Countdown to a BABY!!!

When we all got together for an impromptu family dinner Thursday night, Chani was feeling absolutely no contractions. In fact, she was washing every dish in my sink as she said her goodbyes to the family. Obviously, tonight was not going to be THE night. Once I got my kiddos in bed, I suggested that we take a few more pictures of that belly.

10:30 p.m. Thursday night

We were laughing and carrying on when, out of nowhere, this happened.

Contractions! Wait! Ouch!

I think this is the perfect time to go out and have a jump on the ole' trampoline.

11:00 p.m.

Family jump time! The contractions keep coming. Are you surprised? I didn't think so:)

 

Alright, enough of that! Tom makes us all come in, and he starts timing the contractions. At this point, they are coming about 10 min. apart and are relatively strong. In between the pain, we are able to capture some mother daughter love and then...

11:30 p.m.

More contractions!!!

Tom and Chani ran home (they live a mile away) to put the kids in bed, to rest, and see if the contractions would go away. Ummm. They didn't! In fact, They got scary painful! With Chani's history of giving birth to Lydia after only 17 min. in the hospital, Tom and I weren't taking any chances of delivering this baby in the car. Did I mention yet that Ben was working the night shift and that we had absolutely no medical professionals present? Thanks, Baby!:) By 12:00 we had all the kids back at my house and were in the car on our way to Depaul. When we left the contractions were coming about 5-7 min. apart, and by the time we got to the hospital they were nearing 2 min. apart! Needless to say, the car ride got a bit dicey. I'm happy to report that only 3 red lights were ignored.

12:30 a.m.

The sisters are all together and now it's time to get to work. Chani was dilated to a 8 when we got there, so we only needed two more centimeters and then it would be GO time.

1:30 a.m.

Chani was focused and determined like I have never seen her before. She went into this birthing process wanting a drug-free labor, and she never once wavered in her decision. Tom was supportive and loving. A truly beautiful thing to watch. My eyes filled with tears more than once that day.

1:50 a.m.

Two pushes and sweet Thomas David Benjamin joined our world at 1:53 a.m.

Here he is only moments old gazing into his Mama's eyes.

I'll never forget the look on this daddy's face when I whispered to him, "It's a boy!" We were all secretly hopeful that Drew would get a little brother.

Can you believe they let us all stay in the room? The nurses were nervously eyeing Molly and Dee and their pregnant bellies, hoping they would only have one patient that morning:)

This sweet baby boy has stolen our hearts already. Our family is truly blessed beyond measure, and we are grateful.

We love you, Baby Dave

The things we do to go into labor!

In an attempt to get baby Canby out of his/her cushy, comfy holding spot, Molly put the kid's Christmas present to good use.

The Baby didn't Budge! But, from the looks of things, the grown men got more entertainment out of the failed experiment than the children.

As D-day reluctantly draws near, I'm thinking we need to have a Chani/Molly jump fest and get those babies outta there!

Pictures to follow. hee hee:)

Happy Birthday Boys!!

My boys, today you are nine. That's right. Almost two whole hands-full of fingers-up in the air. N.I.N.E? How can that be?

 Just yesterday you were roly poly,squishy little balls of baby energy. Both of you climbing and reaching to get the best spot in my arms. I remember the four of us piled high in our "BIG" bed wrestling, snuggling or just watching a "show." You were forever stuck in my arms - both of you. Up and down the stairs we went...all of us together. It was faster that way, one less trip to make.  You were constantly connected to me while in your baby carriers. One in front, the other in the back. I never wanted to put you down, and I'm so glad I didn't.  These are all such sweet memories for me now.

 

 

Yesterday I pulled you both into my lap for the last 8 year old kisses I would ever be able to steal. With all 8 of your long, bony, big boy arms and legs poking into me from every direction and spilling over onto the couch, I realized that some things will never change. You're never too big for Mommy's arms. And that thought makes me smile.

Happy Birthday, Brennen and Tilden Puckett. From the first moment I saw you, I was changed. The day you came into my world was one of the greatest, and I'm so privileged and honored that you call me Mom.

(Please excuse the bed head. This was our b-day morning snuggle.)

I love you, my boys, and I'm so proud of the 9 year old young men you have grown into.

Love, your Mama.

Pizza Wraps

  

I love all things food: reading about it, watching it being made on TV, devouring it. The only problem is I'm on this nutty diet challenge of 2011, and I don't want to fail in front of my friends:) But a girl's gotta EAT, right? In desperation, I came up with what I think is a tasty, diet-friendly version of a mushroom, onion, pepperoni and spinach pizza. Although you'll find that the crispy, crunchy crust that you've become accustomed to with pizza is missing, I still think it's a scrumptious alternative to getting FAT! Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

O.K. It starts out like this...

         Gather together   *SPINACH
                           *REDUCED FAT CHEESE
                           *TOMATO SAUCE
                           *RED ONION
                           *TURKEY PEPPERONI
                           *MUSHROOMS
                           *LAVASH BREAD-

           

{basically a whole wheat wrap with only 50 calories and 2g.of fat/serving}

* Each and every item listed in today's recipe can be purchased at a wholesale club near you and without ever stepping foot into Walmart, PRICELESS! New Year's Resolution #2: NEVER go to Walmart again! Unfortunately, I'm rather confident that I won't actually be able to pull this resolution off. But, hey, a girl's gotta dream... and EAT. So here we go-

Chop up the red onion and saute with mushrooms. Rather than using oil, I find that a spray of Pam works just fine.

Now you are going to want to broil the wrap to ensure that the whole thing stays as firm as possible.

Spread the tomato sauce and add toppings.

  Back under the broiler

until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Immediately after removing from the oven, sprinkle with fresh spinach and roll it up like you would a wrap.

Enjoy with an ice cold Diet Dr. Pepper! *wink,wink*

 YUMMM!!!





Challenge 2011

2011 a new year, a time for new beginnings and a fresh start. I could share all the things I hope to improve on this year, but that would take, ummm...a while. And since I like you, I'll ease you into it one resolution at a time. #1 change for 2011: WEIGHT LOSS! I know, shocking, right? I mean, who has ever heard of a weight loss resolution. I'm pretty sure this is the number one resolution heard throughout the world. Please don't quote me on that. I admittedly have no idea what the number one resolution is. Where was I?

Weight loss, yes. So my friend mentioned that I should join in on her weight loss challenge since I was "competitive." Clearly, when a friend suggests you join in a weight loss challenge, she's calling you chubby!;) She also told me there was BIG money to be won, so i was IN!


The basic rules of the challenge are:

Drink water- Lots and lots and lots of water. Like 6-10 cups of water a day. Which means I'm averaging about 50 daily trips to the potty. TMI? Sorry. I'm not really a water girl. So to help me in my water quest, I have bought lemons, lots and lots of lemons.

Exercise- A lot! I'm mostly OK with the exercise part, but I'm trying to add a bit of strength training into my running schedule by doing the 30 day shred. And here is where the exercising part gets painful.

Jillian, I'm working on learning to love you and your 30 day shred. Give me time, I'll get there.

Cut out a forbidden food and a forbidden drink:(you get one cheat day per week) Desserts was an obvious choice for the food portion. No more yummy, gooey, chocolaty or crunchy desserts. SAD.

And for my forbidden drink, I've agreed to only have ONE can of Diet Dr. Pepper a day!

          

Oh, how I love Diet Dr. Pepper. Truly, we are great friends and I miss it. I'm pretty sure that it already misses me as well.

I'll keep you up to date on my progress. I'm also training for a 8k in March and another half marathon sometime after that. Who's with me?

Accountability. It's a good thing, right?
I hope.

P.S. I don't really care about the money or winning, just fitting into my jeans;)