Resolutions for 2009...

Two new posts in two days? Gasp! After I haven't written in months, literally. I guess this mini two week vacation has motivated me to be more productive, and let's face it, I am more rested on vacation and not falling asleep on the couch at 8 each night! My wonderful children have been sleeping in to 7:30/8:00 each morning, and we have all been enjoying naps or "rest time," Last week, my husband was off all week Monday-Sunday which was a huge help for me! The kids were in heaven! Ryan works alot so this was a real treat for all of us. (Well, not for the bank account as he was on a furlough and not getting paid, but he has a job and we are thankful!).

So, what will you resolve to do in 2010? One of my resolutions is to enjoy as much time as possible with my three (soon to be four) superheros....



Aren't they just adorable? They were so fun this past Halloween and trick or treated for an hour and a half, running from house to house. Dylan was enamored with his "ninja" of a dad. Did I dress up? Of course I did. I went as Ryan! :-) Complete with golf shoes, golf club, hat, shirt, the works. He thought it was terrific.

I guess mine is more of a hope than a resolution for 2010. I hope that we continue to have as many wonderful family memories as 2009 blessed us with. Not a day passes that Ryan and I don't find our selves laughing out loud or under our breath at our silly children. We are bonded in so many ways. We can't wait to add another little girl to our crazy, loving, fun family. 2010 is sure to bring great memories!

I'll be home for Christmas (If only in my dreams....)

Looking back on 2009, we have had so very many wonderful memories and blessings! One of my fondest memories will always be having four generations in my house for Thanksgiving at the same time. Grandpa and Grandma from Florida, Mom and Dad from Washington, my sister and I, and our children. Here is a picture of all of us that I will always have fond memories of!




Dylan and Emma with their cousin Kaili, my sister's little girl.



Grandpa and Grandma with their Great-Grandchildren! :-)



My parents with my family!



So although I could not be home for Christmas this year because of being 33 weeks pregnant, I was there in spirit, and have wonderful memories of my times my family spends together. My dad is always so wonderful at pointing out how important it is that we create our own memories and traditions as the Harlow family in Aliso Viejo, CA. He is right. I try to carry on many of the same traditions that I loved as a child. But most importantly, as seen from the Thanksgiving pictures above, my greatest love in life is my family. Cherish the times together, no matter how crazy they may seem as you are living them, because those moments don't happen near enough or last long enough. Family is forever.

Only my kids...

So yes, in the wave of the "flu epidemic frenzy" I jumped aboard to get my kids vaccinated ASAP. My OB was very concerned with my pregnancy being "high risk" (which it really isn't anymore...) and wanted all of us in my family to be vaccinated for both the flue and H1N1 as soon as possible. I already got my regular flu shot and am awaiting the other to arrive at the OB's office. D and E were supposed to get theirs today. Supposed to. However, just like most of the pediatricians' offices in Orange County, they ran out of the shot. The nice lady at asked me, "Would like them to have the flu mist instead? We still have that." Ummm, yeah, of course. Actually I was so uptight about it, I had to tell her the short abridged version of my current life story, "Yes that would be great. I have a high risk pregnancy. I teach in the public schools. My kids are in full time preschool. I am pregnant with my third child." Poor lady, much more than she asked for. "Yes, that would be great." Her reply,"The insurance doesn't cover it, so it will be $50 a child." Me: "No problem." Was I crazy? $100 for two flu mists? No, I was completely rational at this point. Considering our circumstances, this was the best $100 I could spend on my kids. Who wants their children to get sick? Definitely not me. Not at his point in our crazy, "roll with the punches" lifestyle.

I, being the naive mother that I am, thought my children would be SO happy to get the mist instead of the shot. I was off. WAY OFF! We were the only patients there screaming from getting the flu mist. "I want a shot!" Yes, those words came from my sweet son's mouth. Seriously? Dylan went first, cried and yelled. For Emma, this did not make the experience any more enticing. I had to HOLD her down. Yes, for a mist in her nose. After leaving the exam room, the receptionists were looking at us with such bewilderment, knowing we had the mist since the shots were all out. At home, both children proclaimed, " I never want a flu mist again." Emma: "Mommy, I don't like the flu! I like the medicine in my arm!" Only my kids........

Where to start?

Wow...so much has happened since my last post....yet I have not accomplished that much. Today was a big turning point. My husband left work early to meet me at my ultrasound/doctor's appointment with the "at risk" doctor. I know, "how sweet," and, "he's so supportive," and, "wow, he still goes to the appointments and this is the third baby!" Yes, your sentiments are all correct. But there was MUCH more at stake for him at this appointment than previous ones. He was hopeful that I would be moved from the "DL" (disabled list) to the "staring lineup." Stay with me here, the sports analogy is only the beginning. Since being diagnosed with complete placenta previa 8 weeks ago, I have been on "pelvic rest." Yes, hold your laughter, but my husband HAD to be at this appointment to hear if I would remain on the DL. Well, all the praying he did must have worked because my placenta moved 2 cm. It is no longer considered a complete previa. My odds of needing the hysterectamy went down significantly today! I couldn't believe it! Who knew that my placenta could bring such joy and happiness to my life? :-) Well, it brought much more to my husband's. He could barely finish asking about my "starting lineup" odds when the doctor finished his sentence, giving me the all clear. Hmmmm...maybe I should have kept this appointment a secret? :-) Just kidding! I am very happy that this final pregnancy of mine will now be a less stressful and easy going affair. It's the small things in life that really make a big difference!

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We have been very busy lately. I entered the world of being a "soccer mom" and being the "team mom." That could be a ten page post of its own. Let's just say that soccer for four year olds has proved to be much more intense here in Orange County than I was mentally prepared for. Snack schedules, emails, team banners, emails, team mom meetings, emails, trophies, emails, end of the year parties, emails. You get the idea. Seriously? The kids are FOUR!!! Yes, four! This is very serious business here in Orange County. I really shouldn't be that surprised. Everything is serious, competitive business in Orange County. It builds character. We aren't sure what type of character we're building, but we know we're developing some. Reassuring, I know.

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We've had visits to the apple orchard to go apple picking of course! We've visited the fire station for their open house, been to the craft store to make pumpkins, gone to the pumpkin patch, had fevers, watched movies, played outside a lot, and just hanging out as much as possible. I will post pictures soon of the above events to share. Life is crazy, busy, fun and all ours!

You've Got to Have Friends....

Wow! I am so blessed by the friends that surround me daily, hourly...all the time. Friends, co-workers, neighbors....I have people that support me, love my children, and go above and beyond to help me out in my daily life. I have this best friend, Julie~who was sent to me with such a purpose. She is an amazing mother, friend, teacher, and person. I have this unbelievable friend Kari who amazes me with her strength, faith, and amazing ability to be so giving to everyone in her life. My friend Courtney calls to check on me, loves me for who I am, and has been there for me since college. I have fabulous coworkers who email me and call me just to make sure I am alright. My kids and I have a Grammy J that offers to come help us should we ever need it, and whom my kids love as another grandma. I have these incredible neighbors that play with my children and offer to help whenever it is needed.

Here are some of the unbelievably kind things the people in my life do: make me dinners ahead of time so I don't have to stand and cook after working all day, lift my kids up and tell me to sit down to take it easy, watch my kids so I can go grocery shopping without having to lift anyone into the cart, come over and play with their kids to keep my kids busy when I am supposed to be resting, call me from their vacation homes to check on me, jump on trampolines with my daughter since I can't, offer to come down from L.A. and help us with whatever we need should that situation become a reality, love my family unconditionally...I could go on and on listing the selfless acts my friends constantly do in our honor. I am blessed. You've got to have friends. Friends are the family you choose for yourself. :-) We don't have "blood" family close by, but we certainly have family. We have a circle of friends that is just as close and bonded as a blood related family. We are lucky. We are blessed. We love you all! Thank you for loving and caring about us.

Everything I Need to Know....

Okay, well maybe not everything I need to know, but I sure did learn alot this summer and over our latest vacation. For example, did you know that 18 holes of golf always includes lunch and a beer afterwards? I did not know this was a "standard." Thank you for my husband, mother-in-law, and good friends, Mary, Kari, and Scott for clueing me in on this one. Isn't it unfortunate that four and a half hours with the kids (while said husband is golfing) doesn't also include lunch and a beer? Hmmmm. I also learned that our latest vacation was "Ryan's vacation"...I was just "on summer break." Honestly? I love my husband more than words, but please tell me he didn't really say this to me during our time in Bellingham. What has my summer break consisted of? Let me tell you. Lots of throwing up, lots of feeling cruddy, cleaning (okay, not as much as I should have), laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, day trips with the kids, and playing with the kids. Oh yeah~that's what I ALWAYS do! Thanks honey! I love my life but let's just dream for a minute that we experienced a "Liz's vacation" moment. Although I wouldn't be golfing, I would definitely take four and a half hours a day, four days in a row to do whatever I please and then have lunch and a beer (okay diet coke since I am pregnant) afterwards. Then, I would return back to my family just as the kids had started napping or were ready for bed. How dreamy! I know I sound bitter, and really I'm not. Ryan loves to golf, and it's also a huge part of his job. And, for the most part, it's free for him. So, what am I complaining about anyway? I think I need to find a hobby other than being pregnant or sorting through maternity clothes right now!

Everything I need to know I have learned in the past nine years of marriage. So, maybe I still have some learning to do, but feel much more equipped to have a successful marriage now after celebrating nine years together. I have learned that most importantly, not everything is worth an argument. Although my way is more than likely always the right way (wink, wink), I shouldn't criticize the effort of those I love. I have also learned that no matter what, Ryan and I have always found a way to work it out, make things work, or go to work and start fresh when we get home that night. Life is hard. No one ever said it was going to easy. Raising kids, working, and having a happy marriage is not always a cake walk. I have learned though, that if you focus on all the negatives~of your spouse, your situation, your job, whatever it may be~it just makes you more annoyed and frustrated. We all have our flaws. Thank goodness my husband looks past mine and loves me for who I am. In nine years I have reminded myself that we fall in love with a person for who they are~not for who they might be someday. I love my husband~flaws and all~tremendously.

I have learned this summer that my kids LOVE every vacation they take to visit one of their six sets of grandparents. They don't need a theme park. They just need a grandpa and grandma that spoil them, love them to pieces, and give them oodles~I mean oodles~of attention. Family is so important. Too often we see people put work, money, and/or possessions before family. Can our family frustrate us? Absolutely. Can they get on our nerves? Of course. Do we do the same to them? Undoubtedly. But in the end we are family~those are the things we do best! :-) Families argue but remember this~you will never get that time back. Every moment spent angry or upset with a family member is a moment lost. My dad taught this to me early on. Every moment is a gift. You will NEVER get that moment back. I have learned that it is so much easier to forgive, forget, love, enjoy, laugh, and count my blessings. Life is too short.

I have learned one more important lesson this summer~I really stink at being pregnant! As if I didn't recognize this from my first two children, it really stares me in the face now. I am eternally grateful and blessed to be able to get pregnant so easily, but watch out. Once my body figures out was is going on~oh boy! This will be our last child, and I have slowly learned to enjoy this pregnancy as much as I can when I am not throwing up~and cherish these moments. I will never get them back!

Deep sigh...

As my good friend Kari told me last week, "You'd better blog again soon. People are going to wonder what's been happening with you." She is right. I haven't blogged because I haven't had any motivation. As many of you know by now, I am pregnant and we are expecting our third child on February 17th. Actually, it will be more around the 10th of February, as it will be a scheduled c-section again. I loved both my other c-sections...but that's for a later post! I have been really tired and not feeling that great. The kids have been going to preschool a few days a week and then I lay on the couch and try to be semi-productive here at home, or running errands, etc. The other days, we have been swimming and hanging at the beach. The kids are such a fun age and love just having fun! Here are some pics from the 4th of July, and some of our summer outings. We really have loved only living 15 minutes away from the beach. We hop in the car and then we are there. So blessed and loving it so much! Enjoy the pics, and I will write more soon (sooner than last time!).



Emma and cousin Kaili playing on Long Beach, Wa.



Dylan and Grandpa flying kites on the beach.



Running through the sprinkler at Grandpa and Grandma's!



Grandpa giving all the grandkids tractor rides.



Swimming and playing in the water with Daddy!



"Look at the size of those waves!" (We didn't know there was a high surf warning that day. The waves were HUGE!)



Lastly, the sunflowers that Dylan and Emma planted in front of our house. We all love seeing them...so cheerful!