pictures from our evacuation and of course, a few new ones of the newest hudgins too :)

we all just got a 3 hour nap and feel human again. we were in the car from 6pm to 6am yesterday. crazy.

katrina, all over again???????

it feels like it. we found out we were pregnant with jordan the week before katrina. i puked all the way to houston. now we have a 4 day old and a katrina like storm is on the way. what is it with us and babies and hurricanes?

we are safe.

we made it to GA at 6am. 12 hours in the car as opposed to the normal 7 hour trip.

needless to say, this was very hard. sweet jaxon did so good for awhile, but he desperately wanted to be swaddled and held and to nurse a bit more frequently than traffic would allow at times. when we did stop to nurse there were people everywhere and it was so hard to get comfortable. he was a trooper; and i am so thankful to God that we are here.

asah ended up coming with us at the last minute (thank goodness!). he and jordan pushed ahead because we were having to stop so much with jaxon. poor jordan, not a car sleeper, was up past midnight which is the first time in his life! he is sleeping now upstairs with daddy, and i hope his sleep is sweet.

prayer requests:
our home. asah and wendell boarded up windows and sandbagged doors before leaving. now we just wait and hope and trust God!

jordan and jaxon. for jordan to be able to adjust and play and sleep and just do normal 2 year old stuff; and for jaxon to continue to learn to nurse and just be a newborn.

for us; and for me i think especially emotionally. it's Katrina all over, except for this time with 2 kiddos.

for asah as he desires to get back as soon as possible to help lead out in relief efforts and mobilize our church to be as big a help to our community as possible after the storm.

we'll keep updating, but know we are SAFE. and resting in Him this morning.

thank you for the phone calls, emails, and comments, even from some we do not know. what a huge blessing. we definitely feel your prayers!

love,
the hudgins "four!"

gustav, gustav, go away

just cant handle this TODAY!

we are evacuating. with a toddler and a 3 day old. nuff said.

prayers needed.

hoping to update once we get to a safe place.

even though we are on the northshore w/o mandatory evacuations, loosing power with these two boys would not work....

asah is going to be boarding up our windows and sandbagging. hammond is already out of gasoline in many areas and walmart is a danger zone there are so many people there.

asah will likely stay and we (me and the boys and my parents) will be on the road this afternoon or evening. please keep us in your prayers.

jaxon is an AWESOME baby....he is a wonderful nurser and is sleeping beautifully. we got a 5 hour stretch last night. I think God knew we needed to be physically, mentally, and emotionally prepared for the storm.

i am recovering pretty well. my swelling is pretty bad and i'm worried about a long ride; but we'll be ok!

more posts later.

how is Jordan doing?

see video for your answer :)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

last "day" in the hospital

we were blessed to be able to go home exactly 24 hours after Jaxon entered our lives.
here are more pictures from yesterday.

megan and macauley (one month old)
tara and jaxon (one DAY old-and bigger!)

she decided to hit him in the face :)



going home outfit

one more for good measure

this was last night after his first meal.
very very content.
he's a little piggy!

Jaxon is here!!!!

This is Asah again. Jaxon was just born at 6:26pm on 8/27/08. He is a whopper at 9lbs, 11oz. and 21 inches long. He is doing very well. Okay here is the long awaited pic. I am sure that there will be more to come.

edited to add-tara is feeling great. she has a bit of a fever that they're watching but shes feeling fine!

edited to add- a few more pictures (after a bit of editing!!) :)

On the Verge

Hey this is Asah again. We are now at 9 1/2 cm and almost ready to push. He is finally coming!!

big ole head

hey readers...tara here :)
i have my epidural so i'm feeling good....
this is a stubborn little guy!

i'm about a 6-7 now and almost fully effaced...he's just not dropping very fast.

nurse says his head is big....

but i have a wonderful, patient doctor and jaxon is doing fine so we will wait on the dude to come on down.

pray it's soon....mommy is hungry and cant eat till he's out!

Noon update

Hey everyone...This is Asah doing a guest post because Tara is a little busy right now. So here is the update. They just broke her water and She is at 5 cm and Jaxon is at -2 station (that's high). It is just a matter of time now. We will let you know as soon as we can.

here we are

the hospital has internet this time! so that means updates for everyone.

we're here...but apparently the doc wrote 6:30 for induction rather than 5:00 am..meaning we totally couldve slept longer.

oh well, we are hanging out in the room waiting to get started......

we'll keep you posted!

is my belly huge or WHAT????

well......

it looks like the 10 who voted for the 27th will be absolutely correct.
we have rested and spent time together as a family of "3" today and anxiously await jaxon's arrival tomorrow.
please keep us in your prayers and we'll be sure to post as soon as we can!
excited,
the hudgins

fay day

Little bitty stingin' rain, and big ol' fat rain, rain that flew in sideways, and sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath....
(forrest gump)

it seemed that way yesterday as jordan and i were barricaded in our house all day due to Fay. sometime that afternoon we'd both had enough. we went outside and played for an hour or so in the puddles and ate popsicles. we both felt better afterwards.

he's really getting great at sounding out letters. doesnt matter where we are he sees words and starts spelling them out. we think he's pretty smart but we are awful biased :)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

this is SO cool!

i just found a site called www.wordle.net that lets you put a lot of random words together to make art.  you can also just enter your blogsite and it takes the most prominent or repeated words over a period of time to make one for you.

here's the one it generated....it's just really neat.

Click here...it's not letting me copy the image here.

title="Wordle: waiting for jaxon"> src="http://wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/139026/waiting_for_jaxon"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">

this, faithful readers....

is why you shouldnt take a toddler with you to the ob/gyn :)

we thought (wishful thinking) that yesterday might be the day...i had contractions all night long (from 1am on) and then they fizzled. i went in to be checked because my BP felt like it was up and swelling had worsened so we wanted to be on the safe side and get checked.

still the same....3 cm/50% effaced and jaxon is high and comfortable. oh, well :(

it was jordans first time in the office and the dr. loved seeing him...it had been 2 1/2 years since she was the first one to see his little face!!!!

we're "on the books" with Labor and Delivery for EARLY wednesday morning. and i can wait. this guys gonna be worth it.

progress!

finally!

i was 2cm today....and after she checked a 3! we ALMOST got sent over today...but the doctor wanted to wait until next week. there was a bit of excitement thinking today could be the day. now we'll just continue to wait until next wednesday. we're on the books for an induction early that morning.

my belly was measuring 41 weeks today...he's gonna be huge....

and his heartrate was up in the 160's. she asked what i'd eaten and i had to confess about the 2 chocolate glazed doughnuts and orange juice. definitely what got jaxon hyper this morning. oh, well.

good news is BP is very good; and swelling is managed...which means no magnesium if it remains that way next week. i may actually be cognisant for the birth this time!

poll results so far!

6 of you think the 27th (scheduled induction)
3 for the 25th
3 for the 22nd
2 for the 21st
2 for the 23rd
2 for the 20th-TOMORROW!!!!
1 for the 19th-TODAY! yes, please!

I have an appointment today so I'll update later with the latest. Thanks for voting and the poll's still open if ya havent voted yet.

We're still hanging in there. A sweet family from church brought over 2 meals last night so that will help push us on through this week.

We have this awesome cleaning service set to come in and DEEP CLEAN our whole house on Friday. I cannot wait. This hasnt been done in the 1.5 years we've lived here (I keep it clean but I dont scrub baseboards, wash the windows, etc). Anyway, Asah decided to get this done for me and I'm thrilled! The house hasnt really been cleaned since I've been on bedrest so we have sticky floors, dusty everything, etc. It's been killing me....The poor lady has her work cut out for her! Now we just have to find something to do for the 6 hours she'll be here....hmmmmm.

Thats all for now. Back later with an update!

blog cleanup, the countdown is on, etc

i did a bit of blog cleanup this morning and removed some of the bargain/couponing links that no longer work, added a few new ones, etc

i also (sadly) removed a few blogs from my links that havent been updated in awhile (by awhile i mean since 2007 or so). i miss hearing from these folks through their blogs but i totally understand that life gets busy!

well, the countdown is ON! TEN days till the scheduled induction unless this dude decides to come sooner. i feel like 10 days is much more attainable....i CAN do this! i've been on bedrest since the 5th, so that makes 12 days of bedrest so far....which has really been a challenge.
maybe i'll start a poll....to see if readers think he'll come sooner or stay comfy until the 27th. hmmmmm.....

asah's preaching today; my friend just picked up Jordan for church, so I'm off to listen to a sermon online or something till my boys get home.

hope everyone has a GREAT sunday.

free mc'ds southern style chicken biscuit or sandwich.....

Enjoy!

Click HERE

jaxon update

we're still here....and on bedrest.  my body is responding well to resting and my BP and swelling are well managed.  i am not dilated at all and jaxon just isnt quite ready to come out yet.  he measures about 6.5 lbs and is happy cooking away so that's the way we'll remain for 2 weeks...or less. 

because i'm threatning pre-eclampsia and had it with jordan i will not go past my due date.  we have August 27 scheduled as the induction date if he doesn't decide to come sooner.

just wanted to update our readers!

please keep us in your prayers as we continue to try and manage our "spirited" toddler and as Asah tries to get some work done!  he plans on going back to work 1/2 days and I'll be entertaining Jordan as low key as possible in the mornings.  hmmmm.  low key.  Jordan.  we'll see :)

deal of the week-the potty room

we're out of a few things so i've been searching for some good deals on toilet paper and toilet cleaner.
the last time i bought TP was LAST SUMMER. i got such a great deal/stockpile this is the very first time we've run out. awesome!
anyway, there are a couple good deals at Walgreens this week with Internet Printable coupons...so no clipping involved. just print these; head to walgreens and get a couple good deals!

Scott Toilet paper is 1.99 (4 pack) with in ad coupon and when you Print a couple $1 off coupons HERE you can get a 4 pack for 99cents!

Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner is Buy One, Get One free at $2.79. Print 2 .50 cents off coupons HERE and you get two cleaners for $1.79. (Be sure and click on the tab "surface care")

And, just to share...this is my FAVORITE internet printable coupon site. It lists them all alphabetically so save it to your favorites and if you ever wonder, is there an internet coupon for this? You can look here and see. Great resource.

http://www.couponloop.com/id133.htm

made in the shade(s)

a few weeks back mimi and papi came for a visit and mimi finished making room darkening shades for the boy's rooms. i love the way they turned out and they make very colorful finishing touches to the rooms. there's just a ton of light that come into the rooms and we were trying to find a solution with the arched windows. they came out great and really do take a lot of light out...which makes little boys sleep longer even if there's an early sunrise :)
i've also included some pics of jaxon's (completed) nursery. now all we need is a little jaxon to come inhabit it!

jordan's room w/ shades

jaxon's room w/shades

another view

cute little hats

self portraits

someone stole my camera a couple days ago...this is what i found when i reviewed the pictures. you can really see his chipped teeth here! what a mess.

zoo

very few pics because it was about 100 degrees and the trip was very short. Jordan got HOT and cranky but did enjoy seeing a few animals. On our way out we took a train ride which cooled us all off and he loved. We also got to try out the new double stroller. Cannot believe they'll be two little boys occupying it soon :)

We went a week ago and I forgot that I did take a few pictures...






just a tip for all the local readers...on Wednesdays the Baton Rouge Zoo is only ONE DOLLAR if you go from 3pm-5pm. Great deal!

still on the couch....

i turned in my 24 hr test this morning and they took a zillion viles of my blood. i asked when the results would be back (praying today or tomorrow..) and they said I'll know at my appointment on TUESDAY. i'm staring at them thinking, that's 5 days away....there's no way....but that's the word.
so i'm still in bed until then. and then they'll be checking for any progress and making a decision on induction i suppose.
Grrrrr! frustrating.
But i do want Jaxon to be completely ready. Just never realized how much being forced to stay in bed would stink; especially with a toddler who doesnt understand why i'm just lounging and a very busy husband who really needs to get work done.
It's just a season though...and there's a reason for it. So we wait some more....

my assumptions were correct.

i'm on bedrest until Jaxon comes.

BP was high; I've gained 5 lbs in less than a week; and there was protein in my urine today....all signs of pre-eclampsia as with Jordan.

please pray for us as we work through the next few weeks or days until Jaxon is ready.

I'll be having a 24 hour test starting tomorrow and bloodwork to decide the next steps.

Pray for ASAH especially. he is taking his daddy role to Jordan up a notch for sure!

We trust God and know that all of these things will work out....until then i'll be hanging out in bed!

same song, 2nd verse?

yikes! my swelling got pretty rough over the weekend. i don't have an appointment scheduled this week but the doc wants me to come in for a protein/Blood Pressure check at lunch. If you recall this is EXACTLY what happened with Jordan.

Please pray that it's NOT pre-eclampsia. And if it is, that Jaxon will come safely.

We'll keep you posted!

Tara

showered....

we were so blessed to have a shower after church today. we love our church family and received so many wonderful things for jaxon. he's now well stocked with diapers, cute little personalized things and a few new outfits. it's nice to feel so loved and have the excitement of seeing our family grow shared by so many.
after looking over these pics i realize that i'm getting rather large! this time next week i HAD jordan. people were asking today and i just feel like this one will be stubborn and take awhile. we'll see!

here are some highlights from the shower today:


(jordan was more interested in the cake than a photo op)



(ella!)






a few really cute things....

mommy bracelet with their names...

diaper holder...

cute "stats" sign for his room:


jordan helped me put away the gifts....by helped i mean played in jaxons crib :)