Take a moment... to smell the dandelions

It's 12:18... I'm still up because Kara went to sleep, Kiley fell asleep around 11pm and Abby woke up screaming at 11:30 and I just now got her back down. I'm not sure if she had a bad dream but the way she was screaming and having just had a 103 temp yesterday and a stomach bug I had to check on her. I tried to get her to eat a few crackers, just in case she was hungry but she still won't eat really. Hopefully her appetite will return tomorrow.  She was very scared and sad and when she was sitting in her booster chair at the table I asked her if she wanted me to hold her (she was sniffing sadly) she went "yees" very sweetly and sadly.

What's an extra hour of sleep when I can hold my Abby instead... she felt so small tonight....

She brought me my first flowers from her today... they were the heads of dandelions but they could have been roses... and I almost missed it. I almost told her to find Daddy and show him the flowers. How quickly sometimes we get caught up in the things we 'need' to do. Maybe sometimes we just need to take a moment and smell the dandelions. I put them in an envelope and marked it, dated it and sealed it. I may be crazy but I'm saving them... they are special.

I love being a mom...

Over the rainbow....

There are several things that I have learned from having kids..
 1) It IS possible to blow bubbles with your nose using  a bubble wand
2) You really CAN cry until you throw up
3) Dog food is fascinating and apparently tastes better than an apple strudel, sausage or whatever we had for lunch
4) Never stand down wind from a sandbox
5) Shoes- like socks- have a tendency to run away when you are in the biggest hurry to get out of the house
6) You can survive on very little sleep, for a very long time

There are many many many more things that I have learned in my experiences as a parent. I'll try to keep writing the more interesting ones. Spring has arrived and brought with it 40mph winds and temps in the 80s... the temps I don't mind but the wind? Ach! It makes playing outside difficult even if Abby still likes it. We finally decided to get satellite... I really debated this and part of me doesn't want to get it yet. If we could get a super limited plan of HGTV and ESPN for $5 a month and no equipment fees I would totally do it. BUT I can't really deny Tom the football draft and other hours of game coverage... we went without it for 3 years so I suppose we did pretty good considering. Too bad they don't have a Sesame Street channel. Abby loves watching her Elmo & Abby birthday DVD.... we 'watched' it 3 times yesterday. I can't remember if I mentioned that I talked to her OT about our carseat escape troubles... she was going to talk to some other people who deal with that issue and let me know what they suggest. I'm to the point where I could take her down to the fire station and get help. We have her carseat covered in duct tape and she still manages to slip out.

Speaking of which...I had a feeling the antibiotic she is on wasn't working... well now I have a feeling that it is not only working but she is reacting to it. Her stomach, back and thighs have a rash on it. When I gave her a bath tonight I noticed it. I feel a little bad that I didn't notice it earlier but I will certainly be giving the doctor's office another call tomorrow morning. Poor thing, I hate that she suffers because I don't catch onto her signals. I knew something was bothering her but I assumed it was because of her runny nose and such. I can only hope that she doesn't ever get anything too bad without me noticing!

On a more positive note... K&K are both really working on sitting up now. Outside of the squished tummy position they are getting to the point where they can almost support their weight sitting. I have a sneaking suspicion they are teething. Kara has really been drooling and munching on my fingers. Wow hard to believe they are 5 months old already! Where does the time go? I can really tell them apart now with their different looks and personalities. It's funny how that works but Kiley and Kara have a very different smile. Kara's is a mouth wide open, tongue hanging out smile and Kiley's is a little squinty eyed smirk. Kara loves having her tongue hang out and she also loves to clutch at my hand/wrist when I change her diaper. We were having a lot of screaming issues these last few nights but I've discovered that after a little Tylenol the screaming stops and they finally settle down enough to sleep. Hence the possible teething explanation.

The girls are both rolling about but no signs of crawling as of yet, Kiley likes to scrunch her little bottom in the air in the attempts to get some leverage but she never gets far. They are also tall enough to stand up in the rainforest bouncer. I HATE that they arch their backs so bad... it has caused them to 'jump' out of their saucer chairs twice now (Kara) the first time Kara just recovered and kept playing but the 2nd time she scared herself. Now they get buckled in.

My photography niche is really starting to pick up. I wonder how long I can continue to do this as a hobby and at what point I will need to get a business license. It is nice to feel like I am contributing even if it isn't a lot after the money I have needed to put into my equpiment and props. (Everything either made or bought on clearance but still adds up!) It is really exciting though!

Well I think this is goodbye and time for bed.... I've killed two wasps today and Tom one... I would really like to find out where their nest is so I can get rid of it. I told Abby that they were owey bugs... I'm hoping that keeps her from bothering them. Because you know she would... It's raining pretty good here and the lighting is fun to watch. I love Spring....

Do Do Do

It's been awhile I know. Lately I've been so sleep deprived and busy that I just didn't make my way to the blog...

What we've been up to: We just got home this afternoon from Tom's parent's place. We went down there to visit his aunt and cousin that were flying in. It was a good weekend, the driving trips weren't AS tough as they could have been and the girls behaved for the most part. The first night K&K were very upset and it took a loooong time to get them to stop screaming. Abby loved all of the attention and as always loves visiting her Grandma and Grandpa D. This morning we even got the chance to visit a beaver dam that is out near their place. I got some cute pictures that I'm sure I'll get up sometime. Right now I'm drowning in pictures after doing Two... yes TWO photo sessions yesterday. They both went great and now I'm attempting to get the pictures all edited so I can send out the cds. But I digress....

K&K I went to Hobby Lobby this afternoon while Tom took Abby to her therapy appointment. Wow are they getting heavy!! I put Kara in the carseat on top and walked around with Kiley. They were so cute talking and laughing at eachother. I can't wait until they do more of that! Of course by the end my arms were aching and Tom called to let me know they were done so it was good timing. They decided to go for a walk as they were waiting for us and when I found them Abby and Tom were watching squirrels play by the side of the road. Abby waved and said goodbye to the squirrels as she got into the van.

Speaking of which ... Abby is an escape artist and is VERY difficult to keep in her car seat. I'm looking for ideas on how to keep her in. The duck tape didn't work. I don't know how she does it but I can't keep the harness on her shoulders. At least the lap belt part is still staying on. I just don't like it because it feels so unsafe to have her half buckeled! Are there any products out there that make it so they can't get out?? My toddler cannot be the only one who has done this before.

We did pick up a grill today too. And he's cute too! I wanted to name him Sparky but I'm not sure what Tom thought of the name. We made hobo burgers (or foil packs) tonight and oh wow were they fabulous. Amazing what the difference was between our old grill and this new one that cooks infrared style... (don't ask me how it works) Though our old one was free... and it did it's duty well. Anyone want a free grill?

After supper we went out for a walk and Kara rode in the Beco (as she has lately, she hates car seats) and Kiley rode in the stroller while Abby sat in the wagon. We have to look very entertaining to those of you out walking around town or peeping through the windows. It certainly isn't hard to miss us!

Abby is LOVING her brand new backyard. The swingset is up... the sandbox is full and there is so much to do and to play with. I taught her how to swing on her tummy since she can't quite get up on the swings to sit on them yet. It's made life a lot easier for me because now she can 'do it' herself. (I do it!) The other day it was so cute because she was sitting in the sandbox with her toys and she had this little octopus mold ... thing. But she apparently thought it most resembled a baby and was rocking it, putting it to sleep. She even gave it rides on the swing... then later I looked and she had two of them. It's amazing how often she can't have just ONE baby but she wants to have TWO. I can't imagine why...

Well midnight knocks on the door once again.... time for me to skidaddle. Night!

Almost midnight!

It has been a busy day and it is almost midnight so this will be brief. Therapy with Abby went very well today. I felt like the therapist really listened to my concerns and we are going to go ahead and schedule more sessions and do them at a different time to see if that helps. That way I won't have to wake her up from naps. We also saw a pediatrician today, a different one than her normal and I liked him. No nonsense, came in... checked her out, gave me a straightforward reason to what was going on, got us out. Appointment was quick, easy and painless. I felt like he listened to me too! Verdict is.... sinus infection. The first doctor (that I hated by the way) didn't prescribe her antibiotic to last long enough... therefore it didn't knock out the infection.

I'm hoping she'll start feeling better soon. Hearing her cough at night is awful. K&K both have gunky noses and have been fussy. I really really really don't want to take them in but what to do. Pray they will just get better. I'm so sick of the doctor. Time to get some sleep... hope tonight goes better than the last few have. It's been a rough week for sleep. I'm experiencing a lot of vertigo, wondering if that is sleep deprived related or if I have a sinus infection that is messing with my ears. Ugh... no way do I have time to go to the doctor MYSELF.

Hope you sleep better than I have! (love this picture of Kiley by the way)

A rat race

(Kara)

Crazy crazy crazy crazy crazy... my house is crazy. Abby was in rare form today. I think she ran into at least 5 different objects ranging from toys, corners of cabinets, walls and other miscellaneous objects. I think she will have a black eye below her right eye because of the corner of the cabinet she ran into but outside of that we avoided any major injuries. Her nose is running and her cough is back... along with the hair pulling. It makes me wonder if perhaps her ears didn't fully recover or if she might have gotten something else. She always is a little more 'off' when she isn't feeling good.


Kiley is also making a run for the most exhausting child today. Tom thought she made the 'coolest sound' when she threw up all over me tonight. Vomit vomit everywhere. I was so covered I felt like a bath was the best decision. So I got to enjoy a nice relaxing bath reading a potty training tips book. Yep... a potty training book. (not for Kiley... I'm not that insane) Our neighbor came over to my house with her little boy this morning. It was a good visit. While he was here he wanted to use the bathroom... which made Abs want to sit on HER potty. She really really really wants to go on the potty and has started telling me when she has to go to the bathroom. Me? I cringe inside... I'm not ready yet!!! Couldn't we transition off the bottle to a regular cup? That would be much easier than from diapers to undies... though cheaper. I'm still a little unsure of how I want to proceed with this. Every fiber of my being is saying no way till summer! But if she wants to and is ready how on earth do I tell HER no? That isn't fair.

I guess we will give it a shot and see what happens.... I won't be too hard core about it. Perhaps we will try it before/after transition activities. Before we get in the car, before nap, after nap, before we go outside etc etc.

The weather was absolutely atrocious today. Rain and 30-40 mph winds. Her grandma & grandpa D drove all the way up to help get Abby's swingset put together and the first chance we have to use it we get hurricanes! (figuratively speaking)  We also got sand to put into her turtle sandbox that was given by her other grandparents. There is a little park in our backyard now! I'm hoping it will be put to use sometime this week. The cover got blown off of the sandbox so the sand will be wet. We hope Mr. Kitty our neighbor's cat will stay out of the sandbox long enough for the sand to dry out a little. If not... the sand was only 3 bucks... I'll just get rid of it.(if kitty uses it for a litter box)

I felt a little overwhelmed/tired today. Not sure if part of that is because of the weather, because Abs was running into EVERYTHING or because Kiley was puking constantly. K&K are both on the formula Elecare when I am gone. I just couldn't pump enough to keep up with them after all of the doctor excursions we have had to do the last few months. It was just too much. And frankly I didn't have the time. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep breastfeeding them but I will do it as long as possible. Even if it drives me crazy at times...

Yes my house is messy... my laundry isn't all done... but my girls are loved and my family is beautiful. God never said I had to be perfect. There will always be more laundry, more dishes to wash, more toys to pick up... they will only be young for a little while and then I will wish for the crayon on the walls again.... and the back door left wide open... the sounds of Abby pattering around in the backyard.

 I'll try to remember that tomorrow morning when the To Do list is racing through my mind. Night!

Happy Easter!

Easter has come and gone... there are 4 multicolored boiled eggs in the fridge and a bunch of plastic eggs filled with gummies in the closet (away from Abby at the moment) The girls were all beautiful in their white dresses, pink shrugs and flower headbands. Abby even left hers on for a loooong time. It gives me hope that she will let me put them in her hair again! It does help that her sisters wear them so she wants to be like them (kinda funny)

The Easter service was beautiful and just filled with joy. The girls didn't seem to enjoy sitting as much as both K&K ended up in the back of the church and Abby made several dashes to get out. She was reading her coloring book during one of the prayers and saw a chicken. "Look chicken! Bak Bak Bak!.... Chicken! Bak bak bak" Yep she was making chicken noises as loud as she could. It was really hard not to laugh. She loves to talk during church which is our hardest struggle outside of running away. Her dearest friend Layla and Abby had a great time after church. They were running around the foyer hand in hand. When we finally had to leave Layla said "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaby!!!" It was so cute! I can't wait to get together and play again soon. Our two families have just been crazy busy these last few weeks and it hasn't worked out.

Afterwards we drove up to my cousin's place 2 hours away. I was SURE Abby would sleep the whole way there. Nope. She proceeded to scream the alphabet most of the way. It was a long 2 hours. At least the babies stayed sleeping... that's always my biggest worry with her screaming while she's in the car. We had a delicious lunch with great food. There are always a bunch of people that come and this time was no exception. The house was filled with people! The guys played football, the kids had an Easter Egg hunt and blew bubbles. I spent a large amount of my time keeping the babies happy though I did get quite a bit of help from my family with them. Abby missed having a nap completely....

She fell asleep within 5 minuets of our leaving the house. The babies took this as their cue to cry... and cry they did most of the way. So I spent a majority of my time in the back trying to get them to go back to sleep. Fuuuun. Tom's parent's came up to our house and Tom and his Dad are out building Abby's swing set right now. YAY! I'm so excited I can't WAIT to have that for her. She will absolutely love it. My parents bought it for her last fall as an earlier Christmas present but because we got snow so early last year it never got put up... then the drifts were so big they took up our entire yard! I'm not sure what the rest of the day holds, there are plenty of projects to get done and it sounds like Tom's mom and I will head up to town to run a few errands. I think Abby just went out to help the guys build the swingset and left the back door wide open... I think Kara is calling too. Hope everyone had a great Easter!

It's a Good Friday :)

Abby is watching Abby Cadabby so for the moment I am free... for the moment. Earlier this morning she found the dye kit that I had hidden from her in a cupboard. By the time I found her she had eaten all of the 'candies' so her mouth is very blue....

I almost thought I had mixed up the babies earlier. They were both naked and I had that brief moment of WHO IS WHO! So Kiley has a pretty pink toe now... just in case. I don't need the stress of I MIXED THEM UP! Even though in those brief moments of terror I should have realized that I would get them straightened out... I always do. 

Abby's therapy appointment went pretty well. She really liked threading the wooden beads onto the string. (Kristen was trying to get her to sit and do an activity with her) We weighed her afterwards and she is 26 pounds... riding the 50th percentile so she is doing ok. We did a little shopping afterwards because my mom had the babies. I got her cute pink dress shoes (for Easter) tights and a shrug for 20 bucks! Then I found her a swimming suit for 11 dollars (One piece finally! And a cute one!) I got her a strawberry shake and tried to find an Easter top for me... I found a shirt but when I got home I discovered it was too light and washed me out (shucks!!!!) I love the flower headbands on the girls. They are so cute! I am selling NINE of them to one person and TWO to another person. Those two orders pretty much cover the supplies of making them which is great. I need to get some more... hahahaha always something new!

Another funny tidbit.... Kara laughs when we wipe her bottom with a wipe. I don't know why but it is really funny. They really like to chew on things right now. The other day I found Abby hiding under the table with some of the Easter candy she had found somewhere... she ALMOST got it all eaten before I found her.  I need to pick up a few Easter things for Sunday morning... Hope I can do that this afternoon. What a character she is... Sounds like she opened the back door again. Time to run!

April First

One year ago today....


That one word

Changed our lives again

We just didn't know how much

Bullet Points...

(A quick candid shot... Kiley looks a little shocked)

Here is the sweet and skinny of today (I'm just too tired tonight... more to come)

• Abby ran, tripped, dove headfirst into a dresser at 12pm. 
• Ate lunch with my mom and sister while waiting for appointment; mom later got sick from food (ugh)
• 1pm: In pediatrician office getting the gash above her left eye glued 
• 2pm-4pm Abby naps while I take care of a fussy Kara and paint the bathroom (why I feel like I need more projects I'll never know)
• 5pm: While running around outside I hear Abby say "Ow mommy! ow!" I set Kara down and see that Abby has pulled off the glue/steri-strip that the pediatrician put on. Of course it's after 5.
• I call the 'on call nurse' she says to bring Abby into the ER since the gash is over her left eye. 
• I wait for Tom to get home from work while trying to keep Abby from going nuts (just crazy tonight really)
• 8pm we get to the ER. The doctor consults with 2 other doctors about what to do with Abby's cut. They collectively decide that it would be better to leave it alone because the way she is picking at the area they feel she will just tear the stitch out and make it worse. Did I mention the doctor recognized me from before? Yeeeeeep. That's not a good sign. She did check Abby's lip to see how that was healing and we chatted about 'the joys of being a mom.' The nurse also gave me pointers on how to take permanent marker off of the walls. (Must have been a slow night) Abby impressed them with her vocabulary and they sent me home with instructions on how to care for it.... again. 
• 9pm, Put Kara to bed, Tom ate supper and I proceeded to work on painting the rest of the bathroom.
  
• It's 11:37pm... there is still trim work left to do in the bathroom... along with putting everything else back. Kiley is asleep in my arms (she slept a lot today) and Tom is telling me it is time for bed (something I agree with whole heartedly)
  
  May Tonight bring great sleep... and Tomorrow a quieter day....

Hooray for warm weather!

Babies all asleep (check); In my pajamas (check); Homework done (check); Meds given (shoot!)....

I successfully gave all three girls meds twice a day... for a week and tonight I broke my streak. But honestly I cannot bring myself to wake them up and 'shoot it' down their throats. Tonight will just have to go without and tomorrow I will start it over again.

We had a great weekend. My nephew turned two and we drove a few hours to go see him and his family to celebrate. I have discovered that driving with three young children is in no way relaxing, fun or enjoyable... but we survived four, two hour stretches and lived to tell the tale! Oh how Abby loves her cousin. They played together so well it was fun to watch. Of course there were the occasional moments where toys were taken and a wrestling match began. Sadly the air mattress we slept on was very un-airy and left us on the ground for most of the night. Something that Tom and I tolerated but the babies hated... who knew that 4 month olds could be so spoiled? lol K&K did NOT like sleeping on the floor. One of the nights I had to spread a bunch of pillows out underneath the mattress so that they could sleep on them instead...

Our nephew has grown up so much! I love the way he says "Yesssss" and "Mooooooom!" I truly truly truly wish they lived closer! Thankfully Tom's parent's are a good 'half way point' and we are able to meet up more often. We had an Easter Egg hunt in his backyard but Abby was half heartedly interested in picking up the 'balls' and her cousin was far more interested in burying them in the backyard. K&K hung out inside the house because the wind was too cold. We still had a good time watching them run around the yard.


Abby's therapy today went VERY well. The therapist was even able to get Abby to play with some play dough and she was thrilled to see how happy Abby was and involved she got. If there is one thing Abby loves it is lotion... oh how she loves the lotion 'game.' She also loves looking at the faces with the emotions. She can point out the happy face and the sad face. Mad she is still working on... but it is amazing because she realizes that the babies cry when they are 'sad'... she gets it! It is so fun to watch her learn. The therapist was also impressed that Abby counted to ten for her. Of course... she counted to three when she was 1... so ten at 2 seems normal to us.

And what about K&K... well we are holding off on solids for them until 6 months. Sad. I was looking forward to trying rice with them. Dr. D (their GI dr) said that their adjusted age (what they would be if they had made it full term) is 3 months and with the reflux/gi issues they have it is better to wait until they are 6 months to try rice. Sometimes kids with reflux can develop a food aversion if they try it too early and I guess they are just not developmentally ready for it. So we will wait. I guess it can't hurt... and it means less dishes for me. :) (This picture I think is really funny... Kiley (purple bow) has the goofiest look on her face... and Kara's is pretty funny too)

They are sleeping so-so. I think I am getting a few longer stretches for the first part of the night but the second  part of the night is still killing me. I'm hoping now that we are home that they will sleep even better. I could really use a good night's sleep. Even if it is just a few more hours! They've been on a new bottle of Prevacid for the last 4-5 days so it should be working pretty well by now. Kara is still really hoarse and I think she has the same cold type crud that I have. Hoping that is all it stays... a cold. Kara can roll from back to stomach now too! She doesn't share the same enthusiasm of doing it like Kiley does yet. I'll try to get a video of it sometime soon. They are both very ticklish and it is pretty cute to listen to them giggle. They also hate being in their carseats (FYI) I carried Kara tonight in my Beco carrier on our walk and she loved it. It was a lot easier to carrier one baby and push the other in the single stroller instead of pushing the gigantic double stroller!

Well I suppose... I've written long enough and I need to fall into bed. zzzzzzzzzzz