Spring Cleaning

Well, I guess it should be called "summer cleaning". Chris and I decided to take advantage of his three day weekend and clean like crazy people. Now, we did spend some good family time together in between the cleaning. We went to the pool on Saturday. The boys had a blast! So far, Chris and I have cleaned all of our drawers, cabinets, and closets downstairs. I have to clean out the pantry today. I figured that was something I could do without Chris here since I know what we should keep and what we should give away.

I cleaned out the boy's bedroom closet which was a crazy task and cleaned my side of our bedroom closet. All of the boy's clothes are now in the dresser in their closet. The other dresser/changing table is completely empty now and moved into the nursery along with the crib and my grandfather's rocking chair. It is all ready for our sweet baby coming in December. Walking into that room is so fun! I can already picture a sweet little one sleeping in the crib. Chris put up a new book shelf in our bedroom. We had SO many books just sitting around our house with no home. It feels so great to have a spot for them now and it looks really nice in our room!

All we have left to do is put the boy's daybed back together. They are currently sleeping on their mattresses on the floor. And, we have to fix the changing table/dresser because one of the drawers in broken. Tonight, poor Chris is tackling all of that and the attic. He is going to take the 5+ bags of clothes into the attic and go through everything to see if there are things to give away.

It feels SO nice to clean and get rid of things! I feel like we have a HUGE head start on getting our house ready for a third child.

Soon to be family of five...

So, most of you already know this but I wanted to post it on here...we're PREGNANT!! We are SO SO excited! We've been trying for 13 months! I will be nine weeks this Friday. I am due on December 31st. I wish it was going to be a New Year's baby! My parents and my sister/brother-in-law's anniversaries are on New Year's Eve. However, I get induced about a week and a half before my due date so this won't happen. I have a blood clotting disorder called Factor V Leiden. So, during all my pregnancies I have to take a blood thinner. Since I am pregnant, I can't take the pills because of the baby. So, I have to take two shots a day in my belly. Usually I take Heparin, but this time they have me on Lovinox. I love Lovinox because they are pre-filled syringes and Heparin is not! Lovinox saves me a lot of time. Granted it cost me $30 for a 60 day supply where Heparin is free but it is totally worth it! And, no, after two pregnancies I still don't give them to myself. I love having a doctor as a husband : ).

So far, this pregnancy has been a ton better than my other two. I threw up a lot with Bryce and Kael. I've only thrown up twice so far. I am just nauseous from the time I get up to the time I go to bed. I will take that over vomiting anytime! I am hoping it end soon though.

So, if my calculations are right and if they have an opening on this day, I will be induced either December 20th or 21st. I'm going to really try to get booked on the 20that so Chris will be home for more time after the baby is born. He gets either Christmas week off or New Year's week. We like him to have New Year's week off, but this year we are going to ask for Christmas week since I will be induced that week. So, if I can get induced on the 20th, he will have six days off after the baby is born.

We have a boy name picked out...Cohen. We have it narrowed down to three girl names. There is a poll to the right for you to go and vote for your favorite. There is no guarantee that I will use the most popular : ). It is just for fun!

Medical Updates from the Alley house

Hello all! So, Kael and I got some of our blood work back this week and I thought I would share it with you. If you are in the medical field, don't judge my explanations ; ). This is just how it makes sense in my head...haha. Here goes...

Kael had blood work done to test his levels for his Immunoglobulin A or IgA (one of the many that help us fight infections), Celiac disease, and major food allergies. HE ISN'T ALLERGIC TO MILK OR SOY...WOOHOO!! His test for Celiac disease was negative. However, they came back showing that he has ZERO IgA. The normal range is 12-73. This is fairly common. One in 600 people have it. A lot of people have it and don't know it. However, it absolutely explains all of Kael's respiratory, skin, and gastrointestinal issues. It is also great to know he has it in case he ever has to be given blood. Giving blood that is full of IgA to someone that has no IgA can cause serious and sometimes fatal reactions. Praise the Lord that we know!!!

The next step is to make sure that he doesn't have any other Immunoglobulin deficiencies. They are also going to take more stool samples to rule out and parasites that could be attacking his system. After that, we will talk about doing a scope. It is my understanding that doing a scope is a pretty likely outcome. We will see. I will keep you all updated. I am SO SO glad to be getting somewhere! And, I'm so excited that he can eat whatever he wants even if it doesn't last but a couple of weeks : )!

As for me, I am going to try to keep this short. My thyroid test came back normal. However, my progesterone level is a 6. It should be above a 10. This is why we're having trouble getting pregnant. My doctor is tracking my cycles and Chris thinks he will probably test me for PCOS and hyperinsulinemia. PCOS would explain why I have been busting my tail working out for the last 4 months and haven't lost any weight. I also have quite a few other symptoms that are associated with PCOS. This is all speculation, of course. The only concern I have is about the medications to help this are ones that I can't take. I have Factor V which is a disorder that causes my blood to clot more easily. The medications used to help with PCOS also increase the risk of blood clots. Of course, there may be other meds that we don't know about. We will see. I am sure I will be having another appointment with my doctor soon.

So, there you go. I am praising God today for answers and wonderful doctors that are really working to get to the roots of the problems. We will just take it one thing at a time. None of these problems are crazy serious so please don't think that this is me complaining or wanting pity. I just wanted to give you all an update. We are very blessed!!

three boys!

Haha! Gotcha! No, I am not pregnant. However, I am hoping to be soon ; ). Well...I have been hoping to be for a while now, but am waiting patiently on God. I started keeping my neighbor's five month old little boy yesterday. He is absolutely precious! Bryce and Kael think that he is the coolest baby ever. I was a little nervous about how I would handle having three little ones in the house, but I love it! It really hasn't added any extra stress to our house at all. I think having Kael prepared me for anything. Don't get me wrong, he is a sweetheart and absolutely adorable. But, he has been a challenge at times. Nathan is a very laid back baby. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to take care of him while his mom is at work (she teaches special ed in high school). It is really going to help Chris and I financially and it has definitely confirmed that we want another child (preferably a sweet little girl...hehe). Isn't God great?! This was my conversation with Bryce today:

Me "Do you want mommy to have another baby?"

Bryce "ummm...yes"

Me "Do you want a brother or a sister?"

Bryce "ummm...a sister"

Later on in the day:

Bryce (as he is loving on baby Nathan): "Awww...I love baby Nathan. Mom, let's keep baby Nathan and get a baby girl."

Penny for your thoughts

There are a lot of opinions out there on how children should be educated. I want to hear your thoughts. I think all of the options - public, homeschool, and private - have pros and cons. So...let me know. What are you doing or planning on doing and why? Just curious.