2013 March -May

So whilst I have a minute during nap and quiet time I am going to play catch up.  So in March I gave birth to a healthy baby girl. We named her Allison Katherine Mumford. She was 8lbs. and 2oz. and 20 in. or so long. She is a beautiful, happy and chubby 6 mo. old now. She has been a joy to have in our home and so happy she is a part of our forever family.

In May we went on our first real family vacation and also had a Lee family reunion. Our family went to Washington D.C. and had a blast and then spent the rest of our vacation visiting my hometown in VA and then our Lee family reunion in Virginia Beach. The girls had the best time with their cousins and made some great memories.

In June we were busy with swimming lessons. Julia has moved on and is one awesome swimmer. Rachel progressed also and loves to play in the water more than acquiring better swimming skills which is fine because at least it is keeping her active. July was busy with summer school. Julia hated it but Rachel loved it. It was odd but now that "real" school is in session its back to normal were Julia loves middle school but Rachel is hating school again. Hmmm what to do what to do? I was nervous about Julia starting middle school but she loves it and I just hope she grows more academically because she enjoys the pace of middle school. I am just praying that Rachel has a decent year in 4th  grade and starts to communicate better with her teachers. They don't start their park and rec activities until mid October which is good because that is when Ella will start her swimming lessons.

I am busy with being the Activity Day leader.  It is one of the most challenging callings I have yet to have.  It is very hard and overwhelming at times, especially because of my two oldest daughters. They seem to forget that I wear a different hat during our activities and I have a hard time getting them to respect me as their leader.  I get a lot of eye rolling and this is boring not only from my girls but almost half of the other girls there. We have about 10 girls on a good day and this age is very challenging. I have 4 eleven year olds, 2 ten year olds, and 4 nine year olds and occasionally 1 eight year old but she doesn't come hardly ever because her mom really doesn't want her involved with learning about the gospel but is fine with her helping with service projects. I pick up at least 3 to 4 of them regularly and so I wouldn't have so many if I didn't pick them up. All of this and still nursing my 6 month old has helped present more gray hair that I'm finding all over my head. Really needing a dye job right now and a major haircut!

Catching up is a pain but needs to be done

So I haven't blogged since this summer. So I need to catch up on whats been going on in my life. So I was super sick for the rest of July and August and was seeing a hematologist for some genetic testing to help figure out why I was so tired. The specialist ended up with nothing but that i was very anemic(sp?) so to up my iron intake and eat more iron rich foods and get more sleep.  Which brings me to my sleep study i had to have again in July and turns out the doctor there was very impressed that i haven't suffered from a stroke yet? Really...I'm telling you i was so frustrated and never had a follow up...my insurance only covered so much of that waste of time that i decided to just to take things into my own hands. I was grateful however that my insurance would pay for a few visits with a dietitian to help me get on track being pre-diabitic and i started to lose some weight but was still nauseous all the time and throwing up and very tired. I lost about 15 pounds and was starting to lose more but i was so frustrated with my sleep apnea and was still not sleeping well that i called a respiration supply place called lincare to see if they could help me.  Well in between all that my 8 year old daughter was baptized and it was a very special day and that night my mother asked me if i had considered that there might be a possibility that i could be pregnant and i thought no way i had been on birth control since Ella. But there it was and i thought oh well i have been trying everything else. So bought a few tests and took them and they all came out positive but i was still in denial so went to my OB/GYN and had a blood test.  When that came back positive i didn't know what to think or do. Well since then my insurance has changed and have had more help getting myself healthy.  Sleeping much better but now that i am further along in this pregnancy my body can't handle sleeping for too long anyway because my hips and joints start to say get up!

So now I am 35 weeks pregnant and my due date is March 4th, which actually happens to be my sister Caties' birthday. We are having another girl! We are having a difficult time picking a name, it is probably because we already had a boy name picked but then when we found out that we were having another girl.  Since I have still been having lots of pain in my abdomen my doctor has checked me for everything.  I have had 2 one hour glucose tests that have been normal and no sign of preclampsia so my blood pressure is normal but I still have abnormal liver enzymes so I am being referred to a gastrointerologist (sp?) so we will see how that goes.  So now I have 6 and a half weeks left in this pregnancy and I'm overwhelmed! I try not to stress myself out but i have a bad habit of doing that when I'm not pregnant.  My house is a bonafide cluttered mess and it seems like i will never get my "spring" cleaning and organizing done before the baby gets here. I wish for a cleaning fairy to come and help me get organized and clean!


So now I'm going to catch you up on the rest of my family.  Chad works so hard and even though he is not happy with his job he endures and does his best to make the best of what he has.  I think what makes him the happiest is being here at home with the babies, his Elders Quorum responsibilities and hanging out with his friends.  I wish that he could find work that didn't depress him so much.  The girls had a great summer and thankfully have had a better school year so far this year. This is Julia's last year of elementary school.  I fear middle school for her but only because of my perception of what middle school was like for me.  I hope and pray that she will do well and adapt somewhat so her anxiety doesn't blow up.  She has been given a lot more responsibilities this year and has been doing really well with it all.  Rachel is still my little diva but is starting to mellow out as well.  She is doing better in school and luckily has 2 good friends that are in her class.  I have been keeping her busy with soccer and swimming which she loves! We have been seeing a dietitian to help with ideas to help her feel more healthy.  Its been encouraging and frustrating at the same time.  There are times that I wish she wasn't so much like me and more like Chad. This is my own issue though and something Rachel doesn't even understand.  Ella is growing like a weed and in a matter of 4 months she went from a 2t to a 3t in clothing...mainly for pant lengthening. I swear that child is going to grow to be 6 foot tall.  The other girls didn't hit this stride until they were almost 3. Anyway her speech is improving but I still feel like I am the only one who understands her.  She has grown very attached to her Papa Lee and Mimi. She talks about them all the time and I really think she is looking forward to my mom staying a couple of weeks when the new baby arrives.

In other news we are having our first Lee Family reunion this May and its all I dream about. Can you tell I'm excited? You betcha!  We are spending 2 weeks on a real family vacation.  Our very first as a family and we won't even be camping....hahaha.  We will be spending 3 and a half days in Washington D.C. and then a few days at my brothers house and then off to Virginia Beach to stay at an incredible beach house with my ma and pa and all of my sibs and their families. I also will get to reconnect with my "fearsome foursome" buddies after church on the Sunday that we will be there. Good times ahead!

Here are some random pics that continue our 2012 summer and winter... hopefully will post pics and birthing story around end of March or beginning of April. Can't believe I am almost due with my 4th child!

 

It's finally warming up for summer...

 Lake Sacajawea while walking with the kiddos.

Ella and her friend Havea O'Reilly...such cutie patooties!


Julia and Rachel helping Ella go down the slide, they are having so much fun at the park.

Ella hanging out with Momma...

Crazy little girl is so much fun!

Playing with the camera while at the park.

Ella with her sisters lounging casually on the back deck.

That reminds me...

Do you have a day that when you hear a song it totally makes you feel like that's me or that's the type of day I'm having.  Music is so universal.  I remember when i was younger and making a mixed tape was a cool thing to do.  I find a couple(cassette tapes) occasionally when i am cleaning (major cleaning) and wondering what is this archaic thing doing here. Me who keeps not everything but i keep stuff that means something to me.  The funny thing was to be able to listen to my tape i have to go out to the car and listen.  I don't think they make tape boom boxes anymore.  Yes I'm dating myself but I don't think of me as being that old but I am. It was a mixed tape with me and my friend from VA being silly and not having a care in the world.

 I hate being that person that reminisces so much that its all i talk about but dang i had it so good as a kid. I hate thinking about when things started getting tougher for me but it was after my brother Ben died.  I think I started to comfort myself with food then and it happened to be my best friend (still is).  So how does one shake its best friend and get it to go away.  Just voicing is helpful sometimes.  My ARNP has referred me to a nutritionist and I am hoping that it will help.  I am waiting for my pap smear results to come back.  I am trying to be as positive as I can and hoping for good results.  Dr. Whelan said not to worry about the polyps until he gets my pap smear results back so that is what I am trying to do.  I will just keep praying and everything will be okay.

The girls have grown so much in just one month.  Chad and I must really have good genes, my girls are just so beautiful and so good.  They have their moments just like any other kids but it makes me feel so good as a parent when they get so many compliments on their behavior.  Counseling is going well for Julia still and Rachel has an appointment for an intake soon.  I am hoping it will be helpful for her as well.  I have been trying a structured schedule for them so far this summer and its been helpful. We shower and eat breakfast before nine and then around nine we start school.  I want to get them caught up so when they start in September they will be where they need to be. I can't believe my baby Rachel will be 8 in August and baptized in September.  Time sure flies.  Ella is getting so big and saying a few more words. I love the way she dances, she is the funnest to watch. Julia is spending a whole week with her Grandma and Grandpa Lee, they have already reported that they want to keep her and of course I said no way Jose! She is my biggest helper at home.  I am hoping this will give her even more confidence to be who she is. She is so sweet. Well I'm getting pretty darn tired so goodnight blogosphere.

Parenting Woes

I am becoming less and less interested in blogging.  I really don't have alot of people that are that interested in whats going on in my life or otherwise so i think i may make this blog private so i can just journal when i have the time. The past six months really have been overwhelming emotionally, and physically.  Parenting has become a reall struggle as my children are growing up faster than i think i know how to deal with.  I have had to put them in counseling.  It has been a real big eye opener.  I always thought that i could be enough and that they could always feel like they can come to me for absolutely anything. It happens to not be the case.  I am feeling like a big fat zero.  My girls feel unsafe at thier school and want to be homeschooled and i feel so insecure of my own abilities to teach them basics and/or more that selfish me keeps telling them it will get better.  How do I expect them to navigate thier own storms if i can't even weather mine.  Middle school was hell for me. Will I find the courage and get over my insecurities so that they don't have to endure the things i went through but if i pull them out am i teaching them to give up and not weather thier storms in life.  I get so frustrated with the school system and i feel that my voice keeps falling on deaf ears no matter how loud i get.  I am tired of my children getting bullied because they are kind, and i don't want them to be violent with anyone but i wish they could find thier voice to put these bullies in thier place. With adolescence rearing its head i need to find myself some new parenting tools because the ones i have really aren't working anymore. Well for now thats all i have for the blogosphere.

Summer 2011

 So here are some highlights of our summer so far!  Ella is getting so big! She amazes me on how much she is constantly changing...such a cutiepatootie!

 Rachel missing a tooth she has lost a total of 3 teeth so far this summer! You go girl!

 The girls enjoyed R.A Long Cheer camp that was for a couple of days...they learned enough cheers to drive me crazy enough this summer...I'm hoping that cheerleading is a phase!

 Group shot with some of the cheerleaders from RA Long High School.

 Ella in her pioneer bonnet for our Stake Pioneer Picnic...it was lots of fun but not a lot of 1st ward children were there to represent.

 She is ready for her close-up Mr. De Mil...heehaw so cute!

 Longview 1st ward pioneer children from left to right: Julia, Emily, Rachel, and Morgan.

 The girls enjoying the Pioneer Picnic!

 So at the end of July we had a Mumford family Reunion and it was so much fun being with everyone! Here are the Mumford Ladies: Patricia, Mom, Kelly, Valerie, Riley, Angela, and Me.

 Mumford and Sons: Craig, Chad, Dad, and Jon.

 All of the Mumford Grandchildren: Front; Tayson, Landon, Caleb, Emily, and Rachel. Back; Tyler holding Ella, Julia, and Brittany holding James.

 Such cute cousins! Brittany holding James...he is such a beautiful little boy!

 At the beginning of August we celebrated Rachel's 7th birthday and she had a blast! Here she is bobbing for apples but she calls it cobbing for apples...heehee!

 All of her birthday party guests!

 Rachel with her BFF Madeline Glenn and the present that Maddie got her. Rachel also wished her other BFF Jacinda could have come but she is excited to see her at  the end of September when we make a trip to Utah...it will be so nice to see them!

 She also got here ears pierced for her birthday and loves to show them off! She is so girly!

 She also got a make-up kit from her Aunt Ashley for her birthday and this is what we found on a Saturday morning. She hadn't even realized that she had put it on in her sleep.  We have caught her sleep talking, walking and eating before but sleep make-upping takes the cake with that girl...wondering if we should invest in some type of harness to keep her in bed at night.  I think this is why she doesn't get invited over for sleepovers-hahaha!

And precious Ella! She is becoming such a sweet girl. We finally get to get away for a bit here at the end of the month before school starts so that should be fun and I will report about that later. We are excited for the school year to start or at least I am and looking forward to our trip to Utah that will be here before we know it.  Summer of 2011 has been a nice easy breezy one and sometimes those can be the most memorable.  I will catch up on all the books and movies I have enjoyed this summer later. TTFN!