Christmas

We had 5 Christmas gatherings, and Mason & Braelyn made quite the haul! So on Monday we cleaned out old/broken and mismatched toys and brought them to the Goodwill.  You can only see 5 garbage bags in the pic, but one is hiding underneath on the left, and after I took the pic, I added one in that open space and threw one in the back seat.  Even after getting rid of the 8 bags full of toys, the kids still have plenty to play with. In fact I think they like this better because they can actually find what they're looking for, and the upstairs isn't so cluttered (which I like). 

Mason likes his new work bench set he got from his Aunt Sonja, along with some power tools from Santa!

Santa brought Braelyn a playmat...she's not sure what to do with it.

Mason & cousin Skyeler

Mason kept getting games for a Wii (a gun for hunting games, steering wheel w/ mario kart, & some games), even though we didn't have a Wii.  He was starting to get upset because we kept teasing him about it, but finally he opened his present from his Godmother, Jenny! He got his Wii!

The kids doing Cheers! Yes the boy on the right is a KID, he's just in disguise!

Marshmellow gun was a hit!

And so was the DS from Shilice!

Leaving cookies and milk for Santa

Christmas Morning presents from Santa

Mason and cousin, Ava, with their matching Pillow Pets

I'm Back!

Well, only temporary! I borrowed my sister's laptop again until she needs it back.  I will break down and buy a new computer after Christmas.  (that is, only if Santa doesn't bring me what I asked for!) 

This past weekend we had a get-together with Shane's highschool graduating class at JP's, which was alot of fun.  We missed his 5 & 10 yr reunion because of racing, so we were thankful they planned this one over the winter!  And speaking of racing (or lack thereof), I thought for a moment that Shane was in need of medical attention when he asked me the other day if he should quit racing.  His reason for asking was because every year when he gets laid off, he works damn near every day in the garage putzing on his cars, and this year he says he can't even stand to look at them!  I knew 2 days later that it was a short-lived thought as he planned a race trip to Arizona for mid January! :)

So back to what we've been doing.. the following day we had Christmas for my mom's side.  This was the first Christmas without Grandma, as she passed away 8 days prior :(  We've been doing a little snowmobiling (well, the boys have), and me and Braelyn have been shopping for Christmas gifts.  Which reminds me, I still haven't got her anything yet :/  I've sort-of (like big-time) been the grinch this year...I didn't put a single light up outside, or even mail out Christmas cards.  I did put up a tree, and that was the extent of my decorating this year.  But thank you to everyone who sent us such great Christmas Cards, and sorry I'm not sending one in return!

 And we have SMILES!!

 The Raider Shane fixed up.

 Just relaxin'

That's all for now, I better get going before the baby wakes up!  Yes, it's 10:08am and both my kids are still sleeping.  I hope I don't jynx it by saying that Braelyn is an excellent sleeper!  She's out around 9pm, and well, today (& most days) is still sleeping past 10am.  She did get up to eat at 3:30am.  But I'm very fortunate for the sleep I do get!!  Mason on the other hand, I don't know why he sleeps so much.  He doesn't take a nap anymore so maybe 12 hours of sleep in the night is normal.  Some days (most days) I wish I could sleep in as long as they do!!

Temporarily Out of Order

being that my computer took a dive i wont be posting for a while. i was borrowing my sisters but she needed it back so this post is from my phone... i do normally use capital letters and punctuation but for some reason it wont let me. needless to say im hoping santa receives my wishlist of a new laptop. whatever did we do before technology. insert question mark. one would think id have so much free time without a computer being in our house. nope. now i attempt to use my phone as internet and it takes 5 times as long... however i do limit what i go on here for now. i used to google everything from recipes to kids crafts to baby questions. now its on a need to know basis. which isnt any fun. so im off for now and wont know when ill be back again. insert sad face.

merry christmas to all.

Today

Today is not the day to be blogging, but I just realized I forgot to post a 4 week update...although not much has changed.  Today Braelyn is one month old and today is also my first day back to work :(  even though Mason insists "You don't work!"  Sorry Mason, just because I don't pack a lunch and put on work boots, doesn't mean I don't work!  Anyway, so far the day hasn't been all that bad, and my lack of sleep hasn't hit me yet...The biggest challenge now will be to get Braelyn on schedule with the other kids' naptime from 12:30-2:30pm!

These pics aren't recent, but I thought I'd post them here, for those that don't have facebook!

3 weeks

Braelyn has been much better the past few days (thank God)! She has even been having a 5 hour stretch of sleep at night (usually from 9pm-2am).  Now if only I would go to bed at 9pm when she does! She loves her crib!  She sleeps in it for bedtime and naps! When she's not sleeping, she likes to be held, because apparently just sitting in a swing or chair is boring or something!

Mason still can't get enough of her!

She seems chubby in almost all my pics, but when I look at her (in real life) she's not...so maybe the camera adds a few pounds..LOL ;)   Speaking of....she had her check-up on Wednesday, and is 9lbs 6oz (was 8-3 at birth).  She was 20 inches at birth, but shrunk a lil to 19.5 a few day later (because of the whole cone-head affect from delivery), and at her appt she was 22.5!! I think maybe they measured wrong, cause growing 3 inches in 2 weeks seems unlikely.

This upcoming week will be extremely depressing for me (yes, I'm being negative)....It is my last week of maternity leave, and although I'm very grateful that I don't have to leave my children and send them to a daycare, I still dread that it will no longer be just Me, Mason & Braelyn.  I'm not at all thrilled for the early mornings, or messy house, or bickering kids.  And I have tried to come up with a way to not work, but unfortunately Shane doesn't make enough money for us to be a 'one income' family....So, I guess if I have to work, I can't think of a better job to have than doing daycare at my home & being with my kids!  And Mason is pretty pumped to have people to actually play with, instead of watching movies all day, and shooting his toy guns!

Sleep when baby sleeps???

When everyone's advice is 'sleep when baby sleeps'....obviously that only pertains to first time moms.  There's no way to nap with an almost 4 year old. The moment I close my eyes, I hear "mom, who's gonna stay awake with me?"  Well, now that you just woke me up, I will! I've been borderline zombie on some days, but we are managing to get by.  It should be law that dad's get paid leave too!

Braelyn turned 2 weeks last Friday (and her 2week check up is tomorrow), and she has been having some issues!  Through the research i've done, all I can come up with is what they call colic.  I though colic meant a "fussy, spoiled, hold-me-all-the-time baby, because I will cry for no reason until you do hold me".  But that is not the case (or not my case, anyway).  One doctor recommends calling it the "hurting baby" because obviously something hurts.  In her case, it's her tummy that's in so much pain.  I can hear air rumbling in her tummy and she just can't seem to find a comfortable position, and it's always worse right after feeding, and seems to get better when she passes gas or burps.  Although, Sunday is was ALL day long...  We tried gas drops and gripe water, both with no luck.

So Monday, I took her to the chiropractor and during the appt she tooted more than she has her whole life, and finally pooped twice when we got home (which she hasn't done in days).  So whatever the lady did seemed to help for the time being.  I also am eliminating dairy from my diet for now, since that's usually the first culprit if breastfeeding, and I found a more natural relief called colic calm that just came in the mail yesterday to help soothe stomach issues.  So, it's not by a lack of trying to figure out what works, that's for sure.  However, I think maybe I'm trying too many things at once!! 

Braelyn had a "real" bath finally, and as I'm dressing her, I hear "Mom, come here!" I went to the bathroom, and find Mason in the baby tub saying "see, I fit perfect!" 

 She likes to suck her fingers when shes hungry!

 Getting so strong!

 Bored one night, the boys decided to practice their aim....

and this was their target------->

Shane's deer... unfortunately whenever Mason went with they never seen any deer.

We also attended the Wissota National Banquet this past weekend, and unfortunately those pics didn't turn out real well.  Shane placed 7th with the A-mod and 2nd with the MWM. Congrats to all 2010 National Champs!!

One Week

Today, Braelyn is 1 week old and we are so blessed to have her in our life!  She has been a great baby thus far (and I'm praying she continues to be).  She is pretty much like clock-work for feeding...exactly every 3 hours she cries (and will not stop) until she is fed.  We go to bed around 10pm and are up every 3 hours for a new diaper and food, and sleep til usually 10am.  Gosh, how on earth will I be able to wake up at 5:45am when daycare kids come back?! Maybe I'll win the lottery before then!! However, that would include driving somewhere to get a ticket, and since Shane went back to work this past Wednesday, I haven't left the house.  Mostly because I'm afraid to take 2 kids out (since we all went to Walmart on Tuesday and Mason was a handful to say the least). 

More pics....

 Sunday my sister (Tina) and her kids took Mason to a Halloween party their church put on, with games & candy, so we never took him out trick or treating, which was a relief with a 2 day old.

He has been a great big brother, and is my helper (throws away diapers, and gets things I need), but he refuses to let Dad spend any time with his sister.  I think he thinks Braelyn is my kid, and Mason is dad's kid.

 We've also had a few people ask how to pronounce her name..... Basically just like it's spelled.  We say it as one name (Braelyn), not 2 (Brae - Lyn).  It's hard to type how to say something, but the faster you say it, the more correct it is!  (If that makes any sense!) :) 

Nap time now.....gotta go!

Welcome Baby Braelyn

We have spent the past 3 days adoring our precious new baby! Braelyn Jean Sabraski entered the world on Friday, October 29, 2010 at 1:56pm- weighing 8 lbs. 3 oz and 20 inches long. We just love her to pieces!

My original due date was oct. 27, and being that the doctor thought she was getting pretty big, I opted to get induced 2 days later (plus I was losing my patience and getting very irritable)!  So, the night prior to going to the hospital I was having painful contractions but not close enough together to go in, and when I arrived to the hospital Friday morning I was dilated to 4 centimeters.  They started the pitocin (to get more constant contractions going) at 9am, and I started pushing at 1:46pm..... She was out at 1:56pm! A whole 10 minutes of pushing (I know I'm lucky!!)

 We had a scare when she arrived, as the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice, and her face was purple.  The doctor handed her to the nurse and they called more nurses in & gave her oxygen, and stimiluted her.  Basically she was in shock from it, and we are thankful it wasn't more serious.  Although, at the time, we were scared to death.

 Mason has been a great big brother, and wants to hold her all the time (to the point of annoying for me), but I'm glad he loves her so much already!  He has been doing pretty well, other than not listening to Shane or I very well, but he's adjusting pretty well to not being the only child anymore.  The first day home Shane took him out for a 4-wheeler ride, and he couldn't figure out why I could no longer ride with.  He said Braelyn could ride with too, but I told him she was too little.  As they left the yard, Shane said he started crying and said he wanted mom to come with.  Shane explained that I had to stay with the baby, but when she gets bigger we can all go.  He quit crying, but Shane said he was sad the entire ride.

 Well, that is all for now... I will put more pics up later and updates on how she's doing, but for now we are going to get ready for bed!

The End!

Finally the 2010 season has come to an end... As always, it's a bittersweet time of year.  We are relieved to actually have some time to do other things (things like hunting, house cleaning & having a baby!), and just to relax a little.  But I know soon enough we'll be bored out of our mind!  This year actually went by alot faster than previous years, mostly due to the fact of having Sunday's off...so having the season come to an end isn't as joyous as it used to be!

This past weekend was the final race (at Ogilvie Raceway), and so the guys thought they'd have a little fun with it, and so our pit guy (DJ) and Ryan's pit guy/brother (Chris) thought they'd give racing a shot! 

All suited up and ready for hotlaps!

 Mason woke up bucky, so Shane was trying to cheer him up...it didn't work!

Shane ended up 5th with the superstock, 3rd with the midwest mod, and 10th in the A-mod for the final race of the year.

He finished the year 2nd in national standings with the mwm, and 7th with the modified!

Well, this concludes racing updates on this blog, but continue to follow if you're interested in baby news or random things!  Hope you all have a great 'off-season'!