My life in BULLETS

I was cruising Facebook tonight & came across one of my doula friend's posts...her life in bullets:) Of course, I went to check out her blog & decided to take her advice & do the same. In the end, post a comment with your blog's life in bullets:) It will be great to see everyone's lives

So here is my life in a nutshell~

• I have too many pictures being held hostage in my digital camera and on my hard drive. I do normally back them up, but uploading & getting them printed has not been a priority. I feel guilty since I hardly have any pictures of Brian out. Liam has one that is visible. I really need to focus on getting them printed and sorted.
  
  
• I really can't stand mopping my floors. I have a great steamer mop & it cleans fabulously, but it is one more thing to have to do. On the other hand, I need my floors cleaned since Liam is all over them.



• I started the Motivated Moms organizer program for household chores. It seems that 3 children distract me & I forget what I am supposed to do. This list helps remind me of the daily things and the not so daily items (like wiping down the bottom shelf of the fridge). It is a very helpful idea that I am glad that I spent $4 on.



• I trying hard to purge 2010 items from my house this year. I am at 1562 right now.



• Children's clothing is killing me slowly. I can't keep up with donate, store for baby #4, trash or keep for Brian/Liam. Seriously, it is sucking the life out of me on a daily basis.



• I have been menu planning for the entire month at a time & grocery shopping two weeks at a time. It has helped me with my budget tremendously. I prepare dinner 5 out of the 7 nights in a week. I do my best to prepare with real ingredients & not from a box.



• I am very, very thankful for being able to be at home with my children. I went back to work part time when Grayson was 2.5 years & when Brian was 6 months old. While money is extremely tight & many months we go without alot of extras--I feel my family benefits with me here. I only work with my doula clients (averaging about 10 a year) and at a church nursery.



• This one makes me pause...even though I am 7 months postpartum from Liam's birth-it still breaks my heart to think about how he entered our world. I did everything "right" and his birth was not the gentle beginning we prayed for. I haven't found God's grace in accepting this and his birth story still makes me cry. I have come to the conclusion that I don't have to like his birth though, but I pray that one day I will have peace in my heart.



• I love being the mom of three boys. I never thought I would have boys, but now I can't imagine life without them.



• Liam is a beautiful, spirited baby and I am very grateful and blessed to have him in my life. I can't imagine life without him. He breastfeeds with ease and I am very humbled by this. While his birth was hell, nursing has been a literal Godsend to me. I don't think we would be where we are without this opportunity. I will never take breastfeeding for granted.



• Brian is wild, imaginative, loud, gentle, talkative, loving, shy and did I already say LOUD?? all wrapped into one. I need to be more intune with him and get down on his level more. This time is going by too quickly~ I don't want to miss too much by not slowing down...



• Grayson is so very kind, thoughtful, intuitive, inquisitive and growing up too quickly. He will be ten in a few short months. I keep thinking that we will only have him living with us for another 8 or 9 years and then he is off to college. I don't know what I will do without him. He has brought so much happiness and love to our family.

• I pray that we accept God's guidance in if we have one more child and the grace to accept the birth this child may have.



• I actually like my husband. He drives me crazy and I get angry--but he is who I want to see at the end of the day. He makes my heart happy!

Can't believe it has been this long!

So, it is offical:
I stink at keeping up with my blogs!


The important stuff:


Liam is 6 months old, has 4 teeth & 3 more on the way, crawls, sits, blows raspberries, pulls up, furniture cruises (just a step or two) and has finally learned to sit down gently instead of plopping & whacking his head--ouch!



Grayson is 9.5 years old, has some of his teeth and waiting for more to fall out, started 4th grade this past August, is crazy, loud, but not as loud as Brian, funny, loves golf, smart, into Harry Potter, gems, stones and science stuff and reading. We've been riding bikes to school and it is a fun way to get a bit of excerise early in the morning.


Brian is 3.5 years, has all his teeth, started nursery school again--2 days a week, is LOUD, active, crazy and sweetness all rolled into one. He will get evaluated for speech therapy towards the end of the month...he's doing some deletions & substitutions.

I'm doing SOO much better with the postpartum depression issue. I mailed the OB who performed Liam's cesarean birth a letter & told her that her bedside manner sucked. I haven't heard back though:) LOL I've gone full force into the birth doula world and have had 7 clients in the past 3 months. I'm changing church nursery jobs and hoping to expand my doula business a bit more this upcoming year.

Dale is fine and likes his job! He has turned into a man of few words~and he still doesn't like his picture taken:)

Liam Joseph Michaud

Here he is...our beautiful son. This was taken just a few hours after his birth...which went the total opposite of our planned homebirth. I have taken a few months to battle some postpartum depression issues which stemmed from his cesarean birth and just needed time to physically and mentally recouperate from surgery.

Liam Joseph

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

1:35 am

7 pounds

20"

42 weeks 1 day

His older brothers are doing splendidly and we are enjoying being a family of five now.

I'm sure I'll get to the point where I can "catch up" on everything.

41 weeks and counting...

So we all thought the baby would be here by now, but SURPRISE this little one has a different plan. Dale & I are rolling with it with now. No other choice but to let this babe decide his or her birthday.

I did have an anxiety & stressful week during week 40...just knowing that every night I would wake up & have to labor. I lost a lot of sleep over it & looking back--it wasn't worth it. I now go to bed with the intention of being pregnant in the morning & getting some decent shuteye. Much better plan.

So anyways, the baby will be here at one point. You'll just have to wait along with us!

Celebrating MY Pregnancy

One of the best ways to celebrate a special occasion in your life is through photographs. I had the privilege of having one of the best photographers in the DFW area take my maternity pictures--Elizabeth Boyce at http://www.earthmamaphotography.com/

Elizabeth is truly a wonderful photographer and a delightful person to know.Here is the link to my maternity pictures
http://earthmamaphotography.blogspot.com/2010/01/so-patient-denton-lewisville-flower.html
This was the best way I could have celebrated this upcoming birth! I am so happy that I wasn't afraid of how big my belly was to have these taken.

THANK YOU Elizabeth!! You made my night!

Brian's cast!

Yesterday the boys were being a bit crazy & playing in the living room. Well, a few loud yells turned into a huge scream & some crying. Grayson accidentally pushed the sofa against Brian's wrist & hand, resulting in a 2 hour crying experience. We called the pedi. and he recommended us to come in in the morning to get an X-ray. We did & we were told that there were no fractures or breaks in the hand & finger areas. YEAH!!! Off to nursery school we went since Brian was askign for it since Grayson was dropped off at his school. A few hours later, we received a message from the pedi. saying there was a small fracture in the wrist. Off to the orthopedic specialist within 30 minutes and Brian was picking out his color for the cast. We opted for the super duper fancy waterproof version & it can be completely submerged in water without any problems...we'll see how he does for the next weeks.

13 days and counting...

we are going to be meeting our newest baby very soon. We don't know if the baby will be a boy or a girl, neither do we truly care, but we do care about our baby being healthy and strong. This is one of the reasons we are homebirthing again. I am praying for a waterbirth also.

We planned a waterbirth with both Grayson & Brian, but for one reason or another, we weren't able to do it with their births. I have told my midwife, doula & husband that for THIS baby I am to push in the water. If I feel like getting out, that is my call.

A friend typed up a beautiful labor prayer and I am going to post that for all to read. If you ever get a minute, please pray it for our family...

My Labor Prayer

Lord, thank you for giving this new life to Dale and I
As I work to bring this child into our arms I ask the following:
Let my labor be uncomplicated, and help to me to put my trust in your design of my body to deliver this baby.
Give discernment to those who are attending me.
Give me energy and peace.
Give me comfort when it hurts.
Help me to allow your presence at the birth by reminding me that this process of labor is a form of prayer and worship and designed by you, it is not just pain with no purpose.
And since I am asking for things Lord, here are a few more bonus requests:
I ask for a labor that I can be an active part of and be able to tolerate with with joy.
I ask everyone will get here in time.
I pray that Dale will be at peace.
I ask that I won’t have any need to transfer and can have the home birth I desire.
I ask that my older children will adjust and love their new sibling.
Most of all I ask that our baby will be healthy and that we are prepared to raise another child to grow to love You, no matter what happens at this child’s birth.
Amen.

Where does the time go?

I have been thinking a bit and decided that I need to slow down. I am slowly releasing my volunteer positions, giving responsibility to others and trying to separate myself from "always being busy" to being more of a mom to my children.

With the upcoming birth of our third, my priorities are changing rapidly. I am due in approximately 45 days.

While I feel a strong need to get things in order, to sort & purge and to have my home emotionally centered--it also feels out of my comfort zone. I have always been a follow the rules, but still can fly by the seat of my pants type of girl & I find this centering a bit challenging.

There are certain aspects of being busy that I will miss, but I know I will enjoy the time spent getting to know my children and husband even better.

Happy Thanksgiving 2009~

I'm officially 31 weeks & counting down the days till we meet this little one. Very exciting & scary at the same time. We had an ultrasound at week 27 and everything looks great-3 vessel cord, 4 chamber heart, no cleft palate and organs are functioning healthy. We are very blessed.

I've been super busy with work, doula'ing, and finishing up my breastfeeding counselor training. All my clients for birth had their babies on a perfect schedule and I am now finishing up my postpartum doula certification clients. They will be completed by mid December & I can get all my paperwork done over the Christmas holiday break to mail in January 2nd, 2010~

Crunchy Clean & New Baby Wipes

I am so excited to try this new all natural laundry soap with all of our clothing & the cloth diapers. It is hard to find a laundry soap that doesn't leave residue or "weird" stuff on the diapers. Repellancy is a huge issue at stake!

Crunchy Clean is made by a work at home mom & sold on ETSY--
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5760585
She has a list of scents that is a mile long & many of them use essential oils.

Another new product I am trying is from Laine's Cradle & All shop on ETSY--
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6744453
I am buying new baby wipes for our upcoming arrival in January...we're doing a fleece & flannel combination, but she also has organic bamboo velour! She also is a stay at home mom and makes play sheets for pack 'n plays. She does some custom work also.


I can't wait to get them in & give a review!