Oliver Jack Garfield

We are home from the hospital, everyone is healthy and the baby finally has a name.

birth story...

Everyone wants to know exactly what happened yesterday and last night so I will update everyone. Of course you know me, I can never have a normal birth where everything works the way it should and this was an interesting one to say the least. (ps if you are a man and don't want details stop reading right now). Wednesday morning I woke up to really bad, intense pain in my upper legs, lower back and lower pelvic region. I knew there was something wrong because I had never felt this before, so we eventually went to the hospital where they found out I had a severe infection, maybe a UTI. I was contracting regularly but I guess was not enough for them to keep me, so they sent me home with an antibiotic, which after I took when we got home made me so sick I started throwing up. I was still feeling major pain and knew something was wrong, so we called the doctor and they told me to go to the office to get checked, when I got there she started pushing on my stomach which hurt so bad I started bawling and basicially had a break down so she sent me to the hospital to see what we going on. In the mean time my mom and I are so frustrated at this point because no one was listening to me or taking me seriously when I was saying I knew something was not right. So we get back to the hospital, and they said they were going to give me a shot of antibiotics, and a shot for nausea and send me home. I finally said, "I know something is wrong, if you won't figure it out I want a C-Section now!!!" After she called another midwife, and the doctor and they both told her to admit me, she finally gave in. Thats when it all started, as soon as they put me in the room my fever started going up and up, between the hours of 5:00 to about 11:30 they gave me four different kinds of antibiotics, which were taking no affect, two different kinds of anti nausea rounds (since the fever and antibiotics were making me so sick), taking my temp and blood pressure every 5 mintues, (at one point my blood pressure was 37/8, my fever got to 103), drawing blood to be tested, strong contractions every 1-2 minutes, baby's pulse spiking to 180-200 (normal is 140). Finally at about 11:30 they found an antibiotic that was working for the infection and I started feeling better, then started feeling a lot better when I go my epidural. Realized really quick that the epidural only took affect to the right half of my body but I was ok so I didn't say anything right way. She broke my water at 12:00 by this time I was dialated to a 5, and still a 5 by 1:30 am. She said she didn't think I was going to progress fast and I should be prepared for 12 hours before he was born and the nurse kept saying that my contractions were not "adequate" and wasn't bothering to check me. I could still feel all the contractions on my left side and they were starting to hurt but I was fine so I wouldn't let Jeff go get the nurse, but he snuck out and got her anyway and it's a good thing he did because she decided to check me and I was 10 cent. and he was coming out. So people started rushing around while I'm trying not to push until their ready, and he came out 7 minutes later. Afterward they thought maybe I had a hole in the sack by my placenta that was leaking into my body which caused an infection in the placenta which was causing the pain and fever, also, almost all the fluid was gone which is why I was measuring so small, so it's a good thing he was born when he was.

Breathing update: He has been doing better and better today, so I might get to hold him in just a little bit, and depending on how he does coming off his breathing tube and if he does good tonight all should be good and he can come home with us!

new baby...

He's here! He was born this morning, December 18th at 2:40 am. He was 7 lbs 5 ozs, 18 1/2 inches long. Right now he is struggling to breath, exactly the same thing Owen did when he was born. Owen spent 9 days in the NICU, I'm hoping this new little one won't stay that long. Right now they said he is doing better, if he needs to be put on a ventilator they will have to transfer him to Utah Regional in Provo, so I'm hoping that doesn't happen. We still haven't named him yet, I need to be able to hold him and see what he looks like since I still haven't gotten a good look at him, and then we will decide on a name. Right now I'm exhausted since I have been awake for over 24 hours (but I have a feeling I won't get any sleep today either.) It's so good to have him here, especially before Christmas!

almost time...

New Kits and Free Shipping!!!

Free shipping from now until Nov. 30th with a purchase of $30 or more!!!

signs of fall....

The Garfield's house in October.

Some pictures

ok, so I finally downloaded my pictures to my computer, for some reason I hate doing that. So that's my excuse for why it's taking so long to post, that and I found out I'm severely low on iron so that's the reason why I can't walk my pregnant self more than 3 feet without feeling like I'm going to pass out. These are just a few random pictures from the past month:

Owen had his 6th birthday last month, on his birthday I dropped him off at school and had 2 hours to paint his entire room, and make his bed with his new Pottery Barn Star Wars bedding! This is his new bed, with his new toys after he opened all his presents.

His cake, I know it's not professional, I'm not a cake decorator.

These are the kids at Hee Haws, they love it there and look forward to going all year.

This is Gracie in her happy place, she LOVES horses!

This is our fire pit in the backyard, two seconds after taking this picture a spark flew from the fire and landed right under her nose, lets just say it was drama.

The kids in front of the house before Hee Haws, of course not all three will look at me at the same time.

Other things going on with The Garfields:

Millie is in the midst of potty training, she has not had an accident for 2 days, hopefully she will be all trained by her birthday which is in 2 weeks.

Owen is doing good in school, we were so worried about him and his hyperactivity, but his teacher says he is just fine, and is very, very smart for his age.

Gracie has made so many new friends, and they are all close by, so she is always off playing with someone, she loves that she can walk to her friends house by herself, she is so grown up.

I'm now in my 3rd trimester, and am 8 months pregnant. I still haven't found a name I like, and the baby room is still a storage room, so I guess I need to get around to doing something about that. I'm getting my hair done next week for the first time in 2 years!! (Thanks Melissa) I'm such a procrastinator when it comes to my hair, I always wait until it's disgusting before I do anything about it, and right now it's really, really bad. I'm in the process of buying Lindsey's half of the store from her, so I'm now running it all by myself. If anyone wants to help design page kits let me know!

So now that I have lots of pictures on my computer, hopefully I will post a little more often!

just a little summary...

So expo was a huge success, we sold so much on Friday morning, that we had almost nothing left on Saturday, so Lindsey and I just sat and talked which was nice after the last few months of non- stop work. I think I'm going to pace myself a little better this time. It's nice to know that so many people want and like our page kits that we spend so much time working on, so we had a really good time, and the kids will have a normal mom again, at least for the next few weeks.

Sunday and Monday were spent cleaning my house, and pulling out the Halloween and Fall decorations, to make my house more homey. The kids love when it's time to decorate and they had an absolute blast. So I have a (semi) clean house, that looks comfy, and smells of pumpkin spice, it's my favorite time of year. I can't wait for leaf piles, pumpkin patches, and a corn maze. I love it!

Owens birthday is on Thursday, he is turning 6 years old! (And he still hasn't out grown the craziness that people keep telling me will happen). All he is wants is Star Wars everything, and Lego Batman for his playstation. I got him all the cute Star Wars bedding from Pottery Barn, so when he gets home from school, his whole room will be done up. Then he will have his party with his friends on Friday, we are going to roast marshmellows in the fire pit, and bob for apples. He can't wait.

Jeff has been working hard between work, and fixing this house up to my specifications, I think he needs a vacation more than anyone, but he never complains. He just enjoys making our lives better for us by doing anything and everything he can. As for me, now that I have time to breathe, I have been trying to remind myself that I'm going to have another child in just a few short months. This pregnancy had been about the last thing on my mind ever since I got pregnant, when people ask me when I'm due, it takes me a second to figure out what they are talking about! It sure is different between your first and your fourth.

Just one more thing, Happy Birthday to Max!!! My cute little nephew is turning 6 today, and I haven't seen him for 2 years now. I can't wait for the day to have my sister and her kids close to us again. (Mom give him and extra big hug from his Aunt Kate).

As soon as I find my camera, I will add some pictures because a post is never the same without some. Love to you all.

school days...

Gracie's first day of school.

Millie on Gracie's first day of school.

Owen's first day of school. (He finally started kindergarten, I have been waiting years...)

Millie on Owen's first day of school. (Today)

It's been almost a month since my last post and here's why: We moved, painted the entire exterior of our house, including doors, shutters, railings, etc. We had weddings in the family, Lagoon Days, many other projects around the house, started school, and last but not least, designed and packaged thousands of kits. (Thanks Mom).

Expo is only 3 weeks away and although we have gotten soooo much done, I am in full panic mode because we are no where near being ready, and basically we are running out of time. Our kits are selling faster than we can package, which is good, but we are going to have nothing left for expo, not to mention St. George in Nov.

So you might not be hearing or seeing lots of me lately, unless you are Lindsey of course who is probably sick of seeing me at this point, but I've gotta do, what I've gotta do, and the laundry can wait.

how old is she?

Today as I was trying to get stuff done, Millie was sitting next to me entertaining herself by making up songs, once I realized what she was doing I started listening to what she was actually singing, something about, "so and so is SO handsome, and something something handsome" seriously every other word was handsome. So I asked her what she was singing, and she said:

"I Hannah Tanna, mom, Hannah Tanna"

Seriously?

Then she broke out with: "I best of both worlds"

She's not even 3 yet, I'm already worried.

expo so soon?

Doesn't it feel like expo was just here? Well it does to me, and Lindsey and I have only about a month and a half to be ready, the problem is, we haven't really started...anything. And to make matters worse, we are doing a St.George expo in Nov. so thats two we have to get ready for. We need about 100 layouts designed per expo and about 3,000 kits packaged. Right now we have about 10 layouts designed, and most of them have almost sold out already, so we pretty much have about 200 kits packaged, maybe.

So it's going to be a busy few weeks, and it doesn't help that Lindsey has a brand new baby, I'm moving this week (to a house that is a major fixer upper, including which an exterior paint job which has to be done *asap* or I just won't be able to stand living there) and I'm 5 months pregnant, (oh and I have 3 kids too).

hmmm... wish us luck.

it's here...

The best show on TV. Thank you Heidi Klum for this show,
my Wednesday's are now a whole lot better.

Cabin '08
Millie's Mosquito Bites
The "squitos" were so bad this year for some reason, the worst that any of us can remember. Poor Millie was getting attacked constantly even with the gallons of repellent we were using.
"The Girls"
Hailey, Gracie, and Anna, these three are always together, all the time and Hailey was a big help with Millie since Jeff wasn't able to come up and I was still having some morning sickness.

Hailey, Gracie, and Owen tubing. Owen loved the tube, the higher the waves the better, and Gracie was right there with him, even when Uncle Craig was driving and scaring me half to death, they were still yelling, "faster, faster".

My cute boy. I think Owen loves the cabin the most out of all my kids, he just gets so excited to go and doesn't stop talking about it for weeks after. Owen and I had a couple of fun talks while sitting on the dock about our favorite things about the cabin. He loves: Grandpa's boat rides, the tube, going on walks, swimming, Sea-Doo rides, and playing with cousins.

S'mores and Millie don't really go together, but she sure loved them. After we were done with the S'mores and were going back to the cabin I realized by pants just didn't feel right, I looked down and I had an entire s'more stuck to my butt. It fell off before we could take a picture, but we were all laughing pretty hard.

The remnants of my s'more.

We had a lot of fun at the cabin this year, we wish that all the cousins could come, Gracie says it's not the same without the Peterson's but hopefully in a couple of years they will be up there with us. My mom told me I can't go anymore unless Jeff is with me (I had only a couple of breakdowns while we were there), but it is really hard when I'm sick and trying entertain, feed, bathe, etc. etc. 3 kids by myself for 2 weeks, but the cabin is worth it, and thank goodness no more morning sickness!!! Finally.

It's a....

BOY!!!

I have to say, this is no surprise to me, I have "known" it was a boy since before I found out I was pregnant as I knew with all my other kids. For some reason I always just know.

One week ago we had an ultrasound, and the tech looked for a while and while he wasn't sure, he suspected it was a girl, the whole time I was thinking, "hello? it's a boy", but he kept saying, "I can't be sure, but I think it's a girl". When we left, I told Jeff. "It's a boy" and sure enough when we went back today, the other tech could tell right away that it was a boy, and it was obvious to Jeff and I also.

So Owen will have a little brother, and we will have 2 boys and 2 girls, I think we will stop while we're ahead.

p.s. mom I hope you don't read this before I will call you tomorrow, I know you would rather hear in person, I would have called earlier but I had to ichat Beega first, I promised.

counting down the days...

Just two more days until our annual Cabin trip. It can't come soon enough. This is the one vacation I get a year and the kids and I are ready to go, well almost.

I have been doing laundry for 3 days straight so we will have some clothes to take with us.

I bought the kids those ugly swimmer shoes, so hopefully no slivers in the feet this summer. (This is a ritual we go through ever summer, that I don't want to repeat this time).

We are stocked up on sun block, swim suits, and beach towels, so it better be warm, but you never know with the cabin.

I have a years worth of page kits to put together and pictures to put on those kits, since this is the only time I scrapbook for myself.

They only things to be done are pack, and go grocery shopping for enough food to last us a couple of weeks.

We used to go up with my mom, Rebecca and her kids, and we would stay for weeks on end. Now that Beega's in Japan my mom and I go up with the kids for a week or two, the kids play outside, play in the water, catch some fish, go for nature walks, and take baths in the sink. Then we put the kids to bed and put a good movie on, and scrapbook until we can't stay awake, then we go to bed and do it again the next day.

Then the cousins and Grandpa come up on the weekend, and it turns into a big party with boat rides, Sea-Doo rides, water weenie rides, big pancake breakfasts made by Grandpa, smores also made by Grandpa, a pirate treasure hunt, 4-Wheeler rides by Uncle Craig, lots of game playing at night, Stacie's good dips and cookies, and lots of fun and laughter.

I can tell you that the cabin is the closest place to heaven on earth, I have so many memories of going there every summer of my life, and my kids have done the same thing, and they already have so many memories, just two more days.

8 years...

8 years ago today Jeff and I got married, after knowing each other for only 3 short months. I tried to find some pictures but we got married back when digital cameras were still in the future and I didn't feel like going through pictures and scanning them, so just use your imagination. We were young, although at the time I thought we were so old, Jeff was 25 and I was a month short of my 23rd birthday. I was a good 20 pounds heavier than now, and Jeff was a good 30 pounds lighter. We certainly don't waste time in our family because Gracie was born just 9 months later. (Actually 8 months and 3 weeks, but don't freak out, that was because she was breech and we had to schedule a C-Section a week before my due date.)

I can honestly say that Jeff is my very best friend, we love to just hang out and laugh together. I know that we will always be together because no other man would put up with me the way he does. We seem to compliment each other in many ways (meaning he does everything for me that I don't want to, and sometimes I do things for him). Examples:

1- He always puts up with my crazy ideas, but I have to talk him into them, (I usually have to talk a lot before he will finally agree).

2-I hate, hate ordering food through a drive through, I only do it if the kids are crying in the car because they are so hungry, Jeff is always in charge of getting food. (That includes ordering pizza, something I refuse to do).

3-I hate putting gas in the car, so he usually makes sure I'm always filled up.

4-He does the dishes for me and takes out the trash.

5-He lets me sleep in on the weekends even though he wakes up at 3:00am every morning for work (I blame that on his internal alarm clock because he can't sleep past 7:00).

6-He changes Millie's diapers when he's home.

7-He puts up with my millions of phone calls a day complaining about the latest disaster at home.

P.S. (I feel like a horrible wife reading over this.)

Things I do for my husband:

1-I'm the one who mows the lawn most of the time, I would rather mow the lawn then clean the kitchen, and I think Jeff probably would to so maybe this doesn't count....

2-hmmmm, let's see, what else do I do...

3-I grow and give birth to his babies, doesn't that count for something?

well I think that's about it, aren't we perfect for each other?

silly millie...

Millie is going through a phase where she can't wear anything other than a costume of some sort, or a princess dress. When she does let me get her dressed in clothes, she has to add a snow hat (like the top picture) or some accessory to add some personality to her outfit.

She has even been wearing her princess dresses to bed at night because she refuses to take them off. She is so full of personality and she cracks me up on a daily basis, 2 year olds can be so fun!

Happy Birthday to Stacie!

Today is Stacie's, my oldest sister, birthday!
Things I love about her:

1-She is very organized
2-When she calls and leaves a message on your voice mail, every time without a doubt, it is always over 5 minutes long.
3-There is always some reason why she is late somewhere, and she likes to explain in detail what exactly happened to make her late.
4-She makes really good food.
5-She loves to take pictures of all her nieces and nephews, a lot.
6-She still doesn't have a computer.
7-She still is using her film camera even though she has a digital one.
8-She sends birthday cards to everyone in the family every year, and she never misses.
9-The face she makes when she does her hair.

and the last thing I love about Stacie:

10- Her toes.

Happy Birthday Stace, we love you.

Summer to do list...

For the past few months I have been thinking about my summer to do list which consists of two things:

1-Potty train Millie
2-Teach Owen how to ride his bike without training wheels

Well last Saturday, he beat me to it. He decided he wanted to ride without the training wheels so Jeff took them off, and off he went. He didn't need any help, and he didn't fall, he just rode his bike.

That was easy, somehow I have a feeling that number 1 on my list is not going to go as smoothly.