What's new with Dylan....

Dylan is still really enjoying third grade. Loves his teacher Mr. Melde which makes for a good year. He still loves playing anything army and playing his 360, especially now that he got a hunting game that him and his daddy fight over who gets to play the next level. He has been such a sweatheart with his baby sister Chloe...and even pretty helpful with Madison when she needs attn. which isnt always easy as she can be a sassy lil turd to him...well to anyone!!! I can't beleive my sweet little one and only baby boy is going to be nine in a few months. Dylan just has a smile that will melt your heart!!!

Chloe 3 months Old

What a look!!!!!!!

CHLOE

How fast our little ones grow. Chloe has been a sweetheart and a needy little thing all at the same time. And I supose some of it is my fault as I tend to spoil.....but why else would I have the beautiful children. Someday they will be older and face a life of hardships and blessings....responsability and the consiquences that come from neglecting responsability....I can only hope as there mother that I give them a childhood Full of love and security and TONs of great memories that help mold them into the great parents I know they will be someday!!!

Christmas cookies...

So Chloe has been such a needy little girl I wasn't sure I would be able to make christmas cookies with the kids this year....but I decided it had to be done the kids LOVE to do it and so that was that....I got up early this morning and made the dough....of course it was a stop and go project but we did it!!! I wish I could have gotten pictures of the kids in the process and wow what a MESS, but absolutly worth it!!!

Daddy n Chloe

Tubby time!!!!

Doodle

This is what you get when Tyson has a pencil a peice of paper and a free minute!!!

I need a BREAK!!!!

So Chloe has been a very hands on little girl....no surprize as Madison was the same. So we finally broke down and decided we needed a swing....my poor back just couldn't act as a swing any longer. So thanks to my dad's Birthday -New baby gift contribution we were able to afford a swing. And actually it was one of the less expensive models but worth way more then we payed. It actually plugs into the wall so we don't need batteries and has tons of power which is good for our kids as they are always on the heavier side. Anyways I LOVE it! Chloe doesn't seem to mind sitting in there and swinging away, although she is noticing I am holding her less and trying to put up a stink!!! But it works really well right after she has started to doze off after a tummy full of milk...I stick her in and she is just to relaxed to fight it and off she goes to dreamland!!! And off I go to cook a real meal and catch up on house work. Yeah for swings!!!

Big sissy and me!!!

Feet

Do you ever sit and think to yourself WOW I am truly blessed!!! Well I do, and today I am feeling just so grateful for my 3 beautiful children. I just can't imagine what my life would be like without them. No matter the tasks and struggles and MESSES the blessings they bring into my life are so absolutly worth it...so I say to my three beautiful babies Dylan, Madison, and Chloe...Mommy loves you soooooo much!!!!

Tubby Time!!!

FuNnY

Halloween Party

Dylan all dressed up for his class Halloween Party!!!

So the whole skeleton theme has been fun for dylan and all on his own he decided to make the skeleton of a Dog and a Blowfish....Don't ask me where he come up with this I'm just so glad I have such a creative kid!!!

This is what Dylan makes with his Playdough!!! Creative little shit.

PLAYDOUGH

HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH.......

1) BOIL 3 CUPS WATER AND 1 1/2 CUPS SALT.

2) ADD 3TBLS OIL, 3 CUPS FLOUR, AND 6TSP CREAM OF TARTER.

3) STIR LIKE MAD.

I OFTEN HAVE TO DUMP IT ON THE TABLE AND KNEAD IT BY HAND (WHICH IS A HOT PROJECT, AND ACTUALLY TY USUALLY DOES THIS FOR ME). DON'T FREAK OUT IT WILL GO FROM WET TO LUMPY AND NOT MIX FAST BUT IF YOU CAN HANDLE THE HEAT OF THE DOUGH WHILE YOU KNEAD IT, IT WILL MAKE THE BEST PLAYDOUGH EVER!!! THEN ONCE IT'S COOL YOU CAN ADD COLORS. THIS PLAYDOUGH LASTS ALOT LONGER THEN THE STUFF YOU GET AT THE STORE AND SEEMS TO BE MUCH EASIER TO CLEAN OUT OF THE CARPET!!! OUR KIDS LOVE IT SO WE THOUGHT WE WOULD SHARE THE RECIPE IN CASE ITS A HIT FOR ANY OF YOU.

Chloe

Pumpkin Carving

Chloe Dawn

HAIRCUTS!!!

Madison got a new haircut today by her Daddy as you can see. I always thought she would look adorable with this length but have always been stuck on the opinion that little girls should dance around with long hair. It was a shocker to my eyes at first but I think it turned out just darling and Madison will enjoy not having to sit for 20 minutes while I untangle the snarles from sleeping the night before. And it will grow...Fast as always!!!

Found out yesterday that I will be graduating after this semester!!!

My big Brother REALLY love's me!!!

SNOW

Old man winter decided to visit us a few weeks early. Madison was sooooo excited to see the snow she ran through the whole apt. the ground is white come see come see. She wanted to get suited up right that minute and go make Snow Angels. Of course we didn't get enough snow for that (thank goodness) as we still need to get new winter coats and gear for the year. But we knew we were gonna get hit good this year and early as summer was super mild, infact hardly a summer at all. And although I LOVE winter and the holidays and snow fun that it comes with I would gladly rewind time and have our mild summer back while Chloe gets a little older and I feel less helpless about a our tiny little baby getting winter sickness.

Life...School...Future...

Life........

So, it has been an extremely chaotic past couple of months. With school, work, family, Dr. Visits twice a week, and Chloe being born. I think I have managed to stay on top of it all pretty well. I was able to take 8 days off of work to spend at home through the C-section and after to help Bridget while she is re-cooping. I think going back to work next week will be difficult, I have enjoyed my time at home with the family. This is the first time I have ever been able to take that much time off of work, and it has been nice!

School.......
I have also been able to keep up with school, surprisingly... I have four classes this semester and I love them all. My favorite is Jazz History, which I didn't expect. I am proud of my grades, at this point I have 3 A's and 1 B, I hope I can keep it that way...

Future.......

Decisions, Decisions! - I met with an admissions advisor this week from the University of Minnesota's CFANS (College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences) program. They offer a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife that I am very excited about. I found out that with the credits that I currently have I could transfer into the program next semester. I have decided though to stay at Normandale Community College next semester to finish up and graduate with my AA in Bioscience. I will leave Normandale with a degree in my hand and some extra classes under my belt that will transfer to the "U". For the first time I am excited, REALLY EXCITED, about school and the program/field I have chosen!!

Chloe 1 Week Old

Chloe is now one week old!!! She has been an extremely good baby. She only cries when she wants to be fed. If she doesn't get it right when she wants it she screams bloody murder. She has been so much fun and the kids adore her! So far, it has been a pretty smooth transition.

Chloe 5 Days Old

Chloe snuggling in her comfy blanket that Nana Hooper made for her!
Chloe taking a nap in her crib!


Chloe 5 days old!

Chloe - Day 3

You would think that Chloe was Bridget's little dolly, she changes her outfit 3 or 4 times a day just to see how she looks in them.

We are so happy to finally have her here and in our arms. So far she is a really good baby! Dylan and Madison are adjusting well to having a baby in the house.

The wait is over, Chloe is here! She was born October 1st at 8:31am. She was 7 pounds 12 ounces and 21 inches long. The C-Section went very well, and we were able to come home the next day!!!

~ Chloe Dawn Snedeger ~

DYLAN STARTED 3RD GRADE!!!

HERE IS DYLAN ALL READY TO WALK OUT THE DOOR AND START HIS FIRST DAY OF 3RD GRADE!!! I CAN'T BELEIVE HOW FAST THEY GROW AND HOW MUCH TIME CHANGES THEM. MY LITTLE DYLAN'S GROWING UP SO FAST :(

Another Wednesday another ultrasound....

Well I had another ultrasound today and our little Chloe scored 8 of 8. This will be the schedual from now till she comes, an ultrasound on wednesdays and a NST ( non stress test) on Fridays. Lots of apts and running in the next 5 weeks which makes for crazy scheduals with a husband that has school and work 5 days a week. Let us hope we can remeber to stay calm and be kind to each other through all the chaios and soon enough things will slow down a bit...at least for myself and the kids, Ty will be working and going to school full time through may. And as far as my Gestational Diabetes I have got it down for the most part...I have my days where my sugar drops to low and I go through the shakes and limp noodle feeling till I get it back up...and then theres those headaches I have learned to deal with from the insulin kickin in and bringing me down and then the headache from being down so low and getting it up in a hurry and no amount of tylenol seems to help with that...and the insulin shots well thank God Ty is good to help with that I am still a complete baby and refuse to try and poke myself but I tell ya he has turned into a pro for most of the shots I hardly feel a thing and then there are still a few here and there that twinge a nerve and really don't feel great...but the gift in the end will be well worth it all and even if I had known this is what I would face to get my little chloe I would do it in a heart beat!!!

What's new with Tyson

Little over 2 weeks and I start school again!! I am actually really excited about it! I only have 4 classes, but I think that is plenty to get myself back into the swing of things. 2 biology classes, a health class, and Jazz history (just to meet requirements - not a Jazz fan!). Anyway, I am going to be very busy over the next few months with work, school, family, O and a new baby coming!! It's a good feeling knowing that I am moving forward and not just spinning my wheels!

Another update on the Gestational...

Well....we tried the glyburide and that was the worst night from hell....Ty stayed up all night to make sure I was up and not gonna go into a coma from my sugars dropping so low so fast....on the plus side I could eat and drink all the sugar I wanted that night just to keep my levels up....so I went in to see a specialist and yep insulin was next on the agenda :( I'm already a baby truly I will admit it, the finger pokes 4-6 times a day was already torture and now I have to shove a needle in my belly (yeah right) I had a total panic attack when the nurse tried to get me to give myself a shot....I ended up getting ty from the car where he was waiting with the kids so he could come learn how to give me a shot....I mean my hands were beyond shaking when I even tried to hold that needle to my gut....lucky for me Ty likes to play like hes a doctor and has no problem shoving that needle in....so we are slowly adjusting the amount of insulin that I need to keep my levels where they need to be....I get a shot at bedtime that is a slow acting insulin that keeps a constant level of insulin for about 24 hours in my system and then a fast acting shot in the morning that pumps a burst of insulin into me to help with my breakfast sugars....it seems that my morning sugars are the hardest to keep under control so hopefully once we get those where they need to be that will be it....but unfortunately in most cases I'm told my sugars will only get harder to control the further I get so if need be they will add a shot at lunch and dinner....so I could be looking at a total of 4 shots but that would be the max the rest of the control comes in how many units I have to take in each shot. So that is what is going on with the diabetes....and as far as the pregnancy well 8 weeks left!!! I still feel sick more days then I feel better and having had NO family support out here has been stinky :( but I am so excited and greatful that Ty's Mom will be coming....sure wish I could just keep her!!!

We had an ultrasound of Chloe done today! The top one is a side view and the bottom one is a front view! It was so fun to see my little Chloe kicking and stetching. The ultra sound tech said she was doing great, very active and healthy. She is now working on her practice breathing!!! She is currently at an estimated weight of 3 1/2 lbs. It's hard to believe we only have 9 weeks left, but we can't wait to be able to hold her in our arms!!!

Update on the Gestational Diabetes....

I had my doc. apt. today and he thinks I'm stressing to much over this, his only real concern was my fasting levels....I need to be 95 or lower and I'm usually 106 so....I start taking Glyburide at night with dinner....I guess this is suposed to trigger my pancreas to kick out more insuline....hopefully this will be enough to do the trick....I will go back next Friday and go over my levels again and see if we need to tweek it anymore or not....in the meantime I got to hear my sweet babies heartbeat today just going so strong :) can't wait till I can have her in my arms!!! And I am going in for an ultrasound tomorrow morning to make sure the diabetes isn't affecting the baby so that will be reasurring as well....in the meantime the doc says to quit stressing and enjoy the rest of my pregnancy it will go by and be over in a flash....so thats just what I intend to do!!!

OMG!!! Tyson and Dylan woke up early today to cut hair. This is what I woke up to!

Our blog is now set to private!

Can anyone explaine this???

So it has been a week since I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes...I started off right away following the special diet...first I thought the least amount of carbs and sugar I ate the better...turned out I turned my body over to starvation mode which put my sugar out of wack...then after it was explained to me by a diatition that I had to have the set amount of carbs to keep my body out of the starvation mode I measured and followed to a T...still my sugar was out of wack and the hunger pains in my stomache just wouldn't go away...so I decided to try one more thing...keeping the sugars out of my diet still but eating my carbs like I would as a pregnant non diabetic and test my sugars...wait a minute what is this my sugar levels were back to where they should be...???...don't know how to explain this but I guess I might just be lucky...I go back to my doc. on tues. so I will explaine everything to him and see what I am suposed to do and keep you posted!!!

The Verdict is in.....

Well I had gone in last week to take my routine pregnancy glucose test and received a phone call the next day that my sugar level was too high, so they schedualed me a second test that had a higher sugar content and required 3 hours and four blood draws. Well I recieved my phone call today with the results being that my sugar again was just to high and I have gestational diabetes. I am really worried mostly because I want my litttle Chloe to be ok!!! Although I am not real excited about poking my finger four times a day, and staying away from all things sugar is a bummer. I am also feeling really sad that we moved our family out here to MN to be closer to my family as we have not been an important part in any of there lives...infact other then my little sister that I adore no one else has even asked how this pregnancy has been, not once since I announced it to them all months ago. But I am sooooo thankful for Tys family Especially his mom whom I consider to be my mom anyways, Always there for me to listen and give advice no matter what the problem or how early or late I call. Infact If I don't call her in the morning just to check in my whole day is weird!!! And the rest of you who have taken the time to care about us and our kids to remember us out here so many miles away, thanks for all your support and love and prayers. And I will keep you updated on this diabetes and the baby as I only have to battle this for 11 more weeks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

WE JUST WATED TO WISH YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM. WE SURE LOVE YA AND CAN'T WAIT TILL WE CAN BE THERE TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU IN PERSON.

4th of July

Happy 4th to everyone!!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

I just want to wish a Happy Fathers Day to a very special man...My Husband!!! Over the years he has proven time and time again that he will be there for this family no matter how hard we struggle or how difficult the task may be. The sacrafices he has made to keep this family afloat will never go unnoticed or forgotten. Tyson we adore you and love you soooo much. Thank you for being such a wonderful father and amazing husband. Life hasn't always been fair to us but somehow you always manage to make it livable. I'm sure it takes alot of strength to hold on your shoulders the weight that you do as the sole financial provider trying to balance work and school and family in a crappy economy and an expensive state. The kids and I just want you to know how Blessed we feel and know we are, for having you in our lives. Thank you for being you and for loving us and being the rock that this family stands on. HAPPY FATHERS DAY TYSON!!!

4th of july decor

So Mom is so good to make me cute homemade things like this Fourth of July Doilee and of course one for all the other Holidays, and then I try to find a cute centerpeice for it. In this case I got a bowl from the dollar store and painted it. I think it turned out pretty cute!!! And then I had filled it with tootsie rolls which have since then disappeared. Painting has turned into a fun retreat for me when I need a break from whatever else is going on.