Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Life

You know what the best part about being an 'adult' is? I no longer have to do things someone else's way. When you're growing up you always have someone standing over your shoulder telling you what you can/can't do or how you have to do things. Now...the only person over my shoulder is the God that I answer to. And His word means more than anyone's. I say this because recently Pete and I have been facing some challenging situations.

When the girls 1st came home from the hospital we were tired to say the least. Let's go back to that time (quickly...very quickly...lol). Hannah & Hailey needed to eat every 2hrs, Emily every 3hrs. I had 3 alarms set on my cell phone and then one on the alarm clock. I never slept through a feeding. Never. Not one time. No matter how tired I was...I got up.
Alarm #1 goes off. I wake up Hailey, feed her and hand her to Pete so she can be held. I wake up Hannah, feed her and hand her to Pete so she can be held. They needed to be upright for 45min - we found they would only spit up 1/2 of what they would if we layed them right back down. I wake up Emily, feed her and by the time she is done all of them can go back to sleep. I now have to pump. For 20-25 minutes I got to watch my family sleep. I'm done pumping, and after taking care of the milk - I can sleep for 45minutes before alarm #2 goes off. Hannah and Hailey need to eat again. After feeding and holding them - I can sleep for another 45min before alarm #3 goes off to wake up Emily for her next feeding. Reset the cell phone alarms, pump and sleep for 45minutes before the alarm clock goes off to feed Hannah and Hailey again. This is the smooth rundown. This doesn't include the diaper changes, change of clothes after they spit up, crying, wanting to be held more...and so on.

Ok...let's get out of there...that's not the happiest of times for us...lol. What's the point in going back to that though? It's this: At 2:00 in the morning when you have 3 babies that are 100% dependent on you and you have to pull every ounce of your energy together to make it happen...who's there? I can tell you who was there for me. God and Pete. That's NOT to say that we didn't have help. We did. And God knows we needed it. Who doesn't? We have 3 kids...we'll ALWAYS need help. And we know that. But with that said we have learned that help comes at a cost. It has cost us friends. It has cost us relationships. It has cost us alone time. It has cost us time away from our kids. The number of people that cycle through our house during the day is welcoming to us. It warms our hearts to know that people care enough to help. To know that we need help and to offer it without asking is overwhelming.

But there are times when we make decisions and those decisions are not open to debate. They're not open to 'tweaking' and they're not open to discussion at all. Bringing it back...WE...Pete and I...are the parents of this little trio that we've brought into this world. We're going to make mistakes. We're going to mess up in big ways. And when we do - God will catch us, put us back on our feet and help us move forward. We have to let the little things go. If we don't - we will do nothing but fight and argue. We have soooo much more to concentrate on. So many more important things to worry about. So yes - I've adopted the 'I don't give a f__k' attidue and it's not because I really don't care. It's simply because I can't care about the small things. I don't have the time, energy or patience to. And since I have adopted this new attitude...life has been much easier on Pete and myself. We've said it a million times - we only get ONE shot at doing this whole kid thing. And we're going to do our best to do it 'right'.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Stellan

Was working on a weekend post but we can talk about that later.
Yup...another prayer 'shout out' folks. Stellan is a miracle baby and has been pulling the world along with him ever since. He's gotta 'pull' through yet again so show some prayer love over at the MckMama blog.


Prayers for Stellan

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

We Forgot...

...to mention that Kelly came over to play with us on Saturday too! And she's pregnant with a baby boy and his name is Ronan! Well - not really but that's what we call him. He's due to arrive in just a couple short months and we can't wait - PLAY DATE!!!!!!!!! We have sooo much stuff we can teach him!!! Thanks for hanging out Kelly - we love when you come to play with us...it's soooo much fun!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Weekend fun

This weekend Daddy went to VA and he left us here to take care of Mommy. We sure did do a good job too! On Saturday morning we pushed Daddy out the door and then we dragged mommy off to the grocery store. We had to make sure we had milk. Then we came home and we left mommy a list of things to take care of while we took a nap. When we woke up - Uncle Joey, Kristin, Auntie Lucy, Alex, Bri Bri and one of Bri's friends were all here!!! Then we went out in our swimming pool and splashed around in the water (well Hailey didn't - she preferred to be held by Auntie Lucy). Then later Uncle Joey cooked out on the grill and he stayed to help us brush out teeth, read books and get to bed.
Then Sunday Daddy still wasn't back (we missed him so much - we like when daddy comes to get us out of our cribs in the morning). We cooked mommy some oatmeal for breakfast and decided that was not gonna do it. We needed more food...it was gonna be a hungry day for all of us. So we texted Uncle Joey and said "Come on! We're going to Denny's!" So he said 'Ok - I'm on my way!!!!" But before he could get here do you know what mommy did??? She put us down for stinkin nap! It's ok though - Uncle Joey waited for us and when we got up he made sure we got to Denny's for our breakfast. Mommy called Auntie Lucy and so the whole crew of us ended up going out to eat. Then we went to the orchard and we picked FRESH PEACHES AND RASPBERRIES! Do you know what they tasted like? OMG THEY WERE SO GOOD! That was the best time ever! We got to walk right over to the tree and pull the peaches right off the branch and eat them! Just like that! Oh - and we LOVE LOVE LOVE raspberries. Oh yeah. Those are yummy. Then when we got home we were really tired so Uncle Joey and Kristin helped give us a bath and put us to bed again.
Daddy was here when we got up on Monday morning and we're not sure who was happier...us or Mommy. Cuz Mommy was pretty darn happy to see Daddy after he had been gone all weekend!
Pictures? Yeah - well - Daddy took the camera to VA with him so we didn't have it. Hopefully Auntie Lucy sends us some pictures and then we'll share them with you. We looked pretty cute picking Peaches...that's for sure.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Toddlers?

So many times I read blogs and everyone is questioning when our babies actually become toddlers. I think I have the answer. It's all in the bath water! I've noticed that past couple times the girls have taken a bath - their bath water is dirty!!! *GASP* I think we officially have toddlers. Because babies...they don't get dirty!!!!
And on a side note - Emily was walking around the house the other morning with an outlet plug in her hand. Yeah - childproof my @ss. She pulled that thing right out of the wall...and I'll bet she had fun doing it too. LOL...definitely toddlers.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Email conversation

From Us:

Dear Uncle Joey. We love you. We love when you take care of us and we love when you play games all day long. We love sharing our toys with you and showing you how they work. When are you taking us to 6 Flags...More Fun again? We loved the ketchup they have there. It was yummy.
Love,
Your beautiful Nieces


From Uncle Joey:


Well if you get your butts better so we can do other things too. The world is a BIG place and I want to show you everything I possibly can. Take for instance this weekend. It is officially peach season. And i know how much you like peaches so we can go pick them right off the tree! And show you how they grow and where they come from. And we can bring some home to mommy.

Love,
Uncle Joey

Monday, July 13, 2009

Update

Hailey went to the doctor today. We can rule out strep, pneumonia, and a UTI. But we can't tell you what's wrong. She's lost weight - now only 16lbs 13oz. Ugh. She is such a peanut to begin with!!! But the good news is that for now - she's gone all day without a fever. If the fever comes back - the doctor will order some blood work. I'm going to get this kid F A T if it kills me. I'm going out to buy her donuts tonight...please insert instant conversation here between me and Pete. (I was thinking out loud as I was writing this...).
Me: I'm gonna go buy Hailey some donuts tonight.
Pete: Don't forget to buy me some! (the tone was that of a 2 year old who might not get something that someone else has....). Haha...I'm still laughing. He doesn't need donuts...but I'll buy him some too.
Anyway - basically we're on a 'wait and see' with what's going on. I'll be fine with this until her temp gets up there only 1 more time. Then the mama 'bear' comes out of hibernation.

ER visit

Saturday we decided to take the girls to the Science Center. Eh...I'll post that another day (it wasn't as good as I thought it would be). We had been giving Hailey Tylenol/Motrin for what seems like forever now because she's had this fever that just won't give up. Yeah I know...we're horrible parents for bringing her out. Take it to the press cuz right about now I don't give a shit what people say anymore. My kids = my ways. When we got home from the Science Center she had a fever of 102.2 so we gave her some Tylenol. Yet her fever continued to climb. This was new...usually Tylenol takes it right down and she's back to normal. It didn't take Pete and I long to decide that she should just go to the ER to make sure she doesn't have an ear infection or something else going on. I'd have brought her to the doctor but it was late Saturday afternoon and they were closed. So off we go (with Lucy, Alex and Brianna in tow!).

We arrive at the ER and they get us right in. Didn't even sit down. The nurse weighs Hailey, takes her temp (at this point it's 101.5) and says 'Is she up to date on all her vaccines?' Huh? Wasn't prepared for that one but I answer 'No. She hasn't had her MMR.' The nurse says 'why?' to which I reply 'we've decided to postpone.' Luckily that was it...I didn't have it in me to carry on a whole conversation about it. Hailey is screaming - I mean really screaming to the point that 2 nurses and 1 doctor came around to see what all the noise was about. I give the kid credit...this is one quality I'll admire in her one days that's for sure. They take her vitals and get us down to a room. A nurse comes in and gets a brief history...then the doctor comes in a few minutes later. Yup...I love that about this hospital - they don't even ask for insurance information until AFTER you've seen the doctor 1st.

The doctor says she thinks it's just a virus but she'll check with the attending and we should be on our way. It hasn't even been an hour yet...this is great! They come to check Hailey's vital signs again. Her temp is now up to 103.5. The attending comes in and says he wants a chest xray and then a urine test. I know that a urine test is simple for those that can pee in a cup...but they'll have to stick a cath in her and that's not going to be fun. But if says it's necessary - ok.
Chest xray is done and normal. The nurse comes in (with back up) and is going to get urine from Hailey now. I am holding Hailey's arms down a nurse is holding her legs and another nurse is sticking the catheter in her. It's taking longer than it should (I know because I do these myself at work). She then says 'Oh! That's why! I took the wrong size!' my immediate unfiltered response was 'You're fucking kidding right?'. I can handle most things but incompetence isn't one of them.

Here's how the rest of the conversation went:
Nurse: I need to go get another size.
Me: You need to get another nurse.
Nurse: Excuse me? We don't just change staff here. I'll be right back.
Me: No you won't - you'll find someone else that will take care of Hailey now...thanks. (I was polite and I was calm).

She leaves and has the nuts to come back with another catheter. My fight is gone...I really just want to know what the hell is going on with Hailey so I cave. I give the nurse the 'go ahead and fuck it up this time and see what happens' speech and move on. She gets urine this time (lucky for her).

Now we wait...oh we wouldn't have had to wait but her urine dip showed blood (there's a flipping shock huh?). So they send it to the lab and we wait. Of course every single time someone walks in the room Hailey flips out completely. I'm talking she put every kid to shame in that ER. She was letting everyone know she was not happy at all. And for that...I'm proud of her!
Urine comes back normal. Back to square 1. The doctor says 'assuming nothing worse - it looks like just a virus...although I'm a bit baffled by how long it has been.' Ugh...couldn't he have left that last part out? I wish he would have! But he says we're good to go.

Just as he walks out of the room I hear 'Ok - I'm gonna do vitals on Rm 13' (we were in Rm 13). And then I hear the nurse say 'good luck getting that mom to let you do anything'. Really? The door is wide open! Ah...so I say 'if there's someone competent that would like to come in...feel free!' But I didn't think he'd really come in and he did. He thinks he needs to take vitals again. So I kindly tell him no because we're ready to go and it's not necessary to get her all worked up again. He says 'well her heart rate was really high so I need to check her vitals again'. Lol...no shit her heart rate was high! So again I say 'thanks but no'. And then our nurse comes in. Lord give me patience. She tries to explain away the need. I say no. Another nurse comes in. Finally I say 'Ok...if the doctor would like her vitals and her heart rate checked - he's more than welcome to come and check them himself. We'll be right here waiting.' Yeah...ironically enough they came back with our paperwork and said we were free to go.

And I would love nothing more than to walk out but I have to ask to have my parking ticket validated because in my hurry to leave the house I left the money Pete gave me on the table. Lol..."Umm...can you validate this ticket for me please?" Ah...motherhood. And she's still not feeling well today so Pete is home and taking her to the doctor. Probably just a virus but it's time to move on already! We have places to go and people to see!!!!!!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

6 Flags...More Fun





































Mommy & Daddy went to work yesterday just like every other day during the week. But once they left it was PARTY TIME with Uncle Joey and Kristin! We hurried up and packed all our stuff and jumped in the car and drove up to this place called 6 Flags. It was so much fun! We ate junk all day, played in the water park, played in their new kid building, went to Toon Town and so much more! Imagine when we're old enough to go on the rides? Oh yeah...6 Flag is definitely More Fun!!!








Friday, July 10, 2009

Pray for this family

This family could use some prayers for sure. I can't even imagine. http://martinomadness.blogspot.com/

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Emily's Day Out





































I went out with Uncle Joey and Kristin yesterday. We had soooo much fun! We went to Wendy's and I ate a whole box of chicken nuggies. Then we went to W. H. Center and hung out in the bookstore, TOY STORE, puppy store and then we got ice cream!!!!!!!!!! When I got home mommy, Hannah & Hailey were waiting for me at the door. They missed me. Uncle Joey...what time are you picking me up today?
Love,
Emily

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Oh Sh*t

Mommy won't be using this phrase anymore. Emily likes it...and doesn't think there's anything wrong with it. The new phrase is now 'Oh man!'

Sunday, July 5, 2009

15 Month Well Baby


I'm a bit late posting this...but I was late bringing them to their appts too. They're actually over 16 months old now. Time flies! Let's start with the fact that the doctor is STILL our doctor. *relief* She was fine with the fact that we've decided to postpone the girls vaccines. The girls are doing great. Here are their 'stats':
Emily is 30.75 in (50%) & 22lbs 8.5oz (50%)
Hannah is 29.5 in (25%) & 18lbs 3.5 oz (3%)
Hailey is 29 in (10%) & 17.5lbs (not on the growth chart!!!!!)
We feed them...trust me when I say they eat! But since they're all walking now they seem to burn more calories and really...these girls are ACTIVE! They are up at 6am everyday, play hard until nap time around 10, take a 2 - 3 hour nap, then play hard until 6pm.