An announcement...and a birth story :)

If you're wondering where I've been lately, and why this blog has been so quiet, I promise I have a good reason. After dealing with several days of false labor, I decided to give myself some time off from the blog to make sure I was as ready for Aubrey as I could possibly be, both at school and at home.

You can probably guess what happened next: this sweet girl arrived on November 6, 2015 at 8:04 p.m., after a long and difficult labor. She was born a little over 3 weeks early, and we initially dealt with an extended hospital stay for jaundice, but everything is OK now.

I worked on Thursday, November 5, and had contractions all day long. I timed them, and while they were fairly consistent, they were still pretty far apart. I didn't think too much about it, but wondered if maybe we might be going to the hospital that night. In the afternoon, I began to suspect that my water might be leaking. When I was in labor with Emorie, the doctor broke my water, and this was definitely nothing like that. I called my doctor and they suggested I come to the hospital.

I spent a few minutes making sure things were ready in case I was out of school the next day, then headed home to wait for Michael and make arrangements for Emorie. Upon arriving at the hospital Thursday evening, I was monitored and doctors ran tests to check for amniotic fluid. The initial tests came back negative, and I prepared myself to leave. Doctors wanted to run one more test, and it came back positive.

I was admitted, and spent the night in labor and delivery being monitored. My contractions, while still coming, were not necessarily getting stronger or closer together. In the morning, doctors and nurses made the decision to start me on Pitocin. My heart sank- I am a natural childbirth mama and was worried about how much more intense the pain would be.

I labored several hours more on the Pitocin, and when I still was not dilating at a quick pace, I asked my doctor how he felt about stripping membranes. I knew they would typically not do this prior to 37 weeks, but because my water was leaking, I also knew they had to deliver her. My doctor agreed, and then discovered my water had not completely broken. He chose to break it the rest of the way.

Things began to progress rapidly after that. I remember the nurses coming in and telling me I was dilated to a six. Five minutes after that, I had a strong contraction and yelled to the nurses that the baby was coming. She checked me and ran to the phone. My doctor nearly missed Aubrey's birth, but arrived just in time. After being in labor for nearly 24 hours, Aubrey entered the world in three pushes. She was completely OK, despite some bruising on her head and face, and having to receive phototherapy for jaundice. Her slight prematurity has not had an effect on her, blessedly.

Something funny- Aubrey and her sister Emorie have so many similarities. Emorie was born at 37 weeks, Aubrey at 36 weeks, 5 days. Emorie was 6 pounds 2 ounces, and 19.5 inches long and Aubrey was 6 pounds, 1.4 ounces, and 19 inches long. Both girls had jaundice and had to have phototherapy. Both girls have similar features and were both born with a head full of dark hair. If you want to read Emorie's birth story, you can find it here on our old blog. 

Emorie adores her little sister and constantly wants to hold her and kiss her.

Our hearts are full. Thank you for all the prayers for our family. 

Weekend "travels" with the family

I am writing this post a day late, as I've gone back to work this week. Yesterday, we were swamped with meetings and open house, so I simply just didn't get to post. I know you understand, dear readers.

Organization: Automobiles

My car has been a hot mess recently. Between swim lessons and all the nasty drive-through dinners we've consumed in the past few busy week, our car has really suffered.

This past week, we've vigilantly removed all trash from the vehicle and repurposed a small Cascade Complete container to function as a trash can. We've also made sure to add a trash can to our garage to ensure trash gets thrown away promptly.

You will also notice three other containers in the main area of our van- we have a plastic "toolbox," filled with necessities such as baby wipes, tissues, hand sanitizer, bandaids, trash bags, extra feminine supplies, pen and paper, safety pins,  nonperishable snacks, cleaning wipes, and, when my daughter was younger, an extra diaper. There is also a bin with CDs and DVDs, and one with books and toys for my kiddo on long car trips.

This container is not really doing its job as of later- it hasn't held its shape well. I am going to buy another plastic "toolbox" like the previous picture. 

In the back of our vehicle, we have our sports equipment and stroller. Our kiddo is currently involved in swimming and starts gymnastics next week. This large bag contains our grocery sacks, pool bag, and gymnastics bag. You can see how those things are organized here.

Here are some other things you might find in our vehicle at all times: extra sunglasses for all of us, tissues (can't have too many), a blanket (just in case), flashlights, and a first aid kit.

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Organized and Simplified: Traveling organized

My family has traveled a lot over the years, mostly to visit family, and not necessarily on vacations. I have a lot of out of state family members and going to see them over the years has taught me a lot. Vacation or not, a well-packed and organized suitcase will make your trip so much better. I'm not an expert by any means, but I'll happily share some tricks we have learned to make our travels easier.

One of the first things my husband and I have learned is to keep a stocked bathroom bag. We keep a bathroom and toiletry bag that has small bottles of soap, shampoo, conditioner, a hairbrush, lotion,  hairspray, toothbrushes for the three of us, razors and shave cream for both me and the hubs, a small sewing kit, a small first aid kid, a small manicure set, and some medicines. The only thing we have to add in to the bag the day we leave is my makeup and flat iron. A day or two before we're set to leave, we double check the bag and determine whether any of these items are running low and need replacing. The small chevron bag always contains all these items:

We also use a checklist to make sure our suitcase is packed. We frequently forget things, so after forgetting to pack pajamas two trips in a row, I decided a checklist was in order. I laminated that thing and popped it into my suitcase.

Our checklist might look a little different, as we have a preschooler and will soon have a new baby, but this is a Word document you can download and edit to your heart's content.

Click here to download my travel checklist!


What travel tricks do you use to stay organized?

Emorie: A special photo shoot

This week, I shared some very blessed news we received recently. I did it in a very neat way, or at least I thought so.

A little AWOL, but for good reason

Hey, all! No, I didn't fall off the face of the Earth. I just went back to work. My students come back on Monday, but teachers started back last Friday. Since I have been either working or prepping for work for the past two weeks, the blog kind of ended up on the back burner.

We have been busily trying to perfect our back-to-school routines to make the transition easier. We do not have a school aged child yet, but she is in pre-school. She is also beginning gymnastics for the first time, so we have a little hustle and bustle to factor in as well.

New beginnings, new endeavors

Hi, all. I'm Angela. Ever since childhood, I've been just a tiny bit obsessed with cleaning and organizing. It followed me into adulthood. I know my penchant for having "a place for everything and everything in its place" makes me hard to live with, but the time not spent looking for something makes it totally worth it. As crazy as it sounds, cleaning and organizing are my hobbies (don't worry, I have others, too). Let's get one thing clear before I post any more entries, though. I'm a working mother and wife who, like everyone else, is struggling to find the balance.  I'm not domestic goddess, I'm not an expert, I'm not June Cleaver, and I'm not Suzy Homemaker. All I'm doing is sharing what is working at my house and hoping to pick up a few more tips along the way.