So Long, Farewell, Until We Meet Again

So, the last few days have been pretty heavy to say the least.  We had so much fun staying with Mike, Melissa and the boys while our house was being packed up and loaded.  It was wonderful to spend our last few days in Chicago with them. We were able to have some major family time.  The kids had a BLAST together and so did the adults.  It was such a treat because Melissa and I were able to sneak away a few times for some girl time.

It was so hard leaving on Wednesday morning!  We packed up and had one last breakfast with some of our friends at one of our favorite spots, Juicy-O.  (Any place that gives you free donuts when you arrive is on my good list.)  We then said our goodbyes.  It was horrible.  I am absolutely the worst at goodbyes.  I would much prefer slipping away in the dead of night, but it didn't work out that way this time.  I was doing okay until I saw Mike and Mark embracing while full on crying.  That's when both Melissa and I lost it. It went downhill from there.  Here are a few pictures of the breakfast...

Rosie's new haircut done by her talented Auntie Melissa.  

Like I said, it was very sad.  We have definitely been blessed with wonderful friends and AMAZING family in Chicago.  What a blessing it was and I definitely regret taking it all for granted.  I am trying not to be too "Debbie Downer" about the whole thing.  I know that we will see them again, but it definitely hurts right now!

Here is our car, filled to the brim.  I mean we literally could hardly fit ourselves in it.  It's hard to pack 3 weeks worth of stuff to live on for two adults and two kiddos.  What's even worse is when you realize that you forgot a lot!  Oh, well.  We can live without it for awhile.

After breakfast we headed to our house for one last time.  We wanted to make sure it was spic and span for the next family.  It was weird being in the house with it completely empty.  We worried that Monroe would freak out, but she thought it was amazing.  She had so much fun running around and yelling, like nothing had changed.  Oh, to be two again!  I found that I sound shockingly similar to Enya in an echoey house.  Monroe really got a kick out of me singing ballads to her.  We got on the road much later than planned (due to all the singing and cleaning). It was sad leaving Chicago, but we were excited to get started on our next chapter.

To make the trip more bearable, we decided to take our time and stop halfway through at a hotel for the night.  We also made a quick stop in Indianapolis to visit our FAVORITE restaurant, Tijuana Flats!  We ate there all the time in Florida and when we learned they had one pretty close, we knew we had to stop. It really made our day better.  You can't beat the Power light Black Bean Enchiladas with salsa verde.  The manager told us that they are opening up 11 new restaurants in North Carolina!  I really hope there is one close.

We ended up staying in Lexington, Kentucky for the night.  Monroe got to sleep in a big bed and thought that was the bee's knees.  She did so well.  We also brought her breakfast in bed and she thought that was super wonderful.

Kiki relaxing on the bed. 

We didn't push ourselves to leave too early the next morning.  It was so nice just to take our time.  We stopped for lunch at a little Mexican place and while I nursed Kiki, Mark took some sweet pics of Rosie.

We got into Asheville around 4ish.  We stopped at the extended stay hotel to check in before meeting our realtor at the house to take a look.  The night before, we had looked up the hotel to make sure it looked nice and we felt pretty good based on the pictures.  Well, the pictures turned out to have NOT been taken at the Asheville location.  This place was pretty horrible.  It was in a very sketchy part of town and the whole place smelled like smoke.  Our room reeked of it even though it was a non-smoking room.  It kind of looked like a glorified dorm room, but much smaller.  It was also about 30 to 40 minutes away from the hospital and our friends.  I decided to be as positive as possible about the situation, but on the inside started wondering how I would handle living there for the next few weeks with two kids.  After about ten minutes, Mark and I both started to get headaches from the smoke.  We decided we couldn't make this work and ended up finding a hotel about a minute from the hospital.  For a little bit more money, we have a suite and Monroe has her own area.  It is so much better and I feel so much safer.  Whew, crisis averted!!!

Like I mentioned, we met our realtor over at the house and I got to see what will be our home for the first time!  The verdict?  I LOVE it!  Mark did a wonderful job choosing the perfect house for our family.  The only thing I didn't love was how close the houses are to eachother.  Other than that, it is perfect.

I can't wait to get in there as soon as possible.  My mind is just racing on how I will decorate everything and where everything will go.  I took lots of pictures of the place to help me in the process.  I will need to do a bit of painting.  Over time, we will probably end up painting everything, but to begin with I need to do our bedroom and bathroom (which is currently purple) and the guest/girls' bathroom (currently pink).  Otherwise, I can live with the other colors.

I'm thinking of going with gray in all of those spaces.  Here is my inspiration room for the guest/girls' bathroom.  I love that it's a kids' bathroom, without it being overly kiddy.  Things may change after we move in, but that's what I'm thinking for now.

On Friday night and Sabbath we spent some time with our friends, the Nudd's.  It was great hanging with them again.  We enjoyed church at the Hendersonville Seventh-day Adventist Church.  Mark's cousin's husband is the new associate pastor and we got to hear him speak.  It was nice meeting some of Mark's family that live close.  I'm excited to get to know them better.  

Today has been a good day.  We did some exploring in the Pisgah National Forest and also worked out at the local fitness center.  I haven't run in about 2 years, so it was hard to get back into it, but it also felt really good.  I need and want to make it an every day thing.  That's my goal.

Here are a few pictures from the National Forest...

I would add more pictures, but internet here at the hotel is VERY slow and it takes forever to download.
So, that's kind of an abbreviated update on what's been going on here.  Pray that I don't loose my mind living in a hotel for the next few weeks!  I'm going to have to find fun things for us to do while Mark is at work.  By the way, it's his first day tomorrow, so he could use some prayers, too!  I know he will do awesome.  I'm so proud of that guy and so thankful that he has such an awesome new job.  I also feel so blessed that I can take an early retirement;).  

Once Upon A Baby -- My birth story Part 2

So, sorry I left you hanging.  I'm sure you've just been on pins and needles wondering how this whole thing ended up.  SPOILER ALERT:  I had a baby:)   I went ahead and posted the part of the story that has been "saved as draft" in my blogger account for the last few weeks.  I haven't really had the free time to finish it up, so there's a good chance there could be a few installments of this!  The following could get a little TMI, so if you don't like this kind of thing, don't read on.  Just warning you!

I left you with Mark running to get us a few movies to get us through the long night.  I was so nervous that this was false labor and that they would send me home in the morning.  Even when the contraction started get really intense, I wouldn't get an epidural for fear they would send me home with it and I would have to drag my limp body around my home, chasing after my 2 year old.  If you have ever had an epidural you know how your legs are completely and utterly gone!!!  I knew my arms weren't strong enough to pull my body around, so I wasn't going to let this happen if I could help it.  Not until I was completely sure this was real labor.

So anyway, the contractions were getting worse and my nurse, Jen, the most AMAZING OB nurse ever, finally said, "Listen, I would bet my mortgage on the fact that you are in labor.  Get your epidural." She knew that it could take an hour for the anesthesiologist to arrive anyway, so if I wanted one soon, I had better decide.  Never one to argue with logic, I submitted and the process began.  I was never so happy to feel that warm numbing feeling creeping down my body.  It is the most amazing feeling, even though getting the epidural is the most excruciating part of the whole deal for me.  I don't do very well, not very well at all.  For some reason, the idea of a HUGE needle in my back, that if done incorrectly could paralyze me or give me the most horrendous headache ever, freaks me out a little.  I was already shaking (for some reason labor does that to me), so adding my intense fear into the mix made it all the worse.  My uncontrollable weeping didn't help either.  Finally, as I set, my back hunched over ready to have the needle inserted, my nurse looked me in my eyes while holding my hands, and said, "You've got this!"  For some reason, that gave me the strength to get through it without completely melting down.  That, and the horrendous contraction that came right after.  I knew I couldn't deal with those much longer, so the doctor finished up and I was off to happy town.   I don't remember everything about my anesthesiologist, but I do remember he was a hoot.  I was weeping and he was cracking jokes and that definitely eased the mood.  I have seen him on the elevator since then, and he still makes fun of me for my intense fear.

After the epidural took full effect, Mark and I enjoyed our movies until we finally got pretty sleepy.  We headed to bed and hoped that things would progress through the night.  Early the next morning, they checked me and my water bag (this term makes me want to throw up a little) was bulging (another throw up word) and I was at a 7.  When my doctor came in, he decided to go ahead and break my water and give me some pitosin to speed things up.   Before he broke the water, I warned them that I tend to have a lot of amniotic fluid in there.   They just looked at me like, "we've seen it all before" and continued to break it.  Boy were they surprised when they saw the amount that came pouring out and continued to pour out for the next few minutes.  I warned them!  I know that's a little yucky, but like I said, you should probably stop reading.

After a while, my dreaded itching came back and I began to get pretty uncomfortable.  The epidural seemed to be wearing off and I started feeling the contractions again, but my equally amazing morning nurse thought it might be good if it did wear off some so that I could feel myself pushing.   She did however give me some Benadryl to help with the itching and to help me sleep for awhile.  This was around 8:00 am.  I fell asleep, but after awhile, I was awakened by some pretty intense contractions and some major pressure in my nether regions.  I told Mark and he had me ring my call button.  When my nurse came in, I told her about the pressure and she did a quick exam, sure enough, I was crowning!  She warned me not to sneeze as the baby would probably come falling out!  Yikes.  She went to page the doctor, only to learn that he was in the middle of a c-section!!!!   So, they told me to just breath through the contractions and NOT to push until he could finish up.  Easier said then done!

As Tim Gunn says, "I made it work", and was able to hold out from pushing.  It sure was hard, though.  Finally, my doctor came in and did a quick exam.  He also used the "Don't sneeze!" one-liner.  Two contractions later and little McKinley Joy Murrill entered the world.  The time was 8:53 am.  She weighed in at 5 pounds, 10 ounces and was 18 inches long.  She was just so adorable!  I got to hold her for a little bit, but they needed to take her to the special care unit.  I kept asking if her cry sounded okay, because with Monroe, they could tell her lungs weren't okay by the sound of her cry.  They all assured me that it was fine.  I was so relieved and so tired and so happy, all at the same time.  A few hours later we learned that her lungs weren't quite finished baking and they would have to give her Surfactin, the same stuff they gave Monroe which caused a pneumothorax (hole in the lung).  The only difference was that McKinley didn't have to be on the cpap (helps with breathing) and only used the nasal canula (also helps with breathing, but not as much), so her risks of getting a pneumo were very small and sure enough, she ended up being just fine.  She was in the special care unit for a few days due to the need for a feeding tube and jaundice, but the time flew by and she was able to come home by Saturday.  I felt a lot less terrified by the situation with McKinley because it was so similar to Monroe's birth.  I felt emotionally prepared and was able to relax.  It also helped that her prognosis was so much better.  The nurses and doctors at GlenOaks were amazing.  I have never felt so loved and in such good hands in a hospital setting.  They communicated so much better than our last experience.  I was apprehensive to give birth there at first, but I am so glad that I did.

I would love to post some pictures of the event, but they are all pretty much x-rated!  I told Mark that I would love for him to take more pictures of the process this time around and he did not disappoint.  He took A LOT and 98% of them contain some aspect of my lady parts.  So, for your sake, I decided to keep those to myself.  You're welcome.  

That's pretty much everything in a nutshell.  I feel so blessed that even though she was five weeks early everything turned out just fine.  I'm also so happy to have my two little ladies.  I sometimes think there is no way that I want another kiddo, but then I look at little Kiki and I get so sad to think that I won't ever have a little infant again.  I am definitely enjoying every "baby moment" with her and trying to make every second count, just in case it is my last.  Yes, pregnancy is pretty annoying (although miraculous), but the end product is SO worth it.  Just so worth it.

Once Upon A Baby -- My birth story

As a mom, I LOVE hearing other moms' birth stories.  There is something about the fact that every woman's story is so different, but all end with a beautiful baby is very intriguing and interesting.  Each story is so special and so spiritual for each person and is truly life changing.

It also is kind of your rite of passage.  It's like telling your own personal war story.  Every story, no matter how easy the labor might have been, earns you some major street cred and it's inevitable that if you hang out with a group of moms long enough, the topic will come up and the stories will come out.

So, here's mine...

You may remember that we had just come home from a trip to a lake house in Michigan.  It was a beautiful place and we were blessed with great company and great weather.  I loved it, despite the 80 steep stairs I had to climb up and down to come and go from the beach.  I truly thought they might induce labor, but being almost 35 weeks, I wasn't too worried.  We returned home on Sunday and I spent the day on Monday relaxing, doing laundry and getting the house straightened (which sadly I didn't do that good of a job of).  I remember being so excited because I only had to work Thursday and Friday of that week, so that left Rosie and me with three whole days of freedom together.  I had big plans for us.

Tuesday was a day like any other.  I got up and we went through our normal morning routine--breakfast, reading books, etc.  We then went downstairs to fold some laundry and watch the morning news.  You may remember that I had been having contractions for weeks, well really months, so I wasn't too concerned when they started up again.  There didn't seem to be any reason to be alarmed.

I like to blame hormones, but I have to say I was pretty emotional at that time.  Anything could make me cry and I found myself being overly sensitive.  For one reason or another, my sensitivity came out and I remember getting kind of emotional about something.  I started crying and I noticed that my contractions started to get worse, and worse, and worse and finally...worse.  They were very close together, but I calmed myself down and they seemed to ease up.  I called Mark and he decided to come home early.  By the time he got home, I was doing much better.  We decided to go by BestBuy to look at cameras and get a bite to eat (I hadn't eaten or had anything to drink all morning).  As we were driving to Best Buy, my contractions started intensifying again and I started timing them.  They were two minutes apart!  I called the doctor and they said to go to the hospital.  The thought of going to the hospital, my place of employment, sounded horrifying.  What if this was a false alarm and EVERYONE would know.  I begged them to just let me come to their office, but they insisted.  I hung up the phone and started bawling (hormones, remember).  Mark called my doctor and asked if he could just bring me there and he said that would be fine.  They put me on the monitor and watched my contractions for about an hour.  He didn't want to examine me until he knew my contractions were consistent.  They were at 2 minutes apart.  I was FAMISHED by this point and they ended up giving me a veggie sandwich from panera that  they had left over from their staff meeting that day to see if the baby would respond and did she ever.  She started kicking and moving all over the place.  This was around 3:30ish.   He took me in to do a quick exam and found that I was dilated to a 4 and was 75% effaced and he could feel her head.  He did a quick ultrasound to check the weight of the baby and sent us over to the hospital.  He warned me that there was still a chance this was false labor and that he would be by in a few hours to check on my cervical change.

Did I mention that Monroe was with us through all of this?  Yes, she was and she was going STIR CRAZY!  I felt so bad for her, but she stuck it out like a little trooper.  We called Mike and Melissa and let them know what was happening and Mike planned to meet Mark at our house after he got me situated in the hospital.

My boss, Michelle, was waiting out front with a wheelchair by the time we arrived.  She took me right up to my room and my nurses got me hooked up to everything.  Michelle took Rosie while Mark worked on getting me registered.  He then took Rosie to our house to meet Mike and to get some things packed up for our time in the hospital.  I hadn't even thought about packing my bag yet!  Michelle stayed with me while Mark was gone and kept me VERY entertained.

Mark finally got back and after a few more hours of laboring my doctor FINALLY got there to check me.  I was at a 5/6 and he said he was definitely going to have me stay overnight, but he wasn't completely sure that I was in labor.  He told us to rent some movies and have a fun night.  Mark ran to redbox and got us a few movies and we got started on a long night.

To Be Continued...

Wrapping Things Up

So, it just got real.  We are moving in a week!!! It seems so crazy to me.  My time in Chicago has almost come to an end and I'm starting to get sad.  I'm not going to lie, Chicago hasn't been my favorite place to live, citywise.  But, the people are amazing and I really did have a great job.  So, as I've mentioned before, it's a very bittersweet move.

Things are still moving along with our house.  Our closing date is set for October 14th.  We will be staying at an extended stay hotel until then.  I'm a little nervous about that one.  Hopefully the girls will do alright...fingers crossed.

We've been trying to spend as much time with friends/family as possible.  I've been having a lot of "dates" with Nicole and Ezra and today we spent some time with Kelsey.  We are going to stay with Mike and Melissa this weekend, so hopefully we will have some major family time before we leave.

On Sunday, we took the annual apple picking trip to Harvest Time Orchard in Wisconsin.  It was so nice.  It was a little cold and rainy, but very fun.  Here are a few pics...

Still a little sleepy, but ready to pick some apples! 

 Enjoying some Honeycrisps 

 Mike had Mason filling our bag of apples and I found this one in there:)  It was so tiny!  

 Having a great time!

 I thought this picture was so funny.  I was asking Mark if it was flattering and he was like, well...um...  

 This one was a bit better.  Kiki was snuggling with me.  

 Our little family of four

The kiddos.  They all got the memo...polkas and yellow:) 

Going apple picking really got me excited for fall.  I LOVE FALL!  Everything about this season makes me happy.  That was one of the things that I didn't like about Florida--missing Fall!  I love wearing sweaters and sipping apple cider.  I love soups and chili.  I absolutely LOVE decorating my home for fall.  It's my favorite thing.  When I lived in Tulsa, I would pull out my fall decorations at the beginning of September.  Yes, the leaves hadn't even started changing and I had pumpkins on my front porch.  Mark would just shake his head.  I can't wait to be moved into our house so I can get started again:) 

Tomorrow, we are going to eat with some friends from work for a going away lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant.  I'm really sad that I will probably never see those friends again.  At least there's Facebook!  

I forgot to post more of the professional pictures that we had made.  We just love them.  I still haven't gotten prints made.  I think I'm going to wait until we get to Asheville and are more settled in.  I still don't have any pictures of Kiki in our house!  Isn't that horrible?!  

 I ADORE these little bloomers.  I bought them from etsy a few months back for when we got pictures made.  I've had to restrain myself from ordering them in every color!

I love this little heiny! 

 I just want to squeeze her! 

We are so upset.  We found the most amazing park just a few miles away from us, right before we leave.  It even has a zip line!  Here are a few pictures from our recent trip there.  We've been back a few times since.  Monroe even road the zip line on her own!!!  

I know this post has been very random.  I apologize.  Rosie has been sick and McKinley has been nursing for like three hours straight this evening.  I can't really keep my train of thought with all the madness.  I also can't type very easily while holding an infant.  Maybe someday I will be able to blog normally again.  Right now, it's pretty tough.  Love to you all and if I don't get to touch base soon, North Caroline, here we come!!!

Home Sweet Home?

So, after a few days of back and forth countering, the offer on the house we were hoping to buy has been accepted!  Pending appraisal, inspections and closing we are the proud new owners of a lovely little home in North Carolina!  I couldn't be happier.  I have really missed owning a home since we have rented the last few years.  I really think that North Carolina will feel like home.  I've missed that feeling!!!

Here's a pic of the place...

I hate to get too ahead of myself, because I know things like this fall through all of the time.  Please pray that it all goes well.  So far, so good.  

I have to run.  I'll catch up later!