heat.  I'm still traumatized by llamas to this day.  I don't trust them.  My parents should have sued! 
• I am not a naturally ambitious person, contrary to what people think about me being that I run my own business and am constantly setting goals for my business.  Because I'm not a naturally ambitious person, it works out perfectly for me to be in business because it forces me to be.  If I worked a clock in, clock out kind of job, I would do just that, clock in and clock out.  I know I wouldn't be living to my full potential. 
• I don't know how people can be atheists and have kids.  I'm sorry if this offends anyone but I don't see how after experiencing the miracle of the birth of a child and watching them grow, that you don't believe that there's any higher being out there, even if you're not religious.  I just don't get it. 
• I usually stay pretty level headed although I can be easily irritated (thanks for that dad), but when I get mad... you better watch out!  You don't want to mess with this chick when she's really mad.  
• Summer is overrated in my opinion.  I actually am not a fan of summer at all.  Don't know why people love it so much.  Maybe it's because of the heat waves we have where we live.  We are forced to spend most of the summer in above 100 degree temps. and we don't really take summer vacations so that pretty much takes the fun out of most of summer. 
• That being said, Fall is the best season ever!  How can you not love the crisp air, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin anything really?  I look forward to it every year and it always seems to go by way too quickly!
• In the past, I've been quick to want to achieve whatever the next step is.  As soon as I got some place, I felt like I needed to start working on the next place.  College, engagement, buying a house, marriage, babies, etc.  I never realized I was doing that all so quickly.  All of those things I mentioned we did by the time I was 25.  I'm starting to realize it's ok to stop and enjoy where we're at.  
• When I'm feeling frustrated and/or things aren't going the way I hoped, you can typically find me cleaning and/or organizing.  It's the thing I do to take control over something and getting in the zone helps me forget about what's frustrating me.  
• When I'm procrastinating, you can also find me doing the same thing.... cleaning or organizing.  
• I'm a big dreamer.  Always have been.  I never doubted that I would be successful in life.  Not in a cocky way, but I just never had any reason to think anything but great things for my future.  I'm still not quite where I want to be, but I'm well on my way.  And yet still trying to enjoy where I'm at :)

So that's me!  Take it or leave it!  Questions?  Comments?  Just ask!

Adventures in Preschool

I got the worst night of sleep last night since Farrah was a newborn.  I'm currently running on about 4 hours of sleep and a decaf coffee.  Today is not looking promising.  But since I'm up and have some time, I may as well update you on a huge step we've taken.... Preschool.
I'm sure many of you might be thinking Farrah's too young for preschool.  She won't even be 3 until December and that still leaves her with 3 years of schooling before Kindergarten because she's a December baby.  I would have agreed with you up until about a month ago when a series of events made it clear we made the right choice. 
It started when I picked Farrah up from her weekly daycare visit.  Her daycare provider said her daughter would be starting preschool and asked if we could switch Farrah's day that she attends daycare.  I went home and thought about possibly switching her day and our schedule that we have worked out, and then switching it again when preschool rolled around and that combined with a new baby made me worried it would be too much change for Farrah and I didn't want her associating the new baby with her being "shipped off" to school.  So with that, I told my husband what my thoughts were and asked him if we could start looking into preschool. 
The next couple of weeks, it was like God was trying to show me that this was the right direction for us.  Farrah really started expanding intellectually with new vocabulary and started saying things that indicated she needed more stimulation than I was able to give her at home.  I know every parent says this, but she really is very intelligent.  I'm shocked sometimes at how much she's learned at such a young age, how much she comprehends, and the empathy that such a little person can have.  Maybe that's why she can also be so challenging.  She's too smart for her own good! :)
I already knew exactly where I wanted Farrah to go to preschool.  You see in the MOMs club that I'm in, there's a mom that owns her own preschool and she's given a presentation on kindergarten readiness and hosted a kid's fair at her preschool.  She is what sold me on her school before I even stepped foot in the school.  It's not exactly in our backyard.  It's about a 15-20 min drive.  And it's not exactly the cheapest, although honestly I didn't do much shopping around because I wanted Farrah to go there so bad, but all I know is after we factor in what we were paying for once a week daycare, it's going to be an extra $200/month so guess who gets to come up with that.... me!  :)  Unfortunately my husband doesn't have the ability to give himself a raise anytime he needs it and I do, so looks like I'll be holding an extra party per month to cover it.  Which I am more than happy to do!
So anyways, back to the owner of the daycare.  She is amazing... moral of the story.  When she talks about children and education, passion just exudes from her and you can tell she genuinely loves what she does.  I love it when I see this.  I wish more people were like this.  But I guess unfortunately not everyone loves what they do. I wanted my child at a place where the teachers were actually enthusiastic about being there, and not burnt out, watching the clock teachers that make it more of a glorified daycare.  She explained the process of kindergarten and what schools are looking for children to be doing before they enter, ways we can work with them at home and ways preschool can help.  I appreciated she wasn't a preschool pusher and she said some kids won't need much preschool but at least one year would be great so they're more prepared for kindergarten.  Some kids, she said, might need a lot of preschool because of their energy, abilities, etc.  And for a while I thought Farrah was in the first group and then it was like over night she became this much older kid.  I don't know how to explain it.
So we scheduled a tour with the preschool for myself, my husband and Farrah to go check it out.  It's not one of those mega preschool centers with tons of kids but it was just right for us.  She was there to give us a tour so I was glad my husband was able to meet her and hear for himself about this awesome lady I had told him about.  That and he has a masters in Education so I wanted his honest feedback being that I can make quick decisions once I have my mind made up about something and he reigns me back in a bit.  So after the tour we left and in the car Farrah kept asking to go back to preschool.  Sigh of relief from her parents.  And my husband said he could see why I loved her so much and he is willing to pay a little extra to make sure Farrah gets a great education and that he felt that would be the best place for Farrah.  After a little number crunching to make sure we could really do it, he was the one to tell me to hurry up and call her because there was only one more spot for the MWF mornings which is what we wanted so I did and Farrah was quickly enrolled in preschool.  She had her first day Monday, today is her 2nd day.  I'll fill you in on that later since this post is getting a bit lengthy but I'll leave you with the picture I took in the car 60 seconds after picking her up from preschool her first day.  I would say it was a success!