A Special Time

Today while Dejah was at school, I was spending some "quality time" with my little Mycah. And during that time I realized that every day except on weekends, it is just Mycah and Me...from 9am to 11am. Dejah is at school, and Logan takes a nap. Every day the same. Only today, she wanted to "get ready" with me. She jumped in my shower and LOVED it, then she wanted her hair blow dried. It was so funny to listen to her talk to me. I asked her how old she was. She replied, "I Two!" Then I asked what age she was going to be on her Birthday, which is coming up. I had to tell her it was Three. She said, "I don't want to be Three." I said, "I don't want you to be three either. I want you to stay little, and not grow up." She said "I'm going to grow big so I can go to school, and stay Two." It was really funny. It made me think of how fast the time goes. I don't really remember her being a baby. I looked through some of my old pictures. She has grown up so fast. I am so glad that we get that time every day. I really is so special.

They Broke Me

So yesterday at church, I was briefly mentioning to some friends how I hardly cry anymore. We had gone to a movie on Friday night that was supposedly a "cryer". Did I cry? Not even close. Anyway after I mentioned my "non cry status" it got me thinking. I cried ALOT during my first year or so of marriage. I wouldn't even say it was anything Alex did or didn't do either. Maybe its just an emotional time, and kids toughen you up. I don't know. Either way, I've realized I'm not as much of an emotional mess as I used to be. Now, when I get upset I tend to get irritable, which is probably not a good exchange. Well, I should have knocked on wood, cuz yesterday just about did me in. It started off ok. It seems my kids have had this stupid cruddy cold for weeks, despite that I decided we all needed to go to church. We got ready and we all went. We were all doing fine except Alex, so I sent him home with the baby. After Church, we came home to a clean house. So I made Alex something nice to eat. Since he wasn't feeling good, after dinner, I turned a movie on for the kids and we went in our room to lay down. I couldn't sleep, so I got up and came in the living room which my kids pretty much destroyed. I decided not to blow up on them while Alex was trying to get a nap. When he got up, he was the one in a bad mood. It all escalated from there. I was not happy at my kids for making such a mess. On top of that they were all being super needy and super fussy. By 7:30 last night I was on my last string. Mycah was having a tantrum and dug her little sharp nails into my hand. It hurt so bad, she got a spank and I left Alex to finish because who knows what else I would have done. I broke down completely. My kids did it. They broke me yesterday. I cried so hard I couldn't hold my stomach. Yesterday was not a good one. It carried with me into the night. I was annoyed while I slept. How does that happen? Alex was so sick with this dumb cold, he couldn't sleep. Finally at 2:30 in the morning he got up and showered then left for work. CRAZY! So here's to a better day.

Some Randomness

So not a ton of "New" things going on here. We are probably like most families, just living the day-to-day life. Alex is super slammed with homework. I feel really bad for him. Sometimes I wish I could just do some of it for him. On top of that, he is getting sick again. Just over a week ago he lost his voice, and struggled sleeping due to plugged up sinuses. That lasted for about a week. Then he seemed to be better until Friday it started up again. I hope it passes fast. He really has so much to do.

Here are some pictures of my girls. They helped me make a chocolate cake for Alex's birthday. Of course the fun part was eating the batter.

This next picture has a little story. It is a picture of my girls' room. Notice how nice and clean? Well, while I was pretty sick and "out of it". I needed to figure out how to keep the messes to a minimum. I realize what my girls do the most is Dress UP! Only, in their every day clothes! They pull them out. Put them on. Take them off. Pull out more. Etc... So I decided they have "lost" the privilege of having clothes in their room. I moved their dresser into Logan's room and hung all their dresses in his closet. PROBLEM SOLVED. No clothing in their room! Notta one! Considering Logan spends a pretty good chunk of every day napping, and they aren't allowed in there, messes are MUCH smaller. Nice huh? Now the messes that ARE made, are contained to toys and bedding. Much easier.

As far as this pregnancy goes. All is well. The sickness has died down. Still a bit tired, but I'm not dragging every day. I have tried "mini goals" (suggested by my Sister-in-Law). 1- Shower every day. 2.- Wash my hair every-other day. 3.- Clean my house no more than twice a day. 4.- Take it easy. I still have moments when I want to pull all my hair out and drop kick the kids all the way to who cares, but that is easily remedied when I see their innocent smiles. I am "starting" to show, if you really wanna call it that. I never really stopped showing from the last one. I have a doughnut that wraps around my whole waist. I am trying to hide it under hoodies until it has defined itself to baby bump status. No feeling of life yet. More to come.

My Baby Is Crawling

I swear, the more kids I have, the faster time goes by. Just last week Logan turned 8 months old. Yesterday, he finally figured out how to put one hand in front of the other and started crawling! I thought my house was "baby proof"? Ummm, not as good as I thought. Just yesterday evening, he discovered the chords coming out of the computer. He figured out its not so easy going after toys in the kitchen because the floor is slippery. He made his way into my bathroom. And he figured out that his sisters leave "goodies" all over the place. This morning he went after Mycah's toast. Lets just be glad I don't let my girls have any toys that are potential "choke-ables". At least that I'm aware of. All I have to say is, this boy is going to keep me on my toes.

He is now eating baby food like a pro. He is starting with some finger foods and loves it. This morning he had some chunks of blueberry muffin. He is on a pretty strict schedule. If he gets off of it, he's grumpy, if he stays on it, he's happy. The nights are improving, he didn't wake up once last night. I've got him sleeping in bigger diapers and warmer clothing. I think it also helped that I fed him a big bowl of cereal before bed.

Here is some video of him crawling this morning.

Dear Dejah,

Dear Dejah,

I am sitting here today, feeling the way I have lately. A little tired, and a little worn out. Right now you are cleaning my house so diligently. I didn't even have to ask. I am so proud of you. Its really hard for me to even write this without tears. But I want you to know how much I love and appreciate you. Here you are, cleaning up your room and the rest of the house. Organizing and putting things where they go. You were so excited to show me your room, and you did such a good job. I can't believe you are already 5 1/2 years old. It seems like not too long ago when it was just you and me. I cried before your sister was born, because I knew that your time as my one and only was coming to an end. But you never seemed to mind. You've welcomed every sibling with complete love and joy. You've always had such a vibrant personality. Always so "grown up". So sweet and so obedient. I'm sorry for the times I've yelled at you. You have been such a help to me with your little siblings. I know you will make a wonderful mom someday. I hope to be a good example and teacher to you. I love you. Thank you for all you do for me, and for all that you teach me every day.

Love Your Mom

Cry It Out: Update

Ok, so its been about a week and a half since I took Logan's nuk away, and started making him "Cry it out" at night. He has actually done just fine without his pacifier. Naps are good, although he tends to sleep for 45m to and hour then he calls it good. Sometimes when I know he needs a longer nap I'll just leave him in bed crying until he goes back to sleep. Now for the nights. Believe it or not, he continues to wake up throughout the nights. My only remedy for that has been to have his door shut, and my door shut with the bathroom fan running. I just can't sleep when I hear him screaming. Sometimes he'll cry for an hour before going back to sleep. I feel bad because sometimes in the morning when I go get him he has a poopy diaper on, or all blankets are kicked off. This morning he was SOAKED all the way through AND poopy. I even checked him last night when he woke up crying at 1:30 in the AM. So my goal now is to put my little 8mo old into size 4 diapers at night. Maybe that will remedy the night overflows and also have him wear a One-see under his P.J.s so he won't get cold when he kicks off his blankets. Lets see if things improve.