Birthday Girl

This smiley girl is about to be one! Where has time gone? Would I go back and redo this year? Absolutely, yes. I have enjoyed watching every second of her growth. She is so happy, energetic and knows how to handle her brother! She can already tattle on him.
Well, with it barely being a week past Christmas her birthday has snuck up on me. I knew it was coming but I hadn't sent my invitations out. So, tomorrow I will be hand delivering them.

Aren't they pretty? I just love these invitations.

This is her Bib to match her 1 year birthday dress. I'm so excited to see her in it.

I had in monogramed on both sides to make it a reversable dress. I just love the colors.

Here is the Birthday side. She has the most beautiful bow made by Felicia from Alibugbows on Etsy. I am so blessed that she doesn't live to far from me. I have gone to her house and had my own personal bow party. Just Heaven! More to come, my baby will soon be ONE!

Collin Marsh

This precious little boy is in desperate need of a healing miracle. My son and I pray for him every night. Bryston always says to me "I want Collin to grow up big like me". This Christmas he and his parents are fighting hard to save his life. He was diagnosed with AML at the tender age of 7 months. Chemo and a Bone Marrow transplant have elemented that cancer but he has been fighting Graft Vs. Host Rash since receiving the transplant. Now, he is in sucha a critical state with EOS. You can read about it HERE. Our Loving Father is capable of this miraculous healing. HE knows the plans HE has for this little boy. I pray and I want you to pray that Collin can live here on Earth and grow up to be as big as Bryston. Pray for this Christmas Miracle.

New Years Resolutions

It has been quite a full year. Jobless for the first time since the age of 14, a new mom to a 2nd child, and learning to become a SAHM have filled my year. This year has been a great year of learning. And now I'm thinking about my goals for next year. The year Twenty-Ten! Aren't we supposed to be flying in space cars by now? Ha! Normally I DON'T set 'New Year's Resolutions' because I feel like I am just setting myself up for failure. How wrong is that? But this year, I'm turning over a new leaf, which a I have a daily reminder of..... Hm, some of you know what I mean. So, here it is, in no particular order, MY New Year's Resolutions.

NUMBER ONE:
(I have no idea how many there will be)
My goal is to organize and clean my house by the end of January (not including the garage, that I will leave for my husband) and then maintain that cleanliness and orgazational heaven for an entire month. With that, I am hoping that I will have created a habit and t h e n maybe I will keep it up for good.

NUMBER TWO:
Calmness will be my friend this year. I'm going to destress my mind and soul through church attendance, Bible Reading, and prayer. I don't want to be a high-strung mom that could and does snap on a dime. All of this, without medication. (I'm not on medication now)

NUMBER THREE:
I have had the book The Purpose Driven Life for a long time. I don't think I have ever read past day 10. This year, I will finish. I will have it completed by the end of February. (First I need to find it)

NUMBER FOUR:
I'm not worried about losing weight, although, I really do need to lose weight. BUT, I want to live a healthier life. So, (I can't believe I'm going to say this) no more soda!!! And I plan to and WILL by goodness, complete some form of excercise every SINGLE blessed day of 2010! Whether it be 'Walk Away The Pounds' or running with my kid.

NUMBER FIVE:
Moderation, moderation, MoDerAtion. If I can't do something that I know takes my attention from things I should be doing, t h e n, I will give it up. That means, the internet, may have to go. And probably will, who knows. Fried food, Chocolate......

NUMBER SIX:
I am going to either receive or purchase a sewing machine this year. (Yes, I know how to sew) and will make some dresses for my little girl and any other little girl or little girl's momma who would like one. I'm going to complete more Personalized Paintings (I already of interest from two businesses), Bow Holders, and anything else that may come to mind. I'm talented in some areas and lack in others. I'm excited to explore this side of my life.

NUMBER SEVEN:

Christmas Wish List

All I want for Christmas is:

• Healing for Collin Marsh. You can read about him HERE. He is a precious one year old boy who is fighting for his life. He and his family go to my church.
• A sewing machine so that I can make my little girl beautiful dresses. Buy a girl a dress, she will have a dress and momma will be broke. Buy her momma a sewing machine and the girl will have many dresses for life. (or at least until she demands that she gets to wear what everyone else is wearing)
• Black snow boots. I want to join the trend of wearing fluffy snow boots over my jeans. Even though, snow is rare around here, but my feet will be warm and cozy.
• A Heating Pad that won't bunch up. When I was pregnant last year I ruined my heating pad by rolling it up to get relief from horrible carpal tunnel.

Night of Praise

We have so many reasons to Praise our Lord and Savior this Christmas. This was B-man's first year in our church choir. The ladies that take these 4 year olds and teach them music are pure saints. B has been singing up a storm since September. He loves choir. On December 6th the Children's Choir performed at our Night of Praise. My church has the best band and choir. I just love this night. Tears were in my eyes as my little sang, I can't believe he is old enough to do this.

Each child had a candle to hold (flameless of course) and my son is the one with the candle in his eye. Oh yes, that's our boy. We enjoyed this time so much. Our entire family came to see him for the 5 minutes that he sang. And that is the first time that my family and my husband's family have all been in one place since the day we married 7 years ago.

And this little angel was perfect. She listened and cuddled and enjoyed being passed to each family member. But when the lights were low she only wanted her mommy. My two sweet children. I'm so proud of both of them.

Contagious Laughter of an 11 month old

11 months ago my life changed forever. I became a mother of two. My sleep decreased significantly but my tolerance to the lack of sleep increased. I amaze and disappoint myself each and every day. But, my greatest achievements call me 'mom'. "Mom, where are you?", "Mom, I need you?", a whimper, a smile, and every jabber make my days wonderful. I struggle everyday to be a good mom. I have discovered I am a naturally lazy person. If it weren't for my kids I probably wouldn't get out of bed on Saturdays. But my two kids have forever changed me. For the better I think. My Heavenly Father blessed our family with a boy and a girl. And today, she is 11 months old.

She has a smile that lights up even the darkest room (at 4 a.m.). She has a contagious laughter that warms my soul on the frigid days here in the South. Little M is weighing in at just barely 18 lbs. At this rate a forward facing car seat is a couple of months away still. And that is fine by me. She is eating more and more table food. Strawberry and peanut allergy worry is now in the past. She has tried both with success! She still only sleeps through the night on occasion. But usually only wakes up once a night. I'm still happily nursing her 3 times a day and once at night.

She is crawling everywhere, into everything, and cruising around furniture on the bottoms of her footed pajamas. She and her brother constantly entertain each other. He loves having her in his room to play and she loves it when he plays with her in the living room. She tattles on him already and he tattles on her too. I simple impatient cry let's me know that she doesn't like how B-man is playing. And I often hear "Mom, she's put something in her mouth". B-man's 'tattles' can be considered keeping her safe.
I love to dress her up, put a cute clip or a big bow in her hair. I love to shop online and look for new outfits for my Little M.

She is even a big help when it comes to picking out her accessories. I love this girl! She successfully has all the men in her life wrapped around her finger. Now, that's my girl.

Happy 11 month birthday Little M! Mommy loves you!

Grandma's Travels

Recently my Grandma moved from her home in Enid to our home here in Arkansas. Five hours of travel by car before the move and now just 30 minutes away! She is enjoying time with her Great Grandkids year round. And this Sunday she will be flying to North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with my Aunt, Uncle, and two cousins. We get her year round now and we are happy to share our wealth. So, please join me in praying for her safe travels.
Love you Grandma.

Killing Time

My excuse for not cleaning something in this very messy house at the moment is just me NOT wanting to wake the sleeping baby currently in her carseat on my be with a blanket over her. Besides, it will just get super messy again anyway and then the cycle will continue. And I can't stop the cycle when it's clean but I can stop it now with laundry strewn about and toys scattered like landmines in my living room. Little M has been up since 4 this morning, which means, I have been up since 4 this morning. After a visit to Dr. Jon we determined that the cause of Little M's internal alarm clock is due to an ear infection. Apparently my sweet babe is allergic to dogs which causes super snottiness which in turn causes an ear infection. I pray she doesn't have to have tubes.
Meanwhile the refresh button on my laptop is wearing out as I try to follow Stellan's ablation. Here I am worried about a little fever and ear infection while Stellan is fighting for his life as doctors map out his delicate one year old heart. But, I tend to take on the worry of everything like Miss May in Secret Life of Bees. And so, I'll sit here, holding this couch down, and continue to pray for Stellan while hitting the refresh button on Twitter waiting to find out the latest info.
We love you Stellan and are praying for you.
www.mckmama.com

Two Months to go and you'll be a One Year Old!

Well Little M, what have you been up to this past month?

I've been crawling everywhere! I know I took my time and had you worried about my crawling abilities but truth is, I just do everything in my own time. I heard you talking to the doctor about it and I heard him assure you that I could if I wanted to. Well, gig is up! But I know your having a blast chasing me and keeping me safe from eating foreign objects.

With all this crawling I've lost weight. I've gone from 18lb 2oz to 17lb 8oz, I hope this means I'm going to have a good matabolism when I get older.

I really enjoy playing with my brother and I've learned how to tattle. All I have to do is whimper, scawl, or cry and you come running. Thanks for always being there for me.

Dogs fascinate me. I love Nonna and Papas dog Snuggles, although he gives me the sniffles. Emmy and Papa's doggy Suzie is my good friend, she misses me when I'm not there. But why won't she let me play with her tail?

My teeth have been a true pain. All of the sudden I have 5 teeth with 2 more pushing through. How many more do I have to go? This is no fun.

I just recently started sleeping all night without waking you. I know what your thinking mom, is this due to the fevers I've been getting at night or will this trend stick around? Only time will tell.

I've been visiting Dr. Seubold on a regular basis. He's a great chiropractor! I haven't had a single ear infection since he helped me and I can move around with more confidence. Thank you Dr. Seubold.

I'm beginning to try but not really enjoy new food. So far I have had sweet potato, potato, cheese, bread, apple, banana (my favorite), cracker, avacodo, chicken, beef, and pasta.

My favorite time of day is the morning. I love waking you up with a wail then a smile.

Snuggle time is the best, I really enjoy my nursing time.

Recently I've become confident that you'll always be there, so, I didn't mind staying with my Emmy while you went to the hospital to be with Papa because I knew you would be back.

I'm learning so much with my new found crawling and have even discovered a new vantage point by standing on these feet, hmm, brother left a cookie, looks good!

I've been so busy this past month, just wait until the next. My first thanksgiving is just around the corner. Halloween is fun, so, I can't wait for the other holidays.

First Impressions

New college students. Those fresh from highschool. Wet behind the ears to say the least. And with that, first impressions are everything! During that crucial time I had a run in with a (what I prejudged) hot-to-trot snob. She was fiesty and gorgeous and I loathed her. Her friends started the 'he said, she said' gossip and truths were twisted, rumors flew (yes, we were in college) and her feeling toward me was mutual.
Then one day the tables turned. During a lab final in which one of us entered late, the other offered some reluctant aid. That day I learned that first impressions and pre-judging should have no part in my life. Because that day I gained a friend. She is hot-to-trot and gorgeous but she is also one of the sweetest, most loyal, hard working, wonderful daughter, wife, mother, and friend.
We have been friends for 7 years now! She is married to a wonderful man, her very own prince charming and she deserves it like no one else I have ever known. And she has a gorgeous little girl!
Inspirational in her own right and she doesn't even realize it. One day, she looked at the road she lived on and said to herself "I want to be able to run up and down this road twice" she started slow and built up and now she has exceeded those 4 miles ( YES FOUR dag gum miles, I get winded just thinking about it) and she runs marathons.
She is a confident, witty, tell-it-like-it-is friend. She is a friend anyone would be lucky to have. I'm so glad that our first impression of one another did not stick. Because I would have missed out on knowing a God Fearing woman that I look up to.
Friends, meet Jessica, her husband Brad, and her beautiful daughter Aubree.

A New Series

A while back my mom got the first two books of this series. She loaned them to me thinking I would have more time than her to read them. HA! I think I 'borrowed' these books about 9 months ago. And I am just now able to focus and read more than one sentence at a time. After the Twilight series I was a little lost and sad. No more Edward and Bella to entertain my imagination. I have never been able to read a book more than one time. I've tried. But I just can't get through it. AND, I'm a slow reader I want to revel in every word, not just get the gist of a story and be finished with it. At last, I picked up City of Bones and read it through. (The whole reason we became interested in this author is because Stephanie Meyer recommends them) Thankfully I had City of Ashes and was able to pick that up right after finishing the first. Absolutely torcheress (I don't even know if that is a word) I began to panic when I realized I was almost done and I don't have the third book! Alas, here I am, on Sunday and no book! I've been to the library but it won't be there until tomorrow, apparently the book is in 'transit'. So, as I wonder about the fiery red head Clary and the devilishly handsome Jace (it's not all romance) I decided to recommend this trilogy to any reader that may stumble across this blog post. It's a series that has been written to interest 'Young Adults'.

PS! My apologizes to my wonderful friend Jessica! I have been pestering her for details on the outcome of these books and she is NOT giving in. But, I've had a great time talking with her about them.

Long Time

Wow, long time no hear, write...whatever. We have had many ups and downs with our Internet service. I'm not sure what the deal is, but the repair guy has given me his cell number. Ha!
Since the last time I wrote my daughter has turned NINE months old. We had pictures taken at a 'real' photography studio to commemorate the event. Now, if I can just figure out how to get them from the website to here. Honestly though, I haven't tried to hard.
Little M is right on track with her development. She is 17 lbs 12 oz and 26 and 1/2 inches long. She is no longer considered short and fat (plump) but right on track. She actually lost 5 oz from her last doctor visit but the doc said that it was fine because she has grown in length. (I would post a pic but the camera in in Little M's room and she is sleeping...I don't want to rock that boat)
So, what has she been up to?
*She is creeping, not crawling, but creeping.
On a side note: I talked to the Dr about this and he assessed her. She is completely capable of crawling but we are figuring that her eye issue has thrown off her depth perception. She begins her launch and then realizes 'oops, not yet'.
*Little M is enjoying real bananas, crackers, cheese but otherwise sticks to baby food. Oh, and she can down a tub of puffs in a day if I let her.
*She is still an on the go type of girl. If we are out and about then she is happy.
*She is back into her 'if mommy is out of my site then I'm going to scream' but I'm okay with that, because before you know it she'll be yelling at me to get our of her site.
*She got her first injury from another child. She was bit. Such a hard bite that it didn't break the skin but it did leave a bruise for over a week and a half. It's still a mystery as to who actually did the biting. I do know that the little biter has 4 teeth on top and 4 teeth on bottom.
*She also got her first and I hope last double ear infection.
*Meanwhile the poor girl has 4 teeth with another 3 pushing in. Ugh!! Pray for us!
Little M is truly the light in our lives! We have a bright life because B-man is pretty bright as well. However, when I think about her and how fast she is growing it brings tears to my eyes. Every moment is so precious to me because she is my last baby.
In the mean time! B-man has an imaginary friend named Stacey. He is into everything! Recently has gotten a TV in his room. Which means my living room stays cleaner in the morning while he watches Clifford or Word World in HIS room while playing with his toys. Woo Hoo.
I'm sure there are many things I have forgotten. Picture posts will come soon.

I got to Meet the Duggars!

Okay, so not meet! (because I'm to chicken to go up and talk to them) But I did stand next to them and even brush shoulders with Michelle. And can I just say that Michelle is more beautiful and sweet in person than she is on TV! All the girls and Anna, Josh's wife, are wonderful. One of the little Duggar's served me in the concession when I purchased a bottled water to quench my thirst. Here's the kicker, remember the lady I discussed in my "Not Me" post, the one who let her newborn baby's head flop? She was in line behind me! Go figure! Anyway, she had her mother with her and they start chatting about the Duggar's (remember that Michelle is maybe a foot away from me at the time). Let's call the mother here Granny, since we know she is in fact a Grandmother. Well, Granny in her heavy smoker's voice says "How in the world did she have all them kids? How many kids does she have?"
I say: She has 18, and is pregnant with number 19.
Granny: Well, why in the world would they do that?
Me: Because that is their calling and it works well for them.
Granny: There is no way they can afford that many kids, what does the husband do?
Me: They are debt free and self sufficient, they get a long just fine. I'm not sure what Jim Bob does but I know they own several commercial real estate properties.
Granny: She's got to be old, how old are the kids?
Me: Michelle, the mom, is 42. Her oldest is in his mid 20's and the girl standing next to Michelle is Anna, that is her oldest son's wife.
Granny: I sure hope that is her first child, are you related to them?
Me: No not related, I just know about them from the news and their show.
Granny: They have a show?
Me: Yes, it's on TLC.
(mean while, what I assume is dad, calls and says that the baby is hungry. New Mom's response is just give her some formula, cause I'm not close to finishing)

In case you can't tell, I'm a fan of the Duggar's. I think that their show is a great witness for the Lord. It's not normal that a woman can carry that many kids to term so God's hand in her life is evident. How lucky or blessed rather, is she, she knows what God's plan is for her life. I'm 28 years old and don't know what God's plan is for my life. I know people are judgmental, just like I was judgemental towards that New Mom. That doesn't make it right. MckMama put it best when she said "Would we want to be judged because we don't have enough children?". No, I'm sure we wouldn't.

"Not Me" on Tuesday?

Oh yes, that's me, the rule breaker!
First of all, I'm not writing this post on the wrong flippin' day in a week when MckMama isn't even hosting "Not Me Monday" because she is moving, nope, not me!

I did not just turn a dirty bib to the clean side to use for my daughter's supper time because I can't find or didn't do the bib laundry. I would never do something so heinous and disgusting (although it wasn't that dirty, but I didn't do it anyway:)
While dropping clothes off at GKS I did NOT frown and tear up when I saw a woman with a brand spankin' new baby in a sling, moving clothes and boxes all while the poor baby's head was floppin' all over the place. I was not judgemental and didn't want to scream "Pay attention to your baby's head for DARN sakes!"
I also would not occupy my daughter with my son's emergency vehicle toys so that I could put a load of laundry in the washing machine. That's not girlie enough so I wouldn't do it! LOL
In regards to my son's behavior and lack of apparent discipline, I have not resorted to a swat on the bare hiney, only to find out that it works SO well, and think "Why didn't I start this a LONG time ago.
Lastly, I'm not writing this while feeding my daughter and counting down the minutes until bed time. I would never count the minutes until I get a few blissful hours to myself! Maybe bed time will be earlier tonight!

8 Months *tear*

Yes, she is 8 months old! I'm holding back tears as I write this blog. I know it's a few days late and NO I didn't forget that she turned 8 months. I've just been so busy and really tired. This past month has been a whirlwind of growth! So, Little M, what have you been up to?

• You are truly all girl, just as your brother is all boy! You love to look pretty and always have a matching briarclaire clip for every outfit. Here you are with a new shipment.
• You are scooty pootin all around the living room. Not crawling, just bouncing and scootin.
• You are now accessorizing with glasses. Of course they are pink to match most of your wardrobe.
• We love hearing your squeal with excitement. You also have many other noises, one that lets me know that your brother is picking on you. Already a tattletale.
• You still wake up at least once at night, and that is okay by me, I love that time when it is just you and me.
• You have the sharpest nails and I can't find anything to take care of it? (any ideas?)
• You have your Papa completely wrapped around your finger.
• You are eating three times a day with a snack and juice. Your also just nursing about 3 to 4 times in your waking hours. Just another reminder that your growing too fast.
• You are a girl on the go! Whether out to eat, shopping, or to the park. You are such a happy baby when we are out and about. (I don't look forward to the winter season when our going slows down to save from germs)
  
  

Here's a little dress-up picture!

Little M,

You are such a blessing in my life. Every giggle, cry, and sigh melts my heart. I'm thankful that I'm able to stay at home with you and your brother (who is also growing too fast). I enjoy every moment with the two of you. I adore watching you grow, it's just going by to fast. But for now I will lose myself in your baby smell and hold you in the night all the while praying for your future.

Love,

Mom

Gorgeous in Glasses

You may have heard....Little M needed glasses. It breaks our hearts that our 7 month old will have to wear glasses for a long while, maybe forever. But, she just makes it so darn cute!

She may not be good at sleeping (she still wakes up once or twice). She may not be a good pooper! But wearing glasses and looking cute, she does quite well! Where's the briefcase and business suit? I decided a while ago that I would not force her to wear her spectacles ALL day. I planned to start out with one hour and slowly work my way up to the whole day. But hey! She loves them. She donned this translucent pink accessory from 6 to 7:30 tonight. And she did it well, only touching them one time. Now, if I can keep her brother from pushing them up for her and leaving 4 year old prints on her glasses then we will be good to go.

Here are my glasses, my son's glasses, and her glasses! Can I just say what a nightmare glasses were for my son. It all started out with a doctor that didn't know what he was doing when it came to working with little ones. Turned out that his first pair of glasses were 10 times to strong for his little eyes! And I promise you that I am not embellishing that fact. Tears came to my eyes when Dr. Thomas from ACH told me that if I had forced him to wear them it would/could have caused permanent damage. Praise the Lord for 'Mother's Instinct'. A blessed gift from God that 'Instinct' is, even saving my son's life once. To God be the glory for the little mothering skill I possess.A girl after my own heart.

Disclaimer: I realize that my son is not often given face time on my blog. It's not because I don't adore him, but because the eye issues he has had (mainly the surgery) make it very VERY difficult to keep his eyes open when I take a picture. Our camera is just a point and shoot so I don't have any control over the flash.

I support you....

My husband and I have this saying "I support you in your wants and needs". But how do you support someones wants and needs, when their wants will drive you to live off food stamps. I know its a male thing, but seriously.... After my walmart adventure yesterday where I spent more than I should have and didn't bring home much food, we had to sit down and have a 'talk'. That's not his words or my words, they are just words. I bought two unnecessary items at Walmart. 1) the movie Sandlot 2) a monster truck, HEY, I had to bribe B-man through the trip anyway.
My husband is a HARD worker. I've never met anyone who works harder than he does. He works full time as a Lead Liason Engineer (which means he carries a laptop and iphone so that he can handle issues on the go), on the weekends he drives an ambulance, and he is in school full time with Calculus, Chemistry, and Music Appreciation. He has one degree but he is going for another. I'm trying to support him but I need time to work it out. All the sudden I am a 'single' mother but at the same time I need to have a clean house, his clothes ready, dinner cooked for everyone by 6:30 and did I mention a clean house? I try and I mean really TRY to have things picked up when J gets home, but I live with a little TORNADO! My Tasmanian angel can demolish a room in 6 seconds flat. And this week has been extra hard!!! Remember when I blogged about how Little M always screamed, but then YAY, she can sit and play on her own and she is a happy camper. During the happy camper weeks I got things done and rooms cleaned, and dinner cooked.... NOW, Little M has decided that she's not happy with sitting and she wants to crawl. She's almost there, I'd say about 2 more weeks, but this means she does face plants and screams more. ALSO, she screams when I'm out of the room now. I'M LOSING MY MIND! B-man hasn't been a good listener and is all the sudden aggressive! So, during our talk about HIS (my husband's) wants and OUR needs, and why isn't the house clean and spotless for him. I lovingly said "Take a week off work and YOU figure it out, let me know how to do it, then I will" (but remember your on call that whole week to take care of a baby around the clock when she accidentally gets a hold of bananas) I give this ultimatum with confidence because right now, it CAN'T be done.
Can I just say that neither of us has any idea how hard the other one works!

Dr. D

Little M had her eye doctor's appointment today in Tulsa. It went great! We love Dr. D, he had a soothing voice and was really easy and gentle with Little M. When we walked into the office it was bright yellow and at the entrance was their sign. The whole office is very kid friendly with animals tucked safely in aquariums, big screen TV's, huge fluffy pillows and the nicest staff! Sometimes you get staff that are grumpy and that was not the case. From the receptionist who took our co-pay all the way to the eye glass shop lady, everyone was so nice. They took the time to explain things to us and help us weigh options.

B-man will love it when we go back in 3 months! This time he and his Papa went and had ice cream and 'Emmy' (what he calls his grandma) and I stayed at the office. My in-laws were so incredible to take the day off and take me to Tulsa. They have been there through the beginning with our children and their eye conditions. I don't know why both of my kids have this condition, but I'm so thankful for family support.

I'm sure a LOT of you have the question of "How do they prescribe glasses to a baby?". Well, here it is. Each slot contains a different lens, and after Little M's eye's were dilated the Ophthalmologist carefully looked in each eye to view the optic nerve and how her eye focuses. This is where the doctor can rule out more serious things like Opticblastoma. After initial screening Dr. D had a pretty good idea of where to start with the lenses you see pictured. In addition to her far-sightedness she also has significant astigmatism which basically means the lens in her eye is bent in the shape of a football. She may grow out of this but for now she has to have glasses. I'm so thankful to be a stay at home mom right now because I will be able to work with her at keeping her glasses on her face.

Little M was so great and happy today. She really loves to be out and about. The only time she got fussy was when 'Point of View' eye glass shop was fitting her frames on her face. I'm hopeful that this was because she was so tired and just wanted to be left alone to sleep because that's what she did when they left her alone. Ha Ha. So, all you prayer worrier moms out there, please pray that I will have the patience to help her with the transition into glasses.

"Mom, wipe my bumm!"

Oh, yes, I hear this at least twice a day and then proceed to wipe another little bumm on a changing table. B-man does wipe is bumm all by himself but in the spirit of efficiency and disdain for raw bottoms, mommy always checks. So, while on a play date today I was tending to my son when I noticed a perfect round circle on his bumm, pinkish in color and raised. Hmm. On his marry way he went and a little later a few more pinkish circle friends appeared. Then a few more and more and more. I'm talking Daddy sizes and baby sizes of little pinkish circles on face, back, bumm (as previously mentioned), arms, tummy (really bad on tummy) and legs. Just a few though, very mild. My mind is on auto pilot thinking of all the things he ate 'turkey dog, apple, banana, fruit snack, milk....' all things he's had before. We decided it must be something in the house, but what? we have been there before. Hmm. Then it clicks! Six days ago he received a MMR vaccination (just three years off schedule) DING DING DING. So, we called the doc and meanwhile more circles are popping up. As we left and went to my mother in laws the dr's office called. We determined it was a reaction and discussed next steps to watch for that are normal or danger signs. By the time I got to MIL's his rash had doubled. His bumm was now completely covered! And he was running a low grade fever. So much fun!
In short, we took him the to doctor to be safe and now he is in a deep sleep induced by benedryl. Our new little pinkish circle of friends will last up to TEN days. Oh yes, that will be fun to explain while we are out and about.

Bathtub Beauty's Eye Appointment

Look closely at Little M's left eye, it turns slightly inward. This was a sign that I didn't recognize with B-man. All the signs were there for him but no one caught it. With hope and prayer we venture into treatment for the same thing with Little M. Today she was positively diagnosed with strabismus by my optamologist. He explained to me that she is severly far-sighted which means she works extra hard to see things up close. The doctor decided that it would be best for us to see a specialist because she is so young. We will be seeing a Pediatric Ophthamologist in Tulsa. Truly and honestly we are very blessed and I completely realize this. There are so many parents out there who would love to have only this problem, this simple diagnoses, strabismus. As much as I would like to wallow in self pity for what my daughter will have to go through to get through this; patches, glasses, drops, possible surgery.... so, tiny in the spectrum of things. How blessed I truly am, how wonderful my Plump Princess with her Chocolately Brown Eyes is. She will get through this and so will the rest of us. We caught it super early, for that I am hopeful that it can be corrected, the great thing about far-sightedness is that it is correctable! Being near sighted like myself is not correctable.

Little M was exhausted after a day at the eye doctor and lunch with Papa. She fell asleep like this while playing on the floor this afternoon. Sweet Little Girl, I love you so much.

By the way, Little M is 17lb 11oz at her last check up and 26 inches long. She is the 60th percentile for her weight and 30th percentile for her height. In other words, she is short and pleasantly plump.

Deliciousness and all its Glory

I just had a delicious nap. My intention was to only lay down for a brief moment and take in the sound of silence and all it's glory. I listened to the soft tap of some unknown noise and was lulled into a delicious nap. I don't normally describe sleep using the same adjective that I might use to describe how I feel about Chili's. But delicious it was. I woke up totally filled, so delicious it should be. I was roused by the squeak of my son's door which informed me that he was well rested and ready to rejoin the world as well. Of course, I laid there perfectly still in hopes that I could steal just a few more moments of rest. Then a soft squeal came from my daughters room, she was also well rested now and ready to rejoin the world. So, here they are, two special gifts from God, enjoying each other in play.

While basking in my delicious nap, a dirty little something was looming over me. Well, not over me but in my kitchen. A dirty kitchen that desperately needs my attention.

I hesitate to post a picture of my dirty sink because only McKmama can make a dirty sink full of dishes look like a peice of Art. Remnants from last nights dinner begged to be washed away and paint from yesterdays adventure need to be placed in it's rightful spot as well.
This has truly been a wonderful weekend.

And now for a SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST. Here is Little M! Completely opposite from her brother in every way but ONE. Her eyes, chocolately brown eyes, that need to be lifted in prayer. Like her brother, she is beginning to show signs of strabismus. We will be visiting on Tuesday morning to see if therapy will work to correct this. I'm hoping that we caught this early enough that it can be corrected without surgery. Although the surgery is not huge and shows no scars, like any mother, I don't want my baby to have to have surgery. B-man did well with his but did not do well with waking from anastesia.

Please pray that we caught this early enough that the strabismus can be treated non surgically.

Noticing a Cycle

Ok, so, most of the time my little brown eyed chunky princess is a pretty good sleeper. She is strictly nursed (no formula) so, we do wake at least one time at night for a snack and then right back to sleep she goes. But ya'll I'm starting to notice a cycle. Maybe 'cycle' isn't the best word to use since it can be referenced to several other things in life so, I'll go with pattern. Yeah, a pattern. She sleeps really good, woo hoo, momma gets some rest and then once my body gets used to that great amount of sleep BAM! No more sleep for you momma because brown eyed chunky princess needs very little sleep and I do mean VERY little. You know what happens when momma doesn't rest? Well, I don't know about your body but mine does not like it! Mommy zombie takes my place and words start to slur. The other night I was sitting in the chair resting my weary head on my hand and I kid you not, my pinky finger startled me.
Alas this shall pass (ha) and she will be back to my good little sleeper. I'm hoping that at some point this pattern will cease and momma zombie will be gone forever. It all started when 'food' was introduced into her diet.
PS. I can't let her cry it out! I did some with my son. But now I just picture myself in a crib with very little function over my body while screaming my head off and NO one is coming. "Will I be by myself forever? No one loves me Waaawwwww" Yeah, not happening in this house. If I do have to let her cry I'm in there every 5 minutes. May explain why I'm so exhausted but I don't care. If she is up at night that is just time for me and her, no noise, no brother over the shoulder. Just me and my baby. My last baby.

The Bigger Picture

Sometimes (most of the time) I have trouble seeing the 'bigger picture' that is God's Plan. I pray and pray to see His plan, but truly I'm clueless.
This last year I applied for a transfer from the school I had been currently teaching. I have excellent references including that of my current principal and had even been asked to speak at a state conference! I truly LOVE teaching and was excited about this next step in my career. I went to interview after interview and would get feedback that the principals wanted me BUT nothing. No transfer. I was clueless until June 4th on my son's birthday when I found out I was pregnant! OOOhhhhh. I get it now, thank you Jesus for watching out for me. Because that pregnancy was high risk and I was taken off of work on October 17 at just 24 weeks pregnant. All of this we knew very early on and God was truly watching out for me, my family, and my school that I where I was teaching.
Time after time He reveals His plan and proves what I should already know and that is that His Plan is the only Plan and that is for the best.
I see it in other peoples lives! Just 2 weeks ago as Stellan was ultimately fighting for his life and he was to be airlifted to another hospital as his condition worsened for an emergency ablation. Insurance held things up and things 'looked' to be getting worse and then........a new combination of meds were found to work on Stellan's body that kept him out of SVT! Praise Jesus! Because an ablation is very risky on such a little 9 month old body.
So God, once again, please reveal to me the 'Bigger Picture' the ultimate plan, because as we work to sell our house, this happens...
But not before this happened....

That's right! As my husband and I were sitting in the Living Room we hear DOMMBBBB BOOOM. I looked at J and said 'Go outside, that wasn't thunder!' after a couple of minutes I when my husband hasn't returned to give me the okay, I put Little M down and go check things out as well. And here is what we found. Let me tell you that the pictures don't justify the damage this limb caused on my car, his old but not dented pick-up, and our garage door. AND this is only a piece of the limb! We haven't even looked on the roof of our house yet.

In the midst of other issues THIS happens. Seriously?? I'm ashamed (but yet only human) to admit that my initial reaction was that of an immature, backwoods, red-necked, can only find the most illiterate person to put on the news, uneducated idiot. I was in a rant "seriously, you have got to be kidding me, what the crap is this all about"! I confessed to my husband later that I was ashamed of my reaction and was once again reminded that I am not in control and there is nothing I could have done about this situation. Our neighbors are working out the insurance details being that it's not our tree.

But, I am thankful that it didn't go through our roof and harm anyone of my family. And I feel bad that my poor neighbor came home to THIS after 2 days of being out of town at a class. She is probably feeling the same way that I am. No one was hurt and the vehicles are still drivable. The rest will fall into place.

7 Months Old Already

Where has time gone? She is 7 months old already! What have you been up to this past month Little M?

• Your rolling over both ways but will do anything to stay off your BELLY!
• You have been sitting up for about 3 weeks.
• When you get really excited you squeal and laugh and sometimes topple over.
• Today you have started lunging for stuff, not just reaching but LUNGING! You 'crawl' on your arms to get what you want which in turn rotates your body so that you belly and legs are on the floor and (insert diving sound effect) land on your nose. Poor baby.
• Being that you dislike your belly so much, crawling will most likely happen from the sitting position.

• You are sleeping in your own room and in your own crib and loving it.
• We figured out after many sleepless nights that when you wake up and see darkness then you cry (loudly) thankfully daddy remembered the projector we got at a shower. With stars, cows, and sheep on your ceiling your a happy camper.
• You wake up just once and then go right back to sleep after you eat.
• You have been eating 'real' baby food for 1 month now and are now on 2nd foods.
• You have finally gotten used to what that baby food does to your tummy.

Smiles and laughter fill our days as we watch you grow. Your daddy and I are sad at how fast this time is going.

• Mommy finally got some 'girl' time with her best friend this month. You stayed with your daddy and Emmy and apparently fussed every time your eyes were open until I of course came to the rescue. But I have a feeling that you didn't cry the whole time because you love your Emmy and she does anything she can to get smiles out of her grand babies.

• You are finally warming up to your daddy. Your face lights up when he's in the room and that just melts my heart. Poor daddy, he's putty in your hand and may not even know it.
• You are so different from your brother. He HATED grass and today you couldn't wait to get your hands on it!
• You are weighing 16lbs 13 oz and have not been sick one time! (knock on wood)
  

Sometimes, when I look into your eyes you give me this smile that could save the world. Tears rush to my eyes out of nowhere and at that moment nothing else matters. Little M, we love you more than anything. You and your brother bring us joy everyday. Thank you for coming into our lives, the Lord has truly blessed us. And everything else will fall into place.

Little M is nearly finished with her Level 1 foods. So, I'm stocking up on Level 2 foods from none other than Gerber. I wish I had the patience and the time to make her baby food but alas, I don't, Gerber to the rescue. I probably coulda...shoulda, woulda with B-man but I didn't make baby food with him either. I'm one of those manic mother's (maybe the only one) that goes by the book when it comes to feeding. IT's crazy how much I have forgotten in 4 years since B-man was a baby. While picking up some Level 2 baby food a tear came to my eye when I saw that she would be starting meats. Not because we are vegetarian or anything. But, simply because she is growing up too fast. It's just going way to quickly.

I'm so surprised that the ORGANIC food is about 50 cents more than baby food that is not organic. It really costs that much more to NOT use pesticides? But really, if it's not coming from my own personal garden (I'm ashamed to say I don't have one) then how organic is it really, I mean, seriously!

Look who is finally liking Great Grandma! Little M is doing so many things on her own now that I think she is much happier. Since she has discovered this new found independence we get more down around the house and hear many more giggles. Her favorite thing is to look in the mirror and laugh.

B-man is once again enjoying 'school' with mommy. And can I just say that my son is the most difficult student ever. He just gets something in his head and won't let it go. He seems to have an aversion to vowels. He has no problem with consonants though. I do think his eyes are hindering his learning. (He can't see up close real well) But we have since hired a 'tutor' aka M&Ms. Get the letter, get an M&M, win WIN!

Here is what the end of the day looks like. B-man had just come in from hours of helping daddy mow and Little M is pooped from sitting up so long. So, both are chillaxin and watching the ever so popular Baby Einstein!

New to our house! COOKING MORE THAN ONCE A WEEK! Most of you probably read Kelly's Korner and My Charming Kids but I recently read a great post from the Pommerville's at their blog. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

Fun with Friends

Saturday was my best friend's birthday! This is her sweet girl Hailey, who has been begging to hold Little M since she was born. Finally, she got to hold her while we were over at her house. Isn't she great! Hailey is a girl after my own heart. I love her soo much!

She played with Little M while the brothers played with trains, planes, music, automobiles..... You should see my best friend's house, it is full of wonderful toys! Never a boring moment!

B-man played and played and played and played. In one part of the house we had kids playing in the music center, then with trains, baby toys in another part, and then the adults got out the Karaoke machine. Time to hide!!! LOL. Stephanie is a great singer, me?, not so much.

Life really can't get much better than this, happiness was emanating from each corner of the house.

Did I mention that Little M is sitting up on her own? Notice the pillows? Just a precaution. Hailey had a great time playing with Little M and she was doing a great job making sure she didn't fall backwards. But at one point Little M got a little tired of holding herself up and she did a nose dive. Poor Hailey looked absolutely horrified! She said "I didn't know she could fall forward". Of course, Little M was perfectly fine, it just scared her a little. Hailey was more hurt than Little M. She is a very responsible and caring girl and it broke her heart. It may have been my best friend's birthday but it was one of the best days I'VE had in a long time.

PS. Please click on the link to your right 'Praying for Stellan'. He's a precious 8 month old that needs our prayers.