1 month!

It's so hard to believe it's been a month since our beautiful Elizabeth was born! She is the sweetest baby with the cutest smile, when she lets us see it. She loves snuggling with me and her daddy...she is pretty patient when she needs something, but if you wait too long, she lets you know! She loves her sisters and brother when they hold her. She is a light sleeper (kind of hard when you try to nap right when the kids get home from school). She loves to be sung to and to be talked to. She loves to eat...a lot! She likes to make lots of laundry for me to do...blowouts are becoming a daily with her. She is almost 8lbs. and as of last week was 21 3/4 inches. She is pretty tall! She is a lightweight though. We sure do love her and I thank Heavenly Father every single day for letting me be her mom. I am very blessed!!

33...a doubler year!

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday! I spent the day eating chocolate and drinking diet pepsi, cuddling with a very cute Elly Belly while the kids were in school. I ended the day surrounded by family...Tony's and mine...having a great party, with a great dinner made by my great husband. The kids made things for me out of cardboard boxes with love and I love the homemade cards! Tony did a perfect job picking presents for me from all the kids. It was a great day!! It made me very happy!!

Elizabeth Hope Flores--Welcome to the family

Sweet baby cheeks, she is here and I am so happy!! She is the sweetest little bug I could have asked for. So here is how she got here...

Wednesday January 11th I started having contractions at 3:00 in the morning. They were only 20 minutes apart and weren't super duper strong...so it was manageable. I did that for about 5 hours. I then started to Skype with Jana...it's a good thing, because I'm terrible at timing contractions. She skyped with me most of the day as I progressed to 10 minutes apart...then 6 minutes apart. By the time I hit 5 minutes apart, I decided to lay down to see if they would go away. By then Tony had come home from work. We decided to head toward Boise to be closer to the hospital...and get Melissa settled in at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We talked about dropping her off and going to Walmart to walk around and see if things would progress even more, but as we drove to Boise, my contractions were getting a bit stronger...still not TOO bad, and coming at 3 1/2 minutes apart. We decided to call the hospital and they told me to come in and get checked. So off we went to labor and delivery...and I was at a 1 and 80% effaced. They suggested we walk the halls of the hospital for an hour and see if I could progress any more. After a LONG hour of walking...they checked me again. Still at a 1. Major sad face...they sent me home. I went back to my parents house and tried to take a warm bath...yeah, I didn't like that. It lasted 2 seconds. By the time I got out of the tub, the contractions got a LOT stronger and lasted longer and were more frequent. Tony had gone to the store to get himself some treats...so I had to wait for him. They were so intense I had a hard time sitting or laying down. It was about 11:00 at night by that time. We decided to go back to the hospital. He even ran a red light while we were driving hee hee. He dropped me off at the front while he parked...it was so cold and I got hit with a pretty bad contraction so puking in the bushes seemed to help. The nurses were a little surprised to see me back so soon. They checked me again and I had gone from a 1 to a 3 in less than an hour.

The contractions were very intense and frequent...and it took FOREVER it seemed to get me admitted. It was about 12:30 by the time they got me in a room and prepped for an epidural. Yeah...I was tired of hurting and VERY thankful for it considering how long we had to wait. I think I instantly went to sleep when it kicked in. The contractions kept coming and I SLOWLY progressed ALL night. I had to get 3 boluses with my epidural because it kept wearing off on one side of my body. That made the night seem longer when that happened. By 7:00 am I was at a 9.5, so the doc decided to give me a small dose of pitosan (spelling?) By 8 I had reached a 10 and then they decided I could try and push. The first push and the nurse said I would definitely be pushing her out because it was too dangerous for a C-section. Good news!! The doctor had left, but she called him back in because it was clear that it wouldn't take very long to push her out. They saw her head and saw tons of black hair. They asked if I wanted to see it...I was game. They wheeled in this full length mirror and I saw that and more of me than I had seen probably ever. I opted for not watching any more...You can't push with your eyes open anyway.

After a couple of pushes her head was out...He unwrapped the chord from her neck and the next contraction he said to push to see if we could get her shoulders out...and the rest of her shot out of there instantly. They cleaned her up a little, set her on me and she peed all over me...she was beautiful! I was overwhelmed with emotion. She was everything I had hoped for and I was able to deliver her the way I was supposed to! I actually did it!! She was a successful VBAC and I felt like I accomplished something incredible! To be able to share that with Tony and with my mom on each side of me, was exactly what I wanted. She was born at 8:52. She weighed 7lbs. 4oz. and was 20 1/2 inches. She is a beautiful little girl and makes me smile every day.

After I had Melissa, I ached to have another baby. I wanted her to have a sibling SO bad. I thought I had lost that chance when Joe died. I always had hope...hope for love again, hope for more family, for children. Her middle name is Hope. She fulfilled the rest of what I had hoped for. I found love and more family...she is here now. Melissa has a sister she can call her own...along with her stepsisters and stepbrother. That makes me SO happy!

What a BIG BUMP!

Yeah...I think it's time. I want this little girl on the outside of me now. I am feeling quite front heavy and it doesn't feel good. I'm 38 weeks now. Only a couple of weeks to go, bring it on! For the sake of all my joints, I am so ready! I think every in my house is ready for her to come too. Come on baby girl, lets see that cute face of yours!!! I'm not sure how she is going to get here though. I'm supposed to be trying a VBAC since I had Melissa via C-section. The doctor said he was going to let me try, but so far I've had absolutely no progress which is not good considering I am 38 weeks along. If I don't have any progress by late next week it is a good probability that this little girl is going to come by C-section also. That's ok with me as long as she gets here healthy. I'm not picky, I just want her here.

Happy New Year!! 2012

Happy New Year to us! It was just Tony, Melissa, and I for the holiday so we headed over to Mom and Dad Olsen's for some New Years festivities. As usual, Melissa crashed about 9:30. So 10 minutes before Midnight, we woke her up...quite a challenge and had her poor our sparkly Martinelli's to ring in the new year. She was SO out of it. Very entertaining watching her try to function still very sleepy. It was fun for me to be able to have Tony this year to ring in the new year. We kissed and gave sleepy Melissa a kiss on both cheeks which freaked her out a bit because she didn't know what was happening. It was very fun and low key...just the way I like it! Happy New Year! Now...to get this baby to come!

2011 Reflection...what a road!

Now to look back at this crazy year and reflect...

1. What did I do in 2011 that you've never done before? I became a stepmom to 5 children and lost 50 lbs. and got pregnant for the 2nd time.

2. Did I keep my new year's resolutions, and will I make more? For the most part I did...lost weight, got engaged, married, and pregnant. I still have a long ways to go with my other resolutions, but I always make goals and try to achieve them.

3. Did anyone close to me give birth? Yes! Jana had Hobie on January 13, 2011. He is stinking cute!

4. Did anyone close to you die? Not anyone super close to me died...but I did go to several funerals this year of some pretty special people that have impacted my life in some way. They will be missed.

5. What countries did you visit? If you consider California and Utah a different country than yeah I visited there, but I didn't leave the country this year.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that I didn't in 2011? My baby to be born, so I can hold her on the outside of me instead of the inside :-)

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory and why? January 29th...Tony officially proposed to me the day before my birthday. March 4th...I married an amazing man and became a stepmom to his 5 amazing kids! May 7th...I found out I was expecting a baby!! September 2nd we found out our baby is a GIRL...that makes number 6 girl.

8. Biggest achievement of the year? Getting married, pregnant, and being able to stay home and be home for the kids.

9. Biggest failure? Not renewing my temple recommend when it expired even though the temple is closed. I should still have one.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? A few bruises from our little accident with the astro van, but other than that, the normal pregnancy icky moments.

11. What was the best thing you bought? A suburban that fits everyone in the family.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Everyone...it is a hard adjustment trying to blend 2 families. Overall, I think everyone is doing a fine job.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Every kid had their moment this year. It all comes down to adjustment to new people in your life.

14. Where did most of your money go? Food and bills...of course with that many people in the family.

15. What did you get really, really, really, excited about? Getting remarried, finding out I was pregnant, going to California for Thanksgiving.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011? Hey, Soul Sister...loved singing along with Tony playing it on the guitar.

17.Compared to this time last year are you:
18. a) happier or sadder? I would say the same. I was happy last year because I was dating Tony...I'm happy this year because I'm about to have a BABY!
      b)thinner or fatter? Of course I'm fatter...I'm 9 months pregnant
      c) richer or poorer? I actually have more money than last year, but it gets used a lot quicker with that many people in the family.

19. What do you wish you'd done more of? Cleaning and organizing the house. Pregnancy made me lazy.

20. What do you wish you'd done less of? Sleeping
21. How did you spend Christmas?  At home and then visiting Tony's family and then my family.
22. Did I fall in love in 2011? OH YES!!
23. What was your favorite TV program? The Office, Lost, Once Upon a Time, Dancing with the Stars
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I don't hate anyone...but I struggle with some behaviors from certain people that I haven't had to deal with before.
25. What is the best book you read? I read a couple Harry Potter books this year. Those are fun to read.
26. What is your greatest musical discovery? I discovered the Pandora station and I love it! I think my favorite is the Train station. The songs are so good.
27. What did you want and get? To get remarried :-)
28. What did you want and not get? To keep my weight going down...pregnancy kind of prevents that.
29. What was your favorite film of this year? I would say Breaking Dawn, just because I saw it last night for the first time!
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 32 and I had a party at my parents house. Tony got to be there with me :-)
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? I don't think anything could have. I am satisfied.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2011? Find anything that fits. Things were too big at the beginning of the year and I'm ending the year with everything too small for my belly.
33. What kept you sane? My computer and being able to be in my room when things got overwhelming for me...and a huge bathtub to soak in.
34. Which celebrity/ public figure did you fancy the most? Not into fancying celebrities...but I find it entertaining to follow stories online. It's like a train wreck...can't turn away!
35. What political issue stirred you the most? The Republican party primaries. Finding a candidate for next year.
36. Who did you miss? I missed spending time with my mom. It was an adjustment not being with her everyday.
37. Who was the best new person you met? Hmmm...instead of saying one person, I'm going to say the whole Flores family. They are awesome!
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson learned in 2011...patience. Adjustment to change is really, really hard and the best thing to do in that situation is to have patience and understanding. It will not always be so hard.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.  "I knew there was somebody somewhere like me alone in the dark. Now I know my dream will live on, I've been waiting so long. Nothing's going to tear us apart...In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning with you." At the beginning from Anastasia the movie.

Christmas 2011

 Busy, Busy Christmas this year! We had all the kids with us for Christmas and it was a lot of fun. A lot different then Christmas's I've ever had, but I really enjoyed it. As always when things are different than you are used to it is hard, but still enjoyable!

 Even Elly got something in her stocking :-) Anna was the first to point it out! Lucky girl, not even here yet and Santa brings her something!

 Oh the presents, always a fun part of Christmas morning after checking out what Santa brought. 

 We spent time at Tony's parents and my parents and we had a great time!! I appreciate everything that both families did for us this season. Mom's talent of making gifts always amaze me and the time and effort she puts in to each one of them. We all got hats this year, Anna's was a Care Bear. So cute. 

 At the Flores house, it's always fun and an enjoyable experience. I loved it!

 Melissa's turtle hat

 Tony's Angry Birds hat

 Elena the panda

 Erin's cat hat

 Audrey and her fancy purple and black hat. 

 Chilly Willy for me! :-)

Oh and the best of all...PAPA SMURF!! LOVE IT!!

Traditions are always tricky when you combine to families and it was hard for me, but I know as time goes on we will be able to carve our own traditions and it will become easier for everyone. Overall, I enjoyed Christmas and love being able to spend time with family.