Best Big Brothers

I can admit that I was a little nervous about bringing a new baby home. I did not want to upset the balance in our home and create feelings of jealousy. I should have known that i had nothing to worry about, the boys adore their new brother. They are constantly asking to hold him and get overjoyed when they make him smile. Connor already has plans to teach Emmett how to read and write when he gets older. Aiden is planning to teach him baseball and how to make pancakes. I love watching their faces as they hold him and sing to him. They make up cute little lullabies for him, which makes my heart completely melt. I am so blessed to have three amazing sons and two boys that instantly welcomed our new addition into their hearts.

Emmett Henry Sanders

Last Pic before going into the Hospital

Baby #3 has arrived! I should not have been surprised that his entry into the world was the hardest of the three, since this pregnancy has been the most difficult. This whole journey of being pregnant and having a baby during a pandemic has been a roller coaster and less than ideal situation. Dave did not get to go to any appointments with me, half of the appointments were over the phone and I had to take my own blood pressure regularly from home. I had horrible heartburn the whole pregnancy, everything hurt to eat or drink, including water. 

We moved and bought a house while I was pregnant, which is amazing to have our own home but presented us with a new set of challenges. We were now an hour + away from the doctors and hospital where I had to deliver, and our area is known for it's residents getting snowed in. It did end up snowing close to my due date, but Emmett was not yet ready to make his appearance. On February 4th, I had my last doctors appointment. She told me that I was at 3cm and scheduled induction for the 7th, but said that she did not think that I would make it till then. She suggested that since I lived so far away, that I go for a long and walk and try checking into the Labor and Delivery building to see if I progressed at all. 

Dave and I went to downtown Lancaster to walk the boulevard and get some ice cream. I did not want to walk there for very long because it was surprisingly crowded for a Thursday. We decided to go to a park instead, and I basically ran in circles for 20-30 minutes hoping that would be enough. We went to the WIP (the Labor and Delivery Building) and they allowed me to enter but Dave had to remain outside. The told us if I was admitted and I tested negative for COVID that they would allow him to enter and join me. They took me back to triage where I got strapped to a bed with monitors and they "monitored" me. I could not reach my phone to let Dave know what was going on, the nurses were not very nice and left me alone most of the time and did not tell me anything. Finally after a couple of hours, I was able to reach my phone (while almost falling out of the bed) and told Dave they still weren't sure if they were going to admit me even though my contractions were 3 minutes apart. Finally, after 4 hours they said they were going to admit me, gave me a COVID test and Dave was finally able to join me when I was assigned a delivery room.

The people in this department were a LOT better. We had a wonderful nurse named Marla, who made me feel as comfortable as possible and chose to stay 2 hours after her shift to try to be there when I give birth. We met the doctor, who is said to be the best, the doctor that the nurses would choose to have their babies with if they had the option. He made sure that I had ice chips, and laughed at how much I was enjoying them, saying that I was eating them like it was a fine steak. I hadn't had anything to eat or drink for 5 hours at this point, so it felt like I was enjoying a rare delicacy at that point. Unfortunately, Emmett decided to not be a quick delivery like his brother(Connor), and we had to get a new nurse and a new doctor. Thankfully, the next nurse was equally as great, after the horrible time in triage I was quite nervous about new personnel. Our new nurse, Jasmine, was very personable and did everything to make me as comfortable as possible. I wanted to have this birth without an epidural because the last time I got one, they had to poke me 3 times and I had back pain at the site for the next two years. I held out for a long time but unfortunately my blood pressure started spiking, reaching 199 multiple times and our nurse recommended the epidural to get my pain under control because my body was not handling it well. At 6:00 in the morning I got the epidural and my blood pressure finally stabilized. Finally, I reached 10cm and our nurse said I could start pushing. When the doctor came in, the nurses made sure that my mask was pulled up until Emmett came into the world and the doctor had left the room. He had the cord wrapped around his neck one time but the staff all said he was fine and that everything was normal and that sometimes that happens on the way out. He passed all of his tests with flying colors and latched right away. We checked out of the hospital the next day and took our third perfect little boy home.

February 5, 2021  9:38am
8 lbs 10oz   21.5 inches

Let’s Try This Again

 It has been a couple years since I posted on this blog, but with this new addition about to arrive I find myself needing to start it back up. I have written about the birth of both my boys so far on this blog, and it would not be right if I did not have an entry for my third son when he arrives. To say a lot has happened since I last posted would be an understatement of epic proportions. The world that we live in has changed in ways, I do not think that any of us could have foreseen. But despite all the challenges life has thrown at us, we continue to rise and find the good where it is to be found. Last year, we were blessed with the good fortune to buy our first (and forever) home. We live in the most beautiful and safe community and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to raise my boys in such a magical place. I will be updating the blog with pictures of the house and more details later, for now I just wanted to say I am breaking my way back into the writing world and to apologize in advance if I am a little rusty. 🙂

Cleaner Living

I have to admit, on the long list of things that I enjoy doing, cleaning has never been a contender.  I just could not see the point in cleaning something up that instantly was going to get dirty again. I would like to say that I woke up on day and all my views about cleaning had magically changed, but that would be a lie. I can say that as a manager of a household and as the caretaker of two little humans, I do see the necessity of it and I can appreciate when my house is nice and clean. I will also say that anything that makes the inevitable and never-ending job of cleaning my house easier and more efficient is going to get my attention.
 Something else that hadn't really been on my radar before having children was the chemicals in all the household cleaners I was "supposed" to be using. Obviously, you shouldn't be inhaling the bleach fumes in a closed area, my mom always made sure that I had the windows/door open when we cleaned the bathrooms but who really knew how harmful all those fumes and chemicals really were/are? Sure, there is a possibility that we are killing some of the bacteria while we are cleaning, but what else are we killing in the process? I also didn't realize how ineffective some of those products that I had been using really were.
My son, Connor, has some mysterious form of anemia that no one can find a reason for. He also has an affinity for cleaning. I would rather not expose his little body to anything else and risk his health in any way because he actually likes to clean(who is this kid?).

 Through the next couple months I am going to go over some of the products that I have switched over to and why. I promise to always be honest if something doesn't work the way I expected it to, or if I haven't fully switched over on some items yet. I refuse to endorse something unless it works, which is why I have been using Norwex products for over a year before deciding to become a consultant for them. With this post, I am launching my first official "party" and would love if you guys would check out the catalog, and my website and let me know if you have any questions!

Amber's Norwex Store

P.S. I am not looking for anyone to join as a consultant, so don't worry about me hitting you up to join! If you are interested in hosting a party though, and earn free product I would be so happy to help you!

Connor

 This is my feisty three-year-old. The kid that makes me hold my breath longer than I ever thought I could.  He pushes me to my limits with his no-fear, action-packed, no holds barred approach to life. The great thing about this is it keeps me in the moment and it makes the calm moments he has so much sweeter. I love the first photo because it captures his personality. Connor is into everything, eager to know all things and extremely stubborn. I love seeing his personality develop and his ability to make me laugh and look at the world in different ways. I thought I would put up a small blurb about Connor, since a lot of my posts have been about Aiden since he has so much going on in his young life. I am so in love with this kid's beautiful blue eyes!!

Crossing Things Off

There are many things on my bucket list that I may never cross off, but I get excited every time that I do get to put a line through one of them. "Learn to sew" was one of my bucket list items, and although I still have a lot to learn I feel comfortable to check it off the list. I have successfully completed 20+ projects, including my latest, a blanket for Dave's birthday. A blanket for Dave was quite the endeavor because I wanted it to be really nice and REALLY big(Dave-Sized), not your typical blanket. I have had the material for the blanket for over a year, I just found the project really daunting. Finally, after making Christmas presents for my family, mending/altering a bunch of clothes and realizing that I needed to do this birthday on a budget, I decided that I was ready to tackle the blanket. It turned out better than I expected, not perfect, but still really nice. I finally feel comfortable with my sewing machine and like I can do anything! There is so much more to explore in the sewing world but I no longer feel incredibly intimidated and I look forward to the journey! 

Bucket List:

Learn to Sew
What's next??

Aiden's First Game

We made an unexpected trip to California this past week, which has thrown off my blogging schedule. Sorry for the missed week, but instead of letting it get me down I am just going to push on through. On Saturday, March 24, Aiden had his very first baseball game. He was so nervous, so of course, I was also very nervous. Once he was out there, he did great and had an awesome time! I love watching him play a sport and enjoy it. I hope that he continues to grow as a player and a person, and that his love for sports continues to flourish. I got to do snacks for this game, which made it extra special for both of us. I made little goody bags filled with lemonade, pokemon fruit snacks, a squirt gun and homemade rice krispie treats made to look like baseballs. I really enjoy going the extra mile to make things special for the ones I love.

Batter Up!

Sports have always played a pretty big role in my life. We have been participating in them since before I can even remember. I always wanted my kids to be active in sports, because I feel like there are so many benefits from playing. In a world that is dominated by screens and technology, it is nice to interact with other people and get some physical activity in. I am excited to say that we signed up Aiden for baseball this year, and so far he is absolutely loving it! He ends almost every practice with a huge smile on his face and excitement for the next time he gets to play again. I say "almost every practice" because the last practice ended in tears, while he was batting the ball hit off his bat and into his chin which hurt. I encouraged him to finish his turn at bat, and he ended up getting a hit and running in the bases. :) Tough love for the win. Connor is having a hard time sitting on the sidelines, he wants so badly to play. We caved yesterday and bought him a little glove so that he can at least practice, and play catch with us when we go to the park. Aiden's first game is this week and I am so excited and so nervous for him, I did not realize you could get these kinds of butterflies for other people! Aiden playing a sport is also giving me a chance to work on some sports photography. I am hoping that as the season progresses I will get better and better. 

Birthday Adventures

Birthday Donuts! 

Somehow six years have elapsed since my eldest was born. I closed my eyes and when I opened them my baby had developed into an amazing kid.  He is smart-as-a-whip,  funny, helpful, polite, incredibly silly, and super empathetic.  We started his sixth birthday off in our "loose" tradition of birthday donuts. Both boys gobbled both of their donuts up and then we headed home to pack for our trip to California for Aiden's birthday party. While I was packing our bags, I hear a knock at my door and a very concerned voice telling me that Connor is in danger.  I make my way to the living room to find my incredibly guilty-looking son, staring at the floor and holding his stomach. They both then inform me that Connor was playing with a penny in his mouth and has accidentally swallowed it.  Inside, I am having a mini freak out but I remain calm and ask Connor a series of questions to determine my next course of action. He tells me that his stomach hurts, so since there is pain after swallowing a foreign object I decide to take him into the emergency room.  Dave was already at work, so I headed to

Brotherly Concern

See the penny?!

IHOP first to let him know what was going on. Apparently, I have a terrible poker face, his manager told him that he could leave because of the deeply concerning look I had on my face. So Aiden's 6th birthday was spent in the emergency room.  When we walked in Aiden was crying, out of concern for his brother and the ladies initially thought that he was the one we were coming in about. They were surprised to hear the calm and collected three-year-old was the emergency room patient. A couple hours later we left the emergency room knowing that he swallowed the penny and instructed to search through his excrement to make sure he passed it.  They said that it should only take a couple days because of how far along it already was....but in actuality it took 11 days. 11 long days. I am happy to report that we took another X-ray this week and his little body is penny-free! This mom is very thankful not to be searching through poo anymore, without a doubt one of the worst mom duties I have ever had.

Hooray! Penny Free!!!

Even though we were in the emergency room the day before Aiden's birthday party, we were still able to pull off a pretty good party. Aiden had an amazing time, and I think everyone else did too, which at the end of the day is all that matters to me.  We are so blessed to have such amazing family and friends that always make our parties successful. It is all about the wonderful people that we spend it with.

I put together a slideshow of some of the pictures of the party.

I hope you enjoy! 

(I suggest making the slideshow larger so you can see the pictures. I will also be posting these pictures to Facebook, so feel free to enjoy them there as well!)