My Goals for 2012....

2011 was a decent year. Nothing truly remarkable happened, besides the birth of my gorgeous daughter, of course. That was the best day, ever. She's so beautiful, and the absolute light of my life. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father has entrusted Clint and I with this amazing spirit.

I'm determined to make 2012 a year of improving myself and my family. With that being said, the following is a list of goals I would like to accomplish for 2012 (in no particular order)....

*Project 365: I would like to take, and publish (via Facebook or my blog here) at least one photo a day. I'm hoping this will improve my photography and editing skills.
*Lose weight, be healthier: I won't put a number on it, because I'll get discouraged and quit. But I want to make healthier choices that will lead to a healthier body weight.
*Cut out soda.
*Make an effort to get ready every day. Sometimes I feel like being lazy, rather than do my hair and makeup.
*Learn to sew. I'd love to make cute things for my sweet McKynlee :)
*Make a budget, and stick to it. This will allow us to be financially responsible.
*Open a savings account. Use it for emergencies only.
*Move into our own place. Make that place a beautiful home.
*Try at least one new recipe every week.
*Scrapbook at least one page a week.
*Make at least one craft a month.
*Go out on a date with Clint at least once a month.

This is what I have so far. I'm sure I'll think of other things that I'll add later. I feel like I've got a good list going. What are your goals for 2012?

ABC's of Me...

Age: 26 (27 in just 4o days)
Bedsize: Queen. and honestly...we need a king. We're both bed hogs lol :p
Chores you hate: Um...all of them?? LOL but I do them. They're necessary.
Dogs: N/A!
Essential start to your day: Kisses for my baby girl!! Love waking up to her smiling face! <3
Favorite color: Turquoise or Black
Gold or silver: Silver or white gold
Height: 5'8"
Instruments you play: N/A
Job title: Customer Service Associate @ Wal Mart. Whoopee.
Kids: My darling McKynlee Ann!! Love her so much!! :D
Live: in Mesa, AZ
Mothers' Name: Sandra (birth mom) and Sharleen (stepmom)
Nickname: Clint calls me Beaker. Because I guess I sound like Beaker from the Muppets when I get sick and lose my voice? :p
Overnight hospital stays: When I had McKynlee a few months ago. Made it 25 years without a single hospital stay!! :D
Pet peeves: people chewing with their mouth open. Drives me batty. Mumbling. That drives me nuts too...now I understand why my parents always told me to "stop mumbling!" :p
Quote from a movie or tv show: "She's armed....he's dangerous" "....no." -Castle
Right or left: right handed
Siblings: I have 4 little brothers. William, Alex, Nicky and Ted
Time you wake up: Really depends on what time I have to work. Usually around 7:30 am though. McKynlee is usually ready to eat right around then :)
Underwear: I own some. I wear it. That is all.
Vegetable you hate: Lima beans. They're disgusting. Okra, too!
What makes you run late: McKynlee. LOL! I'm still learning how to manage my time to get us both ready on time :p
Xrays you've had: my right hand, both my feet.
Yummy food you make: I bake lots of yummy cookies. Texas sheet cake. All those yummy treats :)
Zoo animal: um....cheetah?? :)

6 Weeks

McKynlee Ann

6 Weeks Old

How is it possible that 6 weeks has already passed since you came into our lives?? It seems like its been a week, at most. We are completely enamored with you. We love you more than words will ever say. We can't remember our lives before you, and we can't imagine our lives without you.
You've started smiling at us. Not all the time. When we went to get your pictures taken on your 6 week mark, you wouldn't smile for any of the pictures....so the smiles aren't very frequent. We love them though, when you share them with us. Your eyes have lightened up, but we're not sure if they'll stay blue, or eventually change. (Daddy thinks they'll stay blue.) You're over 10 pounds now! Daddy calls you his little chunk. :) Everyone who meets you says you're gorgeous. We have to agree. :) You're holding your head up a little better every single day. I can't believe you're growing up so fast!

9/11/2001

Ten years ago today, tradgedy struck the United States. I turned on the tv that morning to watch the news as I got ready for school. It was very routine for me. I remember seeing the headline "Plane hits WTC." I remember thinking, "what is the WTC??" So silly, that I didn't even know what it was. Everybody remembers where they were, what they were doing, as the plane struck the second tower. Myself? I was a junior at Apache Junction High School. I sat in my math class, watching with my classmates in horror as the tower crumbled. We knew our lives would never be the same. I remember students at school holding candlelight ceremonies, moments of silence, etc. I took part in several of them.

So many people lost their lives today. Every year, we stop to remember. Remember the brave men and women who selflessly gave their lives that day. Remember the innocent civilians, whose lives were tragically taken from them. Whether or not we knew someone in the towers, we were all affected.

Ten years later, we celebrate the lives of those we lost. We reflect upon the amazing show of patriotism that occured in the weeks afterwards.

God Bless the USA.

Four Weeks Old...

How gorgeous is SHE??? :D

Forgive me for being such a terrible blogger. Its been a CRAZY week, so this post is actually a day late.

McKynlee is officially one month old!! Where has time gone?? My sweet baby will be headed off to kindergarten before I know it. I know that seems extreme, but its so true. I wish I could keep her little and cuddly forever. She loves cuddles with her mommy and daddy. She's got the most adorable chubby cheeks, and she loves kisses on them. We fall more in love with her every single day. Is that even possible?? Its happening. She's weighing in at 10 lbs 1 oz, as of her one month mark. We took her to the doctor, she's got a slight head cold going on. Good thing is its in her nose only. Hasn't migrated to her ears or her chest. We're using saline drops and a bulb syringe to remove boogers a few times a day. Also sleeping with a humidifier. Hopefully, she'll feel much better in a few days. Though, despite being sick, she's still such a great baby. She only cries when she is hungry, or wants/needs a diaper change. She fusses every once in a while. Usually because she's uncomfortable, or bored. She coos and "talks" to us all the time. Such a sweet girl, she is. Everybody loves her. :)

We're headed out of town for a few days next week. Just going up to St. Johns for some peace and quiet (hopefully). We'll go up to Big Lake and do some fishing. We cannot WAIT!! Its been far too long. We're curious to see how McKynlee handles the long car ride. She's not such a fan of her car seat for an extended period of time. Hopefully, she'll sleep most, if not all of, the trip.

Two weeks later....

McKynlee is two weeks old today. I can't believe how quickly time has passed. Mommy is sleep-deprived, but completely in love with my baby girl. Clint was home with us for a week, which was nice. He took care of her at night, when she's most awake. I was pretty doped up on pain killers, since I'd just had surgery. But he's since gone back to work. He hates it, leaving us every night. He'd much rather be home with the two of us. I've got about another 3 weeks of maternity leave left. The thought of returning to work and leaving her breaks my heart. I'll be a wreck when the time comes. For now, I choose not to think about it. :)

I still haven't shared McKynlee's birth story. I checked into the hospital at about 8 pm on wednesday night, August 10th. By 9:30, I was started on Cervadil (sp?) to begin the induction process. It was 12 long hours. I was almost always hooked to monitors. They took them off around 2 am, to let me get an hours sleep. It was the best hour, ever. :p At around 9:30 am, they removed the Cervadil, and checked me for progress. Nothing. Seriously?? The contractions were there. I swear it! Ok, lets try something else. Dr. Rowan decided to try prostaglandin (again, sp?). That was a 4 hour process. The contractions were pretty brutal. I was having back labor. The contractions were pretty painful, and made it impossible to get comfortable. I went through a ton of heating packs, trying to ease the pain. At the end of 4 hours, the nurse checked me for progress. NOT A THING! Oh my heck. Seriously? Dr. Rowan was in surgery at that moment in time, so they took a message to her, and I was told she'd be in to see me shortly. Within 20 minutes, she came in, to check me herself. I had made very little progress, from when she last checked me in her office (4 days prior). She told me we could continue with the induction process, but that I probably wouldn't give birth to McKynlee until late friday or even saturday morning. Or, she could c-section. If I had made any real progress at all, I would have opted to continue with the induction process. But, I couldn't have pain meds in the immediate future, because they'd slow down any potential progression even more. So, I opted for the c-section. Her head was too big to descend into the birth canal, which is why I wasn't progressing, despite the contractions. I love that she left the decision up to me.
The c-section was NOT that bad. Really. Everyone tried to tell me horror stories of c-sections. The absolute worst part of it, for me, was being numb from the ribs down. I know that sounds dumb, but I had a panic attack. I knew my legs were there, but I couldn't move them. Obviously. But it panicked me. I kept telling them that I wanted to stretch my legs out. They finally told me that my legs were as stretched out as they could possibly be. :p When they stretched my uterus to pull her out, I vomited. It was the most intense wave of nausea I've ever experienced. They told me it was completely normal. As soon as they stopped stretching my uterus, after she was out, the nausea passed. As soon as she was out, they pushed Valium into my IV. I assume it was to mellow me out, stop my panic attack. It worked, and the rest of the surgery is a blur. It seemed to go really fast. I remember Dr. Rowan talking about my placenta. You'll remember that I had a chorioangioma on it. Next thing I know, they were moving me to my bed, and wheeling me back into my labor & delivery room. There, I got to hold my sweet baby girl for the first time. She was/is so beautiful, and I fell in love at first sight. It was short lived, however. My blood pressure went completely nuts. It plumeted, and they rushed to stabalize it. She was taken from me while they pushed meds to fix it. At its lowest point, it was at something like 70/40. Then it shot up to something like 187/140. Numbers are a guesstimate, because I don't remember the exact numbers. Finally, it stabalized to 117/90, or something around there. They were satisfied enough to let me cuddle with my baby girl again, while still monitoring me very closely.
After about an hour, I was wheeled over into postpartum. I was still extremely nauseated, so I didn't spend too much time with the baby. I kept vomiting, for hours. I hadn't had anything to eat in 24 hours. I was used to eating every 2 hours, because of the gestational diabetes. I begged the nurse for something to eat. I told her I'd stop vomiting if I could just put a little food in my stomach. She finally brought me 2 saltine crackers and some sugar free jello. I ate it, extremely slowly. Sure enough, I stopped vomiting. Around 2 am, I really spent quality time bonding with McKynlee.
She's absolutely perfect. My nose, and my coloring. She's got adorable pouty lips. Lots of dark hair. The chubbiest cheeks. She's gorgeous. We tell her how beautiful she is a few million times a day. She's very, very loved by all. Spoiled rotten. Already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger.

Introducing....

Ms. McKynlee Ann McLaws

Born at 4:20 pm on 8/11/11

8 lbs. 4.7 oz. 21 inches long

She's beyond precious. So beautiful. We're completely in love.