A cold, a slap lesion, and hand-foot-and-mouth disease...oh my!!!

As you can tell from the post...I've had a busy few days. Lets start with the middle item first, shall we??

Two summers ago (summer 2006), Jeff and I thought it would be a good idea to join the church's softball team. We figured it would be something fun and active for us to do together. Neither of us are especially athletically inclined...but we figured that since is was for fun - why not??? Well...about 4 games into the season...during a "warm-up" where we were throwing balls back and forth to each other...Jeff had a career ending injury on his right shoulder (sorry...no professional baseball contracts for him in the future...). However - we didn't realize how badly he had injured himself. Fast forward to about 9 months ago...Jeff's right shoulder started to really bother him. There were certain movements that he couldn't do...sometimes even had problems picking up the kids. So...he went to his doctor...who prescribed rest and anti-inflammatories. We tried that for a while. Finally Jeff went back to his doctor and demanded an MRI to see what was wrong...assuming it was his rotator cuff. Well...something showed up on the MRI...but it had nothing to do with his rotator cuff. He had a "slap lesion"...which is a fancy way of saying that a tendon had torn from his muscle. After some deliberation...about 2 months ago we scheduled his surgery for yesterday (the 28th). So...at 6:45 yesterday morning we were signing him at the surgery desk...and at about 7:30 they rolled him back on his stretcher for his surgery. Around 8:30 the doctor came out to the waiting room and told me that everything was good and showed me some pictures to prove it (now I don't know about you...but the moment the doctor said that the surgery went well and Jeff was okay...I stopped listening because that was about all I cared about...plus...as I'm not very versed in medical terminology...most of what he was saying sounded more like Greek to me...). After sitting in recovery for about 2 hours (he had some nausea coming out of anesthesia), Jeff and I came home to find my mother-in-law (saint of a woman if there ever was one) watching a little boy with a cold...and a little girl complaining that her teeth hurt. So...I called the doctor's office and made an appointment for them.

Here is where it gets fun...so hang in there... So as I'm loading Kendall from the car into the stroller at the doctor's office later that afternoon, I notice what looks like a blister on her hand...and I knew at that moment what was really bothering her. You see...a good friend of mine told me that on Thursday last week her youngest son (who is 19 months old) was recently diagnosed with hand-foot-and-mouth disease, and after a little teasing from me about weird diseases in her family (her oldest son had some weird, but not too dangerous, disease a year ago...), she told me about the blisters on her son's hands and feet. Anyway - the doctor confirmed my worst fears...and basically said that she had a "classic" presentation of the disease in her mouth and had me look for myself. Inside her poor little mouth was full of sores and blisters (kind of what a fire ant bite looks like)...no wonder she had been complaining about her teeth hurting and not wanting to eat or drink anything... For those of you that don't know (like I didn't know prior to this), hand-foot-and-mouth disease is just a virus that is pretty contagious...and normally you don't know you have it when you are contagious and already spreading it to other people. So there is no telling where she got this from... The doctor said she should be over the contagious part by Monday...but to be on the safe side, I'll probably keep her out of all her regular activities next week just to be safe. UGGHHH We are just hoping that Carson doesn't get it too (although...once you get the virus you are immune from it...so part of me almost wants him to get it...).

So instead of just caring for my husband and his shoulder with an arm in a sling...I've got two sick babies on top of that... So basically I have 3 babies to care for...all while trying to catch up on sleep that I am still missing from when Kendall was born...fun fun

Things I've learned being a mother of 2 (Part 2)

So here we are...almost 6 months after my first "Things I've learned..." post...and I think I can come up with a few more things to add to my original list...

6) My list of things to do is ever increasing. Procrastination. I just love that word. It really does explain a lot. Just the mere task of writing on my blog is a way that I am procrastinating. I have Baby books to update, Bible studies to complete, volunteer work to work on, beds to make, laundry to do, dishes to clean...the list never ends. However...somehow the black hole of a computer always sucks me in and I find myself either surfing the web (which really is pretty boring if you ask me...so why oh why do I still do it...ugghhh) or playing stupid computer games. I use the excuse that since I don't get a lot of "down" time like people that have jobs outside of the homes get (talking to a co-worker, going out to lunch and getting away from your job, being able to drive to and from work and listen to whatever you want to, etc.), that my down time is when I sit on the computer and make absolutely no good use of my time. Good excuse right???

7) Laundry magically doubles itself with the addition of just one tiny little being. Pre-Carson, I would do probably about 3 to 4 loads of laundry a week (one load of whites, one load of colors, one to two loads of sheets and towels). I now do no less than 7 loads of laundry a week now (one load of whites, 2 to 3 loads of colors, and 2 to 3 loads of sheets and towels). HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!?! We are talking about adding a very little human being...how can laundry double??? It must be because I have to change his sheets at least 2 times a week...because I guarantee he will spit up all over his sheet the very night I change all the sheets in the house. It could also be because we must go through 2 or 3 shirts a day some days for Carson...I don't remember Kendall ever spitting up this much...it is a boy thing??? I am simply amazed every Thursday when I go to do laundry...I'm scared to death what would happen if Jeff and I actually did have a third child - we would have to rent out a laundry mat once a week just to get the laundry done quickly...

8) Children learn to play together very early on. This is one thing I honestly didn't expect. I knew that eventually Kendall and Carson would play together...but I had no idea it would start this early. It is so fun to watch them crawling all around the house giggling and squealing at each other. Kendall will be sitting on the floor playing quietly with a puzzle or blocks...when little Carson crawls up and starts to play too...which brings up my next point:

9) Children learn to fight with each other very early on. Now granted...this is mainly only on Kendall's side. But when Carson does come up to Kendall while she is playing all we here is "No, Carson, No! Carson! No Sir! No!" Usually this means that he has gotten a hold of a block or whatever toy she was enjoying...and has started to bang it to hear the sounds or has actually put it into his mouth to taste ("mmm...plastic...yummy!!") We have tried to teach her that if she doesn't want him playing with her things, she just needs to go get a toy that she does want him to play with. However...this usually only happens after a few minutes of frustration and tears and whining...then Kendall asks me what is wrong and I eventually stop crying...haha

10) When one child gets sick, they both get sick. I kind of suspected this one long before we even had Kendall...but it is officially confirmed. For those of you that don't already know...someone in our house has been sick almost every single week since Thanksgiving. We actually recently had about 10 days that no one was sick...not even a sniffle. But...lo and behold...Kendall was running a fever of 102.8 this morning...and Carson as a fountain of goo coming out of his nose. I think Kendall has an ear infection...and I suspect that Carson does too...because the last time she had one...so did he. "The family that gets sick together, stays together"....right???

A Divine message?

I have been awake now for a while. A long while. Kendall woke up screaming and crying at about 4:10 (cannot remember why exactly...probably lost nuk)...then I came back to bed, and unlike my husband who can fall asleep mid-sentence, it takes me a while to get back to sleep...so when my son started making noises at 4:35 I heard it with no problem. So...at 4:40 I got up and went to his room hoping that if I changed his diaper (most of the time when he wakes up that early it is because he has a poopie diaper) and rocked him he would go back to sleep (he actually did this once about a week ago). No such luck today. So...then I thought...I'm always praying that I would have more time to myself...more time to do my biblestudy...here is my opportunity. This is God's way of saying - "What is better than waking up with Me?" So - after conceeding that Carson was indeed NOT going back to sleep - we came into the living room. I got out a Baby Einstein video, hoping that would keep his attention (which it didn't), and I sat down with my bible and my Beth Moore study that we are doing and looked at it. For those of you that aren't familiar with Beth Moore - she does very intense studies of certain subjects over an 11 week period. Each week is broken down to 5 daily studies. Currently, we are studying the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience...um...that is all I know because that is how far along we are...), and I sat down to do day 1 of week 6 - patience. Hmmm...anyone catch any coincidences here??? I can tell you this much - I really don't feel like I got a lot out of my bible study...because the video didn't entertain Carson AT ALL...he was still crawling everywhere (I tried him in his exersaucer to contain him for a while - but he wanted nothing to do with that)...getting into everything...fussing about nothing. I feel like I read some paragraphs three and four times...and I still never caught the entire meaning of what she was trying to say. What I did pick up from todays reading...was that part of beng patient is "perserveering" through times that may seem very difficult, with the knowledge that better times are ahead. For example, Job lost his fortune (livestock and servants), his sons, and eventually his health, but through it all - he continued to praise God - knowing that what we are encountering today, what we are struggling with today - is simply the steps necessary to complete God's plan and help us as Christ followers to be more like Him. So when we encounter difficult periods of our life (like lack of sleep because of two children under 3 years old...and specifically a 7 1/2 month old that hasn't figured out that sleeping until even 5:30 would be much appreciated), we must remember that our goal, our target, our focus of our lives isn't the here and now...it is being more like Christ so that not only can we help bring others to Him, but so that we can be "rewarded" in heaven. My plan for today was not to wake up at 4am...but God's plan was...and God has perfect wisdom and perfect vision for my life and I just need to trust that my lack of sleep for the last 7 1/2 months has a purpose. What that purpose is...I don't know and frankly I would LOVE to know right about now when just the act of typing into my blog is a challenge because my coffee doesn't seem to be working this morning...BUT I must be patient and realize that someday all will be revealed. I tell you what - it is sure hard...having faith when you are completely exhausted...it is very hard to know that God has a plan for me and that I must be patient and try to remember that although I may not see the fruits of my labor today - I will someday. My mom reminds me all the time that although it is hard right now (my friends and I affectionately call this period of our lives with young children "boot camp") and although I don't realize what kind of impact I'm making on my children's lives right now - someday I will. Someday they will be able to tell me, like I am able to tell my mom - how much they love me and how much they appreciate everything they've done for me. I know that my mom is probably the most important person in my life. I still call her and ask her stupid questions - because if anyone will know...MOM will know. She has always been such a positive influence in my life - always so strong and smart and funny and beautiful. She has taught me what it means to be a strong, independent woman, and yet still feminine and gentle. She has taught me the value of family and respect for others. And above all else - she has given me my love for Christ. So in my day to day when I struggle with getting up at 4am and I find myself in a bad mood (sorry about that this morning honey...) I need to remember everything I've just typed. It isn't about me anymore. It is about my kids. It is about raising them so that they love not only Jeff and I and each other - but so that they can also know and love Christ...and waking up at 4am is just a part of that journey...

On a completely different note...wow...completely different... We have paused the potty training for now. After putting Kendall on the potty every 2 hours for about 2 weeks...she got a total of 3 M&Ms...which as you will remember - she got on day 1. So...we are hitting the pause button for a few months and then we'll try again. We are keeping her in pull-ups...and if she wants to sit on the potty, she can...but I'm not forcing the issue anymore. All in good time...

It is so neat watching our children grow up. I took a trip back in memory lane and looked at a picture of Kendall when she was about Carson's age...wow...what a difference!!!

This is actually a picture of the two of us exactly one year before Carson was born. She was already a little blondie!!! What a difference 18 months makes!!! Watching her grow up day by day it is so hard to think of her ever being that small. I find myself thinking of Carson as such a little baby - and I don't remember ever thinking like that with Kendall. It must be because with your first child - you have nothing to compare the ages and stages to. Unfortunately - I wasn't good about recording "firsts" for Kendall...and what she was like day by day...so I find myself at a loss when I try to figure out how Carson is doing in comparison to her. I've got the "big" firsts - crawling, pulling up, walking, etc. But not the little ones - vocalizing, playing, etc. What a shame...if only I had started this blog back then...then I'd have my memory recorded for all posterity!

Kendall and Carson are playing together all the time now. I know it sounds impossible...he is only 7 1/2 months old. But...really! They will crawl around on the floor...first him chasing her and then her chasing him. I hear squeals and giggles from both of them as they (especially Kendall) realize what it really means to have a sibling - instant playmate! It is so fun!!! Kendall is also such a little love right now. She is constantly saying "I lub..." (insert whatever is in her arms). For example - at breakfast this morning she was eating waffles, and she says "I lub waples" and "hugs" the waffle close to her face. She'll do that with just about anything. The most precious times are when she runs up to me or Jeff and tells us that she loves us and gives us hugs. I LOVE IT!!! I also know that in 10 years - I will hear the exact opposite of "I love you" on more than one occassion... haha

Saturday we went down to Silver Springs for the day. It is only about an hour's drive...and although it isn't a theme park like Disney - there is plenty to do and see. Unfortunately...I didn't make sure that my camera was fully charged before we went - so I didn't take too many pictures. However - we do plan on going down again (we bought annual passes) soon - so I'll take more pictures. But here are a few.

And Jeff says he can't see that he and his boy look exactly alike...in my mind - there is no doubt!!!

In all the pictures that we did take of me and Kendall - she never once looked at the camera...oh well...

Have a great week!!!

Attention Shoppers!!!

(So you can tell you're a parent when the most exciting thing you do on Valentine's Day is go to the grocery store and write in your blog about it...)

Anyone that lives near a Publix Supermarket - pay close attention!!! I was let in on a little secret from our cashier as we were checking out. I had made a comment about how proud my husband would be at the amount of money in coupons I was able to use (over $8!!!), and the cashier said "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but..." Here is the scoop - they accept competitor's coupons!!! Not just the ones that come in the Sunday paper...the ones that come on Wednesdays (I think...). For example - in your paper you'll get the Winn Dixie and Albertsons circulars (along with a couple more I think...) and sometimes they have coupons for in store use. Well...since I never go anywhere but Publix - I never collect any coupons from anywhere else. BUT...if you take their coupons to Publix - Publix will accept them!!! For example - Winn Dixie apparently often has a "$10 off a $75 purchase". Publix will accept that coupon!!! YIPEE!!!! So I'm sure they'll even accept the coupons from like Wal-Mart & Target (although the cashier didn't say those stores specifically...) I can't wait until Wednesday's paper to see what kind of deals I can get on Thursday!!!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

We've resorted to bargaining...

In an effort to try and get our 2 year old to eat her fruits and veggies...bargaining seems to be the trick. This morning as I was eating my oh so healthy honey nut cheerios...my daughter had a plate full of mandarin oranges in front of her that were untouched. Her french toast sticks had been gobbled up the minute the plate was in front of her...but her oranges...not so much (which really...I shouldn't be too surprised...I don't like mandarin oranges myself...). Anyway - she saw me eating my cereal and wanted some. I told her at first that if she ate all her oranges then she could have some. Then, in desperation, I finally told her that for every orange slice she ate - she could have a bite of my cereal. That worked like a charm. Her plate was empty in no time...as was my cereal bowl. So...now I'll have to see if that works with veggies too... What is it about toddlers that they will eat practically any carb in site...but avoid veggies like the plague?? In fact - she used to LOVE french fries...and I can hardly get her to eat those anymore. Her diet pretty much consists of the following foods (none of which are on the food pyramid I think...): apple juice, milk, french toast sticks, grilled cheese sandwich, chicken fingers (sometimes...), hot dogs (sometimes), macaroni and cheese. She will eat those Del Monte food cans - as long as it is peaches or mixed fruit. She used to eat the pineapple and mandarin oranges like a champ...but no more... She loves grapes - but really only red grapes. She'll eat the green ones...but only in desperation it seems like. She does like apples...sometimes...and Grandpa can give her a regular orange and she'll eat it - but I think in her mind anything Grandpa gives her is a cookie...hmm...maybe I ought to try him out on feeding her veggies... :)

Carson is finally pulling himself up to standing!!! Yesterday he did it for the first time as I was sitting on the couch working with Kendall on a puzzle board. I looked up and there he was - smiling from ear to ear, up on his feet. He was just so pleased with himself!!! He's done it like 4 more times since then...so before we know it - he will be cruising around the furniture!!! And...he was up again this morning bright and early - around 4:53am was the first time I heard him. I actually got up about 5:10. But...last night we went to dinner and to pick up a new suit for Jeff that he had altered - so we didn't get the kids in bed until 8 o'clock (which for Kendall isn't a problem...but I'm suspecting that we have to have Carson in bed by 7:15 to 7:30 each night...). So...if my theory is correct - if I put him to bed by 7:30 tonight - then he will sleep till at least 5:30 tomorrow morning. BUT...we are hopefully going to see some dear friends of ours that had a baby on Tuesday when Jeff gets home from work. So...hopefully we can get back early enough to continue testing out my theory...

Speaking of Jeff and Maria and baby Anthony - here is one of his first pictures with his mommy. Congrats guys!!!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Yesterday was a bad day. A very bad day. First...let me explain something...I can't understand my son...I just can't figure him out. We normally try to put him to sleep around 8ish...occasionally he sleeps until 6:30...sometimes only 5...there is no rhyme or reason that I have been able to figure out. We've tried different bedtimes - some early...some later...all we would like is for him to make it to 6am...6:30 would be even better...but the moment we think we've gotten an answer...he wakes up at 5am again... Anyway - on Sunday morning (after being up in the middle of the night with Kendall two times) he woke up at 5am. When he wakes up he is happy...I can hear him over the monitor laughing and talking and playing...for a while...then he starts to get frustrated that no one has come to "rescue" him...and then he starts to cry. The happy time sometimes lasts 15 minutes...sometimes 30 or more. Jeff can sleep through the happy time (although he can sleep through the crying most of the time too...but that is beside the point). I have this "super human hearing" (as Jeff call's it) and can hear my kids the moment they hiccup - no matter how low we have the monitors turned. So even though I know Carson is happy...I can't get back to sleep. I lay there and listen to him and wonder how long I have until he starts getting frustrated. So on Sunday morning...knowing that he was awake for the morning...I only laid there about 10 minutes before I got up and got him out of bed. (I figured that since we were both awake...I might as well go get him.) Well...the rest of the morning was fine. He fell asleep briefly on my shoulder around 6:30am...and I put him down for his official nap around 9am. He napped for all of 30 minutes or so. Anyway - Jeff had to go into the office for a few hours after lunch...and we had just laid both kids down for their afternoon naps when Jeff left. I thought "YES...a few quiet hours to myself!!! Carson hasn't slept much...he'll surely be ready to nap for a long time!!!" Within 10 minutes of Jeff walking out the door (not even enough time for him to even make it to the office), Carson was awake. (Brief note here...when he wakes up from naps - he isn't happy...it is almost always screaming and crying). The rest of the afternoon until Jeff got home at 5, Carson napped all of 30 minutes...the rest of the time if I wasn't holding him or playing with him...he was screaming...not an "I'm in pain" (i.e. tummy/gas problems) scream...it was a tired, frustrated, just overall unhappy scream. I tried rocking him...I tried changing his diaper (multiple times)...I tried feeding him. Nothing made him happy. He fussed and cried and fussed some more. At 4:15 I called Jeff and said "Come home...NOW!!!" (insert voice of demonic being on the word NOW) Of course...by the time Jeff got home...Carson was no longer fussing as much...but my hair was standing completely on end and I was sitting on the couch dazed and wishing I had my own personal masseuse. We also had some friends come over for the game (Super Bowl) that evening...so I knew that I had to put on my happy face and not just go collapse in bed. Luckily I have a saint for a husband and he gave them both baths and put them both to bed when the time was right.

Unfortunately...yesterday came on a day that my hormones were already out of whack...because that morning I was a little depressed. Although (as I said in a previous post) I'm not ready to say that we are definitely done having kids...I know that we are leaning in that direction. So...as exciting as it is that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter...it is also very daunting because I've never figured out what I want to do with my life. So although I know in a few years I will have tons of free time that I'm sure I'll want to fill with a part-time job of some sort...I also know that when I go back to work I want to do something that I really will enjoy (or why go back to work at all)...and I just don't know what that something is... I've played around with all sorts of ideas...and I know that I don't have to make up my mind right this very moment...or even in the next year for that matter. But sometimes since I don't feel like I've ever found my "calling"...I feel a bit lost. Not to mention the fact that even though I keep myself busy with running the kids (mainly Kendall) to all sorts of activities...my day to day life is essentially the same. I know that we all go through "seasons" of our lives...that right now my "season" is being the best mommy and wife I can be...but when your day to day hardly ever changes...sometimes you almost wonder..."why?"

Anyway...to the good... This afternoon when I got Kendall up from her nap, we sat down on the couch with her "Bippo" (stuffed Hippo - her lovey), a sippy cup of milk and a snack cup of Cheerios and watched some of her "shows" (I just love Noggin!!!). As we are sitting there, her directly on my lap...all the sudden...out of nowhere...she turns around puts her little hand around my neck and says "I lub you Mommy" and kisses me. My heart just melted!!! How wonderful is that???