Falling in Love, All Over Again

*Sigh*.....I've fallen in love with another man.  Do you think my husband will mind?

I pondered, before Owen was born, how in world I was going to love another child as much as I love my little Marin.  Fortunately, God didn't put a cap on the amount of love we are able to give, and my little man has stolen my heart.  I'm learning that you love your children in very different ways.  I love both of my babies, but I love them differently and just as much as one another, and that's OK.  They are different little people to love!

My mom and dad were here and so wonderful to help out after Owen came home!  The biggest help was having them take care of Marin, particularly in the morning when Kris and I were dragging from all-nighters (2 nights).  And of course making dinner and just being here to celebrate in the joy of a new baby.  I'm growing to appreciate my parents more and more as I realize how much of a sacrifice raising kids can be!  

My dad with a happy little boy snuggled in for a nap.

 My dad again with Owen.

 On grandpa's lap (seeing a trend?) bright eyed and bushy tailed!

 A little snooze next to the fireplace.

 Hanging out with Great Grandma Lyman, Kristoffer's grandmother.  And...Owen is the first Lyman Great Grandson!  I realized this the other night, how wonderful.  There are 4 Great Granddaughters and Owen is boy #1!

 Marin snuggling with her little brother.  She loves him and is very gentle with him, such a good big sister.

 Awake time this morning, he was very interested in looking around, and in the book mommy put in front of him with all the colors.

 Already growing up on mama!

 And, Marin playing Hungry Hungry Hippo's with Grandpa and Grandad. 

*We have been spending this time together as a family and Kristoffer returned to work yesterday, I was so bummed to send him away!  We got used to having him around every day!  

*Marin has been adjusting, and although she has been having more "potty accidents", I anticipated this and while it's still frustrating, I understand that it's completely normal.

*Owen is....growing!  What a hungry little man he is!  I had heard that little boys have quite the appetite, and boy does he!  Birth weight:  8#5oz.  3 day checkup:  7#15oz.  1 week checkup:  8#8oz.  Haha, yeah, I know.  That little guy packed on half a pound in 4 days, crazy!  The doctor was so impressed with this and how well he was nursing already.  That's my son ;)

*And....yes...you knew it was coming.  Weight.  Well, I have lost 20 pounds since I had him almost 10 days ago, and I only have another 40 to go....um, yeah.  Super.  Most of what's come off has been water weight, considering I lost 4 pounds overnight one day.  I'm hoping that nursing alone will take me down another 15-20 pounds, and then those last 20 I'll have to be pretty proactive about.

We have been so blessed with such wonderful family members and friends already who have been helping us, a HUGE THANK YOU to you all for your love and support, we truly appreciate you and your love!!

WELCOME BABY OWEN!

Our little miracle has arrived!  Owen Kristoffer Lyman, born Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 at 5:54pm.  8lbs 5oz, 21" long, 14.5" head.  We had a beautiful, un-medicated, husband coached birth and both mom and baby are healthy and well.  

We arrived at the hospital at 7am to have my water broken, but snowy conditions prevented my midwife from arriving at that time.  She broke my water at 1230 with little water to show for it and Kris and I spent the next 2 hours doing some techniques to bring on labor.  At 2:30, contractions began and at 5:30 I was feeling the urge to push, and only a short 26 minutes later our little Owen arrived into the world.  It was a very quick labor and delivery with no complications.  Kristoffer was a perfect coach and I feel even closer to him than before being able to have such a wonderful labor and delivery experience without medication.  I felt great after delivery and was able to be up and walking within an hour!

So, without further ado, our son:  Owen Kristoffer Lyman

Marin already has proven her gentle love as a big sister with sweet kisses and head butt's and is a big helper, we are so proud of her.

We are also incredibly grateful to our Father in Heaven for blessing us with a beautiful, healthy new addition to our family.  To be entrusted with such a sacred and sweet little spirit is such an honor, and we pray every night that we can be the loving, gentle, spiritual parents our children deserve.  

On Our Way!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!  After having exceeded my due date, I'm headed to the hospital tomorrow morning to have my water broken.  Although I'm a bit disheartened by this, I'm happy I'm not in need of Pitocin.  My last check on Friday showed I'm at 4cm and 70% effaced, so this is good news and means my body is already well on it's way!  My mom is flying in tonight (hopefully!) after having been jilted by the weather from her flight yesterday.  Marin will either be staying with her cousins or at the house with my mom if things go well.  So...tomorrow at 7am we will be at the hospital and starting our labor, wish us luck!  We will try and post pictures as soon as possible, so stay tuned for brand new pics of our sweet baby boy :)

Dear Marin

My Dearest Marin:

My sweet first child, I love you.  I love you so much.  As my first child, I have experienced an overwhelming change of body, mind, and soul as I transitioned to having a mother-heart, all because of you.  You have brought depths of love and understanding to my emotions I would have never otherwise experienced.  I have experienced moments of selfless grief and insurmountable excitement in such small and simple things.  You have brought many, many proud smiles to mommy and daddy's face.  What a smart, beautiful, capable little person you have become already at only 2&1/2!  I am so proud to be your mother.  I am overcome with emotion as I think that the Lord entrusted me to care for you and teach you the way.  You are a most precious gift from Him and I realize each day how much love and care you still need...and will continue to need as life becomes more and more difficult.  Always know mommy and daddy will be here for you, to love you and help you.  We will always give you the loving home you deserve and be the selfless parents you need.  Now, as we spend our last day together as just the 3 of us, you, mommy and daddy, my eyes swell with tears to think you have become an irreplaceable part of our lives.  No matter how many brothers and sisters come along, you will always be my sweet little Marin.  There will never be another YOU, no replacement for the way daddy and I feel about you.  We have loved being a little family with just you, for the last 2&1/2 years.  Tomorrow we add another little person to love to our family and we know you will be a wonderful big sister.  My sweet Marin...we love you, forever.

Love, Mommy and Daddy

A snuggle with daddy when her belly was keeping her up at night.

 A slide ride on a VERY cold and windy day.

 Our sweet girl.

 Frosting and eating cupcakes last night for Valentine's Day Dessert.

 Happy Girl!

 Licking off all that frosting!

 Eating her Kix this morning.  She has those deliciously sad eyes, I love them.

Mayhem

There are moments in life when you feel that all mayhem is breaking loose.  That our reasonable expectations of day to day activities is apparently too much to ask.  After having a cough for 10 days, I finally decided it wasn't going away and went to the quick care for some antibiotics (which I received).  I made an appointment for Marin to see her pediatrician for the same cough.  That day, driving back from Wal-Mart, my car battery began to die and we barely made it home and into the garage.  As I dove out of our complex that evening for Marin's appointment, I coughed and popped a tendon in my ribs, bringing tears to my eyes.  I pulled over and called Kris who was still at home, who ran down the street to drive me to the ER to be checked out.  I knew of course that they wouldn't be able to do anything, but I had a very insistent and concerned husband at my side.  So...home we came.  I have been able to take tylenol and...fortunately, motrin since I am now full term (since it causes cervical ripening and possible dilatation), but it was been a very painful night, and my poor hubby has been picking up all of the slack for me.  This pain of course brings much concern to me as I can barely blow my nose without pain and the thought of laboring and delivering a child through this searing side pain without drugs makes me cringe.  We have worked so hard for an unmedicated delivery!  I had a blessing last night and am feeling somewhat better, but I have a visit with my midwife at 4pm and am concerned that if I am any more than 4cm, I will need to be induced and receive that awful Pitocin.  So, I am feeling a little stressed at the moment.  Mayhem. 

Soooo Close

Perhaps I should offer a little update on Little Lyman's progress!  Saturday I had quite a few very strong Braxton-Hicks contractions, so we did quite a bit of walking that day to encourage things along.  I also reached the precipice of my seasonal bronchitis cough, and had a terrible coughing spell in Target that threw my left ribs into a tizzy.  I felt like I had a broken rib Saturday night and Sunday, ouch!  Sunday I stayed home to rest and sleep off my cough and that night had some more pretty strong Braxton-Hicks.  Today, I had my appt with the nurse practitioner, and she told me I was at 4cm!  All her other 'checks' were good news and she said things should be happening very soon.  I can't tell you how encouraged I was by this!  Granted, baby will come when he's ready, but I feel it's close.  And she said that things could go very quickly for me this time, so be on top of what's happening during labor to avoid a close call!  

With all of this in mind, we are going to be tying up some loose ends around the house and packing the cooler with snacks etc., so we can be as ready as possible.  We are very excited to meet our little son!!  

And, still waiting for our computer charger for the other laptop, so hang in there a little longer for pictures!

Spend-Thrift

Two weeks ago I went grocery shopping.  I had a specific list of things I needed to get and I always shop at the same grocery store that has the best prices: Winco.  I spent $75 and when I got home and emptied my grocery bags onto the kitchen counter, I was dismayed!  Where had all of my money gone?  And where were all of the groceries?!  I felt jipped!  Even my favorite bargain grocery store had succumbed to the recent price hikes and I was heartbroken!  Considering how hard my husband and myself work for our money, I was resolved to work even harder to get more for our money in respect to groceries.  

So...I read all about extreme coupon-ing and completely overwhelmed my very fragile and foggy pregnant-brain.  Kristoffer and I talked a lot about strategies and methods and simplifying things etc., and yesterday I had my first adventures in the world of TRUE bargain shopping.  I started with two stores last night and went with my small handful of coupons and a list of the sale prices, and I came home with an incredible amount of food for $100.  I am SO PLEASED with myself and my good luck, I just HAVE to share!!!  Can you tell I'm really excited about this?!  

Albertson's and Safeway:

-2 bottles of Heinz Ketchup

-2 boxes Kix cereal

-2 bottle cranberry juice

-2 bottles Hidden Valley ranch dressing

-2 pkgs flour tortillas

-32 oz brick cheddar cheese

-1 small tub sour cream

-5 pkgs Oscar Meyer hot dogs

-4 Hillshire Farms kielbasa (the ones shaped like a horseshoe)

-6 kiwi fruit

-2 pkgs cherry tomatoes

-2 bags Tostito's chips

-2 bottles tostito's salsa

-2 pkgs (4 pack) Ritz crackers

-2, 2L 7up

-2 boxes Orville popcorn

-8 cups Dannon yogurt

-2 ANGUS RUMPS ROASTS!!! (they were BOGO free!)

-2 pkgs Jennie-O ground turkey

-2 pkgs Hillshire Farm sliced deli meat

-2 pounds red grapes

-4 avacado's

-1 bottle apple juice

And, my final price for ALL of this stuff?  $104.  I KNOW!!!!  Considering how much meat I brought home, I am VERY pleased with this amount.  I mean, the kielbasa, the rump roasts, the ground turkey, the deli meat were ALL BOGO free!  The hot dogs were a dollar each with a coupon.  I can't tell you how excited I was to be able to stock my freezer and my pantry shelves last night.  And...my total amount SAVED?  $105.  Granted, you have to be careful with what the original store price is in the first place, but my pantry and freezer don't lie for the amount of money I spent.  It makes me happy to know I can do a little more to keep my family fed for less money.  So, if you are looking to save some money, check out the local store flyers, even if you don't usually shop there, and write down a detailed list of what's on sale that you're family eats/uses, clip any coupons you can, then go online to find printable coupons.  My sister gave me a great link:  www.couponmom.com  .  This website has some great resources and ways to find deals and coupons.  Start slow, come out on top!