The Best Man

I'm a little late on this, but I just had to recognize Clay's Birthday! It was Sunday, January 16th.  I felt so bad not being able to throw him a big party or anything, obviously because of my lack of sanity/baby blues, but I was able to suck it up and invite some friends over for a quick cake and ice cream night that evening.  He's always been talking about wanting to get a Tres Leches cake, so we went out and bought it Saturday night and indulged in it the next day.  Yum! It was quite delicious! 

I can't express my gratitude enough for this guy.  He is the best to me, my perfect husband, my one and everything.  He stays up late to help out with Kort so I can go to sleep early, he holds me when I cry, he motivates me and encourages me when I am down on myself.  He is the hardest worker I know and never gives up on anything.  I don't know how I ever got so lucky to marry him.  He makes me want to be a better person, to strive to achieve my goals, help me become more Christlike, and for us to work together to have the spirit in our home more.  He is perfect for me! 

I Love You Clay!

D-Day

I figure it's probably about time I update my blog with how the delivery went.  These last couple weeks I'm surprised I've gotten through.  I don't know how I am even finding the time to update this as it seems as Kort is becoming colicky or whatever.  Luckily, a good friend of mine is letting me borrow her Moby Wrap and this is the first time I could figure out the thing so Kort is just bundled up next to me, making sure he's not crying. Miracle.  

Anyway, here's the details.

Last Doc appointment was Thursday, December 30, 2010.  I was 2 cm dilated, 80% effaced.  My Doc and I had talked about being induced, yes, because of the tax credit, but also because of our insurance.  Obviously everyone was wanting to get induced that weekend too.  She said I was a good candidate though and she'd try to get me scheduled for Friday, the 31st.  I got a call from her that Thursday night saying that I was scheduled to go in at 7:00 a.m., New Year's Eve!  Everything was becoming so surreal! It was like sleeping on Christmas Eve! We checked in at the hospital, got to my room, and just chilled for a while.  It took them 3 times to get my IV in and then around 9:00 they gave me Cytotek, a lesser form of Pitocin.  It did speed up my contractions and come noon, they kept me on it because my contractions were being regular.  By about 2:30, they started me on Pitocin.  The Doc came in and broke my water around 4:00.  Oh wow. Do I really know what they mean now by a gush of warm water! ha ha So the contractions were starting to get pretty rough so they gave me some Fentanyl (I think the name is appropriate for me because it sounds just like our last name :) to help with the pain before I got my epidural.  Well, that didn't last long because I was starting to die, so I quickly asked for the epidural.  By that time, I was already dilated to a 9.5 cm.  I could have gone natural within the next hour, but HECK no, it was killing me! But oh Heaven, I was in love with the epidural! It started working around 6 or so and I was starting to push by 7:00 p.m.  Kort was delivered at 8:41 p.m.  Oh what a joy it was to have Kort placed on my chest!  I knew I would cry, but not like I did.  I can't believe this thing growing inside of me was now physically in front of me!  Clay was such a good sport about everything.  He cut the umbilical cord and was so comforting for me.  Now, I don't want to get all graphic for you, but I thought it was the funniest thing/feeling when I delivered the placenta-what a gush!. Ha ha Unfortunately, I did tear and had to get stitches, but after recovering for a little, we headed upstairs to our room to stay.  It was the weirdest feeling having an infant in our room, that we were supposed to take care of now.  Yes, it's still weird to this day, but it's a wonderful feeling!  Well, that just about does it.  Hopefully  I'll keep you all updated now for how things happen.  Geez, I just can't believe it's been 2.5 weeks already!

 First family picture! He came out pretty bruised face, 

if you can't tell :)

 Play time!

 Kort's first bath! He's starting to like them more, thank goodness!

Taking one of his big yawns! Too bad it doesn't put him 

right to sleep.

Brad Paisley says it best

I'm beginning to understand the meaning of postpartum depression...well I should say, the baby blues.  I suppose it happens to every new mother, and now I am part of those statistics.  Clay went back to work yesterday, but thank goodness his mom has been here to help out.  I'm fine throughout the day, emotional wise, but when he gets home, it's like he's all I can look at or think of.  I feel like a clingy girlfriend who won't let go or go away :) ha ha This song came back to me and I couldn't express or describe my feelings any better.  It really is like I'm falling in love all over again having Kort and starting a family.  I suppose posting this video is just helping me get through this, so I hope you at least enjoy listening to the song :) I'm doing good, but this song is just comforting to me. Enjoy!

He's Here!

Kort Leland Fenton

Born 12.31.10

8:41 p.m.

9 lbs. 2 oz. 22 inches

We are SO in love with this little guy! We went in at 7:00 a.m. to start being induced, and I had progressed so much that things just went fast. By 2:30 they gave me pitocin, broke my water, and 2 hours later I was dilated to a 9.5 cm (it was a 4 at 2:30). I quickly asked for my epidural which I could barely handle my contractions.  Boy, is that thing ever a lifesaver for sure! I was able to start pushing at 7:15 and a hour and a half later, Kort was welcomed into the world.  Our lives have totally changed over these last few days, obviously, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Yes, it already has had its challenging times, but what new parents don't go through them?! We'll see how well I keep up with this blog now that I have something to brag about everyday :) ha ha Of course I am biased, but isn't he just the cutest baby alive!?!?

extreme couponing

I can't help but get somewhat angry over these extreme couponers. If any of you watched TLC's Extreme Couponing last night, let me tell you why.

First off, this is the Krazy Coupon Lady. I...love...her...blog! If you don't know her background, intentions, etc. of being a couponer, you will definitely get the wrong vibe from her part in the show. BUT, the first lady, I believe from Ohio...she is a hoarder.  She has like a 150 year stockpile of crap. Ok, so maybe good things like body wash, whatever, but 150 years??? Ridiculous. But no, she buys 100+ candy bars - because she-can-get-it-for-free. What's wrong with this picture? Candy bars = NOT healthy, especially in that amount. Most of it will go bad before they even make it through half of them...also the fact that it's being stored away and probably isn't touched much BECAUSE she just likes the thrill of getting them for free.  Her husband even calls her storage "garbage".  Anyway, I could go ON and ON about her and what I don't agree with.  

Another lady, from outside Chicago...she gets up at 6 a.m. everyday and walks 7 miles to go pick up extra inserts from newspapers...from friends that collect them for her, to recycle bins.  Good exercise.  Once at the store, she's constantly helping her fellow shoppers find the best deals, making sure they're using a coupon, etc.  She's been couponing over 35 years! She ONLY buys what she uses! This I like.

Now on the the "dude".  I was a little annoyed by him at first.  He's at the store and "buys" like 100 toothbrushes, 100 deodorants, etc.  One thing I liked though is that he pre-ordered the cereal he bought.  Granted, there were about 1000 boxes :) At the end of his trip though, he told the show that he donates most of the stuff to shelters, etc. which is one of the great points of getting things for free...to help those out in need.  

Ok, my cyber friend, Joanie, aka THE KRAZY COUPON LADY!  Words of mine just can't tell you how great she is of a couponer.  Just visit 16 Questions and Answers that she had during the show. Her blog helps me tremendously and actually got me started with couponing. I can say, that without her help and her blog, I wouldn't be cutting our grocery bill down, or saving a little here or there.  I am no couponer like her, however, I love finding deals on things that I use and can stock up...um, but no more than a year's worth!!! Like hygiene products - I love being able to stock up on body wash, deodorant, because I hate paying full price for those.  Once I'm to the end of my stockpile, I start looking for the sales again.  I have mentioned on here a while ago that I was able to get 50 boxes of cereal...for $4!!! Now some ask WHY the heck do you need that many? Well, first off, I did the calculations.  How much cereal I ate a day, how many boxes I went through a week, and when the next big sale would be.  NONE of the cereal went to waste, some boxes were donated and family was in town so we needed the extra anyway.  RARELY do I ever buy what we don't use.  Even if I can get it for free, it's just going to go to waste if we don't eat it, don't like the brand, etc.  I suppose we could be more flexible.  For example, we only use Crest toothpaste.  For me, it seems like this is the hardest brand to find for free.  I have seen Colgate be free several times, but, we don't like that kind, so why stock up if we won't use it.  Get my drift? Anyway, I hope this helps you couponers out there, or those who have had the misconceptions of it and have procrastinated on jumping the bandwagon that you'll never be able to get off once you get started :) I just thought this was too interesting to not post. Oh, and probably because I have too much time on my hands waiting for this baby to come. :) 2 days until the new year...cross your fingers!

thanksgiving catch up

We "moved" back home the weekend before Thanksgiving, and thankfully, we were invited for a Thanksgiving dinner by the Harrison's!  We had nothing planned and were expecting to spend it alone with a bunch of sparkling cider (like alcohol for me - ha ha) but were blessed with this invitation.  We each joined in and put a dinner together.  I stole Alisa's picture from that day (thanks Alisa:)

It was soooo yummy! I definitely ate way too much pie (go figure) but the rest of the food was absolutely delish! In Minnesota, there was this lady in our ward that won the State Blue Ribbon Bread Making Contest and she shared her recipe with us Relief Society ladies.  Mine surely didn't compare to hers as she also went to Culinary School, but someday I will have it down like her.  They are called Cottage Cheese Dill Rolls.  Yes, doesn't sound appetizing, but oh-my-heck, they were to die for! Better luck next year. 

I wasn't planning on doing any Black Friday shopping because there were no deals I had to have, except I have been wanting these 3 mini trees that Michael's just so happened to have them dirt cheap for sale on Thanksgiving DAY! So, Alisa and I hit the road for Michael's after dinner.  We got there like an hour early and there were only 4 other cars.  No one was getting out of their cars and once someone did for a second, we all got out thinking it would be chaos. Nope. And just our luck, Michael's opened their doors 1/2 hour early so there was no problem getting our trees :) 

Oh, I'm just in love with them! I am dedicating these trees to our baby, so he has his own tree(s) this year! I found these adorable little mitten ornaments at Hallmark so this will be his first ornament and then the Willow Tree ornament with the mom and baby.

Here's a close up of those.  I love them :)

That concludes our Thanksgiving festivities. Hopefully I can catch up on everything else before this baby comes!

mn and id adventures

I'm bummed that I took practically zero pictures while we were traveling so much these last months.  So as I get pictures from others, I'll post them. As for now, here's the (hopefully) short version of our travels.

We left Minnesota a week before Halloween and headed for Rexburg. We had plenty of time to relax with family, visit friends, and for Clay to do his usual work at the house - which he loves doing and can't do here in WA since we aren't the ones who take care of the yard.  Tyler and Caeli came up from Utah the two weekends we were there, so we went to Wingers for dinner.

(Ok, so bad picture. But one of the few that I got. :S )

The first weekend Clay's family/cousin Roy, threw me a baby shower! It was so much fun catching up with old friends and getting advice on what to expect! HA! Thanks so much again Roy! (pictures to come). We also hit Clay's parents' ward Halloween party/dinner and I made these cupcakes for their cupcake walk.  We joined in and won some awesome cupcakes too!

(I saw these on one of the blogs I follow, I think Little Birdie Secrets.)

I was a little bummed that we weren't home for Halloween because, oddly enough, it's one of my favorite holidays.  Someday...someday I will have enough decor to deck our house out and have huge parties :) There's just something about Halloween decor that I absolutely love! Well, that just about does it for Rexburg.  Clay had also been super busy with work and helped for a couple of days with his boss doing interviews at the University for their company for internships.  There was an information seminar one night that he helped speak at, followed by a cazillion boxes of Craigo's pizza! The next day he was doing interviews all day long.  Sunday, Clay and Quinn drove me to Burley to drop me off at my parents.  Clay had to fly back out to MN to finish up his training.  Oh gosh, I hate good-byes/see-ya-laters with that guy.  I probably bawled like a baby for the next few days. And back to Rexburg did they go as Clay flew out the next morning.

Burley, well, that was fun. Ha. I was sad to be away from Clay so really I had no motivation to do anything and was a bum all week long. Jared was going to the Temple for the first time Friday!!!! He finally got his mission call to RUSSIA!!! I'm so excited for him.  He's going to be the coolest Russian missionary :) So Janelle, Tom and Shay met us at the Twin Falls Temple and went through with Jared.  Wow. What an awesome experience.  It truly is the House of the Lord.  You know it just is - you can definitely feel His presence there and know He walks those halls. 

That weekend felt like a time of miracles as I found out more news.  One of my brothers had gone back to church for the first time after 14 years.  He went with Jared, wore a suit, and was welcomed with open arms.  I can't express the gratitude I have for the Gospel and for being able to go to church each week and worship together and renew special covenants.  The church is a place of sinners to be cleansed.  None of us are perfect, therefore none of us have room to judge others.  So I'm so thankful that my brother felt comfortable and was welcomed.  Bro, I doubt you read this, but THANK YOU.  You make me proud.  Stick with it.  The path back to Heavenly Father is hard, but WORTH it.  

Moving on.  The next day, Saturday, Janelle and my mom threw me a little shower while I was in town.  Thank you all for coming! It was so great catching up with you! (Fe, Jaimee:) After that, I was off to Boise with Janelle!  To shorten things up, I stayed with Janelle and her family for about the next few weeks.  I was able to see all my brothers and their family so it was already great!

(Jason, his girlfriend Violet, and the kids came for dinner and a movie:)
 We also got to go over to Jeremy and Brooke's and have dessert and chat!
We had lots of time to hang out, go shopping, do crafts, go to water aerobics at the Y :), watch the Lion King over and over again with Shay, and get some prego shots together! These are my favorites!

(Photos courtesy of my brother, Jordan Byington.)

Well, FINALLY, Clay was able to fly back to Boise! We all went to dinner that night to Texas Roadhouse! Oh how I miss that place.  Washington has ZERO of those restaurants. :( We rented a car and drove back to Tacoma the next morning.  It started snowing that morning in Boise and looked like it was suppose to all the way back, especially through the mountains and passes we had to go through.  We decided to take the less mountainous way back (through Portland, not Snoqualmie Pass :S).  We were so blessed with the weather.  The snow stopped once we hit the Oregon border and only rained off and on for a little bit.  Sun was on our side that day. It was so nice being back home! So this concludes our adventures away from home. Hope you enjoyed the long/short version :) ha ha