Things I've Been Meaning to Mention

Hello Folks! It seems like time flies by, and before I know it I've missed the opportunity to comment on/ share something. So this post is devoted to those things I forgot...

• A while back I was commenting on having to go on 2 field trips with my class, and being concerned about possibly going into labor while on them. I set up a plan with my school just in case, but a very lovely friend bailed me out of one of the trips. Carrie Johnson (a teacher I taught 6th grade with at Kellogg) called me up the morning of one of the trips, and offered to go in my place. It was completely unexpected, but OH-so-appreciated! I thought she deserved a shout out on my blog. :)
• John's been posting some pictures, and one of them I had meant to post. It's the one of Malachi in his swing. I was going to say that John was such a good daddy that he put together the swing all by himself one evening (I usually do all assembly-type work). The picture is of Malachi's first ride in the swing.
• The feet at the top of our blog are actually Malachi's feet with our wedding rings. We took him to get his pictures taken when he was just 10 days old. They turned out super cute, and I'll have to post some more soon.
• I'm back to singing on the worship team at church! I was able to sing for a super-fun choir weekend Mar. 15/16th, as well as sing on a regular team on Good Friday. It is great to be back, and John was a great stay-at-home dad while I was off at church.
• It is SO great that John is able to be home over the weekends now that Malachi is here. We get to go to church together (and sit in the cry-room ;) ), he helps with Malachi all day, and we just get to have some family time. It is wonderful!

From Mommy!

Hello Friends! John has done such a nice job of keeping the posts coming and updating often! I haven't had much of a chance to write in the last 2 weeks, so I want to start by saying THANK YOU! Thanks to all of you who have been praying for little Malachi for months now, and those who have just joined us, too. I really can't explain the emotions that passed through me when I was informed by the cardiologist that Malachi would not need a surgery after all, and that things were looking good for him. I truly feel that God worked a miracle in our little boy's body, and so we say- PRAISE GOD! Even now I feel that God is working miracles as Malachi's heart isn't "normal," but yet is functioning well. So, again thanks for the prayers and support you have offered. It's been amazing.

Now on to talk about daily routine-- things are going pretty well. Malachi has decided that between 8pm and 11:30pm is his fussy time, so we are learning to function in the midst of a screaming/ crying baby during that time. It's amazing what you can get used to. :) Other than that he sleeps well (for the most part), and I am adjusting to getting about 6 hours of broken sleep a night instead of my normal 8 continuous hours. This has been hard for me, but I am sure I will continue to adjust (especially since this part of parenthood appears to be unavoidable). :P

One random thought before I wrap up-- we know a lot of you have said that you really like Malachi's name. You might be surprised to know that it has been mispronounced quite a bit in the less-than-two-weeks since he was born. Everything from Ma-la-chee to Ma-le-key to Ma-lay-key, and still others. It's pretty funny, especially considering we never thought it was that different of a name. Who knew?

Nothing New

I am here to report that there is nothing new to report. We went to our regular Dr.'s appt. on Friday, and we're still in a wait-and-see mode for baby. As I suspected, the information we were receiving from the other Dr. we've seen for the past 3 visits regarding an induction was more a matter of personal opinion/ philosophy. Our regular Dr. is back and not really interested in inducing labor at this point, so I guess we'll see what this week brings. I was really hoping not to go back to work tomorrow morning, but unless something happens in the next couple of hours, I'll be back! I also have my last evening of conferences on Tuesday night-- I've prepped the kids to do student-led conferences so my sub could cover for me if need-be. Also this week in my classroom we have scheduled 2 field trips- one on Wednesday, and another on Thursday. I'm not sure what I want to do about that if I still haven't gone in... Hmmm... something to consider.

Anyhow, John built a bookcase for the nursery this afternoon, and now everything looks absolutely great. He's also done with ref-ing hockey for the season, so we are really ready! We'll let you know if the baby decides to come anytime soon!

Sarah's TOP SECRET PROJECT!

Alright folks! This is the post you've been waiting for! I finally reveal my TOP SECRET PROJECT!

Since sometime in September I have been doing a special project in the nursery. I decided that it would be really fun to paint murals of storybook characters on the walls of the nursery. I also figured that I love art and have always been fairly artistic, so I was prepared to tackle this project myself, as opposed to hiring someone. So, armed with my collection of storybooks (I'm a teacher, people!) I picked out 7 characters I thought would be fun to incorporate. Below you can see pictures of me working on the newly finished project! Hooray-- I FINALLY finished on SuperBowl Sunday (before the game started, of course!). :)

I kept it a secret for quite a while because I figured if it didn't turn out, I would just paint over it and no one would have to know! Once I finished one part of it and saw it was probably going to work, we started to leak the information (that's why some of you already knew about it). Here are some more pics!

(The opening page of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Curious George)

(Here's the Very Hungry Caterpillar)

(Now you see the cows from Click, Clack, Moo, Clifford, and Chrysanthemum)

(Continuing clockwise around the room- it's Froggy!)

Some closeups...

Expect Net Game

I just wanted to let you all know we have an on-line game started to see who can guess the most about Baby Carlson before he arrives. Click on the orange box to the right of our countdown ticker to access it! Have fun!

It's Update Time!

Hello friends! I haven't posted since my bummer post a while back, so figured I should get back on to redeem myself. I'm doing pretty well with the diabetes stuff. I have to count my carbs and check my blood sugar two times a day, and so far things are going well. I've only had high numbers 2 times since I've been monitoring it, so that's good. I'm also finding that I have a lot more appreciation for my dad, who has type-2 diabetes. I can totally understand his frustration and trouble with staying on a diet. I only have to endure this for roughly 6 weeks, and he's not got an end in sight. Tough stuff...

Anyhow, we had our weekly check up appointment today. Things are fairly normal. We had our normal ultrasound, and our little guy continues to follow his growth curve. He's still on the small side, but that is just fine by me! Also, the tech we had today really worked hard to try to see the left hand. We still only saw 3 fingers, but he was moving and bending them, which is a great sign that they will function normally. The tech also managed to get some new shots of his face, which are looking more like a baby face, and less like a scary skull. :) So overall, a great appointment.

Thanks again for your continued prayers and support! We love you all! Oh, and watch for future pics and a post about my "Top Secret Project" (which many of you already know about).

A funny thing happened...

So, if you hadn't heard yet, I failed my first glucose test just before Christmas (which was given later than normal, but that's what happens when you switch care providers I guess). This meant I had the supreme pleasure of taking a longer 3-hour version of the same test on Wednesday this week. For this test they gave me an IV line, drew blood, and then made me drink somewhere around 12 oz. of a super sweet, slightly-thicker-than-soda liquid. Then over the next 3 hours they drew blood once per hour. It was WAY fun! :P I actually didn't care that much, except that I really don't like needles much at all. Before I left they told me that unless something was wrong they wouldn't call me about the test.

Fast forward to yesterday. I get a call at work-- it's the Mayo nurse line-- uh-oh. Yup! You guessed it- I have gestational diabetes! Isn't that fabulous? Can't you just hear the sarcasm dripping from my mouth? OK, so I'm trying to stay positive, but... So, now I have to test my blood sugar levels twice a day, and I'm on a diet to watch my carbs. They're having me back next week to check over everything, and now I will officially begin going to see my Dr. every week.

The only thing I can think is thank goodness this was all discovered AFTER Christmas, and at least I don't have too much longer to deal with it (in the grand scheme of things). I know it will be fine, but this is my moment of frustration. I'm glad I have a place to vent. :)