Halloween Mayhem

So many things have gone on recently with Halloween and it's not even until tomorrow!
I'll start with Tuesday. On Tuesday, the girls watched as Shawn and I carved the pumpkin...is that part of Halloween really for kids because we always find that we are doing all of it?...but I think we sort of hog the task. Anyway, that was loads of fun and we pulled off another great Jack O Lantern.

On Wednesday, I took Ava to the Library Halloween party. We loaded up on all kinds of goodies and left with a nice stomach ache from eating too much but it was worth it.
I love that I can see her little round belly through her outfit.

She's a one-of-a-kind.


Then on Wednesday night, we celebrated 33 years of life for Shawn with dinner out to eat, a delicious chocolate pumpkin cake and a booty pincher as I like to call it. It's his new favorite toy.
I took him out to eat at Jason's Deli.

Ava was SO excited to give him the pincher/grabber thingy.

Yesterday, Shawn went up to Elle's school for Pumpkin Carving with dad day.

All the kids and all the finished pumpkins

Elle and Shawn with the pumpkin their group carved.

Then today, I headed up to Elle's school for 2 hours of Halloween awesomeness. The four kindergarten classes rotated through each room and did a 20 minute activity. It was a lot of fun! It was the first time I've really gotten to spend time with her class and teacher and some of the parents and I was really glad I went.
Working on a witches mask

Making a edible spider

Making ghastly goop at one of the stations.

Tomorrow of course, we will be loading our kids up in the car and forcing them to go to 5 bazillion houses until we feel satisfied that they have gotten enough of the "good" candy to make mommy happy. :) Have a Happy Haunted Halloween!!!

MASH Hayride

Saturday, we had our October MASH event. We went out to a members land and had a bonfire and hayride. It was absolutely wonderful out there. There's something so calming about being outside in the cool fall air, having a fire, roasting marshmallows and being with friends. We liked the land so much that we are planning a Friday night campout in a few weeks. Hopefully the burn ban will still be lifted and with the way it's raining here lately, I don't think we need to worry.

Burn Ban Lifted?

I've been praying a lot in the last months that God would please send rain so that the burn ban could be lifted so that eventually we could go back to camping. We refuse to camp without a fire! But, I didn't mean for Him to send rain that would sweep away the campsites, picnic tables and firewood too! Oh well, Ava and I had lots of fun this morning in our rainboots down at the park sloshing through the gift God sent us!

There is a low water bridge crossing somewhere under all that!

Those trees are suppose to be near the edge of the river...not in the middle.

This is the look I got when for the 10th time I said we were not playing on the playground.

Picnic anyone?

There is a little bench just past the right fence post that is maybe within 10 feet of the edge of the river...not going to rest there today.

Again another view of the lower water bridge. We tried to wait to see this big chunk of wood head down the river but it just was stuck there.

It was funny because it looked like half the city had come out to gawk. People were bringing kids and cameras and all just gawking....it was almost like a city event...too bad no one was selling cotton candy.

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday morning with it feeling so fallish, we took the girls to a pumpkin patch here in town for our annual pictures and also picking out pumpkins to take home. They each picked a pumpkin right away and though there were thousands more, stuck with the same pumpkin the whole time. They are decisive. I am so thankful fall is beginning to show itself here. It seems to put just about everybody in a better mood.

The big one is for mommy and daddy. The far left is for the baby. The middle is Elle's and the one on the right is Ava's.

3 months

I'm 3 months pregnant today! This pregnancy has not been quite like the others. I have spent the entire first trimester thinking I would not keep this pregnancy. I am hoping that I've turned the corner and that the rest will be smooth sailing...as smooth as pregnancy can be, at least. I am feeling really pretty good at this point. I've gained 3 pounds and my goal is to keep the weight gain slow and steady. I am dreading trying to lose weight after the baby is here so I'll try to be more careful this time around. It's hard to deny yourself food though, when you feel hungry A LOT! My energy level is beginning to come back and I truly enjoy being a vital part of this house again! I made dinner last night and loved it. The only preg. related issue I'm having is sciatic pain....and it's been going on from the beginning. I can't stand for too long without my lower back just about locking up. Anyway, here's the first noticeable belly shot. It's real now!

U2

I've had a goal since 1992 and it's even on my bucket list; to see U2 in concert one day. Well that day came yesterday! Back in the Spring we found out that U2 would be touring again and I told Shawn that that was all I wanted for my birthday this year. We ordered the tickets and then waited for October to roll around. Little did we know that I'd be pregnant when it was time for the concert and we certainly didn't have a clue that I would have any complications come up. After debating all weekend over whether to go and trying to rest as much as possible, we decided to go for it! I am so glad we did! Although I had to take it very easy at the concert, it was wonderful. We were actually quite close to the band and could have been right up against the stage, except that I knew I wouldn't be able to stand for hours on end....really I don't know anyone that can do that, but some people can because they did! Anyway, the concert was amazing and it was everything I had hoped it would be. Bono sang a lot of his really good but older songs which was wonderful. The Dallas Cowboys stadium was HUGE and there were SO many people there, but really it didn't feel that packed. The music was LOUD to say the least. Pretty sure we did some permanent damage to our ears. Baby did well throughout and thankfully, I didn't cause any more problems to myself by being there. Thanks Shawn for an awesome 31st birthday and for doing all the driving! Now I need to talk him into letting me skydive for my 32nd birthday.

Stadium was HUGE!!!

waiting...and waiting...and waiting....opening band came on 30 minutes late...Boo!

No event I go to in complete without me getting cotton candy...and it was SOOO good as usual.

My Bono appears....keep it together Emma...don't cry...shawn will make fun of you.

We really were very close to the stage!

Shawn said I sat like this for a good 20 minutes after Bono came on.

One last look at my favorite band, before we head home.

13 weeks...not quite peachy

Today I'm 13 weeks pregnant. This is suppose to be a day where I breathe a sigh of relief that I dodged the miscarriage bullet and now it's smooth sailing. But, unfortunately I believe I'll be holding my breathe, Lord-willing, for the next 6 months. Many of you already know what's going on, but some don't and also I just wanted to document what's happening since I print the blog out and keep it.

On Thursday I started having sharp pains and eventually heavy bleeding. I headed straight to the ER expecting to be told that I was miscarrying. Fast forward four hours and the baby is still alive and wiggling a lot, according to the sonogram but I am having some complications. First, I have another UTI infection. These alone can cause miscarriage if they get severe enough. I am on a strong antibiotic that hopefully will knock it out completely. I'm sure I'll have to be watched closely for that throughout the rest of the pregnancy. Second, through ultrasound they found that a small part of my placenta has detached from the amniotic sac. If I understand correctly, this is less serious that if it was detaching from the uterus wall, but it's precarious nonetheless. I have an OB/GYN appointment on Wednesday and that will really give me an idea of how serious this is. The ER dr. just said that I was to not do any housework (poor shawn and poor house), no lifting anything heavy, and "taking it easy." That is really broad to me so I'm anxious to hear what that really means and how fragile this situation really is. The ER dr said that this could correct itself, or it could not and that really I could miscarry/go into labor at any time. This is not what you want to hear when you are suppose to have 6 more months to go.

At this point, I feel so absolutely fragile. I'm afraid to sneeze or cough! I feel okay physically, but I think the mental stress and anxiety over this is causing me more exhaustion that the actual condition. I am pretty bummed today. I have looked forward to this day for 11 weeks and now I feel like I'm walking a tight rope. I know that whatever is suppose to happen will happen, so I'm just trying to go with the flow....that isn't the best wording. (at least I still have my sense of humor.) Okay, that's all for now. Just wanted to record how I'm feeling today and hoping for a much more positive post after my appointment on Wednesday.

Final Say:

Phillipians 4:6-7 (my favorite verses in the bible)

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.