Operation Princess Sheets

Well, it has been 9 nights since we have given Hailey the precious princess sheets and right now we are 4 for 9 for sleeping all night in her bed. For some of you this might not be great, but for the Miedema's we consider this to be a huge improvement over the previous 100% of her coming in our bed. In fact, she has slept in her bed the last 3 nights in a row. Will tomorrow be 4? I have 4 little reward gifts left and then I hope to write some type of note from the princesses about not bringing a gift every night. If the pattern continues I will have to tell Nicky to submit this marvelous idea to some parent magazine or something.

Life otherwise has began to get back to "normal". I am feeling awesome; in fact I think I feel better now than I did before I got sick. This has to be the most rewarding time of pregnancy. I'm not really uncomfortable and baby boy moves in such a way that I'm beginning to make out exactly where is feet, elbows, and butt is. I know that I was not deathly sick, but in a lot of ways being sick has really granted me some new perspective on things. The girls have been rather challenging this week, but I'm so thankful that I am the one able to care for them.

Hailey has been attempting to teach Taylor some dance moves making Mike and I crack up. I have to get this on video soon and put it on the blog. It's pretty obvious that neither Mike or I have any rhythm to pass on--surprised?

Preschool is going really well for Hailey; little by little I'm learning more and more about what all goes on during her stay. She is singing new songs, mentioning more kids' names, and asks when she gets to go again. She gets to go on a field trip next week and there is a "mom's day" in mid-Oct--she is growing up so fast. I'm finding it a bit harder to keep her busy at home, but this always seems to go in stages. I really cherish our time together on her days off during Taylor's nap. During this time we do nails, puzzles, color, read books, and play school. Sometimes she asks when Taylor is going down because she knows it's Hailey time.

Taylor has been really busy being Taylor. One minute I find myself absolutely exhausted by her relentless independence and she'll turn around and say "wuv you". Her favorite thing in the world continues to be her "bangkok" (blanket) and "pipe"--it is automatic snuggle time if she has these key components. She also has been into turning the TV on/off, sound system up/down, and pounding on the computer keys. If we catch her she runs off covering her hand saying "no sap". She tells me when she needs a clean diaper, will not drink a sip of milk, and keeps right up with the three year olds on the playground equipment. I hope I can continue to keep up.

A bad week

Well, what I failed to mention during my last post was that as I was having this unrelenting back pain all day! I was trying to attribute it to pregnancy combined with having a little Taylor around. I did call my OB later in the afternoon and he also thought that it sounded muscular. At midnight that night I woke up shivering uncontrollably (and we all know that being cold is not a problem for me.) with a fever. A friend lovingly took me to the ER so that Mike could stay with the girls. I spent 5 hours in the ER. They checked baby and he looked great and found out that I most likely had a kidney infection. They gave me one dose of IV antibiotics and sent me home with a prescription for oral antibiotics. I took a cab home at 5AM, which normally would scare the daylights out of me but I didn't care at all because I still felt like crap.
At home I slept for about an hour and got up again freezing. My temp was up, my back pain was worse, and Mike wasn't happy with the oral antibiotic that the MD prescribed. He called my OB again, who agreed that the antibiotic wasn't appropriate and felt I needed to be admitted for IV antibiotics and better pain control. My response was tears. Laura came to watch the kids and my mom was on the road within the hour.
On the way to the hospital my side of the car was completely steamed over and Mike's was clear. However I still questioned the necessity of being admitted. Once in the hospital I was put on the antipartum floor. I had wonderful nurses, a nice room, and GOOD drugs. I slept for the first time in hours and expected to feel much better on Thursday. Thursday morning had more disappointment in store for me. I woke up with chills again and puked everywhere. I was expecting to feel way better and to go home. The rest of the day went better. The kids were being well taken care of, Mike was in and out all day, Laura came with treats, and Ginnie came late afternoon.
Thursday evening the girls came for a visit. It didn't take them long to become quite comfortable with the buttons on the bed and snacks in the room. It was hard to walk them out to the elevator but it was time for them to go as they were getting quite hyper. As we past the nursing station Hailey said quite loudly "hey mom, how ya doin with that pyelonephritis". The nurses were impressed with her medical vocabulary and her father was proud.
Friday morning I was released, but wasn't feeling well at all. Today I woke feeling close to normal--Praise God.
This whole experience was so odd for me. I hate being a patient and hate being needy. I am so thankful for friends and family who so lovingly cared for my kids and for me. I am also thankful that baby boy remained stable and active through this all. I look forward to meeting him soon, but not too soon. He always would give me good kick when I was really feeling down.


Operation princess sheets update: Hailey has only stayed in her bed 1 of the last 4 nights. She was super proud of her sheets and loved the gift that the one princess left. Last night when she came to me I reminded her that she needed to stay in bed to get a gift. Her response was "I got one already".

Bruiser and Snot nose

Hailey had another unfortunate injury the other day on the playground. She was running while carrying a bike helmet full of pine cones and tripped. The bike helmet bounced off of the sidewalk back up at her face. We have been calling her "big bruiser" and she says "just call me hay bales". We went to the mall later that day and I got a lot of looks like "there's a child abuser".
We also only had the pleasure of being cold free for 2 weeks and now Taylor's nose is running like crazy! I have a feeling we will have something all winter long. Taylor has been so cute lately and really is catching onto so many things; she even keeps Hailey in line. When it is time to go outside she always brings Hailey her shoes (and mine) and if Hailey doesn't come to the table for a meal right away she yells "Hayeeee".
I also would like to discuss what I am about to attempt this evening. My friend Nicky gave me this suggestion that worked for them when it comes to getting Hailey to stay in her bed all night. Going to bed has been going great. We have been putting both girls down at the same time and telling Hailey that we are sitting on the steps. She is totally good with that and they are both sleeping within about 15 minutes. (She doesn't need to know that we don't always stay on the steps). Anyway, Hailey usually enters our bed around 4am and it is just not comfortable. Soooo--I bought some princess sheets and wrote a note to Hailey from Cinderella telling her that the sheets are magic. If she sleeps all night in her bed a princess will visit her and leave her a gift and a note beside her bed in the morning. I bought a bunch of things for the dollar section at Target. Who knows? Worth a try I guess. It totally worked for Nicky and Natatie. I'll keep you posted as to whether it works. Mike is sceptical, but agreed that it is totally worth $30 if it works.

Other Thoughts

So if you notice the time of this post you can tell that I'm beginning to enjoy my Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Hailey has really enjoyed preschool and is excited to go each time. We did have a fight today though over what she was going to wear. We just went "shopping" through our clothes containers from Auntie Teresa and she found lots of treasures. The only problem I have with dropping of Hailey is Taylor! Taylor is devastated each time we leave Hailey; she would just like to stay with Hailey. Taylor has fallen asleep on the way home from dropping Hailey off every time so far.
Taylor has been a little bit testy since returning from Grandpa and Grandma's. She is getting all four of her eye teeth. She bites anything near her mouth including her sister.
I had a doctor's appointment the other day and all is looking great. I passed my glucose test (thank goodness)! When she put the doppler on my belly, baby boy tried to kick it right off. Pretty cute. He is getting more and more active all the time. Side note: I am so thankful to have the heat and humidity gone yeah!!!! I'm also trying to take a home study course on Pediatrics for my nursing certification. I need to get it done before baby arrives--not easy.
Mike is in the process of filling out his application for the cardiology fellowship. It makes us both pretty nervous. He is applying to 15 different programs. After applying we wait to get asked for interviews. After interviews we rank the programs according to our preference and the programs rank their applicants. On June 20th of 2008 we will find out where he will be next through a match system. The fellowship will start in July of 2009 so we'll have lots of time to prepare for a move. We have been so blessed in this whole process. It is very evident that God has been leading us through each step of the way. He has provided us with great friends and Mike has had a top notch education. I can't wait to see where he is leading us next.

Weekend Away

Last Friday I took the girls to Minnesota to my parents. It was the best trip I've ever done by myself with the girls. They did great and neither one of them slept! I stayed with the girls at my parents until 1pm Saturday then said good-bye. Mike and I met at Okaboji for a friend from med school's wedding. We had a great time. It was good to catch up with the friends we rarely see that are in different residency programs. Then, for Mike's 29th birthday, we spent the night and golfed 18 holes the next day and went out to dinner. I only golfed the first 9 holes and rode along with Mike for the second 9. (He just has a love for golf that I do not have). As much I love my girls it was good to be away and be able to give some attention to Mike. We slept in, talked baby names, future plans, and ate a warm meal without interuption.

We went back to Leota later on Sunday afternoon and found out that the girls were awesome for my folks. They slept great, ate great, and supposedly they both stayed in church the entire service.

Como Student Housing Water Slide

Due to the extreme September heat they set up the waterslide outside of our apartment for all the kids to cool off. Hailey usually is pretty conservative when it comes to "risky activity" but was loving the slide. Taylor went down twice.

1st Day of Preschool

Today was a day of mixed emotions as I drove Hailey to her first day of preschool at Roseville Nursery School. We visited the school last March and again this past Thursday to meet the teacher, but it was feeling very different to leave her there. I'm really excited for Hailey and I know that she will just eat up all of what preschool has to offer, but she gave me a look of question when I gave her a hug and told her I would be back to pick her up soon. She knows no one in the class, but I'm sure that that will change quite quickly. I felt sick as I drove home with Taylor sleeping in the van--sooooo quiet without Hailey's constant commentary. I felt odd having silence at home for 2 hours straight and to be honest I was so eager to pick her up. When arriving to pick her up Taylor ran to her like she had been gone for ages. Hailey received her with a hug and told her to sit next to her on the chair. She had a great time and excited to go back next week. Her teachers told me that she did great. Soon it will be part of our weekly routine.

Baby Boy

Am I going a little crazy with all of the posting? I know I am, but I have so much on my mind and things are changing so quickly that I don't want what is all going on to slip out of my mind. This post is obviously focusing on our latest addition. We found out that this baby was arriving at the end of March. A bit of a surprise, but no sweeter surprise than a baby. I am currently almost 28 weeks and everything is going well. We found out that baby was a boy on July 16 when he proudly displayed his private parts at the ultrasound. He likes to wake up and kick around 9:30pm and is awake till around 11pm. Sometimes I think that he is awake more often, but I'm not sitting down to be able to notice. I truly enjoy being pregnant and I can't even describe how amazing of a process it is. I have been so blessed by God to have these precious gifts. My one complaint has to be the heat. I can't wait for cooler weather, in fact, today I cleaned out the filters of the air conditioners again in hopes that it in some way might get a bit cooler in the apartment. At this point he remains nameless. Obviously we have time, but I am feeling some pressure to find the perfect name if that does exist. We are really excited for the end of November and to be honest quite scared--THREE CHILDREN.

Taylor Ann

Since focusing on Hailey last evening I've been thinking a lot about how I would begin to describe little Taylor. We continue to be amazed how two little girls can be raised by the same parents yet display such different characteristics. The above pictures show Taylor's latest love. I'm not exaggerating when I say love. One would be hard pressed to find her these day with out "baby". Baby comes with Taylor in the van, in the swing, in the stroller, down the slide, and received hundreds of kisses from her each day. Don't kid yourself though, baby gets body slammed quite frequently also. Taylor is also our climber, our runner, our biter, and our snuggler. She sleeps 12 hours each night and takes a 2 hour nap each afternoon--A Great Sleeper--I think we would all need this too if we functioned at her level. (I lost her 3 times at Borders bookstore the other day.) She is really speaking well and can combine two words. There are a few 3 word phrases that she slurs together into to one word like: hereyago or Igotit. Another recent development is her interest in books. Until now she hasn't slowed down enough to even turn a page. Now there are 3 chosen books that she just loves. (Some of you might recall that Hailey has been looking at books since she was 6 months). Our biggest challenges with Taylor right now are: keeping skin on her knees, taking her to a restaurant, and keeping her in the church nursery. We might have a few more challenges when it comes time to call her Big Sister Taylor.

Hailey Joy

Today's post is going to focus on our Hailey. Why? Maybe I'm being a bit sentimental because she starts preschool this Thursday or maybe because she has just been growing up too fast lately. Speaking of growing up too fast, the other day she said "I could sure go for a Caribou". I guess that is what happens when you raise kids in the city. Hailey has had a fascination with letters since about 18months but recently the fascination has turned to words. She now is noticing words wherever she goes and is trying to sound them out. She also likes to put random letters together and ask what that spells. Her fascination with Disney princesses and villains is still out of control. I was hoping that it was going to be a phase, but she can spot something with a princess on it from a mile away. We have tried to curve the interest and some things have worked. She really loved "The Nutcracker" and "Narnia" for a while but this just doesn't compare to the princess obsession. I recently started reading the "Little House of the Prairie" series to her during Taylor's nap--maybe this will take her to a new level of play.
Hailey is still having some bedtime anxiety but is slowly improving. She doesn't like being on a different floor of the house without us--this makes even going to the bathroom an issue. Oddly, she finds comfort in having Taylor with. Hailey loves to come up with new names for the baby, but most of them are pretty goofy. I guess I am also surprised how early "potty humor" has entered conversation. I had nephews that enjoyed it, but my little girl? Hailey and Taylor have really learned to play well with each other. Hailey naturally has taken on the mothering role and most of the time Taylor accepts it. I guess those are my thoughts on Hailey tonight. It is now 11pm and I'll be seeing her in our bed in just a few hours telling me to "move over".

State Fair

We have lived here now for two years and continue to hear how wonderful the Minnesota State Fair is. We have attempted a visit on two prior occasions and have found them to be crowded, hot, and expensive. We once again decided to brave it. Mike has two days off in a row!! We took the bus--the girls thought that was great. We started by visiting animals and saw a live birth of a baby lamb. We then had a number on healthy snacks--pronto pops, cotton candy, cheese curds, malt, pretzel, and pop. The girls were great. It was crowded, hot, and expensive but we had a great time.

Taylor was big fan of the animals. Hailey was bothered by their smell.

Good Bye

Yesterday was a sad day for the Miedema family as we had to say good-bye to the Compton family. Living at CSCC allows one to make close relationships due to the proximity of the apartments and playgrounds. Lisa has been a wonderful friend and mentor to me as long as I have known her. Her daughter was Hailey's idol in a sense because she was a bit older than her and able to do things that Hailey just couldn't wait to try. Their family left for Maryland on Saturday. They will be missed a great deal. The picture above shows the kids that we play with on a regular basis outside.

1st post

This is the first official post of the Miedema Family blog. For about two years now I have been enjoying visiting other blogs and now am hoping to share this one with friends and family soon. I (Allison) will probably be the one posting regularly but maybe Mike will get into this too--who knows. There are a few reasons why I decided to start this. First being that I have failed at scrapbooking and wanted to be regularly recording thoughts and happenings of our days. Secondly, I send out pictures out to family and friends via email but don't want to be annoying with all the pictures of my children. I realize that though I find them incredibly adorable I might just be bogging down your inbox. This way if you want to look--help yourself.