Our Cranio Journey

2 Year Anniversary

2010-08-08T20:55:00.005-05:00

2 yrs ago today was the day of Grayson's surgery. I will never forget that day, and even despite what I'm going through personally, nothing can compare to the fear and anxiety I had that day 2 yrs ago. Handing over my sweet 7 week old baby boy to the Dr's and waiting in the waiting room for the update on his surgery, and then seeing him in recovery, nothing compares to that day.

We made it through the day, and we've grown as a family from it, but the cries I heard that day from him, and the pain he had to go through gave us a bond that can not be described in words.

He's my sweet 2 yr old now. Most of the time anyways.... he has his moments, but he is honestly the sweetest baby boy you'll ever meet. He is learning new words every day, and there are days where I just scoop him up and hug him tight and kiss all over his cheeks because I can...because he's here and he's perfect.

His favorite shows are Mickey Mouse clubhouse, which he says "mow-mouse how-house" and Phineas and Ferb which he says "fub". He also loves the Little Einsteins, and Thomas the Train. One of his favorite characters is Lightning McQueen, which he calls "like-keen" and he loves to watch that movie.

He is completely potty trained. He basically did it himself, with just a little nudge from us. He loves to eat and his favorite foods are Macaroni and cheese which he used to just call "cheese", but now he calls "roni-cheese". He loves the Mickey mouse chicken nuggets we found from Costco and eats 7 at a time. He also loves cheeseburgers and tater tots or fries. If we are on the go and are forced to stop and get fast food (which we avoid at all costs) I ask him what he wants and he actually pretends like he is looking at the menu and says "sheebuger...tay-tots" or "sheebuger...fench fies". He is my "little dipper" because he loves to dip foods on ranch or ketchup. Sometimes, I'll give him a snack of Hummus and carrots and when he's done, all the carrots will be laying on the plate with residue all over them, but the hummus is gone because he just uses the carrots as a spoon and just eats the hummus...or ranch.

He is just such a smart little guy. He is constantly amazing us at the things he knows how to do. We certainly have been surprised on many occasions, like recently, he would take 2 cheetos, hold them up side by side and say "mommy, I make a "M" and eat them. Then hold up two more and say "mommy, I make a "E" and eat it.....then "mommy, I make a "D". I had NO IDEA he knew any letters. Not that he knows which letters they actually are, but he knows his letters, none the less. Yesterday, we told the kids to make sure they picked up their diving sticks before coming inside or next time Chris mowed they would be destroyed, and after bathtime, he saw the diving sticks still laying in the yard, and he went and picked up every single one of them and put them away without us even telling him. He is always telling his siblings "bubba...sissy....eat" or "bubba...sissy....keen up" and point to the toys (which he got out, but he makes sure they are cleaning them up....) He will spank the kids if they do something wrong (which we laugh about before telling him that he is NOT the boss) and the other day, Brayden was on the potty and so he went #2 in his little froggy potty and brought it into the bathroom and "emptied it" all by himself....into the sink...because the potty was being occupied. I had to laugh as Chris was cleaning that mess up. One of his favorite phrases is "me do it" and we let him....as messy or as time consuming as it is.....because we love his independence.

He is our little stinker.

He is our little "June Bug"

He is our little man!

He is our perfect little angel in every way and we are so thankful that we have him. He makes our family complete.

Easter 2010....oops....

Doing what boys do best....

Cheeeeeeesseeeee.....

My sweet little angel face....

Easter morning, 2010, Had to ride his Spiderman 4-wheeler in his Easter outfit before going to church

Mommy's glasses...lookin' like Chicken Little

Yoda.... (Halloween 2009)

Christmas 2009....enough said...

Chris' birthday party January 2, 2010

Grayson at a 1950's dresss up party for his grandma Karan

Disney- June 2010

With his hero....Mow-Mouse

Blowing out candles with Daddy (Combo Birthday/Fathers Day 2010)

Waiting for his Birthday Cupcakes

He is growing up sooo fast.....

The Circle of Mommy Guilt.....

2010-02-23T11:02:00.005-06:00

....SUCKS! Lets me just say that. I quit working full time to stay at home and enjoy my 2 kids. To love on them and not pay someone else to love on them in my absence. I wasn't making much after the cost of daycare was taken out of the equation, even less when you factor in gas, pantyhose, makeup, dress suits, etc. So, it was in our best interest for me to stay at home and just cut a little bit out of our budget to survive. We did just that. Barely survived. We had just enough to pay bills, eat, and occasionally treat the kids to a cheap dinner out. Bonus checks usually went to paying off the credit card that got us through unexpected things like Dr visits, new tires, car repairs, etc. We lived debt free (except the house) and we survived. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do that. BUT......I had no adult life. I had my chores down to a daily schedule....Grocery shopping Mondays, Floor Tuesdays, Bedsheets Wednesdays, Laundry Thursdays, Deep Cleaning Fridays. I cooked dinner every night. I hid vegetables in the kids food. They ate healthy lunches, and we had the occasional play date, picnic lunch, Museum, zoo, etc. I scrapbooked, and we did crafts. There was no preschool, no dance, no extra curricular activities. Life was good. But, I also had very few friends, little to no adult interaction, and I was bored. Eventually, we did budget in the gym for me, and preschool for Kaylee, and then preschool for Brayden, but it was still tight every month. I clipped my coupons every Sunday, and made my grocery list and menu for the week. I was a normal.STAY.AT.HOME.mom. I put that in caps because we did just that......we STAYED AT HOME!

So, I started making bows. Mostly to save money and have Kaylee wear a matching bow for every outfit, but I started to sell them. It was OK...but it was strictly for fun, and I wasn't making anything....just enough to cover my costs. I broke even. It was a craft/hobby but not a business. Then, after Grayson's birth/surgery/recovery the opportunity presented itself for me to take over a rhinestone company (who ironically was going out of business because she didn't have enough family time and got too busy). I took over....seeing the potential money involved, and now that I had one in elementary school, seeing a way to keep myself busy(er). Brayden was in preschool, Grayson was an infant, and Kaylee was gone all day. Why not?

Fast forward one year later.......

I feel like I have no time with my family. I am constantly working, catching up on emails, trying to keep up this blog, trying to keep my house somewhat clean and organized. My laundry gets done when someone runs out of underwear, socks or I run out of bra's (and for the record, we all have more than 2 weeks supply). I am lucky if I get to the grocery store once a week for milk. No menu, we play dinner by ear, sometimes making sandwiches or giving the kids cereal. I haven't scrapbooked a page since Grayson was born. I never get to the gym. I don't eat because I forget. I don't sleep much because there is always something to do around the house. I very rarely get out to visit with friends. Grayson barely knows what a park looks like. We spend a lot of time in the car, trying to get errands run while Brayden is in preschool. I feel overwhelmed.

So, I question.....is it worth it?
Do I stop?
Do I continue?
How can I change my hectic life?
How did I manage before?
Is it the third kid that made my life crazier?

My struggle is that I do it all for the kids. I make money! I get to stay at home (and notice its not in caps, because we are never home), I get to spend every waking moment with my children. BUT, it's either in the car, dropping off or picking up from 2 different schools at 2 different times, rushing to the grocery store, rushing to Walmart or Target for paper goods, cleaning goods, etc. (and I laugh when I type that because I keep buying cleaning supplies, but it's been forever since I've used anything other than a kitchen counter cleaner or dishwasher/laundry detergent because Chris has been doing most of the cleaning for the past year).

I felt so proud that I was able to pay for Christmas all with my earned money. We did not have to budget it into Chris' paycheck, not a bonus check, and we didn't have to charge it and use our tax refund for any of it. I.DID.IT.WITH.MY.HARD.EARNED.MONEY! Yet, I still question if it's worth it.

Do my kids misbehave more now because they want more attention from me or is it just their age and their lack of naps/constant on the go? Do they feel like they are getting all that they deserve? Do they feel our love? Do they think I am still a super mom?

I have no idea. They don't answer stuff like that and if they do, I question the honesty, or if it's just "what I need to hear" at the moment.

Kaylee enjoys dance. If I quit, she would have to give that up. Brayden would not be able to go to preschool. Grayson would not go to preschool. I could not shop. I could not go out to dinner with my friends and have a drink. Would I even have any friends? Would I be too boring? My life would go back to boring and I would not have much adult interaction. But would the kids be happier?

So, my options are this:
1. Sell the business, and go back to a tight budget. Spend more time with my kids and husband. Clean house daily. Always have laundry done. Always cook dinner. Plan a menu. Make my silly lists. The cons are that I would have done this all for nothing. We would not be able to take small trips, and the kids would not get to do anything that costs money, and would I even be able to break even, or would I have a loss?

2. Cut back, only working 4 hrs a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Grayson is in preschool next year. Keep going, but take longer to pay off the debt the business has incurred. Take longer to possibly making my dream of opening a store front in town a reality, or having someone beat me to it. The cons are that I would not be able to take on the smaller onesies and twosies jobs that bring in the bigger jobs later. I would not be able to have a fast turn-around on my customers deadlines. I would not be able to do every request, only certain ones that bring in more money. I would lose a lot of my customer base, and how hard would it be to get those customers back later on when all 3 kids are in elementary school full time and I have more time to devote to it all?

3. Keep going, keep my crazy hectic life, and keep the kids in preschool and dance with no time to do anything. Pay off all the business debt this year, and possibly open a store front within 3 yrs. Pay myself a paycheck, and enjoy it.

Then I question if the kids would understand that if I sell.... this means no trains, no dance, no eating out, no new toys just because. They certainly don't understand "mommy has to work now so I can buy you new toys".

Will they hold it against me later in life that I stayed at home, but had little time with them? Would they enjoy the fact that mommy owns a store and that's how they can have new toys, new trains, and the ability to go do things at any given point? Will they grow up and say "My mommy stayed at home with me and we had lots of fun and we have a wonderful relationship" or will they say "mommy stayed at home but was always too busy to play with us"?

This Mommy guilt sucks. I don't know who invented it, but I don't like it. The best solution would be to win the lottery, sell the business and hire a maid......HA! I just can't shake the thought that "you never get back these times when your kids are young and enjoy just being with mommy" or "You can't rewind time and get these precious toddler years back" and that's what makes this decision so hard.

I really enjoy what I do. I am a creative person by nature, and I really enjoy getting to explore my creative side. I enjoy the compliments on my work and I know I do a good job. I enjoy the financial freedom we have now, even though I am not really paying myself yet, so it's not a lot, but it's a little here and there. Would I still enjoy life if I gave it all up? Would I still feel accomplished on those days where I do manage to get a load of laundry done, cook dinner AND get 3 designs done and press 75 shirts? Would I sleep more? Would I get fat again because I eat out of boredom? Would I really enjoy free time, or have I been accustomed to my crazy busy hectic life for so long that I wouldn't know what to do?

I have no idea. I'm just rambling and ranting out loud. These are my thoughts. These are my feelings. Now they are out in the open instead of bottled up inside of me.

Chris says "whatever you want to do, I support you". While I admire that quality in him, and I love and adore his supportive nature, it's absolutely no help. (And I say that with a grin because my husband is a man of few words, so it's sooooooo just what Christopher would say) I am sooo not good at making decisions that affect others.

Guess I'll go ponder my thoughts a while longer and see if I can actually get any work done with this toddler crawling up on my lap, turning my computer off, pulling my hair, and poking my eye while saying "Iiieeeyyyeee....Mooommmmyyy" or sticking his finger up my nose while saying "no?" I love these little stinkers.

Happy Freaking Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T06:00:00.005-06:00

Translated as "Let's go see how much money we can spend on stupid shit that dies, or gets eaten in five minutes flat, go eat a rediculously over priced meal that barely even fills us up, while wearing our new beautiful red dress all the while hoping that our significant other will compliment us on how beautiful we look tonight, all for what?"

S.E.X.

Yep, that's all it is. Sex. We work so hard, making ourselves presentable, being nice, buying flowers that die, candy that makes us fat (and makes that little red beautiful dress too snug to look beautiful), and teddy bears that will just collect dust, but HEAVEN FORBID we throw it out, because "husband" or "boyfriend" or "fiance" gave it to us and if we throw it out that means we don't appreciate it, so we *sneeze* keep it for years and years. We show our love, we don't nag, we don't bitch and whine...all for a day that is supposed to end with SEX! Wait, isn't this what we are supposed to do every day? Why is February 14th any different? Beacuse Hallmark, Target, Walmart, Jared's (yes, he went to Jared's....that Jared's, not Subways' Jared) and all the other retailers out there are capatilizing on it and making men feel bad for not buying their wife some expensive piece of shit that they can't afford anyways. They tell these men that they have to do this in order to "show their love"..........or as I say.....get SEX.

I say, skip all that stupid shit, go to Target and steal a cutesy phrase from a hallmark card, write it on a nice piece of cardstock, slap on a couple of heart stickers, give it to me, watch me smile, and then take me upstairs and have your way with me. That's the best way to show your love! Yeah baby!!!!!

(For the record, we were both drunk in this picture......Chris says I look drunk, and he doesn't......HA! How many times are his eyes usually glazed over like that?)

What is this I am holding?

2010-02-12T21:31:00.004-06:00

Wait, is this TIME? Do I actually have a bit of FREE TIME on my hands???

I.Cannot.Believe.It!

Granted, my house is not clean, it's only tidy. Laundry is washed and dried and laying flat so I don't have to re-dry it (let's face it, I barely have time to wash and dry it, let alone IRON it if it wrinkles....so YES, I use the dryer!)

I have so many things I could be doing. I have yet to even start preparing and gathering my tax documents from last year, normally I would have already had our refund back and spent or saved it accordingly.

But instead, I am choosing to be lazy.....for one evening! I am going to be lazy and sit on my hiney and watch TV! I haven't watched LIVE TV in like over a year unless you count Chuggington, Yo Gabba Gabba, or Dora. Even then, it's not me watching it live, it's me listening to it live from the other room while I am working.

I've earned this lazy night. I deserve this lazy night, and gosh darn it, I'm going to ENJOY this lazy night!

Good night.....I think I'm gonna head to bed now. I'm bored with TV.

Kaylee's First Dance Competition

2010-02-06T19:40:00.004-06:00

(Pause music player below on the left before starting video)

Dance Connections First Grade Team competes. "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie. They did so awesome, once they found their mark. This was the Novelty dance segment of the Elementary Team. They, along with the Dazzlers (2nd and 3rd) won four awards!

Kaylee is the fourth girl from the left, scrubbing the floor to start off, then switches to the back row. (She has 2 piggies with sprouts sticking out)

Yep, I can do that too....not really, but I tried

2009-10-01T21:44:00.003-05:00

My sister is having a baby. My sister-in-law is throwing her a baby shower, on a budget. My genius idea is to make a cake myself....

HA!

First time ever working with Fondant icing. No instructions, no classes, just did it. Now, while I have to say, it wasn't bad........it certainly wasn't good. The icing in the middle was runny (probably because she wanted red velvet cake, which means you have to use cream cheese icing, which translates to runny icing, that got even more heated by the fondant icing on top of it, which meant an ooey gooey mess), I couldn't figure out how to get all the wrinkles out, and the kids helped me..... (They were in charge of rolling the balls up and giving them to me without eating them.)

And, I think my fondant was a little too thick. It made it hard to cut and serve.

But, I guess for a first time fondant user, it didn't turn out all that bad? I know what you're thinking, "Ace of Cakes" should be calling me ANY DAY NOW!!!! Right? Me too!

My Teenage Daughter

2009-08-27T11:49:00.003-05:00

Well, Almost.....

Kaylee was outside with me the other day and our neighbor walks out to start her stretching for her evening run. Jessa just started High school the other day. I think she's about 14 or so. There have been times where, out of the goodness of her heart, she has played with Kaylee and kept her entertained while we got some things done, like washing the car, or cutting the grass. God bless her, she is so awesome for doing that.

So, Kaylee says "Hi Jessa! When can you play with me?"

I'm in the background of her waving my hands noooooo, like "don't feel obligated to answer that"

Jessa responded "I don't know, I'll have to check my calendar"

Kaylee puts her hand on her hip and says "weeelllllll, I'm free Saturday!"

And loud laughter errupted from everyone outside.

My kids make me laugh

2009-08-24T10:19:00.002-05:00

Kaylee is 6. She is starting to figure out what we as parents have been able to get away with for years......bribery! We started giving her allowance for vacuuming 3 times a week. She must vacuum the upstairs once, the downstairs once, and the entire house once per week in order to earn her $2. Last week, she did soo good. I was so proud of her. We didn't even have to ask her, she just did it, and she was excited about doing it too! Well, Friday, she went and disappeared to her room for almost an hour. She came downstairs and told me that she had cleaned her room....ALL.BY.HERSELF. I took a peek and WOW!!!! She not only cleaned it, but she made her bed, and organized, and dusted, and everything.

Saturday, it was allowance time. But, she still had to do the whole house vacuum on that day. Well, the play room was covered in train tracks and trains, which obviously were not hers. But, she picked up 3/4 of them before starting the vacuum, to which at that point, Brayden started picking them up in a hurry because he knows the rule...

IF YOU LEAVE TOYS OUT AND WE VACUUM, THEY GET VACUUMED UP!

By the way, I will continue with that rule until he figures out that they really won't fit in the vacuum cleaner and we are just using bribery....again. She's already figured it out. It was like a light bulb went off in her head. "Mom" she whispered in my ear..."those don't fit up the hose, you're just playing with him right?"

So, after she completes her chores that day, I asked Chris how much we should give her since she did extra work that week, and she was VERY well behaved and was very helpful to me. We decided on $3.

Before he gave it to her, he asked her if she'd like to earn a little more by helping Brayden clean his bedroom, which was also covered in train tracks and trains. She responds "Nah, I'm good with $3" and took the money and ran.......

Brayden pushed Grayson down the other day, deliberately. I saw it happen, so I went over to him, sat him down, squeezed his cheeks and made him look me directly in the eyes.

Me:"Brayden, why did you push him down? He wasn't doing anything to you?"

Brayden: "Mom, he was heading right betowards me!"

It's nearly impossible to punish a child when you are laughing.....betowards??? I love it when little kids make up big words to sound smart.

Chris picked up the kids from my moms house the other day and brought them home and we planned on going out to run errands and have dinner. Kaylee, who was overtired and exhausted and emotional, came in the house crying hysterically. She runs up to me and says "Mom....you and me HAVE to go upstairs". I look at Chris, who is walking in behind her and he gives me this eye roll as if to say "she's over reacting, or she's emotional over nothing" and I'm thinking to myself "what happened to my little girl that we have to go upstairs, just the 2 of us to take care of? Did she get her period already?"

I asked her what was wrong and through sobs and tears she pulls her hair back behind her ear and dramatically says "Mom, I can't go in public with only ONE earring in!"

Apparently, her earring had fallen out when she dozed off in Chris' truck and she was VERY upset about losing her earring......

Anniversary Oops

2009-08-24T10:02:00.006-05:00

So some of you may know that Chris and I got our wedding date tattoo'ed on us years ago. Neither one of us wanted to do name tattoos, so we decided to do the date that we were joined as one. Mine is on my back shoulder, and his is on his arm. (mine below)

I'm actually pretty wise to suggest this because then, he has no reason to ever forget our anniversary....right?

So we went out Saturday night to celebrate our anniversary with a romantic dinner. I asked him before we left if we were going to exchange cards that night, or wait until Tuesday (our actual anniversary). He responds "uuum, how about ON our anniversary....WEDNESDAY!"

Yikes! How did I not know when it was? Well, in my defense, I knew what DAY it was, the 26th....I just didn't know when the 26th was this year... I've been extremely busy and my calendar is no longer a calendar day timer. It's a list of dates on my iPhone. So, I rarely know what day of the week it is when I wake up, nor do I know the actual date. I thought our anniversary was the day after the kids went back to school, which I thought was Monday, which would make our anniversary on Tuesday.....well....they go back Tuesday, which makes our anniversary on Wednesday. Gosh, he got me there.

Fast forward to Sunday night..... we go to "meet the pastor", a new member fellowship at our pastor's house. We are all taking turns "telling about our family" and sharing who we are, all about our kids, etc.... So, since my husband is the quiet, shy and observing type, he lets me do all the talking.....naturally.

I start "We are Chris and Tiffany.....we've been married 9 yrs this coming Tuesday......"

He says "ahem...Wednesday"

Of course, uproars of laughter fill the room, hi-fives are taking place between the men and Chris, and he then proceeds to show everyone his tattoo and why he doesn't forget our anniversary.....

Yeah, he showed me up......and I giggled.....not just once, but TWICE I have done that in a matter of days.

So, later on in bed we were chatting and I told him "don't be surprised if I tell you Happy Anniversary on Tuesday again, since I can't seem to remember what day of the week it is on"

He replies (as Chris would do in this situation......) "it's OK, you just totally set me up for looking like the BEST husband ever....."

And he really is......which is why I love him.

One Year Later.....

2009-08-08T22:45:00.000-05:00

Grayson's surgery was one year ago today. One year ago, I was bawling at the thought of him having surgery.....oh wait, I still do. Well, I may not bawl my eyes out like a complete baby, but I sure do tear up every time I think about it, see pictures about it, and talk to anyone about it. I think it was more traumatic on me than it was on him. He is such a strong little man. From birth, he has been a fighter, and he's been a tough little cookie. He has not changed. He's only become stronger and more of a fighter. Watch out Kaylee and Brayden....here comes little bruiser! He walks like a bruiser, talks...more like grunts....like a bruiser, and acts like a bruiser.

We thought of a nickname for months that would describe him. Sweet Pea, G-man, Sweetie pie, and Kaylee even wanted to call him Bubba 2. I veto'ed that right away seeing as how I never even wanted a "bubba", much less a "sissy"...and I have BOTH thanks to her. Those are such redneck nicknames, and remind me of "Urban Cowboy" and she ended up making those the nicknames for her and Brayden.....and they were set in stone before I could get my veto power out there!

Anyways, I promise this is going somewhere. So, we were trying to find something that fit him and we came up with "lil bruiser" from the day he started walking. If you've ever seen the show Chelsea Lately, her little person sidekick Chuey.....Yeah, Grayson walks JUST like him. His belly sticks out, his feet turn in just a tad, and he walks around like he needs a sumo diaper thingy. Well, if I were to let him walk around in his diaper, he WOULD look just like a sumo wrestler....or Chuey in a diaper, maybe.

So, back to the one year update.....

I was all sorts of sad for 8 or 9 weeks. I got in a funk around June. (That's why I didn't really blog much) I know there are some moms who can relate to this... when we celebrate our children's FIRST birthday, we tend to do a whole list of "at this time last year I was....." and fill in the blanks with...Huge and disgustingly fat and pregnant, eating my last meal, trying to find something to wear that didn't totally make me look like a walking tent, trying to keep clean shaven in an area that you haven't seen in months.... just in case today is "the day", loosing the mucus plug, feeling the first contraction...etc.

Well, in my case, I had this...
June 20th around 6am: "One year ago today, I was in labor and didn't even know it until my husband pointed out to me that while I was sitting on the toilet, thinking I had to poop and wondering what all the blood was for, I winced every 3 minutes and stopped talking to him and he was only there because I had forced him to sit on the bathtub and talk to me while I was trying to 'go'." (and in my defense, even though it was my third kid, it was my first "go into labor" experience I've ever had....and I didn't know you bled when you went into labor)

June 20th around 2pm: "One year ago today, I was ready to push him out, but I was only dilated to a 9, and had been there since noon and got stuck and his heart rate started to drop"

June 20th around 2:45: "One year ago today, I was being wheeled into the OR ready to have my belly sliced open in a mere 5 minutes flat in order to save my son, who's heart rate would not stay up, and was thanking God that I already had my epidural in so that all they had to do was inject some stronger stuff and not have to totally run a new one"

June 20th around 6pm: "One year ago today, I was holding my precious baby boy, and admiring how beautiful he was and even though I was in lots of pain, and had a constant burning sensation from my incision, I was so happy that he arrived safe and sound and he was one big 8 lb ball of oeey gooey squishiness"

June 21st around noon: "One year ago today, I was in my hospital room with my dad, who was keeping me company while Chris took the kids to a birthday party, when the pediatric Doctor came in and told me he had Craniosynostosis" to which I replied "huh?" and after getting a short synopsis of what exactly that meant, I still was in denial and said "no, he was trying to come out with the back of his head first, that's why his head is cone head on the back and not on top, and that's why he wouldn't come out" to which she responded with "I hope you are right, but I want you to get him checked out just in case" and inside she was thinking "you poor, poor woman who's just delivered a precious baby boy and is in denial of his medical condition and I KNOW I'm right....but, she IS drugged up on vicodin for her burning radiating pain from her incision so maybe I should cut her some slack and be a little gentle with the news" OK, maybe she wasn't thinking that, but she could have been. That's how I felt.

June 22nd around noon: "One year ago today, again, while my husband is out of the room getting lunch and I am left alone in my room, the second pediatric Dr came in and confirmed that he also was sure Grayson had craniosynostosis and URGED me to go have it checked out, but left shortly after and told me to call him if I had any questions (probably because he couldn't take all the tears that were streaming out of my eyes and down my face so quickly it actually resembled a running faucet)" Why is there a pattern of them coming in when Chris is not in here? Now I have to relay all this information that I only hear through ears that are water logged from tears running down my face with no where else to go, so they twist and turn and go straight into my ears because they came out too fast to run straight down my cheeks.

I could go on and on but I know I am rambling. I decided that instead of typing this post all prim and proper to make my english teacher (who's name I can't even remember) proud, and then realizing that she will most likely NEVER read this because if I can't remember her name, why would she remember mine, so who really cares if I am typing one big long huge run on sentence without proper punctuation.?,!:; I am typing how I talk and I hope you can follow along and get a few giggles along the way. It is after all, a potentially sad post that I would normally be crying over while trying to type through tear filled eyes, while trying to concentrate on whether or not I just put a period instead of a comma, and I can't focus on the screen because it's all blurry, and it's keeping my mind off of "the real reason" for this post and it's actually working to keep the tears at bay. Whew! Probably could have done without this whole entire paragraph, but oh well..I will keep it.

So, fast forward to August 8.

"One year ago today, I was handing my 11 lb baby over to the neurosurgeon to have his skull cut open and have pieces of bone removed in an attempt to correct his 3 fused sutures and have a normal shaped head, and not put pressure on his brain"

"One year ago, I saw my son in recovery and cried buckets of tears over his bed, and probably all over him too, because of his little innocent scratchy throat cry from the breathing tube being in his throat for 3 hours and he was crying because he was in so much pain, and he was so pale white because of the blood lost in the surgery and his blood transfusion takes time to turn his cheeks back to their normal shade of pink and I couldn't do anything about his pain because I couldn't hold him and I couldn't make his pain go away and he was so confused and kept looking at me like mommy, why aren't you holding me and I'm all like, wait, I need a new bucket, this one is all filled up with my tears"

Dammit....there's those tears that I was fighting back during this post and Chris went and got me some kleenex...Man, I was doing sooo good.

"One year ago today, I was broken hearted. Sad that my precious baby boy had to have this procedure done. Confused as to why it happened. Scared to touch him for fear of hurting him. But, I had to toughen up and take care of him and tend to his every need and get him back in his normal surroundings as quickly as possible so that he could heal."

One month ago today, I found this verse: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

Umm, hello? Isn't this like two birds with one stone? I was broken hearted FOR my son and he was wounded. He healed my brokenheartedness and he bound up Grayson's wound and he healed so perfectly. So, I honestly feel like this verse was written FOR ME, FOR US, even though it was written forever and a day ago....

Grayson is still one big HUGE ball of oeey gooey squishiness, only it's a VERY VERY freakin heavy ball. Like, probably 27 or 28 lbs, and he stole my heart, and he's a momma's boy and I let him get away with too much stuff because he is my baby and I protect him, and he knows that he can give me his pouty face and go "wa" and he doesn't even finish that word and I am giving into whatever he wants. He also knows that if he has something that he is not supposed to have, he can look at us, shoot us a sly mischevious grin and hide said item behind his back and when we go reach for it he can turn and twist his body around so that we can't reach it and then he squeals like a banshee and takes off running and we go running after him and he squeals again, looks behind him to make SURE we are chasing him and he runs faster, and we are chasing him around the house and he's really fast so it actually takes half the length of the "track" that goes around our bottom floor to actually catch up to him. Then he squeals again, only this time, it's not an excited "mommy is chasing me and this is fun" squeal...it's a loud high pitched birdlike squeal that says "dammit woman, don't take away the toy that I found, because it's rightfully mine because I did twist and turn and put my hand even MORE behind my back and you couldn't reach it" And I pick him up and hold him and try to console him and have a normal adult to child conversation as to why he can't have my computer mouse, or my iPhone and run around the house with it and he sticks his hand down my shirt and rests his fingers right smack dab in between my cleavage. And all is suddenly OK!

Yep, I have a booby baby! He can be right smack dab in the middle of Yo Gabba Gabba and totally enthralled with the show when he will suddenly realize that I am sitting next to him on the couch and he does NOT have his hands down my shirt, so he sneaks ever so quickly and quietly with his hand and puts in in the designated spot.....without taking his eyes off the TV the entire time. He is a SUPER SMART baby. He has broken every record so far that Kaylee has set for him as far as learning new things, and he is going to be the "big" little brother....I'm convinced.

Well, I'm tired now and heading to bed, so I hope you enjoy this short quick novel. I'll post 1 yr pictures as soon as I get to upload them off my camera.

Finally- Time to catch up

2009-06-24T17:41:00.019-05:00

OK- not really that I have TIME to, but I need to, or I'll never get around to it..just like my scrapbooks. I haven't updated them since 2006 Christmas. Ugh. I know I need to, but I can't figure out where to start. Plus, with the rhinestone shirt business underway, I simply don't have time these days to do anything....really, I am not kidding. I shuffle my kids back and forth from school, to camps, to dance, VBS, to the gym, and then collapse in sheer exhaustion when it's all over. Add Dr appts to boot, and we are one busy, BUSY family.

So, I would normally back date posts to co-incide with the dates that it actually happened, but I have a feeling they would just get lost and not be read. So, instead, I'm just going to write a REALLY, REALLY long post. Sorry. It will have lots of pictures though.

So, Grayson is doing very well. We had his checkups this week and he is 25 lbs (85%). He is 30.5 inches long (75%) and his head is between 19.5"-20" around (he's a wiggle worm and doesn't like his head measured) which makes it off the charts.still.forever. I asked his neurosurgeon about this and if he would ever "grow into" his head. His answer was simple, but understandable. NO. He was born with a large head, coupled with sagittal synostosis, he will always have a large head. 2% of children are above average in head circumference and he falls in that 2%. Most of that 2% is made up of sagittal synostosis patients. OK. So, he really really is taking after me and my big head. I say it's because he has a lot of brains to fill it up.

His nickname is Lil' Bruiser. If you could see him walk, you'd see why. He totally looks like a bruiser or bully. Walking around like a bulldog, and sometimes resembling a sumo wrestler. He walks through the house patting his belly, and stomping one leg (like a sumo wrestler) He has the chunkiest thighs of ALL my babies, and I think he takes the prize for the biggest belly too. (besides mine, of course) Grayson is released from any further treatments, or follow-ups with the neurosurgeon. They say he is also released for any sports that he wishes to play, but I don't know if I'll ever be OK with that.

We had his birthday party this past weekend. It was very fun, but our air conditioner went out on Friday night, which made for a miserable HOT Saturday. But, luckily, the party was outside anyways, so my guests knew they were gonna be hot and dressed appropriately. We themed his party "Grayson's Splish Splash Birthday Bash" and used yellow rubber ducks to decorate with. Invitations, Thank you's, decorations, plates, napkins, etc were all Yellow Ducky. We rented a 16 ft. water slide for the older kids. They LOVED it. There was NEVER a break in the line to go up. It was always full. We had a baby pool for the babies with about 6" of water in it (for safety) and I also filled up our duck pond with water and floated some ducks in it. It was actually our old built in sandbox, but it ran out of sand...go figure, with Brayden and co.... so we dumped out the remainder and used it for our temporary duck pond. The in-between-age kids had fun sitting in it. It had more water in it than the baby pool (probably 1 ft) and they all crammed in it. We dubbed it the "hot tub" for the day. After playing for a while, we enjoyed Lasagna, Pizza, Bread and Salad, we all had some Ducky cake. Then the kids all got Ducky themed gift bags, filled with rubber duckies, ducky necklaces, bubbles, candy, etc... In lieu of gifts, we asked that our guests bring a donation to the Texas Childrens Hospital Neurosurgery floor. We collected almost $200 for them. (which I left on the counter when we went to our appt, so we'll have to plan a trip to the zoo very soon and drop it off then...gggrrr) We wanted to give back to the hospital so that the other neurosurgery patients could have some new stuff to play with while recovering. I also was able to use it as a learning lesson for my older 2 children, that giving to others is the best thing you can do. Not only does it help other people out, but it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside. :-)

Finally the AC got fixed at 8pm that night. Whew. That's a story for another day...

Brayden finished his 3 yr old preschool this year. We debated for a while if we were going to start him in Kindergarten when he was 5, or wait until he is 6. His birthday is LATE August and we just don't feel like he is going to be ready next year, so we are holding him back this year. So, next year he will repeat at the same school with the same teacher in the 3 yr old class. He will be with a lot of kids that were in his 2 yr class because their birthdays were after Sept 1, so they got put in the 2yr old class again when he moved up to the 3yr class. So, old friends....new tricks.

He really is ALL BOY! He recently started showing his emotional side and says things to me like "mommy, I still like you" UUMMM, STILL? I laugh because it's his way of saying I love you, but man, that would be offensive if he said that to his girlfriend in 15 yrs. Today, he actually gave me an arm kiss and told me "mommy, I just love you". Big improvement! Thank you, Brayden! He torments Kaylee and Grayson, but then he will turn around and hug them, which would make it all better, but then he may spit at them right afterwards....Man, I just don't know what to do with him. He also says "mommy... I want you" which means he needs some snuggle time, or he will tell us at night that his back hurts, "that's why he needs us to rub his back and give him purple sugar" (tylenol, which he apparently thinks is candy)

Kaylee finished Kindergarten this year and is excited to move on to 1st grade! I still cannot believe I have a 1st grader! She got her first phone call from a friend the other day. Wow, that was not expected. I thought mom's still called on their girls behalf until age 8 or 9...I guess not. She is reading on a 3rd grade level and was... as she says "the 4th smartest kid in her class".

She had been dubbed "Polly-Talks-A-Lot" by us because she does not.stop.talking.from the time her eyes open until she finally gives up and lays still at night. She finally broke the 40 lb mark!! WOO HOO! That was a BIG HUGE acomplishment for her. She's been 39 lbs for, I swear, 2 yrs!

Kaylee and Brayden both took 6 rounds of swim lessons in the winter/spring so this summer, if we are not at home, we are at the pool. Any pool. Wherever we can get an invite to since we don't have a neighborhood pool. Chris really wants a backyard pool, but we are still weighing our options with this economy. (it would definietly be fenced, so don't fret) They both swim very good though, and for my comfort level, Brayden still wears floaties and Kaylee has to stay where she can touch the bottom. I am always with Grayson in his baby float, so I couldn't be worried about where they both were and constantly worrying about if they were floating, swimming, drowning, etc... Brayden has NO fear and is a little fish, but that's the part that worries me. He drinks water, gags, chokes, and has vomited before, so I can't deal with that while trying to keep 2 others kids afloat. But, this is our first summer to really "swim" so we are enjoying every minute of it.

OK- so I think that catches me up, so now for the pictures....

I love this mischevious face Grayson makes....

Brayden's Sweet Face

Brayden's End of the Year Program

He went to Jareds.....Mother's Day Rings from each kid. Birthstone, Diamond, and it has birthdays and names engraved on them for each child, respectively.

Laugh, Baby, Laugh... I love your hearty belly laugh...

At my Brother Christopher's Wedding in June

Daddy and Grayson at the Birthday Party

Mommy and Grayson at the birthday party

Grayson's Sweetness

The hot tub

Grayson LOVES pizza. He ate 4 slices, and bread, and salad.

The duck cake (above) and the #1 cake (below) that he got ALL to himself

Oops, I forgot to put his shirt on him before he started eating cake. I bought it specifically for eating cake, and he was going to wear it!!!

Just wait, it gets worse...

Aaahhh, Now that was some GOOOOOOOOD cake!

I met Jodie on babycenter chat room when I was pregnant with Brayden. We've been "friends" ever since, and still talk often, but had never made the drive to see each other. I was so excited to have her come to the party and we finally got to "meet" face to face, even though we already knew each other very, very well.

All cleaned up and ready for bed. Just need to wash the cake down.

Showin' off his skills...

Ready to open presents.

If the present is bigger than you, do it Grayson's way and climb on top!!

Look at my new toys...

Grayson ridin' his new Bounce N Spin Zebra

Kaylee's Dance Recital and her friends from dance class.

Words from a boy

2009-05-26T22:14:00.003-05:00

This morning as I was fixing my hair, I had my usual audience of Brayden and Grayson in the bathroom with me. As Grayson was tugging on my pant leg fussing for me to pick him up, I reached into the drawer to get out my molding mud. The following conversation took place as Brayden looked at me bewildered:

Brayden: "What's that grey stuff, Mom?"
Me: "It's for girl's hair" as I am putting it in and fluffing it around
Brayden: " Oh, it gives you a hump in your hair?"
Me (laughing): "Yes, it gives me a hump in my hair"
(as I finish and my hair looks VERY frightening and looks like I just rolled out of bed and hadn't brushed my hair in days)
Brayden: "OOOHHH, Mom you look SCAAARY!"

So, I did what any mom would do if her son told her she looked scary....

I looked directly at him.....

I raised my hands in the air.....

And I GROWLED like a monster!!!!

then I fixed my "hump" to look like a decent hip hairstyle...

Brayden-isms

2009-05-24T22:48:00.003-05:00

1. Brayden got caught poking his cousin in the head. He said he didn't do it. "Jesus did it" he kept repeating. He just continued to poke him in the forehead and was saying "Jesus did it". About 2 days later, it dawned on me that we had been reading the story of Cain and Abel. When Cain killed Abel, God came down and asked Cain where his brother was. Cain said "I am not my brothers keeper". But, God knew what he had done. God cast him out of the land and put a red mark on his forehead so that all people would know he was a murderer. I asked Brayden if he poked his cousin in the head because of something he saw or read and he said "yes, Daddy read me that story." Smart kid....

2. At preschool, the teachers pray in the mornings before school starts, so we are not allowed to drop off early or it will interrupt prayer time. Brayden kept wondering why we couldn't go in. I explained it to him and 2 minutes later, he asked "mom, can we go inside now? They are done pairing"

3. Brayden loves Chee-balls. Those are the cheetos puffs.

4. I asked Brayden what he wanted for Breakfast. He said he wanted the cereal with marshmallows (Lucky Charms). I told him we didn't have any. He sighed a HUGE sigh and said "Ok....fine.....I'll just have some chips"

5. We are at Kaylee's school program. He is sitting on the cafeteria table and I am sitting next to him, but on the bench. I am totally engrossed in my daughter singing and not really paying attention to what he was doing. I knew he was next to me, I just wasn't looking directly at him. He says to me "Mom, look at my butt" and I glance over and I discover that he had pulled down his pants and his butt was hanging out the back....and there were about 20 people standing behind us! He mooned everyone and I have no idea how long he had been like that!!!!!

Interesting Artwork

2009-04-05T21:40:00.001-05:00

We were helping Kaylee clean her room tonight. We came across a wonderful, magnificent piece of artwork. We just weren't quite sure what she was drawing. So, Chris shows me this piece of work. I am in her closet trying to hide my laughter. He is laughing out loud and asked her what exactly it was a picture of.

She responded, so matter-of-factly, as if she were saying "Dad, don't you know what that is? DUH!" So positive that we would know what it was....without question.....

"It's a thumbs up" she said.... complete with an eye roll as if she was so offended that we couldn't figure it out on our own....

What were you thinking???? Get your mind out of the gutter!!!!

I'm still laughing.......

Kaylee Gives Back to Texas Children's Hospital

2009-03-21T17:04:00.002-06:00

We have been extremely blessed this past year, and for that, we are thankful to God. It came time for Kaylee's birthday in February. The girl needed NOTHING. In fact, I am at the point where Chris and I are tired of arguing with her over which toys to get rid of, in order to make room for new toys. My house is EXPLODING with toys, clothes, games, books, etc.

So we sat Kaylee down and explained to her about the time she spent time @ Texas Children's Hospital when she was just 2 weeks old. She had cought a virus from someone, and we were down there while they were running tests on her to figure out what it was. It turned out to be ROTO virus, but they had to do a spinal tap, and lots of blood tests and urine tests to determine that because of her age. We were down there for 3 days total.

We decided together that instead of presents for her birthday, we would make a donation to Texas Children's Hospital on her behalf. We also thought that instead of having her friends bring HER presents, they could bring either a monetary donation, or books for the library @ the hospital, for the children who spend time at the hospital like she did. We taked about how there are some really sick children who have to stay down there for long periods of time, and how they like to read and play games to pass the time.

Kaylee liked the idea and was excited to make her donation.....on one condition.....SHE wanted to go down there to give it to them. (She also had to fill out the monetary donation form, and do it ALL BY HERSELF) I was NOT allowed to help her. The ladies down there really enjoyed her "independence" and kept commenting on how that was such a big thing of her to collect these donations instead of presents.

So, thank you to all her friends who donated to her cause. She really enjoyed "paying it forward" and she is looking forward to choosing a different charity next year to donate to.

Her bag of books and her cash she collected from her party.

Her handing her donation to the ladies at the hospital volunteer crew.

She is definitely MY girl.....

2009-03-20T19:54:00.004-06:00

Thursday, we were heading out to run some errands. Kaylee picked out her own clothes for the day...she IS 6 now..... I thought she looked fine, but I guess she wasn't happy with her shirt. So, she disappeared into her room for a few minutes. She returned with stickers all over her shirt.....not just any stickers.....

Yep....Rhinestone stickers! Apparently, my business has worn off on her just a tad. I asked her what was on her shirt and she replied "bling".... "OK".. I responded...."why?"

She answered with "My shirt was just too plain, so it needed some bling, and I tried to spell I LOVE YOU, but I didn't have enough stickers"

She was so proud of her creation and she wore it like that ALL DAY!

My Mini Beethoven

2009-03-18T19:47:00.001-06:00

Click Here to watch Grayson playing piano. This toy has been the BEST toy we ever bought. Kaylee enjoyed it, Brayden enjoyed it, and now Grayson loves it. It sure is loved! He loves banging it, and singing along with it...."dah-dah-dah-dah"

(you may want to turn your volume up a bit. I had to stay further back to video him, or he became camera shy, so he's kind of quiet on there)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T08:51:00.001-06:00

Happy St Patty's day from my lil' lucky charm!

Questions and Answers from the Kids

2009-03-16T11:15:00.007-06:00

My sister in law had a post on her blog the other day with questions to ask your kid. I thought it was a good idea to see what my kids answers were, so I asked them. I actually did it at 2 seperate times, and seperately, so neither one knew the other's answers and I found it interesting how close some of their answers were. Here were a few of the questions on Kay's blog:

1. Where did you come from?
Kaylee- Your stomach
Brayden- From Town

2. Where are you going?
Kaylee- to the store
Brayden- Somewhere

3. What is dancing?
Kaylee- having fun
Brayden- for "grils" (he says the word "girls" funny)

4. What's the best place in the whole world and why?
Kaylee- Home and School
Brayden- Dance, because I like it, and School (he loves going to Kaylee's dance class because he gets doted on by all the "grils" there and they carry him around like a baby)

5. What do you wish for?
Kaylee- Spring break to be spring (yeah, me too, this weather sucks)
Brayden- School (I think he is just answering school for every question now)

6. What is a giggle?
Kaylee- Laughing
Brayden- I don't know....

7. What do you dream about?
Kaylee- You and Daddy
Brayden- a big bad "walv" (wolf) trying to wake me up and he was chasing me (oh, yes, I remember that dream....from like 2 weeks ago)

8. What did you dream about last night?
Kaylee- God (was that Me or Daddy?? LOL)
Brayden- I don't "a-member"

9. Do you want to be smart or beautiful?
Kaylee- Both (that's my girl)
Brayden- Smart (that's my boy)

10. What is the sky made of?
Kaylee- Blue fuzz with white clouds
Brayden- Clouds

11. What did you do today?
Kaylee- went to go put up dog signs (we had a dog adopt us the other day and she has a collar, so we put up found dog signs but no one has claimed her yet)
Brayden- Ride my bike fast (actually, we have been house bound because of this crappy weather, so he has been indoors all day)

12. How fast can you run?
Kaylee- really, really, really, really, really fast
Brayden- (took off down the hall running)

13. What is the meaning of life?
Kaylee- to love
Brayden- God
(I am so proud of my kids answers on this question)

Look Mom, I can Feed Myself!

2009-03-16T09:38:00.003-06:00

Grayson graduated from his high-chair to the big table with the big kids...I know, FINALLY....I mean, he IS almost 9 months old already!! LOL. Geeze... So, he thinks he is big stuff now. His facial expression says it all....

He is learning to feed himself. It's pretty funny to watch. He thinks as long as he is at the table, he needs to be eating...hungry or not! He normally has an "innie" belly button, but when he is done eating, it pops out...just like a turkey. I've told a few people, but I actually took a picture of it, just to prove it. He's pretty quick too, and he cleans his plate faster than the other kids...and then gets a second plate....finishes that...gets another plate....until we remove him from the table. Meanwhile, the other kids are still working on their dinner plate, and not even half way done. Seriously, he can eat an ENTIRE 4 pc chicken nugget meal, while Kaylee and Brayden SPLIT a 6 piece kids meal!

Look how swollen his belly looks after a good meal! I think it is sooo funny that it does that. We went to a pizza buffet Saturday night, and he had 4, YES 4 plates of noodles! The first plate was spaghetti made with curly corkscrew noodles. Then, after seeing his face turn completely red from spaghetti sauce from ear to ear, we switched him to the chicken noodles soup without the broth. He continued to eat 3 more plates of noodles. Then, he had a brownie (half of it fell on the floor) and then he had half a peice of apple struedel pizza. He had so much fun. Everyone kept checking him out. He would just grab a handful of noodles and shove them in his mouth. He loved all the attention he was getting and all the giggles he heard from how much fun he was having. He got excited at one point and banged his fists on the table because he ran out of food! Oh, they are not small plates either.....see.....

Look how excited my lil man is....he LOVES to eat! He has not met a food yet that he does not like. It's no wonder his legs are so chunky! I just laugh when I look at this picture because he is so happy to be eating real food like his big brother and sister! (This is all that's left of 4 plates full) Needless to say, we left a good tip for them since they had quite the mess to clean up. We also left a note that said "I enjoyed my first pizza buffet. Sorry about the mess. I had fun feeding myself. Heart- Baby L"

OMG.....I am still laughing at this picture! Look at the sauce spread from ear to ear....

Wednesday's Word(s) of the Day

2009-03-04T06:57:00.000-06:00

"toni-po holder"

Definition according to Brayden:

The thing that mommy puts in Kaylee's hair to hold it in a ponytail!

"Terial-bac hand gel"

Definition according to Kaylee:

The stuff we put on our hands to wash them when we don't have water or soap

I had to hug him after he said this.....

2009-02-24T07:45:00.002-06:00

Brayden had a really, really, bad dream last night. We heard him screaming, and we found him running circles around his room, screaming "Stop chasing me". We woke him up and calmed him down but he could not remember his dream. So we got him back to bed and he slept the rest of the night. Whatever it was scared him so bad, he even pee'd his pants a little bit.

This morning, the following conversation took place...
me- "Brayden, do you remember your dream last night?"
him- "Yes"
me- "What happened?"
him- "It just fell off my eyes"
me- "What fell off your eyes?"
him- "My dream"

Oh, how precious! I scooped him up and hugged him tightly and kissed him becasue that was so cute, I couldn't resist.

Turns out the bad wolf was chasing him, or so he says....

Funny Fraze Friday

2009-02-20T22:14:00.001-06:00

We were re-arranging the office upstairs and I had to help Chris take a big cabinet downstairs to the garage. So, we had to go through the gate, close the gate behind us, all while carrying a huge cabinet. I wanted to make sure Grayson was out of the way and wouldn't be right behind us trying to come down the stairs.

I told Kaylee "You have Baby Duty" and without skipping a beat Brayden said "You have Baby Doodie? EEWW Gross"

The even funnier thing is that we don't even call it "doodie". We call it poop, so where he came up with that, I have no idea.

My wonderful husband started laughing and said "He got ya there"

Little Mr Independent

2009-02-15T21:15:00.004-06:00

The little man can already feed himself! We gave him a banana cut up into slices this weekend and he ate the ENTIRE banana! He loves bananas! Watch how good his hand- eye coordination is already. He loves these biter cookies too...

Teeth!

2009-02-15T21:02:00.003-06:00

Here is Grayson's teeth. You have to look closely to see them. I was trying to get it on video without him biting me. Very hard to do. He has 2 teeth on the bottom.

He's mobile.....

2009-02-15T20:50:00.003-06:00

Grayson is pulling up on things. Watch him in action.....then post a comment of how much longer until he is walking by himself. Chris says within a month. I'm hoping for much longer. He's my baby. I want him to stay little forever!!!

He Has Teeth!!

2009-02-02T15:04:00.003-06:00

Grayson has been drooling and has been teething since October! He finally got a tooth this weekend. We woke up Saturday morning for our usual nursing session and I felt it....as he was nursing! OUCH! That explains the low grade fever, the unusual fussiness, and the slightly runny nose he has had the past few days. Then, 2 days later, this morning, he got his second tooth! I took him to the Dr this morning and he has a slight ear infection in both ears. Typical with teething. So, 2 teeth in 2 days! I walked in this afternoon to get him from his crib and he was pulling up and peering over the top of it, ready to jump out! I told Chris that we need to lower his crib again tonight, which will make it on the lowest setting......already! Little stinker is growing up too fast. He weighed 19 lbs 11 oz today! Since you can only feel his teeth and can't see them, I am posting his 6 month pictures instead.

Hey Mom....Look what I can do..hehe

2009-01-28T20:23:00.006-06:00

Yes, crawling for 10 days and then he starts pulling himself up!!! I couldn't resist the picture op when he was about to go take his bath. As long as he has something to hang on to, he can pull himself up and stay up for a while. He's still a little wobbly, but he knows what he is doing! Man, he surprises me every day! Not even 7 1/2 months and he is pulling himself up to standing position! He'll be walking before I am ready for him to be. He is trying so hard to keep up with his older siblings and do what they already do.....but I'm not ready for that! He's still my baby!

Am I REALLY that kind of Mom?

2009-01-25T19:49:00.005-06:00

Before I was a mom, I SWORE I'd never let my kids sleep in my bed with me. I had heard horror stories of children still sleeping in their parents beds until they were practically teenagers. I SWORE I'd never throw over the top parties for my children. Who would go all out like that just for a party? It's just supposed to be cake and ice cream followed by the opening of gifts, right? I SWORE I'd never drive a minivan or a Suburban. Those were for rich soccer moms, or moms of too many kids to fit in a cool sports car, or moms who needed more room than a smaller SUV offered. I Said I'd never put my kids in a "Mother's Day Out" program. After all, isn't staying at home with your children supposed to mean your children STAY AT HOME with you? I SWORE I'd never be a PTO mom. Those were the moms who didn't have anything else to do and that will NEVER be me!

Amazing how life changes when you have children, huh?

I put Kaylee in our bed after our second day at home with her because I would get more sleep with her next to me than with her in her bassinet. I slept the first night with my hand on her chest to make sure she was breathing. Actually, I didn't sleep. I spent the night with my hand on her, but I couldn't close my eyes for fear that something would happen. So, she ended up in my bed. She stayed in our bed until she was almost 2. Then comes Brayden....he slept with us, when he slept. He had his days and nights mixed up at first so it was more of us sleeping and him laying there wide awake sucking on his pacifier, just staring at us waiting for us to open our eyes and look at him. But, if we put him in his crib, he would just cry, so we got more sleep with him in our bed. Kaylee would still occasionally crawl in our bed too because "she couldn't go to sleep in her own bed". Good thing we had an over sized King bed. Grayson slept with me for the first 6 months. he still spends more time in our bed than in his own, but he GOES to sleep in his bed. When he cries and whimpers, nothing calms him until he is right next to me, curled up, with his face in my chest. He HAS to smell me to fall back to sleep. I LOVE it! I love my babies sleeping next to me...just not my toddlers. I don't sleep with a toddler kicking me, tossing, turning, throwing up or pee-ing in my bed....you get the point. But my babies......I enjoy the cuddling time.

Now, to the over the top parties....Yep! That's me! I threw a bug party complete with a bug hunt. The kids made bug houses, searched for bugs, made "Don't Bug me" door hangers, we had bug theme food like ants on a log, bug punch, ants placed on the tablecloth, a bug cake...
We had a train party, complete with a ride along train that looked like Thomas. Each kid got a train conductor hat, train whistles, we had train shaped sandwiches, and a train cake.
We had a Cowboy party, complete with ponies to ride, and each child was given a cowboy hat and a red bandana to wear on their horse ride. We had a horseshoe cake, BBQ and the entire back yard was decorated in an old western town theme.

We had a Hannah Montana party. We had Hannah Montana playing on the radio the whole time. Kaylee was dressed in her best Hannah Montana costume. We had a Hannah Montana cake, party bags full of Hannah Montana goodies, I could go on and on. You get the point. I love throwing fun theme parties. I take a theme and run with it. I get creative, and make every detail go into matching the theme.

Mothers Day Out....Kaylee started going to when she was 3. She needed to be social with other people besides me. She needed to start learning new things and we don't work well together in a learning situation. Brayden and I needed some alone time, since Kaylee and I had some alone time before he was born. So, I enrolled her that year. She LOVED it! When Brayden turned 2, we were planning on baby #3, so I wanted to get him used to the idea of going to school. So, I enrolled him. He now LOVES going. I get some alone time with Grayson, and then I also get a few days of alone time with BOTH boys while Kaylee is at school the other 2 days. I get errands run quickly, I go to the gym, and I get to nap on some days when I have rough nights...(See above paragraph about the kids sleeping with me). So, Yep, I am THAT kind of mom too, apparently! Oh, and STAY at HOME mom.....ha!...I'm NEVER at home. I'm so busy running here and there that I never am home! I live in my car on Tuesday through Thursdays!

So, I sold my Yukon and bought this last week.....

Yep...it's a 2009 Chevy SUBURBAN!!! (but, it is the decked out version with all the bells and whistles, so that justifies it, right?)

I guess I AM that kind of mom, after all!!! And you know what??? I LOVE being THAT mom! Next task.....I'm gonna join the PTO!!!

Funny "Fraze" Friday ~Brayden Edition~

2009-01-23T19:35:00.003-06:00

Brayden hurt his finger and when I asked him if he wanted me to kiss it better, he replied...
"No, it got all better by it's OHM (own)"

Brayden was eating stir fry and he picked out a piece of broccoli. Normally, we have cheese smothering our broccoli, but this time it looked different to him. He asked
"Mom, what is this tree?" When I replied that it was broccoli, he said "But why does it look like a tree? Is it made from trees? Can I eat the tree? MMM, this tree is good!"

Brayden was at school and is having a hard time sitting still during circle time. He IS 3, after all! We are trying and trying to work with him and get him to understand that he needs to participate and not disrupt class. Anyways, one day he was doing very well, and towards the end of circle time he got bored and started to get up. His teacher, Miss Kelly asked him why he doesn't sit still and he replied "Cuuzz........I don't"...gotta give the boy an "A" for honesty, right?

I asked Brayden to clean up the play room. He responded with..
"I'm little, I can't know how to"

When I put Brayden in his carseat, sometimes his pants will ride up and give him a wedgie. He says (more like whines) "Mommy, you gave me a butt-crack!"

Grayson is Crawling

2009-01-17T20:49:00.004-06:00

Look Mommy, I Dressed Myself !!!

2009-01-04T20:23:00.002-06:00

As if you couldn't guess.....

For most people, this would not be a hard task. Heck, for most 5 yr olds, this is not a hard task. But, my completely helpless 5, almost 6 yr old still cannot (actually more like refuses to) dress herself. She always has something to complain about. It makes me look like a boy, it's too tight, it doesn't match (HA!), it's itchy,etc.... So, we have decided to let her dress herself in whatever her little heart desires.....if it's not a school day or a church day. (So basically on Saturdays....) This is what we get.....oh lord, help us all! Project Runway....here she comes!!!!

I zoomed in on the shoes and pants so you could see exactly what her sense of style consists of.....yep...... Camo Shoes!!!..... Mixed with floral pants!!! Quite the combo, huh???

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-01T00:01:00.002-06:00

Happy New Years from Houston...well, close to it anyways. I am eager to see what 2009 can bring for us. I am excited to start the new year off with a new President, Barack Obama. I can't wait to see what kind of "changes" we are in for. Hopefully this economic slump we are in will start to improve a little bit.

I'm ready to start off the year with 3 healthy children and a healthy husband! Hopefully we will finally get over all this sickness we are fighting right now.

I'm ready to tackle my New Years Resolutions. I've never made New Years Resolutions before. Mostly because deep down, I knew I'd never be able to keep them. I don't ever make the same old lose weight, stop smoking, start eating right resolutions....those are already my lifestyle changes I've made before. But, I figured I would post them here so you all can help hold me accountable for them. So, here goes:

I decided I would make 3 resolutions this year to benefit my entire family. My resolution for Chris' benefit I would rather not post on here, but basically I decided that we need more "alone" time....like twice a week.....at minimum. Since we are trying to get the romance back, and concentrate on each other more, I figure it would be a good place to start.

The second one is for my children. My resolution is to take them to church as much as possible, find a new church home, and get them involved in a good children's church program. Since leaving our last church because of location and gas prices at the time being so sky high, we never really concentrated on finding something closer. We visited a few places but never made a solid decision where to go. This year, we are going to church, for the kids sake!

The third one is for me and only me! I am going to stop protecting everyone else's feelings and start protecting my own feelings. For my entire life, I've always worried about other peoples feelings, how they would react to things, not hurting people's feelings, not saying mean things....etc. Now, this does not mean that I am going to turn into super bitch.... nor does it mean that I have been completely innocent in this area in the past. I've made my fair share of rude remarks. It just means that I'm simply not going to put others feelings in front of my own. I have to learn how to say NO every once in a while, and learn that I can't please everyone. I have to please myself. I've been hurt recently by a few people and I've always let it slide or bury it under the rug. Well, not anymore. I can't keep ignoring my own feelings just to satisfy others. I have to start protecting myself and this means that I will be making changes and changing my priorities around this year.

So, there you have it... those are my 3 New Years Resolutions....stated out loud.....for everyone to read.....and hold me accountable for. I believe I can do it....and Chris hopes that I can keep them up....especially the one for him...... (wink, wink)

The Last Day of 2008

2008-12-31T15:43:00.003-06:00

Well, today is officially the last day of 2008. It's bittersweet for me. It has been an exceptionally tough year for me, personally. As excited as I was to start this year pregnant, knowing I would be welcoming a new member to our family, my life was changed dramatically. I learned a lot about myself this year.

Grayson's birth really helped to open my eyes about who I was, what my purpose was and most of all, how to love life, no matter what curveballs are thrown your way. Never in a million years would I have told you that one of my children would have to go through a big HUGE ordeal like Grayson did. I knew from day 2 that I had to be strong for him since he didn't know what he was going to deal with in the upcoming weeks of his life. I tried to be tough mommy, super mommy, and love him as much as I could just in case our time together was cut short. I dreaded surgery day. I was a complete mess on the inside, but I held it together for the sake of my children and my husband. I didn't want them to see or smell my fear. I was terrified! What if God needed a new angel and was going to call Grayson up to heaven that day? You never know what might happen. When the doctor told us we could go back and see him, I was relieved beyond anything imaginable. There was my sweet baby boy, laying on the recovery table. So tiny, so fragile, and in so much pain it was unbearable. He looked at me with frightful eyes as if he were asking me to take his pain away....but there was nothing I could do for him. I could see the hurt an confusion in his eyes and as his mother, I could not take it away. All I could do was sing to him. I sang the first song that came to mind...."You are my sunshine...my only sunshine...you make me happy....when skies are grey....you'll never know dear, how much I love you....please don't take my sunshine away" I still tear up when I hear the song and when I write about this day. I sang that song over and over to him that weekend as we spent it together in his hospital room during recovery. I was glad God didn't take my sunshine away.

We've come a long way since that day almost 5 months ago. You can't even tell he's had surgery. You would never know what we've been through together.

During the next few months following his surgery, we have all shared many many illnesses. Kaylee, Brayden, Grayson and I have all had cough, sinus infections, strep, ear infections, bronchitis, etc.... We have bought so much lysol, we should own stock in the company. My medical copays are through the roof to the point where it will probably take our entire tax refund to pay it off. But, I have learned to deal with it and RELAX! Yes, Tiffany.....the queen of the Type A personality that stresses about everything has learned how to RELAX! I don't stress about us being sick. I just cancel plans and go about my day nursing the children back to health. It's part of being a mommy, afterall.

I've learned to love people who I would normally have a hard time loving. You know the types...the ones who make it almost impossible to love them and even more impossible is making them love you back...yep, I love them....and they love me back!

I've learned to take each day as it comes and not sweat the small stuff. If my house isn't completely "guest ready" at all times....IT'S OK!!! People are more understanding than I used to give credit for. Afterall, as I am reminded many, many times by many, many people....I have my hands full....you know, because I have 3 kids!!! hehehe. The dust gets thick enough that you can write your name in it and I don't care. (Ok, maybe deep down I care, but I don't have time to deal with it)

Needless to say, I have changed a lot this year! I think I am a better person. I think I am easier to love. I think I am more willing to show love. I think I am beautiful for what I have on the inside which reflects on the outside.

I am welcoming 2009 with a new attitude! I embrace whatever challenges are thrown my way. I hope it's an easier year for me than 2008 was. I hope I can learn just as much about myself in the upcoming 12 months as I have learned in the past 12.

I love everyone! I love you all!
Smile and remember to enjoy your sunshine!

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-26T16:25:00.000-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM US TO YOU!!!!!!

The kids went to go see Santa and they all did wonderful! Brayden was excited about his "hurricane" (Candy Cane) that Santa gave him. Grayson pulled his beard! (It was real too, so Santa let out a howl) Kaylee was excited as usual and talked Santa's poor ear off. She wanted to make sure she was on the "Nice" list and not the "Naughty" list.

This is our annual picture in front of the tree that we take every year at our family Christmas get-together with Chris' side.

Grayson practiced sitting up and showed off his new moves to Grams and Grandpa. They hadn't seen him in a while so he had lots of new things to show them.

No, he's not smoking a bong........ this was him doing his breathing treatment. He came down with an upper respiratory infection on Christmas day and after spending the next morning in the ER, he had a weeks worth of breathing treatments to do at home. He liked chewing on the nebulizer end for the first day, but then he started pitching a fit and fighting every time. He looked so cute doing his treatments, I couldn't resist having Chris snap a picture.

We hope your Christmas was as good as ours was. We enjoyed spending time with all of our family, most of all. The kids scored some nice loot also. Santa brought them new scooters and Grams and Grandpa brought them new bikes! They also got tons of other stuff and lots of gift cards to use. They are looking forward to picking out new stuff in the next few weeks.

Have a Safe and Happy New Year!

My 6 Month Old Beautiful Baby Boy

2008-12-20T18:35:00.003-06:00

Grayson had his 6 month checkup on Thursday. He weighed 17 lbs 7 ounces and was 27.5 inches long. That's an increase of 2 pounds and 9 ounces in just 2 months. He grew 2.5 inches in 2 months. He is in the 80th % for height, and just above 50% for weight. His head is still off the charts though. It's 18.5" which is greater than 95%. His hat size is 12-18 months, so he can't wear any of his 0-6 or 6-12 month hats. He is right on track in clothes though and is currently growing out of 3-6 month clothes and moving up to 6-9 month clothing.

He is sitting up all by himself and can pull his legs underneath him, and get up on all fours. He is starting to rock back and forth on his knees, so it won't be long before he starts to crawl. Probably by the end of this year, or at the latest, the first week of January. He can actually get around on the floor by getting up on all fours and lunging forward. He can spin on his tummy too, so getting from point A to point B doesn't take him long, as long as it's not a far distance. He is grabbing toys and switching them from hand to hand. He can even put big objects directly in his mouth. He prefers the taste of bright balls and large stuffed animals, apparently.

He LOVES to eat! He can take down 2-3 jars of food in less than 5 minutes, followed by a full nursing session. He still nurses the same amount of times during the day too, so it hasn't cut out any feedings. It's a good thing I make his food or our grocery bill would be HIGH! He has tried many different foods, but he prefers sweet potatoes, bananas, and anything with chicken in it.

He is STILL teething, and drooling like crazy, but no teeth have popped out yet. (Which I am grateful for, since he nurses) You can see white under his gums, but nothing yet. We are expecting them to come through any day now, although we've been saying that for 2 months now.

Oh, and did I mention that he FINALLY sleeps through the night? YAY! He goes to sleep (IN HIS OWN BED, IN HIS OWN ROOM) at 8PM and sleeps until about 6am now. He will nurse quickly and then go back to sleep until around 8 or 9, depending on how loud his brother and sister are and/or if I have to wake him up to go take them to school. I miss having him in our bed, but I have to admit, I am enjoying the full night of un-interrupted sleep. I try to lay with him during the day for his naps to get my snuggle time in since he is becoming more active during the day.

UPDATED: 12/26/2008 - Chris took Grayson to the Dr this morning because he started wheezing last night and developed a rattling cough over Christmas holidays. He weighed 18 lbs 4oz and it has only been 8 days since his last weight check!!! So, they did a breathing treatment on him and sent him home with more antibiotics and nebulizer treatments for the next week. I was surprised at how much weight he had gained in such a short amount of time! 13 oz in 8 days...that's like almost 2 ounces per day!

Friday Follies ~ Christmas Edition

2008-12-19T18:24:00.000-06:00

Kaylee's Lyrics to "Deck the Halls" go like this:
Tex the halls with thousand jollies
Fa la la la la la la la la
Tis the season to be jollies.....

Brayden's Lyrics to "Feliz Navidad" go like this:
Puh Leeze Mommy Dog
Please Mommy Dog.......

Brayden and Kaylee hung some candy canes on the Christmas tree.
Later that evening, Brayden told Daddy "We hung hurricanes on the tree"

"Booger" vs. "Bugar"

2008-12-15T22:42:00.004-06:00

How do you think it is spelled? I always thought it was spelled "Booger" until recently, I had 2 very dear people write me about various things and include the word spelled "bugar" (one was a teacher too, hehe). I started to doubt myself and my spelling abilities. For those who don't know, I am a spelling Bee NERD! I can usually look at a word and tell if it's spelled correctly. I know, some of you are wondering what the hell happens to my emails and such....I don't use spell check and I type faster than my brain can think sometimes. Anyways, doubting made me look it up on google to see how it is spelled.

According to Google and Wikipedia, the definition is:
Booger or Boogers may refer to:
Dried nasal mucus (colloquial)
Booger, a flavor of Jelly Belly jelly bean of the BeanBoozled series
Boogers, a brand of malted milk balls covered in chocolate sold throughout North America

Is it just me, or is the sound of a booger flavored Jelly Bean really really gross? I thought we weren't supposed to eat boogers!!!

Another ironic point I found was that the first thing to pop up when you google "Bugar" is this from the urban dictionary:

bugar sugar
Slang term for cocaine.
Are you gonna snort any bugar sugar?

WHAT??? So, keep in mind next time you need to type something regarding boogers (as we all do so often) to spell it correctly or people might think you are referring to cocaine!

Sorry, this was too funny not to share.

Gobble~Gobble

2008-11-28T22:10:00.003-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving from our Little Turkey!!

This was Grayson's First Thanksgiving. Since he started on solids a few weeks ago, I decided to let him enjoy some Turkey and Sweet Potatoes for dinner. He LOVED them! We had my family over for Thanksgiving dinner and had fun as usual. When my family comes over, we have a HOUSE FULL! Since I have 6 siblings (some married with kids, some have significant others), and both of my parents are re-married, we had a total of 28 people here that day!

Kaylee made a pilgrim hat at school this week, so she enjoyed wearing her pilgrim bonnet. Brayden made an indian vest at school and was "Howling Coyote" for the day. (Then, he put on the bonnet too so I snapped a pic)

Kaylee and Grayson watched the parade that morning while we were preparing everything.

Grayson had his bath in the kitchen sink (something I wanted to do before he outgrew the sink) and then we took a few pictures together before everyone arrived.

The following day, we headed over to the in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner, again. Grayson practiced sitting up with pillows around him. He had fun and sat there for a while before toppling over. We had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed all the company. It was good to see all the family again and spend time with everyone.

I am thankful for my family.
I am thankful for my healthy kids!
I am thankful for teachers!
I am thankful for my Husband!
I am thankful for sweet potatoes with marshmallows!
I am thankful for macaroni and cheese!
I am thankful for Chick Fila! (I am hungry, can you tell?)
I am thankful to be alive and well!
I am thankful for neurosurgeons and modern technology.

Fairy Tale Friday ~ "Pinkalicious"

2008-11-21T19:20:00.004-06:00

Kaylee had a book fair at her school all week. Thursday night, we got to go to her school to buy books. Yes, we were allowed to go spend money on more books 'cuz we just didn't have enough already.... Her and I went, and she made mouse cookies (her class book was "if you give a mouse a cookie") and we picked a book from the library to purchase. She chose "PINKALICIOUS".....go figure. Her reason... "pink is my favorite color".

So, if any of you with young girls have not yet read this book- GO BUY IT!!! It is the cutest story about a little girl who is helping her mom make cupcakes. She of course wants to ice them with pink icing. "Pink, Pink, Pink" were her exact words. So, they make the pink cupcakes and she eats one, then another, then another. She offered one to her brother, who didn't want it, so she ate his too. She woke up the next morning and was pink! Her mom took her to the doctor who told her to eat nothing but green stuff all day. She didn't listen, and she ate just....one....last...cupcake....and woke up the next morning and was RED. So, she knew what she had to do. She ate green all day and when she woke up the following morning, she was back to her normal color. But, the cupcakes were all gone. Her dad asked her where they were and all the sudden her little brother appeared (and was all pink) and said "Pink-A-Boo". Ok, so that was a short version, from memory, so I hope I got it all right.

So, today was character dress up day at Kaylee's school. Who did she choose to be?????

Yep, she was Pinkalicious! (And she posed herself and actually said "mom, that was my pose")

Chris asked me where I got the pink for her face, and I responded "in my makeup I don't ever wear" and he said "I can see why you don't ever wear it" HAHAHA.

Oh, and by the way, this pink hairspray you get from walmart..... turns your boogers pink. Just in case you were wondering.

Grayson is sitting up!

2008-11-17T19:24:00.006-06:00

Grayson is now sitting up with support. I know, I know, ALREADY? That's what I thought too. So, we figured it was about time to move him to the big bathtub. He LOVED it! He felt so big sitting in the bathtub by himself, just like his brother and sister does. (well, they don't use the baby tub inside of the big tub, but he doesn't know that)

He really enjoyed his bath. He kept looking at me and smiling and laughing out of sheer joy! He splashed, kicked, and at one point.....he made some bubbles with his butt.

I laughed when the bubbles rose to the surface. He wasn't quite sure what to think about that. Then he leaned forward and did it again! This boy farts like a grown man! He had a long continuous fart at dinner that we considered to be a 12 stepper, if he was walking. (To explain....a 12 stepper is how many steps you can take from beginning to the end of the fart while walking...so it was a LOOOOOONG fart)

Anyways, he enjoyed being a big boy in the bathtub. Time is going by way too fast! He will be 5 months old already on Thursday!

My house is DONE!!!

2008-11-05T19:01:00.002-06:00

My house is FINALLY done!

This is a view of the sink and the new spot for the fridge at the end of that counter.

This is looking towards the back door. This is the biggest part of our kitchen. We got rid of our table and this is where we have our family dinners now.

This is taken from the back door looking towards the playroom.

From the corner of the kitchen/breakfast area looking towards the dining room.

This picture is taken from the hallway looking into the back yard. Our dining room table is on the right and the breakfast bar is on the left.

Looking towards the fireplace from the china cabinet.

This is a close up of the fireplace.

This is taken from the fireplace, looking into the kitchen and looking at the china cabinet.

Taken from the side window looking into the kitchen over the bar.

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-31T19:52:00.004-06:00

We dressed up Grayson as "Mummy's Little Pumpkin" for his first Halloween. He looked adorable as usual. He slept through most of it. We put him in the double stroller, and he passed out after about 30 minutes of walking around. We usually only do about 3 streets in our neighborhood, but this year, since the kids were behaving so well, and still walking on their own, without us carrying them, we continued and we ended up doing almost the entire neighborhood! It took about 2 hours all together.

Kaylee dressed up as her favorite singer, Hannah Montana for Halloween. I know, real original. But, it made her happy. She had a wig, but thankfully, it was NASTY and I didn't want to bother with trying to comb through that tangled mess, so since she already has blonde hair, I convinced her to let me put in her fake hair clips and make her hair look more natural and beautiful. She got many comments about her hair, people asking if it was her hair, or if it was a wig...etc. She was excited that I put REAL make up on her!

Brayden was Travis Barker for Halloween. Not that he knew who that even was, but it got a good laugh out of those who knew that he was the drummer of Blink 182. (He also recently suffered burns from a plane crash he was in). He had fun trick or treating. This was his first year to actually "get into" it. He had very nice manners. He said "Thank You" to each and every person who gave him candy. He also was not too afraid of the "weirdo's" or scary people he saw. He would just say "I don't like that boy"...even if it was just a mummy decoration, and not a real person.

The many faces of you......

2008-10-30T19:17:00.005-06:00

Grayson was playing in his exersaucer today and I managed to capture a few GREAT photos of him and his many expressions. (I'll caption underneath them so you will know what he was babbling, er.... saying to me....hehehe)

(No, officer, I haven't had anything to drink tonight)

(Give me back my toy, Brayden)

(hhhmmm, you look tasty)

(Mom, see my toy?)

(Wait, that one looks like more fun, but then I'll have to let go of this one)

(hehehe, I am mischevious and my Mommy thinks I am innocent)

(No pictures, no pictures! Mommy, quit taking my picture, it's too bright!)

New house remodel pictures

2008-10-30T18:41:00.004-06:00

OK, after 8 weeks, my kitchen remodel is FINALLY coming to an end. I see the end in the near future! Here are some updated progress pictures:

My fridge used to be here, but we added cabinets instead. Top and bottom cabinets are new. They still have to do the cabinet trimwork at the top and bottom.

My new fridge!!! Hehehe, We decided to go ahead and get a new fridge, counter depth, side by side, with the freezer on the bottom. It fits much better than our old side by side, and we put the old one out in the garage as a spare drink holder/freezer and got rid of our deep freeze chest, and little mini fridge that Chris used to put his beer in for poker night.

This is a shot of my long countertop, with the sink installed. Still have to hook up the faucet.

We finally got our countertops in! After the first visit, the guy measured wrong, so when the pieces came out last week, they didn't fit! WHAT? So, they had to re-make them on a rush order and they finally got installed Wednesday. I spent the day on the phone with the manager and the Home Depot district manager paid me a visit to the house also. I'm still fighting with them about getting some of my money returned since they have delayed my whole remodel. It took them a total of 6 weeks, not including the 2 week hurricane delay, and the guy who came out to measure was an egotistical, arrogant, rude, ass-hole! But, it's a Saturday story, so I'll save that till it's all over with. I will update after I get a figure from them on how much they want to refund! Tiffany is a BITCH when someone treats her badly, expecially someone who is "SUPPOSED" to be in the customer service field......

There is still sheetrock work to be done, and they are working on my tile backsplash today and tomorrow.

We have baseboards! Don't mind all the junk laying around. They just leave it out so they don't have to bring it back and forth every day.

This is our new eating surface. We have no more breakfast table. Just this bar, and 6 barstools.

Here is my sink! It's a 10 inch undermount sink. Yay!

We are hoping that the sheetrock, and texture will be done by this weekend so we can finish painting. Then, we just have to move everything back downstairs, and wipe down everything and give the whole downstairs a good scrubbin'. Hopefully, my next update will be completed pictures!

The New and Improved Star Spangled Banner

2008-10-27T17:37:00.003-06:00

Kaylee came home from school and says : "Mommy, remember that song that we heard at the airshow this weekend? We sang it at school today!"

I reply....."hhhmmmm, I can't remember, sing it for me"

She begins to sing: "Oh say can you see......."

"......By the darcery door"

I cracked up laughing and remember that it was me who once confused Green Day's lyrics from "Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road" TO........ "Another turnip boy, a fork stuck in the road"

What the hell is a turnip boy anyways?

Thanks to my good friend Chrystee for pointing out how rediculous that actually sounded.....(wink..Love ya Chrystee!) She and Melissa sure got a good laugh about that one!! Glad I could entertain ya, girls!

Helmet Free is the Way to Be!

2008-10-23T16:30:00.000-05:00

Grayson had his 2 checkups this week. On Monday, we went to the Dr for his 4 month well baby visit. He weighed 14 lbs and 14 oz and was 25" long! He grew 2" in one month! He got 3 shots and he did well. He cried for just a second and then calmed down quickly once he had a boob in his mouth.

His milestons have all been accomplished for the 4 month mark! He is grabbing toys, bringing fists together (and inserting in mouth), he rolls both ways and can spin around if he's on his back. He does his airplane when he is on his tummy and lifts his head up off the ground. He coos and "talks" to any woman who will look his way. (big flirt!) He has a big wide open mouth smile and shows it off regularly! He will be staring at someone, and when they finally look his way and acknowledge him, he gets so excited and smiles and squeals out of sheer joy! I have had MANY comments about how inquisitive he is! Uh-oh, that's the same way everyone described Kaylee! (for the record, he also fights his naps like she did too. He HATES going to sleep for fear he will miss something) He also KNOWS when Mommy is not within 5 feet of him and he lets anyone around know that she is missing!! He sleeps well for a 4 month old, although I wish, wish, wish that I could have a good 6 hour block of unbroken sleep. He did give me one night of good sleep from 11-6:30am (In his pack n play next to my bed!) and BOY did I feel refreshed that day, but alas, it did not become habit. The next night, he made up for it by waking 3 times in 2 hours because his pacifier fell out. I finally gave in and put the booby in his mouth and he was out like a light in 5 minutes. He wasn't hungry, he just needed Mommy.

So, then on Wednesday, he went to Tx Childrens for his follow-up with the neuro-surgeon! Dr Leurssen checked him out and gave us the OK to remove his helmet permanently! He said the bones are healing up nicely and the helmet has done it's job of protecting his head. Now that the bones are fusing the correct way, there is no need for the helmet to be worn. He was beginning to outgrow it also, so at that point, it was pointless for a new one to be made, since it wasn't really necessary anymore. So, after 5 weeks with it on, he is HELMET FREE!!! Aside from a little scar on his head, you would never guess he had surgery less than 3 months ago! I am so in love with my little man!

Hi, my name is Tiffany, and I am Directionally illiterate

2008-10-23T11:57:00.004-05:00

For those of you who know me, or have ever driven with me, you know that I have absolutely NO sense of direction! My philosophy on directions is this:

As long as you are going straight, you are going NORTH. If you are in reverse, you are going SOUTH, and if you make a right or left turn, you are going EAST or WEST only until you complete the turn, and then you are going NORTH again, as long as you are going forward.

Yeah, it sounds absurd, it IS absurd! But, it's the truth! I have NO CLUE where I am going without landmarks to show me the way. Chris often jokes that in order to find my way somewhere new, I need a big cowboy statue with a blinking cowboy hat on, with his finger pointing in the direction that I need to go. He is probably right. I can tell you where certain stores are, I can tell you where freeways are, but I cannot tell you if I am driving N,E,S or W. I HAVE to be told LEFT or RIGHT in order to find my way. Oh, and telling me landmarks is EXTREMELY helpful! Forget downtown Houston where most streets are one way and I get all turned around! I refuse to drive downtown by myself. I would be that one idiot going the wrong way down a one way street.

When I am the one navigating, I have to turn the map upside down in order for the road I am currently on to be facing NORTH, the direction I am ALWAYS going. With each new turn, the map gets turned again and again, until I reach my destination. My dear wonderful husband, on the other hand, can be standing in the middle of the desert and he can tell you which side is E,W and so on, just by how the sun is facing! I am totally amazed by that! I can't even remember which side the sun rises on, and which side it sets on, I just know that is rises in our backyard and sets in our front yard.

So, on that note, Wednesday I had to drive to Tx Children's (BY MYSELF) for Grayson's followup appointment. This trip involves 1.5 hours of driving, and it involves 7 different freeways! My biggest accomplishment of the year (yes, it even surpassed childbirthing).........I DID NOT GET LOST! Now, this is not any small feat for me. I didn't have to use the key map, I didn't have to have a printed version of google directions, nor did I have to call Chris to ask him where I was or how to get out of there! I drove straight there, pulled right in to the clinic, parked my car, and drove home! Oh, and I even remembered to look (and remember) where I parked in the parking garage and found my way right back there too! Something else that my husband is usually in charge of! I amazed myself today! Never in a million years would I have told you that I could drive by myself to the medical center, navigating my way without a map! Oh, and did I mention that I was calm, cool, and collected the ENTIRE trip there and back? I felt like an old pro! I don't wish to do it again anytime soon, but finally after 15 years of driving, and over 20 years of living near Houston, I feel like I am learning my way around this crazy town!

The Conference!!!

2008-10-16T17:21:00.002-05:00

It's official...my daughter is smart! I always knew this, but it was confirmed today. I had my first ever parent-teacher conference. Her Kindergarten teacher said she was a GREAT student! She knows all her letters and numbers. She knows all her shapes except for rectangle, and all her colors. She knew more sight words than the teacher has taught the class, thanks in part to her reading classes she already took. She can read level 1 and 2 books already. (The goal is level 5 by the end of the school year.) She can count all the way to 100, which is a goal for the end of the school year as well.

She said she was well beyond other children in the class. I am debating testing her for the gifted and talented classes at the end of the year. I don't want her to be bored in school. I want her to excel and always be challenged to learn more. But, I don't want her to feel stressed about being in the program, or make it a competition. So, we'll decide when the time comes.

But, she is a talker.....DUH! She has stayed on green all year so far, but she has almost had a color change the past few days because of her talking.....no surprise there...I actually warned her teacher about her talking before school started this year.

So, my first conference experience was very pleasant, if I must say so. I am very proud of my little girl! She always amazes me with her abilities to soak up everything and is always learning new and different things daily. From the day she was born, she has been described as "inquisitive" and it has been true so far.

More Remodel Pictures

2008-10-11T21:41:00.005-05:00

We got a little bit of painting done. By "WE" I mean mostly Chris. I had a baby shower to go to. (hehe) I painted the dark color and Chris painted the rest while I was gone. My mother was gracious enough to watch my 2 older children over the weekend so we could get it done without any interruptions. (Thanks Mimi) We painted this odd shape part the darkest color (stone quarry) so it would be "accented".

We went and picked out new light fixtures and ceiling fans. Christopher installed the celing fan. (It even has a remote with a dimmer! I feel like a rich girl...hahaha)

Our back wall is also Stone Quarry, our accent color. Then, we have Potters Clay on the wall with the fireplace and the one next to it. (It looks darker, but it is the same color) Gobi Desert is the next color, but you can't see it in the pictures yet. It's our main color. They all match and coordinate with the tile. I love neutral colors, and they compliment each other very well.

Below is my kitchen light fixture that matches the ceiling fan.

Below is the light fixture that we replaced the cheap chandelier with. Also matches the ceiling fan.

So, tomorrow, we'll finish painting the Gobi Desert color, and start painting the kitchen. We also decided to buy a new fridge! YAY! I am such a nerd. I LOVE getting new appliances! We picked out a counter depth french door fridge with freezer on bottom in white! I can't wait to get it! We went shopping last weekend for 6 hours at 8 different stores, and finally found some 24" wrought iron barstools. They are swively too. I can't wait to sit down and eat a good homecooked meal, from my oven, at our new bar! I actually miss cooking. This microwave cooking every night is for the birds.....well, actually, birdseed is for the birds, but you know what I mean.......

"Fenominal", Angelical, Emotional Friday

2008-10-10T22:20:00.001-05:00

I met an angel today! No, really, I did! This woman was sent down from Heaven directly to Chic-Fil-A at the same time I walked through the door. Let me rewind a little bit......

Since Grayson's surgery, many people have come up to me and tried to "relate" to him wearing a helmet. There are different reasons children wear helmets. Most helmet babies have plagiocephaly (flat spots) and the helmet reshapes the head to round out the flat spot. Oh, I wish that was all Grayson had to go through! I get comments all the time like "oh, my baby had to wear a helmet too" or "someone I know had a kid who had to wear a helmet". Yeah, SOO NOT THE SAME THING! My bitchy response would be "really, did they have to go through surgery and be cut open from ear to ear to have strips of their skull removed? Did they have to have a blood transfusion? Will they be left with a zig zag scar across their head?....Yea, didn't think so!" But, I'm not a bitch. Not all the time anyways. So, I kindly respond with a smile "oh, not really the same thing, but thank you" or "he had to have neurosurgery at 7 weeks old, this protects his head, it doesn't re-shape it". I always felt alone and like it was just me that these comments bothered. My ultimate favorite....while we were at Walmart in the greeting card isle "oh, look, he is already playing football" WHY THE HELL WOULD A 3 MONTH OLD BABY BE PLAYING FOOTBALL? Really, you stupid bitch? Are you that dumb? Anyways, all this to say that not all helmets are created equal! Nobody will ever understand or be able to relate to what a cranio baby, or their mother has gone through until they have gone through it themselves!

So, back to my angel story. I was meeting my mom, Brayden, and Christopher at Chick-Fil-A this afternoon after I returned from my OB follow-up appt. This woman and her family were walking in at the EXACT same time I was walking in with Grayson. (Incidentally, they were all dressed in red and matched each other.) Grayson was asleep in his carrier and the gentleman (her husband) held open the door for me. I thanked him and walked to the table where my mom and hubs were waiting and she walks up to me and says.....
"I don't know if I am out of line saying this, but......My daughter had cranio. She is 9 years old now. You can't even see her scar. She also had to wear a helmet, although hers wasn't decorated as cute as his is. I just want you to know that I know what you have been through. It is a hard decision to make whether or not to do the surgery. You made the right decision! He will be just fine! I just want you to know that no other mommy can relate to what we go through until they have experienced it themselves. Some people can come up to you because someone they know has had to wear a helmet in life, but they do not realize how much you both have gone through! The helmet is only a small portion of what this little tiny being has been through. I have been there."

By this point, I am in tears. I think she is reading my thoughts. How could she know that these thoughts have been mine for the past 3 months? This woman continues on for 5 minutes or so about how tough it is on the moms to watch our little precious baby go through surgery. To hand them over to the operating staff. To see them in recovery. To think that you may never get to see your child's smile again. All the thoughts that I had before, during and after the surgery was EXACTLY what she was saying! WOW, I am not alone! I finally met someone who has been there and is now on the other side. She told me that sometimes when people try to relate to us, it can stir up a beast in us because if only they knew what we went through, they would not be so quick to comment. We are in a bubble of our own, so to speak. This is not cosmetic! It is required! It can cause brain damage if not corrected. I was in total agreement with every word coming out of this lady's mouth! She told me that the mental picture of her daughter in recovery will forever be burned in her mind. (I have said that many times myself) She teared up also at the thought of it....even 9 years later. She said she was so excited to hear her daughter cry for the first time after surgery, because she was afraid she was never going to hear it again. (Something I have told Chris before also) This lady is reading my mind! She kept stressing to me that I made the right decision!

I told her that I have never met anyone locally that has been through this. I thanked her for her encouraging words through my tear filled eyes and I hugged her! Yes, a complete stranger, I hugged! (Later, I found out that my mom had asked Chris if I knew the lady because she couldn't believe I would hug a complete stranger in the lobby of Chick-Fil-A)

This lady was sent to me from God to tell me all these things. I truly believe it in my heart. It couldn't have happened on a more perfect day. Today was the day I needed to hear those words. Today has been an emotional day for me. I won't go into details, but of all the days since his surgery, today was the day that this needed to happen! Her words will forever be with me! She was my angel for the day! I don't know her name, I don't know her daughter's name. I don't know if she even lives near here! All I know is that she made me feel normal. She made me feel loved. She made me feel understood. She made me feel so overjoyed! She made me feel refreshed! Words cannot express my thanks for this beautiful woman! She will forever be in my thoughts. Thank you angel lady in red! ;-)

Remodel Update!

2008-10-09T21:14:00.000-05:00

Our remodel is nearing an end! (Thank you Jesus, Hallelujah!) We are still waiting on the countertops to be finished, but aside from that, it is all starting to come together. I know there is not much progress from the last set of pics, but the tile has been grouted. The fireplace is finished. The refrigerator is moved to it's new location. The walls are ready to be painted. We are working on painting this weekend. Yahoo! Once the countertops are installed, just a few things left! Mostly tile backsplash and sheetrock work.

My Little Models

2008-10-04T20:04:00.005-05:00

JC Penney's called us to come in and "model" for them so that they could train some new photographers. I guess we were on the list of preferred customers since we are there so much. We have a favorite photographer who actually knows us by name. In addition to Christmas pictures and maternity pictures, I get my kids pictures done at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, and then at each birthday after that. We always get great pictures and they are not expensive at all if you are in their portrait club.

So, on this day I decided to take Grayson in for his 3 month pictures and I took Kaylee since she is an easy subject to photograph. She will usually pose herself and her pictures turn out so good that it's hard for me to decide which ones to buy. For allowing them to "use" the kids as models, we got a good picture package deal, along with a few freebies. I never pass up freebies!

Here are some of my favorites:

Grayson "talking"

Grayson eating his fists as usual

Grayson blowing raspberries

I decided to do a few with his helmet on since it is a part of "Grayson" at 3 months old.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this one!!

Classic Kaylee

Her own pose

Ok, so now that my shameless photo brag is over, I better get back to doing something productive. Oh wait, it's time for my TV show....that sounds much more interesting than laundry!

Funny "Fraze" Friday

2008-10-03T08:02:00.001-05:00

The following conversation happened on the way home from dropping off Kaylee at school.

Mommy: "Brayden, lets practice your numbers"
Brayden: "Okay!"
Mommy: "Go ahead"
Brayden: "One...Two...Free...."

(Pause)

Mommy: "Brayden, what comes after three?"

(Pause)

Brayden: "TIME OUT MISTER!"

I swear, I laughed for 5 minutes straight!

I put on lotion. My lotion smells like shea, cocoa, and mango butter. It reminds me of hawaiian tropic suntan lotion. I walk past Kaylee.

Kaylee: "oooh, Mom, you smell like Florida!"

I snicker at her funny comparison.

Funny Friday

2008-09-26T16:07:00.004-05:00

Grayson loves to make funny faces. I almost caught one on film.... this is him laughing out loud. (ah-goo)

Brayden as a "FIRE-PIE-RICK". He couldn't decide between a fire fighter or a pirate. (Pi-rick as he calls it...aarrgggh)
Wednesday, I was driving him to school, and I turned a corner too fast (according to him) and he said "Mom, you're tipping me over!"......followed by.................."Do that again, and see what happens" while shaking his finger at me.......hhhmmmm wonder where he heard that before?

After the hurricane, we FINALLY got power and water back. Kaylee tells everyone that we have light power, computer power, AND phone power! Wow, what would we do without computer power, or phone power? Now, light power, I could probably live without....

Remodel Progress!

2008-09-25T11:41:00.004-05:00

The tile is being laid as I type this. I am SSSOOOOO happy with the progress so far. Here are some updated pictures!

The hurricane put us in a bit of a delay. We didn't have water for 9 days, so no tile could be cut or laid. Now that the work has begun again...the end is finally in sight!

Today the counter top people are coming to draw their template. Then it takes about 2 weeks to make it and then they can install it.

The cabinets were installed this morning, and the tile guy is working so fast, I expect that he should be done with everything except the backsplash by Friday. Then, he is grouting on Saturday. Yay!! The backsplash will wait until the countertops are installed.

So, besides the countertops, all that's really left is small finishing touches!

Helmet Update

2008-09-20T20:58:00.007-05:00

I decorated Grayson's helmet last night. I wanted to make sure it matched with almost everything. So, I decided to do a 3 shade camoflauge in blue. I think he looks adorable, but I am partial.... We had to put the (08) on the back because 8 is our lucky number, he was born in the year 2008, he had his surgery on 8/8/08 AND he is wearing his helmet in the year 2008....so it was only fitting......also Chris was always told in high school that he looked like Troy Aikman (and he is a Dallas Cowboys fan) and Troy's jersey # is 8....and 8 was the race car # of Dale Jr, although now, he is 88.....anyways.....8 is a lucky number for us.

Never in a million years would I have told you that I could paint camoflauge. I was pretty proud of myself and Chris even told me he was impressed!

(It's hard to see the difference in the 2 light colors, but it is 3 shades and easier to see in person)

Hurricane Ike ~ Will my kids ever go back to school?

2008-09-18T19:32:00.008-05:00

Hurricane Ike tore through the coast of Galveston, TX early in the morning of 9/13/08. It continued North through our town never letting up, turned northeast and continued all the way up to Maine. We live 2.5 hours off the coast. Usually storms coming up the coast line will either die down before hitting us or miss us completely. Unfortunately, this storm did lots of damage! It ripped trees right out of the ground. It snapped 100 yr old oak trees in half! It knocked over light poles. It caused flooding. It totally destroyed houses and restaurants along the beach. It definitely made it's presence known. It was a mean storm!

My kids had no school on Friday so that everyone could prepare for the hurricane. Saturday morning, Hurricane Ike left us with no power and no water. It was BLAZIN' hot that day. Because of our remodel, we are already confined to the upstairs of our house. We were all going batty and were on top of each other....with no power......and no water. We had to get out. We drove to College Station and booked a hotel room. Air condition, a fridge that cools, microwave, running water, toilets that flush, TV......oh the TV! Not since 9/11 have I watched so much news coverage in one day. Plus, they had a pool! We had a good time, but headed back home on Sunday. Still no power. No water. At the few gas stations we passed, they had lines that stretched for miles! People getting gas for their generators...and vehicles. Most gas stations didn't even have the power so they could open, so it left people with no other choice but to wait. We stayed with some relatives who ended up getting their power back at 7pm. Oh, and they had running water too.... We grilled a lot of food from our fridge/freezer before it went bad and had quite an interesting dinner. We had hot dogs, grilled chicken breasts, french fries (cooked in foil) and corn nuggets (cooked in foil). We returned home on Monday when our power came back on. But, we still had no running water. We had filled up our bathtubs with water before the power went out..thankfully! So, we use that for flushing the toilets. School has been cancelled for the entire week! Most every one's lives have been disrupted. Businesses are closed, and power and water are considered a luxury item at this point. Neighbors and friends are all offering up showers to those who have no running water, and others are offering a place to charge laptops and cell phones to those with no electricity. We finally got our land line back on Wednesday. YAY INTERNET! I missed my Internet! My cell phone provider had a down tower in our area, so I had to go into town to use my phone, or wait until my hubs got home from work and use his. (Yep, he had to go back to work because his company had power and water, so it was business as usual for them....sorry bastards) So, for the first few days, I had no communication lines open at home. Not good when you have 3 kids!

So, here we are, almost a week after the event, and still have no running water. We have electricity, but our street is one of the few in our neighborhood who have been restored. I'm not asking why, I am just thankful for the power at our house! We have been going over to the in-laws house every night to take showers, and to wash dishes, and fill up "toilet flushin'" buckets. Thankfully, they just finished their bathroom remodel, and have a "family" shower, so we are in and out quickly and back home to our waterless house.

Most of the town, Houston, and the coast still are without power! We are thankful we have it, and a home...with a roof. We suffered no house or car damage. Others weren't so lucky. People are waiting in long lines every day for ice, bottled water, and MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) offered by FEMA. Oh, speaking of FEMA.....those retarded bastards have a 1-800 hotline for those in need of filing a claim and it actually says "We're sorry, our operators are experiencing an overwhelming amount of calls right now" (YA THINK????? We were just declared an area of natural disaster by a wonderful public speaker we call "The President") and then they refer you to their website to file your claim and then they disconnect you! INTERNET....really? Most people who need to file a claim have no computer, no power to access the computer even if they had one, or no phone line to get on the internet. Really, is this the intelligence level of our federal government? To refer people to the internet after a hurricane rips through their town, destroying their homes, and leaving them with nothing?....not even a computer. Most of these towns that were hit hard don't even have a library open in order to access a public computer. Then you also have the news reporters and radio DJ's referring people to the internet to check on school closings or POD locations where they can go get their MRE's, ice and water.......again...if they need those items...they most likely don't have a computer anymore or electricity to access the internet.....Duh!!! Just a rant and ramble about things that made no sense to me.

Every day I drive by Kaylee's school, they have updated the marquee sign with the date of when school is back in session. First, Monday..then Tuesday..then closed all week....now, closed next Monday too! Holy cow! Will the kids ever get to go back to school? Our town wasn't even close to being the hardest hit city.....but yet, here we are....going on day 7 of no school! At this rate, there will be no summer break, because they will have make up days till August!

Oh, and make note....there will probably be a baby boom 9 months from now! (not from us! We had 3 kids to keep us entertained!)

Here are some pictures of the damage left by Hurricane Ike.
http://www.chron.com/news/photogallery/Editors_Top_Pictures.html
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Hurricane-Ike/ss/events/us/091208hurricaneike#photoViewer=/080918/480/108026dafabd40b4a0dc8d61e8319a40

~Grayson's New Hardware~

2008-09-16T23:00:00.003-05:00

Grayson FINALLY got his protective helmet today. It's been quite the process getting this thing! Between all the appointments, lack of information in setting up the appts, then having the helmet made, and getting it delivered....it's been quite a trying few weeks for us. He was supposed to have it last Wednesday, they called and re-scheduled because they were having problems making it for a patient as small as him. Thursday, they rescheduled again, because it still hadn't come in. Friday, we got re-scheduled due to Hurricane Ike coming. Monday, WE had to reschedule due to Hurricane Ike damage (loss of power, phones, water, etc)...so today, he finally got it! I love this first picture...I HAD to post it, because his facial expression is so darn cute!

(The brown spot is where it was heated and adjusted, it's not a bruise)

I'll post more pictures once we get it decorated! I'm still hunting for some Dallas Cowboys stickers that will fit......
He has to wear it for 23 hours per day. 1 hour break for washing his hair, and cleaning the inside of it. He SWEATS so bad in it!

1 Month since Surgery!

2008-09-12T22:29:00.002-05:00

It has been a little over 1 month since Grayson had his surgery. (5 weeks today) Here are some before and after pictures. He is healing up so well! His scab has almost completely come off, and his stitches are falling out as they dissolve. He makes me proud! I am so amazed at how tough he is. It took me that long to recover from my C-section, and that was (in my opinion) not as invasive of a surgery as his was. You'd never guess he even had surgery, if it weren't for the scar on his head!

Week 1 of the remodel is over!

2008-09-12T14:03:00.002-05:00

So, we are done with week 1! The guys took today off due to Hurricane Ike approaching. They'll be back Monday, weather permitting, to finish working. Here are a few pictures of my new bar. It's just waiting on countertops now.

Cabinets didn't come in yet, so they haven't moved the fridge yet.
I guess Monday they will work on moving the fridge since the cabinets and tile won't come in till Thursday.
1 week down......
just a few to go!

Remodel- Day 2 of demolition

2008-09-10T19:31:00.005-05:00

So, my downstairs is totally destroyed, but seeing the progress, I am starting to see some improvements already, and I like what I see. I love the open-ness of the kitchen and the dining room now!

(the bar from the left side of my dining room)

(see how it's squared off now? It used to be "C" shaped with arches)

(Our new post replacing the 3 arches and center posts)

(Our bar from the old breakfast area)

(Looking in from the pantry in my kitchen)

(more of the kitchen from the breakfast area)

(The floor in my dining room, no carpet!)

(The floor in my old breakfast area, no linoleum!)

(The bar, kitchen and old breakfast area, photo taken from the dining room)

(My entry way)

Thursday, the cabinets are coming and the fridge is moving.
Friday, the sink is coming, cabinets installed, and countertop decking is put on.
Monday, countertop people are coming to draw the template (depending I guess on hurricane Ike's status then)
Tuesday and Wednesday more construction, floor prep, etc..
Thursday- tile is coming!!!!
Friday-?? Tile installed on floor throughout the bottom floor, fireplace, and kitchen backsplash.

Brayden Turns 3 !!!!!!

2008-09-10T10:49:00.004-05:00

Brayden turned 3 last week!

We had his birthday party on Labor Day Weekend. We threw him a "Thomas the Train" themed party. He had sooo much fun. So did all the kids actually.

I bought all my kids matching train conductor outfits for the day. This was Brayden's, Grayson's picture is on his "10 Weeks old" post, and Kaylee had capri's with a white tee. (and a gangster cap??)

I rented a pint size version of Thomas the Train, and the kids all had fun riding for an hour! I gave each child a train whistle, and a conductor hat upon boarding the train. Even some Mommy's and Daddy's rode the train!

(Aunt Kay and her girls, Kate and Karis)

(Brayden's "girlfriend" Hadley from Pre-School sat next to him on this ride)

(Daddy rode with Brayden in the front car)

(Cousins on both sides~ Madison and Kate)

(Brayden had SOO much fun riding the train, he smiled the entire time)

(how many kids can fit in each car?)

(Stephanie and Preston rode together and so did Enzo, Fransesca and their Daddy, Hiurick)

(Uncle Shannon rode with his kids Madison and Bryce, and Kaylee and Heston hopped on too)

(Colleen kept the kids in the caboose safe!)

(Brayden waves HI from the middle car)

(Kate looks relaxed, huh?)

(Jeff even took a turn with his boys and a couple of girls hitched a ride too)

I made the adults tuna and chicken salad sandwiches, and the kids had PBJ sandwiches made into the shapes of trains

We also had pretzels, chips, veggies and fruit, and some yummy dips.

Chris made some awesome labels for the food in the shape of trains to let everyone know which dip was which.

The Train cake

Brayden blows out his candle

Karis enjoyed the cake a LOT!!!

Kaylee put icing on her nose!

Fransesca enjoys some cake and ice cream.

Brayden knows how to eat cake the right way!!!

Then, we had the family out after this party was over for cake and ice cream. I made his cake for this gathering.

Not quite as fancy as the store bought cake, but it tasted yummy none the less!

He blew out the candle, and then he opened all his gifts from both parties. It was soo cute when he would finish opening a gift, he would hold his hands up and say..."Who's nother one from?" and get the next present...too adorable!

(This was a gift from Grams, and we wrapped it to make it look like Percy, Brayden's favorite train)

And, as if this post didn't have quite enough pics on it here are a few more of his birthday pics taken at JC Penney.

And finally, his picture taken by the back door, compared to last years...to see how much he has grown up!!!! (He's taller than the lock now)

Demo has begun!

2008-09-09T10:04:00.002-05:00

My kitchen remodel project is under way! I am so freakin' nervous! I don't handle demolition of my house very well. I'm a neat, organized person, and right now, I feel SOOOO overwhelmed with the living conditions of my house! I know, I signed up for this, and I knew what I was getting myself into, but I still feel chaotic at the moment. My "make shift kitchen" is a bit cramped. I have my computer room, "kitchen", dining room, living room, and craft (bow making) room all in one, and it's NOT that big of a room to begin with! At night, we feel like we are on top of each other! I LOVE bedtime for my kids, not so much for the quiet, but for the breathing room! I can't wait until this is over! Not only will I have my somewhat dream kitchen (my dream kitchen would be much bigger, but I am working with what I got) but I will be able to "move" back in downstairs! We'll get to enjoy the big screen TV again. We'll get to resume our normal life. I'll finally get to make it back to the gym! We won't be living in dust! By the way....did I mention I'm allergic to dust? This is sooo much fun! LOL My allergies are so done with this! But, the tile is now completely removed, and the flooring is all completely removed, so hopefully the majority of the dustiness is over with. I had to go out to the garage to give my allergies, nose, and throat a break. Now, after we dust and wipe down our entire upstairs tonight, they will be continuing tomorrow!!!

My temporary dining room

My temporary pantry and refrigerator(s).

the bar and breakfast area. The bar will be counter height and all one piece instead of 3. This will be our new eating area, so it will also extend out 12 inches instead of 5. Where the bar is "C" shaped, it will be "L" shaped when we are done.

The fridge is moving to the far right in this picture, where the light switch is now. My lovely builder put the fridge in the most GOD awful place, so I can't use the cabinets above it or next to it....wasn't that thoughtful?

The bar will look totally different when it's done! The posts will be removed/rearranged. The skinny one on the left will be gone completely, the fat one in the center will be gone completely, and the fat one to the right will be gone, but will be replaced by a skinnier one 2 ft out. (right about in line where that clock is hanging on the wall.)

We're putting top and bottom cabinets in where the fridge is now. We're also tiling the whole downstairs, except for the two rooms past that silver tarp. We're also getting quartz silestone countertops! YAY!

Brayden-ism

2008-09-04T21:02:00.004-05:00

Today, I took the boys with me to the dentist. (That still sounds weird to say "the boys"...it makes me think of my little brothers Luke and Chris, since we used to always refer to them as "the boys") Anyways, since we only go every 6 months, it's not our "normal" places we visit. My children can point out where our Dr is when we drive by, or point out Krogers, or Target or Walmart or Home Depot...etc..... and they can ALWAYS find a Chick-Fil-A...LOL

So, we walk in and Brayden looks around and says "Hey, we been here yester-night"

........and immediately picks the drawer with the lego train in it to play with while I got my teeth cleaned.

Grayson is 10 weeks old!

2008-08-30T18:51:00.004-05:00

Grayson is 10 weeks old! I have been breastfeeding him for 10 weeks now. That's 1/5 of my goal. That means he is 1/5 of the way to turning 1 also which seems like it's right around the corner. I feel like we have this feeding thing down pat! I had so many issues with the other 2, I never thought I would make it this far. I'm proud of myself....and him. We nurse in public with the help of the "Hooter Hider" nursing cover. We nurse laying in bed for our 1 night time feeding. He is somewhat on a routine (schedule if you call it that, I prefer routine). He is getting to be quite the chunky monkey. He's pretty smart too. He beat both Kaylee and Brayden in the rolling over department. He started rolling over from front to back at 8 1/2 weeks. Kaylee was 10 1/2 weeks and Brayden didn't do it until 11 1/2 weeks. I guess my milk is giving him LOTS of brain juice. He is also outgrowing his 0-3 month clothes (sad face). I just keep telling myself to hang in there. I really enjoy it, although I do feel somewhat overwhelmed being the only one who can feed him. I have tons of milk stored, but I would just rather feed him myself if I'm available because he actually nurses faster than he takes a bottle. Plus, I leak like CRAZY still. So, nothing new to report. His stitches are healing fast. He goes for his helmet fitting on the 3rd. He's growing up too fast. I'm trying to enjoy every minute of it since I KNOW he's my last. (Chris is getting snipped in a few weeks) I am savoring every smile, every grin, and every milestone that he crosses. I have even put off chores (gasp!) just to spend more time holding him or staring at him. Laundry can wait. My dream in life was to be a mommy, and I am enjoying it to the fullest!

Kaylee's First Week of School

2008-08-29T18:55:00.003-05:00

Kaylee is officially a Kindergartener. As her mommy, I was not anxious for this day. It marks the first official day of "growing up". I'm not ready for my baby girl to grow up. I will miss her being so helpful with her little brothers. I will miss her lengthy nonsense babbling in an attempt to keep herself from napping. I will miss her asking me a million questions about the earth, and everything in it...things I don't have the answers to. I will miss her whining....wait, did I just say that out loud? I will miss everything about her. I know, she's only gone for 7 hours, but still.......this is new territory for me. Ok, so it's not about me......it's about her. I know this. She's growing up, and I can't stop it. (I will try and turn off the tears now)

Sunday night, she was so nervous that she almost made herself sick. Her tummy hurt. She cried all day over everything and nothing. I finally sat her down and asked her what was wrong. She was nervous, she replied. Nervous about what? Afraid she would not know all the answers, afraid she wouldn't make friends (Ya, right, have you met my daughter, the social butterfly?) and afraid she would get lost (hhhm, could have something to do with the fact that Mommy got lost last Thursday at meet the teacher night?). I assured her that it was OK to be nervous, but that everything would be ok. She has the help of her teacher, the student teacher, and all the grown-ups at the school. I told her she has NEVER had problems making friends, and that she would probably make a friend on the first day.

We were right. Monday, she met a friend. We asked what the friend's name was. She couldn't remember, but it starts with a "D". I had to snicker at this. So did Chris....he always laughs at me when I swear something starts with a certain letter....SWEAR IT...and I am usually wrong....WAY wrong. (that's the ONLY thing I am EVER wrong about, by the way...hehehe) But, she did good. Her teacher played a scavenger hunt game with the class where they had to go around the school looking for certain people with a shape on them (nurse, librarian, gym teacher, music teacher, etc). Wish they would have had that on meet the teacher night...maybe I wouldn't have gotten us lost..... 2 times.

Tuesday, we asked her if she remembered her friends name. Nope, she talks too quiet and I still didn't hear her.

Wednesday, she finally remembered her friends name....Daylyn. Not sure how to spell it, but that's how you pronounce it anyways.

Thursday, she had another good day. She's getting smart...WAY too smart.

Friday, she had to see the nurse. She handed me a note when she got in the car. I was like "uh-oh" I read the diagnosis....."chapped lips" I think I laughed out loud. She went twice that day to have vaseline put on her chapped lips. Her friend had to go to...the friend who's name she couldn't remember.....because her strap from her flip flop came loose, so the nurse had to tape it back on. Poor nurse. I wonder how much of her day goes to stuff like this. What a wonderful lady.

She has a long 3-day fun filled weekend ahead of her. Then, back to school on Tuesday. I'm not used to us getting up that early, but we'll get in a routine soon.

(eating her breakfast before her first day of school)

(she's ready to go)

(Wednesday's outfit, too cute not to snap a picture of)

Geesh, she looks so grown up already. I'm about to cry.

A friend of mine sent me this and I thought it was too good not to share.

A Kiss for Kindergarten

Tomorrow is the day my child will go to Kindergarten for the first time. A whole new world opens up to you then. You are ready to meet it. You’ve handled your new Kindergarten clothes so many times in anticipation of the day you would wear them.
But I wonder how ready your parents are for this new life of yours? If I could, I’d hold you back just a little longer, closer to me, where I can shelter your world and share your life.
Tomorrow when you take my hand for the walk to school, I will be the one who dawdles. When you reach the school door, you’ll leave me, anxious to join the others. You’ll walk through it as the others have done without a backward glance. There I’ll stand wanting to shed a few tears because my baby has become a little child. But, I won’t cry. Instead I’ll concentrate on being proud. Proud that we have made you secure enough in five years to stand on your own for a little while before racing home to share the news of the day. How we’ve built so much security, I don’t know. All we’ve done is LOVE you.
Tomorrow you will meet the ultimate authority. Soon you will tell me with complete confidence what has to be done because “the Teacher says.” I must surrender part of my position to another who is about to enter your life and your heart. No longer will I know all your friends. Tomorrow you will broaden horizons and meet other children, I shall know only through your tales of the school room.
You will soon learn to keep your own little secrets as you master the art of making Christmas presents, and someone else’s hands will help you to do it. But there is much for us to share this year as you tell me what “Teacher said” and “Joey did”. And I will listen enchanted as I view the new world through your eyes.
It’s so hard to let you go, my child. For five years you have been my companion. Tomorrow I begin a new life too. Yes, I hate to see you leave behind the sheltered world of home but I will always be with you. Love reaches beyond the doors of school rooms, beyond the boundaries of neighborhoods, beyond time and place.
In the morning, I will help you put on your new crisps clothes and we will be on our way. But tonight – tonight for the last time, you are simply my baby. I hold you now at bedtime just a little longer, cuddle you just a bit closer, give you one more kiss before saying goodnight. In your excitement, you don’t notice my stealing that extra kiss. I need it for kindergarten.

Adapted from Family Digest

Are you crying too?

27 Pancakes

2008-08-28T19:53:00.000-05:00

My son, a picky eater, has only a handful of things I can get him to eat. French fries, Chicken nuggets, Cheeseburgers, Chips and cheese (mexican food), and anything that has the word "cookie" in it. (In my vocabulary, I call granola bars, nutri-grain bars, and anything else that resembles a sweet snack... a cookie, just so he'll eat it) He eats so healthy right? I blame myself because that's basically what I ate when I was pregnant with him....hehehe. We've recently added "popcorn plates" to our menu too. These are chocolate chip rice cakes, that I purchased for ME when I joined Weight Watchers again this time, but if he'll eat them, I'll gladly share.

I ask my children what they want for breakfast and lunch, just so that A.) they feel like they are making a grown up decision, and B.) I dont have to bother making something only for them to reject it as soon as I put it on the table. So, I let them choose those meals, and I get to pick what's for dinner. It really makes my life easier.

Tuesday, I ask Brayden what he wants for breakfast. We're in a hurry so that we can get Kaylee off to school in time. He looks in the freezer and picks the Eggo Mini Pancakes. Cool! Microwaveable, quick, easy, and he can eat them in the car if needed. So, I heat him up 6 mini pancakes. He scarfs them down. We take Kaylee to school. We get home. He wants more. So, I make him 3 more for a snack. Lunch, same thing....he wants pancakes. Ok, if that's what my baby wants, that's what my baby gets. I heat up 9 more. He takes a while to eat the last 3 or 4, so he ends up taking them into his bed with him as he watches a movie and prepares for nap. I go check on him 15 minutes later...pancakes are gone, tummy is full, and he is ZONKED out. So, 18 pancakes in 1 day! Granted, they are mini pancakes, but still....are we tired of them yet?

Nope! Wednesday morning, I ask again, what he would like for breakfast....I get this..."Pancakes...lotta pancakes!" Ok, 9 more pancakes....in a bowl...in the car.

MY SON ATE 27 PANCAKES IN 2 DAYS! Holy Cow!

2 Week Post Op

2008-08-22T22:14:00.004-05:00

Grayson is 9 weeks old today! It's been 2 weeks since his surgery and he is healing up so nicely. He is back to his normal self. He lets me get a break now too, and he likes being in his swing and his bouncy chair so I don't have to hold him non stop. He went through a growth spurt last week, and he's back to sleeping more than 3 hours at night at a time. He actually gave us a 4.5 and a 5 hour stretch last night. Mimi came over today and he loved snuggling in her arms. If he gets fussy and I sing "You are my Sunshine" he calms down quickly. He loves when Mommy sings that song to him. His head looks so normal now, it's hard to even tell that he had surgery (except for the scar). We're actually both leaving him for the first time tomorrow so we can go celebrate our anniversary. I bet I don't make it more than 4 hours without him. :)

The Boys checkups and Stats

2008-08-20T13:49:00.002-05:00

We took the boys to the doctor today for their checkups.

Brayden was first and he had his 3 yr checkup. He weighed 33 pounds and is 37" tall. Both numbers are in the 50% on the growth chart. He is doing well for development and is doing everything he is supposed to be doing. Some memorable moments of his second year:
He started preschool last year, right after he turned 2.

He also helped us break the news of his new sibling on the way at our Thanksgiving dinner.

He sat on Santa's lap this year without crying. (this is his school holiday picture)

He moved into his big boy room in January. We made him a NASCAR room and he LOVES it!

He potty trained in May at the age of 32 months (2yrs 8 months for those non-mommy's)

Part of his potty training rewards was a train table, when he fully mastered both pee and poo in the potty.

And, finally, he sported a very cool mohawk for most of the year. We're currently debating cutting it off or letting him keep it. He also has a love for pancakes like Mommy.....

Grayson had his 2 month check up next, and he weighs 11 lbs 4 oz now (up from 7lbs 15oz at birth) and is 23 inches long (up from 20 inches at birth)! He is growing very well. He is also in the 50th% for both height and weight. His head is in the 95th% right now (16 3/4 inches), but it's also still a bit swollen, so the measurement wasn't the most accurate. (I say he has lots of brains up there) He had to get his first round of shots, and he did very well. I had to leave to go to the bathroom b/c I can't stand to hear him cry, so Daddy had to comfort him during that part. Grayson is starting to coo and talk to us, and he rolled over last week on his own from front to back. He has been smiling for a few weeks too, especially when Mommy talks to him. His head control is getting better each day too and he is reaching for objects in front of him.
Here are some pictures of his second month:

Yep, he is doing that......

Grams and Grandpa holding him

Well, that's all that is new in our house this week.

Kaylee's First Dance Class

2008-08-19T11:14:00.003-05:00

In our house, in an attempt to not go COMPLETELY broke by having a girl, I made a deal with Kaylee(yes, I make deals with my 5 yr old). Once she was in Kindergarten, which is FREE, and I wasn't paying for Mothers Day Out anymore, I would let her take some extra cirricular activities. She wanted to take Dance, Gymnastics (pronounced by her as "JEWnastics") AND soccer. Wait, wait, wait.... you only get to choose one per year please....or it was pointless to make said deal since that would all cost me WAY more than her entire year of Pre-K. So, she chose Dance class for this year, gymnastics next year, and soccer the next. That,.... I can handle!

All summer long I have been getting drilled about when dance starts. I put it on her calendar, I showed her on my calendar, we went over the days of the week again so she would remember.....to no avail. Finally, the weekend before dance class starts, the countdown is on! She is literally counting down the days, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday!

Tuesday, she was at Grams house in the morning. She was so concerned that she wouldn't be home in time to get ready. She got home in plenty of time to change into her dance outfit, let me put her hair in a bun, and gather her tap and ballet shoes into a bag. (I think she looks absolutely adorable, with her cute little butt in the leotard, skinny legs sticking out from underneath her tu-tu, and hair pulled back softly into a bun. She suddenly looks so grown up too. I'm about to cry....my baby girl is growing up WAY too fast!) I can't help but smile.....and pinch her butt.

So, we go to the dance studio, and all the moms wait outside in the hallway while the little ballerina's all walk so gently into class with their ballet slippers on. (Again, she amazes me by how fast she has grown up.) They close the door and we wait outside for an hour. (Us Moms only get to peek in through the window on the first class of each month) When class is over, she gets to choose a piece of candy and she comes running over to me. (She asks if she can save her candy for tomorrow since it's already almost bedtime and that's way too much sugar before bed....she makes me so proud!) As we're walking out to the car I ask her about her class and the conversation goes a little something like this:

Mommy: "So, how was class?"
Kaylee: "Good"
Mommy: "What did you learn?"
Kaylee: "Dance"
Mommy: "What is your teachers name?"
Kaylee: "I dunno"
Mommy: "Did you have fun?"
Kaylee: "Yeah"
Mommy: "Do you want to keep doing dance?"
Kaylee: "Yes"
Mommy: "well, tell me all about it...what did you do first?"
Kaylee: "We Stretched"
Mommy: "then what?"
Kaylee: "freeze dance"
Mommy: "what's that?"
Kaylee: "Where you dance and when the music stops, you freeze"
(oh duh)
Mommy: "then what?"
Kaylee: "That's it"
(glad to see where my money is going)

(She got those conversation skills from her Daddy, apparently)

So, we get in the car and go back over to Grams house where she promised to show me the moves she learned when we get there. We walk in and she suddenly turns shy.....my 5 yr old social butterfly that has never met a stranger in her life, is hiding behind me! I am STUNNED! (as is everybody else who is reading this who has ever met my social butterfly) She didn't want to show the moves to Grams either. Grams, Aunt Casey, and Madison all sat down to watch Kaylee put on her show and she just stood there. She wouldn't even let Grams take pictures without a pouty face. Later I find out that she didn't want to put on a show because she was worried that people would make fun of her if she got a move wrong, or messed up. Geesh, sounds like her mommy! (That is why I don't dance, in case you were wondering, but I have NEVER said that out loud to her) She finally let Grams get a few pictures after all the rest of us left the room.

So, she loves dance, although you would never guess it from this post! Maybe next week, I'll get better answers out of her, and she may be a tad bit more excited and back to her normal bubbly self after class. Over the past few days, I have since learned that she jumped and "ballayed" across the floor, and learned first position and plia. Oh, and she stretched to Miley Cyrus....which she enjoyed!

She will also get to be in the local town Christmas Parade and she has a recital at the end of the season. I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures from that one!

One week post op- UPDATE

2008-08-15T14:29:00.000-05:00

Grayson is 8 weeks old today! I can't believe it's only been 1 week since his surgery. He is healing up so fast! He is eating great! His swelling is almost completely gone, and his stitches are starting to disolve. Every morning when we wake up, there is another part of his scabs that is missing...I know, that is gross, but it's the truth. He is still sleeping on a pillow, and we have to put a pillow down anywhere where we lay him...IF he lets us lay him down.

Oops, we took them from opposite directions, but you can still see the difference. The big lump in the back is gone (hard to tell because the background is dark on the sideview after shot), and the head is much rounder, and less oblong shaped. In the middle, above his ears, it is not narrow anymore, it is filled out.

Front view from 1 week after.

Day 4

2008-08-12T14:19:00.002-05:00

4:46pm- I got a 2 minute break today from holding Grayson, just long enough to brush my teeth and change shirts. I'm still in PJ pants and glasses. He won’t let me put him down anywhere. Chris is holding him now, but only with my PJ shirt from this morning wrapped around him. Good Grief! Chris said he thinks the Dr forgot to cut the cord when he came out….He’s definitely attatched to momma!!! Kaylee and Brayden just got home. Kaylee had a million questions about his scar. She wants to know how long until she can kiss his head again. Brayden just asked “what is that?” and after I explained it was a big boo-boo, he rubbed Grayson’s arm and said “It’s OK li’l buddy” Too cute.

Each day gets easier. I know he is in a lot of pain, or uncomfortableness (is that a word? today it is anyways) so I try not to let it bother me. Especially knowing that it's my last child, I am loving the cuddleness that he shows. He won't sleep in his pack n play, he will only sleep next to me. I guess I should feel honored, but at the same time, I need a good nights sleep for once. I'm exhausted. What happened to his 6 hour block at night? He is only going about 4 hours now! So, I'm up feeding him 2x per night now. I am so tired in the mornings, Kaylee pretty much gets everything that Brayden needs and plays "mommy" to him while I doze on and off from the couch. I'm so thankful for her, but I also feel bad that I don't have the energy to do anything. I can't wait to get back to the gym either, but that will have to wait until Grayson gets his helmet on.

Discharge Day!

2008-08-11T14:10:00.000-05:00

8:30am- Grayson got his last blood draw just now. They’re gonna check his blood counts and then we’re discharged. I’m gonna shower and start packing up.

10:55am- We are officially discharged. Grayson got his IV’s out. I picked up 14 bottles of my frozen milk from the milk bank, and as soon as he’s done eating, we will be heading out. I’m gonna stop by Target and get him a BUMBO chair. I think he’ll really like that since we found out he can’t stand the bouncy chair or swing anymore because of his head. We brought an outfit with a hood so we didn't have a bunch of stares from strangers as we leave.

7:36pm- We’re home! Grayson’s fussy, and I can’t seem to find a way to get him comfortable except in my arms. He didn’t want in his crib, the pack n play, the bumbo chair, nothing! It’s gonna be a fun few days if he won’t let me put him down…

I love that face! He is such a pouter..... (wonder where he gets that from....hehehe)

My kids come home tomorrow. Chris is picking them up on his way home from work. I miss them terribly and can't wait to give them a big hug.

Day 2 of my emotional roller coaster

2008-08-10T13:52:00.003-05:00

4:01am- Grayson is back to his normal schedule, he has given us his usual 5 hour block of sleep tonight. He is feeding now and he didn’t cry when Chris picked him up and carried him to the couch to me. His last dose of Tylenol was all the way back at 10:00 p.m. so it has been a while since he had some. He is also peeing well, he fills up his diaper like normal.

4:49am- He had an excellent feeding. First time he has taken both sides since surgery. He got some tylenol and went back to sleep. I’m a very happy momma. His left eye is swollen shut, which is normal, but overall, he looks really good.

9:34am- I’m holding Grayson now. We had a good night. Dr came in this morning and took off his bandages. The incision looks really good. It looks like an “S” across the top of his head. The back of his head is very soft. They brought him a mobile and a bouncy seat to use while we are here. We just gave him a sponge bath and cleaned him up a bit. When he is awake, he coos and flirts with the nurses. They are totally smitten with him. His left eye is now black and bruised. His first black eye! We’re bored, but we are going home tomorrow at least. I’m gonna try and get in a few naps today since I know my other 2 monsters won’t let me sleep much once they get home.

3:14pm- Grayson loves watching NASCAR…go figure. We moved his crib to right in front of the TV so he could see it closer, and he is reaching out to try and grab the cars…like it’s 3D or something.It’s really a funny sight to see. His appetite is back in full force. He’s draining me every time. Yay me!

3:48pm- Grayson got a little fussy and he’s not due for tylenol yet. He’s fed, burped, changed….so we went for a walk up and down the hall. He looked at all the lights in the ceiling and all the artwork in the halls. His 4 favorites were the T-rex dinosaur, dog, cat, and flower basket paintings. He fell asleep on my shoulder on the way back to the room, so he’s content.

I've had a few people ask me how I have stayed so strong through this all.....Yeah right! I certainly don't feel like I have. I'm a mess. I can't think straight. I cry every time I look at him. As I nurse him, I just drip tears constantly all over him. I feel like I'm back to post partum again. I am soo not strong! I'm just good at putting up a front so people don't see my true emotions. I hate it when people see me cry. I'm almost man-like there. I feel like a baby if people see me cry, so the only person that I allow is Chris...unless you've happened to catch me in the heat of an emotional breakdown. I am very emotional, but I try not to be. I just keep thinking "Did I do something to cause this?" "Was it the chiropractor adjustments that I had while pregnant?" "Was is my spin classes, or my workout routine?" etc....I know it is sporadic, and we probably just drew the short straw, but I keep thinking it's my fault. I can tell you this, I AM DONE HAVING KIDS!!! I can't go through another c-section, and I definitely can't handle my kids going through anything like this. This is the hardest thing I have EVER had to deal with. No mother should ever see her children in pain like this.

I keep thinking of moms who have lost young children, or their children have life threatening illnesses like cancer, and such..... and my heart just breaks for them. I have always said "God will only give you what he knows you can handle" and even though I don't think I can handle this, He obviously knows something I don't. I am so thankful to Him for bringing my baby back safely, but on the other hand, I keep thinking why does he take some children so young? I know it's because he needed them for something very important up in Heaven, but still, my heart breaks for them! And how is it that these children are so strong? Grayson went from morphine on day 1 to Tylenol on day 2. Tylenol doesn't even work when I have a headache...how could it be working so well for him?

Recovery! 1 day post-op

2008-08-09T13:46:00.000-05:00

10:20am- I got 7 hours of peaceful sleep last night. Stayed at Randy’s, took a shower with his pressure washer shower. LOVED it. Grayson is doing better. Still not eating well, in lots of pain still. About to try and feed him again. Drs’ think he is doing better today. He was watching nature TV when we arrived, it was really cute.

12:46pm- Breastfed Grayson for a few minutes. He latched right on, but didn’t want too much. I think it hurts to swallow from the tracheal tube thingy he had in during the operation. He is in a private room now. Got his oxygen tube taken off, and all his vitals monitors are removed. He only has his IVs in for now and is still on the saline drip until he eats more. They will probably take his bandages off tomorrow. He’s off Morphine, and only on Tylenol now. I get a food tray now too, since I am breastfeeding, and Chris’ president of his company brought us some lunch since he lives nearby. Very appreciative of that.

2:56pm- Grayson has eaten 3 times today so far. We’re about to take a nap since he is sleeping. He still screams anytime his head is moved. I know he’s in a lot of pain, but he is only given Tylenol. But, he’s awake quite a bit and not sleeping the whole day away.

6:25pm- Grayson is eating much better and making improvements at each feeding. He is nursing for about 5-10 minutes, and then I pump out the leftovers (about 2.5-3oz) and he bottle feeds on that. He is wanting to eat about every 2-3 hours. He kicked his foot and tore the tape off his IV so he cried in pain when that happened. Nurse came in and taped it back down, and took out his saline drip. So, he only has the IV leads in, but he is not hooked up to anything anymore. He eats better out of a bottle at the time, because we feed him while he is laying on his pillow. When he nurses, I think it puts too much pressure on his head and he hurts after a few minutes. Plus, it’s more work, and he’s just plain worn out. My supply is hurting a little bit, but I am still getting out more than what he is taking at each feeding, so I’m not upset about it. I’m just keeping up the pumping after each feeding and hoping to get it back to where it was by the time he needs more. I have faith in my body. It hasn’t ever failed me yet with him. He looks so peaceful while he sleeps. I miss my older kids though. I called Mimi's house to talk to them and Brayden informed me that he was playing….playing with what???, I said. His tallywacker…. OMG! BOYS!!!

10:32pm- We're about to head to bed. I just finished nursing Grayson. The nurse helped me get him in a good position without hurting his head. She's wonderful and so helpful!

8/8/08 The BEST and WORST day of my life

2008-08-08T19:35:00.005-05:00

Friday morning: 5:45am- we arrived at the hospital surgery admissions dept a tad bit early. We're supposed to be there at 6am. We decided to snap a few pics of Grayson before surgery.

6:00am- we are being checked into the surgery admissions dept. He weighed 11 pounds even this morning!!!

6:15am- we head back to the surgery admission waiting room where they give us a gown for Grayson to put on. He's not too happy about it. He also hasn't eaten in over 4 hours. He doesn't understand why Mommy won't feed him when he is hungry.

8:15am- still waiting in the waiting room with Grayson. The surgeon/anesthesiologist and nurse just told us all about the procedure and how it would take place.

8:30am- I just handed Grayson off to the surgeon team and they took my baby to the operating room. I'm a freaking wreck, I've been crying like crazy. I just pray that he gets returned back to me safely and with no lasting effects. This is by far the hardest thing I have had to do in my entire life! I handed off my child to a surgeon to be cut open! This is sooo unfair. No child should have to go through this. Especially one so young. We're heading to the waiting room where we have some family waiting for us. I need to get some breakfast in me before I vomit from my nerves wrecking my tummy. Then, I need to go pump...I'm so full, I'm hurting!

10:27am-IVs are in, anesthesia working, and they’re starting surgery now. Next update will be at 11:15

12:04pm- They’re stitching him up. Didn’t lose much blood, which is good. Dr. will be out in 30 minutes for update.

12:22pm- Surgery went well. Took a little longer because the skull had also fused in the front. Only took 2 oz of blood. Next 24 hours in ICU. Good

1:21pm- just left to go see Grayson in post-op. Should be a little swelling, but otherwise doing well. We saw him briefly and he is swollen and cried when he saw us. I thought handing him off was the hard part. NOPE! Seeing him in recovery....I think I cried almost a gallon of tears. He was pale white from the blood loss. He looked very bruised. His skin had a purple tint to it. He was in pain, looking at me, crying out with this awful look on his face like "mommy, why don't you take the pain away". His cry was more like a sheep "aaah" and it was very weak, from the tube that was down his throat. He was confused, disoriented, and in lots of pain. They gave him his first dose of morphine while we were there. They kept his hair for me that they had to shave. It was in a biohazard bag. (I guess that was all they had) He had oxygen blowing on him and was hooked up to what seemed like a million cords.

2:39pm- Grayson is in ICU getting adjusted to his bed. We will get to see him again shortly and feed him.

6:13pm- Got to hold Grayson for a few hours. every time he moves, he cries. he’s in a lot of pain. not really eating, just sleeping. I’m tired. Maybe I’ll sleep more than 3 hours tonight??

7:26pm- Briefly fed Grayson…ok, so I was really just his pacifier but he did get a little milk. They took his catheter out and finally got some size one diapers. (they had him in a newborn size and he almost busted out) he is sleeping and quiet right now in mommy’s arms.

8:29pm- Grayson is sleeping peacefully. He can lay on the back of his head now…I wonder if he realizes it yet. I keep singing "You are my Sunshine" to him. That's his song from Mommy.

10:30pm- We're heading to our brother-in-laws house about 5 minutes away to crash for the night. I'm exhausted and my eyes burn from lack of sleep and too much crying.

Surgery Re-scheduled

2008-08-04T19:33:00.000-05:00

Grayson's surgery was moved from Thursday (8/7/08) to Friday (8/8/08) due to hurricane Edouard possibly making landfall tomorrow.

We'll keep you all posted on his status on Friday through out the day as we know more.

We don't have an exact time yet for his surgery. The nurse said there is a surgery in the morning already on that day, so it will probably be late morning/afternoon.

8 is our family's lucky number, so we believe the date of his surgery will bring us good things and positive results! (Kind of ironic that it takes place on that day due to an "act of God" delaying it)

What is Craniosynostosis?

2008-08-01T12:22:00.000-05:00

Wikipedia's definition: Craniosynostosis,(′krā·nē·ō′sin·i′stō·ses), is a medical condition in which some or all of the sutures in the skull of an infant or child close too early, causing problems with normal brain and skull growth. It can result in craniostenosis, which is the skull deformity caused by the premature closure of the cranial sutures. Also intracranial pressure can be increased.

Often confused with skull deformation due to birth or sleeping position (positional plagiocephaly), craniosynostosis is a permanent cranial deformation, and the only way to fix it is through surgery. Although there are several theories about the cause of this condition, research has shown that the deformation is sporadic.

When a baby is born, the skull is divided up into different segments, and each segment contains sutures that will ultimately fuse together as a child gets older.
But when a baby is born with craniosynostosis, one or multiple sutures fuse together too early, leaving the brain little or no room to grow. The brain must push its way in a different direction, which most often causes cranial distortion and pain.
If a child waits too long or never receives treatment, the child can be susceptible to physical and developmental problems.

Scaphocephaly (Grayson's type) involves fusion of the sagittal suture. This sutures runs from front to back starting at the fontanel, at the top of the head, and extends backwards along the middle of the skull to the back of the head. Often the fontanel, or soft spot, is absent or closed. A ridge can be seen, or felt, running along the top of the head in between the right and left half of the skull. When viewed from above, the skull is wider near the forehead and gets narrower towards the back of the skull (which is the opposite of what is normal: that is, the back of the skull should be wider than the front). When looking straight on at the child's face, the forehead seems quite big, or prominent, and the sides of the skull look narrow. Often described as resembling a football or a boat.

The incidence of scaphocephaly is one in 2,000 births. It is the most common form of craniosynostosis. Almost all children affected with scaphocephaly require surgical treatment.

Surgery is typically used to separate the fused sutures of the skull as well as to reshape the skull. Typical surgery begins with a zigzag incision from ear to ear across the top of the head. The scar left by this type of incision makes the hair look more natural than that left by a straight incision would.
Next, a strip of skull is removed along the sagittal suture line. Grayson also had to have a strip of skull removed along the lambdoid suture. So, his strip removal resembled an upside down "Y" shape. He also had some endoscopic cuts made on the side of his skull to "fan" it out so it would widen the back. The skull is then reshaped and held together by dissolvable stitches. Finally, the incision is closed by disolvable stitches and the head is wrapped in dressing and gauze.

1 month old!

2008-07-20T19:07:00.001-05:00

Grayson is 1 month old today! He is starting to talk to us, and he gave us his first smile. I didn't get to capture it on camera yet though. He is sleeping about 6 hours during his first stretch, so I am happy about that. I load him up at 10pm and he sleeps until usually 4am. Then, he goes until about 8am for his next feeding, and then we are up for the day.
Here are a few pictures of him from his first month with us.
Granny holds him (that's his Great Granny)

Brayden holding him:

Kaylee holding him:

His first bath: He loves bathtime and relaxes so much he almost falls asleep

We finally caught him smiling:

Sleeping oh so sweet:

This picture reminds me of Austin Powers character "Dr Evil" saying "One Billion Dollars"

Surgery is Scheduled

2008-07-18T18:50:00.003-05:00

Grayson is 4 weeks old today! The clinic called me back and his surgery is scheduled for August 7, 2008. Dr Leurssen wants to do it earlier than I originally thought because he said the bones are still "moldable" this early in life, and the longer we wait, the harder the surgery is on the child. The scariest part now is that he will need a blood transfusion. We are trying to find a family member who will donate and can be a match. They have to test for the CRV virus, which most adults carry in their blood, but children do not. So, it has to be VERY clean blood. Chris, Debbie, Casey and Chris Sr are all going to donate Monday. I am a freaking wreck! How am I supposed to hand off my child to someone else so they can cut open and perform major surgery on his head? No mother should have to go through this. EVER!

Our First Appt with the Neurosurgeon

2008-07-16T18:43:00.002-05:00

Today was a very emotional day for me. We met with Dr Leurssen at Tx Childrens Hospital nerosurgery clinic. He is the chief of neurology there. He explained to us the details of the surgery. He said he will do the zig zag incision across the top of his head from ear to ear. Then, he will remove the piece of bone that is fused and then stitch him back up. He took one look at him and could tell he had it. They did the MRI and scanned him for a helmet. He will have to wear the helmet for 6-8 months after the surgery. I cried at the thought of Grayson going through surgery so early in life. He's so tiny. He weighed 8lbs 8 oz today, but he grew an inch and a half. So, he's up to 21.5 inches now. I am the most terrified of the anesthesia. Too many "what if's" are out there for me to worry about, and for those who know me, you know I worry about EVERYTHING! I am the world's biggest worry wart! This totally sucks! First, I had to have surgery to get him out, and then he has to go through surgery also. I'm a mess today. I can't even think straight. Oh, and it's my Dad's birthday. I need to remember to call him. Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T18:33:00.000-05:00

We went and watched fireworks today. Grayson slept through the whole thing. I had to feed him twice, but with my nursing cover, it's so discreet.

I lost another 7 lbs too. So, I’ve lost 20 so far. Grayson had another check up on Thursday. He weighed 8 lbs 5 oz. He gained 10 oz in 7 days! My milk must be good. He is on a schedule, somewhat. He eats a lot at 10pm. I feed him for about an hour. Then, he sleeps until 2-2:30am, and the he eats for about 30-45 minutes and then he sleeps until 6am. We go back to sleep after that feeding while Chris gets up with the kids at 7am. Me and Grayson sleep until about 9am. I am still really sore, but I am off the pain meds.

Day Twelve

2008-07-02T18:30:00.001-05:00

Chris took me to go get a pedicure today. It was nice to get out of the house. He got one also. We went to lunch too. It was a nice “date” and I enjoyed myself! I am pretty self sufficient now. I shaved by myself, and I can squat and everything. I can do everything I’m just slow going. I just wish I could drive. I feel cooped up not being able to drive anywhere. I don’t know if I can make it to my Dr appt for the release. I may have to drive before then or I’ll go crazy. I looked at my scar today. It looks ugly, but it’s so low, no one will ever see it. Tomorrow, Grayson goes for his 2 week checkup and heel stick. Then, my kids are coming home!!!! My tummy is shrinking down nicely. I think the breastfeeding is helping a lot! I am weighing in on Friday for my official weight.

I’m off the steroids, but I think I may need another round. I am only about 90% better, and I am still using nose spray about 2 times a day.

One Week Old!

2008-06-27T18:28:00.000-05:00

I woke up today and could not breathe! MAJOR SINUS INFECTION! I had to go to the ENT and get on steroids. I can’t feed Grayson for 4 hours after taking them. So, I have to feed him, pump, take the pills, and give him the expressed milk in between. I hope these steroids help! I’m so tired though. Grayson is 1 week old today!!!!! I’m off the pain pills too! But, I am able to get out of bed on my own. Yay me! I lost 13 pounds so far.

Day Six

2008-06-26T18:27:00.000-05:00

Today, we had Grayson’s first ped check up. He has gained back 4.5 oz since we left the hospital. He’s only has 3 oz to go to be back up to birth weight. We go back on Thursday for another checkup. He is still eating well. I was able to feed him without the nipple shells today! Maybe I won’t have to wear them! I’m so engorged!!!! It hurts! I had my first nurse in public today. It was so easy with the hooter hider! Chris took me to the mall and I got some nursing bras WITH SUPPORT and some nursing tops. Big accomplishment for me: I shaved my own legs today! Woo Hoo!

Day five

2008-06-25T18:26:00.000-05:00

I am feeling a little better. I wish I could do more on my own, but it will come with time. I still feel very lumpy! I can’t wait to see how much weight I am left with. Still on pain meds, but Grayson is eating like a champ! He is going in 2-3 hour increments. He is starting to cluster feed though, which scares me. My friend did that and ended up with a breast infection from her body making too much milk thinking she was nursing triplets. So, we introduced the pacifier tonight! He did much better with feedings! He just wanted to suck, that’s all. I’m getting around and moving OK. Still need help getting out of bed and showering the bottom half of me though.

Day four

2008-06-24T18:24:00.000-05:00

Still sore! I am really swollen too. My ankles are so puffy and my toes look like sausages! My older kids come home today! I miss them so much! Chris has been taking care of the house and doing wonderful! I am so lucky to have him.

Day Three

2008-06-23T18:24:00.001-05:00

Today, we get to go home! Yay! Grayson lost 8 oz at the hospital, but he is not jaundiced at all! We have our first checkup on Thursday. My milk came in today!

Day two

2008-06-22T18:22:00.001-05:00

Walked the halls today. It feels better to sit in the chair. I am so tired, but I don’t want to climb in bed and take a nap, or I may not get out of bed! Grayson is still eating well. He spent the night in the nursery and only came in for feedings. They were monitoring his blood sugar levels closely, and requested that he stay in the nursery with them. I need some sleep anyways. We had to supplement 1 oz of formula after a feeding, but other than that, he is doing great!

The Diagnosis

2008-06-21T17:31:00.002-05:00

The hospital pediatrician came in today to visit with me. My Dad was there with me because Chris had to take the kids to a birthday party. She told me that she thinks Grayson has Craniosynostosis. Say what? I've never heard of that. When she described to me what it was, I explained to her that his head was shaped like that because of the way he was trying to come out of my pelvis the day before. She said "I hope I'm wrong, but please go get a 2nd opinion". She told me the only way to correct it was to have surgery. A very invasive surgery. She explained to me how the surgery will happen and what it will correct. She said they will probably want to do it between months 4-6 of his life. So, I am thinking between Halloween and Christmas. But, I am going to get a 2nd opinion. She refers me to someone at Texas Childrens Hospital. I asked her about the helmets that little kids can wear. Could that correct it since it's a mis shapen head? She tells me that the helmets are for children who's head is still soft, and not fused like Grayson's. I plan to go home and google some information about it and see what I can find out.

Grayson's first full day of life

2008-06-21T17:11:00.000-05:00

Saturday, June 21,2008 ~Day one~

I can’t believe how it all ended. I’m sore! Grayson is beautiful! I’m drugged up on pain meds! I can’t do anything by myself. Chris has to help me do everything! I can’t get out of bed, can’t wipe, can’t take a shower….I feel totally handicapped. Grayson is latching on good though. I am using breast shells to help draw out the nipple. Can’t wait for the milk to come in.

BIRTH DAY! Grayson Alexander has arrived

2008-06-20T16:57:00.001-05:00

Woke up at 3:30am, had some crampiness, thought I had to poop. Had one little piece come out. Cramps subsided, went back to bed.

5:45am- woke up again, cramping, and thought I had to poop again. I had another tiny piece come out, and when I wiped there was blood on the TP. I called for Chris to come in and as I was talking to him trying to figure out why I was bleeding, we noticed that I was having contractions about 4 minutes apart. Painful contractions, that hurt and I couldn’t talk through. We called the Dr and he said to come on in.

7:00am- We arrived at the hospital to be checked and monitored. I was still contracting every 3-4 minutes. They cheked me and I was dilated to 4cm.

7:45am- We were admitted to the hospital and checked into our room. My nurse was rude, and blew my vein on my left hand. I told her my right hand was better, but she didn’t listen to me. Stupid Bitch! (luckily she had somewhere else to be, so I got a new nurse...a very nice nurse)

8:40am- Checked me and I was dilated to 6cm with a bulging bag of water. I am extremely happy because I am doing it this fast on my own! I ordered my epidural. I hoped they got there in time. I'm pretty miserable!

8:50am- Got my epidural, and now, I am feeling great!!!!

9:45am- they came and put in my catheter. I couldn’t feel a thing, but it burns when I feel like I have to pee.

11:00am- Dr Norton came in and broke my water. I was still at 6cm, but contracting regularly. I thought maybe my epidural was going to stall labor, but it didn’t. YAY me!

11:30am- Nurse checked me again and I was 7cm now. I’m making progress again! Yay me!

NOON- I am at 9cm and feeling the urge to push. Lots of pressure in my bottom.

12:10pm- I had my nurse to check me again, because I felt even more pressure. I’m still at 9cm with a little bit of anterior lip left.

12:40pm- still no change. Lots of pressure in my bottom, and my body won’t dilate the rest of the way. I talked to my nurse about pitocin. I don’t want it, but if it helps me get through that last centimeter, I will take it. I feel like I’m ready to push, but I can’t push yet.

2:00pm- Dr Norton came running in along with 3 nurses. Grayson’s heartbeat was down to 50, then back to 200, then down to 50, then back to 180. What is happeneing? My BP was 81/45….really low! We think he is stuck for some reason, but not sure why. Maybe a cord wrapped around his neck? They checked me and I was still 9cm with the lip left. They start flipping me side to side in hopes of helping him to descend. (flipping is VERY hard to do when you are numb from the waist down!)Dr Norton mentions a C-Section. I feel OK with it, if it means he will be here and be OK, but it's definitely not something I am eager about or even wanting to think about.

2:20pm- My anesthesiologist came in and topped off my epidural and gave me some stronger stuff in case we had to go back to the OR. They are still flipping me side to side.

2:30pm- Nurse came in and shaved me down below. I’m pretty sure the C-section is immenint at this point. Damn!

2:35- Dr Norton checks me again and he is still high, won’t descend, and I’m 9-9.5cm with an anterior lip still present. She said those God awful words “let’s go have a C-section!”

2:45pm- I was wheeled into the OR for an emergency C-section. I was disappointed that I would not be having the delivery I had hoped for, but I was proud of myself for going as far as I did on my own, and as quickly as I did. My labor was basically 8 hours (would have been shorter if he hadn’t gotten stuck) and I went into labor on my own.

3:01pm- Grayson Alexander was born weighing 7lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long. He was crooked in my uterus and his head was trying to come out with the back of his head first, instead of the top.

4:00pm- I am finally in recovery. I had a small tear in my uterus that had to be repaired, and then she had a plastic surgeon close me up so I wouldn’t have a big scar. He used this Dermabond stuff that glues your skin together instead of stitches. So, all of my stitches on the inside are dissolvable, and then I am glued together on the outside.

5:00pm- I was out of recovery and wheeled back into my room where Chris and Melissa were waiting for me. I finally got to see Grayson about 6pm. He is beautiful! I am soo Happy. There are no words to describe my emotions.

Any day now.....

2008-06-19T16:54:00.000-05:00

I just got back from getting my hair cut. I am feeling some contractions tonight. Timing them, but they are not too regular or painful. My colon is emptying out too. Didn’t think I had that much poo in me….

Gross....

2008-06-18T16:55:00.001-05:00

Lost the plug today in the shower. Pretty gross. Never lost it in my last 2 pregnancies, so I wasn't sure what it looked like.

Finally, a productive visit....

2008-06-17T16:48:00.002-05:00

I went to the Dr today, I'M FINALLY MAKING FORWARD PROGRESSION! YAY ME!!! Last Tuesday I was closed and tight... and high...I thought the baby had dropped last Thursday....I was right. He's at a -3 station, and I'm dilated to 2cm!! I'm also 50% effaced! I asked her about all these menstrual type cramps I'm having, since my tummy doesn't get hard with every one, and she said "that's pre-labor" and she said I'm in the "any day now" category! She's on call this weekend through Sunday, and then she leaves the country for a week on vacation. These cramps won't let up.... they are like lower menstrual cramps, non stop....but no stomach hardening... and then I have sharp shooting pains in my vajay-jay too...Man, it would be great if these turned productive today!

Kay, my backup babysitter is out of town this weekend. I called a couple people and they are all going out of town too....so I'm not sure what we will do with Brayden while I'm in labor. (Kaylee's gonna be in there with us, as is my mom, who will take her out if she needs to leave or gets freaked out) Murphy's law says it's gonna happen this weekend, since I don't have a babysitter.....ironically, mom is also supposed to be watching Kay's kids this weekend while they are out of town...

I really think he's gonna wait until after I get my hair cut on Thursday and then come on Friday. That's my guess. I have this "intuition" and so far in life, I have NEVER been wrong. I'ts kinda freaky in a way.

I would be OK with next week too, except that my Doctor is in France for the week and I REALLY wanted her to deliver Grayson...

Did I drop?

2008-06-12T16:46:00.000-05:00

I think the baby dropped today. We’ll find out at my next appt. He feels lower and I am having lots of pain in my "hoo-ha" too.

Ugh, another disappointing Dr Visit

2008-06-10T16:45:00.000-05:00

Another Dr visit….she said I’m completely closed! Is Grayson ever going to come out?

36 weeks, 2 days

2008-06-03T16:40:00.003-05:00

So, another Dr visit today. They showed I lost 2 lbs, which is good, considering last visit, I had gained 6! So, my total at the office is 33 lbs, 41 at home. Group B was negative, so I don’t have to have antibiotics at delivery. She checked me again and said I was still high and closed. I asked her how that was possible since I was 1 cm last week. She said I was a fingertip, but that counts as closed. I’m confused! How can I be making backwards progression? So, now I can't help but think he will be late like the other 2 kids. I may end up with a July 4th baby afterall. GGGRRRRRR, this is frustrating. I have decided that I am going to walk on the treadmill as much as possible now to help get things going. I quit the gym 3 weeks ago because of my chest cold, and since I have such horrible crotch pain, I haven’t made it a point to return. I need to get my butt in gear on that for weight reasons, and to help the labor progress. So, starting tonight, I am going to try and do at least an hour on the treadmill, even if it’s at a slower pace. I’ll check back in when I have more news.

Could it be "birth" day?

2008-05-31T16:39:00.001-05:00

Well, I had my baby shower today, and I got lots of diapers! I really didn’t need much of anything, so it was perfect! I got diapers, wipes, lotions, body wash, etc…. Then, Melissa and I went to go see Sex and the City. Good movie. On the way home, I had a few contractions and after a few of them, I realized they were coming at regular 7 minute intervals. They continued for about 2 hours. Chris got a little excited thinking it may be the day, but until they got harder, or to 5 minute intervals, we couldn’t go to the hospital. Hopefully, they are doing something though.