Time for… A day in the life of a mom to a half-dozen

So yesterday was one of THOSE days.  A day when I wonder if I’m still sane.  A day when I want to tuck myself away with a good book and forget that I have responsibilities.  BUT… I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.  

Two weeks ago I saw a video of myself playing with my children and made the decision to make some major changes.  I weigh more today than I have weighed EVER, including all of my pregnancies.  It is unhealthy for my body and I’m unhappy with what I saw.  So last week I joined with 5 other ladies in an accountability group to be healthier.  I got up and walked before sunrise every day UNTIL Friday.  Friday is my day off from work so my schedule is a little relaxed.  I knew I didn’t have to shower before taking the kids to school so I stayed in bed until 6:40am.

First I put my new sheets in the dryer and started the laundry, then I ate breakfast, dressed Alli and took the boys to school.  Came home and put the sheets on the bed and fully made the bed (this is NOT normal, or wasn’t… it’s one of my new goals).  Caleb arrived to take Brittney to school and just as I was starting the dishes Brittney asked for the jumper cables.  I had to back up the van and try to jump off Calebs blazer… didn’t work.  So I loaded A up and took B and C to school.  From there I headed to the bank to deposit Ralphs checks for the week.  I was having a hard time breathing for some reason (let’s assume the crazy amount of pollen in the air *rolleyes*) and decided that a shot of my inhaler would help.  It did indeed, but the side-effects of only using albuterol occasionally are that it makes me shake like crazy!!  Chick-fil-A was calling my name and I drove through for a large sweet tea and hasbrowns for A.  Ran into Publix to order a corsage for B, homeschool dance was last night.  Of course the florist wasn’t in yet so that was a wasted trip.  In the meantime my cousin Julie calls to tell me she is stuck in traffic.

      Julie:  We were always close as children.  I moved away from our home town when I was 13 and we didn’t spend much time together after that, just the usual holidays which ended quickly also.  I was in her wedding almost 12 years ago and we’ve emailed occasionally over the years.  Julie got the “good” genes, hahahaha.  She’s tall and beautiful and has this wonderful ability to get things DONE.  She has a small side-business as a personal organizer which is why she was coming to my house yesterday.  About the time I decided to change my health I decided that I HAVE to have help in my CHAOS (can’t have anyone over syndrome) house and I emailed Julie.  She was THRILLED at the prospect of helping me.  She came for an initial clean last Friday and was kind enough to come back with a plan in place.  I can’t RAVE about her enough.  Nor can I tell you the emotional good she is affording me simply by just doing this for me.

So I get back to the house and call Publix to order the corsage and work on finances for a few minutes.  Julie and I got a good start on my bedroom and just in the swing of things when it came time for me to shower and dress for the day.  My school has to rely on our host church for field trip transportation, unfortunately we were only allowed one bus yesterday.  The students had a spanish field trip planned to the mexican restaurant and needed just one more vehicle for getting the largest class back and forth.  Reluctantly, and knowing that the school was desperate, I agreed to go.  Julie was supposed to go with me but she was really having “fun” (I so don’t understand that concept of cleaning being fun….) so she decided to keep the girls [did I mention that Alli was home and Julie has a 2 year old?] with her while I did my thing.  Lunch was ok, the kids were super-well-behaved and I was gone about 1.5 hours.  Just as arrived home and went back to sorting through my masses of clothing Brittney decides to start texting me about coming to get her and Caleb.  She finally wore me down and I checked them out early on my way to pick up the boys from school.  I took C home to wait on his dad to help him work on the car that is stuck in my driveway and left B at home with a sleeping A while I got the boys and picked up the flowers. 

The afternoon just kind of sped by and I’m not sure what exactly took place between 3 and 5 but I know it wasn’t a nice long soak in the tub.   hahahaha

Just as I’m starting to fix B’s hair for the dance the clip I was planning to use BREAKS!!  I can a friend to borrow one and she was planning on coming over to borrow a pair of shoes anyway.  Amy arrived with a clip and then she helped me fix the hair.  That took almost an hour and I did manage to get B’s dress steamed during that time.  Then I applied her make-up, helped her get the dress on and everything  in it’s right place.  Caleb arrived right at 6:30.  We took pictures, waited on Calebs parents to arrive to take pictures and then sent them off for the night.

Spring Formal is actually a homeschool dance.  Because Brittney formed lasting friendship during the year that she was homeschooled we have continued to be included in many of their functions.  She was invited to the dance and really wanted to go.  Caleb doesn’t like dances but wasn’t thrilled about B going without him so he sucked it up and went along.  It was what I consider their first date.  I’ve allowed them to travel around together a good bit (run to walmart/publix, school/home, grandmas for lunch, church, etc) but last night I let them go out to eat and head to the dance all on their own with an 11:30 curfew.  I knew B was SO excited about this dance and that she didn’t want to miss a minute of it so I was confidant that they would go. 

After she was gone I sat for a bit at the computer and then continued on the laundry journey.  I decided I needed to be a nosey mommy about 8pm.  I went out to a late dinner with a friend and then drove myself right to that dance to see my daughter.  Now, many of you may be completely appalled that I would SPY on her ….. she’s my kid, and I did.  Honestly, I just wanted to see her enjoying herself and her friends … AND I wanted to check on C.  I arrived just after 10pm and the 30 or so kids were having a blast and they all looked beautiful.  B and C were outside and I stopped inside to talk to parents and hug some kids I haven’t seen in awhile.  I was welcomed by all with smiles and warm hugs …. good people!!   I was chatting away when a pretty black whirwind flew into my lap with a kiss and hug.  Gosh I love my daugher !!!!!   She was SO excited that I had stopped by and even Caleb smiled at seeing a familiar face.  We talked to everyone and they decided to go ahead and go home when I left at 10:30.  Brittney had decided to spend the night with most of the girls from the dance and C waited around for them to call so he could drive her over before he went home.  I did my best to find something to read on the computer but my body was tired so I climbed into my CLEAN and NEAT bed with a book around 11:30.  B woke me at 11:45 telling me she was too tired to wait any longer and she was going to bed and sending C home.  She must have went right to sleep because when the phone rang at 12:10, no one answered.  Her friends were calling to find her, anxious to continue their night … I politely told them that they’d have to catch up another time and blissfully went to sleep.

THAT is just another day in the life of this busy mom.   Reading it over doesn’t seem to be near as hectic as it felt.  Guess it’s because you just had to BE there.

 

Go Fish … the group

If you haven’t heard them, I THINK you are missing out.  www.gofishguys.com  for all of their wonderful things.  I first heard of these guys at a MOPS convention in Texas almost 3 years ago.  They are an acappella group, 3 men from Canada.  Fun, fun.  My kids at school BEG for their songs all the time, just for listening.  

Anyway, I just saw that have a new song out, I’m guessing in honor of Mother’s Day.   Check it out….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkc9-SvqfDM

the best thing about getting older

…… is finding out that my children LOVE me.

This from Sarah’s intro on myspace:

“Hi my name is sarah i’m 13 years old (blah, blah, blah, teenage stuff)…… i love my mother very much shes raised me to be the person i am today and i thank her for it very much other than that my life is pretty much boring lol again”

And THEN, just after I read that, Brittney walks in with a beautiful card and Caleb with this dozen roses….

This is the first time (that I can remember and I would hope I wouldn’t forget) that one of my children has bought me a birthday gift from their own money.  I was almost in tears.  The flowers are GORGEOUS and my heart is full.

I saw this on myspace.. and couldn’t stop laughing..

One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing
and decides to take a nap.


>
>
> Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat
out.


> She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book.


> Along comes a Game Warden in his boat.


> He pulls up alongside the woman and says, “Good morning, Ma’am.


> What are you doing?”
> “Reading a book,” she replies, (thinking, Isn’t that obvious?)
> “You’re in a Restricted Fishing Area,” he informs her.


> “I’m sorry, officer, but I’m not fishing. I’m reading.

”
> “Yes, but you have all the equipment.

For all I know you could start at
any moment.


> “I’ll have to take you in and write you up.

”
> “If you do that, I’ll have to charge you with sexual assault,” says the
woman.


> “But I haven’t even touched you,” says the g ame warden.


> “That’s true, but you have all the equipment.


> For all I know you could start at any moment.

”
> “Have a nice day ma’am,” and he left.


>
> MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It’s likely she can also think.

Princess Alli

Alli went to a birthday party last weekend.  Her friend Bella wanted a princess party and they all had a “ball”.  I couldn’t help but share the pictures …..

Welcome to the ball:

 

Waiting for the prince to arrive:

 

Forget the prince let’s eat cake…

And open some presents…..

Have a tea party…..

 

And then dance the night away…..

A dental RANT !!

Brittney(15) has had a TON of trouble with a tooth.  She had to have a root canal last year and 6 months later it was hurting again.  It had re-abcessed and needed another root canal.  After weighing the cost and looking at the construction of her teeth- concluding that likely the tooth would continue to get infection – we decided to just pull it out.  The dentist we usually see said that she wasn’t comfortable pulling the tooth, again because of the construction of her mouth but she referred it to the head dentist at the practice.  He said no at first but then had them call me back the next day and say yes.  So we scheduled it for march 11.  Well, that got cancelled  because the dentists’ other appointment for the day cancelled and he didn’t want to come in for just ONE patient – we re-sceduled for yesterday April 1.  
 
We got there at 12:45 and Britt was a bit anxious but we talked about it and she seemed fine.  30 minutes later the nurse asked me to come back and see Britt – she was crying and said she was nervous, that the doctor didn’t seem to be “caring”.  We talked it over and I watched him give her the numbing shots and then went back to the waiting room.  [Brittney later told me that the whole time he worked on her he was telling her to just relax and be QUITE.  That she was going to scare other patients.  That what he was doing didn’t REALLY hurt.]  45 minutes later I heard Brittney scream and then moan and cry …. all from the BACK room at the office.  Then the nurse came running down the hallway to get the receptionist who quickly returns to tell me that they are transferring her to an oral surgeon NOW and gave me the address.  I drove the 15 miles with Brittney crying and bleeding the whole time.  We arrive expecting that we will go straight back … well, AFTER the 3 pages of new patient paper work.  The assistant went straight to take an xray – I told her I didn’t have money for extra things…do ONLY what was necessary and she said it was VERY necessary to see how much was left in her mouth.  THIS is when they tell me that the dentist cut the tooth in half and only part of it actually came out when he pulled it.  The x-ray, indeed, showed a small chip of tooth and both roots still in her mouth, both roots were obviously hooked inward around a nerve – one root was abcessed which was causing her more pain as the dentist had tried to pull the tooth.  From there they sent us to the receptionist who tells us our “bill” with a smile.  And it ALL has to be paid upfront.  ummmm- I don’t have $505 right now.  She smiled and said “I’m sorry, our corporate policy doesn’t allow leniency.  We will not treat your daughter until it is paid in FULL”.  I was in SHOCK.  My daughter is still bleeding, is in severe pain and they won’t treat her.  So I called the dentist and explained to the receptionist that we are on a tight budget and had only saved the $$ for the original cost $250.  I asked if there was a different oral surgeon who might work with us on payments and she said they ONLY do referrals to this office.  So, I dig into our vacation money (spring break is next week) and go back in and PAY them.  They take her back to surgery.  The dentist office calls back in the mean time and leaves a message saying “We just wanted you to know that this isn’t really an emergency.  Brittney will be fine the way her tooth is right now until you can save up the money to pay the surgeon.”    You have GOT to be kiddding me!  I was livid … I’m STILL steaming mad.  
 
Thankfully the surgery went well, she has 2 stitches and feels much better.  She has been on a liquid diet yesterday and today and is on 800mg of Motrin and Lortab every 4 hours.  Poor thing was hallucinating earlier today – she was home alone and called to tell me there was someone typing at the computer, I came home (only work 2 miles away) and checked everything out – she was sound asleep.  I just got home from work and she got up for the first time and began puking.  LOVELY.  She says she feels much better now.  I’m going to make her a smoothie and try to get some vitamins in her.
 
I plan to call the dentist office and schedule a meeting with the dentist.  I’m SO mad that this happened the way it did.  From what I can gather the tooth should have never been attempted to be pulled because of the way the roots were hooked around the nerve AND the fact that it was abcessed.  I know that I’ll never get the $$ out of him for the surgeon but I plan on letting him know FULLY that I feel it is his responsibility.  
 
Anyway – that’s my rant for the day.  Why can’t anything ever just be EASY?

Happy Birthday Nicholas

Eleven!!!    Wow!   It amazes me.

 

Nicholas was born at 38 weeks.  It was an interesting pregnancy as I had my appendix removed at 20 weeks and spent a week in the hospital.  I still have a 4 inch scar from the 7inch incision over my pregnant belly.  Thankfully  his birth was not nearly as dramatic (or traumatic).  

He was born with translucent blonde hair and was 21 inches long, weight 7lbs 8oz.  Nicholas and Jacob were exactly the same size and my biggest babies. 

Nicholas was born with a ton of energy and I still haven’t figured out how to get it all out of him, lol. 

 

Happy Birthday Son – I love you!!

 

oh – and for anyone counting … YES, that is 4 birthdays in 6 weeks.  Jacob in May and Sarah in August  are kind of out-there…. 

My first baby….pictures added

 

 

My first baby is 15 today. 

It was something I had waited for my whole life. I’m not sure if I was just “born to be” a mother or if I inherited the desire from my mother and her family. My grandparents raised 5 children, eventually had 20 grandchildren and still counting have over 30 great-grandchildren with at least 2 great-greats thrown in. On top of that they became foster parents, mostly to newborns, and loved over 80 children in their home in a 20 year period. There was ALWAYS a baby to hold in my family. I knew how to change a (cloth!!) diaper by the age of 8 and could give a bottle and rock them to sleep with ease. My definition of holding a newborn would be PURE LOVE. So, I was more than happy to be pregnant – my dreams were being fulfilled.

At 21 I had grown to my full height of 5 ft but barely weighed 100lbs – most people would have placed me in the mid-teens. I remember wearing my regular jeans (likely a size 4/6) to my 20 week ultrasound and feeling fat. Technology wasn’t near what it is today and we weren’t able to see the baby’s gender. 2 months later I barely had a belly and was still working a full-time retail schedule. Most of my customers didn’t have a clue I was even pregnant. I went in for a routine 28 wk appt and mentioned a bit of spotting to my OB even though I wasn’t the least bit worried. The cramping I had been having for a few days I had chalked up as normal “growing” pains. She took it more serious and a few minutes of monitoring showed contractions 5-8 min apart. She drove me across the street and admitted me to L&D herself. An IV for rehydration and a nice shot of a medicine called terbutaline stopped the contractions but the bad news was that I had started to dialate. I stayed over-night and was sent home with strict orders to stay in bed for the next 6 weeks. I think the OB was really frightened about a preemie so she kinda over-did on the meds. I was finally allowed out of bed at 34 weeks and didn’t have the first contraction. My MIL had basically moved in with us just to take care of me. That she did VERY well, I had books and movies to my hearts’ content … and a nice clean apartment to bring my baby home to. I also had good cooking and gained over 40lbs that last trimester. By 40 weeks I was MORE than done with this pregnancy and mostly sat around and cried. My body was completely out of shape and exhausted from my weeks in bed and let’s face it …. being pregnant is ALL about the end. Here I was …. at the end and still had no one to hold. I was really leaning toward having a baby boy and had told several people my feelings. Just 5 days before she was born though I had the most vivid dream. I was holding my daughter and my heart was full. That’s when I started looking for girl names.

Mid-march was approaching quickly and the weather here in GA was beautiful spring. Betsy took me out for a picnic lunch on Wednesday. I wore shorts and we had sandwichs and chips down by the lake.

 The flowers were in full bloom and I couldn’t think of a better time to bring a baby into the world. We had set an induction date for Friday morning and I remember thinking that by week end I would be holding a baby out in this glorious sunshine. Little did I know that nature had a different plan.

Friday morning, March 12, I picked up the phone at 5am as I had been instructed. Seems that L&D was full, something about a storm rolling in and the barometric pressure dropping. I called every hour all day long. NO FOOD!! NO DRINK!! and NO ROOM at the inn…. by supper time I was beyond miserable and the news was scaring us all to death. My MIL and I made the executive decision to drive on over to the hospital about 6pm and when we got there they put me in triage. I was actually contracting and had a small water leak … YAY!!! I get to stay. The weather kept getting worse overnight and the snow started falling just as March 13 began. I was left to labor on my own overninght and my water fully broke around 4am. They started pitocin to “enhance” the contractions around 7am which is when I got the very planned epidural. My body worked fast and by 10am I was fully dialated and ready to push. The snow had not stopped falling and the view out my birthing room was a bright white. The Storm of the Century ….. Blizzard of 93 …. power was off in most of GA, roads were completely shut down and the hospital was beyond capacity. Not really what I had pictured just days before.

OK…. it’s finally time for birth. OR so I thought. Noon rolled around and I’m out right exhausted at that point. I’ve had nothing to eat since Thursday night, I have no muscle tone from the bedrest and I’ve been contracting for 18 hours. Around 1:30 the doctor was called in to perform a forcep delivery. My mother and Betsy were taking turns at my side … I didn’t know that the other one would go out and have a good cry in the hallway, evidently seeing a daughter in pain is almost as painful as doing it yourself. My mother told me MANY years later that she almost passed out when they delivered Brittney and she honestly thought that the baby was dead. They had turned all the machinery down so I didn’t know that the heartbeat was dropping into the 20’s the last 30 min or so, I did know that the NICU team had been called in but was a bit busy to rationilize it. My mother said that when the head finally came out, bruised and oblong, the doctor took the forceps and the baby’s neck stretched like silly putty. No one even thought to look for the gender until the baby started peeing right up the doctors arm…… IT’S A GIRL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brittney was a healthy and pink baby girl. She had a bit of dark hair and the most beautiful skin. She was 21 inches long and 7lbs 1oz …. on the small side for a 42 weeker but boy am I thankful – no way was a bigger baby coming out of me!!! They did whisk her away to the NICU for a thorough check but she’s was back in my arms and at my breast by supper time. The weather had not improved throughout the day and we were all stuck at the hospital. My mother and Betsy slept on gurneys in the hallway of the outpatient wing, I’m not sure if they had a meal the whole time they were there. We were able to go home on Monday morning. Brittney HATES her going-home outfit which was a pretty aqua sleeper – she says it’s boyish. I’m sure those grandma’s would have gotten her a beautiful pink if they had been able to get to the store.

That’s the end of the traditional birth story but I’m going to add just a few more things … kinda personal and TMI so don’t feel obligated to read beyond here.

First thing is that I want to encourage nursing mothers to be open about nursing. Now, I’m not saying go out and flash your boobs to the world but don’t be ashamed or embarrased about feeding your baby. No one in my family breastfed. Fifteen years ago, it wasn’t the norm by any means. What to expect when you’re expecting was a new book and even it had chapters on both formula and breast … equally as good. NOT that formula is bad, it’s great for those who need it and it was a HUGE help to me with Brittney, a necessity I wish I hadn’t needed (I will get to that next). When I was 13 a lady in my church had a baby and she nursed her. Now this was 23 years ago when EVERYONE used a bottle. I would walk down to her house and help her with the baby every afternoon and watching her nourish her baby was the most amazing and beautiful thing to me. I determined in that moment to feed my child that way. I didn’t do much research because this lady had said it was natural and the way God designed it. I honestly believe this is one of the biggest reasons that I never had any “issues” with nursing. I never had anxiety about it – it was the natural way – I just did it and loved it. And then it suddenly got taken away from me.

Post-partum with a first baby is hell. Not that it’s much better with subsequent children but my body was DONE IN. The birth itself had put a huge strain on me, an episiotomy that ripped plus the whole trauma from the forceps. The nurses kept saying that the swelling was bad and they sent me home with wonderful ice-packs. 5 days post-partum I was really hurting … around lunch time I realized that I hadn’t been able to pee in a few hours and decided to mention that to Betsy (who was still staying with us…I’m SO THANKFUL). We decided to call the OB office and had to wait on them to call back. By the time we had talked to the nurse, decided I needed to be seen and got to the office (with newborn in tow), I hadn’t peed in close to 10 hours and was running a fever. Evidently the swelling had gotten too bad and I was developing a serious infection. I went BACK to the hospital and was admitted – thankfully they allowed Brittney to stay with me. They put a catheter on and kept me overnight AGAIN. I went home with that stupid catheter and had to wear it for 5 more days until the swelling finally went down. FINALLY my body started to heal.

By 9 weeks post-partum I was getting back to normal and ready to show off my baby. Betsy had reluctantly returned to her life in TN and I decided to spend a week at my mother’s house. I hadn’t been feeling GREAT yet and had been treated for an UTI the week before but it didn’t stop me from driving 20 min to see a high school friend. While there I got extremely nauseous but didn’t want to mention it to my friend (I mean, who wants to say to someone…. I just puked in your toilet, I may have a virus – hope you don’t get it…). I loaded up the baby and headed home. I got to the closest gas station and had to stop at a pay phone (yeah, that was way back when…… what did I EVER do without a cell?????). My brother, only 16, had to drive up and get me – after stopping 3 times for me to puke we decided it best to go straight to urgent care. Brittney was hungry and starting to cry, my brother didn’t get my natural love for children, I don’t think he had even held her at this point, but he was all she had. They rushed me back to a room where my temp was 104 and I was vomitting constantly. I had severe pain in my side and since I was still fairly post-partum they didn’t want to do ANYthing there and referred me to the hospital. They called an abulance which I refused and my older brother got there about that time to drive me on to the hospital – leaving the 16 y/o in charge of the baby, thankfully he was able to drive her back to grandma quickly. I can’t tell you many details from there. HOURS later they finally found the kidney stone stuck in my tube just over my right ovary. And when I say stuck ….. they measured it at 1/2 inch in diameter and spindly (think asteroid). They were giving me massive liquids to try and push it out. They did surgery the next day and blew it up into smaller pieces which they went in and removed. I was in the hospital for 5 days total. Since the whole thing had been an emergency we didn’t really think about the details. The hospital I ended up at didn’t even have a maternity wing so they hadn’t even heard of a breast pump. I think someone brought me a hand held thingy at some point but told me I’d have to dump it all anyway. I was motivated only to relieve the pressure and horribly depressed that my nursing days had been stripped away. Thankfully Brittney did resume nursing 2 weeks later when I was off the meds but my supply never built up enough to sustain her. I was able to “comfort nurse” her until 9 months and finally just gave up. There is SO much I know now that could have helped me then. They did say that the kidney stone had been caused from the build-up of urine in the kidneys that week after she was born. I actually had numerous stones that I passed over the next few months. Lesson learned …. when I gotta go – I go!

I will try to add pictures (of the baby, not the stone!) this evening – no such thing as digital back then either. LOL. How can it be 15 years already?? People tell you that kids grow up too fast …. believe that because I’m saying it now.

 5 days old, smiling at grandpa!

 

Just now:   Brittney looking at her baby book for the first time!  Now THAT’s a moment to make a mother cry.  She’s reading the letters I wrote her when she was born.

 

still looking for snow pictures…

BIRTHDAYS!!

Samuel turned 5 on Feb 8 and Alli will be 3 on Feb 15.  I did a joint party at CEC and we had a blast.  Lots of friends, games, food and fun.

 

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

TWICE in one week.  The children were thrilled.  And while I know that this is NOTHING compared to other places, for GA, this is an incredible amount of fun, soft SNOW.

Building a snowman: (Caleb, Brittney, Nicholas, Jacob, Samuel and Alli)

snowball fight (jacob and samuel)

snow angel Alli

and let’s see how this stuff tastes….