A Combo Blog :)

It's only been a couple of weeks or so since the last posting, but there's been at least 3 blog-worthy events. :)

First, Halloween. Growing up, I was never crazy about Halloween. Sure the candy was fun, but overall it was my least favorite of all the fall and winter holidays. But I have to say, since having Josh it's been so much fun. This year was the best yet. He and Scott dressed up as Robin and Batman. They were a hit!



Josh had tried on his costume a few times before Halloween and had some fun times. But this was the first time he'd seen Scott in costume and he was in awe. :)



And a quick family picture before trick-or-treating. No, I didn't dress up. I was Batman and Robin's neighborhood chaperone.



Last year, Josh was the cutest Curious George and had fun at his first trick-or-treating. But this year he really understood on a different level. The difference a year can make, especially regarding candy! He'd manage what sounded like a "cheat teat" when we got to the doors, and he'd blow kisses for thank you's. So sweet. :) And the finally booty! . . .



Two days a week, Josh goes to preschool, and the following week was Spirit Week. Wednesday was 80's day and Josh's 80's do was just too cute. I spiked his hair and dressed him in a little polo shirt with his collar sticking up. So funny. The spiked hair DID remind me of the 80's, in particular my little brother in the 80's. :)



Josh was proud of his look too! Hahahaha!



And finally, the cardinals! :) Well, this actually took place the day after Halloween, but oh well. Anyone grading my blog datelines? lol

Sunday morning, I dressed Josh in his authentic Cardinals Jersey (thank you J&S! :)) for church. As soon as I put it on him, he raised his eyebrows, pointed at his shirt, and said "JJo!" which is what he (and Scott) calls my brother Josiah. I thought it was so funny because YES Josiah is a HUGE Cardinals fan, but it's not like he wears his jersey everyday or even all that often. But I guess it's often enough. So we went downstairs to tell Josiah about it, so he got his jersey and they posed for a pic. :)



So that's it for now. I'll post a separate blog about more baby updates. Thanks as always for reading! :)

Baby Updates!

Here's a few updates for everyone, and some answers to the FAQs. :)

- We are having a BOY in case you didn't know (I found a couple of people lately that didn't).

- No we don't plan on trying for a girl, sorry. :)

- My c-section has been scheduled for Saturday, December 26th. My doctor will be out of town from the 18th-25th, so let's pray I don't go into labor then. I really want her to do my surgery.

- It is likely, I don't know percentages likely, but it is likely that I could go into labor early like I did with Joshua (36 weeks, 2 days). Which would be ideal for me as long as this boy is as healthy and ready a month early as Josh was. That would be early December, farther away from Christmas and my b-day, the better!

- No, we don't have a name yet. Not even close at this point. I keep asking God what his name is, but I guess it isn't time to know yet. :)

This pregnancy has been very similar to my last, with a few exceptions. I feel like I'm having to slow down earlier than with Josh, which is a little frustrating because I feel like I have lots to do, including keeping up with Josh. I had to do the 3-hour glucose test, but that came back normal, hallelujah! I didn't gain much weight with Josh, 15 lbs total. But with this one, I've been losing weight. I weigh less now at 30 weeks than I did at 6 weeks at my 1st OB appointment, 11 lbs less. Which I'm very glad about of course. This will hopefully keep me from getting plantar fasciitis again. Oh! and. . .

- No, I'm not having another baby shower. . .

NO BABY SHOWER NEEDED!

For those of you who keep asking, I don't need and am not having a baby shower. I've kept so much of Josh's stuff, there's only a handful of things I'll end up buying. We've already turned Josh's bed back into the crib and gotten him his own toddler bed. (It's very cute, matches the crib exactly. :)) I have several boxes of boys clothes, and of course lots of baby toys. I still have the baby tub, 2 diaper genies, etc. etc. etc.

And for those of YOU WHO INSIST ON BUYING SOMETHING :) thank you for your generosity, and please do NOT get any of the following as I have it or just will not use it.
- Blankets! - I counted the other day, and we have 25 baby blankets!
- Bottles - I already have several "Dr. Brown's" bottles that I prefer.
- Breastfeeding pillows - I have two, a boppy and a my brestfriend.
- Thermometer - I have a nice electric ear one.
- Bibs - got a ton of those too.

Like I said, I have lots of stuff but these are the most common things so I thought I'd list those. Just ask of course if you have any questions. Here's a few simple things that I know we'll need if you really feel the urge to shop. :)
- Diapers - I like Huggies Supreme for size newborn & 1, then regular Huggies for 2 & up.
- Baby detergent - I've used Baby ALL, and Dreft before and liked those.
- If you're a gift card person, I usually find the best deals at Target. Babies 'R Us is just too expensive and I almost never go there.

Anyway, I hope that answers all the questions. Got more? Just ask! :) Thanks for reading and keeping up with our family. :)

The Camera Story

My first camera that I can remember was the very rectangular 110-film camera. Come on. You member, member? The film was so easy to just pop in and out. And during that time (late 80's) there was one in every color. I'm pretty sure my sister had one too.




I snapped pictures of my friends and just stuff around the restaurant (family business, a.k.a. everyday hang out spot). Here's a picture that I found taken by the good ol' 110.






This was in the back of the restaurant. There was a big grass yard.

Later I had a 35mm like everyone else. To this day, loading that film is so annoying to me. So not too many pictures were taken during that big gap of life. Although who can resist the one-time use cameras? That was the "camera" of choice for field trips and other events.

And alas! the polaroid! Gone were the days of having to wait for your file to be developes to see all your photos, oh and trying to use up all the film on your roll so you could just take it to be developes! The last few pictures were always of nothing important - a favorite toy, the sky, haha! Although it was really my parents' polaroid, my sister and brother and I still had some fun with it. But, not too much, polaroid film wasn't cheap! One of my favorite memories was receiving a polaroid picture of the "garbage eater" that my brother made out of a clorox bottle. He mailed it to me with a letter when I first moved to AZ. I think he was 12. Wish I could put my finger on the pic to share with you now.

Which brings me to the real joy of taking pictures - capturing memories. And as a daughter of an artist, and well just being a girl I think, it's so fulfilling to create something beautiful. The brighter the colors, contrast, etc. the better. For me, the digital camera really helped! I know that's like blasphemy to some film purists. But I was finally able to have instant results, and of course no wasting film. Just delete the bad ones. The instant gratification also aided in better learning camera settings and which function worked best for each scene.

Kodak has long been my brand of choice for point and shoot digital cameras. They did event digital photography after all. My first was 2.1mp and it was awesome. 2.1 MILLION dots on 1 photo! Wow how clear! LOL Every 2 or 3 years I've managed to talk Scott into letting me upgrade. :) I think it went 3.2mp, 5.1mp, and my current is a 7.1mp which I've had for about 3, maybe 4, years. So I'm due for an upgrade!

But now, it's not just more megapixels that I'm after. I've discovered (and have been researching for about a year now) the DSLR. In a nut shell, it takes way better photos! It's what the pros use. :) I've got my eye on the Canon Rebel XSi for my "starter" dslr, that I plant to keep for more than just 2 or 3 years. It's so important to have a good camera, especially when you have kids. I don't want to miss anything and there couldn't be a better record-keeping method than awesome photography!



As we all know a bigger camera comes with a bigger price. And we arne't people to just charge the credit card. So I've been trying to save money for months. I say trying because I've spent my "camera fund" a couples of times. We've had some pretty awesome vacations this year. :)

But now I've made a fresh start and nothing is touching that $ until it's time to buy a camera! I've been buying tires and other not-everyday expenses with money from my Mary Kay business. So for my camera fund, I've been saving all the money from my jewelry sales. I started selling handmade jewelry after my jewelry box was full but I still wanted to make more! It's a fun crafty thing to do. And I love when other people love my "crafts". :) SO when you buy my jewelry, you are getting me one step closer to my dream camera!! Heathermade Jewelry

Miracle Beads Galore!

I made lots of new necklaces and earrings with these awesome miracle beads! Check them out on my website at http://thehiers.web.officelive.com.

AFFORDABLE prices you'll love! :)

3 New Jewelry Pieces

I've added 3 new Jewelry pieces to my website!
thehiers.web.officelive.com


$17
Turquoise & glass beads, 18 inches + 2 inch extender



$7
Turquoise & glass beads



$10
Glass beads, 7 inches

What a YUCK week!

Last week was SO much YUCK that there are no pretty pictures to add to this blog post.

It started with a ache in my hip from napping on the couch in one position for too long. The next morning, I had horrible back pain, mid & lower. But to top it off I was having painful chills and it took me a while to get out of bed. I drank some water and gatorade, and after puking that up, I headed off to church. I was moving slow, but okay. In church I actually questioned whether I was feeling mild contractions. Remember, I'm only 6 months. So I decided I'd take it really easy for the rest of the day. And I did.

Monday. Monday was not nice to me. I had more chills, the kind that make your whole body hurt. And then later, I was feeling warm. Little Josh was such a good boy and played so well by himself. I went ahead and called the doctor since I'd vomited again. I don't vomit. Anyway, the nurse suggested some OTC meds and vitamin B6 to help with the nausea. The times I lost my stomach, it was stupid - once after brushing my tongue and another after trying to swallow my huge prenatal vitamin. So I decided not to take any medicine since I wasn't really feeling much nausea. Oh yeah, and I forgot, I had this weird lose-my-breath cough. Totally dry, and completely annoying.

Tuesday, same. :(

By Wednesday I was feeling good enough to leave the house. So I took Josh to preschool and went to the chiropractor. Oh my, was it amazing. I'd also been having this pounding headache through my left eye too. He adjusted my neck and it sounded like popcorn at its popping peak as my neck untangled. So awesome. Later I went to the doctor since my symptoms hadn't really improved. They ruled out any urinary or bladder infections (since my back & sides were hurting) and to my surprise informed me that I was on the downslide of a virus. I never had any congestion, so I was surprised to know it was a virus. I guess I shouldn't have ruled it out since I had painful chills and sweats.

Thursday was better, and I went back to the chiropractor again. Awesome, again.

By Friday, I finally figured out that the back and side pains were separate than the viral thing. My sides hurt from coughing so much. I went to my friend Emily for a pregnancy massage. She has such a healing touch. It was so effective and relaxing. I need to schedule regular pregnancy massages now that I'm in the 3rd trimester!

Saturday was SO much better. Slow, but good over all. No more headaches, chills, or sweats. And I was able to eat well too!

I was getting ready for church on Sunday morning when I started having horrible stomach pains. It felt like I ate something bad and just needed to get it "out." After 4 episodes of vomiting and *more* :( I was still in pain by late afternoon. Fed up with pain, I called my Mom to pray with me. I'd been praying all week, but like I said, I was still in pain. Maybe I needed "two or more to agree" :) After Mom prayed with me she suggested I call the doctor. I really didn't think it was necessary but I'm glad I did.

The nurse told me to go to the hospital to make sure I wasn't having contractions (they're always a little concerned since Josh was born a month early). Scott was on the way home from work (drill weekend) and we headed to the hospital as soon as he got home.

Apparently, I WAS having contractions. They were at the top of my stomach. I thought it was completely gastrointestinal. Boy was I wrong. From being sick all week, vomiting that day, and hardly being able to even sip water, I became dehydrated. And I learned that dehydration is one of the top 3 causes of preterm labor. So after clearing a few tests, they gave me an IV to hydrate me and monitored me until the contractions stopped. It's all good. :) I'm so scared now of being dehydrated I'm drinking water all day long!

Thank God this is over. I'm continuing to pray for full recovery (feeling a little dizzy today and had a little bit of an upset stomach). But I'm so grateful for no pain!! Pain is so depressing. I don't have much longer before the baby gets here, add on top of that the holiday season, and I've got lots to do! So I need to be feeling great. :)

Trading Thanksgiving for September

With Scott's family here in AZ and my family in NC, we've been trying to alternate the holidays the last several years. So this year's plan is an AZ Christmas, which means a NC Thanksgiving. However, come this Thanksgiving, I will be a few days shy of 8 months pregnant. SO, no. I'm not traveling then. But I haven't been to NC since last November, so I wanted to squeeze a trip in before my 3rd trimester officially starts.

Josh and I arrived in Charlotte late Friday evening. Scott had to work all weekend (drill weekend). We had only 3 full days, and then back to Phoenix again on Tuesday. Despite the short time, we made the most of it and had a really good time.

First, Josh always gets so excited going to my Mom's because there is just so much room for him to run around, unlike our cookie-cutter AZ home with a teeny tiny yard.



He started by chasing the cat, then running up and down the hill with a football, taking a peak over the fence at the neighbors horses, back around the house to the play house, up and down the slide, said "Hi" to Papa working in his workshop, watched the train pass by (above picture) and finished off by climbing up the pool ladder and getting his fingers wet.

After a rest, we headed to dinner with some extended family. I love that we focus gatherings around food! :) And later, back to Mom's with my sister and her kids for a mini photo shoot. We got a few great pictures between crazy boys running in circles and Josh's pants falling down. Good times. :)



Church Sunday was great. Sometimes I get a little shell-shocked going back to a Pentacostal church after so many years. :) But I kept my cool and remembered where I came from LOL. There was a guest speaker and the message was great. That evening, I got to have dinner with my very good friend Erika, also my MK Director. :) It was her birthday, and we had a fun time catching up. Josh was having fun at home with Nana. Yay for me! :)

My Dad had to work the whole time we were there, so we went to his work for lunch to visit. I wish I had more time to spend with him.



My sister was kind enough to let me borrow her awesome camera that day :) and I took this cute picture of Mom & Josh after lunch.



And later that day, we met up with some long-time family friends for dinner. It's always good to see them. This picture is with Josephine and my sister Amber.



Tuesday was here before we knew it and time to head back to the desert. So nap time was priority that day since I knew Josh wouldn't sleep on the plane. He took a 2-hour nap, eventually slept 12 hours that night when we got home to AZ. And then he was still exhausted the next day at preschool. Jet-lag must've really gotten him. :)

We had a good time, as always. And also, as always, the only thing that would've made it better is having Scott there with us. Next time, for sure. Because I don't think I can sanely handle traveling with TWO little people. :)