I am blessed.

Not burst all of your bubbles

2011-03-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

I know you all read my blog daily and wonder where I have been (I hope you can hear the sarcasm in my voice) but I started a new blog and I actually blog around 6 days a week:-) http://realifemotherhood.wordpress.com/

'Member that time?

2011-03-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

'Member that time in fifth grade when I was sick with a stomach bug but some how convinced my mom I was not sick and that I needed to go to school. And 'member how I was sitting in class thinking I was going to throw up and ran out of the class room and stood in the hallway trying to decide which restroom was closer. Then how I threw up all over the hallway floor because I was could decide if going down three stairs would take less time than going up three stairs. And then remember how I was so embarrassed that I thought about never going back to school and convinced my mom to keep me out of class for a week. And then when I went back to school all of my friends thought I really had transferred?

If you want to join in go to http://teamvanvoorst.blogspot.com/ and do your own!

Meatless Monday

2011-02-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

Grass. That is what I thought I was eating. It was lemon-basil pasta with cannellini beans. It was too grass-like for me. Garrett liked it though! Since Garrett liked it I will post the recipe in case any of you would like to try it:-)

10oz pasta

1 can cannellini beans rinsed

1/2 cup lemon juice (you will need to zest the lemon as well)

2 TBSP olive oil

1 cup fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta and add rinsed beans. Next mix the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Finally, enjoy your grass on a plate!

Who do they look like?

2011-02-27T06:09:00.000-08:00

I think Cooper looks like me - he definitely has my pointy nose. Eden looks like her daddy, at least to me she does. Her eyes disappear when she smiles and in the morning she has Garrett's sleepy eyes. But then I think Coop and Eden look a lot alike with the exception of Coop being a little chunker. I guess it is not for me to decide who they look like. No matter who I think they look like I think they are pretty darn adorable:-)

Meatless Monday

2011-02-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

I suppose I should get more creative with what I make for my Meatless Monday but hey, this lady is a mother of two who sometimes just doesn't have inspiration and I recycle recipes that I know my family will eat. So, what did we eat? We had broccoli cheese soup (http://teamhufford.blogspot.com/2011/01/meatless-mondays.html) and homemade bread. Nothing too special but still really good.

Piggy Tails

2011-02-21T08:37:00.001-08:00

Meaty Monday:-) on Wednesday

2011-02-16T17:27:00.000-08:00

It wasn't the success but the enchiladas I made were all right. The recipe that I was following (to be honest, I don't follow a recipe exactly when cooking so that could have been part of my problem) was from Pioneer Woman (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/sour-cream-enchiladas/).

Next time, if there is a next time, I will buy a different enchilada sauce. Hy-Vee brand was not as good as El Paso. And I would buy an extra tub of sour cream to top so we would have some to top them with. Oh and more cheese. But I love cheese. And at the request of my husband I would serve it with chips and salsa - I had spent the past 5 days eating nachos for lunch so all the chips were gone:-)

Now, a question for all of you would make your own beans (dried). What is the easiest way to cook them? And do you have any good pinto bean recipes to share?

Sometimes you just need a different perspective.

2011-02-15T17:39:00.001-08:00

What do you do with a sick child?

2011-02-15T09:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we have "the crud" in our house. Nothing to serious. Just a low grade fever, congestion and a case of the crabby pants. I am seriously running out of things to do with Eden. She is well enough to want to play but not well enough to play without a fit. She is well enough to color but not well enough to have an attention span longer than 5 seconds. She is well enough to sit and have books read to her but again, her attention span is less than 5 seconds.

So far today all we have done is watch Veggie Tales and Word World because watching tv (aka netflix) is all she will be content with. Oh, I did get the vacuum out and chase her around with it in hopes of brightening her spirits. She liked that a lot but once I put it away it was meltdown city.

What do you do with a sick child?

Meaty Monday:-)

2011-02-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

Meatless Monday will be moved to Wednesday because today is Valentine's Day and I am making one of Garrett's favorite meals which means meat. No way around it! This is the recipe I use for meatloaf (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/old-fashioned-meat-loaf-aka-basic-meatloaf-recipe/index.html) and it is a hit all around. And with some fresh bread and mashed potatoes, it is a dinner any man would want:-)

Is it bad?

2011-02-10T13:10:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I wish I could use Windex as a body spray because I love the way it smells. Either that or lemon pledge.

Helpmate

2011-02-08T16:53:00.000-08:00

As Valentine's Day approaches I am continually reminded of just how blessed I am. I do not need fancy things or flowers (although I do like them) but I need a lover who loves on me in ways he knows I will most appreciate. So when I came home today to an empty sink and no dishes left by the sink air-drying, all I could say was thank you over and over again. Not only am I Garrett's helpmate but he is also mine.

Meatless Monday

2011-02-08T10:04:00.000-08:00

I tried this recipe out and it was a success! When my hubby says it's good and that he would like me to make it again I know I have a winner:-)

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/NU00463

Thanks Angie!

Efficiency

2011-02-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

Being a mama of two (and hopefully, one day a few more) means craziness when trying to leave to go somewhere at a certain time. But I have come up with a surefire way - most of the time - of getting out of the house and to our destination on time.

It all starts the night before. When I get the kids ready for bed, I lay out a pair of clothes for each of them with a diaper and shoes. This eliminates the frustration of finding a clean outfit for them and makes it easy to get them dressed from head to toe the next day. I also pack the diaper bag and set out anything extra we need to take with us (snacks, pack'n'play, etc...). If I can I load them into the car so it is one less thing that I have to do the next day. Since it is cold right now, I lay our coats, hats and mittens by the door just so I don't have to scramble to find them.

Then comes the important part - set my alarm a half-hour earlier than I normally would. WHAT?!? Yep, getting up early in the morning allows me to get myself ready and have a quiet time before the chaos begins. Most days I get up before everyone, just because I like the peace and quiet and can really focus and not enter the day in stress.

If Eden and Coop aren't up an hour before we are going somewhere I get them up. I get Eden dressed first and get her breakfast and then get Cooper ready and nurse him. Once all of this is done, we hopefully have not had any catastrophes (I do allow time for that as well). Then 10 minutes before go time we get our coats on and get in the car and off we go!

The funniest part of all of this is that on the weekend none of these things seem to work. You might think that with an extra pair of hands this wouldn't be the case but it's not. It might be that there is one more person to get ready who takes their sweet time ****cough, Garrett, cough****. Or the fact that Eden likes to play with daddy or that daddy likes to read lots of books before breakfast. The list goes on.

But this is how we efficiently get ready and get out of the house!

Meatless Mondays

2011-01-31T08:49:00.000-08:00

I only go grocery shopping every other week on Monday or Tuesday. Since I randomly started my meatless Mondays without really thinking about what food I had on hand, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel to make a nice meatless meal. Looking in my fridge we find lots of cheese, salsa, sour cream, milk, almond milk, bacon, turkey pepperoni, romaine lettuce and two eggs - it is looking pretty bare in there...it always does every Monday morning (we have plenty of food in our house just nothing that doesn't require a little preparation on my part).

I was going to make a black bean burrito recipe a friend sent me but I used my black beans in a soup I had to change up because of a dead crock pot (don't get me started on how sad I am that my crock pot has died a random, tragic death) and I didn't have three of the other ingredients the recipe called for. So, last night I was stuck with a dilemma, or so I thought, do I suck it up and go out and buy supplies for today's meatless Monday or do I figure something out with what I have in my pantry? Since I am cheap, and hate going out Sunday nights after the kids are in bed, I chose the latter.

What did I find that I could make? I am going to make bean burritos made with a can of refried black beans, mexican rice, cheese, and canned tomatoes. I am sure these will be super filling! No special recipe, just cooking the rice up and mixing in some salsa and then putting all the ingredients into tortillas and baking for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Should be yummy, should be easy:-)

When one member hurts, we all hurt.

2011-01-29T18:47:00.000-08:00

"If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together." 1 Corinthians 12:26

Two and a half years ago I witnessed the marriage of a high school friend and the love of her life. They promised to love each other in sickness and in health until death parted them. Now, her husband is fighting a battle with cancer and I am sure she is fighting with all of her being to be strong for him. But it looks like cancer is going to win this battle.

The thing is, when you hear him speak, you hear a man who is sad that he will be leaving his wife sooner than he ever planned. You also hear a man of great faith in his Savior. Why? Because no matter what happens God has won. God has won the bigger battle. He has won the most important battle. God sent His Son to overcome sin and He reigns victoriously! And he realizes that even at the end of the day if there is no miracle cure that God is still good. But that doesn't stop the ache of knowing he will be leaving his wife a widow at age 25...

So, I am hurting with her as she prepares for what lies ahead. I am hurting with him as he will most likely be leaving his beautiful wife he adores too soon. As the body of Christ, we hurt when one part is hurting. I weep with her. I weep for him. I weep because they are weeping. And I rejoice with them knowing that God has a plan for him and has a plan for his life. And that God has prepared a place for him...

My heart is heavy for my friend. Please pray for her and her husband and their families. Pray for peace and pray for a miraculous healing if that is God's will because God is bigger than all of this.

Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

Dear refuge of my weary soul,

On Thee, when sorrows rise

On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,

My fainting hope relies

To Thee I tell each rising grief,

For Thou alone canst heal

Thy Word can bring a sweet relief,

For every pain I feel

But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,

I fear to call Thee mine

The springs of comfort seem to fail,

And all my hopes decline

Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?

Thou art my only trust

And still my soul would cleave to Thee

Though prostrate in the dust

Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face,

And shall I seek in vain?

And can the ear of sovereign grace,

Be deaf when I complain?

No still the ear of sovereign grace,

Attends the mourner’s prayer

Oh may I ever find access,

To breathe my sorrows there

Thy mercy seat is open still,

Here let my soul retreat

With humble hope attend Thy will,

And wait beneath Thy feet,

Thy mercy seat is open still,

Here let my soul retreat

With humble hope attend Thy will,

And wait beneath Thy feet

Maybe if...

2011-01-25T14:35:00.000-08:00

...I bake our garbage men brownies they won't run over our trash lid again.

Meatless Mondays

2011-01-24T17:45:00.001-08:00

I am not much of a meat person. I like it but I don't feel I need it to make a filling meal. And meat is expensive and takes up a good chunk of my grocery budget. So, Garrett and I have decided to go meatless on Mondays. Nothing crazy. I am excited to see the benefits it will have on my grocery budget.

I will admit that I was a little nervous about suggesting this to Garrett because he is a meat man. It didn't take any convincing at all!

So, if you are looking for a way to shave a dollar or two off your grocery budget or just want to stretch your dollar even more, try going meatless one day!

Here is what we had for our first Meatless Monday:

Broccoli Cheese Soup and homemade bread

Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

3 medium sized carrots

1 bundle of broccoli cut into florets

1/4 onion

4 TBSP divided

3 cups of chicken stock

2 cups of milk

1/4 cup flour

1 garlic clove chopped

2 cups cheddar cheese

In a large sauce pan, melt 2 TBSP of butter and then saute carrots (chopped into small bits), onion, and garlic. Add chicken stock and broccoli florets and bring to a boil. In another large pan, melt the rest of the butter and whisk in flour. Then add milk and stir to combine. Let it thicken for about 2 minutes and add cheese. Then dump everything from the first pot into the pot with the cheese and stir to combine and serve! Voila! A yummy, meatless dinner!

Soooo big!

2011-01-22T05:49:00.000-08:00

Almost 6 months ago I was holding this sweet, small little boy...

Buff

2011-01-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Garrett and I. As you can tell we are buff, but we want more. We want more buffness. Lots more buffness. So we have enlisted the help of Tony Horton and the power of P90 (pre-cursor to P90X). Just wait until you see how buff we are AFTER:-)

'member that time?

2011-01-17T09:11:00.000-08:00

'member that time I was cleaning out our apartment before we moved in and my hands were disgusting. And 'member how I had no hand soap or soap of any kind so I used toilet bowl cleaner to wash them? Yep, I am classy!

If you want to do a 'member that time? Monday go to http://teamvanvoorst.blogspot.com/

P.S. I posted Christmas pictures but they showed up below my last post, so check them out!

The HoJo

2011-01-15T08:22:00.000-08:00

Now, I have stayed in some pretty awesome hotels in my life. I guess they were motels but I don't like to get caught up in the details. Just like on our honeymoon in Florida when we couldn't find our hotel because the little detail that it was a Ramada Inn and not just a Ramada Suites seemed to escape my new husband and we were literally driving up and down this one street going into EVERY SINGLE Ramada there was. Needless to say, it was a night that I will never forget!

This past summer Garrett and I, plus a couple of awesome friends, got to experience some luxurious stays:-) The first was a Days Inn. Now Days Inn's aren't that bad and this one was decent. But the last night of our stay we walked into our lovely room just before midnight to find a gaping hole in the wall. And when I say gaping hole, I mean I could have jumped out of our window (we were on the second floor). The maintenance people were apparently replacing all air conditioning units and they never brought us a new one or even our old one back. I am guessing they thought we wouldn't even notice that it was missing. It wasn't as humorous at the time but when I look back it was pretty darn funny:-) (A shout out to our friends who stayed with us in the lovely room - "G-night erbody!")

But I think the hotel, I mean motel, stay that was the most memorable was our little stay in July. We were driving to the beautiful state of Colorado but were going to take a break in the middle of nowhere and sleep the night. We wanted something cheap and that had a continental breakfast - so we got a room at the Howard Johnson. Now, I have stayed at motels like Budget Inn, The Hub (yes, that was the name), The Motel, but this was by far the best-worst motel ever! We later found out that it was nicknamed the HoJo - lesson of the day: if you ever hear that a hotel has a nickname that has Ho at the beginning beware. The beds were lumpy, you were not sure if you should take your shoes off, taking a shower made you wonder if you were getting dirtier and sleeping under the covers meant taking a risk. But it served its purpose and some of us slept a few hours. Even though I will probably never stay at a HoJo again, it was definitely a hilarious stay and a trip that I will never forget!!!!

One thing I have learned in my life is that sometimes cheap things are cheap. But friendship and people are what make things memorable. I wouldn't trade the memories for anything and the price was just right!

A little late but still just as great!

2011-01-13T10:39:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few pictures from our Christmas in Ohio and even these don't do our Christmas justice! We spent more time enjoying the holiday than actually taking pictures. It's okay though because the memories are abundant!

Garrett's favorite childhood toy - Egg Bird!

Can you guess why the picture above makes me laugh?

We spent 10 days in Ohio and it felt like the shortest trip ever! We love and miss our family more than I think they even realize!

Let today always be remembered as...

2011-01-08T12:44:00.000-08:00

The day Eden pooped in the potty! Yep, you read that right. Eden sat on our toilet and pooped!!! There were lots of praises being sung and even a chocolate chip for her accomplishment! I am not sure if this will be a regular thing yet but she is definitely getting interested in using the potty and I am all for using less diapers (or in my case, washing fewer).

This brings me to how our family saves money. We use cloth diapers instead of disposable 90% of the time. The kinds of cloth diapers that are my favorites so far are Kawaii, Flips, and fleece covers (we only use these in the summer). I would say my whole stash of cloth diapers cost me around $200. I also have cloth diaper wipes and surprisingly our pediatrician was the one to recommend using them! I make my own wipe solution (water, a couple drops of baby soap, and small finger tip of coconut oil) and just spray it on their bums. I joked around with Garrett that I love cloth wipes so much that I thought about making cloth toilet paper - lets just say he did not find it funny (I, of course, did).

Washing cloth diapers is pretty simple. I have a reusable diaper pail liner (my pail is just a garbage can with a lid) that I collect all the diapers in. Every other day I empty everything into the washer, including the pail liner. I do a 15 minute oxy clean soak and then do a heavy wash with two rinse and spin cycles. It really is effortless in my opinion. Once a month I try and strip my diapers of soap residue so they won't have absorbency problems (I do everything the same before but instead of washing with Tide, I put in two drops of original Dawn and do an extra two rinse and spins).

Cloth diapering is not something for everyone. And I will admit that I don't enjoy washing diapers (it's not gross to me, it is just a little bit of work) but the money saving, plus the bum saving they have brought to our family are both a big plus!

And don't worry if you come to visit, we will forever have regular toilet paper in our bathroom!

The Well-Behaved Child

2011-01-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

Eden is a strong-willed child by nature (we are honestly not sure where she got it) and if she wants to do something, by-golly she will do it! She is also a sweet little girl who is sensitive and girly as all get-out. My job as a mom is to make a disciple of her (and Coop) and lead her in obedience. I have really struggled with how to implement good discipline (root word of discipline is disciple) with her because she is strong-willed and I seem like the nice flaky mom to her but with the help of my wonderful husband (and TONS of prayer) and tips from other parents and a good book that I am currently reading ("The Well-Behaved Child by John Rosemond), I think I am getting off on a good foot.

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Thank you Garry for being a leader and reminding me that our ultimate goal isn't to have a child who is good at the grocery store but who has a heart for Christ.

Oprah's Favorite Things (if she were me)

2010-12-21T18:22:00.000-08:00

I have always thought it would be cool to be on Oprah's Favorite Things show because I would walk away some cool things that are, well, Oprah's favorite! Now, if Oprah were me, here are a few of what her audience members would be walking away with:

*Hitachi Bread Maker - This thing makes awesome bread! Since my wonderful mother-in-law gave me it, I have yet to buy a loaf of bread!

*Kawaii Cloth Diapers - Almost exactly like Bumgenius diapers but for half the price! They hold up really well and I rarely have leaking issues.

*Shout - This stuff is like the Jesus of laundry products. It works MIRACLES!!!!

*Diet Dr. Pepper - I have an obsession. I rarely spend money on it but I love it. Let's just say I asked Garrett to get me some for Christmas...

*Cetaphil Facewash - This stuff doesn't smell the greatest but it is the only thing to tame this post-pregnancy face of mine.

*Norwex Cleaning Cloths - I would not spend money on these myself but my lovely mother bought them for me and they work magic in the bathroom and the kitchen. And the best part of all, no chemicals or cleaners of any kind!

*Moby Wrap - All I will say is, I love wearing my babies.

*Cedarmont Kids - They might be from the 90s but their awesome music tames the wildest of toddlers:-)

*Nasal Aspirators - I have about 4 hospital ones. These things will make the snottiest child free of all boogers in 0.2 seconds!

*Shark Steam Mop - I love that I can vacuum and then steam mop my floors. This also means everything is sanitized without the use of any chemicals (I still clean with my floors with pine sol, just not as often).

*Public Library - Who doesn't love reading free books and movies?

*Free Wifi - I still can't believe that you can get on the internet everywhere!

*My Husband's Old T-shirts - These make the best cleaning cloths around!

*Gumdrop Pacifiers - This is s shout out for Eden. She is an addict and couldn't live without her paci, so therefor, it is a favorite of mine:-)

*Swagbucks - I have gotten several gift cards and purchased quite a few items off or amazon and Target.com for free!

*Harry Potter - Thank you Garrett for turning me into a Hogwarts fan!

*This Momentary Marriage by John Piper - This book is recommended to anyone and everyone!

*Free Shipping - Gotta love it!

*Settler's of Catan - Thanks to some wonderful friend's of ours this has been a game we love!

*Speed (the game, not the drug) - This is probably my favorite card game of all time.

*Elbow Grease - There is nothing I love more than getting down on my hands and knees and cleaning.

I am not sure how Oprah would go about giving some of these things away but she is Oprah and I am sure she can do it;-)

Our family's new traditions.

2010-12-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

We were at our ABF this morning and we were talking about what we got our kids for Christmas when Garrett proudly announced that we only spent $6 on our kids. Yep, you read it correctly, $6 + tax. And that was for both Eden and Coop. They are the owners of 6 new books!

At first, I was a little embarrassed that we hadn't spent more. But there is a reason why we didn't feel the need to buy our kids everything or more (and trust me, I wanted to badly) and there really is no need for me to be embarrassed because this is what we have chosen for our family. Each family is different and I am sure that each family has traditions and "things" they want to do for their family, so ours is no better or worse than any one else's...we are just...different. And maybe a little quirky, at least my family thinks so:-)

I have been really convicted about the way we have done Christmas. We have always done lots of gifts and had a lot of fun but we lost the meaning of what it really was about. And I want my children's first memories of Christmas to have meaning and not be filled with toys that will get forever lost. I want them to remember "that Christmas" that Coop was Joseph and Eden was Mary and our dog was baby Jesus and how they traveled from afar and our other children were shepherds. And how much fun it was to reenact the nativity story. I want them to remember the awesomeness that was Christ's birth!

This year was a fresh start for Christmas for the Hufford family. We have made it a goal to change our Christmas a little bit every year to hopefully focus more on Christ's birth and life than on the commercial aspect of it.

Here is our plan:

Throw Jesus an awesome birthday party!!! ****raising the roof****

Since we came up with this idea a little on the late side, we are not doing it this year. Next year we plan on having a birthday party on Christmas for Christ. This year, we are settling for a cake. The cake will be red velvet cake with white frosting. We decided this would be the cake because the red symbolizes the blood that was shed for us that now makes us white as snow (that is where the white frosting comes in). We haven't fully decided on all the party plans but we figure we have a year to pull off an awesome party for our King!

Here is where the present side of Christmas in our family came in. Before we had kids (like the three months we were married before we got pregnant - lol) we had made the decision not to do santa. Both of us had grown up with santa and reindeer and presents galore. But for us and our new family, we felt uneasy about telling our kids about a man who has essentially the same characteristics as Christ (kind, loving, giving, etc...) comes and gives gifts and then tell them he wasn't real and expect them to understand that Christ is real (I want to make it clear, that we do not think doing santa is a bad thing, it just isn't something for us). Anywho, here is an article by a pastor we love about our approach to santa: http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/mark_driscoll/2010/12/what_we_tell_our_kids_about_santa.html

Our plan is to do one or two small gifts for our kids. As they get older, the gifts will naturally be more expensive and we will be spending more than $6. But we want our gifts to encourage learning and the love of Jesus. We also want to just give. We want to give gifts to the needy and the poor. We want to love on others as Jesus has loved on us. We are not completely sure what this will look like each year. My guess is that it will change to fit the needs we see in our community near and far.

I randomly stumbled upon a blog that was talking about the blog below and I loved how they do Christmas and while I don't want to do Christmas exactly the same way, I love the fact that they have not given gifts in almost 10 years!!! And their Christmas sounds awesome in my opinion! http://www.christmaschange.com/wordpress/2010/12/03/ten-things-to-do-on-christmas-morning-when-all-the-gifts-are-for-him/

I love how each family is unique and do things differently because we were not all meant to be alike! Christmas is a wonderful time to focus on Christ and family, no matter how your family chooses to do it!

Christ's Birth

2010-12-14T18:19:00.001-08:00

I was listening to the song "The Night Before Christmas" by Brandon Heath and it got me thinking about Mary delivering baby Jesus.

Anyone who has been in labor knows it is not an easy task. It hurts and the pain is so intense that you can't breath and can't move. But you know it will end, so you eagerly endure it.

Can you imagine Mary? She is about to give birth to the Savior of the world. This is not an ordinary labor. It is probably the greatest birth story ever! And it is such a lowly birth story and yet, so great and perfect of a humble entrance into the world it was.

When I gave birth to both Eden and Coop, I was in a hospital surrounded by supportive people who had helped hundreds of women deliver babies. I was in capable hands. Mary only had Joseph, who I am pretty sure never delivered a child in his life. I don't even know if Mary gave birth all by herself while Joseph waited outside or if he was right there with her. I am sure she was terrified. This was her first child. This was God coming as Man and she was His mother. The pain you feel is terrifying when it's not exactly what you expected (and honestly, you never know what to expect). Plus she had the added pressure of birthing the Promised One.

I remember being worried that I was going to deliver Coop on a small hospital gurney and yet Mary gave birth on the floor of a barn.

After my children were born they were carried off to be cleaned and wrapped in a nice new blanket and get one of those little hats stuck on their cute little heads. After Jesus was born there was no one to carry him off and clean him and wrap him in a nice, warm blanket. He was wrapped in some random linens. It's humbling beyond words to think of how our Savior came into this world.

What a brave woman Mary was. What an awesome man Joseph must have been. What an amazing way to bring the King to save us all!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCitZPr2oD0

This is how we play grocery store.

2010-12-13T08:47:00.001-08:00

Eden loves to go shopping, so what better way to get her to "play" with her brother? Get him to go shopping too! Cooper didn't seem to mind sitting in the cart and despite the look on his face, he actually laughed and smiled:-)

***Note - I was right beside them the whole time. I don't want any of you to think I just put Coop in the cart and walk off;)

Eden and Coop are cute to boot!

2010-12-09T13:19:00.001-08:00

Line Drying

2010-12-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

Line drying is not a thing of the past! I started hang drying clothes shortly after I started cloth diapering (cloth diapers are suppose to air dry so the elastic doesn't go bad and because of the fibers they are made out of). When I was hanging up cloth diapers to dry I thought, I bet I could shave off a couple of dollars from our energy bill every month by not running my dryer as often. Garrett was kind enough to install clothes lines in our basement near the washer and dryer so I could have easy access to the line and even hang dry clothes during the winter and rain. I started doing just clothes but then it spread to everything. I haven't completely sworn off using my dryer because I don't like how stiff your clothes get when they hang dry. To solve this problem I throw the clothes in the dryer for about 5 to 15 minutes with a damp sock and vola! You have soft and wrinkle free clothes!!!

Not only does this save money on your energy bill but it helps extend the life of your clothes and who doesn't want their favorite pair of jeans to last???

I will have to be honest that when laundry gets backed up or we have sickness in our house the dryer gets fired up:-)

1500 oz

2010-11-28T18:24:00.000-08:00

I am a milk machine! So far I have pumped at least 1500 oz of milk since Coop was born!!! Wohoo!!! This is very exciting considering around this time last year I was crying because I didn't produce enough for Eden (that is Coop's fault). Anywho, it is true what they say about breastfeeding going better with your second than your first. I am not in love with breastfeeding but will keep trucking along!

More vomit than one mama can handle...

2010-11-21T18:34:00.000-08:00

So, the sickness in our house continues (sort of) and it all can be found in one little girl. I am pretty sure I have figured out what she has - a urinary tract infection. She threw up on Wednesday at the dinner table and has just been a little off since with no huge red flags of illness (no fever or vomiting). Eden has been a little sluggish and hasn't been eating well at all (and when you only weigh 21 lbs, not eating or drinking much fluid is not a good thing) and has had some other random discomforts that I am sure she will one day be glad that I did not share. But on the other hand she is playing like crazy and for the most part in a good mood!

But I do have share some things that I have learned about toddlers and vomit.

1) Leather furniture is a must and we will one day own some.

2) I love my Bissle Little Green more than I ever thought possible.

3) Fabric covered kitchen chairs might look pretty but they are not fun to clean.

4) Some things are not worth cleaning and it is okay to just throw them away.

5) Soaking a booster chair in the bath tub for half a day in detergent gets the vomit smell out of the straps.

6) Never assume your child is done throwing up - ever.

7) Laugh because life with children is crazy.

8) And even though your child is covered in puke, it is okay to go ahead and hold them close and comfort them even though you are getting their grossness all over you in the process.

Long overdue!

2010-11-19T07:37:00.000-08:00

We have had a house full of random sickness the past couple of weeks, so my motivation to write a post had dwindled. But alas, here I am!

I said I was going to post about ways our family saves money. So here I go full force:-)

One of the ways we saved money was by cutting our internet and cable package. We decided to do this when we got a bill from Mediacom that was twice as much as we expected (our one-year fee was up and since we were not "new" clients we got charged full price). This was just not in the budget.

At first we decided that we would just cut our cable down to basic cable since that HAD to be cheaper than even the introductory price. WRONG! It was actually going to cost us more than we had been paying before to get 20 channels. I then called and cancelled our cable with them all together but we were still paying a lot for internet. So I did some research and we decided to go with Qwest (I think that is what it was) and lower our MBPS. I called Mediacom back up and explained that we found cheaper internet and would no longer need their service. They asked me the price I would be paying through the other service and I told them $35/month. Some how magically they said they could lower our price to match that for as long as we are clients of theirs (this also meant no hassle for me to have some guy come and set up the internet).

I was always told to call places like these because they WANT you to stay with their service and WILL lower their prices. Lo and behold, that really is the truth. We did have to still lower our MBPS but we honestly did not notice a difference in how fast our internet works. And instead of paying $65/month for internet we are now paying $35/month. We don't have cable but that is a personal choice of ours that has actually been a good thing. There is a lot less mindless tv watching in the evenings and a lot more quality time spent together after Eden and Cooper are in bed. I do miss the Food Network but hey, you can find most of that online anyway...

I am a frugalista!

2010-11-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

Since marrying my husband it has been my life's goal to save us money. Well, maybe not my life's goal but it is something that I felt like I should do since we want to be responsible stewards of the riches God has provided. I have been asked by a couple of people what I do to save money and I thought that my blog would be a great way to start sharing those crazy ideas I have tried and since today is a sick day at our house, why put off 'til tomorrow what can be done today.

One thing I have learned since marrying my best friend is that we are rich! We truly are! I am talking about being rich in Jesus' love and God's grace AND also financially rich. Now, some of you might say that that is a pretty bold statement and pretty arrogant but it has to be said because it is true. We learned in church a few weeks ago that we (Americans) really, truly are some of the richest people in the world and we, personally, have never made millions. This has humbled us and as we look around our house and see all the "stuff" we have and the fact that we have multiple rooms in our home and clothes that fill our closet and a car we can drive and groceries to eat, we realize just how rich we are.

Once we realized just how rich we are, we decided that a goal for our family would be to try and save money so we can give it away and help those who really are financially poor and struggling. It hasn't always been easy but I am always up for trying new ways to stretch a dollar and I figure why not share them with others?

Frugal abundant living is our motto and I hope that this can be a reminder to myself of the blessings that have been bestowed upon us.

Sincerely,

Frugie - The frugalicious mama:-)

Trick or Treat!

2010-11-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

What's in a name (or nickname)?

2010-10-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

We were out with some people from our Marriage Matters ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship) and both Garrett and I used nicknames for our kids...and then we realized just how stupid they must sound to outsiders. So, here is a list of our nicknames for our kids!

Eden: Eden Grace (not really a nickname but her full name), Nugget, The Nug, Nugget Jo, Nugget Joseph, Nugget Josephine, Joseph, Eden Nugget, Sister and a few others that I can't remember right now.

Cooper: Coop, Coop-dawg, Coop-daloop, Nug Boy, Nugget Broseph, Broseph, Little Dude, Mr. Man, Brother and a couple others as well.

If you hear us say one of these names, we are just referring to one of our lovely children:-)

Why having cute kids is not always a good thing...

2010-10-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

Well, that is a lie. Having cute kids is always great, even when it costs you $6:-)

Here is the story:

I went to Target with both kids this afternoon. Both were being very good - Eden smiling and waving at anyone who would look her way and Cooper just being cute by sleeping. Well, I was finished with my shopping and had a total of three coupons which is a small amount for me and it was going to be an easy checking-out experience for all to be had. I even had my debit card ready to swipe and my PIN was at the tip of my fingers.

The cashier talked to me about my cute kids and waved at Eden and scanned my items and she acknowledged my coupons - all three of them. I had done my debit business and was loading up the cart and turned to hand her the coupons as she scanned the last item. She looked at me and asked me about bagging and then turned around (my hand was extended with the coupons) looking right at me and hit a button which finalized the transaction...all without my coupons.

Normally this would not have bothered me that much but my three coupons would have saved me $9! The cashier said she could give me cash for the value of my coupons and I was okay with this because money is money in my book. But here is where the tricky-sticky part came in (I am not totally sure it was legit for her to do what she was going to try in the first place). The line behind me was growing bigger and bigger and the thing she was doing only worked for one coupon. The other two she kept trying to scan and give me cash for but it wouldn't work. Cooper was starting to stir because it was time for us to go and him to eat. Eden was starting to melt because she had had enough of sitting in the cart. I was starting to sweat as the line was growing and all eyes were on me because I was that "crazy coupon lady" probably trying to get my 50 cents back.

After this had gone on for about 3 minutes she looks at me and says, "Well, you will just have to save these coupons for next time." The thing is there won't be a next time because these were due to expire and it is not something I buy on even a monthly basis. And it totaled $6 worth of savings. If I had been in my right state of calm-mom-of-two-little-ones mind I would have just went to customer service, explained the situation and returned and repurchased the items with the coupons in hand. But I looked her straight in the eye and smiled and said thanks and practically ran out of Target not looking at the poor souls who stood in line behind me.

I am proud to be a couponing mom but when it comes to making the line grow and people angry, it is just not me. I almost felt like apologizing for the two coupons that she was struggling with and buying them each a card (they make Hallmark cards for situations like this don't they?).

Anyway, my cute kids are too blame...and I am out $6...but at least my kids are cute, right?

Two Month Stats - Cooper Style:-)

2010-10-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

Cooper had his 2 month check-up this past week and.........(drum roll please).....

He is the biggest 2 month old in our house! He weighs 11 lbs 11 oz and is 23.5 inches tall!!!! He is already 25% bigger than Eden was at that age and the doctor was surprised that he was so big considering he has pretty bad reflux and is a spit-up machine. We love him despite his sour smell that he sports most of the time even with daily baths:-)

My Mini-Me

2010-09-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

Eden is going through a stage where she mimics whatever I am doing. I love it! She is a little homemaker - frying stuff in her pans, stirring her pots, reading her books, caring for Minnie Mouse, trying (not in the most gentle ways) to soothe Cooper, carrying a purse around, and even carrying around my bottle of body splash and hair spray (she gets those two things out and brings them to me - she must think I look disheveled and I smell bad - LOL). But it made me realize that she does take note of everything that I do and how I need to be a good role model for her.

Garrett and I have talked about our responsibilities as parents and how important they are. Our children are our greatest ministry and we want them to love Jesus and serve Him. If we tell them to love Jesus but our actions don't speak that, we are sending a mixed message. We pray daily that God would teach us how to parent them with the love of Christ and how we can show them Christ daily - even Cooper.

Garrett has the huge responsibility of teaching Cooper to be a man who follows Jesus and who is a warrior-poet (both soft and strong). He also has the responsibility of showing Eden how a woman should be treated by a man and the kind of man we want her to marry. I have the responsibility of showing Eden the type of young lady we want her to be and to show Cooper what type of woman we want him to marry and cherish. This is our biggest challenge as parents and as a husband and wife.

Our children see everything we do...and most children want to be just like their mom or dad. We need to make sure that we are the type of people that we want them to be like.

Carefree:-)

2010-09-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

So, I am officially a stay-at-home mom to my two beautiful gifts from God!!!!! This has relieved a lot of stress off of me. So much so, yesterday I wore my underwear inside out just for fun. Well, I didn't actually do it on purpose but at least when I noticed I took the time to thoughtfully decide that it really didn't matter and go on with my day:-)

That is what I get...

2010-09-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

For having two babies so close in age. What did I get? A van? A high-five? A hernia? We will be getting a van and I am sure I have gotten a high-five from someone for having babies. What I was not expecting to get was a hernia. I had my postpartum check-up on Tuesday and everything checked out good. I made a comment to my doctor that I hoped one day my stomach and specifically my belly button would look normal. He then dropped the H-Bomb - HERNIA! Wha-What?

I have a small hernia in my belly button. There is a fancy term for it but I am too lazy right now to swagbuck it. The doctor said that most likely it will go away on its own and that it really isn't that bad. But still, it wasn't what I wanted to hear. So I am working on strengthening these abs like it is going out of style. I am doing 75 sit-ups a day - I guess I am not as motivated as I was when I did all those squats. Maybe I will start doing some more. Who knows!

I am weighing less than I was with Eden at this time but still not quite to my postpartum weight. I think I would like to lose 3 more pounds or so. If I could lose them just in my tummy area that would be fantastic!

Life is going well here at the Hufford house! Cooper has been getting up at 2am, and then 6am to eat. I need to just start staying up after his last feeding but I crawl back into bed with just enough time to fall asleep before being woken up by a jibber-jabbering little one year old:-) He also is going to sleep around 7:30 but I wake him up at 8:30 for one last feeding before laying him down for the night. Tomorrow we are going to try and have him sleep up in his and Eden's bedroom. He sleep in his car seat so I am not sure if I will just put the car seat in the crib or not yet (he sleeps in his car seat because of reflux issues).

Anywho, Eden is waking up and then we are off to look for a van!!!! Woohoo!!! I am going to be a soccer mom! Now I just need to get the cute outfit to fit job;-)

Who unrolled the toilet paper???

2010-09-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

I think we have a cat loose in our house because the toilet paper seems to be getting unrolled quite a bit as of late. Either that or Garrett has a new fascination with unrolling the entire roll all over the bathroom floor because he thinks I like picking it up. There is no way that Eden Grace would do something like that...she is just too sweet and loving and kind:-)

Cooper, Eden, and I are loving spending time together during the day! Cooper is growing and gave us his first real smile two days ago!!! If that doesn't make your heart melt, nothing will. He is also only getting up twice at night and since I have cut out most dairy (sometimes I forget) his tummy aches have been less frequent. Eden is growing like a weed and is walking full time and running around the house like she is practicing for a race. She also says "Hi, dada!" daily when Garrett comes home from work and says the words: this, yes, yeah, more, all done, mama, and of course dada. I am her translator as it isn't the clearest English in the world. She also got her toe nails painted today because she was a good girl and it is the cutest thing in the world!!

Hmm...in other news...I got a bread machine!!!! Garrett's mom gave me her's and I have fallen in love. Since they visited I have made a total of loaves of different kinds of bread. My favorite so far is applesauce cinnamon bread:-) I really enjoy making fresh bread and I am becoming quite the cook - if I do say so myself! There is something about preparing each part of the meal from scratch that makes me appreciate food more and also it tastes way better.

Well, I need to go and hang out with my hubby because I kinda like the fella!

PS - We are selling our 2005 Altima because our family has outgrown it (carseats take up lots of space). So if you would like a really great car (fully loaded) or know of someone who is in the market for a car and doesn't want to deal with a dealership, let me know! We will miss our car but I am looking forward to having a van!

Life with two

2010-08-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a sample of my days right now:

6:30am/7am - Eden gets up -I give her a sippy of milk and get the coffee started.
7:30am - I get in the shower and Garrett plays with Eden.
7:45am - Cooper gets up and I feed him.
8am - I get breakfast for Eden and myself (if I can actually get any food in my own mouth).
8:30am - Eden gets a bath if she didn't get one the night before or we just get ready for the day.
9am - We play in their bedroom and read our Bible story of the day and a coup.
9:30am/10am - Nap time (both Cooper and Eden sleep at the same time in the morning - this makes mama very happy!!!).
*During nap time I finish getting myself ready for the day and look at my list of things I would like to accomplish during the week. I usually clean and do laundry during their morning nap and I also read my Bible and listen to sermons online.
11am/11:30am - Eden gets up and I get lunch ready.
12pm - We eat lunch and Cooper gets up and I feed him.
1pm - 3pm - We either play or we run an errand during this time and Cooper eats again.
2:30pm/3pm - Nap time!
4:30pm/5pm - Eden gets up from her nap and Cooper eats.
5pm - I start dinner and Eden plays in the kitchen with me. Daddy also comes home during this time!!!
6pm - Dinner:-) And then family time afterward (we go for walks or we Eden comes with one of us to do something alone with her).
7:30pm - Off to bed for Eden!
After Eden goes to bed Garrett and I spend time with each other (right now since Cooper is so little and doesn't have a set bed time yet, he joins in the fun by being held and eating).
10:30pm - We go to bed!

Cooper gets up two or three times a night depending on when he goes to sleep (and very soon he will go to bed at a set time). I also pump after every time I feed him (even in the middle of the night) to create a stash of breast milk and also because that is what we are giving Eden instead of Lactaid (she doesn't tolerate regular milk well yet and Lactaid is $4 for a half gallon - plus they recommend breast milk until the age of 2). Cooper is on a 3 hour eating schedule that he actually got himself on during the day, so he is pretty predictable. I do spend a lot of time changing diapers and cleaning up spit up and holding children but I wouldn't change it for the world!!

A new toy

2010-08-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

"Here, why don't you play with this - mama's breast pad."

My breast pads are Eden's new toys that she plays with while I am feeding Cooper. She usually just gives them to me eagerly and then asks for them back. This is her new game with her new toy:-)

Things I have found myself saying lately...

2010-08-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

"Eden, do not touch the Bible." and "You know you are not supposed to touch the Bible."

"You need to eat your macaroni before you get anymore carrots."

"Please don't poop in the bath tub again."

"Please don't grab your brother's face."

"Eden, if you walk to mommy you will get a treat!"

Here are some funny pictures that I thought I would share!

Girl kisses make me want to throw up...hey, wait...I just did.

Mom, I am not too big for the swing!

Cloth Diapering 2 Children - Day One - FAIL

2010-08-11T08:48:00.000-07:00

We have been cloth diapering Eden at home for quite a few months. Her bottom is so sensitive and she was getting rashes left and right and the smell of disposable diapers was getting to this mom, so we decided to give cloth diapers a try. We love it! It really is no harder than disposable diapering and only 2 or 3 extra loads of laundry a week. The poopy diapers leave a lot to be desired as far as ease of cleaning but this mama will do what she has to do for her baby's behind.

Well, since Cooper has arrived we have wanted to cloth diaper both of them. It is sooooo much cheaper than buying huggies every week (even with some awesome coupons). That meant that we had to dive right in and try it out...

It was a HUGE fail! Eden was fine being in cloth because she already had been. But Cooper was another story. First of all, it is hard to cloth diaper a newborn who weighs less than 8 lbs. Secondly, when I bought two of my cloth diapers I should have read the descriptions instead of buying on the cute factor (little giraffes were just too cute to pass up). Thirdly, the umbilical cord issue was something I failed to remember from having Eden.

Here is what went down...

After Cooper's little man parts had healed from his circumcision I put him in a cute little giraffe diaper. No more than two minutes after I put it on he was soaking wet and I was perplexed. I thought this was an AIO (all in one) diaper - I seriously felt ripped off. I then changed him into a cute little monster diaper while I went back to look at my order. Well, his legs are still a bit scrawny and he peed and pooped out the leg holes. I change the diaper again and made sure that it was extra tight around the legs. Next thing I know he has peed and pooped out it again!!! And the only way to keep the diapers where they needed to be was to put them over his healing belly button. Back into disposables he went.

I was sooo frustrated with all of this that I was literally about to cry. What I learned was that I bought two diapers that are fitteds (these need a diaper cover) - hence the peeing through it and that little bitty babies need either time to chunk up a little or you should just stick to disposables until the umbilical cord fall off. We are sticking with the latter.

I know this is probably not the most interesting post ever but I want to highly recommend trying cloth diapering to anyone and also to share my frustrations and what I learn a long the way. I hope this helps! And I won't leave you all without a picture to share:-)

Happy Birthday Cooper!!!

2010-08-04T13:26:00.001-07:00

So, I really wasn't expecting to have a baby last week but Cooper had different plans! I honestly thought for sure that he would be born some time this week since I made it to 39 weeks with Eden. But here is how his birth story goes...

Tuesday I was feeling kind of off all day and my stomach just wasn't feeling good. I had taken milk of magnesia that the doctor told me to take to help deal with a few ailments (sparing you all the details) I was having. I chalked it all up to that. The tummy issues did cause me to have more than my normal 6 to 8 Braxton Hicks an hour but that seemed very logical as well. When I got home from work Eden was a little off her game - a combination of being tired and having a light fever from teething, so it was a looong evening to say the least. I did manage to get some cleaning done and actually packed our hospital bag because I was bored. Garrett and I went to bed as normal.

Then at midnight I woke up to go to the bathroom and I was having some very mildly painful Braxton Hicks (they were contactions but how was I supposed to know) but I had had these before at night, so I just drank a ton of water and crawled back into bed. I woke up on and off to go to the bathroom and to try and get comfortable. Finally at 5am, I woke up and after a few of what I believed to be true contractions, I decided that it would be a good idea to go to the hospital. I woke Garrett up and told him that I thought I was in labor and to call my parents. He called them and I decided to do some laundry while Garrett hopped through the shower. Shortly after 5:30am my mom arrived to stay with Eden and we were off. In the car my contractions started to get pretty painful and I was having trouble talking through them but they were still very manageable. BUT the kicker is I had made up my mind that I WAS going to get an epidural this time because I didn't think I could stand the pain of them getting worse or more frequent for the next 5 hours.

We get to the hospital at 5:45 and the parking lot was empty. Garrett was like, "We can get an awesome parking spot!" I told him that I really didn't want to walk that far, so we pulled up to the front but the doors to the women's center wouldn't open because it wasn't 6am yet. I am now bending over having a contraction and saying you have to be kidding me. Garrett picks up the phone on the building and tells the lady in the most chipper voice, "We're having a baby!" and we get let in. We get let into a triage room where they make sure you are actually in labor. I don't think the nurse believed me because she asked if I had been timing the contractions and I said no but that they really hurt so I decided to come in and that they seemed to be getting more frequent fairly quickly. She hooks me up to monitors and after 5 minutes of being monitored she calls someone on the speaker phone and tells them to get a room ready for me because she was keeping me (apparently 4 contractions in 5 minutes means you are in fact in labor). She asks me if I would like any pain meds and by this time with the contractions coming so fast and the pain intensifying I tell her I would like an epidural (I still think I am experiencing normal labor and that I have 5 hours to go). She checks to see how dilated I am and says, "You're at 9.5 cm...I am sorry but you aren't going to get that epidural." This is when things went crazy!

She gets back on the speaker phone and is practically yelling, "We are having a baby...NOW!" The first thing that goes through my mind is that there will be no doctor and that I will be giving birth on this little bed. Thankfully they get a room for me very quickly (the exact room I delivered Eden in) and I am now thinking that they are going to want me to walk there but of course they just wheeled me to the room and I get on a much bigger bed designed to have a baby on. I swear that it took the doctor forever to get there (maybe 10 minutes) and the whole time I am thinking that I can't believe this is happening again. The doctor finally gets there (not my OB but another one in his practice who is all muscle and bald), he then breaks my water - this was the only thing keeping him from coming at this point - and starts chatting with me. Then about 10 minutes later Cooper arrives! I pushed 5 to 6 times and he was born at 6:33am!!! He was 7 lbs 2 oz and 20 inches long (exact same measurements as Eden - I make very average sized babies:-)).

God answered my prayers for a fast delivery and for the fact that I never got my epidural. I wanted a short delivery so there wouldn't be an option and I was given that (although at the time I was wondering what I was thinking). Garrett was so wonderful through the whole thing! I couldn't have asked for a better man to be by my side!!!

Praise the Lord for short labors and short births!!! But I am wondering if next time I should just check into the hospital as soon as I feel slightly different...

DMDD

2010-07-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

On Friday we had our last DMDD (daddy, mommy, daughter date) before brother comes. Garrett sure likes to date his girls! We had a good time browsing Old Navy and TJ Maxx even if we didn't buy a single item. Then we went to Biaggi's where Eden decided she had enough as soon as we sat down at our table. That meant a quick shovel of food in our mouths and off we went back home to get her to bed. It was a great time even if it wasn't one of Eden's finest moments. The three of us love spending time together and Garrett always seems to have the patience to deal with a cranky nugget!

Yesterday we made our way up to Janesville to see our two friends. We had a wonderful time relaxing and grilling and even getting a little wet. We will miss them so much as they start a new adventure in their lives out in California. We are trying to savor each moment we get to spend with them because soon the visits will be fewer but no less special! May God bless the two of them as they follow His leading!!!

I had a doctor's appointment on Friday and nothing special to report. Cooper is an active little boy (I keep having weird dreams that he comes out a she). No cervical checks yet, so I have no clue if the squats are doing anything. I guess we will have to wait and see next Friday!!!

Here are a few pictures from this weekend:

Pink frosting was a bad idea...

2010-07-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

On July 13th Eden turned one!!!! Can you believe that time has gone that fast? I can't! I am amazed at her daily as she learns new things and what all she can remember. This past year has truly been a blessing. God has given Garrett and I a new perspective on His love for us through parenthood. We love her dearly and we cherish each day we have with her.

I had planned on having an elaborate duck-themed party for Eden and was going to make her a rainbow cake. I wish I could say I pulled it off being 9 months pregnant and all and get some sort of metal for being the best mom in the world but it didn't happen. Garrett and I decided to have a little family party and I broke down and bought a cupcake cake. Eden didn't seem to mind that there were no streamers or confetti or party hats, so I think she will forgive me for this one. We had a great time celebrating with family and her new little cousin Christopher! She got a new kitchen that left me drooling over how cool it was and making me wish that I was little again and could play house. She also got lots of Sesame Street stuff - she loves her Elmo!

The party turned out perfect and I wasn't stressed about a single detail. Eden loved her some cake, although I do suggest going with a white or chocolate frosting because the pink dye made everything that came out the other end a nice hot pink color for days:-)

I am still in shock that she is now one and has been apart of our family for a year. She has grown and changed in ways I would have never guessed and I get sentimental just thinking about it so I am going to have to stop!

Here are a few pictures of her big day:

In case any of you were wondering her 12 month stats: 29" for height, 19lbs 14oz for weight, and 44.5cm for head circumfrence. She is now not so long and skinny but she still is a petite little gal!

Oh and I am still baking this little guy (on Monday I will be 38 weeks)...and yes, I do about 80 to 100 squats a day...and yes, I am going to have buns of steel. We are praying for a delivery much like Eden's and are anticipating his arrival any day now:-)

Happy Anniversary!!!

2010-07-04T12:53:00.001-07:00

Today marks a very important day - 2 wonderful, crazy years with a man who loves me beyond what I deserve!

These two years have been anything but what we thought they would...they have been better! But I would like to say thanks to my husband for these past 2 years. In two years, I have been pregnant more than I have not been (almost a total of 18 months out of 24) and my husband still finds me attractive. I have had morning sickness up the wazoo but he still rubs my back and cleans my face and even cleans the toilet after I am done. He also runs to the store in the middle of the evening because I NEED a turtle sundae two minutes ago. He makes the bed almost every morning and will even make it just minutes before we go to bed if it has been a crazy day because he knows how much I love getting into a made bed. He sends me encouraging messages throughout my day and even just calls to chat to see what I am up to and just to hear my voice. He looks forward to coming home after a long day at work just to be with his girls and to take care of them. He goes to all of my doctor's appointments that he can and even goes when I am just sick because he genuinely cares. He will pick up any medication and at any time for me because he just wants me to feel better. He always listens to my crazy rants and is quick to let me know when I just need to not say something. He also listens to my ideas for our family and crazy ways to cut costs and be kinder to the earth God has given us. He kisses me goodnight and always tells me he loves me and how beautiful he thinks I am. He gives me compliments even when I am most undeserving. He loves me more than I can describe and still looks at me with eyes that say I am the only one for him. He trusts me whole-heartedly.

I honestly could not be in love with a man more suited for me! Garrett displays Christ's undeserving love each day. I've been listening to a lot of Matt Chandler sermons and one thing he said is that unless you know Christ's love for you, you cannot truly love your spouse. I am so glad that my husband knows Christ and pursues Him before me because I know that he truly understands how to love me and that it is more than just this emotion that he feels.

Thank you Garrett for being my husband, my lover, my companion, my best friend! And thank you Jesus for consuming Garrett's heart with a desire to be more like You daily!

And the little girl in this picture loves you too!

Hopefully no more of this...

2010-06-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

These above pictures are of Eden when she had a nasty yeast infection rash and we were letting her bottom air out. But she normally doesn't like to cuddle like this unless she is sick. Last Tuesday we took her into have tubes put into her ears in hopes that we won't have more pictures like the above. Poor little thing would probably be at the doctor's this week since the Monday before she already had fluid building up in them again. She had some hearing loss due to the consistent fluid but are quite optimistic that she will be able to hear low tones well soon!

Right now I am trying to teach Eden the sign for baby but she isn't quite catching on. I think that she just thinks that my belly is a big pillow for her to lay on:-)

This pregnancy is flying by and little Cooper seems to be relaxing in my belly. I have a feeling he likes his home in there very much and that his only complaint is that his sister likes to use him as a nice little perch. I can't believe I am 33 weeks!!!! Wahoo!!!!!!

Anyway, can you believe that this little cutie in the picture below will be one in about a month and be a big sister shortly after???

God bless my OB!

2010-06-01T13:06:00.001-07:00

I had my 30 week appointment today and little Cooper is growing perfectly:-) He is starting to hurt my pubic bone though, which is a weird pain since I didn't really feel like this with Eden. My doctor said it was normal and wrote me a prescription for a support belt thingy. I am not sure if I will get it or not. We will see.

I have gained a total of one and a half Edens right now (I am referring to her last weight at the pediatrician's office, so I will keep you wondering how much that is since only Eden, Garrett, and I know this disclosed amount). Even though everyone tells me that they can't tell I'm pregnant from behind, I know it has gotten bigger. Let's just say, when I get pregnant my face gets pregnant, my double chin gets pregnant, my arms and thighs get pregnant, and maybe even my ears get a little pregnant. I am not really complaining though, it is a fact with both of my pregnancies, I gain weight everywhere. But my kind, sweet doctor said the sweetest thing a pregnant woman who has gained one and a half Edens...he called me skinny:-) When you have cankles, being called skinny is like butter on popcorn! I about hugged the man, that was how sweet of a thing it was! LOL

We also discussed the possibility of me being induced at 39 weeks. Eden was a very fast, unexpected labor, so I am just concerned with Garrett's new job that he won't make it to the hospital in time. We are going to think about this as an option but after briefly discussing this with Garrett, I highly doubt it is one we will choose. I like the thought of my body going into labor naturally, when it wants it too and when it is ready. So, if you read my blog and would like to be my back-up labor coach - I am taking applications. Please send a resume with a cover letter and your photograph plus $20 for processing. Job requirements are as follows:

Must be funny.

Must make me laugh.

Must laugh at my jokes.

In other news, we just got back from our trip to Ohio to see Garrett's family. It really was a wonderful trip and we are glad Eden was a good little passenger even though she pooped out her diaper an hour into the trip on the way home. Pictures will come once Garrett downloads them to the computer.

What Goes Up, Usually Comes Down

2010-05-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

That is Eden's new saying. And she is sporting her first bruised bump on her cute little head:-) This was bound to happen since she likes to stand up by herself (with the assistance of something to crawl up) and usually she slowly lowers herself to her bottom but not today! She decided to see just how hard her head was. Don't worry, she is fine and dandy.

Garrett and I are taking the plunge into cloth diapers. I found a great deal on some one-size pocket diapers and decided to try them out. So far I have no real complaints but I do dread the poopy ones. I guess I dread them in disposable as well. She now has a badonkadonka behind on Saturday and Sunday.

I am now 27 weeks along and for the most part feeling pretty good. I sometimes get some kidney pain and my back hurts but hey, there is a baby growing inside of me! The picture of me is from 3 weeks ago but it is the most recent one we have.

Funny Faces with Eden

2010-04-07T15:11:00.001-07:00

Drum roll please...

2010-03-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it? I am in a state of shock (good shock that is)! We will be having a beautiful little boy in August:-) He is already a whopping 1 lb and is measuring slightly ahead but not big enough to change my due date. His official name is Cooper E Hufford. I have always dreamed of having a son named Cooper (my maiden name) and E is the traditional male middle name on Garrett's side. They seem to go well together:) The only thing I wish was different about his name is that it means barrel maker. Couldn't it mean something a little cooler?? LOL Oh well. The name has special meaning to me because it was my name for so long and he is part of me...it just makes me smile:)

Oh, if you look at the profile picture you can see his little foot up by his head. He was all curled up! He had his hands by his face too:) He is breech right now but the doctor assured me that there is plenty of time for him to turn himself down.

This one is getting big too!

2010-03-21T13:45:00.001-07:00

I am feeling better each day...finally. I can actually stay up later than 9pm and getting up in the morning isn't as bad as it was just a few weeks ago. Thankfully, Eden hasn't seemed to notice that mommy would rather lay on the couch than get down on the floor and play:)

March 30th we will hopefully find out if this Hufford is a boy or a girl!!!! I am super excited!! This little one has been kicking for awhile now and this little bug likes to kick Eden when I am feeding her. Garrett felt the baby move twice already! It is always fun when daddy gets to feel the baby since they don't get to feel the movements day in and day out.

In other news, we have been fighting ear infections like they are our job. Eden has had one in both ears for about 3 weeks now. She was first put on Amoxicillin but that didn't clear it up at all and in fact she has a bad reaction to it and was covered from head to toe with a nasty rash. She was just put on a baby Z-pack that has hopefully cleared up any remaining infection. Garrett has a perforated ear drum from his allergies causing so much pressure on his ears. He is on antibiotics to hopefully clear up any infection that he has as well. Other than that we are still doing well! Eden is still toothless and still loves to eat just about anything and now crawls! Well, she crawls backwards so this little nugget of ours is on the right track to hopefully crawl in the right direction soon:)

Here are some pictures of Eden when she was a sicky and of the new baby growing in me (well, it's me with my growing belly - not to mention thighs and arms and face...my whole body is pregnant! LOL).

She is sure growing up!

2010-02-27T12:41:00.000-08:00

Here are some resent pictures of Eden. She hasn't started crawling but she is on the verge! She is growing up way too fast...

Buffets are a pregnant girls best friend:)

2010-01-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

That's right! I am pregnant again!!!!!! Eden is going to be a big sister in August:) We couldn't be happier with this news! I am 12 weeks a long (13 weeks on Monday) and feeling better now that I am on zofran daily. It only took one day of throwing up every half hour for nine hours before I called the doctor and begged for medicine (I don't think I begged but I might have since I was desperate for relief). The only other pregnancy symptom I have is exhaustion. I am in bed most nights by 9 and have generally fallen asleep on the couch sometime during the 8pm hour. I know this will soon pass, so I don't really mind it one bit.

Any who, being pregnant again has been so different this time around. I still can't believe that there is a baby growing inside me again. Crazy! Wonderful! Beautiful! I think about how a year from now the baby growing in me will be as big as Eden...the process of a baby being conceived and then growing for one little cell to a whole person makes me awe struck at God's awesomeness!

Well, my bed is calling me but I just had to share the wonderful news!!!!

Some Christmas Pictures!

2010-01-09T18:25:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile!

2010-01-05T17:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't updated in well over a month. Things have been crazy with the holidays and then with work for myself. Trust me, you will be getting a lot more updates once January is over!

So, it's a new year. It is going to be an exciting year to say the least! There is so much I want to share but not today - good things though, very good things!

Okay, enough with the chit-chat. On to what you came to read about our little nugget!

Eden in the past month has started playing on her belly. This may not seem big but trust me, she hated being on her tummy with a vengeance. I think this means crawling is just around the corner - I am super excited! Eden got an exercauser from her grandma and grandpa and she loves it! I am kind of tired of hearing "Red, Yellow, and Bluuuue..." But she loves it so I will learn to love it. Eden also loves being read to. Her favorite book is Love You Forever and I cry every time I read it and Garrett cries too:)

We are starting food with her this week, so you will soon see pics of those but here are some pictures from the last month!!!

A day in the life of...

2009-11-26T19:40:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from a typical day in my life.

5:30 - wake up and shower, make coffee and get ready

7:00 - wake Eden up (this makes me sad that she can't sleep longer)

7:15 - shower with dad

7:30 - nurse and Eden sits in swing while I get everything ready to leave

7:55 - get to babysitters

8:00 - I get to work

8:30 - pump

11:00 - go and nurse Eden

12:00 - go back to work and eat lunch

1:30 - pump

2:30 - pump

5:00 - leave work

5:10 - get home and see that there is nothing started for dinner (play with Eden)

6:00 - dinner is made and nurse Eden (play with Eden)

7:00 - nurse Eden and put her to bed

The rest of the night is spent cleaning and doing laundry. Also spending quality time with Garrett!

Sickness

2009-10-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

Since last Friday morning until yesterday, the Hufford household was sick. Garrett was sick for about 2 days, Eden was sick (she has a runny nose and a little cough) for about 4 days, and as for me, I didn't get sick at all! NOT! I was sick the whole entire time. It was not a lot of fun and was a really looong week because I had no energy and left a permanent indention on the couch. I felt bad for Eden because I had no energy to play with her:( Garrett was wonderful though and took good care of his girls!!!

In other news, Eden is now 3 months old!!!!! I can't believe how much she has grown...**tear**

She can now wear most 3 month clothes and her new born clothing has been all packed away. She likes to roll onto her side (still having trouble with that massive shoulder of hers). She loves, loves, loves to smile and laugh and likes observing everything. She also is a great little sleeper. She goes to bed without a fuss by 8pm now and is up around 7am during the week. She is so much fun! Well, I haven't posted any new photos since most of them are on my facebook but I will put a few on here for your viewing pleasure!

2009-10-13T12:37:00.001-07:00

http://thegypsymama.com/2009/10/04/the-sunday-night-blues/

Instead of writing my own post, this woman sums up exactly how I feel. And I thought I would leave you with a favorite poem of mine.

Song for the Fifth Child:

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.
Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

The Pumping Disaster of 2009

2009-10-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

Well, it wasn’t a disaster or anything like that but it felt like one. I guess it would have been a disaster if my pump actually exploded! LOL

So, Garrett took Eden Friday night to Ohio (long drive but the grandparents wanted to see the nugget). Garrett wanted me to have some alone time and some uninterrupted sleep – I am married to such a great man. Since he was taking Eden that meant I needed to pump during her feeding times. Well, at 2pm my second husband (I call my pump this because I feel like I am married to it since I pump 4 to 5 times on any given day) was working just fine. I decided to pump at 4pm so I could run some errands and my second husband started acting a little funny but it seemed fine. Then at 6pm I decided I should pump again (Eden doesn’t eat this often but I thought ever two or three hours would keep my supply up), well my second husband was still acting a little off but I thought it might be because I was using it so often and it needed a rest. So, I waited until 9pm to spend some time with my second husband and he was not working at all! He had no suction…no matter what I tried (I tried taking everything apart and putting it back together, I even tried beating it, and praying for it but no luck).

At 10pm that night, I had to go find a cheap date to replace him. It’s not an easy task finding another husband when leaving the other one on such bad terms and so quickly. Good thing I found a 24-hour chapel (Walmart) and was able to secure our marriage for $80 (my other pump was an Ameda pump that was almost $300). So, within an hour I divorced my first husband and married another. My replacement is okay but I will admit I married another the very next day…he is much smaller and is manual (not electric), so his mechanics won’t run out unless mine do (I guess pump motors run out when used a lot). Geesh…what an eventful night without my real husband or my beautiful daughter.

Anywho, that was pretty much my weekend. I need to download pictures to the computer so you can see how much Eden has grown! She is becoming such a delightful little girl and very smiley. The only time she really gets upset is around 7pm when she starts getting tired. I can’t blame her though, because she has a lot of growing to do in the next few years and that can wear any one out! Hopefully I will get some pictures up in the next few days!

I wanted a pug but I’ll settle for a badger.

2009-09-25T13:55:00.001-07:00

Okay, now I have a little story to tell and it’s not really Eden related but I will try and make it so it is. You see, every morning when Eden goes to make coffee she peers out into the backyard. Eden has always wanted a pug but dad says no to a pet just yet which makes both Eden and I sad. Anyway, one morning when Eden was putting away the dishes before making coffee she noticed a little grey animal chillin’ in the back yard. She came running to me and told me to come look. We thought our prayers for a pug had been answered until I realized it wasn’t a pug. Eden went to tell dad that there was a furry little creature in the backyard and to come look. Dad looked in the backyard and saw nothing and thought both Eden and I made the whole thing up. Eden and I saw the furball several times over a few days and Eden wanted to pet it but I said no. But since dad won’t let us get a pug just yet I said we could keep it.

Then this week, Garrett came home and told us he saw our little furry friend! We discussed what we thought it was. Eden and I thought it was a beaver without a tail or the buckteeth that got abandoned by his family because of his disabilities (he was unable to make a dam – how shameful). Garrett told us that it was probably a muskrat (none of us had ever seen one so we didn’t know what it was). But a day later after Garrett examined the little creature he determined it was a badger. We decided he needed a name and Eden thought Badge would be cool but dad thought Bob was better. Well, Eden and I out ruled dad on this one and his name is Badge:) He currently resides in our backyard and we saddle him up and Eden goes for rides! Not really but you get the picture. We don’t have a pug but we do have a badger. Pretty cool, huh?

Update on this: My dad said that badgers will ruin your lawn and that we need to have animal control come and take him to a proper place for a badger. So my hopes of having a pet were just crushed.

Eden is such a good little baby. Garrett and I are pro-sleep training (I know this isn’t for everyone but for the friends of our, who have done it, it has worked wonders). So we decided to give it a try. I was kind of thinking in my head, if she cries more than 5 minutes I won’t do this ever again. Even though everyone said that it would be a couple of hard days and then it would work wonders. So the first night I put Eden in her crib when she done with her swing time (we put her in her swing for 30 minutes after she eats to reduce her spitting up and help with her acid reflux). I thought for sure she would cry. So I turned on her sleepy lamb (plays the sound of a heartbeat) and she was wide awake. Five minutes go by and she wasn’t crying. I go and check on her to find that she is still awake but looking a little sleepy. Ten minutes later I go in and find a sleeping little nugget! She put herself to sleep with no crying!! She has done this ever since (this has been going on for almost 4 weeks now). I am amazed!!! She goes into her crib at 8:30pm. No cries, although sometimes when she has a tummy ache she needs her paci re-put in a few times (she still doesn’t cry, just squeaks for it).

I honestly didn’t think it would be this easy and I am afraid of what our future kids will be like. But she is a happier baby throughout the day because she goes to bed at the same time. She also now gets sleepy around 8 after she eats so we might be moving up her nighttime feeding so she can go to bed earlier. We truly have been blessed!

A change in attitude.

2009-09-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

I have learned in the past week that crying over circumstances is just bad and stinks a lot. Would I like to be a stay at home mom? Absolutely! 100%! You name the day and I am there! But right now that is just not possible. All last week I cried and was upset over going back to work and missing out on Eden during the day (don't get me wrong, I like my job but I like my little girl more). While I still do feel I am missing out on her during the day I decided to change my attitude and thoughts. I am working because I am doing what is best for my family right now at this exact moment. I am doing what is best for Eden and what is best for Garrett and I. Garrett would love for me to stay home also and he is trying to make that happen but until then, I can’t let myself get depressed over it. One thing that has helped is that I remind myself that I get to spend time with Eden while she is at her best – in the morning when she wakes up and wants to play and eat, at lunch time when she is hungry and alert, and in the evenings when she wants to be snuggled.

I still cry every once in awhile and still need reassurance that I am doing the right thing (which Garrett does every day). There have been plenty of women (and men) who think I should stay home regardless of our financial ability. Their judgment hurts a lot and a lot of them mean no harm but it still hurts. If there was a way, we would. I am not working so we can go on a trip or live a lavish lifestyle or buy a new car or so I can get new clothes, I am working to pay bills and provide health insurance. Garrett just does not make enough to cover our basic needs each month (if he had my job and I had his I would be able to stay at home). And what bothers me the most is when people think Garrett is not doing all he can to provide for us. He is and has always done that.

Probably the hardest part for me right now is balancing time. My evenings are spent with my family because I don’t get to during the day. I signed up for a women’s Bible study but am probably not going to do it since it will take time away from the already small amount of evening time during the week that I get to spend with Eden. I also feel left out in many of the “groups” I am in. Everyone we know at our church stays at home with their kids, there really isn’t any one for me to really share my struggles with. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of wonderful people to talk to about these things but no one who understands and can relate. Then here at work, these women want to work – this works for them and staying at home isn't for everyone but they don’t understand where I am coming from. I am once again the odd man out. Oh well.

Okay, okay, I am done with my little rant…I just needed to get it off my chest.

On to something that I know you will want to actually read – how Eden is doing!

She had her 2 month check up and shots. She weighs 10lbs 12oz and is 22 inches tall - it made me laugh that the doctor said that! She is plumping up:) The doctor said she is doing really well and is surprised that she is already almost sleeping through the night (she gets up at about 5am after going to be at 8:30pm) since she is exclusively breastfed. Her shots went well but I felt so bad because she was sucking on her paci and they stuck the needle in her first leg and her eyes got big and out came her paci and a sad face came up and she took a big breath in…then came the saddest scream/cry I have ever heard. She did great though! She was happy as soon as they were over and I got her fed.

Eden is such a joy:) We like getting her from her crib in the morning and playing with her in bed. She smiles all the time for us and is so alert. She also loves to go for walks and she takes showers all by herself! Just kidding but we do take her in the shower with us and she loves it!

Anywho, thanks for reading this and letting me vent a bit. We are praying that Garrett will find a better job to support our family and that God would ease the ache of my heart. So for now I am just taking each day as it comes and being thankful for what God has provided us as a means to provide for our family.

Back to work I go(:

2009-09-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

My maternity leave is coming to an end way too fast. I go back to work on Tuesday and have already shed many tears over the fact that I have to leave Eden in the hands of someone else. There is nothing I can do but be thankful for the fact that I know the woman and I will be literally a minute or two away from her and get to go nurse her and spend time with her over my lunch hour. I am not sure how this week will go and am hoping to have a positive outlook each day as I drop her off.

Eden will be 8 weeks tomorrow and I cannot believe how incredibly fast time has gone. She is almost 2 months old, which is practically half a year, which is almost one year old, which is pretty much 5, which might as well be 10, and that is practically 18 and she is off to college... I am trying to make sure I cherish each moment that I am with her and remember every little detail of her face because it will change. I already look back at pictures and am amazed at how much she has already changed. She is getting so big and strong!

Well, I am starting to tear up thinking about Tuesday morning and missing parts of her day that I have gotten to share for the past 8 weeks. So here are some pictures!

1. Naked at great-great-grandma's because I pooped out my outfit.

2. Naked again.

3. I like being naked or mom wanted to make sure I didn't poop out another cute outfit.

4. Great-great-grandma holding me in the dress she bought me before I pooped it out.

5. At the hotel sitting up.

6. Gerber baby picture:)

7. Me with my bitty baby - taking a nap.

8. Being cute for dad.

9. It was cold so I got to wear a cute outfit!

10. Mom trying to capture my smile - she isn't that good at picture taking and I am too quick.

11. Chillaxing...

Mastitis, moving, and bedtime

2009-08-23T19:44:00.001-07:00

One thing I have learned about breast feeding is that it when your baby gets up less at night you need to ease your into feeding more less often. I developed a clogged milk duct that turned into mastitis. Let me tell you, I have not been that sick for a very long time! I woke up Wednesday morning feeling okay but a little bit more tired than usual. By the afternoon I felt like I needed a nap which was unusual. My left armpit area started to hurt but I thought it was a pulled muscle from packing. Then I went with Eden to get a pizza from Papa Murphy’s at 4 and was feeling a bit achy. By the time I got home I felt awful. I had a fever over 101, my body hurt so bad from the fever, and my left breast was killing me. I called my doctor and he said, “Congratulations! You must be breastfeeding and your baby isn’t eating as often.” Then he gave me some advice and drove over a prescription to Walgreen’s for me. I still didn’t feel great on Thursday but was feeling a lot better. Garrett was great and got my prescription and took care of Eden for me. I am again reminded of how blessed I am!

We are trying to get Eden on a bedtime schedule and tonight we had a successful night. I am sure that tomorrow will be awful considering that I just wrote that tonight went so well. She put herself to sleep within 10 minutes (this is the first night we have tried this) and didn’t even cry for a second. She is such a good baby and only gets a little fussy at night due to some gas that needs to come out.

I guess this leaves me with the topic of moving… Garrett and I purchased our first home! We really feel God’s hand in all this. We actually put in our offer the day I went into labor (three hours to be exact before Eden was born). It’s in an older neighborhood that is made up of older folks and a few young couples. The street as a whole is very nice but our little section has some bad yard keep up because of the older folks (their yards just have quite a few weeds growing). One of our neighbor’s houses is in need of some serious up-keep but he is a single dad who works as an orderly at the hospital so I can’t blame him. Garrett and I feel that this will be a great opportunity for us to share our faith through our home and through helping others in the neighborhood – not only to our neighbors but also to others. We have had a strong calling to open up our home and use it for Christ. I am very excited to see what God will do through it all. I will have to share pictures but our cord is packed up right now and I am too lazy to get it.

I feel truly blessed to have a home, an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, and a God who loves me. I am sure there will be trying times that come in these new adventures but with Christ by my side it will all work out.

You know you're a mom when...

2009-08-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

You squeeze your baby’s diaper to see if they are wet.

You take a peek in the diaper to see if you can see if it is dirty.

You can feed and change your baby in the middle of the night without waking up.

You swear you hear a baby crying.

You talk to your baby in public – when they are asleep.

You wipe the spit-up off you and wear the same clothes the rest of the day.

You find your baby’s bodily noises hilarious.

You laugh at your baby when they make faces and can’t stop laughing.

You find yourself taking baby talk to other people when the baby is not around.

These are just a few of the things that have come to mind when I think of how I know I am a mom.

Eden is doing really well. She is usually asleep between 7 and 8 (sometimes 9 depending on how much she napped during the day). Then she sleeps for 5 to 6 hours, wakes up to eat, and then wakes up every 3 to 4 hours to eat. It has been much nicer to get more consecutive hours of sleeping. She is also a paci girl. She liked to suck on my finger to calm herself or when she was bored but I am not always around – so as of yesterday she took her paci! She doesn’t sleep with it, just sucks on it during little spurts throughout the day. Eden has also learned how to grasp and grasp hard. I have to be careful of anything I wear but that’s okay with me.

Now, here is a story I have for you:

Eden and I ran to Walmart to get some bathroom cleaner and a few other things. Eden had been really good but was starting to get fussy so I knew it was time to wrap things up fast, which I did. Well, I got behind this lady who took forever! Eden was screaming and the woman kept giving me dirty looks – what am I supposed to do with a screaming baby who needs to go home to sleep when you are taking forever with the cashier (she was arguing the total of her purchases and then went through everything item by item). I had unloaded my cart and was trying to calm Eden or I would have went to a different line. Here is the kicker – the old woman behind me came up and started trying to calm Eden herself! She started touching her feet and she even got real close. She kept saying how pretty Eden was and how she would never hurt a baby. I tried moving my cart forward a little so she might get the hint that it is not okay to touch my baby unless you ask and you are a stranger! I was in between Eden and this woman who kept trying to touch Eden and kept trying to have this long conversation with me (she asked about me breast feeding and stuff like that). I know she was probably lonely and I would have been more than happy to talk with her but please do not touch my child. I am not really protective about people holding and touching her at all but this was a complete stranger at Walmart. Plus, stores are dirty places and I always wash my hands before I get close to her face after shopping – I am not a germ freak or anything but who knows who touched the cart I was pushing. I just didn’t feel comfortable but I had no idea what to say to get her to stop touching her. Eden of course calmed down as soon as I put her in the car and she was asleep by the time we got home. I just want to know how to politely tell people to back off.

Well, I am off to play with my cooing baby girl:)

2009-08-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

Eden is almost 4 weeks old! Here are just a few pictures from the past few weeks (we have over 600 since she has been born). She is growing so much and is such a joy! We are so thankful for this little blessing:) It is amazing how God created this little person and one day she will be all grown up!

Eden's latest likes are playing - she can grab things now and although she doesn't quite have good coordination she is getting there. She like to lick with her long tongue and we think it's funny when she licks her lips when she is hungry:) She does tummy time every day and some days she likes it and other days she screams the whole time. She has been a really good eater but I think I ate something that didn't agree with her because she seems to have a tummy ache. Other than that she is the most loved little girl and everyone adores her!

I just recently packed away my maternity clothes! My hips are finally back to normal size. I still have about 5 pounds left to lose but am not too worried about them. I am feeling great! The only complaint I have which is more funny than a complaint is that I spring leaks daily and have to change my shirt all the time. I feel like I have enough milk for 8 kids! It's also funny when I spray Eden in the face - I do feel bad but I can't help but laugh my head off:)

Well, I hope you enjoy the pictures and I apologize that I can't figure out how this blog thing works...

2 week appointment

2009-07-28T14:48:00.001-07:00

Eden just had her 2 week appointment today and she was a little trooper. She weighed in at 7 lbs 7 oz and grew almost 2 inches! She is our little bean pole! I always thought I would have a short little chubby baby but she is long and lean.

These past 2 weeks have been a good adjustment. I am learning to live on less sleep (well, less consecutive hours, not necessarily less sleep). We had her on a good three hour schedule until yesterday when she hit a growth spurt and was up every hour for like 5 hours eating like she had never been fed. This kind of stressed me out a bit because I have been fighting a cold and haven’t been sleeping the greatest because of it. But Garrett was a wonderful dad and husband and took care of her for the first half of the night while I was completely passed out. She is still eating more often today but I am guessing that the growth spurt is just about over. The doctor said she will most likely have one every two weeks – hopefully I won’t be sick for the next one!

I am healing very nicely. I only have a few aches and pains left and am trying to regain some abdominal strength because I can’t quite yet sneeze and cough well. I tried to work out yesterday but quickly realized I was out of shape. I did manage to do 25 sit ups and spend 20 minutes on my Gazelle. I was pooped! I am taking today off but will try and do 25 sit ups. My stomach is pretty much back to normal but the skin is really loose which causes me to have a muffin top when I wear my pre-pregnancy clothes. The thing that stinks is that I am too small for my maternity clothes but still not quite small enough for my normal clothes. One thing that has been nice is that about 20 of the pounds I gained was actually water weight (I was 25 lbs lighter the day I left the hospital).

Garrett and I are trying to transition Eden to her crib (just during the day) instead of having her sleep in her swing or the bouncer or with us holding her. She will still sleep in our room until she only gets up once during the night. It has been nice having her in our room since I breast feed and am the one who gets up with her during the night. I do pump but not a ton just yet because I am always with her so there is no need (last night it was helpful though for Garrett).

That is about it for now! I will update soon about our first trip to Waverly to see friends and then our next adventure is going to Omaha to a wedding…hopefully all will go well!

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

As I promised, here is Eden’s birth story. I will warn you that there will be quite a few details but nothing gruesome.

Let me start from the very beginning…Monday morning I woke up and was having contractions that were five minutes apart but felt like mild cramping. I decided I would go to work and if they got worse I would go to the hospital but figured that they were probably just Braxton Hicks. Once I got to work the contractions stopped for like an hour, which kind of disappointed me. I decided to take a half-day since I had a chiropractor appointment and a prenatal appointment.

Garrett came and picked me up from work and we went looking at houses. I was still having contractions but they were very mild and were between 5 to 45 minutes apart. We decided to cancel my chiropractor appointment because we were still looking at houses.

Now comes the next 2 ½ hours – I still remember every detail. We went to my 39 week appointment as usual and this was my first cervical check since I was a first time mom with no risk. I was hoping to hear that I was dilated at least a cm and effaced or something. The doctor checks me and has this funny look on his face and then says, “Well, I think you need to head over to labor and delivery because you are already five cm dilated and you have a bulging bag of water.” This was a little before 5pm and we called our parents and told them what was going on and that it would probably be a little while.

By the time we got out of the office and got over to the hospital (maybe 20 minutes later) we were put in a triage room – they check to make sure you are actually are in labor. My doctor followed us over since we were the last appointment for the day and he comes into the triage room and tells the nurse that I need to be in a labor and delivery room. He actually walked us to our room and wanted to check me again (5:30ish pm). He checked me one more time and said, “You are 7 cm dilated and I think I want to break your water.” He breaks my water and I ask if Garrett can run home and get our bags and the camera. The doctor says sure and then leaves to go somewhere.

Garrett was gone and my nurse had left to get something that wasn’t in my room and I had the worst contraction ever that left me breathing through it by myself clutching to the bed. The nurse comes in and I ask for an epidural. She starts scrambling around because she knew Eden was coming fast. The next thing I know she is trying to start an IV and ask a few questions for the epidural. I had like maybe 6 contractions and was feeling pressure in my behind (6:15pm). The nurse checks me and tells me that I am fully dilated and that the baby’s head was right there. She tells me that there is no time for an epidural and I ask her to get my purse because I needed to let Garrett know that he needed to get here ASAP (later he told me he was speeding and running around). Garrett was right outside the room when I called and the nurse kept paging my doctor – I think she thought he wasn’t going to make it.

At 6:30, the doctor came running in (my parents said he was running through the hall to get to my room) and I was starting to push. Pushing was the hardest thing I ever had to do. The contractions hurt and made me want to push and it did help but it was by no means a great feeling. People were running in and out of my room because she was coming so fast and nothing was set up. I pushed for 30 minutes and joked around between contractions and smiled for pictures and then Eden Grace Hufford was born at 7:02! One thing that is amazing is that as soon as the doctor handed me Eden I felt no more pain and can only remember that it hurt but not how bad. After she was born my nurse asked me all the questions that are usually asked before the baby comes and I got to hold her and kiss her and feed her.

I am so thankful to have a wonderful husband who supported and encouraged me the whole way! He was amazing and I am tearing up just thinking about what a wonderful man God blessed me with. I can’t stop thanking God for the support He provided through Garrett. I am also amazed at my little girl who is the most beautiful little baby I have ever seen (I may be a little biased). I can’t believe she is here and couldn’t have asked for a better birthing experience (everything from my wonderful doctor to the great nurses and even the fact that I had no epidural)!

I can’t believe how fast she came – most first babies take over 12 hours but my labor was only about 2 hours. We joke around that it was because of all the squats I did! LOL Anyway, the only thing that scares me about having a fast delivery is that your second child is supposed to come in half the time…

I am now at home with my wonderful daughter and am healing nicely. She is a wonderful eater and pooper and sleeper. She is absolutely precious! Below are some pictures!

She's Here!!!!!!

2009-07-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

I will write her birth story later but she is perfect!

7lbs 2oz

20 inches long

Born 7/13/2009 at 7:02pm

Garrett and I can't stop smiling!!!!!

A full moon and still nothing

2009-07-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a full moon and there is speculation that the gravity pull of the moon can cause a woman’s water to break (they even have extra staff on the night of full moons because of this). I, of course, had nothing happen. Oh well. I am okay with it, still ready to be a little less uncomfortable though.

Garrett and I did get to go to our birthing class. As usual, we were late because Garrett needed to get coffee. This is to be expected in our house hold though. I am the one who likes to get somewhere before we have to be there and being on time is almost like being late to me. For Garrett, getting somewhere five to ten minutes late is on time for him. Drives me nuts sometimes but I love him anyway! Next week we are going to try and be early for our class…

The class went pretty well. I had already read about most of it and have asked my doctor plenty of questions that I might have. I was the only person in the room who had less than 2 weeks until my due date. Everyone else was either due late August or September/early October. I guess I should have signed up for our classes earlier! I did learn a lot about the actual hospital that I will be delivering at. Once the baby is born house keeping will come and clean up my room and then pull down a queen sized bed for the rest of my stay. That means Garrett can sleep right next to me! He was planning on staying anyway but I am sure he wasn’t looking forward to sleeping on the couch or a cot. I will also have one nurse during my labor who will assist me in anyway that she can and I will be her only patient. There was a lot of other things that I loved about St. Luke’s but it has escaped my mind.

Other news, oregano is like eating furry little leaves. HATED IT! I decided that I will just add the dried stuff to some foods I eat. The basil wasn’t as bad but gave me indigestion. Obviously neither of these things caused me to go into labor so I am not sure how religiously I will continue with those. I am still a squatting machine and yesterday Garrett grabbed me by the arm and told me to stop because I was going to hurt myself (of course we both laughed as I continued to squat while he was telling me not to). The funny part is, squatting actually feels really good. I will continue doing them but will probably decrease the amount since my legs are still really sore. While at work I bounce on my exercise ball like a crazy woman. It’s kind of fun! It is also helping with my back pain quite a bit.

I know that my body will go into labor when it’s ready or by pitocin (I am praying this does not happen). It’s just fun to try out these so-called labor inducers. My next attempt will be to push mow the lawn…first step, find a lawn to mow!

150 squats and 3 mile walks

2009-07-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

The above title is so true but I would like to add that now I can’t move and am still pregnant! LOL My legs have never done that many squats in their life! I do them in sets of 10 and made myself do them while at home between trips to the bathroom, commercials on tv, and in the shower (Garrett thought it was funny that I would bust out the squats at random times). Boy am I regretting my eagerness to do this. Plus, my wonderful husband and I have been going on long walks each day. None of this really bothered my glutes or my thighs until yesterday. I am guessing that they hurt more than usual because I was a squatting machine on Saturday! Today I am doing alright and can at least get out of the car without it taking me five minutes to turn myself and find things to hold onto and boost myself out the passenger seat. I can also lift my leg to flush the toilet (public toilets). I think I will be starting up my squats again today. If this does not produce a baby soon, at least I will have a nice behind!

I am 38 weeks as of today. I had my usual doctor’s appointment today with nothing much new. I am now measuring two weeks ahead and while this doesn’t mean much, it gives me hope that she is about to be ready to come out. My blood pressure was border line high but the nurse said that it was probably a combination of walking so far to the room and her taking my pressure right away and the fact that I am retaining water. Eden is doing great though! Still moving (very painful to me) and still head down and happy. Hopefully she will decide that being upside down means she needs to come, for mom’s sake.

Garrett and I completely finished up Eden’s room on Saturday. Garrett managed to drill 10 holes in the wall for one shelf…he got so mad (which is not like him) but I thought it was so cute! Eventually he got the hang of it (no pun intended) and got the shelves up. He also wanted to make sure that there was no way they would potentially fall off the wall and 1)startle Eden or 2)hurt Eden (he is going to be such a good daddy), so he 3-Med those suckers up along with screwing them to the wall. I will be taking pictures of her room probably today but I need Garrett to get the pictures off the camera to the computer – I am not that tech savvy.

In other news…Garrett and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary yesterday! I can’t believe that it has already been a year – it seems like we have been together forever as husband and wife (a very good thing!) but I still can’t believe that a year ago we were promising forever to each other! What a beautiful day! What a beautiful thing! We spent the day going to church and just hanging out with each other. We went to a really nice dinner at the Iowa Power Company and just enjoyed being married! The waiter even had Happy Anniversary written on Garrett’s plate (the cook got confused and was supposed to write it on mine but it didn’t work out that way)! What a wonderful day to just be…I am still smiling!

Well, hopefully the next time I post I can tell you something more exciting like – all my efforts to help labor along worked! Today I am going to head to Hy-Vee after work and pick up some fresh oregano and basil. I read that these herbs might have properties in them to help labor along but they weren’t sure in what quantities, so I am going to eat them as my after work snack. Not sure how well that will go but right now I am willing to try anything. If standing on my head could cause me to go into labor, I would do it for ten hours straight. When I do something I do it big (can’t you tell from the 150 squats???) so I will probably eat the whole package of each!

37 weeks and still pregnant

2009-07-01T11:51:00.001-07:00

I had my 37 week appointment on Monday and the doctor said everything looked great! I am measuring one week ahead and am now considered full term. So the waiting begins…

Since I will probably have 4 more weeks to go I decided to get started with some little projects to finish up Eden’s room. I went to Michael’s and bought some craft supplies and spent part of my night painting letters to be hung on the wall. I am finally finished putting together her room (sans decorations and rocking chair) and feel really good about her coming any day now. I also packed her little hospital bag. Garrett thought I went a little overboard with the amount of clothing I am taking for her but who knows what she will look best in…she is a girl you know and girls have the right to change their minds:)

Last night we installed our car seat in the car and now I am driving around with an empty car seat but it still makes me smile because soon it will have a baby in it! Garrett is so determined to put everything together perfectly that it took us almost an hour to install the seat because it had to be “just so” for Garrett (even though it was installed properly). The funniest part was when we were carrying the car seat and base down to our garage and Garrett accidently grabbed the release button (this removes the seat from the base) and the car seat went tumbling down the stairs. We both just stood there and laughed and decided that it was a good thing we were installing the seat now and not later. He is really going to be a great dad. With all the hard work he has put in to setting everything up it truly makes me realize how blessed I am to have married such an amazing man! He has also been taking such good care of me…putting my shoes on my swollen feet, feeding me yummy food, buying me ice cream, rubbing my back and legs, painting my toe nails, etc…

While Garrett was installing the car seat I decided that I was going to start my exercising back up so I did jumping jacks in our garage. Garrett told me how ridiculous I looked jumping up and down (I would hardly call it jumping). But once he finished up the car seat we went for a nice long walk. I decided I was going to jog for a little bit and realized just how out of shape I was with an extra 30 pounds on my body. Garrett did take the pleasure of recording me running and grabbing my groin because my inner thighs were killing me. I watched the video and let me tell you, it needs to go on YouTube and I am sure some people will get a kick out of it! I sure hope me making a fool out of myself will bring me a baby soon:)

But for now no labor. No signs of labor starting any time soon. Just me holding my belly up and having everyone tell me I look like I am about to pop. I have started looking up ways to naturally induce labor and right now I am going with the whole gravity thing and am taking evening primrose oil pills that will help soften my cervix. Because I guess the softer your cervix and the more effaced you are, the better chance you will go into labor soon than how dilated you are. So for now no baby. Just two parents excitedly awaiting the arrival of their baby girl.

A picture of me at 35 weeks!

2009-06-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

She is getting big!

No more than 5 weeks:)

2009-06-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

I have 5 weeks max until I am no longer pregnant! Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed every moment that I have had having this little girl grow inside of me but it is time for her to leave her home (aka my belly). Plus we have almost everything we need for her in her room – although we need to actually put everything together and set everything up. I want to put her in the cute little outfits and the girlie ruffle socks and put the little bows on her head (or glue them if she is bald – that’s what my mom did). I want to hold her in my arms and to watch Garrett play with her. I am ready to be done and just enjoy her as a baby outside my womb.

Since I am in the home stretch, I am really trying not to buy any new maternity clothes but with the way my belly keeps growing daily, I am not sure that will happen. Who knows if I will wear them for a day or for the whole 5 weeks. My coworkers might just have to put up with me wearing a nightgown to work…hopefully it doesn’t get to that point! But it would kind of be funny at the same time…LOL!

I had two baby showers this past week. They were both fun and I had a great time! I still hate being the center of attention, so I had to get over my anxiety of that but it all turned out great! Eden got some amazing gifts, all of which Garrett and I cannot thank everyone enough for. The love people have shown for our unborn daughter is truly humbling and the love they have shown for the two of us. Eden is going to be so lucky to be surrounded by a million people who will love her to pieces!! There was one set of gifts that just makes me laugh…they were for me because Mabel (a sweet older woman) thought I needed something of my own. She embroidered one bath wash cloth with birds, four cloth napkins with flowers and bees, a dish towel with a huge flower on it, two crocheted kitchen cloths, and the kicker – a tea towel with a giant elephant embroidered on it! It was all I could do to keep from laughing and it made me scared to see what her gift to Eden was. Eden got a cute little outfit and two blanket – none of which were embroidered. Mabel is such a sweet lady but please, no more embroidered stuff!

I sure hope that I can update soon saying that the doctor doesn’t think it will be long!!! Rest assured that there will be several blogs about the happenings of the next 5 weeks and my apologies up front, if I seem less than enthused about being pregnant – it is a joy! It’s just one that needs to come to an end.

I actually feel pregnant.

2009-06-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

For the longest time I have felt pretty good with some complaints about being pregnant but today officially marks truly feeling pregnant. Feeling pregnant isn’t a bad thing, it’s just different.

Eden has finally dropped – which means that now my belly rests nicely on my thighs unless I am wearing a pair of maternity pants. I also feel the need to hold my belly up because it weighs so much. And I now prop my belly up at night when I am sleeping. Garrett keeps joking that he feels like something has come between us since I have so many pillows in bed. One of the best things about this is that I can finally breathe better! I am sure this will change as she grows but for now I am enjoying it. The other added thing to having her drop is that I now do the pregnancy waddle. I am sure it is a sight from behind and that it marks me as a pregnant woman.

I just found out this morning is that I can’t get out of bed without some sort of help. I tried to roll over to get up but I couldn’t get myself rolled with enough momentum to actually sit up. Then I tried using our head board as leverage to pull myself but I needed something pulling my arm forward to help. I am not sure how I actually got out of bed or how Garrett was able to sleep through my tossing and turning but after 2 minutes of struggling I somehow got out of bed.

This was a morning of firsts for me. Today just felt like a sock day. So I sat on the floor and put my nice fluffy socks on and grabbed a pair of shoes. I made my way to the couch and got myself all situated for getting them on and tied. Well, I realized that number one – I haven’t worn shoes that tie in almost a month and number two – that I couldn’t actually reach my feet. Finally after a 5 minute struggle I got my shoes on and tied (I double knotted them to ensure that they will not come untied until I am ready to take these shoes off completely). Geesh! What a morning!

As far as Eden goes, she is doing wonderful! She moves like crazy and we can actually feel her arms and feet by just pressing on my belly. She also loves it when Garrett gives my stomach raspberries because she squirms like crazy! We believe that she is ticklish on the bottoms of her feet because when we can actually feel them I tickle them and it makes her go nuts! We have our 35 week appointment next Friday and two baby showers, which will be very nice!

A flat tire and a trip to labor and delivery

2009-05-31T17:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday started out like any other day – I cleaned the apartment and then Garrett and I ran out to get groceries. I was feeling pretty good until we were getting ready to go up to Waverly to say goodbye to Katie and see Brent (they were making us dinner). I started to get Braxton Hicks like crazy at around 4pm and by the time we got up to Waverly I had between 15 and 20 of them. My lower abdomen was achy and lower back started to hurt. Thank goodness Garrett has a blackberry because we were able to look up info on Braxton Hicks (I’ve had them before but not this many). Garrett insisted (if I didn't call, he was going to do it for me because he was worried) that I call the doctor to see if there was something I should do or if we needed to get checked out just to make sure everything was okay.

The doctor said that I needed to go to St. Luke’s (the hospital I will be delivering at) and get checked out since I had drank a liter of water already and there was no relief of the BHs. I felt awful because we drove all the way to Waverly to see friends to turn around the second we get there to head back to Cedar Rapids. I know they understood and I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize little Eden or myself. But I still felt bad about the whole thing.

Anywho, we turn around for the hour and fifteen minute ride to the hospital. I am trying not to cry the entire time thinking about how little she still is and how I didn’t want to find out I was actually going into labor. But I knew that there was plenty that could be done. ***Side story*** I was upset and we had brought a whole pan of brownies, so I opened the pan and just started eating them (they were not cut or anything so it was me digging brownie out with my hand).

About 20 minutes from CR we start to hear a weird noise coming from the car and Garrett pulls to the shoulder. I told him that I hoped it wasn’t a flat tire but he didn’t seem to think so because it didn’t sound like a flat. He starts walking around the car and then stops and starts shaking his head. I get out of the car and sure enough we have a flat! We both laughed because it was the only thing we could really think to do. So, Garrett being a manly man, got out the spare and starting lifting the car up. I am standing there thinking someone would see that I am pregnant and stop to help but nope (the whole time this is going on my BH’s were getting worse). To be positive I told Garrett that we needed to think of the good things that happened today like the good deals we got at Fareway when we went shopping:) It kind of lifted the mood a bit since we were in such a hurry to get the hospital. Garrett changed the tire and we were back on the road and on our way to the labor and delivery.

Once we got there they took me back to my room and strapped me with monitors. Eden’s heart beat was good but I was definitely having contraction after contraction. The nurse got an IV started because they suspected I was dehydrated even though I try and keep myself well watered. They also checked for a bladder infection just in case but since I’ve already had a bad one they said they needed to catheterize me. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and Garrett stayed by my side the entire time and never left for anything. They also gave me two ultrasounds to check for dilation and cervical length (both were good). We found out for sure that Eden is a girl (you could actually see her girl parts). She was beautiful! We got to see her little chunky face and watch her breath.

Well, three hours after I got my IV the contractions stopped and I was able to go home. I was told to not drink any caffeine whatsoever (I occasionally do) since that could have contributed to my dehydration and to take it easy. Garrett stopped and got me Wendy’s and rubbed my head when we got home (he truly is the best). So I learned my lesson, I need to make sure I drink TONS of water and I was told I should be peeing every half hour to hour and my pee needs to be clear. And if I have more than 4 contractions in an hour I need to just head on over to labor and delivery.

All is good now! And I am peeing all the time and drinking more water than I think is possible.

2 Months Exactly

2009-05-20T12:45:00.001-07:00

Today marks 2 months until my due date. I can’t believe it! I am having a hard time with how fast this has gone. Soon I will have my own little baby in my arms…my own child…not someone elses…not a doll…but my own flesh and blood. Crazy!

I had an appointment yesterday (I am 31 weeks). It was just a routine visit but now I get to go every two weeks until I am 35 weeks and then every week. The doctor was listening for the heartbeat when all of a sudden Eden kicks him real hard…Garrett couldn’t believe how hard she kicked! Everything seems to be going smoothly, I have started getting heartburn/indigestion but it’s really nothing to complain about. The one thing that kind of stinks about being pregnant in the summer is the fact that my feet swell. I took off my shoes (they were slip-ons) and could barely get them back on! My feet were literally bulging out the top. I guess I will be sporting some nice cankles from now on:) But as long as she stays in there nice and safe I don’t mind.

One thing that I love now that Eden has gotten bigger is that I can actually feel her different appendages and tell her head from her butt. Like right now I can feel a little arm around my belly button (she’s been laying cross-ways for almost a week now). And something that is funny to me is when she stretches, my whole belly gets lop-sided or I get lumps that stick out in random places. It’s really funny to see and Garrett will look over at my belly and say I see a butt. I’ll have to get a picture of it!

Now that we have moved, we officially have a nursery. I should post pictures of what it looks like right now! HA! Everything that we don’t know what to do with quite yet from moving is in her room and her closet is packed with guitars and amps. And her actual room is full of empty boxes and bins and stuff we need to take to my parents to store until we have room. But Eden does have a baby bed!!!!!! The mattress just came yesterday but it’s at my parents and I will be getting it soon. My dad spent two hours assembling the cute little crib (it’s not exactly little) and wanted everything to be perfect for his little grandbaby. The dresser and lingerie cabinet from my bedroom set at home are awaiting their delivery to the room. Once those are moved Eden’s room will be set up!

Well, I guess that’s it for now…

Asking me not to eat is like asking me to not breathe…

2009-05-05T13:04:00.001-07:00

I had my 3 hour glucose test today. It was the longest three hours of my life (not really but it seemed like it went on forever). I got there at 8am and didn’t get started until 8:45, so I was going on almost 13 hours of not eating anything. The nurse made me drink a fruit punch flavored drink with 100g of sugar in it. I was doing alright while I drank it and then the nausea hit me like a bug on a windshield. The nice thing about this appointment was every nurse felt bad that I had to do it and tried to make me as comfortable as possible. So, they put me in a little room by myself with a couch and stuff and let me watch mindless tv.

I started getting really sleepy and kind of sick feeling but then all of a sudden the sugar must have hit Eden because she started dancing with the stars in my tummy! It was hilarious to watch and feel. Then she must have crashed from the sugar and just settled down for a little bit. Now she is moving again. Anyway, that was that and after watching three hours of tv and getting 5 viles of blood drawn (should have only been four but the nurse accidently put my blood in the wrong tube) I was free to leave. I am assuming I passed since no one told me anything.

So, it was about 11:45 when I finally left and I was hungry as hungry could be. My head was still spinning from the sugar and a 10 minute drive back to work took me 20 minutes because I couldn’t remember which way to turn. But once I got food in my stomach my brain started working!

I go back to the doctor in May 19th to get checked out again and maybe then I will find out if I passed this test!

Oh, something so cute that I have to share it: On my way to work a momma duck and her 8 little baby ducks crossed the street! Five mechanics stopped traffic to let them cross safely too! It was the cutest thing ever! If I would have hit one I would have needed to take bereavement to recover.

28 weeks!!!!

2009-04-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

I had my 28 week appointment yesterday and I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant… The appointment went alright. I found out I am slightly anemic and that my blood sugar was little high for my gestational diabetes test. This means that I have to do a 12 hour fast next week and get my blood checked again for three hours – it really shouldn’t be too bad except I wake up starving and don’t know how I will make it for a grand total of 15 hours with no food!!!! The doctor doesn’t think I have gestational diabetes but wants to make sure that I am not. As for the rest of the appointment, it went really well! He was trying to get the clearest heartbeat reading when all of a sudden Eden gives him a huge kick! Other than that, I am measuring right on schedule:)

Garrett was so sweet when we went to my appointment. I was weighed and as usual shocked by what the scale said (and yet not surprised because all I have done for the past couple of weeks was eat) since I have never weighed this much. We go into the room to wait for the doctor and I ask Garrett the usual, “Do I look fat?” And he tells me know and assures me that I am beautiful beyond compare. Then I asked him, “How much do you weigh?” He replies that the last time he checked he weighed 170. I told him that that made me happy since I wasn’t close to passing him up but made sure to let him know that he needs to stay that way until Eden is born for my sake. Well, later on he decides he will weigh himself and guess what???? He weighs LESS than what he told me. Then he said that he only told me he weighed 170 because he thought it would make me feel good. LOL I told him it was a thoughtful but a very dirty little trick!

Then later that night we had our friend B over for dinner and B told me point blank that he thought I weighed more than Garrett already. This literally almost made me cry. Garrett gave me a big hug and told me that besides my growing belly, I still look slender and not to listen to what B said because it wasn’t true. I sure do love my husband!

ENERGY. Something I haven’t felt in a long time has finally arrived!!! This is not the kind of energy that makes me want to run or even go walking for hours. This kind of energy means I need less sleep to feel awake. Life past 9pm is like a whole new world to me…what shows are on tv? What cleaning can be accomplished? Needless to say I don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight because I am too tired anymore. I have cleaned A TON in the past couple of weeks and packed almost all our stuff with the exception of the kitchen, bathroom stuff that is still be used, Garrett’s college stuff, and our clothes. These things will hopefully get done this weekend. Oh how having energy has changed me!

I will keep you posted on the outcome of my tests next week…

Nasty infection

2009-04-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

Today marks a first for me. I have a bladder infection. Who knew a bladder infection could be so mysterious? So here is my little story:

Sunday I went to church and during the service my lower abdomen started to feel really funny – kind of like I had to pee but not really. We got home and I went to the bathroom but the feeling was still there. I told Garrett it must be Eden sitting on my bladder, so I got down in the “pod” position (the prep for a head stand) and tried to get Eden off my bladder. I stood up and the feeling was still there but I shrugged it off. Then about a half hour later my lower abdomen started to ache and get crampy. It was so uncomfortable that I laid on the couch pretty much the whole day. I read in one of my pregnancy books that cramps can be a sign of premature labor but I knew how sometimes I read into things a little too much, so I decided if I felt worse the next I would go to the doctor or if I started having contractions.

Monday morning I woke up and felt pretty good. The achiness and cramps were pretty much gone. The only discomfort I felt was a little bit of weird pressure/ache in my lower abdomen. I thought I was dehydrated for most of the day because my pee was a light brown color. Then later on it started to turn pink/red. Of course I got worried. I googled everything imaginable…I knew I wasn’t in preterm labor but what else would cause blood in my pee??? I felt great other than a slight discomfort. Well, by the time I was done googling I had diagnosed myself with one of the following: bladder infection (but I should be experiencing more pain and discomfort and burning and peeing more often), kidney infection (but I should be experiencing back pain), kidney stones (this was/is a real possibility because you don’t have to have pain just bleeding – the pain comes from the stone blocking or trying to pass), or bladder cancer (but I need to be over the age of 50 for this to be realistic). For some odd reason I thought that out of all of the above, I had bladder cancer. WebMD confirmed that my symptoms best fit with it, so it must be true. So I spent the remainder of my night upset over my findings (it was too late in the evening to go to the doctor).

This morning I went to the doctor and he was surprised that I wasn’t feeling bad. After taking one look at my urine and he said, yep you have a BAD bladder infection. He said that there was quite a bit of blood and it was so cloudy that he didn’t even have to test it. With that said, I was told to drink TONS of water and take an antibiotic (safe for the baby) and if I didn’t feel better by tomorrow morning to come in and he would run cultures and a few other tests to make sure that it wasn’t in my kidneys and stuff.

Anywho, the morale of my story is – drink lots of water, go to the doctor when you don’t feel right (especially when pregnant - I got scolded by my doctor for waiting so long to come in), being in the “pod” position does nothing for bladder infections but it is fun to do, and self-diagnosing is never a good idea.

Only 15 more to go…

2009-04-07T08:38:00.001-07:00

I had my 25 week appointment yesterday and everything looked great! I am measuring right on schedule and Eden was being very active with a heart rate of 150 bpm (it amazes me that it is so small and beating so fast). Nothing new to report except that I have to do a glucose test in three weeks and the stuff they gave me to drink looks like Tang in a medical glass bottle. But on the upside they gave me a free diaper bag roll-up organizer with formula and a pacifier in it!

Eden has been very active lately. She kicks me every which way and then rolls and flips in my stomach. I like the feeling of knowing she is doing okay but sometimes it does get a little uncomfortable (especially when she kicks my bladder repeatedly and I feel like I have to pee every 5 minutes). But she is doing great and growing like a weed! I am so blessed!

Other news in the Hufford household…
We are moving May 16th to Cedar Rapids! We found an apartment to call home and I cannot express how excited I am to finally be in one place! It has been a hard year spending half of my time here in Cedar Rapids and half of my time in Waverly. Both Garrett and I are glad that there will be no more commuting and we can sleep in the same bed every night!

Pictures!!!

2009-04-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

These pictures are over due and out of order.

1. 24 weeks (I hate this picture but it is the most recent pregnancy pic)...People keep telling me how small I am but compared to my before body I am LOTS bigger!

2. 17 weeks

3. 16 weeks

4. 16 weeks with a view of the belly

5. The first two pregnancy tests I took.

6. My pre-pregnancy body...it was from a couple months earlier but I don't have any others downloaded.

And so it begins...

2009-03-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I would love to say that right now I am enjoying my growing belly but I am not. I do enjoy looking pregnant but the fact that my belly itches constantly and feels like my skin cannot stretch any further is not the most pleasant. Also the feeling of not being able to take a full breath or being able to slouch (I guess this could be good for my posture) are not comfortable at all. My belly button is half inny, half outty. The top part is almost out while the bottom half is still in. I am not sure when it will just pop all the way out. I will admit that I have tried to help it out a little bit because I feel the extra skin my relieve some of the pressure I am feeling, but I had no luck.

To top it off, sleeping has actually become a challenge. My left hip falls asleep when I sleep on it and it also falls asleep when I am on my right side. The only way to avoid this weird feeling is to “prop” myself up so my back is at a 45 degree angle to the bed. I either do this with pillows or Garrett:) It’s a good thing he is a heavy sleeper and doesn’t mind me half laying on him. Sometimes, he will feel me move around at night and actually ask, “Do you need me to prop you up?” And then he moves on over!

Other than the expanding belly complaint and not sleeping the greatest, I am feeling great! I get the joy of feeling little Eden kick and punch and play DDR on my organs! And I can actually see my stomach move when she does! Garrett enjoys feeling her too and when he does he always asks, “What does it feel like having her move inside you?” I try to answer as best as I can but I end up telling him that he would have to be pregnant to find out. I really find it a complete joy to being growing this little girl inside me! I feel there is already this deep bond and connection between the two of us just because she depends on me.

Oh the joys and complaints of being pregnant! ****I would like to add that I would be miserable everyday just for her, if that is what it took to bring her healthy and strong into this world.

2009-03-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

I would first like to say that no matter what we were having we were going to be excited!!

We feel so incredibly blessed to be having a daughter! I can’t wipe the silly grin off my face! It makes everything so much more real when we found out and instead of calling her “the baby” or always referring to her as “it” (that one always made me feel like we were not having a baby but some kind of monster) we now can refer to her as a her or our daughter or our little girl or by her name – Eden Grace Hufford (Garrett and I had a few names picked out but when we were told it was a girl – he deemed her Eden Grace). I am so in love with her! I can’t wait to see her little hands and feet and to have her be ours!

The appointment went extremely well! She is right on schedule – 21 weeks. She weighs almost a pound and is around 10 inches long (skinny little thing) and a mover and a shaker. The nurse kept trying to get a good picture of her but she was moving around a ton. Then when the nurse was trying to get her to spread her little legs she kept them closed for most of the appointment (I think she was just trying to be modest). But when she finally let us see that she was a girl it was clear – there was nothing between her little legs! We not only got to find out she was a girl but we were able to see the 4 chambers of her heart and watch it beat and see her stomach and her brain. Sometimes I will admit she looked like an alien because of the ultrasound and at one time she looked like she had put a little skeleton suit on and I started cracking up. After we had the ultrasound we met with the doctor and he said that I was doing great and the baby was perfect! All in all, it was the best appointment yet!

I am going to try and post the pictures we got since I have them with me at work right now. And as soon as I remember to get the pictures of our camera I will post some of me and my growing belly!

Well, I am not sure how to change where these are posted...but these are the clearest ones of our daughter.

Boy or Girl? And a special on pregnancy colds:)

2009-03-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

We find out on Monday if we are having a little boy or little girl (as long as the baby is cooperative)! I am sooo excited and I know Garrett is too!!!! I am just waiting and wondering what we will be having…

According to a quiz I took, I am having a girl based on the fact that I answered yes to more girl questions than boy. Here is the breakdown:

It's a boy if:
· You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy
· Your baby's heart rate is less than 140 beats per minute
· You are carrying the extra weight out front (I am not sure if this one is true because I am not huge yet)
· Your belly looks like a basketball
· Your areolas have darkened considerably
· You are carrying low
· You are craving salty or sour foods
· You are craving protein -- meats and cheese
· Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy
· The hair on your legs has grown faster during pregnancy
· Your hands are very dry
· Your pillow faces north when you sleep
· Dad-to-be is gaining weight, right along with you
· Pregnancy has you looking better than ever
· Your urine is bright yellow in color
· Your nose is spreading
· You hang your wedding ring over your belly and it moves in circles
· You are having headaches
· You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an even number

It's a girl if:
· You had morning sickness early in pregnancy
· Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute
· You are carrying the weight in your hips and rear (I am not sure if this one is true either but my butt has gotten a bit bigger)
· Your left breast is larger than your right breast
· Your hair develops red highlights
· You are carrying high
· Your belly looks like a watermelon
· You are craving sweets
· You are craving fruit
· You crave orange juice
· You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy
· You are moodier than usual during pregnancy
· Your face breaks out more than usual
· You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread
· Your breasts have really blossomed!
· Your pillow faces south when you sleep
· Your urine is a dull yellow color
· You hang your wedding ring over your belly and it moves from side to side
· You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an odd number

Who knows!

I am going through my first pregnancy cold. And let me tell you, you can’t take much (and the stuff you are allowed to take I personally can’t take) so there is no relief except to let it run its course. The runny/stuffy nose is what is getting to me. I can’t breathe at all but my nose is a faucet. I have gone through almost an entire box of Kleenex just at work and when we went out to eat for my sister-in-laws birthday, I was asking everyone for any Kleenexes they could spare because the 10 I brought just didn’t make it through the first half-hour (it was a great night besides the cold). I’ve been slathering on menthol cream (not Vicks) under my nose and on my chapped face skin from blowing it a lot which helps me breathe but makes the juices in my nose flow all the more. I think today I am starting to get better. I’ve only blown my nose once every 15 minutes and as I type I do not feel the need to blow it again! I can say I have survived!

A baby is definitely in there!

2009-02-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

All I can say is that at 19 weeks, I feel our child moving A LOT! I started feeling something different in my lower abdomen at about 15 weeks but at about 16 weeks I was sure what I was feeling was the little baby inside me:) It is probably the coolest feeling in the world! And to know that something really is alive in me is amazing! I feel movement all the time now and I even tried to see if Garrett could feel our little son or daughter dancing (aka kicking and punching) because these feelings are very noticeable and strong now. But as soon as Garrett touched my belly, the feelings went away. I am sure they just feel strong to me but not strong enough to be felt through the different layers protecting it. Oh well! Soon enough the baby will be moving like crazy and everyone will want to feel:)

Other than that, not much has gone on since I last updated. I still get the occasional morning sickness and am liking less food all the time because of it, but I can’t complain. Two weeks from today we will be able to tell if the baby is a boy or a girl (as long as the baby is cooperating)!!!!!!! I really wonder what we are having. Garrett thinks it’s a boy and I pretend to think it’s a girl, but I kind of think it’s a boy just because I’ve been calling it a he from the beginning. I do want a little girl and I do want a little boy so there won’t be any complaining either way:) It will be nice to know just for practical reasons, such as clothing and bedding stuff goes. We were given some neutral Winnie the Pooh bedroom stuff that is adorable! But even though it is neutral it has ruffles and looks feminine. I am sure babies don’t care whether they sleep on pink or blue but if we have a little boy I want to have little boy looking stuff. If we have a girl I think the Pooh stuff will be just fine.

No matter if it is a boy or a girl we will love having a new little addition to our family:)

16 weeks and feeling good...

2009-02-04T15:40:00.000-08:00

So I had my 16 week check up todayJ It always makes me happy to go to the doctor and I was even happier to find out I hadn’t gained a ton of weight like I thought I had! I know I am pregnant and supposed to gain weight but when the baby is as small as it is – it’s hard to grasp how in the world I’ve already gained THAT much weight.

We listened to the heartbeat as usual and it sounded soooooo strong! It was 144 beats per minute. My mom’s reaction was that it must be a boy because it’s in the “boys” range for heartbeats. But the last time it was 155 and she told me I was definitely having a girl. Someone told me that I was having a girl because I was gaining weight all over (not a good thing to tell a pregnant woman who cries at the drop of a hat) – I had to keep from telling her that she must be having a girl too because she was gaining weight all over. Someone also told me that my butt had gotten a little wider (they said hips but aka that means my behind) and apparently I am having a boy – again, I almost checked out their behind and told them they must be having a boy too. Geesh!

We get to go for THE ULTRASOUND at our next visitJ We had to push it off a week because Garrett was going to be gone on a service trip…I have to wait 5 weeks instead of 4…oh well. I am still amazed that there is a little boy or girl growing inside me. What made God think that we are worthy to be parents? And I am also amazed at the process of this baby growing….all the little things that have to happen to make everything grow just right. I am in awe of God’s design. He had a hand in making me and now He is making a little baby in me….WOW!!!!! I am praying for this child already – that he or she will know Christ. And that their future spouse would be a Jesus loving man or woman. And that Garrett and I will be good parents and raise our children in a Christian home. Soooo much to think about and pray about!

On a completely different subject, I cannot fit into regular pants any more but can’t fit into most of my maternity pants that I bought because my tummy isn’t that big yet. I am no longer nauseated all the time but the list of foods I am willing to eat is steadily decreasing by the day. I am really craving Mexican food all the time!!! So, if you are having anything of that nature for dinner make sure to invite me overJ Pizza is still pretty high up on my list. I wonder if when this baby is finally born I will wake up the next day and think “I want some broccoli and some chicken and a hamburger.” Or if I will still hate those foods. Any ideas?

Well, I will be posting some pictures soon I promise! And hopefully a video of the next ultrasound (they will burn the whole ultrasound on a CD for usJ). So, stay tuned….

4 home tests and a blood test...

2009-01-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I am not sure what to post here but I have gotten a few requests for a blog about this pregnancy...

Where do I begin? I guess I should tell you that Garrett and I were both shocked when we learned that there was a baby in the near future. I was a couple days late and I thought that it was from stress at work but just to make sure that I wasn't pregnant, I bought two cheap tests (who wants to buy the expensive ones just to find out your not). Well.............it was POSITIVE!!!!! And boy did I almost have a heartache! Garrett came home about 15 minutes later (I didn't want him to think I was being delusional when I wasn't pregnant, so he wasn't there) and I told him. He freaked out too for a little bit but after we let it stink in for a while we were okay and ecstatic! We realized that all though we were not trying to get pregnant, that God's hand was at work and just another adventure that He has in store. And that is truly a blessing!

We do have ultrasound pictures at 8 weeks but our scanner isn't working - so as soon as I get those things scanned in I will post them.

In a couple of days I will officially be 15 weeks along...boy has the time flown by and yet not gone fast enough. I was pretty sick from week 5 until week 12 and now am just sick occasionally. There were days when I didn't know how I was going to make it and days where I made Garrett go to the store and buy me poptarts and a block of cheese. None of the holidays were great because it was all I could do from running to the bathroom...but there is always next year!

I haven't had too many cravings. But here is a list of things I can't stand: chicken, broccoli, carrots, some other veggies, mint gum, the smell of coffee, oatmeal of any kind, noodles, and pretty much anything that I think smells funny. Things I LOVE: pizza, pizza bites, pizza bagel bites, breadsticks dipped in pizza sauce, pepperoni lean pockets, Arby's Roast Beef Juniors, and cereal.

As soon as I remember to have Garrett take a picture of me, I'll post the little belly I have.

I think that's it for now!