So...make a guess! It's worth a $10 Starbucks Card!!!

Its that time of the pregnancy again! 40 days left! Make a prediction about when the baby is coming what gender and what size the baby will be. Copy this form below and paste it into your answer. THE WINNER WILL RECEIVE A $10 STARBUCKS GIFT CARD!!!!! So choose wisely! The stats that I will give you are...the u/s said girl, and my due date is 5/5/07. At this moment I am not planning on being induced. My last labor was 6 hours and 15 minutes...if that matters! Happy Guessing!

Your Name:
Baby's Birthday: (date and time)
Baby's Weight:
Baby's Gender:
Baby's Length:

So...am I sold?

I think that I can speak for both Sean and I when I say that this last weekend was LIFECHANGING! I am not just saying that. It was absolutely what we needed in the midst of all this change going on in our marriage.

Without going into too many details, I can tell you that if you have the opportunity to go to a conference like the one that we just went to you will be changed. If money is an issue I think it is worth writing into the budget or evaluating where your money is going so that you can attend. I know that sounds awfully pushy...but we are different people. I feel uplifted as a wife and a mother. I feel like I have been equipped with tools to strengthen our marriage and ways to communicate better with Sean. And really the best thing about the weekend(it wasn't all easy by the way) was that we HAD to talk about issues and conflicts that we don't typically even think to talk about. We had questions to answer and letters to write to each other. I cried, I laughed(alot!) and I savored the moments that we were together.

I don't often think that we don't spend enough time together...but this weekend was eye-opening about my priority list and where my husband falls on that list. As a mom I find it very easy to get caught up in the daily routine of mothering...but what am I displaying to our children? Is it a Godly example of the attentiveness a wife should display to her husband? Maybe not.

So if you want information about the conference that we just went to you can go to www.familylife.com . There is another weekend seminar in two weeks that one of the same speakers that was at ours is going to be at. He was really hilarious! Worth seeing! I think it is at Indian Falls Resort in Bloomingdale or something like that.

Anyways...thank you to those who thought about us and prayed for us this weekend. And a HUGE thank you to my parents for watching the kids! I think my dad only wanted to sell one of them! LOL And a huge thank you to my mom for cleaning up Kierstin's "I took my diaper off during my nap" mess. Mommy would have been MAD!!!!

TTYL

E

P.S.-The corned beef/cabbage/potatoes/corn/stuffing and Irish soda bread was fantastic! Honestly...Canadian meals are great! (In other words Canadians go way over board when they are expecting a group of people for a meal!)

We're outta here!!!!!

Sean and I are going to the Family Life Marriage Seminar at the Mariott Lincolnshire this weekend. The kids are going to my parents house. It should make for an interesting weekend. At least thought provoking! I am excited to be going with 4 other couples from our church. It will be nice to get to know some of the other women in an area that isn't too "surfacy"...kwim? I am honestly excited to hear that there is HOMEWORK!!!! And I don't mean "uhhh....ewwwww..." I mean paper homework. Sean and I are usually really good about communicating but it will be good to talk about subject that we don't typically think to talk about.

So...I hope you all have a great weekend with your families! I am actually hoping that I get corned beef and cabbage(mostly cabbage) on Sunday! My mom makes a great corned beef/cabbage/potato dinner(once I tried to make corned beef and totally ruined it!).

Talk to you later! We're outta here!!!

E

My Drs. Appt. and other happenings.

And it is true...I DON'T HAVE GD THIS TIME!!! WOW!!! I can't believe it.

I spoke with my doctor about my wishes to NOT be induced and she seems hesitant. She is afraid that I will go fast and doesn't want me delivering in an un-ideal place b/c of my history with postpardum bleeding. I am kinda at a loss as what to do. I like the idea of having my body just go into labor(that has never happend before b/c I was always induced), but then again...I don't want to risk the health of Kendell. FRUSTRATING! There is also some good in knowing the day so that I can have a sitter and everything ready. GRRR...so I don't know what to do.

Please if you have any advice I would love to hear it. And if you could pray for peace for Sean and I we would really appreciate it. The insurance company paying Sean for his injury isn't being as punctual with his checks as we would like and Sean's pain level is really high. We are taking the next steps to ensure that he gets the care that he needs and although we feel like we are in a better place on this journey, it is still difficult to see Sean is such extreme pain. Especially when I know that he is not a complainer. That is my job!

Thanks in Advance!

Erin

How Stroller Strides saved me $1200

So considering I haven't heard from my OB about my GD test I think that I am in the clear this pregnancy as far as gestational is considered. This was really surprising news to me considering my past history.

This pregnancy was definatly a hard pill to swallow early on because I was so motivated to lose weight(and was losing!). I felt like getting pregnant was going to stop my momentium towards my goal and although I have definatly postponed my sucess I don't feel like my time was "wasted" anymore. Because of my hard work after having Kierstin I was able to lose 62 pounds, but more than that...I don't have to pay the $1200 that I would be paying out of pocket for insulin and NST copays during these next 9 weeks. And that figure didn't include testing strips or needles. I paid somewhere around $200 for stroller strides this summer and fall. So in the long run I am pulling out $1000 ahead! I can't believe it!

So my plan when I have Kendell is to start a new food journal. I am going to take it easier than I would normally during the first few weeks of milk production, because I know that calorie depletion can cause "skim" milk. But soon after I know everything is A-OK I will be back on the weight watchers/stroller strides wagon! Hopefully with a few new faces and some old friends.

TTYL

E

No News is Good News. Right?

Well after some procrastination I took my Gestational Diabetes One Hour test on Sunday morning. And so far...I haven't heard from the doctors office. I have never had this happen so I am crossing my fingers that all my hard work losing weight has paid off and I am clear of GD this pregnancy! Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts!

Erin