oh so proud

I'm a pastor.

My kids have cut their teeth on the church pews.

Yeah, that last sentance makes me sound VERY old.  But I still like it.

I sang and lead worship while the older two were in utero.  I went on a missions trip pregnant with Miss Rose and she came to Mexico with me three times as a newborn, 1 year old and 2 year old.  I took Gracie on a missions trip when she was 2.5 months.  Gracie came to work with me until she was 6 weeks old.

They have probably been in double the amount of Sunday School classes most kids are--because when they know I'm at church, they want to be there too.  They rarely miss Sunday School.  Unless someone in the family is sick.

So, you'd think they really have the truths of Scripture in them, even at their young ages.

Which is why I was so proud tonight when Miss Rose said:

"Sometimes I like being bad.  I think I'll make Satan my friend."

And not ten minutes later, Gracie said:

"I'm going to kick Jesus out of my heart."

They were in separate rooms, and did not hear what they other said.

Proud doesn't even begin to describe how this pastor-mommy feels.

I'm going to need to have a chat with their Sunday School teachers.

shining optional

This is too good not to share right away before I forget!

Gracie is typically an early riser, sometimes before we even go in to wake Miss Rose for school.  She wakes up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, arms full of her friends, ready for breakfast.  She usually won't eat much at dinner, making her ravenous in the morning.

This morning however, she slept in a bit.  I went in five minutes before we needed to leave to take Miss Rose to school.  Gracie was just sitting up and looking through the twenty friends on her bed for the specific few that she wanted.

Here is just a small sampling of friends she sleeps with.

Gracie was not happy she couldn't eat breakfast before we left, even though I had milk ready to take in the car.  She was not happy that I wouldn't carry her to the car (I was already carrying Lily, who had just woken up as well, and was wearing feetie jammies).

I was able to snap this picture before I put her in the car.  I couldn't help it.

She recently got this warm robe as a hand me down from her cousin, and she wears it to bed most nights.  We threw on some too-big High School Musical slippers so she could walk to the car.

The bed head?  Well, that's every morning around these parts.  On all four female heads that reside in our house.  We are a family of curly-heads and the only way Bean isn't one is because he shaves his head!

She had to rise.  

But she sure wasn't going to shine.

running through my head

This no time/energy/creativity for blogging right now is bumming me out!  I love this little space.  But I love the three little people and the big man in my life more, and they've needed a lot of me lately.

The past week has been very challenging.  It was the first week back to school for Miss Rose and back to work for Bean and I after a week off after Christmas.  I found it pretty difficult to get back in the groove.  Even though I was waking up at the same time, and had the same morning tasks, we were almost late to school most of the week. 

I have been dealing with some pretty bad headaches this week.  Migraines, tension headaches that grip my neck and shoulders.  I have one right now.  This is a trouble area for me, but this week has been especially bad.  It's a combination of stress, anxiety, caffeine withdrawls and who knows what else.  I went to the chiropractor on Wednesday and have another appointment on Monday. 

A friend of mine is dealing with some internal bleeding believed to be caused by taking too much Motrin.  I pop that stuff like candy.  Along with other meds for pain.  That scares me.  If I can't get the pain under control I will probably see a doctor and figure out what they can do to help me.

Bean had a very bad flu the past few days.  He doesn't often get sick and when he does, usually he powers through.  Not this time.  He spent much of two days in bed or on the couch and I got the kids out of the house when possible to give him some quiet.  He's on the mend, but is not 100%.  Then Gracie woke up today with a fever, which makes her vomit.  Luckily, it was mostly mucous and stomach bile.  But still, not fun.

I'm hoping and praying no one else gets it.  But Lily has a bit of a cough, which is how Bean started out.  And Miss Rose constantly fights a runny nose, usually from allergies, but it easily turns into an illness.  I need to get back into the working and thriving in life groove.

My floors all through the house are terribly dirty, we are always behind on laundry, and I have more organizing to do in the new parts of the kitchen.  Let's not talk about the constant state of messiness in the bedrooms.  Miss Rose desperately needs a chore chart and a behavior chart too.  Her attitude and how she speaks to us is a real challenge right now.

All in due time I suppose.

Bean and I just finished a week-long Daniel fast with our church.  It really felt like a lot of the difficulty we faced this week was due to our obedience to God and the enemy coming against us.  But in spite of it all, we stayed true to our course and are believing God for blessing and guidance as a result.  It's difficult to not have the "spiritual high" after what should be a spiritual experience.  But sometimes you just have to be obedient, even when you don't have the "high" to go along with it and trust that God will honor your committment.

I'll be working home from tomorrow with a sick Gracie.  I'm hoping she wakes up without a fever so she can go to Grammie's on Tuesday.  I need to get back in that groove!

oh Gracie!

Oh Gracie!  This girl, she dances to the beat of her own drummer. 

She loves her sisters, but mostly enjoys playing independently.  She is on the brink of becoming a little girl, but still holds on to some of her baby/toddler ways.

The things that come out of this girl's mouth!  They make me laugh.  And they scare me.

"I don't want to wear the striped tights {ribbed}.  Tigers like stripes on their backs but little girls don't like them on their legs."

The other day Gracie whacked me on the bum out of the blue.  I said, "why did you do that?"  Her response was, "Well, I like when I hit my own bum."  At which point she stuck her bum out and slapped it.  Oh boy.

 

Last night we celebrated my youngest sister's birthday.  Don't all 24-year-olds want to dance to "Whip My Hair" and "Single Ladies" with their nieces and nephews?  It was a paarr-tay!  After saying goodbye to some family, we walked back into the house.  Gracie pointed to my sister and said, "can we keep her?"  Melt.Your.Heart. 

Oh, and tonight.  In the midst of another dance party (we're doing a lot of this lately) Gracie stopped and came and sat next to me.  She looked at me and said, "I need a break.  My nipples are sore."  WHAT?

I have no words.  Well, two words.  OH GRACIE!

I'm afraid this post might become a regular series.

she just wanted me

I read this post of MckMama's tonight.  I remember reading it the first time she posted it.  Such truth to those words.

In fact, I had my own similar experience tonight which I had thought about blogging.  Reading her post has prompted me to do so.

Gracie-girl, my sweet Gracie, is becoming quite the handful.  Part of it is the influence of her older sister.  Part of it is her age.  Part of it is perhaps feeling like she misses out on attention she wants because she has an 18-month old baby sister.

When she doesn't get her way, she often says "I never get to _____."  When asked to do something, often her initial response is no.  How she talks to us and responds is often disrespectful.  This weekend in the car she requested a particular CD.  Miss Rose was already in tears over something else, so I felt that we needed some worship music.  Gracie did not like that I was changing it from the kids music and she chucked a toy towards me and the front of the van in disgust.  I hadn't pulled away from the house yet.  I quickly got out of the car, pulled her out the carseat and spanked her.  I had two crying children in my car.  It was such a treat.

Gracie has also learned how to turn on the tears.  She doesn't do it too frequently, but it's happened enough for me to observe that she can control her tears.  After all the usual stalls and requests and bedtime routines, Bean told me Gracie was crying in her bed and wanted me to come lay with her.

This was at least 15 minutes after we had left the room.  Maybe more.  I thought--no, I'm not going to lay with her.  She's just trying to postpone bedtime and manipulate me.  Sure enough when I entered the room she was sitting up, expectant.  When I asked her what she needed, the tears began, with her request that I lay with her.

I figured, I'll compromise.  If I refuse, it will prolong her bedtime.  But, since I realize she's dragging bedtime out, I will put a limit on it.  So I told Gracie I would lay with her for two minutes.

I laid down and she curled up into me, like she did as an infant when we co-slept.  She nestled her head in the crook of my neck and shoulder, just like she did for so many nights as an infant and toddler when I sang to her before a nap or bedtime.

My girl just wanted me.  Sure she was postponing bedtime and using her tears to do it.  But she really did want me and need me. 

And she deserved those few minutes I spent with her.   Because often her requests are put to the side as I deal with a demanding 18 month old.  Spending those few minutes with her, meant a lot more to her, than using them for something else would have meant to me.

This is why I am a mom.  And why I love it so much.

Look who's 3

I snapped this photo on our way out the door for Gracie's 3-year appointment. She's very excited about being three and very proud that she can show you her three fingers. She's been in the 3-yr old class at Sunday School for a few weeks now. The teacher recently told me that when addressing the class she'll often say "okay three-year-olds, let sit down for storytime" or some other direction. Each time she says this, Gracie is sure to show the teacher her three fingers and say she's three. Although it sounds more like "free."

I was smart this time around, and took Gracie to the doctor without any other kids in tow.  It was fun to have that time with just her and talk about whatever she was interested in.  She was a superstar at her appointment!  It's so fascinating to see the varied personalities my children have.  I recall that Miss Rose was not very cooperative at her three-year appointment.  She was apprehensive and anxious.

Gracie though, is more of a free spirit.  Willing to try something new, especially with mama close by.  She went through the entire vision test without much hesitation.  Miss Rose was shy, and didn't want to respond.  Gracie wasn't afraid of the headphones for the hearing test and was able to indicate when she heard the beeps.  She even peed in the cup without much struggle.  At Miss Rose's Kindergarten check-up, we made three trips to the bathroom and there were many tears shed before pee went into the cup.

My girls balance each other out though.  They bring out the positive in each other.  It's a wonderful thing to witness.

Gracie is measuring in the 75-90% for her height and weight.  Miss Rose was usually closer to 100% or over, but both my girls are probably going to be taller than their parents.  Miss Rose has gone this past year without gaining any weight (a first for my solid girl!) but I believe she's grown an inch or two.  I'll have to check her records.  This is the first time in her life that she's able to wear the warm-weather clothes we bought at the beginning of the school year now that it's getting warm again.

Gracie isn't quite as solid as Miss Rose though.  She weighs about what Miss Rose weighed at 2yrs old, and in fact the outfit she's wearing in this picture was one Miss Rose wore at 2.  Which is nice, because Gracie loves to be carried to and from places and it's a little easier on my back.  Miss Rose was the same way at 3, and I was about to give birth to Gracie at the time, and I remember how much it broke my heart to tell her that I couldn't carry her any longer.  I don't always carry Gracie, but what can I say, she won't ask for that forever, so I give in from time to time.  Or most of the time.  But who's counting?

And three...still my least favorite age.  Even Bean has commented recently on the almost instant change that took place after Gracie's birthday.  She's quite obstinate and challenging at times.  But she's still our Gracie-girl!

p.s.

Yesterday I shared about Gracie's birthday, and her first pet--a Betta (doing some google searching yesterday, I found this is the correct spelling!) named Minnie.  She specifically requested a fish from "Aunt Kath."

Minnie was welcomed to our family on a Saturday.  Gracie spent a lot of time sitting at the table watching Minnie swim.  She'd turn the bowl if Minnie wasn't in her view and she asked all the time to touch Minnie.

I left for a conference on Monday morning and Minnie was doing swimmingly.

On Tuesday afternoon out of the blue, I got this text from Bean.

"p.s.I will be buying another Betta.  My Mom killed Minnie with tap water."

WHAT???  I immediately called Bean for an explaination.

The girls had convinced Grammie to change the fish's water on Monday, which she did without checking with us.  Therefore, she didn't know Minnie needed purified water.

Tuesday morning Gracie ran to the table, and said "where's Minnie?"  Bean went over and found Minnie belly up on the bottom of the bowl.

"Um, Minnie is sleeping right now.  I'm going to put her in the kitchen."

Thankfully, both girls accepted this explaination, even though we had fish a few years ago and Miss Rose knows that dead fish are flushed down the toilet.

After work that day Bean got a replacement fish and "Operation Imposter" went into effect.

It's amazing.  Minnie changed colors!!  I talked to the girls that night and they both wanted to tell me how Minnie was asleep in the morning and now she changed colors.

Even now, a week later, many days one of the girls asks to see Minnie and if she has changed colors.  We have a pretty talented fish.

Not only did Minnie change colors, but Minnie the Second is also a bit special.  She loves to dive down and burrow in the aquarium gems on the bottom of the bowl.  So much so, that her head gets stuck and she can't get out.

I'm being completely serious.

This photo is from my phone, but you get the idea.  She's actually stuck here and had to be freed.

We have to move the gems to free her head.  This has happened several times.

Way to go Bean.  Way to choose an odd little Betta.

I think if Minnie the Second goes the way of the buffalo, Gracie will have to have her first lesson in death and dying.  And then just maybe, we really will get a dog because our fish died.

the story of a birthday and a fish

There once was a litle girl, with the cutest curls, with a penchant for Mickey and Minnie.

Dressed in her "pretty dress" just like Minnie, she was ready to celebrate her third birthday.

Her most beloved gift that day?  A Beta fish, received upon request from her "Aunt Kath", who was promptly named Minnie.  Who swam around large pink and purple gems, perfect for our Gracie-girl.

She would have sat, watching Minnie swim for the duration of her party, had we let her.  But we got her outside and she had a blast!  Minnie's dress got itchy, but that's okay because two of her aunties bestowed upon her ,several things "Minnie" (even though they didn't know of her Mouse-themed party).  She looked super cool in her Minnie glasses. 

Gracie LOVED the birthday song being in her honor, finally, after enduring no less than 7 family birthdays in the past few months.  She requested a pink cake.

This Princess gift bag with opening castle doors that revealed the Princesses was declared as "bootiful".

 She would have also been happy to stop opening gifts, after receiving gardening gloves.  She loves her a good pair of gloves.

  The girl also loves her some Ice Age.  We are now the owners of all three: Ice Age "the baby one", Ice Age the Meltdown and Ice Age "the dinosaurs."  "The baby one" is our current favorite, edging out "the dinosaurs" who have been reigning for some time now. 

By far though, her favorite gift was Minnie the Beta.

To be continued....

friends

Often, one of the highlights of our night is checking the kids before they go to sleep, and what we find.  We have many photos of their creativity.  One of my all-time favorites (which isn't on this computer, otherwise I would share it) was when Miss Rose was sick and we'd let her take a Kleenex box to bed and she fell asleep with her arm in the box.  Miss Rose was also infamous for getting out of bed and loading her bed with toys before falling asleep.

While Gracie doesn't get out of bed too often, she has a group of stuffed toys that have taken up residence in her bed.  Most of them stay there the entire day.  She usually has one or two favorite "toys of the hour" that she brings out to the living room.

When I found her like this the other night, I had to take a photo.  If I was nifty and had a photo program to use, I'd label this photo with arrows and captions.  I'd tell you about the doll she's adopted that was a birthday gift for Lily, the ones that were originally given to Miss Rose, the Mickey and Minnie Mouse which I almost didn't buy for Christmas, but she absolutely loves, the Nemo her Sunday School teacher gifted her with after a Noah's Ark series in which she brought in a lot of stuffed animals from home, the "Purple Baby" which is a Madame Alexander doll I bought her for her first birthday, and she has recently taken a great liking too, and the list goes on. 

The best part, she calls them all her "friends."

"I need to find my friends, mommy."

"Can you put my friends by me?"

"THERE'S my friends!"

It's pretty cute.

Usually at some point in the morning, Gracie will go into her room and put a few of her friends to sleep.  She'll lay them on the pillows (using Miss Rose's bed too of course) and cover them with blankets.  If I get too loud (in her opinion) she'll tell me to "shhh, my friends are sleeping."

Oh, to be a toddler again.  When life and friendship are so easy.

When I was uploading that photo, I saw these as well and just had to share.  

Gracie also likes to sleep in odd positions and sometimes underneath her pillow.  Which is why you see couch pillows between her bed and the wall.  On more than one occasion, she's crying in her sleep because her body is wedged between the mattress and the wall.  We've also had to start putting a pillow between the two rails of the side guard as she kept getting a leg caught in there too.

This is what we found a few months ago.  It was kind of hard to figure out what position her body was in.

Upon removing the pillow...

She was dead asleep.  There's a lot going on here!  Hot and sweaty from having the pillow on top of her.  One arm resting outside the bed on the Princess Dress Up chest.  Feet up on the head of the bed with a pillow nestled between.

Impressive.

Kids are so great!

overheard

Overheard in my bed this morning, as all three girls were having some mommy time.

For no known reason, this exchange occurs:

Miss Rose: Gracie, can you say"rectangular prism?"


Gracie: Can you smell my foot? (while sticking said foot in her sister's face)

It still makes me laugh out loud!  I love being a mom and I live for these moments.

Sometimes the funny exchanges have some sort of reasoning behind the content.  Not this one though.  Just pure kid exchange!

A little update on my current journey...

I've been enjoying me some yummy food.  For the most part I haven't over-indulged, but definately not refusing either.  My aim is for balance, not going without or going with too much.  For me, this is about a lifetime, not just a diet that will end.  I'm sure after Valentine's Day passes, I'll get back on track a bit more.  Or maybe not, as Bean's birthday is coming up as well.  Well, I'll have a few days with no excuses!

I have been able to get in some runs and workouts this week.  I could have used one or two more, but the few I got are better than none!  I've been trying to do some ab work and arm work on a daily basis.  I feel a bit sore in those areas, so I guess it's doing something.

I had one of my best runs in a long time today.  I have really been focusing on making myself run faster.  Running with the Nike+, on my known route is a big help.  I know generally where my mile markers are and the Nike+ will tell me at any time what pace I'm running.  For a few months now, I've been running sub-10 minute miles on my shorter runs. 

Today, my goal was a 45min run of all sub-10 minute miles.  It took me almost 2 miles to find my groove, which is longer than normal.  But I finally found it and just kept pushing myself.  The more I push myself, I find that my "set speed" is getting faster.  When I push, I can run at an 8:30min mile pace.

The verdict?  4.8 miles in 45 minutes.  Blew 10 minutes out of the water!!  If I remember correctly, that put my average pace around 9:25 per minute.  I'm really having to push, and a lot of the time I feel like a lumbering elephant, completely ungraceful. 

My new goal?  5 miles in 45 minutes.  That would be a flat 9 minute mile.  I think I can do it.

in the middle

I know, it's been a while since I had to posts in one day.  But after what happened tonight, I couldn't resist. And you'll be glad I didn't.  I wanted to record this moment while it was still fresh in my mind.

Tonight we had our first ever Pizza Picnic.  It was a random idea that popped into my head--getting pizza at our favorite pizza place, spreading a sheet on the living room floor and picnicing together.  It was quite fun.

My first observation of the night was my spastic almost-6-year-old.  I know for a fact Miss Rose is one of the best students in her class.  Not the smartest, that's Jimmy who was reading chapter books when he started Kinder, but the teacher said she's the most responsible and was even given two word lists this week instead of one because she's learning so quickly. 

But asking her to repeat a story, while sitting on the floor eating, was like pulling the tooth of an ant.  I know, ants probably don't have teeth--so I mean this was an impossible task.  Miss Rose loves to talk about her schoolday, right after school.  Beyond that, it seems to disappear from her mind.  So getting her to recount a few things she had told me, to her dad was impossible.  She claimed to forget or not know, or she was just being goofy and her limbs were flying everywhere.  I'm serious. She was the contortionist in the three bean circus tonight.

Several minutes later, the story was still incomplete.  I was prompting Miss Rose once again when Gracie, who was seated between us just yelled out "NIPPLE."

I must digress and tell you that over our Christmas break, Gracie discovered nipples for the first time--or noticed and questioned about them.  It started one morning when the four of us were jockeying for bed space in our bed.  I think she unzipped her jammies at some point being silly and then asked about her nipples--so I told her what they were.  Then she wanted to see Miss Rose's "nibbles."  She went out to the couch, where her auntie was sleeping and said "Mimi, I have nibbles."  Gracie came back to where I was still in bed (pretending I was still asleep), pointed to a mole on my back and asked if it was "nibble" and where the other one was.

So back to tonight.  Gracie yelled out "NIPPLE" (she's obviously learned the correct pronunciation) and we all started dying with laughter.  Once I gained my composure, I made the mistake of asking Miss Rose a question to get her to finish her story once again.  Yeah, you guessed it, Gracie yelled out "nipple" again.  And for about five minutes, anytime someone started to say something, she would say "nipple" with the goofiest look on her face.

Clearly she was needing some attention.  So I asked if she had any stories to share.  Nipple was of course one of the stories.  And when I asked what store we went to today, it was the tootie store.  Another of her favorite words. 

Apparently tootie, booty and nipple are her top words these days.  Oh, I am a proud mom.  And she loves the song "Single Ladies."

Nipple was a popular word in our house tonight.  I have the sneaking suspicion that after the response Gracie garnered tonight, we haven't seen the last of this word.  I can't wait until it comes up in a public place.  Hopefully her Sunday School teachers won't be talking to me about it.

Yes, I did tell her to stop staying it a few times.  But honestly, I'm still laughing out loud just writing this post, so I was not in much control of myself tonight. 

My sweet middle child.  Making sure she gets her dues.  How I love her and look forward to all of these moments!

still a circus

While my posts of late have focused more on myself and dealing with grief, fear not dear blog readers, there still is a three bean circus act going on at our house.

Miss Rose, well she's as dramatic and emotional as ever.  She's reached the age, where if she does something that amuses us, and it hurts her or gets her in trouble, she becomes IRATE if and when we laugh.  Which results in us trying to stifle our laughter.  Which makes her more mad. Which usually gets her sent to her room.  After which we continue to try and stifle our laughter.  And then Miss Super-Ears yells from her room, "I CAN STILL HEAR YOU LAUGHING."

Gracie, oh boy, what a wreck she is.  The longer her hair grows, the more crazy it becomes.  The other night after her bath Gracie made a comment about how crazy her hair was.  I told her to come and let me brush her hair out to which she replied, "can you brush the crazies out of my hair?"  Gracie is often sighted shaking her booty, anywhere and everywhere.  And she usually announces it too. 

Lily, is about to be one.  Which just completely shocks me and excites me and saddens me.  It's such a bittersweet time.  I absolutely love the first year of a baby's life.  All the cuddles and smiles, the nursing and bonding.  Sure, I complain about losing the baby weight and the lack of sleep, but I still love every minute of it.  Lily finally cut her first tooth after Christmas.  She is demonstrating a desire to move--sometimes she'll get from a sitting position to her belly or evetually her back.  She tries to crawl, but only ends up scooting backwards, usually until she's under the couch with just her head popping out.  Lily loves her sisters and gets so excited after her nap when she sees them.

I love this circus so much.  Yes, it drives me crazy sometimes and I need to get away for some "me" time, but these three beauties are food to my soul.

it's going to be a long one

I'm gearing up for a long night.  I'm praying that my prediction isn't correct, but I'm gearing up none the less.

It's been a rough day, and that is possibly an understatement.

Gracie's fever hit 103 and a dose of Motrin only dropped it one degree.  A little before 1pm things really got bad.  Lily was waking in her crib and crying off and on.  Gracie began to shake and shiver, which thanks to Twitter, I quickly found out meant her fever was on the rise.  Her lips started turning purple and the shaking was getting stronger.  I called Bean and asked him to come home right away.  Knowing Lily was safe, although not happy, I left her in the crib while I put Gracie in a lukewarm bath.  She didn't like that at all, but it seemed to help because the shivering stopped.

However, after the bath she proceeded to vomit twice.  I had just changed after the first episode when she vomited all over me again.  Bean arrived home and went on Gracie watch while I fed Lily, then he picked up Miss Rose.

I was able to take Gracie in to the doctor this afternoon.  They said they are seeing a lot of this flu and it can last several days with fever, vomit and diarrhea overlapping.   I learned what they are looking for specifically in keeping kids hydrated.  I was interested to learn that they recommend continuing to give fluids (Gatorade or Pedialyte) even when it's being vomited up, trusting that some hydration is occuring.

Gracie isn't dehydrated enough yet to need intervention.  She needs to turn a corner tomorrow though.  If today's pattern continues, we'll probably end up at the ER by the end of the day.

Oh no friends, that's not it though.  Bean is now sick.  At first we thought dinner didn't agree with him.  But when the violent vomiting began it was clear that this bug has hit him.  Which is pretty much the worst thing possible as he has an important thing on Saturday.  So we are rallying the prayers that he gets it out of his system and is on the mend.  Or that it rains on Saturday and the event is postponed.  (**yeah, I know I'm being vague.  I'll share more as I can)

Gracie was unhappy in her bed so she's in our bed.  And now after many trips to the bathroom (and the trashcan in our room), Bean is there too.  Gracie has some dry heaving going on, so who knows what the night will hold for her.

I guess I'm sleeping on the couch.  Lily has cried off and on during the last few hours, so I may be up with her too.  Her eyes are still gunky and she's running a low fever.  So far, Ella is healthy.  We need my mom to stay healthy, who lives in an attached granny flat, as she has an upcoming hip replacement and illness could affect that.  I'm wondering if I'll be next in a few days since Gracie vomited on Bean Tuesday night, and me today.

I am praying and believing that Bean will be better on Saturday, the rest of us will stay healthy and we can enjoy the holiday.

All I want for Christmas is a healthy family.

I thought it was 24 hours

Isn't the stomach flu typically 24 hours? 

Not in our house.  Not for the sickly one.  We're at 36 hours and going strong.  Yesterday I thought we were on the upswing, but it was not to be.

After throwing up several times the night before, Gracie went all day yesterday without vomiting.  She ate very, very little and had some liquids.  I guess right before bed, she must have emptied her sippy cup of diluted juice.  Because as I was brushing her teeth, it all came back up in two lovely vomit sessions, all over me and her.  And the bathroom of course. 

Gracie slept solid last night.  Well mostly.  Bean says he got up with her twice for a drink and because she was cold, but I didn't hear a thing.  Guess I was sleeping solidly to recover from the lack of sleep the night before.  I was hoping the solid sleep meant we were turning a corner. 

Nope.  After her request of juice (I still dilute it 50/50) Gracie proceeded to vomit and vomit and vomit.  This morning, she's done well vomiting into a bowl, which means a lot less clean up.  It's so sad though.  She keeps asking "is it done yet?"  And she can't understand that the liquids are coming back up, so she vomits and then says she's thirsty.  She's very teary today, which is totally understandable.  Currently she's watching Monsters, Inc. and it's kind of distracting her from wanting a drink.

We just had this conversation:

"Mommy I want some milky."
"The milky will make your tummy sick and you'll throw up again."
"But I need some milky."
"Maybe after the movie you can have a little bit of juice."
"No, I need big milky, a big sippy of milky, not juice."

 Yes, she's old enough to teach her to say milk instead of milky (she switches back and forth) but I think it's the cutest thing, so I keep calling it milky for her.  It was really cute when she called it "molka" and then "milka milka."  I love baby talk, from babies!

Speaking of babies, Lily has a tad of this gastrointestinal bug too.  Not eating much, blow-out diapers (which never happen with my always-constipated, rabbit pellet pooping baby) and vomit-smelling spit up.  Oh, and she woke from her nap yesterday afternoon with a goopy eye.  It's a bit better today, after a few squirts of liquid gold; hopefully it continues to improve.

And maybe Gracie just caught a cold virus right after her sinus infection, because the antibiotics don't seem to be making much of a dent in her sinuses.  Then again, it's hard for the antibiotics to do much when she ends up vomiting.

I'm thankful though that it's Thursday, and I'm off for the next few days so I get to be with my sick babes without worrying about work. I'm thankful that Lily isn't vomiting and is nursing well.

Would you say a prayer for Bean this weekend?  He has some career-oriented stuff coming up and we are praying for the Lord's will in everything!

the sickly one

It seems to me, that in most families, especially once you reach three kids or more, there is a sickly one.

A child that gets every illness that passes through the home and gets it worse than anyone else.  There are several families in which I can easily identify their "sickly one." 

If there is going to be a complication, a secondary illness, this kid is going to have it.

In our house, this is Gracie.  From the time she was a baby it was clear that her system was more sensitive to illness.  From 6 months on, it seemed that she was sick at least once a month.  Anytime she got a fever, she would vomit.  Several times usually. Often the vomiting was just her body's reaction to illness and wasn't related to gastrointestinal issues.  One the fever was controlled, the vomiting ceased.

We even had our former home tested for mold to see if there was anything environmental causing her illnesses because they were so frequent.

Miss Rose has yet to have a true vomiting episode.  She's sturdy!  Allergies and sinus infections do plague her, but she holds up pretty well.  So far Lily seems to be following in her biggest sister's footsteps.  At 10 months, she's had a few colds and fevers, but doesn't react that violently.

Early in November, it was Miss Rose who came down ill first, and Gracie followed a few days later.  After a week of what I liked to call the plague (which probably was H1N1) Miss Rose was pretty illness free.

For Gracie though, that plague turned into a sinus infection.  Which returned 3 days after completing antibiotics.  So we are now on round 2 of antibiotics.  Hives or a rash showed up on her abdomen Friday night.  Since it was still there yesterday, the doctor wanted to see her. It was determined that it's probably viral and related to all the illness she is dealing with.

Oh, and the fever has been back on and off the past few days.  Enter last night.  Before Bean and I could even drift off to Never Neverland, Gracie was coughing, and vomiting.  I'm not sure if the vomiting was related to all the phlegm she has or if it was a stomach thing.  She seemed to vomit until her stomach was empty last night, and was dry heaving a bit this morning.

Back to last night.  Just when we would clean things up and get her settled and return to bed, we'd hear it again.  The amounts weren't copious, as she didn't eat much dinner.  Although I was disappointed that after getting her to eat some of her green beans last night, there they were once again.  At one point, Bean had her and she vomited all down his bare chest.  He was real happy about taking a midnight shower.

Gracie spent several hours in our bed, which she wasn't too happy about.  But it was much easier to sit her up before she choked more and deal with the small amounts of vomit and phlegm.  Yeah, Bean and I didn't sleep much.

So here I am, home this morning. Bean is at work and will relieve me around noon so I can head in to work.  So far, no vomit this morning.  She's been drinking juice and water, but hasn't had interest in food.

I want my girl to get better once and for all! 

a week's worth

It's been a week since I blogged.  I miss my bloggy world, but it is a distant second to real life, so sometimes it just takes a back seat.  Life has been good though, just full.

Holidays
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family.  It was laid back and yummy!  I made The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls and WOW, those things are legit.  I don't recommend making them on a regular basis.  Because I think I may have gained 5lbs eating them.  But every single calorie was worth it!  If you are looking for a special Christmas morning breakfast, this is the recipe for you!  They actually are fairly easy to make, there is just some time involved letting it sit a few times.  I made the dough the night before, then rolled it out, put on the filling and baked them the next day.

I'm on a mission this year to not stress over Christmas shopping at the last minute, like I usually do.  Bean and I made it to Toys R Us last night to pick up a few gifts that were on sale.  I'm also going to try to not go overboard on Christmas, sticking to my list!  Trying to figure out what to get Bean, well that will be stressful as I always want to get him the perfect gift.

The girls
There are so many cute and funny things that the girls do, that I think "that would be fun to blog" but rarely do I remember when I sit down to write!  I am really enjoying the stages they are in right now.

Miss Rose is doing better with her behavior.  Her attitude still comes out in her words, but she is more easily corrected.  She has a definate sense of humor, which is kind of a given living in this house.  She says a lot of things now that make Bean and I genuinely laugh. 

A cute thing that happened this morning...Santa Claus is not one of our holiday traditions, but Miss Rose knows the story and character.  This year she's deciding she WANTS to believe in him (watching The Santa Claus marathon last weekend probably didn't help).  We have a lot of retired couples that walk our neighborhood.  This morning as we were leaving for school, a couple was walking by and the gentleman was a rather jolly looking fellow with white hair and a white beard.  Miss Rose told our neighbor girl riding next to her in the van "I think that might be Santa Clause."  I couldn't help but laugh!

Gracie, well she is her quirky little self.  She still loves wearing gloves, usually just one at a time.  She recently discovered she can fold herself into this small rectangular box and sit in it.  Last night she was sitting in the box (which is clear) wearing one gardening glove, talking on the Elmo phone.  It was quite a sight!  I will have to post the photo once I download it.  Gracie loves asking questions and having discussions.  She is also quite enthralled with Diego and often while we're driving in the car she'll tell me "that sounds like an animal in trouble."  Then we talk about the rescue that needs to occur.  It's so cute and fun!

Waving, shaking her head and saying mama & dada are Lily's new accomplishments.  She's been flapping her arms in greeting for a few weeks now, but she's just mastered opening and closing her hand and she's quite proud of it.  Lily has been babbling for a while now and of course the mama and dada syllables are some of the first to develop.  Both Bean and I have noticed that she seems to be using these syllables appropriately.  Crawling is still far off.  She doesn't spend a lot of time on her tummy because until recently it would just make her spit up and be uncomfortable.  So now, she jus doesn't like it.  But her development in all other areas is right on, so I have no reason to believe this won't come at the right time.

Hopefully I'll have some more blogging time this weekend, which has begun.  Being a pastor, my "weekend" is Thursday to Saturday.  Tomorrow will hold a lot of cleaning.  Apparently it's been a long, full week and the house is showing it!

Oh, and Lily has been waking at night recently, which is hard to adjust to when you're used to sleeping through the night.  She has no teeth yet, so perhaps it's teething.  She also gets "stuck" easily in a pattern.  Saturday & Sunday nights I was up from 1-3am with her, and yes, that was me, passed out on the couch while she watched Baby Einstein at 2am because it kept her from screaming.  Monday night it was 3-4am and last night 4-5am.  I end up having to let her cry or just nurse her back to sleep.  I'm hoping she sleeps through tonight, but I'm prepared to be up with her again.

Happy Weekend to me!

Not Me Monday: Potty Training Edition

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I prepared this blog last week, but Not Me Mondays was on break for Memorial Day.

I did not decide to start potty-training my 2 year old this weekend. Because I am not tired of buying and changing diapers for two children each day.

And said two year old has not been bare-bottomed most of the weekend in my house, and the car, and the stroller. I did not have a brief argument with Bean about whether or not to diaper her for lunch at Rubios. I was not arguing for her just sitting on a waterproof mat. Bean was not the one who won the argument and she did not end up diapered.

I was not Tweeting about pottytraining, including photos of my kid on the potty chair, even though my boss/pastor gets my Tweets instantly.

I did not bring the potty chair with us in the van and it was not me who was dumping the (just liquid) contents of a potty chair in the bushes of two different parking lots in the city.

It was not my two year old who told me several times regarding potty training "that's yucky" and "that's gross."

Nope, that wasn't my daughter, trying to diaper herself with baby sister's diapers because she was tired of being bare-bottomed. She did not tell me this evening, "Mama, I need clothes."

In defense of all the things I did not do, it was not my daughter who only had one accident all of Saturday--save a few hour period we were at a birthday party and she was diapered.

I am not going to continue doing these same things, hoping for more success.

A Venture into Potty-training!

So we ventured into potty-training a little more than a week ago. I was inspired by my neighbors who recently potty-trained their daughter who is about 6 weeks younger than Gracie using this 3-day Diaperless program.

I had to make a few alterations because following the program 100% was not realistic for us. I'm pleased with the results so far and thought I'd share my experiences and adjustments.

The basic premise of this program is that the toddler goes diaper-free for three days, during which you stay home and encourage peeing by lots of liquids.

I will admit, going diaper-free is a bit easier with a girl than it might be with a boy. I put Gracie in dresses, so she does have some coverage and doesn't feel completely naked. She learned pretty quickly to hold the dress up to pee.

The first few days we stayed home quite a bit. Gracie definately had accidents the first several hours, but also some successes. By the end of the first day she was peeing on the potty the majority of the time. The second day was almost completely accident free.

The potty chair is in the living room and when she is resistant to sitting still, we watch a little TV or read a book and almost always sing a "potty song" (usually Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) to encourage her to sit long enough to pee. There are other suggestions in the article that we use also.

The program encourages bare-bottomed outings, bringing the potty chair along in the car. I have done this some, but usually I'm out by myself with the kids--and managing an infant, a bare-bottomed toddler, potty chair and 5yr old just isn't feasible. (I know I am brave and try a lot, but that's not one thing I'll do!)

Gracie has been in diapers most of the time when we are away from home. However, we always use the potty right before and after each trip and sometimes her diaper stays dry. She has surprised us by having a dry diaper after some of her naps and even a few mornings.

At this point, Gracie is almost accident free while we are at home--even though she's in a diaper for outings. The next step is having her in knit pants or shorts (no panties or pull-ups underneath) at home and learning to stay dry. Last night she was in knit pants for about 4 hours (including at a restaurant) and she stayed dry. Whoo-hoo!!

This has been a great program for us to use and we are progressing quickly. I'm hoping that by the end of this week Gracie will be in bottoms and staying dry--even when we aren't home. She did adjust to being bare-bottomed, but it hasn't been her favorite.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a Potty-training Not Me! Monday blog and laugh at some of our funnier moments!

Weekly Blog...

That seems to be what this has turned into. I do enjoy blogging, so I will take what I can get.

Life is going on...the girls are growing...every day is organized chaos. Chaos that I love and thrive on!

Miss Rose is finishing up her EAK class. Last week her class read Teddy Bear Picnic and we were invited to join them on Friday for a picnic. I brought a picnic lunch for all of us and we enjoyed a good time. My sister happened to be visiting, so it was nice to not have to wrangle all three plus lunch by myself!

Gracie is a character as usual. Last Thursday she was especially making me laugh. She was still in her jammies (a nightgown with non-matching pants underneath). I went to the car to get something and next thing I know, she's walking out to me with a bright green mesh laundry basket in one hand and an oven mitt on the other. Why? Why not of course!! She also tried to stuff the same basket in the bottom part of our armoire. I'm not sure what her plan was there.

The same day Gracie came to me in the kitchen and said "I need scissors." Really? You are barely two. It scares me that you know enough about scissors to ask for them. Of course I did not comply. I did some interrogation and she had a plastic toy that she thought looked like a sandwich and needed to be cut. Oh yeah, and I also found her pushing Lily in the swing saying "swing up higher." This one, she keeps me on my toes!

Lily has mellowed some, but she still makes her opinion known. We still swaddle for naps and nighttime, which I hope she won't need much longer. She wakes one time at night to nurse and I'm still waiting for that one night she just sleeps through.

Here are some recent photos from a family baby shower and Lily's dedication.

Warning: Photo Overload Ahead



Have you seen a cuter little girl??


Sister love



This photo is blurry...but it's a great representation of our family. Notice Miss Rose hiding her face in me because she was embarrasssed to be on the platform. Gracie is being energetic. Do notice though that Miss Rose is wearing a SKIRT!


I love this photo! I love my baby girl.



A pretty decent family photo if you ask me.



These are my two sisters. Notice how DIFFERENT we all look. I think my girls are going to be like this too. Some familial resemblances but individual looks.


Can't you just get lost in those blue eyes? I'm still hoping her eyes remain blue!

Dad of the Year Award

I always love to brag on Bean and what a great dad and husband he is.

He dressed the girls this morning so they could leave with me for church. They love to come early and get donuts and go to the early service Sunday school. I have to be out of the door at 7:15am, so assistance is needed!

All morning Gracie kept falling down. In fact, a few people commented on it, asking why she was falling. I had no idea. If I wasn't holding her hand, she'd fall. She took a couple good nose dives.

I was called in to change her diaper and as she was up on the changing table (which she is pretty much too big for...potty training coming soon) I noticed...

Her shoes on the wrong feet.

Bless Bean's little Mexican heart.

In the rush of the morning, he put her shoes on the wrong feet.

Which explains all the falling.

He's still dad of the year though!