I have a question for all you bloggy friends... What do you do with cards?? I have received SUCH nice ones over the years.. and so have my kids.. and I cannot bring myself to throw them away; however, saving all of them is getting a bit ridiculous! Any ideas??
Well, after posting how much better the daycare was going, last week and this week so far (it's only Monday?! Waaaah) have been back to the beginning! Acey got an ear infection (:( poor, poor him) and the other baby has been more fussy too.. I don't know what the heck is going on! It is STRESSFUL, though, let me tell you! I'm fine around the kids and dealing with them, but it's making me grouchy all the time otherwise. Boo. :(
After Aeson was particularly fussy last weekend and messing with his ear (including outright punching himself in it! ..over and over again!), Eric took him to the dr first thing Monday morning. Sure enough, he had his first ear infection. What is extremely weird is that he hasn't been sick AT ALL. And no sign of teeth either. Just a very random ear infection! Today, we went back to the doctor for his 6 month checkup. He weighs 23lbs,12oz and is 28 3/4 inches long. 99th and 96th percentile. Not as big as I was expecting actually. He is SO heavy to carry around. He's also growing out of his infant seat, but he's just not ready for the bigger one yet. He can't quite sit on his own (he can for short periods of time) and if he falls asleep, we'll no longer be able to just carry him in somewhere in the carrier. Ugh. He met all the 6 month milestones, though, so I was excited about that. Especially since he's 'technically' only 5 months old. :) I was reading Westen's diary the other night and noting how different they are.. Westen LOVED to be on his tummy and was almost crawling at this point but showed NO interest in sitting, while Aeson LOVES to sit and is almost doing it on his own but HATES being on his tummy and has shown no interest in crawling!
Westen's been drawing drawing drawing and writing writing writing. He's loving puzzles and pretend and all things artsy. He's also LOVING learning. We have a new letter and number every week. Did I mention I enrolled him in preschool? I think I last left off with having trouble deciding. Well, after looking more into the schools, I just FELT that I really wanted him to go to the private Catholic school. So.. I e-mailed them and they had openings! I'm super excited about it. He'll only go 3 days a week for half a day. I haven't decided whether to do morning or afternoon yet. He's SUCH a help around here and he certainly doesn't 'need' school, but I think it will be good for him to be around other kids and even more teaching.. Yet it also makes me WAY more comfortable that it's only part-time. The regular public school goes all day every day! Yikes.
I think Eric's decided to go back to school to get another degree to teach. Both his parents were teachers, and I think he'd be wonderful. I certainly hope he does it. I also just finished the application process that I started when I was pregnant with Aeson to continue my master's degree in counseling.. only now, I think I'll work on both the community and school tracks. I would LOVE to be a school counselor and be able to work the hours my kids are in school and have summers off. It's amazing how much changes after you have kids and how they really become your life. Yet, in saying that, I know that's not exactly how it is for everyone.. or maybe it just CAN'T be that way for everyone. I don't quite understand because mine are everything to me. <3
Last week, we had a very scary event happen here. We live in a pretty small town.. We have a university here which adds a lot to it.. Still, though, it's rather small. Anyway, I got a text from a friend saying there was someone shooting at a local store, so to stay away from that area. I immediately called her to get more details and then called every member of my family to make sure they weren't there! We stayed tuned into everything all day and there were a number of rumors going around. Police came from everywhere and the SWAT team ended up sending a robot in about four hours after it started to see what the situation was. What happened was a young man (19 years old, local- not a college student) entered with an AR-15 I think it was called (I'm not up on guns :)), demanded ammo, told the people they didn't want to be around for what was going to happen, shot through the door when police arrived on scene, and then went into the store and shot himself. Needless to say, we live somewhere where something like this has NEVER happened. It was so scary. We've listened to the 911 tape since, and the staff at the store sound terrified. There was also a 3.5 year old boy hiding with his grandfather. It makes me so sad and so frightened. I can't even IMAGINE if one of us had been there. It also makes me incredibly sad for the boy and for his family. I've thought about it a lot since it happened, and I wonder what he was thinking that made him do it.. what his last thoughts were.. if he KNEW how frightened he made SO many people (nobody really knew what was going on at first other than someone was in the store shooting). The counselor in me wishes I'd had the chance to talk to him before.. convince him not to do something like that. It's so true that suicide is a permanent solution to a TEMPORARY problem. I also hope that our children never feel the despair that he obviously felt. His mom has spoken out and talked about him not fitting in and the horrible things he went through in school.. I too was made fun of in school and it still brings tears to my eyes.. I know how bad it feels.. but you grow up and out of that.. you find your way. Regardless, it is something that hits very close to home and something that I feel very strongly about. Something I worry about happening to my own children. Kids can be so cruel. It also makes me think about our society and how they make men think they should be a certain way.. and that guns are powerful.. etc, etc. It makes me very, very sad.
The daycare is going much better. I've become more used to everything and so have the kids, I think. We've had snow days every week, I think, so that always throws it off a bit! Everything seems to be in transition right now, though, and it feels odd.
I love being home.. LOVE LOVE LOVE spending every minute with my kids. Not having to get out in the cold. Being with my husband more. Etc etc. I've been wondering lately how long I will do it, though. I started out thinking maybe I'd join the workforce after I have one more baby and get to spend time with it.. but that seems awfully far away. Maybe it won't seem like it then. I have no idea how you choose to have another baby, and I'm not sure when I'll be ready for that. Daycare's such a weird thing too b/c it's not always constant, you know.. The kids get older and they go to school and you have to find new ones. In the end too, I still have no idea what I want to DO with my life. I was pursuing the counseling field and have all my experience in that.. but I don't think it's something I want to do my whole life. Maybe. But at this point, I'm not feeling it! I don't miss it AT ALL! I have no idea what else to do, though.. I know some things I'm interested in, but I don't want to go into more debt to 'see' if I like them! Ahh.. it's hard. I'm such a planner.. I need to work on being happier in the present and not worrying so about all that.
Eric's sort of in the same position, though. His hours have been cut lately, which leaves us stressed financially and I suppose is what brings up all these thoughts! He has been applying for jobs pretty much our entire relationship and has never gotten a good one. I have no idea why. He's very intelligent and presentable. He needs a full-time job badly.. but at the same time, I will miss having him at home with me.. and especially the help he provides with the daycare! I do hope he finds something, though, and soon. He's thought about returning to school as well but isn't sure what he wants to do either.
This is turning into rather a 'down' post.. but I am also having lots of difficulty with eating! Being home with all the kids has made me snack so much more! Plus it's winter and we're stuck inside all day. I want to lose weight sooo bad.. I've started exercising each night, but I'm not sure it's enough. At least I have time for it now, though- unlike before!
Westen's fourth birthday party was this past weekend. He had SO much fun! He wore his party hat from the time he woke up that morning and asked all day if it was time for his party. He looked so bashful when we all sang to him. This is the first year that I think he's REALLY understanding things. Although I don't think he quite understood that it was just his PARTY day, not his actual birthday (which is in two days). Lots of people came and he got a ton of cool gifts. We got him some artsy stuff and a puppet, all of which he has already used and loves! He's been learning how to draw letters and numbers. He's SUCH a good little artist too! He spends most of his days drawing. I'm currently trying to decide if I'll send him to school this fall or not. It would be PreK. I'm sure all you other moms know how I'm feeling about it! I looked at the readiness for kindergarten list and he can ALREADY do all of that stuff... so it's not that he needs it at all for that. And I'm planning on getting him into some sports this summer at the Y.. So I don't know if he needs to be in school all day every day. There's also a school dilemma. We only have one public school, and I'm not too crazy about him attending there. There's a small baptist one that only goes through grade school and there's a Catholic one that is an AWESOME school, but I'm not too sure about the religion part, I don't know if we could even get in, and it's costly (although I don't know how much). I should probably take time to learn more, but I am so busy during the day with the daycare. It's hard to do much of anything during 'business' hours!
Aeson's getting SO big. He's in 12 month clothes. I've become increasingly worried about his size the bigger he's gotten. I worry about his breathing.. his ability to do things because of the extra weight.. his uncomfortableness.. and him being made fun of as a child. Hopefully he won't, as he should be grown 'out' of it and to 'normal' size by the time kids get around to doing those things.. but it's still a worry. I worry way too much lately! Acey's been getting cuter and cuter, though, and he's become such a better baby since I've been home. He'll play on his own for quite a while and has even fallen asleep in his crib by himself with NO crying for the last several days! (during naptime only :).. We haven't tried at night yet) He wants to do so much more than he's able to. He likes to sit with our assistance and he's always reaching for and playing with toys now. He very much enjoys his exersaucer! His little laughs are my favorite. They don't happen too often.. usually only if you tickle him (he's very ticklish!) or if something new is funny- After a time or two, he no longer thinks it's funny!
I'm trying to treasure these moments. It's different for baby's first year, because HE is my purpose.. It's almost like everything I do is for him. Eventually I'll get a part of 'my' life back, but right now, I'm enjoying being his everything. :) I know I won't ever have a chance to be that again, not for him anyway. Westen's already getting so big and showing me just how fast they grow up!
So sorry I have been MIA! I've been reading via my phone, but I was so busy and then our Internet wasn't working.. and I didn't even want to try to update via my phone! Even commenting was too hard on there.
Anyway, the week before last, I was extremely busy getting things ready to start the in-home daycare. On Christmas Eve, I got a call from the mommy who had visited, asking me to secure a spot for her 8 month old. I then let my friend who had also been interested know, and she also secured a spot for her 2.5 year old. That left me full! It also left me only a week at my job! (Mom of the 8 mo old is a teacher and returned to work on the 4th)
Also on Christmas Eve night, after being in labor for a couple of days and pushing for hours with no result, my SIL and BIL had their first baby via C-section. Nobody knew the sex, and it was a GIRL! They named her Addyson Grace, and she will be called Addy. Come March 1, I will also be watching this sweet girl. :)
Christmas was different this year. My mom ended up canceling Christmas at her house (drama I don't want to go into!). Then, with the birth of Addy, Christmas with Eric's family was rescheduled. We spent Christmas Eve at my dad's house and then the hospital.. and then up quite late playing Santa's elves! Westen loved Christmas this year, and it was a lot of fun watching him enjoy it. We did make our first ever Christmas meal (complete with homemade noodles!) and had that with my sister and BIL. While it was different, it actually ended up being enjoyable. We had our Christmas with Eric's family the next week, and we got sooo many nice things!
For New Year's, my in-laws came in to watch the kids. We were going to have them stay there overnight, but we all decided together that none of us were quite ready for that! (Mostly, we agreed Aeson wouldn't be ready for it and were all concerned about that.. me especially!) We went to a party with my coworkers and then to the same bar we went to last year. Eric's brother's band played. Sometime hopefully I'll have time for a New Year's entry.. lord knows this past year was CRAZY!
Last Saturday, right after working my last day at work, Eric found out his hours had been cut at work. (Well, everyone's had.. not just his) I was worried at first but then thought.. maybe this is God's way of providing help I'll need this week! And boy did I.
Both parents decided to start their kids on the 4th. That Monday was the hardest ever! The 8 month old is actually a bit smaller than Aeson (now 5 months!!).. he can do a few more things (sit up, almost crawl).. but they're alike in a lot of ways. Both are breastfeeding, co-sleeping (I think) babies and it's hard to have a baby like that away from their mama. I've found out that Aeson is SO much happier since I've been home. He'll lay on the floor or play in his exer-saucer for hours now.. He would NEVER do that before. He's also sleeping easier and more.. It is SO wonderful. He's no longer that very needy baby he seemed to be before. However, the other baby is! He wants held a LOT and while I try to do it as much as possible (my body was more sore than it had been in a LOOONG time from caring for four children.. and two 20+ pound babies!), it's hard to do when I have other children to care for. The older two boys entertain themselves and play together very well, but I also do activities, learning exercises, and reading with them every day. It was so hard to fit it all in, divide my attention, and give everyone their needed attention.. even with Eric here! With the addition of less sleep than usual the night before and irritating news from work, I was about in tears by the end of the day. I couldn't even imagine doing it without Eric.
Each day did get easier.. but still a struggle.. and I even did it on my own on Wednesday. Any tips from other moms would be GREATLY appreciated. Thursday and Friday ended up being snow days, so we had no kids! We got to spend it with Eric on Thursday and played in the snow with Westen. Friday and Saturday Eric worked, and we got quite bored! I'm afraid we will have to start all over with the kids and the routine tomorrow.. We'll see how it goes! I just want to be able to provide for everyone's needs and have them all happy. AND I'll be adding a two month old into the mix March 1!
It's sort of scary starting your own business. You never know what will happen. The 8 month old won't attend all summer either since his momma will be home.. so I'll have to try to find more kids just for the summer or make do with less money (which I'm not sure is possible). I do love being home, though. I worry a bit about Westen getting too bored.. It will be nice when we can go outside.. but he will probably start preschool in the fall too.. maybe. :) Aeson's happier, though, and my house stays cleaner.. I have more time for all those things.
Prayers (and advice!) would be MUCH appreciated!!
Still no more kiddos signed up. I'm hoping & praying for it to happen SOON. Today's Monday, and it's been a rough one. I miss the kids SO much. I want to be home so badly it hurts! Tears stung my eyes more than once this morning.
We went to the geneticist in St. Louis last Thursday, and I posted the results in a note on facebook. It went very, very well! We were so happy to be able to talk to people who have seen LOTS of children with BWS.. and to hear that his cancer risk is very low and to hear the explanation behind the genetics AND how it would be very rare for us to have another baby with it (like less than 1%). I feel bad for my poor little Aeson having it.. but hopefully it will never result in any tumors.. and all of this mess and his characteristics will be GONE by the time he's 4-8.
Friday, Aeson had his 4 month checkup. He actually met all the 4 month milestones, although she said she wouldn't consider him four months until he would actually gestationally be four months (January 3rd). She voiced a little more on her position with vaccinations, making me feel pretty bad for NOT getting them. Thing is, though, if I did get them, I know I would regret it.. just as I do with Westen and the couple Aeson's already had. But I wish I didn't have to hear it. :( It would be nice if there were more doctors against them! Aeson weighs 19 pounds now and is 27 inches long, I think it was. Very, very big for his age. In the 80's and 90's but not off the chart quite yet!
Saturday, Westen and I baked more cookies! Then Sunday, we had Eric's father's side of the family's Christmas. Last Thursday was our volunteer party at work too.. So I have had waaay too much food this last week! As of last Tuesday, I'd lost 6 pounds in the prior four weeks.. but I think I'll probably gain this week darnit! :( We had a wonderful time at Eric's family's, though. Westen got a Transformer and then bought a few more with the money he got.. He's obsessed with them! He even talks like them, which is quite cute. Aeson also apparently laughed out loud last Thursday and I missed it! :( I was at the volunteer party, and he hasn't done it since!
A friend of mine is having trouble nursing her baby who is the same age as Aeson (3 days apart, I think). She's not producing enough, and he's having a horrible reaction to formula's they try.. So I'm giving her most of our frozen supply later this week and now trying to pump extra for her. I normally feed Aeson before leaving in the morning, go home late morning to feed him, he gets a bottle & I pump in the early afternoon, and then I feed him when I get home at 4. Soo.. This morning, I tried pumping immediately after I got to work (minutes after he stopped eating) and easily got 5oz. BUT I'm afraid he didn't get enough now at his late morning feeding.. Eric said he was super fussy just a bit ago. We'll see how it works out.. I hope I can help. I was having problems with oversupply, though, and actually had to start feeding him on one side for two feedings in a row at night because he would start choking and having major problems eating.. So I'm kind of worried that pumping will increase my supply and that will start again! I have an LLL meeting tonight, so we'll see if I get any other tips.
Aeson's doctor also said we could start him on solids when he "would be" four months.. so that would be January 3rd. I'm hoping that helps him not be so needy and wanting to eat so often! Poor little thing.. I mean, he's as big as a 9-12 month old!
Does anyone know of any legitimate money-making things online or otherwise that you can do from home??
Now that I've told my boss, I can spill the beans here! I'm working on becoming licensed to do in-home daycare. I'm only one home inspection away actually. Problem is.. I can't find the kids! Yet anyway. I have several friends who have done or are doing it as well and they say I'll definitely get them.. sometimes it just takes a while. How long is what I'm not sure of! I've let the world of facebook know and I've put an ad online but nothing yet. :( I have one spot filled and that's going to be my niece/nephew who is due at the end of this month.. so I won't be watching him/her until the end of February/beginning of March. I want two more kids. I'm going to be putting an ad in the paper soon.. hopefully that will help. I was planning on starting in January, but now I'm not sure if I'll be able to. I can't go without a paycheck in between jobs either, so it's sort of crazy trying to plan it all out!
And.. since our moms can't continue to watch the boys past January.. I have two options-- See if I can go part-time at work until I find kiddos OR go ahead and quit and well, I guess that's not an option unless I'm making money somehow!!
Hopefully things will work out. Soon. I can't wait to be home with my boys.
We've been having SO much fun. Last week, we watched Christmas specials (like Rudolph) on TV. Westen LOVED it. We made Christmas cookies over the weekend.. Westen helping with the dough and then finishing off the decorating at the end (by putting TONS of sprinkles on them :)). We also went to see Santa on Saturday. Westen was a little scared before going, saying that he was not going to sit on his lap and asking if it was loud when he says 'ho ho ho.' However, when we got there, Santa held out his arms and Westen climbed right up! And then proceeded to talk and talk and talk! He told him all about the Transformers and Batman things he wants. Santa told him to leave cookies for him, something I had not told Westen yet about, so he's been quite intrigued with that idea since. It also snowed for the first time here and Westen was SO excited when he saw it. He thought that it meant Santa was coming! :) He went outside before I even left for work that morning to play in it. I can't wait until I can play with him in it! We also took some cute pictures (posted on facebook) of the boys to use for Christmas cards.. which I need to get done!! Speaking of, if I don't have your address, send me a message with it so I can get one to you! We're supposed to have our first big winter storm here tonight. I love it!
What a busy extended weekend!
First, I'll update you on the BWS. I was quite upset the first few days after the diagnosis, understandably, but now that the reality has set in, I'm somewhat better. The constant testing is still killing me, but maybe that will get better too. He had his first sonogram last Friday. They said the doc should have the results by Monday, but she did not at the time of our appointment and we haven't heard anything since. He had to get blood and urine taken Monday. Taking the blood was an AWFUL experience. The doctor tried for over forty five minutes.. sticking him in both his wrists and arms.. He screamed the entire time and she still didn't get ANY blood. It was horrible. I had taken a sheet in I got off the BWS website about how they should just be able to do a fingerpoke, so she said she would check with the lab. The next day I heard from the nurse and she said they CAN do the fingerpoke! Thank GOD!! That will be so much easier and less traumatic. His urine sample came back good too! AND, they got us in with a geneticist in St. Louis on December 10! It was a good news day. We have to drive further than we would have had to to go to the June appointment, but it's worth it!
Aeson has definitely showed that he's growing waaay more than the average baby. He's in 6-9 month clothes now and even wore a 12 month outfit the other day. He won't be four months until Dec 3. It's no wonder he wants to eat all the time. I'm just thankful that my milk has been enough for him. He still wakes 1-2 times a night, but it doesn't bother me. He never naps very long during the day.. usually only for a half hour at a time! That's kind of hard, because I don't have much time to get things done around the house but I know that won't last forever.
I also weighed myself this last week and had lost 4lbs in the last two weeks! Which actually puts me just below my weight when I found out I was pregnant. It certainly doesn't feel like it.. I suppose it's just distributed differently now. I'm hoping to continue losing.
So on to our weekend...
I was so thankful for a shorter work week. Wednesday evening, Eric and I watched Four Christmases. It was a lovely start to the Thanksgiving weekend. Thursday, I made biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and we watched Funny People (which was way too long). We went to Eric's parents for a late lunch and had all the Thanksgiving fixings. It was delicious and Aeson actually slept for most of the meal. After dessert, we watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and National Lampoon's Christmas vacation. We had a very, very good time with his family. The four of us stayed the night there, so Eric and I could leave early for Black Friday shopping! It was our first year going. We got up around 4am and headed out after Aeson ate. Unfortunately, since we were up, Aeson decided he wanted to be too, so Eric's mom didn't get to go back to sleep!
Anyway, Eric and I had an awesome time shopping. We went to Toys R Us first and got Westen done! I'm excited about the gifts we got him this year. It was super fun picking them out together too and getting such good deals! We then shopped for other family members at the mall and surrounding stores, ate lunch out, and then headed back to his parents. We spent some more time there before heading home to shop just a bit more, eat dinner at home, and then get out our Christmas tree! I was SO upset to find out that all of our Christmas tree decorations were ruined. We'd put them in an area of the basement that doesn't usually get wet.. only this year, with all the rain, it did. We hadn't even thought about it until we went down to get them. It's a big mess we need to clean up now. Ugh! I suppose that will teach me to put them in a watertight container next time. We made a run to Kmart to get some decorations, only we didn't have much money after the day's shopping! We got what we could and finished decorating (while listening to Christmas music :)) when we got home. Westen loved helping, and he also loved helping me wrap some of the presents afterward.
I can't believe I wasn't more exhausted by the end of the day yesterday. It was a good, fun day though.
Now we're up to today.. We have Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's tonight and I have a baby shower to go to tomorrow. Plus Sunday is always our clean house/do laundry/etc day, before heading back to a full work week Monday. Boo! :(
