38 weeks, 2 days

and he's here!

Owen Nicholas Starkey

9lbs 5oz

21 1/2 inches long

6:49 pm

February 22, 2011

Labor was not easy, but I wont go into the details here. What matters is that he is here, perfect and healthy.

So much to do, so little time.

I've gotten in over my head, I'm barely treading water. It's sad to me that I'm actually looking forward to labor because it means that I wont have to worry about anything else going on in my life. I'm up to my ears in graduate work, preparing for my sub in my classroom, and oh yeah, having a baby.

Disclaimer: I'm a mom, if you don't want to read about my kids, stop reading now.

Kate had an asthma attack on Friday. There is nothing worse than watching your child struggle to breathe and hear her wheezing all night long. Her medicine works most of the time, but Friday night was just plain awful. On top of not being able to breathe well, she was also running a fever because her body was working so hard. But, on a positive note, she's been eating dairy quite regularly for the past month or so with no allergic reactions, so we're happy! One less thing to worry about.

My midwife told me last week that she was not allowing me to return to work after February vacation. It really only adds one week to my leave, so it doesn't mess up Nik and I very much, but things at school are still very much up in the air. My sub is not official yet and I'm not sure I'll have a final answer by the time I leave. We think we know, but we don't know, you know? So many factors play into it, that I can't get into here. We shall see, I guess.

Is it possible to have prepartum depression? I think I have it, or I'm close to it. I need a pedicure. I need a girls night out. I need to laugh. Don't get me wrong, I'm seriously excited about this baby. I can't wait to meet him or her and give them a name. I want to meet the little one that completes our family. Anyone out there in the blogosphere ever feel like I do?

Okay, now don't go feeling all sorry for me, I'm FINE. Sometimes it's just good to get things off your chest. I'll go back to being the happy me in just a few minutes.

Happy Halloween!

These are the best shots we could get. Kids had a BLAST trick or treating! Next year, there will be THREE Starkey kids out and about!

Happy Birthday, Kate!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Kate! I can't believe it's been two years.


Two years, and your hair hasn't grown much, and we can't do a thing with it.


Two years of seeing this grin, which is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.


Two years of telling you to act like a lady and "Keep your dress DOWN!!!"


Two years of watching you become such an individual.


But you might take after me, after all.

Happy Birthday, Kate!

In which I complain about the month of October

Do you know about October? I dread this month. At school it brings me NECAP Testing and Parent Teacher Conferences. I despise NECAP testing. It's SO boring for me. I end up spending hours on end surfing the internet and answering a question here and there. This time around it's going to last for SIX school days. My best friend lives in the future, people! This only gives me a couple hours a day for emailing before she retires for tea and dinner. NOT FAIR. Then there is the awkward Parent Teacher conference. "Hi, I've only known your son/daughter for 5 weeks. Let me tell you what I think about your child that you've know for 11 years. And now that Dougie's in school, that means that I not only have to have 19 conferences of my own, I also have to GO to a conference for him. He's in PREK. What can they tell me? He plays well? He can almost write his name?

And on top of it all, I went and decided to have a BABY in October! Which means I have to throw a birthday party! Oh, and two of my friends had babies the same week!! Do you know how many parties I have to go to in October? Please understand that I WANT TO GO TO THE PARTIES, but at the same time, I want to have a weekend where I can sit in my PJs and do nothing all day. There's also my mother's birthday and my nieces birthday. Thank goodness Nik and I didn't get married in October!

Plus I'm tired. I have prenatal appointments all the time and I like to complain!!!

Whoops!

I've neglected this blog for a long time. It was a long summer and I spent a lot of time with the kids. It was a great summer, besides all the migraines and morning sickness. Oh yeah, I'm pregnant! 17 weeks pregnant, to be exact.

We're over the moon excited for baby number three!

Now that school has started and I'm a couple classes into my graduate program, I'm feeling pretty good about myself. Dougie has started PreK and is LOVING it.

I hope to update more, but I can't promise anything!

Quilt Along

I'm participating in an online Quilt Along (I know, right? When did I turn 80?) and I'm so excited! I bought my fabric and cut it this week, combining Weeks 1 and 2. (Quilt Along can be found here)

Here are some pics. It's going to be a twin size quilt, so I'm hoping it will be Kate's quilt for her big girl bed! I'm thinking she'll be ready for a big girl bed by Christmas, so it gives me a little bit of time to finish!

Pretty piecing...

Middle of the quilt...

My fabric choices for the quilt along....

All my strips ready to be cut into squares...