Early to rise, early to nap!

Well its Saturday and I was up early with Kameron. No hes not sick, he was just going to work overtime (BLESS HIS HEART!). So I decided to stay up and enjoy the awesomely quiet house! My first task was to have a warm drink. You see I ALWAYS make myself a cappuccino in the morning. Then I pretend I am my own little Starbucks and add whipped cream, but because the drink is hot I just eat a lot of whipped cream before I start slurping... When I say a lot, what I really mean is A LOT. Its ridiculous I know, but its one of my quirks!

Anyhow I decided to stop wasting money on that little container of cappuccino mix and make my own. I can do this, I have a college degree....So I bought everything I needed to make a sugar free cappuccino mix! I mixed up everything, ground the coffee, heated the water, added a tub of whipped cream (rather just reapplied multiple times), btw, because I like to be fancy I use the spray can of whipped cream, not the big ol tub.

I have to say its not bad, however I added a bit too much cinnamon and will not be doing that again! But overall, I think its a good money saving option! I can sit here in my pj's drinking it and enjoy!

So back to the story, I got up about 5:30, visited with the husband, read some friends Christmas letters. Let me remind you that if you want to be part of my daily joy of Christmas letter reading/picture ooing (not a real word) you best be getting yours into us! Laughed out loud at a couple of them, got some tears thinking I need to visit some of my friends more often because their kids are getting so super big!

Anyhow, I finally made my way downstairs to get some work done. And I do mean work, I had the day off yesterday for multiple reasons so I needed to check emails and make sure the office didn't burn down. I am talking about the real office not mine in my house (lets hope I would know about that).

So I worked for about 90 minutes, then checked my personal email, did some facebook creeping (Yes, I admit it, I am a facebook creeper, I need a rehab group), checked the bank account as we did some major spending yesterday, read Grace Bittners latest caringbridge update, said a prayer for her and now am blogging.

However I am ready for a nap. THis is how I roll, I get up early, then I want to nap. I think thats pretty simple, however, my husband and daughter do not operate that way. They like to sleep in and not nap until later. The only one who is on my side is my dog and she naps all day, everyday! Well since Kameron is working today I know that I cannot get away with napping for much longer because Kynlee is going to decide that she is ready to conquer the day (9 month old style!).

So if I want her to wake up all I need to do is get comfy on the couch, get ready to watch a full house rerun, with my eyes closed and she will be yelling for me to come get her (luckily we are not at the point of crawling of the crib yet).

Well, i think I will go finish unloading the van (we only brought in fridge stuff....it was a long day and we got home pretty late) and soon enough I will have a baby who needs some lovin singing from her crib!

Not that I mind, we will have a good day together folding clothes (where is my mom and sister Emy when I need them!) and hopefully putting them away. If you know me, you know that i cannot stand putting laundry away. I should just have a dresser of laundry baskets.....

So here I am wishing you a WONDERFUL Saturday! I am sure many of you are out shopping for last minute gifts or just starting your shopping. Pretty sure I would like to stay 100 miles (actually 71) miles away from a walmart or mall today.....bunch of crazies out if you ask me! :)

I will stay home with Kynlee maybe venture out to Bronson's (our grocery store), Beulah Drug, Do-it Best Hardware, or Pamida (thats how we roll here in the big city) to get a few things, by doing this I am just putting of the laundry duty further! :) Then I will get supper ready for the overtime working husby and get ready to beat him in Yatzee! (our latest craze!) :)

Have a good day, I might sneak in one more serving of whipped cream with a side of cappuccino this am, just to make sure I mixed it alright and then begin my day! :)

Thank you for reading.......

9 months, WHAT?!?!

WOW. Thats all I have to say for myself....WOW. Who on Earth goes 9 months without blogging.....ALL FINGERS POINT TO ME!!! What is wrong with me? Oh yeah thats right, I HAD A BABY!!!!

Okay enough yelling, I am giving myself a headache! First of all apologies for not blogging sooner. I really have no excuse. I know people who have 2, 3, 4, 5...a million kids and they still find time to blog. I guess even Mrs. Dugger blogs.....

One of my favorite blogs is from my friend Mandy whose husband is in med school, she has 4 kids (not to mention a set of tween girls!) and she blogs all the time. Then my friend Kimberly has 3 kids; one boy in preschool, another at home and a newborn girl and she manages 2 blogs!!! Would this be a good time to mention that she also knits, helps with MOPS, makes cards...oh my the list goes on. (I look boring compared to her!) Anyhow, I honestly have absolutely NO EXCUSES!!! (Sorry I was yelling at myself there!)

I don't even know what to write about.....I guess what have I been doing for 9 months....changing diapers, moving, nursing, packing, sitting in the hospital with my husband, traveling, and anything and everything! I have decided the best way to fill you in on my events is to attach our latest Christmas letter! :) Great idea huh?! AND it gets me out of typing it twice :)

For those of you who know me well, you know I LOVE GETTING CHRISTMAS CARDS! (Yelling at you this time!) So I didn't include our address at the bottom of this letter for my health, I did it so we get more cards. Subtle, I know! Its really sad because Kameron knows I am the first one to get to open the cards (trust me on this one!) and then he can read them after I have examined them. Its my OCD peeking out to tell him just to smile and nod at whatever I say.... I like to remind him that "A Happy Wife is A Happy Life", I will probably get that embroidered on a pillow for the davenport (thats a couch...I honestly didn't know that for years....and my grandma called it that all the time!). Okay that was my ADD kicking in! :)

Alright, drum roll please....here is our letter.....yes I know some of you got it in the mail so just skip past that part, oh and be easy on the author, Kynlee wrote it and its her first one....don't say anything that might offend her, shes just a babe! :)

Thanks for reading, I never know if anyone does.....so sometimes I figure why do it....but Tiffany reminded me (a few times) to get busy blogging and she does wonderful blogs, along with pictures of her REAL tree!!! No excuses here, ours is fake! :)

But honestly more blogging is a New Years resolution for me.....along with losing the baby weight, getting out of debt....blah, blah blah...believe it when you see it!.

OKAY HERE IS THE LETTER!!! (Yes yelling at myself again!) :)

2010 CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS! 

My mom recently began writing our annual letter & I started eating the paper, she gave up and told me to get busy! (I hear she likes to get this in the mail early!) Let me take a minute to introduce myself, my name is Kynlee Jacalyn Plienis, I arrived March 3, 2010 at 7:39 am. And I am delighted to take over this task! Mom did give me some “rules” to follow, as apparently she has been doing this for a while, she also let me know this is her FAVORITE season of the year. Dad & I were clueless that there is a time named “Christmas Card Season” so we just smile and nod! 

Her first rule was that we recap what happened to us each month of the last year, so I started with March. She told me we had to start with January, however I still believe their lives really began in March! Anyhow, go ahead sit back, grab a cup of joe and enjoy the show…

Mom and dad ended 2009 by celebrating Christmas with all sides of our family, they even got stuck in Tioga during a big snow storm. Mom said January was pretty boring; snow, wind & cold…just a typical ND winter. Towards the end of the month mom was told she needed to slow down and relax a little before I came. If you know her, this was easier said than done! J

February was when they announced to close family that I was a GIRL! We also celebrated my mom & aunt Emy’s baptism over Valentine’s Day! Then they did something NO ONE ever saw coming…my parents bought a mini-van! My mom still shakes her head, but dad and I know she couldn’t live without it. Also dad sold ALL his demolition derby supplies, mom was shocked, but he said it was the best decision for our family! These were just some of the MANY changes that were made because of little ol’ me!

Finally…the GOOD STUFF! Mom checked into the hospital a day early just to calm everyone’s nerves as I was scheduled to come out via c-section on the 3^rd. We were so lucky to get dad & grandma Karin to be in the room for my grand entrance! Everyone cried when they found out I was absolutely perfect! The rest of March was spent figuring out our new life as a family. Dad took a week off so he could be home & then grandma Karin & aunt Emy came to stay for a week. Mom wants to add a huge THANK YOU for all the visits, cards, meals, presents, calls, texts, emails & prayers that were sent our way! J

We began April with a baby shower & my baptism on Easter Sunday! What a glorious day as MANY people joined us for the big weekend. Soon after, G & G Plienis took care of me so mom & dad could have their first date since I came along. Then we got the sad news that mom’s uncle Greg had passed away & we headed west to Watford City to celebrate his life. While mom was busy with arrangements aunt Angela & cousin Sawyer took care of me. We spent mom’s birthday in Tioga and enjoyed our last few days at home together before she went back to work.

Following another baby shower we celebrated dad’s birthday and grandma Karin & aunt Emy came to stay with me for mom’s first week back. Although I loved daycare at Diane’s house, mom said it was really hard to work full time with dad out of town all week so she started working part time. Also, in May, we traveled to Williston to help my great grandma Janice turn 85 years young! We spent Memorial Day weekend in Rapid City sightseeing, shopping and visiting with friends.

Now it was June & I was 3 months old! We took a mini-vacation to Minneapolis for a family wedding. Every week it was harder for dad to leave & for mom to be a “single mom” M-F. We had WONDERFUL support in Linton with family and friends but something was missing… Mom & dad knew we needed to be a family ALL week long, not just the weekends. Just to see what would happen, we put our house up for sale & started looking for one to buy in the Beulah/Hazen area. We looked at many houses and finally decided on one with a great neighborhood for me to grow up in!

Little did we know that we would accept an offer on our house by July 5^th, and so the circus began! We worked hard to get most of our packing done so we could head to Michigan to be part of grandpa Dean & grandma Frannie’s wedding! Our first stop was in Grand Rapids, MN to see the Arntson relatives. Our destination was Bessemer, MI, and we enjoyed every minute of the wedding celebration weekend as even I got to be one of the flower girls!

On our way home we stayed with my uncle Jamie, aunt Miranda and cousin Olivia in Northwood. The remainder of August involved boxes, totes, paper & tape. We packed until we couldn’t pack anymore! We took a break to go to Medora & then Montana to meet my great G & G Gallwas & other relatives. We were able to stay over with some of our friends in Billings on the way out & back.

We found out early in September that we needed to be out of our house by the end of the month. This began the MAD rush of getting everything out & into storage or other people’s garages! I had just turned 6 months old & made sure I got into everything while they packed. They decided grandma Rusty should take me on the weekends so some work could get done!

After living with some friends and G & G Plienis for two weeks, on October 15 we became residents of Beulah and finally a full time family! J All of our belongings came a week later and so the unpacking started! Mom was thankful that I didn’t start crawling until we got here, but she hasn’t been very fond of my willingness to help her unpack! I dressed up as a pig for Halloween, but got tired after trick-or-treating at 4 houses! I liked watching people come to our house for candy!

Well it is November and we still have quite a few boxes sitting around, lets hope that changes soon! Mom started back to work, I am at a new daycare that I love & I get to see my dad EVERYDAY! Recently, we enjoyed going to Stanley to see my great-great grandma Elsie. My dad gave us quite the scare this month as he had to have emergency stomach surgery & stay in the hospital for 5 days! I didn’t mind though as I got to stay with G & G Plienis the whole time! Then G & G Christianson came to stay with us for the weekend! We are happy he is on the mend, as life is really a precious gift! In December it will be busy as I turn 9 months old and we celebrate my first Christmas!

That is what happened this year, I am sure 2011 will be more active as I am starting to move alot. I now crawl all over, get into cupboards, pull books off the shelves and even reach for the garbage can! There isn’t a lot of things, besides toys, that can be within my reach. Everyone says I look like dad and act like mom, I am not sure what that means, but I do know I tend to be a little nosey and dramatic! Being outside, looking in the mirror, giggling, eating crackers, seeing babies, listening to music, giving hugs, taking a bath, and making noise are my favorite things. I am starting to give more kisses, pull myself up, wave bye-bye and make more noise! I cut my first tooth and am working on my second. I will soon begin walking, and talking (dad is pretty sure when I start, between mom and I, he won’t get a word in edgewise!).

As far as everyone else, my dad still works at Coteau as a mechanic and enjoys being the “boss of the yard and vehicles”! He loves to cook and enjoys seeing how much I change everyday! My mom continues to work for RightStart Math and now works from home while I go to daycare & she still sells Scentsy and Avon. Although she hasn’t had much time recently, she loves to scrapbook, sew & bake. Mom & dad enjoy playing games, watching movies, going for drives and playing cards if I ever give them any spare time. Our dog Sadie turned 3 in September, she isn’t really sure what to think of all the changes and she is pretty skittish of me, but she is adjusting just fine.

Although we are farther away from some family, we are closer to others! Now, we value all of our family time & look forward to many memories in our new home. Everyone who has crossed our paths here have been very friendly & we know we will fit in well!J If you are ever near Beulah or just want to visit, stop on by…WE LOVE COMPANY!

I know I am an amateur, but hopefully you enjoyed my letter, it gave mom a chance to clean up my messes! Please note our new address as we look forward to seeing your letters/pictures/cards during this “season”! Keep in touch and know that we consider each of you a blessing to our family. J

~Wishing you joy in abundance today and always~

The Plienis Family

Kameron, Cassie & Kynlee (Sadie Mae, too!)

236 Riviera Drive

Beulah, ND 58523

It's the final countdown..... :)

Now I know that each of you are singing the song....THE FINAL COUNDOWN, we can't seem to remember what movie it comes from, I say Rocky but Kam says no. Who knows not important. What is important is that in like 12 hours we will have a baby to snuggle. YIIIIIIIIIIIIKES! 

Well I came to Bis on Monday for doc appointments and a massage (VERY IMPORTANT!!!) and I had a nice relaxing day, well not really but I tried. Who can relax in this situation? NOT ME! I stopped at the insurance agency to add a mini van to our insurance....yes you read that right. A mini-van. I said NEVER would I EVER drive one. Here I am a soccer mom....where has my life taken me?! We (Kam & I) had decided we were going to wait with this major purchase, but just when I think I know him, he goes and pulls a fast one on me! He decides to trade in his truck. What? I know I was shocked. We just bought him a new truck last year, a nice truck and he said that he did it because he "wants to start doing things for his family..." my heart melted. I had been doing the dealing on the vans we first looked at and he took the bull by the horns and did most of this with out even telling me!!! He is the best husband. And I guess if I have to drive a "grocery getter" he did buy me the cadillac of all "urban assault vehicles" so I have NOTHING to be upset about, hes a keeper! On a side note we will be getting him a truck when we trade off the journey, he has old trucks to use at this point, so he will still get something out of the deal! :)

Well then last night was a nice relaxing (and yummy!) time with Nate, Lynae, and Kyler. I went to bed early we all know I am not sleeping AT ALL, but I tried to rest. Hippi had me up quite a bit but decided to try out for the Olympics at about 4 and that was the last of my sleep! :) Then today was interesting to say the least bit...... 

I ran a few errands, did relaxing things, stopped at the docs office because I had somethings to do but was feeling a little nervous about kicking and movement. I mean I was feeling a little movement, but I just dont think in this situation you can be too sure. I am almost positive most women who went through what I have would do the same thing. I was able to hear a heart beat and it was one of the sweetest sounds ever. Dr. Bradley decided maybe it would be best if i was in the hospital over night just so she and I both felt better about things. I thought that might be an option.... then Kam called just as I was leaving the clinic and he must have known I needed his wisdom at that time. He decided to leave work to be with me, i knew if he was i would feel better. i continued on my day with a quick manicure and then a pedicure, where the receptionist said i looked like I was having 40 babies! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????? 40 babies? HOW RUDE! she was like 150 yrs old so who knows what she was thinking! :) 

The highlight of my day was when Kam surprised me with a March birthstone necklace and earrings. I love them, they are pretty special to me. And I guess he is too! :) But as Lacey said we shall see how the diaper changing goes! :) 

We ran (I waddled) to target to pick up somethings and met my parents there, mom suggested I get to the hospital and we would all feel better about things. True. I decided that my doc was right, lets get me monitored and we would all be happy. I called her office and basically they were like, "its about time!!!" so here we are. 

In the hospital, all is still on schedule for tomorrow, c-section at 7:30am, and a cozy night in a bed that goes up and down! FUN! Kam is reading, I am computing, and baby is kicking--he/she does not like the heart monitors, but thats too bad!!! :) 

So tomorrow is the day......Dr Bradley will do the section, and Dr Shafer-Mclean will be in too, I love them both and so happy that they will share in our joy! :) Kam and my mom will be with me and watch this wonderful bundle enter the world. Tonight I am trying to relax, not sure how its going, but I am trying! And my parents are on their way with Olive Garden!!! fun! so we will have some time to chat and then decide thats is bed time and a baby will be here before we know it! :) 

THank you again for reading and for praying for us. This uphill battle is almost over, and I know its worth all the stress, anxiety and everything else! :) We cant wait to see this baby and tell everyone boy or girl! :) 

We will keep you posted! :) As soon there will be 3....... :) 

Are we ready?

This is the question most asked of Kam & I. Its interesting as I sit here this morning and think...are we ready? Another popular question is what do you still need? I usually answer , "nothing" then later I freak out because I feel we are missing some essential items, like a boppy pillow, changing table, and baby monitors to name a few. But then I sit back and think of my great grandma Elise and what she had to raise her 3 wonderful daughters.

A little history on GGJ.........She has been my only connection to biological pregnancy questions on my maternal side. Her daughter Jean, my grandma, passed away before I was born, and then of course my mother, her granddaughter, Jackie, passed away when I was 6.

Throughout both of my pregnancies I have contacted her with questions and just to hear how things were in the "old days". She is more than willing to share her stories, as at 96 years young she is still sharp as a tack. There are days when she isn't as sharp as she once was, which is hard for us to understand, but she still does VERY well. I also have a wonderful mother, mother-in-law, grandmas, sisters, sisters-in-law, and miles of friends to pull advice, stories, and laughs from, but nothing says it quite like my great grammy!

She told me on her second birth that she was out doing chores and told her husband it was time to have a baby and thats just what she did. She went inside called the mid-wife and it was baby time. No hospital, no monitors, no anesthetic...NOTHING, just her, a midwife, and a baby on the way. When this bundle came out she didn't have a boppy pillow to help her breast feed, or monitors to hear if the baby was awake in its crib, or a changing table equipped with butt paste and many lotions. I feel that my grandma Jean, and my great aunts, Clarice and Linda turned out really well. Okay Linda was born at a hospital but I am pretty sure she didn't get to come home to a Bumbo seat! :) And GGJ was not worried about things on her Target registry that she needed before kids came. :)

She probably was also not worried about how the family pet was going to react. Which has been our latest concern, I mean its almost obsessive on my part. (I know thats a shock that I would obsess about something!) We are so worried about how our "baby girl" Sadie Mae will react. Will I still have time to snuggle her, will I still call her my "doggy-dog dogerton" will I still play "dance with the mama" with her? Will I still give her a puppy massage? I know most of you are picking your chins off of the floor, but these things really do happen at our house! :) I know Sadie Mae will do wonderful, she is great and she will love "baby hippi" as her best friend. and vice versa. :)

We will be fine, and yes we are ready. We have a lot of questions of "when can we do that?" but we have a WONDERFUL support staff around us to pull information from! :) And even if we don't pull the advice out it always flows freely! :) Which we love!!!!

Thank you again for all the love and support, Kam & I are so blessed to have amazing people in our lives offering up much love and prayers. Please know we (Kam, I, baby Hippi, & Sadie Mae) are forever thankful!

More to come........but in the mean time, MAKE IT A GREAT DAY!

should I start freaking out yet????

Hello all, oh how I hate that I go so dang long between posts. I was thinking maybe a video blog is the way for me to go, I mean really, we all know how I LOVE to talk. If thats a shock to some of you...then you do not know me, and what are you doing reading this! :)

Oh time, where have you gone? I honestly feel like yesterday we were just making the big announcement. "Is this the LONGEST pregnancy ever?" (only mom will get that joke!) But then again as I watch my ever growing belly I realize that its gone really slow. So are we ready? I don't know if you are ever ready...I mean we have diapers, we have clothes, we have the necessities, but ARE WE READY??? I think it must just come to you, I don't know if thats the right answer, but I sure hope it does. They say the best way to prepare for a baby is for a couple to get a pet. Well most of you know my pet history, NOT GOOD. NOT GOOD AT ALL. But maybe I wasn't meant to be a single mom, because now that Kameron & I have raised Sadie Mae, I think we have done real well. I mean she has her moments, she can be a little crazy, but all in all she really is a wonderful dog. Lets hope this shows some type of merit to our parenting skills. We also come from very good parents, so hopefully we learned a thing or two. Not to mention about 90% of our friends are parents so the network of people we can reach out, is endless. :) I think we might make it!

We are now doing 2 doc appts a week. Which is good, better safe than sorry. I can't say that the appointments have gone EXACTLY as I would like them to, this child likes to rock to it's own schedule and really thinks following the rules at the doctors office is not on his/her schedule. Well lets hope this is not a preview of what is to come. As we all know, I tend to like things my way, somehow I think that is all about to change! :)

I cannot believe its 13 days away. We c-section on 3/3 at 7:30am, YIKES! I think we have to be there at 5am, I mean I am a morning person but REALLY?!?!?! We will have my mom and Kameron in the delivery room (as long as the anesthesiologist allows 2 people. And Kam will cut the cord, not normal for c-sections, but Doc Bradley is letting us get away with it! Kam's parents will be at the hospital at the same time as will Emy. I am sure more will arrive that day to greet us, I am so excited. Sometimes I think I am so excited I could wet my pants, for those of you who have been prego you know thats not a big stretch of the imagination.

We had my parents here this past weekend, dad helped Kam in the basement and mom helped me hang things in the babies room. Also on Saturday my sister Emy and I were baptized. You might think thats odd, but neither of us ever had been before so it was a big deal. I was so happy to share the special day with Emy-she is very special to me! :) Not to mention she is one of Hippi's Godmothers! :)

Also we told our parents the sex of the baby, but we are still keeping it TOP SECRET from everyone else. Not that this is easy, because it is NOT. But everyone will find out soon enough, after all its only 13 days! :)

As we do 2 doc visits a week, Kameron cannot attend any more, we are saving his days off for when the baby gets here. It has been SO wonderful having him come with me, I am so much more relaxed then. But I do have a wonderful group of people who I have begged to take me to the remaining 4 appointments. It is hard to find people who have jobs that are flexible enough to let them take time off to run me to Bismarck. Luckily Tammi can take me today and Monday. My mil, Rusty will take me next Thursday and then the last appointment on 3/1 will have me going by myself but Tanya on call in case I need anyone. Kameron was pretty worried about me being alone and since he isn't the easiest to get ahold of at work, I need people on speed dial in case I need anything. When I go up on 3/1 I will be staying up until we come home with baby. Lynae was kind enough to offer her home to us until we check in to deliver.

We are forever grateful to all of our friends and families who have offered much love and support throughout the past 35.5 weeks. What a trip it has been! We ask you to continue your prayers in the next 13 days as, our anxiety levels have began to rise and we know we aren't out of the clear yet. Thank you in advance for the millions of prayers that go up for us and baby hippi! :)

We love all of you....

Hopefully you will be reading more from us sooner than later! :)