Turkey Day!

Tomorrow is Turkey Day!

I think it's going to be a very bittersweet day.

On Monday, Great Grandma C passed away. While it was expected, it doesn't make it any less of a loss for the family. She was a funny, feisty old woman, but from the first day I met her, I loved her. She always had me laughing with the way she would stick her tongue out at her son and still try to mother him. She always asked me how my mom was doing and I will never forget her being absolutely convinced that I wanted to wear her wedding dress in my wedding.

The visitation is on Friday and the funeral on Saturday. I am actually nervous. I don't do well in these situations. Being around grieving people is very difficult for me. I never know what to say and I'm not overly huggy with people. I won't have my kids to hide behind, either. Seeing other adults cry makes me rather uncomfortable.

Please pray for Chris's family this Thanksgiving.

Been awhile...again

It's been quite awhile since I've updated my blog! Whew! In the last couple months, Natalie turned one, Timmy turned 2 and a half (haha!), and I turned 30! WHOA! So old now. :)

Last week Natalie was really sick with a UTI. Her fever hovered around 103 for a few days and spiked up to 105 so we had our first ER visit. The next day she was admitted overnight for IV meds. She's 100% better now, thankfully! Next month we go back to get a VCUG done to check to see if she has VUR.

Now we are just struggling to get her to sleep at night. In the last week I have slept in the chair with her for at least a couple hours three different nights (not to mention the night I spent in the hospital sleeping on a rock hard "bed" in her room). It's been really miserable.

We also struggle most nights with getting Timmy to sleep without him getting out of his bed several times before he finally falls asleep. Right now they are in the same room but we are so tempted to switch the rooms back and share with Natalie again. No one gets any sleep and we haven't for months.

Other than that, we're all just fine and really enjoying the beautiful fall weather! Halloween is in a few days and I am really excited to take the kids trick-or-treating for the first time!

a letter to my daughter

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Originally uploaded by kittenhead66

Dear Natalie,

Tomorrow we leave for the cottage and you won't be back home for over a week. Part of me is super dreading tomorrow because I don't know what to expect with you being away from your comfort zone for so long. I should really be getting you and your brother packed (not you guys literally, haha. Your stuff I mean!) for this next week, but I'm putting it off.

Next week will be the first time that your daddy and I will get a vacation away from you guys. Let me rephrase that in a more positive way - not away from your guys, but without you. I don't like being away from you and your bubby, but at some point it has to happen. I guess I'm putting it off because I really felt more drawn to watching you play this afternoon.

You're growing up way too fast and doing so many new things every day. I'm afraid I'm going to miss something while you're with others. Today you started trying to dress yourself. Your big brother still doesn't know how to do that! You won't be one for three more weeks, and you're already a pro at walking, feeding yourself, and now dressing yourself? What next? Algebra?

You are one of the most independent babies I have ever seen. You will not let anyone help you do anything! Forget baby food, you want big kid stuff! And Heaven-forbid us holding a bottle for you! You are ready for sippies! You are so curious and already creative; you love phones and will use any toy to use as a phone.

There are so many things I want to remember about you at this age and since I haven't kept up on your baby book (BAD MOMMY! Someday I will try to catch up, I promise!), I'll try to remember these things now.

You love your car seat. You don't actually love to be strapped into it, but leave it in the middle of the room and it is the first place you go to relax. You love to try and work the straps yourself.

Patty-cake is your favorite game! You are an old-pro at rolling it. Tossing you up is a great climax to the rolling! I never learned the "toss you way up" part until I met your Grandma C. I always said, "put it in the oven," but I think putting you in the oven wouldn't be as exciting as tossing you up.

Food. You love food. Any food. You eat anything and everything from dill pickles to cottage cheese. Put it in front of you and you will consume it...as long as we don't try to feed it to you!

TIMMY. There is no one else in this world that you love as much as your brother (except Mommy and Daddy perhaps?). You follow him around like he is the only person in this world. The funny thing is, while you should be imitating him, he is the one imitating you. That is just your personalities. He loves his "Noodles" more than anything, too. He loves to give you rides on his dump truck and always brings you toys if he thinks you are sad or bored. Despite the fact that he gets mad at you for taking his cars or he pushes you down, you are already inseparable.

Then, of course, there is Mommy and Daddy. I guess we're just here at your beckon call. Hungry? Have a boob. Tired? Have a snuggle. You are a great little snuggler, but now that you can walk you just want to be on the move all the time!

You are a little chatterbox - when you want to be. No one hears you talk but us. You already say hi, uh-oh, dada, mama, and yes. You also will imitate so many random words when we least expect it!

I can't believe you're almost one. You are a blessing, joy, and the reason I get out of bed. I love you so much, sweet Natty Claire!

Loves,

Mommy

Timmyism #5 (and then some)

On Monday we were getting ready to pick my mom up to spend the day with us and Timmy told me, "Mommy sit in back seat, Timmy DRIIIIIIVE!"

On Monday night, Timmy ripped his shorts off, balled them up, threw them across the room and yelled, "He shoots! He SCOOOORES!! YES!" Thank you, Twist, on Fresh Beat Band.

This morning as I changed his diaper, he told me, "There's a sheep!"
"There's a sheep?" I ask.
"Yes!"
"Where is the sheep?"
"In my bum bum!" He grins.
"There's a sheep in your bum bum?"
"Yes!"

That poor sheep.

Timmyism #4

Timmy is really working on his manipulation and lying skills. Today he has been sooo full of it!!

[one] This morning he asked to have some "ohs" (cheerios) for morning snack, so I got him a bowl of dry ohs and brought them to him. He, in typical toddler manner, started crying and yelled, "NO OHS!" I gently tell him, "You can have ohs because you asked for them, or you can have nothing. He keeps crying so I remind him again, ohs or nothing. He stops crying for a minute, smirks a little, and slyly responds, "OR a fruit bar." STINKER.

[two] He hates to get changed right now, especially if he's poopy. I always tell him that if he cooperates I can get done faster, and he's starting to understand but most of the time he still kicks and puts up a fight when he gets changed. Knowing all of this, when I asked if he was poopy and ready for a change I watched the corners of his mouth turn a little. He tried so hard not to smile when he told me, "No, Mommy, I no poopy." I peeked in his dipe and sure enough, he had himself a healthy poo. STINKER. literally.

[three] Timmy's absolute favorite TV show right now is The Fresh Beat Band. I am so sick to death of Beat Band I could puke, so when I needed him to watch a show so I could get some things done, he asks for Beat Band. I suggest his second favorite show, Team UmiZoomi. He says, "NO! Beat Band!" so I say, "How aboooouuuuuut....UmiZoomi!" He quickly replies, "How aboooooouuuuut, Beat Band!" STINKER!!!

I'm Not That Mom

You know those SAHMs that are able to have the house cleaned before ten a.m. and have not only been able to shower, but all of their children are bathed and dress too? Then they easily leave the house even though the mom is outnumbered by children? They run errands with no issues and even throw in a trip to the park where the kids play nicely together and don't fall off of stuff and get hurt? Then they come home, eat a lunch of homemade macaroni and freshly squeezed lemonade and before the kids settle down for a nap they do an art project together where no one gets messy and the mom smiles and takes pictures of all the new projects? Then when the children wake up from their naps they enjoy a nice snack of raw vegetables with no complaining and then everyone shuffles outside for a nice backyard adventure? Then before Daddy arrives home dinner is in the oven and the children are cleaned up and reading books together?

Yeah...that's not me and those aren't my kids. I lose my mind several times before ten a.m. and I'm lucky to have showered before noon. My kids will be yelled at and sat in time out more times than I can count before we even get to lunch. Lunch will be a battle because my two-year-old is the pickiest eater ever and will only eat a pile of ketchup on some days. And his lunch? Burger King breakfast [btw, BK has the best coffee!]. It's so stinkin' hot these days that I can't bear going outside without getting physically sick [no joke] so my poor kids have to sit inside with the a/c on where we watch several episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba and The Fresh Beat Band because it's the only thing I can do to keep them entertained so I can clean the kitchen or write this blog.

Doing any type of art project takes more set up and cleaning time than it does the amount of time that my children will spend doing the project. I can't even get them to color without eating the crayons [Timmy prefers green...does that count as a veggie?].

So, I'm sorry, Facebook Moms that always have great status updates about all the fun stuff you've done with your kids. You're either some sort of miraculous being or your full of it...and you know what I mean.

Spotted Summer

At the endof May, Timmy & Natalie both came down with high fevers for no apparent reason. Nat's was around 102 and Timmy's got as high as 104. Nat's fever came on first, and because it wouldn't stay down and she was unbearably cranky, I took her into the doc to find out she had an ear infection. We got a script for Amoxicillin and were on our way. Within a day or two, Timmy's fever came on fast and furious. He had been refusing to eat and was unusually cranky and snuggly. I took the kids to see my sister (she's a PA), since it was the weekend, and as she was looking at Timmy, spots started forming on his face, hands and feet. She knew immediately that it was HFMD.

A few days after that, Natalie suddenly came down with a case of a spotted rash all over her body. I wasn't sure if she had HFMD or hives, so I took her to the doc and sure enough, she had hives as a reaction to the Amoxicillin. She was spotted from head to toe!



To top it off, it wasn't even two days later and Chris came down with HFMD. It's rare in adults, but I guess in my house we must share everything. It took awhile, but after a week or two, everyone was feeling better.

Until last week. I noticed that Timmy & Nat both had terrible spotty diaper rashes again and soon enough, little spots started forming on Natalie's face, hands, and feet. She had finally gotten HFMD. I looked at Timmy and he had little blisters on his hands and feet and was eating terribly at dinner again.

My kids both had HFMD - Timmy for the second time. Well, this time, I got it. My mouth is in so much pain and my throat is sore. I can't eat, talk, or swallow comfortably. I have little pokey blisters on my hands and feet. Why did we have to have such a spotty summer?

Ten Months and Walking

Did I mention Natalie's last milestone? That's right - she's walking! She started taking a few steps right around when she turned ten months old on the first, but now she's all over the place! She gets upset if she has to sit still even if that means squirming away and streaking around the house because she rolled away mid-diaper change.

Timmyism #3

It's way past Timmy's bedtime, but he's being so good we don't want to interrupt his fun playing. What is he doing?

"I drive black car!" This can go one of two ways - really good or really bad. Thankfully this time it's really good...and really funny! "I get my shoes."

"We're not going outside right now, Timmy," I tell him, but he is way ahead of me. He quickly steps into Daddy's work shoes, on the wrong feet of course. Then he says, "I get my keys!" To make him happy, I hand him Daddy's keys. He shuffles to the door and tries to turn the knob.

"I go to work now. Bye Mommy, see you later." After a minute he turns and shuffles across the room. "I home now. I go to food store." After a minute he turns around and announces, "I home now."

This whole scenario repeats itself for, well, we're going on twenty minutes now. Occasionally he stops to yell, "Bye Mom. See you later. Bye Daddy, Mommy. Bye, Mom, Dad." Then he adds, "Have a good shopping trip, Adios Daddy."

At one point he climbed onto one of his riding toys and tried to drive it with Daddy's shoes on, jingling the keys happily. He keeps telling us he's driving Daddy's black car.

Updating: Now he's not only going to work and to the food store, he's going downtown! This kid kills me.

Timmyism #2

Timmy: Bye, Mommy! See you later!
Me: Where are you going?
Timmy: I drive car to work! I go to work!
Me: Where do you go to work?
Timmy: Drive car to work.
Me: What do you do for your job?
Timmy: Drive cars!

Maybe he's a valet?