A Few New Things

Even though she is the third, Morgan is still getting a few new things. I am finally getting to the point where I want things a certain way in her room, for her carseat, etc. I won't even call it nesting because it is NOTHING like I had with Kate, and even less than I had with Blake. It is just wanting to be ready, I guess. Both other kids liked the green soothie pacifier, but there was no easy way to keep up with it, until I found this cute paci clip. It is by a brand called "Booginhead," and I found it on Amazon.

I am normally a COLD natured person, but this pregnancy and heat has almost sent me over the edge, and I am afraid it will send Morgan over the edge too. I have seen some friends with stroller fans, and then I found this little stroller/carseat fan with foam blades in case any little fingers get near it. Also found on Amazon!


I know we will be outside a good bit, so I got a carseat net so the mosquitoes cannot get her. I think I would cry if she got the huge welps that my other two get even when they are covered in bug spray. I got a super cheap one at Babies R Us.

I know most people have a pack n play by their third baby... but mine was borrowed and mysteriously returned broken a few years ago, and my kids were big enough not to really NEED one. I found this one on Target.com for way cheap, and I love how plain it is.

And finally, the diaper bag. I fell in love with this green diaper bag with the pink lined straps. I have a friend whose mom works for Pottery Barn and could get me a discount on it, so I went ahead and treated myself. :) I think diaper bags are something you have to get new with each child, because they get worn out, spilled on, etc., so this is the one I chose for Morgan.

I am getting excited, we will meet her two weeks from tomorrow at the LATEST! That is July 12th, the day after my birthday, and I couldn't imagine a better birthday present. I go back to the OB this Wednesday to see if I have made any progress, and back to the orthopedic next week to check on my toe. I was not feeling too much pain last week, so I let myself take off the boot for a little bit, and even drive myself around, but then I think I overdid it. Yesterday and today I have been hurting pretty badly, so Brandon put me on house arrest. I am not the best patient, I get too restless, and I have these two other tiny people who don't want to prop their feet up and rest. I am enjoying a reason to rest when I do rest, but I also feel like Morgan is going to get a little too comfortable in there if I am not active at all- and I wouldn't mind if she came a little sooner than expected. I will get some pictures of her nursery and a few other things I have done for her, and show you guys a little more of what we have done to prepare for sweet Morgan.

OUCH

Sorry for 2 things: Sorry I couldn't turn the picture around. AND

Sorry this picture is gross, but I just have to post it for myself. If you are grossed out- just wait to read another post and hang this one up!

We had Kelly and her kids over yesterday morning to play outside and wear all the kids out, and I am so glad they were here! John Burke was getting up from his nap and the "big" kids were jumping on the (zipped up) trampoline, so I decided I could water our garden and porch plants while I had a chance. I was trying to get the hose back down to the backyard, while keeping the fence closed, while stepping around my dog, and I started to fall. I turned around facing back up the stairs to catch myself, but my toe stayed where it was- not sure if it was caught under the step, by the hose, or just caught in my flip flop- but it hurt IMMEDIATELY! I started hopping and crying, and Kelly asked if I was ok, so I pointed to my foot and she saw the beautiful crooked big toe and knew I was NOT ok! I just picked up the phone and called Brandon, luckily he was able to leave work to come get me since I could not drive. Thanks to Kelly for staying here with all 4 kids and managing lunch and naptime until we got home around 3:30 or so! I don't know what I would have done if I had been alone with my kids when it happened!

One perk of the countless hours Brandon spends at the hospital is a little quicker treatment at his ER. We got there, he had let them know we were coming, so they got my information, and then we were in a room with the doctor. Thank God for the speedy process, because I was crawling in pain, shifting side to side, and crying nonstop. They asked what I wanted to take for pain, but I hated to take anything that could hurt Morgan. Keep in mind that I will be meeting her in just under 4 weeks, so the stress was causing some pretty painful contractions too. I decided that I would take something to take the edge off so at least I wouldn't add a delivery to my day too. Once I got some pain medicine in my system, I was able to go get an x-ray and wait for the results. We were hoping for a simple dislocation that could be snapped back into place and we could move on, but it wasn't so simple!

The ER doctor came in and told us that the x-ray was pretty nasty, and he took Brandon to see it. The big toe had a spiral fracture (broken into 2 pieces and twisted around) with an avulsion (a piece of bone chipped off) in the joint space. We talked about options to reset the bone, but my pregnant options were not great! He said he would normally sedate someone to reset this kind of fracture but NOT ME. When I asked what we could do for the pain, he told me I could "have a stick to bite." I started crying all over again because that was not funny when they had already built up how badly it would hurt. Then, I decided that it is just a toe, I will be fine until after she gets here, but he quickly told me that your big toe accounts for 80% of your balance, so it needed to be fixed now. We knew the foot specialist at St. Vincents East was great, so we asked if he could look at it and give us more options. He had already left the hospital, but they called him and he came back! He said that any other patient would get to have surgery and have a pin placed to hold the bones together, but again, NOT ME. I got a nerve block of my big toe, which is a series of shots going all the way around the toe, and it was the most painful part of the whole day- not kidding! But, once the block worked, he was able to snap my toe back into place with only a little pain. It was so nice to look down and see a straight toe again!

Now I have my big toe taped to the toe next to it, and we are just going to hope that it stays where it is supposed to. I have a boot to wear to help me get around and keep it protected, but it is HOTTT. I was fine last night, but once that nerve block wore off, I was back to the pain from earlier. I don't want to have to take much pain medicine, but right now it is needed to be able to put any pressure on it at all. Remember these two kids I have? They don't understand why I can't pick them up and run around to get their cup or find their book, etc. I go back to see him either right before or right after Morgan arrives and we will see if a pin is still necessary, and see if I have kept it straight enough. I don't think surgery immediately after having her sounds good, so pray with me that everything stays where it should! In the meantime, I am on self-imposed bedrest, my kids destroying the house, watching way too much tv, while I prop my foot up and hope nothing touches my toe. They are not kidding about pregnancy making you clumsy and off-balanced! Sorry for the details- just want to make sure we don't forget this. I can tell Morgan one day that I sacrificed my toe so I wouldn't fall on her. :)

Birthday Girl

How is she 4? Didn't I just start this blog when she was born? She has been looking forward to this day for a while, and it seems like it shouldn't be the end of May yet. My Kate Bug is 4, and she wants everyone to know it! Luckily, she has let Blake think that it is his birthday too and they have shared the celebration.







































She had a BLAST celebrating with friends and family. She mostly loves attention, but she got a little overwhelmed a few times and needed some space. Blake was pretty unsure of the whole thing, so he just stuck to his popsicle.















She had plenty of help opening her presents, but she quit halfway through to play in the water some more.




































Brandon picked out a new bike with training wheels that will be fun to learn how to ride. It is strange that she is big enough for a real bike!































She loved her party hat so much, she didn't take it off for the water fun. We had baby pools, slip n slide, and other fun yard toys for all the kids, so she just went from one to the other. It is amazing what a little water in the yard can do for kids! We spent another few hours on the slip n slide and in the pool again today. It is fine with me, it wears them out and allows me to sit to the side and rest while they play. I am glad we got to celebrate Kate before Morgan comes in just over 6 weeks! She has had lots of questions of what happens when Morgan comes, where will she stay, will she get to see me, and will I be leaving her alone- that one made me sad! I hope she will always know how special she is to all of us, our lives changed forever 4 years ago today!

A Way For You to Help

Some of our very best friends, seen HERE, are in the process of adopting. They have made these shirts as a way to raise support. The shirts are actually a darker gray, more of a charcoal, and they come in toddler, youth, and adult sizes. They are $20 each, and go towards an amazing cause- bringing their sweet baby home! Let me know if you are interested in a shirt, or one for every family member like we will be doing! Not only will this help them bring their sweet baby home, it will also be a way to support adoption altogether. James 1:27 says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

We Have a Name! And a Room!

So, we have had a few crazy weeks, a crashed computer, some traveling, beautiful weather, and 2 busy toddlers keeping us pretty busy and keeping me from blogging. That, and I have been really lazy about taking pictures. I am feeling better for the most part now. I can't seem to get rid of a head cold, but Brandon just thinks my allergies are out of control and causing the rest to stick around. My mom tells me that she kept a cold the whole time she was pregnant, so maybe that is just a gift she passed to me.
I wanted to update and say that the kids have done extremely well sharing a room. The first few weeks were pretty good, but still included spankings a few times each nap. Now, it is rare that I have to go check on them at all. Which makes planning for a baby MUCH easier for me. I think the main thing that made me worry about a new baby was thinking about the lack of space and noise and kids not sleeping. So, now she has a room! I went on a girl's fun weekend and came home to an assembled crib, with the bedding all set up. I did get her a new crib bedding set... which is pictured below. It was on clearance at Pottery Barn Kids, and was cheaper than anything I have ever seen at PBK. She is using Blake's old room, which is a really pale baby blue, so the polka dots and stripes bring out the blue that just matches perfectly! Our crib is dark wood, but when I get it all together, I will show you a picture. Just wanted to give you a little preview.
















Now, for her name... Brandon picked her first name, and we both picked her middle name. I was so surprised that he picked a name that I liked so much, and that we don't know any kids with that name, and that sounds good with Slagley. My grandmother's (Nanny) name is Elizabeth May, and I loved the idea of using one of her names. So her name is Morgan May Slagley. I was telling Nanny about naming her, and she asked where I got the name May... I laughed and said "From your name, Nanny!" And she smiled and said she just wanted to make sure. She is back home in her "independent" living, but with an aid around the clock. She is doing much better and gaining strength and some memory back all the time. I can't wait for her to meet her namesake this summer!

Chick-Fil-A Free Fries

CHECK THIS OUT! Tomorrow (March 4) is free Fry-Day at Chick-Fil-A from 2 to 4 when you mention that you are trying their new ketchup dip and squeeze. 2 to 4 is kind of a hard time when you have kids napping, but we may have to get up a little early from naps for a good snack. And, they are Medium size, so not too shabby to share!

It's Another Girl!

We are so excited to be having another girl... not to mention Kate thinks it is HER little girl. We got to take a peek at her this morning, and everything looks perfect! We don't have a name picked out yet, but we need to soon so Kate will quit getting attached to every name she says. She first wanted us to name her Rapunzel, then she stuck with Sally, then said she would settle for Callie. How am I supposed to break it to her that she will have no part in the naming process? I am not one of those people who refuses to tell the name until birth, so as soon as we know, you will too! Thanks for sharing in our excitement. For the record, I was right. I told Brandon it is just mother's intuition... :)