Hali's is 9

Hali Marie Selseth was born November 28th, 2000. She weighed in at a whopping 10.4 pounds. She was a week over due. That last week I took advantage of it being Thanksgiving and I seriously enjoyed pumpkin pie. Now it is 9 years later and I am so proud of the girl my baby has grown into. I love you Hali!

I should also add that my birthday follows Hali's by 3 days. Hali always makes me feel special on my birthday even though I don't celebrate much. This year I felt very special. Hali and Leiton gave me presents and cards before school. I got Eclipse from the Twilight series. Very thoughtful. I got to spend the day with my little buddy Boden. Later that day my dad also brought over a cake for me! Love Love...

Comfy, Cozy Crazy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is the holiday where I am thankful for so much yet hopeful for the season to come. It just feels so comfy cozy with family. The smell of turkey, the taste of pumpkin pie, the games played, the stories told, the laughter.....the memories made. Our Christmas wish lists are shared and plans are made for the holidays. It seems so weird that this holiday has become overshadowed by black Friday but that also brings excitement to the day.

This year was a first thanksgiving for two in our family. Boden enjoyed the day with his cousin Emma! We went over the river and through the woods (ok, not really the woods) to grandma and grandpa's house. We were lucky that grandpa was still feeling good as he had his second round of chemo on Wednesday and his last chemo left him pretty sick the days following. My sister and her husband and their daughter Emma came from Illinois to stay. Watching two babies is one of the funniest things to do! Everything is just so darn cute! Boden started sitting up! This might be because his elder cousin by 2 months has already mastered this task as well as crawling and getting into EVERYTHING! The food was so good. My favorite is croissants, Hali's is green olives! Leiton loves the turkey and Boden's favorite is sweet potatoes. We all played a game of Apples to Apples which was fun. Games are so much fun with lots of people. The fireplace had a fire going and we all had full tummies. My sister and I had a great time reminiscing of our younger years as always. That makes me feel old. And even the drive home was a blast as I played the Christmas song station and the kids sang the whole way home to all their "favorite" songs. I hope y'all had a wonderful day as well!

Boden

Boden is now 7 months old....I cannot believe it! It seemed like I waited forever for him to arrive and did not know at all what to expect with his arrival as to how it would affect everyone's lives. He has been a blessing to us all. He is so delightful to be around. He has been an extremely content baby from the start. In the hospital I thought something might be wrong with him since he never cried and seemed to sleep so well. That good behavior continued and I am still in awe of how easy it has been. He is now just starting to sit up a bit. He really enjoys standing up. He has stood up by himself while holding onto the couch and will imitate walking as I carry him across the room. He babbles, belly laughs and drools. He is getting his two bottom teeth in at the same time right now. He has been awaking more at night lately (about every hour or so). I blame that on my extreme irritability and lack of patience with my other children, but all is good right? Boden wants to be a big kid like his brother and sissy. He looks up to them with awe and gives them huge smiles which only makes them smile which sometimes is a huge feat! Boden has been a wonderful addition to our family. I am so thankful to get to spend his first Thanksgiving with him this week. A kind of neat note...I found this website while googling his name. It is http://www.miniboden.com/. They have the cutest clothes for kids! Too cool. I also saw on Meritcare's website that there are some other Boden babies being born. I had never heard of that name before I found it in a baby book. :)

Halloween...just to get it out there.

I know it isn't even interesting to see pictures of Halloween costumes anymore but I need to do things in order now! We all had fevers but we managed to put our costumes on and treck out for a good 2 blocks. Note, I said 2 blocks however do you see how full their buckets are of candy?? I am glad the candy is gone...I had a bad habit of eating their candy while they were at school. Oi!

Sickness

The flu has hit the Selseth household. Leiton woke up with a high fever Sunday morning. Hali was to get her bible in church that morning so my mom and dad were coming. My mom ended up staying home with Leiton. My dad who is still very weak from his surgery was able to come with us to church. He didn't come in or stay as we don't want him to get sick. On Tuesday morning I woke with a fever. Wow does that feel terrible. I still have to take Hali to school and take care of Leiton who is still sick with a fever. He woke up very thirsty so I let him drink as much water as he wanted. Oops! He threw that up. He did however feel better after that. In fact I was going to send him to school this morning. I took his temp and it was 101! He appears to be doing better. I guess that 24 hour rule won't allow him to go to school tomorrow again. He has missed a whole week of school! Hali has managed to stay healthy. I am so lucky to have her. She quickly takes over as mommy when she sees I am struggling. She asks if we need anything, cleans, does her homework, gets her breakfast, gets dressed, cleans her room...you name it. How did I luck out with her?? Boden has been struggling with a cold. It's his first cold and he is so congested. He hasn't had a fever so I don't believe it is the flu. I am just glad to get it and get over it. No more worrying if we are going to get it. We lived through the plague. I wonder if you can get it more than once??? HMMMmmmm I hope not.

Here I am at the end of the day and I'm wondering what I did? My days go so fast yet I don't accomplish anything....on my list that is. I have this short amount of time at the end of the day after the kids are all in bed that I can do what I want. Lately that has been pigging out on chocolate animal crackers and diet Dr. Thunder while watching smut reality TV. It's such a breath of fresh air! ha ha. I wait and wait for this time all day especially around supper time when it seems I can't take anymore. That is the loudest time of the day. Kids are hungry and I am preparing dinner. I also am thinking of all that needs to get done before bed time and the oh so glorious my time. Homework seems to last FOREVER! Why is 3rd grade now equivilant to my 6th grade?? I try to do my jobs cheerfully and this definately takes a conscious effort. Hali is getting her bible on Sunday so we have been taking bible classes and I have been reading and relearning some things. One of which is the importance of doing our work cheerfully and the best we can. It works! I wish I could post some pictures of my day today as I found some pretty cute and funny moments but that's ok.... I have decided I can post without pictures however pictures make blogs much more interesting don't you think?

What I'm up to....

I have been keeping notes on my Blackberry on topics I want to blog about so I will start with that for my newest blog. I have begun to use that phone as a lifeline. I have about 10 different lists that I add to on my memo pad every day. Lately I haven't been able to hold a thought for more than a few seconds. I even often forget what I'm doing WHILE doing it! I don't feel overly stressed or tired, I have just become a little too good at multi-tasking. I have even got caught saying to my kids "mommy can only do 23 things at one time!". I have been laughed at in stores for the things I guess I have been saying out loud because if I just think my thoughts it will be forgotten but if I say them out loud my daughter can remind me what I was thinking about when I ask. Even as I sit here writing this I just had to read back what I wrote because I forgot what I was blogging about! Leiton is a pro at finishing my sentences! I can't think of the words to finish them. So, if I remember, I will be touching up my blog with some of those topics I think of..and quickly add to my list.

This guy...

is growing up so fast. Of course I mean the little one but I also mean the older guy. Leiton has started summer school this week. I was very nervous as to how he would react to school especially since he was the only one in our family going. School starts at 8AM every day and lets out at 11:30AM. Now, as you may have read before we have had a very lax summer. Leiton has been known to sleep until 10AM this summer even though he is always in bed before 10PM. Getting him up Monday was actually ok. He didn't say a word. Just slowly got out of bed, dressed and followed me to the van. He didn't speak in the car nor once we got there. Poor kid was so nervous I think he was scared what would happen. No tears were shed. He did good and as I left him I realized as hard as it is for me I have to let this guy become a grown up! After school I was so glad when he ran to me and hugged me with a huge smile on his face. He liked it!! The second day was even easier! Today he woke ME up at 7AM ready to go to school! WHAT??!! Yes, I am so excited he is excited for school and I am realizing this summer school is actually a blessing as it will make the transition to all day school in the fall much easier for him..and me! I am so happy for him and I can't wait for what this school year will bring for him. BUT until then I do intend to enjoy this SUMMER! Cool temps and all....: 0

Moment in time

Have you ever caught yourself in a moment that just seems perfect? Well, that is where I am now. I am consciously aware of how much I am enjoying my time right now with my kids. This has been a wonderful summer. In past summers I start out with a list of all the things I want to do or accomplish and before I know it the summer is over and we didn't get to do all the things I wanted. This summer however I honestly am enjoying every minute. From the minute I awake I have been aware of what I am enjoying. Mornings, I love the sound of the air conditioner runnning and laying in bed with the sun coming in from the cracks in the blinds. Laying next to me is my baby Boden who usually is just laying there awake gazing up at the ceiling or around the room. When I roll over to him and say good morning he smiles and starts to coo! Wow. Hali and Leiton are up already and have made themselves cereal, and low and behold, wouldn't you know it are playing a board game! If not that they are painting with water colors. I say my good mornings to them and if the weather allows we go out on the deck to hang out after I feed Boden and I an able to enjoy my cup of coffee and read the paper. We will decide what we want to do for that day and we do it! Walks have become a favorite. I feel more comfortable taking Boden out and I am loving the exercise. The kids love to ride their bikes. The only activity we must be at is golf lessons on Thursday mornings. I have left this summer open for a change. Lunches are picnics in the backyard. Afternoons go by quickly with swimming or playing at the park. Dinner comes and goes and by evening we spend time outside again this time with sparklers I bought for the 4th a few weeks back. Chocolate malts, Popsicles and S'mores are our food staples and they have never tasted better. I have started looking at my life as how I will remember this in the future and how I will wish I could go back and experience it again. Having a new baby allows me to do things not "over again" but with more joy....kind of like I am able to go back and experience it again....... Summer 2009.

It's about time...

to post about the birth of the new addition to our family...Boden John Selseth. He was born April 23rd 2009 at 7:53AM and weighed in at 8 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 1/4 inches long.

The night before I was unbelievably nervous. I worried I would oversleep as we had to be up by 4AM to get everything ready. I also worried about not taking in every moment as this will more than likely be our last child.

I did wake up on time and I slept surprisingly well. My dad drove in from Battle Lake that moment to be here when the kids woke up and take them to school. I felt nervously sick as we left. Steve drove which always makes me nervous as well. I remember the car ride and the route we took. I was definately remembering to remember every little detail. When we got there I was pretty excited.

From the start the nurses were great which was not anticipated at all since I had bad experiences before. I got dressed and hooked up. Right away I noticed strange feeling in my stomach which I just assumed was due to the fact I had an upset stomach the day before and also my nerves. I just happened to ask if I was showing any contractions and the nurse looked and noted indeed I have.....every 2 minutes to be exact. I was actually getting to experience labor which I wanted....or so I thought. The contractions were getting stronger and my bottom was having a lot of pressure. Now when I went into labor with Hali I wasn't sure I was in labor and didn't even bring a bag however apparently I was and I was also almost 9 centimeters dialated! Anyway, I had to "breathe" through all the prepping that goes into a C section. Finally when they were ready for me I had to walk back while stopping every couple of steps to breathe through a contraction! That operating room always makes me cry when I get in there. I'm sure it's hormones but man I bawled like a baby. The spinal also hurt terribly and it was hard to sit still while in labor. All was well and my beautiful little Boden was born. I remember every little detail of my birth and of my hospital stay. I keep replaying in my head and kind of wishing I could do it all over again. I know that is weird but I didn't want it to be over and I had such a good experience this time. I love my doctor and I miss all the attention I had been getting. It made me want to do it just one more time. Steve said we can....if he wins the lottery : ). Hmmmm. We'll see. Anyway, that is my birth story of the wonderful and beautiful Boden.

I will make a greater effort to keep this blogging up and reporting how life in the Selseth household is going with a new little baby!

Retail Therapy

There is nothing like going to the mall to make me feel better. Even if I don't purchase a thing (which I can't) I feel better. Today after picking Leiton up I went to West Acres just to walk around and look. We had lunch at yum yum Virgos which was 10.00...not exactly in our budget anymore since I am staying home but sometimes it is worth it. Then we just walked..slowly. We went to the candy store where I noticed you can stuff your own stuffed animals kind of like build a bear. Leiton got a sucker....happy boy. Then we went to the pet store and watched the cutest puppies play! We sat and watched a video of Roger Maris in the old stadium chairs....which was kind of cool! Then we just looked at clothes and shoes and makeup. If I had only known way back when in college that I could feel better just looking I would have saved ALOT of money and debt! We then went to Once Upon A Child to look for a stroller and carseat and other baby stuff. After that we had icecream cones from McDonalds...the best! We had a pretty fun day for just 12.50. Cool.

I didn't sleep last night

I didn't sleep last night. I usually go to bed shortly after putting the kids to bed. I have been really exhausted however when I lay down I get the oh- so -dreaded -heart -burn. I roll from side to side and last night especially the baby was kicking me all night! I read that babies at this time are awake and asleep in the way they will be as an infant so I maybe should get used to being up all night because this little buddy is up all night! My husband doesn't get home until after 8pm and he stays up all hours of the night. I cannot go to sleep until he gets to bed because I need to make sure his mess is cleaned up before I can sleep or the doors are locked or the garage door is shut all the way. Yes I am a nut. When he got to bed around 3 he woke up Leiton who then followed him to our bed. This is the 3rd night in a row. This isn't working for me right now in my panic state to get some sleep. I went out to the small couch upstairs and tried to sleep. I did...for an hour until Hali woke up and was up for the day. She started doing art in the kitchen and I realized I am done for the night. As she was at school today Leiton told me I could take a nap. SO I let him watch unlimited Boomerang in hopes I could I could fall asleep today. I did..for 2 hours! When I woke up somehow he drank or "lost" a whole gallon of milk. But he did the dishes...with a whole bottle of DAWN. He was so proud of himself how could I be mad. : ) Now, Hali is preparing me a cake in her Easy Bake. I may be tired..but what would I do without my kids.

Struggling here...

I have been struggling with my blogging lately. This is due to the fact that I have been feeling pretty negative. I kind of get turned off when there is complaining. I really REALLY don't like complaining especially when it is about others.

I had a long blog complaining about some negative things in my life....but deleted it. That counts as therapy doesn't it????

When I picked up Leiton today it was blizzarding out and as I turned into the lot he was walking down the sidewalk and was almost all the way to the stop sign! I told him he needs to stay by the school and not to walk that far. He said he wasn't going to walk home he just wanted to walk that far. Seeing him in the snow and wind made me think of stories I had heard of kids walking away from school with no one noticing! Scary!!

I just wanted to try this out so this is just for fun. I picked this picture because we went to HSM3 about a week ago. Leiton sat at the edge of his seat the whole movie. When a song broke out he couldn't contain himself. He was moving in his seat and even got up to dance a few times. I am telling you he had no idea anyone else was in the theater he was so into this movie! When we got home however and I asked him if he liked the movie he was like NO! YUCK! and never spoke of the movie again! Too funny!

Baby update

I am finally getting around to blogging about my pregnancy. I apologize for not being a good blogger lately! :) As you can see I had another ultrasound about a month ago. The little bugger would not cooperate with the ultrasound tech so some things were missed however I was able to find out it is indeed another boy! He was all balled up as you can tell from the picture. He was head down with his feet right up to his head which would explain the weird kicking feelings I have been feeling down there. He is healthy as far as they can tell. I have been very very nervous and scared something is wrong this whole time so that was very reasuring! This pregnancy has been very different than the others in that it hasn't hit me that I am going to have another baby yet. With Hali it was all new and exciting and I was constantly reading and learning new things. With Leiton I had a 1 year old around so everything was baby baby baby. This time we have nothing baby around. My mind has been so far away from baby things I have almost forgotten what is going on. If it weren't for how badly I have been feeling you would have no idea were were expecting! I had to quit my job at Meritcare due to not being able to stand for my shift. I would stand for only a few minutes and get a tightness feeling in my stomach, would start sweating and losing my balance and then start not beling able to hear which is a sign of fainting. I also would have swolen ankles when I got home and would be pretty much done for the day to my family. I spoke with my doctor and he explained to me that the blood would go to my feet and because of this obstruction in my middle it would not get to my brain. He suggested moving around more, bobbing on my feet but it didn't help. He also suggesting laying on my left side. Well that works...at home..not at work. I had no choice but to quit and I feel really guilty....that is until I get that icky icky feeling again. I have had it happen while shopping, waiting in line for food at West Acres and it really makes me think ahead to what I am doing. I just need to take it easy and other things will need to wait. This is HARD for me. I am the one to do everything at home and to see things pile up drives me crazy which of course leads to my emotional episodes. Something breaks in my brain and I cannot let it go! I cannot lay down and relax with a mess in front of me so I have learned to clean/pickup SLOWLY. This of course means I am constantly cleaning/picking up from morning to night since I can't get it done in one session. I also have no neck. I have grown a double chin that ate my neck....so ugly. I am so waiting to start a healthy lifestyle. I want to start running and getting into shape again. I have made numerous lists to a new me that I can begin in May. I only hope my boobs will allow me. Breast feeding in the past made my boobs SO big I could barely walk without support from my hands. This lasted for a good year! We'll see I guess. What else....Leiton is so excited. He talks about babies, points out all the babies we see, feels the baby kicking. He is going to be an awesome big brother. Hali is in denial I believe although she does like picking out baby clothes. I'll let that be her thing. I am excited and anxious for this to be over. My friend Gretchen and her husband Rob just became parents of a little girl through adoption are both enjoying their new baby. I am longing for that point. I do not enjoy pregnancy. I am extremely thankful to have the priviledge however.