The Stegman Family

In Case You Hadn't Guessed...

2010-06-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

I'm no longer blogging! I have decided that blogging is an aspect of my life that I'm just not that into anymore. Since my last blog post:

I went 12 days past my due date...
...only to be blessed with another beautiful homebirth with our midwife, Nancy Spencer, and massage therapist, Katie Greenfield...
...where I gave birth to our second SON, yay! We hadn't found out the baby's gender so it was quite a dramatic and wonderful scene getting to find out for myself. I got to cut his cord too!
We named him William Hudson, and he was 8lbs 9oz. and 20.5" long...my biggest baby by about a pound! He is such a sweet and darling little boy, a good nurser, is just starting to smile socially at me and Isaac, and just last night we moved him to his brand new crib in Johnny's room where he slept from 10:30pm to 5:45am! Good boy :)
We are adjusting to life with 3 littles here and I think it's going pretty well. I have still yet to figure out how to keep up with ALL the house chores AND keep all 3 kids happy all day, but we're working on it ;) At least the laundry is caught up most of the time and regardless of what the floor looks like, we're still happy here.
I am enjoying cloth diapering both little ones a LOT. It's been a different experience cloth diapering a newborn (since I started Jeanine in cloth when she was about 8 months), but it has been fully enjoyable and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It was nowhere near as much work as I thought it was going to be.
John is doing well. He loves William to death, enjoys playing on his computer and looking through books, and is starting to get better at writing his letters which he can now recognize by sight. Fairly soon I'm going to start teaching him all the letter sounds (better than he knows them right now) so that we can get an early jump on reading. He's dying to learn!
Jeanine has been teething FOR.TWO.WHOLE.MONTHS! The poor girl is a wreck most of the time and sleeps all the time! She's such a sweet and smart little thing and speaks in full sentences now. She and I enjoy being girly sometimes by painting our nails and doing our hair up. Let's just say I'm really glad I got at least one girl in the mix :)
Isaac is still super busy but enjoying his job on the fire department. He works 48 hours straight at the station and then is off for 4 days. We LOVE this! It's a perfect fit for our family and we're proud to be a fire fighter's family!

OK, that's all! If you want to keep up with us and see pictures of the kids or our family, please join us on Facebook! I won't be blogging again, though I'll leave this current one up for a while until I figure out what I want to do with all the posts and links to other blogs. Hopefully we'll see you around Facebook soon!

A Whole Lot Going On Here...

2010-02-27T15:09:00.000-08:00

...with her outfit, that is...

Big Girl, Big Bed!

2010-02-20T16:51:00.000-08:00

After a lot of discussion and exploring the pros and cons of making a major change, we decided Jeanine was ready for a big girl bed before the baby comes. Might as well take advantage of the fact that she slept in a twin bed at my sister's house last week for a nice long nap, right? So before her afternoon nap today the whole family helped out in changing her crib to a toddler daybed and she couldn't have been happier with the new arrangement! It did take a bit (she got out of her bed twice and opened her door) to get her to stay put and sleep but after she fell asleep on her own with the door closed she slept for over 2 hours!

3 Amigos

2010-02-19T15:35:00.000-08:00

Aren't these the 3 cutest little boys you've ever seen?!

January left-overs

2010-02-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

"It's cold mom...why can't I have some clothes...and why are you taking pictures of my bum again!?"

Johnny coloring his cardboard house...best $12 we ever spent for Christmas! Still gets colored or played in every day!

Nini just being a total ham!

Johnny showcasing his car at the AWANA Grand Prix

Watching races from the finish line...

At the starting line getting ready to push the button to start his own race!

Our New (to us) Blessing

2010-02-13T11:05:00.001-08:00

No, I didn't have the baby yet...that will be a whole different kind of blessing! But, last month we were able to get me another van, yay! In case you don't remember, September 8th of last year my van was smashed to smitherines and we became a single car family for several months. In all honesty it wasn't that bad and we would have gotten by with it for a lot longer than we did, but Isaac's work circumstances made it impossible for me to take him to work and have the car (long story), and being carless much more often than having a car was taxing on all of us. SO...we packed up the family and went out in search of the perfect van for us all. And this is what we ended up with!
It's a light blue 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan! We have lots of room for the 4 of us, new baby, and plenty of stuff that goes along with carting around a family of 5. It's already been such a blessing, though we had some issues with the dealer we bought it from, but that's all fixed and the van is wonderful. I'm enjoying new freedom again being able to get out of the house when we're all stir crazy and need a coffee fix ;) (OK, maybe I'm the only one who needs that, but still...)

My Little Pony

2010-01-30T15:07:00.000-08:00

Jeanine just got her first "real" ponytail today. It took a little while to figure out how wet to make her hair, and how much hairspray would be needed on those fine little baby hairs (as it turns out...A LOT!), but she is such a doll! She looks a lot older (*sniff sniff*)with a ponytail too! Unfortunately she only left it in for 2 hours before ripping out the rubberband...and then I noticed she was breaking out in hives all over her forehead, ears, and scalp (probably from the Suave hairspray I used) so I need to figure out something different to use next time :) Right before her nap I had to submit her to such trauma...washing her hair in the sink! Oh the atrocities!

Feeling Guilty

2010-01-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

Yep, I haven't blogged, yet again, in 4 weeks! How does the time slip away like that? Things have been going well here. I've finally gotten back on the housecleaning and "feeling-caught-up" bandwagon (after feeling like garbage pretty much since the beginning of this pregnancy) and it's such bliss lately! The floors are vacuumed, the dishes are done, the laundry is clean and put away, the diapers are fresh and oh so cute! I've even been cooking more than usual, which of course I want to keep up after the baby comes. All this in preparation for as little mayhem as possible whenever #3 decides to make his/her arrival. And NO, we still aren't finding out what we're having and are so excited for such a special D-day this time around! I have my suspicions and some solid name ideas, but my lips are sealed!I am now 31 weeks along and feeling pretty good lately, probably from the extra exercise just from cleaning the house like I should, lol! Only about 9 weeks to go and I'm so excited to meet this little one who derives pleasure from strategically placed tickly toes in mommy's ribs and perfectly placed jabs to the bladder. I have been getting very regular chiropractic and massage care throughout the pregnancy though and this has kept me sane and in great physical shape so as not to be in constant pain like before.
The kids are doing great! Jeanine is 17 months and full of energy and giggles. She's quite the talker and knows exactly what to say to get what she wants. Today she perfectly pronounced "Coffee" as we walked past the coffee pot in the kitchen...ahhh, a girl after mommy's own heart! If I had to compare this smart little lady to her brother, I'd have to say she's probably on the same verbal level he was at when he turned 2! Guess that's just the difference between girls and boys. She's definitely all girl, if you know what I mean. She loves her tea set, baby dolls, hair pretties, and looking classy! We might even go together tomorrow for a well-earned mani/pedi :)
Johnny is also thriving and having fun lately. He is studiously learning all of his AWANA Bible verses and earning his patches like a pro! We even missed quite a few weeks in a row in Nov/Dec and he has caught up over the last few weeks. The AWANA grand prix is this coming Sunday so Johnny and Isaac have been busy building John's racecar for the big day! He is doing a little bit of "schoolwork" each day in his wipe-clean alphabet book and is beginning to know which letter is which and the sounds they make :) Right now his daily activities include play-doh, vacuuming with mom, building with blocks, dates to the shooting range and Home Depot with dad, and learning to be kind to his sissy...no easy task for a 3.5 year old!Isaac is also doing well and really enjoying his new schedule on the fire department. He works 48 hours straight at the station and is then home for 4 days. It's so wonderful having him home a lot more lately, quite a difference from what we've ever known! He's also working for Cutco part time as well and is having a blast being 100% unstressed about his work.
OK, that's all for now, I'm having bloggy overload and even though there's more pictures to post, I have no more inclination to do so :)

Out there...literally!

2010-01-04T17:16:00.000-08:00

Me, 27 weeks and 4 days according to the calendar, and MUCH bigger than I was with the 2 previous kids!

What Happens When Daddy is Bored?

2009-12-31T09:40:00.001-08:00

Um...yeah. At least he used a Crayola Washable, not a Sharpie ;)

Dates with our Tiny Loves

2009-12-31T09:22:00.000-08:00

(Title stolen unremorsefully from Here, sorry Lauren. But good job thinking it up!)

Of course, since I'm a woman and the mom, I'm the only one who got pictures from this wonderful morning, but Tuesday morning was pure bliss! Isaac decided to take John out to breakfast, and from there came the longest lasting Daddy date so far. They had such a blast and Johnny couldn't wait to burst through our front door just after lunchtime and tell me all about Home Depot, the gun shop and shooting range, playing in the playplace at McDonalds for breakfast, and having Taco Bell for lunch. Yep, just guy stuff, but he was thrilled!

What did us carless ladies do? Absolutely nothing, and it was great! Mommy got in some computer time while Jeanine played with her dolls and teaset. We read books together, played on the floor together, and apparently when you get to play alone, it's best to get into all the toys your brother never lets you play with, like his Little Einstein Laptop. She sat for about 20 minutes on her new plush ride-on horsie with that laptop just pressing buttons and knowing she wouldn't get it snatched sadly back away by her brother. Apparently it's also SO cool for 16 month olds to wear reindeer antlers and push toys around in the stroller yelling "GO!!!". Apparently. We had a blast though, and for one full morning I heard no shrieks or screams coming from the playroom resulting from a dirty look or a snatched toy. Just bliss, through and through. Next time I'm looking forward to being the one to take John someplace, or maybe just stay home with him as well. I love one on one time!

Recap...Get Ready!

2009-12-30T10:06:00.000-08:00

When I realized it'd been almost a month since my last post I was a little appalled. We actually haven't been that busy, I guess I just lost the bloggy motivation for a while. It happens when it's December, you have 2 kids, and another one sucking the life out of you daily from the inside out ;-p

SO...Johnny is ALL better, praise God! After my last post he started getting worse again and we took him to Children's Hospital in Seattle. It was a long day but we were so glad we went. After much debate, the specialists there decided he probably never had an infection or MRSA at all, it was just severely angry Eczema, if you can believe it! We took a bunch of crazy proactive measures to get him better, just treating for severe eczema, and there were no more open wounds or spreading after only 2 days! He is now completely healed and back to normal.

Reindeer came to visit mid-December! Not sure why they also wore reading glasses...

We (and by 'we' I mean 'I') got some new diapers, woohoo! Just one shot, but they're super cute and I'm trying a whole bunch of new brands of fitted and prefold diapers. I absolutely LOVE cloth diapering. If you want to know more, just ask!

We tried to stay unbusy and quite lazy this month as well...hence the sweats, jammies, and no makeup or hair done ;)

And then, came Christmas! My parents came for a visit for the first time in 6 months! We all had loads of fun and it was over much too soon, and I actually don't have a single picture of them!! What was I thinking? Oh well, the kids had fun, got lots of great gifts and time spent with family, and were sad when Grandma and Grandpa left Monday morning. 6 days went by way too fast! Johnny especially misses Billy, their 100lb Doberman. Mommy and the cats are now much happier that Billy has left the building ;-p

Christmas morning at home, just our family (you'd never know we JUST woke up and dragged ourselves downstairs huh? Sarcasm heavily laid down here, lol!):

Christmas day at Jen and Ryan's house with my parents and all the kids. 6 adults, 6 kids, a bun in the oven, lots of presents, even more sugar, and awesome food! A sweet new hat for the winter:Tearing open some books with his cousins:Jeanine's new ride-on plush princess horse:

Johnny's new backpack with his name on it:

Saturday after Christmas, hanging out at our house:

Just some kiddo downtime watching Monster's Inc. (Warren, Aubrey, and Jake):

It's also been nice having Isaac home this Christmas season. He took some days off and has been home since Christmas Eve morning, but will go back New Year's Day. We love having daddy home more! We will also get a chance to see Isaac's family on New Year's Eve when we go visit. Looking forward to seeing our new neice Ava who is 3 months old now!

A Mommy's Dose of Grace

2009-12-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

Well Johnny is feeling great and his leg looks a thousand times better than it did! We finally have things completely under control and almost back to normal, woohoo! Besides that, we haven't done much lately. Jeanine had her 15 month shots (a month late) yesterday and also both flu shots. Yikes, 6 shots is pretty much baby torture, as evidenced in the blood-curdling screams that sprang forth from my poor daughter's lungs, but we like our immunizations current here ;)

Today was actually a much better day than usual here at the Stegman house. Lately we've been battling loads of disobedience, heaping piles of bad attitudes, and sibling rivalry by the boatload, but for some reason God gave this stressed out mama a glimpse of harmony. It seems like when it rains, it pours, but occasionally God sees it fit to dole out some grace for both me and the children. What an awesome reprieve and reminder that I'm not doing this mom thing for me; I never have and never will. That's simply not what being a mom is all about. At the moment of conception, suddenly it's not about me anymore, it's about that new life and what I have to give through the grace of Christ. Days like this remind me to be patient, kind, and ever-loving through the daily trials of child-training and discipline because somewhere down the line there will be a fruit reward! Here is what the children did for over an hour after dinner, and from naptime to dinner time they were equally harmonious :) Amazing!

And yes, Jeanine MUST wear the Mr. Potato Head glasses almost full time these days. She really makes me laugh!

Update

2009-12-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

We finally went back to the pediatrician yesterday when John wasn't responding yet to the antibiotics. He was pretty shocked about the progression of the wounds while being treated for so long, and we decided on a more aggressive course of action. Finally this morning, Johnny's leg seems to be responding to the oral antibiotics, topical antibiotics, and steroid cream and is no longer one big open wound. We are keeping him on his meds through the course of the next week and continuing to bandage up his leg after applying all the medicines so that it can't spread. We are so thankful that God has allowed Johnny's body to kick in and do its' job and begin healing! Thank you for your continued prayers for Johnny and his healing, and mommy's sanity ;-)

Oh, The Weather Outside is...

2009-12-07T10:20:00.001-08:00

COLD! Sorry it's been a while, and I still don't have much to post, but I decided I better stop in and blog something before you all start abandoning reading entirely, lol! As the post title says, it's cold here! We actually got snow yesterday! It's a bit early for that here and we never truly get very much, so it was surprising to look out the window before lunchtime and see little flecks of white clouding up the sky! Nothing actually stuck here at our house but Johnny was still determined that we should go outside and make snow angels. Since I'm not one of those fun moms who abandons everything on a whim and makes "grass angels", we stayed inside where mommy wouldn't freeze. ;)

Also, Johnny has been battling quite an infection lately. It started around the beginning of November when we were in GA and John's eczema flared up. I guess it was worse than I thought and it slowly developed into Impetigo, probably from him being a roughhousing boy, and from scratching it with dirty little boy fingers. We went to urgent care on Nov. 17th and they prescribed some topical antibiotics for it, which did not help at all. Instead of the recommended 5 days, I used the ointment up entirely for almost 3 weeks to no avail. Right when it ran out we went to the pediatrician and he said Johnny had some severe Impetigo or maybe even MRSA infection. He prescribed an oral antibiotic...which we later found out in the ER on Friday night that Johnny was allergic to it!

His rash kept getting worse all the while, so the ER diagnosed him with cellulitis and prescribed a new antibiotic that is supposed to work well on the MRSA bacteria. So far it's still been getting worse, but he's been on this antibiotic for less than 48 hours still, which is apparently the magic number for the beginnings of effectiveness. We've been in contact with our pediatrician's nurse line and for right now we're just waiting it out and keeping a very close eye on the poor boy's leg. He's on full time Benadryl and Tylenol since it's itchy and swollen and painful, but I think it's finally starting to get better.

If you're squeemish...don't look:

This is what it looked like last night, at its' worst so far:

It also spread to his lower leg and other leg yesterday, but we're just waiting out the antibiotic. Please keep our boy in your prayers! If it gets worse after today, we will be going to the hospital to admit him and get him IV antibiotics. And if you know someone who has MRSA, don't send them our way! We don't know how Johnny got this in the first place, but we do know we want it gone for good :)

Tutorial: Making Baby Leggings (Babylegs)

2009-11-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

I have been asked by quite a few people if I would share how I make baby leggings for Jeanine so I thought I'd share on the blog. I was shown by my best friend Lauren, who also told me that there are myriad other online tutorials on how to make them, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. This project takes about 15 minutes start to finish, using a pair of knee high adult socks.

Start with these:I buy this kind, but any knee high socks will do:Hey look! It's about 3:05pm!Take your socks, individually or one on top of the other, and cut off the foot, just above the heel and straight across. You can use a rotary or scissors, doesn't matter.You will be using these, don't toss them!Take the foot of the sock, one on top of the other or individually, and cut off the toe, straight across, as close as you can to the toe but before any sort of flaring or tapering of the end of the sock begins.Turn them over now and cut off the heel side, straight across, and again before any sort tapering off or flaring out of the material. You want the middle part of the foot of the sock to be as straight as possible.Here's what's left, not too much waste from one pair of socks if you ask me! Go ahead and toss these parts, you won't be needing them.Here's the foot part of the sock, soon to be a cuff. Mine does flare out a bit, but because my socks were so stretchy and soft, it didn't really matter. With a structured sock you don't want this to happen.Grab the middle of the cuff and fold one side in, so that the "right" side is still out and the edges match up cleanly.Insert your leg portion into the cuff and match up the edges as perfectly as you can. You probably want to work gently and quickly as the edges of some socks ravel terribly and need to be finished off soon!Pin the 3 layers (2 from the cuff and 1 from the leg part) together as shown, all the way around.Sew all the way around using a straight stitch or zigzag (if you really need to prevent a lot of ravelling, use a zigzag). Trim your threads and flip the cuff outward!Here's your finished product! A cute new pair of baby leggings for your favorite little model ;-P Generally they work best with the original cuff at the top, but if they fit your child better the other way, go for it! For pre/early crawlers with chubby thighs, if you sew your cuff on with a zig-zag stitch, they'll stretch further and you could use them longer.

She's wearing them opposite ways, so you could see they work either side up:

My handmade cuff side is down on this one, and I like it best that way on her:

And look, it only took me less than 15 minutes!

More Woolies!

2009-11-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

These are from a repurposed purple cashmere sweater that I got from the thrift store for $3.49. So soft and snuggly! And waterproof ;)

It Must Be Cold...

2009-11-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

even the kitties need some extra warmth. Found Ike curled up on the rest of the wool sweater from the longies. It had only been sitting there for about a minute before he found it :)

3 Little Boys, All in a Row...

2009-11-19T14:07:00.001-08:00

Wool Longies

2009-11-18T11:55:00.000-08:00

I just repurposed a sweater that I rarely wore into wool longies for Jeanine. For those of you who don't cloth diaper, it's a diaper cover and pants rolled into one. All I have to do is lanolize it and she can wear it all day as a cover over prefolds, flats, and fitted diapers. I have some other wool things I want to make as well, and one professional wool cover I've ordered, so I guess it's just fun dabbling in a new diapering style. We'll see if I love or hate it! This one is made from the sleeves of the sweater...I'm making another from the body of the sweater tonight if I can get to it!

Solitude

2009-11-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

I hate to post yet another post with no pictures of Johnny but she's doing fun stuff lately and he's doing...the same. Don't worry, he's not locked in a closet somewhere while we do fun things with Jeanine ;) haha. Found her this morning sitting under the kiddie table eating Cheerios by herself. So cute! She thought it was pretty fun too.

Sporks are Cool

2009-11-14T18:30:00.000-08:00

Jeanine wanted a fork at dinner so I gave her a weird little toddler spork. She ate more than John and cleared her plate! I can't believe at 15 months she can get food into her mouth, especially couscous, black beans, and broccoli, what a genius ;)

Nothing Like a Fluffy Bum!

2009-11-13T15:12:00.000-08:00

OK, I know you've all been on the edge of your seats to see my newborn fluff stash (wink, wink) but I just can't help but be excited about it! It's finally all here, in my hands, and the only thing I'm deathly afraid of are those freaky Snappis! I can't figure out for the life of me how to work them, but maybe I need a real baby for it to work? I know I'll like them once I figure it out, no pins here! Here it is, in all its' glory!

^^^Entire stash: prefolds, fitteds, all in ones, and covers^^^

^^^Covers^^^

^^^Just diapers^^^

All in all, it's:
16 GreenMountainDiaper NB prefolds
2 Snappis
6 ESBaby NB/SM fitteds, front snapping
6 GrahamBearWear NB fitteds, side snapping
2 TurnaNewLeafInc SM hemp fitteds and 1 hemp contour
3 NB AIOs, snapped by me (hated the velcro she used!)
3 ESBaby NB/SM bright covers, snapping
2 NB Proraps (1 aplix, 1 snap)
2 SM Proraps
1 XS BSWW
1 SM BSWW

I think this stash should last me from about birth-15lbs, though I'll probably need a dozen yellow edge PFs by about 12lbs or so. SO SO excited to have it all here, off to throw it all (sans covers) in a hot prep wash...again!
Other than this, can you CDing moms think of anything I am just really really missing for a NB? I already have wipes, wetbags, etc. since we CD Jeanine. I can't wait to get our little one in this stuff! Now we don't have to buy ANY disposable diapers at all for the new baby, that's quite a feat!

Busy Much?

2009-11-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

I don't feel like I've been very busy, but...see for yourself ;0)

Georgia (Still) On My Mind

2009-11-02T09:04:00.000-08:00

Bellies!

Georgia On My Mind

2009-11-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

Sadly, I didn't take many pictures of our trip since we were busy having fun! There will be more though, from Lauren and her mom's camera, but I'll post these first so I don't get behind :) We did a lot of projects, catching up, eating yummy Chic-fil-A, staying up late, and dreading leaving again :(
The only thing that kept Jeanine from screaming for quite a while on the flight home was listening to music from Isaac's iPod. Thank goodness for technology, Jeanine is loud!!

Pumpkin Patch...And SO Much More!

2009-10-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

CAUTION: PICTURE HEAVY! GET OUT YOUR GLASSES (Dad), LOL!Milking "Bessie"

Tractor Driving

Slide Riding

Oink Oinking

Farm Animal Siblings

"I love my brother!"

Blowing Bubbles

...with giant wands

Using a real water pump to float duckies down the track

We saw our friend Ella there!Sissy in the stroller

Tractor trailer ride

I'm back! That was fun!

Pretty good pic^^^

Snapshots of the kiddos

Alvin the goat...

Jeanine wasn't thrilled with the farm animals :)

This fake cow is much nicer!

Playing in 9 tons of dry corn

What am I buried in?

Hi!

Wiggly toes in the corn

About 39" this Fall, 2009

Picking the perfect pumpkin in the patch

What are these small orangey things?

Hmmm, this one seems good?

I have a BAD cold, this is how I felt in the car on the way home, ick!

Needless to say, we had a wonderful time at Thomasson Family Farm in Enumclaw and plan to go back every year! It was SUPER cheap for John to do all of the activities ($6!) plus the cost of our (optional) food and our little pumpkin. I hope some of you locals can get out there and enjoy this fun place before it ends on the 31st!

Our Morning in a Nutshell

2009-10-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

The good, the bad, and the ugly, lol!

Definitely Fall!

2009-10-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

We played outside just a bit after dinner this evening and the kiddo's froze! Jeanine's lips turned blue, despite her beanie, fleece jacket, and mittens, lol! Definitely had a fun time running around the house with 2 kids who can actually "run" and not be carried now!

Handmade Miracle Blanket

2009-10-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

If you don't own one for your newborn baby, you should! Miracle Blankets are amazing and really do calm baby instantly. They're quite pricey, which is why I used the one I already had as a pattern to make a new one for Jen's baby to come. Here's the finished product!

Today I finally got an awesome new 2'x3' cutting mat and large ruler (JoAnn's has all rotary cutters and tools for 40% off right now!) so I can finally work on another baby project, to be shown at another time soon, obviously after we've given it to its' recipient ;) I'm so excited to get started and have a real sewing area now, woohoo!

Corduroy

2009-10-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

First of all, we love that book at our house. It is read at least once a day! I was inspired by that book to make a teddy bear for Jen's baby, soon to come, named Daniel. I made him out of corduroy fabric, safety eyes and nose, embroidered the letter "D" on him, and tied a big blue bow. Isn't he so cute!? I can't wait for Daniel to see him ;)

I made this using an older Simplicity pattern (3733) and it was so fun to do! I can't wait to make some more for my kids as well, as Jeanine throws fits every time she sees a bear she can't have, especially this one :) Next post I'll show you the Miracle Blanket I made for him too. I forgot to take pictures but I will soon. So many projects for so many babies in progress...sigh. Someday I'll get to make diapers for my own babies ;)

Lazy Gloomy Saturday Morning

2009-10-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

They're so cute all snuggled up first thing in the morning, watching Disney for a while!

The Stegman's Grandkids

2009-10-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Aren't they so cute!? Kathy came to visit last week and took a couple pictures, including this cute one of my new neice, her new grandbaby, Abby's first girl! Just a couple pics of the Stegman's grandkids, including our cute little crumb crunchers :)

Family

2009-10-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Minus 1...I always take the pictures.

Paper is Magic

2009-10-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

I got 20 minutes of quiet playtime out of the kids just by giving them the ads this week!

Jeanine's Finished Room, new house

2009-09-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

Finally got her things hung, and slowly but surely we'll finish the rest of the house. John's room is next. Here's her pretty little finished room, which she loves dearly and says "pweeyee" about (Pretty, for all you non giberish speakers out there, lol!).

From right to left in her room from the doorway-ish: Banner, closet, bookshelf

Bookshelf, crib (soon to be made into a toddler bed)

Crib, window w/ valance and curtains too short (I just hemmed them to be right for the other house, doh!), rocker

Quilt (the beautiful inspiration for her room made by my mom), doll furniture, shelf for bracelets and hairbands, clippie keeper for hair pretties

Jeanine, 13 months

2009-09-30T10:44:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to put a little update on the little lady before I forget. Not too much going on but she's finally walking a little more than before, talking a lot (when there isn't a camera on), and YAY! she finally got another tooth, making 3 now. Here's the princess after her nap yesterday, hanging out with Mama when Daddy and Johnny were gone running errands. She's such a happy little girl most of the time and we already think she may have Mommy's language proficiency. Only time will tell :)

Picture Post

2009-09-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

So here they are. Early September, kids playing in the yard. Crash photos of my totalled van. And HALF the house, the downstairs. It's still not even close to homey but most things are unpacked and I'm hoping that the new prenatals and the iron I'm going to be taking will help with my energy level and get me going on the house :)

Kitchen view from living room

Living room view from kitchen

Playroom view from dining room, front door to left and stairs to the left of that.

Dining room view from playroom/formal living area, kitchen to the right

Hard Work!

2009-09-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

Well we had a successful move yesterday, with only a little bit of kitty barf to speak of. Everyone is almost completely settled in and the kitties are still a little unsure of this house since I'm not letting them outside yet. John and Jeanine went to bed and were asleep by 7:20pm last night, though we had some nighttime waking from John who was a little bit scared in his new room and wanted me to sleep with him. The house is great: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, kitchen overlooks living area, formal living room (A.K.A. Playroom), and formal dining room, 2,000 square feet in all and close to Lake Meridian! We are so excited to grow into it...eventually. Baby #3 should help us out a little bit in that area :) Pictures to come...the cord to the camera is still at the old house.

Smash! Crash!

2009-09-09T12:53:00.001-07:00

While this book is one of our favorites at home, it is not the way I prefer to spend my Tuesday afternoon/evening. Yesterday, while making a trip to Kent to drop some things off at the new house (yes we're moving in case you hadn't heard), I needed the key so I drove to the fire station to get it from Isaac. While pulling across some traffic that seemed clear, someone hit our van and smashed it to smitherines. The kids and I are fine and quite shaken, but no injuries. Isaac was the first fireman on scene, lol! They took good care of us and the other driver was also unharmed, though I'm sure she's just as sore as we all are today as well! We haven't heard if the van is totalled but we think it probably is. The airbags were deployed, leaving nice burns on my arm and hand (better than smashing my face I suppose), and the front of my car is gone. The engine took the majority of the hit. Kids were shaken and cried a little but were excited to see all the action afterwards. I was taken to the hospital to check on the baby since I'm prego and the hit was pretty hard. I have some mild uterine bruising and need to take it easy for a couple days, but nothing to worry too much about. The bean was VERY active, bouncing around like a wild man during the ultrasound! We are so thankful for God's protection, as He obviously knew we would be in an accident and only by his grace was no one hurt. If the crash had been 1 second later, Johnny could have been T-boned and seriously injured. We would appreciate your prayers through this time with insurance, 1 car for the family, moving (Saturday, any helpers!? Please?!), and the pregnancy.

Where'd my Baby Go?!

2009-08-15T20:34:00.000-07:00

Jeanine turned 1! Thanks to all of you who made Jeanine's birthday special in any way, be it birthday wishes, gifts, or coming to her special day! We had a blast and she looked adorable. Here's just a few pictures from her party with family and friends.A little unsure of her party dress...

A new princess sippy cup from her cousins!

Inspecting her piggy bank from great grandma

OK, that's all I'll put because 1)We didn't get a whole lot of good pictures, and 2) She didn't even have her cake in front of her long enough to get pictures because she REALLY didn't want it! I guess parties starting at the guest of honor's bedtime aren't such a great idea, but overall she did extremely well in spite of that! We had such a great time with all 14 adults and 13 kids in our tiny place, lol!

In Case You Hadn't Heard...

2009-08-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

I'll soon be looking like this again!

But maybe without the foot! Yes, we're expecting #3 late March of 2010! I think it's a boy...Isaac thinks it's a girl. I guess we'll find out when s/he comes out, because we're not finding out before then!

Oh Boy, Here We Go Again!

2009-08-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well I've done it again. Instead of blogging slowly but surely, I've saved it all up until I have so many pictures to share that I don't ever want to blog again. So much has happened, and some things are from before my last blog post but I didn't have the pictures from my mom's camera yet. Recap: July 11th, one very silly and fun boy turned 3. The week before that my parents came for a visit to drive up Jen's moving truck and celebrate early with us. Here are the pictures of this, as promised in this post. My mom playing with the baby cousins, Jeanine and Aubrey^^^Jeanine sucking on her favorite cat toy ;) ^^^
Johnny playing t-ball for the first time ^^^
Learning from my dad how to hold the bat ^^^
Running home from the horses with cousins Jake and Warren ^^^

Here's my cutie, pre-1-year-old, it's-OK-to-not-wear-a-shirt-in-pictures baby girl in a cute little bumblebee diaper!

THEN...I took the kids to my parents' house for a quick visit, just to escape the heat (yes, you read that right!) of Washington! It had been in the upper 90s and 100s here with no air conditioning going on towards a week so we decided to get outta Dodge! I packed up the kids and drove the 15 hours (including stops) to my parents and we had a very nice visit! Johnny got to ride motorcycles with Grandpa Cliff, the kids went swimming for the first time in 2 years (never for Jeanine!), and we celebrated Jeanine's birthday early with my family.

Jeanine loved BillyJust woke up from a 3 hour nap ^^^Being cool in his motorcycle sweatshirt ^^^OK so I forgot to put his jammies in the dryer...he needed clothes after the bath so we put him in one of my dad's t-shirts...size XL! He definitely needed a belt, and after we tied it he began acting like a ninja. Hmmm, I wonder who he thought he was?Floating in the innertube, totally relaxed! Jeanine loved it and even put her head back and closed her eyes a few times :)

What is this flame thing!? ^^^She barely touched the cake and then fussed to be cleaned up. Sound like one other member of the Stegman family on his first birthday? Gee maybe they're siblings!

Excited about shiny new presents!

The last day my dad took him for a much anticipated motorcycle ride, his first off of their street and into town. Woohoo, my boy's growing up!

2009-08-12T20:09:00.001-07:00

I'm avoiding blogging...anyone notice? Lol, posts coming soon, I promise!

Cloth Diaper Giveaway!

2009-08-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

If anyone is interested, Happily Domestic blog is offering a cloth diaper giveaway of one Haute Pocket One-Size diaper of your choice! Follow this link on over there and check it out! She has a great blog about cloth, working from home, children, home-schooling, etc!

A New Pony

2009-07-13T21:00:00.001-07:00

Goofy girl! I just figured out how to put Jeanine's hair up into a littly pony tail on the top of her head. She looks exactly like Pebbles! Apparently she doesn't mind all the hair pulling too; she learned early that beauty=pain, lol!

Just a box

2009-07-13T20:58:00.001-07:00

Decided to make a fabric covered wood box today to match Jeanine's room for her hair accessories and I'm so pleased how it turned out!

John is 3!

2009-07-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

We had a great birthday this year with just our family. Friday we took John to the Mega warehouse outlet store by our house and he picked out an easel. Saturday...ok well we did a lot, here's the short version: Relaxed in the morning, went to the mall, got new shoes, new haircut, ate lunch in the food court, played at the play area, got a massage in a vibrating chair and laughed the whole time, went to Petco and got 2 Beta fish named Nemo and Dori (because what else would a 3 year old name some fish, besides Bubba and Cheese?), napped in the car, relaxed for a little while at home and sang and ate cake, and to top it off, went to a Tacoma Rainiers baseball game in the evening with daddy. Here's a TON of pictures, just in case you don't believe that we could actually fit all that into one birthday.

Sunday we went to church and then spent the day at Jen and Ryan's new house, and had a little birthday cake and jello there! The boys had fun but were so exhausted! Jen and the boys made Johnny some special Johnny Jigglers, lol!

Needless to say we are all tired and recuperating from a long weekend, but love our sweet boy so much! He is such a handsome, sweet, amazing gift from God and we are so proud to have him in our family! 3 years ago I was juggling a new baby, who would have thought time flies so fast!?

Hot Weather, Birthdays Coming, and Projects Coming to a Close

2009-07-10T19:33:00.001-07:00

We have been SO busy lately! Last week the weather was HOT here, I'm talking high 80s with no breeze for relief (don't laugh all you GA readers, I'll take what I can get!). We spent a LOT of time outside playing, and I even think we all ended up a little dehydrated one day, so we stayed inside that day. Monday through Wednesday were mild again, but still layered clothes weather, and today, Friday, is getting hot again. Tomorrow it's supposed to be close to 90, woohoo!Tuesday Jen and Ryan moved to Washington with the kids! We are so excited for Ryan to start as the Associate Pastor of Student Ministries at our church! Mom and Dad drove up their moving truck from the Bay Area and stayed at our house just Tuesday night, then flew home Wed. We were so glad to have them here to visit with the kids and stayed up way too late talking and having fun Tuesday :) Wednesday we went to the Trzeciak's new home and helped unpack a little, and then took mom and dad to the airport. Johnny was super excited to get a t-ball set from them, along with a fun sweatshirt with motorcycles on it! He got to play t-ball in the backyard with daddy and grandpa Cliff for a while! (pictures to come, they're on my mom's camera, who is now at the coast) We have also been sick all week long! Last week Jeanine had hand, foot, and mouth disease (it's not as bad as it sounds, but it is pretty gross and painful!), which decided to culminate with a nasty little cold. She then gave it to me, Johnny, and now daddy. Isaac has been off work all week and goes back Sunday, but still has been working for the Cutco office on the side, so still busy :/

Today I also finished Jeanine's room completely! (well, there's always more I could do, but we're not going there :) Anyway, here's some finished room pics. I sold all her oak furniture on Craigslist and rebought it all in white, doesn't it look fantastic?! Also notice the beautiful hair clippie keeper and amazing French memo board, both made by my best friend Lauren, who is oh so talented! Needless to say I'm very glad to have that whole project out of the way, on to making more diapers and some odds and ends, like a teddy bear. If you're wondering what exactly I created in these pictures, it is the valance, pillows/pillow cases, banner-like wallhanging, quilt wallhanging, and changing table curtain.

Well I hope you enjoyed this little update, tomorrow is Johnny's 3rd birthday, I can't believe how time flies! He's so excited. Today we let him pick out a present from the Mega brand warehouse outlet store by our house. He chose an easel for drawing and artwork and played with it for quite a while this evening! Tomorrow we will have a quiet but fun filled family day with cake, a haircut, and going to the mall to let him pick out a beta fish of his own. These come in kits with everything you'll ever need and the tank only needs to be cleaned out every 6 months...a very manageable 3 year old pet! Wish us luck...and Nemo (which is what he has already decided the fishes name is, but maybe that will change, he IS 3 now!

2009-06-30T13:12:00.001-07:00

I just figured out how to send blog posts from my phone to publish online, cool!

Another Diaper

2009-06-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

Just made this one for my friend Lauren's daughter. It's a fitted (needs a cover) one size with ooga booga print.

Taste of Tacoma

2009-06-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went to the Taste of Tacoma like last year, only plus one! (Well, technically Jeanine was there last year, just travelling in style and bouncing and kicking me the whole time :) The weather was much cooler this year but still very warm and nice for walking around. The food was great, tons of people, vendors, music, etc. Doesn't get much better than a day out with the family. Here's some pics!

Little Heartbreaker

2009-06-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

...or at least he breaks my heart! I'm biased :)

Fluff Bum

2009-06-27T10:58:00.001-07:00

Got some cute pics of Jeanine in her fluff lately, thought I'd show off her adorable little bum!

Making Diapers

2009-06-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've entered the world of sewing my own cloth diapers and I love it! Yesterday I made my first one and it took forever because I wanted to get it right and not waste my precious PUL (polyurethane laminate) fabric or my inner suedecloth, but it turned out perfect! The pattern and kit I ordered are the KCK One (Kayla's Cloth Kits, one size fits all), and I would recommend it to ANYONE, even total beginner sewers like myself. The instructions were well put together and I had no problems whatsoever understanding how to make this diaper! Here's some pics of the Nini in her newest fluff, made by me! She's so cute!

I'll take some close-up shots of just the diaper sometime and edit them to this post. Right now it's in the wetbag soaked...but it didn't leak, woohoo!

Some Pics and Videos

2009-06-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

This dress I made Jeanine out of bandanas, so easy, only took 20 minutes! I made another one that is black and white too, and will put that up later. Notice the skulls and keys... ;)In the shopping cart at Target, where she proceeded to say "hi" quietly to everyone who passed! So cute!

On the floor with his beloved "buppy"

Nini sounding like an ambulance/fire truck (now she'll do it with a little prompting..."What does the fire truck say?")

Johnny made his own pizza for lunch...so proud of himself! :)

BumJoy Review

2009-06-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

I recently got a new diaper and I find myself reaching for it right away, every time it's clean! I LOVE my new BumJoy diaper, available here on Etsy from a wonderful cloth diaper designer and creator. Joy is an amazing seamstress and her work is impeccable! This diaper does not leak, is SO soft and is clearly (even in the pictures, let alone holding the diaper in your own hands) made with the highest quality materials and workmanship. I love her colors available, though for now I only have red (but am dying for a green!) and wish she'd branch into prints, but I also understand that she is making these out of her home in order to stay home with her son, thereby making it pretty impossible to take care of a toddler AND run a huge business. I got my diaper 3 days after placing the order and she was in touch the entire time. I highly recommend anyone with trimmer/skinnier babies try this diaper, I can practically guarantee you'll love it!

Ahhhhh, Summer = Bliss

2009-06-11T14:23:00.001-07:00

I love that I can finally line dry my diapers, it's so much better for them and the UV rays get out all the bacteria if there's any left after washing. This is about 80% of my stash (absorbent inserts, inside-out wetbag, and pocket diapers), minus the few Jeanine wore during washing :)

What is This?

2009-06-11T14:18:00.001-07:00

John has begun making "letters" out of things...sidewalk chalk, crayons, Hotwheels cars, and...Frosted Mini Wheats! John was adamant that this one was an 'x', but I think it looks like a 'y', a little anyway ;)

Allergic Much?

2009-06-11T14:09:00.001-07:00

You be the judge...we don't know what caused this but we had to take her to urgent care at 9pm because it just kept getting worse. She got some Prednisone and Benadryl and cleared up by the morning but it's still a little weird :-/ Clearly from the pictures, Jeanine didn't care one bit, she just kept rubbing her eyes and then grinning really big :)

Diaper Review

2009-06-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

So I think this is the beginning of a new era on the Stegman Family blog. I often want to write about things that don't necessarily have much to do with the kids or the things we're up to lately but every time I come to the same conclusion...most of you are here to see pics of the kids. Well, this is something I want to do so you'll have to weed through some extra posts occasionally if you want to see the kids! I'm going to start talking a little about cloth diapering and the products we're using because lots of moms need to know about them! To start off, however, I want to make sure to say that I am in no way affiliated with any cloth diapering company and these are just my honest opinions as a stay-at-home cloth-diapering mom. First off for today, my review on CushytOOsh One-Size Pocket Cloth Diapers!

We have been using CushytOOsh One-Size Pockets (available on Etsy, e-bay, and Hyenacart) for 3 months on one child, and she is now almost 10 months old. The final tally: 1.5 thumbs up!
When I first got the diapers my thoughts were CUTE!! But I also thought the materials (the PUL and fleece inner) seemed a very thin and was a little apprehensive about having spent $100 on diapers I didn't know would work. However, I LOVE these diapers!
Pros: The price!! It's so hard to find diapers of this quality for the price she advertises. I got 10 diapers for $99.95!! The PUL is very thin, I'm guessing a 1 ml thickness, and the fleece is thin, but it also doesn't pill like other diapers I tried in the past, and is still very soft. The white snaps are very durable and don't come open, and are well placed, including on the crossover tabs for more settings. The inserts that come with the diaper are trim, 3 layered microfiber, and very absorbant. I double them up for naps and triple for nighttime, but only because I am overly cautious and don't like washing bedding :) So far in my 3 months of using these diapers we have not had a leak that was the fault of the diaper. If we had leaks it was because I improperly stuffed it for a wrong amount of time, or I waited entirely too long (4 hours, I know, terrible!) before changing a diaper with one insert after my heavy wetter had had an 8oz. bottle.
Cons: Only 5 colors, I want more! I got 2 of the cow print ones but they are not completely waterproof and are now labeled as swim diapers on her websites. I also live in an area of the country that doesn't permit, except for about 2 months out of the year, line drying. Because of this I have washed and dried them each over 80 times and can definitely tell that the elastic is starting to wear out.
Overall these diapers are fabulous and I would recommend them to anyone who needs a cheap stash to start off with!

If you need a fantastic website to weed through that has everything you'll ever need to know about cloth, please check out Lauren's cloth blog, The Diaper Diaries!

Product Review/Recommendation

2009-06-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

I, like my good friend Lauren, have a weird obsession with having no leg hair, but I still hate to shave. It takes up so much time and water and I have so little of both of those these days (hey, water bills get high in the summertime!) that I decided to try out an epilator like Lauren. The concept of this product is very much like waxing, in the sense that the hairs are being removed at the root, thereby taking much longer to grow back, and growing back much finer. It's basically a rotating head with about 40 pairs of tweezers that pull the hairs out one by one, very quickly. Sounds scary and I'll admit that the first time I epilated my legs it was scary...and painful. I mean P.A.I.N.F.U.L. But nevertheless I stuck it out and I love it! If you can imagine the pain of waxing, which happens all at once and then is over with, multiply that by about a hundred and you'll know what the first time feels like :) BUT, after a full week I barely had any hair on my legs! I did it again after a week and was basically just getting hairs I'd missed the last time and it barely hurt at all. My legs are so smooth and I love not having to shave all summer long! I am so amazed at this product and thought I'd recommend it to any of you ladies who hate shaving or dealing with wax and want something more permanent for your legs and underarms. Definitely a 2 thumbs up for me! Enjoy!
PS-If you get it at Bed Bath & Beyond like I did, make sure to find one of those 20% off coupons before you go, it totally makes it worth it to buy!

Wish Us Luck

2009-06-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

John is wearing underwear to bed for the first time tonight since he's woken up dry for about 2 weeks straight now, yikes! I will either be forking over 5 whole peices of salt water taffy to the boy in the morning, or doing a washload of bedsheets :) Will keep you updated...

*UPDATE*
He did it! I'm not going to consider him fully nighttime trained until he's gone all night with no accidents for a couple weeks, but yay! Good job big boy! I miss my baby... :(

Sweet Babes

2009-06-01T21:37:00.001-07:00

"Here you go momma, wanna play with this helicopter?"

Scrunch Face!

Skinny boy :)

"Aren't I SO adorable?"

Just some pics from hangout time this afternoon. The kids had a really sweet time playing together :)

OK Here Goes!

2009-06-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. I knowwww! I have been so busy and yet seemingly we haven't done a darn thing in forever! It's so hard to remember what we've done in the past month and actually blog about it but this is my feeble attempt at recalling what's happened :)

Isaac: Turned 30! He wasn't thrilled with the fact that he's not just a 20-something now but the air rifle pellet gun he got from my parents should help him get over it. I told him the older he gets the better the toys are :) Then he graduated from EMT school, hooray! He passed and did very well after 5 weeks of class time, ride-alongs, and lots of studying. I'm so proud of him and all he has accomplished for himself and our family over this last 6 months, he's worked so hard and needs a break! He also had his first fire, and second :), and is still working very hard at studying while working his new, now and forever, 24 hour shifts. We love the schedule but will have to do some tweaking for a while until we find a right balance for all of Isaac's time.

This is a picture of Isaac in front of the house that was on fire (his first fire), and a piece of wood from the house. His chief gave him both of these and we both this it's pretty neat to have around for memories. What a nice guy to think of Isaac this way!

Me: I'm crafty. Literally :) I've been thinking up lots of new projects to keep me busy and have almost completed Jeanine's new room to last through her toddler and childhood years. After EVERYTHING is perfect, I'll post pictures of the whole room, but for now you can use your imaginations. I also participated in a late spring consignment sale which was kind of a bust and not worth all the work I put into tagging and preparing my items, but at least I sold a few things. As always, I've been busy with the kids and the house, and am growing quite fond of Washington as the weather gets better and prospects of more family in the area are blossoming.

Jeanine: is 9.5 months old now, wow time flies! She's crawling, pulling up on furniture, has one tooth with another on the way, and is the sweetest little girl I've ever known. She waves, she claps, and she loves to tease people that maybe, just maybe, she'll let them hold her...but then she doesn't. Last week she had a 9 month checkup and weighed 19.3lbs (50th %ile), was 28.5" tall (75th %ile), and still has a cute little 20th %ile head :) We are quite fond of our precious girl! She loves her sleep (like John) and is very much a daddy's girl and will only go to him if he's anywhere in the vicinity. She's also still allergic to dairy or cow's milk protein, and we're struggling daily with finding foods for a one-toothed, sensitive tummied little porker to eat :) Jeanine has also just begun "the scrunch-face" smile and loves to scrunch up that button nose when she's laughing and smiling. It's so adorable and I hope she doesn't grow out of it any time soon! Oh yeah, the only word she'll say consistently now is Daddy. She loves to babble all day long but when Isaac is home, she just shouts out "yaddy, yaddy!"

John: is growing into such a fun, intelligent, loving little boy! We adore him every day as he grows and learns. Right now he is very much enjoying every second of the day in the backyard, though I've been sending him out front more often than not since last week when we discovered massive mounds of ants making their way all over the backyard. There are anthills everywhere and literally ants upon ants upon ants crawling everywhere in the sandbox and gravel, and a little bit in the grass, eww! Tuesday is our yard day and will be spent getting rid of ants and weeds and fertilizing the yard, so hopefully things will get better soon! John just had his first "real" (not done by mommy) haircut 2 days ago as well! I had been letting it grow out so that we could see what he looks like with a real "little boy" haircut and it was well worth the wait, he's adorable! He sat in the chair very quietly and solemnly and watched in the mirror as the lady at WalMart cut away. John loves to make his sissy laugh and smile and most of the time there is harmony in the house when they play. Of course we have the occasional selfish bout when it comes to John's toys, but we're working on that, he's only human after all. John loves riding his bike out front and decorating the entire driveway with sidewalk chalk :)

Johnny asleep on the couch on Mother's Day. He slept like this for 2 hours!

I also came to a major milestone in my life as a mom when we left the children overnight with Isaac's mom (here at our house) and went for an awesome 2 day/1 night run up to Orcas Island! We left on Memorial Day Monday at about 9am and got to spend 2 whole days together without the kids! We came home Tuesday night late since I was really sick and so was Jeanine. I was sad at times and definitely missed them but we're all better for it and had a great time. I was able to relax and only use my brain for myself (which never happens)! I thought it might short-circuit when I got home and had to turn it back on to take care of the kids, lol! I am also so impressed with the amazing beauty of Orcas Island and the San Juans Islands. What an awesome part of the country, I recommend everyone go there at least once! I have pictures from that but they're on a disposable camera at WalMart right now, getting converted to digital. I'll post those as soon as I get them back. OK well I think that's it. We're pretty caught up now so hopefully I can get back on track and post more often, if only I'd actually take pictures throughout the week. Sometimes I go 2 weeks without taking one picture, that's so bad! Thanks for reading, don't forget to comment so we know we're not just posting for strangers to eves blog :)

Valance

2009-05-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is the new valance I made for Jeanine's room, it turned out so cute! I can't wait to get the rest of my fabric so I can make her wallhanging quilt and put the finishing touches on her room :)

Some New Projects!

2009-05-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

So I had a great idea a couple weeks ago to match Jeanine's entire room with her baby quilt, made by my mom. This quilt is so beautiful and it's not entirely "babyish" (meaning it will have some longevity in her early years), so I decided to order a bunch of the discontinued fabric line, Mary Engelbreit's "Flowers and Friends" by Moda, and make a few things to decorate her room. Done so far are: 2 square 4 patch envelope backed pillows, a curtain for the 2nd shelf of the changing table to hide all the cloth diapering stuff, and a wall hanging. I won't try to deceive any of you though...the wall hanging was my first attempt at the curtain for the changing table. I measured, I did the math, I cut, I sewed...and realized that I'd sewn the pieces together in the wrong direction so the curtain would be too wide and wouldn't cover from top to bottom, lol! So I decided since I don't own a seam ripper to "finish" it and make the wall hanging. I slipped the long part of a metal coat hanger into the top seam and hung it with ribbon. Viola! Cutsie flowery wall hanging to match! I still have a little bit to do with the pillows because my mom is prepping some black kitties (red on the quilt border) for me and sending them so all I have to do is iron them on and sew around the edges. They'll go on the pillows :) So, here's some pics:

Next on the project list: a valance, a round pillow, a pillowcase for when she's older, and possibly a small decorative quilt for another wall. My friend Lauren is also (hopefully!) going to take my fabric scraps and use them on a hair clip keeper for Jeanine's room as well :) She's barely got any hair and already has SO many hair bows and clips, so I need to get them on display and on the wall for easy access! When Jeanine's room is completely done I'll post pictures of the finished product!

Ahhh, Sweet Spring! (AKA- MY LONGEST POST EVER)

2009-04-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me even a little bit, knows that I hate rain and cold. Washington hasn't been the most pleasant since we moved here, but we have had some amazing days already this spring and I am really looking forward to summer with the children. So far though, springtime has been a lot of fun with the kids, hence the lack of posting on the blog. Sorry about the long delay but sometimes I'm in the mood to blog...literally...sometimes. When those sometimes happen to roll around when I need to do other things, well, you see what happens :)
I think it's been about a month since I put up any pictures of the kids, so here goes! Jeanine is now 8.5 months and is so sweet to be around. She is growing so quickly and when I saw her up next to my friend C's newborn baby girl on Saturday, Jeanine was enormous!! I'm wishing for a little one...again, lol! She and John have become great friends already and she loves to get his attention, touch his face and cackle like crazy. John also enjoys making her smile and laugh, and spends a lot of the day with her sharing cars and toys. He is such a wonderful big brother and I can't wait until they can play more together and spend lots of time outside.

One day I needed to get Jeanine a bath super-quick like before her nap, and after she was done and asleep John decided he wanted to get in the sink and play :) He had a blast and I had to add more and more hot water for almost an hour while he played and splashed. Silly 2.5 year old!

During early April, we had one of the most amazing weeks weather wise. It was in the 70s (hot, yes, hot for WA, lol!) and there was such a pleasant warm breeze for about 5 days. What a reprieve from the usual chilly and rainy Aprils here! I don't have many pictures of Johnny because he was too busy playing outside, but here's a few of the little miss, enjoying her new summer clothes and sitting in the sun!

Toes!! Learning to crawl! She's finally a crawler, and loves playing with her brothers' Hotwheels cars!

2009 seemed to have a wonderful Easter in store for our family. We spent the weekend together as a family, despite Isaac's hectic schedule. We were able to get to church all together for a wonderful Resurrection Day Service, with amazing food, fellowship, and fun for the kids. There was a brunch between services so everyone could attend, and an Easter egg hunt inside one of the church buildings for the kids. After that we had Isaac's parents and grandma over for supper and it was an awesome meal! I made my first ham, scalloped potatoes, Caesar salad, and we also had rolls, asparagus and zucchini, and Jello, yum! Here's Grandma Kathy with the kids.

Me and Jeanine Johnny playing with Grandpa Jim Jeanine with Great Grandma Caroline (Jim's Mom) (and trying to figure out what that huge thing is on her head, lol!!) "The Bunny" and Johnny...he walked right up and was so excited to take a picture!

The day before Isaac took John to an egg hunt here in town and got some pictures with "The Bunny." John has no idea who that bunny actually is but he thought he was silly anyway. We as a family choose not to invite the Easter Bunny into our home during the Resurrection season simply because we don't want to add unbiblical traditions to such a holy day as Easter (we also don't have Santa at our house, in case you were wondering). THIS post, written by my best friend Lauren, talks about the reasons we (and they) have chosen not to "do" Santa or the Easter Bunny, and she says it much better than I ever could, lol! Instead we add other fun traditions and teachings, such as using Resurrection Eggs to teach about Jesus, His death on the cross, and His rising from the dead. John really seemed to enjoy and soak up learning about Jesus for the 12 days before Easter Sunday and I really look forward to using this tool each year as our children get older.
The day before Easter, I also took Johnny to the Tacoma mall to see Handy Manny (from the Disney Channel). Handy Manny is John's all time favorite show to watch, and he only gets to watch that and one other thing per day. I guess talking tools, fixing things, and a Spanish/English language mix is right up a 2.5 year old boy's alley, lol! We went, we stood in line with 200 other people, and guess what? Handy Manny didn't show! Ick! It was such a huge disappointment for so many of the kids, though there were other activities to do as well. John got to color a cardboard tool box and take it home, watch a brand new (never been aired on TV) episode of the show, and learn how to be "green." Overall it went fine and I was more disappointed than John since I wouldn't have taken him out, skipped nap time, or gone to the mall on a Saturday if I'd known Handy Manny wasn't coming, lol!

I am a member of Meetup.com and often take the kids to a local Meetup to do lots of different activities. Last week was toddler playtime at the community center and here's a pic of John and his two friends C. and G. who were there. Fun at home...

Playing outside with daddy last week:

At the neighbor's house playing with water:

Lunch at the park: Spiderman tattoos with sissy (You know you have a brother when...):

On another note, we also have Jeanine back in cloth diapers and we LOVE it! I found the perfect cloth diapers, also known as pocket diapers, made by Cushytoosh and they're fabulous! She looks adorable in them, we're not throwing away countless diapers that take hundreds of years to biodegrade in landfills, and we're saving so much money! If you've ever thought of cloth, please check into it at THIS site to learn all about it! My friend Lauren has spent countless hours putting together a blog that outlines everything you'll ever need to know about cloth, including the 4 different types, how to wash them, the $$$ you'll save, etc.

Other than ALL THAT, I've been busy with bracelet making, burp cloth sewing, fabric buying (for yet another project for Jeanine's room), Boppy mending, and keeping up on my Etsy shop. Isaac is currently in EMT school for the next 3.5 weeks and will then begin shift work and college classes. We are so excited for the summer, his schedule is AWESOME and we'll see him so much more! I have a few other things I'd like to post about but for now I think that's enough. I've been on the computer for 2 hours now and need to go read to the kids so I don't feel guilty anymore ;) Thanks for reading and commenting, it makes blogging so worth it to know what you guys thing, and if you are reading at all! Until next time...

2009-04-18T13:44:00.001-07:00

We didn't fall off the planet everyone! There will be some major blogging going on soon to catch you up! Check back Monday, I'm sure time will stop by then so that I can get my to-do list accomplished!

Look!

2009-04-07T23:35:00.001-07:00

I'm so proud of myself...wayyy more proud than I should be, lol! I looked high and low for a pair of soft cheap shoes to match Jeanine's dress for Easter Sunday and couldn't find anything worth paying for. My friend Lauren has been making soft shoes for her daughter for a while now so I decided to give it a try, and I'm so thrilled with the outcome! Anyone who knows me knows that I don't really venture into sewing anything that isn't a straight line, but these were pretty straightforward and simple once I dove in. I really enjoyed making something myself and can't wait to put them on her tiny feet in the morning...or maybe I could wake her up at 11:30pm to see if they fit ;)

Need I Say More?

2009-04-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

Gosh I love belly fluff, he's so precious!! Poor guy needs diet food for sure, lol!

He Made It Onto "Stuff On My Cat!!!"

2009-04-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

First Order Anyone?

2009-03-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

I am just writing today to say that I FINALLY have my Teeny Tiny Treasures blog AND online Etsy shop up and running and I'm excited to start taking orders and shipping out cutsie baby things! If you are ever interested in a bracelet or burp cloth set, please take a look at my blog or go to my online Etsy shop to see what's available. As always, I take custom orders! Please stop in and say hello or be the first to order...if you are, I'll give you 15% off your entire order!

When Boredom Gets The Best of Him...

2009-03-28T09:36:00.001-07:00

Just Some Cuteness

2009-03-24T17:48:00.001-07:00

More pictures from graduation...awesome!

2009-03-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Marching in to the hall

Final inspecion

Lined up for inspecion

Recieving his badge

Preparing to sit

After recieving his badge

Talking with the chief, who LOVED Jeanine and John

Talking with the chiefs

Jim and Jeanine, wayyy past bedtime!

Jim and Johnny (reading the program)

Family after the ceremony

7 Months!

2009-03-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

Wow time flies...and she just keeps growing despite my warnings, haha. I LOVE this age though, she's SO much fun all day. Jeanine loves to giggle and laugh at Johnny and daddy (and sometimes mommy). She loves being tickled, pushed wildly through the house in the high chair, eating (anything and everything now!), and being outside. My precious girl is such an amazing blessing to our family each and every day! Johnny loves his sister (unless she gets his toys, we'll have to work on this *sigh*) and they have really started having fun together!

Graduation!

2009-03-21T12:11:00.001-07:00

Here's some pictures from the graduation last night. It was such a great evening and an awesome time to see what Isaac has been doing over the last 10 weeks, see him recognized for all his hard work, and get to go out afterwards without the kids! Jim and Kathy brought them home for us so we could go out with everyone to Engine House 9 for a party! We had a great time!

Moderate Relief!

2009-03-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Today is Isaac's last test in the fire academy, and then God willing, he'll graduate on Friday, hooray!!! Please pray for him as he tests and throughout the rest of this week as he helps out with the remaining test (of which he was already certified from the DOD fire academy) and do whatever else they have to do to complete the academy. After this week he'll be back in Kent daily, doing post-academy classes and PT, then he'll go through EMT class AGAIN (this will be the 3rd time: once a few years ago, once late last year to recertify since he'd been out of state, and now again because Kent still requires it). After ALL of that he'll begin his "I'm-a-real-fire-fighter"-24-hour-shiftwork for the rest of his career, woohoo! We're so excited for predictability, I can't even begin to explain how badly! God has been so good to us in His provisions and guidance over the last year and we are so thankful for all of you who have been praying for us and our direction.

Our Trip to CA in Pictures

2009-03-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

Well I guess I've put this off long enough! Uploading pictures to blogger takes an infinite amount of time on my computer so I have been procrastinating, just knowing how many pictures we took that were so good and that I'd have to post them all, lol! For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, I just got back from a 2.5 week vacation in CA. I took the kids (yes, by myself) and drove the 800 miles to my parents' house, stayed 6 days, drove 380 miles to my sister's house, stayed 5 days, then drove back to my parents' for a week. It was so much fun getting to visit for an extended period, not having to worry about plane tickets and schedules, and having a car of my own to putter around town in, though we did miss Isaac terribly!^^^Ick! She's chewing on a rubber lizard! ^^^^^^Johnny Batman ^^^^^^Playing Tug-o-War with Bill^^^^^^Such a happy girl!^^^^^^Goofin' around in style!^^^^^^Basking in the CA sun!^^^

Precious Girl!

^^^Something about being a pirate with all those pillows around him?...don't ask me what he was thinking...^^^

Riding motorcycles and shooting guns...a 2 year old's dream!

Here's some pictures from our stay at Jen's; the boys had so much fun together!

One day we went to the Los Angeles Fire Department with my nephew's pre-school class for a tour! It was so much fun for the little boys, and the girls didn't mind being outside for some fresh air either! This was BY FAR the best fire department tour I've ever been to. They drove the trucks around the back where all the kids were and unraveled some hose. All the kids got to spray the hoses in the parking lot, watch one of the new firefighters get dressed in his gear, including his mask, and then he got on the ladder truck. They extended the ladder straight up 100 feet with the guy on it, lowered it a little and swung it over the kids and parents to the firehouse building where he could have gotten off it he wanted. It was so neat and the kids were thrilled to go in the firetrucks and see all the neat gadgets!

Ok everyone, I hope you enjoyed all the pictures! It took me about 1.5 hours to get them all uploaded, lol! Next time we'll opt for the computer with the highest memory available at the time of purchase, haha. I have a couple more pictures but those are for another day, since my son has now been neglected during Jeanine's entire naptime!

And the Verdict is...?

2009-03-13T18:30:00.001-07:00

Before:

After:

Last week I got a haircut while I was at my parents' house and today I dyed it brown. Any comments?

Johnny Batman Stegman

2009-02-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

My mom (Grandma Julie) asked John this afternoon what his middle name was, to which he replied, "My middle name is Batman!" Johnny Batman Stegman...kinda has the knack!

Big Girl!

2009-02-21T19:23:00.000-08:00

Well here's my big 6 month old's stats, as of Friday's appointment for shots (poor little pincushion). She's 16.5 lbs (50th %ile), 27" long (90th %ile), and her head circumference was 41cm/16" (10th %ile, still a pinhead lol!!). She's doing so well lately and we're enjoying every minute of her! She's sitting up now too and learning to get around on the floor, though at the moment she only goes backwards!

Big is Beautiful...

2009-02-19T09:44:00.000-08:00

New Tricks...

2009-02-19T09:39:00.000-08:00

Hooray, she's sitting up really well now!!! Isn't she the cutest?

2009-02-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday John was eating dry cheerios with chopstix. Silly boy...but it kept him occupied for a loooong time, lol!

Results

2009-02-17T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well today we had Jeanine's renal ultrasound and VCUG test at the hospital. She did SO WELL during both tests it was incredible! Praise God she stayed calm and didn't cry very much. The ultrasound went off without a hitch and she flirted with and talked to the nice lady who performed it. Then we waited about 45 minutes for her VCUG...not pleasant. I have to say that if I was the one getting that done to me, I'd have fussed wayyy more than Jeanine did. She was strapped down to the table with her arms papoosed up by her head, it was really weird but somehow comforting to her after a couple minutes. I held her hands and kept her paci in her mouth while she was catheterized, during which she only cried a little, and quite softly, to the delight of her mother. If she'd have screamed at the top of her lungs like she is fully able to do, I think we'd have gotten dozens of doctors and nurses in there wondering if we were kiling her, lol! They tried to start several times but for some reason the catheter didn't work and had a blockage, so they had to take it out and start over with a new one, poor baby! Once they got started it was only about 8 minutes start to finish. They filled up her bladder really full with a dye of sorts that presents contrast in the x-ray.

The more full her bladder got, the more we realized there was a definite problem with her anatomy. Bummer. Valves in the body are only supposed to work one way, pushing everything in the body down and out. Unfortunately Jeanine's ureters quickly filled with dye, along with her left kidney. This isn't supposed to happen at all, no matter how full the bladder is, so this means she has a low/non-functioning valve at the bottom of her ureter into her bladder. Course of action now is to put her on a low dose preventative antibiotic to keep infection away from her kidneys until the problem resolves itself (more likely) or she has surgery to correct it (very unlikely).

Overall the appointment went well and Jeanine did fine, we are just disappointed with the news that she'll have to be on antibiotics for a while. Perhaps that will keep away further ear infections as well though, since they seem to plague my children during the early years. We'll see. Thanks for your prayers that everything would go well, it did!

Waiting for her ultrasound

Playing with the nurse while waiting for the procedure to start

Grass!

2009-02-16T15:02:00.000-08:00

All Dressed up for Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T14:51:00.001-08:00

Today we had a Valentine's Day party with my stay at home moms Meetup group at a great restaurant/bar called Chopstix in downtown Tacoma. It was such a fun time with about 150 people, lots of music and dancing, pizza, soda, and cake! We didn't get any pictures from the party but here's a couple of me and Jeanine after we got home.

Jammies!

2009-02-16T14:48:00.000-08:00

Being silly with Johnny this morning in our jammies

"Let me out!!"

2009-02-16T14:43:00.001-08:00

"Hi Mom, aren't I cute? Can I please go out?"

"See? I'm so beautiful...please can I go out now?"

Playing with Daddy

2009-02-16T14:40:00.000-08:00

V-Day

2009-02-14T19:11:00.000-08:00

Today we spent a lot of time as a family, woohoo! We took John and Jeanine to a park in our neighborhood to play and then after their naps we went to the West Hylebos Wetlands (which were very dry and kind of brown, lol!). It was a very relaxed and nice day, though now as I blog I am listening to Jeanine scream her head off since she doesn't want to go to bed. Too bad for baby. She needs her sleep! Here's some fun pictures of our walk.

Look what a big boy he is becomming!I LOVE walks!Definitely a frame-able picture! I love it!Running ahead and very excited to get out of the housePretty little lake along the trailThe happy couple...freezing but having fun anyway! We've been married 3 years, 5 months, and 18 days...Happy Valentine's Day!Gigantic Maple TreeHeading back to the car

Oh yeah...as for me, Miss Blanket Head, that's what happens when mommy forgets my hat! But as you can see, I was so totally cozy in my blankets that I fell asleep in the 40 degree weather!

Our Morning

2009-02-13T11:30:00.001-08:00

So this morning has been both a blessing and a difficult time. Jeanine is feeling so well! We went back to basics with sleep training her yesterday and last night, and she actually fell asleep for her nap this morning without crying at all. She's baaaaack! I finally have a beautiful happy baby who's fun to be around...and who sleeps well! Hooray! John has been the extreme opposite, however it's mostly my fault. Over the last month and a half of being terribly sick and also stressed and taking care of sick children, we simply got out of the habit of immediate discipline and consistent training. So, the poor boy is back in Baby Bootcamp in the discipline arena and it hasn't been pleasant for him to relearn the fact that he needs to obey mommy ALL the time, Without Challenge, Without Excuse, and Without Delay (Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp). We've already had more spankings than I kept count of but I do see us making some progress and he's beginning to listen to my voice more and more and obey with a cheerful heart, praise God! I just continue to pray that the Holy Spirit come over him and guide him to make good choices instead of acting sinful. It's hard being the mother of a toddler!

And on to more fun activities, this is what John and Jeanine did this morning for about 30 minutes until she got fed up with flying past mama, lol! (Oh and John did get a turn after Jeanine...he loved it so much I think this will be a regular activity in our house! Good thing we only paid $20 for that high chair on Craigslist)

Playing with Baby

2009-02-13T11:22:00.000-08:00

This is Baby. This is John playing with Baby. Any questions? (He's so funny! He found the doll at the bottom of the stuffed animal basket and wanted to feed it rice cereal and bottles all day!)

Sickie

2009-02-13T11:18:00.000-08:00

These are from when she was really sick with a fever, though you can't really tell how bad it was. Her skin was bright red and she actually got a terrible heat rash with little pin prick bumps all over her chest and in her armpits and fat rolls. Poor thing!

Good News

2009-02-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, Jeanine is doing much better! She has gotten 2 fairly good nights of sleep (and so has her thankful mommy) and she didn't have a fever at her appointment this morning. Her rash (which I had previously forgotten to mention) is almost gone as well and she is now on oral antibiotics at home, 4 times a day. The first prescription of abx. was absolutely horrid, I tasted it and completely understood why Jeanine couldn't swallow, but instead threw up each time I tried to get them into her. The pediatrician prescribed a different one this morning and we started it when we got home. I am happy to say it tastes like orange and she didn't gag while taking it, so it looks like we're in the clear and she should be perfectly healthy soon! Thanks for all your prayers, we were really worried for a little while that she might be admitted today if she had a fever, but God healed her quickly! I'm so thankful to our doctor who suspected an underlying infection on top of the ear infections because had she not, Jeanine could have gotten much worse before we figured things out.

Another Update

2009-02-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

So it's Saturday and Jeanine seems to be doing much better. We went back for yet another Pediatrician appointment this morning and since she STILL had a fever and was fussy after the previous 2 days' worth of antibiotic injections, she had to get a 3rd, poor baby! At least it was a different person giving it to her each day, so she didn't know what was going on, or have time to get riled up or sad before the actual needle stick. Today's was especially bad because this time it was only one nurse giving 2 shots, one in each leg, so it took longer and she did the I'm-not-breathing, face-turning-red, silent-scream for about 15 seconds! So, now we have to go back again on Monday for another fever check and if it's not gone they might admit her for further tests and IV antibiotics.
Last night we heard from the pediatrician at about 6:45 and she left a message saying that Jeanine's culture was growing E-Coli (don't ask me how she got that! I'm baffled on that one...) so it was important we get the infection gone as soon as possible. Please keep Jeanine in your prayers, she really needs to get some sleep so that she can start to heal, and start to heal so she can get some sleep! (And mommy needs sleep too...)

UPDATE

2009-02-06T14:37:00.000-08:00

We went back today to the pediatrician and Jeanine still had a fever of 101* while she was on Tylenol so she got another injection of antibiotics. Because she still had the fever, however, now she has to go back *again* tomorrow. Talk about insurance co-pays up the wazoo here! (Though, even taking her 3 times doesn't equal one copay my poor sister has to pay when she goes to the doctor, lol! Thank God for firefighting insurance). If she has a fever in the morning they'll give her yet another injection and see her back again Monday. If not, we'll go home and start the oral antibiotics for 8 days. That is all. They are napping and I'm going to as well!

The Good and the Bad

2009-02-05T13:54:00.000-08:00

The Good: John is fine. He got a flu shot to top off his little virus, lol! Poor baby was so brave and only cried a little.
The Bad: Jeanine, on the other hand, was discovered to have dual ear infections (though they're pretty mild), and a kidney infection, which was the culprit for the 103 degree fever she's been running since late yesterday morning-ish.
Last night was pretty terrible, Jeanine wouldn't sleep at all unless I was holding her, so I spent a majority of the night sitting on the couch trying to find a comfortable way to hold her AND sleep. It ended up with me watching '24' and Prison Break episodes for quite a while, and I think I've only gotten 3 hours of sleep over the last 2 nights.
Our appointment was originally for 2:30 this afternoon but I was able to change it this morning to 9:45am, so that was such a blessing. I was getting worried about Jeanine's fever not being affected much by Tylenol and staying consistently above 103 degrees! We went in and her ears looked a little yucky but the high fever wouldn't have been caused by such mild ear infections so the pediatrician suspected an unseen infection. They catheterized her (all I can say is it was pure torture for the sweet baby) to get a urine sample which came back positive with blood (classic sign of UTI), and because of the high fever diagnosed her with a kidney infection. After that she needed antibiotic injections (one large dose split up into 2 needles, one on each thigh) that supposedly would burn and sting for a while. My poor baby just cried and cried and then passed out in my arms for a little nap. We stayed for another 20 minutes to make sure she didn't react to the meds and then were able to go home.
The Good: I LOVE this new pediatrician and the whole office, staff, and facility! I have never been made to feel more welcome, important, and understood in my life. Our 9:45 appointment began at, you guessed it, 9:45, amazing! The nurses were sweet and knowledgable, the pediatrician spent ample time with me talking about the children, both their illnesses and their behaviors in general. They worked with me on future appointment dates and times and even offered to help me back out to my car with the children and all my things. The best thing they did though, which is highly impressive to me, is that when John got restless they brought in a portable DVD player to our room and set him up watching Finding Nemo to keep him occupied. They even offered me formula for Jeanine in case I didn't have any left since we'd been there for so long. I'll never go anywhere else!
The Bad: We have to go back tomorrow. Jeanine has to be seen again tomorrow to check her out and give her another 2 shots of antibiotics. After that we'll have to give her 10 days of oral antibiotics at home. Even worse? She has to have a renal ultrasound and a procedure called VCUG (Voiding Cysto-Urethrogram), where they'll catheterize her once again, fill her bladder up with fluid, and take x-rays while she urinates to see if there is a backup, or, reflux, into her kidneys. Ahhh, the joys of motherhood...and holding down your SCREAMING 6 month old so someone can torture them.
I feel awful for Jeanine but I'm really glad I took her in now. She definitely didn't seem as sick (to me) as she ended up being, so I'm glad now that we know what's going on.
The Good: The children are both sleeping now...please, God, please let them both take long naps so I get a break, and so they can both feel better!