My funny Caleb

So we found ourselves sitting in the orthopedic doctors office this morning. Caleb has once again managed to hurt his arm. We made it 9 years before ever having a broken bone. Now I guess its a yearly deal. Geesh.

Anyway.... on the way to the doctors office Caleb was telling me how he thinks he wants to be a doctor. He says doctors make a lot of money so he is pretty sure that is what he would like to do. He asked how long he would have to go to college and which college. After covering all those logistics, he asked me how much money college costs. I told him it was a lot of money and left it at that. But I emphasized how if he worked hard he could get an academic or athletic scholarship.

After the dr looked at Caleb's arm and determines that its a possible scaphoid fracture, she tells us that the best bet is to wear a splint for two weeks and reexamine before casting. This will save us the inconvenience of casting if its not a true fracture and it will save us the expense of the cast.
After she left the room, Caleb asked me how much a cast cost. I told him it was a lot of money.

After a moment of silence, my big 10 (almost 11 :'( ) year old looks at me and says, "Did you think this through before having 3 kids? Did you realize that college cost a lot of money? Did you know about casts and stuff like that?"
I laughed a bit and said that I knew kids were expensive but that they were worth every penny.

Then he says "I bet you wish you were a doctor"


On the way out of the office, we saw a garbage truck backed up to the building loading dumpsters onto the lift. His eyes lit up and he froze in amazement. He stared as the lift went up over the hood of the truck and dumped  the contents of the dumpsters into the back of the garbage truck. He then looks at me and say "Now THAT is cool. Maybe I want to do that when I grow up!"

And all my hopes of living a comfortable retirement in the basement of my eldest childs mansion floated away....
I love my kids.

My new favorite toy

After almost 11 years of having a child in my home, I have just now discovered my most favorite obsession. A few weeks ago, my tech savy hubby bought me a video monitor. I wasn't too excited about it simply because it wasn't a necessity.
But now that I have it, I can not live without it. Ever.
I have spent more time than I'm willing to admit just staring at this monitor watching my babies sleep. That's right, babies. I have two recievers so we put one in Ashley's room and one in Faith's. I can switch from room to room and stare at them sleeping. Or I can watch them on a split screen. Or I can set it to automatically switch every 10 seconds.

That's right. I love it.

I have learned that Ashley moves like a crazy baby in her sleep and most of her noises that make me get up with her during the night, are just noises. And I have been getting up with her a lot less. I have also learned that Faith randomly sits up in her sleep, with her eyes open and just looks around. Let me tell you how creepy that looks at 2am.
I also learned that this is a handy little device to have when BOTH girls have the stomach flu. As fun as that experience was, I certainly hope we never do that again. But the video monitor was priceless that night.
And it was priceless when we put Faith to bed the other night and about 10 minutes later, she waved directly at the reciever. I love that girl.

We have plans in the works to leave both girls with friends this weekend. This was supposed to happen last weekend but then that stomach flu saga struck. So attempt #2 is coming up and as much as I'm tryin to not think about it, its all I can think about. Jamie, Caleb and I are going to go spend some time with Bonnie and give her some hugs and love. She is home from Houston after learning her Leukemia has returned. This sad, unexpected news hit everyone rather hard. It really makes you stop and realize just how precious life is. And how precious the people in our lives are. We have learned so much from Bonnie's battle this past year and are overwhelmed with emotions in regards to her strength, endurance and willpower. She is quite a lady. And I am so overjoyed that I have had her as my other mom for almost 16 years now. She has been so many things to our family and so many things to me. We are looking forward to spending time with her and praying she continues to feel well.
But I'm nervous about leaving my girls. Nervous and excited. And a bit guilt struck. I will be sending the video monitor with them. I love my friends who will have the girls. And I trust them wholeheartedly. Obviously, or I wouldn't be leaving my children with them. (those who know me, know I don't leave my kids. They are either with Jamie or myself) But these women are an exception and I trust them. I know my girls will be loved and cared for. I wonder if they will stare at the video monitor like I do. Probably not.
It really is a strange habit to have developed this late in parenting. I should maybe work on developing a hobby.

Dear Ashley Marie...

On your very 1st birthday, sweet Ashley, I want to tell you what an amazing blessing you are to our family. You are the perfect baby to complete our family. You make us laugh, you make us smile and you make mommy forget how exhausting you are. Sometimes.
A year ago today, I held my second daughter in my arms with your daddy, your big brother and your big sister at my side. It's moments like this that make a person realize that life is such a fabulous gift and that a baby is such a miracle. It's moments like this that make a mother realize that there is so much love for each and every child and that a heart can actually ache with pride and love. It's moments like this that make a mother want to freeze time and keep that baby in her arms forever.

I so wish I could freeze time.

But I can not. And here you are today, a year old. You are walking with bursts of running. You are babbling, screaming and saying the cutest gibberish. You say up, mama and dada. You also say "ass" but we like to think you are trying to say Ashley.
Your big brother adores you in a way that melts my heart. His face lights up when he sees you and is forced to grab and hug you. You object at times but he never stops attempting. Your sister is so in love with her living baby doll. She tries so hard to get you to cooperate with her every whim but you are just as stubborn and free-spirited as she is.

You eat everything. Everything. Including paper. And you are a decent napper and a decent sleeper. I wish you slept better at night but I know you will eventually. Just as you will continue to grow.

I am so thankful to be your mother. I'm so thankful to have Caleb, Faith and you. I believe I was given each of you for very specific reasons and I believe you all came to us in a very planned order. I thank God for his wisdom in knowing best what our family needed.
I thank God for you, Ashley Marie.

Happy Birthday, baby girl. I love you.

January already

Well, we are actually a bit closer to February.
I haven't posted in a while... lets see.

We took a 16 1/2 hour trip to Alabama to visit Mimi and Pops. Most worthwhile drive ever. We did learn that Faith gets carsick. And we learned that by giving both kids full doses of Dramamine, they sleep quite awhile.
It was a nice visit, but discouraging too. Mimi ended up heading back to Houston. Jamie, his dad and his sister drove her back to Houston the Friday after New Years. That was another 14 hour drive. Then Jamie flew to Atlanta where the kids and I had driven (4 hours) to meet him. We then ventured back home a faster route taking only 14 hours.
BUT.. Bonnie is back in Houston where she is being treated for a staph infection that developed in her PICC line, a UTI and another infection that I can't remember the name of. She is improving but very slowly. We are praying so hard that she returns from Houston soon and we can plan another trip to see her when she is feeling well again. It was so hard for us all to see her in such pain and discomfort. We want her to feel well and want to do anything possible to achieve that.
I hate cancer. All cancer.

On another note, we are preparing for Ashley's 1st birthday party. She turns one this Thursday, the 19th and her party is Saturday. Seriously. How did this happen??!! This time a year ago I was waddling around and had completely given up on ever having this child. I was confident she was going to live within the walls of my womb forever. Thank goodness that didn't happen. She is such a joy! And such a little stinker. We joke saying she is a girl Caleb but it's true. If it can be climbed, she'll climb it. If it can be pushed, she'll push it. If it can be thrown, she'll throw it. She's exhausting. But perfect.

We are also preparing for Faith's upcoming heart cath. Preop on February 13th and surgery on the 14th. We are talking with her pretty openly about this. She doesn't seem scared at all. Her only concern was having this after Ashley's party. Girl doesn't want to miss a party. 

I hope to get back in a routine soon. We've been home for a bit now but it was such a mentally exhausting trip that has left us with great worry for Bonnie. Which reminds me... you know that there are those defining moments in life when you realize who your real friends are and who are not your real friends. I learned one of those hard lessons when Faith was first diagnosed in August of 2007. But I just learned the other lesson. On our way home from Alabama we received a call from a friend letting us know there was no need to stop at the grocery store. Three amazing women that I have grown to love and cherish had gone into our home, CLEANED our fridge and stocked it full of all the essentials. And if that wasn't enough, they had left behind three homemade frozen meals for us. If this wasn't just the best thing ever, they also had to leave a package of cookies. Good cookies. The kind I do not normally buy. Priceless.
Words can not describe the feeling of joy and gratitude for knowing who are friends are. Life is too short to worry about who isn't so I'm thankful that we know who is.

So... hopefully we'll be back to it all soon. I attempted to get Caleb to basketball practice last night only to be an hour late due to completely forgetting the set practice time. But we did make it to dance tonight! Score! We'll get there. And so will Bonnie. One day at a time. With our friends by our sides. And with her friends, family and all the prayers at her side.

Christmas

It's so funny. It took about 2 months of shopping, three weeks of wrapping, 1 week of decorating and a full day of cooking. And now its all over. Just like that. It took about 23 seconds for all of the beautiful wrapping to be ripped through and a mess like none other to be created in our living room. It was quite a challenge keeping Ashley away from all the pieces of paper and tiny plastic choking hazards that come with every single toy.
This is what Caleb looked like when he realized we finally got him an IPod.

And then when he realized it was Jamie's old IPod he was suddenly a bit deflated, but still appreciative. (sweet boy) Then Jamie opened up the NEW IPod and Caleb was a bit disturbed but soon realized we were tricking him and then he did this.

This is a tight, genuine, full of appreciation and thankfulness, hug. It was nice. He was truly surprised. LOVE that part of Christmas.


Faith was so cute with everything. She was thrilled that Santa left her the dancing doll she asked for. (And every other doll sold in toys stores as well.)
This girl has so many dolls! Her favorite is this one...

This doll is really special. She says things like "I'm hungry, Mommy". Then you have to feed her (yes, actual food!). And she says "I'm thirsty, Mommy". And you have to give her water in her sippy cup. And she says "Did I make a stinky?".  And then you change her diaper. That's right, folks. I've said it would never happen but I have allowed another pooping, peeing object into my house. Let me tell you how gross this is too. I held her over the sink last night cleaning the green goo out of her mouth with water and vinegar. As I held the doll over the sink, a long, slimy, stringy green piece of loveliness fell from the hole in the bottom of the doll. I almost puked.
But Faith LOVES this doll. She feeds her and changes her like a crazy woman. She responds to the dolls every demand and just loves taking care of her. I had to laugh as she excitedly changed her 24th diaper. I hope I remember this to tell her about it when she has a baby of her own and has all those diapers full of real poo to tend too. I wonder if she will still be as eager.

Caleb also got a tablet and tablet accessories. And the usual basketball pants and shirts that he pretended were the best thing ever. But in reality, I just wrapped them so he'd have more to open since his Christmas was small with big ticket items.
Faith got dolls and more dolls. And a neat VTech electronic game system called a MobiGo. Really great! She hasn't played with it a ton but I'm hoping she will get into it during our 15 hour drive to Alabama.

For Christmas Eve, we had snacks galore! 

And Christmas Day, we had cornish hens.

The kids thought it was pretty neat having their own bird. I was really creeped out. I don't do well with meat on bones. Ick. Moments after this picture, I decided they weren't cooked enough and put them all back in the over. Well, except for Jamie's. He wouldn't have any part of over cooked chicken. I guess his was okay too since he didn't die. But I made the kids wait on theirs. We had it later in the day with other leftovers. I'll make chicken salad out of the rest. Everyone gets to pick a side for Christmas dinner. Caleb picked canned green beans, Faith chose macaroni, Jamie wanted sauteed mushrooms and I got corn casserole. Faith was unhappy that I didn't make boxed macaroni though. I decided to make homemade and she wasn't thrilled. We ate Jamie's mushrooms the night before at our Christmas eve feast so, Caleb and I were the only ones happy with the sides.
Oh well. We all spent the day in our pajamas and had a really fun day. It was a great Christmas. One of the best yet. All the kids are at such great ages! Next year will be even better since I won't be pulling paper out of Ashley's mouth every 30 seconds. Hopefully.

We leave on Friday for Alabama. Really looking forward to ringing in the New Years with Mimi and Pops! After we get home, we'll be doing final preparations for our baby turning ONE! Such fun things happening!

On a not so fun note, Faith will be having another heart catherization in February. Date still to be determined. More information to come on this later. Right now, we are still in the midst of our holiday cheer and I'm trying not to worry about this upcoming event quite yet. One day at a time.

Happy holidays to everyone!!!

More Faith

Today was a good day. A very good day. I love days that I look back on and just laugh. Most days are like this but some days, I rather not look back on at all.
We played hide and seek this morning. Faith runs to hide while I count. She told me to count to 11 though because she wanted more time. And then she told me not to look in her closet when I tried to find her.

After Ashley nap, we took her to get her first pair of shoes. It as quite the adventure. Faith and Caleb love this baby so much and really don't give her the space so desires. It was hard for her to walk around the store with them hovering on her examining her new shoes. And the fact that she hated them made the experience all that more funny. She's warmed up to them a bit more now. But she did act like a cat with tape on its paws at first. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you really should find a cat and a roll of tape. Funniest thing ever. And I'll attempt to video Ashley doing it just in case you don't have a cat handy.

This afternoon we went to see a movie. "Arthur Christmas".  Very cute movie, by the way. I decided it would be fun to take Faith, Braden and Nathan along too. (her BFF's from playgroup) We were missing one but Taylor had already seen the movie. So off we went.
On the way there, the conversation went like this:

Braden: "I'm going to sit next to Faith in the movie"
Nathan: "I want to sit next to Braden"
Faith: "I'm going to sit next to Braden:
Braden:"I'm going to sit by Faith"
Faith: "I want to sit by Braden"

Nathan starts to panic.

Nathan: "I want to sit by Nathan"

All the 4 year olds cracked up.

Then Faith says "I'm an ice princess."

Caleb looks at me and says "Random thoughts by Faith."


Once we were in the movie, the 4 year olds did great! They sat nicely in their seats and arranged their snack packs on their laps. Nathan suddenly realized that these theater chairs posed a serious threat and could possibly swallow him whole. So..... he sat on my lap during the movie. It was so incredibly hard not to laugh but he was so serious about this fear that I couldn't laugh at him. I love 4 year olds! Such a fun age. 

Faithisms

Stuff like this is said in my house all the time and cracks me up. At the time I always think, I need to write that down and most of the time, I forget.
So now I'm writing it down.

Tonight, Faith hugs me and squeezes some of my love handle. Sweet girl. I say "Faith, don't squeeze mommy's fat." She says "You're not fat, mommy. You're tall."
"Awww, Faith. You don't think I'm fat? I'm tall??"

"Well, you're kind of tall."

"Just kind of tall?"

"Yes. But not really tall at all. And a little fat."


Love. This. Girl.

And now I'm on a diet.