No T.V.

  Over the past almost two weeks, Iyana's school has challenged the students and their families to go a week or two with no T.V., video games or anything that has to do with a screen (which includes the computer...yikes!). We decided it would be a great challenge for us as we've noticed of late that our screen time has progressively gotten worse. It was time to get back to good ole family time. I'll admit, the no T.V. part for me has been a breeze.......the computer though....ugh.....I've had serious withdrawals. I was only allowed to use it for work purposes which kind of helped take the edge off, but when you're so used to checking almost everything out on the web, such as catching up with the blogs I read, email, facebook, news...etc...you start to realize really how much time you're spending there. I'll admit...I had a problem. My eyes have been opened to how I've been spending my time and it's not a good feeling knowing how much of it was devoted to this lovely little box. It's been great getting back into playing games with my family, listening to some old CD's (and I'll admit, some tapes too...I know they're out of date) and just plain getting stuff done and taken care of. I've gotten more work accomplished and feel like I haven't been wasting my days. While I was on the computer constantly, it never seemed like it was such a problem. It wouldn't be until the end of the day that I would realize that I really didn't do anything with my day and then of course I would deal with some guilt about it, but it was never enough to get me off my rear. This time though, with making the commitment to Iyana to support her in her effort (which by the way, she did wonderful), we've worked hard and have had some great results.
  So, after hearing a little bit about our couple of weeks (or really, my couple of weeks), I have a challenge for you. You don't have to go the full two weeks or even a week if you don't want. But try taking a couple of days to turn off all the screen time and instead, devote that time to your family. You might be surprised at how much this can impact your family. If you find yourself having withdrawals, then you know that you've possibly got a problem. Now that I'm back to being able to use the computer, I'm much more aware of the time spent there. I'm working really hard on only being on here for short times and as well as not being on at all (unless it's work related) when Iyana and BJ are around. I think over the course of time, it will improve our relationships as well as our time management. Let me know if you try the challenge and how it goes for you. I'd love to hear from you.

Signing off for now.......

Week 23

Baby B. weighs just over a pound and is roughly 11 inches in length. Blood vessels in his or her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing and loud noises are becoming familiar now (such as a vacuum or dog barking).

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 23 weeks!!

Total Weight Gain: 7 Pounds (I'm feeling every one of them)

Maternity Clothes: It's more comfortable to wear maternity clothes though I still like to wear some of my regular clothes, at least the over sized ones.

Best Moment This Week: Listening to the heart beat on the monitor. I don't think you can ever tire of hearing that sound.

Gender: Not a clue though this past week I've been leaning a little bit more towards a boy. That could change by next week.

Name: You'll have to wait and find out!

Movement: We're back to having a lot of movement. If I get into a position that this little one doesn't like, boy does he/she let me know. A good wallop to the ribs will make me change positions really fast.

Food Craving: Nothing new here to post.

Sleep: Night time is hard. I get up a couple of times, but the dreams have been keeping me awake more than the bathroom visits.

Symptoms: This week I've had a really hard time breathing. They say it's normal since for one I'm so small, but everything is being pushed around and my lungs are running out of space.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Hoping to have more energy this week to get a lot of stuff taken care of.

Week 22

Baby B. is roughly 1 pound now and about 11 inches long. Tiny tooth buds are starting to form under the gums and the brain is beginning some rapid growth. His/her eyes have formed but the irises lack pigmentation.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 22 weeks!!

Total Weight Gain: 6 Pounds. This little one is really putting it on now! (or is it just me putting it on?? :-) )

Maternity Clothes: It's more comfortable to wear maternity clothes though I still like to wear some of my regular clothes, at least the oversized ones.

Best Moment This Week: Enjoying my family and having us all healthy for the time being.

Gender: Not a clue though this past week I've been leaning a little bit more towards a boy. That could change by next week.

Name: You'll have to wait and find out!

Movement: We're back to having a lot of movement. Iyana enjoyed watching her sibling respond to her talking to him/her.

Food Craving: Nothing special this week. Just have more of an appetite.

Sleep: I think I'm sleeping a little better. It helps that I've been able to get in a few naps too.

Symptoms: More stretching which makes it uncomfortable to walk at times.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Having my next midwife appointment this coming week.

AWANA

The AWANA year is completed at our church. This was Iyana's last year as a Sparky. Next year, she moves on to Truth and Training, or T&T as we like to call it. We are so proud of Iyana and all that she has accomplished over the last three years as a Sparky. Each year, the children have to go through their book and memorize the verses and do the projects. Once that has been completed, they go through the book once more as a review. Iyana has completed all three of her Sparky books in which she memorized 166 bible verses. She also completed the three workbooks that went along with each Sparky book and in those, memorized over 62 bible verses. Here is a picture of her vest that she wears each club night and all the patches and jewels that she has earned over the last three years.

And for accomplishing all of this hard work, at the end of the AWANA year, she was one of a small handful of kids in her club that received the Sparky plaque for finishing all of the books. Way to go Iyana!! God is doing wonderful things in her life and we pray that she would hide His word in her heart daily as she learns each verse and applies it to her life.

Iyana and her Sparky plaque

21 Weeks

Baby B. now weighs about 3/4 of a pound and is around 10.5 inches long. His or her eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed as well as the fingernails are now covering the fingertips.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 21 weeks!!

Total Weight Gain: 6 Pounds. This little one is really putting it on now! (or is it just me putting it on?? :-) )

Maternity Clothes: It's more comfortable to wear maternity clothes though I still like to wear some of my regular clothes, at least the oversized ones.

Best Moment This Week: Seeing Baby B. on the ultrasound! He or she would not hold still though. Was told that I need to get my running shoes ready.

Gender: Not a clue. Don't quite have a feeling one way or another yet.

Name: You'll have to wait and find out!

Movement: This one sure is a mover, though for the past couple of days he or she has been more on the quiet side. My guess is he/she is gearing up for another round of the wiggles.

Food Craving: Jelly beans!! That's what happens when the holidays come around.

Sleep: Been rough.....filled with lots of dreams and of course the other pregnancy symptoms that happen at night.

Symptoms: Could it happen again? I've got yet another cold which will make this my third one in a matter of two months.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Having more energy and feeling better.

Easter 2010

We had a nice, quiet Easter here. Had a wonderful church service in the morning and then went home and had a great lunch. After lunch, Iyana had fun with her little easter egg hunt and then we all (except for Iyana of course) took a nap. Here's a few family pictures.

Hope you had a wonderful day celebrating our Risen Savior!!

Week 20

I'm half way there!! Baby B. weighs about 10.5 ounces and is almost 10 inches long from head to heel (about the length of a banana). No wonder I feel like we've both gone through a growth spurt this past week! He/she is learning to swallow and is probably sucking his/her thumb by now.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 20 weeks!!

Total Weight Gain: 3 pounds. I'm officially up to my pre-pregnancy weight! I think though with the growth spurt this past week, I'll be up a little.

Maternity Clothes: Wearing quite a few but can still manage to fit into some regular shirts.

Best Moment This Week: Snuggling up to Iyana only to have the baby start kicking at her. Hmmmm, does this mean we're already having a little sibling rivalry?

Gender: It's a surprise!!

Name: You'll have to wait and find out!

Movement: Felt like I was getting beat up the other day with all the kicks and wiggles. Starting to see the movement while watching my belly too.

Food Craving: Still no major cravings.

Sleep: Had a few great nights this past week. The other ones though, not so great...

Symptoms: Just a lot of this little one moving around and stretching. Feeling pretty good.

What I'm Looking Forward To: We have our ultrasound coming up on April 6th which were so excited about!

Finally....a post with pictures!

Here's some pictures from our recent trip to visit family and friends. We had a wonderful time and got lots of rest. Iyana got a lot of playing time in with her grandparents, cousins and the dogs. I was also able to get some of her 8 year old pictures done. Not as many taken as last year but fun all the same.

Niki and Diesel (mamma and son)

Iyana and her cousins, Cooper and Jasper

Iyana and her Papa

Our family