Hair cut on a budget

I have been trying to stay on our track with our budget this year. It is hard because we have a plan to get out of debt and it leaves very little for anything extra. Allen has always said he would cut the kids hair and I always said no because I had a cousin cut my hair when I was little and I ended up with a bowl cut that was less then flattering on me. Well, Desperate times call for desperate measures and Devin ended up in our kitchen with Allen cutting her hair. It looked a little scary in the beginning but Allen ended up doing a great job. The only issue was Devin moved her head once and Allen cut some of her bangs that I wanted to grow out but what are you going to do? Allen favorite motto that night was "The difference in a good or bad haircut is five days". lol! It looks fine and it was FREE! Her she is.....

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines day! Allen and I had our valentines day on Friday so not much is happening today since Allen is at work right now. He should get tomorrow off though so that is good news.
So a lot has happened since I last posted so I will start playing catch up now. haha! We found out that Allen made it into a program were he will be getting his masters in logistics. This is what we were praying for so we are very excited it worked out. We will be moving to Dayton Ohio in early August. It is an 18 month program and we think we will be heading to Alabama after that but that could change very easily. Dayton seems like a nice place. There a lot of little towns around it so it seems likely we will live on one of those small towns. They have an amazing children's museum and lots of fun stuff. It will still be pretty cold there but hopefully not as cold as Montana. :) I really have liked Montana and the church here but I am very excited for something new.
Since Isaac was about three months old he stopped gaining weight and always acted hungry and fussy even though he seemed to eat all the time but they told us his weight was just slowing down and since he was so big to begin with not to worry about it. We didn't until he was six months and I noticed when he was laying in my lap crying that he looked like he was tongue tied. I looked it up and everything seemed to fit because he was always hungry and babies that are tongue tied have trouble nursing because they have to work so hard to stay latched. HIs sixth month appt was in a couple days of that so we just waited to see his weight and if the doctor thought it was a problem. His weight was 2 ounces less then he was at 4 months so I was upset about that. The doctor said he was tongue tied but that they wouldn't do anything until it caused a problem and she didn't think his weight was a problem. Anyway, I thought it was a problem so I tried to get a referral to a lactation consultant but the lady I talked to wanted to give it another month and if he hadn't gained weight by then she would give me the referral. I talked to Allen that night and he said that would not work so he called and 30 minutes after he called we had a referral and an appt for an ENT the next week. Go figure? We saw the ENT and he set up a surgery for the next week to get under his tongue clipped. I was glad it was getting done but they would have to put him under so that was pretty scary. We had to have him at the surgery center really early and he was not able to eat so that was hard because Allen had to hold him and he was just reaching for me and crying for about 45 minutes until they took him. I tried not to but I cried as soon as he was gone. Luckily the time he left until we were holding him again was 30 minutes. He nursed right away and did great. We were very blessed to have two nurses from our church be with him. One was with him the entire time and one was just there for recovery. They cradled him and sang him bible class songs as he woke up. I could not ask for much more then that. They are amazing.
He seems to be gaining weight and is so much happier then he was. I am so happy that we got it done. We go into the clinic next week for a weight check and I think it will be good. He is still in 3-6 month clothes. Today during lunch he had some 3-6 month pants on and they just fell right off because he is so skinny. haha! I have some really cute 6-9 month stuff I am wanting to put on him but it is still pretty big. I know he will out grow it all before I can believe it.
This has gotten really long so I will update more soon. Here are some picture of the kids for you!

I know....I know....

So I am aware that it has been almost two months since I posted and I don't really know why except that my life might just be that boring. When Isaac was a month old Allen's parents came from Arkansas to see us and stayed for about a week. It was a good visit and we stayed pretty busy. We were able to take a day trip to Glacier National park which was nice for everyone. I spent a lot of the time in the car feeding Isaac while everyone else went looking around. They left in the morning and my family came the same evening. My sister made it with her two kids and my mom and dad. It was very chaotic with five kids age three and under but it was so much fun. We took a camper to Glacier park and camped for two nights. The kids did very well. The second night Isaac had a lot of trouble getting comfortable and was awake a lot of the night but ended up finally relaxing and we were able to get some sleep. The rest of their trip was so fast and I couldn't tell you where the days went. I was so great having family come and visit us and we miss them a lot. We are now trying to get back in a routine which is kind of exciting. Devin will be starting preschool in early September and is so excited about that. It will be really good for her and I can't wait for all the stories she will tell about her day. It is just two days a week for two and a half hours so hopefully I won't miss her too much. Isabel has started talking a lot better since Isaac was born. She has another speech therapy session this week so we will see if she has to go back anymore after that. She is such a sweet big sister and gets so upset if I leave a blanket on the floor and will follow me saying "Isaac's blanky" until I take it from her and wrap Isaac up in it. She is always wanting to help which is nice. Isaac is getting so big! He is starting to look less like a newborn which makes me sad but I am also excited for him to start playing with things and smiling even more. He is so much fun just to look at. It's just so exciting to watch your kids grow and just to imagine all the blessings that God has in store for them. Well, I better get back to my day. I'll update some more soon.

My due date!

Today is my due date for Isaac. I can't believe he is already a week old. He is doing so well. He had a very rough first couple days before my milk came in and after his circumcision but is feeling much better now. He is always smirking and smiling. I know they are not real smiles yet but it makes me smile every time he does it. 

In honor of my due date I thought I would post Isaac's birth story. We left church and went to Dairy Queen and had dinner and some ice cream. By this time the contractions were coming every 5-6 minutes  but still not very strong. We headed home and put the girls to bed and hung out watching some TV while timing the contractions. We timed them for a few hours and they stayed consistent but the contractions were getting a little more intense so we called the girls babysitter and she came over at 1:00 in the morning to stay with the girls. We headed to the hospital and they got me checked in and we found out that I was still dilated to a 5 so they had us walk for an hour and then checked again and I was now a 6 so they admitted me. The nurse that checked me said that it didn't feel like head when she checked me like it did the first time so she got the ultrasound machine out and looked and he was head down but she thought his hand might be on his head which would make it hard for me to dilate but she couldn't tell for sure. They got me in a room and I labored for a few hours and I was only at a 7 by then so they said they would break my water and everything would probably go fast after that. My midwife came in to break my water but checked me first and she thought that she felt bone instead of his head so they got the ultrasound machine in there and checked sure enough his hand was on his head so that was what was causing everything to slow down. She told me that she could not break my water with his hand there and if he wouldn't move his hand I would have to have a c-section. I of course was very upset and started saying lots of prayers that he would move his hand. They had me walk for awhile while I waited for the doctor on call to come in and see if she could move the hand manually but right before she came in the nurse checked me and said she didn't feel the hand there anymore so the doctor came in really quick and broke my water before the baby had a chance to move his hand back. After they broke my water things were still going slow until all the sudden I felt the baby move and then felt a pop and a lot of pain. Then my labor kicked into full gear I quickly decided I wanted a epidural. I was an 8 at this point and the nurse came in to do my epidural and I felt a little better but still felt a lot of pain in my right hip. About 30 minutes after this I was complete and ready to push. I pushed once and got his head out and then pushed again but his shoulders were a little stuck so they had to lay me all the way back and push my knees into my chest. His shoulders came out and I got to hold him right away.He was born at 11:35am July the 2nd.  He was lifting his head and rolling around while on my chest so it was hard to hold him while I was laying down. They took him and had to suction him out and give him some oxygen but other then that he was doing good. They kept saying how big he was but he looked so small to me but they brought in the scale and he was 9 lbs. 6 oz.! I couldn't believe how big he was. He looked so much like his big sister Devin. He is just perfect and loves to eat. I'm sorry this is so long but it was a long 12 hours. lol! 

Welcome baby Isaac!

Isaac Allen Miller was born July 2nd at 11:35am. He weighed in at 9 pounds 6 ounces and was 21.75 inches long. It was a long and interesting birth that had a few bumps in the road but it all worked out and he made it here safe and sounds which is all I can ask for. I will update with the whole labor story but right now I need to feed our baby boy. Here is a picture of our new addition. 

10 days!

The midwife did say that she didn't think I would make it that long but so far we have nothing consistent as far as contractions and my water hasn't broke so I am at least hoping it is at least a couple days after my due date if I do make it that long. I have an appt. on Thursday so we will see. My midwife should be back now so that is awesome that she should be at the birth with no problem now. I of course have heard lots of stories about how fast moms go after already being dilated to a 5 so that makes me a little nervous but it should be fine as long as we don't hang around here for to long. I am trying to keep the house together so that I don't feel the need to speed clean once everything starts happening but that is easier said then done with two toddlers. lol! I do realize that the baby will not care how clean the house is when he comes home but it does make me feel a lot better when everything is in order. We do cloth diapers with Isabel and will also be doing them with this baby most the time and I got all of his diapers washed and ready today so that is a good feeling even though he probably won't be big enough to use them right away. Other then that we are washing sheets and mopping the floors today. I know this is all very exciting but that is my life right now. Sorry. lol!

As far as the half marathon goes I obviously have not started training yet but we did go to the relay for life and walked a lot so thats a start. Hopefully we will be able to start training soon. Well, I better get everyone some lunch. I will update soon.

Crazy!!

So I had another doctors appt. today and they checked to see how things were coming along. I am now 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. I saw the other midwife today since mine is out of town. She told me she didn't feel comfortable letting me leave without monitoring me to make sure I was not in labor and didn't know it. I didn't think I was but got to sit in a comfy recliner drinking juice while Allen entertained the girls for about 45 minutes so it was a nice break. I should have enjoyed it more but all I could think was if I was in labor and they sent me to the hospital I had not cleaned the girls bath tub and the kitchen yet. lol! Thats a pregnant lady for you. Well, I did have some contractions but I know of the ones I had and they were not real consistent so I finally got released. She had to wait till the baby moved a lot because his heart rate was dropping pretty bad during contractions but it only happened a couple times and then he was fine. Now we are home and I feel like a huge ticking time bomb. I know it could still be a week or even two but it makes me want to get everything together just incase. I don't think I will ever feel completely ready but at least most of it will be done.

The relay for life is tonight and I have been so excited about that. I thought maybe I shouldn't go but if we have all our stuff with us I think it will be okay. We are still going back and forth about what to do with the girls which is scary but I am sure it will work out. Anyway, I will let you all know how everything goes. Time to start cleaning again!

half marathon....

So I have been challenged to run a half marathon in September with Allen and my friend Brittany. I thought we were just talking about it and we would maybe do it or maybe not but then Brittany talked to her husband and he told her she wouldn't do it so now we HAVE to. lol! It is a scary thought since I am so out of shape now and still have to pop out a baby in the next few weeks. I keep telling myself that I don't have to do great on the run and it will be a lot of fun. (hopefully, lol!)  It will be great to get out and exercise and lose some of this crazy baby weight so it seems like a great plan except the getting in shape part that is always so so hard. Anyway. I need to get the girls ready for Isabel's speech therapy but I will have to keep everyone updated on the half marathon progress. Wish us luck!!

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy fathers day to Allen! I do try to show and tell Allen how much we appreciate him and all he does for his family but it is fun to have a special day just for him. We went canoeing yesterday with Allen squadron and it was a lot of fun. I am so sore in my hips and my back from sitting in the canoe for so long but it was worth it. The girls stayed at a girl from churches house most the day and of course had a great time. I sure miss them when we are gone for awhile so I was eager to head home and pick them up. Today we had church this morning and then went out to eat with a friend and her three kids. We ate at a greek place in town which was so good and then headed home with sleepy girls and Allen got a nap also.  We will do presents as soon as the girls wake up. I will post pictures soon from our fun fathers day. 

I had a doctors appt. on Friday and found out that I am now 3 centimeters dilated and 70% effaced. It is not a huge jump from last week but it is progress which is all that I wanted at this point. I asked my midwife if she thought I would make it to my due date and she said she didn't know since I apparently like to hold my babies in as long as I can. lol! I am feeling hopeful that I won't have to wait till my due date since I am already measuring at 40 weeks but we will see. I am just trying to get some last minute stuff done just incase it is soon. It will be nice to feel a little more ready. 

22 days left!

Of course 22 day is just till my due date but even if it is a few more days after my due date I am getting pretty close! This week I have been doing a lot of nesting and just trying to get some things organized around our house. I am crazy about making list of things to do just so I can cross them out and feel like I actually did something during the day. The to do list can backfire on you though and you can work all day on just cleaning house and not get to a single thing on your list even though you have been working non stop. Don't judge me but I have been known to write things on my list after I have done them just so I could cross them off. lol! I know that it is sad but it does make me feel better. 

I had a doctors appt. last Friday and they checked me and I was 2.5 cm. dilated and 60-70% effaced. Not to bad for 36 weeks. I was so excited to hear that I was at least making progress even though I probably still have at least three week left. I am trying not to get my hopes up that I will go earlier then my due date but you just never know right? 

We went to a big sibling class with the girls at the hospital tonight and it was so cute. We went with Devin when I was pregnant with Isabel and I liked the class a lot better then but it was fun and we got some cute pictures of the girls so that made it worth it. I will post some of the pictures once we get them downloaded. We got home and put the girls to bed and worked on our budget and now I am just cleaning the kitchen and folding laundry while everyone else is sleeping. I must be nesting if I am cleaning the house at 12:30am! lol! I am sure Allen will be excited when he wakes up in the morning to have a clean house though. It always puts me in a better mood anyway. lol! Well, I better get the last of my cleaning done and head to bed. I will let everyone know how my next appt goes on Friday. Night!

It feels like summer!

This week has been so beautiful and I am positive that everyone here in Great Falls could not be happier. I still keep waiting for it to get cold again and snow but for now it looks like it will be staying this way!!!!! I keep forgetting and I always put the girls in long sleeve shirts and by the end of our outing they are so hot and poor Devin's cheeks get all red. The only issue know is the mosquitos are out in full force but that is mainly in the evening so it is not that bad. 

We just got back from Allen's promotion ceremony from 1st LT to Captain. It was a good ceremony and the girls got to put on his rank which was probably the cutest thing EVER. lol! There was supposed to be a pot luck afterwards but not many people brought food but we had a huge cake so we didn't have many complaints. Allen was supposed to be gone during this time so we are very blessed that we got to spend that time together as a family. I also got roses out of the deal that are so beautiful. 

I had a OB appt. this morning also and everything is still looking great. Luckily I didn't gain to much more weight but the doctor said that it looks like the baby had a growth spurt because at the last appt. with her I was measuring pretty much right on track and now I am two weeks ahead again. My body just can't make up it's mind! lol! I told her I was having a lot of contractions and she just told me that at this point if I did go into active labor that they would probably not worry about stopping it. That sort of surprised and made me a little nervous but I don't think I will have to worry about having him early. My midwife told me she will be gone this weekend so I can't have him this weekend. lol! She said it always makes he sad when she misses one of her babies being born so she tries to plan her leave around when her moms are due.  She is so sweet! Well, I guess I better get thing done around here. 

Happy 7th Anniversary Allen!

So much has changed in the last 7 years. We have had a lot of ups and downs but our commitment to each other has never faded. You are everything I hoped and prayed for in a husband. You are the most amazing father to our beautiful girls and I can't wait to see you soon with our new son in your arms. You always put your family first and for that I am so grateful. I am not great with words like you are but I do know that I am so blessed to have you in my life. I love you Allen!

Baby update

Isabel and I both had doctors appt this morning. Isabel had speech therapy and did so well. I think we will only have to go back two more time before she turns 2 in July. She will not be all the way caught up in her speech but that will come soon after hopefully. The doctor brought in a computer that works with them on certain sounds and when she wheeled it in Isabel got so excited and just started giggling and bouncing up and down. It was the cutest thing ever. Devin of course had a great time also "helping" the doctor with everything. lol! They each get a book after every class also so that will make bed time very fun with some new material. lol!
After her appt. we had a little time to kill and then went to my OB appt. There are two midwives in this office and this was the week I went to the other midwife just so I would know her in case my doctor can't be there for delivery. She was so nice so that is wonderful to know that I love whoever deliveries this little boy. She had nurse practitioner shadowing her today so they asked me if that was ok and of course that fine. I was nice because they went into a lot of detail about what she was doing. The nurse practitioner measured me and said she was measuring 34cm and at this point I should be at 30cm. She as asked if she did it right and the midwife double checked and sure enough I am measuring four weeks ahead of schedule! We don't know if this is just me getting big or if the baby is farther along then we think. It is probably a little of both. lol! Last appt. I was two weeks ahead and now four weeks so they will see what happens next time with my regular midwife and then maybe do an ultrasound to see if I might be farther along then they thought. I would love to be farther along then we think but I am not holding my breath. We will see I guess. They also were trying to decide if the baby was head down and they felt and poked and prodded and said he was head down but then I told them I have been having a lot of pressure at the top of my uterus so they checked to see if they could feel feet or head at the top and said they felt a mass like a head up there too so they didn't know if he was head up or down. I was excited because they were going to take me in to do a quick ultrasound to see were his head really was since they couldn't really tell but the ultrasound had a line so since I am not past 34 weeks it's not a big deal if he is not head down yet but maybe next time. I also got told that my glucose test came back negative but it was on the high end so I have to cut down on all my sweets and carbs. This saddens me a lot because I LOVE those things but I will do whatever I can to help him be healthy. So it was a fun appt and Allen got to be there which is always so nice. Hopefully we will have some more definitive answers next appt in two weeks. Bye!

Seriously?!

So after our beautiful weather from last week.......Well, as beautiful as it can be for this time of year. We have had snow for three days now and expect it for at least one more. Not that this is totally unexpected for around here but I am just plan sick of the cold and snow and want warm weather. I know everyone from Montana is thinking that I need to get over it and suck it up but I am done with it all.
Okay, now that that rant is over I guess I can talk about some good things that came of this. We finally decided that it was time to move some stuff in the garage so we could park in there. I must say that it is wonderful not having the clean off several inches of snow every time you want to go anywhere. It is still crowded in the garage but hopefully soon we will get a day to deep clean the garage and while we are doing the cleaning it might really stink but afterwards it will be amazing and I can't wait! Tackling big projects as a family is so much fun. Things are starting to slow down for Allen which has been a huge relief to all of us. He just has his final left for pre-cal and has wrapped some stuff up at church he was working on so by next weekend we should have some family time! I am working on some stuff for the Malmstrom spouses club and that has taken a lot of time but I am usually able to get it done during the day so the evenings are free. We also braved the weather last night and went and did a baby registry at Target which was so much fun. It makes the baby coming seem more real even though we still have 10 weeks left. Anyway, now I am just rambling so I will leave you all with pictures of our spring weather. Enjoy!

Congratulations!

So my life is pretty boring right now so I have to blog about other people. I hope that is okay. lol!

I wanted to send out a big congratulations to my friend Brittany who had her little baby boy this Monday. Little Bailey is so precious and I am so happy for their family and his safe arrival. It's hard to believe you are a family of five now! lol! I can't wait for our little boys to play together soon. I also have a friend in Kansas that we know from college that will be having her fourth baby sometime this next week. She has three boys and this time is expecting her first baby girl. Please pray that everything will go smoothly for her. 

With these babies coming is giving me hope that someday my pregnancy will end and I will have a new little baby also. It feels like forever but I know it will be here before we know it. I have lots to keep me busy before our little boy comes. Keep us in your prayers as we try and get a lot finished during the next few weeks before Allen leaves for training for a month. Thanks!

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. Ours was hectic but pretty good. The girls went to three different Easter egg hunts and a Easter carnival. It was very busy but the girls had a blast. The first egg hunt Isabel didn't really get it but by the third she had it down and would get so excited when she saw an egg. It was so cute. We had our churches youth rally this weekend so that kept Allen really busy and we housed three boys from Canada. They pretty much just slept at the house so that part was really easy. We just put them in the basement and showed them how to work the projector and they were happy boys. lol! During the day on Saturday we were cleaning out the car so the girls played in the battery powered car from their cousins Kylie and Rachel and had so much fun. Devin is getting really good at the steering part.  That evening the teens went to the ice rink so we took the girls to see if Devin wanted to try. We got her some skates rented but she had to be convinced by her favorite babysitter Felicia to actually put them on. After they were on she was so proud of herself and had so much fun. She did one lap with Allen holding one hand and another guy from church also named Devin holding the other. She was pretty wobbly but did a very good job keeping her legs straight and not giving up.  It was a fun evening. hear are some pictures from our weekend. 






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Billings trip

So last Saturday our shopping trip got cancelled because of snow but we were determined so we instead went yesterday. We just had to bring the kids which I was a little nerves about because we had done it before and it was pretty chaotic but they were so good. I guess they are a lot older then last time but they listened and we had minimal whining the entire time. LOTS of bathroom breaks but there is no way to get past that. lol! Anyway, they had some great deals at gymboree that you just can't get online which was so nice and Allen was even excited about the sweaters I got for 3.15 each! It was amazing! We then went to motherhood maternity because I needed to get a new pair of shorts for the summer if it will ever get here. I found a pair that works pretty good so that was exciting. I love getting maternity clothes but they are so expensive and it is hard to justify when you don't have a ton of time left. I will use those shorts a lot though once or if it gets warm here. lol! We ended up getting home about two hours after we had planned but it was a great trip and I am so glad that it ended up working out. Now Brittany can have her baby. lol!

DOUBLE DIGITS!

I have finally made it to 98 days till my due date. I was going to post on 99 days but my internet was down yesterday. lol! I seriously never thought the day would come that I finally made it to double digits with this pregnancy. I know that 98 days is still a long time but it sounds so much better then in the hundreds. Hopefully the rest of the time will fly by.
We are still working away at our to do list and it is going pretty well. I need to be putting the computer desk back together but was feeling a little overwhelmed on where to start so I thought I would of course come and blog first. lol! I don't think it will take to long but getting started is always the hardest thing.
I was also hoping to make the girls easter dresses for next weekend but that is quickly approaching and I have not even started on them and my craft room is not really close to being set up but it still might happen. Maybe this weekend we can get the craft room set up and during the week I can get the dresses done. I have two dresses that I made when I went home this last time that I was going to use for easter but decided I liked this other material more so if all else fails we can use the one's I already have. lol! Well, I should get to it.

I'm going on a trip!

I am heading to Billings with my friend Brittany this Saturday and I am so excited about it. Great Falls has no good maternity or baby shops so we are making a day of it and leaving the kids here for a day with dad. It will be so nice and relaxing. That is of course if Brittany doesn't decide to go into labor since she is due to have her little boy in a month but we will just pray that doesn't happen. lol!
All this week I will have to stay on top of my to do list so that I won't feel like I am not getting something done that I should. My to do list seems to grow faster then I can get things done which is very sad but I have faith that eventually it will stop. lol! This morning I have got a lot done so that puts me in a better mood for the rest of the day.
This year I am in charge on the scholarship program in the spouses club and it is getting to be time where I am getting busy. I kinda got handed the stuff with no real direction so it has been a challenge but today I got a hold of someone who has worked with it for a few years so I have a meeting with him this Wednesday so I am so relieved and excited to have some help! It will be a huge weight off me when this things gets finished in the middle of May. It has been a huge leaning experience doing this program but I think next year I will have my efforts focused other places and let someone else learn how to do the scholarships.
Anyway, I should get back to my list. lol! Talk to you all soon.

So much to do...

So since getting back from our trip to see family I have felt very pressed for time in getting thing done before Allen has to leave for four weeks in May. You might think that I have plenty of time to get a lot done and you are right but Allen has managed to put so much on his plate that it gives me anxiety. He is doing a pre-calculus class right now that will not finish till May, Making a shadow box for a guy in his flight that is retiring, wants to make TWO twin size beds for the girls room, plus he wants to clean up all his work areas and tools before he leaves because they won't give us a straight answer if we will have to move when he is gone for the six months. The only problem with all this is that he only gets a chance to work maybe an hour a night at home and that is usually on math so the other stuff comes on the weekend and we only have about six weekends left. It's hard to work on weekends to much because that is family time and the only time he gets to spend a lot of time with the girls. Anyway, It will probably be just fine and I am worried about nothing but I have been dying to get all the rooms set up for the girls and the new baby. The baby is going in the guest room but we can't decide if we want to keep the guest bed in there or if we want to take it down stairs. Since it is hard for people to come visit us often that room has turned into a sorta junk room which needs a lot of work to get all the stuff out of there but we can't decide where it should go because we can't figure out how to do the rooms downstairs. We will figure it out but until then it is driving me crazy and I just had to vent a little bit. It will all get done but it's hard to see at this point. lol! Sorry this is a little random but maybe next post I can update you all on our progress! Have a great weekend!