Forester's 7th Birthday

I am a couple weeks behind on posting this, mainly because I didn't get very good pictures and was going to get some from my mom. But, I may never actually get around to doing that so, it's now or never.
Forester had a Bionicle theme for his party. Know what a Bionicle is? I hardly do either. They are made by Legos and they are these alien looking things that have to be put together and they are all the rage with boys these days. Forester received 4 new Bionicles for his birthday and it "was the best birthday ever!". He also wanted a pet turtle. After some investigating it turns out turtles are pretty germy and disgusting and very expensive to take care of. So, we opted for "Sunny" the hamster instead. So far, she's very cute and well behaved and is probably more my pet than the kids since I keep after her. Oh well, I don't mind!
We had a kids party here at the house just to play in the backyard and let me tell you, it was total chaos! I think there were 11 kids and some parents and...my house and yard never felt so small. Things were crazy! I'm never doing that again. Hosting kid birthdays is never fun for me. And doing it somewhere other than your house or park is SO expensive! We just can't afford it. The whole thing just stresses me out! I think I'll go back to family only parties from now on. What about you? Are you like me or maybe the opposite? Do you enjoy planning the parties every year?

Slade On the Move

Here is a short video of Slade moving around a bit. She moves around a lot! Hard to see from a camcorder due to lighting and angle so I put a remote control on my belly. Enjoy!

My new love...

If you know me, you know music is what I breathe. My latest love is Eric Hutchinson. He's been around for quite some time but is now getting some recognition even making the VH1 top 20 with "Rock & Roll". If you haven't heard him, check him out. He reminds me of Jason Mraz, Gavin DeGraw, Stevie Wonder to name a few. Great musician and his music makes me HAPPY!

"Ok, It's Alright With Me"



"Rock & Roll"

Update on Baby Slade

My last few dr. appts. have been pretty encouraging. While I still have Polyhydramnios (the condition of having too much amniotic fluid) and still have about 10 contractions an hour they haven't increased or changed at all and the growth of my tummy slowed down just a little bit. Instead of measuring 7 weeks ahead, I was starting to level out only measuring 4 weeks ahead. Well, that changed on Tuesday. I had a regularly scheduled appt but I had a feeling I would have different results. Over the weekend I had started averaging about 20 braxton hicks contractions an hour. They haven't really let up since. My appt revealed that I am now measuring 43 weeks (back to 7 weeks ahead). May I remind you that 40 weeks is full term!! I needed an ultrasound to see what was going on. The ultrasound revealed that my fluid level had increased, (it's is now 31 cm. - 24cm and below is normal.) and that Slade is already estimated to be 8lbs 11oz. YIKES! What does this mean? Well, not much. I'm already having a c-section so that eliminates a lot of decisions that would have to be made if that weren't the case. I pretty much have to endure a couple more weeks of being uncomfortable and pray that more stretch marks don't appear! Many have asked why they won't go ahead and take Slade early if she's already so big and I'm measuring so far ahead. While she may be chubby, there is no way to know if her lungs are fully developed and ready to breathe room air. Weeks 37/38 are critical for lung development and it isn't worth the risk of her having breathing problems just so I can get some relief. I can make it a few more weeks! 18 days to be exact. So...I've started taking bets on her birth weight. What's your guess??

Happy 4th Birthday Micah!

October 29th was Micah's 4th birthday! We had a wonderful day as Grandma came for a surprise visit. We kept busy baking the cake and letting Micah open little presents through out the day. Then we met up with Muzzy and Pop at the bowling alley. Micah just loves "goaling" as he calls it. It was so much fun to be together as a family. And, I even bowled a strike or two (don't tell my dr.!). After bowling we had pizza, cake and presents at the house. Pete's oldest friend from childhood, Kyle, was in town (he's in the Air Force Reserves) and came by for the celebration. A real treat as both the boys LOVE Mr. Kyle! All and all a wonderful day celebrating our beautiful gift from God, Micah Slade Bradburn. Thank you Lord!!

Halloween

I'm behind on posting but determined to get caught up!! Every year we have a group over for pizza and pictures and then trick or treating. It's amazing that some of our kids have been taking these Halloween shots together for 5 years! Time seems to fly by (when you're not pregnant). We had a great time. Amazingly...or maybe not, I didn't get one picture of just my 2 boys together. So they're mixed in with the rest of the kiddos. Forester was Iron Man and Micah was Batman. Slade was a painted pumpkin. ;o)
Our Spider Web Pumpkin



Sweet Bee, Susanna Fortney

Lovely Ladybug, Caroline Fortney
Ella Cow! Sooo cute!
Most of the kiddos for a group shot.
Micah (batman) and Emma (pink tinkerbell)
Susanna showing Joshua some love....
Heading out to get some loot!! Happy Halloween 2008!

Poor me... I don't think so!

Well, Pete is gone again this week. This will be the fourth week in a row that he has had to travel to PA for work. Ever since taking this new job 8 months ago, Pete has been required to travel quite a bit. This has taken some getting used to but I think I'm getting there. I know my attitude about it really stunk back in the spring but I realize now that Pete doesn't enjoy leaving anymore than I like him going. It's just as hard for him. I have to say the hardest part so far is the toll it's begun to take on Forester. He now seems to have at least one bawling crying episode each trip these days. He just misses his Dad and wants him to come home. It breaks my heart and there's nothing I can do about it. I've received a lot of sympathy from those around me who say "it must be so hard, especially while pregnant" or "I just couldn't do it. I couldn't handle it by myself". And though from time to time these comments tempt me to feel sorry for myself, lately God has enlightened me to the truth. I AM BLESSED. I have a husband. My husband has a job. I have 2 healthy kids with one on the way. We have a house to live in and food to eat. We have family close by. How can I even begin to think about feeling sorry for having to do it alone sometimes in light of all that I have been given and blessed with? I don't even know the true meaning of hardship and having a husband who travels certainly doesn't qualify!! Sometimes my circumstances and what I know on a daily basis of being "normal" can be quite sobering and frankly, makes me sick. I am one spoiled rotten American girl who whether I am conscious of it or not thinks I am entitled to certain things just because everyone else around me has it. GROSS! Having Pete gone half the time has allowed this pouty spoiled attitude of entitlement to raise it's ugly head and for that I am thankful. God has revealed it to me and is hopefully purging it and allowing me to see things as they really are. I'm sure I've only seen the tip of the iceberg but it's a start, right? I am beyond blessed and I am thankful!


Oh yes, and did I mention that I think single moms have the hardest job in the world? ;o)

Get ready for the DRAMA...

The most common comment I have received about having a girl is "get ready for the drama". Apparently this seems to be the biggest difference between raising boys and girls...according to those around me. I occasionally get a little dramatic flair from my 6 year old and I can't stand it and hardly have the patience for it. I need to be praying now. Hard. Slade, seems to be embracing this stereotype and has started the drama already. I couple of weeks ago I spent the weekend painting her room an adorable pink. Shortly after I started to have a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. I've had these with every pregnancy but not this many. I was up to 23 in one hour. So, I called the doctor who informed I shouldn't be having more than 5 an hour. Uh-oh. She told me to lay down and drink lots of water and come in the next day. Thankfully, I was checked out completely and these contractions don't seem to be doing anything which is good. It is probably a side effect of the high amount of amniotic fluid I'm carrying and the fact that Slade is already a big baby, measuring in the 95 percentile for her gestation. This means I'm measuring 7 weeks ahead. So, I may be 31 weeks but my belly looks like it's 38 weeks. Uh...excuse me, can I get a tummy tuck with my c-section please?? Yikes! All in all, I've been ordered to rest and take it easy. Not an easy task while being a single mom 2 weeks out of the month due to Pete's job. But, we're taking it one day at a time and surviving. I am thankful that Slade is growing and healthy and this drama will end in just 8 weeks. I guess it will be then that the real drama begins...