Misc.

This past week, we had to take our car in to the mechanic. It had been making horrible sounds and we were afraid that it was something major with the engine. Well, come to find out a squirrel had decided our car was the perfect place to hide a walnut. Every time we would drive somewhere it would roll around and bump up against a different part of the engine, creating the sounds we were hearing. It was removed and our car is now running smoothly again. We are very thankful that it was a walnut and not the transmission.

Last weekend, we had our first accumulating snowfall. It started falling Saturday afternoon and lasted until Sunday morning. We barely received 2 inches (as opposed to the 6-8 inches the weathermen were calling for). I was excited for the boys to be able to play in it, but by the time we got out of church on Sunday it was melting fast. Luckily there was still enough for Samuel to make tracks and Darius to experience snow for the first time.

We are staying home for Christmas. Although I'm disappointed in not being able to see family, it will be nice to not have to travel this year. We are looking forward to starting a few traditions since Samuel is now getting to the age where he can be more involved.

Two days after Christmas, Darius is having surgery. Originally it was scheduled for Jan. 4, but I was informed today that it was moved up. I heard it from the admitting clerk, not our surgeon's office. Kind of considerate, don't you think? I'm just thankful they didn't call us next Wednesday to tell us the scheduled time for it. It's hard enough to find a babysitter now for two days after Christmas, much less trying to find one for the next day. Anyway, the surgery is to correct a problem that he's had since birth and could, when he's older, cause major issues. It's an outpatient surgery and he should be doing fine the day after, although he will be pretty sore.

But, other than that, let us not forget the reason why we are celebrating Christmas. I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!!

A long week with a sick family

As the title says this week definitely does not rank up there in the "favorite weeks" category. The boys have been fighting what we thought were bad colds that included fevers and a lot of grumpiness. On Friday, we had their two year and 9 month doctor appointments. There we learned that they both had double ear infections. Yikes!! No wonder they have been so grumpy and sick. Luckily they were prescribed antibiotics and are now seeming to be on the downside of the illnesses. They both have croupy coughs but since Samuel has asthma he was given an oral steroid to help boost his lung capacity. He does not react well to this particular steroid. It causes HUGE mood swings in him. Yesterday he was uncontrollable. There was not anything we could do for him or to him. He just cried and threw massive fits and we finally just let him go. Because of that, we decided not to give him anymore of it. We can't handle it, much less himself handling the changes. Today we are still dealing with the aftereffects of the steroid, but hopefully within the next day or so it will clear his system. Needless to say, we will be requesting a new steroid the next time he needs one.

To end on a positive note, Darius crawled a little bit this afternoon. He has been army crawling for months, but hasn't quite learned to crawl the regular way. He likes to get up on his hands and knees and rock and sometimes he would crawl a step, but today he went a short way on his own. Yay for him!

This week is looking up, at least at the moment it is. I hope the boys get over their ear infections and that their appetites and attitudes come back.

Baby Prodigy & Major Meltdown

Well, we have a baby prodigy in the house. Last night Josh and I were cleaning up the kitchen from supper when I heard a "thump". It wasn't followed by crying so I kept rinsing dishes. But I got curious and decided I should check it out. When I entered the living room, I saw Darius on top of the blue tub (that prevents access to the computer area) leaning over the couch!! The top of the tub is about 15 inches off of the floor. He had climbed onto Samuel's riding truck and then climbed onto the tub. I couldn't believe what I saw! I quickly called Josh in and he was amazed too. Needless to say, I set Darius on the floor and moved the truck, but not without him crying in anger at us taking away his fun. The amazing thing is he can't even crawl (on hands and knees) yet, but he can climb. Today he climbed again. Samuel likes to push the bottom cushions up on the couches and sit on the wood part. Darius was playing with a car there and somehow climbed up there on his own. (I didn't see him do it, since I was attending to Samuel at the time.) I can't believe this. It is a good thing that we rearranged our living room. On Tuesday night we moved the tall bookcase into our room, because we afraid that the boys (meaning Samuel at the time) would try climbing on it. We didn't know we would have to worry about Darius climbing yet. That boy is definitely more adventurous at his age, than Samuel ever was. We have our work cut out for us.

Last night was also the first time we dealt with a very defiant Samuel. His bed time was approaching and since he sometimes has trouble picking up his toys, I decided to start early. Well, you would have thought that the world was going to cave in. He threw a major fit. The only way we could get him to clean up what was in the living room was to physically help him put his blocks in their box. Well, we were going to make him clean up his Legos all by himself. He just sat there in his room and cried and cried and cried. He would not put them away. No amount of coaxing or threatening would do it, so we were just going to let him sit there until he did it. Meanwhile his bedtime is ticking by. Finally at 9:15 (15 minutes past his bedtime) I had had enough of the crying. I went in there and luckily got him to put his Legos away, by playing a quick game with him. Finally! We quickly got him ready for bed and tucked in. I couldn't believe how much of a fit he threw. I didn't think that he was so tired since he had taken a 3 1/2 hour nap that afternoon. But I guess he was. Usually he has a huge mess of toys to clean up, but this time he only had a few. I am going to try to have him clean up his toys periodically during the evening now, to try to alleviate this happening again. Although I know that the "Trying Twos" are here and this won't be the last time it happens. But, I figure that it will and I hope we will be ready for it.

2nd Birthday

I now have a two year old in the house. Samuel turned 2 on the 17th of this month. We celebrated his birthday a week early because my parents were in town. Instead of making a cake for him (he has bad luck with cakes), I made his favorite sweet treat...cookies! He absolutely loves cookies, so when I brought out the big birthday cookie for him, his eyes lit up and he smiled really big. It took some coaxing to get him to blow out his candle, but he finally did it. He received lots of dinosaurs for his birthday and a tractor that plays "Old McDonald has a farm". He loves dancing to the song. It was a great birthday for him, much better than his first considering he threw up his birthday cake.

Josh had decided that we didn't have nearly enough leaves in our yard, so he went to our neighbors across the street to ask them for their leaves. (I know, most people want to get rid of leaves, not get more.) On Friday, he spent 1 1/2 hours raking and transporting leaves to our back yard. There were a lot more leaves than he thought and so the new garden area he was creating became bigger. When he was done, we took the boys outside to play in the leaves. Samuel and Darius had fun. The leaves were clear up to Samuel's waist!


I hope to try to load pictures along with my posts, if they are relevant. But I am continually uploading pictures to our Flickr account. Enjoy!

Time Change, Age Two & Teeth

I have a feeling that the individuals who instituted the time change, didn't have very young children. The time change is great if you have older kids or no kids, because you actually get to enjoy it. On the other hand, young kids don't adjust to the change quite as easily if at all. Samuel has done pretty well (with exception to this morning). Darius has not. He, unfortunately, is still getting up during the night (once in the middle and usually early morning). He normally goes back to sleep after the early morning feeding, except now that the time has changed. He's decided that he likes to be awake then, which means that I have to keep him company or he complains rather loudly. Needless to say, I've beat the sun the last few mornings. Hopefully he will start sleeping longer soon.

We bought Samuel a little flag on Saturday. It was in the clearance aisle at Wal-Mart for a dollar. He likes to carry it around and wave it proudly. He's about two weeks away from turning two and he's definitely hitting that notorious stage. It's fun because he's constantly learning new things. But at the same time, it's a struggle because he's learning that his way does not rule over all. We are just trying to stay consistent with him and making the effort to "catch" him being good.

Poor Darius is trying to cut three teeth right now. They are so close to popping through. He's pretty fussy and and will only settle down if I'm holding him. I'm hoping that the Tylenol will kick in and ease his discomfort. Hopefully they will come through soon, so I can get some things done.

Bwag, Calcu and more

Samuel has a fascination with "bwags". Otherwise known as flags. He loves to point them out as we drive. I think there is probably about 20 flags between our house and church and he tries to point at each one. He will keep saying the word until you answer him. His other cute pronunciation is "calcu" for calculator. He likes to play with it and watch the numbers as he pushes buttons. He is learning many new words and it is nice to be able to understand him a little more.

Darius is now getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. I think in another month or so he will be attempting to crawl. He loves to follow Samuel around when he is playing.

This weekend, our church is hosting it's annual conference. I am excited to go since I wasn't able to last year. The theme is on being filled with the Spirit. It will be a good time of ministering and hearing some great sermons. I hope to learn a lot from it.

1st Hospital Visit

Samuel had his first hospital visit this week. He woke up on Tuesday morning with a severe asthma attack that didn't respond to the breathing treatment that we gave him at home. We spent the morning in the doctor's office giving him 2 more breathing treatments. We were told we could try going home, but if he didn't improve then he would have to go to the hospital. Well, as we were leaving, he started wheezing really bad again. We were admitted around 10:45 am. He had to have a monitor attached to his big toe to keep track of his oxygen levels and heartbeat. He wanted no part of that. They had put a longer cord on it so he could move around, but it still didn't help. The rest of the day was spent receiving breathing treatments and several different rounds of medication (steroids and antibiotics). Throughout the day, his breathing would get a little better, but then he would get frustrated with the monitor or lack of mobility and throw a fit. That would cause his wheezing to come back and he'd get worse for a while. He spent the night there and was able to go home Wednesday morning, under the condition that if he needed any breathing treatments less than 3 hours apart, then we would have to come back. So far he's been doing well, and is back to his old self.

I can't even describe how upsetting the situation was for me. For him to be struggling to get his breath and then having to go to the hospital was very scary and nerve wracking. One of the worst times, was when I had to leave him for the night. I had to go pick up Darius from the babysitter's and head home. Darius is still getting up in the night to be fed, so I was unable to spend the night with Samuel in the hospital. Josh took over for me, but it was so hard to leave him. I felt like my heart was being ripped out when Samuel started crying hard as I left and I could hear him down the hall. The whole time I kept fearing the worst, meaning that his oxygen level would drop low enough for him to need oxygen by mask and him having to stay another day in the hospital. I was very surprised the next morning when I got to the hospital and I could hear him playing rather loudly before I even got to the room. He was literally bouncing off the walls when I got there. He was so hyped up on medication that he was just going crazy. It was a welcome sight considering how he had been the previous day.

There were a lot of people praying for us and we are very grateful for that especially since Samuel was able to go home after one day and hasn't had any trouble since. I am hoping that there won't be a "next time" and that we can get a better control over his asthma before it gets to that point.

The Perfect Mattress

There's a series of commercials lately from a mattress company that I really like. The basic idea is that life is chaotic, noisy, busy and overwhelming, but when you lie down on their mattress everything is transformed into a peaceful, quiet, relaxing place. I wish that was true. I would be the first in line to buy that mattress. The ideal is great. The boys get up early and make a lot of noise and I'm not ready to get up, I can just stay in bed. Darius decides that waking up is better than sleeping during the night, I can check on him and then go back to bed. Presto, the noise stops, I can sleep and life would be good.

Unfortunately, life does not work that way. Sometimes I wish that it did, but then I see the smiles and receive the early morning snuggles from my boys and realize that even though the day is starting much earlier than I had hoped, I have more of the day to enjoy with them. Besides, there is always nap time to enjoy the peace and quiet.

Crib Recall

I don't know how many of you have heard of the newest recall for babies/kids, but it is for cribs. So far, I have listened and payed attention to the recalls to make sure that I don't have any of the toys. Most of the toys are too old for my boys anyway, until this latest recall. I got to looking at our crib and we have the one that is being recalled. It's a little unnerving to be aware of this. Besides, don't recalled toys/furniture always happen to someone else? At least that's what I've always thought, until now. Today I did some more research on the company and found their website. They made it super easy to order the parts to correct the problem. Kudos to them! So we should be getting the new parts in a few weeks (hopefully sooner) and should be able to fix the problem. (Let's hope that the fixing process is as easy as the ordering process.) If there is a lesson to this, it is to pay attention to recalls since you may have the very item that is being recalled.

The way to my heart

There is the saying, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." The way to a woman's heart is flowers, chocolate, etc. I like flowers and chocolate just fine, but the real way to my heart is through ice cream. Yep, that's right, ice cream. I know, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal to you, but it is to me. That's because I don't get ice cream very often. It is contraband in our household, due to Samuel's milk allergy.

Last night we were taking advantage of some good discounts in a local grocery store and we walked by the ice cream section. I glanced over at it (to see what I was missing) and Josh asked if I wanted some. I replied that I always wanted some, so he suggested that we get some. The words shocked me so I had to repeat them back to him. He affirmed what he said so we took our time picking out the right kind. Let me tell you, it was WONDERFUL. I don't care if you think that I'm silly, you try dealing with the food restrictions we have to on a daily basis and see how good something tastes after you haven't had it for a long while.

I mentioned in my last post about Darius crawling. He has gained quite a bit of speed since then. He now follows me around the house. When I go into Samuel's room to change his diaper, Darius isn't far behind. You can hear him coming and then all of a sudden he peeks around the door to the room with a smile on his face. He's so proud of himself and so am I.

Right now, I feel like I have a huge to-do list. The list includes cleaning, straightening, storing things, plus reading. The only time I have to do these things are when the boys are down for a nap, which doesn't leave much time. I feel guilty about doing some of these things in the evenings, because Josh is home and I want us to spend time as a family. Arrgghh! I need to make a list of what I need to do and then as I do it, I can mark it off. Maybe then I will feel like I'm accomplishing something. Although, I know that my list will continue to grow. I guess that is a never ending process. Hopefully I can at least not feel like I'm drowning. Oh well, such is life, I guess.

Waking up Jesus, Crying, Crawling and Salsa

Ever since Darius was very little, Samuel has tried to wake him up while sleeping. He likes to hit something with his hand (to make noise) and yell, "Daa" or something like it. He gets in trouble for it, but still likes to do it. He especially likes to try to wake Darius up in the car. We were reading a book (Away in a Manger) and came to the page where, "the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay", part is. Samuel hit his leg and yelled, "Daa" to try to wake him up. Josh and I started laughing. It was so funny that he was trying to wake up baby Jesus. Since then, he has done it a couple more times.

I blogged last week about Darius' crying and attributed it to him teething. Well, he's not teething, it's a phase he is going through right now. Any time you set him down to do some work (or because your arm is tired) and leave his sight for a second (or even stay within sight), he starts crying. He has a really good set of lungs on him. He can scream pretty good. The only thing that stops him is to hold him, which sometimes is impossible. We are getting used to him screaming, otherwise we would get nothing done. Samuel is a good big brother and tries to distract him with toys, but to no avail. I hope that this is a phase that passes quickly.

Darius has started army crawling now. We noticed it on Saturday. He especially likes to go after the things that he can't have (for instance the gardening magazines that Samuel strings all over the floor looking for apples). But he's starting to get faster and between rolling and crawling can get anywhere he wants quickly.

I had a first this weekend. I made my first batch of salsa. We have an abundance of cherry tomatoes and peppers (bell and anaheim). I didn't want them to go bad, so I used my mother-in-law's recipe. It turned out pretty good. I know there are some differences I will do next time, but for my first attempt it's pretty tasty. I'm sure that I will have another chance to make more this summer since our tomatoes and peppers are still producing. I am looking forward to this and hope to perfect the recipe even more.

Darius Update

I just wanted to update you on how last night went.....much better! Darius only woke up one time and after his pacifier and some pats on the bottom went back to sleep. He stayed asleep until around 7:00 a.m. Yay! I was able to get a much better, not to mention longer, night's sleep. I'm hoping that this will continue and evolve into him not waking up at all or being able to settle himself on his own.

Right now I have all of the windows open and am enjoying the cooler air. I'm getting ready to head outside and join the rest of the family. Have a good weekend!

Retraining Darius

Before we went on vacation, Darius had been sleeping through the night for a little more than two months. Since we were in different places while on vacation, he started waking up in the night for a mid-night feeding. This has been a continuing habit of his. Well, Tuesday night I was ready for this habit to be over. He woke up wanting to eat at 12:30 and also at 4:10 and then he decided that I had slept enough and decided to keep me up for an hour after that.

Last night I was not going to feed him before 4:00 a.m. Knowing that if he consistently got up around that time, I would eventually lengthen his feedings until at least 6:00 a.m. He woke up at 2:10 a.m. and so I went in and gave him his pacifier and patted his bottom until he settled down again. Once he was quiet, I went back to bed. Thus began a long process that lasted an hour. With him fussing, me patting and trying to go back to sleep. He finally did and ended up sleeping until 6:20 a.m. Yay! I am preparing myself to repeat this tonight and every night until he gets back in the habit of sleeping through the night. We are trying to help him sleep longer by feeding him cereal and a veggie at his last feeding so he will stay fuller longer. Although last night in his sleep at some point he spit the majority of it up. (Maybe that's why he fussed so much.)

Anyway, I still haven't noticed a tooth pop through yet. I'm still hoping it will soon, although he hasn't been as grumpy today as previous days. I hope it stays that way.

New Side of Darius

To start out we finally have A/C again. It went out on Friday afternoon and it was finally fixed this morning. We (the boys and I) had to endure a very warm humid day in the house yesterday. It finally had taken its toll late in the afternoon and evening causing all of us to be grumpy. But, this morning we finally got it fixed and have been enjoying the cool air ever since. Josh was lucky because he works in an air conditioned library all day and he had class last night so he only had to endure the night. Anyway, it has made me very grateful for it.

I'm seeing another side of Darius now. He is trying to teethe his third tooth and it is really bothering him. He has been so grumpy and fussy in the last two days. He is pretty inconsolable some times. The only thing that calms him down is to be held. He's not usually like this and I can tell that he's really uncomfortable. I do what I can for him, but sometimes it doesn't seem like its enough. I hope that it pops through soon, for his sake. I hope that this doesn't repeat itself every time he gets a tooth. But we will take it one tooth at a time.

Getting Older=More Fun

Now that Darius is getting older, Samuel is enjoying him more. Samuel likes to make him smile and has even gotten him to giggle every once in a while. He gives him toys to play with and takes them away from him. (We are now working on sharing.) He gives him his pacifier and likes to give him kisses and hugs, especially when he is crying. Darius likes to watch Samuel and see what he's up to. He also smiles at Samuel when he sees him. It is fun to see how they relate to each other and interact.

Last Sunday we had a church picnic at a park. Samuel got to swing for the first time on a "big boy" swing. He LOVED it! I bet I pushed him for 45 minutes on it. I was worried that he wouldn't hang on very well, but he did. I finally had to help him get off when his arms were shaking from holding on so long. This means that we need to get a swing for him. We have been talking about it for awhile, but just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

Darius has his 6 month doctor's appointment this week. 6 months already! It is going so fast, he's already eating cereal and starting to eat fruit. My baby isn't going to be a baby much longer. Hopefully he will slow down a little, but I know the time will just seem to go even faster. What's a mother to do?

New Food Allergy

We have a new food allergy to add to Samuel's list. Eggs. I had made "forgotten cookies" yesterday (basically a meringue cookie) and we gave a bite to Samuel last night. Well, he threw it up and broke out in hives on his face. He had had a similar reaction to a pastry I had made last week. But I was unsure at the time if it was just his stomach or if it was eggs. Our fears were answered last night. I was hoping that we would just have to worry about milk. Now we will have to be even more cautious with food. As far as I know, he's done okay with eggs in baked goods. But I guess now I will have to learn how to bake without eggs. As if cooking without milk isn't hard enough sometimes (we have adapted quite well to it, though) now we will have to make a whole new adjustment. When will it end?!?

I guess a plus side (if there is one) is that we eat healthier. We can't eat processed or boxed foods because most of them have milk in them so we eat everything from scratch. It's definitely made me a more versatile cook. I'm glad that I enjoy cooking since I have to do it so much! We are praying that he will grow out of all of the allergies and especially that he won't come up with new ones. Although nuts are off the list for now, since he has a high chance of being allergic to them. It's very disheartening/depressing (pick an adjective) to have to deal with all of this. I have to be on guard constantly and it makes going to different gatherings harder. We can't trust the food and so sometimes it's easier to just not go than to have to deal with figuring out what he can or can't eat or bringing his own food.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm to blame for his food allergies. Maybe if I hadn't eaten so much dairy when I was pregnant with him or eaten so much of other things that he wouldn't be allergic to them now. I love dairy products and peanut butter and so maybe I ate too much of them and gave his body an overload so now he can't handle any of it. I hope not, but I guess I will never know.

We're back

Well, we survived our vacation. It actually went pretty well. Samuel got along great with the others. We were wondering if he would cling to us the entire time, which he had done at Christmas time. I think it helped that his cousins were there along with his grandparents and aunt and uncle he had seen right before we left. He ran around and enjoyed seeing the others, (I think). Darius was his normal happy self. Samuel also got to play in the rain for the first time at his grandparents'. He loved running around in the rain and playing in the down spout. He also had a great time playing in the mud. He ran back to the garden when Josh looked away and by the time Josh got there, Samuel had slipped and fell in the mud. He was covered, but it was so funny to watch him.

The down side to vacation was all of the time spent in the car. The boys generally did okay, until about the last hour and then they would both throw a big fit at the same time. It made for a loud unconsolable car ride, especially when you're flying down I-80 (in Nebraska) trying to find your exit in the rain. Craziness! To alleviate this, on the last trip (to home), we left at 3:30 a.m. when they would sleep for most of it. That put us home by noon and taking long naps during the afternoon.

The best part of the trip was seeing my family. I got to see my cousins and their families, plus my grandparents. There were 10 great-grandkids there, with 8 being under the age of 3. We gathered to celebrate the 60th anniversary of my grandparents. It is so admirable to see that and it makes me very proud to be their granddaughter.

Long Car Rides

This week we are starting a long week vacation. We will be traveling by car through three states before coming back home. Our long travels will take us through Kansas to Colorado to Nebraska back to Kansas and then home to Missouri. We will be spending more time in the car, I think than anywhere else. It will be quite an adventure traveling with two young boys. The trip will be broken up somewhat by Darius needing to eat every three hours. Hopefully they won't get too car seat sore.

Through our travels we get to stay in a hotel. I haven't stayed in one since, well, actually I can't remember how long it's been. At least before Samuel was born, how long before I don't know. I'm looking forward to that, although it will make providing for Samuel's meals much harder. Because of his milk allergy, we can't really trust any food at restaurants, so we will be providing our own for him. One of my friends who works for a screen printing place is printing up a shirt for him to wear, to keep others from feeding him. It says: Milk Allergy, Please Don't Feed Me. We will be around a lot of relatives whom we haven't seen in years and don't know about his milk allergy. Hopefully this will help.

The exciting part of the trip is celebrating my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. I'm at a loss for words about being together for 60 years, especially today when marriages don't last very long at all. My prayer is that Josh's and my marriage will last that long or longer.

Well, this will be the last post for at least a week or longer. We are leaving in two days and will get back around the middle of next week sometime. I'll definitely blog about our adventure.

Monkey

We now have a monkey in our house, by the name of Samuel. He figured out how to climb into his high chair Saturday night. He had tried while I was fixing supper and slipped off twice, bumping his lip. Later on, Josh and I were conversing in the living room and he mentioned the word "Jews". Samuel thought he said "juice", so he went running into the kitchen repeating it. We got a good laugh out of that. Anyway, he was standing by his high chair and by the time I had glanced away to say something to Josh and looked back, he was in his high chair. He had climbed up there all by himself. We have seen him do it several times since then. He's also figured out that if he pushes our dining room chairs against wall, he can climb up into them (they have wheels on the bottom). We will have to be very watchful with him now, so he doesn't try to climb on the book shelf or anything else disastrous.

Two Sides of Mothering

There are two sides to mothering. The first side is the glamorous side. This side includes the hugs, the smiles and all that is enjoyable about it. The second side is the unglamorous side. This side includes the sleepless nights, explosive diapers, cleaning up after sick kids, and the crying that doesn't seem to end after numerous rounds of trying everything possible. It's amazing how both sides coexist.

This week has been slowly increasing on the unglamorous side. Each morning this week, I've awaken to Samuel crying, "Da-da, Da-da" in a voice that tells me that something is wrong. (He knows how to say momma, but chooses to call me da-da instead.) When I've gone in to get him, I could tell that he was sick sometime during the night. Each day it has gotten worse with the climax being today. Samuel has pretty much gotten a bath almost every morning this week, since that was the easiest way to clean him up. He loves baths and could take one several times a day, but was very sore and didn't enjoy it this morning. I'm very thankful that we have our own washing machine and dryer, because it has been used every day this week. I'm really hoping that whatever bug he has will clear his system quickly. I really don't enjoy waking up to that each morning (who would). It doesn't really start the day off right. I have to really keep in mind that he has no control over it and is not doing it on purpose. (Especially when I'm so tired and foggy from just waking up.) This does result in extra snuggling in the morning, since he (and I) need it. Even though this is the side of mothering that is less than desired, it still is a part of it and makes me appreciate the glamorous side.

MySpace

I now have a MySpace page. When my sister was down, she showed me hers and let me use it to search for some of my friends. Well, I got hooked. Yesterday I started setting up my own page. It will probably take awhile since I will be figuring out what to post on it. I am excited to hear from friends that I haven't talked to for awhile since high school or college. Hopefully I can keep up with it .

Busy Time

A lot has been going on in the past week. Normal life stuff plus my sis and her family came to visit. It was so fun to see Micah and Rachel again. I enjoyed watching all of the kids interact together. Although, Samuel had asthma issues the whole time and only in the past day or so was feeling better. It seems that any time we go some where or have people come to us, his asthma acts up. Maybe he has an aversion to family or wants to make sure he isn't forgotten. We are going on a big vacation at the end of the month and are worried about how he is going to do. But we will be prepared with better asthma meds so hopefully that will curb the big problems.

Other than that, life is going on as normal. The boys are growing like weeds and learning new things all of the time.

Big Helper & Rolling Over

I now have an assistant. Samuel has started helping me around the house. He hands me things that I need or don't realize that I need. He lets me know if Darius has leaked up the back of his diaper when I'm burping him. He even helped me do laundry the other day, by handing me clothes to put in the washer and pushing them in the dryer when I laid them on the door for him. He "plays" with Darius by handing him toys and trying to put Darius' pacifier in his mouth when he thinks Darius needs it. Of course I enjoy his help even if I don't really need it. He seems proud to be able to help.

Today Darius has finally rolled over from his tummy to his back. I'm very excited about this. Ever since he has been able to do back to tummy, he has been sleeping on his side and tummy. This was all well and good except for the fact that he didn't really want to do that and couldn't roll back. This has resulted in shorter nap times and waking up at night because he wanted off of his tummy. We even had an hour long battle at 1 a.m. this morning concerning this. Hopefully he will catch on soon to this and correct himself instead of me having to help him out.

Learning about Gravity

Samuel is now at the stage where he is learning about gravity and the effect it has on a person. The effect it has on him is a bitten lip and a bump on the head. Luckily gravity was kind to him, because it could have been much worse. Yesterday he took a header over the couch and on to the floor. I was in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher and heard the thud and the cry. He was very lucky he didn't hit the folding chair to the computer and/or the computer desk. This is now the second fall he has taken. He also fell over the chair in our living room and hit the floor. He was unscathed after that one. One would think that he would learn, but this is adult logic and not toddler logic. Adult logic is "what goes up, must come down". Toddler logic is "what goes up, comes down, but is it true with all things? I must fully investigate this." I know that there will be many more times of falling. But, I am praying that he will come out of them (or down from them) with minor bumps and bruises.

By the way, last week, I blogged about Josh's experience with tuna and swordfish. We now are pretty sure that it was not an allergic reaction, but seafood poisoning. We talked to another couple at church that has had the same experience with tuna. We are very glad that it wasn't an allergy, one major food allergy is enough in our household!

Fun Week

This past week, we had VBS. I was the main teacher for the 1st & 2nd grade group. I had a fantastic time with the kids. I loved being able to teach the kids Bible stories and verses to memorize. We played lots of games and sang some great songs. Last night was a program for the parents and one of the boys in my class' personality really shone through. They sang several of the songs they had learned during the week, complete with actions. Well, I don't know where this kid got his moves but he was hilarious. He had everyone laughing in the sanctuary, including his parents. I saw his mom wipe away tears from her eyes, from laughing so hard. He seemed like such a quiet boy during the lessons, but I guess that was only a facade. I will definitely help again next year.

Also this week, I have been working with Samuel on using a spoon. We used apple sauce, which is very hard since it slides off of the spoon so easy. I would guide him on how to fill the spoon and help him get it to his mouth (not always an easy task). Today he did it all by himself! He did everything, from filling the spoon to getting it to his mouth. I'm so proud of him!!

This morning when I got him dressed I noticed how long he is getting. He's now becoming more of a little boy. We have his 18 mos. doctor's appointment next week and I am looking forward to seeing how much he has grown. Same with Darius, I'm curious as to how much he weighs, since his 4 month appointment is at the same time. They are growing so fast.

Long Week

This week is going to be a long week for our family. It's VBS time and I'm teaching the 1st & 2nd grade class. I'm really looking forward to it. It's a sports theme and we are learning about heroes. My wonderful husband along with another lady is helping me. It's in the evening, so hopefully Samuel won't be too grumpy.

Samuel has decided to go through a screaming phase. He usually does it for attention when we're busy taking care of other things or Darius. We have tried all sorts of things to get him to stop, but yet he continues. Starting today, I'm going to try to ignore him when he is screaming and pay attention to him when he stops. I am hoping that this works and quickly before my ear drums shatter. I don't know what else to do about it. I'm hoping that this is one of those phases that is very short-lived and is over very soon.

Bragging & Allergies

Today I have to brag on my boys. First, Darius can now roll over from his back to his tummy. He has been so close for the last two weeks. He would roll over onto his side and try his hardest to go farther, but his arm was always in the way. Yesterday afternoon, he finally made it that last little bit. Second, Samuel made a great association on Tuesday. We were reading one of his books and he was pointing to various words on the page. We were on the title page and he pointed to the publisher, Little Simon. When I read him the words, he pointed across the street where a Scottie dog named Simon lives. He constantly amazes me in this area. There are things that I don't even put together, but he does. My boys are so smart!!

I think that we have figured out where Samuel got his food allergy from. Josh was gone at a conference on Tuesday and Wednesday and ate at a seafood restaurant with some colleagues. He had tuna and tried some swordfish for the first time. Not long after, he reacted in a similar way that Samuel reacts, with a bright pink rash. He's had problems with shrimp in the past, but now has another food to add to the list. Although we are not sure if it was the tuna or swordfish. Luckily his only reaction was the rash, otherwise it could have been a much different story. So now we will be avoiding seafood along with dairy products. That won't be too hard, since we very rarely eat any seafood. There is definitely never a dull moment in our family.

Love & Frustration

Yesterday was one of those days where I had my limit of fussy boys. When that happens, sometimes Josh will offer to take the boys off of my hands so I can get out of the house. Our lawn needed mowing so I offered to do that. It was a good way for me to work my frustrations out and not to hear any whining or fussing from kids. It was nice until I was finished and started putting things away. Samuel saw me and of course started crying again. This leads me to my next musing.

It is possible to feel frustrated and loved at the same time. Samuel is good at making me feel this way. He usually does pretty well if I leave for awhile. Sometimes he fusses a little, but usually calms down within five minutes or so. The part that gets him is if I leave, but come back and forth within eye sight. For instance, last night I kept walking by the window to put several things away outside. That upset him, because he knew I was there, but wasn't paying any attention to him. It's flattering, because I know he loves me and wants to be around me. But at the same time, it's frustrating because he knows that I'm there, but is doing everything in his power to make me feel "guilty" about not being with him. After I got inside last night and cleaned up, he clung to me the rest of the night until bedtime. He wouldn't even hug Josh goodnight. He's such a mama's boy. But even though it frustrates me sometimes, I am enjoying it. I know that all too soon, he won't want to snuggle or sit on my lap anymore. Then, I will be grateful for his independence, but saddened at the same time.

Hidden Plot

I am convinced that there is a plot against me going on in my house. The creators of this plot are none other than Samuel and Darius. The whole focus of this plot is to see how early they can get Mom up in the morning. They hatched this plan once they knew that I was the one who would be getting up to take care of them in the morning. They are in this together, because they like to take turns being the one to get up early. I have a sneaking suspicion that they talk this over each night before Samuel goes to bed. There are various ways that they execute this plot. One way is for Samuel to get up early (usually between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.) and make enough noise to make it impossible for me to sleep. The other way is for Darius to get up early (anywhere between 5:45 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.) and want to be fed. But after he's fed, he decides to play instead of go back to sleep. Sometimes they are in this together. When that is the case, Darius gets up early wanting to be fed and goes back to sleep. No sooner have I gotten back into bed and laid my head on the pillow, Samuel will wake up and announce himself rather boisterously. It's no use fighting them, they have perfected this plot and are pro's at making it happen. I guess I will just have to wave the white flag and go to bed earlier each night.

I should have known this would happen since they are both boys. There will be no end to the things that they will be plotting as they get older. But, as they get older they will find out that their mother is a good plotter herself and then they will have to wave the white flag.

Flowers

This morning I received the prettiest flowers from one of the gentlemen in my life. This gentleman took the time to pick them all by hand. He searched far and wide to find just the right ones and presented them to me with a hug. This gentleman has taken the time to give me hand picked flowers before, apparently knowing how much I like them. I appreciated the thoughtfulness in this action. He was busy with other things this morning, but took the time to show how much he loves me. And of course, I love him too.

New Experience

Last night was a first for Josh and I as parents of more than one child. We had two crying children in a grocery store. We stopped at a local grocery store after church which is a Wednesday night ritual to take advantage of the sales. Samuel was in the cart holding a bottle of salad dressing and Darius was in his car seat in the cart also. Samuel turned around and dropped the bottle on Darius. This, of course, caused Darius to scream. When Josh got after Samuel, he started crying hard. While each of us was trying to calm a crying child, all we could do was look at each other and laugh. Luckily, they didn't take long to calm down and the store wasn't very busy that night. I'm sure that this is not the last time it will happen, but hopefully we will handle it as well as we did last night.

We have noticed an interesting difference between Samuel and Darius. When Darius cries, he's a screamer. He doesn't cry that much but when he does, everyone knows about it. Of course, some of that has to do with being terrorized by his big brother. When Samuel was a baby, he cried a lot but didn't scream unless he was hurt. It is intriguing to observe the differences between the two. As they get older, it will be interesting to notice those differences play out.

Delicacy

Last night I was able to enjoy something I haven't been able to have for several months. Pizza! We picked up some after church last night. It tasted wonderful. Although that is the last time we will be able to do it, since Samuel is at the point where he is gets jealous when he doesn't get the same thing as we do. It was nice while it lasted.

Since Samuel has a sensitive allergy to all dairy products, we have been a dairy-free household for almost a year now. The only time we enjoy foods with dairy in them is if we eat out, which together we haven't done since before Darius was born (three months ago). Josh is fortunate to be able to eat out several times a month. I, on the other hand, do not have the same opportunities as he does. I am usually content with that as long as when he does, he doesn't tell me what he ate.

Darius definitely knows the way to his mother's heart. It doesn't take much for him to smile and it just melts my heart when he does. It's the perfect pick-me-up when I'm frustrated or not in a good mood. I just start talking to him and soon he's smiling and "talking" back. Babies are such a joy to have in your life. At least in my opinion they are.

18 month old

I am now the mother of an 18 month old. Today is Samuel's 18 month milestone. I've been thinking this week about the things that he can do and gets interested in. For instance he's starting to want to do things on his own, but gets frustrated when they don't go his way. He also can be so funny. He likes to play peek-a-boo with whatever he can find. He makes the craziest sounds that make us laugh which in turn causes him to laugh. This morning we spent the longest time watching squirrels play on our neighbor's fence. He got such a kick with them disappearing on the other side of the fence only to appear again. He also loves rocks and trying to hold as many in his hands as possible. We don't make it past the landscaping at church until he picks one up.

I think the saying, "Children keep you young" is definitely true as I am forced to stop and explore the "little" things that catch Samuel's attention. I'm glad that this is true since it causes me to appreciate God's creation through the eyes of a toddler. When was the last time that we, as adults, took the time to watch a trail of ants, pick dandelions or feel different textures that we take for granted? Everyday is the answer, when you live with young children. And I wouldn't change it for anything.

Internet, Sweet Internet

I know I started a blog last week and said that I would post several times a week. Then this week I haven't posted at all, leaving some of you to think, "sure, she will." Well, I have an excuse. We haven't had a working computer until today. The power supply in it decided to stop working. My groovy husband Josh (he's looking over my shoulder so I have to say that ;-) ) ordered a new one on Tuesday and we received it Friday in pieces. He worked Friday night and Saturday morning putting it together and setting it up. So it's back, leaving me to my next musing.

I didn't realize how much I rely on the internet during the day to help me feel not so closed in. I probably check my email a twenty times a day. (Kind of obsessive don't you think?) But, I especially missed some of the Christian programming I listen to as podcasts and blogs that I usually read. But I have actually been able to fill my quiet times (i.e. children's nap times) with reading a fiction book. I haven't taken the time to do that since Darius was born. It's nice to have/take the time to do that.

Hopefully now, I will be able to post as I was intending to do. We shall see.

A Mom's Salary

Last night on the news, they talked about how much a mom's salary would be. They took into account all aspects of being a mom (cooking, cleaning, babysitting, etc.). They even had it figured at forty hours a week with fifty-two hours of overtime included. The final total came to about $137,000. Personally I thought it was a little low, but who am I to complain. The whole time I was thinking, "yeah, that would be nice to get paid for being a mom." But I realized that I do get paid for being a mom, only not in dollars. The ways that I get paid are in a two month old's smile, a big hug from a 17 month old, a snuggle on the couch as we read a book, a big smile as we play, reaching arms from a toddler just needing his mom. If I take into consideration all of these "payments", than I am much richer than getting paid any amount of money someone thinks a mom should make. Although, I wouldn't complain if someone wrote me a check! ;-)

Molehill

So yesterday I mentioned that today was solo day with the boys. I had said that I was probably making a mountain out of a molehill. Well, go figure it was true (that always happens). I managed to get everything loaded (including the boys) and leave when I had wanted. Going into the church our secretary helped me and leaving, the music minister helped me. God (of course) orchestrated everything so I wouldn't get too overwhelmed with all of it. This is a big accomplishment for me.

It's amazing the things that count as accomplishments, when you have babies. For instance getting a shower in during the day, managing to comfort two crying kids at the same time, even getting to have a little bit of "me" time during the day. Of course some days are better than others. Sometimes it seems that all I accomplish during the day is to take care of two boys. But that's okay, since I know that household duties will wait (at least most will). My babies will only be babies for a short time and one day I will look back and wonder where the time went. I'm trying to focus on enjoying the time they are so young, even though some days I wish they were older. I just hope I don't waste the time God has given me in this stage of their lives. With a lot of prayer and some concentrated effort, I hope to make this stage worthwhile and memorable.

Solo Outing

Tomorrow is my first outing with both of the boys by myself. I knew that this time would come eventually, but had tried to put it off as long as possible. Needless to say, I am nervous about it. I have a steering team meeting for my church's MOPS group. Trying to get my stuff with an infant and a toddler who listens when he wants to, into the church at the same time seems daunting. At least it's at church during the week so there won't be traffic in the parking lot to worry about. I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill, but I tend to be a worry-wart about such things. I will post tomorrow about the adventure.

First Blog

So I decided to join the blogging crowd. Several of my friends have them and I thought it would be a good way to keep family and friends updated on my boys. With two very young boys, life is interesting to say the least. The goal is to post several times a week. The blog hopefully will include musings from a mom's perspective (hence the name) and the new skills the boys learn. I hope this blog is interesting.