Belated Birthday Wish

Here is the message we have on our answering machine waiting for Matt to get home... too bad it is belated none the less I am sure it will be well received. I almost got a little tear in my eye listening to it...(I blame the post-pregnancy hormones)

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday Matt, I know you aren't one to want to celebrate. Thanks for letting me make cupcakes and bring them to your work anyways. I only wanted one (even though you don't like cake much) and I had to make the whole box to get it. Plus everyone got to see your little Ty upon the cupcake delivery so it was worth it.

It's been almost a decade that i've known you what a journey it's been. I am so thankful you are my husband forever and ever, aren't you happy too? :) Love you

"You've got to be kidding me"

Yesterday, after Matt got home from work and school he took off his shoes and was about to sit down when he looked out the window to see a kid with a rock in his hand. This kid, who looked to be about 9 or 10 years old, was standing on top of the overhang of our mailboxes in our community. Kid’s aren’t supposed to be up there in the first place and there was another kid who was a bit chubbier and a bit older riding his bike in the street right in front of our drive way. The kid on top of the mailboxes launched the palm size rock at his “friend” (I put friend in quotes because what kid would huck a rock at his friend?) with Matt still watching, this rock hit the street hard bounced up and hit our car with a smack. Matt walked outside at this point to see the kid picking up another rock to launch at his friend. As this kid was bending down Matt said loudly “You’ve got to be kidding me, drop that rock” The kid knew he was in trouble. He started to get off the top of the mailboxes when the Matt walked over to the kid. Of course his friends split saying things over their shoulders like “I wasn’t throwing rocks…” and “that kid over there threw them first…”

Matt spoke to the kid and said, “We need to go to your house, I want to talk to your Mom or Dad.” As they walked side by side the child offered all sorts of apologies and excuses. Matt wasn’t angry at that point he just wanted to make sure the parents knew their kid was A. on top of the mailboxes which, like stated earlier, is not supposed to happen B. throwing rocks at his friends C. that our car parked in our drive way was in the path of said rock launch and D. he will be notifying the community manager about the incident.

Once they got to his house he came to find out that neither parent was home and the kid was there by himself. Matt said “That’s okay, I’ll stop back by later this evening.” He got back home and relayed the story to me and asked if he should let him off the hook. I told him not to let him off the hook but when speaking with the parents to be very calm but frank. Wouldn’t you want to know what your kid was up to while you were out?

Matt stopped by later and no one answered, so he went back by an hour later to have the Dad open the door. Matt said “I just stopped by to let you know that your son threw a rock from the top of the mail boxes and it hit my car.” Dad’s response “Where did it hit?” Matt said “The front…” Dad said “ …Okay” and shut the door. No apology, no humility, no concern… just a “whatever” sort of feeling. Matt wasn’t really to going talk to the community manager but after that conversation he felt impelled to do so.

After work today he stopped by to talk to our community manager. We know her quite well because of my working for Garbett. He started to tell her about what had happened and she said, “That was YOU? Oh my I was just writing a paragraph in our monthly community newsletter about this” Apparently the MOM e-mailed our manager and told a different story.

This person (referring to Matt) supposedly had been following her kid since earlier that day, after spying on him accused him of throwing rocks then followed him home so he knew where he lived. The mom stated that her son didn’t throw any rocks, but that he was throwing bark, his friends may have thrown a rock or two but HE didn’t. The mom also stated that the kid said it was a guy with a silver car who was REALLY SCARY so if the manager knew of this person she wanted the address of the resident so she could send the COPS over and talk to this guy who was threatening her child’s safety.

WOW how stories change… wow how children lie and parents back it up… or maybe the kid didn’t lie and the mom didn’t want to have her son in trouble. Our manager said the same kid had been in trouble earlier this month all ready and now that she spoke with Matt about it, she knew who was right and who is making stuff up. Admittedly she was concerned by the original e-mail from the mom, but once she found out that MATT is the accused creepy stalker guy she e-mailed the mom back letting her know the “other” side of the story. Oh yeah remember Matt had just got home from school and work… how did he follow her son around all day from Draper (work) and SLC (school).

Either way I feel like Matt handled it pretty well, hind sight says he probably should have grabbed me when he walked the kid home, just to have 2 people there, but other then that I would have done the same thing. Pretty sure if a neighbor came to my house and said Ty threw a rock at a their car, I would be apologetic to the neighbor and have a talk with my son… not make up another story and threaten with the COPS.


Oh and completely off the topic of that last story, those two while sleeping were both twitching so much they kept waking one another up. It was pretty funny. :)

Good news and Bad News

Good news is... Ty is in the clear! He is one healthy baby boy with no need to see any more of his numerous doctors for another 6 weeks! Everything went great at Primary Children's on Tuesday and yesterday at his Pediatricians. He is now 7 pounds 9 ounces and 21 inches long so he is growing well and his Pediatrician didn't even test his billirubin count because his coloring looked so good. Can I get a woot woot for that!

Bad news is... because he's all done with all his appointments, today I get to go with him for a quick 10 minute appointment in about 40 minutes to be circumcised!!! Word on the street is they just put a little sugar on his pacifier, pop it in his mouth, put a little clamp on his boy part and away they go. I don't think I'll be able to watch! This is the congrats he gets? "Hey mom I'm all healthy now...yummmm a sugary pacifier! Wait why are they grabbing my... HOLY MOLY WHAT WAS THAT!!!!" I can hear his thoughts now.

OH and Bonus time:

Here is another picture of Ty, he is my sleeping buddy after Matt leaves for work (normally he is in his bassinet but I am nice and move him to Matt's spot) and this is what I get to wake up to in the morning. :)

Ty's favorite thing

Like father, like son, Ty LOVES getting his head rubbed. It usually calms him right down or he'll even fall asleep.

In other news, I'm still wearing maternity pants... I know it hasn't even been two weeks yet so I'm trying to be patient. I still have quite a bit to loose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight but my goal is to be there by the middle of July, that is definitely do-able. Thanks to Suzanne for the motivation, her wedding is the first of August and I have a bridesmaid dress to fit into. A bit of a do or die situation I'd say :).

First Fathers Day

Well Matt got his first Fathers Day gift today. This will actually be Father's Day and Birthday combined.

At his work they give out Best Buy gift cards and Matt has been earning them for a few months. He has been looking at T.V.'s for quite sometime now and we decided this afternoon to go look at them at the store. After about an hour of looking we finally decided on one to buy. I was getting annoyed at the store because everything was so LOUD, so I told him to just pick one. Once we bought it we realized that since we drove the car our T.V. couldn't fit!

Luckily Suzanne and Preston were close by with his truck so they came by the store we loaded up and took it home. Matt and Preston set it all up. Now we have a 40" LCD HDTV (double the size of the old one), I like it too but T.V.'s aren't my thing I was okay with the old one... hence that's why this is a perfect gift for Matt! :)

In other news, this is what my mom did among many other things, while she was here. She sewed the curtain, dust ruffle, crib blanket and bedside table cover. It all looks great! We also bought new blinds that block out the light better. Ty's room is finally done, Hooray! Now Matt says we should work on our room. I must admit Ty's room is way better then ours.

Bonus video for grandparents: (because to everyone else this is just plain boring)

I meant to take a picture, but the camera was on video mode. I realized it then decided to keep on taping. It's nothing exciting but this is our little guy Ty. Matt says he is having an air traffic controller dream.

Tender Mercies...

My Son is an ANGEL... He rarely makes a peep, eats like a champ, sleeps a whole bunch but when he is awake just looks around. I think I have heard a real good cry about 3 times so far but they are VERY short lived.

My mom is a SAINT... for helping me with Ty, making dinners, cleaning my house, letting me borrow clothes and sewing the rest of the stuff I wanted for Ty's room.

My Husband is... well... an excellent FATHER... the second he gets home he just takes Ty and it's actually pretty hard separate the two. Matt feeds him, burps him, changes diapers and clothes, bathes him and just holds him. He has gotten up a few times for feedings at 3 am as well even though he has work in the morning. PLUS I only have melt downs in front of him so he has to deal with a crazy hormonal hive covered wife.

It's been a long road to recovery, sitting on ice right after having the baby for 36 hours, once I am healing from that I have to wait for my milk to go away (painful and messy for sure) swiftly followed by 3 days of hives (which I still have, my face was COVERED last night) ... hmmm all I can think is what's next... I don't even want to know.

At least I know what to expect for the next one? Oh and that isn't for a while Steve so don't be expecting another one from us for a few years. :)

What the...

Yesterday at about 4 in the afternoon I broke out in hives. This has only happened one other time in my life and they went away promptly. I took Benedryl right away this time, but these things are persistent!!! I STILL have them, literally head to toe...everywhere. If I miss taking more Benedryl by 15 minutes they come back like crazy! No I haven't taken any weird meds, no I haven't changed my shampoo, deodorant, laundry detergent, etc...no I haven't eaten anything out of the ordinary...

I called the doc and they said keep taking Benedryl and if they aren't gone by Monday call us back. Dang I hope they go away soon! My fingers are so swollen and covered in hives that I can't even clinch my fists! Not to mention my whole body itch's like CRAZY!

How odd

This last week has been the longest week of my life, but at the same time the shortest week of my life. So much has happened and changed so quickly but some how the days all mush together into what seems like one long day. At least that's how I feel.

Thanks again for all the prayers and well wishes. Matt, my mom and I have had our ebbs and flows with this little guy, but isn't that what being a parent/grandparent is all about? My mom has been a HUGE help with him and tons of other stuff as well.

I must say Ty is a trooper going through everything he has had to do so far and barely ever fusses about anything. Hopefully he stays this way! He's one even keeled little guy.

We sure love him, he definitely knows how to melt my heart that is for dang sure.

Cousins

Jason is a VERY good cousin to Ty! He LOVES to hold him and even sing lullaby's to him. He is always trying to help with making sure he has a pacifier and informs me right away if he is crying while in his bassinet. He likes to hold Ty's hands and he is VERY gentle with him, it's very cute. :)

We're Home

Hey all, we just got home. We still have to go back tomorrow for more appointments and more tests but hey, for now we are home. :)

Here are the latest pictures. Matt was trying to help him get rid of his hiccups. Don't worry we do still have the other slipper... it just fell off. Oh and of course he has all ready spit up all over himself a few times sooooo we'll change his shirt again before we leave the house tonight for Preston's Birthday Party and bring a spare. I am doing better for now, yes I have dermoplast or whatever it's called and witch hazel pads and they have done well for me. I have a plethora of meds that I am supposed be on so I need to stop by the pharmacy.... other then that life is good. :)

My Story

It all started Tuesday morning at 1 am... okay I wont go that far back. I will say that I started contractions then though all through out the morning until about 2 in the afternoon. But I was wondering if they were "real" or me just making it up. Some felt real some not so much. I was dang tired from all the hulabaloo so I was taking a nap on the couch.

Yeah at about 3:40 I felt a "pop" and thought "Either I just peed my pants or.... THUNDERCATS ARE GO!!!!!" (that is a movie quote but I really did think it) So luckily I sent Matt to work with my cell so I called him and said will you come pick me up we gotta go to the hospital... he said you serious? I said uh huh my water just broke.

So we got to the hospital at about 5 p.m. where my nurse Heather checked to make sure my water really did break, which it did, and I was dilated to a 4!

It took only about 4 more hours to get to a 7 and my contractions were getting stronger so I thought "Heck why take this if I don't have to..." although I am convinced I could have gone with out, it really wasn't THAT bad.

So I got an epidural around 8:30 or 9. I stopped progressing after that for a few hours so they gave me pitocin in my IV along with the penicillin that I was being pumped with. After they gave me pitocin I got going again and and was fully dilated by about 1 am. I started pushing at 1:30 a.m. boy is it tricky to push when you can't feel anything.

I pushed where the nurses could see his head then his heart beat was going down a little so we rested for about 30 minutes and the gave me an oxygen mask. At about 2:30 I started pushing again and started getting pretty good at the pushing. By about 3:15 they called my doctor and told me to stop pushing... yeah... that was fun. Unfortunately I was starting to rip a little at that point. Once Dr. England came at about 3:45 he set up the bed and gave me an episiotomy and I pushed twice and he was out. Not too bad...

Well the next few minutes were a little tense as Matt said, his heart was beating but there was a mucus obstruction that the nurses couldn't get too. I was being sewn up at that point and kind of out of it. My Dr. seemed to be getting tense and there were about 5 nurses and other doctors running in a out as they did compressions on him. That's not very comforting hearing " and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" instead of your child crying.

He finally came around and went from a "1 status to a 9 in four minutes" so I am assuming that is really good. Thank goodness for those nurses to kick start our little guy.

I on the other hand didn't fair that well with the ripping, episiotomy, and a WHOLE BUNCH of swelling I can barely walk and am in more pain now then I was when I was in labor... yeah that bad.

Matt has been a "CHAMP" all day taking care of me AND Ty, changing diapers, feedings, cleaning up all the spit up, helping me in and out of bed, adjusting my pillows, helping me eat. The bad thing is Matt is a funny guy and I don't realize how much he makes me laugh until I have WHO KNOWS how many stitches down there and every time I laugh it feels like I am going to pop a stitch.

ANYWAYS I haven't gotten much sleep at all... so this blog might be a little discombobulated and lacking detail, none the less that is what you all get. :) I'm sure I'll remember more stuff later until then I am going to take some strong drugs and try to get some sleep.

It is Time

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TY!!!

Ty Matthew Spence, finally made is grand entrance, or exit, depending on what end you were on. With no thought or concern for his parents sleep or school schedule, Ty decided it was a little cramped in his current quarters and it was time to move out.

Time: June 10, 2009 @ 3:52 a.m.
Height: 20 inches
Weight: 7 lbs 1 ounce

I don’t know what to say, she’s the champ!

In fact, after I quit being a “leg holder,” I decided to support Mickie in other ways. In order to “get her pumped” for the pushing, I played the Rocky Balboa theme song on the lap top, with scenes from the Rocky movies. I thought it was going great, but the nurse threatened to kick me out, so apparently it wasn’t working for everybody in the room.

Mickie did great! I tried to be supportive, but I’m not really interested in the birthing process. I once watched a documentary on a giraffe giving birth and that kinda ruined it for me.

So, now I had found myself on the side lines for this joyful occasion, which is where a coach is supposed to be, right? In all seriousness, I am so proud of Mickie for her strength and ability to endure the trials of labor. I am so pleased to have her in my life. I do not know how I became so lucky to have her.

That was all written about an hour into Labor (about 2 am).
Ty, of course, couldn’t come into this world without notifying everyone. He gave us all a scare when he didn’t breathe for a couple minutes. The nurses started on chest compressions and called about 4 other doctors and nurses to assist in getting Ty to breathe, while I retreated to the halls, to call on a greater power. I can’t remember praying so hard in all my life. I have seen my share of miracles to know that God exists, but to hear our son cry his first breathe is a miracle I will forever be grateful for.

The labor started off somewhat lighthearted, but I was soon reminded of where the true power comes in which we are granted breathe everyday. I feel nothing but humility and gratitude for the newest addition to our family. Oh, and some hunger.

So, without further adieu, we present in the flesh our little Ty.

This one was taken about 10 minutes after he was born, he still has marks on his face from his oxygen mask and wasnt quite cleaned up yet.After the first bath, lots of blonde fuzz... kinda like Grandpa Harvey! Proud mamaProud Dad

Both Mick and I are terribly tired from staying up all night, sorry if we haven't had a chance to call you all personally. We do love you all and thank you for your prayers and support.

What can I expect?

Some of you may question whether or not I am ready to be a dad. I know I have. But, I have thought very seriously about this great opportunity and will prove it with these few things I’ve learned in my short term as an uncle. I think they are great lessons for anyone who may have an influence in any child’s life and I believe these things will greatly bless my family. So these are good lessons learned along the way. I want to offer a special thanks to all you parents who allowed me within your child’s sight, before I knew these obvious principles.

Dads are expected to go to work for a few reasons.
Provide for the family
Stay out of mom’s way
Avoid being able to teach their sons’ cool things like “can you say, Dude” or how about “Hey Pa” (another reason to go to work, there’s nothing on TV., except reruns of “The Andy Griffith Show.” This apparently has an influence my speech.)
Forget a dog; a man’s best friend is a child. They never seem to judge, or at least remember the judgment they made about you. Unfortunately, they have this amazing ability to make you feel stupid with one quizzical look. This is the reason Mickie and I waited so long to have kids, we needed to build up our self-esteem.
Loyalties lie with those who have the most attractive offer. The title, “Mom and Dad” mean nothing if you don’t have something they “need.” By the way, Need = Fun, if you didn’t know.
Yes, they are a walking recorder. They will say and do everything you did, only if they can find the most inappropriate time to do/say it.
I am convinced Alcatraz could not have kept some of your kids in lock down. Trust me, I have observed their techniques and studied their ways, but they only allow you to see what they want you to see. And if you are lucky enough to catch them, then comes the look of “you didn’t think of this did you, Warden?” “No, I didn’t Houdini, no I didn’t.”
I have seen food get everywhere except into the mouth. It’s like the mouth and the spoon are two positive ends of a magnet. Food, actually in the mouth, it ain’t happening.

I plan to learn much, much more and I look forward to those opportunities. In answer to all your questions, Yes, I am nervous and No, I really don’t know what to expect. Oh and the quote of “the best things in life are free” would not include kids. I would rather rely on the quote, “you get what you pay for,” because this one is expensive!

The end is in sight!

I just went to my LAST appointment!! The end is in sight. If I don't go into labor by myself this week, I will be induced next Monday thank goodness. Of course I am still hoping for sooner but i'll take next Monday. Apparently it's a bad idea to induce too soon if no progress is being made, it makes things extra long and extra painful. BUT my doctor feels comfortable inducing me because I am now dilated to a 2, so progress is being made. Everything is set, now if I could just get some good sleep before all this happens i'll be happy.

Nurse's Orders

Okay not a REAL nurse, just one of my good friends who calls herself "Head Nurse" posted this on her blog. I heard it on the radio a few weeks ago and forgot to make a mental note to look it up again. I loved it! Matt and I have seen Jon Schmidt a few times in concert and he is great, just makes you feel happy! (which at this point anything helps for me!) So sit back and enjoy.



Have a happy Friday ALL :)

Stuck

Both Matt and I are stuck.

It's a weird feeling, kind of like waiting for Christmas but instead of a specific day to look forward to, it could be any day or any time.

We both know something big is coming and things will change forever but don't know when.

It's making both of us pretty restless and anxious. I of course can't sleep well anyways because of the frequent bathroom breaks in the middle of the night but Matt isn't sleeping well either.

I am sure all of you parents out there can relate, but I just think "What will he look like? Will delivery go okay? What if my water breaks tomorrow? Do I have everything ready? How much longer do I have to wait?"

I find myself going through days kind of stagnant, like sitting water behind a dam that is just waiting to be released and rush hurriedly into a quick moving river. It feels monotonous waiting and waiting...everyday is the same just waiting. Sure, we do different things each day and really haven't changed our routine much from any other time but the days seem longer.

I know once the time comes it will require a lot of energy and time, but if you know both Matt and I (especially me) want things done quickly and by quickly I mean done yesterday I don't want to wait... I have the time and energy now, so what do you say let's get this whole thing done today!!

It's a weird feeling that neither Matt nor I planned on feeling. Hopefully he comes soon so we can just get on with life, for now the waiting game is killing us.

(9 days and counting can I get a woot woot for some single digits!)

What the...

So a friend from Oregon went on to famousmormons.net last night and saw something that was a little shocking to her, she called my mom who shared the shock and in turn she called me.
Check out that advertisement for LDS Business College in the middle there... THAT IS ME!!! I don't know when they took that picture, I went to that school for 1 semester, but yes that is me. How many other sites are using that advertisement? Is it old is it new? Shouldn't they have asked my permission to use it? Shouldn't I have gotten free tuition or something? Haha Just something totally random, shocking and funny. Tell me if you guys see me anywhere else I am way interested to know!

FYI

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3RD IS NATIONAL RUN DAY!
The purpose of this day is to promote running (walking, jogging, sprinting, skipping too) as a HEALTHY, EASY, and ACCESSIBLE form of exercise. We encourage everyone, regardless of age or fitness level, to get out and RUN!!!

HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE?
Ask a friend or neighbor to go run with you, take your kids around the block, or join a group already on the road - the more the merrier!

www.runningday.org

Marshmallows

Matt and I had a discussion a few months back about how Marshmallow manufacturers have it good, you never hear of people saying "Man these things are expensive! I'll just make my own!" They could probably charge about double what they do charge and we wouldn't bat an eye. Matt and I ALWAYS have an open bag of marshmallows in our pantry. I guess it's our little guilty pleasure. OH and how do they "Jet Puff" marshmallows anyways, do they need a rocket scientist for that??

ANYWAYS we decided that maybe we should try making our own. I found a recipe on-line to make and of course e-mailed it to Kristin. I wouldn't do this by myself! We decided to try them out this weekend.

It was interesting, they turned out pretty tasty. Well if you can get passed the stickiness on the sides. We found out the white stuff on the outside of marshmallows is corn starch and getting it in your eye is not enjoyable. (Matt did)

We made them on Friday and they have to sit for 12 hours before eating. So Saturday Matt ate some and liked them. I liked them too, they taste like marshmallow creme (NOT CREME PUFFS KRISTIN THOSE ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ha ha) Matt started making "make shift" smores out of them, Golden Grahams, half of a nestles chocolate egg and the gooey marshmallow. He really liked that.

Now Kristin and I are wondering, how do the people that make peeps get the sugar to stick to the outside? The top and bottoms of ours had cornstarch thus reducing the stickiness factor immensely. We want to try it sometime using a cookie cutter to make cute shapes, maybe dip them in chocolate and make a marshmallow bouquet or something wouldn't that be cute?

On another note, Saturday morning I awoke at about 7 am, so hungry that I thought I would die. I was almost getting nausea because I was so hungry. SO I went downstairs to no food. I haven't been grocery shopping in AGES. So I zipped over to Smiths for some food. I ended up buying a whole bunch of meat (Chicken Breasts, boneless pork ribs and top sirloin steaks). Weird I know, but it was on sale and we didn't have any. Well as many of my avid readers know, I totally STINK at cooking beef, it's always overcooked or rubbery chewy yuck. Since Matt got me a BBQ we have been doing pretty well but haven't tried out steaks. I tried them yesterday. I marinated them for about 3 hours then put them on the Barbie. They turned out SOOO GOOD! Perfectly pink and tender. Melt in your mouth good. Matt had just woken up from a nap so he wasn't going crazy over them but he said it was really good. I was so happy! A good bit of beef came out of the Spence home!

Oh and Saturday morning we ended up going to Kneaders for unlimited French Toast for breakfast because by the time I got back from Smiths Matt was up and starving as well.

Baby update: I am dilated!! To a ONE!!! (one is better then none) AND my cervix is thinning! :) The doctor said at this point I could go any time and that I am progressing well. I knew walking double time would work! Well maybe it did, maybe it didn't. I did loose weight too so that's a plus ish? He said as long as the baby is moving walk all you want, which I will. It makes me feel like I have SOME control over this whole thing called pregnancy and child birth. Although, I'm not getting my hopes too high, I told him I would see him next Monday for my weekly appointment. :)