Happy 2011!

As the year comes to an end, do you look back to see what happened that year? I guess that is one of the greatest things about blogging and putting your life out there for everyone in the world to see, is that you can look back so easily as the past year. This last year was by far my favorite year of the last 24 years of my life. I am a mother! You hear it from every parent "There's nothing better than being a Mother/Father." There right. And my child doesnt even say Mama yet.

This year was most deffenitly consumed by baby and all baby things. By getting the room done for the little guy to welcoming him into this world, to me recovering from having him! March 15th we did welcome the greatest thing that has ever happened to Dennis and I, Will. He has grown up so fast. To think, he is about to start walking anyday! He is working on getting some top teeth as he has had his bottom two for nearly four months now.

I have said it before I will say it again and again, Thank you God for giving us such an amazing little boy! I do think it is impossible to thank God enough. He has blessed us so much. If you are a parent, you probably find it hard to wrap your mind around how much you love your child. To know that is just a fraction of how much God loves us is hard to understand. That He loves us so much, he has blessed us with a child. It's amazing!

We are very excited to see what God has in store for us in 2011. Time flies so fast that I dont want to take any of it for granted. Anyway, I hope that you all had a great Christmas and spent lots of time with your family, knowing the reason for the season.

new camera fun!

I know, I'm slacking! I really want to post more often, I just dont, no excuses, I just dont!

Since I got my new camera and I've been having a blast taking a bunch of pictures, I'm just going to post some pictures for now:

Almost every morning I take Will to day care we see deer! Whenever I see deer I always think it is God saying "hello" or "have a great day!" Now that I finally have a great camera to capture this greeting I was so excited to see these guys.

At Thanksgiving, Mom always has a little cake or something for Dennis's birthday, well, this year he had a little help with the candles.

Will absolutly loves all the lights! I put up the tree during his nap time and when he got up and saw all the lights, he just stared at them for the longest time! So, I let him play with a string of lights before I put them up.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, Will and I went to go see Santa in downtown Seneca. He had the reaction I was expecting, his normal sober look:

Halloween weekend

I hope everyone had a great Halloween and saw lots of ghosts and goblins. We enjoyed our short night in Kansas City as we took amazing photos. Darla Peters did an amazing job! This is just a sample of what she took. They are great and I am supper happy with them!! Friday night we just hung out and swam at the hotel after eating at Longhorn Steakhouse. Saturday morning, after our pictures we went to the Jesse James bank museum in Liberty. It was a very small museum but it was interesting, at least I think that Dennis enjoyed it.

Trenton's birthday party was a hit, all the kids dressed up and enjoyed trick or treating after. I think he got a lot of toys that he wanted! Will was a little cow boy, boots and all. Although his boots kept falling off, they were cute.

This past weekend, Will has gotten diaper rash so bad he is close to bleeding. After standing at Pamida for an hour and a half I finally got a prescription for it and hopefully it will be better after a few diaper changes.

The next couple of weeks are full of fun things. It seems like there is nothing going on for 51 weekends and then everything happens at once. Saturday, Mom, Dad, and Jill and I are going to Mannheim Steamroller concert in Topeka! I was so excited that we got the tickets moved to 4 o'clock because also that day is a little shop party at my boss, Amy and Russel's house. Then on Sunday, Tara and I will be making some Christmas cookies. This is truly the only day that works for us to do that! We tried several different days but that's it! I love making cookies!!!!

Yesterday, I put a few Christmas lights out!!! I know, not even Thanksgiving yet, but it was nice out and so I just did it while Will was napping, and yes, I do plan on more!!! Dennis wasn't too thrilled about it but I told him last year that once we have kids, we will put the Griswolds to shame! After the concert on Saturday, it will be very hard to wait another week or so to put out Christmas decorations!!! Now that I have talked all about Christmas, I will leave you with a picture of Will from Halloween! He is with Caylie his cousin.

10/24/10

I have made several posts about things that have gone on but I really havent let you know what all new things Will is doing. The little monster is into everything now. Just so you believe me: look to the left of the screen. He had pulled out the paper towels and was starting to eat the toilet paper. I do pay attention; I just had to get those bottles washed. Anyway, he finally broke two teeth through a few weeks ago. He really likes to use those. He chews on everything! I have to keep that paci in Will's mouth when we are at the grocery store other wise he chews on the handle, nasty! He has learned to sit up by himself from a sitting position, and once he learned that, there was no stopping him! Changing diapers is no exception either, apparently diapers are easy to be changed when you are sitting on your butt. Will is quite wrong on that. Now the new trick Will is working on so hard is standing up. He will get on his knees and even put one leg up but that is as far as he will get. He is now eating three meals a day; breakfast, he will get fruit and or oatmeal, lunch we do something simple just a veggie or I will grind up whatever I am eating, and then supper he will have a veggie and a fruit or also whatever I am having. His bed time is still 7 PM. Will gets pretty grouchy in the evenings if he is sleepy so he goes to bed pretty early. He has had a cold or something the last few weeks, waking up at 3 and coughing so much he wakes up every half an hour. The last few nights have been better and sleeping all through the night or at least only getting up once. Anyway, he is growing and learning so much every day. I still cant get the boy to say "Mama"!

Dada has been working a lot still... Yes, he is done with chopping but now he has to do all those jobs for friends who seem to think that Dennis doesnt have a family and so they take him from us at night... okay, little rant. We just miss him and want him around. Last week I had gotten his birthday present and guess what, he guessed it! So, I kinda figured, what's the point in waiting? So, he is now playing with his new meat slicer... and loves it! I'm glad too, this year I have actually found things that I know he will love. We will wait until after Christmas to share what he got for that, I dont want to spoil it.

I've been working quite a bit as well. Of course I take all the OT I can get but allows me to still see Will. This last pay check will be so nice because I worked 10+ hours of over time two of the last weeks. My new nick name at work is Reaper. This is due to the fact that I have worked during the last four deaths in the county, it just happened that there were two in three days! I do believe that is a record... Anyway, this weekend will be so nice, we are going to Kansas City for a photo shoot that I won with a lady there. She is a sister to my Grandma and Grandpa's neighbor. Anyway, we will go down on Friday sometime (hopefully I can talk Dennis into getting off work early), spending the morning trying to find Hodge Park and then taking pictures. Then Trenton's party on Saturday night and trick er treating after and Sunday... What a busy weekend!

I will leave you with a picture that Nikki took the other day of all the cousins!!!! After last year with only three kiddos we decided that we would never again attempt to go clear to Topeka to take pictures. Thing of it is these turned out probably better than they could have ever done. So, enjoy, I may post more if Nikki posts more on facebook, just thought I would share this one.

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY TRENTON!!!

My new addiction

I MUST share this:

Take an apple, any works, even those mushy cheap ones in the bags.
or two
cut it up in thin slices put in a bowl
sprinkle with cinnamon... lots is ok
take those little caramels that are used to make caramel apples.
Cut those up, shake toether and microwave it for a minute or two... until all the apples are nice and soft.
If you care to top with some pecans... yummm!!!!

6 month pictures.

These are some pictures from the pumpkin patch. Audrey, my friend from Ft. Riley and her husband Kasey came up with their kids Zandra and Brady. We had a really fun day. Brady will be 1 in December. It was a ball watching them play togher. And check out Will's shirt, I made it!!! We came back to our house for some supper that Dennis made.

Here are some of Will's 6 month pictures. It is really hard to believe that he is 6 months old. I dont know where the time goes!!

Everyone's doing it!

If you search "Cake Pops" you will discover that everyone is making them now! Truly, since 2007, Bakeralla has made them a hit sensation! They are cute, fun, and so delictious. I have now found the trick to making them perfect. Although I am still practicing, I think these two that I have done are pretty good for just starting to make them. The first ones are the candy corns... I made these after I found "the trick" so they are the good ones. The Mummies or "yummmy mummies" was the first try ever and I was pretty happy with how they turned out. So... Enjoy! If you want to check out the queen of cake pops visit: Bakeralla.com

army crawling

God is great. He has blessed me so much. I often wonder what it is that I have done to be so blessed. I am just a simple person who tries to mind my own business. No lives have been saved because of me, no cancers have been cured because of me, so why is it that I have so many good things in my life. I do thank God for this every day, but, I wonder it even more when I hear sad news. I am so happy that I am blessed but other families who are just like me have to go through something so tragic.

A co-worker of mine just said that he has a niece who is only 7 weeks old who is going to die. She has Down ’s syndrome and with that as we all know, comes several health problems at times. Her health issues was a heart problem and another, sorry I can’t remember. After one of her surgeries last week, she coded. When the doctors were performing CPR on her, they hit a pin that was in her chest and the pin then went into her heart. They got her back, but she lost all brain activity. Next week the whole family will go down to say their good-byes to a little girl who they just said hello to. For this family, God blessed them with all his love. Even though they will not get to see her grow up, their hearts still grew that much more. In a time so difficult as this, I am sure it is hard for them to see it this way.

Stories such as this one, makes me think, “wow, I can’t believe how lucky I am.” I know I have said several times on this blog how lucky and blessed I am but it never seizes to amaze me. I watched a movie the other day that was a very good one and I recommend it to all of you. “Letters to God”. The movie shows how important prayer and faith is. It is about a boy who has cancer and wrights to God. They are short but affective letters. Long story short, good movie, watch it =)

On how blessed I am, I will say a little about Mr. William. He is officially army crawling!!! It is so cute, he even gets his legs going at times, just doesn’t have his butt in the air. Any day now and we will have to baby-proof the house! Just the other day, I was cleaning in the bathroom and heard a loud thud. I go in the living room and he has pulled the speaker onto himself from on top of the TV. He’s a tough guy though, no crying! Will is now going through teething. Any day now I am expecting to see his little pearly whites poke through. He is cranky, gums sore, runny nose, sometimes temp… any day now! Until then, baby Tylenol and lots of love.

Big boy

Just a quick update. Will weighed in at 20lb 12 oz! That is 90% and he was 27" that is 75%. I think she measured him wrong in his height though because that means he only grew an inch in 2 months. He is so close to crawling it is funny. He does this great little inch werm thing. Too cute! I took a video of it yesterday. If I can figure out how to post it I will. Anyway, I dont have to much more to update and not really in a talking mood so we will call that good until another day! =)

6 months old already?!?!?

Oh WOW! I cant believe that my little man is almost 6 months old!!!! Really? What happened to the time? I wonder that especially since most of the last 6 months have been awake, or at least cat naps. It has been great. I dont think that Dennis and I really knew how awesome parenthood would be. We truly lucked out with my work and how time has worked out for us. Knowing time would be a challenge during chopping season and having to rely on family, we have been lucky and made it through. This next week ahead is going to be a busy one!! Will has his 6 month check up on Tuesday and then 6 month photos on Wednesday and THEN 6 month shots next Monday. As always, Dennis and I are anxious to know how big he is. Dennis is constantly weighing him on our scales so, accurate they are not, but close.

I won a photoshoot with a lady in Kansas City. Darla Peters. Check her out if you want. She does amazing work. I think I'm going to try to get Dennis to make a weekend out of it. We also get a cd with some images on it too.

Chopping season is getting closer to an end. That is making Will and I pretty excited. Then we will have Dennis around again. That makes both of us happy. I will update next week after Will's appointment and let you know how big our little linebacker is!

FINALLY pictures.

I had to take a picture of Will and Dennis's matching shirts since Will was about to outgrow his!!

This is Will's 3 month pictures.

And, newborn picture. Since I hadnt ever posted any I figured I should!!

Family update:

Well, I told you about all the workouts but not about new information on us Deters!!! I have quit pumping, it has been a week since I pumped and really not all that bad. A few lumps and spots that hurt but really not all that bad. As far as Insanity, it never came. As time passed though, I was starting to think that I would just get discouraged and not have successes in it. So, I got my money back from ebay and ordered a used copy of Chalene Extreme. So far, I have done two workouts and I LOVE it. It is mostly all weight lifting and it is fun. I am so unbelievably sore but I love that feeling.

As far as Will goes, he is so close to crawling!! He scoots and hikes his butt up in the air. It is so cute. Dr. Glynn said that he would be an early crawler and I think she is right. He is growing like a weed.

Dennis has been chopping like a mad man! Last week he got maybe 4-5 hours of sleep for most of the week. He finally got a little break on Tuesday with the rain. It has been so hot that all the corn is ready at the same time. With me working nights it has gotten a little challenging at times with what to do with Will when I need to be at work and Dennis isnt home yet. A lot of times, I really dont know what we would have done if it were not for Mark and Dottie. So thanks Grandma and Grandpa Deters for helping out so much! The good thing about it being so hot is that chopping season will be much shorter this year. So, hopefully he will be done within the next couple of weeks.

Home workouts

OK so I know most people in the real world really don't have the time to make it to the gym everyday. Some could be like my sister and my Mom who get up at 4:30 in the morning to go. Well, I refuse to do that and with a baby at home, it is pretty well impossible to get to the gym. I also refuse to spend $35 a month on a gym membership when I don't really know how to use all those machines! To top all that off, Will hates me working out longer than 30 minutes at a time. So, I have to share a little of what I found in home workouts. I will let you know what ones I have tried, hated, loved and recommend. This all comes from someone really only likes to workout so that all the food that is consumed doesn't go straight to my ass!

So, I will give you a few that I have tried whether only once or several times, what I thought of them and why.

SWAT- This workout is done by a trainer named Tom Stroup. The first thing that I don't care for is that he is the only guy. I don't mean that pick workouts based on how many guys there are and if they are good looking or not. It's not just that it is only him telling a bunch a women in only sports bras and spandex pants to jump higher, run faster and move quicker, but that he just doesn't get ME motivated. I think that if you really stuck with this one you really could get some great results. They are not all that quick workouts but if you are wanting an intense workout this may be for you. Plus I got the two that I have on amazon or ebay for only $5!

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred- What I don't like about this workout, is Jillian. Don't get me wrong, I think that she is a great trainer but I believe once you find a trainer you LOVE you will feel the same way about others. They just don't do the trick. She is very, to the book kind of trainer. You must do this workout this way or you will not see results. BLA BLA BLA. She says you must have fun or you will not work out, true but... I don't have fun with this workout. The things that I love about it is that it is only 20 minutes! AND, in 20 minutes you are able to feel sore and like you had a great workout the next day. She has it on a 3-2-1 circuit training. 3 min. of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs. Then repeat 2 more times. She does change it up, but I find myself looking at the clock after the first circuit wondering how much time I have left. Another thing I love is that I once again, got it for only $5-$10 on amazon.

Insanity- Now this I have only done once.... Let me correct that. I have only done the warm up once. I will start off by what I believe I would LOVE about this program. RESULTS. That is if you can finish it. It is such high intensity that I believe I would get discourages easily. That is just my personality, I don't get encouraged by failing, I get discouraged and quit. In the warm up alone you will have such a hard time completing what he is asking you to do. I fast forward though the rest of the workout and found it was probably easier than the warm up. The great thing about this workout is that it is also done in a short time. The longest workout is 45 minutes long. There are also no extra equipment needed. Shawn Thomas is the trainer and he is motivational but there is only so much "ME SO BUFF, ME SO HOT" that a person can take. I mean really, Shawn "T" we know you have a hot bod, ok, just lets get through this dang workout!

Turbo Jam- I LOVE this workout. The only down side really for me is that it isn't really as intense as I would want. But, it is easy and fun. Like I said before, once you find a workout trainer that you love you will stick with them, as the next several workouts I will talk about is done with Chalean Johnson. She is SO fun, she has high energy, and is so motivational. Any of her Turbo workouts really do have a lot of 'dance' moves but as long as you are moving you will burn calories. It did take me about three times to really get the moves down. Once again, I got this off of amazon for only about $10 but it is the DVD that has spent the most time in the DVD player.

Turbo Fire- I did this with a friend of mine who just bought it so I have only done it once. It was a blast! We did the 45 minute workout (the longest one) and even though it is constant movement, it really doesn't feel like a workout because you are having so much fun. You feel the burn and you know you are working those muscle groups but you want to keep going. This workout is so new that you cant get it used off of ebay yet so it is still the $120 at Beach Body. I love Chalean so much that I do plan on buying this workout after the new year when money isn't so tight for me!

Chalene Extreme- I JUST got this one off of E-bay and it is used so I got it for $30. With only one workout down, I LOVE it. It is a totally different than what I usually look for in a workout. I usually want the cardio so I FEEL like I have worked out. This workout is muscle training. She wants you to lift heavy enough that you are failing by the 12th rep. Everyone knows that muscle burns fat so this all makes since. I am excited to do the other workouts and she does have cardio mixed in there too. I will fill you in on my results with this program.

Anyway, these are the workouts that I know about and have tried myself. One that I have not tried but I will give my own opinion on is P90X. While I believe that you will get GREAT results from this program, I just dont really see how the average person can find 60-90 minutes a day to do a workout for 90 days!

I have this philosophy that 90% of an at home workout programs success rate solely relies on finding a trainer that you love. Finding someone who you want to see everyday will get you to push that play button!

Update

Okay, so call me Nikki or Miranda! ;) Kidding girls!!

So, I have some very exciting things comming up! I am quiting pumping!!! I am so excited. I do wish that I could have been able to give Will the best (cheepest) until he could go to cows milk but I have to say, it hurts way to bad to even think about continuing. Every time that I hook myself up to it, I instantly get into a VERY bad mood. Not to mention that I want to work out again without being in so much pain and I want to wear normal pretty bras again. It really is amazing at the little things you miss!! Anyway, it will take a while for me to be compleatly done but I look forward to the day when I can pack that back pack upstairs!

THEN- I just ordered the Insanity workout off of ebay. It was half the price on ebay than it is anywhere else that I have ever seen and I have been looking for quite a while. I have wanted a higher intensity workout than what I have at home now, and I refuse to spend $35 a month on gym membership over the winter. I even more refuse to get fat again, so I bought it for $60! I really think that it will be woth it once I get it and see results and loose this baby fat that likes to stick around. So, those are the two things that I am so excited about!!!!!

Anyway, update on Mr. William--- At his 4 month check up he was a whopping 17 lb 14 1/4 oz. and 26 inches long. He is a big boy at 97% in weight and 90%in height. He started rolling over July 2nd. He went both ways right away and then had troubles from tummy to back but now he is getting it down pretty well. When Will doesnt sleep well during the day, he doesnt sleep at all that night. This is one thing we have learned. He most definetly does not sleep though the night yet.

Dennis will start chopping yet again, soon. He has gotten the chopper all ready to go and even be in the paraide on Sunday. I think he is very excited to have Will be in it with him. The garden got a head of us this year since Dennis has been working so much. He is trying to get all the sheds built and all that before he starts chopping. Will hasnt allowed me to be in the garden much more than a few minutes at a time, so, hince why, the garden is out of control!

I do need to post some pictures for you all, maybe I will get to that soon!

Blog dreams...

Well, I obviously dont update near as often as I did when I first started blogging. My blog compaired to some or most is quite boaring really, just my life, family and anything else that is just on my mind, isnt something that a stranger would want to stop by and read my blog. I love reading or checking up on blogs that I would LOVE to have. One in piticular is bakerella.com. You must check it out! I wish so much that I had the tallent to make the deserts she does. As my children grow older and have birthday partys I will do my best at trying them. She blogs about anything to do with baking but her main baking trick is called cake balls. You bake a cake and while still warm mush it up with frosting. Roll them into balls and then she steps you threw the decoration process. She has made everything from ducks, to snowmen, to Mr. Potato Head and everything in between!!! She does an amazing job!

Now that I have found what I am going to get for a camera I have also been searching blogs of photography. Here I dont have any in mind to share with you just something that I have been interested in. I am so excited to get it, I cant wait to get awesome pictures of Will opening presents on Christmas morning and not missing the moment because my camera has to think before taking the picture.

As for us and our little family, we are doing great. Will went swimming for the first time the other day. He thought it was the coldest, biggest bath he had ever taken before! He did end up enjoying it. Right now, I think he is going threw a growth spurt as he is up to eat every 2 hours during the night! ERRR... And then he fusses when he isnt eating. Last night he was tausing and turning from 1:30-3:30 so I didnt get much sleep. Even though he is in his own room now he is loud enough it goes on the monitor and keeps me up. Will had his 3 month pictures last week and we are waiting anxiously to see them! We have had so many storms lately, I think everyone is getting tiered of rain... maybe we should all remind the farmers when late July comes and they are complaining of no rain! So that has made it quite busy for me at work. Dennis is gearing up for chopping season. Yeah for us... ;) It will be okay but we will miss him. All-in-all, everyone is doing great!

Christmas presant for me!

I have always been an early Christmas shopper. By Thanksgiving I like to have all my gifts purchased and wrapped ready to be put under the tree and look beautiful until all of our Christmas celebrations. This being said, I typically start looking around for gifts as early as now. Since I payed off the hospital bills in two months I have no money, so, I have been Christmas shopping for myself! I was wanting a video camera since we now have the cutest little man to video, but, I got to thinking. I love taking artistic photographs. So, why not get a camera that takes video too. Knowing that I would not be taking long videos, it is the last thing on the camera that I am wanting. While I was at work tonight I got onto Wolf Camera's website. Did you know they have an online chat help? How awesome!! I asked a helper Lindsey what camera would be good for a starter who really just wants it for artistic use. She told me to look up the: Nikon D5000 DX-Format Digital SLR Camera Two-Lens VR Outfit (18-55 VR & AF-S DX VR 55-200mm F4-5.6G). One word PERFECT!!!! I want this camera so badly now!!! It has everything I was or would be looking for in a camera!

Now that I have what I want for my birthday-Christmas combo gift picked out... I just have to save up for the money that would be left over. I am realistic here... I know that no one who will give me a gift of any kind would be able to afford this. That includes my awesome gift giving husband! Now I am so excited and want winter to hurry up and get here.... wait... maybe just the camera with warm weather?!?

One more thing-- HAPPY 3RD ANNIVERSARY HUN, I LOVE YOU!!!

Pumpin Mamma!

Some of you may know and some of you may not, but I have been feeding Will breast milk. I attempted to breast feed but since he is a little monster, he eats a lot. I would nurse him for 40-50 minutes and he would still want another 2-4 ounces. I would then have to pump after in order to give him the 2-4 ounces. I just figured that it was better time spent just pumping and feeding him a bottle. Knowing that breast milk is the best for a baby really isn’t my main motivation for trying so hard to breast feed, the cost of formula is. In my short 2 ½ months of exclusive pumping I have learned a lot about breast feeding. I would love to share those things with you in case you know someone who is having trouble breast feeding or pumping or just wants some advice.

One thing I have learned is that it takes a great deal of work to make milk! Drinking a gallon of water a day is a bit hard. This and rest is the best way to keep your milk supply up. Here are other tips to increase your supply:

If you are more like me and not blessed to be a “cow” then there are natural and safe herbs to take. Fenugreek is an herb that was recommended to me by my doctor so it is so very safe. (This increased my supply by about 2-3 ounces a day.) There is a tea that is called Mother’s Milk Tea. I have yet to do this as it takes 3-5 cups a day to work, but I do have a box at home I plan on using. More Milk Plus or More Milk Special Blend is a mixture of herbs that is recommended by many lactation consultants but not known by too many. (I have just started taking this and so far has increased my supply by yet another 3-5 ounces a day.) If none of this works for you, there are certain prescriptions that increase milk supply.

Eat- this sucks because now you are trying to lose that baby weight but it takes an extra 700 calories a day to produce milk! Can you believe that? 700 calories!

If you are nursing alone, keep baby there eating. He/she has to completely drain you for your body to trigger the hormone that produces more milk. Have the baby eat from both sides as well. If you are like my sisters and I, keep pumping. At least five minutes after you get the last drop of milk, this will do the same thing as having the baby nurse. As funny as it sounds but then do hand expressions. If I do this after I am done pumping, I can get yet another ounce! That is a lot if you don’t get much to begin with.

Cabbage leaves help with mastitis and when you are done breast feeding for engorgement.

Tips for exclusive pumpers:

If you are pumping alone, pump 10-12 times a day for the first few weeks/ months. Your milk supply will be established at 12 weeks post partum.

Olive oil your horns. It causes less friction which is awesome!

Pumping while baby is sleeping does not last long! So, you have to figure out how to entertain your baby while pumping. Somehow you can feed your baby while you pump. I haven’t figured this out yet as it is a challenge to burp Will because he is so strong that I can’t burp him sitting up, he has to be on my shoulder. I sit Will up like a big boy on our chair as I sit on the ottoman with books and toys on the chair so he has my full attention. Some women pump on the floor with their little one lying down with toys all around. When Will becomes mobile I plan on putting him in the pack and play with a bunch of toys in the living room.

You can refrigerate your pump parts so that you don’t have to wash them every time. I do but with middle of the night pumps it would be nice to just go back to bed instead of washing parts.

Massaging your breasts while pumping will get the milk out faster and more efficiently.

Rotate your freezer stash, in standard freezer it is good for 3-6 months and in a deep freezer it is good for 6-12 months.

Power pumping increases milk supply. What is this? Watch an hour long show and pump during commercials. I’m not sure why it does just that it does, or at least I have read that it does.

Apparently pumping sometime in the middle of the night (between 1 and 5) interrupts your deep sleep which releases a different hormone to produce more milk.

There are more tips and advice on pumping and storing milk that I could list but this post would be an epic post. I do hope that this will help someone who is struggling with this. If you do have another question and you know me, just ask, if you don’t know me then look it up on the net. There is so much information out there that it is sad for women who desperately want to breast feed but cant for a number of reasons. This was something that I have wanted for the cost more than anything. I will leave you with one more piece of advice:

It IS okay to cry over spilt milk!

Crazy Life.

It has taken quite a long time for me to get back to feeling normal. As nine weeks few by I am finally feeling better. Ever since our little monster was born I have loved looking at the big guy just wondering what life will bring for him. Will he follow his Dad’s dream for him to be a farmer or will he decide to go to college to do something amazing. I know that we will think that whatever he does is amazing but will he save lives, teach children, build buildings, or anything else that takes a college degree? I love thinking about Will’s future. Who will he marry? How many children will he have? Most importantly, will he be happy? These are the questions that I think about when I look at him. As I do so, it makes me think about Dennis and my past and how we met. Just the other day, Mark (Dennis’s Dad) said something about the wedding dance that brought Dennis and I together. Who knew that going to that wedding dance that night would bring the fate of Will and all the other future children we may have?

It’s funny how things work out in life. Knowing that day that it was that cute blondie from Baileyville’s sister’s wedding, I did want to go. Not for any other reason but to maybe catch a glimpse of this cutie again. Now, five years later we have a son together, three years of almost all blissful marriage, and countless other blessings. I say almost because we are human and like every marriage have had our ups and downs. The saying that goes “The first year is the hardest” I believe holds true. He may get on my nerves some but I know that I get on his and he is so good to me. He has helped me out in so many areas of life. I guess what I am getting at is how life has panned out for us is just interesting. Do you ever sit and wonder how things would have turned out if you hadn’t done something. I wonder, had we not gone to that wedding dance that night for any of a number of reasons, would we have gotten together and started dating? I thank God every day for what He has given me and the people that he has put in my life. I say many times that I am truly blessed for the people that around me. I tell Will that he has no idea how many people love him. He was told that before he was even born.

I am rambling on at how amazing life is but I guess what I want to get across is that I will always wonder if Will, will find someone as amazing as I have. If she will support him in ways that Dennis has supported me. Will she make him grow up in some areas and teach him to always be a kid at heart? Even though Dennis really doesn’t even know that I write this blog I just want to thank him for putting up with me. I know some of you may think I have to put up with him but I do my fair share of complaining and whining. So, for the five years of togetherness, I thank you Dennis, for loving me, for being my husband, and for giving me our son.

William Leroy Deters!

As you have probably noticed I have not blogged for quite some time and you have probably put two and two together to come up with the fact that we had our baby boy!

William Leroy Deters was born at 11:31 AM on March 15th. He weighed a whopping 9 lb. 5 oz. and was 21 1/4 inches long. I guess mothers instincts are right, I knew he was more than 9 pounds! There is so much I would love to share about how amazing he is!

He is named after two of his great grandpa's. William Buessing is Dennis's grandpa who passed away shortly before Will was born. He is the one who guessed that he was a boy (at a time when he could barley say yes or no said that we would have a boy.) Leroy is of course my grandpa. Both Grandpa's have been very hard working men and have a heart of gold. This is part of the reason why we wanted to name him after them. Dennis had said once that if Will turns out to be half the man that either one have been that he would one proud father. Of course there are so many other men in our lives that we would be proud to name our children after but it just happens to be that William Leroy is named after the two Grandpa's that we are not named after. As I am named after Gene (Jean) and Dennis is named after Lawrence, our other Grandpas.

As for a quick story of the day he was born, we went in on Sunday night (the 14th) to be induced. We started the induction slowly by just starting Cytotec (spelling not quite sure on) and we had anticipated on sleeping some that night. We were wrong. My water broke at 12:45 AM and then came back labor. If anyone is interested in knowing, back labor sucks! Dennis and I were then up trying to find a comfortable position for the rest of the night. I started begging for an epidural at 3:30. With no luck of getting one, I just was trying to find the best position to get pain off of my back. The only way that was not to bad didn't work because the water had miconium (sp?) in it they had to watch Will's heart rate the entire time and in this position the monitor would slide off of my belly. Fast forward to 6:45 when I finally got the epidural I had been begging for, we were suddenly in heaven! Dennis and I were able to catch cat naps up until it was time to start pushing. We were so out of it at times that we would both wake up to having 3 people standing around me looking at the monitor. At 10:30ish I had made it to 10 cm and started the hard work. Next time that we have a child, I will make sure that they do NOT turn the epidural off until the baby is out, NOT when it is time to get the baby out! 20 minutes after it was time to start pushing I started to feel things. 11:31 Will came into this world with me feeling it all... So, note to all you women, one word, EPIDURAL!

We ended up staying two nights in the hospital after that. It was full of visitors, nursing, and sleeping. Since we have gotten home, Will has made his eating times from 2 hours to only 3! He is quite the little piglet. He will nurse for an hour and still want fed another 2-4 oz. after. Because of this, I have practically given up nursing and only pumped. This is good because I know how much he is getting and it takes half the time to feed him.

At his 4 week check up, he weighed 11 lb. 8 oz. and was 22 inches. We are very excited to see what he will weigh at his 8 week check up. He is just an amazing little baby. The day he was born he was able to lift his head and look at you. He has done nothing but amaze me at how strong he is. At 5 weeks, he was able to stand on your lap if you hold him steady. He has also out grown most of his 0-3 month clothes. Nikki thinks that I think my son is a prodigy. She isnt too far from the truth but what parent doesnt think that about their children?

Now at 6 weeks, I am back to work, still recovering, and we are loving every minute with Will. Even when he is screaming his head off and I am pulling my hair out, I still love it. Dennis was fantastic the first few weeks we were home. He got up and changed Will's diaper while I got ready to nurse him. When he went back to work I didnt worry about waking him up. Now he is back getting up with me to feed him while I pump to make more food for our big guy. (Of course he is still amazing with him!) I will post pictures as soon as I get the CD from our newborn pictures.

5 DAYS...

Until due date....

Yep, that's about the update I can give. There was a little change this week. He did drop and I was dilated just a little, not even one centimeter. She then wanted to check one more time on Friday since she is on call this weekend and may strip membranes. In order for her to do this though I have to be dilated more. That is the update that I have for this week. Hopefully next week, I will be able to post a picture of a beautiful baby boy!

11 Days to go!

Yesterday's appointment was pretty uneventful. There wasn't much change except in my weight :( But Doctor Glynn said she is leaning towards inducing me on the 15th if we haven't had him yet. Next Tuesday we will go over what we will do for sure. She wants to see the baby a little further down and would love to see a little dilation going on before she would 100% induce on the 15th. Either way, we are so ready to have this little boy. He has been kicking and punching me like crazy. I keep saying that I have the next Ultimate Fighter in me! Anyway, here's to the last full week of being preggers!

Oh ya, work has been sucking! I am so tiered and just want to be home. I cant take any time off until the baby gets here though because it is a short month and will not have my hours that I need even using sick time for the days that I have used! So, I am hoping that the next couple of work days goes fast!!!

18 Days to go!!!

Well, the doctor's appointment went well. Not a whole lot more to say. I am not dialated any, not that I thought I would be but sure did hope she would say so. There is a little progress being made but not much. Not enough that she would definetly induce on the 15th. She said we will just have to wait and see how things progress by the next time that she checks me to see if that could be a possibility or not. So, in the mean time, I will do my best to make progress by doing some of those 'old wives tales'!

Jaelynn Rene 2/15/10!!!

*The AMAZING crib that Dennis made!!

I will update you all a little earlier this time, as I probably will every time until this little guy makes his big entrance! At the doctor’s appointment on Tuesday she really didn’t say much just that if he can stay in until Sunday then she will deliver us in Sabetha. 37 weeks is the cut off for being transferred to Topeka as a Just-in-case. Now that it is Friday I keep telling myself only a few more days, then he can come out!!! I know he loves me but punching my pelvic area and bladder is not the best way to say “I love you Mom”. In fact, I would say the opposite but, none the less, he is growing rapidly and healthy. (I do like him letting me know he is okay though)

Monday, Lacy and Jere had some great news! They had a baby girl, Jaelynn Rene Engelken. She weighed 6 lbs 5 oz. and is very healthy and doing great. All three are now home and hopefully getting the rest that is needed. She is very beautiful but who would have thought anything differently with those two as parents! I now want this little boy out even more so to meet everyone and his new little girlfriend. ; ) This summer will be very fun having the two little ones camping with us. I look forward to all the fun times we will have!

Happy Valentines Day!

I want to wish you all a HAPPY VALENTINES DAY and hope you spend it with the people that you love!!!

At the doctor’s appointment the baby was really excited, his heart rate went from 130-170 and then back down. I guess when he does summer-salts his heart rate goes sky high. He is doing well though, he is still head down and ‘nice and low and in great position to enter this world’. No progress is made yet, I know, hopeful thinking. I was measuring at 37 weeks for 35 ½ weeks so just a little ahead of time again… she did say that it isn’t as accurate later on in pregnancy though. Doctor Glynn did say she will induce me on March 22nd if we haven’t had him by then, so there is an end date!!!

Dennis got the crib done! It looks so amazing! He did a wonderful job on it and I will post pictures as soon as I have a picture. Now that he is done with it though he is board at night and wants to start on something else down stairs in his wood working shop.

Tara and I had a great day shopping yesterday. We finished up with everything that was needed and so now it is just putting it all together and away. It will be so nice and refreshing to have it all done. I really want to stay home until it is all done and put together. I was really excited at how much money that I managed to save in going, with coupons and everything. Without Tara going I would have not picked up things that I am told we need and I would have picked up things that we didn’t need, so a BIG thanks to Tara for going with me! I do have another doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. I am sure that it will go well as all have so far.

Quick post.

Wow how this week went fast!!! I didnt really realize that I didnt post on Sunday. Sunday I was busy writing thank you cards from a great baby shower!! The shower went great, we got lots of gifts that we needed. Tara and I will be going to Topeka to pick up last minute things that we need yet. As time is nearing we are both getting more and more excited. Dennis is almost done with the crib and I have been organizing the little guy's room as much as I can. All of his clothes are clean now and in the dresser. We have a doctor's appointment today (Tuesday) and then we will be going once a week. I dont really have much of anything else to update for now so I will let you all know how the doctor's appointment went later this week!

Since this is the week before Valentine's Day I am working overtime! If I am awake and not at the Sheriff Dept., then I am at the flower shop. Wish me luck in keeping my back from hurting to much as I stand in place and arrange flowers for hours every day!!!

Emergency Medical Dispatcher

As time passes, I want to meet this little guy more and more. I have been getting more tired as I just stand in place. That actually wears me out more than walking or any other kind of exercise. The little guy is measuring at 34 weeks and that was at 33 ½ weeks, so not much difference. His heart rate was holding steady at upper 120’s and lower 130’s. As of this doctor’s appointment, he was still head down. Somehow, I did not gain any weight in the last two weeks. I actually lost half a pound. I wasn’t trying for this but boy was I excited! Let’s call it the Krispy Kreeme diet. ; ) My next doctor’s appointment is set for February 9th, . Cross your fingers for a low or no weight gain again! Also baby related, I think he rotated on me because he is kicking me in places that he had never kicked before. I think it is because of this that it hurts so much when he kicks now.

This last week was pretty much the same old, same old for Dennis. He didn’t work much on the crib or anything, just enjoyed not having me around I guess. He was busy with work during the day and hauled a bunch of manure after he came home from work. So, he deserved to just relax after work a few days!

I left for Hays on Wednesday for an Emergency Medical Dispatcher class. The drive down there was not that bad at all, we got to our hotel about 5:30 and took advantage of the hot tub and exercise room. Since neither of us (Debra a co-worker) brought our swim suites (I don’t have one that fits) we just wore shorts and only got our legs in the hot tub. Class started at 8 on Thursday and we were greeted by a Steve Martin look-a-like. He smiled like him and everything! Anyway, about the class; we did learn a lot. We first started going over the EMD past and how it got started and then got into how to use the EMD system. I will not bore you with all the details but I do think that I will be able to use what I have learned in not only my work but also for personal knowledge. Class did last until 5 everyday. I was severely hoping that it would have gotten over shortly after lunch on the last day but it didn’t. We did make a stop at JC Penny to buy a swim suit or something that I could use to swim and get in the hot tub. Don’t worry I did get out after ten min. of usage. It was a fun stay at Hays but I was very glad to be home! After sitting in a classroom from 8-5, driving 4 hours was not something we wanted to do but did!

Baby's room is done!!

At 33 weeks, the amniotic fluid has reached it limit so from now on, when my belly grows, it is all baby! He weighs at least 5 pounds now if not more and is about 16-18 inches long. Time has been flying by I really don’t want it to slow down any. When he moves now, it almost hurts at times. The other morning when I laid down to sleep, he kicked so hard on the side that I was laying on that it pinched my belly and truly hurt! I said fine and rolled over. Walking now I get Braxton hicks contractions a lot. I have only noticed them 2-4 times a day not working out. Saturday, Katie and I went to Sabetha to walk with Mom because it was such a beautiful day and I was getting the contractions every two to four minutes. They did stop when we stopped walking so it was no big deal but a great example to why I have quit working out, walking is about all I can still master. Besides that, and eating enough calories for two or three people a day, all has been great, just the minor pains.

Dennis got the baby’s room done!!! YEAH!! I have to patch a little more paint but then we are ready to start filling his room. I am so excited to get everything set up now! I have this brilliant idea to switch my dresser with the tall one that used to be Dennis’ that I don’t like because then we can use the top of it as a changing table. I truly don’t like either of these dressers but we must deal with what we have until a nice one is made! Maybe I can talk Dennis into building me a dresser when he is done with the baby’s dresser. He has made quite a head way on the crib too. The other night when I worked night shift, he stayed up until 4 AM working on it! Crazy boy! But, I believe that almost everything is cut out, and he is just working on some of the posts.

Now that the room is done, I am ready for the baby shower and then I will welcome this little guy at anytime! I am starting to get the things that you don’t really think of that will be needed for delivery and right after words. I just can’t tell you how excited I am getting now! Anyway, I will be leaving for Hays on Wednesday for EMD training. Becoming an EMD will allow me to instruct 911 callers how to do CPR and some other first aid while they are waiting for the ambulance. It is also a coding system that in the city the dispatchers use with the EMT’s to give them a better understanding of the problem. For Seneca, the EMT’s don’t use this coding system but, it will give me more questions to ask the caller and will make me a better dispatcher. The class is three days long and so I will be coming home on Saturday night. We are supposed to get out at 5 but let’s hope that we get out by 3 so that we are not getting home at 9 or 10 on Saturday night! I will be going with Debra, a co-worker. We are the only two who are not certified so we thought we get it done (I thought before baby). It will be nice to have a few days away in a nice hotel on the counties dime ; ). We will be staying at the Ramada Inn, so I plan on using the treadmills that they will have there to hopefully counter-act all the eating out we will be doing. Anyway, we have another doctor’s appointment tomorrow and so I will inform you how that went we I get back from Hays.

8 weeks left!!!

With only 8 weeks left to go, I am starting to think of ways to “induce” labor in a natural way. Now I know the little guy will arrive when he wants to and only when he wants to. This will not stop me nor has it any pregnant woman to do some things to help encourage the processes along. Some things that are universal for labor inducers are eating spicy foods, pineapple I just read and I will do that! Marching up stairs or going on long walks, getting massages, having sex, and a few other things that I will not go into. I have thought about this and what I will do besides eating my favorite fruit I think that I will make a trip to Sabetha and take advantage of Nikki and Kent’s trampoline. So, March 1st or anywhere around there that is a nice enough day I am going to spend the afternoon jumping with Madelynn and Trenton! Nikki had to say that she plans on recording this event but she must remember that paybacks are hell! The last doctor’s appointment went well. He was measuring at 33 weeks at only 31 ½ weeks, so just a little bigger than supposed to be but I was expecting that. Other than that, he is still head down and kicking up a storm. It is nice to know that he is head down still because I know what his butt is and if it ever gets higher than I will have a hunch that he flipped on me!

Oh what to say about us. We haven’t been doing too much this week. I did get the baby’s room painted and Dennis has started putting up the trim. He finally got the wood in for the crib so who knows what he will work on now. I think he is just really excited to start working on the crib. We are both excited to get it all done and set up, or at least I am, he is just excited to build furniture! I have been working night shifts so I am looking forward to next week, getting to sleep during the night again. Oh and I cant forget to say that Dad treated me to another dozen of those fabulous deep fat fried dough coated in sugar paste also known as Krispy Kremes!!!

Poor Katie!

Baby should weigh right around four pounds now! It is hard to believe, and he is about 16 inches long. I can feel him and his body parts much more. I will feel his butt right above my navel. Pushing on it lightly makes him move to another place, I have had fun playing with him doing this. Dennis says that I am picking on him but it isn’t hurting him so I’m just having fun! I have just started to notice him behind my ribs this past week. It gets just a little uncomfortable when he is up there but I just push him around and then I can sit again. I have an appointment on Tuesday to see how the little guy is doing.

With all this snow we have been having, Dennis has been doing his dad’s chores for a couple of days so that he can plow the roads. Dennis was kind enough to plow H Rd north on Thursday to make sure that I could get to work. I really needed him more on the St. Benedict road. I had to drive on the wrong side of the road in order to not get stuck in the four foot snow drifts. That was really the only bad day. Who knew that 3 inches of blowing snow would cause 5 foot snow drifts! I think everyone is looking forward to this week ahead because melting snow is forecasted!!

I got Katie spayed on Monday. She had ran away yet again while in heat. This time she was gone for 3 days. If she did get pregnant, her puppies would have been due only a week or two before the baby we want arrives! I would not have been able to handle that. Luckily it was the coldest week of the year so she had to stay inside while her incision heals a little. I had never seen that much blood, even when Kyle cut off his finger! It was horrible; she bled all over the car, on the porch and me. She probably lost a good cup or two of blood. The VET said to wrap a diaper around her, luckily I had gotten a few freebies. She is starting to get board inside. Since tonight will finally be nice enough for her to stay outside, she will.

Dennis and I sanded the baby’s room last night and then he decided to put one more coat of mud on the ceiling. He should have it sanded today so that tomorrow I will be able to start panting. I am so excited to get it done! This is the only thing that is making me anxious. If the crib doesn’t get done, oh well I just want the room done before the baby shower so that I can put things away.

10 Weeks Left!!!!

Good news, I passed the 3 hour gestational diabetes test!! I sure did indulge in all the sweets from Christmas. As always, I am a little ready for all that to end so that I can start eating a little healthier again. Key word being LITTLE! Baby is getting to the point where I can now feel where his butt is. It is pretty funny being able to feel him move from the outside now. He weighs a whopping 3- 3 ½ lbs now. I will start going to the doctor’s appointments every two weeks after this next one on the 12th. One craving that I have been having is Krispy Kremes!! Maybe I should send my blog to them and see if I can get some kind of endorsement for sharing to the world at how their doughnuts are so much better than any other wanna-bes out there! Thanks to Dad for getting me some since no one around here sells them any longer. It is hard to believe that there are only 10 weeks left! This pregnancy has gone by so fast, I just don’t understand why so many women hate being pregnant or complain that they have been pregnant forever. Whenever I am having a bad day like yesterday I just wish I could drink a ½ bottle of wine!

The baby’s room is in about the same state as before. Dennis has a job to do indoors now and so he hasn’t been at home to work on it much this last week. Of course we were snowed in on Christmas but it was a holiday and no one should have to work on a holiday… says the one who has to work if scheduled! But anyway, we did get the window in and I picked up the paint so I am ready to paint when the room is ready.

Like I said, we were snowed in on Christmas so it really didn’t seem like we had much of a Christmas. We pushed up my Mom and Dad’s Christmas on Christmas Eve and had it at 1. By 4:30 we had to leave to ensure that we would not be stuck in Sabetha for days. So we ate and unwrapped gifts quickly. Since we usually have supper and then go to the midnight church, it just seemed odd. On Christmas, Dennis attempted to go to his brothers to help out with chores and made it a whole mile before he got stuck in the tractor. So, he came home and Loren somehow managed to get to our house in the afternoon to crash at our house instead of being stuck at his mice infested house. He couldn’t make it to his parents house so I guess best next thing, us! On Saturday it took us about an hour to get from our house to Mark and Dottie’s for the Deters Christmas. It wouldn’t have taken us that long but some 2 door red Grand Prix decided to get out in the crazy weather. It took four guys shoveling snow and Dennis to hook it up to his truck to pull the car out of the snow drift. In the processes of this, one of the state trucks got stuck and then a tractor got stuck trying to get the state truck free. It was a mess but we finally got there. Since our Christmas’s were postponed until Sunday we had two to go to then. It was a great day just faster visiting than wanted. Katie has decided to run off several times now! She came home on Christmas day after two days of being gone. Today makes day three now that she has been gone. It is very frustrating not knowing where she is or if she is okay. I have had several nightmares now that she is injured or even worse. I just pray that she is okay and will return home safely. So, in the processes of righting this I have thought of Katie only two dozen times and I have eaten the last two chocolate glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts.