Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Wordless Wednesday




What are you wordless about this week? As always, don't for get to ling up at 5 Minutes for Mom. Happy Wednesday!

Monday, October 26, 2009

The Power Of Prayer

I will admit that I've never been a prayer. I mean, I pray, but I've always been a little uncomfortable with it. I guess I've always had the mindset that God is too busy to listen to me. Sure, I prayed, but without much conviction. Then something happened this year. My sister, Maria, found out that the baby she was carrying had some significant problems. Through the miracle of modern medicine, they found that Gabby was missing part of her brain. Did my sister break down? Nope! She turned to God. I decided that if she could do that, so could I. So, Ben and I started attending church. One of the very first sermons I heard was about how to pray. I can still remember Pastor Jim saying "Talk to God like he's your friend." And then he went on to tell us about all the prayers that God has answered. I kind of thought maybe there was something to this praying thing. So, that night, I prayed. I prayed for my sister and I prayed for Gabby. I prayed to God that He may give Maria and her family the strength to deal with what was coming their way. Maria never let her faith lag. She told me once that she and her husband, John, had put Gabby in God's hands. She knew, with out a doubt, that God had special plans for Gabby. On July 2 Maria gave birth to a beautiful little girl. Despite the odds, Gabby was home with her family in just a few short days.

At that point I knew with all my heart and soul that God heard our prayers. I could feel in in my very soul. It was such an amazing feeling to know that He was there and holding John, Maria, Gabby and their entire family in his hands.
Since then, there have been numerous challenges for Baby Gabby. They are still unsure what her official diagnosis should be. Her neurologist (a man truly sent by God to be the head of Gabby's medical team) believes that it's septo-optic dysplasia, but no one is 100% positive. In the four short months that Gabby has been with us, she has undergone three surgeries for severe glaucoma, and two brain surgeries. The first surgery was to open the tube that helps to drain the fluid that surrounds the brain. Unfortunately, that surgery failed in less than two weeks and Gabby had to undergo another, far more invasive surgery, to have a shunt put in. The shunt runs from her tiny brain down to her stomach. Imagine, if you can, sending your barely four month old baby in for brain surgery, not once but twice!

Whenever Gabby is sick or heading to the hospital for an appointment, surgery or more tests, Maria asks her friends and family to pray for Gabby. I in turn ask my Pastor, my church, and my friend to pray for Gabby and Maria. There have been numerous hurdles in this little baby's life. But EVERY SINGLE time, she comes out on the other side.
I also ask the Lord to give Maria strength. Strength to keep fighting for her baby. Strength to deal with each and every obstacle that comes her way. Strength to fight this battle with out the aid of her parents and siblings close by. Strength to keep her faith and strength to know in her heart of hearts that God has plans for her and for Gabby.
And I know that He hears me. I know that he listens and I know that He indeed gives Maria strength, He guides the doctors and gives them the knowledge they need to help this very special little girl and her very special Mommy. I believe in the power of prayer because I've seen it first hand.

Who did that? Not Me!



I most certainly did NOT get pulled over for speeding days after I proudly declared to my husband "I don't speed." I also did most certainly NOT have three kids in the car. I also most definitely was NOT talking on my cell phone while speeding. NOPE! Not me!

I also did not prop Brinna's stuffed bunny up against her paci to keep it in her mouth so she wouldn't wake up every two seconds. (No worries...it's away from her nose so she won't suffocate or anything.)

I most certainly did NOT let Adelae watch "The Jungle Book" twice in a row so I could get some housework done. That would be using the TV as a babysitter and that would just be awful!

I also did NOT spend the last week constantly checking my kids for fever. I am certainly NOT a little freaked out about the swine flu.

I wound NEVER think I lost the registration sticker for the car. And if I did think I lost it, I would NEVER tell my husband that we hadn't received it yet when he asked about it. Nope!

Want to join in Not Me! Monday? Head on over to My Charming Kids and link up!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Monday, October 19, 2009

It's baaaaaack!



I certainly have not been saving up "Not Me's" for the last few weeks for "Not Me! Monday."

I did not sit down to play Farmville on Facebook and let my dinner boil over. Nope! I wouldn't do that! How irresponsible would that be?

And speaking of irresponsible, I most certainly did not leave the stuff that leaked out of my homemade chicken pot pie onto the bottom of the oven sit there. Then I most certainly did not try to bake something in the oven with all that gunk on the bottom. This most certainly did not result in my oven catching on fire. That absolutely could never go undetected by my husband who was sitting at the table studying for fire fighter school. And I most certainly did not shout "What do I do?" To which my firefighter-in-training-husband did not reply "I don't know! What do I look like? A firefighter?" HAHAHAHA!

I certainly did not tear up when my girls got baptized on Sunday.

I would never ever set Adelae at her little table with crayons, construction paper, safety scissors, and a glue stick in hopes that she would keep busy and quiet so I could sneak in a little nap.

Wanna join "Not Me!Monday"? Go visit MckMama and her MSC at her blog. And, as always, don't forget to link up!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

I'm so relieved

When I took Brinna to our new pediatrician the first time, I thought there was no way that she was going to work out. She is part of a larger practice and the information they handed was against everything I believe in. They believe in Cry It Out, I hate it; they are anti-babywearing, I love it; Cloth diapers were not recommended, we use cloth; they are very anti-co-sleeping; I co-sleep with Brinna and sometimes Adelae. But, I had heard wonderful things about the practice in general and they have weekend hours, so I decided to stick with the practice. I'm so glad I did! When I spoke to our actual pediatrician she told me that she has to hand out the literature, but it isn't necessarily what she believes. She loves cloth diapers, babywearing, and she thinks it's ok to co-sleep, as long as it's done properly. Hooray!!! I'm so glad we didn't switch! She did such an amazing job with both girls. I think after two years and three doctors, we may have finally found a good fit!

Brinna continues to grow like a little weed, but she's still a tiny one. She only weighs 9lbs 8ozs (20%) and is 22 1/4 inches long (45%). She is happy and healthy and reaching all her milestones.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Let's Celebrate!!



6 unconventional things you think people should celebrate by throwing a party

1. My Kid Is Potty Trained. Given our recent forays into potty training, I now know that it's something that should be celebrated with an enormous party. Lots of stickers, maybe some diaper burning (except we use cloth and that would make me sad..so maybe just boxing them up until the baby is old enough to use them.)

2. The Baby Slept Through The Night. Still waiting on that one with Brinna, but I remember that first blissful 8 hours of totally uninterrupted sleep.

3. All The Dishes Are Done. This should be celebrated by taking me out for a nice dinner so that more dishes don't pile up.

4. All the Bills are Paid and We Have Extra Money In The Bank! This one is pretty self-explanatory :)

5. We Have Nothing To Do Today! We have been so incredibly busy since..well..forever! It's so nice when we have a day to do absolutely nothing.

6. I'm Not Sick Anymore. I had a recent bout with food poisoning and I was pretty certain I was going to die. I have NEVER EVER been that sick. EVER! It was horrid. I definitely felt like celebrating when I was able to eat solid foods again!

That's my Small Talk Six for the week. So, what would you celebrate? Don't forget to got to MomDot and link up!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

I'm Calling It!



I bet you're thinking "Hey Shaun, why are you posting pictures of Adelae in her underpants?" Wait! Did you say underpants? Not diaper? Let's look at that picture again. I'll look with you. Isn't she cute?! And YES! Those are BIG GIRL panties! After two weeks of practice, I'm calling it. Adelae is potty trained! I know that millions of women (and men) have potty trained their kids, but it still feels like a huge accomplishment! People can FINALLY stop telling me that I need to get Adelae potty trained. Hooray for her!


Saturday, October 3, 2009

Just cause my kids are SO darn cute!

Here are a couple of videos for your viewing pleasure!
Brinna has been babbling for about three weeks now. Here's a little video of her "talking"



I've been searching high and low for a Cinderella costume for Adelae. We finally found one at Marshall's and Adelae just HAD to have it. As soon as we got home, she had to put it on. I think she's trying to sing "So This Is Love" from Cinderella, but I'm not sure. She could just be making up her own song, with Adelae you just never know!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Thumbs Down

What a pissy day (yes, there is a pun there)! It started off just fine. Adelae and Brinna actually slept in till 8:00 this morning, which is a rarity! It's Thursday and that means payday! And I got the second two episodes of True Blood from NetFlix. Not to mention the sun was out!
My day quickly went down hill though. First Brinna puked on me, nothing really new there, she's kind a pukey baby. Then Adelae threw a fit about eating breakfast, then Brinna puked on me again. About that time the fun REALLY started! Brinna started screaming and wouldn't stop, nothing would appease her. She didn't want to nurse, she screamed when I tried to burp her, her diaper wasn't wet or dirty, sitting didn't work, standing didn't work and I was very close to losing my mind! Then Adelae peed her pants (we've been potty training for over a week now) and cried for about 10 mins because I wouldn't let her put her wet underpants back on (they were Cinderella underpants). I finally broke down and gave Brinna some Mylicon (a gas medicine for babies) in the hopes that I could quiet at least ONE crying child. And it wasn't even 9:30 yet!
Adelae finally decides to put in a pair of panties, she manages to get dressed all by herself (cause "I'm a big girl now Mommy") and Brinna stops crying long enough for me to take a shower. We read "Mabel O'Leary Put Peas In Her Ear-y" and "The Very Lonely Firefly" and a few other books we got from the library. The day was looking up!
Until lunch time, that is. The bread miraculously disappeared, I swear it was there yesterday, but today..POOF..gone! So, no sandwiches (standard lunch fare around here). When I explained to Adelae that we didn't have any bread she flipped out. "But I wanted a sammich Moooommmmmmyyyyyyyy!!" After 10 minutes of explaining that I'd like nothing more than to make her a "sammich" but we don't have any bread, she decides that a hot dog would be ok. I, of course, forget that she likes them "like a 'tick" and cut it up. Apparently, this makes the world end because she shrieks and carries on for a good 5 minutes. This, of course, wakes up Brinna, who had finally started to doze off in the bouncy seat. Honestly, at this point I'm thinking to myself "who can I call to come and take these children for the day!" Instead of shipping them off to the nearest relative, I let the melt down run it's course and nurse the baby (for what seems like the one millionth time since we woke up). Adelae eats her hot dog, then refuses to eat her cheese. So, I send her to time out. (Actually she said "I don't wanna eat my cheese, I wanna sit in time out.") Literally one second later I hear "Mommy I peed!" I'm thinking "Great! She peed in the potty." NO!!! She peed in her pants..AGAIN! Soooo, off she goes to sit on the potty while I try to find her yet another pair of undertpants and pants. I explain to her that we DO NOT PEE IN OUR PANTS! And the little stinker HIT ME! Yes! She HIT ME! So, back to time out she goes. Meanwhile, Brinna is still screaming bloody murder!
At this point, I'm fairly confident that I'm being Punked. I'm sure there are hidden cameras and Ashton Kutcher is going to jump out and say "Surprise!" Sadly, no, this is my actual morning. Sigh.... Since it's nice outside, I decide that we all need to get out of the house. Adelae refuses to put pants on, socks on, or shoes on. I say "Don't you wanna go outside." Her response "No, I just wanna cwy." Finally, she decides that she'll get dressed so we can go outside. I asked her repeatedly if she needs to potty. "Nope!" Is her response every time (keep in mind she had JUST peed her pants about 20 mins prior). And I'll be DAMNED if she didn't PISS HER FREAKING PANTS five seconds later! Seriously! I'm pretty sure there was smoke coming out of my ears at this point.
I decided that we all were more than ready for nap time! Of course, she screamed when she had to put a diaper on. But, that was jut too bad! With any luck, she's sleeping. Brinna drifted off to sleep right after Adelae went upstairs. So, both girls are napping. It's blissfully quiet. Shhhh....don't wake them up!