Whoops!

Friday my sister was kind enough to come by and wrangle the kids for us while Chad and I got down to some painting. Our front room has been pretty empty and lacking in color, so away we went and since we have HIGH ceilings, we got out a huge ladder to help out. At one point Chad was backing up the ladder without looking behind him. I was watching and kept thinking, he's going to stop, right...anytime now...oh dang! He bumped right into the wall. Now he had a beautiful shade of High Noon along the back of his shirt and shorts!

He HATES painting, but was such a trooper and helped me out. I am glad he went up on the ladder for me since I am afraid of heights. I went up once and was clinging to the ladder for dear life!
We are making progress. We ran out of paint, so we will have to try and convince Ashley to come back by and watch the kids again (maybe I should get someone else to watch them so she will want to have kids of her own some day) to finish up the rest and get some of those holidays. I did manage to finish covering the cornice box and put it back up. I still need to get white curtains to hang below.

I am thinking about getting a white sectional for the room to tie it all together, maybe one like this? This would of course have a removable cover that can be washed since I have kids!

I will be glad when it is done and I can have people over to enjoy it with me. Party anyone?

Helpful?

OK, first I had to start out with this picture:

What? Isn't this normal? Don't your kids use a lampshade as some sort of "blanket" when not covering a light bulb? What is really weird is that he has to go grab his pillow to make it like a real bed of some sort. I know, strange!

Well the latest around here is that Micah has taken an interest in potty training. I should be very excited and I pretend to be, but it has been a less than hygenic experience. My house smells of bleach and febreeze for good reason. Last night, I heard Micah say "Mommy I gotta go potty." I threw Brooklyn over to Chad and went running for the bathroom. At that point, he had already taken his diaper off and sat on the potty. I went in saying yeah Micah. Oh crud! The little protector cup in the front got in the way and pointed his pee pee straight up. He was a fountain! He has pee all over the front of his shirt and on the tile below him. He did manage to get some in the potty though and we celebrated. Tonight we had another fun potty experience. Chad and I were in the front room when we heard something going on in the bathroom. We looked back there to find Micah emptying a poopy diaper in the toilet. Problem is, there really isn't any poop going into the toilet. We then see him running back and forth from his room carrying poop and dropping it in the toilet. At one point, he actually picked one back out of the toilet! He was only being helpful, right? Yuck! Needless to say, all surfaces were disinfected and Micah was thoroughly washed. Hopefully, he will get better about getting it in the potty rather than around it!

Busy

This week Chad's parents came down because they needed Micah time. They always come bearing gifts, so Micah was spoiled with toys and then taken out for lots of fun play time at the Spectrum. He LOVES his Ghee and Papa. He just wants to show them everything and do everything with them. This is a picture I couldn't resist taking. Chad had convinced his dad to try playing a new game and Micah came up behind him and draped himself over his Papa to watch. I thought it was so cute! I am so glad that my kids are so close with both sets of grandparents. They are so lucky!


We also continued to celebrate Chad and Ashley's b-days (their b-days are only four days apart). We went down to Dana Point Harbor for fish and chips and then later on in the day when my mom could join us, we went out to Pomodoros. Yum! If I look like I have put on weight, I probably have just been spending too much time with my family, they like to feed us!

This is a picture of my little fam vegging out. Micah laying on Chad to watch Spongebob and Brooklyn enjoying the company. She is beginning to be more enjoyable since the colic is starting to fade away. I thought it would never end!

I thought I would throw this one in since I was asked for this recipe a couple times. I made a SUPER simple layered cake for an enrichment activity on Saturday and it was gone before I even got a chance to eat any. Here is how it is made: Mercedes cake--Bake a white cake mix in two round pans. Let the cakes cool completely and cut each in half horizontally. In a separate bowl, cut one container of strawberries in slices and mix with a half tablespoon of sugar. In another container, use a large instant vanilla pudding and use 1 and 1/4 cup of milk and cream each. Let chill and firm up. Layer it up at the last minute to keep it from getting soggy. Cake, then cream, then strawberries, ending with the last piece of cake. I finish it with powdered sugar to make it look pretty. Enjoy!

A New Definition

explosive diarrhea (n) : an experience when your child's diaper lifts about an inch off their skin as if being rapidly inflated. The results leave the child coated up their own back and the onesie rendered a yellow tie dyed rag. The final stage results in contentment of a child which was earlier unable to sooth.

Man, what a morning!

Growing up...

Happy Birthday! On Sunday Chad turned 26! I got him The Office Season Three for his birthday and then we did what he likes to do...hang around the house. I also made him a big dinner and red velvet cupcakes for dessert. I took pictures of him blowing out his candles out with Micah, but they turned out too dark to see, so here is an old picture!


Sunday was also the same day that Brooklyn officially became 4 months old! She is very social and loves to be talked to. She rolls every where and sucks on everything. She is just starting to giggle and has a habit of scratching material that is near her (on the carseat or baby carrier) to hear the noise. She loves her brother and will get a huge smile when he talks to her. She is also a daddy's girl. She has him wrapped around her finger!


I thought I would add this picture to show you that the devil in Micah can show through sometimes!

Not so perfect...

I decided that something was wrong with me and finally went to get help. I had anxiety and didn't know why and I was just unhappy with my life. I couldn't figure out why. I thought I was a weirdo. I was going to go see about anti-depressants, but Chad said he didn't think that should be the first step, so I got the name and number of a therapist. I know, who has a therapist, right? Well, Wednesday I went and told her what I was going through and she was wonderful. She told me that she didn't think I needed any drugs, but that I needed to take time for me. I had too many demands and requirement of myself and I need to do only what is needed and the others could fall away. I didn't realize how much I had going on until she put it together. After nine months of being sick, I thought I would get a break. Instead, I had a colicky child that has me sleep deprived and frustrated. I have had clogged ducts almost every month since. I still have a three year old to look after and he is pushing every limit he can and refuses to potty train. To top it off I was trying to get everything done and done perfectly each day. I would find out by the end of the day that the house was clean, laundry done, kids cleaned and dressed, and dinner on the table, however, I had spent little time with Micah, hadn't done anything fun for me and Brooklyn would start screaming again. No wonder I was getting depressed! Here are some of the things she told me that helped and I am writing them down more as a reminder for me than anything else:
*This is just a season in my life and it will change soon.
*The kids won't remember how clean the house was, but they will remember how they were cared for.
*I don't have to do it all or be it all.
*I need to prioritize my life with what really is important.
*Perfection is impossible and I should never let it tell me I will never be good enough because it takes away hope.
*Perfection and judgment should be taken out of the home with the trash.
*Perfection tends to follow around people that try really hard to be good.
*If the dishes, laundry and dinner aren't done, we will be just fine and I can do it another time.
*If I begin to feel anxious about things not being done, I need to take time to do something for myself.
*I NEED to take care of myself to take care of others, so get rest and make time for fun.

OK, so I am imperfect. I already knew that, I don't like it, but it is true. Days before I went in to see this lady (who I think is great) I started to talk about how I was feeling a little bit more and have found that a lot of people have these thoughts and feeling. I think a lot of it come with motherhood. So I want to know if anyone reading this blog has felt overwhelmed and pressured in their life and what they do to fight it off. Anyways, I have been busy the last few days with much more relaxing activities. The dishes might be in the sink and laundry sitting in a pile, but I am out and about and much happier now!

Just a few iPhone photos

Hello, this is Chad again. I have been taking pictures from my iPhone lately since it's so dang easy to have them upload straight to Flickr (thanks to an app called AirMe) so I figured I'd share some of them. Rachel has already posted a few so I won't post those ones again, but I've enjoyed having these on my phone so now you can enjoy them too!
From a little while back, this was the staple in his head after he hit it on the bar. He was such a trooper through the whole thing and now it's just a little scar where hair won't grow!
It's hard to see what's interesting about this but right in the middle of the photo you can see a red fire truck. On that red fire truck is Micah. Who has pushed himself off the grass, into the dirt, and behind a tree. And he was just sitting there. I have no idea what prompted that but I did a double-take when I realized what I was looking at, such a goofy kid sometimes.

Much like myself and Rachel, Brooklyn isn't very photogenic but this is my favorite picture of her because it's the only one I've seen that manages to actually capture how I see her in real life. She's always smiling, she has such beautiful hair and cheeks and there's just something in her eyes.

One day I came home from work expecting the usual madhouse but, instead, this is what greeted me. Both kids passed out on the floor looking like they'd just flopped to the ground from where they stood. As nice as it was to have some peace and quiet, I quickly missed Brooklyn's smiles and Micah's constant pleads for attention. Times like that make you realize what you've got.

I don't really know what to say about this one. I was standing there watching TV as Micah was tearing apart the couch cushions as he sometimes does. Not a big deal since they're easy to put back in place. He suddenly got quiet and when I looked over at him, he'd once again decided to be his goofy self and see what it was like to have the cushion be on top for a change. And that's Micah.

Heidi and Bailey taking a look at Brooklyn. Just thought this was adorable.

I recently found my old Nintendo in the attic and decided to plug it into a spare TV we had. It took a lot of unscrewing and a bunch of cleaning but it finally started working. Here is Micah making Mega Man jump in place (which he got bored of soon after this photo was taken). I walked away to do something and when I came back, he had messed around with the Nintendo and it was making a beep and giving an error. He looked at me and went "I died!"

So that's all for now, I'll probably be back in a couple more months with some more photos.

What have we been up to?

Micah has decided that he actually would like to acknowledge Brooklyn. Most of the time he just walks around her or waves, but hardly ever touches her. He asked to hold her the other day. Finally!

This is a picture of Brooklyn's hemangioma. I think I scared a few people with the picture I put up on the last post. That was a picture I pulled from the internet. Anyways, it is right up by her swirl. Thank goodness she has hair!

We have been going to the park a lot lately. I try to run one big errand and then take this wild and crazy kid out to burn some energy!


We are also saving the planet. We went to Project Playhouse over the weekend (thanks Carrie) which was fun and they were giving out these bags, so now they are my new grocery bags! I figure with all the diapers I go through, I need to help out in some way!

I have also gotten crafty. I decided that Brooklyn is going to be a lady bug this Halloween and so I went out and got all the things I needed to make her a red tutu with little black glitter polka dots. I still have to find wings and antennas. I am not sure what to make Micah. I ask him and he just doesn't get it. Any suggestions?

The "birthmark"

It's hard for me to admit, but my baby girl isn't perfect! She was born with a couple little red freckles on the back of her head, which I was told was a birthmark. Every time I go in for a doctor appointment, I ask the doctor to check it and am told it is just a birthmark and it will just break apart and go away on its own. That is a partial truth. The reason I was concerned about it is because is has grown about four times the size it was at birth. It has gotten puffy too. It looks just like this, but a little smaller:


So I did some research last night and found out that what she has it called a deep hemangioma. In all the articles it says that the hemangioma is a benign tumor that grows then stops and shrinks away leaving little or no mark at all. Doctors don't usually intervene unless it is growing in a spot that can do real damage (lips, eyes, throat). I think I will take her in anyways just to make sure it won't get too much bigger since it is a little bit bigger than a quarter right now. I think it is gross and when most people notice it they think she bumped her head. Truthfully though, most people don't notice it because of all the hair she has. I am hoping it starts to shrink away soon!

Yikes!

This morning I woke up and was determined to be positive and have a good attitude. Attitude is everything, right? I walked out front where Micah was watching Spongebob and put Brooklyn on the floor. I got myself some breakfast and checked e-mails when I heard Micah say "I peepeed!" Low and behold, there was a wet spot left on the couch because he had overfilled his night diaper. No big deal...grab the Folex and spray and wipe. Change Micah and back to checking the last of my e-mails before turning to Brooklyn who has rolled over and beginning to fuss. I came around and caught sight of a yellowness around her side.

I flipped her over to see this:

Man, those Huggies just don't work! Well, I had to put her in the tub clothes and all and scrub her down. My sweet little helper Micah took her dirty diaper to the trash for me. Yuck, what a way to start the day! Well, everyone is dressed and clean now (especailly my couch and carpet) and I took the kids out for donuts since it is Shelby's last day of summer. We are going to make it a fun one for her. I can't believe that she is going to be in 7th grade tomorrow! Anyways, I wanted to add one more picture of this little girl asleep on the floor with her taggy. She loves that thing. We have found that putting music on at night calms her down and I am feeding her some cereal at night which is helping her to sleep longer at night. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!