Frosty the Snowman...

I loved it when I heard that we were supposed to get a rain and snow mix this weekend. I know all of you think I'm crazy, but I get excited for the winter time and the snow that comes with it. This year I am really looking forward to the snow because even though I will be BIG and pregnant, the boys are all old enough to REALLY enjoy playing in it.

I figured that the rain and snow mix would be mostly rain with only a few flurries....so as you can imagine I was totally surprised (as were the weathermen) when we woke up this morning to find at least 3 inches of snow on the ground and it still coming down!! YAY for snow!!

I have been feeling neglectful of the boys lately with all I feel I need to get done and our busy schedules, so I prayed before bed last night that God granted me the time to just play with my kids more, and today has already been great! He listened...

This morning we woke up and made french toast for breakfast and then got all bundled up and went and played in the snow for about 45 minutes. When we got cold and tired and wet, we came back in where we made some hot cocoa and then the boys started a game on the Wii which I will join in in a few minutes after I finish my cocoa. I told them maybe we can have a board game and popcorn night tonight too. I DO have to work on the house some today, but we are having a good day just playing together! So below are the pictures from our outdoor adventures this morning. Happy first snow everyone!

Our pathetic attempt at a snowman...we need some more practice.

Looking Ahead

Well now that I got Raymond's birthday out of the way, I can start to concentrate on planning for everyone coming to Omaha for Thanksgiving (which no matter how stressful it sounds, I am VERY excited to host it again this year!) and getting the house moved around and ready for Tess.

On my big to do list I have my birthday next Friday (which we are not doing anything for that day but will go to the Pumpkin Patch the Sunday after), then Halloween and all that this entails (parties at school, costumes, decorating, candy, etc.), then getting the downstairs bedroom wall fixed and the room painted before Halloween (and the room cleared out), then moving our room downstairs before Thanksgiving guests come, getting ready for Thanksgiving, my baby shower, Christmas and all that this entails, then Tess arrives! After that I will still have a list of things to do, but not as many major events for awhile. I can just work on my day to day to do list for the most part.

This year to help out for Thanksgiving, we have my mom and dad, both my sisters and Kimberly's boyfriend Todd and their dog Rigby, me, Tony and my boys, Tony's mom and husband Verlyn, and Tony's brother JB and wife Amanda and baby Blain. Granted JB and his family will stay at Holly's house and my mom and dad say they are getting a hotel this year, I will still have my sisters and Kimberly's boyfriend as overnight house guests and am excited to plan for breakfasts and other meals. I am also having each person pick a side that they want and are willing to make, to help de-stress big pregnant me and Holly who is not feeling well from time to time. We will be having our actual dinner at Holly's house that day because she has a lot more seating and space then I do.

It will be fun and will be the last time I will have everyone together before Tess comes. Christmas will be a quiet at home one, because I won't be traveling anywhere two weeks before my due date and everyone else is pretty well inclined to go to my mom and dad's which is totally fine with me. It will be a quiet couple of weeks before she comes. Plus my mom will then be coming to stay for a short while when Tess comes to help out and be here for the birth.

Anyways, I'm sure you all don't care about my to do list. But it's really the only thing on my mind at the moment. Every little thing that I can get done is one more step closer to having her here! YAY!

I think I've said it before but I'll say it again. I finally feel like my family will be complete, because never before have I had a pregnancy where I felt anxious to be done and not be pregnant anymore. Usually during my pregnancies I get sad that it will come to an end and immediately following the birth of the baby I think to myself, I can't wait to have another and be pregnant again...not this time. She is most definitely the LAST! I'm glad she's a girl because it draws an even more final conclusion to our family, which I like things to be tied up all nice and tidy like that...and even though I would have been happy with 4 boys, I will never have to wonder now what a little girl would have been like. So we are very happy.

Raymond's Birthday Part 2! Complete...

After a rough week last week, we have finally finished celebrating Raymond's 4th birthday. We worked hard all day on setting up for his Pirate party and it went well. I have to honestly say the 10 birthday parties total I've put on for my boys has never been as chaotic as this one, but still fun. The kids were distracted and not interested in the game or Raymond opening presents or anything, but everyone still had lots of fun.

Raymond's funny too. He always wants to be outgoing and the center of attention when he "shouldn't" be, but when the spotlight is on him he doesn't want it and gets really shy and a little anxious about it. He opened his presents and then kind of had the attitude like, okay you can go home now everyone. He also had begged me to draw a Pirate and make a pin the hat on the pirate game, and then REALLY did not want to play it when the time came. Good thing I nixed the treasure hunt for their loot bags and just gave them their bags too, cause he and all the other kids were not interested in scheduled events at all. Which is fine, but Owen is the opposite. He wants the games the structure and the steps of a party and is very outgoing at his birthday parties, so I just need to remember that difference between the two boys when planning their parties. I just never want Raymond to think I am putting more effort into Owen's parties then his, but it's just the way he likes it.

So here are a bunch of pictures from the party. Tony's mom and husband were in charge of bringing the Pizza from Little Caesars Pizza for us, and when they showed up they were dressed in full pirate garb costumes! That was hilarious. My mom has been here too and she has been a big help since I hurt my back for a second time this week. I was a baby on Tuesday and called her crying about my back and she left Wednesday afternoon to come stay through the weekend to help me with everything while I mended. I wish she could stay longer to help me get organized, but she'll be taking off tomorrow.

So on with the pics. Enjoy a 4 year old's Pirate party! Happy 4th Raymo!

Sisterly Love....Arrrr Mateys! A typical day at the Coffey house!

A typical family portrait at the Coffey house!

Judd sporting a Pirate bandana.

This is how my mother in law and her husband surprised us at Raymond's party tonight!

The Pirate duo, they surprised us and showed up dressed up! HA.

Raymond's Birthday Part 1 and other Adventures (long post)

So we had a very busy week this last week, not in a good way either.

It started on Sunday morning when Owen started throwing up non-stop. This continued through Monday and Tuesday as well. Monday night I threw my back out and was in so much pain that for the first time in 4 years I had to call my daycare parents to tell them I would not be available Tuesday. That was very hard. So I can barely take care of myself, let alone my deathly ill child and my other two not sick kids. Tuesday my back started to feel better as the day went on, but Owen was not in good shape. He had now thrown up for 3 days straight, he hadn't eaten anything or couldn't keep down any of the Gatorade I was having him sip on. He couldn't get off the couch or do anything. I finally called his Dr. and talked to the nurse. She gave me some pointers on how to help him stop throwing up hopefully, and if not they were going to check back with me in the afternoon. When she called back that afternoon, he was still throwing up and so she said his Dr. wanted him to come in.

With my very sore back I loaded up all three boys in the car, supplied Owen with a gallon size baggy and paper towels and took him in to the Dr. As soon as we got out of the truck, he had to throw up in the grass in front of the office, this time though, there was blood in it, so I panicked and dragged him inside the building, forgetting all of my back pain. We got in the examination room and Owen couldnt' keep his eyes open, he kept moaning and passing out on the exam table. Finally the Dr. came in and after examining him and the throw up in the garbage can, said that Owen was dehydrated and needed to go up to Children's Hospital ER and get IV fluid for a couple of hours to over night.

I loaded up the boys again, called Tony at work on my way to the hospital, called Tony's mom and got to the ER just a few blocks away. At the ER they said he was really dehydrated, he didn't even flinch when they put in the IV. They did a tummy x-ray to determine where the blood was coming from and started the IV fluid with some medicine to stop the throwing up. Finally Tony's mom came and took over Judd and Raymond so I could concentrate on Owen, and then Tony came with a bunch of stuff from home for those two cause they were going to spend the night with Grandma. After only being there for about 30 minutes they determined that Owen needed to be admitted and stay at least over night for more IV fluids. So within the hour we were moved upstairs to a room and all set up. Holly took the other two home with her, where they were fading fast because they were now acting like they didn't feel very well (especially Raymond) and they hadn't napped all day.

So Tony and I spent the night at the hospital with poor little Owen. I felt so sorry for him. This was all Tuesday night and Thursday was Raymond's birthday, so I was hoping everyone would be well before then.

Wednesday: Tony had to get up at 4am to run to work and do his order, then run home and let the dogs out, then go out to Holly's to get the other two boys so she could go to work and come back to the hospital. I was supposed to have my OB appt. at 10:15, so he was going to hang out with all three boys at the hospital while I ran and did that, but this didn't work out. When Raymo and Judd arrived, they looked terrible. Raymond was almost greenish in color and had HUGE cirlces under his eyes and hadn't wanted to eat dinner or breakfast for Holly and now he had a fever and a cough. About an hour before I was to go to my Dr. appt. out of the blue, Raymond threw up all over Tony in Owen's hospital room. Luckily Tony had a sweatshirt to change into, and Raymond had another shirt to put on from the night before, but I immediatley called the nurses to notify them and see if they had a face mask and throw up bag so Tony could take those two home. I had to cancel my appt.

So Tony and the boys left, I was now stuck up at the hospital with Owen, who was feeling a bit better but still not himself. He still had not eaten since a poptart Sun. morning and this was now Wed. about 11am. Finally they came in and offered him so bland food, cheerios, toast, a juice, to see how it'd sit on his tummy. He devoured it! By this time it was about 1:00 and now they told me that they wanted to do an enama on him because he was so "backed up", and that they had found during his x-ray the night before that he has a small hernia in his groin! What else could happen???

Still worried about Raymond and Judd, I made an appt. for Raymo with their Dr. to hopefully avoid the hospital with him down the road, and gave Tony a list of instructions to come home and wash everything and start disinfecting the house. I felt like we had the plague! Finally about 5:30 Owen and I got released from the hospital, so we came home. He was still not feeling good and went right to bed when he got home. Raymond had only thrown up the one time, which was good news, and Judd hadn't done anything. So this was good news. Raymond now had a bad cough and fever though. So all of the boys (even Tony) were in bed and asleep at 7:30pm. I stayed up until about 10:30 and thoroughly scrubbed and disinfected my house, I even went as far as taking Clorox wipes to the walls or anything that could have been touched! Thursday I was going to have my daycare kids, because I couldn't afford to be closed any more days.

Thursday: I called Owen in to school sick again because he was still not feeling that well and hadn't eaten anything since the Sunday before almost. He was acting much better than he had been. This day was Raymond's b'day and I wanted it to be a good day for him, despite the fact that everyone was still not feeling well. That morning Owen threw up again and I panicked. I called the Dr.'s office to tell them about it and they informed me that after such a bout of throwing up and the hospital stay it could take him a few days to have his tummy recover to food and throwing up could happen, as long as it wasn't constant.

Raymond wanted corndogs, french fries, jell-o and pineapple for his B'day dinner, and even though Owen's tummy wasn't up to par, we still complied because we felt really bad for Raymond's bad birthday. Owen ate a few french fries and a bite of his Jell-o and was done. (He threw up all over his bed that night) but that was the last time he's thrown up!!! YAY!!! Judd now had a fever and so did Raymond again. Raymond's b'day party wasn't scheduled until Sat. so I was very optimistic that it would still happen. Friday night however they all felt like crap and I decided to postpone his party for a week until Sat. the 3rd. After putting the boys to bed, and being physically and mentally drained myself from such an exhausting and stressful week, I finally had my meltdown. I was so sad for Raymond that he didn't even get to open presents or eat cake or have any birthday fun yet! I was so sad for him. So I vowed that no matter how the boys were feeling on Sat. we were going to do whatever Raymond felt up to doing. Amazingly enough the boys all were very close to their normal selves on Sat. (though I'm still happy that I canceled his party), we got McDonalds for lunch, played at the park and went to the Zoo (they didn't walk around, they all rode in the stroller and wagon so they wouldn't get tuckered out). It was a fun day. They even wanted ice cream cones last night (which I knew they wouldn't finish but I still indulged them).

Tony and I went ahead and gave Raymond his presents from us so he could have something to open up. We got him a big boy bicycle with training wheels and helmet. Owen and Judd got Raymond a Ninja Turtles movie. He was very excited for both. So today (Sun.) the boys are feeling much better, I am feeling a bit more motivated to get back onto a routine this week, and I now have a whole week to finish planning Raymond's party on Sat. and make it super special! So please keep my family in your prayers that we all get well and back to normal.

Owen update: He has to go up to Children's Radiology on Mon. afternoon for an ultrasound on his groin to get a better look at the hernia he has to see if they need to do surgery to repair it at this time. Keep him in your prayers too. Also he is finally eating normal again, which is such a relief to me. He doesn't have school on Mon. due to teacher inservice, but after missing 6 days of school, I am anxious, as is he, to get back to school on Tuesday.

The boys at the park (O & R had gotten their butts wet on the slide and were trying to dry off)

Raymond's birthday dinner (corn dogs, french fries, jell0, and pineapple - yum)

Raymond on his new big boy bicycle.

The boys eating their ice cream cones that they didn't finish (still no appetite)

Judd at the aquarium at the Zoo.

Me with a random 24 1/2 week pregnancy pic. I know, I know...I look SOOO big (this is consistant with my other 3 pregnancies)

Reflections, By Stacey Coffey :)

I am now officially 23 weeks pregnant. That means if I go all the way to my 40 weeks (which is doubtful due to past experience) that I would only have 17 weeks left. This means that I am in deep trouble when it comes to getting everything done! AAAAAAA!

On another note....even though we have known we are having a girl now for about a month and we even have named her Tess, and I have even gotten just a few girl clothes...it only just dawned on me today how strange it sounds to say 'she' all of the time. I was talking to my friend Sheila (who is also pregnant with baby #4 only this will be her 4th boy) and I just kept thinking how weird it was that I kept saying she. Saying Tess even seems more natural than saying 'she'. I just cannot fathom that I will be having a girl and it seems so unreal to me. Not bad, just unreal. It's just totally different. It's even more different and weird than having a first baby which you have no experience with either gender, than it is to have a girl after 3 boys.

Anyways...these were just my reflections for today. Feel free to comment, but I just thought I'd share what occurred to me today.

Nothing Special...

We have been staying very busy with everything going on around here. Though Owen had a rough start to school, he is doing very well now and is actually very excited each morning to go. He even got called to the office on Friday with only one other kid from his class of 29, to receive a special award and pencil for not being in trouble even one time since school started! :) Yay!

Raymond is doing very well in Preschool too. He got to take snacks last week and Wednesday gets to take the show and tell bag, which he has already decided he will take his baseball bat, glove and ball, since they all start with the letter B, which is what he is working on.

I am staying busy with preschool stuff, transporting kids everywhere, working on the house, preparing for Tess (baby #4), and teaching Midweek church school every Wednesday night. This week Owen gets to go to the children's theater in town to see the Velveteen Rabbit with his class, then Thursday is his open house where he gets to show us all that he has done so far, then Wed. Raymond has show and tell, and Mon. Owen goes to the Zoo with his school, next Wed. is my 24 week check up, Thur. is Raymond's B'day and Sat. the 26th is Raymond's B'day party! In this time too, I am still teaching preschool, teaching Midweek, going to a friend's kid's birthday party and work on my house! Wow, it makes me tired to listen to this. It really is manageable, it's just constant busy-ness.

Tony is staying busy with a new boss and having inventory this next weekend, so he is working longer hours this week.

Other than these things, not much has been going on here. :) This week, there is a big kids clothing sale at a local thrift store, so I am going to go check it out to see if there aren't any girls' clothes I can't live without! :)

I am desperatley trying to find another daycare kid, because the loss of the one from July, is now catching up with us financially and we are beginning to feel that sting. So pray that God will bring me another kid to welcome into our house, for us and for them.

I don't have many pictures to share, but the few I do have are pretty cute. Raymond's birthday party will be a Pirate theme, so this explains the pirate stuff the boys are trying on that will be used for his upcoming party!

What Raymond does when he is bored when Owen is at school! :)

The boys pretending to drive their cars.

Judd LOVES to color with the big boys, and he is actually very advanced at it.

The kids testing out Raymond's Pirate B'day party stuff for next week.

Raymond's first day of preschool

Judd and Raymond playing on Judd's chair.

The boys on the stairs at Indian Caves campgrounds and rec. area

Me and the boys (and Tess) at Indian Caves campground and rec. area

What's in a Name??

So it's official. Tony and I have officially decided upon a name for this little girl that will be added to our family in Jan. Since it was a girl, we had no criteria like we did if it was a boy. Our boys' criteria was it had to flow with the other boys' names, he would have to be named after someone in the family, and his name would have to be old fashioned common sounding but not commonly used. VERY DIFFICULT. This is one of the many reasons I am happy to have found out we were having a girl. Tony and I went through the entire baby names book of the boys' section and did not find one that matched our criteria or even one that we remotely liked. Phew. Glad we didn't have to settle on a name!

But she had no criteria, but as it worked out the name we chose fits perfectly in our opinion. It is an old fashioned common sounding name that is not commonly used. And she is named after someone in the family.

So without further ado.....in Jan. we will be welcoming Tess Virginia Coffey. Learn it and love it! :) (Virginia is the first name of Tony's maternal grandma even though everyone calls her Ginny).