"O Lord Won't You Buy Me A Mercedes Benz..."

So yes, we bought a new house instead of a new car. I don't regret that choice, I love my new huge house, but I was really planning on a bigger car for the new baby. Max's car seat was a hand me down from way back when and was therefore much smaller then the industrial size seat Mae has. Her seat fits out tiny sentra but just barely and with the front passenger having knees in the glove compartment. We took her out a few times like this but it was uncomfortable for her and me. So we moved her seat to the middle. This became the cause of a huge meltdown for Max. Apparently he has only tolerated Mae as long as he had his personal space. Well that has now been violated in the car. He cried and whined all afternoon and evening. He has also been taking it out on me saying he doesn't like me and only wanting Jeff. I am trying not to take it personally, but how would you feel if Max said he didn't like you?

The Plans of Mice and Men

Having a scheduled C-section a week before my due date it really didn't occur to me that she would actually come early. I was a bit worried that she would come while the boys were out of town, but not really, deep down inside I was sure everything would happen as planned on the 22nd. I had so many little things to finish; bills to get in the mail, floors to mop, I wanted to get a mani-pedi, buy a nursing bra, attend stake conference, have my baby shower....oh well. Jeff and Max arrived home on Monday evening. They had a flight delay and were tired when the pulled in around nine. Max was super tired and homesick Tuesday morning, but I took him to Mom's Day Out anyway so I could check some things off my list. I ended up feeling sick and sleeping on the couch instead. When Jeff got home we went to Walmart to look at computer screens to fix ours so Jeff could download all the pictures he took over the weekend. Yeah and wouldn't you know there at Walmart the contractions started. Just like with Max they started three to five min apart and just kept coming. We went home and called the doctor. Of course my doctor wasn't on call, but the doctor told me to come in after an hour. We dropped Max off at Claudia's house and off to the hospital. Then the waiting began. I got there at seven and was not dilated more then a cm. It stayed there until one a.m. The doctors decided to keep me overnight but Jeff decided to go home and get some sleep. They gave me some sleeping pills and I was out until 1:30 when I woke up with serious contractions and had dilated to a 5. We were ready to go. I called Jeff and he turned around and came right back! We were ready to go. The C-section went really well. It felt super weird but was fast and not painful. 2:54 a.m. The baby came out and wow, how beautiful. 8lbs 4 oz. 20.5 inches. She cried and was whisked away to be cleaned and I was sewed up. My doctor did a fantastic job. I totally love her and and so happy she was there to do the procedure. (Which she did with her husband who is her partner, how cute is that. where did they get a babysitter at that hour?) If you ever want to see her in action she is the doctor for the Duggars of the TLC show 18 and Counting. (she said she hates being on t.v.) We are all doing really good. I felt so good that I left the hospital on Thursday afternoon. Jeff had taken really good care of us all. We are all a bit tired. We are still not fully unpacked from the Utah trip, oh well. Mae is a doll. I will post all about her tomorrow. Yup so much for plans. Still want my shower though...and the mani-pedi.

Mae Maureen Larkin

Max's Photography

Well, this will be the first time I've ever posted on this blog, but thought I would share this. Max and I were are my sister Megan's Wedding yesterday and he found the camera. He insisted on using it and taking pictures and here are the results.

Yup, its me. At a really nice angle to show my double chin as well.

A very nice shot of the chairs.

Even Puppy made it out for the wedding.

This is actually during the cermimony. He started making a lot of noise when I tried to take the camera and this is the result.

I think this is his best. It was supposed to be of me, but got a nice picture of my Dad and Uncle Jim

Big Brother

Max has been attending preschool one day a week at my friend Meg's house with her daughter and two other children. It is very well done and I think Max is learning a lot. Meg took this picture of Max caring for a baby doll whom he called Mae. I am constantly amazed at what Max understands. We have been trying very hard to get him ready for his sister, but I didn't really think it was working. I guess I was wrong. Good Job Max.

All By Myself.. Or Girls Weekend!

I added the exclamation point to try to pump myself up. The picture is to get me into the wedding spirit and remember that I have had and hopefully will have a waist again. I just waved goodbye to Jeff and Max who are on their way to Utah via Tulsa for the weekend to see Jeff's little sister Megan get married. I have very mixed feelings about this. I am actually not worried at all about going into labor, while my c-section is scheduled for the 22nd, my due date isn't until the 28th, so the chances of my going into labor that early are slim. (And the doctor examined me this morning and said it wasn't gonna happen.) Just in case my friend Samantha has strict instructions to keep her cell phone turned up and on the night stand. Mostly I am worried about getting lonely. I didn't do so well the last time the boys left me a few years ago, and I wasn't pregnant then. I do have lots of things to do to keep me busy and will try to take advantage to the free time to go places I don't normally get to go, but on the other hand I am not so mobile and can't do much without wearing myself out. Grrr... I am trying not to be whinny, No this will be a good thing. I am happy for my sister in law, (although I really want some wedding cake right now.) Jeff and Max will have a good time too, Jeff is really looking forward to seeing his family. Just to be clear Jeff left the decision to go totally up to me and I approved, but that doesn't mean I didn't get way too much satisfaction out of telling people that he was going out of town a week and a half before the baby. The best was when he was with me and everyone would start glaring and verbally abusing him. I was recently told that the only time he was mentioned in ward gossip it was for being way to nice and good to me, (his evil wife) so hopefully this incident will put us more on equal footing. I miss my guys already but hope they have a fun trip. Jeff has the cell phone so if you want me you'll have to catch me at home, (which hopefully I will not be at too much.) Lets all just pray I don't have the baby this weekend.

The Birthday Party

As always when small children and pregnant ladies are involved plans change. So instead of taking Max to the water park for his birthday we had a small quiet party at home with his main squeeze Claudia and her family the Martins. Claudia made the cake and it was super yummy. Max loved his presents. Claudia got him a cars sleeping bag which he keeps on his bed. Mom and Dad got Max a train set, which was actually purchased a few years ago but we have only now feel that he is old enough to not just throw the pieces at us. He also got a baby doll to help get ready for Mae. He has taken good care of it when he plays, which is encouraging. My father sent him a video game that he can play with Jeff and the two of them really like it. Max is always asking to play Grandpa's game. It was a very good little celebration.

My Little Helper

Max loves to help me in the kitchen. Everyday this week he has begged to help me cook. We have a folding chair in our master bedroom that he gets out and slides over to wherever I am working. It has taken a bit of extra planning and time to come up with ways for him to safely help, but it has been well worth it. Not only do I like the company, but I find myself wanting to cook more then before. It all started with some black bottom cupcakes I made last week. This was perfect cause it has lots of dry ingredients to pour into bowls. I scoop up the flour, sugar.. and help him dump it in the bowl. We even have this mini toy wire whisk that he uses to help stir. When I made apple pie this week Max helped me use the apple peeler machine. He is getting quite good at it. When meals are less help friendly we like to empty the dishwasher. I let him sort the silverware, (after the sharp knives have been removed.) Two days ago on Oprah they had a favorite recipe's segment and the Naked Chef made a really easy "funky spaghetti." The best part was that it was super kid friendly. Max loved squishing the cherry tomatoes in with the basil. I think it was extra fun for him cause we picked up the vegetables at the farmers market earlier that morning. The meal turned out super good and it was nice to have my guys eating a yummy nutritious meal we had all helped make. I am totally inspired to find more recipe's Max can help me with.

Obsessive? Just a bit.

So in 2007 Gymboree came out with a Wooly Pals line for newborns. It was a cute girl line of yellow, green, and orange outfits with sheep accents. So of course I was in heaven, except I had a boy, not a girl. The boy line was not as cute. I was so sad. Jeff wouldn't let me buy the girl stuff. He firmly put his foot down that we were not going to buy something on the chance that we would one day have a girl. Well if there is one thing stronger then my adoration of cute sheep things it is my ability to go with out when presented with a logical money saving argument. This last spring after we found out we were pregnant we went to the Gymboree Outlet in Branson and discovered the whole line there. Jeff caved and let me buy the cute moccasins when I convinced him they could be unisex, and a cream onesie that said, "I love ewe," that I promised to give as a gift if we had a boy.
I was a bit sad to leave without the cute jumper, dress, or long sleeve onesie. Even more so now that Mae is coming. Well, thanks to my friend Samantha, I am one step closer to my dream. Last night she took me to a giant scary-frenzy consignment sale at the local convention center. It was huge and overwhelming. I have gotten so much clothing for Mae, and we are a bit tight on cash so I told myself I would only buy clothes if they were the Wooly Pals clothes. And I found the Onesie!
I was so happy, only to be made happier when Samantha found the dress and all cheap!

Happy Day! It totally made up for the fact that I had to wait 30 min to check out and then ran into some chick who used to work at the BYU Bookstore (I kinda recognized her but not really,) and she came up to me started chatting and told me how she remembered me as always having a disgruntled look on my face. (What a bitchy thing to say.) Anyway, I am so delighted and still holding out hope that I find the jumper somewhere. (I always get outbid on Ebay.)