Sunday, August 23, 2009

What have we been up to???

Well, this explains it all...
SOFIA FLORA
7/6/09
7lbs 8oz
19inches


This blog has taken the backseat to Facebook which is JUST SO EASY to update in small quick notes so it's just been my first choice over the past almost 7 WEEKS! I can't believe it will be 7 weeks tomorrow - - - WOW!!! We are officially a family of 5 now and I couldn't be happier.

Let's see, pregnancy was tough to say the least, the csection was amazingly easy this time, recovery was GREAT, and this beautiful baby girl is JUST PERFECT!!!! Her big sister and big brother adore her of course, daddy now has 2 girls to stress out over and Adrianna and I have another shopping partner!! Life is GRANDE!!!

Tomorrow Sofia will be seven weeks old and I honestly don't know where the time has gone!
This sweet baby girl has brought some major change into our lives but with that change has come such peace in our lives, such joy, such happiness! This is what I am here for, these babies and my husband. They are my world, my heart, my everything! Sitting together, all five of us snuggled up makes my heart just want to burst!! Chris and I have been so very blessed, 3 beautiful babies all healthy, all sweet, everything we dreamed of.

New life
New beginnings
New memories
Pure Bliss!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Today is the BIG DAY!

I can't believe in just a few hours, I will FINALLY get to meet the beautiful baby girl that has spent the past 39 weeks growing inside of me!!! I can't possibly sleep. :o) I have been going over and over the births of my other two miracles, thinking about how much my life has changed since given the opportunity to become a mommy.

A New Day, A New Life, not just for Sofia, but for us all. This morning I was laying in bed at 3am just praying and thanking God for all he has given to me, no matter how unworthy I feel I am to have all the blessings I do, he has blessed me in abundance. My heart is overflowing with joy. My thoughts have been purely wonderful looking back at my life that I've always felt was "not so great", a childhood that was more "forgettable" than "memorable", and seeing it all in a new light. Realizing and being able to pinpoint all of the different times God was there and how he rescued me and comforted me even though I didn't realize He was there. I didn't live a life of faithfullness, in fact I lived a life more in envy of other children, other families, friends, everyone who seemed to have it better than I did, better "luck" than me. Oh how wrong I was.

All the tough times, all the memories I spent my life trying to block out and was successful at doing so for much of it, really made me the woman I am, the wife I've been able to become and the mother of amazing children that God has given me to teach them His ways and to Love and Praise Him, nobody else. I've learned that I cannot "idolize" anyone or "worship" anyone but Him and through God, He will give me the strength to love and be loved like never before by the people he has placed in my life, most importantly my adoring husband and amazing children. I love them in a way I never felt loved and didn't know I was even capable of loving, but realized through His love, I am.

I have spent the early hours today praying to my God for the strength today not just for me, but for my husband and the ones we love. I've prayed for friends who lost a loved one this past week and to help still one of my closest friends' anxious heart and comfort her. I prayed for my children and for my friends that show me so much love and kindness. And then I sat up and prayed, asking the Lord to fill me with the Holy Spirit, to open my heart and mind to accept his Son as my Savior and vowed to live the life that God intended for me to have, walk in His light and live a life showing others how much richer it can be when living it for Him and not just yourself.

Tears of joy spill down my cheeks as I type this, my life is full, my cup is overflowing and I feel blessed, so blessed beyond measure and I get ready to accept one of the greatest gifts God has to offer me, New Life, both spiritually and physically.

Thank You Lord!!!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

We are ON TRACK!

I can't believe how ready I feel, it's almost like I should be nervous and not too confident because I'm probably forgetting something MAJOR, LOL! Besides sweating to death, weighing 199 lbs and ALL DAY heartburn, I am feeling pretty GREAT!!! I'm full of joy and excitement, so much that I can't rest! (like that's a surprise,ha!)

We added a couple projects in the past couple days to stay in and stay cool which I'm quite pleased with. . .
  • Adrianna's 2009 Graduation Photo Album
  • Adrianna's Kindergarten Scrapbook (FULL of pics/memories of her first year in school!)
  • Our Family Recipe Binder
  • Cool Decorative Hand Sanitizers and containers for Sofia's room and downstairs
  • My 2ND Online Offer completed!! Will get my "2nd" $500 Visa Card in 5 weeks!! YAY!!!
  • Organized all closets and scrubbed out pantry.
  • Completed my CVS & WAGS posts for tomorrow over at my other blog.
House is clean and in order, arrangements all made for next week and Christopher got out today for a LONG and FUN 4th of July playdate with friends and no sister! :o) I'm halfway through another one of my Francine Rivers books about "Bathsheba" and have a line of other books to start next.

I'm feeling settled, and it feels good. I feel LOVED by all my friends and my mother in law and it feels GREAT! I think this upcoming season in our lives is going to be a GREAT ONE! I'm so looking forward to it. I've memorized Jeremiah 29:11 to comfort me during the actual CSection and feel such peace about it. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".

We are about to sit down and pig out on steaks, parsley potatoes, corn on the cob AND eggplant parmigiana all prepared by my hubby and mother in law. Chris and I are going out afterwards for some coffee, dessert, and "us" time. Tomorrow we will be spending it in fellowship with our friends that are actually "in town" followed by dinner with our Pastor and his family. His wife is one of my best friends and I thank God for that family everyday!!! I am still in awe the way God has blessed us with them, our wonderful neighbors who have become like family to us and all our GREAT friends that have come through these relationships over the past two and a half years . . . HE IS GREAT and blesses in ABUNDANCE, I see that now and am so full!!

Well, dinner is ready, time to chow down!

HAPPY 4TH EVERYONE!!

Here are pics from my latest project....




Thursday, July 2, 2009

4 more days and counting...

4 Days from now and I'll be holding and smelling a SWEET baby girl!! I can't wait!!!!! I'm surprised to say that I truly feel ready. Baking day was a success, fridge, freezer and pantry are all very well stocked thanks to all my couponing and CVSing, laundry is caught up, house is clean and I'm starting on another book by Francine Rivers. I finally organized all of my printed recipes into a cute little binder for the kitchen . . .
My friends have organized a CareCalendar for us so I've copied and pasted all the meals to my weekly menu for the ENTIRE MONTH OF JULY!!! What a blessing!!! It's posted on my fridge and I'm happy to say I don't have to worry about dinner for the rest of the month!! WOW! This is a first for us for sure.

We were talking last night about decorating the house and yard for Sofia's arrival, it's all Adrianna can think about, she's so excited. She was asking questions about what we did for Christopher when we came home, she remembered bits and pieces. My sister came for his birth which was wonderful and my mother in law was at the house there with us too so it was great! We didn't have many friends so there wasn't all this attention like we have now but it was still a great experience for Chris, Adrianna and myself. Then came Adrianna asking me who decorated when we came home with her from the hospital and all my memories came sweeping in. I wish my experience with her was as "glamorous" as she was hoping and I had to stop myself from saying we came home to an empty, dark home, very depressing and very stressful. We were new to Texas and didn't have any friends, it was very tough on me. I didn't have any family here with me and I was scared to death! She asked if we had a stork in the yard or a sign on the door with balloons and I told her no, BUT that's because she wasn't old enough to do that yet, LOL! I explained how very special and important she is in our family and how she makes every experience fun and beautiful. We couldn't do it without her! I did tell her how AWESOME it was that it snowed the day she was born and I have pics of the snow on the car, that was simple enough to excite her, my sweet 6 year old angel! I can't believe it's been 6 years. I still remember her sweet "kitten like" cry. All the nurses had to come in to see the "Hair" , they couldn't believe it, she came out with a shag...LOL! I am so thankful for having Adrianna as my first born. She slept through the night, made me so nervous since I thought she was going to starve sleeping so much. She was an easy baby, always smiled and had the biggest most beautiful eyes that people EVERYWHERE had to stop me to tell me and admire her. She was an absolute angel from the start and once I got past the nervousness of being a first time mom, I was in heaven. She is the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen and has the personality to go with it. Sweet, loving, kind and sensitive, just like her daddy, I completely adore her. I'm so thankful that I am going to be able to give her a little sister to adore, teach and protect. I know what it's like to be an older sister and am so thankful she is going to be given the opportunity to experience that too.

Adrianna Carmela
2/8/03

Christopher Anthony Alfio Jr.
4/28/06
Next . . .

Sofia Flora
7/6/09


All of the "Important" To-Dos are complete so today and tomorrow will be spent working on Adrianna's Kindergarten Scrapbook,and just having fun!!! I am so blessed to have the husband and children I have, what a miracle to be given another sweet little angel from God!!

I am so grateful!!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Transformation


So I was watching a Baby Story yesterday and it's been a while since I've seen one of the episodes, but I of course cried my eyes out!! :o) The mom was trying to deliver her 2nd baby vaginally but had to have a Csection due to the same reasons I had to have one with Adrianna. Her husband was talking about how she was scared, but crying more because she was afraid of disappointing him.

It made me reminisce about each of my two csects I've had and how emotionally tough they were on me. At the time I had my first one, nobody I knew had one and it was SO hard on me, I felt like a total failure. I had my birth plan typed out, had a binder all organized and ready to go, even pre delivered my plan to the dr. and the hospital to post on the door...LOL. But it just didn't work for me and I had to accept that. Hopeful that I could do a VBAC for my second to be able to experience the "euphoria" of vaginal birth, I was shot down my doctors and decided to just go ahead and schedule a 2nd CS. That experience was much better than my first one. It was scheduled, I was mentally prepared, and I knew what to expect. Since the epidural didn't work the first time, my dr. gave me a spinal the 2nd birth and I was able to be awake which definitely made a HUGE difference! My first CS was an emergency, no pain meds were working and I had to go under General Anesth.

I'm prepared for my third CS delivery but still feel the anxiety of it inside. Watching the mom crying the entire time they are cutting and delivering made me cry too! The fear laying there of something going wrong doesn't go away when they take your baby out, at least not for me. I couldn't stop crying until they rolled me out of that O/R!! The fear of death overwhelms me during the surgery so I'm trying to figure out a way to not have that happen this time.

Thank God Chris is able to be right by my side. He is my ROCK, my "safe place". The man has the warmest brown eyes you could ever look into. His touch makes me feel safe and secure. He may be filled with as much fear and anxiety as I am but doesn't show it to me. I feed off of his patience and resilience as much as he feeds off my energy and excitement. We are a perfect balance for each other in that way.

Each birth is a different experience regardless of how you deliver the baby, I know that. I was laying in bed talking to Chris last night about how it NEVER gets old, each birth is NEW LIFE, a NEW BEGINNING, and I feel so blessed to have a husband that wants to experience that just as much as I do, and that God has provided us with the opportunity once again! This pregnancy has been TOUGH, this has been a rough season in our lives between moving, financial struggles, and lots of other "changes" in our lives all at once. BUT, the best, most valuable part of the past nine months has been my spiritual growth. I've felt close to God and far from God over the past 21/2 years that I began my journey, but not until NOW do I genuinely feel like I am God's Child and am filled with the Holy Spirit! My life has been transformed! I've been broken down in ways that pain me to even think about, but I do believe that was the only way for me to hear God's voice and His only way to get my attention, my FULL ATTENTION. My biggest fear since "calling myself Christian" has been whether or not I would still genuinely be me. And wow, yes, I am still ME, just a better ME. :o) Character qualities that I always said I didn't have, I now possess and call mine. I pray now, and not just for me, but I spend more time praying for other people.

This is a new Chapter in our Lives, our Book . . . and I'm so excited and FULL of Faith, Hope and Love . . .

Monday, June 29, 2009

It's Baking Day!!!

Whole Wheat Bread (in machine)

1 cup + 2T Water
1 T + 1.5tsp Butter softened
1/4 C Firmly packed brown sugar
3.5 C Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/4 tsp Bread Machine Yeast (1packet)

Place Ingredients into machine in this order:
water
butter
sugar
salt
flour

Make a small indentation with your finger in the flour and add the yeast making sure it doesn't come into contact with the water.

Put breadpan in machine.
Makes a 1.5lb loaf

Pizza Dough

1 C water
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 C Flour (you can use all purpose or whole wheat)
1 Packet Yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 T Italian Seasoning

Load into bread machine and set to dough cycle. My machine takes 1.5 hours and then you remove it, roll it out, stick it on a stone and top it!

Bake at 450 until done!



Zucchini Bread

Rice Crispie Treats

Sunday, June 28, 2009

38 Week Update!

Well, my Master To Do list is almost done!! We will finish it up this week. I've had a busy weekend and feel like I'm right on track, thank God because I'm TIRED!!!!

* FULLY stocked up on about 8 boxes of Eggos, 5 tubs of Breyers, lots of strawberries (will slice and freeze 2 pints for smoothies, kids LOVE them!), chicken and some other goodies from SuperTarget.

* Spent my $46 in ExtraCare Bucks on lots of TP, Paper Towels, some meds, toiletries, 4 12 packs of Diet Coke, 2 Gallons of Milk, Bread, Cereal, Tuna, Chicken Soup, laundry and dish soap too along with a few goodies for me and the kids!

* Made a HUGE trip to Walmart and have an extremely well stocked pantry which will get us through the next month! Stocked up on Rices, pastas, breakfast items, baking needs, canned goods, beverages, snacks, chips, etc. I am good on all my pantry staples as well. :o) Had a great trip of almost $140 before qps and $73 oop! Very Nice!!!!

* Just looked at my CareCalendar that my friends put together for me and it looks like we will have dinners prepared for us for the ENTIRE MONTH OF JULY almost!!! HUGE BLESSING!! I love my friends!!

Chris cleaned out my car and I'm bringing it for an oil change tomorrow which will be the only road trip I make besides my dr. appt on Wednesday. I have some last minute "nesting" to dos for the week with my mother in law around the house and need to get as much rest as possible which involves starting another book...LOL!

I thank God for her, she is the type of mother in law everyone wishes they had - - - a TOTAL blessing!!! She will be here helping me this week wrap stuff up and a couple of weeks postpartum too. She is the typical Italian Mama, always cooking something, cleaning something, kissing and hugging the cuties and I hope to be just like her when I'm a Grandma for sure. She and I have a very special bond that I am overjoyed for. I love our conversations, I love the love she has for me and our family, and I especially love her gracious and giving heart. Right from the start, I felt accepted especially by her...hey I'm Italian after all..LOL! I am so excited to be able to give her another granddaughter to love and adore and chose her name for Sofia's Middle name...."Flora"...."Sofia Flora"....it's PERFECT!

So now it's off to relax with Chris, write out my weekly to do list and fill out my monthly calendar to stick on the fridge for the family... I feel overjoyed right now!!!

LIFE IS GREAT!!!