Sorry about the lack of posting...

Thank you so much Daisy and Harley for your prayers for Boxen. We helped him cross over the Rainbow Bridge the next day. It was his time and we didn't want him to be in any more pain.

We had almost eleven years with our Boxy, many more than we thought when we had the first cancer scare with him. So we are so grateful to have been able to share his life with him and love him for so long.

I'm hoping to get an update on Beau soon. Also to start posting more often just so I can keep up with what is going on with him and give our family somewhere to come see what is going on with us.

Until then, here is the last picture we got with Boxy and Beau together.

We miss you everyday old man!

Need some doggy prayers for Boxen

After a few days of not eating Boxen is now too weak to get up. And we think he just had a seizure. If you don't mind he could use a few doggy prayers. 

Oops... so much for coming back to blogging.

So in my last post  promised to come back to blogging. Enter in pregnancy complications and a newborn and that didn't happen.

But I'm going to try again.

Meet Beau Anthony Bennett...

Born January 22, 2013 at 3:34 pm. A week late.

8 lbs 14 oz and 21.25" long

A month before he was due I was put on partial bedrest because he tried to come at 35 weeks. A week before he was due I was put on full bedrest due to my blood presure. A week after he was due we evicted that little booger.

I'll make the birth story brief. We went in the night before and got all set up in a bed. We had to fill out all kinds of papers and they put in the Cytotec. I was against it at first but after being 41 weeks and making no progress despite having contractions for a full month my doctor really felt it was going to have to be something strong to get me going. He said I had until 7:00 pm the next day to get him out or they would do a c-section because of my blood pressure.

That night we settled in and I took the ambien. They chaecked me at 12:00, no progress, 3:00 am no progress, 6:00 am no progress. Not good.

Then the doctor came back in to talk. He was really worried about the no progress thing. It was then that he said it was almost like I had some scar tissue from a previous cryosurgery or leep procedure. I was confused because I had cryosurgery three years before. It was in my chart. He hadn't read it. GRRRR....

Once we figured that out he went in and tried to stretch me as far as he could to break up the scar tissue. Only to a 1, but it was something. Within two hours I was at a 2 with no pitocin and he broke my water. By now it is around 11:00.

They gave me something to help with the pain and it made me crash. Joel went to lunch with his mom and left my mom to watch me sleep. The doctor came in at noon to check on me and I was at a 3. He was happy and told me it would be great if I could wait another hour beofore getting the epidural. I fell back asleep but twenty minutes later I nearly came up off the bed with a VERY strong contraction. the nurse came right in after seeing the contraction on the monitor. She checked me and I was at a 4, in 20 minutes. So we called the miracle worker that is otherwise known as the anestesiologist. Within forty minutes I had the epidural. Those forty minutes I had six contractions that lasted four minutes each. They were terrible, worst pain I have ever felt.

After the epidural I fell back asleep and woke up an hour later complete. so from a 4 to a 10 in two hours. I guess the stretching he did that morning worked. the nurse had me push once to see how long pushing would take. After one push she told me to stop cause she could see his head. Joel immediately looked, even though he said he wouldn't and said, "he has so much hair". After that it was game on. the doctor came in and watched me push once to see how I would progress. He immediately told me to stop and they got dressed and got the room ready. They also called the baby nurse.

After three more pushes and one not needed episiotomy he came right on out. the first thing I remember the doctor saying was, "wow, look at those feet, this boy is going to be huge!". they put him on my chest and it was love at first sight!

Unfortunately he didn't cry much and they had to take him almost right away. they worked on him a little and get him to wimper a little but still no crying. Turns out he is just not a baby that cries much. they handed him to me to do some skin on skin and let him eat. We were all amazed when they announced the 8 lbs 14 oz. He was so much bigger than we expected. But he was really long and skinny.

This is him an hour after he was born. Cute little bug isn't he?

Anyway I got right up after and didn't have any problems. Joel was holding him and was sooooo happy to finally hold his son.

They took us to our room and we passed everyone on the way. They all got to see him for a minute before they took us to our room. After about thirty minutes we were settled and everyone came in to say hi.

It was probably the best experience of my life. We are so in love with this little guy and in truth can't wait for another. But we will.

Want some more pictures...

Daddy and his boy...

 Going home...

Meeting Boxen and Bella...

The famous feet, look at those long toes!

The cutest baby ever!

Not the best picture of me but I still love it!

Time to start blogging again...

Here lately I have really felt the need to start blogging again. I'm not sure if it will stick around or not but here goes...

Catching up... We have been up to tons of things lately. Boxen had surgery, Joel graduated from the police academy, I hit 35 weeks pregnant. Lots to catch up on.

First let's begin with baby Beau...

Today I am 35 weeks 1 day pregnant. He should be 5-6 lbs. We find out next Friday just how big he is supposed to be. I think that is when I get my GBS test and my first internal. JOY. lol.

This pregnancy has been really easy for the most part. Yes it is getting a little more difficult to get around and get through each day without some pain but I really can't complain. I had no morning sickness, I have not gained a ton of weight, I am measuring small so my belly is not huge. It has really been a blessing.

I love feeling Beau in there moving around, he gets the hiccupps multiple times a day and is really active around ten in the morning and four in the afternoon, then again at seven at night. I'm hoping any day now we will get to see a little loot stick out but for now we have no idea what the mystery lumps moving around in my belly are. We do know he is head down which is a blessing.

We had the 3D ultrasound done a few weeks ago and I think this one is going to come out looking just like his Daddy. Except for his nose, that is all me.

A few months ago my mom and I dropped off the baby furniture to be refinished. I had no idea what to expect but it turned out more beautiful that I could have hoped for! This is the dresser. It's a little dusty but we cleaned it off when we got it home. I'm glad we got it early because the upstairs smelled like wood stain for weeks. It is gone now but I'm glad we didn't wait. I would never had been able to put Beau in his crib with that smell.

 This is the wardrobe. I love having all this storage. For now the cabinet part of this holds extra hangers and some of the items we will not need for a while. Like the bouncy thing and the humidifier. Again it is beautiful!

Boxen and bella wanted to be sure that I didn't leave them out of this update. They are both doing well. Boxen had to have another surgery last month to remove another Mast Cell Tumor. This one was on his scrotum so it was much easier to remove than the last one and was a much easier recovery. We have since found a small spot on Bella but honestly we are still recovering from the cost of Boxen's surgery and having to pay the Doctor early for the cost of delivering Beau. I am keeping an eye on the spot and will take her in if it shows any sign of getting any bigger. Other than that they are both thrilled at our new work schedules. Joel is home until 2:00 and I get home at 5:30 so they are only alone for a few hours. Starting next week I will be working at home so they will really love that. Then when Beau gets here I am taking eight weeks off so that will be loved by all. They are going to be so spoiled having us home all day every day!

On to Joel's graduation. It took him two long years of hurry up and get this turned in and then wait for months to hear anything before we finally got the final yeas you are in the Dallas Police Academy. It was a wonderful day to be sure. He started right after our Cruise in March and just now graduated in November. Dallas has one of the longest Academys in the country. But they are also the best trained officers. I don't worry about him at all. I know he is careful and knows what he is doing.

The academy was a little rough at times. The first few weeks were the hardest. The physical and mental testing makes it feel like these guys are going through law school and boot camp all at once. If you fail any of the tests you get one redo and then you are out. That is incredibly stressful. Thankfully he passed all of his tests but one of them was really close with a 70. We were VERY thankful for the day when he passed his last test and then the final. The rest was physical and we knew he could handle that!

Eventually it was time to graduate. I can't even explain how excited we both were. His mom got to pin his badge on him for the first time and the next day they all got officially sworn in. It was a weekend full of celebrating and having a great time! Isn't he handsome! This is him with one of his favorite training officers.

 So that is what we have been up to lately. I already have some great posts to set up and get posted so stay tuned! There is a post about the cruise, crafts, the nursery, the new kitty, and lots of others. Then soon it will be time to post about this baby being born and all about him!

I can't wait to get it all out there again and be able to get back to blogging!



We are getting a skin baby!

Mom and dad have been acting strange lately. Mom sleeps and eats a lot and dad does everything around the house. (some of it at least).

But I think I finally figured out what is happening! Mom is going to have a baby!

We love babies, well we love the older ones, we haven't been close to many tiny ones. Boxen is really sweet and gentle with babies and I love to play with them. Even if they hurt me, on accident of course, I am still really gentle with them.

Mom keeps saying January 18 so the is when the baby will be delivered I think.I hope the FedEX guy delivers it I really like that guy.

Anyhoo I just thought I would let you all know! We are super excited!

Bella Kisses

Dog beds...custom style

Well I finally did something I have been wanting to do for a long time. I made a new cover for a dog bed. We all know that the covers that come with the beds are crap. They fall apart, they get torn, they are ugly. LOL

Well here is the new bed for the princess... (don't ask me why the picture is upside down. Blogger is making me mad with this latest update.) Also I need a better picture, and picture taking area. Ugh.

 

Anyhoo her name is sewn onto it with felt. Easy peasy. Just cut out the letters with my cricut and traced them onto felt. I sewed them on with my machine. See how straight the sewing is. Not...

The back of this the envelope style instead of having a zipper. In my experience dogs like to rip out zippers. the panels simply overlap as a pillowcase might do and that covers the insert. I also reinforced the seams with double sewing. Any place that I thought might rip easily got extra stitching.

The princess had to have material with a crown on it!

I am really proud of this. I am going to make one for Boxen next. Then hopefully I can talk someone into making a platform for them for the bedroom to raise them up a bit. We will see. I am determined to get the twin bed out of there. That is their bed now only because the sheets are easy to wash lol. 

I think she likes it! What do you think?

A little crafty

Last night when I got home I headed right up to my craft room. I was going to watch some Sarah's House, iron some clothes, craft a little, and let Joel study. What I forgot to do was turn the thermostat down.

Let me explain. In our two story house we have one A/C. It cools the whole house. In the summer this is unbearable. While we can keep the downstairs at a nice 75 degrees the upstairs is at least fifteen degrees hotter. The solution, another A/C unit. The temporary solution, a window unit. It is cheeper and I can turn it on when I need it instead of keeping it on all the time.

So here I was upstairs trying to iron with sweat pouring down me. Not pretty, I was not happy. So I decided that I do not iron, at all, and I was going back downstairs to take my now bad mood out on cleaning the house.

After some cleaning, some studying with my wonderful husband and a trip to the library and sonic for a diet coke things were much better. Unfortunately having a diet coke at nine at night is lot a good idea. By ten I was back in the craft room while DH was blissfully snoring downstairs.

Let me introduce you to my craft room...

It is not exactly like this anymore but it is close. The table is under the short curtained wall and the loveseat is on the opposite wall. That allows the floor to be open. My sewing machine is now to the left of the window with the long curtain too. I guess I need to take a new picture but that would involve cleaning the place up and we all know how bad craft rooms can get.

Anyway when I came out of the room two and a half hours later I had this...

This picture is upside down and taken with my iPhone but this is the start of my new purse. the flower pattern is the top and it has an outside pocket.

This is the inside. There are six smaller pockets inside.

Since I didn't use a pattern on this there are some things that I wish I would have done differently. I sewed the inside and outside fabric together first. I have since learned that this is one of the last steps. I'll show you why later. This meant that to sew the pockets on without haveing seams showing through I had t manuver fabric to only sew through one side at a time. In the inside I only wanted to sew thos pockets to the floral pattern. On the outside I only wanted to sew them to the geometric pattern.

Anyway I have some finishing to do but I'm pretty happy with it. I can't wait to show yall the finished item!

Kiki