Happy 5th Birthday, Emyley!

As with Sydney, I thought I would fill everyone in on Emyley's birth story. However, since it happened more recently, and since I documented it in my wonderful BADP Mom's club, it is a little more complete and story-ish. It may not be for the faint of heart, so feel free to skip down to the pictures if you are a little squeamish!


Five Years Ago Today.....
I arrived at the hospital at 6:30 on Friday, 12/27. We were pretty bored waiting for everything to get started. I was pretty determined in my plan for a pain-free delivery...pitocin, epi then water break. My wonderful doc, Dr. Scott, was on board with this, too.

At 8:10 am the IV finally got started. Pitocin started at 8:15. When I got to the hospital, I was already having cxs, but nothing regular or painful. The pitocin didn't seem to make them hurt at all...just regulated them. My doc came in at 8:18, but didn't check me since I wasn't in any pain. Also, it didn't really matter how far along I was since we had my plan all mapped out.

At about 10:15, the cxs started to get more painful (about a 5 on the pain scale). Since there was a c-section scheduled to start soon, they wanted to go ahead and get my epi going so I wouldn't have to wait. By 10:30 the epi was in...it sure did hurt...something I didn't remember the other 2 times. Of course, the other 2 times I was in pretty bad labor...this time, I was still pretty comfy!

My doc came in a few minutes later and broke my water...I was only a 3 and 50% effaced and -3 station. I knew I was in for the long haul after that. I also got a catheter a few minutes later.

At 10:45 they upped the pitocin and I decided to take a nap. I was checked again at 12:40 (yes, a whole 2 hours later) and was a whopping 4cm and 70% effaced and only a -2 station! I was getting pretty discouraged at this point. I sent all the family (did I mention my whole family had come down from Okla to be with us?) to lunch.

At 2:35 (yes, another 2 hours later) I was a 5! woohoo (sarcasm)! I was getting pretty upset at this point. Although I was comfy and in no pain, I had hoped things would progress a little faster. It was pretty hard emotionally on me. I decided to lie down (I had been sitting up most of the day) and take a nap.

I kept having headaches and at 3:45, I called the nurse to come in to see if I could have any Tylenol. She had forgotten to ask my doc, but decided to adjust Emyley's heart monitor because it wasn't picking her up very well. She played with it and at 3:55 decided to put an internal monitor in. I wasn't happy about it, but I knew it was important.

So, she went to check me (something she wasn't going to do until 4:30) and put the monitor in...well, she stopped and said it was time to call the doc. I was like, uh, why? She said “cause you are ready to deliver”! What?!?!?!? Then Bill went walking past the bed to tell my mom it was time to push when he said "Whoa!" The nurse, who was on the phone desperately trying to get the doc, turned around and saw Emyley's head poking out! I thought they were all full of it cause I felt nothing! The nurse hung up and called the nurses station for help and to tell them to call the doc when at 3:57 (yes, 2 minutes later), Emyley popped right out with no pushing on my part!

The doc arrived a couple minutes later and delivered my placenta and gave me 2 whole stitches. I can't believe after all our planning that she missed it! The whole thing still seems like a dream to me. And, the epi lasted until 9:15 that night!

Emyley Catherine was 8lbs 6oz and 21" long just like her biggest sister!

Happy Birthday, Emyley!!

We love you very much!!

Chloe's Christmas

We took some video of Chloe opening her presents. I edited it this morning. The inside shots are pretty fuzzy since we don't have a light on our camera, but the outside shots are really good (if you can ignore the mess that is our backyard). Enjoy our crazy dog!! Oh, and Sydney and I were right.....the legs came off that day! ;o)

Merry Christmas!!

We all had a very Merry Christmas at the Mullen house! Santa brought the girls bikes and the Bratz that they wanted. Bill and I got each other bikes, too....so look out neighborhood!! ;o) We got up around 6:30 to open presents. We ate chocolate chip pancakes at around 8:30 and by 9:00 we were hitting the streets. It was pretty chilly, but we had fun. Sydney's bike didn't come with training wheels, so she got to learn how to ride. She did really well. Hayley was a little apprehensive, even with the training wheels, and Emyley just rode her bike like an old pro. I took lots of video, so once I figure out how to edit, crop and all that other mumbo jumbo, I will be sure to post it for all to enjoy.

Sydney and her I-CY Penguin for her Zune!

Hayley and her soccer ball!

Emyley and her Dora CD Player!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Mullens!

Eleven Years Ago Today......

Eleven Years Ago Today.....

• I was checking into Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, Connecticut to be induced.



• I was fighting with the OB nurses who wanted to send me home since they were overbooked.



• My wonderful Doctor, whose name I cannot remember, stood his ground and I was admitted.



• I was checked into my birthing suite (which I never left again for 2 days!).



• I walked the hallways with Bill in determination to have a drug free labor and delivery.



• My water was broken for me.



• I stood in the shower while Bill directed the water onto my back where the labor pains were most intense - again still determined for drug free.



• I admitted my silliness and begged for some Stadol...as I was absolutely NOT going to have an epidural.



• I again admitted to silliness and begged for the epi.



• My mom was frantically calling my apartment where Bill and my dad had gone to let out the dogs since it was time to push - where was cell phones when we needed them, anyway?!?



• My epi was being turned OFF as ordered by a very mean doctor, who unfortunately I will never forget the name of! ugh!



• I pushed for about 5 hours with no luck and the doctor decided it was forceps time.



• At 11:51pm, Sydney Christine was welcomed into the world at 8lbs 6oz and 21" long!!

Happy Birthday, Sydney!
We love you!!

Sydney is a Blue Ribbon Colt!!

Sydney was the Blue Ribbon Colt Award winner for her class for December!! We are so proud of her!! Way to go, Syd!!!

Gifts, Gifts and more Gifts!

It seems every holiday season the list for gifts gets longer and longer. Well, this year, Sydney has two teachers and Hayley does too since her teacher has been out recooperating from major surgery. And, well, since I taught myself how to embroider this year, I decided that some cute handmade ornaments would work just fine. And, they did all turn out so cute, so I had to share with all of you!! And, because they did turn out so well, I will probably be adding them to my store sometime next year.

Okay, this isn't an ornament, but it is a pillow I made for part of a baby shower gift this past October. It is so cute, I had to include it, too! ;o)

Minshew's First Ever Winter Musical

Sydney was in the chorus for the school's first winter musical. I don't have any pictures of the musical itself since our camera just doesn't take good pictures in the gym. But it was a really cute performance called "December in Our Town" that depicted the diversity of the holidays. All of the kids did a really good job! And thank you to our friends Joni and Stephanie for letting us sit with them and pass the looooong waiting time until the performance started!!!

Oops, missed this one....

Because we were going to be travelling the weekend after Thanksgiving, we weren't sure when we would get to putting our tree up. Our tradition is the Saturday after T-Day. Well, Friday (day after T-Day) right before we left for Okla I hurriedly put up the tree. It is one of those with the lights already on. Then on Sunday when we got home, we put the ornaments on and hung our stockings. I am feeling very bah-hum-bug-ish this season, so we only did the tree, stockings, wreath and a couple of table decorations. I just didn't want the hassle of putting so much stuff back up after Christmas!

Minshew Polar Express - Choo Choo!!!

Every year in McKinney the Jaycees host a lighted holiday parade. And every year that Minshew has been open, the PTA has entered a float in the parade. Last year we won for the 3rd year in a row!! Going for the fourth-peat was daunting, nerve wracking and a lot of FUN!!!!

The theme this year was "A Kid's Christmas". We decided that we would recreate the movie The Polar Express. Ideas were abundant on how to pull this off, and the week after Thanksgiving was when the magic all happened!

The float included artwork from every Minshew student:

• Ornaments for our Christmas tree were provided by the Kindergarten and First Grades.
• Snowflakes were created by the Second and Third Grades.
• Hot Chocolate mugs that stated "A Kid's Christmas is..." were designed by the Fourth and Fifth Grades. (Sydney's mug was picked by her class to be on the float!!)

The engine and train cars (yes, I said cars...we had two passenger cars) were 3 trailers that with a lot of hard work, coroplast and wood became a great likeness to the movie. Oh, and can't forget the vinyl stripes and letters that Joni, Jen and I put on the cars!

Friday, November 30 was the big day and we spent literally all day of that putting the finishing touches on the train. Lots of lights, presents, Christmas tree, and then later that night all of the Minshew Colts we could squeeze on. It was a lot of fun and........definitely worth it as we brought home our FOURTH WIN!!!! Yay Minshew PTA and Minshew Colts!!

Again, there are lots of pictures, so enjoy the show. And a good tip: It doesn't matter if you have your camera with you or not, if you don't have good batteries to work it!!! So, all of the pictures here were provided by Joni and our historian, Trish. Thanks for the pics, girls!

November Colt RoundUp

For those who aren't a Minshew Colt or related to a Minshew Colt, then you may not be aware of the monthly spirit and awards celebration that is held at our girls' school. It is held at the end of every month and awards are given out to students for cititzenship, leadership, and being outstanding students. I mentioned in a previous post that Hayley won the Blue Ribbon Colt Award in October. That award is given out to 2 students in every class, so she was one of the two chosen for her class by her teacher for that month. Well.....in November, Hayley was chosen as the Principal's Award Winner for First Grade!! This award winner is chosen by the team of teachers for each grade and is awarded to two students from each grade! We are sooo very proud of her!!!

Also, at the Colt RoundUp the school counselor announces the Chick-Fil-A Core Value for the next month. When a student is caught displaying a facet of that month's core value, they are given a certificate for a free kid's meal. Well, since Sydney is a Peer Mediator this year, and works very closely with the school counselor, she and the other 5th grade mediators did a cute little skit about December's value which was Peace. It was really cute! Way to go, Syd!! (Sydney is in the light blue shirt in the back. Her Best Friend is the one with the microphone.)

**Sorry for the quality of the pictures. I can't ever take a good picture in that gym!!! Very frustrating!

Everybody's Doing It....

So why shouldn't we do it, too? Remodel something in our house, that is! ;o) My parents are finally doing a major overhaul in their way too small kitchen and dining room. My in-laws are totally redoing a house. My friend, Danielle is installing wood floors. My friend, Stephanie just redid her hallway. And can't forget Joni's new wood floors last spring! So, why shouldn't we join in on the fun, right?

Last May when I went home for my reunion, we all picnicked at one of my old friend's houses. It was a new house that they had just built and being out in the country, they opted to have stained concrete flooring in their downstairs. Bill and I instantly thought, "hhhmmmm!". I have wanted wood floors for forever because I think it would enhance my country decor...lol! I just cracked myself up. Anyway, we saw this staining concept as an inexpensive way we could get rid of carpets and hopefully some of the allergens in our house.

Once we got home from that trip, Bill was instantly online looking for the stain, found it and ordered it. The plan, such as it was, was to try out the stain on our sad little patio. One catch, though....Chloe. How would we keep her off of the patio while it is drying? Well, time went on, and it got pushed to the back burner.

Well, anyone with a new puppy knows how hard it is to housebreak! Chloe just wasn't getting it, and I just wasn't spending enough time with her on it. Nighttime was the worst and we would wake up to really gross messes in our family room. We invested in a very easy to use carpet cleaner, but it just wasn't getting it all. Gross, I know! Then the little light bulb flashed over Bill's head....what about pulling up that nasty carpet in our family room and using our stain on that floor???? I was very hesitant at first, but the idea started growing on me....especially as time went by and Chloe still wasn't getting it. But, again, since the family room is Chloe's room, when could we find a time to empty out the furniture, pull up the carpet, stain the floor, let the floor dry and put all the furniture back without Chloe's help?? So, again, time went on....

Then it happened! I called the vet where we board Chloe to make reservations for her to stay while we went to Okla for part of the Thanksgiving break. It never dawned on me that they would want a vacation, too. DUH! Anyway, turned out instead of boarding her from Friday-Monday, we were going to have to board her Wednesday-Monday. So, opportunity just knocked for us, and we decided Wednesday night we would prep the living room and Thanksgiving morning we would add the first coat. Again, best laid plans....

While Bill was working on Wednesday, I moved as much furniture as I could. I left him with the tv stuff and the couch. He got home early that day and went to town. He had the rest of the furniture moved,










the carpet up and










the first (and only) coat of stain on the floor before dinner!











Easy as pie, right? Well, not so much....We learned a few tips along the way....

• Supplies are very important - a nice clean roller brush is needed to spread the stain.
• Getting the floor nice and clean is a really good idea before applying stain.
• Measure out your space before you decide to stain to ensure that you have enough for two coats.
• Don't try to do it all in one day as there may be some suprsies when pulling up carpet for the first time....nail strips, pock marks in the concrete, what to do with the space under the base boards, how to trim off where the concrete meets the linoleum of the dining room, etc.

All in all, though, we really do like it. It definitely needs a second coat applied with a nice roller brush to even it out. We still have one nail strip down where the family room meets with dining room. We re-arranged our furniture and then re-arranged it again once we put up our Christmas tree. A lot of our spots are hidden now. Hopefully after the holidays, we can get some more stain, send the puppy off for a day and get it evened out. Chloe is doing really well now, and the doggy door we added helps, too, but that's another blog for another day....

Science Fair

Early in November, our school's PTA sponsored a Family Science Night that included a Science Fair. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades were required to include an exhibit while it was optional for the other grades. Sydney submitted a project dealing with different liquids and their affect on solids (smarties). Hayley wanted to participate also, even though it was optional. She did a project how additives in water affect the freezing time. Neither one of the girls one a prize in the fair, but they had a great time doing their experiment, and I had a "great" time putting helping to put together their project boards! ;o)

Time got away....

Well, a lot has happened since the New Miss Emyley, and time just got away from me and I didn't blog about it. So....I am going to try to go back in time and catch you all up! Happy Reading.....