Aunt Ena.

I have so much to catch up on! this month has been CRAZY busy.

Not too long ago Ross' sister, Serena, came to visit. Next week she leaves on an 18 month church mission. She'll be serving in Tiajuana, Mexico! She was kind enough to take some time out of her crazy schedule to come to Wisconsin and visit for a few days before she goes.

We were so spoiled to be in Utah surrounded by family. Claire has a great relationship with her Aunts and Uncles, and I'm so so grateful. I think being so far away from family has been an adjustment. Thank goodness for Skype! I don't know what we'd do without it!

We picked Serena up in Milwaukee and grabbed some lunch before heading back home. We went to a farm, took the girls costume shopping, made Halloween cookies, played at the park, took delicious naps, played with puppies, took a trip to the outlet mall, and went to the zoo. And of course it wouldn't be a Wisconsin trip without ice cream.

We loved having Aunt Ena here. The girls were in Heaven and were spoiled rotten. While we were at the outlet mall, Claire was helping Aunt Ena find shirts. If I walked by too close, Claire would start to shriek, "I don't want my mommy, I don't like my mommy! I don't want my mom!" Who knew a two year old could hurt my feelings, but I'm glad these girls love their Aunt Ena.

Serena was giving her farewell talk and party the following week, so Ross and Aoife flew back with her. Claire doesn't fly free anymore, so she got to stay home with me. I took a few days off from school while Ross was gone. I loved the one on one time with Claire. It was SO different just having one munchkin at home. I actually showered, got some cleaning done, took Claire on little outings, and just enjoyed being with Claire. And I never once yelled or got frustrated.

She did much better than I thought she would, though she definitely missed her sister. She was able to Skype with Aoife a couple times. It was so sweet to see how excited the sisters were to see each other. Claire would tell Aoife about her day and ask how she was doing. Melted my heart.

When we picked up Ross and Aoife from the airport, Claire waited so patiently. When she saw them walking up, she jumped down from the stroller and ran to them screaming, "AOIFE!!!!" Then she gave her a big hug and kiss. They've been inseparable since. Despite having to go back to school and real life, it's nice to have everyone home again.

Netflix Party at The Loveland's.

 After calling my doctor with some concerning things, I was told to go to the hospital NOW. I had just finished making dinner for Ross and the littles and picked him up from work. I took it as a do not pass go or collect $200 but tuck my tail and floor it to St. Mary's. I didn't think anything was actually wrong, so I was confused why I had to book it to the hospital.

Let's just talk about the drive there for a minute.

I hadn't been to St. Mary's before, had no idea where it was. (Thank you trusty, GPS!!) It's downtown. And I have to drive through campus to get there. Lots of college students walking, some on bikes that can't decide if they want to act like a car and ride in the road or act like a pedestrian. Once you weave through the bikes and pedestrians you find out there is only one entrance to the parking garage. And you'd better not miss it because you'll be stuck on a one-way street going the wrong way. After you park, it's a hike through a maze to find labor and delivery, which isn't actually labeled 'labor and delivery'. I think it was called 'birth suites'. Very fancy.

I got admitted right away and situated. After vitals were taken, a couple doctors came in to do every test known to mankind. Up till this point, nothing super concerning was happening. I was having contractions, but they were pretty spaced and didn't hurt.

While waiting for tests, contractions picked up. The on call doctors didn't know what to do with me so they had to call the doctor I've been seeing as well as the specialist group I'll be seeing next week and coordinate between the two. In the meantime, they were coming every 2 minutes and HURT.

I ended up spending almost 7 hours on monitors. Luckily the contractions started to space out and become less intense so they didn't have to keep me over night.

I got home a little before 1 and have never been happier to go to bed in my own house in my life. A couple of the doctors were furious that the specialists had me wait two weeks for an appointment and they'll be poking the bear with a stick to get me in pronto. I'm hoping I can stay on pretend bed rest, but anything to keep this babe cooking! I really have tried to be good about staying on my royal rump. I'll cook dinner and go to class. Maybe do some dishes. The last couple days though, the girls have been so stir crazy and restless we walked across the street to the park one day, and yesterday they had a play date. I didn't think I did much, Claire and Aoife pretty much walked to and from the park themselves and I just sat on a bench while they got their energy out. I really do feel bad for them. We're pretty good at going out and exploring and playing. It's gorgeous out and they're stuck watching Mulan for the millionth time picking on each other.

I'm so grateful for science and medicine, and for the doctors and nurses. I'm especially grateful that this gal decided to stay put a while longer. Bring on the Netflix party.
 

Sleeping Babes.

One of the hardest things about having class at night is missing out of the girl's bedtime routine. Ross has always been in charge of bedtime, but I still miss the giggles and squeals, and kisses. Sometimes, the girls will even cuddle with me and give extended hugs to avoid bedtime.

Every night when I get home, I set my stuff down, maybe grab a small snack, and then go in for a peek at the girls. Sometimes they stir, sometimes they're out like a rock and I can brush through their hair or hold their hands. And sometimes I get to hear Claire talk in her sleep. I love me some sleeping babes.

Making The Switch.

We've been thinking about switching to cloth diapers for a while now. After we went over our budget, we realized we've been spending $100+ a month on diapers. With another gal on the way, likely to make her debut sooner than anticipated, I couldn't imagine buying THREE different sizes of diapers. Of course Claire will be potty training soon, but I'm waiting for her to take the lead on this one.

There were lots of things that appealed to me about cloth diapers aside from the financial benefit. They're natural with no chemicals, they're adorable, I can use one size for both (or all 3) girls, and my trash loads will be smaller.

The thing that held us back was the poo. Luckily I have a good girl friend who has been cloth diapering both of her kiddos. After researching, grilling her about it, and researching some more, we found tons of options and decided to give it a go!

The girls had fun picking out diapers as I ordered them and they've loved getting to pick out which ones they want to wear. So far, so good! I was shocked at how soft they are. I'd want them against my nether regions, too! The girls seem to love them and are as happy as can be! I couldn't have hoped for a smoother transition from them. Hopefully it's equally smooth for the parents!

Claire's partial to the zebra print. If it were up to her, they would ALL be zebra.

The Stash.

Aoife's latest obsession is dogs.

All put away and ready to go.

It took a couple drawers to hold them all.

24/25 Weeks.

Lately things have been ...weird. I've been sicker and more exhausted than I was in the beginning of this pregnancy. I've chomped on ice, snacked on frozen corn, and guzzled more Diet Coke than I'd like to admit. Recently I've found a temporary antidote: Turkey Dogs. A couple of those grilled up on the stove complete with every condiment known to mankind and I'm good to go. 

Yesterday I had my appointment. The good news: I finally gained a couple pounds. Normally that'd be enough to make any gal cry, but I have a hard time gaining weight while preggo. The better news: This little lady looked and sounded great. She's ridiculously active and you can even see body parts sliding around my stomach when she moves. She kept kicking the doppler and wiggling around. She's a feisty thing.

Now for the not so great news: Because I dilated so early with both girls and how crummy I've been feeling, the doctor wanted to check and make sure nothing was progressing. She ended up calling a second doctor in. I'm already funneling pretty wide and dilating. At this point with Claire I was dilated to a 4.5, and with Aoife I was at a 2. The doctors were shocked to hear that the midwives continued to treat me without any kind of intervention other than the medication to stop preterm labor with Claire.

I guess Wisconsin takes thing like this extremely seriously. Which is a good thing. 

So I'm being sent to a specialist and they will most likely be taking over this pregnancy. I go in for my first appointment in a couple weeks and will discuss options and plans. In the meantime I'll be kicking back and taking it easy to keep this gal cooking for as long as possible.Thank goodness for all of the Disney movies on Netflix so the girls and I can just cuddle all day. When I told the doctor my goal was to make it until December, she laughed and said that might not be reasonable anymore. My new goal: Thanksgiving.

The Start to Fall.

The last couple weeks have been stressful, overwhelming, and we were really looking forward to the weekend. Every six weeks I get one Saturday off from class. It was very much needed.

We spent the weekend finding a cute apple farm, discovering our new favorite park, getting Slurpees, The Great Pumpkin Run and Fall Festival, going on a hot date, and making new friends. It was just what we needed.

Our run Saturday morning was a blast. When we woke up, the temperature was below 40, which had us nervous, but it turned out to be a gorgeous, fantastic day. With less than 80 people, it was the smallest run I've ever done, but I really enjoyed it. Ross was amazing and ran with the stroller the entire way. Claire giggled with delight and whenever Ross had to slow down and wait up for me, she'd say she wanted to run again. Even with 100 pounds of stroller Ross could have smoked me. Darn those long legs and bless his heart for keeping with the preggo wife.

 The course was a trail run through fields, forest, and the last mile and a half was though a twisty corn maze. Ross felt like he was playing Mario Kart, and luckily only two stalks of corn were sacrificed to the stroller.We're planning on doing it again next year. Each of us will have a stroller and kiddos to decorate like Mario Kart.

After the race we got a glass of apple cider, a pumpkin, and we got to go enjoy the fall festival. We didn't make it past the slides, but it was a blast. It was the perfect way to start the Fall season.

And Ross' sweater. Ross didn't notice till halfway through his lesson.

Claire decorated herself at church with stickers.

Sunday Evening Walks.

We have some great trails around the corner from our house. Some of it's paved, some of it's dirt, some are narrow trails through the woods, and some of it is boardwalk. A few months ago we were invited to dinner at a friend's house. After we ate as much as our stomachs would hold, we walked around their neighborhood. I got hooked. When our Sunday evenings aren't busy, I love to go for an evening walk with the girls. Sometimes we just walk through the neighborhoods, and sometimes we go on the trails.

The trails are  my favorite. Just a couple steps off the street and you feel like you're miles and miles away. It's dense and quiet, and reminds me of the Northwest, minus the doug firs. Last night the girls were restless, so I decided to take them out on a walk and give Ross some quiet time to do his food prep for the week. Each of the girls found a pine-cone which never left their hands for the rest of the walk. It's the simple joys, people. Then Claire started collecting yellow leaves. She'd squeal and laugh every time the wind blew and some leaves fell from the trees.

Not long after we started on the trail we saw 5 deer. A mama and her babies. They were just as curious as the girls were and bravely crept closer. Claire kept saying we had to be quiet so we wouldn't scare them while Aoife shrieked with delight and yelled "DOG!" (Lately, anything with four legs and a head is a dog.) We spent a while watching the deer. The girls thought they were pretty cool. The trails have deer signs, but I hadn't actually seen any before.

I have no idea where the trails actually go, we have yet to reach the end of them, but we explored further out this time, loading up the stroller with yellow leaves before deciding to head home. What was meant to be a quick walk turned out to be just under an hour. We had a blast. The girls wanted to show Ross their treasures, so I had him come down and meet us. When Claire saw him, she jumped out of the stroller and ran to him, screaming, "Hey cute guy! Whatcha doin out here?!"

I've never called Ross that. It was hysterical. We think she came up with it because sometimes I call her cute girl. Man she cracks me up. We topped off the night with some berries and yogurt. And it doesn't get much better than that.