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The One-Handed Post

So I am currently typing this post with one hand while Bicho sleeps in the other. I know, its a horrible habit to get her in but it works for us right now. For some odd reason I feel guilty having Bicho sleep in her nursery alone. Maybe its my crazy mom hormones readjusting again. Maybe its because she's just too stinkin cute and I would miss her too much. But I am slowly getting her to take naps in her crib so we'll get there before she is 18...hopefully!


Anyhoo, we had fanily pictures taken by my wonderful sister at the Mesa Arts Center. Bicho did surpisingly well and last for about a half hour before it was nap time. We'll have to do her 3 month old photo shoot this week. Time flies by so fast when you are having fun !!

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Feliz Navidad - a little early

Veer

Nothing more creative than making life work on one income! :) 

Take a break from Christmas shopping and enjoy a  free RedBox movie during the Christmas season!

Free RedBox Code: BREAKROOM

Dear Elliot

I found this on my friend's blog and was touched by the story. Life truly is beautiful.

Photos

I wish I could use Bicho as an excuse as to why I haven't been blogging but lets be honest, I wasn't very good at it before. Here are some random pictures. Apparently we do a lot of sleeping around our house these days!

Baby Bicho - one week old

3 weeks old - back in the hospital

Bicho bundled in hospital

Terbear and Bicho sleeping

Bicho 6 weeks old

Bicho eating

Bicho and mommy sleeping

Labor Of Love

Don't worry, I won't scare you with my labor story or how my body is apparently designed to contract forever but never dialate past 1.5 cm without lots of help. I do have to say Bicho's birth was excellent and truly a spiritual experience. I began feeling anxious and overwhelmed with the thought of being a mother a few days before she was born. I prayed long and hard to have a positive birth experience for both me and Terrence. We were so blessed to have excellent nurses who loved and cared for me and Kenadee when we ran into feeding problems which resulted in a longer hospital stay than anticipated. Who knew something so small could bring so much love and tenderness into our hearts! She truly is a little angel sent from heaven. Its so fun to see her little personality shine through, even though she is only 10 days old. Even the nurses and doctors in the hospital jokingly commented on how she is "full of personality" (which I take to be a great compliment - who wants a boring old baby when you can have a sassypants like Kenadee?!). I have a feeling little Miss Kenadee will be giving us a run for our money :)

On a similar note, has anyone had feeding problems with their babies in the past? I know feeding my baby formula wouldn't be the worst thing in the world (seeing how there are starving children across the world, I should be so grateful that is not our situation). But - I desperately want to breastfeed only my baby. I've been so nervous about it , though, since we had so many problems with it in the hospital and she became dehydrated because of it. I've been pumping then supplementing with formula. Any advice ???

Welcome Burner Bicho!

Introducing....

Kenadee Ann Burner
Born 9/10/09 at 9:50 am

8 pounds 3 ounces

(the 3 ounces is all hair!)

More details to come soon!

I Declare Maternity Leave!

Today is the day I declare maternity leave at work. Oh yeah - it's gonna feel good. It kind of reminds me of my favorite Office episode. I wish I could declare it Michael Scott style ! Instead I filled out paperwork....social workers are no fun. So when you watch this, think of me - declaring maternity leave!



So now what am I going to do now that I don't have to drive 80 miles to and from work? Sleep in, take naps and eat a lot of things that will probably give me killer heart burn but taste oh-so-good. Oh and prepare for little Bicho to join our family soon!

P.S. Did I tell you we saw Bicho at my "luverly" Dr. appointment yesterday? She's going to have A LOT of hair. (Add making bows to my list above...)

"Big Bicho Belly" or "Why I Stink at Blogging on a Regular Basis"

Here is my personal portrait...

And here is Terrence's picture...

Personally, I like the "far away" approach.

("I'd like her to look a little more attractive. How far can you pull pack?" "How do you feel about Cleveland?" - name that movie!)

I can't really complain about how I feel right now. I think Heavenly Father is really helping me get through my last few work weeks and miles upon miles of traveling that is required. And He has saved me (on more than one occasion) from seriously injuring people who make those "well-meaning" pregnancy comments like "Wow, you are getting really big". Usually I would respond with a "Great observation, Sherlock. Can't sneak anything past you, huh?!" But I try to refrain. One sweet Latino man at work told me I was "engordandose" which means getting fat. I told him (in a semi-joking manner) if he ever said that to me again, I was going to fill his mouth with my knuckles (it sounds much more suave in Spanish). I think I scared him off since he hasn't said a word to me since. As you can tell, my biggest trial right now is controlling my tongue and swallowing the sarcasm that just flies out of my mouth on an involuntary basis.

::Sigh:: I think I should have registered for a muzzle.

But in better news, I had my first "internal exam" ::grimace:: and it went as well as an "internal exam" could go. I guess I am about 50% effaced - whatever that means and I've apparently started to "thin out". He apparently missed that round thing between my extremely enlarged chest and pubic bone (ha ha - my lame attempt for a joke)! So anyhoo, I'll just plan for Bicho to come on time. And if she comes any earlier...heaven help us!

Totally True Thursday

The Big Google Mistake

No, I didn't disappear off the face of the earth! And you definitely can't miss me or my pregnant belly now. Terrence took the camera fishing (a better companion than a 8 month pregnant wife no doubt) so I can't show you any belly updates. But no worries, I won't leave you photoless. I've been contemplating having my sister take some nice belly photos soon before I'm so awkwardly uncomfortable and cranky...oh wait, I might already be there. Anyhoo, I thought I would use Google images for some pregnancy pose ideas. Little did I know what I was getting into....

Which one is truly pregnant?

The right to bear fruit, arms and...children?

No, the belly does not unscrew like a lid to get the baby out.

James Bond gone wrong...

Want more where these came from? Check out this website for all the awkward family photos you could ever want (and more). Terbear and I spent a hour the other morning laughing so hard it hurt! Thank heavens for awkward photos!

The Hots for Heartburn

Oh yeah...I've got it bad.

Welcome back heartburn!

Oh Baby!

Oh baby! Bicho is coming in 90 days...well according the ticker on the sidebar. How the heck will I get everything done that I need to? I have a new appreciation for women who work full-time and are pregnant or work and have any children at all. How do they get it all done?? After driving to and from Phoenix (which is 90 miles round trip) daily - and not including trips to visit my foster families who live as far as Buckeye - by the end of the day I am so exhausted. Sometimes I wonder how I will get even the basics done for little Bicho. With one day a week (Saturdays) to do it all, there's no wonder I'm stressing. But isn't this part of the joy of being pregnant?! (As a side note - I do recognize pioneer women crossed the plains on foot while pregnant, so what do I have to complain about !?)

This Saturday we put together Bicho's little crib. We didn't buy a bundled set of bedding because hello- who wants to spend $180 on bedding?! (Ok - so I really wanted to but I couldn't justify it in the Bicho budget). So here's what we put together...

I actually love it. It's so much better than what I was thinking about buying in a bag. Plus it was hand picked with love :) ::So sappy, I know:: At least I have the crib down, which is one of the millions of things on my list. And here is a recent belly picture from Saturday...

And a picture of how I ended my busy Saturday...

..with an awesome kidney stone. I thought I was dying. Bicho was fine - just happy and kicking away. Meanwhile, I was puking my guts up for about 3 hours and in horrible pain. The nurses at the hospital were really great, though. Even the ultrasound tech said passing a kidney stone is much more painful than actually giving birth. Equally, I think I will pass on my natural birth plans and go for an epidural. I mean really - what good will I be I'm "tossing cookies" the whole time I'm trying to deliver. But - you never know what crazy decision I may make last minute!

What To Do With A Sweet Tooth...

Confess your undying love to your hubby, via sugar cookies and frosting.

Highest Place of Honor

"I wonder if you sisters fully understand the greatness of your gifts and talents and how all of you can achieve the 'highest place of honor' in the Church and in the world. One of your unique, precious,and sublime gifts is your femininity, with its natural grace, goodness, and divinity. Femininity is not just lipstick, stylish hairdos, and trendy clothes. It is the divine adornment of humanity. It finds expression in your qualities of your capacity to love, your spirituality, delicacy,radiance, sensitivity, creativity, charm, graciousness, gentleness,dignity, and quiet strength. It is manifest differently in each girl or woman, but each of you possesses it. Femininity is part of your inner beauty. "

"One of your particular gifts is your feminine intuition. Do not limit yourselves. As you seek to know the will of our Heavenly Father in your life and become more spiritual, you will be far more attractive, even irresistible. You can use your smiling loveliness to bless those you love and all you meet, and spread great joy. Femininity is part of the God-given divinity within each of you. It is your incomparable power and influence to do good. You can, through your supernal gifts, bless the lives of children, women, and men. Be proud of your womanhood. Enhance it. Use it to serve others."

James E. Faust
"Womanhood: The Highest Place of Honor,"
Ensign, May 2000

We Like'em Round

A few months ago we used our free Redbox code to rent Madagascar 2. We laughed so hard! (Little side note: This movie was definitely made for adults!) Our favorite character was a hippo named Moto Moto who had the hots for Gloria.



Anyhoo, so now that my belly is starting to get really round, Terbear likes to quote Moto Moto in a deep voice. I guess Terbear likes'em round and chunky too! We just laugh and laugh about how big my belly is getting (which is so much better than crying about it - which I have done!)So here is my preggo picture I took without make-up on and wearing glasses at 22 weeks. :)

So here's to being round and chunky!

Sweet Thoughts Saturday

"Like the polar star in the heavens, regardless of what the future holds, there stands the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives. He is the rock of our salvation, our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith. In sunshine and in shadow we look to Him, and He is there to assure and smile upon us."

Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley

General Conference (April 2002)

So You Call Yourself A Mother...

I haven't even had little Bicho and I already feel overwhelmed. Is this a bad sign or what?! I guess it doesn't help that Bicho has been hanging out on my sciatic nerve for the past couple of days. I feel like Mother Nature is playing a cruel joke on me (Mother Nature to me: Oh so you survived the puke-your-guts-up trimester? Lets see how you handle the want-t0-saw-your-leg-off-with-a-butter-knife-sciatic-pain trimester!). When I get the chance to meet the Big Man Upstairs, I'm going to have a long talk about why the woman's body has the sciatic nerve running UNDER the my ever-expanding uterus. Couldn't He have placed it somewhere else? Alas, He did not and here I sit with a bag of frozen peas on my back.

Life is good.

No really, it is though. But here's where I need your help. I've been trying to research what I need for the arrival of little Bicho. I feel like since I will be working full-time up until the baby comes I have to plan, plan, plan to make sure things go somewhat smoothly. So here is where your mommy advice comes in.

What was the best, most helpful gift you got for the arrival of your baby?

We have a small 1,400 square foot home which is the perfect size for us but not so perfect for storing lots of baby items. And have you ever tried looking through a registry for what you "need"? According to Babies'R'Us, I need a snow bunting outfit for Bicho. Really? It's still over 100 degrees here in November. So any advice would be helpful. My goal is to register for pratical items, sprinkled with some impractical. I mean I am having a girl after all!

Baby Bicho and Baseball

And now, the news you all have been waiting for (but probably already read about on facebook)....

We're having a girl!

Both Terbear and I thought it was a girl from the beginning so we were so excited to find out we were right!

And every girl needs some baseball in her life, right? So we snuck Bicho into a D-Backs game with the Craig family. Who knew they could be so devious!? That's why we are friends! I finally remember to take the camera with us so here are some random pictures from that night.

Awesome seats behind the pool! I don't think I've ever been that close at a MLB game! For sure Bicho hasn't....

A picture of Bicho enjoying the game (although you can't see her, I'm sure she's enjoying it. She wiggled around quite a bit during the game. I dont think she is much of a D-Backs fan, though. Maybe she's a New York Mets fan like her Grandpa!)

So the next big question is - what do we name her? Right now we call her Bicho -which means bug in Spanish but I'm pretty sure she will be scarred for life if we actually name her that.

Be Thankful for the Ride

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. Most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail journey-delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

Gordon B. Hinckley

(P.S. We find out the Bicho's sex on Monday!)

Sweet Thoughts Saturday

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone’s garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

-Marjorie Hinckley

It's Official!

According to the official Burner Blogger Poll....

we are having a monkey!

(Thanks alot!!!)

They say heartburn during your pregnancy means your child will be born with lots of hair. So with the heartburn I have been experiencing already, we may just have ourselves a little monkey! But it will be one stinkin' cute monkey!

Guess we'll find out for sure what we are having on April 13!

Free RedBox Movie

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Enjoy!

Secret Combinations

Isn't this guy the king of secret combinations?

Anyhoo, no secret combinations here. I just needed a great, cunning title to get you to read my blog for a... :::drumroll::: giveaway!

::A what?:: ::No way:: Yes way! And anybody can play!

Pay it Forward

1) The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a homemade gift from me sometime in the next month!

2) When and what you receive will be a surprise!

The catch? You must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who comment on your blog. Don't forget to post a picture of your homemade gift when you get it!

Nothing like bribery to get people to read your blog...