May(be) Not

So, there's only about an hour and a half left in May as I write this and it appears as though Stella has chosen June as her birth month.  Despite our plans.  Despite the doctor's thoughts.  Despite our comfort level.  I guess she will be our little June Bug after all.  Funny, that's what we called Braeden before we knew his gender.  And before he came in May.

The good news about her not having arrived yet is that as of today, I am officially on Summer Break!  So, regardless of when she makes her grand entrance, we'll be ready.  And judging by how this pregnancy has been and how she behaves, we'll need all the prep time we can get to be ready for her!

So, another quick post to update on our status: waiting.  May is gone and there's still no Stella.  At least now we are in the month of her arrival.  There's some finality to that.  It makes the waiting slightly easier.  Slightly.

All is well, eagerly entering June, in Drosche Land.

Back

Well, I'm back.

After the excitement of the A to Z Challenge of April, May came and turned things upside down.  As if May weren't busy enough for teachers (think April for accountants)!  Take the usual end-of-year busyness and throw in Braeden's 6th birthday, Amy's pregnancy, Amy's bed rest, and general life.  May was crazy here in Drosche Land.  I've had several blogs working in my head, just a lack of time and/or energy to get them out.  But now that summer is here, things should settle down and postings should resume as usual.

See, it's not just my blog writing that's behind!  My reading has slacked too!

A little Stella update.  Well, there's actually not much to update on.  As you can tell (because you know there would have been a post by now) she is not here.  That is a surprise to both Amy and I.  When she was first put on bed rest, we thought we didn't have much longer.  In fact, I think Amy's doctor thought the same.  However, as Amy closes in on 4 weeks on bed rest, we're beginning to wonder.  As of today, Amy is 36 weeks and 2 days.  That's 2 days longer than she's every been pregnant so we're entering uncharted waters here in Drosche Land.  Granted it's still technically early, but for us it's go time!  Or is it?  So we sit and wait.  3 weeks until our scheduled C-section, but we're ready now!  Apparently though, she's not.  So the waiting continues.  Ugh, I really dislike that w word!

All is well, back at it, in Drosche Land.  

Sunday Snapshot - Beach

Today was our annual trip to the beach with Amy's family.  We always go the weekend prior to Memorial Day, for obvious reasons.  It's always such a fun way to kick of the summer and the kids love it.  We try our best to avoid crowds so we head to Quintana Beach in Freeport.  This year it was a bit more crowded, leading us to think about finding a new spot.  But we still enjoyed it.

I know most people don't enjoy the Gulf of Mexico because it doesn't have powdery white sandy beaches or crystal clear water.  But it's here, near, and we love it.  This year proved to be eventful, including a couple of run-ins with jellyfish.  Other than that though, it was a fun, yet exhausting, time.

Hanging out with cousins.

Splashing around in the ocean.

Digging and building in the sand.

Running around and playing.

All in all it was a great day!  The only downside was that Amy could not attend since she is still on bed rest.  So I took pictures and called her, trying to make it so that she could have some part in it.  I do keep thinking though that the next time we take a beach trip Stella will be there in some ruffly bathing suit.  The more the merrier.  

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

Countdown

Well, Amy has been on bed rest for nearly two weeks now and she's slowly developing cabin fever.  She's not the one to sit and do nothing.  But who is I guess?  Everyone wants to rest and relax more, until you're told that's your only option.  Then it's a different story.  But she's hanging in there.  Reading books (thank goodness for the Nook) like crazy and watching TV.  Those are really her only two options.  However, it doesn't seem like she'll have too much longer to endure her forced exile.

See, today she had a doctor's appointment and we found out we may be closer to meeting Little Miss than we anticipated.  Now don't get me wrong, we knew we had a slim-to-none chance of making it to the scheduled C-section on June 18. With as difficult as this pregnancy has been and the fact that the boys both came early, we figured 39 weeks was stretching it.  Today, that was confirmed.  Stella is currently measuring at about 5 lbs, 7 oz and is head down.  That in itself is yet another first for us because the boys were both breech the entire time, never flipping.  Another surprise was the fact that Amy is already dilating, slightly but still dilating nonetheless.  Given all of these factors, the doctor thinks it's only a matter of time!

We are pretty much prepared, as much as we're going to be at least.  Amy's bag is packed, Stella's bag is packed, her room is ready.  She's the only thing missing really.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous.  I'm not sure why though.  It's not like we didn't know this was coming.  It's just been such a long journey and suddenly it's here, like it snuck up on us.  Excited.  Nervous.  Eager.  Anxious.  Happy.  Such a mixture of emotions as we get ready to see her!

I'd like to have included a new picture of Stella, but Amy didn't get one from today's ultrasound.  Bummer.  It looks as though the next time we'll see her, we will actually be seeing her!  Not just a black and white ultrasound shot!  Crazy!  So we continue to pray and prepare, living each day one at a time because it could very well be THE day!

All is well, in the home stretch, in Drosche Land.  

Sunday Snapshot - Bubbles

Things have been quiet around Drosche Land this week, I know.  With school ending in a week and a half  and Amy on bed rest, things are a little hectic here.  I have several posts brewing in my mind right now, so rest assured I am not gone, just busy.

Today's pictures are ones I took of Jackson last weekend when all of the cousins were splashing around outside.  I think one of the cutest things a kid can do is to play with bubbles.

What kid doesn't light up at the sight of a container of liquid bubble potential and a plastic wand?  What adult doesn't light up at the sight of a small child attempting to, and occasionally succeeding, blow a flurry of bubbles.

Jackson is no different.  Ever since he was a baby, he has loved bubbles.  It is one of the only things in the world that can occupy him for an indefinite amount of time.  If you know Jack, that's saying quite a bit.

Early on, his escapades with bubbles ended up with the majority of the liquid being spilled, the rest on his face, and perhaps a bubble or two for his efforts.  Now though, he seems to be getting the hang of it.  Less is spilled, the wand is held at a safe distance, and the bubbles flow freely.  Just another sign that he's growing up, all too fast.  Luckily though, I think he'll always enjoy having fun and playing around.  I'm happy to continue to watch that!

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

  

Reflections

Wow, May 7th and it seems as though the April challenge was forever ago!  Well, I'd originally intended to write this post over the weekend but birthday-palooza got the best of me and it didn't happen.  Luckily the linky list only went up today so I'm not late or anything.  On with the post.

First of all, I have to admit that the title of this post has the Diana Ross & The Supremes song stuck in my head.  You know what I'm talking about right?  I can't be the only one.  But I digress.  I signed up for the challenge all excited and full of eagerness.  Then it kind of fell to the wayside.  The closer it got, the more nervous I got.  What had I agreed to?  Themes?  Scheduling?  26 posts?  But, I went with it.  I couldn't think of a theme so I went with just randomness with the stipulation that each post would include a photo.  So I guess in a way my lack of a theme became a theme?  Deep huh?  I decided to start writing and schedule posts ahead of time, taking the advice from wizened pros.  This was totally the right choice.  Once I was about a week ahead I could post every other day or so and not miss a day!  This really did give me time to visit as many blogs as I could.  Ok, so that's the pre-story, on with the reflections.

In short I loved it.  It was a lot of fun and not only did I thoroughly enjoy blogging, but also reading and discovering all of the different blogs out there.  Who knew there were so many interesting and varied people out there with their own little (or in some cases big) corner of the Internet?  People blog about everything!  Their daily lives, books (a lot of those), animals, religion, cars, movies, history, video games, writing, and the list goes on.  I am still amazed.  There are so many interesting people out there. May favorite part of the challenge?  I'm torn between writing and reading.  My biggest regret from the challenge?  That I did not get to visit as many blogs as I'd hoped.  Luckily, the list remains up so I can continue to work through it.  What did the challenge teach me?  That there are amazing people all over the world doing amazing things.  I'm by far not the most interesting person blogging, but I love it and it makes me happy.  I'm proud to be a part of such an amazing community and contribute to it in some small way.  In short, it was an awesome experience and I will definitely be back next year.

So, were you a follower of Drosche Land prior to the challenge?  Did you find me via the challenge?  Regardless of how you came here, I'm glad you did and hope you enjoyed April with me!  Below I've compiled some of the stats and numbers from the challenge.  Pretty cool!

Blogging A to Z Challenge In Numbers

1,718: Participants (as of the end of the challenge)

1,401: Visits to Drosche Land in April

150ish: Blogs I visited (far too few!) and comments I left (one for every blog!)

54: Comments received

26: Challenge posts

15: New followers

10: New blogs I now follow

1: New Facebook friend

All is well, A to Z Challenge survivor (and loving it), in Drosche Land.

Sunday Snapshot - 6th Birthday

The birthday boy

6 years already?  Where has the time gone?  I can't believe that this weekend we celebrated Braeden's 6th birthday.  It seems as it was just yesterday that I was rushing to the hospital after work because Amy's water broke.  4 weeks early!  

Flash forward and here we are.  It was a big birthday here in Drosche Land.  We've always done family birthday parties for the boys.  But we've also always told them that when they are in Kindergarten they could have a party and invite their classmates.  Well, this was our year to follow through.  We booked his party for a place called Wonderwild.  Think about one of those indoor play areas at McDonalds.  Now make it bigger, much bigger.  That's Wonderwild.  A place for the kids to run around, bounce, slide, and have fun being wild.  Braeden enjoyed a friend's birthday party here and Amy and I were hooked once we found about how all-inclusive it was.  This appealed to us since Amy is now 33 weeks pregnant.  We knew we wouldn't have the energy or time to host a party at our house, so this was a dream come true.  

So, that was his party today.  His big day.  It went so well and he had a blast!  I enjoyed sitting back and watching him have his day.  Friday he'd brought cupcakes to school to celebrate and yesterday, his actual birthday, I (Amy sat it out since she's on bed rest) took him to see The Avengers as he's been insisting upon for the past month or so.  3 days, 3 celebrations, 1 very happy 6 year old, 2 very tired parents.  As you can see from the pictures (I think my favorite is above but it's so hard to decide) it was a birthday to remember!  Now, I have one year to get used to having a 6 year old!  I can't even begin to think about 7!

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

Beyblades were one of the top requests for this year!

Brotherly birthday love!

Enjoying aforementioned Beyblades!

Hamming it up with his candle!

Wonderwild!

Woo! 

Cake!

Presents!

Goofball!

Rest

Sounds easy enough right?  Rest.  It's a short, simple word.  Yet it's anything but simple to accomplish.  Plus, what exactly is rest?  It's different for everyone.  Here in Drosche Land though, rest has taken on a new meaning.  Today, after a visit to the doctor, Amy was put on bed rest.  Luckily though, it's not strict (for now).  She can't work, but she isn't confined to just a bed.  She can enjoy the lovely changes of scenery that are the living room couch or the couch in the loft.  Ahhhhh, options!

This hasn't been an easy pregnancy for Amy to say the least.  I've hinted at that in past posts but have yet to fully address the roller coaster ride that it's been.  Well, dear readers, this isn't the post for that.  Not now at least.  Maybe I'll get to the full story later.

However, I will tell you that one of the biggest struggles has been her blood pressure.  It was alright for the first trimester or so but then started to creep up.  It really became a problem beginning in late March.  We have been trying to control it via medicine and as much rest (there's that word again) as possible and have been fairly successful with that.  But the battle has been getting harder and the blood pressure has been getting more difficult to control.  So, with Amy only being 33 weeks this Saturday, bed rest has finally become the only option.

Bed rest.  A funny thing when you think about it really, regardless of whether it's for pregnancy or surgery or any other reason.  Rest is something we all want more of but can rarely attain.  Yet when it's put upon you as the only choice you have, it's not as easy as you'd imagine.  Ironic really.

So here we are, nearing the end of the school year and Amy is home earlier than we'd imagined.  Obviously our hope is that the bed rest keeps Stella in as long as possible.  Although we don't have a great track record with it.  We are quickly approaching the 35 week mark when Jack was born.  Amy was put on bed rest then too for blood pressure.  A few days later Jack came.  So you can imagine our trepidation as we enter yet another required period of bed rest.  All is in HIS hands though so we have faith in that.  She will come when she is supposed to and HE will protect her and us.  Until then, we rest.  And wait.

All is well, under doctor's orders, in Drosche Land.

Finished!

Well, I did it!  I finished the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge!  It was a blast and I loved it!  I'm already looking forward to next year!  I won't get into everything about this year's challenge now as I'm saving that for my official A to Z Reflections post.  I should have that done and posted this weekend, so stay tuned for that.  I just wanted to post a brief pat on the back for myself.  I hope you enjoyed April, if you were already a fan of Drosche Land or if you are a newcomer.  I hope to keep the regular blogging momentum going now that I'm all jazzed up and re-energized with post-challenge excitement!  Also, since I finished I get to add the survivor badge (see below) to my blog!  Woo hoo!  It's the little things in life!

Well, the end of the April challenge also means that it is officially May!  Can you believe that?  Here in Drosche Land that means the school year is winding down and there's only a few weeks left.  What remains will be fun, hectic, and busy as I wrap up the year, plan for the summer, plan for Stella, and begin my inevitable to-do list for next year!  I wonder what else May will throw our way?  I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

I'm a survivor!

All is well, post-challenge, in Drosche Land.