FINALLY.....a post!!!!

Alrighty, I'm pretty far behind here....so, if you all haven't given up on me yet, I'm gonna TRY and get my blog up to date, starting with Luke's hospital visitors!!!

Everyone was excited to come meet him, especially his sisters (although I think they partially had a hidden agenda: they knew they'd finally get to indulge in the hospital treat bags I made up for them!!!!). It was precious to see them all look at, poke, and cuddle their new baby brother! They had lots of questions too, about EVERYTHING, as you can imagine......!!!!! Anna and Elle had lots of fun "taking care" of him with all of their baby doll accessories....while Emma was a huge fan of the hospital food and ate my whole dinner????.....and Ty boy was just happy to see Mommy, not to sure about baby yet! We had a pizza party too & an ever so hilarious circumcision demonstration :) Thanks to everyone for coming to meet our baby boy!

Our Baby Story

It's a BOY!!!!

Luke Alan Fiscus

8 lbs. 9 oz.
21 inches

March 10, 2009

5:30 pm - Jed had just taken the kids outside to play and I sat down on the couch, felt one contraction, & somehow just knew it was the beginning of labor...finally!!!!! I started timing the contractions, which were 8-10 minutes apart.

6:30 pm - Jed & I head for the hospital (normally an hour & 15 minute trip, which turned into a 52 minute drive!!) No danger of me delivering in the car though.....contractions were still about 8 minutes apart & I could still candle-blow through them.

7:22 pm - We arrive at the hospital, begin paperwork, & get set-up in the delivery room!

8:00 pm - Dr. Ferreria checks me & finds me to be 6+ cm, so he breaks my water. Almost immediately, my contractions amp up to 2 minutes apart, so Jed & I begin our routine of walking the halls & breathing through contractions together...so happy to be back at Titusville Hospital :)

9:00 pm - Contractions are starting to double up on me & Dr. Ferreira checks me again.....I'm at 8 cm. They need to monitor baby some now, so we stand beside the bed (I just can't bare to think of laboring in that bed!) & Jed helps me get through the worst of the contractions.

9:21 pm - 10 cm....time to push...my least favorite part, as I never have the "urge" to do so! Upon my request, Jed gets the video camera rolling (although I still haven't watched it)!

9:41 pm - After 20 minutes of pushing, the room erupts with "It's a BOY".......we can't even tell you how happy we are to welcome another precious son into our family :)

More pictures to come soon.....Luke's hungry :)

who'd have guessed.....

....that I'd be pregnant with Baby #5 the longest?????!!!

........that I somehow had this baby's due date (slightly) wrong all along, I thought it was the 8th, but found out today that it's the 10th!

I saw the dr. today and also found out that I'm 4 cm & almost completely thinned out. I also lost 4 lbs.....that's always been a sign for me that I'm getting close :) He offered to send me up to the hospital to have this baby, but he knew I would choose to wait for nature to run its course. So, he was fine with letting me go but is insisting I head to the hospital when contractions get consistent again. He's guessing he'll see me soon....we'll see though, #5 just seems to be keeping us guessing!!!!!

No news....

I had a dr. appt. today, but once we got there we learned that Dr. Ferreira was needed for emergency surgeries instead! We were hoping to find out if all of these contractions have me dilated any further....but that will remain a mystery until Monday, unless the baby is (hopefully) born before then :)

Baby must be comfy......

Well, around 1 am this morning I thought I might be heading to the hospital to have this baby. Contractions were 10-12 min. apart......but I was waiting to see if they'd increase in frequency or duration before I woke Jed, which they didn't.....they just kept on coming all night long! This morning, they are back to being pretty random & so we wait. Maybe this baby just wants me to THOROUGHLY enjoy my last pregnancy :) How thoughtful.

Baby update....no talk of induction here :)

I had my check-up yesterday....3cm, still 50-60% effaced, & baby's head is low. I could tell Dr. Ferreira was concerned though....he said the heart rate was 110-114 & it really should be above 120, which it DID come back up to in his office. He said it certainly can dip like that, but, just to be safe, he wanted to send me to the hospital for a stress test so that he could monitor the rate over a longer stretch of time to be sure things were normal.

He also wanted an ultrasound done....we were so excited to see the baby!!! Everything looked great to the ultrasound tech...it was hard for us to see much though, baby is so squished now! It's head was measuring small, but it's belly was measuring 41 weeks......reminds me of Emma, she had a big old belly at birth! The tech was also predicting an 8+ lb. baby....Dr. Ferreira said "no way there is 8 lbs. of baby in there".....hoping he's right!

The stress test was fine too, but since I had a few pretty strong & regular contractions while I was being monitored, the nurse got a little nervous, especially knowing we have an hour & 15 min. drive to the hospital. She called Dr. Ferreira & thankfully he said I could go home :) He's the best!!! So, we came home & the regular contractions fizzled.....another good night's sleep had :) I thought that would have been pretty neat to have Baby and I share our birthdays.....but I guess it has plans of it's own, possibly sharing with a cousin instead :) :) :)

Also, I've NEVER had dreams regarding the sex of any of our kids.....but Wednesday night, I dreamt we had a girl! It was so vivid....and actually shocking! Honestly, it just makes me think it's a boy for sure, cause with 3 out of 4 kids, my gut feeling has been completely WRONG!

Ty's latest cuteness

We've been finding him walking around the house like this, at random........I love it & he KNOWS it! He'll "subtly" walk past me with hands in pockets, his beaming smile, and a face that is screaming "I know you can't resist me, Mom".....then mosey on past, confident that I'll be chasing him down to smother him in tickles & kisses!

Also, had a check-up today: I now am 2-3 cm dilated & 50-60% effaced! Happy to report that, not only are my household items stocked, but also have a few meals in the freezer, thanks to Lara's help :) I can't tell you how satisfying that is! Probably need to get on packing that hospital bag now...

Mommy & Me......36 1/2 weeks!

Here we are....growing ever more!!! Everyone is getting very excited for my arrival! Mommy saw the dr. today and found out she is 2 cm. dilated :) So, reality is setting in for her and she is nesting like crazy.....franticly trying to fulfill the insatiable desire to stock medicine, cleaning supplies, and toiletries....as if she won't be at a store again till next year!!! Too bad for everyone else that she isn't stocking the freezer like that :)




Where'd you come from...?!!!!!!

A few cute ones

Emma ended up with strep throat this week....but all of the girls claimed to be "sick" the first day! They dragged their pillows and loveys into our bed with Emma & pleaded for medicine & toast in bed....they might have had some chance of me believing, if it weren't for those faces of theirs!!!!!!



Couldn't resist this....

Snow much fun!

Sledding, Ice-skating, Snow-eating, & Amateur snow-blowing (hehe!) have been some of our kids' favorite activities during this snowy month of January :)

On Stage: It's Boo & Company!

Gotta love Elle's tutu!

Reminds me of my sisters & I....although I think we'd be singing Neil Diamond, maybe Lionel Richie....but always in front of the fireplace at our house in Penn Hills!

Willie, Willie, Willie....

...our beloved cat.



Jed & I adopted this adorable himalayan cat from Mom, before we were even married, and we both grew quite attached to him. He always insisted on cuddling up on my head each night, making Jed a bit jealous......but once babies started coming, Willie counted on Jed for his much deserved attention! The kids all loved him too, especially Anna, and he would always put up with so much from them....then run and hide under a bed for a break. Unfortunately, we found out in Sept. that he had some bad tumors growing. He did well for a while, but on Jan. 2nd the dreaded day had come...we had to put Willie to sleep. It was a sad, sad day for all of us.....it was especially heart-breaking to see the kids so upset. But long after the kids were over their sadness, Jed and I still found ourselves sobbing like babies.

We miss you, Willie!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

We spent Christmas Eve celebrating at Mema & Pappy's and Christmas afternoon at Grandma & Papa's! The kids had a ball....but Jed missed both celebrations this year due to the nasty stomach flu that went through almost everyone here :( We missed you! I didn't end up with too many pictures, but here are some of the best:

Our home.......

......JUST in time for the holidays!

Yes, closing on this house didn't happen until Dec. 23rd....so we literally spent the 1st night in our new home on Christmas Eve!!! Certainly a night I'll never forget...mostly because I was so thankful to have our family, together, under one roof again...but also because Jed was sicker than a dog and "santa" spent most of the night putting up the tree and decorating so that the kids would be so surprised on Christmas morning!



Their faces were priceless & now they think it'd be great if Santa would put the tree up every year.......not a tradition I'm hoping to carry on, though :) Don't they look so at home already?

Getting back to blogging....atleast until baby :)

I've been receiving lots of subtle hints (& a few demands) to update my blog, since it's been over 2 months.....so here ya go, Christmas pictures posted just in time for Valentine's day, as promised!!!

Here's our last few months, in a nutshell:
For those of you who don't know, Jed found out on Sept. 26th that he got an engineering job with Pennsylvania American Water, in Clarion! To make a long story short, this isn't the job he had applied for with the company, back in the beginning of May....but turned out to be a much better opportunity for him. We quickly set to work spending weekends, with lots of help from family, doing some final home-improvement projects that Jed insisted were necessary before listing our house with a realtor. He started his new job October 27th & we listed our house the same day. For an undetermined amount of time, Jed moved in with his parents & the kids and I stayed in Julian. Turns out, Jed was right.....all the hard work everyone put in with the last few projects paid off (Thank you all!!!!).....we accepted an offer on our house less than 2 weeks after listing it & had a closing date set of Dec. 19th!!!! Now we could really get serious with our house hunt :) We looked at a few options, got outbid on a house, then finally found the house meant for our family, we fell in love!!!....our offer was accepted Nov. 30th and also set to close Dec. 19th!!! Yippee!!! We were so excited to finally have a glimpse into what our future would hold & we couldn't wait!!!!

In amongst the chaos, I still wanted to make the Christmas season as festive as I could for the kiddos....but with a partially packed house, no tree, & minimal decorations....it was feeling awfully bah-hum-bug! But Aunt Lara and Uncle Jeffey came to the rescue!!! We all went to see the lights at Lakemont Park...complete with Santa, a model train display, santa's gift shop, and the crowd favorite: kettle corn!!!! It was just what we needed :)

Anna, Ella, and Ty spent the week of Dec. 15-18th with Mema, Pappy & Daddy! This way I could do lots of last minute things in preparation for both house closings on Friday & get the last of our things packed, while Emma finished her last week of school before Christmas break. Emma & I had a great week together, just the two of us! We managed to squeeze in Christmas shopping, haircuts, manicures, dinners out, and a great night with Aunt Lara and Uncle Jeffey.....they kept things festive again with Gingerbread men to decorate, strawberry daquiris, & the cutest Christmas tree ever! Thanks again, Guys! When Jed came home Thursday night, he was less than pleased with my progress.....oooops!!!! Apparently, I hadn't been quite as productive in the "getting the last of our things packed" plan as he had envisioned. I'm sorry hon, I guess Emma and I got carried away with all of that freedom......

Isn't this picture alone worth the late night that we (you) put in to get things done?

Mommy & Me.....27 weeks!!!

We continue to grow :) My kicks are so strong now that everyone can feel and SEE my movements! Since we will be moving, Mommy is thrilled to be able to go back to her favorite ob/gyn again & deliver, under his trusted care, in the same hospital that all of my sisters were born at! Our next check-up is Thursday! We are still running, when possible, although I'm not making it any easier...especially when Mommy has to stop and pee 5 or 6 times :) I think my brother is finally ready to acknowledge and accept my presence.......today, in the bathtub, he hugged and kissed me for the 1st time and was so excited about it!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I thoroughly enjoy Thanksgiving (esp. when pregnant.....a Thanksgiving dinner w/ all the fixings has always been a craving of mine, and this pregnancy is no different!), so we had a nice time enjoying a most tasty Thanksgiving feast with Grandma, Papa, & family and the Miller families too! Afterwards, Grandma and Papa's massage chair was hit pretty hard......the kids loved it!



On Saturday, we quickly set to work getting into the holiday spirit! Thank goodness Grandma & Papa were up for it....I think it's the only tree we'll be decorating this year! Actually, the kids and I did come home after Thanksgiving and put up our pathetic little temporary stick tree, which took about 10 minutes from start to finish :)

Another cutie of the girls, mid-decorating! Can't believe I don't have a one of Ty & the boys...they were there though, all of them ripping off the glass ball ornaments that the girls so carefully placed on the bottom 2 ft of the tree :)

Before & After!

These were some fun collages to make of our house, as it was the day we bought it (Feb. 28, 2007):




And as it looks, upon our pending sale (set to close on Dec 19, 2008)! So many changes, it was neat to see them side by side. I almost forgot how bad all the wallpaper was....but could NEVER forget how hideous those bathrooms were! Unfortunately, no before pics of the family room and 4th bedroom (last 2 pics in bottom collage)...but what a difference a coat of paint makes!

Now we're house hunting & hoping to find the right place soon....as Jed said over the weekend "we're all packed up with no place to go"!!!!
He's been enjoying his new job for about a month now and really feels it's where he's supposed to be....and we're very excited to be closer to our families again, although we'll certainly miss our frequent get togethers with Lara and Jeff :(

SORRY!

Jed and I were cracking up when we found Emma playing SORRY with her beloved bunny, while she patiently waited for us to join her!!!! You'd think the girl needed a few siblings or something, wouldn't you????

FINALLY....we feed the ducks!!!

Everytime we pass this park, on the way to Lara's, the kids always ask "when can we feed the ducks"...well, today was their lucky day (the kids' and the ducks')!!! These ducks were serious vultures....and kept following the kids around, impatiently waiting for more handouts. They quickly realized that they weren't even getting a crumb from Ty....when I told him "throw it to the ducks" he quickly shoved the bread in his mouth as if HE desperately needed it!!! (I was laughing at your "wack wack" post, Allison....yes, we have creative kids!) Thanks for a fun day Aunt Lara and Uncle Jeffey :)