Gabe had his MRI

Yesterday was Gabe's MRI. I'll admit I was freaking out a fair bit. He had to be sedated. I realize the MRI itself isn't too intrusive, but the sedation, and the "what ifs" following sedation really freaked me out. Then there's the toast. So he wasn't allowed to eat after midnight last night. Great, fine, he's my fat baby that likes to eat, but I figured it wouldn't be the biggest deal. Well, Julian woke up much earlier than G yesterday. So I quickly made Julian some cinnamon/sugar toast (really not much of the sugar/cinnamon concoction, but he eats it, so we do it) and told him, "When you are DONE you need to throw it away. Gabe cannot eat breakfast today." And he didn't do it. He put it on the tv stand. So when Gabe came downstairs, he immediately grabbed the toast and may or may not have eaten any. OY! So I told the nurse this, the one taking history before the anesthesiologist came in, and she said, "Honestly. We might have to cancel this." So she went to talk to the doctor, and I start bawling. I just wanted it over. I had emotionally prepared for this, well as best as I could, I just needed it over. And she's telling me they might have to reschedule. GAH!

The anesthesiologist said that she'd just give Gabe some Zofran, if we consent, and realize that there's a greater risk of aspiration, because he may have eaten. They also postponed the procedure about an hour to give more time between the possible eating, and being sedated.

Then they put in G's IV. I left, with Julian, for this. But Barry said he did pretty well, was really mad, and kept saying, "DADDDDDDDY, DOWN!"

Here's the little fellow after the IV, and after Julian and I returned from the gift shop with a sweet new hedgehog. Julian said, "Mommy, I think we should get Gabey a gift, from the gift shop. To make him feel better." AWWW!


It was about naptime, so he was already tired, if you can't tell!


And here's the big brother! He was such a great big brother, offering to do things first, sit with Gabe on the bed, just to make Gabe more comfortable. It was incredibly sweet.


Like I said, Gabe was already tired, so it took him a bit longer to come out of his 'nap' because he was really taking his nap! So we got to visit with the nurses. They were SO great and kind! They totally put us (ALL) at ease!

We should have the MRI results in a few days. I'm not as nervous for the results, as I was for the actual sedation and MRI, I think.

Gabey's wish for his sibling.

So I've been asking the boys, bugging more realistically, what they want, a "Baby brother or a baby sister."

Julian, being the angsty 4 year old he is, "Mooooom, I told you. I want a sister."

Gabe, forever my chunk, "Baby Ruth."

The Cullens...

...must really like to play baseball here in Iowa. OY! Last night was a long thunder storm. Which meant first I had an anxiety ridden Chihuahua begging to snuggle. One that kept shivering every.time.the.thunder.came. And then after I put him back in his bed/crate, and finally snuggled back into my pod, GABE came in. He was easy to settle back down in his bed, but he wanted me to snuggle him. So I did. And he's not the best bed partner. Especially in a twin bed. His feet end up in the most uncomfortable places. Your rib cage, your back, I mean imagine a place a size 9 baby foot shouldn't be? And that's where it is.

Julian's finally sleeping back on his top bunk bed. He's been on a sleeping in a 'nest on the floor' stage for a while. I'm glad to have him sleeping on his bed again. Both boys slept until 7:30, and Gabe is still, at press time of 8:18 am, sleeping! AMAZING. He's not a sleeper-in. But we did put their curtain back up, and apparently it's helping them sleep longer.

Today is Julian's last day of preschool. I'm sad, he's sad. And Miss Sarah's moving to Washington (state). He had her as a 2 year old, and a 3 year old, and now I told him, "She's going to go live in Washington, by Grandma." Which isn't exactly true, but he doesn't know that Tacoma isn't the same as Puyallup!

I do want to get some sort of homeschooling, or learning books for Julian and for Gabe to do this summer. Does anyone have any recommendations? I know Julian's ahead of the curve now, and I want to keep him that way. He loves to learn/read/write/draw, so I need to capitalize on that. Gabe likes to do whatever his brother is doing. :)

I've gotta get the boys and myself presentable for last day of preschool! Maybe I'll take some pictures of our picnic in the 'Jesus Room' and post them later!

Moon Sand

I think we've seen the commercial about 150 times. Julian was sold on the mermaid/underwater set. The other day, they'd found play-doh, and smashed it into the floor and just made a huge mess with it, so I was up for something new. That, and as Julian's recited, "Moon sand doesn't dry out." That's true. It doesn't. But it sure does get all over.everywhere! I still do think it's easier to clean up than play-doh, especially the way my kids play with play-doh. But it's definitely not as mess free as they advertise. Perhaps the problem lies not with the product, but my children? Either way, Saturday morning we had a H.U.G.E mess of moon sand, dinosaur fossils, and cookie cutters.



Gabe enjoying the moon sand, while a little under the weather. He loves his jamies. As soon as we get home from somewhere, he finds them ,and says, "jammies on please?"

I don't have much to say today. It's a rainy day. It looks like night, and I want to crawl back into bed, but I've got two little heathens that make that pretty much impossible! :)

Friday's Appointment & My Mother's Day

Well my appointment was Friday. Any hopes of guessing the baby's gender were dashed the minute the tech pulled me into the room. "You know it's WAY too early to tell the baby's gender." I nodded, a little disappointed. However, the baby looked great, just the right size, a round little head. I'd sent a picture message to Barry, to show to Julian. This was the picture that I sent to him.


Julian looked at the picture for a little while, and said, "Aww, my baby sister." And then Barry showed him the baby's head, hand, etc. After identifying all available body parts, Julian said, "Yep, that's a girl alright." He cracks me up!


Just one more picture of the little babe.



And here's my 14 week belly shot.


We are giving talks in church this week, so I've been falling asleep thinking about what on earth I'm going to say. I think that's led to some pretty crazy dreams. Last night my mother-in-law was in my dream, and talking to me about baby names. I told her the boy names we were considering were Avery and Brett, which aren't names we've considered, ever. Brett as a possible middle name, but never as a first. Ironically the girl name was spot on.

My Mother's Day was wonderful. We'd gone to breakfast on Saturday, with intentions of going to church on Sunday. Perkins, is SO good. So Sunday morning, we woke up, and both boys had slight fevers. And Gabe has a loud cough. And I wasn't feeling too hot either. So we stayed home. Had Panera bagels for breakfast (I'm thinking that the boys and I will have to stop there before finding End Of The Year Teacher's Gifts, today!) And Barry worked on his mancave/office. He managed the boys while I took a bath, and just soaked. I got to knit a little, and figure out what I'm going to knit next. It was a good and just chill out day, which was much needed.

We also found out that our old crib, which we haven't been using since moving here, was recalled. Not the tubular recall, but some other one. The spindles can break. So I spent part of the day filling out the paperwork, taking off the hardware, and getting it ready to mail into the company. They'll then send us a voucher for Babies R Us for a new crib. I'm so thankful to my friend Jackie for telling me about this. I was just going to throw it away! So now I get partial credit for a new new crib for the baby!

Well, I should attempt to get my boys dressed. I want to figure out the end of teacher gift things quickly, and stop off for a bagel :)

It's amazing what 5 weeks can do!

So I'm sure you all remember this.

The butchering of my bangs. (that picture was TWO WEEKS after the crime!)
I'm happy to report that they're now a legal length. They're finally ready for public consumption. Please disregard my lack of makeup.

Early Mother's Day!

I did it. I convinced Barry of the worth of the ultrasound. And explained that Julian will be a lot more comfortable, in a non doctor's office setting. And that even if they can't tell at 16 weeks (which in reality they should be able to) I'll be able to go back for free. At that point, he'll be done with class work at school, and on his own study schedule for boards! (14 days and counting!!!) So if we have to go in a week later, not a huge deal. He just stays later at the library! So on May 26th, at 8:45 AM we will be heading to the ultrasound place, and doing it! I asked if it was OK to bring my 4 year old, and she said yeah, there's seating for 7. SO if you want to go...LOL! I do need to find a sitter though for Gabe. I know Julian will be fine, but G?! I'm not so sure. He's kind of a maniac. I'm really, really excited to know! And I'm not nervous about them telling me the wrong gender, because it's so early, because they are super trained professionals. I think, honestly, if we are having a girl, I will be in SHOCK! Seriously. A Palizzi girl!? Really? What are those ;) We are still talking names, and I asked Julian last night, which boy name he liked, and he said, "MOM, it's REALLY a sister. I've told you this a million times." (That was literally his quote.) So we'll see if he's right.

I have an appointment, with an ultrasound, tomorrow. I hope they give me a picture or something for Julian. He's really all about the baby. I posted this on facebook, but the other day, we were driving, and he said, "Mommy, we really need a rocking chair so I can rock my baby sister to sleep." How freaking sweet is that? Seriously?

Julian's almost done with preschool. He has school today, Tuesday, and then a picnic at the park on Thursday to celebrate his last day! I can't believe it! And I can't wait for school to start again. Both boys will be in school! J M/W/F and G W/F! It's going to be WEIRD! I think I'll miss my one on one time with G. We have a lot of fun when J's at preschool! But he definitely needs the socialization aspect. He's not shy, but he's definitely a mama's boy! Definitely.

I haven't been in a picture taking mood, so I don't have anything cute of them to post. I did make something pretty cute. My friend Dana was saying that she was having trouble finding something for her baby to wear to a wedding this coming weekend. She said the shade of purple she had to match was really weird. So we went to Joann's and found a striped cotton on clearance for $3/yard, and the purple matched PERFECTLY! Total cost? She already had the onesie, and fabric was a whopping $.75! It turned out pretty cute, IMO! I had to hand sketch the tie, I couldn't find my pattern I'd already made. It wouldn't have worked well anyway though, 3-6 months is MUCH smaller than 3T, in case you were wondering!


And back to babies, my childhood friend Elizabeth (Bizzie) is finding out if she's having a boy or girl today! I can't wait to know!!!

So

I had a post all written, in my mind, of course. And then I watched this video.

Watch it. You won't be disappointed. By far, one of the most amazing women (and sweetest husband), EVER.

I fell in the toilet...

...TWICE this weekend. I know, I know. I live in a house full of boys, it's to be expected. Except, it wasn't the fault of the males in my house. It was totally my fault. After my vomiting this weekend, I forgot to put the toilet seat down! And then went to go potty later, and FELL in! Ugh.

Today, according to my doctor's u/s, puts me at the first day of the 2nd trimester. I'm really excited. Except I barfed this morning. I'm hoping today was just a risidual from the 1st trimester, and things are only going to look up!

This pregnancy has been one for the crazy dream handbook! I remember having ridiculously vivid dreams when I was pregnant with Julian and Gabriel. I remember having a specific delivery dream with Gabe that turned out to be ridiculously close to the truth. This pregnancy, I've already dreamt of nursing the baby (my biggest wish, and something that I am hoping to be successful at. Hey 3rd time is the charm right?!), delivering the baby IN AN AMBULANCE, with Julian and Gabe sitting next to me. Last night though, last night was the best dream ever. I was at Walmart, but it was AMAZING Walmart. And everything they have online was in store. So the pink bike I have been lusting over for years, was in store. First of all, let me go back and say that I was at Amazing Walmart on Black Friday. And there were Christmas decorations everywhere. I dropped Gabe off at child-watch, THANK GOD Walmart doesn't have a real child-watch! Could you imagine!? And headed back to find my bike, and a random assortment of wooden toys. I was cruising on my bike through Walmart! CRAZY! Ok so I guess this dream isn't as crazy as my nursing dream (sparing the details) and my ambulance delivery, but I hardly ever remember my dreams.

So I was considering getting an early ultrasound at like 16 weeks (the earliest the ultrasound place said I could come in) and finding out the gender early. Barry seems to think it is silly to find out just 2-4 weeks early. I can understand that, but on the other hand, I REALLY want to know! Plus I think it would be better for Julian, who's SO sure he's having a sister (even Gabe's jumped on the 'didder' band wagon!) to have the ultrasound done in a private setting vs. the doctor's office. If we do wait until my BIG ultrasound, we're bringing J. I need someone other than me to tell him that he's having a brother, if he is. I'm afraid that if I try to tell him, or Barry, he won't believe us. So what do you think? Is it stupid to spend $90 to find out 2-4 weeks early? Be honest, be real, I just want to know if I'm being dumb!