First Ultrasound for Baby #4

Yes, I'm pregnant! My fourth baby!!! Aahhh!!! But don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about this new blessing that has come into my life. It was definitely an unplanned pregnancy, but then none of my pregnancies were planned. Back on January 6th, I asked my kids, "what would you do if you're mom ended up pregnant?" At the time, I still hadn't known that I was pregnant. I distinctly remember Chelsea telling me that she would push me down the stairs. No, she would push Zach into me! Of course, she was kidding!

The following day Natalie and I were walking around in Walgreens waiting for Derick's insulin and we came across the pregnancy tests. It took me several looks and walking aways before I said 'forget it' and picked one up to buy it. I got home and took it and the + sign showed up faster than I could get off the toilet and flush it. How could this be? After 11 years, I would be starting over again! I told my kids later that day with the boys laughing and Chelsea crying and upset! The father (Dean) isn't too happy about it...his loss! Friends and family seem to be very excited for me!

In the following days, I had made an appointment with Brenda to confirm the pregnancy. With me having high blood pressure and high cholesterol and being 35 when I deliver, I was referred to Dr. Kerns, OB/GYN in Wausau. Met with his nurse first and was told that my blood pressure meds weren't good for the baby. Then met with the doctor two weeks later (2 weeks ago). Doctor's going to monitor my blood pressure and also talked about inducing my labor a week early due to my quick labors and long drive. Also set up an ultrasound appointment because my uterus was slightly larger than it should be for my due date which was Aug 30th according to my last period.

I went for my first ultrasound yesterday. Only one baby present....YAYNESS!!! Baby was moving around quite a bit. Heartbeat was 172 bpm. It kind of reminded me of a hummingbird's wings moving. Baby is looking good. New estimated due date is Sept. 4th which would go back to when I thought I conceived (Dec 11/12th). Chelsea says picture 2 looks like a squirrel...upside down with head being the fluffy tail. Zach says picture 1 looks like a bird. The nurse doing the ultrasound called it a gummy bear.

The Final Counts for 2009

I took the time to find out how many shields and keychains I had made last year. A dear friend of mine (Robert) had said to me once, 'did you ever think about how many you've made? You should celebrate some how when you reach 1,000."

Well, here's the count:

Leather Shields (all sizes): 903

Inserts/Passports Only: 88

Gold Leaf Shields: 28

Keychains: 431

KeyFobs: 26

Making it a grand total of 1,476 items completed in the shield room for the year 2009. Let's see if I can break this total for 2010!

The Dogs In Our Family

It's been awhile since I've last posted anything to my blog. And while going through it, I've noticed that I didn't do anything about our dogs. It's not that they're not appreciated and loved in our home, just that I haven't gotten around to putting them on here. Well, now here's their time to shine in the spotlight!

First we have Niro! We've had Niro since he was about 6 weeks old. He was born in May 2009. He's a very smart dog and still learning new tricks all the time. He's learned how to sit, lay down, and kennel. For some odd reason when he's bored and alone, he loves to tear things up....from Zach's drumming music sheets to Chelsea's borrowed library book. He's also learned that he can tear down the one side to his kennel to free himself. Although he can be a little terror, I believe he's in this family to stay!



And last, but certainly not least, we have Lil Bit. Lil Bit was given to us to take very special care of because his owner unexpectedly passed away. His owner was Sheila Babcock which was a dear friend to the family and Derick's godmother. When Chris (Sheila's partner) had no place to put Lil Bit, Derick said that he would take him. I just couldn't tell him no. Lil Bit has been in our home since late October 2009. You can tell that he misses Sheila at times, but I'm certain that he loves his new home. Plus, he has a playmate, Niro! Lil Bit and Niro love to harass the cats!