Weekend Recap - Thanksgiving Edition

Ah, my first long weekend since I became “self-employed.”  It was so nice.  But, as you probably guessed, we were busy, busy, busy!!  The festivities actually started MUCH earlier than usual.  On Tuesday, I was able to volunteer at Jameson’s school.  They had a Thanksgiving program and I, along with 2 other moms, helped the kids to roll out, cut, and bake cookies for refreshments after the show.  It was so fun to see him in his element.  I swear I could sit all day and just watch him at school!

Jameson was sooooooo excited for his program.  He asked everyone he encountered if they were going to his “show” and if they said no, he would say “that’s okay, we’ll record it for you.”  Well, Papa Terry, Mama O, Cousin Alaina, Nannie Sandy, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Becca were able to attend.  Let me just tell you, it was THE CUTEST thing that I have ever seen!!  And here it is for your viewing pleasure!!  After the program, we ate lunch at Pizza Pie Guys with Papa Terry, Mama O, and Cousin Alaina.  Then Wednesday night, Jameson attended his very first overnighter at the JCC.  Only, we weren't sure how he'd handle staying overnight (or how *I* would, for that matter!), so we opted to have him stay until 10 instead.  Then Russell and I took the chance to sneak away for dinner and a movie before picking Jameson up.  And after that, I had the AMAZING opportunity to drop off some gifts that a wonderful group of ladies and I pooled together to give to a friend whose daughter is going through some things.

Thursday, of course, was Thanksgiving.  We had a wonderful, family filled day.  Just like we have done for the past few years, we had lunch with my family (Dad’s side) and dinner with Russell’s family.  We were treated to two delicious Thanksgiving meals.  We were able to catch up with some family that we don’t get to see very often.  All with very minimal drama – pretty good for two family get-togethers!  I feel very lucky to have so many wonderful people to call my family!

Friday was a recover day.  We relaxed, watched some football and ate anything other than turkey!  Haha!

Saturday we took family pictures with my friend Amy.  This was a reschedule.  We were supposed to do them earlier, but something else came up…  :-)  Anyway, I am thrilled about them!  We had a lot of fun without any major meltdowns – pretty impressive considering we had 5 people to keep happy!  I’ll post a few pictures once our holiday letters go out!

Sunday was another lazy day – soaking up the very last day of our long weekend.  Then, on Monday stuff got real.  We submitted the last wave of paperwork to daycare licensing.  So, it’s just a matter of time before we get inspected and we’re off and running!!  Eeek!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From the Turkeys!

Sunday.

Gah, I don’t even know where to start.  I guess at the beginning.  Haha!  On November 14^th, 2011, I had the opportunity to hear Warren Buffett speak at Girls Inc’s annual luncheon.  During which he made some comment along the lines of “Find something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” – I can’t remember exactly how he worded it though.  Then I got to hug him...

The next morning I woke up and started thinking about my passions.  I started thinking about how I am kind of the “go-to” person within my circle for all things fertility/pregnancy/baby related.  So, I started thinking about ways I could build on that.  So, I started researching various avenues that I could take – including becoming a certified doula.

What is a doula, you ask?  Well a doula “is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth” (DONA International).  It just felt right, so I decided to head down that path – which is actually quite terrifying for someone who has only actually been present in her own births, which were c-sections!

So, I officially took a leap of faith and became a doula in training!  I began my required reading and attended the workshop.  But, then I got wrapped up in my pregnancy, licensing the daycare, and other things going on in my personal life.  So, the doula thing kind of went to the back burner for a while.

Then, my wonderfully supportive friend (step-cousin), Jenny, started talking to me about her friend who was pregnant and wanting a doula.  So, we talked about Jenny passing my info on to her friend, but I never heard from her, so I didn’t think too much more about it. 

But about two months ago, I received an email from her.  So, I met with her and her husband.  I’m not going to lie – I was not 100% confident in my abilities and kind of tried to sabotage myself.  And at my second meeting, they kind of called me out on it.  Fortunately, I had Jenny in my corner pulling for me.  So, they decided to take a chance on me.

We met one other time and discussed her birth plan.  They also informed me at this time that her OB said that she was dilated to 3 and that she had felt some contractions.  I got weekly text messages after her OB appointments informing me that there was no change in her progress.

Well, Sunday morning Russell left –with the van!- to go to Kansas City to watch the Chiefs game.  And as luck would have it, I got a call around 7:20 am from the Mama saying her water broke and her contractions were 1.5 minutes apart.  So, I panicked for a minute trying to think about what I was going to do with my kids.  I made a couple of calls and finally BEGGED my super awesome friend Kellie to watch them – even though she has her own feisty two year old and a set of 3 month twins on her hands…what’s 3 more kids, right?  (Have I mentioned lately that Kellie is absolutely one of THE BEST friends a girl could ever have??). 

Anyway, after dropping the kids off at Kellie’s, I raced to the hospital and got there around 8:30 am.  This Mama was already in active labor!  I’ll spare you all of the details, but this absolutely amazing Mama delivered her baby girl completely medication free at 11:46 am.  Her birth really went exactly how she wanted.  I am so thrilled for her.  I also am so grateful that she allowed me the opportunity to be apart of this truly incredible day.  Plus, I was done in time to eat lunch with Kellie and the kids!

Weekend Recap

Whew, what a whirlwind weekend!  (And some unintentional alliteration - Woot!).  :-) Let's start with Thursday.  That was Nannie Sandy's birthday.  So, all 5 Bennetts,  plus Nannie, Papa Bruce, Uncle Ben and Brooke (his fiancée!) met at Famous Dave's for dinner.  We had a really nice dinner and afterwards went back to Nannie & Papa's house so that Bruce could fill out our physical forms for Russell and I - part of next step in our daycare license journey!

Friday was fairly uneventful, other than Russell and I took epic naps! 

Saturday we met Papa Terry and Mama O at Green Belly for lunch.  It was delicious!  Then Jameson and I took a trip to Target to get him some new shoes, plus a few other goodies.  We got home just in time to pick up Delilah and Ephraim to head to a baby shower.  Ephraim slept for most of the shower, but Delilah and Jameson entertained the crowd!  They also suckered a bunch of people into giving them mor After we left the shower.  We went to HyVee to get some groceries.  We got home, ate some dinner, and the kids played a little bit.  After that, I needed to go pick up something from a friend's house.  The kids fell asleep on the way home.  So I got them in house and directed them to go upstairs.  Well, here was the aftermath while I was tending to the baby:

I guess they were tired!

And then there was Sunday.  Sunday deserves its own post, but I just don't have the energy to type it out tonight, so you'll have to wait!  Stay tuned!

Weekend Recap

This weekend was another fairly laid back weekend for us.  Russell started it off by having an outpatient procedure done Friday morning.  Everything went successfully, but he had to take it easy this weekend.  But, more on that later.

We had a pretty lazy Saturday.  We were able to sleep in.  After lunch, Kellie and the twins came over to watch the Husker game and then we ate dinner together.  And that’s about all we got accomplished.  It was GLORIOUS!!!  Every once in a while you need a day like that.

Sunday was a bit busier.  I ran around town getting some of the items we need for the daycare and for my doula bag (more on that later, hopefully).  Then, after lunch, Russell got ready for work while the kids and I went to a birthday party for a friends’ son.  Once we got home, we ate dinner and then I busied myself putting away my purchases from earlier.  Then, I let the momentum continue and I worked on some neglected areas upstairs.  And after all that, it was time to lay my weary self down in bed, reboot, and prepare for the next week.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Surprise!

Knock, knock, knock!

Who’s there?

The Fire Inspector.

The Fire Inspector, w….WHAT!?!?

I’m sure most people know by now that we are applying for our daycare license.  We submitted the start of our paperwork about a month ago.  I received a letter stating as much and informing us that the next step would be the fire inspection.  The letter said to allow some time for the fire inspector to receive the referral and then to schedule our inspection.  About a week and a half ago, I left a voicemail asking him to return my call.  I never heard back, so I called again on Thursday and left a second voicemail.  Monday there’s a knock at the door and it’s none other than the fire inspector!  So, he came in and got started as I tried not to PANIC!  And of course, while he’s here I have two crying babies and two insane toddlers who choose that very moment to LOUDLY chase the cats.

Fortunately, Russell had already installed the additional smoke detector we needed and most everything else was not even an issue because our house is big enough and new enough that it already met the majority of the requirements.  He did inform us that we were, in fact, able to use the bedrooms upstairs as a part of our daycare.  So, that will make the nap time and potential overnight issue easier.  So, we paid the man off….errr, I mean we paid the fee and we passed the fire inspection!  The next steps are some more paperwork and the State inspection! 

Whew!

Weekend Recap

Although I was desperately convince myself that the runny noses around our house was just allergies, however it seems that the daycare kiddos have caught it as well, so I’m thinking we actually have a full-blown cold on our hands.  Oh well, ‘tis the season! 

Nevertheless, we foraged on in respect to our weekend activities.  Friday afternoon, we had a visit from my Aunt Judy and her granddaughters (my second cousins, once removed…I think?).  They brought some treats for the kids (like they need any more!!), we had a nice chat, and the kids had a lot of fun playing.  It was so nice to catch up!!  And most importantly, I was reminded of a few potential babysitters available to me!  Delilah had so much fun that she was convinced that we were going to “Grandma Jude’s” house the following day!!  Haha!

On Saturday, we were having dinner at Papa Terry and Grandma Onie’s house to celebrate the October birthdays - Papa Terry, Aunt Erin and Aunt Nichole.  I had been asking the kids what we should get Papa Terry for his birthday.  Their answers included: a cat, cat food, foot to eat, and “whatever he would like.”  Obviously they were very helpful.  Well Friday night, Jameson decided that Papa Terry needed a chef hat because he already has a chef book (?).  So, Saturday morning we were off to find a chef hat.  Russell had drill again this weekend, so it was a solo trip for just the kids and I.  Then we also decided stop by Vic’s to get him some popcorn because he likes it.  While we were there Delilah went crashing into some of the big popcorn tins.  Who’s shocked?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Yeah, I didn’t think so.  She was fine, but there I was with 2 wild maniacs and a baby while the man behind the counter took FOREVER to get some curling ribbon and made a pitiful attempt at tying and curling it.  Oh well, we survived!  Once all of our errands were complete, the kids napped while we made the trek to Council Bluffs.

Once we arrived at Papa Terry’s house, the kids made a beeline for the playroom.  I even had to drag Jameson out to see Papa Terry wearing his chef hat!!  Russell joined us after drill and we all enjoyed one last meal off the grill for the year!  Then it came time for cake and ice cream.  Delilah wanted so badly to help go get the cake and ice cream, but when it came time to eat it, she was not interested in it at all.  She happily played all by herself in the playroom.  Jameson, on the other hand, made sure he got his plate.  So, after we stuffed ourselves and the kids played some weird game where they were evil unicorns, it was time to go.  As we’re packing up, Delilah is suddenly upset that she didn’t get a piece of cake.  So, Grandma Onie graciously wrapped up a piece of cake for her to take home (although she snuck some on the way home!). 

Sunday was just a day to relax at home – see the aforementioned cold.  :-)

Ephraim is 3 months!

As you can see, Ephraim continues to be the linebacker in the family.  :-)  When he’s not eating or sleeping, he loves to smile at everyone.  If you’re really lucky, you’ll get an adorable little giggle out of him.  Here’s a little secret…his toes are ticklish!!  He watches his siblings in awe.  You can tell that he’s counting the days until he can run and jump and climb with them.  The kids are excited for Ephraim to be able to play with them as well.

Ephraim is able to hold his head up on a regular basis now.  He loves looking around and taking everything in.  He generally enjoys tummy time and he’s getting pretty close to rolling over!  He’s starting to sleep in longer increments – as many as 6 hours at a time!!  He’s also starting to babble a little bit.  The boy has a lot to say!

Ephraim loves bath time, snuggles, and smiling.  He gets so happy during diaper changes.  He just smiles and kicks his little feet.  If he’s starting to get fussy, the best way to calm him down is to have his siblings sing him a song!  He’s just an adorable, happy little guy!!