Is it bad?

The past couple of weeks, I've had a very heavy heart. I've been sad for a friend whose life has been turned upside down. Her husband was fired, and they have three small kids. The oldest is Olivia's age, and the youngest is Caroline's. The way he was fired was completely wrong, and now they don't know where they will go, or what he will do. She is my good friend, so it has hit me pretty hard.

I've tried to keep this blog light, so I haven't posted anything. So to continue that way, my friend Kelli did this, so I decided to do it too. You can write me a comment with your own, or post it on your blog! Here goes!

Is it bad that sometimes I let my kids watch way too much TV for a day just so I don't have to hear them argue & whine?

Is it bad that sometimes I "forget" about the clean dry towels in the dryer, and they only get taken out the next week when I need the dryer?

Is it bad that I have no desire EVER to own a dog?

Is it bad that when I bake cookies with my kids, it's usually because I want cookies?

Is it bad that when I bake said cookies, I usually end up eating most of them?

Is it bad that even though I hated it as a kid, I get a certain satisfaction of saying "Because I said so!" to my kids?

Is it bad that I still get sucked into reality TV? (I'm so glad Jillian finally let go of Wes! What a jerk!)

Is it bad that my son (5) already knows that mommy is not a morning person, so he bypasses my room to come straight downstairs to watch cartoons?

Is it bad that right now I have two folded baskets of laundry in my room that need to be put away, but I'm writing this post instead?

Is it bad that if I'm home alone, I sometimes make bedtime earlier so I can watch TV?

Ok, now it's your turn!

9 years!

Wow, 9 years! It doesn't even seem possible that we have been married 9 years. We say that, and then realize that we have a kid who is going to kindergarten in the fall! I have been so blessed that God has provided me with a great husband who also happens to be a wonderful daddy to my kids.

God brought him into my life when I was 14 years old, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was going to be my husband. I actually met him at church when I was in eighth grade, and I had an instant crush on him...he was so cute! The next year when I was a freshman in high school, we both went to another school's homecoming dance with other people. We ended up sitting across from our respective dates, but next to each other, and that was the first time we officially talked. The rest is history!

He proposed to me the summer after my freshman year at college. The next summer we were married. I was 19, (almost 20) and he was 22. We were such babies! Our wedding was so great, everyone told us what a fun time they had. It was raining that day, and I remember everyone (literally everyone!) telling me that rain on your wedding day was supposed to be good luck. We honeymooned in Mexico which was great. We were both full time college students, and working, but it didn't matter because we were in love! We lived first in a tiny (seriously, I think the whole place was about as big as our master bedroom & bathroom now!) apartment, then lived in crummy married housing through his scholarship, a nice apartment, our first house, and finally the house we live in now, our house which we plan on being in indefinitely.

In 2002, we were blessed with a pregnancy, but it ended in miscarriage. This was definitely a big low in my life, but not in our marriage. He was my rock. God used this to bring us closer as a couple, and also in our relationship with Him. We were blessed soon after with another pregnancy, our son. It was a joyous time for us! During that pregnancy, we had to trust God completely. We found out that our son had some markers for genetic abnormalities. Again, he was my rock! Our son ended up being completely healthy. Then we were blessed again with our daughter. She was born 2 1/2 weeks early, tiny, but healthy. We were blessed for a third time with our sweet baby girl. Since our babies have been born I have been able to stay at home. I'm thankful that God gave me a man who supports me being home even if it means he works a little more.

I have learned that my husband is the calm one in stressful situations, and in turn keeps me calm. He frustrates me sometimes, but most of the time makes me so happy, and makes me laugh like no other! I love to watch how he grows as a man and father. He is a great dad who thoroughly enjoys his kids. I am sure anyone who knows him is not surprised that he is the "fun" parent, however the kids know that when daddy gets mad, it's serious!

I am so thankful that God brought him into my life, and that he brought us together. He is my best friend, and love. There are still sometimes I can't even believe we got married. I am blessed to have him in my life, and share my life with him!

First time for everything....

Unfortunately, I wish this was a first we could have skipped! We've had 3 kids in 5 years, so I guess it was an inevitable first. Our first trip to the E.R. Surprisingly it was not our crazy 5 year old boy, our very brave 3 year old, but our sweet mild mannered 10 month old! Yup, Caroline was the first!
It was Wednesday evening, Jason & Will were at baseball practice, Olivia was playing in the family room, I was making dinner and sweet Caroline was in her booster seat eating cheerios. I had my back turned to her because I was getting dinner out of the oven, and starting to serve plates. Next thing I know, I hear a huge crash and Caroline is screaming. I run over to find her, still strapped into her booster seat, but the chair had fallen backwards. She had put her little, no tiny feet between the table and her seat and pushed off knocking herself and the whole chair backwards. I unstrapped her and was trying to calm her down. She stopped crying pretty quickly, but then laid her head down on my shoulder and started falling asleep. This freaked me out because you always hear that if there's a head injury, it's bad news if sleep follows it. I called Jason who was turning into our subdivision. He got home a couple minutes later and took her. She was awake by now, but not her normal self. She immediately began throwing up...a lot...
I ran to the phone and called the doctor who (very calmly I might add) told me he would advise us to bring her to the E.R. He said it sounded like a concussion, but he was not as worried about that. He said that since she was throwing up, it could be signs of something more serious, like hemorrhaging in her brain! Wait, WHAT??? He was very calm still and told me he would call ahead to the E.R. so they would be expecting us. So while I'm processing all this, I'm thinking of what to do with my older kids. Thankfully we have great neighbors. I called her and told her what was going on. Without hesitation, she told me to bring my kids over, and go.
The trip to the hospital seemed like it took forever. The whole time I was trying to keep Caroline awake. She had only napped for an hour that day, so I didn't know if it was from being tired, or hitting her head, but I wasn't going to let her fall asleep. We got to the hospital, and were put in a room. The doctor came in to check her out. She was awake and even alert by now, but still not her normal self. The doctor checked her eyes, and reflexes. She actually almost took her first steps in the E.R.! He said she looked good, but wanted to keep us there a little bit longer to observe her. He wanted her to eat to see if she could keep it down. If she did, we were free to go, but if she didn't he wanted to do a CT scan. I fed her, and our Caroline was back...she was laughing, yelling, and trying to grab everything in sight! About 10:00 PM the nurse came in and said we were free to go home. After a LOOOONG and scary night, we were relieved to find out that she was completely fine.
We also found out that sleeping when kids hit their heads is fine, it's the throwing up that should be cause for concern. The nurse told us to look at their eyes to make sure their pupils are the same size and that the kid can focus on something. So there's a little bit of advice for all you parents!
Hopefully that is not a trip we have to repeat anytime soon!

A day in the life...

...Of a 3 1/2 year old princess!

I'm Olivia, and I lead a charmed life! I wake up around 7:30 or 8, and my Mommy makes my hair pretty, and puts me in a cute outfit. I'm cute, and I know it. I'm super girly, and love to play pretend, dress up, and have my nails painted. I like to color and draw, (my favorite color is pink) and I'm learning how to write. I can write my name which makes me feel like big stuff. I'm a huge chatterbox, never running out of questions. I love to perform, and make people laugh. Mom & Dad think I will be an actress when I grow up. They say I'm a bit of a drama queen. I think I will be a chef and an astronaut when I grow up. Whatever I do, I'm sure I will have fun doing it! I am super happy most of the time, but watch out if I get mad! ("Pam" tends to come out when I get upset!) Mommy says that I can be a little bit sneaky sometimes, but it's only because she doesn't let me do fun things like drink her coffee, or fill up my tea pot with water in my room.

I have a big brother who is pretty cool most days! I adore him, and want to do what he does, which sometimes gets me in trouble. I have a baby sister too, and I LOVE her! I take being a big sister very seriously. I pick her up a lot, and try to feed her. For some reason Mommy usually yells at me when I do this, but that doesn't stop me!

After playing all day, Mommy & Daddy make me go to bed around 8. If it were up to me, I would stay up late! I might miss something exciting by going to bed!

Baby on the loose!

My life will never be the same! I officially have 3 mobile children! Caroline started crawling and pulling up pretty much on the same day. She started at 9 1/2 months. I was not eager for this change to occur. She has pretty much been attached to me for the past 9 1/2 months. She loves being held, and I was happy to indulge her. Now that she is mobile, (she's super fast!) she is into everything! She has already discovered the wires to the Wii, the TV, and the TV cabinet doors. Looks like the cabinet locks are going back on. She is pulling up on stuff, and has been so brave to let go in her crib! Jason predicts she will try walking within the next month. I hope not!

This will definitely be a challenge for us. There is almost always something on the floor that should not be. (think small toys from older kids!) I have told them all along that once she starts crawling, they will have to do a better job of cleaning up their stuff. I pretty much had to tell Will that if he did not pick up his junk, she could choke and die. Maybe a little extreme, but I want him to know how important it is that his stuff stay where it's supposed to. Olivia is not into the Polly's yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before she discovers those tiny things!

My days of plopping her on my bed while I get dressed are over. Now I put her down, and it as if she's thinking, "Ok, Mom has her shirt over her head, now is my chance to bolt!" I've caught her heel as she dives over the couch, (while I'm sitting there with her!), and the older kids have had to block her several times from getting too close to the edge of the bed. I'm not ready for this, but it's here, here in full swing!

The Great Debator

Ok, I think I've said before that Will needs to be a lawyer when he grows up. Seriously, the kid loves to debate...he might as well get paid for it right?

I'm not sure if it's his age or what but he argues with us about EVERYTHING! Some days it is incredibly frustrating...like today I told him we needed to go to the grocery store for a few things, and then go get our pizza for dinner. So we pull into Shop 'n Save, and he says "Mom, I thought you said we were going to the grocery store." Ummmm.... my response? "we are at the grocery store bud." Will, "No, we're not, we're at Shop 'n Save." Really? What do I do with that? I don't know if he likes to get a reaction out of me, but he seems to argue too when I ignore him. So I'm at a loss. If anyone has any advice, let me know! I guess we were asking for it when we named him Will, he definitely lives up to his name!

On the flip side, he is super thoughtful (when he wants to be!), and sweet. He will do stuff for us, just because he thinks we'll like them. If we are outside playing, he will bring out drinks for Olivia & I. He's funny, and loves to tell jokes. He has a great laugh, and makes us crack up when he laughs at his own jokes and stories. He can be a huge helper when he's in the right mood. He's super smart, and learns things really easily. I think he will do great in Kindergarten, because he loves to learn and ask questions. He is very social, and friendly. Anyone who knows Will knows that you don't ask him a question without having time for his response!

There are some days where I am at my wit's end, but I'm so thankful for Will, and wouldn't trade him for the world. I know one day he will be incredibly successful at whatever he does. Until then, I'm sure he will continue to debate his old mom!

My Sweet Caroline

*sigh* Caroline is 9 months old. It doesn't even seem possible that she can be that old already. She is my last baby and for some reason I seemed to think that time would go slower with her, but instead it has flown by. I don't remember time going this fast with Will & Olivia.

She is such a good baby! I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom. God has truly blessed us with her presence. Since the beginning, Caroline has been very content, and relaxed. She doesn't cry that much, and when she does, she is easily pacified. She is very happy and friendly. She started smiling at 5 weeks old, and they were real smiles. She began sleeping through the night at 10 weeks, which was much earlier than my other two. She put herself on a great schedule that worked out wonderfully for me, and she has stuck to it. She absolutely loves her brother and sister, and is mesmerized by them. She and Olivia are already like two peas in a pod. Olivia can get laughs out of her like no other! She has started waving, says "mama" & "dada", and is babbling all the time. She is on the verge of crawling...she's up on her hands & knees rocking back and forth. Don't get me wrong, she can get to where she wants to go by rolling or inching like a little worm. Her favorite foods right now are cheerios and bananas. She loves to be held (which I gladly indulge her in!), and is definitely a mommy's girl and that is fine by me!

Caroline was our surprise baby. We had not completely ruled out having three kids, but at the time we said we were good with two. God timing and plans (not mine!) are perfect, and he has made that evident to me time and time again. God knew that I needed this sweet little baby in my life, and he knew that I needed her then. I did not realize how much I needed her until she was here. She has brought so much joy to our family, and I cannot imagine our family being complete without her. God was with me through my pregnancy with Caroline, and through her delivery, (which will have to be another post in itself!), and I give Him the glory each day for entrusting me with one of his miracles!

I love you Caroline!