Water for Elephants

     Caleb took me to see the movie today and let me just say this....it was an English Major's dream. I read the novel a few months ago and rated it in my top 10 books of all time. :-)  Yes, it truly was THAT good. I was so worried about seeing the movie because I thought that it would be all Hollywood-ed up. In other words, they would twist and contort the book in the same way the circus acrobats can so gracefully bend themselves into pretzels...but with Hollywood films, most movies aren't created with any grace at all; instead, their idea seems to be let's take the ideas from a BREATHTAKING book and add as much sex and R-rated material as possible...because in America, we all know sex sells. But, that was definitely not the case with this film. Instead, the book meta morphed beautifully into this incredible film...all the "iffy" parts of the book (Google 1920s/30s circus' and you'll quickly learn what I'm referring to)...there was a very dark side to circus' from that time in history. Anyways, it was a beautiful work of art and I HIGHLY recommend it.  For those of you who have seen or will see it, you'll have to let me know if you agree. :-)

Prince William and Kate's Wedding

   For those of you who missed it this morning, here is a video of the couple's wedding ceremony. It brought back so many awesome memories of my own wedding day...*grin*

Love my Babies

"This is the Stuff" Describes my Life to a Tee, LOL

Can't Wait to Move

     Oh how I love it when the City of Salem decides to send people out with their loud machines while my kids are sleeping. Right below their window are people sanding down the sidewalk to make it even...which I wouldn't complain about except that this stuff always seems to happen in the middle of nap times. And when you are a Mommy with two little ones...naps are a cherished part of each day. Without these, I would remain a zombie...here but not present, eyes wide open but not awake, visible yet detached. *sighs*  I guess I will just have to be in bed an hour sooner tonight but I fear if I step back bed time any more, I'll be asleep before my babies...and sadly, this is just not possible. I'm trying to find humor in this situation because if I don't laugh about it, I'll probably burst into tears...stupid hormones! BLEH!  Well, it's off of here now to feed my baby girl which the loud noise woke up...grrrrrr.

Life....

     Well, today was a little better than yesterday and for that, I'm thankful. Mom came over and watched the kids so I could go to the Y and get a workout in...which had both positive and negative results. The positive was that it definitely improved my mood...knowing that I am FINALLY to the point where I can get back into shape and lose this flabby belly fat...yuck. :-)  It also caused aunt Flo to visit a bit earlier than expected...I thought I had at least another couple of weeks to go before that happened, but alas, no. :-(  So, I've done my best to keep a positive outlook today even though the hormones and cramps caused me to throw up...gross. I'm thankful I have a strong stomach, because being nauseas from that, while having to stick a suppository up my little girl's behind, almost made me vomit. BLEH!  (We found out yesterday Haleigh can't quite "go" on her own...she hasn't learned that yet so we have to basically wait while she teaches herself to go number 2...and help her along with belly exercises). So yeah...it's been a rough couple of days. And the reason i was so upset yesterday was because we learned Caleb's grandma has stage 4 cancer...it just seems like life won't slow down...even for a second. Please pray for the family...keep us all in your thoughts and prayers because life has been rough the past couple of months. And even though I KNOW God WILL NEVER give me more than I can handle, these human thoughts and emotions are bringing me down. I miss Chuck so bad some days and now that Grandma is sick...well, there are no words; just heartache and pain. And all I can think about is if it hurts me this bad, how are my husband and mother in law facing each day?  *sighs*  Anyways, I'm physically and emotionally drained...and need to help put the kids down to bed. I'm so thankful my hubby is so strong, because his positive attitude and outlook is what keeps me going...and my babies' smiles of course, lol. Night everyone.

"In the Middle of my Little Mess, I Forget How Big I'm Blessed"

     Today was rough, for several reason which I don't really quite feel like going into at the moment. The past couple of months have been hard and I feel like the months ahead will be difficult, too. BUT, God reminded me today that even when there is trouble, sadness, heartache etc...He is there!  When the world is crashing down around me...God will never give me more than I can handle. Today was hard, but God showed his Love on this day by surrounding me with friendship. I am truly blessed to have the caring friends I do, who wouldn't let anything get in their way for praying for me. This is just a small stitch in the quilt of eternity...I have to constantly remind myself to look at the bigger picture, and I can be rest assured that the final product will be spectacular!!! 
"Thanks be to God!!"

Easter

     Church was so uplifting this morning...best words anyone could EVER HEAR!!! "He is not here...for HE IS RISEN!!!"  That statement alone could move mountains. Spent the day enjoying time well spent with family and thanking God for the gift of Jesus Christ. :-)  Hope all of you had a fantastic day, as well.
     I fooled around with my camera for a while today...just trying out features I hadn't experimented with before. Here are a few of the pictures I took and touched up.

Photo Shoot with Rebecca

Growing Up

     Today little miss Hales is THREE WEEKS OLD! I can hardly believe it. And tomorrow, my Noah Bug will be 15 months...holy cow!  Ya'll know how excited I get when it comes to posting pictures of my little ones so here I go again! LOL!

Living Life in the Fast Lane

     WOW!  Let me just say that I am one busy Mommy. For the first couple of weeks it was so difficult getting adjusted to having a new addition to the family, juggling feedings and dirty diapers, and dividing my attention between two little ones...not to mention handling the effects of a c-section. BUT, those first two weeks were the hardest and now I feel like things are finally starting to get back to "normal". Normal in the sense that I no longer feel like I'm going to lose my mind on a daily basis, haha. We've finally managed to work out a good schedule for little Hales and Noah is adjusting well to having a baby sister. My emotions are still all over the place as my body is adjusting to the drop in hormones...BUT, I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel. My husband has truly amazed me these past few weeks, lol...he is so good at the Daddy role. I was worried he would have trouble adjusted to having two, but he is just such a natural at it. I love him so much and couldn't have made it through this without him! ~I LOVE YOU, HUBBY!!!~
     I have very much enjoyed having this baby girl in my arms and out of my tummy and I'm slowly starting to regain control of my body again. I laugh when I say this because almost the last two years of my life I've spent pregnant or trying to get that way and I'm finally ready for a bit of a break. :-)  My body will be MINE again once more, haha, even if it comes with a bit of work to get it back to the way I want it. So far, I've lost 23 pounds, which is what I ended up gaining with Haleigh and I did virtually nothing for those pounds to drop. Now that I'm feeling back to myself I'm SO READY to work off the next 20 pounds. *grin*  
     Well, I actually managed to get both the kids down for naps AT THE SAME TIME!!!!! Can you believe it? So, I'm off of here to kick my feet up and take a break because once naptime is over, it's back to life in the fast lane! :-)  Hope ya'll have a wonderful week!!!

neVer forgeT

Baby Girl's Progress

     She is growing like a weed...gained 8 oz in the past week and a half and we couldn't be two prouder parents!  So thankful for our little ones...God is so good!!!

Two Weeks Old

     Tomorrow my little girl will be two weeks old....and Noah Bug turns 15 months on the 21st of this month...sheesh!!! Where has the time gone? Anyways, here are a few pictures I took this past week.

One Busy Woman

    That would be me!! :-)  Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Now that I'm a mommy of two, I can't quite find the time in my day to blog very often. Little Haleigh requires so much more work than our little Noah did...she is just so high maintenance *grin* which we should have expected out of a baby girl. She is already "almost" sleeping through the night...and she is not even two weeks old. Since we brought her home, the most she has woken up any night to eat was only one time. We are truly blessed in the department. But, when she is awake, she wants to be held constantly...which would be perfectly fine if I didn't have a toddler to keep up with too. The second we lay her down, she starts wailing...and yes, I do mean wailing. Noah just whined a little bit, but this kid has got a great set of lungs, lol. Anyways, trying to adjust to being a parent of two isn't as easy as I thought it would be...but I am loving every single second of it. I know that things will get easier as soon as I'm all  healed up from my c-section...which I'm hoping won't be longer than a couple more weeks. Anyways, just wanted to do a quick update....I hope all of you are doing well! :-)

One Week Old

     Haleigh is one week old today. :-)  Noah is doing a great job playing the big brother role. Mommy still isn't feeling well but we are taking it one day at a time. I don't know what I would do without my amazing husband...he has been my rock through this. Here are a few pictures from this week.

weight loss=12 lbs

THANKFUL

     Thanking God for old and new friends, mended relationships, and an amazing family!!! I woke up feeling crummy today but even in the midst of all this yuckyness I can't get over how much the Lord has blessed me. I'm exhausted from adjusting to getting little to no sleep again at night and sore from the c-section and my milk drying up. I feel bad for complaining, though, because I am so truly, richly blessed!!! I know this is a weird post for today but it's what was on my heart. :-)  
     Anyways, I think I will go and lay down for a little while since my Mom is over again today to help out with the kids and house stuff. I'm trying to follow doctor's orders so I can hopefully heal a lot quicker. I have my appointment with Dr. Clapp on Thursday and I'm hoping she takes me off restrictions; as in, letting me drive and pick up my Noah Bug again soon. Please pray that the appointment goes well! Thanks to you all.

Getting the Hang of Things

     So, it's day three back at home and I'm FINALLY starting to feel better. Things were pretty rough for a while. My last post was an update on my breastfeeding endeavors which were going great for Haleigh...I ended up having to pump and give her bottles because she was having a horrible time latching on; she lost 9 ounces while she was in the hospital. :-(  Anyways, she was doing wonderful, but it was taking her an hour to eat an ounce...even so, she was eating so we thought she was doing well. We took her to the pediatrician yesterday morning and she had gained an ounce...even better! :-)  
     BUT, there were a few things that were making me a bit worried. First, Haleigh was only having "wakeful" periods of about 15-20 minutes a day...and I mean in a full 24 hour day...not just during daylight hours. It was starting to freak me out; especially since I've been having to take percocet for pain...which causes drowsiness and dizziness. The other thing that has been weird is that everytime I fed her or pumped I was getting extremely nauseas and throwing up...and with each day that passed I felt like my energy was being completely and totally drained from me. I haven't been able to eat much because I've been so sick and what little I was eating wasn't staying down. Last night I started getting really dizzy and eventually ended up laying down around 11:00 to go to sleep. I slept from 11:30pm-6:30am and didn't wake up...not even when Haleigh started crying to be fed. Thank God I have such an amazing husband...he got up with her and let me sleep. I woke up feeling well rested but still incredibly weak. So, I cleared things up with my doctor who said my body may not be accepting the extra increase in hormones that breastfeeding was producing; so I'm guessing that the oxytocin was making me sick? Anyways, we started transitioning Haleigh from breast milk to formula this morning...and she is doing phenomenal. The best part? She has been awake for at least 3-4 hours today...very alert and wanting to play. She sleeps for about three to four hours and wakes for a bottle...and is eating about two ounces at every feeding. I FINALLY feel like things are getting back to normal again. 
    I go back to see Dr. Clapp on Thursday this week and I'm hoping she gives me the ok to start driving again. It's been crazy not being able to climb behind the wheel...especially since I was so active before I had Haleigh..I seriously walked 1-2 times EVERY SINGLE DAY...and now, it's driving me crazy. In fact, I really overdid it today because I spent an hour at Wal*Mart this morning and then went for a walk this evening with hubby and the kids....lets just say that wasn't very smart of me. Tomorrow Mom is coming over and helping me out again so I think I will spend most of my day resting; probably a pretty good idea at this point. :-)  Anyways, just wanted to update on how things have been going around the Johnston household...crazy but loving it! 

I Gave Birth to a Piranha

     Needless to say, breastfeeding is going amazingly well. Haleigh is a very aggressive eater which doesn't bode well for my poor boobs, lol, but I'm thankful for the pain. Last night was pretty bad for me because my milk started to come in and I have been aching and sore ever since...it made me feel like I was getting the flu, just without the fever. Anyways, Caleb and I talked about it and decided we would try to introduce her to a little formula for one feeding to give me a rest...both physically and literally. Let's just say that DID NOT go well. She gulped it down so fast she puked and then refused to eat anymore...and I really don't blame her. So, I breast fed her all last night and today I experienced my first "let down"...my milk leaked everywhere. I had to pump to relieve the pain which was HORRIBLE....bleh. I pumped about 2oz so I asked Caleb to run to Wal*Mart and get one of the small NUK bottles...that way he could help to feed it to her. I wasn't really worried about nipple confusion because if she would prefer to eat my milk out of a bottle instead of from me, I would be ok with that. Anyways, Caleb got the bottle and the feeding went perfect...AND, I've nursed her like three times since she used to bottle so I think she is going to do just fine. *BIG GRIN*  I just can't believe I made it through the worst part so far...yeah, my c-section burns like crazy and I'm aching all over from my milk coming in, but I am SO PROUD of this accomplishment. I gave up so easy with Noah and I have regretted it from the moment I did...so I feel like I'm making up for it in a way. Noah turned out fine and that thrills me but knowing that the Lord gave me another opportunity with Haleigh makes me feel so blessed.  
     On another note, we are slightly concerned that Haleigh may be slightly jaundiced. When she was discharged from the hospital yesterday, they said it was normal, but we go back to the pediatrician tomorrow for her first check-up so hopefully they will let us know if there is anything out of sorts. Also, she has been awake more today than she has since was born...but still for probably only about an hour total. That worried me at first until several people assured me that it was normal. I'm still going to ask Dr. Beazely about it in the morning. Hope each of you has a great day...thanks for all the prayers and support!!!

Back Home

     Well, we were released from the hospital around 11:30 this morning...much quicker than I thought we'd be able to be discharged! I'm having a really rough time right now and dealing with so many things. First, when I got home Noah Bug wanted to be picked up and held and I am not allowed to do that for four weeks...I have spent half the evening sobbing from hormones, not being able to hold my little boy, c-section burning and aching and feeling totally helpless. Then, on top of all that, my milk decided to come in tonight...so add aching shoulders and back on top of everything else...I'm pretty much a wreck. 
    On the positive, baby girl is eating extremely well (in my thoughts maybe a little TOO well, lol), Noah and Daddy are having fun spending time playing with little sister, and I am feeling pretty good about my "almost" flat tummy. I have already lost 9 pounds and my support band the hospital gave me shrunk my belly back to almost pre-pregnancy size! *grin* YAY!  Please pray for me if you don't mind...just that the Lord will give me strength and patience to make it through the next couple of weeks and for a quick recovery from this c-section. I will be posting more pictures tomorrow but for now, I really need to go rest. :-)  Oh...and a final prayer request...pray for my incredible husband; he is doing his best to take care of Noah, Haleigh and me, too! He has been doing a fantastic job but I know it's quite a bit for him to have to deal with right now! Thanks so much, everyone!!!