cathy-with-a-C

Fitting In

2011-06-13T10:47:00.004-04:00

Our new kitty is fitting in to the family (and the big cup above!) really well! We've had him about seven weeks now and the newness still has not worn off. The kids love him to pieces and still fight over who gets to hold him. Let's hope that lasts when he's grown! He is definitely one of the friendliest cats I've ever seen. Even lets Nicholas, my almost five year old, carry him around like a sack of potatoes! LOL It's so cute to see them lying on the couch watching TV together. And I have to admit, I enjoy snuggling with him on the couch too... he's quite the snuggler.

Don't get me wrong... he's definitely got an orny side (I'm talking about the kitty, not Nicholas. Although, Nicholas is a bit orny too!). He loves to pounce out of hiding places right on to your foot or your leg. Then he jumps off and runs for cover. It can be a little annoying at times but I know he's just a kitten (still only about 3 1/2 months old)... so hopefully he'll outgrow it!

As for his name?? It's Jake! If you remember way back when I was pregnant with Nicholas, Daddy had claimed naming rights. His pick was Jake. But Jenna, my oldest kiddo, was not a fan of the name and ended up talking him into Nicholas. We promised him back then, if we ever got a pet, it's name could be Jake. So, essentially when we got the kitty, we gave Daddy back his naming rights.

:)

Our newest family member

2011-04-29T10:11:00.003-04:00

We haven't had pets since Nicholas was a wee one, just starting to crawl. A couple weeks ago, the girls started telling me they wanted a kitten. And truth be told, I was wanting to get one too. I've always had a soft spot for kitties. So I told them to ask Daddy. There aren't many things they ask Daddy for that they don't get!

So, ask they did. And with Easter coming up, Daddy decided that just maybe we could get one from the Easter Bunny. The week before Easter, he started searching around for a Siamese kitten. In case you've never searched for a Siamese kitten, let me just tell you-- they are not easy to find. But of course, Daddy found a couple about an hour away from us at a rescue place. Over the course of the week, he emailed back and forth with the owners. They wanted a lot of info from us to make sure we would be good owners for a tiny fragile kitten. Our four year old concerned them some but Daddy convinced them that he was a gentle boy (well, most of the time!). And finally after some background checks (references, vet records), he got the ok on Easter Eve to go pick up our 7 week old kitten.

We told the girls he was going out with a friend (wanted to keep the kitty a surprise) and I took the kids bowling. When we got home that night, the kitten was hidden in Daddy's car in his carrier and after finally getting three excited-for-Easter-morning kids in bed, I got to take a peek at our baby. OH MY~~ What a cutie he is!

That night, Daddy slept downstairs with the kitty. I could hear him meowing a little but nothing too loud that the kids would hear! The next morning, one of the clues for finding the kids' Easter baskets let them to the room where the kitty was. When they saw what Daddy was holding, they actually forgot about their baskets for a minute or two! The rest of the morning went by in a blur while the kitten ran around trying to figure out his new house AND the three little bodies that were running around in it. But before long, he was right at home and doing just what he does best...

This Blog

2011-04-18T13:32:00.004-04:00

Wow. Just wow. It's been over two years since I posted on my little blog. That's a long time... I think my longest break ever. And I've taken lots of breaks over the six or so years I've been doing this thing. But I have checked in, just to read, a few times over those two years. It's comforting and somewhat comical rereading some of the posts I've written over the years. Lots of heart and soul poured into some of it and lots of fluff and trivial stuff too. But it's a history... one I can look back on and remember little things I'd forgotten. Things that bring back smiles, tears, happiness, sadness... and joy.

So, how is life now?!?! Well... My kids are growing like weeds. My oldest, Jenna, just turned 10 on Saturday. Double digits, baby! She's in fourth grade now and just about as cute as they come. And moody, just like her mama. I can't deny this kid is mine. heehee. My middle kid, Cassidy, is now 7 and in first grade. She's still the spitfire she was back when I was writing pretty regularly here. Her favorite sport is soccer... she loves to get down and dirty. But then, she is also my girly-girl still. Very fashionable. :) Nicholas, my youngest surprise baby is already 4 1/2 and almost through his first year of preschool! He is such a joy to be around. His favorite thing to do is play with his trios (like legos, but not). He builds the coolest things with them...

My hope for this blog is to not let another two years go by without documenting our history. I know just from reading it, how important documenting that history is...

Grandparents Lunch Flub Up

2011-04-18T13:11:00.000-04:00

This week at Cassidy's school, they get to have their grandparents come in for lunch. And very conveniently, the book fair is set up with buy 1/get 1 free books. SOOO, talked to my mom a week or so ago and she wrote it on her calendar. She came over on Saturday for Jenna's birthday party and we talked about it again. Then I saw her again last night... but forgot to remind her.

SO... this morning, I take Nicholas to preschool then go to the Y. I stayed there pretty much the whole time till I had to go get him, at 11:15. To get to the preschool, I have to drive past Cassidy's school. And I suddenly remembered the lunch.... hadn't thought about it at all since Sat. I quick called my mom to see if she'd remembered... tried the house and she didn't answer so I was hopeful she'd remembered. Called her cell and when she answered, she felt so bad... she had forgotten until around 10:45. BUT she was on her way. Only problem, they live a half hour away and she was supposed to be there at 11:10 (I called her at 11:10! LOL)

So I called the school and let them know what was up. Her awesome teacher had the secretary tell me all would be fine... she'd just have my mom come to the classroom for a bit. So I called my mom back and let her know she'd be taken care of.

Her teacher has emailed me twice to give me updates... let me know she had made it and then another email to tell me she had my mom helping out some in the classroom. She said Cass was sitting with my mom and her little friend in class, just loving the extra attention.

So, in the end, it worked out. I'm sure I'll hear all about it when she gets home.

Fa la la la la....

2008-12-23T10:48:00.001-05:00

So, I think I'm finally done shopping. Unless I can finaggle a way to get to Walgreens and spend my $25 gift card (I got it for filling a prescrip) on stocking stuffers. Not that the kiddos need another dang thing... but what an addiction shopping is, eh?

Anyways, the kiddos and I went out pretty much all day yesterday so I wasn't even around when the board went down. We met my sister and my niece (and her baby) at the mall. When we left, my sister went to the door with me so I could get get the car, get something out of my niece's car, then get the kiddos at the store door so they didn't have to endure the pure cold.

So then we left, went back to our neck of the woods about 35-45 minutes away and went to Walmart. As we were checking out of Walmart, I reach in my pocket. And find.... my niece's freakin' car keys from when I'd gotten the stuff out of her car!!

UGH. And the mall is more than a half hour away. UGH again. SO I called Andy and he was about five minutes from home (the opposite way that we were) so we met at home and the kids stayed with him while I went back to the mall to give my niece her keys.

UGH.

BUT then since I was out, well of course I decided to do just a little more shopping. So I went to Meijer and picked up a few odds and ends. Found Cars and HSM wrapping paper for J & N (already had Pony for Cass).

Then last night, after all the running around, I finally got started on wrapping! I spent about 3 hours and I'm probably a little more than halfway done. The computer room was a sight while I was doing it but I got it all cleaned up and stuffed away, only to be ready to get it back out tonight!

Fun, fun, fun!

Today, I'm finishing up the slideshows I'm making for Christmas gifts! Almost done... just need to add finishing touches then get them all burned!

Confession Time

2008-12-16T14:22:00.001-05:00

As part of the preparation for First Communion, second graders at our church have to do their First Reconciliation.

AKA... CONFESSION!!

It was last night at church. Poor Jenna, my second grader, when I first told her a month or so ago that she had to do it, she freaked. Thankfully, as it got closer and they talked about it more in class, she got a little less freaked.

So, there were six priests there (including our Pastor, Father Mark). Jenna decided she wanted to go to Father Mark (as did pretty much all the other second graders). We had to line up outside the reconciliation room to wait our turn. She was third in line. The first two kids came out smiling... YAY... then she went in and shut the door behind her. And a minute or so later, she was back out.

She made it! And realized it wasn't THAT scary after all...

Since I hadn't done it in a lonnnnnnnnnnng time, I went after her. And so now, I have a clean slate. Haven't committed any sins today.

We've already talked about when Cass and NickNack go through it... Jenna's planning (as of now) to do it with them.

My baby girl is growing up, isn't she??....

Our Tree

2008-12-10T22:24:00.001-05:00

Our Christmas tree is finally up... and surrounded by a baby gate. One of those superyard thingamajigs!

No pictures (I'll have to take some) but so far the gate is keeping Nicholas, my very very very busy two year old, from destroying it. He's reached a couple candy canes and several ornaments but that's about the extent of his damage. LOL He can't get close enough to topple it over!

OH BOY!

2008-12-06T16:27:00.003-05:00

My oldest kiddo, Jenna, LOVES birthday parties. Most especially, she loves the goodie bags! According to her, no party is complete without them. Doesn't matter what's in them... it's the thrill of getting them.

So anyways, tomorrow she is invited to a birthday party. It's a boy in her class that we go to church with. He and J are in religion class together then a lot of times, we sit with him and his mom at church. His mom and I actually used to be good friends several years back.

Anyways, so I called his mom last night to tell her that Jenna would be coming to the party. She thought she better let me know that Jenna might be the only girl there! Turns out he only invited three girls. One cannot come and the other she had not heard back from. When she asked Jordan if he wanted to invite any girls to his party, he named Jenna because (in his words), "she's cool."

When Jenna first heard she might be the only girl, she didn't want to go. But I *think* she's since changed her mind. We'll see how she feels tomorrow. His mom said she'll understand if J decides not to come to a party full of boys!

I'm not sure what she'll do. It might all come down to how bad she wants the goodie bag...

Say what?

2008-12-01T13:15:00.002-05:00

So, this weekend when we were at the mall for Black Friday, I took the kids to see Santa. All went well (even Nicholas sat on Santa's lap!) and when we were leaving, they each got a little stuffed dog to take with them. Cute, right?

About ten minutes after we'd left the Santa display, Nicholas is sitting in his stroller playing with the dog. He hands my mom the dog's NOSE!!!!! Yeah, he'd chewed the nose off that quick.

Worse?!?! The nose was a little SCREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I immediately took it back to the Santa display and showed it to the girl working and told her my son had just chewed off the nose. She was surprised and said she'd show the manager (who was right next to her but busy at the moment). My mom was waiting for me with all three kids so I didn't stick around to find out if she did.

So, then we get home and I took a look at Cassidy's (which has since been thrown away, obviously). Turns out it's from Oriental Trading Company. And right on the tag it says, "safety tested for all ages."

Safety tested, my ass.

I called both places today and reported it. Hopefully they're no longer being passed out at the mall and Oriental Trading Company will recall them.

From this...

2008-10-11T13:54:00.002-04:00

to this....

What a difference, huh?!?!

Happy 2nd Birthday Little Man.... life as we know it was forever changed when you joined our family...

Mommy Loves You NickNack!

Soccer Update

2008-08-28T22:24:00.003-04:00

So, we're well into the soccer season. Cass just had her fourth game tonight and Jenna had her third this week. They both play ten total.

Before the season started, we thought Jenna's team would do pretty well. Practices were productive, they looked like they knew what they were doing, coaches were on top of things, etc.

They've scored one goal total in three games. And lost by a landslide every time. Poor kids. There is no one player who is really strong. No one is awful, just no superstars. After one of their games, Jenna told me they sucked. Totally reminded me of the movie, Elf, when Buddy calls himself a cotton headed ninny muggins. LOL I tried telling her all the good things they were doing and how she was getting better and better. And how I was proud of her! But I'm not sure I helped much.

This is her third year playing soccer and every year, she's been on a team that cannot win. It's depressing to me so I can imagine how she feels.

I just hope she continues liking to play the game and eventually, they win a game or at least score a few goals.

Cass' team started out scary with two brand new never-coached-before coaches and completely disorganized practices. They have WON three of their four games!! There is one little boy on their team who is reallllllllllllllllllllllllllllly good and helps carry the team. In fact, tonight he scored all four goals. Cass is doing ok when we can get her to pay attention but she's definitely not the star of the team! LOL But she does get in there and kick the ball a couple times every game. And most importantly, she says she enjoys it! As does Jenna....

And after all, that's what really matters, right?

Move over Hannah Montana

2008-08-23T15:15:00.002-04:00

There's a new rock star in town, baby...

Hee hee... even she cracks up watching it!

Back to School!

2008-08-20T15:00:00.003-04:00

Today was my oldest kiddo's first day of second grade! She has been soooooooo excited, waiting for this day to come. Her teacher this year is the one she told me she wanted... cute little thing! This is only her second year teaching but she seems to really have it all together. I am optimistic that she'll have a great year.

Here are a few pictures of my cutie pie this morning...

This is a picture of her opening a gift I got for her for the first day. Yesterday, we went shoe shopping. The one pair of shoes she wanted, I didn't think would match anything. So we ended up getting some pink ones instead. Got home and realized she has several outfits that would match the shoes she loved the most. So after she went to bed, I went back to Walmart and picked them up for her. Along with some Hannah Montana pencils. Put them in a gift bag, and voila, she had a surprise waiting for her this morning...

Next is a picture I will insist on taking every year... even though she complains. Notice she's holding up two fingers in this one.

Years from now, those two fingers will tell me that she was in second grade in this picture. Cute idea, eh? I got it from my wonderful mother in law. She did it with all her kids. We took one last year for first grade and I plan to take one every year till she graduates. Those last couple years, we'll have to get creative since she'll run out of fingers.

The next picture is a shot without all the bags... so I can see her first day outfit better. :) She took a great deal of time and thought putting her outfit together. How cute is she?

And finally, a picture on the front porch of our house.

Once all the pictures were taken, we only had a minute or two to wait until the big yellow bus came and she was off on her newest adventure....

Happy First Day of Second Grade sweetie... take your time growing up...

Want some realllllly cheap groceries?!?!

2008-08-08T10:16:00.002-04:00

Ok, a girl on my yahoo savings group posted this. It's a Walmart deal....

~~
Step 1 ~ On your next trip to Walmart (anyone NOT there once a
week??) pick up the Aug. issue of ALL YOU magazine near the
checkouts (you may want to buy multiple copies!!). They are $1.77
each.

Step 2 ~ You can do this step before you've paid for the magazines!!
Go to page 159 and cut/tear out the 5 coupons for FREE KRAFT
products! There are Oscar Mayer hot dogs, Kraft sliced cheese, Kraft
salad dressing, Crystal Light, and Wheat Thins. The coupons are for
FREE products when you buy *ANY* 3 (not individual size) Kraft,
Nabisco products.

Step 3 ~ Go get all your freebies and load them in the cart.

Step 4 ~ Stop by the aisle with the Koolaid and buy 15 packs of
Koolaid (Koolaid is made by Kraft, it's not an individual serving
size, and will be the 3 items you need to get the FREE foods on your
coupons...you will need 3 pks. for each coupon you use!). If you
don't use Koolaid...give it to a neighbor or donate it!! You could
also do Kraft mac-n-cheese if you are in need of it, it will cost
slightly more, but no big deal if it's on your list anyway!

Step 5 ~ Head to the checkout and pay for your 15 packs of Koolaid
and $1.77 All You magazine. For less than $5, you will have cheese,
hotdogs, drinks (for you & kiddos), dressing and crackers--plus a
fun magazine for you to read with a bunch more coupons in it!!

~~
We're going to go do this today.... we need hotdogs for our camping trip anyways!

2100... Give or take a few...

2008-08-06T14:49:00.003-04:00

2100. That's approximately the number of diapers I have kept from going into a landfill somewhere.

I have now been cloth diapering Nicholas for just over a year. Sometime at the end of July/beginning of August of last year was when I ordered my first diaper. Going by the estimation of six diapers a day (which is about how many times a diaper is changed), 365 days (a year, even though I've been doing it longer than that now), 2190 is the number my calculator pops up. That's a staggering number when you think about it, isn't it?

I rounded the number down to 2100 because there were the occasional days when I did happen to use a disposable diaper. We had a week long battle with runny poo that warranted using disposables. And when I leave him with someone to babysit, I always include a "sposie" or two in his diaper bag in case the thought of cloth makes them squeamish. Not to mention those times I didn't get the diaper laundry done in time for bedtime.

But for the most part, Nicholas' bum has been in cloth for the past year. I even managed to use them on our vacation in Florida this summer. Luckily, the condo we stayed in had a washer and dryer! I actually took along disposables because I figured I'd cave and prefer using them for convenience. But throughout that week, I can count on one hand the number of times I did use them. I honestly prefer cloth. It doesn't hurt that they make his little bum look so darn cute.

If I could go back in time, I would cloth diaper my girls. It actually makes me sad that I didn't get a chance to purchase some of those adorable girlie print diapers. And the thought of all the diapers I threw into a landfill somewhere makes me cringe. I've tried convincing my niece (who has a baby girl) to cloth diaper just so I can buy some girlie dipes! But so far, she's a no-go. I'll keep working on her though and maybe by baby #2, I'll have her addicted too.

Nicholas is actually my first kid that I am not looking forward to being potty trained!! How funny is that?!?! I am going to miss his cute fluffy bum. BUT, then again, the thought of the money I can make selling them (yes, there are sites completely devoted to that!)... that thought makes the prospect a little more enticing!

A (somewhat) Sappy Family Reunion Story

2008-08-03T21:51:00.001-04:00

Today was a family reunion for my dad's side of the family. We have it every year at the same place and it's mostly the same crowd. My family makes up about half of the attendance since we're so big. But there are also a lot of my dad's aunt's family and several aunts and uncles and distant cousins who come.

So, anyways, my dad has two brothers and a sister. The two brothers (and their families) are almost always there but the sister is not.

Back in 1989, my grandma passed away. And during the settling of her estate, there were some disagreements. Those disagreements caused a rift b/t my dad and his sister. We've barely seen or spoken to her since then... she's come to a few funerals but never to any family functions. And she's always been distant when we have run into her. Basically, she just cut herself off from all of us.

For the past 4-5 years, her son has started coming to the reunion. The first couple years, he'd show up at the end and just stand outside talking to my brother. But the last two years, he and his wife and son have actually come for the whole reunion and spent time talking to everyone. His mom, however, has always refused to come. Even though in the past few years, she and my dad have started talking a bit again, it's never been like it used to be before my grandma died.

So, cut to today. My cousin (her son) was there and someone asked him if Jannie (his mom) was coming. He got out his handy-dandy cell phone and called her. About an hour or so later, she and her daughter (my cousin, whom we also have barely talked to in the last almost 20 years) come walking in the door.

All of us, and most especially my dad, were obviously very happy to see them there. They jumped right in and started talking to everyone. There were always at least 3-4 people standing around them. Pictures were taken, stories were told, memories were brought up, kids were introduced (she'd never met most of the grandkids), and hugs were exchanged.

I tell ya, I almost had tears in my eyes several times watching it all.

By the end of the afternoon, it was as though the last 19 years of estrangement had never happened. I know the memories of it are still there and probably some hurt feelings will always exist.... but today was definitely a step in the right direction.

The reunion will be the same weekend next August. I am thinking/hoping it won't take a phone call to get her there...

VBS

2008-07-30T14:04:00.003-04:00

The kiddos and I are right in the middle of Vacation Bible School. My two older ones actually get to participate. It's Cassidy's first year. Jenna's third or fourth. Don't remember for sure! Me, I get to participate too. For the past three years, I've been teaching crafts with the preschoolers. NickNack goes with us to Bible School... but he has to stay in the nursery since he's still a little young for all the activities!

It's been a fun week. We're doing a Science Lab theme. Today, we actually made oozzy goozzy slime by mixing water with a powdery mixture and shaking it. The kiddos definitely enjoyed it. The biggest obstacle was getting the lid on the little beaker thingie quick enough for them to start shaking it before the powder formed into little balls that would not go away. Then we shook for a minute to mix it all up. It's amazing how long a minute lasts when you're shaking non-stop.

Once they were done shaking it, then came the fun task of getting it out of the beaker and rolling it back and forth enough to get it to form a ball that could actually be played with. The kids seemed to enjoy the activity and especially loved their final slime creation.

We sent the beakers of slime home at the end of the day. With the warning to NOT play with it on moms' new carpet or favorite couch!! Hopefully, we won't have too many slimy catastrophes.

Two more days of Bible School to go!

Shopping

2008-07-25T19:03:00.003-04:00

It always amazes me how fast the summer goes. We've got less than a month until school starts here. Which, actually, is still plenty of time to play, relax, stay up late, sleep in, and have fun. And plenty of time before I (should) have to think about all the shopping that goes along with getting the kiddos ready to go back to school.

I made the mistake of printing off my daughter's 2nd grade school supply list. And she saw it. Now, about ten times a day (at least!) she is bugging me about when we are going to go get all of the junk she needs to have on the first day. And the bookbag that she *has* to have this year... for some reason, the two she has from last year just won't work. She wants a pink camo messenger style bag this year. Wish me luck finding that one for a decent price!

I keep telling her we've got plenty of time. Way more than enough time. But she just keeps on insisting. And begging. And pleading.

So, I imagine before long, I'll give in and indulge her! I've already been looking at the ads and websites trying to compare prices and figure out which store has the cutest must-have fashions of the fall season. Now all I need to do is find a few hours that Daddy is not busy so that he can keep an eye on our littlest rugrat while I take my two bigger rugrats shopping.

A girls' day out. Shopping. Sounds like fun to me... maybe I should stop procrastinating, huh?

My Four Year Old

2008-07-18T16:34:00.001-04:00

UGH.... love her to pieces but I'm about ready to send her packing!

She just got in trouble for coloring WITH MARKER on the hall carpet. Not just a little spot. We're talking at least twelve inches of thick scribble.

Ok. So that pissed me off and I took ALL of her My Little Ponys away. The child lives for playing with her ponies. She screamed like a crazy child the whole time. So then I go into her (VERY MESSY!) room, to talk to her about why she is in trouble.

Yeah.

While in there, I find yet another huge masterpiece on the carpet over by her closet. AND a week or so ago, she colored all over the wall around her bed. The wall that hubby and I spent HOURS stenciling with flowers a few years ago. That artwork was blaring out at me too... along with her carpet creations.

Yeah.

So I took her MLP Butterfly Island away too. AND now I'm making her clean her room. She is none too happy with me right about now.

Little turd. She's not getting those ponies back till Monday at the earliest! And she's not enjoying the slumber party tonight either.

So, any offers? I'll take the highest bid. Might as well make some money off of her.

Kick it!

2008-07-14T15:20:00.003-04:00

Jenna and Cass both start soccer practice this week! Jenna's third year, Cassidy's first! Jenna's coach is the mom of a girl in her Brownies' troop. Her first practice is tomorrow.

Cassidy's coach is a woman named Loretta. She has yet to call me to tell us when the first practice is. The postcard said it would be this week. *insert the tapping foot smiley....*

We went today and got new shoes for Jenna. Cass will wear Jenna's shoes from last year. But she did get a new ball, shin guards, and soccer socks. We've got a pretty cool soccer store about 15 minutes away.

I am anxious to see how the year goes. I know they'll both have practices on the same night (and they're in different leagues!) so it should be fun figuring out how to get both of them to their respective games/practices.

I'm hoping Jenna is a little more aggressive this year but we'll see! She's not usually the best player on the team! LOL But not the absolute worst either!

We're thinking Cass should be pretty good since she's a bit more aggressive than Jenna. Her biggest problem will be playing by the rules! The few times she's practiced (last year) with Daddy and Jenna, she picked up the ball and ran with it whenever Jenna would make her mad. Should make for an interesting season if she continues doing that play...

My Reusable Bag Design...

2008-04-20T22:46:00.004-04:00

A local store (Kroger) is having a contest to design a reusable bag. So I entered!

Here's the link to my design...
http://www.designagreenbag.com/vote-for-de...spx?BagId=15528

Nothing too fancy but it was fun. I think you can vote even if you don't have a store near you... (hint, hint)

Here's where you can design one if you do happen to have a Kroger anywhere near you...
http://www.designagreenbag.com/design-a-bag/

You get a free bag just for entering....

I use reusable bags now everytime I go to the grocery. I've been doing it for a few months now. I think I have ten of them and paid $1 for each one. Kroger will actually give you a $.05 credit for every bag you use each time you shop. So if you use them enough, they basically end up being FREE! I actually prefer them over the plastic bags. Much easier to carry and really sturdy. And much much better for the environment!

Seven Years Ago Today

2008-04-16T16:05:00.001-04:00

I became a Mommy.

My sweetie pie is celebrating her birthday today. I'm getting ready to go get a treat to take to her class then after school, we'll need to go shopping for goodie bag crap for her party on Sunday. And of course, her choice for dinner tonight!

Happy Birthday Jenna!! Below is one of our first glimpses at our precious new miracle...

Full House

2008-02-20T09:40:00.002-05:00

So, we woke up this morning to about 5 inches of (unexpected!) snow. I got Jenna up before I realized it so I hadn't even checked to see if school was cancelled. The two hour delay we saw when we first turned on the TV soon turned to closed. When Jenna's closed, Cass' preschool is closed too.

Then... Hubby decides to take the day off because he's at a slow time at work.

Then... my Pilates class was cancelled.

Yep, full house around here today. I do need to sneak out to go pick up Jenna's Girl Scout Cookies that she sold. And I might go to the store since we're almost out of milk.

OOPS!

2008-02-05T19:34:00.000-05:00

I totally blew my diet today.

BUT, in my defense, today is the last day I can have chocolate or pop until Easter.

Did I mention I have half a bag of cherry cordial chocolate kisses downstairs!??!?! AND that I'm not *supposed* to eat after 7:30.

Still Plugging Along

2008-02-01T15:26:00.000-05:00

I'm about halfway through my 7 week Pilates class. I'm slowly starting to get a little flexibility back but I still can't manage to keep up through the whole class. Especially those darn ab exercises!! It's been two years since I've done any sort of exercise class. And in between that time and now, there was the matter of the c-section with Nicholas. Lack of exercising plus that section left my stomach muscles pretty darn weak. I can only keep up for about half of the ab work. The rest of the time I'm huffing and puffing on the floor. But that's better than a few weeks ago when I first started and couldn't even do one sit up! I'm making some progress I guess!

Along the same lines, I haven't been doing the best with my healthy eating kick. Keeping healthy food on hand is a challenge! It would be much easier if I had access to a stocked salad bar constantly! But I have been doing well with drinking water and I have stopped eating after 7:30. The good news is I am down about 4-5 pounds. Nothing really noticeable yet. But it's only a matter of time. I hope.

Nothing else too exciting to report... which is why I've been missing in action again.

I Suck.

2008-01-20T16:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I've completely fallen off the diet bandwagon this weekend. Not sure what happened to the willpower I thought I had but it's definitely not here. I just got back from a b-day party at McDonald's (with my girls, of course). While there, I ate a cheeseburger AND fries. Last night we went to a 40th birthday party. They had catered in a pulled pork barbecue. And let's just say that cornbread casserole and the pulled pork and the mac-n-cheese were a little too good. And the cake... well, it wasn't that great but I still ate my whole piece. I did give Cass part of my ice cream. But I ate enough myself too. The past few days I've even way tooooooo much. More than I felt hungry for even.

I stepped on the scale this morning to see how much damage I've done and the good news is that I hadn't put the two pounds I'd lost back on. The bad news is that after McDonald's today, I probably have.

SOOOOO.... where do I go from here?

Tomorrow (and the rest of today) is going to have to be a new beginning. Again. I've got Pilates MWF and I am determined to get my fat arse back on the treadmill. And I will stop eating the stuff I am not hungry for. And I'll drink the water. And I'll stop making excuses.

And for now, I'm going to delete that weight ticker thingie. It's annoying me.

Thirteen Things About Jenna

2008-01-17T14:25:00.000-05:00



Thirteen Things about Jenna

1.  Goodness gracious, she is growing up so fast!  She'll be 7 in April.  She's currently begging me to get her ears pierced for her birthday.  We're still debating that one.

2.  She is doing a fantabulous job in first grade!  She is already reading at almost a second grade level.  I love to sit and listen to her.  And she loves to write stories and lists and draw pictures.  She realllllllllllllllly likes her teacher this year!  And so do I!

3.  Even though she's only (almost) 7, she is OBSESSED with High School Musical.  Both the first one and the second.  She thinks Gabriella is the coolest thing since sliced bread.  Troy is ok but he's not her favorite.  For Christmas, she got the HSM 2 DVD game.   She makes me or Daddy play it with her at least a couple times a week.  She's pretty darn good, but she doesn't always win...

4.  She has the most giving heart.  And the sweetest little smile with the most contagious giggle.  And the cutest little face.  And the most adorable personality.  It always amazes me that I was given the privilege of being her mom. 

5.  I love to watch her play with her younger siblings.  She ADORES Nicholas and can't get enough of lovin' on him.  Of course, a 15 month old is a little hard to keep down but she's definitely gotten lots of snuggle time with him. 

6.  Of course, she does get annoyed at him (a little) sometimes when he gets into her things.  I never fail to remind her during those times that she is the one who prayed for him.... lol.... I will be using that line a lot in the coming years I imagine.  When she's 16, he'll be 10 1/2.  I can already picture him hiding out and bugging her whenever a boy happens to come over.

7.  She has a special kinship with her little sister.  Some days, they can play for hours on end and never have any bickering.  Other days, well... let's just say I've had to put them in separate rooms several times.  But they're always back to playing with each other again before I know it.  Watching them together makes my heart warm.

8.  She's already got her own fashion sense.  Gone are the days when I can go into Gymboree and get whatever I like for her to wear.  She's had plenty of things that I thought were just adorable  hang in her closet unworn.   There is one pair of jeans (that I actually bought!) that she just loves.   I have to limit the number of times she can wear them or she'd wear them every day! 

9.  She seems to think money grows on trees.  Of course, so does every other child!  LOL 

10.   A lot of people say she looks just like a mini me.  Especially when I was younger.   There is a picture that hangs at my parents' house of me and my siblings when I was younger.  When J was about 2, I pointed to me in the picture and asked her who it was.  "ME!" she replied! 

11.  She is also like me in the moodiness department.  Even though I don't like to admit that one.  But my sister enjoys pointing it out when J is in the middle of a "mood." 

12.  Because of this moodiness trait we share, some moments around here aren't so fun.   I am already dreading those teenage years.... hopefully we'll both make it through unscathed.

13.  And Finally.  It took us three years to conceive Jenna.  And I wouldn't trade a day of any of it.  Because that would mean I wouldn't have her in my life.   And I can't imagine my life without her.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday.  Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged!  If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments.  It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Someone Please Tell My Husband

2008-01-14T21:35:00.000-05:00

To STOP making homemade caramel popcorn when I'm trying to be good and eat right. If you've never had homemade caramel popcorn, let me just tell you it is really good. And very hard to resist.

And it's not helping my "get skinny" plan at all. The good news is it's almost gone.... and even though I've eaten my share, I didn't go ridiculously off the wagon.

2008-01-10T14:09:00.000-05:00

How I'm Doing with my fitness kick

1) Down two pounds. Most likely water weight but it's a start, right?

2) Survived my second day of Pilates Plus yesterday. I was still sore from Monday's class but managed to make it through with only a little slacking. So that's a good thing. I am looking forward to the time when I can go to class and keep up better without having all of the sore muscles.

3) Drinking more water! At least 64 oz a day, usually around 90-100.

4) Haven't walked on the treadmill in three days. I'm blaming this one on #2 above. I am planning to get back on tonight though. Even if I am only on for 10 minutes.

5) I've quit snacking on junk. Pretty much completely. Currently, there's a bag of carrots sitting next to my water bottle. They're surprisingly filling when the munchies hit.

6) I need to work on making healthier dinners. I haven't done awful.... but could definitely do better. Hubby's fried chicken on Sunday was NOT a good start to the week. But a grilled chicken salad with (I'm thinking) low-fat roasted potatoes for dinner sounds pretty good. I need to go google a recipe....

7) One of my main goals with the healthier eating/ working out kick was to set a good example for my kiddos. It's already working. My four year old is drinking more water than ever! She even chooses water when given the choice between h20 and (watered down) juice. That's a huge step, right!??!

8) I really do feel like I am back in the groove that I was in when I lost the 18 lbs a couple years ago. It only took me 15 months after Nicholas was born to get there. But hey, better late than never, right!?!

9) I am hoping that I can keep up this groove.

10) I imagine the scale numbers going lower will probably help out with #9. Just have to patiently wait it out.... which is hard....

11) I need to go through and organize my recipes. Find the ones that are lower fat and stock up on the essentials to make them. Thinking of dinner ideas is challenging...

12) I also need to set a mini-goal and figure out a nice reward for myself...

13) I have not eaten any french fries in 2008. French fries are my total weakness. Of course, I haven't had to face the actual temptation of going to a restaurant yet...

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday.  Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged!  If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments.  It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Preschool- Next Year

2008-01-09T13:56:00.000-05:00

The preschool where my middle kid goes started up a PreK class this year. The director actually teaches it. They set the birthday deadline for enrollment at Dec 31. Her birthday is Dec 16 so she was eligible.

So... for the past couple months, I've been debating back and forth if I wanted to put Cass in the PreK or keep her in the regular 4/5 class. The preK meets 4 days a week as opposed to 3 days for the other. The MWF curriculum is the same as the 4/5's. But on the extra day, the teacher focuses on letters/sounds/kindergarten readiness. The PreK class is only offered in the morning. The regular class is offered morning and afternoon.

Registration for next year was on Monday. I called and signed C up for the PreK class... with a little uncertainty on whether or not I really wanted her in.

Well.... today, I changed my mind and ended up putting Cassidy back in the afternoon regular 4/5 class. Several factors went into making the decision...

1) Cost is $35 less. Not a huge amount but on a single income, it's over half of our phone bill.

2) The morning thing... getting all three kids up and ready to go by 8:20... didn't sound fun or easy. I know... I know, working moms do it all the time... but I don't work....

3) The things they do on the extra day that the PreK has, I can do myself. I taught for 10 years. Surely, I can teach the kid her letters, right?

4) Carpooling. We carpool now with a little boy in C's class. He is not eligible for the PreK class because of his birthday. So he'll be in the afternoon MWF class. Which means, we can still carpool

5) The pilates class I'm in goes until 11:15. Morning preschool would let out at 11:15. If I keep up with the pilates class, that won't jive.

6) I reallllllllly like the teacher I ended up requesting for the afternoon class.

So, anyways, I told the director my decision when I dropped Cass off today. They already have a waiting list for the PreK so it wasn't a big deal at all...

I think I made the right decision.

Jello Legs

2008-01-07T13:41:00.000-05:00

Well.... I survived my first Pilates Plus!! And I'm proud to say, I didn't *totally* humiliate myself!!

The first part of the class was more yoga and weights then the last part was floor and ab work. I kept up pretty well for the yoga/weights but OH MY... my abs are so freakin' weak! I remember when I first started pilates a couple years ago, I could barely do a sit up. I wasn't much better today.

BUT, I made it through without any tears and only totally slacked on a couple of the ab exercises.

I talked to the instructor for a minute or two afterwards. She said she had planned to go a little easier on us today since it was the first class of the session... but she ended up working us out pretty hard. Just my luck, eh?!?! LOL

So... then when I left the class and went to walk down the stairs, my legs totally felt like jello. Weird feeling!

I imagine I'm going to be a little sore tonight. Hopefully, I will feel less sore by Wednesday, the next class!

Class Starts on Monday!

2008-01-05T14:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I called the local YMCA to get price quotes for joining. Then I got online and looked at the classes that were going to be offered. There was a Pilates Plus class that does Pilates mat work and some yoga exercises also. Joining the class as a non-member actually works out to be cheaper than joining the Y and then signing up for the class.

So, that's what I did. For $65, as a non-member, I go to class for the next seven weeks, three times a week. It works out to around $3 a class. I will have to pay a small childcare fee but that's not a big deal.

I took a private pilates/yoga class a couple years ago and loved it. But the instructor was a friend and I was pregnant so it was not the most strenuous class ever. That's not to say I didn't work hard and make progress though.

However, I just talked to another friend who has taken the class at the Y and she said it's reallllllllllllllllllly hard. So, now I'm a little bit nervous that I won't be able to keep up. I know when I started the class a couple years ago, I could barely do a sit-up. That is how out of shape I was. It wasn't long before I could do the sit-up and more.

I'm hoping that is what the class at the Y is like. I might suck the first week or two... but hopefully I can perservere and make progress throughout the seven weeks. Enough progress that I sign back up for seven more.

So Far...

2008-01-03T16:32:00.001-05:00

Ok.... before I start... I am on a total roll with my blog resolution. Third day of 2008 and my third post.

So anyways, so far, I am doing pretty darn good on my diet/lifestyle change. Of course, I've only been at it for a whopping three days. BUT, in those three days, I have stopped snacking (unless you count carrots and well, I'm not going to count them since they're good for me!), I've been drinking at least 64 oz of water a day, and for the last two days, I've gotten my arse on the treadmill. Only for 15 and 16 minutes respectively... but at least I'm on it, right? The first few minutes really tell me how out of shape I am... but by the end, I feel like I could probably go for a few more. But I'm taking it slow...

I think I've almost got hubby talked into letting me join the YMCA too. WOO! He is a little worried about finances after the Christmas holiday but he knows how much I want to join. So we'll see. If I join, the first thing I'm going to do is sign up for a yoga class (which reminds me... I need to see when registration is... hopefully, I haven't missed it?!!?). I honestly think the yoga I did last time I dieted was one of the big factors in my success.

One thing I'm actually considering for the first time is running/walking a 5K. There is one in April at the church when my moms' group is located. Not sure if I'll take the leap and do it. I guess it'll depend on how well I keep up with my new exercise regimen.....

Correction

2008-01-02T12:08:00.000-05:00

My weigh in this morning was four pounds less than yesterday. I know I didn't lose that much in a day. I just had weighed at a different time yesterday. SOOOO... I'm still keeping my goal of 21 lbs. I'll just be 4 lbs lighter than my original goal at the end!

Here We Go Again

2008-01-01T14:50:00.000-05:00

Back in the fall of 2005, I hit an epiphany about my weight/health. I'm not what you would consider extremely overweight but I am not in the best shape. I'm not an avid exerciser, healthy eater, water drinker, etc. But that fall, I was at my moms' group and heard a speaker. Her topic was keeping fit and healthy. One of her comments was about keeping yourself fit for your children, to set a good example for them and to be healthy so that you would increase your chances of being around for them for the long haul. Or something to that effect.

Anyways, that idea inspired me. And I began a lifestyle change. We bought a treadmill which I faithfully used, I watched what I ate, drank tons of water, and started a yoga class. Big changes for a former couch potato, chip-loving, cookie craving, momma.

By March of 06, I'd lost almost twenty pounds and my energy and fitness level were well on the way to being healthy. I was feeling good and everyone was noticing the changes. Then..... I got pregnant. With Nicholas. I continued to do yoga through my sixth month of pregnancy but sadly, all the other changes I'd made fell to the wayside.

Once Nicholas was born in Oct of 06, I gave myself a couple months to get back on the wagon. That couple of months has turned into 15. And I'm still trying to drag myself back to where I was when I got pregnant. Or at least somewhere close to that.

And so now here we are in a new year. And I think I'm ready. No, wait, I *am* ready to get back on the fitness and health kick. I weighed in this morning and I'm not too extremely pleased but at least I have a starting point. At the top of my blog, I've added a weight loss ticker. Currently, it's at 21 lbs to my goal weight. That's a pretty big goal but it's where I want to end up.

Wish me luck... I'm off to chug some water.....

Blog Resolutions

2007-12-29T11:13:00.001-05:00

I've been blogging now for around 3 years. Sometimes I am better about keeping it updated. Other times, I go missing in action for what seems like an eternity. But for some reason, I always come lurking back to this little bookmark on my faves.

Aside from actually posting anecdotes about the happenings around here, one of my favorite things to do when I'm bored after the kiddos go to bed (but don't quite feel like going to bed myself), is reread through my old posts. Sometimes I go all the way back to the very first post. Other times, I'll pick a date and go from there. Like the last time, I reread from where I announced I was pregnant again. And I reread back through the posts where we thought Nicholas was going to have hearing problems. I sure was a worried Momma back then... until we got the news that his hearing was just fine.

Anyways, my point to all this is.... I never realized when I started this blog what a history it would contain. And how much I enjoy rereading this history over and over. And then I think about the times I was missing in action and all the wonderful stories I missed telling. Stories that years from now, I'll probably forget all the details of since I didn't document them. I do scrapbook and am able to tell stories there but not every memory has an actual picture to go along with it. And journaling in my scrapbooks often gets put aside while I try to keep up with getting all the pictures into the albums.

So back to the point of this entry....

I know everyone makes New Years' resolutions... and some of us are better at keeping them than others. And some resolutions are easier to keep than others. But I'm going to give it a whirl anyways...

My Blog Resolutions...
1. post more often... at least weekly, hopefully more.
2. write even when I think there's nothing to write about (some of my best posts have started that way)
3. visit other blogs and read other family daily histories
4. lose weight... and journal about it (I did this one last time I dieted... and doesn't every resolution list have to have "lose weight" on it)

Not sure how I'll keep myself accountable on these. We'll see how I do.....

Happy Holidays

2007-12-22T11:21:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from my family to yours....

I'm Glad I'm Not a Turkey....

2007-11-15T19:51:00.000-05:00

A little Pre-Turkey Day entertainment for your viewing enjoyment...

Catchy little tune, isn't it?!?!

My Total DUH moment for the day...

2007-11-04T19:12:00.001-05:00

Ok... so this morning, I drag myself out of bed to get Jenna up so she can get ready to go to church class (she's started the religious education classes at church and goes every Sunday at 9). She's being her usual slow self but we manage to get her ready on time.

My neighbor across the street usually picks her up when she takes her two kids and then I pick her up after and we go to 10:30 Mass. So, this morning, once she's ready, we open the garage door and wait. The time rolls around when the neighbor is usually there. And she doesn't come. And doesn't come.

A few minutes before 9, Jenna convinces me to take her. I just figure my neighbor is out of town and forgot to tell me. We load up and I take her to church. I pull up, she gets out, and proceeds to go inside. The doors are locked.

So we drive home. I decided that we weren't going to even go to church at all.... just wasn't in the mood to get ready. Not to mention that now I don't have enough time to shower anyways.

About an hour later, Jenna and I are working on her homework when the doorbell rings. It's my neighbor's little girl telling me they are here to pick Jenna up.

Yeah, then it dawns on me.

Daylight Savings Time. I totally forgot to set our clock back an hour.

Can you say DOH?!?!?!

Baby Steps!

2007-11-02T23:48:00.000-04:00

Nicholas is finally starting to take some baby steps... if you can get him to stand on his own, he will take a few steps to get to you. Today he actually let go of his little walker toy, positioned himself so he was facing me, and took 2-3 steps to get to me. And he did it several more times throughout they day! The look of excitement on his face is SOOOOOO cute! Not much balance yet but I don't think it'll be long before he's cruising all over!

Once he's a little steadier, I'll get some video to share....

Sting Like a Bee

2007-10-27T22:20:00.000-04:00

Ok... so tonight was trick or treat where my parents lives. And since we were in town for my niece's baby shower, we went to my parents after and I took the girls to a few houses to trick or treat.

So... we're walking along. Cass, my spirited almost-four-year-old is dressed as a bumblebee. We pass a group of people leaving their house to go t or t'ing. Cass walks up to one of them, a big burly black man, and pokes him in the leg and yells "STING!"

Luckily, he said OUCH! and started cracking up laughing at her!

Then she goes up to the house to get her candy. The woman starts to give her something and Cass looks inside the house to the bowl of candy sitting there and tells the lady she doesn't want THAT piece of candy (the one the lady was putting into her bag!)... she wanted another piece. Again, the lady got a kick of out it and let her choose what she wanted. She did it several more times after that at the other houses we went to. Crazy kid.

I'm really looking forward to our trick or treat night now! LOL I think I'll let Andy take her!

Happy Birthday Little Man!

2007-10-11T09:07:00.000-04:00

I woke up bright and early on the morning of October 11. My csection was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Hubby had to get our then kindergartener to her friend's house so they could get her on the bus... and get my then 3 year old to my mother in law's. Then he was supposed to be at the hospital around 8. I managed to get a shower and waited around nervously until the big moment.

Finally it was here. And hubby was no where to be found. But the show had to go on. They wheeled me down the hall to the surgery. It took a while to get everything prepped... and when they were done, hubby still was not there. I wanted someone to be with me so since my parents were there, they started getting my mom ready when finally, along came Hubby! Turns out he'd been stuck in traffic.

The actual csection only took about a half hour from start to finish. And of course, I couldn't see a thing with the lovely blanket they drape up there. Nicholas was born at 8:36 am. My doc held him up for Andy to take pictures... (turned out he had a true knot in his cord which we've got a great picture of) but the doc failed to hold him up high enough for Mommy to see him before he was whisked away to the NICU. Yeah, that made me a little sad.... But when they told me that he was breathing on his own, it made it a little easier. Andy went and got more pictures and brought them back to show me (on the little digital screen) while I was being sewn back up. Everyone kept telling me how absolutely adorable he was. Hey... no fair that they're seeing my sweetie before me!

He weighed a tiny 3 lbs 11 oz! A full half pound lighter than the ultrasound two days earlier had estimated. The nurses commented on what a little fighter he was from the beginning. He did not like the poking and prodding one bit and let them know in no uncertain terms! LOL That's my boy!

I had to go to recovery and then eventually to my room so it was a couple hours before I got to see my perfect (tiny) little angel. Once I could get up out of bed (after the spinal had worn off) they wheeled me down to the NICU where I laid eyes on Nicholas for the very first time. What a little beauty he was!! Soooooooo incredibly tiny and so incredibly cute! He actually had a full head of dark hair and looked perfect in every way.

Here is a picture of me and Nicholas meeting for the very first time...

(forgive my swollen face... pre-eclampsia is not a kind disease! LOL)

And another of him just minutes after his birth...

Happy First Birthday Nicholas Andrew! I cannot imagine life without you... and thank God every day for answering a special prayer.

Almost Time

2007-10-09T23:06:00.000-04:00

Continuing the story of Nicholas' birth last year....

So, after being admitted to the hospital Monday night, they gave me medication all night long try to regulate my blood pressure. It kept going up and down depending on the amount of meds they gave me. Mostly, it was up. Surprisingly, aside from the swelling, I was feeling just fine. I even asked the nurse when i was being checked in if it was normal to be this sick and feel as good as I did. She said that it could be.

Tuesday morning, my doc walked in, took a look at my charts, and after a couple minutes of pondering, said, "you're not getting better until you have this baby. So, we going to be delivering him." (or something along those lines)

He then checked to see if I was making any labor progress and being that I was 7 weeks from my due date, I wasn't. So, he decided on a c-section. His reasoning was that it would take 2 days to induce me. And he didn't want to waste that much time. That night, I had my second steroid shot. My section was scheduled for the next morning.

For some reason, even though I didn't want a caesarean birth, I was not upset. And for some reason, even though my baby was going to be born 7 weeks early, I wasn't (that) nervous. The day before his birth dragged on and on. I had several visitors and even more phone calls asking how I was coping.

They monitored the baby constantly throughout the day... and they continued monitoring me too. I sware... I must have given a gallon blood throughout my hospital stay. It seemed like someone was always coming in with a needle! My poor arm was pretty much one complete bruise.

The night before my section was a restless one. Partly because of all the monitoring and partly because of nerves. But I did manage to get a little shut eye.

And before I knew it, Nicholas' birthday was here...

One Year Ago

2007-10-08T13:17:00.000-04:00

Last October, I had Nicholas. He wasn't due until November 24 but due to circumstances beyond our control, we got to meet him a little sooner.

Monday, Oct 9 of last year, I went to the doctor. I'd been the Wednesday and Friday before also... and they've found a lot of protein in one of the tests and I was swelling up a storm. But my blood pressure was still fine. SO on Friday, I was given the go-ahead to go to a scrapbook retreat for the entire weekend. My hubby was less than thrilled that I was going because he thought I was doing too much and with all the swelling and protein, he was worried. But being the independent stubborn ole' fart that I am, I went anyways. And got around 4o pages done in my scrapbooks.

Cut back to the Monday doctor appt. My mom had come along with my two girls because I was having an ultrasound to see how big the baby was. We had the ultrasound and the baby measured 4 lbs 3 oz. Then we waited for the appt. When it was time, I went back by myself while my mom waited in the waiting room with my girls.

The first thing the nurse did was take my blood pressure. And unlike the Friday before, it was high- 150/100. That along with the swelling and the protein was not a good sign. They had me lie on my side and took it again a few minutes later and though it was better, it was still high.

The doc came in and told me straight up that I was going to the hospital now. Say what?! Did you say the hospital?! I went outside and with tears in my eyes, told my mom. She and the girls came back inside with me while I got further instructions. I was to go straight to the hospital without going home. Now it just so happened that on that day, I had left the house without my cell phone (and so did my mom!) so we had no way to call anyone. AND it just so happened that my husband was golfing that day at a course I did not know the name of... and he did not have a phone either... so we could not get ahold of him.

The doc office let us use the phone and we called my dad and my mother-in-law so they could pass the word. My dad's job was to get ahold of Andy however he could. My mom and the girls and I headed to the hospital where I was immediately admitted. Eventually, my dad got ahold of my hubby and he got there as quick as he could. My mom left with the girls (and stayed at our house with them until Andy could get home) and my sister showed up.

Up to this point, I was still thinking they were going to let me go home on bedrest. There was no way I was having my baby this soon. That night at the hospital, I got my first steroid shot. Guess I should have figured it out then that I was, in fact, not going home. My sister, who is a nurse, decided she was not leaving me until my blood pressure was regulated so she slept/sat in the chair beside my bed all night long watching my blood pressure every time they took it. Throughout the night, it went up and down. I didn't sleep much with all of the constant interruptions to take my stats...

(to be continued with Tuesday's happenings...)

~~ On another note,

If you've read this blog before, you know how much I enjoy making slideshows. For Nicholas' first birthday, I made one to show at the party. After all the time I've used this particular program, Hubby finally showed me how to share it online! LOL He said I'd never asked! Dork.

Anyways, the original that I showed at the party was twice as long but I had to cut it down to ten minutes to upload it to youtube. The quality of the pictures sucks (they were much better on the original) but when I converted it to an mpeg, the quality went wayyyyyyyyyyy down.

But I did get it uploaded. SOOOOOO... if you're interested, here's the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDvI5Nwph84

Party Time!

2007-10-07T21:18:00.001-04:00

On Thursday, my sweet baby boy turns one! Hard to believe!

We celebrated his birthday with our families last night so I thought I'd share a few pics of the festivities!

The party was lots of fun. We ended up doing his cake outside since it was nice... which turned out to be a great idea since it was sooooo messy! I gave him a whole chocolate cake with chocolate icing! LOL

Before the (big) mess...

The end result...

After a quick bath in the sink, my nieces stole him for a few minutes and he came back looking like this...

They said he needed a hair-do to go along with his shirt. LOL

He had a lot of fun opening his presents. Actually, he wanted to play with all of them! Here's a shot of him on his first Tonka...

We'll still celebrate his actual birthday on Thursday! Then Friday, I'm off for a weekend scrapbook retreat! Cannot wait for that!

Just thinking....

2007-09-22T13:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I went to pick up my niece at college. She's a freshman at Ohio State University. GO BUCKEYES!!!!!!

So anyways, as I was driving up, I was thinking about when I went to college long long ago. I went to Bowling Green in northwestern Ohio. Majored in elementary and special education (BG has a nationally recognized program), graduated and taught for ten years, and then six years ago, I became a stay-at-home-mom. And obviously, sometime in there, I met my husband.

When I was applying to colleges, I only applied to two. Bowling Green and OSU. I decided on the smaller school because I was slightly afraid of the enormity of OSU. Years later, even though I loved BG, I often think that I wished I'd chosen Ohio State instead.

But then I think about how different my life would be. I imagine I would have had a different major as I was undecided when I started school. And being that BG was big on education majors, that is where I some how ended up. If I'd gone to a different school, there is no telling what I would have ended up choosing as my major. I went to college thinking international business. Couldn't even imagine me doing that now.

Aside from my career, if I'd gone to a different school, I would never have met my husband. The night I met him, I was living south of town and teaching first grade. I'd graduated 3 years before that. A friend from college (who I would never had known had I not gone to BG) was up for the weekend and she and I went to a bar. And that is where true love began. (insert some sappy sighs...) My future hubby just happened to be there that night with another friend. Fate must have been at work because we met, started talking, and the rest is history... a long history with many stories behind it...

Had I never gone to BG, met my friend, and gotten together with her that night, I wouldn't be where I am right now.

With three absolutely adorable kids, a terrific (most of the time! LOL) hubby, and a very supportive (his side of the)extended family.

Isn't life weird that way? I mean, I'm sure if I'd chosen OSU instead of BG, I would still be happy. Still have a family. Still be pretty much the same person inside that I am now.

But I wouldn't have my babies. My life. Heck, I probably wouldn't even have this here blog! LOL

Yeah. Ok, so when I think back... do I wish I'd have gone to OSU instead. Nope. Not even a little bit.

My New Obsession

2007-09-15T15:22:00.001-04:00

Yeah, I know... I've been missing in action again. My excuse this time? Well I've already blogged a little bit about it a few posts down.

I've become, oh just slightly obsessed, with buying Nicholas cloth diapers. I've been buying different styles and brands to find the ones we like best. There are sooooo many options available, it's overwhelming. Yet, at the same time, fun. I have an entire folder on my favorites of cloth diapering sites. Any time I find a good deal or a cute dipe that I can't resist, I bookmark it. And I'm even considering attempting to make a couple of my own with some free patterns I've found online. That is, once I can get brave enough to attempt elastic!

We are pretty much cloth diapering full time now except for nights. And I've already purchased a few that I'm going to be trying overnight to see if he stays dry. So hopefully soon, Nicholas will be in cloth diapers 100% of the time. My family is "intrigued" with my new obsession. Hubby thinks they're ok... he doesn't do much of the changing or any of the washing but he's definitely on board with using them. My sisters... they think I'm a little nuts. Although my one sister did call me to find out some info for her friend who is thinking about doing it. I'm hoping to convince my pregnant niece to give them a shot too... but I think the initial cost will turn her off.

I have to admit... the cuteness is what's gotten me so nuts over cloth diapers. As you can see in the picture from the link above, the new modern age dipes are not what you think of when you think of cloth diapers. You can pretty much get any design you want on a diaper and any pattern/material. I'm actually on the hunt for someone who will do an Ohio State dipe for us. Any takers?!?!

So, anyways, I have a bunch of diapers I want to buy and for that, I need to make more money. SO, I'm off to get some ebay auctions ready. All of Nicholas' outgrown clothes...

Before I go, I meant to post last week about my middle kiddo starting preschool. And just never got around to it. But I have to share this adorable picture...

This is her, right before we left for her first day of preschool. Isn't she just the cutest little big girl?!?!

Check Out My Big Boy!

2007-08-29T22:52:00.000-04:00

SO, this is Nicholas' newest trick...

He thinks he is so darn cool. As if you cannot tell.

Any Tips...

2007-08-26T21:30:00.000-04:00

For a very stubborn three-and-a-half-year-old who REFUSES to take medicine?!?!

My middle kid is headstrong. Extremely headstrong. This past week or so, all of us (except for J) have had a nasty cough. I took the two younger ones to the doc on Tuesday to get some medicine. She gave me a script for cough syrup. So, I've been giving it to Nicholas pretty faithfully and WOW, his cough is all but gone. As is his runny nose. I've even taken it a couple times and mine is much better.

Cassidy on the other hand, will not take the medicine. No matter how much I try to convince her to. I know the trick of mixing it into a drink or food so that she doesn't know it's there. Yeah. Tried that one a couple days ago. I added it to her glass of juice. And she didn't see me do it. One drink out of it and I hear, "this is nasty!" And the juice was not drank.

This morning, I tried giving it to her watered down. Nope. I tried bribing her by telling her we would go see Grandma if she took it. No dice. I tried convincing her to drink it and then finish her poptart to take the nasty taste away. Nadda. I tried to offer her pudding with the medicine stirred in. You guessed it. Didn't work.

So, she didn't take her medicine. And she continues to cough.

And me. I am still trying to figure out a way to get the stuff in her. Any suggestions or do I just hope and pray that the cough goes away on its own?

I Vunt to Suck Your Vlood

2007-08-24T13:46:00.000-04:00

No, don't worry, I'm not a vampiress! Just wanted to share a picture of the fangs Nicholas is currently sporting...

It's a little uncommon for those two teeth to come in before the middle ones. If it were closer to Halloween, I'd have an easy costume choice... My own little baby dracula!

Here's another silly picture showing off his chompers...

Heading into First!

2007-08-22T11:26:00.000-04:00

Well, today, my baby girl headed to first grade! We went and met her teacher last night... I had my camera but totally forgot to take pictures! Her teacher seems realllllly nice. I think she'll have a good year!

Here are pictures from this morning...

When Hubby was younger and his mom took first day pics, she always made them hold up the same number of fingers as the grade they were in. I told Jenna a week or so ago I wanted her to do it and she said, "No way!" LOL Somehow this morning, I charmed her into doing it several times. Here's one pic...

And the bus. Cass was outside waiting with us...

Bye Bye Sweetie!

I did a lot better this year! No tears! Last year, I came in and called my mom, with big tears rolling down my cheeks. :wub:

Coming to an End...

2007-08-19T21:30:00.001-04:00

We're down to just three more days till school starts. And three more days till my baby girl becomes an official first grader. Where in the world has the summer gone!??! Even more so, where in the world have the last six years gone!??!?!

I admit... I haven't been very good about getting her back on a good waking up early schedule. I am soooooo not a morning person. Especially if baby brother is up in the middle of the night! But I have been getting her up a little earlier than normal. And I figure she'll adjust pretty quickly once school starts. Although, I do imagine she'll be one tired little girl for at least the first couple months. She's not used to being in school the whole day!

We go Tuesday to meet her teacher. From everything I've been told, she's very nice! We came home and looked her up on the school website as soon as we found out which teacher she had. I'm excited to see what kind of year she'll have! Her kindergarten teacher has moved up to first grade this year... and J was a little sad that she didn't get her as a teacher again. But I'm thinking the change will be good for her.

So, we've got two more days to cram some fun into before we buckle down to homework and earlier bedtimes and catching the bus. Tomorrow, I think maybe we'll make a little trip to the DQ and the park. And Tuesday afternoon, I've already arranged for Grandma to keep baby brother so J and C and I can go see Shrek III! It'll be C's first time at the movie theater, believe it or not! Should be lots of fun... and we'll be sure to load up on popcorn and licorice before we head in!

Next time I write, I'll be able to share pictures of my cute little first grader. I've already told her I'm taking a picture of her holding her lunchbox with one hand and raising one finger on her other hand to indicate that she's in first grade. My mother-in-law did a first day picture like that with my hubby... whatever grade he's in, he's holding up that many fingers. Cute, eh? Gotta carry on that tradition.

All I Want For Christmas

2007-08-14T09:24:00.000-04:00

Is my two front teef...

One fell out last Monday and the other (with a little help from Jenna!) fell out Saturday! We're up to five teeth now. The tooth fairy is getting tired.

Dang. That was short lived.

2007-08-13T10:33:00.001-04:00

I've already been booted from Top Momma.

Yeah, guess I need more traffic here before I try something like that again, eh??

LOL

Top Momma!

2007-08-12T11:07:00.000-04:00

Ok so at least a month ago, I registered on a blog traffic site called Top Momma. They put a picture and link to your blog on the front page of the site and it's a contest of sorts to see who can get the most clicks and stay on the page the longest. I just got a message that my blog is finally listed.

SOOOOO... if you could go and click on it, it'll keep me on the page. Pretty silly, eh? Humor me and do it anyways! ;)

Here's the picture to look for...

Just click on it and it'll bring you right back here! And I'll get a click counted! Come on... help a momma out! ;)

Oh, and if anyone can figure out the referral thing (it's part of the stats in my little box and so far, I've got a whopping ZERO! :( )... anyways, if you can figure it out, please explain it to me! :)

Thanks!!!

Isn't This the Cutest Little Monkey Bottom?

2007-08-10T16:45:00.000-04:00

Ever since Nicholas was a couple months old, I've been toying with the idea of using cloth diapers. The first couple times I started looking into it, I was quickly overwhelmed at the choices and didn't end up purchasing any. A couple weeks ago, I started thinking about it again. And with the help of a friend, sifting through all the info didn't seem quite as overwhelming.

So, after making some cashola on Ebay, I decided to spend part of it on buying some cloth diapers. The one in the picture above is my first! It's from a site called Chunky Monkey Diapers and it came with (well I purchased it with) a matching tshirt. The lady who owns the site has tons of different embroidery choices to choose from. I'm actually thinking about getting a couple more since I've seen how darn cute it is... probably one for his first birthday party. Yeah, I'm a sucker for cute things!

So, anyways, you might ask... "How is cloth diapering going so far?"

Well, in addition to the above diaper, I've purchased six others. And we've used them sporadically throughout the couple of days that we've had them. I am surprised and pleased with the amount of coverage you get. Once I take the diaper off, you really can't even tell it's wet other than the fact that it's a bit heavier. I've washed and dried the first couple that we've used. Pretty easy. And not as gross as one would think.

Of course, we haven't experience our first dirty dirty one yet. But I did purchase some flushable liners for when it happens. Still waiting to get them....

Hmmm... I'll bet any guys who are reading this are probably ready to click on to the next blog! LOL Don't worry... I'm just about done!

So, do I think I'll continue (and expand) on my cloth diapering endeavors? So far my answer is YES! I'm planning to purchase about 10 more with my next ebay winnings and we'll go from there. I'll see if I continue liking them the more I use them. I do have to say... they're much cuter than the old standby (non-biodegradable) disposables that I've always used.

Nicholas doesn't care about the cuteness either way. But he's a guy. No surprise there.

;)

Zoo Babies!

2007-08-04T22:32:00.000-04:00

Ok... so how cute is this?!?!?!

The kids and I met up with two of my yahoo group/blogging friends- Tiffany and Mandy- and their bambinos this past weekend at the zoo. What a fun time! The above shot was one of many that I took but the only one where all three of them were looking! Aren't they adorable? Nicholas is in front... the other two were born right around the same time as he was due.

It was definitely a HOT HOT HOT day. Luckily, there were mist sprayers throughout the park, lots of shade, and of course, a few buildings with air conditioning. Jenna LOVED the misters. She'd do a happy dance every time we saw one! LOL And then she'd proceed to soak herself completely. Great way to stay cool, eh?

I am going to go ahead and post this before it gets too dated! LOL I've been trying to work on it for over a week now and haven't managed to get it posted until now!

Before I go, here's a quick shot of my three cuties...

All Partied Out!

2007-07-22T23:35:00.000-04:00

This weekend was my inlaw's 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration.

What a weekend! It started off Friday when we went over to start helping set up. We had the party at their house. They have a gorgeous huge yard with a pond running through it, a barn that's over 100 years old, a built in pool, yadda, yadda, yadda...

We were over there till after 11 that night getting things ready. Then Saturday morning involved last minute details of running to the store, re-watching the slide show one more time, printing a label for the cd, etc, etc, etc. We went over around 2. Spent the next two hours running around like chickens with our heads cut off. In the middle of all the set-up, my sil's friend came and took a family picture.... all 28 of us! She did some individual family shots after that. Can't wait to see them. We're actually going to get my mil and fil a huge portrait to hang over the fireplace for Christmas.

Finally, it was time for the party. My inlaws knew about the party but we made them leave around 4 so that the surprise could come and set up. They came back at 5 to a driveway lined with guests and a private concert by none other than ELVIS! LOL My mil LOVES LOVES LOVES Elvis. SO we hired an impersonator to come and perform. Tons of fun. He sang for about a half hour.

After that, we ate and socialized then around 7:30, we gathered everyone around to watch the slideshow. It was a huge hit. Made all the hours I sat working on it worth it! One funny happening... Hubby found a speech on the internet. So, he's up front reading it, in all serious mode, when all of a sudden, Cass comes running up to the house... through the middle of the group BUTT NAKED!!!! Yeah, just call her the streak! She'd been swimming in the pool and took off her suit... her clothes were in the house! LOL It just so happened that Hubby was on a line about the doctor saying those words, "It's a boy... or It's a Girl", and here comes Cass. Everyone got a huge kick out of it. I ran her inside and got her clothes on while he finished his speech. People laughed about it and talked about it the rest of the party. Basically, she's a legend in her own time!

After the slideshow, lots of people hung around and ate and drank. I ended up finally taking Nicholas home around 11:00. Hubby and the girls (and most of the rest of the nieces and nephews) ended up just spending the night at my inlaws.

Today, we spent the day cleaning up, the kids swam again, and we ate the leftovers from last night. It was after 9 when we finally got home!

I'm exhausted... think I'll get ready and hit the hay!

Now that the party's over, I have to start working on getting my ebay crap listed AND start getting ready for my moms' group clothing sale. It's not till the end of September but I have a ton of things to get ready for it!

It's always something, eh?

Party Time!

2007-07-20T10:31:00.000-04:00

The big 50th anniversary party for my in-laws in finally tomorrow! We've been in the planning stages for the past month and a half. This past week has been a lot of running around finishing up last minute details.

I'm about 98% finished with the slideshow. Just a few more tweaks here and there then I'll be ready to burn it to a DVD. We'll be showing it tomorrow at the party. Hubby took our TV over last night to get it all set up. I hope my in-laws are happy with the finished product! I'm sure they will be... it has turned out well, if I do say so myself!

Tonight we're meeting over at the house to get everything decorated and set up. I'm in charge of pasta salad (which I'll make late tonight or early tomorrow) and the chocolate fountain. Still need to go pick up some strawberries for that. But I think I have everything else! I'm getting hungry just thinking of all the yummy food we'll be serving!

Ok... off to get some things done around here before we have to head out....

A Celebration

2007-07-15T13:28:00.000-04:00

I am currently working on a slideshow to celebrate my in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary. We're having a party for them at their house next weekend. They have a huge gorgeous yard so why not show it off during a celebration of their life together?

So anyways, the slideshow is of pictures from their lives... clear back from their childhood all the way up to the present. Five kids and sixteen grandkids plus countless friends and family makes for a LOT of pictures! I've used about 200 of them and could have used more but we don't want the guests to have to sit through a 40 minute show! LOL As it is, it'll be around 20 minutes.

I'm just about at the point where I'm ready to add some music behind the pictures. So far, I have two picked out... Memories by Elvis (my mother in law LOVES him!) to start the show and With this Ring by the Platters. I'll probably need at least another five songs to finish out the pictures.

My mother in law gave me her wedding album to scan pictures for the show. In the back of the album is a picture that stole my heart. I'm using it at the beginning of the slideshow. The rest of the wedding pictures don't start for another 30 or pictures but this one begged to be seen first...

It just seems so timeless to me. The looks on their faces anticipating the future. The future that I and my children are now a part of...

What do you think?

Look What Fun We're Having!

2007-07-13T23:28:00.000-04:00

Yep, my baby is becoming mobile...

Just in the past week or so, he's started pulling himself up on things and getting into mischief. Above, he's into some books I got at a garage sale that I'm in the process of putting on ebay. Just today, he pulled himself to standing using just my knee.

We're in for some fun these next couple months, eh?

Nicholas' 9 month stats

2007-07-10T21:50:00.000-04:00

He's officially nine months tomorrow. I took him in today for his nine month well check. It's hard to believe how close he is to turning a year old!

So anyways... he's up to 16 lbs 5 1/2 oz and is 25 3/4 inches. The weight puts him below the 2nd %ile. He was at the 4th at his six month. I'm not worried though. Heck, the kid has put on almost 13 lbs since birth. You can't complain about that!

The nurse prac didn't seem too concerned that I'd switched his formula from Neosure to the cheaper stuff. I just hated paying $14 a can for something that lasted two days! The bigger ones (from Wallyworld) are $11.99 a can and last much longer.

She also was fine with the fact that I've got him on mostly table food already. She did say that and the fact that we changed formulas is probably why he dropped on the charts.

Developmentally, she said he's doing great. He's almost crawling and is starting to pull up on things. Time to get babyproofing again!

I'll share some pictures and video of him soon... check back to see...

Cool Rider

2007-07-08T11:23:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to talk my six year old into learning how to ride her bike without the training wheels. Her basic answer was, "no way, Jose!"

So I hadn't mentioned it in a couple weeks. Out of the blue, she decided to wanted to learn. NOW! It seems there's a little friendly competition between her and her little friend who was in her kindergarten class. Only problem is, she didn't inform said friend about the competition. She just decided she wanted to learn how to do it before he did!

So, hubby took off her training wheels one day last week and they practiced some in our backyard (we have a grassy hill) and a little on the sidewalk. She did ok but didn't have a lot of confidence doing it. So she asked Daddy to put her training wheels back on.

A few days later, we were at my inlaws and it just so happened that in the garage, there was a bike, a little smaller than her's, that didn't have the training wheels on it. She and Daddy practiced some more. Because this bike is tinier, and therefore closer to the ground, she feels a little more confident. The first night, she still needed a little bit of help to get started...

Last night we were over there again. Look at her now...

Looks like she won her "friendly" competition with her friend. I think he at least knows about it by now... since I mentioned it to his mom a few days ago...

Wonder how long it will be before they're both cruising up on the down the sidewalk on two wheelers???

Anyone Remember Nellie Olsen?

2007-07-03T13:25:00.000-04:00

From Little House on the Prairie?!?!

I have my very own little "Nellie..."

This was taken the other day after she'd been swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's. Oh, and FYI, that is completely natural. I didn't do a thing to it.

The funny thing is, she's almost as ornery as the original Nellie!

Reminiscing

2007-06-28T21:48:00.001-04:00

I've got a gazillion pictures stored in folders on my computer. Clear back from when we got our first digital camera in 2001. Each folder is dated with the date that I uploaded them. So it's pretty easy to find what I'm looking for when I go back to search for pictures for slideshows or scrapbooking or to share with someone. Recently, I started going through them and deleting the ones that I didn't want. Often, I'll take 10-20 pictures of the same thing and end up liking only two or three. Once I upload them, I rarely get around to deleting the ones that aren't so good. But to clear up some space on our hard drive, that's what I've been doing the past week or so. My criteria is that if I might possibly use it in a slideshow one day, I'll keep it. If not, I'm hitting the delete button. I've already printed the ones I wanted and put them in a scrapbook (at least most of them!... I am a little behind!). Plus all of them are backed up a cd.

Oh my! What fun I'm having reminiscing, looking at the pictures of my cuties when they were little winky tinks. It's been fun and bittersweet to see how their looks have changed from baby babies to little people. My girls still have the same spark in their eyes that they've had from the beginning... the same cute little mischievous grins that capture everyone's heart. But they're also growing up before my eyes, in warp speed as I go through folder after folder. There are newborn pictures, pictures of "firsts," pictures from holidays, the county fair, our yearly camping adventures, seasonal pictures, and just day-to-day fun. Pictures that one day we'll look back on and giggle and possibly even cry, as loved ones in the pictures are no longer with us.

I am currently up to summer of 05 so I have plenty more to go through.

Hmmm... maybe I should start a new folder for pics that I can show to their (way in the) future boyfriends. I can think of a couple that I know will embarrass them. Hee Hee Hee....

Ok, I'm off to reminisce some more...

This is so not fair

2007-06-25T11:20:00.000-04:00

A couple months ago, I talked to my sister-and-brother-in-law about going to Outer Banks for a week this summer. They've got kids the same age as mine so I figured keeping them entertained wouldn't be too hard. When I first asked them, they said a gung-ho YES, they'd love to go. So I set about looking for the perfect (not too expensive) beach house. Found a couple that I liked and sent my sister in law the links. She didn't get back with me.... so when I finally got back with them, they hem-hawed around and ended up backing out on us. Said they'd bought a camper with their vacation fund, blah, blah, blah, and didn't have the extra money.

Then why did they ever tell us they'd go?!?! It took me a couple days but I got over it and wasn't tooooooo depressed. Until today. LOL

Yeah, so I like to torture myself. Today, on a whim, I decided to take a peek at a couple of the houses I'd picked out for when we went to the beach.

So. Look what I found. Yeah, the house I liked is still available. This is so not fair.

http://www.surforsound.com/properties/234.html

They've lowered the price by $245. But we still can't afford it on our own.

Now I'm depressed all over again that we're not going.

The Twirl Factor

2007-06-22T10:54:00.000-04:00

My middle child is a little pistol. Ever since she started walking at 9 months, she's been on the move like the Energizer bunny. She's the kid who will pick up a worm and bring it right to me... or pick on the cat till he reaches out to swat her. Then she laughs about it. She's the one who any time she gets in trouble, she has the mischievous grin that makes it hard to stay mad at her. She's the one who has been jumping in the pool (with a ring on of course) since she was just a wee one. Big sister, btw, STILL won't jump in!

As rambunctious as she is, she's got an adorable soft side. LOVES LOVES LOVES to wear dresses, even when she's going out to play in the dirt! And she loves to twirl around in them. Which brings me to the point of this post.

I've bought Cass several cute little dresses this year, most at garage sales or thrift shops or ebay. I wanted her to have plenty to choose from. The other day we were getting ready to go somewhere so I was trying to get her dressed. The first dress I picked out, she tried it on then proceeded to spin around. Tragedy. It didn't twirl. She started crying and demanded the dress had to be taken off since it didn't twirl enough. So, she took it off and found another one. Once it was on, she did the twirl. And even though this one had a little more twirl than the first one, it still wasn't good enough. SO, she insisted on taking this one off too. I have to admit, I was getting a little annoyed since I was trying to get ready to leave the house! But I helped her get it off and she went back to her closet and found one more dress.

Eureka!!! You should have seen her face when she did her twirl this time! The dress twirled and she was thrilled. I happened to have my camera handy, of course. This isn't her first reaction but you can definitely tell she's satisfied with the twirl factor...

Heard back from the company....

2007-06-18T15:25:00.001-04:00

And this time, I spoke to a very nice PROFESSIONAL woman who was more than willing to take care of the problem. I told her everything the woman from this weekend had said to me and she was definitely not happy.

She has forwarded the info on to her manager and to the product development team. She had me send a picture of the damage.

She's also sending me a refund AND a little something extra for Nicholas.

I'm thinking Miss Kenya (the lady I spoke to this weekend) is going to be hearing from her bosses soon....

Bounce Bounce Baby

2007-06-15T22:43:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I bought this for Nicholas a month or two ago. And have been happy with it. Until today. The part on the right that has the mirror.... the mirror broke off. When I picked it up to try to put it back on, I noticed that there was paint chipped/scratched off of the little animal figure that is attached to the mirror. From Nicholas chewing on it!!! I was able to use my fingernail and easily scratch more off.

SO, I found a phone number on the back of the seat and called customer service. The lady proceeded to offer to send me a replacement part!!! Huh? Send a replacement for a part that is defective??? Another piece that my son can chew and eat more paint!? She told me that she had never heard of any other complaints of this happening. Which I find hard to believe. We had about a ten minute conversation which ended with her telling me I was rude and asking me what I expected them to do about it, other than replacing the part!!! She had the gall to compare the situation to buying a piece of defective clothing then taking it back and expecting the store to take every piece of that clothing off the shelf. Just because of one defect. In my opinion, this was not even a close comparison.

I am planning to call back on Monday and speak to another customer service rep. The beyotch today told me my son must have been teething pretty hard to scrape off the paint. Give me a break... he has two bottom teeth. Tonight, I was looking closer at the whole exersaucer and noticed other places where the paint is coming off from his teething.

Am I wrong to think they need to correct this problem rather than just mailing out the same defective part to replace it?

**edited to add a picture...

The larger part on the bottom is where I picked off paint with my fingernail that had already started scratching off. The rest is from his chewing. Notice the black on one of the eyes is gone.

UNDER!

2007-06-10T15:12:00.001-04:00

My six year old has always loved to get in Grandma's pool. Any pool for that matter. With her arm floaties and swim ring. She loves to float around, splashing and basking in the sun... with sunscreen on, of course! One by one, her cousins around her age have been learning to jump in the water and go under... and swim. But not J. She was content with floating. Anytime I mentioned learning to swim, she balked and said she did not want to.... that she was scared.

Yesterday, J decided she was ready to be brave. So, with me in the pool, she took off her swim ring and got in with water with just her arm floats on. I pulled her around for a few so she could see that they would hold her up. Then I let her go... and she stayed up! It wasn't long before she decided she was ready to try to go under water. She closed her eyes tight, held her nose with one hand and the side of the pool with the other, and went down. With about 3/4 of her head still sticking out of the water.

"WOW! That was great," I told her!

She did it again and again, each time going just a bit farther until finally she could get her whole head under the water. She was so proud of herself and couldn't wait to show her daddy when he came over.

I told her before the summer ends, she and I are going to get in with no floaties, no rings, just me and her and a bunch of water. And she's going to learn to swim. She is excited!

I imagine once she can swim, I'll still make her wear the arm bands for at least a little while longer. And of course, she won't be allowed in the water without adult supervision for the next several years. I'm thinking maybe when she's 20. LOL We're planning to go over to my inlaws this summer as often as we can. Hopefully soon, she'll be a little fish.

My next goal... getting rid of the training wheels on her two wheeler. Wish me luck on that one!

Summer Fun!

2007-06-07T22:10:00.000-04:00

So we took Nicholas "swimming" for the first time today at my in-law's! He was a little leery at first, especially when I'd hold him out away from me. He didn't like that much and would start crying. But before long, he was splashing and laughing and having a good ole' time with his sisters and cousins. In the 15-20 minutes or so that we were in the pool, I lathered him up with sunscreen three times so he wouldn't get a sunburn! Gotta protect that baby soft skin!

Yes, I do still exist!

2007-06-02T19:49:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe I haven't posted in almost three months. I guess it's easy to get out of the habit and then once I do, it's hard to get back in. Anyways...

Things are going well. Nicholas is doing GREAT! He'll be eight months old in just over a week. Hard to believe. He's still working to catch up weight wise (since he was 3 lbs 11 oz at birth!) but developmentally, he's right on track. Getting close to crawling, eating a little baby food, not doing so well with solids, charming everyone he meets... etc, etc, etc.

In other news, yesterday was the last day of school for my not-a-kindergartner-anymore. Where in the heck did this year go? It seems like just a week or so ago I was watching her get on the bus for the first time.. and then going back inside and calling my own mom to tell her my baby was on her way to school. And now she's been "promoted to first grade!" She is soooooooo excited to be a "grader" next year. I'm excited for her.... but it sure does make me melancholy thinking about it. Someone needs to invent a little button where we can freeze time for a bit, eh?

She did a wonderful job learning this year. She's reading a little and writing up a storm. I definitely need to make an huge effort to keep her doing it this summer so she's ready for school in the fall. Speaking of the fall, not only will be she be going to first grade but my middle kiddo will start preschool!!! Two days a week for just a couple hours. This was actually the year we had talked about me going back to work part time, possibly at the preschool we sent Cass to. The arrival of Nicholas has changed those plans a bit. Which is just fine by me! I don't mind saying home a bit longer with my sweeties!

Been Missing in Action Again...

2007-03-06T12:53:00.000-05:00

And I was trying to do a better job at keeping this here blog updated!!

Oh well, there's just not a lot of excitement going on around here. The three kiddos are doing well and growing like weeds. The weather is still cold and I'm even more ready for spring than ever. It's already time for Daylight Savings Time which usually indicates warmer weather yet I'm still bundling all of us up in parkas.

I'm in the process of "building" summer wardrobes for my babies... which means, I should be spending my online time getting ebay auctions up to pay for them, right?!?! And yet, here I sit, wasting time.

Yeah, like I said, pretty boring around these parts. Hopefully I'll have some interesting tidbit to blog about soon....

Just Ducky!

2007-02-24T23:10:00.000-05:00

What do you think of Nicholas' new "hang-out?!"

He's getting to the age where he wants to be up seeing what is going on around him. He's just not as content in the swing as he used to be. So, one night in a moment of desperation, I dug out the ducky jumper from our upstairs closet. I wasn't even quite sure he was big enough yet. But to my delight, he was! And I was able to get dinner on the table without him going into hysterics!

He still only likes to be in it for about 10-15 minutes at a time... but I'll take what I can get!

My kids are "puzzling!"

2007-02-19T21:54:00.001-05:00

I love my kiddos to pieces!

Click on the link above if you have a few minutes to spare...

God Is GOOD!

2007-02-15T23:06:00.000-05:00

Today we went in for the second ABR test on Nicholas' ears. He was sedated for this test so they could get more accurate results (as opposed to the unsedated test he did at 7 weeks old).

And the results we got were WONDERFUL!!! Those prayers we've all been praying for the past couple months were answered.

Nicholas has... are you ready for this.... NORMAL HEARING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, you read that right! Under sedation, his right ear (the ear that showed 40 db hearing at the first abr) was NORMAL!! And the left, his hearing measured at 25 db (decibals). 20 db is normal.

The audiologist did another test where they directly stimulate the nerves of the inner ear to see if that is where the problem is coming from and... BOTH EARS PASSED!!! Which means, most likely, the 25 db that his left ear measured at is caused by fluid in his ear!! They did a test that checks for fluid (typanogram) right before the abr and it didn't show any problems but she said it probably just didn't pick up on it.

To say I'm absolutely elated is putting it mildly. I'm still shellshocked. No matter how hard I prayed for it, I never thought we'd come out with these results. Two months of worrying and torture and tears... with a happy ending!!

We go back in two months to see the otologist (the ENT specialist) and to do a booth test just to make sure he's responding like he should. Then after that we might have to go back a couple more times to make sure things are ok. Eventually, we won't have to go back at all.

How awesome is that!?!?!

Nicholas' Baptism & a 4 month update

2007-02-12T11:41:00.000-05:00

Everything went well at Nicholas' Baptism!!

I found out when I was filling out the Baptism papers a couple weeks ago that only one of the Godparents has to be Catholic. The other just has to be a Christian. SO, we asked Hubby's brother to be the Godfather and I asked my sister to be his Godmother. She was so tickled when I asked her (last week) and looked so proud yesterday. The way I see it, my baby boy will basically have two sets of Godparents... my sister in law and my brother in law will be his honorary ones.

The Baptism was after church... and there were three other kiddos being Baptized. Nicholas was the only baby baby. We did the immersion Baptism where the Priest actually dips the baby into the Baptismal font three times. Nicholas wasn't too keen on that but he didn't cry near as much as I thought he would. And he quieted down as soon as I had his little naked body wrapped back up in the towel. I was very anxious to get a diaper back on him though! LOL But I had to wait till the other Baptisms were done. Luckily, he didn't go pee pee all over me!

The party afterwards was chaotic but fun. I'm still working on getting everything cleaned up from it! I hate that part! LOL

In other news, we just went in for Nicholas' four month appt today.... he's finally on the charts!! His weight today was 11lbs 10.5 oz! Third %ile! GO NICHOLAS! On the preemie charts, he's around the 30th-40th %ile for height, weight, and head circ.

The nurse said he is doing wonderfully! She was impressed with how well he holds his head up when on his belly and with the fact that he is already rolling over from tummy to back. They don't adjust his age on the developmental charts... but he's doing everything a four month old should be doing!

She found some Neosure formula for us that the company rep had left. Three cans... and they each have 2 $2 off coupons inside the lid! Over a $50 value! Gotta love that. We talked about cereal and I told her I'm holding off till at least 6 months and she said that was just fine since he's growing like he should!

This coming Thursday, he goes in for his next hearing test. He'll be sedated for this one so we should get an accurate result on the amount of hearing loss he has. I am hoping against hope that it is better than the previous hearing test result. But also preparing myself that it could be worse. If it shows the same results as the last one, I imagine we'll start looking at getting him hearing aids soon. I want him to have them before his language starts developing.

If you're the praying kind, please keep my sweetie pie in your thoughts on Thursday...

Baptism

2007-02-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

Nicholas is going to be baptized on Sunday. He is wearing the same outfit that hubby and all of his brothers wore (his oldest brother is 48!!) and all the nephews have worn it too.

We tried a little impromptu photo session today since it's been too cold to go to the mall!

I couldn't get him to smile much but I think they turned out ok. I am going to have one of them put on his cake!

Whaddya think??...

A Night Away.... how'd it go?

2007-02-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

My last post was about taking Nicholas with me to a scrapbook retreat. I packed a gazillion things to keep him occupied and hoped that I'd get enough done to make it worth going.

To say he was quite a distraction is putting it mildly!! The swing he normally is content in didn't make the grade this weekend. He was in it some but not near as much as I'd hoped!

BUT the saving grace was that I took my sling along. And that's where he was when I did most of my pages! And he was even in there when I ate my lunch! I ended up getting 12 pages done in his book which isn't too shabby considering I had him AND didn't stay up till 3 or 4 like I normally do at these things! Plus, I usually stay both nights.... and my normal total is around 30 pages for the entire weekend.

It wasn't too bad taking him. He was a good baby (albeit a little whiny!) the whole weekend. Even slept all night long right beside me.

But now that it's all said and done, I have to honestly say if I had to do it over again (knowing what I know now!), I probably wouldn't have gone.

But then... if I didn't go, I'd still only have four pages done in his book, right?!!?

A Night Away.... with Nicholas

2007-02-01T23:04:00.000-05:00

I'm a scrapbooker. I've been doing it since we got married almost ten years ago. With having just my two girls, I didn't do such a bad job keeping up. J's is caught up to probably last spring and C's is maybe up to last summer.

But now that we've added another kiddo, I fear I'm going to fall even farther behind. So far I've only done, I think, four pages in Nicholas' book.

This weekend is the bi-annual scrapbook retreat that my Creative Memories scrapbooking friend holds. It's Friday through Sunday. A whole weekend of just working on scrapbooks. Well, and relaxing a bit too, of course. I went in the fall, hugely pregnant. And three days later, had Nicholas 6 1/2 weeks early. I had not planned to go this time around since Nicholas is only four months old. Wasn't quite ready to leave him overnight. Today, I found out that another friend of mine who just had a baby a month after Nicholas was going to the retreat... and taking the baby (along with a gazillion things to keep her occupied).

SO, this afternoon, guess what I decided to do??? Yep, I'm going scrapbooking... and taking the kiddo with me! We'll have a private room so sleeping shouldn't be too much of an issue. He'll nap through out the day, get some snuggle time with Mommy and some of the other women who are going to be there, and hopefully stay as nice and calm as he does at home. I'm taking along our travel swing, my sling so I can "wear" him, a blanket for some tummy time, and lots of diapers and formula. We're only staying one night, spending the whole next day, and coming home Saturday night.

I figure if I get at least two pages done, I'll be satisfied. Course, realistically, I should be able to get at least ten done. But I don't want to set the bar too high and be dissapointed that I went!

SO, it's a Mom and Nicholas weekend. The girls should have fun with Daddy...

Heads Up!

2007-01-27T20:44:00.000-05:00

Look how big my little guy is getting...

He is already 3 1/2 months old and just this week started rolling over from his tummy to his back. Not too shabby for a 6 1/2 week preemie, huh? He did it for the first time a few days ago... then it took until today before he did it again. And of course, I got it on tape! YAY! Just need to figure out how to upload it. Then maybe I'll share... :)

Miss Independent

2007-01-25T16:01:00.000-05:00

Ya gotta love 3 year olds.

My middle kid turned 3 in December. About a month before that, she FINALLY potty trained.

And wow. What a difference that has made. Overnight, she's gone from my baby to a big girl. A big independent "I-can-do-it-myself" and "Mommy, (insert VERY high pitched scream!) I didn't want you to help me!!!!!" girl. It all started when she decided she wanted to be the one to put her panties on. Ok, fine. But please just let me lay them out so all you have to do it put your legs in. No danger of getting them on wrong that way, right? Sure. Of course. I guess there's nothing wrong with underwear put on upside down. Once she figured out the panties, pants were next. It might take ten minutes to get them on, but dernit, she is doing it herself.

I *was* still allowed to help with the rest of her outfit. That lasted a couple days.

Then she figured out how to put on her shirts. Ok, so most of the time they're on backwards and/or wrong side out (ironically, it's the same with the pants and panties) but she does it. And next came socks. Socks are a little hard to get on unless you're holding them just right. But I'm still not allowed to help her. And shoes.... yep, not allowed to help there either. Thank goodness for velcro.

If I even attempt to help while she's getting dressed, even a weensy teensy bit, off come all of her clothes and she starts all over... all the while throwing a hissy fit. Sure does make for an interesting time when we're in a hurry to get somewhere.

The ONLY thing I am allowed to do is fix her hair. And, seeing that she has unmanagable curls, thank goodness for that. I imagine soon, that job will be taken away from me too.

It sure is fun watching her grow up. Although, sometimes it's hard to sit back and be patient with her as she donning her (one of many) outfits for the day. But I find that the more patient I am, the more proud she is of herself when she is done.

And isn't that what it's all about? Giving them the independence they crave... and seeing those proud little smiles when it's all done...

I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Countdown

2007-01-19T21:44:00.000-05:00

I got this off of someone else's blog (can't remember who?!?!) a while ago and saved it in my drafts to do later.

It's later....

10 Firsts

First best friend - Lynne Byrd
First car - 81 Plymouth Horizon... total clunker.
First love - some jerk in college
First vacation - (that I can remember) camping in Canada
First job - Working at my dad's office while I was in high school
First piercing - my ears when I was 12 or 13
First concert - I have no idea?!!? I'm sure it was someone country
First record/cd bought - Again, don't remember, but I'm sure it was country!
First real love - My hubby

9 Latest

Latest alcoholic beverage - Sex on the Beach
Latest car ride - to my moms' group yesterday
Latest movie watched - Napoleon Dynamite
Latest phone call made - to my hubby at work today
Latest jacuzzi bath - years ago
Latest played cd - Carrie Underwood
Latest time you cried - when my son was first diagnosed with a hearing loss
Latest meal - Pizza~ Freschetta's
Latest curse - Shit!

8 Have You Ever

dated one of your best friends - No
been arrested - No
fallen in love at first sight - No
been in a TV program - Not that I know of!
had your heart broken - Yep
said you love someone without meaning it - No
made a prank phone call - Yeah

7 Things You Wear

1. t-shirts
2. jeans
3. sweatpants
4. mother's necklace with my kiddos birthstones on it
5. sweatshirt
6. bra
7. my wedding ring

6 Things You've Done Today

1. Slept in
2. Made macaroni for lunch
3. Washed bottles
4. Did a couple loads of laundry
5. Fed and snuggled with Nicholas
6. Surfed around on the web

5 Favorite Things

1. My kids (that's a given, right?)
2. My friends
3. My mom and dad
4. My computer
5. My hubby :)

4 People I Can Tell Anything
1. Sheila
2. Jill
3. Melody
4. Chris

3 Choices

Black or white? White
Summer or winter? Summer
Chocolate or chips? Chocolate

2 Things to do Before You Die

1. Raise my children to be productive members of society
2. Watch my children get married

1 Thing You Regret
1. Waiting till I was 29 to get married for the first time (not a huge regret but...)

The Next Step

2007-01-11T22:08:00.000-05:00

I realized I never posted an update after we went to see the ENT specialist to discuss Nicholas' hearing loss. We were able to get an appt at the end of December and I kept meaning to post about it but didn't manage to.

Anyways...

We met with the doc and decided the next course of action is to repeat the test that he had in November (the ABR- automated brainstem response) that determined the hearing loss. Only this time, Nicholas will be sedated. :( This second test will give us a clearer picture of the amount of hearing loss he has. With the first test, he was sleeping in his daddy's arms and did a lot of stirring. Being sedated, he won't be.

Admittedly, I am hoping that this second test comes back and tells us it was all a huge mistake and Nicholas' hearing is just fine and dandy. Realistically, I know that is most likely not going to happen. In fact, the results could actually come back worse.

He'll be doing the test in mid February when he is 4 months old. Around six months, they'll start doing booth testing which will require Nicholas to interact with the speech pathologist.

The ENT has said that at this point, he does not think it is necessary to fit Nicholas with hearing aids. Most of the talking we'll be doing with him will be face to face and he can (supposedly) hear us just fine up close. Once we get the results of the second ABR and the booth testing, I imagine we will begin discussing hearing aids at that point. I guesstimate he'll have them before his first birthday.

Is it getting easier to cope with the fact that he has a hearing loss? Yes and no. I've accepted that it is what it is... and I fully intend to do everything I can to help him grow into a *normal* child. I love him just as much as I ever have. And I know that he will be just fine.

But on the other hand, like I mentioned earlier, if I could, I'd make this all go away like a bad dream.

Since we're sorta in limbo land until the next test, it's been easy to *almost* forget that he has a hearing loss. But I can't help but look into those tiny eyes and wonder what the future holds for him... and when I think of the challenges he'll face, I can't help but feel sad. I imagine that feeling won't go away any time soon.

GO BUCKEYES!

2007-01-08T20:25:00.000-05:00

And last of all, plum tuckered out from his photo shoot...

~~~~~~~
Ok, so maybe they lost. But he still looks cute, right?!

Here We Go Again...

2006-12-30T23:35:00.000-05:00

Just got off the treadmill.... and so begins the diet/fitness plan to get rid of this baby weight! My diet will officially start on the 2nd. I can't resist my mom's spareribs and sauerkraut on New Year's Day!

I am hoping to have the same success I had last year before I got knocked up... My starting weight now is only four pounds under where I was when I started dieting last January.

Time for a Nicholas update!

2006-12-28T12:03:00.000-05:00

I had to take him in today for his synagis shot (to help prevent rsv). We have to do it monthly. He only cried for a few minutes and is currently snoozing in his carseat behind me. They weighed him and he is up to 9 lbs 5 oz! Still fitting in 0-3 month stuff of course. In fact, most of it is still big on him. Which is good because we have a ton of that size. AND a ton of 3-6.

We were just at the office for his shot but one of the docs came in and talked to me for a few minutes about his hearing, just to get updated. And the nurse prac we see most of the time checked in with us too to see how we were doing. She said she thinks about us a lot. I'd told her before that Andy was having a hard time coping so she asked how that was going. And she told me about another family they see who has a four year old with hearing loss. She mentioned having the mother call us. I'm all for talking to others to see how they are handling the hearing loss.

Oh, and guess who is almost sleeping through the night?!?! Yep, my big boy! I usually feed him his last bottle around 10 and put him in bed by 11:00. Last night, he was up at 4:15, back in bed at 5:00, and slept until after 9 when I had to wake him to eat and get ready to go to the doc.

The night before last, he slept from 11:00 till 6! That's the longest he's gone! It is soooo nice getting a long stretch of sleep at night! I just hope it continues...

Shopping...

2006-12-24T00:11:00.000-05:00

You know how when you're out shopping for the kiddos and you think you're *not* overdoing it. SO then you buy more. And more. And more. So they'll be sure to have enough.

And then it comes time to wrap it and once you're done, you realize, shit, I've gotten way too much stuff!

That's me tonight.

There are entirely way too many boxes sitting here waiting to be carried downstairs tomorrow night.

Hubby's gonna crap when he sees all of it....

But man, oh man, I know two little girls who are going to be tickled....

Santa Baby...

2006-12-21T23:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Holiday... from our family to yours

Holland

2006-12-09T22:18:00.000-05:00

After finding out that Nicholas, my 2 month old son, has some hearing loss, I did a search and found a yahoo group that consists of parents who have kids with hearing loss. Joined last weekend and have just been reading the messages. I posted an intro telling about Nicholas and his diagnosis.

I just got a private email from one of the ladies on the board. Her son was diagnosed with hearing loss at one month. She had some good been-there-done-that advice for me. But what really struck me (and had me in tears) is this poem she included...

~~

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with special needs…
It’s like this… When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo. David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "“Welcome to Holland.” “Holland?!” you say. “What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for Italy…All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.” But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, filthy place…It’s just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet…people you would have never met. It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flash than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while…you begin to notice that Holland has windmills…and tulips. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy…and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was going. That’s what I had planned.”

But…if you spend your life mourning that fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things…about Holland.

Back from the hospital...

2006-12-07T21:33:00.000-05:00

Nicholas is doing just fine after his hernia surgery! We came home this morning around 11:00 after spending the night in the hospital. When we got home, Nicholas was sleeping, Cass was still at my sister's and Jenna was still at school for another 20 minutes or so. So I had a few bits of quiet before the chaos of normal life resumed.

The surgery itself went very well. They ended up finding a hernia on his right side too (we'd known about the left and suspected the right) so they repaired both of them.

The stinky part of the whole ordeal.... his surgery was scheduled for 8 and we had to be at the hospital at 6. We actually made it with a few minutes to spare. So they take us back to a little pre-op room and start getting the papers processed. Then the doc comes in and says he has some bad news. There are a couple of emergency apendectomies that are going to have to be priority over Nicholas. UGH. So they started a saline drip to keep him hydrated. At this point, he hadn't had formula since 10 the night before. And watered down apple juice at around 3:30 am.

The delay ended up being FOREVER!! Turns out they had a few more emergencies. It was freakin' 3:00 by the time they were able to get Nicholas in. I kept my cool pretty well because there wasn't anything else I could do. And the nurse and doc were very apologetic. Luckily my mom had come down so b/t the three of us (me, Hubby, mom) we were able to keep Nicholas calm. He actually slept most of the time, sucking on his binky for dear life. Thank goodness for that thing!

It was after 5:30 before we were up in our room. It was a double room so we shared it with a little three month old girl who had just had her first surgery to repair a cleft lip and palate. Poor thing... she was miserable most of the night. :( I felt so bad for her.

Nicholas slept well... part of the time with me and part of the time in his crib. I, on the other hand, slept like shit. The chair that folded out in to a bed sucked.

Oh well... we're home now... and all is good...

Before the surgery...

And after, sleeping peacefully...

Surgery

2006-12-05T20:27:00.000-05:00

I took Nicholas to the doctor Monday for his hernia. The doc recommended surgery (which I was expecting). The surgery is TOMORROW!! (Wednesday!) I can't believe they were able to get him in so quickly.

Since he's such a dinky little guy, they are keeping him overnight. Which, of course, means I'm spending the night too. Tonight, he gets his last bottle by 10:00. From then until 4:00 am, he can have apple juice or pedialyte. And after 4, absolutely nothing but his binky. Should make for a fun night, eh?

Surgery is scheduled for 8. We have to be at the hospital at 6 am. UGH! So, I'm actually heading to bed soon. Have to pack a suitcase first.

Keep him in your prayers. Geez, I seem to be asking for that a lot lately don't I?? :)

Not the best news...

2006-12-01T22:14:00.000-05:00

But not the worst either.

It turns out my sweet little baby boy does have mild hearing loss in BOTH ears. Enough that they recommend a hearing aid.

Ironically, the ear that passed in the hospital has more hearing loss than the other.

Next step. We have to see an ENT. Maybe further testing... we don't know yet. He'll most likely be getting the hearing aids fairly quickly so that his speech can develop at a normal rate.

I am doing ok. I know things could be a hell of a lot worse. He does have a good amount of hearing (he can hear us fine if we're next to him... it's mainly just a problem at a distance or in a crowded room).

Andy is NOT doing ok. He is taking it REALLLLLY hard. He's spent most of the evening almost in tears. His main concern is how Nicholas is going to be treated by his peers. He has already decided that Nicholas is not going to have a normal life. And nothing I say can convince him otherwise...

It's amazing to me how different he and I are reacting...

I am definitely planning on taking advantage of every early intervention program that we can. We'd already signed up for the "Help me Grow" program that our county offers before I even realized there was an issue with his hearing. There are a couple other organizations I need to still contact. I am determined to do everything I can to make sure he has a normal life.

I just know that things could be so much worse.... so I am counting my blessings that they aren't.

More Nicholas News...

2006-11-27T21:58:00.000-05:00

So... now they (my doc office) think my boy has a hernia. Well, actually, they're sure he does. Next step... we've got to go to Children's yet again for another consult. Our insurance company is going to hate us what with all the bills we're racking up for this kiddo!

Friday is his ear appt so the nurse was going to try to have it scheduled for the same day. I'm hoping they call soon to get it set up. I hate to think of him being in pain (although he doesn't really seem to be?!!?) We're looking at outpatient surgery to repair it, I think.

On another note, they weighed him today because he had to get his monthly synagist shot (to help prevent rsv). And he is up to 7 lbs 1.5 oz. Still under Jenna's weight at birth! Also, I am now officially past my original due date of Nov. 24. It's weird to think that Nicholas should be less than a week old! He's almost 7 weeks!

Some not-so-good news...

2006-11-22T16:48:00.000-05:00

So, in the hospital, Nicholas did not pass the hearing screening in one of his ears. The other ear passed both times they did it. I figured, not a big deal. We'd just have him rescreened and everything would be fine.

Yesterday, I took him to our local children's hospital to be re-screened. He failed in both ears this time.

The next step is to go for diagnostic testing next Friday. They are going to try and pinpoint how much hearing loss he has (if any) and then we'll from there.

Hubby is taking this all reallllllllllllllllllllly hard. I am too but not to the extent that he is. I'm more in the "ok, let's figure out what the problem is and deal with it" mode. He is in the "woe is me... why is this happening..." mode.

Since we knew he didn't pass one ear in the hospital, we've been paying attention to how he reacts to sounds. And unless it's pretty loud, he doesn't even flinch most of the time. I cannot remember when it is that newborns start really reacting to things on a consistent basis. And being that his due date is still two days away, he is technically still a very new newborn.

Anyways... just wanted to share and ask for some prayers for our little one. The next week is going to be very trying for Hubby and me until we can get him in for further testing. So if you can say some extra prayers that we both don't go nuts waiting (and that Hubby doesn't go into more of a tailspin!), I'd appreciate it.

Making Some Progress

2006-11-18T22:22:00.000-05:00

In two areas of our household....

First off, Nicholas has been sleeping in his crib for at least a couple hours each night. Which means I'm not having to spend the entire night on the couch with him on top of me! Not that I don't love the snuggling of course. But it's nice to have a few hours of shut eye in a bed!

Second, my almost three year old is on the way to being potty trained!!!!!!! WOO FREAKIN HOO!!! This is a big deal!! We've been struggling with her for several months now and finally, as of a couple days ago, it's starting to click. She made it through today with only one accident. We've been promising her that once she was wearing panties, Mommy would buy her a Bratz doll (big sister just got two so of course that's what little sister had to have to). So today, while I was at the store (and after Daddy had let her call me twice to tell me she'd gone potty while I was gone!), I picked her up a Hollywood Bratz doll. She was so excited! And of course, we had to call Grandma to tell her the big news. Turns out Grandma (who incidently spoils my kiddos like crazy!) had picked up a Bratz doll for her too. So she'll get that probably on Thanksgiving.

I am so happy that we are finally to this point. I was beginning to think C was going to go to kindergarten in pull ups!

A Night Off

2006-11-10T22:28:00.000-05:00

Nicholas will be a month old tomorrow. Already. And ironically, he's still not even due for two more weeks.

Tonight, my dear hubby is taking baby duty. Which means that I get to sleep a full night without having to get up and do middle of the night feedings. Hallelujah! The past couple nights, my sweet little newborn has decided that he prefers sleeping with Momma to being in his lonely bassinet. Every time I put him in it (no matter how asleep he is), within a few minutes, he is crying out and grunting. Not a huge loud oh-my-gosh-I'm-dying-here cry but enough that I cannot go back to sleep. And being that I also have a 3 year old and a 5 year old to take care of all day long, not sleeping is not an option I like to choose. Not to mention, hubby has to get up and work a full workday so he needs his sleep too.

So begrudgingly, I pick Nicholas up, lie back down on the couch on my back, and awkwardly manage to go back to sleep until he wakes for his next feeding. After he finishes the bottle, I again attempt the bassinet. No such luck. I try the swing. No such luck. I imagine you can guess where he ends up?

I KNOW this is a dangerous habit to start. I know I'm creating a little monster that will not want to sleep by himself. But that doesn't stop me from taking the easy way out so I can get a few hours of sleep. And I have to admit... his sweet little self all curled up warm and toasty on my chest is a bit hard to resist. **In case you're freakin out thinking I'm going to roll over on him... rest assured... I'm a pretty light sleeper and don't move around a lot...**

SOOOOO anyways... this evening, hubby and I tried keeping him awake for a while hoping that he'll sleep well tonight. By himself, in his bassinet. We've both gotten pretty good at swaddling him tightly so he cannot flail his arms about. But if he moves and grunts enough, those arms eventually come free.

He does sleep on his own during the day... hopefully we'll get these nights figured out soon...

Naming Rights...

2006-11-04T17:30:00.000-05:00

Does this melt your heart or what!??!

You may remember... my oldest daughter (the one above) is the one who was praying for a baby brother. She just adores him to pieces. Always wants to love on him...

As soon as we found out we were having a boy back in July, my husband claimed naming rights. I gave in and let him have them (as long as he chose a name I liked! LOL). He went back and forth between Jake and Nicholas. Jake was usually the frontrunner. Jenna did not want him to be named Jake. Not sure why but she was adamant that Jake wouldn't/shouldn't be his name. I just kept telling her it was up to Daddy.

The night before our little boy was born, Jenna was understandably a bit upset. She knew that Mommy was sick and in the hospital and that her baby brother was going to be born earlier than expected. Hubby finally got her to bed. But a few minutes later she came out with big tears in her eyes... and she told him she had one more question before she could go to sleep.

She wanted to name the baby. How could he tell her no?!?!

She chose Nicholas.

Daddy did end up getting to choose the middle name.

Maybe we'll have to get a dog one day and let Daddy name him Jake.

Big (Little) News in Our House

2006-10-31T21:46:00.000-05:00

I totally suck at keeping this blog updated. I have good intentions... but life seems to get in the way more often than not.

Anyways... on to the big (little) news I wanted to share...

Someone in our house decided to make an early appearance!

Introducing...
Nicholas Andrew
3 lbs 10 3/4 oz, 17 inches long
Born on Oct 11, 2006... just shy of 34 weeks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/shoppin4mycutiepies/Nicholas.jpg

(This picture was taken when he was about 12 hours old...)

I ended up developing SEVERE preeclampsia/toxemia and the decision was made to deliver him early so that I could get better. So at 33 weeks and 5 days, Nicholas was delivered by csection (doc said an induction would take too long). Thanks to two shots of steroids, he came out breathing on his own and has been doing wonderfully ever since.

This past Thursday, at just over two weeks of age, we were able to bring him HOME from the nicu. I was a bit nervous since he's such a tiny little guy but so far, things have been going well! He's eating like a champ, sleeping a lot, and generally just charming the socks of his momma and daddy and big sisters. He had his first doctor's appt today and our little man is up to 5 lbs 2 oz... a 1 1/2 pound weight gain since birth!

I'll try to log on soon and post a few more pictures of his cute little face... Right now, I'm going to go snuggle with him. Ahhhhh... you gotta love that new baby smell.

And she's off!

2006-08-25T11:14:00.002-04:00

Today was my sweetie's first day of kindergarten!!!

I tell ya... she looked so darn cute! I was a little afraid that she might be afraid to get on the bus so I gave her the little talk about as soon as the bus pulled up, she needed to get on so the bus driver could finish picking up the other kids.

We're out on the driveway and I'm videotaping her and talking to her and all of a sudden, five minutes early, the bus pulls up!! And she climbed right on! Didn't even look back to wave goodbye so I could get a picture! LOL But I did manage to get one of the bus... and I think I videotaped her climbing on... can't remember now!

Anyways, I said a few things to the bus driver and asked a few questions and they were off. With MY baby!!!! The first person I called when I came back in, with tears in my eyes, was MY momma!

Here are a couple pictures from this morning...

And a link to a few more...

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbMWzJw2buHtA&notag=1

(Sorry I've been missing in action (again!) lately!)