Adventures in Imperfection

Menu Plan Monday 1/18/2010

2010-01-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

It's still taking me some time to learn to type out 2010. It takes me twice as long as typing 2009.

ANYWAY. It's Monday again, folks. And so here's the menu for the week. Sort of a light week because we had extra things going on with the family that we ate with family a lot. And I tried to keep the rest of our week simple.

Monday

Breakfast~ veggie and egg scramble, toast
Lunch~ leftover chili with ILs
Dinner~ chicken stuffed baked potatoes, green beans

Tuesday

Breakfast~ oatmeal and apricots
Lunch~ turkey and cheese sandwiches, spinach, yogurt
Dinner~ beans and brown rice, cornbread, salad

Wednesday

Breakfast~ cereal, apples
Lunch~ hot dogs, peaches
Dinner~ @ my mom and dad's

Thursday

Breakfast~ PB toast, oranges
Lunch~ Spaghettios
Dinner~ hot dogs and tater tots (Disclaimer: I didn't actually feed them hot dogs two days in a row! Remember, we menu Thursday-Wednesday, so they actually would have had hot dogs on Thursday 1/14, and then will be eating the remainder of the package on 1/20. :))

Friday

Breakfast~ pancakes, berries
Lunch~ tuna mac, carrots and apples
Dinner~ @ my ILs

Saturday

Breakfast~ PB toast, banana
Lunch~ @ ILs
Dinner~ @ ILs (we were supposed to have a garage sale with them at their house, so we were there most of the day, even though the garage sale got rained out.)

Sunday

Breakfast~ cereal
Lunch~ @ my mom and dad's after church
Dinner~ Chicken tortilla soup, guacamole (we actually ended up eating dinner with my parents again.)

There you have it. Not very exciting. And somehow, I still ended up spending well over $100 on this week's groceries. Not sure how that happened! I bought lots of fruits and veggies for Evie's food, but still....hated to have to break that news to Sweet Hubby! :)

Show us Your Life-Diets, Exercise and Weight Loss Tips

2010-01-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

If you know me IRL (in real life), then you probably are already giggling or at least smirking to yourself at that title. Honestly, people want to listen to my weight loss tips as much as one would want to listen to *fill in the name of a millionaire hotel heiress here (don't want searches for her leading people here)* giving ideas on how to live on a small budget. Honestly, being overweight is something I've never struggled with...being underweight is. People tend to roll their eyes when I say that sort of thing, but only because they understand my issues about as much as I understand theirs. But it kinda stinks, being underweight. I feel like it makes me look older than I am, and my proportions are weird, so clothes never fit right. So it's not really all that fun being underweight.

All that being said, I do know a bit about nutrition and healthy eating. I believe that it's a lifestyle change that's important for weight loss...not some diet program that you may or may not be able to stay on. Sweet Hubby struggles with his weight and he is currently in the process of trying to lose about 30 pounds. We've changed some of our habits for this reason. So here's the run down of a few things we're doing that are important things to do for EVERYONE to live full and healthy lives. And these are probably things you've heard a million times before....I don't claim that any of these are original ideas.

Read labels! Generally speaking, it's my belief that the fewer ingredients, the better. Learn how to read labels and nutrition facts.
When buying grains (like bread, pasta and cereals), look for whole grain as the first ingredient. And sugar should be as far down the list as possible....certainly not in the top 2 or 3.
Everything in moderation! Don't completely deprive yourself of the things you love (like chocolate or soda), just don't indulge several times daily. A soda with a special meal once in a while isn't going to hurt you! Keeping that treat as "forbidden fruit" might later cause you to binge and then feel guilty...that actually CAN hurt you in the long run.
Find new and creative ways to incorporate veggies in your diet. We always hear we should be eating more, but if you are like me, buying a new veggie and then slapping it down on my plate is not really appealing. If you can plan ahead and find a tasty recipe for that new veggie, you'll be more likely to eat it (and enjoy it, too!). In my own experience, I've found that you can't go wrong grilling or roasting veggies. Hubby and I have found that we LOVE grilled onions and peppers with just about everything!
PORTION CONTROL. Seriously, folks, this is huge. Portion control is one of the simplest ways to start eating better and see a difference. Learn what proper portions are. You've probably heard it recently, but if not, here's the breakdown of what your plate should be: 1/4 (or less) of lean protein, 1/4 carb and 1/2 fruits or veggies. 3 oz of protein is a serving. It's probably less than you think. So pay attention to serving size and portion sizes.
Snacks count! Instead of grabbing an empty-calorie snack like chips or candy, make every bite count and have a piece of fruit or some veggies. Even a piece of whole wheat bread with a smear of peanut butter, and a small glass of milk can hold you until your next meal.
Don't eat until you are miserably full. This kind of goes along with portion control. Your brain is slow in telling you when your tummy is full. So quit eating well before you are full. Put smaller amounts of things on your plate if you have to, so you don't feel guilty about leaving food on the plate. It's OKAY to not eat everything on your plate.
Don't eat 2-3 hours before bed.
Last but not least, BABY STEPS. There is no way to make every change that you need to make in one day. If you try that, you will fail. Change one or two things, give yourself and your family a couple weeks or a month to get used to it, and then move on to the next thing to change. Start buying whole grain bread first and when you are used to that, stop buying soda and drinking more water, and when you are used to that.....you get the idea. Baby steps folks. And always keep moving in the right direction.

So there you have it. Nothing life changing or earth shattering. Simple, common sense things, really. But things that we all need to be reminded of once in a while (myself included!).

For more ideas and tips, visit Kelly's Korner for Show us Your Life Friday!

Pssst!

2010-01-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

Um, I'm guessing you haven't seen Zachary's five year post, yet. You probably just missed it. ;) If you want to check that out, just scroll down a bit....you'll find it now.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-01-11T12:05:00.000-08:00

In my attempt to blog more regularly, I wanted to join in on some weekly blog carnivals, so I have SOMETHING to blog, even if I feel like I don't. So. Mondays are now "Menu Plan Mondays" where I post our menu for the week and where I also pretend that you care. :) I menu plan every week anyway, and it's fun to share it and also read other people's menus. All this happens at I'm an Organizing Junkie (find the MPM tab at the top if you are interested). And on Fridays, I'm going to try to participate in Show Us Your Life Fridays at Kelly's Korner (too lazy to link right now, you can catch it on Friday), where every week Kelly picks a certain aspect of our lives and we get to share about it. Past weeks have included wedding dresses, baby nurseries, and New Year's Resolutions....just so you get an idea of what to expect.

On to the menu. I actually do plan everything because we eat just about every meal at home and it's so much easier to not have to think about every single meal. If I'm long on time (ha ha), I'll also plan snacks, but more often than not, we end up just grabbing some crackers or fruit or cereal...all of which we always have on hand. I also plan from Thursday-Wednesday, because hubby gets paid on Thursday and that's when we go grocery shopping. So half of the plan you are about to read has already been eaten, if not enjoyed. :) Also, hubby is trying to eat better, so we are all eating better as a family...when he's home. You'll probably be able to tell the days that he works because those meals aren't as healthful.

Monday~

Breakfast - oatmeal, bananas
Lunch- Nicoise salad for Mom and Dad, Mac and cheese and fruit for kiddoes (we actually ended up eating the pizza we were supposed to have on Sunday night.
Dinner - Dinner with my in-laws (we eat with them almost every Monday night)

Tuesday~

Breakfast - Veggie and egg scramble (or just plain scrambled eggs for the kids), toast
Lunch - Turkey and cheese sandwiches, applesauce, baby spinach with dip
Dinner - Omelettes, turkey bacon, fruit (ate this on Sunday)

Wednesday

Breakfast - cereal and fruit
Lunch - Quesadillas
Dinner - With my parents since the kids have gymnastics and I have choir...this is the same every Wednesday night

Thursday

Breakfast - Oatmeal, pears
Lunch - Pb & j and yogurt
Dinner - Pancakes, sausage, eggs, berries

Friday

Breakfast - Fruit smoothies, toast
Lunch - Grilled Cheese sandwiches, spaghettios (don't judge me)
Dinner - Baked chicken drumsticks, spinach salad, mac and cheese, homemade whole wheat bread and butter

Saturday

Breakfast - PB toast, bananas
Lunch - cheese and crackers, carrots with dip, apples
Dinner - ??? I left this blank and for the life of me, I can't remember what we ate!

Sunday

Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - With my mom and Dad
Dinner - MYO (make your own) veggie chicken pizza, green beans (we actually had omelettes because we were short on time).

Find more "other people's menus" at Organizing Junkie.

Happy Monday, folks!

I'm going to be better and "Eight Months!" and "Five"

2010-01-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

I really do want to get better about blogging....especially at this time in my life. There is so much going on now that I know I'm going to love looking back on if I would just take the time to write it down. And since there are a few of you that keep up with our goings-on through my little blog here, it's not fair to you for me to go TWO MONTHS without writing something! So, I'm going to try to be better. I want to set a goal, but I want to be realistic, too. Feel free to hold me accountable and send me "Get with it, woman!" e-mails if you care enough to want to see a new post. :)

SO.

Since the last time I blogged, Evie turned seven and eight months old and Zachary turned five. I don't have posts for any of them. Seven months is just going to have to never happen. But here's an eight month post and in the next day or so, I'll get one up for Zachary's fifth birthday (and pre-date it so it fits in the blog chronology, so look for it a bit further down).

Evie turned eight months 2 days ago. SO much has happened with her in the last 2 months! Here's the rundown.

She has two teeth!! Both on the bottom, and both like razors. She likes to bite. She's gotten better about not biting while nursing, but probably only because I scared the bejeezus out of her by screaming a couple of times. I'm gun-shy now, and I get a little nauseus during every feed because I'm nervous she's going to bite.

She's wearing mostly 6-9 months clothes, but the 6-9 month pants are too big around the waist and fall down. But with jammies and dresses and such, the 6-9 month size is perfect.

She graduated to size two diapers a couple weeks ago.

We had a follow-up appointment a couple weeks ago with the gastroenterologist, and she weighs a little over 14 pounds, which is back to her regular growth curve finally! She's probably closer to 15 pounds now.

Speaking of weight, she's an eater!! She loves to eat, loves to sit at the table with us and eats just about everything I give her. At this point, she eats avocado, sweet potato, green beans, bananas, pears, peaches, squash, peas, yogurt, oatmeal, chicken, apples, and turkey. I still make a good part of her food, but when we don't eat at home, I don't bother with it. Her favorites are sweet potato and banana, and her least favorite are peas and green beans. She still eats those things, but she just makes a funny face and holds them in her mouth for a long time before she finally swallows. She also hums during her entire meal, which is equal parts cute, funny and annoying.

She's MOBILE. She started creeping just before Christmas and has now just about mastered crawling!

And TODAY, she pulled up to stand on her own for the first time. It's so funny to watch this little tiny baby do all these things. But she's SO PROUD of herself! (Grrr...the video came out sideways...I don't know why my camera (or computer?) is doing that! Sorry! I'll try to fix it...)

She is STILL fascinated with my hair. I swear I will be bald before she grows out of it. It hurts, and she always grabs and yanks when I'm not paying attention. Once she gets a handful, I'm totally at her mercy!

She had her first Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was such a joy to have her this year. She did really well being around all those people so much, but you could tell it was overwhelming for her. She didn't really leave my hip at every get together. For her first Christmas, she received a new exersaucer, her first cabbage patch doll, a cute outfit (with ribbon to match for me to make bows!), a fun ball-type toy for her to sit and play with, a touch and feel book, and a couple of little baby toys.

As far as sleep, she's doing well. She sleeps through about half the time, and when she doesn't she wakes at around 4am or 5am to eat, and then goes back to sleep until she wakes for the day at 7am or 8am.

I've started signing with her, but she hasn't done anything yet. I don't expect her to, but it's fun to do it with her.

And here are her tiara pictures. They were incredibly hard to get because she kept wanting to leap off the chair. There were a couple times she actually almost fell off!

She's so wiggly and wanted OFF that chair!

She seriously almost fell off before I could catch her.

But I was able to distract her a few times.

Or hold her back with my feet.

I eventually let her down on the floor, and she was happy with that...

But not before I got a really good one! She's growing into that tiara so well! I bet it will be a perfect fit for her first birthday pictures!

Five

2009-11-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

Zachary! You're FIVE now!! Of course you know that, though. You counted down the days! :) There's something about the fifth birthday that changes a child in my mind. Somehow, you seem older, even though you are the same little boy that you were the day before your birthday. But FIVE. Five is a big boy now. No longer a preschooler, but a boy! You seem so grown up to me somedays. We have great conversation, you offer wise insight, and you seem to understand so much. But then, I sneak into your room at night to grab one more kiss and to make sure you're tucked in, and I see you snuggled with your lovey, sucking your fingers. You seem so little to me when I watch you sleep. So much more like the baby I used to rock to sleep and less like the little boy who read me a book just before bed and insisted he needed no help getting ready for bed.

So let's see....what's been happening since I wrote your 4 year letter....well, for starters, like I already mentioned, you're reading! You got your first library card and LOVE going to the library to "buy books". Fortunately, you may call it "buying books", but you've never had a hard time giving them up when it's time to take them back. But you are reading very well, sounding out and also using context clues....which is outstanding since you aren't technically supposed to start kindergarten for another 7 months or so. You are getting better at writing, but we still have to do a lot of fine motor skill work. Especially since you write with the same hand that you use to suck your fingers. You tend to guard those fingers while writing, and it makes it difficult for you to hold the pencil correctly. As for the rest of school, you aren't doing math quite yet, but everything else, you do with Stephen. So right now you are learning all about nouns, memorizing poetry and bible verses and you are learning all there is for a five year old to know about astronomy. You are keeping right up with everything I gear towards Stephen. You are one smart cookie! Next year, we'll start you on math. In the meantime, you know how to count, skip count by 10s and you are now correctly reading the time from a digital clock.

One of your favorite activities is going to gymanstics. You love it, and you are very good at it. After class, when I ask you what your favorite part was, you tell me "All of it!" I really think gymnastics has also helped your coordination.

You also LOVE going to church. You look forward to it all week. And when we talk about Sunday School after I pick you up, you can tell me all about what you did and what you learned. This week, when I picked you up, you told me I needed to give you money for the offering. :) You look forward to the fall when you can start Kids Rock.

One of the cute things you are doing right now is how you talk about today, yesterday and tomorrow. For some reason, that's not a concept you've quite grasped yet. Frequently (especially when there is something special going on), you'll ask me, "Mama, is tomorrow the day after this day?" Or "Is today tomorrow?" or "When will it be tomorrow?" I admit, I get a little kick out of telling, "Today is yesterday's tomorrow." You love counting down to things, so every day you ask me how many more days until a special event. You usually already know, but you ask me, "Is it 4 more days?"

You. are. STUBBORN. Once something is in your mind a certain way, that's how it is. There is no negotiating with you. You try to negotiate with us, and one day, that will serve you well. Right now, though, it just gets you in trouble.

You still feel things so intensely. In fact, this year, you gained a little sister. And it's obvious your brothers love her. But you. You adore her. And she adores you. You were the first brother she smiled and laughed at. You hate it when she cries and you never want to leave her alone. If I had a nickel for everytime I had to say, "Zachary, get out of her face" or "Zachary, leave her alone" or "ZACHARY. BACK. OFF." I'd be able to pay for your college tuition already. :) It's so sweet how much you love her. You are such a good brother.

You are a great brother to your brothers as well, although, you do seem to fit the "middle child" picture. Sometimes you seem a little left out, but I think that's as much your choosing as it is your brothers'. You're still figuring out your "rank", I think, especially now that Evie has come along. That's okay, though, you'll figure it out....we all know exactly where you belong. Although you are a little different from your brothers, you fit right in in our hearts. Perfectly.

I love you, boy. You are so fun, funny, and you still have that smile that makes your eyes twinkle and that lights up a room. I'm so blessed to be your mama!

Happy Fifth Year!!
Love,
Mama

Six months!

2009-11-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

Sooo....our girl turned 6 months on Saturday. And as always I'm behind on her update. Actually, I'm behind on her 5 month post, too, since I never got to it. Anyway, here's what Evie's up to:

She's had some growth issues, but we seem to be overcoming them. Last we checked, she weighed not quite 12 pounds (I think that was about 3 weeks ago). She has an appointment on Friday, so we'll see then. I'm hoping she hits 13 pounds.

She's still wearing size 1 diapers and 3-6 month clothes. The 3-6 months clothes are just a tiny bit short but she's still too small for the 6-9 month clothes.

No teeth yet, but she GNAWS like crazy on my hands and toys and such. I'm surprised she doesn't have teeth yet. No sign of one even.

Evie's really coming into her personality. She's SO.MUCH.FUN. She laughs and giggles and screeches to get our attention. She still wrinkles her nose when she smiles, and she acts like she's going to eat me when I play with her. She grabs me with both hands and lunges toward my face with mouth wide open and act likes she's trying to bite me. I love it.

She's fascinated with my hair. She loves it when I brush my hair against her face and she reaches out and lets it go through her fingers. Sometimes she grabs and shoves it her mouth, but then realizes that's no fun and lets go.

She's sitting on her own now. Only for a few seconds and that's far less fun than standing, but she can do it and she looks so big and grown up when she does.

She started food a few weeks ago. I posted that video. The girl LOVES to eat. She loves everything we've given her...she wasn't too sure about the oatmeal, but I had just made it, so it was still a little warm. It wasn't hot, but it was definitely warmer than the room temperature or cold avocados and sweet potatoes she had had so far. Now she loves it. I am making as much of her food as possible, and so far, I'm enjoying it as much as I did when I did it for the boys. All she's had so far is avocado, sweet potato and oatmeal. We're taking things kind of slowly, obviously. Not for any particular reason other than I just haven't had time to make more food and I'm trying to feed her avocado as often as possible for all the good fats. The next food will be butternut squash, then maybe green beans and then possibly banana.

She's getting on her hands and knees a lot lately. She's not scooting or actually mobile yet, but she rolls everywhere and I think she scoots very slowly, because if I leave her on the floor for very long (which admittedly, doesn't happen very often), she winds up far from where she started pointed in a totally different direction.

Hrmmm, what else?? Ever since she started gaining weight again, she's been in such a really good mood. Just fun. She's a pretty easy baby...doesn't cry much and when she does it's easy to fix. Feed her or put her to sleep.

Speaking of sleep, she's doing pretty good. During the process of trying to get her to gain more weight, she started waking at night again. I love the whole nights of sleep, but I totally didn't mind waking up to feed her in the night because I know she needs it. The last week or so, she's started waking only once a night and it's been getting later and later. I'm hoping that she's gained lots of weight so that if she starts sleeping through the night again, I can let her. Naps are pretty good, too. Not always great, but a lot of the time she'll take a couple 1.5-2 hour naps a day. Sometimes shorter, but only if I didn't give her a good awake time (like if I put her down early for a nap because the boys are getting ready to take their quiet time and I want her to sleep at the same time).

To the tiara pics....I'm adding the 5 and 6 month pictures since I missed last month's post. I took the pictures, but never wrote the post.

Five Months

Six Months

One to Six Months

Three

2009-10-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

Marc-Adam~

You're three now!! You've grown up so much in the last year! Such a big boy now! You really understood the concept of turning three, because when I asked you how old you were you yelled, "THREE!" and when I asked you how old you were yesterday, "Two." You are convinced that this additional year has opened all sorts of doors for you because when you wanted to do something today, I told you to wait. You insisted you COULD do it (I knew you could, it just wasn't a good time) and you pleaded to me, "I can, Mama, I can! I'm three!"

(Marc-Adam at 3 years old)

This past year, you moved from your crib to a toddler bed, and now you share the bunk beds with Zachary. You love sharing a room with your brothers, and I can hear you talking or whispering to them when you are supposed to be sleeping, or at least being quiet.

You are still our little firecracker, and I'm convinced that if I look close enough, that one gray hair on the top of my head has your name on it. You had your first ER visit this July when you fell off the bunk bed ladder you weren't supposed to be on. No stitches, thankfully.

You are learning SO MUCH. You seem to soak up a lot of the lessons that I gear towards your brothers and you can say your ABCs, count to 20 (although occasionally you leave out 5-8 and throw in a few extra 15s), you know most of your colors and can even recite the planets for me! You LOVE to work in your workbooks for school and right now your favorite is the Thomas the Train book with the flashcards....I don't know if you ever actually seen the Thomas the Train show.

Speaking of shows, you definitely have favorites. Being the third brother, you've never really gotten to enjoy the toddler shows like your older brothers did. Your favorite show is Phineas and Ferb and I could listen to you say "Perry the Platypus" all.day.long. Arthur is another favorite that you watch because of your brothers. But if given a choice to pick something to watch when no one else will watch it with you, you'll pick Wow! Wow! Wubbzy. For a long time it was Yo Gabba Gabba and can I just say how glad I am that you're off of that kick now? :)

You're at the age when you want to do everything yourself, and you can not be deterred even when you do it wrong. You think which ever way you do it is right. If I tell you you're doing it wrong, you say in a sweet little voice, "It's okay, Mama, it's okay." You also pull out that cuteness when you get caught doing something you shouldn't. It makes it really hard to fuss at you when you say that to me. But I can fuss at you when you are being hard-headed, which you are. A lot. When you get it in your mind that you are going to do something or that you want something, you will not let down...and a lot of times will just keep doing what you want until I either raise my voice or physically stop you.

You are speaking wonderfully now. You talk in normal sentences, about 5-8 words, but I still have to translate for you once in a while, and sometimes even your brothers have to translate for me because I don't understand (but usually only when I can't get the context of what you are saying). One of your most used phrases is, "Mama? Can you come here for a second?" And if you keep saying it so sweetly, I will follow you where ever you want me to go! You have the same language challenge Stephen did at that age and you can't say a hard G or C sound and replace those sounds with a D or T (so you would say "tootie" instead of "cookie"). But you'll grow out of it, I know....hopefully before Evie starts to pick up on it!

Speaking of Evie, you became a big brother this year!! You love having a little sister, and you try to take good care of her. You are a little rough with her sometimes, though, but I don't think you are ever trying to be malicious. You are just curious. Many times, I have to tell, "Please don't make your sister be a pirate" because you think it's funny to close one of her eyes and yell, "Argh!! I'm a PIrate!" She's not so amused. You also like to pull her ears out and make monkey noises. Again, she's not so amused. One of these days, my dear, I think you are going to get payback. ;) Your brothers love playing with you now. You have finally become fun to them. You make them laugh and play right along side them during their pretend play. You'll run through house yelling, "I'm Hulk! HULK SMASH!"

You are still my most daring, and I HOPE we can get you into gymnastics sometime after the first year. You would be so good at it! You also LOVE to play games and can beat any of us at Uno! You are really good at Memory, too. You like to read, but rarely sit still long enough to finish a book and when you do sit still for a while to read, it's because you want to read to me. Your newest favorite book is your storybook bible and you read it to me almost everyday. You think every grown male character on every page is Jesus. And every other character is either happy to see Jesus or sad because he/she misses Jesus.

For a long time, you weren't very affectionate or cuddly, I had to sneak in my hugs and kisses when you weren't paying much attention to what I was doing. But lately, you've loved having me hold you and snuggle you. You give fantastic kisses complete with little growly noises. I think I do something similar to you, but I didn't know you paid that much attention.

My baby boy. I am LOVING getting to know who you are and who you are to become. You are so much fun and even on the days I think I could put you on the curb with a "Free to good home" sign, you still make me laugh and make me thank God that I'm your mom. I love you, boy.

Love,
Mama

(Marc-Adam at 3 months)

Look! A post! And a video!

2009-10-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

I know. It's been a while. But I've been thinking about you all and my little blog here. I'm going to be back to blogging real soon, but in the meantime, here's a clip of Evie having her first taste of food. Avocado! (Doesn't it seem like just yesterday when I was posting pics of Marc-Adam's first food?)

SCHOOL!

2009-09-11T05:22:00.000-07:00

We finally started school this week. Wednesday was our first day, and so far things are going well. It's still a lot to juggle...the care and feeding of Evie, keeping Marc-Adam entertained, and squeezing in everything we want to get done. But we still get everything (or at least the important things) accomplished.

As much as I enjoyed the curriculum we used at the end of last year, I knew we'd have to do something different this year to better fit our needs. I just don't have the time to plan and go into lengthy projects right now. So we're sticking with the basics and hoping that next year we can dive in to curriculum that's a little more in depth (and fun!).

So, this year, we are sticking with Math-U-See for math. We're doing the Alpha book and plan to take it a lot more slowly than we did the Primer. Math-U-See teaches concepts to mastery, not the spiral approach like other curricula and public schools use. So, this year, we have to make sure that Stephen masters each concept before we move on. That wasn't so important last year. The Alpha level teaches single-digit addition and subtraction, skip counting by 2, 5, and 10 (which he's already pretty familiar with) and even has a lesson for "solving for the unknown". There's also some appendices for telling time, which I've been lazy about teaching. Stephen's concept of time is fantastic. He can tell time from a digital clock and gets that when it says 12:30 that it will be 1:00 in 30 minutes and he knows what time something will happen if I tell him "10 more minutes". There's really nothing else I need to teach him about time other than how to read an analog clock (with the arms and all that). He's actually been asking me to teach him that. I might take a few days to skip ahead to the appendices so that he can learn how to read a clock.

We're also sticking with Handwriting Without Tears for handwriting. This year, Igot Zachary the preschool book, which he's excited about. We didn't work much on handwriting over the summer, but I can already tell that Stephen is picking it up much better than he did last year. I think he just needed a little more time. I've read that some kids just can't write well until they are closer to 7 or 8 and I think that's the case with Stephen. It's too early to tell with Zachary.

For reading, I've worked in more independent reading time for Stephen while I'm working with one of the other boys. Then I ask him questions about the book or ask him to tell it back to me so that I can assure that a) he actually read it and b) he comprehends what he read. I personally have issues with comprehension sometimes, so I want to make sure that's not a problem with him. I'm also starting Scaredy Cat (our version is different than the one in the link) with Zachary. Actually we touched on it last year, but I intend to actually finish it with him. He's doing really well with it so far, and is reading many many "consonant-vowel-consonant" words and is fantastic at sounding words out. He's very excited because he gets to get a library card this year (our rule is that you have to be able to read before you get your own library card, before that you have to use Mom's). We also a couple of Explode the Code books, too, that they enjoy doing. We use those to take a break from our normal books and to enforce what they've already learned. In addition, I'm also using First Language Lessons to start learning grammar and parts of speech and such. Those are easy 5-15 minute lessons that we do a couple times a week.

This year, we're using a separate science curriculum. I found out about Apologia Science several weeks ago....I looked into it and thought that it might be good for us, since I didn't want to take the unit study approach this year. I gave the kids their choice of the different science subjects (they could have chosen from botany, zoology, astronomy....and something else I can't remember) and (of course) they chose Astronomy. We did a little bit of astronomy last year, and they loved it, so we're doing it again. For the whole. year. But this curriculum also has short lessons that we do a couple times a week, so it's just small bites of info. I was thinking about getting Stephen a telescope for Christmas (he's been asking for one), but a friend from church offered to let us borrow theirs. I think I'll take them up on it.

I e-mailed our Children's Director at our church and got a list of the bible verses the kids' are covering in Sunday School each week, and it's my intention to go along with those for our bible time each day. And I got Stephen an awesome devotional bible a couple weeks ago, so we've been reading out of that, too, the last couple of days.

As for Marc-Adam, well, he's welcome to sit in quietly on any of the lessons we're doing, but since nothing is quiet about Marc-Adam, he's usually playing, coloring or playing on the computer while I'm doing the other kids' lessons. He also insists on having a workbook of his own. Last year, I just sat down with him with a coloring book and a fat pencil and he was happy with that. But this year, I got him his own workbook about shapes and colors. I also intend on making sure we cover letters and letter sounds with him this year. But really, I think 3 is much too young for a formal curriculum and that kids that age should just be allowed to learn through daily play and interaction, so I don't want to do too much formal work with him yet. I just give him 5 minutes of "workbook" time, so he doesn't feel left out when the boys are working on their handwriting or math.

So. I guess that's it. Even with all that, we still have lots of time for free play and to play outside. I worked out a schedule for us that I wrote up and hung on a wall, and we have yet to stick to it, so I may have to re-work it. And Stephen (being the classic first child he is) is obsessed with it and gets a little upset if we aren't following it. I just did it so we would have an idea of what we should when and to make sure that we fit everything in. But it might be more trouble than it's worth.

I can't believe that we're starting our second year of homeschooling. I don't feel like such a newbie anymore. I think we're really finding our groove, and again, I'm so thankful that we live in a state that allows us to homeschool in the way we feel best and that Sweet Hubby and I can afford being able to to live on one income so that I can stay home and teach our kids. We are so blessed to live this lifestyle. And I can't imagine doing anything differently.

4 months!

2009-09-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

My girl is 4 months today. 1/3 of a year. Yikes. She's such a fun addition, and has really just fit right in to our family in the last 4 months. Here's what's up:

* We go to the doctor tomorrow for her 4 month well check, but I had to take her to the doctor 2 weeks ago (because I freaked out over something weird), and she weighed 11 pounds 2 ounces then. Tiny little thing, but still bigger than her oldest (eldest? whatever) brother was at this point. I'll be surprised if she's broken the 12 pound mark by tomorrow. *UPDATE* She only weighed 10 lbs 12 ounces at the doctor's appointment. The doctor wanted to weigh her again...she peed when I took her diaper off and then she only weighed 10 lbs 10.5 ounces. So we'll be working on getting her weight back up. I'm going to start out by trying to feed her more often and hope that she's actually hungry.

* Stephen made her laugh out loud spontaneously for the first time a few days ago. It's so precious to watch her watch her brothers. They are so in love with her.

* She's trying to turn from back to tummy. She mostly does it when she's mad, and she hasn't completely accomplished it on her own yet, but she's trying. It's still amazing to me that she can roll from tummy to back because the boys didn't start doing it till they were a little more than 4 months.

* Nursing is going great. I've recently started to extend the time between feeds to about 3.5-4 hours and she seems to be doing well with that.

* Sleep is fantastic. At least, night sleep is fantastic, and that's all that matters to me. Not long after her 3 month post, she started sleeping 12 hours at night. And has done it every night since. Naps aren't great. They're ALWAYS hit or miss. But I'm not going to complain. I can deal with whatever she does during the day as long as she sleeps well at night.

* It's clear that her favorite place to be these days is in the sling. When she's having a hard time napping, and I can't commit to sleep training in her room for 30 minutes or more, I put her in the sling. The other day, she was screaming when it was naptime, so I grabbed the sling and as soon as I picked her up and folded her legs the way I do just before I put her in the sling, she immediately quieted down and didn't make another peep for an hour until it was time to eat. Sometimes she sleeps in it, sometimes not, but she always snuggles in and sucks her thumb.

* Speaking of sucking her thumb, she's getting really good at finding it whenever she wants it. She doesn't prefer one over the other and she'll even suck on her fingers if they land in her mouth first, but mostly it's her thumb she wants for comfort. She's ALWAYS got her hands in her mouth and it's really cute when she starts sticking her tongue out and you can see it peeking out from between her fingers.

* Even though she's four months now, I have no intention of starting solids anytime soon. Just not ready.

* She's a sweet baby, but she's stingy with the smiles and laughs (but she has gotten a little more free with the smiles in the last couple days). And she's cranky if you take her out of her normal environment for more than just a couple hours. When we went to my parents' house last week for a little vacation, she was a crank for the first few days and by the time we left to go home, she had gotten used to it and was finally acting like her sweet self.

* We're still dealing with reflux and I'm so glad we go to the doctor tomorrow to get the new dose amount for her meds. I think that might be our problem with naps (well, besides the fact that she's spoiled rotten).

* Toys are getting interesting and she reaches out to grab whatever's there and tries to cram it in her mouth. Of course, she does that with pretty much anything within reach, not just toys (my hair, my shirt, the side of my face). But she loves to play on her mat and grab the toys to try to eat them.

* Still in 0-3 month clothes. Not much change there. 3-6 month clothes just hang on her.

Tiara pictures went much better this month...I even got some smiles!!

They wouldn't have made good pioneers

2009-08-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, we had a heckuva storm blow through. It actually passed through pretty quickly, but it was strong. I was sitting in our bedroom nursing Evie when it first started to come through, and Stephen came in to show me (dramatically) how the tree in the back was blowing around (complete with sound effects).

When the thunder started, it was really loud. Normally, the kids (especially Marc-Adam) are afraid of thunder, but I've been trying to calm them down about it every time it thunders. The best thing I could come up with was to tell them that it was "just a sound". I told them it was a sound just like the quack of a duck is just a sound...don't ask me why I compared it to the quack of a duck, it just popped into my head.

So now, anytime they start to freak out about thunder, I say "Quack quack!"

When the thunder started today, they all stayed totally calm, Marc-Adam came to me smiling and said, "Don't worry! It's just a duck, Mama!" :) Love that boy.

Shortly after that, we lost power. At first they were a little lost and confused. They kept saying, "Well we can watch a DVD!" (as opposed to being able to watch the satellite.) Or, "The computer might still work!" And they still attempted to turn the lights on in every room they went in....but then again, so did I. Finally they gave up and we started reading some books and playing silly games like singing everything we said instead of talking. Once they wandered off to play, they kept getting so excited when they found a (battery-operated) toy that worked. Then, when Marc-Adam went to the bathroom, he came out screaming, "The toilet works! The toilet works!"

When dinner time rolled around and the power was still out, that's when the whining and grumbling began. By that time, the storm was long gone and the sun was even shining and we were all starting to get a little sweaty with no A/C and no ceiling fans. I didn't want to open the fridge or freezer so we had to eat of the pantry. We ended up with peanut butter on crackers and a can of fruit salad (I could've come up with more/better, but I'm lazy when I'm hot). Stephen tried to turn on the dining room light and started grumbling about it when it didn't work. I asked him if he had started feeling grateful for all the stuff we take for granted every day. He said, "Yes, but I still want it to come back on now." I told him that there were people in the world right now that live without power every day. Zachary asked me what their names were.

When the lights finally came back on, they weren't even excited about being able to turn the TV or computer on. They were seriously happy that the A/C kicked on! And that they could eat something out of the refrigerator.

It was a fun little break in our day, but I'm so glad I live in the time with all our modern conveniences!

Cue the tight rope music

2009-08-21T05:38:00.000-07:00

This week, at the boys' gymnastics place, evaluations were held (and YES, this post is kind of about the kids, but also about me). Every few months, the coaches evaluate the kids to see where they are skills-wise and to make sure that the class that each kid is in is still challenging for them. They last did evaluations in May, and both boys got promoted (they started their new levels in June). Then this week, evaluations were held again, which I thought was kind of soon since they'd just been promoted 2 months ago. But I guess they wanted to move up the kids that didn't move up in June so they could make room for the new folks that are signing up at the beginning of the school year.

ANYWAY, the point of all this is that my boys were VERY excited about it being evaluation time again. I tried to tell them gently that they were not going to be promoted since they've only been in their new levels for 2 months. They understood, but were still excited.

Lo and behold, Stephen got promoted. Again.

Zachary did not.

So began my tightrope walk of being super-excited for Stephen (promoted! again! for the 2nd time in 2 months! to the acclerated level! you're getting so good!) and trying to explain to Zachary that it's okay that he did not (you've only been in the "green" for 2 months. you're still learning all those tricks. you have another full year before the kindergym level and if you promote now, you'll be in the next level for a whole year. we talked about the fact that you were not going to be promoted. it's totally okay! you're are really good, but it's just not time to promote yet.).

Zachary was having none of it. He was totally fine with not promoting until we went to pick Stephen up and Stephen ran up waving his paper that told us what new class he was in. Z didn't understand why Stephen could promote and he couldn't. It was awful trying to contain my excitement for Stephen while being supportive of Zachary. I really am proud of Stephen and was so surprised that he promoted again. But I didn't want to make a huge big deal out of it because Zachary was already feeling badly. It was totally fine that he didn't promote. It doesn't mean he's not good at it. He really is good and he's a quick learner, but like I told him, he's only been in this level for 2 months and he's only got one more level before he starts the kindergym. And he's only been promoted once in the last year. But he didn't care. The fact that Stephen got promoted negated everything else that I tried to tell him. And the more excited Stephen and I were, the more upset he got.

Now, normally, I would just tell Z that that's just how things are and that it's not all about him and that his time will come. But this was genuine disappointment and I'm trying hard to not let him fall into the "middle child syndrome". But it was also hard because I didn't want to hold back our little "mini-celebration" in the car on they way home simply because Zachary was disappointed. That's not fair to Stephen. And we all have to learn to live with disappointment and we have to learn that sometimes other people get what we want.

Thankfully, things have settled down since then. This Sunday is promotion Sunday at church, so the kids will get to step-up to their new Sunday School classes. That helps. I'm just praying that next time evaluations roll around that Stephen will stay put and Z will get promoted (or at least that BOTH will be promoted).

For real!

2009-08-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

*When I came back to read this post to Hubby this evening, I realized that the text was broken. It must've been because I just copied and pasted straight out of the e-mail. I think I've fixed it now. Sorry about that.*

My dad forwarded this to me in an e-mail this morning. I was laughing so hard, I had tears and had to quit reading at one point. I e-mailed him back and told him it was like someone followed me around yesterday and wrote down everything I thought about. Ok, so some of it's not stuff I actually think about, but a lot of it is, and it's still hilarious! I did delete a few because they weren't entirely appropriate for what I've got going on the blog here. And just FYI, there are still some words or phrases that aren't appropriate for little eyes that can read.



Random Thoughts of the Day:

* I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.


* More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think
about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own
story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.


* Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize
you're wrong.


* Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're
going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be
going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction
from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch
or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that
no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching
directions on the sidewalk.


* I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was
younger.


* The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This
recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be
ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.


* Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't
work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix
the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to
fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just
figured it out. Today's kids are soft.


* There is a great need for sarcasm font.


* Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what the hell was going on when I first saw
it.


* I think everyone has a movie that they love so much; it actually becomes
stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes
shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right
parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a
millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really,
really gets it.


* How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?


* I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.


* I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your
computer history if you die.


* The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish
a text.


* Was learning cursive really necessary?


* Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to
say".


* I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.


* Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.


* My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads.
Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired
about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy,
bro.


* Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I
hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".


* How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and
smile because you still didn't hear what they said?


* I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to
prevent a **** from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!


* While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.


* MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.


* Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the
person died.


* I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn on the water.


* Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,
and you can wear them forever.


* I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.


* Bad decisions make good stories.


* Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile
is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red
Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!


* Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every
year?


* If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would
probably just be completely invisible.


* Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from; this shouldn't be a
problem....


* You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you've made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything
productive for the rest of the day.


* Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want
to have to restart my collection.


* There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going
to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.


* I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if
I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I
did not make any changes to.


* "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.


* I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching
TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if
I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It's
only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we
still be friends after this?'


* While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China
and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that
when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.


* I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Darnit!),
but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to
voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run
away?


* I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing
anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.


* When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't
already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.


* I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then
I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.


* As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but
no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.


* Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not
know what time it is.


* I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.


* Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to
with it.


* Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys
in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the
Donkey - but I’d bet my a$$ everyone can find and push the Snooze button
from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every
time...


* My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would
happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?


* It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the
link takes me to a video instead of text.


* I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.


* I think the freezer deserves a light as well.


* I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.


* The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw
they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone
at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and
then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require
such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s
nothing like being made to feel like a fat b@st@rd before dinner.

Hey! This is MY blog, too!

2009-08-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

I don't really like how my blog has become a place for me to post little snippets of things going on with the kids that I want to remember. I mean, it's great that I have a place like that since I'm so horrible about the baby books, and I'm glad that I can share the happenings of my kids with you, but it's not at all what I really intended. I also meant for my blog to be a place for me to unload thoughts and my own goings-on and to have "conversation" with other folks. The kids are a huge part of my life, obviously, and so of course they will be a huge part of the blog, but I don't really want it to become all about my kids. I really want to get back in the habit of blogging every day or every other day about real life and my experience with it and my thoughts on things in general and some such nonsense.

So.

Now I have to think of something to write about that doesn't have to do with the kids.

*crickets chirping*

Okay, so it'll take some getting used to NOT blogging about the kids since that's obviously become the habit. I'll come up with something. Seriously. I will.

OH! I have something!!

Several months back, when Sweet Hubby was having his health issues, we had to go to a medical supply place to get him some wrist splints to help with the pain/tingling he was feeling in his hands. The lady that owned the place called our insurance company right then and there to make sure that they would cover the cost before she let us out of the place with the splints. She was kind of rude about it, too. That was March. Last week, I got a call from her and she told me that she hired a professional biller of some sort who was supposed to file claims with the insurance companies on about 50 different transactions. Apparently, the biller filed nothing and now the medical supply place lady was sitting on all of these claims that she's not going to get paid for because they are all outside the 90-120 day time limit that providers have to file a claim. She then told me that she tried to file with our insurance company but they said that we are no longer with that insurance company, which is true. May 1st, Hubby's company dropped our previous insurance and put us on with a new company. That sent a little question mark up in my head because how would she know that we were no longer with our old insurance company? She then asked for our NEW insurance information and wanted us to come in and sign a new "delivery slip" with that day's date on it so she could file with our new insurance company. I had big neon signs flashing in my head, saying, "INSURANCE FRAUD! INSURANCE FRAUD!" The lady seriously had no trouble asking me to commit insurance fraud with her. I politely told her that I would get in contact with the old insurance company to find out what she could do. I found out later that when she had called me, she had ALREADY commited fraud because she ALREADY changed the date and then tried to file with the old insurance company. And the date she changed it to was May 5, which is why they denied and is why she knew we were no longer with that company.

She told me that if our old company would't pay, then she would have to charge us for it. But I have no intention of paying because she made a poor decision in hiring that biller. AND, now that I have proof that she commited insurance fraud, I plan on using that information in getting her to back off from us. But I have a feeling that I won't be hearing from her again, because I think she knows she's stuck. She's already lied to me and the insurance company. She can't fix it now.

I'm still fuming about it....the audacity! I can't believe there are people out there whose first solution to a problem is to commit a felony. And that she was so quick to suggest it to me.

Geez.

Little boy

2009-08-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

I feel like I've neglected my poor Marc-Adam on my blog lately. It's not because he's not giving me blog-worthy material...he is a constant source of amusement. It's just that most of the time, so many of the wonderful or cute or smart things he says or does can't properly be expressed on the blog. Truth is, he is such an amazing kid. He's smart and funny and hard-headed and sometimes, I just want to squeeze him, he's so sweet.

Today, as Sweet Hubby was putting on his shoes, Marc-Adam asked him where he was going. Hubby told him he had to go to work. Marc-Adam was not happy with this and told Hubby that he was coming too. We tried to explain that he couldn't go, but he asked Hubby, "You going to Mal-Mart?" Hubby said, "Yes, I'm going to work at Wal-Mart." Marc-Adam replied, "You going shopping. I coming with you." :)

When he's lost something and I ask him where he last had it he sadly says, "I tan't mememba." I love how he says that.

He often gets the other boys attention by yelling, "BOY-EEEEEZ!"

Everytime we pray, after we say amen, he yells "For Evie!" while pumping his hand in the air. No idea where he got that from. Our little Braveheart.

The kids were watching some Zula Patrol the other day and someone mentioned Neptune. Marc-Adam hopped up from what he was doing, said, "I know Neptune" and went to the playroom and pointed to the Solar System poster we have hanging up in there. He couldn't point out the exact right planet, but he knew it was a planet.

We were discussing letters and letter sounds one morning, and when I pointed out the B and asked him what sound B made, he replied, "Bzzzzzz!" I wondered what in the world he was saying, and then I realized what he meant (or what he thought I meant).

He goes nowhere without either his goggles, sunglasses or cap, or some combination of the three. One day last week, he went to his Nonny's wearing his sunglasses, bike helmet and his Bob the Builder tool belt. A sight to be seen.

He loves playing Thumb War and Rock Paper Scissors...but I think it's because he always thinks he wins. He yells, "ROCK PAPER SCISSORS SHOOT! I WIN!!!

He came to me the other day and said, "I love Mama and Daddy and Stephen and Zachary." I tried to remind him about Evie and said, "And....?" "And Jesus," he replied.

My sweet baby boy. He's getting so big so fast!

The best sound evah

2009-08-13T08:59:00.001-07:00

I'm really trying very hard to not let this blog turn in to "All About Evie". But with all the firsts going on and what with me being SO.IN.LOVE. it's pretty hard. I do have posts currently in the works about the other short people running around my house (that I'm also head over heels in love with), but because I'm using my little blog here as somewhat of a baby book for my own future reference, I have to mention the following:

Evie laughed out loud for the first time yesterday. Well, actually, it was probably more of a series of little grunts. And if she hadn't been smiling while she was doing it, I might have thought she was pooping. But she was smiling. And squirming while I tickled her. And it was definitely her first attempt at a giggle. So sweet.

3 Months!

2009-08-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to do this today and I would've been so disappointed if it had been late again!

Evie's 3 months old today! Here's what's going on in her young life:

She's becoming much more aware of her surroundings. One of her favorite things to do is sit as our centerpiece in her Bumbo at dinner. As we talk and laugh, she looks from person to person with a very serious look on her face as if she's taking it all in.

She found her fingers, particularly her thumb, this week. She's constantly trying to cram some combination of her fingers from both hands in her mouth. And she's even using them to self-soothe.

Up until the last few days, she had been consistently sleeping 8-12 hours at night before waking to sleep. The last few nights it's been closer to 5-6 hours, so I think she hit a growth spurt.

I haven't weighed her recently, but I think she's up to about 11ish pounds.

She's wearing mostly 0-3 month clothes, but I can still pull off some of the newborn clothes that I want to get one more wear out of.

She's rolling over consistently from tummy to back and it's definitely on purpose. She's a tummy sleeper, and most mornings when I go in to check on her, she's laying on her back, looking around and sucking on a finger or 10. She also rolls over to her back when I lay her down for a nap and she's decided it's not naptime.

Nursing is going great...she eats about every 3 hours (give or take 15-20) during the day. When the boys were her age, they would just close their eyes and get to business, but she likes to look around and look at me. When I talk to her, she tries really hard not to smile but a smile always sneaks out. I love it.

She is definitely a hip baby and prefers to be held most of her day. Putting her down to "play" only lasts a few minutes at a time, and even then she's looking around for someone to look at or play with. After that, she gets bored and fusses to get picked up. Usually, I happily oblige. :)

She's putting herself to sleep at night and for naps. Nap lengths are pretty inconsistent, lasting anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, but as long as she puts herself to sleep, I don't mind.

And here are her pics for this month...much less drama than the previous two months. The tiara stays up a little longer before falling in her eyes and she holds herself up longer. I tried my hardest to get a good picture of her smiling, but she wasn't in the best of moods when I took these pictures, so most of them look like she's just tolerating me. And her head was at a weird angle...she wouldn't hold it up and I couldn't get the pillow positioned right to prop her up.

This is actually pretty good one of her face aside from the translucent tiara.

Dear Evie,

2009-07-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

It is wise, generally speaking, to not quickly turn your head as I'm trying to kiss your cheek. Because then, somehow, I simultaneously kiss your slobbery open mouth and poke you in the eye with my nose. And then you cry.

So don't do that.

Glad we could clear that up.

Love,
Mom

It's better to just avoid it altogether

2009-07-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

We were on the way to my folks' house this afternoon to eat dinner and it just so happened that one of my mom's friends was eating dinner with us tonight, too. In the car, on the way there, I was reminding the boys to use their manners. "Remember to say 'yes, ma'am' and 'no ma'am' and look her in the eye when you are talking or when she's talking to you. And don't forget to say 'Hello, nice to meet you' when she gets there."

Zachary, worried that he might forget his manners, said, "Mama, I just won't talk at all."

My new reads

2009-07-27T10:43:00.000-07:00

I've updated my "blogroll" as I like to do from time to time, and as I also like to do, here's a post highlighting some of my new additions.

I'm sure I'm the last in the bloggy world to be reading Kelly's Korner, but in my defense, I've been reading her since she had Baby Harper back in January. It's a fun blog and she seems to be a sweet Southern girl. She also has a "bow head" baby, which I enjoy. I secretly study Harper's bows and outfits when she posts new pictures. Kelly also has an amazing heart for God and for women who are struggling with infertility, have a sick child or are wanting to be married but haven't found the right guy. She also keeps a prayer blog for those that send her prayer requests.

I ran across The Chronicles of Wendy several weeks ago while looking up some stuff about the Miracle Blanket. She was one of 30 moms participating in a contest for MB, and I found her blog then. Coincedentally, she's got a little boy born the day after Evie, so I love reading about what's going on with them. She's also very real about life and she's hilarious. I don't know how many people read her blog regularly, but it should be many many more.

Finally, my dearest and oldest friend has started a blog, Memories and Meanderings. If I were 15, I'd say she's my BFF, but I'm not, so I'll just say she's pretty awesome (although, in a few more years, I'm not sure I'll be able to handle the word "awesome" either). She's got 2 precious little girls very close in age to Marc-Adam and Evie that she blogs about. I love being able to keep up with their goings-on this way since I can't be part of their daily life due to our geographical distance. My friend's also in her last year of seminary and shares a bit of her wisdom in that area....which is good, because I'm sure she's tired of me e-mailing her or calling her and saying, "What do you think about this???" I'm glad we have the opportunity to keep up with each other's blogs, because the e-mails and phone calls never seem like enough. Anyway, she's new to the whole blogging thing, so go on over and show her some love.

Do you have any blogs that I should be reading, but don't have listed in my sidebar?

Science AND faith

2009-07-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

This morning, the boys and I were reading a book about the solar system. We read about how the universe was formed and how the sun came to be. The book talked about the gases compressing and exploding and all the scientific ways it came to be and I asked the kids what they thought caused all that to start happening. Stephen said that "God caused it because he got all the stuff together and squished it together in his hands (because his hands are HUGE!) and then let it all go and there was the solar system".

:)

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Baptism

2009-07-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Genevieve was baptized yesterday. It's such a wonderful occasion to welcome a baby in to a congregation and into the body of Christ. We just love our church family so much and we are often overwhelmed by their love for us.

On to the pictures.

I got this one of the 4 of them before we left for church. The best picture I've gotten of all 4 of them since Evie was born.

Our sweet girl in her baptism dress.

I joked that this one looked like my 3 little convicts all ready for their court date.

The baptism.

A verse of the song the congregation sings to each child being baptized. I also sing it to the kids quite a bit at home.

The pastor and our family.

And this is what Sweet little Genevieve did to her baptism dress five minutes before the baptism. It's also the reason why she's wrapped in an ugly blanket for the actual baptism and why she's in different clothes for the pictures afterward (including the one just above with the pastor).

Other than the huge blow-out, she did great. We had lunch with our family afterward and it was really just a wonderful day. I think our church really needed that yesterday since a beloved member of our church passed away this week and his funeral was today. Many people told me how wonderful the baptism was and it was just what they needed to help with their sadness. For me it was a great reminder of God's promises and that not even death will separate us from His love.

I can't wait to see what plans God has for our little Evie. All I want for Evie, and for all of our children, is for her to love God and to want to serve Him with all her being. Yesterday was just the beginning.

The world according to Zachary

2009-07-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Zachary has said some really cute things lately....the other day he was telling me about his love for "butterskwatch". I had no idea what he was talking about until he said something about them being like chocolate chips and then it hit me...he loves butterscotch.

He also loves "TV screens" that he eats once in a while at his grammy's house, which are actually very much like the meals that you heat up in the microwave and eat while watching TV....TV dinners.

And the other day he came to me wearing a bead necklace (like the mardi-gras kind) over his ears and told me that he was a little old lady. I guess the necklace was supposed to be like the things that ladies attach to the glasses so they can wear them around their neck. The next day, he used a water blaster/pump thingy as a cane and pretended to be a little old man, complete with a hunched-over walk and sound effects.

This morning, he requested a banana snoozie for breakfast.

Finally, this last thing isn't so much something cute that he did, but something that made him my hero. For a week, I've been looking for my driver's license, insurance card and discount cart that I last had in the back pocket of my jeans. The sad thing is that I've driven, been to the doctor AND been shopping when I could've been using the discount card. Anyway, this morning, Zachary caught my attention by saying, "Hey Mom, look what I found!" The discount card! I asked him where he found it and if he found any other cards....he came back a minute later with my driver's license and insurance card. They had fallen in between the footboard and comforter when I laid my jeans over the footboard (that's what I get for not putting my laundry away). I called him my hero and gave him a huge hug. He walked around with a huge grin on his face for an hour after that. He's such a sweet boy!

I really do love my children

2009-07-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

I've recently started feeling kinda guilty about our choices of names for our kids. Don't get me wrong, we love the names and we feel we chose the right name for each child, but we didn't exactly make it easy on them.

I think Zachary is the only one that has a semi-common name with a very common spelling. However, there has been a handful of times since he was born that someone has spelled it Zachery (Although, to me, that spelling changes the pronunciation into something silly).

Stephen has to spell his name wherever he goes. Even when people get the "ph" right, sometimes they still misspell it Stephan.

Marc-Adam....well, let's just forget the hyphen for just a second. Even if that was a concept that everyone could understand, the spelling of Marc still throws people off. And people still call him just Marc. Which is weird to me. Add in the hyphen and I wouldn't blame the child if he hated me when he was older.

And poor Evie. Her name is more often mispronounced than pronounced correctly. We've gotten Geneva, Guinevere, Geneve....it's a beautiful name, just not common enough for people to understand.

The problem with giving names that aren't terribly common is that many people have no idea how to pronounce or spell them.

What have I done?

Ya shoulda seen the other guy

2009-07-10T14:16:00.001-07:00

So by now, most of you have heard about the nasty fall Marc-Adam took on Monday. He fell off the bunk bed ladder that he's not supposed to be on. He hadn't climbed on it in a while, but he made the attempt again and quickly learned why I won't let him on it. He fell and busted his head on the nightstand.

So here's the battle wound.

If you look closely, you can see the huge bruise all the way around the cut. This is actually two days after it happened. We took him to the ER and they fixed him up with some Dermabond. It looks a ton better in this picture than it did the day it happened.

He then started throwing up on Tuesday so back to the ER we went. It's unrelated to the fall. He's still dealing with a nasty tummy bug and as a result I've seen things and cleaned up things in these last few days that I wish to never think of again. *shudder*

And that's why Evie's two month post was late again.

Two months!

2009-07-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

Here we are again...Evie's two month post and I'm late again.

So. Our girl is just a dream. Since we've gotten past that six week mark, she's really opened up and mellowed out. Here's what she's up to:

The smiles are coming freely and sweetly. She's got the most beautiful smile...she grins for a split second and then opens her mouth wide, wrinkles her nose and it's like her whole face is smiling. I'm pretty sure it's just the most wonderful thing to be on the receiving end of her smiles.

She's a talker. She's been cooing at us for a couple weeks now, and just this week she's started making all different kinds of sounds. This is totally fun for me because none of my boys were this verbal this young. Even as older babies, they were never babblers or made noises just to hear themselves. I can tell Evie will be very verbal....she already is.

When I'm holding her, but not paying direct attention to her, she'll make little gurgle and cooing noises to get my attention. And then when I look at her, she just grins at me like she's either so happy to see me again, or she's so proud that she controls me that way. :)

She is SO STRONG. She's lifting her head up when she's on her tummy so well and just holds it there. And not only is she bearing weight on her legs already, but she will push up to standing when I sit her on my lap facing me. It's amazing. Oh, and she's turning from her tummy to her back pretty consistently, but I'm sure it's not on purpose.

Sleep is getting to be pretty good. She's napped really really well the last two days, and the last week or so, she's been consistently sleeping 5-7 hours at night, wakes up to eat and then sleeps for another 3-4. I've actually felt more rested this week than I have since before she was born.

Her 2 month check-up was Tuesday...she weighed 10 lbs, 5 oz and was 22 inches long. I forget what her head circumference was, but she was 50%ile for head, and 25-50%ile for weight and length.

She likes her swing better these days and she loves to play on her play mat, but her favorite place is in a lap talking and playing with someone. It doesn't matter who, but a person is her favorite toy.

I really can't find anything to say about her that's not a positive thing. Things are going really great with her these days.

So on to our tiara pictures. This month went about as well as last month only this time, I had 3 little helpers to make it better. :)

It's hard to catch her being still.

And the tiara is still too big.

And the funny faces pop out just as the camera takes the picture.

And she still has problems staying upright. :)

But we get halfway decent ones, I guess. It's the best Mommy can do. This one's kind of funny because it looks like she's slightly annoyed at something one of the boys is doing behind me.

July 4th!

2009-07-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

These are for those of you that aren't on Facebook (MOM) or that I'm not friends with on Facebook yet.

The best picture I got all day of all 4 kids.

My sweet Evie in her first major holiday ensemble.

The bow I made for Evie, close up. And the bows I made for my cousin's little girl for her piggies.

2009-07-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

The fight is over for the sweet baby I had asked you to pray for. He's no longer in pain or struggling. His mama and daddy got 2 precious days they didn't think they'd get with him. And now they begin healing--only with God's help, I can imagine. Thank you for praying for him, and please continue to pray for his mama and daddy and brothers, as well as our church as we begin to mourn the loss of this precious child.

Amazed

2009-07-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

The baby I told you about in my last post? Well, he's still fighting. After a few unsuccessful trials at taking him off the machines keeping him alive, they decided to take him off the machines permanently yesterday. They said their goodbyes and no one expected him to live for very long afterward. More than 24 hours later, he's fighting and making improvements the doctors have never seen and can't explain. But we can explain. We have an awesome God.

Keep praying for this sweet baby boy and his family.

Heavy heart

2009-07-01T19:39:00.001-07:00

I am burdened tonight with thoughts of a family at our church. I've never really even met them, but my heart is heavy with what they are having to face.

Their third son was born a few weeks ago, and he is very sick. Tomorrow they are having to make some terribly difficult decisions.

We are praying for a miracle.

Please pray with me. I don't feel comfortable sharing too many details since I don't know them personally, but God knows.

And I know God is big enough to change this situation.

I can't even fake it

2009-06-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when I'm in a really pissy mood, I try to just fake my way through and I eventually get in a better mood. When I act like I'm happy and that I don't mind being asked for the eleventy hundredth time what's for dinner, then I actually start to be happy and not mind.

But right now, I don't even care enough to fake it. I'm too tired to even want to try. To make matters worse it's melt-your-makeup hot outside (not that I actually wear makeup most of the time, but if I did, it'd melt anyway) so there's no hope in getting outside to get some fresh air and let the kids get some energy out. They can play for about 30 minutes first thing in the morning, but after that, their cheeks get scary red and they even start begging for the A/C. So they run around the house sounding like elephants, yelling and carrying on and waking up Evie, which, let me tell you, makes me oh so happy. And that really lifts the mood. *insert eye roll here*

I must really be in a pissy mood to be using sarcasm on the blog.

So.

Blah.

What's your mood lifter when you can't convince yourself to get happy?

I nearly cried when I heard

2009-06-25T07:12:00.001-07:00

This makes me happier than I've ever been about a movie coming out. It's my most favorite book EVER and I've been waiting for a year and a half for the movie to come out. After every comic book movie and guy flick I've seen with Sweet Hubby on opening day, he is taking me to see this movie on the day it's released. And I'm going to hope hope hope that the movie does the book justice.

I'm a bad, bad blogger.

2009-06-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been around this blog o' mine much. I really don't know what to say. Life marches on and I'm not sure what to share about it.

Sweet Hubby went back to work last week. He worked one night on Monday night, then went to an all-day class on Thursday, and then went back on Saturday night. I was really nervous about handling the evening/bedtime without him, but so far I've only done it on my own once and it went well. I'm on my own the next two nights, but I think we'll be fine...as long as Marc-Adam is sufficiently tired.

Stephen's lost his two front teeth. The grown-up teeth are already coming in, but his grin is so.cute. and it's so funny to hear him talk.

The boys are VBS at a church in our town this week. I'm not quite sure what to do with my mornings...it's strange only having one child to care for. It's a wonder that I thought it was so hard when Stephen was a baby! :) Now, having only one child is slightly boring even though I love having that one-on-one time with Evie. But Evie likes to sleep through our one-on-one time.

That's all I got.

Wait and See

2009-06-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

I love this song...it's become one of my favorites. It gives me so much hope to know that I'm still a work in progress. :)

Photo Shoot!

2009-06-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if you've seen these yet, but here are some more shots from Evie's photo shoot. If you live in the Houston area, be sure to visit the Evermore website to see the work of the photographer that did these photos. She's really talented and we enjoyed working with her...can't wait to have her back out again to get shots of all our kids. I can't imagine how cute those will turn out (she has some REALLY cute subjects to work with)! (Oh, and Evie's featured on her website as well, which makes me just puff up with pride for my baby girl!)

Here are just a few of my favorite shots...there's more that I may post later.

At one month

2009-06-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

Sweet Evie turned one month old on Sunday. Here's what's going on at one month old:

She's getting really good at lifting her head. She lifts it up and looks around any chance she gets. She can even lift it and turn it while lying on her tummy!
She's focusing on our faces longer, but she keeps going cross-eyed while trying to focus. Hasn't grown out of that, yet, I guess. She can sort of track me if I move to one side of her while we're making eye contact.
I think she may have smiled at me on Saturday. It was brief, but beautiful, and I haven't gotten another out of her since.
She's going bald. That makes me laugh and cry. The hair is getting incredibly thin on top which I try to cover with a headband, but I worry that might make the problem worse.
We were swaddling with a Miracle Blanket for the first few weeks (we used it with Marc-Adam for months...he loved it!). She kept pee-ing through it, so I bought another to have an extra. They aren't cheap. A $30 blanket. Then she decides she doesn't like to be swaddled. Seriously, I started having trouble getting her to sleep, then I tried taking her out of the swaddle. Since then, I haven't had half the problems with her sleep as I had for several days before taking her out of the swaddle. Little stinker. Now I have this $30 blanket we can't use.
The boys still love her. They ask to hold her several times a day and get so excited when she wakes up for a nap.
She slept in her bed in her room for the first time on Sunday night. She actually only spent a couple of hours in there before I brought her to bed with me because she was having a hard night. But last night, she stayed in her room all night except for the one time I brought her in to bed with me to feed her. Then I put her back in her bed and she went straight to sleep!

I wanted to start taking monthly pictures of her during her first year to be able watch how she grows. I kept thinking that I wanted to take her picture with something that I could use every month to see how she compares with it every month. Then I remembered something we got for a shower gift, and so this is what we'll be taking a picture in every month to see how she grows into it. We had a few issues in the photo shoot.

She looked too scrunched down in this one, so I sat her up and tried again.

Well, that won't work, obviously.

Then she started squirming...I think the headband part of the tiara was poking her. Beauty hurts sometimes, Baby.

The Incredible Disappearing Tiara!

Ah, well, maybe next month will be more successful.

Der.

2009-06-08T07:05:00.000-07:00

Baby Girl turned 1 month old yesterday. Eesh. It's going too fast. I'm enjoying this newborn time MUCH more than I ever have before. I guess I'm just now figuring out that this stage goes so quickly and since it could possibly be the last time we have a newborn in the house, I'm trying to soak up every second.

Anyway, I intended to get a post up yesterday about what Evie's up to at 1 month old and to post a special picture, but she had such a hard night/day/night that I completely forgot until just now. We've got an appointment for her this afternoon to see if we need to adjust her reflux meds (you really have to stay on top of making sure they have the right dosage since they grow so fast at this age), but other than that, nothing else is going on. So hopefully I'll have a post up this afternoon for her. Stay tuned.

Not boring, just not interesting

2009-06-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

Aside from day to day details and me getting high from sweet baby smell (oh, and sweet baby breath), there's really not much going on around here that's worth blogging about. Nothing terribly funny or interesting or worth sharing. But I certainly wouldn't call what's going on in our home boring. So here's just a little brain dump, so I don't go too long without blogging:

Evie's doing just swell. She's waking up a little more each day and starting to really look around. I think we might get a smile out of her any day now. She's doing FANTASTIC at night, which makes me want to dance at about 5am every morning. Um, but can she stop with the growing...? She's getting so big, and will be a month old on Sunday. I didn't think it would be because things have been so calm and easy, but the last month is a BLUR.

Marc-Adam has been quite the challenge. He's still sweet enough that's it hard to stay mad at him for long, but oh my, that child makes my head hurt. We've tightened the reins a bit on him, and that seems to have helped...he's listening better and we're able to make it through an entire meal without having to put him in time-out *sigh*. We recently moved him to a twin bed and now the trouble he caused from his crib can now be caused anywhere in the room or hall. It's been quite the battle and Sweet Hubby and I are desperate to find a way to make bedtime a little more calm.

Zachary has just been so funny and so sweet (but seems to have contracted a case of selective hearing). The other day, he wanted to sing a lullaby to Evie and he sang, "Little giiiirrrrl....with a head! I love you, sweet little girl!!" And then later at dinner, he started a conversation with, "Next time, when I grow up, if you're still my mom and dad..." Wha...?

Stephen's *thisclose* to losing one (or maybe both) of his front teeth. 'Bout darn time. The things have been lose since Thanksgiving. It makes me slightly nauseous to think about it. I wish it would just fall out already. I've tried pulling it, but it's not ready so I've been telling him to wiggle it any chance he gets.

I'm starting to get homeschooling back on the brain and am starting to plan out our next year. I think I'm going to try to relax our school schedule a little bit and not try to do every subject every day with Stephen. I plan on starting grammar this year (using First Language Lessons) and keeping up with our same math and writing curricula. So I think that maybe we might try doing math 2x a week and writing/grammar 3x a week with reading every day. I think he can handle that, but we'll see. For Zachary though, we'll be working on the same things every day because he doesn't have as much to do as Stephen. I also plan on sticking with Five in a Row...it's just a really good curriculum and we all enjoy it. There's a homeschool conference in August that I plan on going to...I just hope I don't get sucked in to trying something new. But I'm really excited about it. I didn't get to go last year.

Next week is Sweet Hubby's last week home with us. I'm slightly panicked about it. I think, though, that if I plan it right, it might be a whole 'nother 2 weeks before I'm actually all on my own after he goes back to work. The good news is that he only ever works for 4 days at a time, and once he goes back to working days (instead of overnight), he'll only be working for 3 days at a time. Logically, though, I know that I'll be just fine on my own with all 4 kids, it's just scary to take that first step, especially since I have 2 very high maintenance children.

I think that's about it for now. Any questions?

It's funny 'cause it's true

2009-05-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

Sweet Hubby and I caught this guy on TV tonight, and when he started talking about IKEA, I told Hubby, "That's so true, remember the bunk beds?" Our boys have IKEA bunk beds that we've had to put together a couple of different times. And then the guy started talking about bunk beds.

We laughed ourselves silly.

Catching up...a picture post

2009-05-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

I finally uploaded some pictures from my camera to the computer. So here's the story of the big things going on in our lives since Evie arrived.

Stephen had a big weekend last weekend. Saturday was "Mayfest" at the gym we go to for gymnastics. Mayfest is really just a time when the kids get to show off what they've been learning. Stephen's been working extra hard, so he was really excited to show us what he can do. (I apologize for the quality of the pictures...it's hard to get good pictures of moving kids and I also wanted to avoid posting pictures where other kids' faces are clear which cut down on my options.)

Stephen stretching...he's the one in the middle of the picture. I show this picture only so you can see just how flexible this kid is...he's almost in a full split with his head down.

"T"-what they do after they've landed and stuck it.

Salute

Rings

Pommel Horse

Mayfest Trophy

I love looking at these pictures because in the pictures of him actually doing something he looks so intense but in between he's all smiles. I think he really enjoys gymnastics. Jonathon Horton (winner of the silver medal in the all-around at the Beijing Olympics) trained at this gym way back when and is coming back to train for the 2012 Olympics...I heard that he may even be working with some of the boys. Stephen thinks that's cool and I'm super-excited about it.

Zachary and Marc-Adam performing their own little routines while watching Stephen at Mayfest.

Stephen also had his first performance in children's choir. He even had a line, "Look at that old shoe!" He did great and loved being in the choir. Again, not a great picture, and I have a ton more, but don't want to post faces of other kids.

Also happening this week, Evie's first bath. Her umbilical cord finally fell off so she got her first good bath.

As you can see, it was a family affair. The boys were so excited for her and kept telling her how brave she was....as if a bath were something to be afraid of. :)

And just for fun, Marc-Adam, wearing some kind of Batman scuba goggles.

And Evie and I were left alone for a little while last week, so we played dress-up. I started trying all her bows on her. They are all still a little big for her, so we're sticking to the little bows that I stick to her head with Karo syrup, but she still looks awful cute with these big ol' bows on her head.

Must share!

2009-05-23T17:41:00.000-07:00

Evie had her first photo shoot today...we got a deal with a photographer wanting to expand her portfolio, so this shoot was free! I think we'll be inviting her back for a paid session to take shots of all 4 of our kids. She was great!

So, she sent me the link to a couple of the shots on her blog. They are so precious. If it's possible, I think these pictures make our girl look even prettier! I can't quit looking at them! Check it out!

Oink

2009-05-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

Evie had her two week check up today and the little girl has gained 12 ounces in 9 days and is 9.5 ounces over her birthweight!! I love it! It makes me so proud to know that she's getting all she needs from me. It totally validates my choice to breastfeed even during the times when it would be more convenient to not breastfeed.

We decided to go ahead and put her on reflux meds because she seems to be getting progressively worse and has had a really hard time the last few nights. Hopefully, she'll be on her way to feeling better in a couple days.

Nothin' much else to say...I hope to get a few minutes tomorrow to upload some new pictures from my camera to show you.

Updates

2009-05-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

I don't have anything fantastic or wonderful to say. But I wanted to let everyone know how we're doing.

Things are going great in our home...and not the kind of great that you say when everything is falling apart but you still tell people that things are going well. Honestly, things are really good. My hormones have been in check enough for me to not freak out too much, I guess. Or maybe it's just that this is our fourth child (and fourth adjustment to a new baby), my expectations were low. In any case, life has been calm and wonderful since bringing Evie home. I haven't been exhausted, the kids have been acting normally for the most part (there's been some major power struggles between Stephen and his daddy, but I'm not sure that's directly related to having a new baby in the house) and the new has not worn off Evie. The boys are still in love and still fight over her. The fight used to be about who got to hold her first, but now the fight is over who gets to hold her last because in order to curb the fights over who was first, I told them that whoever held her last got to hold her the longest. They even fight over who gets to take her diapers to the Diaper Champ. Sweet Hubby and I fight over her, too. Whenever the kids are in bed or visiting grandparents, we sort of race each other to see who gets Evie first when she wakes up. He normally wins. 'Cause I let him. It's an awesome feeling to see him with his daughter...he has been SO hands-on with her. Way more than I expected because he was sort of nervous about actually having a little girl. But he's changed as many diapers as I have and never once passes up an opportunity to change her or hold her or spend anytime he can get with her.

As far as Evie goes, she's just so precious. She's amazing. She's a very calm baby and rarely cries...when she does cry, 90% of the time she settles down before I can get to her to soothe her. I think she has a touch of reflux, which is no surprise since Zachary and Marc-Adam had it as well. But it really only seems to bother her when she's trying to go to sleep and it only keeps her from actually being able to sleep at night. The rest of the time, she just whines and winces for a few minutes and then goes to sleep on her own. For the last feed, I've started giving her Mylanta and that has helped her nighttime tremendously. She generally goes about 6 hours between her last feed of the evening and the first time she eats at night. Sometimes she'll wake up before then, but when I try to feed her, she goes right back to sleep. And then I doze off and we wake up a few hours later all snuggled up and she'll finally take a good feed. So considering there's a newborn in the house, I've been getting amazing sleep.

More brags on my hubby...Sweet Hubby is still home with us and will be for four more weeks. The only reason I'm able to hold it together is because of him. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I'd be a weepy mess for the majority of the time. He's been amazing in taking care of me and the kids and the operations of our home. I haven't made a meal in almost 2 weeks...haven't done laundry, haven't cleaned anything, haven't wiped any butts, haven't given the kids showers, haven't done dishes. And yet, we've eaten well (and not just the dinners that have been made for us, but breakfast and lunches, too!), we still have clean clothes, the kids are clean (with clean butts), the house is semi-straight and we still have dishes to eat off of. And the kids are well engaged, not climbing the walls and are having fun. It's just been wonderful and such a burden off my shoulders. In addition to running everything for me, he has also just been an awesome emotional support for me. When I told him yesterday that I was going to take a few more days to take it easy, he told me to take as long as I needed because he was still going to be home for another month. He is such an amazing answer to my prayers. There will be many tears the day he goes back to work.

As for me and my recovery...well, it's abundantly clear that this is my fourth c-section and that my body is not the same as it was when I had Stephen. It took a little while for my incision to become comfortable and I've actually finished off the bottle of vicodin I got when I left the hospital. I've never done that before. Most of my current pain is coming from a muscle in my hip...it is extremely painful and I've woken Hubby up in the middle of the night a couple of times by crying out in pain. It's fine if I stay perfectly still, but I have to be very careful in moving around because if I move the wrong way, it feels like that muscle has been lit on fire. It's getting a little better slowly, but I'm looking forward to my 2 week check on Thursday to talk to my doctor about it. Other than that, things are healing up quite nicely. Nursing is going really well. My milk came in before I left the hospital and Evie has been fairly good at getting the hang of things.

So, for now, there is much peace in the kingdom.

For Alison (and everyone else, too)

2009-05-14T09:09:00.001-07:00

I've been instructed to post more pictures...so I'm popping on quickly to show Evie off a little more. I think I have more pics that haven't been uploaded yet, but those will have to wait. So here's a few from the first few days:

I changed this picture from the one I had up originally...I hated that picture and it's been bugging me all day knowing it was up here...so here's the first picture Evie and I took together, just a few minutes after she was handed to me for the first time.

Couldn't you just eat up those cheeks?

Going home dress...such a pretty girl.

The proud brothers (Big, Bigger, and Biggest).

Pretty sweet, huh? :)

And now you know...

2009-05-13T10:32:00.001-07:00

....why I've nicknamed him Sweet Hubby for the blog.

My Wonderful Life!

2009-05-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

Just two days ago Alli and I brought our precious daughter Evie home. She has to be the sweetest baby girl that I know. I want to say that I am very grateful for all that my wife has gone through these last few months. They have been long and hard for her, but the payoff is more than I would ever dream of. Our handsome boys have welcomed Evie home with nothing but love, hugs and lots of kisses. I have never seen our boys more in love with a baby until now. Our life will be different from now on and I would not change a thing.

Evie was born 7lbs. and 1 oz.. She was 18 1/2 inches long. She is so precious and I can't wait to get my hands on her every chance I get. My life is so blessed! Alli, I want to tell you that I love you and I am so proud to be called your husband. You are the greatest wife that I could have ever asked for. We make an awesome team.

Thank you all for you comments and love to Alli and our family. We are blessed with a great group of friends.

Gary

At last

2009-05-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

We are home!! Just wanted to give a quick update. Evie's here and perfect and we're so overjoyed with her and all of our children.

More details and pictures to follow, but I'm tired and hurting a little now, so I'll just leave you with a picture of her. Jury's still out about who she looks like.

Love all around!

T minus 3 hours

2009-05-07T02:30:00.000-07:00

Well, it's here. May 7th. We made it! We've got some last minute packing to do and then we're off to the hospital. C-section is scheduled for 7:30, so I'd love your prayers during that time, if you've read this by then.

I won't be back until probably Monday, but I may see if I can walk Sweet Hubby through the posting process so that those of you who won't be getting a phone call can get the deets of our baby girl a few days early.

I love you all and I can't wait to share our little girl with you.

To my daughter, on the day before your birth

2009-05-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I would have laughed at the prospect of ever having a daughter. It seemed to me that I was born to be the mommy of all boys...being the mother to your brothers has changed me to my core and I couldn't ever imagine being anything different than what I was for them. The love and bond I have with each of your brothers runs so deep and I couldn't imagine what it would be like to love a child that was not my son.

But then came you.

And my heart began to leap at the ideas of bows and baby dolls and sweet little dresses. My soul aches for the kind of relationship that a mother can only have with her daughter. Our home seems to long for the girliness and softness you will bring when you arrive.

I'm not quite sure what to expect from you and how the dynamic of our family will change. I'm sure that in the beginning, life will be much the same as it was when your brothers were newborns. But as you grow, I can't wait to see how our relationship develops and how you change your brothers and daddy. They are all already so in love with you that not a day (an hour sometimes!) goes by without all 4 of them reaching over to feel you move, or talking to you in sweet voices or exclaiming how much they can't wait. Stephen declares his love hourly and tells me how sweet you will be and tells everyone that will listen that he is the most excited. Zachary told me yesterday that he's going to dance when you are born--complete with "jazz hands". Marc-Adam gets a sweet little smile on his face every time we mention your name, and he tells me he will hold you and kiss you on your head. And your Daddy? Well, let's just say that it won't take much for you to get that pony if that's something you ever desire. He's already wrapped around your little finger...he bought you your first outfit and shoes and his whole face changes when he talks about you. And I think your daddy is already your hero...you often calm at the sound of his voice. Your brothers used to roll around within my belly when Daddy talked to them. But you get still as if you are listening intently.

I look forward to our quiet moments together, although they might be few and short. But I can't wait to learn all about you. I want to smell your head and feel your breath against my neck. I want to play with your fingers and marvel at your little tiny fingernails. I want to watch you grow and learn and thrive. I can't wait to see what plans God has for you and how you choose to live them out. I can't wait to see how you fit into our family....however it is, whatever you bring, you are the missing puzzle piece in our lives.

My dear Genevieve, you are so loved and so cherished and our family is already immensely blessed from your existence within me. And tomorrow, as we celebrate you and your birth and finally meet you face to face, I hope you can feel that love....I hope you've felt it all along. You're coming in to a family with so much love already, that I think you must have some kind of understanding of it. You and your brothers are a dream come true for your daddy and I. I hope that with our love and guidance, we can help you make your dreams come true, as well.

I love you, Baby Girl. I can't wait to meet you.
Love,
Mama

The age old dilemma...

2009-05-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

...to wear make-up or to not wear make-up to the hospital.

I've been debating this for days. On the one hand, I want to look good for pictures, especially since I'll be donning one of those sexy maternity hospital gowns and probably a little bit of bed-head from the operating table. On the other hand, I tend to cry quite a bit at the birth of my children, and I'm afraid I'll end up with raccoon eyes for the pictures. So I went out this morning and bought some waterproof mascara (which I generally avoid, but I think will come in handy for this situation) and some pretty new lipgloss. I'm thinking of just putting on foundation and mascara and lipgloss and skipping any other eye makeup.

What do you think? What did you do?

MAY!

2009-05-01T06:15:00.000-07:00

I've been saying all through this pregnancy that I wasn't sure I'd make it to my May due date. But here we are, May 1st! I still don't know if we'll make it to the 7th, but I'm glad May is finally here and that we are this much closer to meeting our baby girl.

Keeping you informed

2009-04-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

I've been debating about what to share about my doctor's appointment yesterday. On the one hand, what happened turned out to be no big deal, but on the other hand, I'm afraid that those of you who I'm close with and are following this pregnancy closely through my blog might be surprised and maybe a little offended that I didn't share this. So here goes...this isn't an alert that something is wrong, just me keeping all my loved ones in the loop.

I had my 37 week appointment. It was supposed to be my last appointment until my c-section next week. When the nurse took my blood pressure, she said it was much higher than it usually is and asked if I had been busy or stressed that day. I had been neither stressed nor busy and I had been sitting calmly, quietly in the waiting room for about 15 minutes. When my doctor came in, I asked her about the blood pressure and she said that the nurse would re-check it before I left and that if it was still high that they would have to send me over to the hospital. Well, the nurse re-checked it and it was the same as it had been before. So I got a first-hand tour of the new hospital where Evie will be born. They finally got me all set up on the monitors and every time they took my blood pressure, it was lower than it had been the time before. An hour later, I was walking out of there with the instructions to follow up with my doctor next Monday.

So that's it. Just a tiny concern that didn't last very long. Later on, I was thinking about it and I had had a high salt lunch and as I was exiting the freeway to get to the doctor's office, my car skidded a bit (it's been wet and soggy here for a couple of days) and I almost rear-ended the person in front of me. It scared me a little, and those two things together might have contributed to my high readings in the office. But maybe not. Who knows. The important thing is that everything is fine now.

And now you're in the know.

Random tidbits

2009-04-23T15:27:00.001-07:00

Eesh, I didn't realize it had been since Saturday that I last blogged. The days are all blurring together, I guess. So because I have nothing to really say, you're getting the bullet point list.

We got a letter in the mail today saying that as of May 1st, out insurance is changing. Ahem. You might be able to see why this caused me to panic and maybe hyperventilate. Aside from all of Sweet Hubby's issues, I'm also planning major surgery in 14 days. Now's NOT the time to start making changes on me. I immediately called the benefits hotline and made sure that my doctor and hospital were still in network. I already had my argument all prepared that I under no circumstances was going to change my doctor OR hospital at this point in my pregnancy and that they were going to pay the same amount that the previous insurance company would have paid. The hotline lady assured me that everything (coverage, deductible, annual out of pocket, etc) were going to transfer over and that everything is going to be just fine. It's a shame, though, I really was in the mood for a fight. BUT, I'm glad I won't have to stress too much about this transition....it's still a pain, though.

Tomorrow, Sweet Hubby and I are taking the two older boys out on dates. I'm taking Stephen to see Earth and Hubby's taking Zachary fishing. Marc-Adam gets a date with his Nonny. I've been wanting to do something special with the kids before Evie comes. This morning I had the bright idea that we'd take them to the children's museum (they've recently had a major overhaul and it's supposed to be really cool). Then I decided that wasn't a great idea, because the last thing I need to do is to take them to a giant germ incubator so that they get sick and can't come see the baby when she's born OR that I get sick from them and have to recover from abdominal surgery while also recovering from a cough like when Marc-Adam was born. The boys were so excited when we told them we're taking them on dates. I thought Stephen was going to cry...he's been dying to see Earth.

Now that we're getting closer to "D-Day", I'm getting less ancy about getting this over with. I didn't even wake up this morning trying to remember how many days left. I've been stressing slightly about the stuff I want to try to get before or very soon after she gets here (but none of it is really necessary...more wants than needs), but other than that, the closer we get, the more calm I am. I'm feeling a little bit more anxiety, too, about the actual surgery part (I need to stop watching the baby birthing shows), so I've been in prayer about that a lot.

In other baby news, I've been having lots of contractions (about 3-5 an hour) for the last week or so. Some (but not all) are pretty painful. I thought for sure that I would be dilating at least a little, but no. I had a doctor's appointment this past Monday, and I wasn't dilated AT ALL. On the one hand, I was glad because I'm still not technically full term, and I want her to stay in as long as possible (up to May 7), but on the other hand, it was frustrating that I'd been having all those contractions for nothing. I don't really want any surprises this time, so I'd rather not go into labor before my c-section date, but geez.

We've been working on getting the house clean this week. It's actually looking pretty good, and if I can just maintain for the next couple weeks, I'll feel good about coming home to what it looks like now when I get out of the hospital. I'm proud of myself for getting as much done as I've been able to do this week. I still have the utility room to clean out and the boys room to straighten (they'll help me with that in the next day or so), and I'd really like to get in the playroom and weed out a bunch of toys, but other than that, things are looking pretty good. I even scaled Mt. Laundry and now it's just a little molehill.

And now, here's Zachary with the weather.

2009-04-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we had a heckuva storm system come through. It interfered with naptime and scared the bejeezus out of Marc-Adam. I was wondering how long the storm was going to last, but Sweet Hubby was asleep and the computer is in our room. With M-A attached to me, there was no way I'd be able to sneak in to check the radar...if a thunder clap hit, M-A would scream and even with ear plugs in, I knew that would wake hubby up (turns out, it woke him up anyway, even from the other room). Anyway, so I waited patiently until 4pm when the first round of local news broadcasts came on. I convinced the kids that they could watch Electric Company after I was done watching the weather, and finally sat down to see what we were in for that afternoon and evening (I was just praying that it would pass through before bedtime). 30 seconds after the weather started on the news, the storm knocked the satellite out. I started fussing about how I had waited and now wouldn't get to watch the weather. Zachary comes and stands in front of the TV and says, "Mama, I can do the weather for you!" At first I didn't understand what he meant, but I said okay.

He proceeds to point at different spots on the (now black-screened) TV and says, "It's raining here and here. And here's Cypress. It's going to be 50 degrees for 50 more minutes."

Honestly, it was just as helpful as most of the weather people on TV.

Evie's Room

2009-04-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

I posted this last month, a few weeks before Evie was born, so I just linked to this post for Kelly's Korner Tour of Homes. Evie is our first girl after three boys and we had the best time fixing up her room. Enjoy!!

Here's the big reveal of Evie's room finally. My mother-in-law helped decorate, add the accessories, and painted the flowers on the wall. My mom bought the bedding and lamp (lamp not shown in the pictures because we hadn't gotten it in yet) and everything else is stuff we already we had (the crib, dresser, mirror) or that we bought cheap from Walmart or IKEA.

This last one's a little blurry because of the weird angle at which I had to take it, but that door you see there is the closet. It turned out really cute.

I'm just so pleased with how it turned out. I find myself in there several times a day just looking at everything and thinking about her and wondering if this beautiful room will match her personality. I can't wait to meet her.

20 days and counting...

Makeover

2009-04-15T10:07:00.001-07:00

Well, we painted the outside of our house yesterday. Actually, we just painted the front of the house because we ran out of time, so we'll have to do the sides and back next week, but that should be really easy. The hard parts were the fronts with all the trim, shutters and garage doors. Last week, Sweet Hubby moved the shrubs to open up the porch a bit. So here's the before:

And the after:

The shutters on the windows to the left look striped because of the glare off the sun, but they really are just black.

Eye on the prize

2009-04-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

Now that Easter is behind us, I have nothing else in front of me except the birth of our 4th baby. I've been living week to week, or actually event to event, and now that all the big Easter events are over, I feel like I can squarely focus on the last few weeks of this pregnancy. I think I'm ready, emotionally and mentally, for her to come at any time. And at this point, I'm thinking the sooner the better, but I realize that now I'm all prepared, I'll probably have to wait till our scheduled date. Which is great, too, but I'm just ready. Ready to turn the page on this pregnancy, and ready to start a new chapter with my family.

Everything's just about prepared. Although, I'm trying to think of things to keep myself busy for the next couple weeks. I definitely need to clean...all rooms need to be straightened, and I'm planning on cleaning out the utility room and playroom. I'm hoping to get my steam mop next week, so I can clean properly clean the floors without getting down on my hands and knees like I usually do. The bathrooms and kitchen need to be scrubbed, and I'm hoping to start stocking up our freezer with meals that can be quickly and easily prepared. I also want to sew a new cover for our boppy. Thursday, I get to visit my dearest friend and then that night a few ladies from my church are throwing me a baby shower for girly stuff. So I guess I have enough (in addition to just regular life of being with and caring for my boys) to keep me busy and to keep me from going crazy in the next few weeks. Now if only I could get enough energy and pain relief to actually accomplish all those things....

Alleluia!

2009-04-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to impart deep thought and insight into my feelings about Easter on my blog today. But I can't really express to you how I feel about it and what it means to me. All I can say is:

He is risen!

And I'm so glad.

Some Easter humor

2009-04-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, here are my absolute FAVE knock-knock jokes:

Knock-knock.

Who's there?

Ether.

Ether who?

Ether bunny!

Knock-knock.

Who's there?

Samoa.

Samoa who?

Samoa ether bunnies!

Knock-knock.

Who's there?

Estelle.

Estelle who?

Estelle more ether bunnies!

Knock-knock.

Who's there?

Consumption.

Consumption who?

Consumption be done about all these ether bunnies??

I had a focus for this post, but lost track somewhere and so it's all just babble.

2009-04-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

I promise that I won't be blogging "all-baby, all-the-time" forever. It's just the biggest thing going on right now in our lives, so it's where most of our focus is. I hope you are patient with me and all my talk of all things Evie.

Anyway, we're in the process of putting all the finishing touches in Evie's room. It should be mostly done by tomorrow morning. I decided this afternoon, that the next thing to do should be to organize all her clothes. Last week (or two weeks ago...or two years ago...I've lost track), when I cleaned out that room to begin with, I just took all the clothes she had and shoved them in her dresser to get them out of the way while we started work on her room. So yesterday (two days ago...?) I put on the first load of Evie clothes to wash. That entire load was nothing but hand me downs. Today, however, if I wanted to keep washing her clothes, I had to start taking tags off. I panicked a bit at the thought of "Yipes, what if we end up bringing home our little Grant, instead of our little Evie?!? What in the world will I do with all these clothes that are brand new, but now have no tags?" Taking off tags makes the whole thing seem more real and like I'm more committed to the idea of having a girl. Nevermind the fact that we just painted the room pink and I've made more bows than she'll have hairs on her head when she's born.

Speaking of bows, I must take some more pictures of what I've been working on. I've finally gotten the hang of one style of bow that I was having trouble with, and they are turning out oh-so-cute. I'm making bows for outfits that she doesn't even have yet, but that I plan on her having. Like a black and hot pink bow for a black and pink Supergirl dress I want to make for her. And today I made two bows with the intention of picking one for her to wear when she gets baptised (unless of course we end up with something that she must have a bonnet for). Those two are particularly precious. Way back when, before I started making bows, I bought a bunch of little tiny baby bows (No hair needed!) off of ebay for her to wear in her first few weeks, especially for pictures in the hospital and for her coming home outfit. Now that I've been dealing with these bigger bows, those little tiny ones just seem incomplete or not enough. But I'm going to try to control myself in the beginning and only use the big bows for when I'm playing dress-up with her, and use the little tiny ones for when we go out or take pictures. We'll see how long that lasts.

And for those of you that care, I'm 34 weeks now and as of today we are 4 weeks from the scheduled Baby Day. I'm actually pretty impressed with how much we've gotten done in a short amount of time. I've been much calmer about what needs to be done this time around. Sweet Hubby, on the other hand? Well, he's the one that insisted on getting her room started and finished and this week he re-lanscaped our yard, and next week he plans on painting the exterior of our house. Meanwhile, I have vague ideas of what I would like to have done before Evie gets here (mainly just things I don't want to have to do AFTER she gets here), but I haven't done anything about them or even really thought through planning to get them done. For some reason, I have it in my head that I need a steam mop before I can really get anything done. As if the dirty floors in my house were my only housekeeping problem.

And for a closing thought, I know I must be getting close to baby day because I'm getting to the point in my pregnancy when I'm easily annoyed. The ones in my life that I love most are wearing on my nerves....and I know logically that it's not their fault and they're doing things that they ALWAYS do, but hormonally I want to yell at them for breathing too loudly, or chewing too loudly, or for sitting funny on the couch, or for asking too many questions, etc, etc. Today, I had to keep my tone in check when I told Stephen to quit making me think. The words were out of my mouth before I realized how ridiculous they were. And I said them just a mere few hours after telling him that he can always ask me anything. *sigh* I hope that I can not be such an ogre after the baby's born.

Now available at your local convenience store!

2009-04-06T07:54:00.000-07:00

Stephen ran some errands with my dad the other day while we were visiting my folks. After they came home, my mom and I were chatting with him about what they did and where they went. He told us they went to the mega-convenience store near their house and my mom asked him what they needed there. He tried several times to get the words out, but his little ~~tangue got all tungled~~ tongue got all tangled and this was all he could manage:

"Gice and @ss."

He knew as soon as he said it that it wasn't right.

It sounded like he said, "Guys and @ss."

Ahem.

"Ice and gas?" we asked.

"YES! Yes. ICE and GAS!"

Proof there are kids at my house

2009-04-03T05:59:00.000-07:00

This is what greeted me when I crawled in to bed at 11pm last night.

So of course I had to get a picture. :)

Sneak peek

2009-04-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

It's not done, yet, but here's what's been happening in Evie's room this week.

More pics to come when it gets finished next week.

I wonder...

2009-03-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

....How many times I'm going to pull out pre-pregnancy clothes to wear forgetting that they don't fit anymore.

System shock

2009-03-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

You'd think that knowing for 3 months that we're having a girl that I would get used to the idea. And for a while, I think I am used to the idea, then something happens and I'm suddenly smacked with "Oh.my.word. We're having a girl." Today, Sweet Hubby's working in what's going to be Evie's room. This morning, it was a MESS. Just stuff everywhere, no organization, MESSY. I finally got in there and sorted stuff out (we sold some furniture out of there this weekend) and cleaned it up. I hung up some of her clothes in the closet and then a little while later, went back into the closet to put something in there, and the sight of pink frilly things hanging up in the closet made me do a double take. I don't think I'm going to get used to the idea until she's here and we've experienced what it's like to have a little girl in the house. All of her stuff still seems out of place.

Right now, her room is blue. By the end of the day, it will be a pale shade of pink ("Apple Blossom" to be exact). Now that will be a shock.

When we get the room all finished and put together, I'll post pics. It's going to be precious, thanks to my mom and mother-in-law.

Time for a belly pic

2009-03-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure I've posted any belly pics this time around, and I'm bored tonight (NOTHING on DVR and nothing on TV), so I thought I'd post a picture of me and Evie at 32 weeks 5 days. It's sort of a sorry picture, but it's the best I could do on my own.

T minus 6 weeks

2009-03-26T05:51:00.000-07:00

So. If everything goes according to plan (ha ha), exactly 6 weeks from right now, our little Evie will be here taking her first breaths...either being manhandled by the nurses or being all wrapped up and held by her Daddy for the first time. Baby day has been officially scheduled for May 7th (05.07.09--that's the date I've wanted all along) for 7:30 in the morning. We'd been talking about that all along, and the doctor even scheduled it for us earlier than she normally schedules c-sections so that we could ensure to get that day (she normally doesn't actually schedule until 32-34 weeks, but she scheduled it when I was 30 weeks). But when she told me it was official, I had a little bit of a freak out. It made it that much more real. And I'm acutely aware of the fact that we may not make it to that day at all. I've thought all along that we may not even make it to May. But I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see. All that matters is that in 6 weeks or less, our daughter will be in our arms.

I think we're just about ready. Her room's not ready and her clothes aren't clean or sorted, but we have everything we should need. The pack and play is still at my folks', but we can get that at any time and that's really the only thing that we need. Other than that, we have diapers and jammies. Since I'll be nursing, the food is built in, so if Evie Cate decides to come early, we'll be ready. Funny. Even just 2 babies ago, I wouldn't have even entertained the thought of NOT having the room and everything perfectly ready to go for the new baby. Now, I just want the house to be clean and I'd like to be done being pregnant. That's all.

I've been feeling as I think I should be feeling in the third trimester with the fourth child. Tired, achy, cranky. Morning nausea has also returned which is a nice little gift. I'm quite large, and Evie's butt or knee or heel or something equally bony has taken up residence under my left ribs. But in spite of all that and the fact that I feel like I've been pregnant for.ev.er. I really am still enjoying being pregnant with my little girl. I love having her as a part of me. I love feeling her kicks and nudges...I love how she's still and quiet all night (Lord, please let that continue after birth)...I love being able to watch her roll around and being able to share all of her antics with her adoring brothers and daddy.

Speaking of daddy, you have never met a man more excited about a baby than my Sweet Hubby is right now about Evie. I can't wait to see his reaction to her. I'm afraid I'm going to have to wrestle him to the ground to get to hold her....and the major surgery/anesthesia thing might hold me back a bit. Of course, I have the advantage of being her food supply, so I'm thinking I'll have to play that card in order to get my hands on her.

6 weeks, people....and I'm going to have 4 kids. And a daughter. Who'd've thunk it?

Free stuff?? Sign me up!

2009-03-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

The company Sweet Hubby works for has a program for expectant parents that offers "support" and information. They started offering it shortly after we got pregnant, but I never enrolled. Somehow, they found out that Sweet Hubby and I were expecting and they called to enroll us. I didn't think I really needed any more support or info, but I'd heard there were free coupons involved, so I thought, "What the heck?" So I enrolled by answering some strange and personal questions.

Holy cow, I should have enrolled at 14 weeks (like they encourage) instead of 30! So far, I've received two packages by UPS from the program, both with not coupons, but actual free stuff!! I've gotten 2 huge books (one is What to Expect the First Year and the other is a book about taking care of your baby and child--medical info and the like), a really nice blanket, a cool sippy cup, a formula dispenser (bah), a cool magnet for the fridge to keep track of your daily/weekly servings of the food groups and lots of pamphlets/booklets with valid information about breastfeeding, folic acid, RSV, signs of preterm labor (which actually had info that I had never heard), etc. I'm so impressed! I'm hoping that I'll keep getting the packages once a week because it's like Christmas! :) I love free stuff!

And oh yeah, they have a 24 hour nurse line, blah, blah, blah...but look! A free cuddly blankie!

Check out the google symbol today...

2009-03-20T06:09:00.001-07:00

...if you have kids or enjoy a good Eric Carle book.

You're welcome.

Entry 4,137 of Things I Never Thought I'd Say

2009-03-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

There was a particular incident this week in which one of my children provoked me to say:

"How do you get your tongue stuck to the toilet paper?"

Normal

2009-03-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

Grab your party hats, folks, 'cause you're in for a pity party.

Usually when I talk about things getting back to normal, I talk about it in a good way because I look forward to normal and "calm" (calm is a relative term). But now, I sit here bitter about normal.

Sweet Hubby's back at work tonight. He slept/rested most of the afternoon and left about an hour ago. He had been on leave from work for almost 7 weeks and I have gotten so used to having him around. The first few weeks, it was great having him home. We really are best friends and it was great to be a team (as much as he could be a part of a team in his condition) and to "hang out" all day. The second couple of weeks, I started to feel a little restless and claustrophobic because I hadn't really had 2 seconds truly alone in weeks. I started to look forward to getting back to normal when he went back to work. And then the last few weeks, having him home became our new normal. We've gotten to spend lots of time together and we've gotten a lot done. Doing school was 10 times easier because I had a built-in playmate to keep Marc-Adam (or either of the other boys) busy while the older boys and I were able to really concentrate on our work. Every night, after we put the kids down and checked our e-mail, we'd plop down on the couch and watch a movie or something off DVR, eat a bowl of cereal (or a milkshake) and just be.

So now, I'm feeling a bit lonely and sorry for myself. I still have a few things to watch on DVR that I haven't watched yet because I knew he didn't have any interest in it, but I don't want to sit by myself. And I'm really really thirsty and craving some apple juice...there were more than a few times that I would be craving something after the kids went to bed and he would run up to the store to get it for me. Obviously, I can't just run up to the store now, so I have to drink the funky water (uh, no.) or more milk (I think I've drank most of a gallon of milk today).

This week's going to be longer than normal, too, because he gets home Friday morning to be off for 4 days, but then Friday afternoon he's going camping with his dad and won't be home till Sunday afternoon. Boo. I really wanted to whine about those plans, but I bit my tongue because he needs that getaway.

Oh, well. 7.5 more weeks till Evie gets here and we'll get to have him home for a whole 'nother 6 weeks.

On the upside, I might actually be blogging more now. No offense, but it was much more fun to spend my free time hanging out with him than blogging. :)

If only it were that easy

2009-03-09T13:54:00.000-07:00

This morning, the kids and I were discussing a bible verse that Stephen learned in church yesterday (at least I think it was the one he learned, I'm not totally sure...so we discussed the one he was able to name). Anyway, talking about that verse led us into a discussion about Satan (actually, Stephen brought that up which is interesting because I don't think I've ever discussed Satan with them). We talked about how Satan wants to destroy us and all the good things that God is doing in us. We ended our discussion in a prayer, and when it was Zachary's turn, he ended his part with this:

"And dear God, please make the devil be good."

I love their innocence.

Pretty sure his picture is next to the definition of "trouble"

2009-03-07T15:33:00.000-08:00

While I was checking some e-mail, Stephen walked in behind me and said, "Mom, you should always be prepared if you're going to do something dangerous." I turned to see what he meant, only to see him walking out of the room wearing safety goggles.

Thankfully, he and his brothers and our home are still intact.

Lofty Ambitions

2009-03-06T10:46:00.000-08:00

At the lunch table a little bit ago, Sweet Hubby and I were having a discussion about the company he used to work for and how things have gone down hill since he left. We talked about that job and this new one and how things are so much better...

Just about then, Stephen interjected: "You know what I want to be when I get a job? A movie director!!"

And just as excited about his vocational ambitions, Zachary yells out "I want to be the DirecTV guy!!"

My children, they reach for the stars. Or the satellites as it may be.

I'm not sure if he means the guy who drives around town in the DirecTV van or some other DirecTV guy.

After Sweet Hubby and I had a good laugh, we looked at Marc-Adam, who was licking his plate, and asked what he wanted to be.

"A cat!"

That's a goal that will take a lot of hard work to achieve.

Ti-red.

2009-02-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

That's how Stephen used to say tired and now we all say it that way.

And that's how I feel. Ugh. Just tired all the time, and can't get enough sleep. It's like the first trimester all over again, minus the nausea and the desire to scratch out the eyes of everyone who annoyed me (which was pretty much everyone back then). I spent a great few weeks in the last couple months where everything was great! I felt great! I had energy left over to spare and the skies were blue and little birdies circled my head singing as I walked along. Now it's all I can do just to keep my eyes open while driving or talking or eating. I know what you're thinking...yes, I know I'm growing a person and all, and I do remember feeling this way in my last pregnancies, but only in the last few weeks and I still have a good 10 weeks to go in this one. And the thought of spending 2 more months like this, only to transition in to the exhaustion that accompanies having a newborn in the house...well, it makes me want to cry. Or shrivel up and hide.

Tired.

And that is all.

Did I really just say that??

2009-02-26T11:32:00.001-08:00

An example of a ~~lazy~~ tired mom--or maybe I'm just being frugal:

Stephen (who's been eating us out of house and home lately) came and asked me if he could have a piece of bread. I told him yes and he went to help himself. After he got his bread, he came to me and said, "Mom, it's hard" and started knocking it on the table. In my defense, it didn't actually make a knocking sound, but I knew it was harder than he likes to eat.

But being the kind of mom I am, I told him, "Well....just pretend it's toasted."

I can't believe I said that.

Somebody stop me!!

2009-02-24T12:43:00.000-08:00

I've picked up a new hobby.

Bows.

I decided the other day that I would try to make most of Evie's bows (and believe me, I plan on putting a bow on her every chance I get). Some of the bows that I looked at to buy were $5 or $6 each, and I just have a hard time spending that much on a baby/toddler accessory. So I searched the internet for how to make them (you'd be surprised at how little instruction there is on the internet...these bow-making ladies keep their secrets close) and dug out some ribbon. I made the first one and was hooked. Hobby Lobby had their ribbon by the spool on sale, so I went and bought some cute ribbon yesterday. And I haven't quit making bows since. Well, except to eat and help the kids with their handwriting.

So. Here's what I've done so far (I apologize for the quality of the pictures...they aren't good which is sad because I think it takes away from how cute the bows are):

This one was the hardest, but turned out the best and one of my favorites:

This is definitely my favorite...must find an outfit to match it for Evie:

This one is cute...picture doesn't do it justice (it looks lopsided or uneven, I think it's just the angle of the bow and my awful picture taking skills):

A fun one, really cute ribbon:

This is the very first one I did, it matches one of my favorite outfits of Evie's perfectly:

Just another cute one with cute ribbon:

The first one I did in this particular bow-style...I don't like it, probably won't ever use it:

Surprisingly, I really enjoy doing this and it doesn't take me long to crank them out. I can't wait to go get my hands on more ribbon! However, starting out this new hobby makes me wonder if all the bow-making mommies and professional bow-makers have any fingerprints left. I've burned and poked myself so much that I'm surprised I'm still able to type!

I also bought a bunch of little tiny "no hair needed" bows for Evie's first few weeks. And I got an awesome deal on headbands that you can use with interchangeable bows. I think I might be a little out of control....

Perfect timing

2009-02-18T05:57:00.001-08:00

Just the other day, I was thinking that I'd like to get some more nursing shirts and/or dresses for when Evie is born, so I don't have to struggle with nursing at church like I did with Marc-Adam. I couldn't wear any of my dresses that I had because I would have to half undress in order to nurse. But I didn't want to wear shirts and pants all the time, because I felt I would be too dressed down most of the time. And the only nursing shirts I really had were t-shirt type shirts that I got when I was nursing Stephen and the nursing wear they offer these days are SO MUCH better.

ANYWAY, Motherwear is giving away a $50 gift certificate! I think this is one of my favorite items from Motherwear, if I have to choose one.

This gift card would be such a blessing to me right now!!

So in love, I almost can't stand it

2009-02-15T17:46:00.000-08:00

Obviously, I love all my children dearly and for different reasons. They all have qualities that make me thank the Lord every day that I get to be their mom. Lately, though, Marc-Adam has just been so amazing and so cute, that this morning at church, I told Sweet Hubby that if M-A weren't already ours, I think I would have to take him so that he could be ours. He walked the halls at church smiling at and saying hello to everyone and was yelling about what a fun time he had at church.

Yesterday morning, he completely took apart a flashlight--screw-on top, batteries and springy thing and all. And then, within just a few minutes, he had put it all back together again--correctly--and was walking down the hall shining it in to all the small rooms. I thought for sure that Sweet Hubby had put it back together, but Marc-Adam assured me that he did it himself.

Lately, as we have our last snuggle of the evening, when I ask him what song he wants to sing (as in which lullaby), he asks for Jingle Bells. Every.Single.Time. Then halfway before I'm done, he insists on switching to You Are My Sunshine. Every.Single.Time.

He's very excited about Evie, and he's especially excited about one particular pair of shoes that she'll get to wear when she's born. Everytime we go to her room, he picks them up and asks if they are Evie's and tells me she'll wear them when she comes out.

He sings and talks and carries on for what seems like for.ev.er after we put them to bed at night. The other two boys don't seem to mind and they pass out long before he does. He'll talk to his lovey and sing to Dadoo (a little stuffed dog) and then when he's all done, he'll call me in to cover him back up and then he goes to sleep. It cracks me up.

He is my most high-maintenance child. But he steals my heart every day.

I forgot to give this post a title the first time I published it...

2009-02-12T07:10:00.001-08:00

...that's a sure sign that it's a random post.

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. Things have been kind of crazy, and my brain is so full and overwhelmed that I feel like I wouldn't even be able to put together a coherent post. So we'll stick with bullet points today and hope that I can come up with some better posting in the next few days.

Stephen had some weird symptoms earlier this week, so I took him to the doctor. Turns out he had strep. Weird. Even the doctor was confused. He said he'd never seen strep present that way. But he went ahead and put him on antibiotics and Stephen's all better now.

I've been feeling a little under the weather. Hoping I'm not coming down with strep, too.

Sweet Hubby's still dealing with quite a bit of pain. He's on pain meds that seem to help a little, but not completely. Hopefully he'll be able to function better after we get these other tests done.

The boys are finally getting over a cough that kept us up at night for several nights. And then once they got over it and we had the possibility of a good night's sleep, a thunderstorm blew in that kept the kids and I up for a while. We finally started getting some better rest a couple nights ago.

I've finally found us some new curriculum that I'm excited about. I'm in the planning stages this week, and we hope to start on Monday. We're also going to try our hand at lapbooking. Even Sweet Hubby is excited about that. I'll post our progress and results next week.

Sciatica sucks. That's all I have to say about that.

My in-laws are opening a little home decor shop for the first time tomorrow. I'm super-excited for them and we've been there helping out quite a bit this week. It's been great because my mother-in-law asked me to make some pillows for the shop, so I've been able to sew again, which really makes me happy. I always forget how much I love to sew until I'm able to do it again. I really can't get any sewing done on a regular basis, but I've had great fun over the last couple of days getting some pillows together for her.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Is no news actually good news?

2009-02-06T17:29:00.000-08:00

So, after 4 visits to our family doctor, 3 visits to 2 different neurologists, 4 MRIs and 1 CT scan, 2 trips for blood tests we still don't really know what's wrong with Sweet Hubby. His last couple of MRIs did show some bulging disks in his middle and lower back, which might explain the numbness/pain in his legs and feet (and it definitely explains his back pain), but it doesn't explain what's going on in his neck and arms/hands--and what's going on in his arms/hands are the same things that's going on with his legs/feet so it makes me wonder if the bulging disks have anything to do with anything. The bulging disks are too far down to be affecting his arms and hands. We were so frustrated when we left the doctor this morning because we still don't have a solid answer and now he's got to have more (and more invasive) testing. In 2 weeks, he's having an EMG done on all 4 limbs so they can try to pinpoint which nerves are causing the problem and then hopefully we can find the source. In the meantime, he's on an leave of absence from work. Thank goodness his company has a 90 paid leave of absence for management, otherwise we'd be in a world of trouble. They also have an "Associate in Need" program to help out when things like this happen, but unless something really awful or expensive happens, I don't think we'll need it.

On the bright side, we've spent so much on all this that we've almost hit the maximum out of pocket for our insurance. Once I pay for my part on the hospital, Evie will be free. And my hospital stay and all that will only cost us $800. And any other medical costs we have this year will be covered 100% by our insurance.

So that's where we're at. I hadn't updated in a while. We could sure use your prayers if you can squeeze us in.

Anyone care to join me in a dance??

2009-02-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

I received some fantastic news a little bit ago. I took my 3 hour glucose test for gestational diabetes on Monday. I didn't have high hopes because I've had GD the last two pregnancies, but all my bloodwork came back NORMAL!! I don't have it this time! YAY! I can eat just about whatever I want, I don't have to prick my fingers or record my numbers or pee on a stick every morning! What a relief.

I'm doing a happy girl dance!

Quick! Send me some e-mail!

2009-02-04T10:54:00.000-08:00

Because I feel like I have brain matter coming from my ears from trying to figure out all of our doctor's bills and insurance claims, I figured I would make myself feel better by trying to clean out my e-mail inbox. It desperately needed a cleaning. I had nearly 5000 e-mails dating back to summer of '07. I intended on only purging until I had freed of 50% of my allowable space, but then I couldn't stop and I trashed everything, except for a handful of e-mails that I moved to the "Save" folder. Now my inbox is empty. And now I'm sad. And also slightly crazy. But that's nothing new.

I'm totally kidding about asking y'all to send me e-mail. I'm just surprised by how I feel about my empty inbox.

It feels like freedom!

2009-02-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I ran to Walmart to pick up a few things, and caught myself thinking that I needed to get diapers. But we're diaper-free! This is the first time in 6 years that we've been diaper free. And when Evie is born, it will be the first time since Stephen was born that I won't have a newborn AND a toddler in diapers!

Vindicated

2009-01-29T18:22:00.000-08:00

Sweet Hubby saw the new neurologist today and we loved her. She was SO much better than the last guy. She's only a few years older than us, which was comforting and scary all at the same time. But she was fantastic. Believe it or not, we actually spent more time with her than we did waiting on her. We got there early, they got us back early, and we were out of there only 16 minutes past our appt time.

Anyway, she ordered some more blood work and wants to get some MRIs on his neck and spine. After she said that, it was like Sweet Hubby and I both looked at each other and said, "Duh." We wondered why we (or the 2 other doctors we've seen) hadn't thought of that. We'll excuse our family practice doctor from not thinking of it, but seriously, the other neurologist wanted to drug SH up and put him in wrist splints and a neck brace. But I'm not bitter.

She did put him on some new meds, so we'll try it to see if it helps with his symptoms. We're due back to see our family practice doctor on Tuesday and then we'll see the neurologist again in 2 weeks. Hopefully by then, we'll have some real answers.

Six...going on thirty-six

2009-01-28T06:30:00.001-08:00

Dear Stephen~

Yesterday, as your Daddy and I stood in front of the cake case at the Walmart (because I forgot to get eggs so I could bake your cake), I asked him how it was possible that we could have a six year old. How is it possible that that little tiny bald-headed baby could already be so tall (you come up to my chest!), so smart, so wise and so loving?

I kind of had to giggle to myself because after I wrote the title to this post, I went and looked back at your 5 year old letter, and I said then that you were 5 going on 35. Obviously, that aspect of your personality has not changed. You astound most of the adults in your life when you use words like 'sarcastic', 'dilemma', and 'assume' in conversation. You don't just say what's on your mind, you say it with intelligence and with style. This year, you also tried your hand at some more "grown-up" language.

One of the things that you started this year that has surprised me is the way you eat. You eat everything. All the time. All day long you want to eat, and you will eat just about anything that I put in front of you. And then you eat what's left on everybody else's plates. You've always been a good eater (my best!), but in the last few months, you've started cleaning your plate. Which no one in our family ever does. It's also obvious, that besides just being hungry all the time and filling up, you also have an appreciation for food. And that makes me glad. I try to give you new foods often because I know now is the time for you to be open-minded and I know now that you are learning what really good food is. You still love you a chicken nugget and mac and cheese, but you're finding all the more grown-up foods are really good, too.

You lost your first tooth this year, and I wasn't even there for it. But I was there for your second tooth, and your daddy was there for your third. Both your two top front teeth are loose now, and I can't wait until that happens. You are cute now, but I'm not sure I'll be able to keep from grinning and crying when you lose your two front teeth.

This year, you've really started learning self-control and how to handle stressful situations. You still fly off the handle (I'm afraid to say that I think you have your mama's temper) once in a while, but a lot of times, you will just seperate yourself from the situation, and there's been several times I've found you alone in your room sorting things out in your head, praying, or just taking a few minutes to calm down. I'm so proud of you for this, and I hope it's something you never forget because knowing when to give yourself a "time-out" is a valuable tool to negotiating your way in this world.

You started gymnastics this year, something you love and are getting really good at. Last week, I saw you hold yourself upside down on the rings which astounded me. The first week you tried gymnastics, it was obvious you had little upper body strength, so you've come a long way. Last month, you were evaluated by your coaches and they said that you are doing well at learning all the skills, but that you needed to work on listening skills. Hmmm. It seems that you love gymnastics, but you also love the antics of all the other little boys and have a hard time remembering why you're there. But you love showing off new skills and you and Zachary compare new tricks every week.

And I just have to add quickly, that your knowledge of all things relating to the Star Wars universe is staggering. You don't just know about Yoda and Darth Vader, but every other obscure character and storyline. You know all about the heirarchy of the Jedi and you are quick to correct me when I say something wrong about it all. How you know all this is still a mystery to me, but the fact that you do amazes me.

I talk a lot about how grown-up you are, but there are times you remind me that you are still a little boy. You jump off your bunk bed (and teach your brothers how, too), giggle at cartoons, love a good game of Guess Who?, color outside of the lines with one color on each page, laugh at words like "butt" and "toot", fall out of your chair at the dinner table, run through the house swinging a lightsaber, have an imaginary friend, sleep with stuffed animals, flip-flop all over your bed while you're sleeping, wake up at the crack of dawn, cry when you're overtired, have dirty fingernails all.the.time, can't tie your shoes, love to play in a bubble bath and ask amazingly bizarre questions. You are this perfect balance of little boy and wise, old man.

What's been so amazing about having you as my firstborn, is that you have taught me so much! Sometimes, "firstborn" translates in to "guinea pig", but you take all that in stride. Aside from watching you grow, one of the joys of being your mom is that I have grown with you. I look back to that excited but scared and ignorant 21 year old mom that I was when I held you for the first time, and I can see how much you've taught me and how you've not only made me a better mother every day, but you've also made me a better person. You are joy to have in this family and none of us will ever be able to know how much you've blessed us.

I say it to you all the time, and every time I mean it: I'm so glad God gave us you.
Don't grow up too fast, I'm having too much fun.
I love you,
Mama

Raincheck

2009-01-27T18:18:00.001-08:00

Today is my Sweet Stephen's birthday, and I've been stewing a birthday letter in my head all day. But I've just now been able to get in front of the computer and my brain is fried and beyond tired. So let's pretend that the 27th lasts about 12-14 hours longer than any other day, and I'm going to get his letter written tomorrow morning.

And to prove how I'm actually am working at diminished brain capacity, I'll leave you with this. I went to the OB yesterday, and of course as soon as I got there, they asked for a *ahem* sample. So I went to the bathroom to oblige, and forgot to leave the sample. I remembered just as it was too late. I felt like such moron. The nurse was very nice and said I wasn't the only one. She told me that one lady said that she missed the cup completely. That made me feel mildly better. I kept laughing at myself because I knew that I had to keep laughing just to keep from crying. I've been feeling so stupid lately and frustrated with how stupid I feel.

Five and a half hours and $175 later....

2009-01-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

This morning, about an hour after Sweet Hubby went to sleep (he works overnights, not sure if I've mentioned that on my blog before), his doctor called and said that the neurologist they normally refer people to can't get us in for 2-3 weeks, but they have another neurologist that could get us in today if went right then. So I woke SH up, and we all ran around trying to get dressed and out of the house. My MIL came and picked up the kids and we left. The office is about 45 minutes away, and we got there at about 11:30am.

At a little before 2pm, we finally saw the doctor. He was, um, curt to put it lightly. He told SH that he wanted to get an EEG right then, so they ushered us into another room where they start hooking him up. At that point we hadn't eaten lunch and SH had had one hour of sleep since 8:30pm last night. And the nurse informs him that he must lay perfectly still with his eyes closed for AN HOUR WITHOUT falling asleep. Okay. This is a man who will fall asleep if he sits still for 5 minutes an hour after waking up. He was able to pull it off, I think, but only because he was starving.

The test was over at 3pm and a little after 4 we finally saw the doctor again. We had written all of the symptoms and such down when we got there, plus we had given them copies of the results of the tests SH has had so far, but the doctor acted like he hadn't even looked at any of it. He asked us several times when SH was having an MRI, like he couldn't remember it from one sentence to the next. He then tells us he doesn't know what's wrong, but then writes out a list of 3 prescriptions he wants SH to take. (As a side note, we are very skeptical of prescription drugs to begin with.) He doesn't explain what any of them are for and I'm just curious what exactly it is that he's treating since he told us he doesn't know what's wrong (he never mentioned the possibility of neuritis). He also told SH to start wearing wrist splints to help with numbness in his hands because he's probably got pinched nerves in his wrists. Which doesn't at all explain what's going on with the numbness in his feet. The doctor also had SH write out "a story" of how all this has happened and when. When SH gave it to him, the doctor started scratching stuff out. That was frustrating...I want a doctor who will take in to account EVERYTHING we say. Oh, and he never did mention anything about the EEG results.

When we finally were done with him, we went to check out where the nurse gives us the prescriptions for the drugs, the wrist splints, and a cervical collar. Um, isn't that one of those neck brace thingies?? The doctor NEVER mentioned anything about that, let alone the fact that he never discussed any of the prescription drugs with us. We have no idea what the purpose of the neck collar was.

So, after five and a half hours and $175, all we got was frustrated and a big fat headache. I hated that doctor. He was very hard to understand, which I can deal with as long as I feel like the doctor is doing his job and is actually listening. This guy was worse than another doctor that I hated...he was the one that we saw when Zachary was baby. He asked if Zachary had a list of issues and when I answered no to all of them, he said, "So. That's just how he looks?" Grrrr.

We probably should have spoken up more. But neither one of us liked him, and he never really gave us chance. I think we were both waiting for him to actually start listening and asking real questions.

Thanks for the vent. We're calling Sweet Hubby's doctor as soon as they are open to tell them and to hopefully get another neurologist. We have no intention of going back to that guy. And we didn't any of the meds he described OR the neck collar or wrist splints. I didn't trust a word out of his mouth.

Here's the deal

2009-01-22T20:18:00.000-08:00

Last week (or earlier this week?) I asked you to pray for my Sweet Hubby because he's not been feeling well and we weren't sure why. His blood work came back perfectly normal, which left only the CT results to give us any clues as to what was wrong. And of course, my brain went into "worse case scenario" mode. Add to that that the nurses would not discuss the results of the CT with us over the phone and I was calm on the outside but freaking.out on the inside (but don't tell him that, I was the picture of calm and level-headed with him). We had an appt with his doctor for this coming Tuesday, but Sweet Hubby started having bad pain and more numbness and he called and got in to see the doctor this afternoon. Here's what he told us:

The CT showed that it looks like Sweet Hubby has inflammation of some nerve cells in his brain. It's called neuritis (I'd link it, but I can't find a reliable link to the exact issue he has, apparently there are many types of neuritis...which makes sense because there are many types of nerves). Anyway, this sounds a bit scary, but it's actually the best news we could've gotten. I was afraid that either they would find NOTHING wrong, which meant that Sweet Hubby would be suffering with no answers, or that they would find something horribly wrong and our lives would be drastically changed. For some reason, my mind couldn't find any other scenario somewhere in the middle. But this preliminary diagnosis is good. This will go away on its own with some time (how much, we don't know yet). But just to be sure, the doctor wants Sweet Hubby to have an MRI, which is scheduled for Monday, and then he'll be seeing a neurologist some time next week.

So, thanks for praying if you did and I'll keep you updated.

Just the kind of twisted humor I needed this morning.

2009-01-22T05:46:00.000-08:00

This is really funny, if you have a weird sense of humor like me. I wish I were funny enough to come up with that myself.

Honestly.

2009-01-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

After a playdate we had this afternoon, Stephen was recounting how many pets his new friend had. He then announced that while he really wanted a dog, he also thought a guinea pig would be nice. Zachary asked him what a guinea pig is and Stephen replied:

"Well. It's kinda like a rat...just a little bit cuter."

Yes, my dear, just a tiny bit cuter. But not enough to convince me we should get one.

Everyone else is doing it

2009-01-16T17:48:00.000-08:00

It seems like everyone's doing a bullet point post, so why shouldn't I? I do need to fit in to the bloggy world, right? ;)

Potty training's going well with M-A. He's got the tee-teeing down pat. #2's not great, but he's had a few successes. He is, however, in underwears full-time during the day. He's still in diapers at night and nap, but that's because I'm not brave enough to do undies at night. He wakes up dry 95% of the time, but he's still in a crib, so we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Like I said, Marc-Adam's still in his crib (which I'm hoping I can make last for a few more months at least), but we moved his crib into the boys' room this evening. We tried this once before, but put him in the toddler bed. That went over like a lead balloon, so this is round 2. So far, they're all in there being quiet, and I bet at least 2 of them are already asleep. I have 3 kids in one room. LOL! Ah, the joys of a large family in a small house.
So, you're probably wondering what's up with what used to be Marc-Adam's room. Well, obviously, it will be Evie's room. I wasn't opposed to having her share with one of her brothers for a little while (hopefully we'll be in a bigger house by the time it's important for her to have her own space), but if we can make this arrangement work, I think it's the best scenario for now. I'm flexible, though, and will mix things up again if we have to.
Speaking of Evie's room, the bedding's here!. It came in and I picked it up from my mom today. Y'all, it's even better in person. It's so well-made, so plush and soft and pretty and girly and....it's just perfect. Mom and I found a lamp that we fell in love with at Target today, and if the colors match the lamp shade, we're so getting it. It's perfect.
We've decided to go with pink for Evie's room, but I'm worried about that. I'm afraid of it being "too pink" or Pepto Bismol pink, or just nauseating pink. But we've got a limited number of shades to work with out of her bedding. Anybody have any experience painting a room pink? Care to share?
I feel like this pregnancy has taken FOR.EV.ER. And I still have at least 16 weeks to go. This is by far the slowest pregnancy I've ever had.
I've decided to ditch part of our homeschool curriculum. I've been agonizing over this for days now, but I think I've finally come to the conclusion. It's really a great curriculum, it's just not working for us right now, so we're going to shelve it. I definitely plan on pulling it out again when the kids get a little older, though. I think they'll like it better in a few years.
So, until I figure out what else we're going to do, I guess we'll just be sticking with the 3 R's: reading, writing, and arithmetic. And lots and lots of play.
Pray for Sweet Hubby if you're the praying sort. He's not been feeling well lately and went to the doctor on Wednesday. They drew a bunch of blood and so far all those tests have come back normal. He had a CT scan today, but we don't have the results of that yet. On the one hand, I'm glad the tests have come back normal so far, but on the other hand, he still feels awful and we have no idea why (and therefor no way to make him better). I would have rathered something come back abnormal in his blood tests than the CT scan. If the CT scan comes back abnormal, then that means there something going on in his head, and well, I don't have to tell you that that scenario's a bit scary. So pray that he either starts feeling better, or that we found out why he feels so crummy to begin with.
That's all.

I wonder...

2009-01-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

...if the people on shows like Baby Story and Bringing Home Baby are coached by the producers to be so annoying and clueless.

Or if it's just me.

Well, that was fun!!

2009-01-13T05:48:00.000-08:00

Thanks, all, for turning out yesterday and letting me know you are here. Admittedly, I'm feeling a tiny bit embarrassed now. But, it was so much fun to "see" everyone, check out some new blogs, and hear why you're here. There were a few surprises, too. People I know in real life that read my blog (there are very few of those, outside of my family) and people that I haven't really "talked" to in several years. It truly made my day to read all the comments and I'm SO glad you're here.

By my last count, there were 14 comments. Which makes much more sense considering my site meter says I average about 25 hits a day. When I only get 2 or 3 comments on average on a regular basis, I was wondering what was going on.

This has also opened my eyes a little bit, because when I blog, I usually do it with a few people in mind--the few people, mostly family, who I know read my blog (and even some of those are lurkers). Now I know that I'm "writing" for a larger, more general audience. I'm not sure if that realization will change my blogging style (probably not), but it'll probably make me more conscious of what I put "out there". It's not that I want to be more private now that I know who's reading my blog, it's just that I realized that I really have no idea who's reading my blog from day-to-day and for what reasons. And I also will probably try to be more conscious of myself and will make more of an effort to not sound like an idiot. Even though most days lately, I've had a hard time putting words together to form sentences.

So, I know you aren't really here reading this right now to read my reflections on what Delurking Day meant for me. You're ready for a prize! And your odds were pretty good, given that there were "only" 14 comments. I did a very official drawing, wrote the number of comments on pieces of paper, put 'em in a bowl, and let Stephen draw one. If you've been reading here long enough or know me in real life, you should know that you can totally trust me with this process and know that I didn't cheat or give an unfair advantage to anyone. Dishonesty is not the way we roll at "Imperfections".

Without further ado, the winner is comment #14! Sara! Sara and I "knew" each other a few years back from the forums of a baby website that was my lifeline after Stephen was born. Her oldest child and Stephen are very close in age (same month, Sara?) and I had NO IDEA she was reading here! YAY! Sara e-mail me at alligirl1104 at gmail dot com for your address and preference for your gift card!

For everyone else, when Stephen drew the number, I realized that I really wanted to give every single one of you a prize. But if I decided to do that, I would also have to decide which of our family members doesn't get to eat next week. So. I'm not going to do that. I'm sure that you agree that every member of our family should eat. But I want you to know that I'm happy you're here, and hope from now on, you feel comfortable enough to comment once in a while or to just pop in and say "hi". Or not. No pressure. Comment (or not) as you feel comfortable.

Delurk, you lurkers!! There's something in it for you!

2009-01-12T06:46:00.001-08:00

So I just found out from Mommy Daisy that today is National Delurking Day! I was wondering when it is and so I'm excited that it's today.

Sooooo.....are you a lurker? Do you read and run? Do I have no idea that you even read my blog?? Well! Now I want to know! I'd love to see who all reads my blog, and I know there are some mysteries out there because I check my sitemeter.

If you read here and never (or rarely) comment, come out today, just this once and leave me a comment to let me know you're here. In fact, I think I'm going to make it interesting by offering a prize! My regular readers and commenters are welcome to join in, too.

Leave me a comment by 8AM CST tomorrow morning, and I'll enter your name in a drawing for a $10 gift card of your choice (assuming that it's a place that we have here in South Texas). One comment/entry per person.

Good luck, and I can't wait to "see" you!

Large and in charge

2009-01-11T18:23:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be 22 weeks pregnant tomorrow. That means I have about 17 weeks left until Evie makes her arrival. And y'all. I'm just a little smaller than I was when I had Zachary. I carried Zachary smaller than I did the other two (and he was the biggest baby, go figure), and in another week or two, I'll probably be as big as I was when he was born. One the one hand, I worry about growing for 17 more weeks, but on the other hand, I remember how miserable I was with Zachary because he was taking up every inch of me. I keep thinking that maybe if I carry this baby more out instead of back, then I might be able to eat and you know, breathe at the end.

For a while, I was worried about the baby being too big, but at the ultrasound, she was measuring exactly to her dates. So it's just me. Fourth pregnancy I guess. I actually am measuring about a week and a half ahead of my dates.

I actually can't wait to see what I look like when I'm near the end. I've never had a really big belly.

Another moment of "What are they thinking?"

2009-01-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

So have you heard of the new law going in to effect next month? I'm not sure our gov't officials really thought this through very well. It affects everything!

If you haven't heard (or read the article in the link), there's a new law on the books effective Feb 10, 2009, that says that ALL children's items being sold or given away must be tested for safety (free of lead and something else I can't remember the acronym of). So resale shops, handmade items at craft fairs and online and *gasp*, stores that sell used children's books (including homeschool books) will have to have all their items tested. The problem is is that it's quite pricey to have those items tested, and most of the small businesses and work-at-home moms won't be able to afford it. And even our children's libraries will be affected.

This is just craziness. Now I'm feeling compelled to go stock up on clothes for the kids from the great little resale shop I just found. And I need to get the kind of sling that I was planning on buying because the only way you can find them is handmade. AND I'll need to go buy all the baby bows I was planning on getting from a work-at-home mom.

I wonder if our marvelous gov't will bail my behind out with all the debt I may incur before Feb. 10.

At first, I thought this was totally no big deal and just a case of a slow news day and sensationalist reporting on the part of the news station I heard it on (local news, not my precious Fox News). But the more I've heard and read and learned, the stupider this sounds. At a time of 'economic crisis', they choose to enact a law that could shut down an entire industry?? What are they thinking???

Of course, one thing I read said that early last year, people were jumping up and down about the safety of our kids' toys after all the recalls. We were all yelling for gov't intervention. That's another moment of, "Be careful what you wish for".

More girly stuff

2009-01-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

We've decided on Evie's bedding. It's the sweetest, most girly thing I've ever seen and it's different from most of the stuff out there. And there's very little pink. Which is good because I'm afraid we're going to go on pink overload. Anyway, here it is. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I think we're going to go ahead and paint the walls pink like in the picture in the link. I was trying to avoid painting her room pink (because of pink overload), but that was when most of the bedding we were looking at was mostly pink and brown.

So what do you think? I'd love to hear....except if you hate it, because I'm already in love with it. :)

The Question I wasn't prepared for (and some fun updates)

2009-01-06T17:16:00.000-08:00

So this evening, Stephen came to me and asked, "Mom, how did you first know there was a baby in your belly?"

Uhhhh.....

I've been prepared for the "How did the baby get in your belly" question....not quite ready for this one.

So I stalled.

"Well...what do you think?"

"God told you and you heard him?" he asks.

"Ummm...no....not quite..."

"You felt the baby move?"

"Well, I can feel her move now, but not early on."

"Well, then how?"

"Ummm....(freaking out in my head..."COME UP WITH SOMETHING SIMPLE BUT LOGICAL!!")"

So this is what I came up with: "Honey, we'll discuss this more when you are bit older, but there are certain things that happens to ladies. And when those things stop happening, the lady might think..."Hmmm...I wonder if I'm pregnant?" So she takes a little test and the test tells her whether or not she's pregnant."

And to my relief, he said, "Oh! Okay!" and ran back to what he was doing.

Whew. Didn't see that coming. I had no idea what would be appropriate to tell my 6 year old boy. So. What would you have said? I'm sure if I hadn't been blindsided while chopping potatoes, I could have been much quicker on my feet and thought of something wiser, like I usually do.

Annnyway...moving right along. We started potty training Marc-Adam last week. The first two days were okay. He had as many successes as he had accidents. Sunday, he spent all day back in his diapers because of the other stuff we had going on, and yesterday, he spent a good portion of the day in diapers, but still had a few successes. Today is only the third full day and he's done fantastic. He even pooped on the potty all on his own with no coaxing from me. He had one small accident where he started to tee on the couch, stopped himself, ran to the potty and finished. All on his own. He had another, bigger accident, but I'm not sure I'm going to count that one because he was in time-out and I think it was an intentional ploy to get out. He just let loose, never told me he was going, and didn't even stop himself like he usually does. After he was done, he told me he had gone. So, I think he's doing really well. I didn't think it would take him long. If he still progresses this week, I think I'll put him in underwear this weekend.

On the Zachary front, he's really been surprising me with his eating. Zachary's always been a terribly picky eater due to some issues he had when he was about a year old. But the last couple of weeks, he's been eating new foods (even eggs which has always been off-limits for him). He's eating greater amounts of food and actually enjoying it. I'm so proud of him. And I'm a little relieved. His diet has always been a source of concern for me. Today, he ate a whole handful of spinach with only a little bit of encouragement and yesterday, he ate a chicken-pasta dish that a month ago he would have never even looked at it. I'm so glad to finally be making progress in that area with him. His brothers eat circles around him.