Cutest Baby EVER!...(In Addition to the First Two Cutest Babies Ever!)

This is just proof I'm already making this little man happy =)  OR he's just sleeping like crazy and giving us sleep smiles all day long...there'll be more pictures to come at some point...when I get more time...or when Ayris gets off the computer long enough for me to do so (we don't have cable currently...we've had Direct TV out three times...and now we're having issues with the association...SUCKS not having cartoons to put on!)

Adler Christopher Collins

So yesterday I had a plan...we were going to go in at 7:30 a.m. and he'd be born before 2...for sure...because the other two kids came in between 2 and 3 and this was my third so of course he'd go faster! Yeah...he had absolutely no intentions of getting out yesterday. He made us wait and wait and wait...but then at 5:59 p.m. he was ready! He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces, was 20.5 inches long and ONLY had a 13 inch head =) So even though he was almost as heavy as Asher, he looks smaller because of his cute little head. He also has hair that is dark, instead of Asher and Ayris' bald blonde fuzz that they had...so we finally got a baby that looks a lot more like Chris starting out! I, of course figured he would be bald and blonde like the others so I think at this point, I'm just not going to have preconceived notions and PLANS for delivery in place when it's time for the next birth =) Anyway, I'm itching to get back into bed with him so I'll just throw up a couple of pictures for you...Obviously there will be more to come...I just don't have a ton of pictures yet and the ones I do, it takes forever to edit and then arrange them before I can even put them on the blog.

Wow...this is my 200th Post! What Better Way To Celebrate Than To Go Have a Baby!!

Well...this is the last time you'll be seeing me like this:



Matter of fact, it's probably the last time you'll be seeing me in any pictures on the blog for a while...because that cute little belly is about to become about 33 rolls worth of fat once this little guy comes out...at which point...there ain't gonna be nothin' cute about that! (The rolls...not the baby...I'll be posting PLENTY of him...if he's cute...I kid, I kid...sorta.

Baby Adler Coming Soon...Like Tomorrow More Than Likely...

hiya all  (<----that was from Chris...it was actually his idea to start a blog forever ago and I thought it was a dumb idea...so guess who has never even written a post??  and who decided to make one after all =)

SO...on to the baby update...even though lazy butt nurse never called to schedule it...they were still able to get me in tomorrow...that is unless a ton of mommies decide to go into labor on their own tonight leaving no rooms for me tomorrow...but the chances of that, I'm assuming are small...I have to call in at 6:30 tomorrow a.m. and if it's a go...I need to be there by no later than 7 a.m.  Which at this point, means Adler will probably be born less than 24 hours from now...that kind of just made me nauseous when I wrote that down just now.  Scary!  So much to do...so little time at this point...I have lots of hair to shave...toes to repaint...a bag to pack...dishes to do, carpet to vacuum...a bath to take...mail to sort...TV shows to watch (you know that's important!) and kids to love on before their two little lives change forever tomorrow.  Ayris was ecstatic to find out she would be meeting her brother tomorrow...she is dying to hold him...and she even conveniently asked again how he got into my stomach in the first place...so I retold her the story of daddy putting his fishies in me to go find my egg and that those together made a baby =)  That seemed to be enough information at this point...she already knows how dogs make babies so I assumed if she persisted I would just tell her it's the same way...I honestly am the type of parent who could care less and will answer any of her questions honestly if she keeps looking for information...the only problem I foresee is other parents getting mad that my child has taught their child about the birds and the bees...or the fact that Santa and the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, etc...aren't real...obviously we haven't told her any of that yet either but I'm not one to keep things from the kids...Ayris already knows about bad people being in the world...and that bad things happen...little kids get cancer and die...or hit by cars and die...strangers can take you if you're not staying close to mom or dad or grandma, etc...I personally think it's a disservice to let a child think otherwise...I would rather my children be less trusting of strangers than not...ANYWAY, not sure where I was going with all of that!

I'm going to leave you with some pictures of the kids from yesterdays family outing: 















(Notice the nice wrinkles I have on my eyebrow from squinting to take the picture...another sign of my impending old age!)

Gopher Men Stay in First, McGinnis Wins Decathlon (AGAIN!!)

Is it any surprise that my brother has gone and done it again?  He just finished in first place for the Big Ten Outdoor decathlon...for those of you not keeping track, this is my third "1st place" blog post re: my brothers' track meets...in addition to the Big Ten outdoor, he also secured the top spot in the Big Ten Indoor and Drake Relays...which only means he has nationals to go...and that happens this June...wonder what that would feel like...to be number one in the nation?  Pretty amazing I'm sure. 

Only problem is that it's kind of sparking my competitive side...I'm starting to feel like a loser sitting on my couch accomplishing nothing...I think I may have to try to poll the nurses at the end of my "labor" day...just to see if I could win the title of fastest delivery or something...I mean, Asher was out in 7 minutes...I'm going to shoot for like 4 minutes or less this time with my amazing pushing skills...so maybe I could win first place in that?...but I'm sure it's not the same...I wouldn't have hundreds of people there looking on as I secure that title...or anyone blogging about it for that matter...except for me of course...you know I'll be tooting my own horn on here if I'm a rockstar in the delivery room.

Seriously though...RJ is pretty much amazing me with his determination and pure awesomeness lately...and I'm going to be super bummed if he doesn't come in 1st at Nationals after all this buildup (no pressure RJ)...below is a picture from the Gopher sports site along with a little blurb they wrote on him.



The Minnesota men’s track & field team continues to build on its team lead with titles and depth at the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Bloomington, Ind. After the second day and eight events scored, Minnesota has more than doubled up its nearest competitor. The Gophers have compiled 79 points, followed by Indiana with 36, and Purdue and Wisconsin with 35.

The Golden Gophers’ brightest moment of the second day of the Championships was the performance of senior R.J. McGinnis, who captured the decathlon by just two points over Michigan’s Frank Shotwell. McGinnis needed a gutsy performance in the 1,500-meter run, the decathlon’s 10th and final event, to pull off the victory. McGinnis trailed Shotwell by 23 points going into the 1,500 meters then dug deep to find an extra gear in the race’s last 100 meters. He finished with a time of 4:35.75, beating Shotwell by just over four seconds. The final tally saw McGinnis score 7,381 points to Shotwell’s 7,379.

Sign #538 that I am becoming an OLD person...and a bunch of other random things...

As I got into probably my 20th bath this pregnancy, I reminded myself that I used to hate baths...in addition to being what I felt was a monumental waste of time, it all seemed kind of gross to be sitting in your own dirty water...doing...well...nothing.  Showers were so much more convenient and time saving...not to mention streams of CLEAN water continuously flowing...but as I sat there last night, I realized it was kind of nice...to lock the children out and have some quiet...all the while being surround by about 25 various bright colored tub toys that lined the entire rim of my bathtub.  Of course, I must admit...I barely fit into our shower anymore...my mother has said that it's about the size of a biffy stall (to get an idea of the size...they overcompensated for our nice huge tub and scrimped on our tiny shower) and I've noticed my back hurting anytime I take one these days...so, this isn't to say that I won't go back to hating baths once I can fit into our shower comfortably AND not need to be all encompassed in hot water to help my back...so...in that regard, maybe it's not a sign of being old...but just fat and pregnant instead.  Because according to Ayris...pregnant = fat.  She's never said a word about actual fat people being fat...I don't think she notices fat in that way...but my stomach is apparently fat.

A few other thoughts on life by Ayris lately:

She was playing with her dogs and she said, "Now we have to be careful with them because they don't know what mean is and I don't know how to be nice"...

I could not have said that better...the child is horrible with animals.  She literally LOVES them to DEATH...in a bad sort of way.

And as Chris was leaving for band practice just now:

Chris: OK, have fun at Grandma Callie's today and listen to what she tells you to do.
Ayris: I always listen.
Chris: You always listen to Grandma Callie or you always listen?
Ayris: I always listen to everyone, but not mommy.

SEE!!!  It's not just in my head...this girl is out to get me and drive me crazy.  Not sure why I'm so h*ll bent on bringing another girl into the world so she can have a sister!  I'm SO selfless...and what does that get me?  A daughter who doesn't remember to draw me into her pictures and who listens to everyone but me! =) 

As for her brother...yesterday he says:

Asher:  Mom, tell Ayris to stop doing that!
Mom:  Tell her to stop doing what buddy?
Asher: TELL HER TO STOP LOOKING AT ME!

...and so it begins.  Stupidest request ever that seems to come out of every child with a siblings' mouth.

ALSO, I just read this woman's blog this morning...it cracked me up and I can SO relate...I want Chris' company to send me a babysitter, chef and housekeeper anytime he travels...that would make things SO much easier!  I'll be complaining below her post about my doctor and a lazy nurse who may be delaying my Tuesday due date.

(Taken from: http://www.ishouldbefoldinglaundry.com/)

Good morning, friends.

This moment right now, where I am sitting on the couch with my laptop on my lap and my red coffee mug not too far away? This moment for me, IT IS PEACE.

Yesterday, Brian left for a five day business trip to LA, leaving me home with Anna, Noah and Elijah. Alone. For five days. You remember, Elijah, right? The newborn? Yes, him.
He’s a handful, friends. I’m not going to come here and complain about how difficult yesterday was because BOOOWHOWANTSTOHEARIT? Instead, I’m going to tell you how much I love this moment right now. The sun is shining, I showered! Yesterday I vacuumed! (and woke the baby because of it, but still!) And my two older children? They are the best.

I still wonder why my husband goes on business trips and his company is like “here, take our card, order food, drink wine, have room service, make sure housekeeping comes in and cleans up after you and make sure you sleep well on that big, warm, over-priced, comfortable bed.”

While I’m at home flying solo with three kids, not sleeping, eating cold macaroni and cheese while trying to find the time to clean the toilets. How about he gets the macaroni and cheese and his company sends me a babysitter, a chef and a housekeeper to help me out while he’s away. It’s all so backwards, don’t you think?

(I promise you, I’m not bitter at Brian, I’M JUST SAYIN’, OKAY?!) (and I’ve said this to him and he laughs! and he better agree….)

Obviously, I only have a few moments to spend here, which are now almost over. My neighborhood is having it’s annual garage sale this weekend, so Eli and I are going to peruse the goods and get some fresh air. Because it’s sunny outside. Not raining. And not forty degrees.

It’s good stuff.

END OF HER BLOG POST...sounds like she's somewhere as awesome as MN with the weather she's had and is now having...thank GOD for this beautiful sunshine outside yesterday and today.

SO...I had mentioned before about O'Neil having a nurse call the hospital on Friday (yesterday) to set up my induction since you have to do it 48 hours in advance...she told me if I hadn't heard from the clinic by noon, to call them.  So I did...whoever I was transferred to, had no idea what I was talking about and told me she didn't see any notes in my chart about calling the hospital...she said O'Neil could just call on Monday...Hello!  Then I explained again WHY O'Neil had told me to make sure a nurse had called on Friday...because of the 48 hours advance notice bit...Yeah, the nurse said there wasn't a lot she could do for me...she'd talk to another doctor and get back to me.  First off...what's talking to another doctor going to do?  Zippo...none of the other doctors are going to know what's going on...it's called...pick up the phone and take the 2 minutes it's going to take to phone my doctor and get reassurance from her that yes, in fact, your lazy butt is supposed to call the hospital to schedule this...I mean, do I sound like a crazy person who is making this up???  Do pregnant women generally call in making crazy claims of doctor approved inductions when they aren't really approved???  Needless to say, dumb woman never called me back (do I sound bitter...cuz I still am)...so I emailed O'Neil (knowing full well one of the nurses would read it first) explaining that the nurses there knew nothing about scheduling an induction...nor did they call me back...and could she please call on Monday.  I have an appointment on Monday but not until 9:45 so I'm hoping O'Neil will be calling first thing...or maybe she'll see my email today or someone will forward it on to her...who knows!  But at this point...we may be looking at a Wednesday induction if we can't get in because of this 48 hour stuff...AND if I get denied on Wednesday because of the hospital being booked...we are then cutting it a little close and I may not even get to go to RJ's wedding.  As much as it's not about needing this little man out (because honestly, I'm still scared about taking care of 3 kids right now), it's about messing with my plans.  I HATE HATE HATE when I can't have complete control over my plans...this is why I was never good in groups...my expectations were always bigger than could be met and of course, I can manage things better for myself than other people can...isn't that the case for everyone?

Needless to say Tammy...you may be getting your birthday wish...I'm still hoping for Tuesday but my hopes just might be dashed this time around...I'll update on Monday after my appointment with O'Neil.

38 Week Update...

So I was still 50% effaced, and at a -2 station...and 1.5 centimeters dilated...although I wouldn't be surprised if her digging around for 5 uncomfortable minutes put me at about 2 centimeters =)  She told me there might be blood because some of my mucus plug came out when she was "done"...you all wanted to know that right?  And the fact that it's still bloody when I wipe--she doesn't mess around when she checks me...then she got my "bishop number"...to see if I was a candidate for induction...the Bishop's Score is based on station, dilation, effacement, position and consistency...and Dr. O'Neil said for a 2nd or 3rd pregnancy, they recommend you have a bishop score of 5 or higher...I was a 6 so it's a go for a Tuesday induction thus far...we have to call the hospital on Friday to "schedule it" and then I will have to call on Tuesday morning to see if they have room for me to be admitted.

So yesterday morning, I was 178.2 pounds (8.2 pounds over my goal of not going over 170) and last night, my stupid self had KFC...which, along with Chinese ALWAYS shows up on the scale the next morning (I assume from the salt) so I was exactly 179 this a.m. butt naked...I KNEW I would be 180 on their scale with my clothes on...so yeah, I got naked...well, aside from my bra and underwear...the nurse seemed a little giggly as I was explaining while taking off my dress that I did NOT want 180 pounds being written down in my chart...no thank you...I am not hitting 180 and I am 99% sure that I won't between now and Tuesday...once the effect from KFC has diminished in the next day, I will be back at 178 and I don't see myself gaining 2 pounds in the next 6 days...not gonna happen!  What sucks though is my doctor said to just make an appointment for Monday as a checkup...what the heck...I'm sure I'll be getting naked again!  None the less my weight gain thus far is only 23 pounds so I guess I should be happy about that...

I also got O'Neil's guess for measurements/weight/day...I forgot to ask about time...she thinks he'll be born on the 18th, weighing around 7 pounds 11 ounces at 21.5 inches long...we'll see how good her baby guessing skills are...

I think that's all for now...I'm too lazy to make my hair presentable for a 38 week picture so perhaps I'll take a 39 week picture later...

On the way home, I told Ayris that she potentially only has 6 more days until she meets her brother...to which she responded:

"I can't wait to hold my brother...I'm going to love him a lot...because I want him along with 100 other boys and girls to all follow me one day and do everything I tell them to do...." 

Awesome...we're raising a potential cult leader.  That is seriously the first thing that popped into my head...well, perhaps the second...the FIRST thing that popped into my head is that I was hoping she wasn't counting on me and my uterus to supply those 100 followers!  Maybe she'll be a motivational speaker instead?? 

What is Wrong with this Picture?

I think I've mentioned how being a mother involves little to no appreciation whatsoever...Exhibit A:


I have graciously added the names onto the picture so you can more easily figure out what's missing from this picture.  Not only do we have the future dog that Ayris is planning on getting but also the lizard (in addition to the cats) in this "World's Greatest Mom" picture that Ayris drew for me.  As we're driving home...I'm asking her who each of the people are...obviously ASSUMING that I would be one of them...yeah, once we got to the last person (Asher), I said...UMMM...where am I?  OH!  She completely forgot to put me in there...but she readily asked for a pen so she could just draw me right in!  Well how sweet...afterthoughts mean the most =)  3 minutes before she gave me this little gem, she gave me a picture of her face in a flower with her footprints...and a little poem about how it was a "toe-lip" instead of a tulip...and how I could treasure those feet for years to come (surprisingly, I will probably only remember the fact that I was left out of the family picture for years to come when I look at this)...after I told her how beautiful it was, she got this grumpy face on and proclaims "Miss Sandy said that these would make the mommies cry when they saw them"...well how nice of Miss Sandy to say that...maybe next time, Miss Sandy should give the mommies a heads up when they're going to have to muster up some fake tears.  Maybe if she'd given me the "family" picture with the missing mommy FIRST, I could have founds my tears by the time I got the toelip picture!  The picture below is the updated picture including me...floating in the sky...with the dog we don't have yet...away from everyone else.


Yesterday I decided to get busy around the house again...starting with this ginormous pile of paper...75% of it was recycled...therefore, I had no after picture...


These pictures of kind of crowded...this was our Tupperware/bread cabinet...before and after...


Our cups/dishes cabinet...I tried to clear out some room on the bottom shelf to make room for the upcoming bottles that will be shelved there...


The fridge...


The freezer...


I even got rid of some of the kids drawings that were plastered all over the fridge...no doubt to welcome the awesome new mommy pictures I got today...


That's all for now...except...how many of you when viewing the blog see some of the pictures cut off?  Like if you scroll down to the post below where I have three pictures in a row...some people are seeing the last picture being cut off...It shows up fine on my laptop but I did notice the computer upstairs cuts some of them off...I swear, I will never be done editing the layout of this blog and trying to figure out how to fix everything!

37 Week Update and Some Outside Pics

Since Asher is addicted to playing Chris' video games lately, I've been trying to get them outside more often if it's nice. Yesterday was beautiful so we set off in search of some geese to feed...we didn't find any but I did get a few good shots of the kids.





















There's just something about little girls in tutus with their hair flying in the wind...running with some dandyflies (that's what Ayris calls these...and she LOVES picking them...)






Oh, this picture below I just had to blow up because it warms my heart...the kids fight like crazy some days but pictures like these reaffirm my desire to have kids close in age...I hope they can forever have a close connection and that we can replicate these types of pictures 20 years from now =)  I was undecided about using the color or b/w version of this picture for the top of my blog so I posted both of them below...which do you like better?





In other news, I had my 37 week appointment today and I was 1cm dilated...whoopty do...but she said she has no fears that I won't be at 2cm's 2 weeks from now.  She said the plan is to call the hospital on Friday the 15th and request for a Tuesday induction (She was torn about what she'd rather do--the 18th or the 19th but my preference is to start requesting it by the 18th...that way if they are unable to fit me in that day, hopefully I'd be in no later than the 19th...that way, I'd be out of the hospital just in time to attend RJ's wedding)...so, I'm crossing my fingers for the 18th...ALTHOUGH, I've had a feeling through this entire pregnancy I'd go early...and my mom seems to think I'll go before then...perhaps we're wrong...I personally would be completely okay if we're wrong...because honestly, I'm slightly scared about having 3 kids on the outside these days...I know I can handle it because we all know I'm awesome like that BUT I hate not having patience with the kids as it is...throwing in a third one will require me to practice even more patience (which is hard for me) and I find myself feeling guilty at night when the kids morph into their sweet angel selves (after they've fallen asleep) and I recall yelling at Ayris because of her tormenting her brother.  I know there's a better way to deal with it...get down on my knees and have a suitable discussion with her about the importance of being a nice sister and how everyone feels better when they're treated nicely, etc...but instead, I just find myself yelling at her to knock it off instead...and that makes her feel crappy and me feel crappy at the same time...so I imagine these scenarios where her and Asher are going at it and then I have a screaming baby on top of it...I'd feel a lot better going into this if I could be slightly medicated while doing so...something that would give me tons of energy, a light and happy mood with God's amount of patience thrown in...but I'm doubting something like that exists.  With that said, my desire to meet and love this little guy to pieces far outweighs any fear I have of juggling three kids...

Speaking of when baby Collins will be born...when I was pregnant with Asher, my friend Mandi set up a baby pool...and it was kind of exciting to see all of the guesses roll in with when people thought I would deliver and how much the baby would weigh...how long he would be, etc.  If you look at the very top of my blog, I've added a button you can click on that will take you to the page to enter your guesses...some helpful hints...I was originally due on May 29th but it was moved to May 25th based on my ovulation at the time and the first ultrasound that I had...ALSO, Dr. O'Neil is guessing as of today, the baby probably weighs around 6 pounds 10 ounces (not sure how she guesses at that)...AND for those of you who are unaware, at this stage in the game, babies put on roughly .5 pound a week...so do the math and go submit your guesses.  Whoever comes the closest on both due date and weight...well they get nothing but the satisfaction of being the best guesser.  =)  Also, Ayris was 7.10 for weight at 21.5 inches long and Asher was 8.4 at 21.5 inches long.  (they could have been 22 inches??  I don't remember and I'm too lazy to drag out the baby books...but I know they were the same length and it was either 21.5 or 22 inches.)

ALSO, I measured Chris and I's head circumfrences' the other day and I was 22.5 inches around and he was 24 inches around...I've not had a lot of luck finding any information online about the "norms" for adult head size so I have no idea if we have big heads or not...I guess they only care what "percentile" you're in for head size when you're little...in addition to that, I took the kids measurements again...Ayris is 20.5 inches around and Asher is 21 inches...don't those numbers seem kind of big for a 2 and 4 year old versus a 29 and 34 year old?  I think the scariest thing is that supposedly, it's not until one reaches the age of 10, that their head is at 96% of it's adult size...so I'm thinking they might just surpass both Chris and I in our measurements!

I have also changed the baby widget to reflect the supposed induction date...it's reading 13 days...scary!

Say Hello To My Little Friend...

So, a few weeks ago, Chris brought up my getting Lightroom 2 as my "push present."  I've teased him in the past about how some women get push presents after having their baby (as if having that sweet little baby isn't enough right!!) and how he's never gotten me one and I'm now close to birthing his third child...SO...being the nice man that he is, he said I should get Lightroom 2 for myself...I told him we'd see because I was still using the trial program...well once the trial was up, I was hooked...I was able to get a discount through my brother since he's a student and saved about $200 on purchasing it BUT then I went to Andrea's wedding shower and she had gotten a Dyson vacuum as one of their gifts...I had been wanting to get another vacuum for downstairs and started researching the Dyson...Well I finally settled on this one below...selling price was $500 in stores but it was $100 off through amazon and I had about $50 in amazon credits so I got it for $350!  Needless to say, Lightroom 2 became my "mother's day" gift and this little beauty will now be my push present =)  I know that seems like a lot of money but I'm spreading it throughout three kids at this point...maybe even four as I really don't need "push presents" and won't for the next...the baby is amazing enough in and of itself...Chris just knows I have to have a "reason" before making purchases such as these.



Part of the reason I'm posting about this vacuum is because of the funny exchange that happened between Chris and I this afternoon that *almost* had me peeing my pants. 

So I get home from going to the grocery store...but before I had left for the store, I asked Chris if he needed anything...he said no.  So here was our conversation that followed after I returned home.

Chris:  Oh, so I thought of something I should have had you get...I need some more Pepsi Max...
Me:  Oh, yeah, no, I noticed that you were running low/almost out but currently, the prices of pop are running around $3/$3.50 per 12 pack...so I'm actually waiting until the end of May for the Memorial Day sale that Rainbow always has...where you can get 5 (12) packs for $7.50 total.
Chris:  Okay, so it's May 1st today...you want me to wait an entire month for some pop so you can save a few dollars.  This is like the 5th vacuum you bought, but the Pepsi Max is where we are going to sacrifice so we can save some money???

Oh my goodness, I could hardly keep the pee in I was laughing so hard...he wasn't being mean...he was joking about it because obviously that seemed totally ludicrous that I would make him wait that long...I was just explaining my reasoning (we have other pop in the fridge...Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, A&W, etc) about why his hadn't been replenished...writing this out, it totally sounds like I'm loony who goes through vacuums left and right while he's totally mistreated and doesn't ever get anything but that's NOT the case at all.  My vacuum addiction (which for clarification is only up to 4...I still have my trusty Kenmore canister vacuum and my bissel lasted a year and this dirt devil just went kaput after about 3 months) can be compared to his guitar addiction...I guarantee he's bought as many guitars as I have vacuums since we've been together =)  And I fully support him...AND I just found out this morning that one of his gaming magazines has now come back on the market and told him I was going to get it for him...nor do I make impulse purchases...I researched that stupid vacuum for about 4 hours online and then even went to best buy to try out the models to make sure they weren't going to eat our carpet (one person commented the suction was so powerful it could ruin shag carpet...and though I wouldn't call this shag...it's not completely flat)...and Chris knows these things about me which is why I think he supports the things that I want...luckily, money has never been an issue/fighting point in our marriage like every opinion poll states as one of the top things that couples fight about...anyway, enough blathering...I need to scour the new Sunday pricing at all the major stores to see who has Pepsi marked the cheapest!!