Welcome Connor Brien Oney

After literally weeks of waiting and planning, Connor Brien Oney decided to make his appearance on Monday, June 18, 2012 at 11:59am. He weighed exactly 8 lbs. and is 19" long and looks just like his sister did when she was born.

Sophie met him, but seemed a bit more interested in the attention of others than her baby brother. She was a bit too scared to touch him, but she did tell him that she loved him.

We couldn't be more proud of our newest member.

 Even Grammy Barton has been enjoying the newest grandchild. She's beenhelping us all week and never has Sophie gotten so much attention and Connor so much cuddle time. (I've also never had the house stay so consistently clean without cleaning myself!)

 Thank you to everyone who has wished us well, given gifts, and helped us out during this time. Know that your thoughts and actions have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Somehow we will repay you for your generosity to our expanding family.

Gets it from her Mother

This trait she definitely gets from me. This is how she fell asleep during nap time today... with an open book in hand. Cat in the Hat's Miles & Miles of Reptiles to be exact. This isn't the first time, it's just the first opportunity I've been able to grab my camera and get a picture.

Anyway... just too cute not to share.

Father's Day 2012

Hope all the fathers out there are enjoying their Father's Day.

The Father's Day gift shown above was due to Pintrest. There were 2 more made that were spelled out for Sophie's 2 PAPAs. Next Mother's Day I'm thinking I'll do the same only spelling out GRAMMY.

Wheelchair Wiener

As previously mentioned our wiener dog is having back problems regularly, so we decided to invest in a doggie wheelchair.

We were able to find a decent deal on a wheelchair ($100 not including shipping), but apparently my measurements weren't quite accurate. Oops. (I blame poor instructions for measurements).

Luckily the company is willing to remake it with the correct measurements (thankfully). Until then, Oscar will have to live without the wheelchair until his new one comes in. He obviously cannot use the one we currently have.

Can I Complain?

You know I've never really used the blog often, or recently, to complain, but for some reason I just don't feel like I can hold back any longer. My apologies in advance.

1. I have a dog that is costing us TONS of money due to back problems and is causing me tons of pain because I've had to deal with cleaning up all his household messes... which seem to never end. Not even the dog diapers I bought seem to be able to hold anything in and even the kennel doesn't prevent everything. And no... I'm not taking the blame for all of this simply because I let the dog jump up and down our bed for several years.

2. My daughter is entering the 'whining' stage when she doesn't get her way. She's very good at voicing what she wants, but when that is not an option (which is usually the case as she wants to eat at bedtime, watch TV constantly, go the park instead of a nap, eat dessert for lunch, etc....) she throws a fit. So tired of this stage. Again.... not taking the total blame for this one either.

3. I've got a doctor who tries to be nice, but continues to provide limited to no moral support regarding my pregnancy and continues to delay everything. I've felt like I'm ready to pop for a month and yet nothing has happened. I'm so ready to not be pregnant anymore.

4. I've got a child who doesn't want to come out. I think he gets it from his dad who is a home-body. The baby has been sitting on my pelvic bone just ready to come out for a month and instead he just kicks or nudges his way around giving me heart burn.

5. Due to timeline differentials and the baby and doctors unwillingness to help expedite (chemically or naturally) my pregnancy, we've had lots of concerns and worries about 'what would happen if...' situations. Recently Brian cancelled a work conference trip to DC because I'm hoping to get induced this week... as the doctor promised we'd set a date. Hopefully the date plans to be this week as well because I'm not wanting to set a date weeks in advance... heck with that!

6. The house never seems to stay clean. My daughter loves to clean mirrors, counters, floors, but will not willingly clean her room or her toys without supervision and constant direction. I've been picking up a lot of my husbands household chores while I'm home as well, but again.... he doesn't pick up his clothes, papers, dishes, etc... either. So I always seem to be cleaning.

7. Luckily and unluckily I have my work laptop so I've been spending a few hours each weekday working and helping out the temp at work. And while she's nice, I seem to get bombarded with stupid things that can either be handled easily if she follows the directions I give her or have previously written down for her. Or I get everyone at the office nagging about small office supplies. I'm sorry... I'm not going to fill out an order form for $10 worth of white out for office supplies. Neither am I going to buy staplers when we have tons of used staplers in the bottom drawer of the supply cabinet that no one can seem to find. And I don't care if they aren't Swingline... it's a stapler... use it.

8. I'm constantly tired and can't seem to help it. And while I manage to get rest in on the weekdays while Brian is at work and Sophie is at school, I don't often get much rest on the weekend. Today, Sophie spent her 2 hour nap running back and forth in the hallway from my room to hers to tell me she had decided her nap was done and me continually telling her "No, it's not done... go back to your room". Needless to say I didn't get much sleep... which might be the reason for this post.... hmmmmmm.....

9. Been trying to get up-to-date and even think ahead with the holidays etc... for last month, this month, and next month. This week I finally finished sending out 2 birthday cards, 1 anniversary card, 2 mothers day gifts, and 3 father's day gifts.  And I still need to fix one of the father's day gifts because Brian doesn't like the K-State shirt in the background, send out 4 more birthday cards, and work and send out something for Sophie's godfather. All this while trying to deal with fussy behavior, upset stomach (baby loves giving me indigestion), not enough sleep, and with a house that is begging to be kept clean.

10. And lastly, in addition to all these things... I hate that I've become into a nagging mom and wife who has little patience for her family and/or anyone else. I don't think I've done anything relaxing (other than weekday naps and baths) for awhile. I haven't kept in touch with too many of my family members... and even when I have I've either had to keep the conversation short or the topic has progressed to a subject that was irritating me... thus not exactly a positive phone call for the listener. Generally I'm a positive person and I can have lots of scruples and stupid things just slide off my back, but now it just seems like every little thing just irks me. And instead of thinking how I can positively change things that I don't like, I just want to complain about it.

Again, I apologize for having to use this blog to 'vent' out my feelings and frustrations. But I'm hoping that by doing this I can let go of my anger/aggression/bad mood and be kinder and more patient like I want and need to be. Also, if you've recently been the subject of my ranting and raving or complaining (either on the phone or in person or via this blog rant) I'd like to apologize. Usually I'm not this bad... it's been a gradual acclimation of problems, worries, concerns, and irritations that have driven me to this madness. So again... I completely apologize and hopefully by next week I can finally overcome this slump and transform back into a less hormonal, more rational, calmer, patient person.

Pool Time Fun

 

It's not officially summer until you go to the pool. So most of the pools opened this Saturday accompanied by the upper 90 degree heat, and we took Sophie to the pool. Brian was mostly the hero of the day following her around and getting wet with her, while I mostly sat down in the shade or on the side watching them play. Here are some of the pictures.

 

Oscar Update

So in addition to having some baby-doctor-pregnancy drama, we have also recently had medical problems again with one of our smaller family members. About every 3 months, Oscar's back goes out. His discs deteriorate and he struggles with walking among other things. The saddest part of this is that he's only 6 years old, which is incredibly young for smaller dog breeds which tend to live longer. After trying different medicines, ordering dog diapers to help prevent his many indoor accidents, we bought a dog wheelchair and took him to the vet. Diagnosis wasn't too promising. They again gave him the steroid shots which help him, but are honestly only temporary solutions as it is likely his back will again have problems in another 3 months. Previously they had discussed the option of surgery with us regarding Oscar, but since his back problems now seem to be occurring every 3 months and considered 'critical', the $2K surgery would only have a 25% success rate for him. Two thousand for 25% is just not realistic for us.

So, he's on different meds to see if that will help and then of course we'll be getting the doggy wheelchair before too long as well which will help. They mentioned that the meds and the wheelchair might allow him to live a longer 'fuller' life since it will reduce the strain upon his back and legs. However, they cannot predict how long this will last. We are hopeful that we'll have many more good years with Oscar who has been part of our family for almost 5 years now- being there with us at our first house in Newton, to Sophie's birth, to moving to Arkansas, to letting Sophie "play" (tug, pull, and hug) with him, and our move to Texas. Hopefully we'll get the opportunity to introduce and make memories with Connor in the years to come.

Anyway, we'll keep you updated. Since this blog is about our family, I couldn't just omit one of our family members recent trials and tribulations.