Cloud + Sheep = Dr. Scholl's® For Her Cozy Cushions

Well, I haven't blogged here in a few months because I have been chasing kids, grading papers, and trying to manage life in general... more on that later.

In the meantime... we pause for a moment from our sponsors:

Dr. Scholl's for Her: Cozy Cushions
(there is a $2 off coupon on the page if you follow the link)

I received this product complementary for testing from www.influenster.com .  It is a great program where you receive great FULL-SIZE products to test and review.

I was excited to see these insoles when I opened the box because they are so soft and fuzzy.  I used to have this pair of slippers that were fleece lined.  I wore them until they literally fell apart at the seams and couldn't be repaired.  These "Cozy Cushions" reminded me of that, so I ripped open the package and then... went and found a pair of scissors to trim them.  They are originally sized for a shoe size 9 or 10, but have nifty little guidelines on the rubber side to trim down to other smaller sizes like my little size 7 foot.

I placed them in my favorite boots and went off to work.  As many of you know, I am a teacher and am on my feet all day.  Earlier in the week, I had worn these same boots and my feet were killing me by the end of the day.  Also, in order to "save money" at my school, the temperature is set rather low.  This winter has been killing me.  I'm freezing all the time.  So... I'm at work.  Honestly, my boots felt a little tight, but my feet were warm and otherwise very cozy.  I think if I was planning on putting a pair of these in my boots, I might buy my boots a half size up than normal.

At the end of the day, my feet didn't hurt... and they weren't cold.  Double win!  I'm very pleased with this product.  Now I'm off to hunt for a new pair of fuzzy slippers... or maybe I'll just by more Cozy Cushions and put them in my not-so-fuzzy slippers I bought to replace them!

Welcome Molly - a little late

This blog is really a record for myself, so I guess it doesn't matter much that this entry is almost three months late.  Our little baby was due on March 15, 2013 (a Friday).  On March 8th (a Friday) I started feeling a little bad with irregular contractions so I told Sam that he needed to pack his hospital bag just in case.  I was going to spend the weekend getting a few extra things ready around the house and getting my sub plans ready for the next week.  I had plans to work right up until the 15th if I could.  Robbie came the day after his due date by induction, so I had no notion that this little one would come early.  There were several "fun" dates ahead that could be great birthdays: 3/9 My friend Brianna's birthday; 3/10 MY birthday; 3/14 Pi day (3.14); 3/15 ides of March; 3/17 St. Patrick's day

On Saturday, March 9th, Sam went to work and Robbie and I enjoyed some time at home.  I kept having intense, but very irregular contractions about every 2 hours or so.  Sam came home, we had dinner, put Robbie to bed, and went to bed ourselves. However, I couldn't sleep.  I started timing contractions and realized they were now coming about every 4 minutes.

I should note here that with Robbie, I was induced.  They gave me pitocin, a little while later I got an epidural, easy-peasy/no pain/no complication delivery with a baby about 10 hours later.  Not bad.  I never had the opportunity to have "active labor" and can I just say "omigoodnesssomebodykillmethishurtssofreakingbad" ?  Can I?  Ok, I will.  Agony.  Ouch.  

I woke Sam up.  We called my wonderful OBGYN Dr. Grondahl who told us to head into the hospital.  At this point I'm pacing around the house, breathing, pausing occasionally to die have a contraction.  Sam called our neighbor and good friend Donna to come sit in the house while Robbie slept and called his mom Gwen to start heading our way from Bloomington.

We got to the hospital about midnight.  I was 4cm dilated (for those who like the gory details) and admitted. It looked like I would be having a baby on my own birthday!  I began begging for requesting an epidural and they got one into me as soon as they could.  At this point I was 6cm dilated.  I had a "hot spot" and requested more pain meds.  Received and I was completely numb. FAB-U-LOUS.  Now for all you natural labor mommas, good for you, but as for me and my house we will accept any and all medical intervention especially those that allow for pain removal.  No judging either way, ok?  I hadn't slept all night or well for days, so I managed to get in a couple of hours of blissful rest.

Later in the morning, (Sunday, March 10), I was checked again and was completely dilated.  The nurse asked me to do a practice push "just to see" how things were progressing.  My water broke.  They called the doctor in and we did maybe 2 or 3 more pushes and our sweet little girl was born!  No tearing (awesome) or any other complications.  My sweet little birthday present was here.

Molly Brianna Leahy

Born Sunday, March 10, 2013

 at 10:13 AM

6lbs 8oz, 19.5 in long

Molly was named for Sam's grandmother Mary Leahy.  We found in a baby name book that "Molly" is an old traditional nickname for "Mary." We both really like the name and also like the tribute to his grandmother.  Brianna is my best friend from college who has been like a sister to us and is always there when I need someone to vent my frustrations to or need to escape for some girl time.

Gwen brought Robbie over later that day to meet his new little sister.  To say he was excited and in love was an understatement!  He did so well with her! 

Our sweet little family.

I had an incredibly easy recovery.  After the epidural wore off I was up and moving around.  I was taking an occasional naproxin for discomfort.  The hospital staff at IU West was absolutely wonderful.  They took such good care of us and were so kind and patient.  Everything was sunshine and roses and bliss, albeit an exhausted one.

Then Robbie got sick.  On the day we were released to come home, Robbie came down with a high temperature and a bad cough/cold.  A little background, but Robbie gets febrile seizures when his temp hits 102 degrees, so we take fevers very seriously.  We were told that he would eventually "grow out of it" between 4-6 years old.  We also found out that one of his little friends at daycare had tested positive for flu.  We made him wear a mask to hold Miss Molly and we were all hand washing like crazy.

After a few days, he wasn't getting any better.  We took him to the pediatrician who did a chest x-ray (which came back fine) and told us that as long as he had the fever that he and Molly couldn't be in the same room.  It was heartbreaking.  Fortunately, Sam had time off so we switched back and forth taking care of the kids.  I would keep Molly in our bedroom and Sam would keep Robbie in the living room.  Then switch.  It was really hard emotionally and also physically.  We were exhausted to have not just one child who was awake every few hours, but two.  Plus Sam and I both started getting sick too with colds/coughs.  We were really blessed at this time with friends and family who made us meals and brought groceries to our house so we would not have to leave and didn't have to think about cooking.  I don't know how we would have made it through the week without all the help and support.  Robbie was feverish for a full 7 days and puny for several more.  He never had a seizure, though, despite hitting 104 degrees at one point.  We think he has finally grown out of this!  PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Now, almost three months later, we are doing great.  Molly and Robbie are best friends and so sweet to each other.  We are getting the hang of this family of four thing.  There is not a lot of time for "extra" things like showering blogging but we are still enjoying ourselves.  We just got back from a road trip to see my parents. (More on that later... maybe)

We are "done" with babies we think, so I am really savoring this little one and cherishing each little moment.  She is a sweetheart and has us all wrapped around her tiny fingers!

Molly's Dr. Seuss Nursery

My blog is woefully out of date.  Apparently having two children AND a blog is too much for me.

So: super quick summary - we had a baby girl, Molly Brianna on March 10, 2013.  She is perfect.  We love her to pieces.  I went back to work for a couple of weeks and now am on summer vacation.  We just got back from a trip to Florida to visit my parents.  My mom told me that I never posted pictures of how the nursery turned out... so here they are.

First off, this is a really small room. When we went to put the furniture from Robbie's nursery into it, we were shocked at how difficult it was to get everything to fit.  

Above you can see the cool vinyl quote that our friend Dan made for us.  I looked forever at quotes and re-read a lot of the Dr. Seuss books.  I found several that I liked but also discovered that a lot of quotes that are attributed to Seuss on the Internet are either mis-attributed or just plain made up.  I even had my librarian pal Robyn research one to see if it had a real Seuss source, but couldn't find one.  We ended up going with this one from "Oh! The Places You'll Go."  You can also see the artwork and mobile I made.

My mother-in-law Gwen made the valence.  The curtains are light-blocking thermal panels from Target.

Since the room is so small, we decided to take the closet doors off to make everything easier to access. This also allowed us to put the glider in front of the closet. Gwen made another small curtain which we hung with a tension rod in the top of the closet.  This covered up the storage so I could randomly stuff things up there that I don't want to be visible.  

Here is another vinyl graphic from our friend Dan.  This shelf and one on the other side of the room were made by my grandfather Gene Strunk.  He did a lot of woodworking and I received these shelves when he passed away.  I love that we were able to hang them in Molly's room.

On the shelf we have the Truffula Trees that I made, a cute Dr. Seuss Tonner doll from my mom Shirley, and a sweet little stuffed Horton from Kohls.

So that is it.  It's pretty cute, I think and not too overwhelming.  Thank you everyone for your help putting this all together... especially Sam for doing all the installation and heavy lifting... and for putting up with my crazy.  Also thanks to my mom who gave me lots of good ideas and let me talk her ear off.  Thanks to M.I.L. Gwen for sewing the valences, the bedskirt, and two adorable little baby quilts.  Thank to Dan for doing such great vinyl graphics and even coming over to install them when I was 9 months pregnant and miserable.

Think left and think right and think low and think high. 

Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!