Sleep...It's Overrated!

Well I understand that with a new baby in the house it is hard to actually get really good sleep because they wake up through the night to eat. And that is fine, I knew I was signing on for that when we decided to have another baby. However, I did not expect my other children to stop sleeping once the baby arrived. The other kids are 4 & 2 and have been sleeping through the night for a long time. Now that we have Blake at home the other kids have decided that sleep is overrated. They are wanting to stay up all night long. Ruby's philosophy is that as long as they are not up until midnight they are ok, (not that she can tell time) so of course every night it is 10-11pm before they want to finally give in. If that hasn't made them grouchy enough for the days to follow, now Luke has decided that he wants to start getting up around 3am and come into my room. It wouldn't be so bad if he would just go back to sleep, but he tosses and turns and can't get comfortable and then he wants me to rock him. So we get up, go to the rocking chair and rock until we both fall asleep in the chair. Then once he's asleep again, I haul him back to bed for him to get up a few hours later and do it again. Between this and Blake waking up to eat every 3 hours, my sleep is really diminishing fast! Luckily this morning they have all decided to sleep in, ironically enough, I can't sleep! :) Oh well, guess I'll have to try and convince everyone to take an afternoon nap!

Not to overlook my little Farmer

Reading back over my posts I realized that I really don't write about Lucas much. It is not because I love him any less, but Luke is 2 and at that age where he is usually in trouble for either fighting with his sister or messing up things he is not supposed to be in and I just don't feel like writing about how much trouble my kid is in. But being the typical boy that he is Luke loves farming! I don't really know why he loves it so much since we don't actually live on a farm, but I guess the exposure he gets to Phil's dads farm is enough for him to be so obsessed with it. So now, I am always tripping over trucks and trailers filled with farm animals that we are hauling around from farm to farm. When my kids are actually getting along and Ruby wants to play farm with Luke he I get tto listen to intersting conversations such as this:

Luke: Ruby you want to play farm?

Ruby: Ok, but only if I can drive the truck.

L: No, I need you to watch the gate like Uncle Larry does. (this would be Phil's uncle)

R: Fine, I'll watch the gate and not let the cows out.

L: Yeah, don't let them get out or they will cross the road. I will drive the loader tractor and try to keep them in.

R: I am going to take the truck and trailer and haul the steers to Chuck's.

L: I have to scoop up this cow and move her to the barn by the bull. That bull is really mean and I have to use the loader tractor so he doesn't get us.

R: Yeah Luke the bull is mean. You should kill him.

L: Yeah I will shoot him.

So there you have it. Don't mess with my kids, if you are mean they will want to take care of business! Farming is such a rough lifestyle. It's a good thing Lucas and Ruby don't farm together often. :)

A Thanksgiving to Remember...

So, I am doing my first Writer's Workshop from Mama Kat's writing assignment. I chose to write about a Thanksgiving to Remember...or more like a Thanksgiving I will never forget, here goes nothing!

It was Thanksgiving Day 1990, I was 8 years old and as usual we had laoded up and headed over to my grandma's for our traditional Thanksgiving day festivities. My brothers and I were particularly excited about this Thanksgiving because not only were we going to get spend the day with all of our cousins outside playing football and tag, but this year we were bringing our new four wheeler along. That's right, dad decided that since we had the new four wheeler, we would bring it over to Grandma's and we could take turns driving it around the yard (my dad was really proud of his new purchase and I am pretty sure he just wanted to take it to show it off, but we'll say it was for us kids!) 

The day started off as normal, we went to Grandma's that morning with the four wheeler in tow, we played outside. (Both of my parents come from large families, 10 siblings each, so family things are huge for us. This also makes the age range quite far. For example, my mom's youngest sister is only a year older than I am. A little odd I know, but pretty common for my generation in this area. Anyways, now that you have that little bit of info...)

Since the four wheeler was around, two of my aunts and I decided to take it for a ride. The oldest one drove, I sat in the middle and the aunt who is a year older than me sat behind me. It was a fun ride. We took a ride down the road, turned around and started coming back. As my dad was walking out the door to get us for Thanksgiving dinner the day took a turn for the worse! My aunt thought it would be fun to try to go off roading, as she took the four wheeler through the ditch, she lost control and we all went flying. She fell in front of the four wheeler, I fell to the side and my other aunt fell backwards. They were fine, neither of them hurt, however where I was thrown to the side there was a telephone pole of course which I collided with knocking me out.

Dad ran down the road to help us out, my uncle brought the truck and before I knew it I was lying across their laps on the way to the hospital with them tapping my shoulders and saying, "Stephanie, stay awake." But I just couldn't do it! The next thing I remember was waking up under bright lights in the operating room. When I finally came completely to I found that I had broken my jaw and they had wired it shut. So needless to say that meant NO THANKSGIVING DINNER for me! That was tough and therefore makes it a Thanksgiving I will never forget!

Random Thoughts

Well today I don't have much to talk about, so here are some random thoughts I have been having...

Shots:
What to do about flu shots? No parent wants there child to get or be sick, but how can we be sure that injecting them with a shot is going to help keep them more healthy? How do I know that this isn't just something that pharmecutical companies use to increase their sales of vaccines? Afterall, no shot is 100% effective and your kids can still get sick, right? Well if that is the case then why bother with the shot at all? To be totally honest, the only reason I am considering it is because Blake is so little I just really don't want him to get sick, so if I can keep the other 2 from getting sick it will help us all out. Otherwise, to me sickness makes us a litle stronger, sure it gets us down for a few days, but then as we recover we appreciate being healthy. Then there is the chicken pox for example. Now they make every kid take a chicken pox shot before going to school, why? Our parents all had the chicken pox, we had the chicken pox and we all survived. Sure it was a few uncomfortable days for everyone and you had to fight to keep from itching, but after it was all over it was no big deal. Now they want to try to prevent any of this from happening. What is the point? So schools don't see a decrease in enrollment for a few days from kids being sick, so they can keep their government funding up. I see their concern, but don't think it is means to mandate a shot for everyone. Afterall, there has to be some long term effects to injecting all these things into your bodies.

Weather:
I haven't been outside for the last several days, partially because of the new baby and partially because I have had 2 other sick kids, but I am so jealous that I missed the last week/weekend of nice days and now as I look out the window it looks like it is raining and cold and winter is really starting set on. I am not ready for cold raining weather yet. That means more staying inside, more bundling up when we have places to go and more possibilities of sickness!!  YUCK!

Christmas:
It seems that Halloween has just ended and yet Thanksgiving is right around the corner, but all that people can talk about is Christmas! Typically I don't like to think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, great food, lots of friends and NO PRESENTS!! Don't get me wrong, I like presents as much as the next person and I like giving people presents when I know what to give people and feel that a gift is just for them. But it seems like anymore Christmas gift giving has gotten harder each year, I don't know what to get people anymore, even my kids. Its not like they need for anything!  Yet, this year from some reason part of me is looking forward to Christmas. I look forward to having a snow filled (only on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) season, making everyone slow down and take a little more time to enjoy family and friends. I look forward to visiting with others I haven't seen in awhile and hearing my kids amusement while they look out the windows at all the pretty Christmas lights. Hearing them get so excited about the talk of Santa Claus and when he will be visiting. Decorating the house and baking cookies, Christmas caroling all has me very excited for the season, I can't wait! However, lucky for me it will be here before I know it!!

Sickness & Selfishness

Well, we are at home now for week two with Baby Blake. He is still doing really well which is great. I wish I could say the same for the other two kids. Luke started with a fever on Sunday and finally stopped today, however Ruby started with her fever today. I have felt pretty guilty the last few days (like I made him sick) for Luke because he looked miserable and I could tell he felt miserable and there wasn't anything I could do. Nothing but sit around with him and try to rock him when he would let me and get him something to eat or drink when he was hungry. Otherwise I just had to sit and watch. And now it is starting again with Ruby. Poor kid started with a fever this afternoon and has done nothing but sleep since. She is usually my chipper, go getter who refuses to rest and now she can barely keep her eyes open for a minute before she falls back asleep. So, it looks like we will start again and I can continue to feel guilty for something I may or may not have had control over, hoping that I can keep Blake from getting the same thing.

And then there is the BIG DECISION that I need to make, to get the flu & H1N1 shot or not? This shouldn't be a big deal right. Should be an easy decision, right? Well it isn't for me. I hate to put vaccines into our bodies and not know any long term effects, however I also do not want for everyone to be sick all winter long either, especially with the new baby in the house. We have not really been a sick family, rarely in the past has either of my other kids been sick and when they were it was fairly short lived. However, since it is only the beginning of November and we are already starting with sickness I am more inclined to consider the shots. Call me selfish, but I really don't want to spend all of my sick or vacation days at home with children and I really want to avoid putting the youngest in the hospital. I have started going stir crazy already at home and that is just for the few days I have been home with the new baby. Don't think I could stay at home all the time.

So, I guess that tomorrow we will be going to the Health Department to try and get an H1N1 shot for the family and Friday we will be getting the family flu shots. Then we will see how the winter goes and hope that it is not a sick one. Keep your fingers crossed for us, I know that the shots are not 100% and will not keep you from getting sick at all. Hopefully everyone else will have a healthy winter also!

My Little Sponge

So last night we are in the kitchen making supper and Ruby as usual is full of stories for Phil and I. As she is sitting on the counter Phil asks her for his kiss for the day, because she hasn't given him one yet since he's been home. She agrees and afterwards the following conversation takes place.

Ruby: Dad, theres this this thing on Lores's TV the other day that you can do and never have to shave again.

Phil: Oh really?

R: Yeah, its called smooth aways and its this flat thing and you can just rub it on and then  you will never have whiskers or have to shave again. (She is rubbing her arms as she says this.)

P: So you think I should get that so I don't have to shave anymore?

R: Yeah, you should get it and then you won't never ever have to shave again and you can just use smooth aways. When I get bigger if I have whiskers I am going to get smooth aways so I don't have to shave ever.

As I sat there listening to their conversation I couldn't help but laugh. Just shows me that they really do pick up on what they see & hear whether you think they are paying attention or not. But  on the brighter side, she keeps me informed on all the latest infomercial products! Afterall, never shaving again does sound tempting!! :)

Day One at Home

So, yesterday we finally made it home from the hospital and started to get settled in. Ruby was determined to help bring the baby home, so Grandma Kristy was kind enough to bring her up to the hospital right as we were getting to leave so she could ride home with us. Luke was still at Grandma Nancy's, but met us in Effingham later also. So from there we headed out to see how Blake was going to like his new home. All in all it was an enjoyable afternoon evening. My Grandma Linda had warned me to have patience with the older kids once we got the baby home because they would be so excited that it may not be long before they are driving me crazy. :) Well good thing that Grandma Kristy was thinking of us and she sent home some new puzzles and play dough with Ruby, so that kept the older kids occupied for awhile making the transition a little easier. Later that evening was a little more of a challenge when Luke wanted to run around and ride his bike. Sometimes he gets a little too hyper for his own good and makes it hard to have the baby around. But we survived. Blake slept fairly decent through the night, we did get up several times, however that is to be expected with a new born. Hopefully over the next few weeks we will get into a routine and only be up a couple of times. That is our goal, we will see how it goes. Wish us Luck!! :)

It's a BOY!!

Ok, Ok, so we knew that it was a boy already, but he is finally here. Blake Philip Westendorf was born Friday, November 6, 2009 at 9:27pm. He weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 21 inches long. His siblings are soooo excited that he is finally here they couldn't wait to meet him.

Phil brought the kids to the hospital yesterday to meet the new little guy and Ruby was such a proud big sister. Lucas really didn't know the difference yet. He was impressed with the new baby for about five minutes and then was much more impressed with all the other high tech equipment the hospital has to offer! :)

Ruby on the other hand was extremely excited and couldn't hold the baby enough, she even had to come back with daddy later that night and help put Blake to bed (and herself actually, she fell asleep in the hospital bed with me, it was so cute.)

Anyways, everyone is doing very well. Here are a couple of pictures and we will keep everyone posted. Thanks for all the well wishes, they worked wonderfully!