Busy, Busy, BUSY!!

Well, I don't even know where to begin.  This last month has been pretty much crazy for our family.  It started with us finding out on February 3rd that Mike GOT A JOB!!!  He had gone through 3 weeks of interviews and he was the one that got the job.  We are so so happy and he is absolutely loving it!

This added a bit of stress to our lives though because we were all leaving the next morning to drive down to Mesa, AZ for a visit with my family.  Mike was starting work the next Monday morning here in Salt Lake.  What were we going to do?  Well, I wasn't going to miss the trip so my wonderful husband drove Alena and I down to Arizona and then flew back up on Sunday night to start work.

Now our trip wasn't just for pleasure and relaxation, it was actually for something very, very exciting.  My little brother Preston came home from his mission!!  Tuesday the 8th we all headed down to the airport to meet his plane.

Now can you just picture the herd of people standing there at the security gate waiting for one person??  People were amazed and many stopped to ask what/who we were waiting for.  40 people is quite a site at the airport.

 

Please notice the fabulous sign, all the letters drawn by yours truly  :)  Other family members helped with the painting and stuff.

 

Mom was crying 15 minutes before he came out and was up on her tippy toes watching for him the whole time.

 

Isn't he the sweetest thing?!?!  We are all total tear bags, don't hold it against us.

 

Seeing the first hugs with Mom and Dad was really the greatest thing (aside from being able to hug him myself).  It is such a great feeling to witness the honorable return of such a wonderful boy turned to man from a mission serving the Lord.

 

The next item of business was the mass hug from the nieces and nephews.  It was so fun to see them all so excited to see their Uncle Preston.

 

Alena though would have nothing to do with any of it.  She was confused by the whole ordeal and pretty upset that Daddy wasn't there.  She is still a sweetheart in my book though!

We then headed for some visiting and fun that lasted that night and the next day and night. We were all pretty excited.   Sad thing is Alena started running a fever on Wednesday that lasted till Saturday and then the runny nose and grumpiness lasted the whole next week  :(  Poor girl.

While Alena and I were busy with family and sickness in Arizona, Mike more than had his hands full up here in Utah.  He was going through very intense training for his new job, finishing his last 2 nights of class for his MBA program and then to add to all of that, he also got sick  :(  I felt really bad that I couldn't be up here to take care of him.  He is a total trooper and passed everything with flying colors!!  He is all done with his MBA!!!  I am so so proud of him and all his hard work.  He is constantly amazing me.

Well after way too much time apart, Mike flew back down to Mesa of Friday the 18th.  Alena was so happy to see her daddy again and I have to admit I was pretty ecstatic to have him back with us as well.  He was back just in time to be a part of the Wilcken family reunion that we had with my dad's side of the family.  Lots of fun visiting with cousins, lots of food and fun memories were made.

We added into this taking family pictures since all of the 11 kids were all together again for the 1st time in 2 years.  Not to mention, we had 5 new family members since the last picture was taken.  It was quite the adventure since we ended up taking them in the rain.  It's all about the memories right  :)

Well, after 18 days in Mesa, on Monday morning we started the drive back to Salt Lake so Mike could be back to work on Tuesday.  So here we are, trying to settle back into a new routine and put our life back together.  Crazy thing is I'm not just recouping from a 2 week vacation. . . I was MIA for the previous 2 months sick in bed with the pregnancy.  I am feeling pretty good now, not back to 100% but getting closer to it every day.  I've got a doctors appointment tomorrow and might be able to find out what we are having this time, but we will have to wait and see.

I should be working on the house rather than this post so I should wrap it up.  More updates on life to come (I'm not working anymore, so I'll have the time to do it!)

LUVZ!!

McAllister Baby #2 due August 9th, 2011

More updates to come. . .

YAY!!!

Um yeah. . . I love this!!!  What do you think?

Trivia Answer

Well, those of you who answered the Trivia Question were right (yes even you Erica).  This is 712 miles away. . .

That is the house we will be living in in Salt Lake City, Utah (technically we will be living in the basement).  We are moving up the week of June 21st.  We have a TON of mixed emotions over this.   

Excited for the new adventures ahead and the new start we are getting.
Excited to be nearer to some of Mike's family.  
Excited to be closer to my sister Heidi and her sweet new baby Lydia (I guess we are excited to see Robert too  :)    
Excited for the Restaurants that we can only eat at in Utah.  
Excited to make new Friends and be closer to old ones.  

We are sad to be leaving our house  :(  
Sad to be away from so much of my family  :(  
Sad to leave our wonderful ward  :(

We know that this is the right thing for us to be doing so we are pushing ahead and getting ready.  It's crazy how much stuff there is to do when moving.  Cross your fingers that I am able to get it all done with out losing my mind  :)  

I'll have plenty more updates for you, and pictures of everything in the future.  That's it for now.  LUVZ! 

?? Trivia Question ??

What is approximately 712 miles away from us??

Having a Hard Time

**THIS IS A VERY LONG POST.  I apologize for this, but I needed to get this out.  If you take the time to read it, I appreciate it.**

So I have been dealing with some issues for the last little while, and I thought it might help to "journal" it if you will.  This may seem jumbled, and I'm sorry, but it is mostly to try and get my thoughts out in hopes that it will make things a little clearer for me.  Here goes nothing. . .

First off, let me start by saying I am not currently pregnant, but a lot of the trouble I am having has a lot to do with this.  Parts of this date back a while so I will need to give some background.

As many of you know, I had to have a c-section when Alena was born due to the fact that she was in a breach position.  In my appointment 6 weeks following the delivery, it was discovered that I have a "short cervix".  A woman's cervix is normally around 1 inch thick, where as mine is just over 1/2 an inch thick.  They feel that this most likely was a partial cause of Alena being born 6 weeks early.  They also told me that this would most likely cause me to have all of my children premature.  They then said that with my history with Alena's pregnancy (more information on this later), the addition of my "short cervix", thin uterine wall, and the fact that I had to have a c-section, they told me that for my own health protection the deliveries of my children needed to be at least 2 years apart.  At that point that wasn't really a big deal because that was pretty much what Mike and I were thinking in the first place, but to be sure that we didn't risk any problems or complications we made the decision for me to go on birth control.  I started on YAZ and didn't have any trouble with it.  I actually felt really good while on the birth control.

After a few months I started really wanting to have another baby, but I knew that I needed to stay on the birth control at least through January of 2010.  I had calculated that even if the next baby came just as early as Alena did, if I went off the pill the beginning of February and got pregnant right away then the baby would still come 1 month after Alena's 2nd birthday.  This was perfect for me and I was anxiously counting down to the time when I could go off the pill and we could have another baby.  Life however had a different plan for us.  We found out the middle of November that the company Mike was working for was getting rid of the health insurance benefit.  Given my pregnancy history we knew we couldn't have a baby without insurance.  We began looking for plans but there was nothing that we could afford and they all had horrible wait periods on pregnancy coverage.  I would have had to wait a year with the coverage before I could become pregnant and that was much too long for me to wait.  I know there are more babies ready to come to our family, and I need to have them as soon as is possible.

With the ending of our health insurance it was even more important that I not become pregnant, I had to stay on my birth control.  It was hard for me to go past the date I had been planning on stopping my pills, but it was the best thing to happen.  During this time the refills on my prescription ran out.  With being uninsured I could not go in to the doctor to have a new prescription written.  They were having to approve individual refills on my pills.  This wasn't a problem until the middle of March.  I called in my prescription to have it filled, but it wasn't approved by the day I needed to start taking it.  I would have been ok for me to start the day after and take 2 pills that day, but it still wasn't filled.  The last option was to start that Sunday (3 more days) but they still didn't fill the prescription.  I called my doctor to ask them what they thought I should do.  They said that because of some of my past history, that the best thing for me would be to wait until my next cycle to start another pack of pills.  At first I didn't think this would be a problem, but of course an issue had to come up  :(

After about a week off my pills I started having some issues with depression.  I have had trouble with this other times in the past, so I wasn't terribly surprised that it came up.  I had a really hard time with it though and I knew that I didn't want to go through the adjustment of coming off the pills again in a few more months.  Mike and I have decided that I will not start my pills again, and we will try other ways for having me not get pregnant (REALLY SORRY IF THIS IS TMI FOR ANYONE).

With going off the pills, me being pregnant has become more of a possibility.  This is very exciting for me but it has started to become a very scary thing for me as well.  This is the majority of what I am having a hard time with now.

As I said before, I would talk about the difficulty I had with my pregnancy with Alena.  I had been skipping periods before I found out I was pregnant with Alena.  I started taking pregnancy test in October and they always came up negative.  I took a test every week and they were always negative, but I never started my period.  Mike was finishing up college during this and was graduating that December.  We knew he would then be going full time at his job and we would then have health insurance.  I didn't want to go in before we had insurance and end up with a "Pre Existing Condition" issue so since I wasn't having pain or any bad symptoms I decided I would wait till we had insurance to go and see the doctor.  I continued taking tests and they kept being negative.

Our insurance went into effect February 1st of 2008.  I had an appointment scheduled with my OB/GYN for Monday, February 11th.  I took another test on Sat. the 9th and it was still negative.  I went to the doctor expecting the worst.  Since I hadn't had a period they had me take a pregnancy test.  I completely expected it to be negative, they were always negative, but surprise surprise I was pregnant!  I couldn't believe it!  Since we had nothing to go off of to determine how far along I was, they scheduled and ultrasound for the next day to do measurements of the baby and determine a due date.  Mike and I went in the next day and the ultrasound determined that I was about 6 weeks along.  We were so so happy about having a baby.  Things started getting bad really fast though.

I started feeling really sick all the time almost instantly, but I figured it was normal.  I threw up for the first time on Sunday, but figured that was normal too.  I was surprised when I threw up again, and then again all on Sunday.  I woke up Monday and threw up immediately.  I tried to go on with my day but it was really hard.  Each day got worse and worse.  I was throwing up more and more frequently.  The doctors started me on medication but it didn't work, so they gave me a different one and then a different one and a different one, all the while it kept getting worse.  At the worst point I was throwing up 12-15 times in an hour.  You may be thinking "that's impossible" but let me assure you it's not.  I was not keeping anything down and as soon as my stomach even produced a little bile, I was throwing it up.  I went to the ER numerous times and was given hydration through an IV because I was so dehydrated.  I was hospitalized for a number of days and re-hydrated and sent home on yet another medication regimen.  3 days later I was back at the doctors office needing another IV.  Throughout all of this I was losing weight and losing it fast.

When I ended up back at the doctor they decided they wanted to insert a PICC Line so that I could have constant fluids while at home.  It was inserted and I went home for Mike to help me stay on fluids 24 hours a day.  We really hoped that this would be the end, but of course it wasn't, after all, your body can't only survive on water and I had now not kept down any food in nearly FIVE WEEKS!!  I know this may sound hard to believe, but I was not doing well.  My skin was turning gray because I was so malnourished.  In 5 weeks I lost 40 pounds.  This shouldn't happen when you are pregnant.  I was on home care, I had a nurse that came every few days to check my line and make sure it looked ok.  I had to weigh myself everyday, keep track of anything I was able to get in me food or water wise (nothing) and also everything that came back up (everything).  I also had to pee on ketone detector strips everyday and give them my ketone levels.  As it says in that link, ketones are not good.  They are a sign that your body is breaking down parts of you that aren't supposed to be broken down.  My levels were always very high.

I then began to vomit blood and Mike was not going to put up with this anymore.  He called another doctors office and we had my care transferred to PPA.  PPA had me admitted straight into the hospital and went to work.  They inserted an NG Tube so that I was being fed 24 hours a day.  They had to insert the tube so that it went passed my stomach and into my intestines because my stomach had experienced so much trauma from all the vomiting.  They kept me on the PICC Line for hydration and medication.

2 days after they inserted my NG Tube the doctor came in to visit with Mike and I and tell us the severity of my situation.  He had papers printed out showing all of my metabolic levels when I had come in, where there were now and where they should be.  The sheet from when I came in indicate that every level was either critically high or low.  He then said, "Now I don't want this to scare you, but had you waited another week to come to us you would have died.  You were starving to death.  Your body was shutting down.  Your kidneys had stopped functioning.  Your gall bladder is full of sludge and we will need to monitor it to be sure that we don't need to remove it.  We are doing all we can to get your body restarted and functioning the way it is supposed to."  I'm sure you could imagine, that this was a very shocking thing to hear.  No one expects to be told they were a week away from death.

I slowly improved and was sent home from the hospital after 11 days.  I remained on the feeding tube and I was also given a Zofran Medication pump that pumped medication into my leg through a sub-cu.  The doctor said that my sickness was caused by a condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum which you can read about HERE and HERE.

Now after all of this, I still felt fine about having another baby.  I knew I had a new set of doctors that would treat me and take care of me.  I have had no trouble with any of this until the last couple weeks.  Now that I am realizing that I could end up getting pregnant I have started getting really scared of having to go through all of this again.  How am I going to go through this when I have a daughter to take care of?  What am I going to do financially?  I had to stop working last time and that would be devastating to us this time around.  We have just taken on the EXTREMELY INTIMIDATING task of starting our own business.  Mike is working very hard to get our photography business Eli Mac Photography up and running.  This however make it so that the bulk of the income responsibility lands with me.  This terrifies me!

What happens if this time it is worse?  They told me that in many cases it is harder with the next pregnancies.  I have a very hard time picturing this.  What do I do if they can't keep a handle on it?  What if I loose the next baby?  What if they can't take care of me and something horrible happens?  Am I willing to risk missing out on Alena growing up to have another baby?  I have a constant ache to have another baby, it is with me all the time, but I am TERRIFIED!  

I'm sorry to have blabbed on and on and on, but I needed this.  If anyone actually read this, props to you!!  I will keep you updated on the goings on in this area.  Say a prayer for me that it will all work out how it is supposed to.


Thanks!

Remembrance

My Aunt Mary passed away last night after a long battle with cancer.  She is an inspiration in so many ways and I want to pay tribute to a wonderful woman. 

All my life, I remember her being there for every important event in the family.  There was nothing more important to her than family, and she made that constantly apparent.  She was in car and there whenever she was needed.  

When she was diagnosed with cancer, she went into over drive.  She wasn't going to miss out on anything.  She was going to spend as much time as she could with her children and grand children.  She was away from home for months at a time only pausing for cancer treatments when needed. 

My Great Grandma Angie Finlinson always made clear that family was the most important.  I feel that Aunt Mary took this to heart and truly lived out Grandma Angie's thinking.

Love you Aunt Mary.  You will be missed by many.  Loving the thought of the reunions you are having on the other side.  Give the family a hug for us.

Ideas Needed

Hey Everybody.

So some of you know but some of you don't, for those that don't, Mike got a new job. He has been working at his new job with Fortune 5 for the last 2 weeks. I'll post more info on that in another post.

The reason I am posting now is because I need some ideas. Mike is gone ALL DAY with his new job so I need some stuff to help fill my time. I am starting to collect craft ideas and I'm reaching out for help. Any one have any ideas or fun blogs that you like to follow? Please let me know, cuz I'm really wanting to find some fun stuff to do for around my house or just anything :)

Leave a comment and let me know what ideas you have.

Thanks!!

3 Years Already

In the last 3 years we have:

had 1 baby

bought 1 house

earned 1 bachelors degree

started 1 masters degree

paid off 1 car

had 5 jobs

been in 4 wards

had 4 church callings

watched a million movies

went to Disneyland 1 time

laughed a billion times

these last 3 years have had hard times and perfect times.. but over all its been the BEST time ever!!

I love you Mike!!!  Can't wait for the rest of the years and adventures ahead!

Long Over Due

Well, I know this is a long overdue post, but you're getting one, so be happy!!!  There is lots of catching up I need to do, but I wanted to start with this, cuz I love it.  Being the wife of a photographer is FABULOUS but it does have a downside, that being that it is hard to get a picture of all of us together.  Well, we were able to go to Colorado right after Christmas this year to spend some time with Mike's family.  His older brother was blessing his new baby so we all went over and while we were there Mike's mom wanted to get some pictures of all of us together.  We got some great ones that I wanted to share:

It was freezing cold, and I mean FREEZING!  Alena was having a really hard time with the cold so we weren't able to get her to cooperate for much, but we still had a great time.  Hope you enjoy!!  :)
 

Explanation

So I have had a lot of people ask me why our photography business is called Eli Mac Photography.  Here is the run down. 

Mike's full name is Elisha Michael McAllister.  He has always gone by Mike but when he started his photography program at ASU, he had a lot of professors that liked Elisha and wanted to call him that.  Then a little farther into the program he had a professor that started shortening it to Eli. 

TADA!!! 

Eli Mac, Mac short for McAllister because Eli McAllister Photography just doesn't have the same ring  :)  We are really loving doing this and would love to take pictures for all of you.  We are currently running a special for the holidays and you get a $25 discount for sittings in December. 

Hope you are all doing well!

ANNOUNCING!!...

Well, I know it has been kinda a long time coming, but we finally got our photography site up and running!  We are so excited about this and we would love to do some photos for you.  We are running a Holiday Special right now so you can get a discount on your session through the month of December.  Check out our site and let us know what you think.

elimacphotography.blogspot.com   

Call us today to set an appointment  :)

What Are You Thankful For?

My cousin shared this on our family website and I thought it was great and wanted to pass it on.



What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving! Love you All!

Katie

A Little Update

Sorry, no pictures in this post but I promise some are coming :) It has been forever since I posted so I wanted to give a little update on how things are going.

Mike finished his first MBA class this last week. We don't know what he got on his final but before he took that he had a 100% in the class. Not a bad way to start out I think. He is still working like crazy at Content Connections. About 3 weeks ago he went on a business trip back east and was gone for a week. He had meetings in Baltimore, MD; Philadelphia, PA; Yardley, PA; New York, NY; and Hoboken, NJ. It was a long, hard week for him and we were so glad to have him home safe. We are also working hard on getting his photography site set up. We are doing more sittings and we love it! Let us know if you need some pictures taken and we can totally hook you up :)

Alena is busy, busy, BUSY!! She is walking everywhere. It is crazy how fast she is growing up. Some of the things she likes to do these days is to try and help me with the dishes and the laundry. She mostly just undoes what I'm doing but it is really cute that she tries to help. She unfolds the laundry as I get it folded and she pulls the dishes out of the dishwasher as I get them loaded. She is talking all the time and is learning more and more words every day. She can say mom, dad, hi, dog, and what's this. She tries to talk even more and knows a whole lot of gibberish. She likes to play peek-a-boo and she loves singing songs like Popcorn Popping, The Itsy-Bitsy Spider, and Patty Cake, Patty Cake. I love my little girl and I love watching her grow!

As for the family, we paid off our Blazer this week which was SO GREAT!!! We feel so good about it. We have painted some of the rooms in our house and can't wait to finish the rest. I will post pictures at some point. Alena is having surgery on Tuesday to open up a blocked tear duct. It has been plugged since she was born and since it didn't open up on its own they have to probe it open. It shouldn't be too bad, but it is really scary because she has to be put under for it. Really hoping that everything goes well. We are really excited for Thanksgiving. We love to eat!! Mike's brother and his wife had a baby boy a week ago so we will be going to Colorado Springs the day after Christmas so we can be there for the baby blessing. It will be great to spend some time with Mike's family. We wish we could see them more often!

As for me, I'm working and trying to keep our house in order. I'm still doing Pampered Chef and I love it! Hoping that it picks up through the holidays so I can do a few more parties because I really like to do them.

Hope all of you are doing well. I promise I will get some picture posts up soon.

A Poem for Thought

My friend Amanda Farnsworth posted this poem on her blog and I thought it was really sweet and I wanted to share it with all of you.

She came tonight as I sat alone, the girl I used to be…
And she gazed at me with her earnest eye and questioned reproachfully;

Have you forgotten the many plans and hopes that I had for you?
The career, the splendid fame, and all the wonderful things to do?
Where is the mansion of stately height with all of its gardens rare?
The silken robes that I dreamed for you and the jewels in your hair?

And as she spoke, I was very sad for I wanted her pleased with me…
This slender girl from the shadowy past the girl that I used to be
So gently rising, I took her hand, and guided her up the stair
Where peacefully sleeping, my babies lay innocent, sweet, and fair.

And I told her that these are my only gems, and precious they are to me;
That silken robe is my motherhood of costly simplicity.
And my mansion of stately height is love, and the only career I know
Is serving each day in these sheltered walls for the dear ones who come and go.

And as I spoke to my shadowy guest, she smiled through her tears at me.
And I saw that the woman that I am now, pleased the girl I used to be.

- Author Unknown

Let's not forget what a wonderful BLESSING it is to be a mother.

Love you all you great moms out there!! :)

Personal Website!

Hey Everybody! I wanted to let you all know that I now have a Personal Website for Pampered Chef. You can go online to place orders, browse the catalog, schedule a show or send me a question.

I am really loving being a Pampered Chef Consultant, but it is a lot more fun when I have shows to do :) I am open this month for shows so if any of you are interested please let me know.

Also, for the month of October only, Pampered Chef holds their "Help Whip Cancer" campaign in support of Breast Cancer Research. They have special Pink products that are only available this month, and a portion of all orders is donated to help fund much needed Research to find a Cure.

If you want to check out my website the link is:

www.pamperedchef.biz/cookinlikecrazy

Let me know what you think and let me know if you are interested in hosting a show. You earn FREE PRODUCT when you do!

Love you all!

Katie

New Cell Phones!!

Well Mike and I were eligible for an upgrade on our cell phones this month so we went today and picked out new phones. It is really nice to have something new after nearly 2 years :) Especially since for the last 3 months I have been using Mike's old old phone cuz mine busted :( Well here is a picture of out new phone


Even more exciting is the fact that mine is PINK!!!


Isn't it cute! I really like it. It is fun to figure it all out and get it set up just for me :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALENA!!!

I can't believe that it has been a year since my sweet little girl was born! I had to take a little look back at what that day was like, and I wanted to let you remember with me! Here is the run down of my baby girls "Birth Day" :)

August 26th, 2008:
3:00 AM - I had just gotten back in bed after one of the many trips to the bathroom that happened throughout the night. I was just settling back in to sleep when I felt Alena kick, I heard a *POP* and instantly I was soaking wet. At first I was in such shock I didn't know what to do. I laid my hand on Mike and all I said was "My water just broke" and he was out of bed like a shot. For those of you who know Mike, you know that this is a miracle in and of itself. Mike sleeps like a rock, so I'm glad I didn't have to sit and shake him awake. Well, we called the doctor and I called my mom, and we got ready to leave for the hospital. Since she was 6 weeks early I still hadn't packed a bag or anything to take to the hospital with me. I showered quickly, put on dry clothes and we were out the door.

3:25 AM - We were pulling away from our house and my contractions started. One of my biggest fears had been that I wouldn't know I was having contractions, but there was no mistaking it. Right off the bat they were 4 to 5 minutes apart and lasting about 45 seconds to a minute each. Luckily one of the two birthing classes we had had was the breathing class, so I was able to get through them okay. While in the car I called all of my sisters to let them know what was going on and to ask them to say a prayer that everything would be alright. This is when it kinda started sinking in that I was having a baby, she was really early, and I had no idea what to do. Let's just say I was a little FREAKED OUT!!! Thank heaven for Mike. He was so great through the entire thing.

4:00 AM - We got the the hospital. Before going inside Mike gave me a Priesthood Blessing that I would be okay and that our little girl would be okay. Then we headed into the hospital. At this point I was having contractions about 3 to 4 minutes apart and they were lasting at least a minute each. They took me in to one of the triage rooms and started getting me hooked up to monitors. They brought in papers for me to sign and they worked on getting everything set. I was still just trying to breathe and stay calm. Mike was great and rubbed my feet through each of my contractions to help me stay relaxed.

4:30 AM - They finally had everything set and the nurse checked to see how far I had progressed. I was already 100% efaced and dilated 4 centimeters. When the nurse checked me she was able to feel Alena's little toes coming through the cervix. When she said that I knew instantly that that meant c-section. I was already in such shock that this didn't faze me too bad. I definitely wasn't prepared for it, but there was so much other stuff on my mind that I didn't have time to worry about another unexpected development.

5:00 AM - The doctor finally came in and said that he wanted to try and do a test to check Alena's lung development. With her being so early, there was a lot of fear that her lungs would not be fully developed yet and that would pose yet another problem. They were unable to get the fluid needed for the test so the doctor had them give me a tributalene shot to try and slow things down. His hope was that if things slowed they would have the time to do the test. Needless to say, the shot didn't work!!! My contractions kept coming harder and faster and I was having a hard time because I didn't know what exactly they were going to do. They kept saying different things and I just needed to know what was going on.

5:45 AM - Mike went out to call and update my mom. They had just come in and said that they would be doing the c-section later in the day. While Mike was out on the phone, the nurse came in and checked me again. In just over an hour, I was now dilated to almost 8 centimeters and I was going into transition. Once the nurse found that I had progressed so far, They decided the c-section had to happen NOW! 4 more nurses came in and started getting me prepped. Mike walked back in and was given scrubs and told "You need to change now!" He changed super fast and when he came back in they were wheeling me out. They told him grab your camera, leave everything else and follow them. I was on my way to the OR.

6:05 - I was in the OR and they were getting me set for my epidural. I was having constant contractions and I was still in shock. They moved me onto a flat, cold metal slab, and had me lean over and gave me the shot. Luckily it was a spinal and not a regular epidural. It takes effect a lot faster than a normal one. They laid me down, and spread my arms out to the side. They strapped my arms down and put hot blankets over me and wrapped my head in the a warm blanket. I had oxygen up my nose and a big blue tarp in front of my face so I couldn't see anything. The doctor started poking me and asking if I could feel it. As soon as I said I couldn't, they opened me up.



6:15 AM - Alena is here!!! She was out and they were working on getting her breathing. As soon as she started to cry, they wrapped her up, I got to kiss her cheek and her and Mike were off to the NICU. It was really hard for me to have to stay there by myself but I knew that Mike needed to be with our baby. They got me closed up, and then they wheeled me to recovery.

6:45 AM - The nurse finally tracked down all of our stuff so I was able to get my phone and call and tell my mom that I had had a baby. Can we say SUPER FAST MORNING!!!! I couldn't believe it. It was done and now all I wanted was to hold my baby. I had to stay in recovery for 2 and a half hours, and then they wheeled me by the NICU on my way to my room. I got to hold her for less than 2 minutes and then I was taken downstairs. That is when the day started feeling really long!!! I wanted my baby but wasn't allowed to go up and see her. I was going crazy. My baby shower was that night, so Mike left and opened all the presents. He got back and finally at 9:30 PM I was able to go up and really be with my baby. Let's just say that was the happiest I have ever been.



So, there is the run down of our very busy, very exciting day. That was the start of an 11 day NICU stay that started out little girls life. It really seems like it was just yesterday. We were blessed with so many wonderful doctors and nurses that did so much to help our baby girl. We are so grateful for the many prayers offered on our behalf, and for the visits and phone calls we received. We are so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends and we are so grateful for each and everyone of you!

Here We Go Again!!

Well after a lot of talking and praying, Mike and I decided it was time to do it again. There was some heming and hawing, but we took the plunge. Many crazy adventures awaiting us in the next few months but we are ready and waiting and so excited for what the future will bring.




No you crazy people, we aren't having another baby :) Mike is going back to school! We received his acceptance to the MBA program at University of Phoenix and he starts September 29th! He will be taking ground campus classes that will meet one night a week for 6 weeks. The program takes about 18 months, but he is planning on adding a Marketing Concentration to it which will tack on a few more classes.

We are so excited for this new chapter in our lives and we know that this is going to be a great benefit to our family.

NEW PRODUCTS FOR FALL WITH PAMPERED CHEF!!

Hey everybody!

I wanted all of you to know that Pampered Chef is releasing new products starting September 1st! There really are some awesome new things coming out, but then again, what from Pampered Chef isn't totally awesome?? They have released additions to the Dots Dishes line, there are new Spices and Sauces in the Pampered Pantry, as well as some new cookbooks! They have some great Holiday Pieces that they have released along with some updates to classic favorites like the Kitchen Shears! A personal favorite of mine is their new Ice Bucket. Let me just tell you, it is amazing!

Like I said before all of their new products are available September 1st. The best thing to do is host a show and get these great products for free!!! September has a great Hosting Special which is 60% STONEWARE PIECES! Nothing better than saving money and Hosting a Show is a great way to do that.

September is great for hosting shows since the kids are back in school and the everyone is settling in to a normal schedule. It is also before everyone gets crazy with the Holidays. Hosting is so simple to do since all you need to do is come up with addresses and then I mail out the invites and take care of everything else.

Jump on this great opportunity soon as dates are filling up fast and I want everyone to be able to take advantage of these great deals and see all the new products first hand!

Contact me through the blog, through Facebook, email at cookin.like.crazy@gmail.com or kmcallister310@gmail.com, or by phone at 480-421-8087.

I can't wait to hear from you!!

Katie