Tales of the Mighty B

Hey! It's Okay Tuesday!

2012-01-31T13:47:00.000-05:00

It's Okay to (The TV Edition)...

Be shocked that I've written 490 posts on this blog. Well, now it's 491.
Prefer the Steven Tyler/Jennifer Lopez American Idol to the Paula Abdul/Simon Cowell American Idol.
Get wrapped up in the teen drama The Vampire Diaries. I started watching it on Netflix, briefly made fun of it, and now I've been sucked (HA! Get it? Sucked? Vampires?) into the story.
To think that The Walking Dead is simultaneously the most disgusting and best show on TV.
To be sad I can't watch The Pioneer Woman's show on Food Network and Extreme Couponing on TLC. We got rid of our cable, so now I can't watch anything that isn't online. Mostly it's not a big deal, but those are two shows I miss.
To sadly be over Glee. I'm not sure what has changed, but I just can't get into it anymore.

So what are you watching? Leave me a comment to let me know, then check out what else is okay over at Airing My Dirty Laundry!

Mr. Know-It-All

2012-01-26T11:14:00.001-05:00

We've had some attitude issues with Riley lately. It seems that now that he is in Kindergarten he knows EVERYTHING. And argues about EVERYTHING. Today is the 100th day of school and he insists that this is the last day for the entire year. You reach 100 days, you don't have to go to school anymore. Oh buddy, if only that's how things worked.

Here are some other things he's argued about:

My name isn't Bethany - it's Befany.
God was wrong because he decided I should have Riley first and not Brenna. Brenna was supposed to be the oldest.
It's not Phineas and FerB, it's Phineas and FerVE. Even though I've shown him the title in print several times.

It's maddening. And I have to remind myself constantly that he's (almost) six, he's asserting himself and to choose my battles.

My girls will be easier. Because girls are more rational - especially during those teen years, right? (Lord, HELP ME!)

Hey! It's Okay, Tuesday!

2012-01-24T08:30:00.000-05:00

Hey, It's okay to...

fix the red-eye on photos before posting them. Really. It's okay. PLEASE DO IT. (Drives me batty!)
request the fire-roasted sauce from Taco Bell with the sole purpose of eating it on my eggs the next morning.
be super excited that the Dollar Store is moving into a new, bigger store!
desperately want a pair of sparkly Converse.

Linked up at Airing My Dirty Laundry!

Socks

2012-01-23T08:09:00.000-05:00

I loaded up the girls to go pick Riley up from school. It was cold, so I bundled them up, put socks on Gracie's feet and wrapped her in a blanket. Once we got to the school I turned around and saw this:

I found her socks, put them back on her feet and tucked her back under the blanket. A few minutes later, I checked on her again and saw this:

Again, I found her socks, put them back on her (while she was screaming at me) tucked her into the blanket and watched for Riley to come out of the school.

Riley came to the car, so I turned around to greet him and saw this:

Stubborn baby.

Tiny Dancer

2012-01-19T16:08:00.001-05:00

Brenna started dance classes last week. It's 15 minutes of ballet and 15 minutes of tap, which equals 30 minutes where I'm certain I will die from the cuteness. She takes it so seriously, intently watching her teacher, trying to do every move just like her. Some kids stare at themselves in the mirror or pick their nose, but Brenna places her hands on her tiny hips and twirls away.

Getting ready for class!

I'm so glad we signed her up for this class. Between Riley's school functions and Grace's therapies and appointments, I feel like Brenna gets lost in the shuffle sometimes.

Learning to tap.

This is something that is just for her. Her special activity. And she loves it.

Hey, It's Okay Tuesday!

2012-01-17T09:09:00.001-05:00

It's Okay to...

Buy valentines early so you don't have to risk the chance of having to make them.
Hate calling waiting. It's so rude. "Can you hold on a second while I see if this other call is more important than you are?"
Consider getting all three kids bathed on a regular basis a major accomplishment.
Cut the tube of makeup open to get out that tiny last bit. I'm going to have to break down and just buy some more!
Think that putting orange peels in the garbage disposals is one of life's greatest pleasures. It smells so good!

Linking up here!

Slow and Steady...But Mostly Slow

2012-01-16T08:30:00.002-05:00

Operation: Stay the Course is chugging along. I know that I'll have more success at developing better habits if I focus on building them slowly, so this month I've tried to make loading/running the dishwasher every night a habit. And so far it's...not. It makes it easier in the mornings knowing I'm not already two steps behind. My biggest issue is that I wait too long to do it. We'll eat dinner, pile all the dishes in the sink, start watching TV, giving baths, etc. and before I know it it's after 10 and I just want to go to bed. The last thing I want to do is the dishes! So I'm trying harder to do it right after dinner, get it done, then I can enjoy my evening.

I'm also tossing around the idea of giving one of the kids the "job" of putting away the silverware. I know Riley can do it, he's done it for me lots of times. But perhaps it's time Princess Brenna starts getting her little hands dirty and pitching in?

Do you have set chores for your kids? What about an allowance?

Hey! It's Okay Tuesday!

2012-01-10T21:38:00.000-05:00

It's Okay to...

Think it completely sucks that I need both a pimple and wrinkle cream. I thought pimples went away after adolescence!
To love watching Grace wiggle around on the floor. She can't crawl yet, but she can certainly get to where she wants to go! Right now she has her toys spread all over the living room and it makes me so happy.
To be ready to get ruthless with this clutter.
To be the Queen of procrastination. I think I've perfected it to an art.
share a deal! I have the following deals to share...

* If you go to Kroger's website and add at least one P&G coupon to your savings card, they will give you the option to email the deal to four other people. Do that and get an additional $4 off your next order! This makes an awesome Tide deal...buy 4 bottles of Tide for $4.99. Use 4 $2/1 Tide coupons from the Jan.1st paper. After your coupons and additional $4 savings, your total is $8 for 4 bottles of Tide!

*Target has a coupon available online for $5 off any Brita faucet mount or pitcher. You can pair this with the $4/1 Brita coupon in the December 1st paper for a whopping $9 off! They are normally anywhere from $23-30.

*Martin's has ground beef for $1.99 lb. This is below my normal $2.49 stock-up price, so I'll be picking up several pounds!

Gratuitous Grace Video

2012-01-06T00:30:00.000-05:00

Since she is the reason most of you visit my little corner of the blogosphere, I thought I should share another achievement. Today we worked on "walking" with her gait trainer. It's like a walker and is helping her learn how to move her legs to walk and teaching her that she can be more mobile. She seems to have mastered going backwards. (It's normal for them to move backwards or sideways first before moving forward.) You'll also get to see glimpses of our newest family member, the black lab, Jessie. Hugh Hefner Jr. - I mean Riley - makes several appearances in his red robe. He thinks it looks like a karate/kung fu outfit. I think he looks like the Hef. And again you'll see how she refuses to say "mom".:) Stinker.

State of Grace

2012-01-05T12:31:00.001-05:00

I realized I haven't posted an update on Grace for a while and maybe that's because she is doing so well! But here are some details:

Brain Matter: She recently went for a routine cat scan and to see Sally, the nurse practitioner at her neurosurgeon's office. Everything looks great so we don't have to go back until February! An even bigger improvement is that they won't order any more cat scans unless her head measures too big. It's a huge relief knowing that her shunt is working properly.

Visually Speaking: Grace seems to be seeing better, but it's still not great. She can see a toy held out in front of her, but has terrible depth perception and takes a few tries to grab it. She has a hard time seeing things on her high chair tray and will do a sweep with her hands to feel for any food you may have put down for her instead of looking at the tray. I think this is because it's hard for her to see anything on a light colored background (light cheerios on a white tray) so I'm going to purchase some contact paper to put down on her tray to see if that helps. She has a tendency to fuss if I walk away from her, but am still close by. (For example, if she's in the front of the shopping cart and I walk around to get things out of it.) She can't seem to tell that I'm still close by, so I try to continuously talk to her. I also try and make sure I describe everything we do - changing her diaper, walking to her bedroom, etc. Since we don't know how much she can see, I want her to try and be familar with the different sounds, feelings, smells, etc.

Large Motor Skills: Grace can now sit by herself for about 7 minutes before she starts to get tired and kind of "melts" foward. This is the biggest improvement so far! Her upper body is still too weak to push up on her hands, so crawling will be a while longer. She doesn't like to put weight on her legs so walking will be her biggest challenge. Right now we are looking into getting braces for both of her legs that will help give her more support. Her physical therapist is also wanting to order a stander for her to help force her to put weight on her legs. Both the braces and standers are $2,000+. Normally medicaid would pay for these, but Grace was taken off of medicaid in December since she has primary insurance through my husband's job. We are appealing that decision, but who knows how long that could take. She works with her physical therapist once a week.

An example of a pediatric stander.
(How cute is this little girl? Her name is Gwyn. Read more about her here!)

Fine Motor: Grace has been much better about opening her left hand and rarely keeps it fisted anymore. She's also started to nudge things with her left hand. She has fairly good dexterity with her right hand. She still just pounds on toys to get them to play music instead of pushing specific buttons. It's great that she understands cause and effect, but should be learning to push, pull, turn toys instead of just banging on everything. So we are working on that! She works with her occupational therapist once a week on these things. She doesn't have any problems eating and has mastered drinking from a straw!

Speech/Cognitive: Grace is very smart. She picks up things quickly as long as her physical issues don't limit her. (It only took one time of showing her how to drink from a straw before she got it) She doesn't seem to have any cognitive delays - except with things that have to do with her vision. She acts like every other 15 month old! Her vocabulary is a little on the small side for her age, she says, "dad", "Go", and "hi" and can sign "more" and just signed "please" today. Even though she doesn't technically say much, she doesn't have any problems letting you know what she wants - and especially lets you know when she's irritated. She's stubborn, short-tempered, observant, and goofy - just like her mom. :)

For some reason when Grace says "Go", she always angrily yells it. So it's more like, "GAAAAH!" It's so funny and I have no idea why she does it. I think maybe she's warming up to help daddy cheer on the Irish in the fall! Here's a video:

Hey! It's Okay Tuesday!

2012-01-03T16:57:00.001-05:00

It's Okay to...

Be ready for Riley to go back to school. Yesterday I wasn't ready for him to go back. Today is a different story.
Love Storage Wars. Yuuup!
Also love Downton Abbey. It's back this Sunday, but I've already seen the new season - thanks Internet! (It's SO GOOD!)
Feel better knowing that everyone else in the world also thinks they need to be more organized, better with money, eat better and workout more. Don't believe me? Ask ANYONE their resolutions.
To be just as (if not more!) excited about Brenna's dance class next week than she is. She'll be so cute!
Enjoy the snow - and not mind driving in it. Slow and steady folks!

Stay the Course

2012-01-02T01:44:00.000-05:00

I'm inspired by people who set goals and then work toward them. I'm pretty good at setting goals, but I'm not exactly the most persistent person. I can get sidetracked so easily, leave things half-finished and I'm constantly losing things. My goal setting experiment a few weeks back was a mild success. I did get more done than I normally would have, but I still got sidetracked by mid-week. And then I gave up.

So my slogan for this year is going to be, "Stay the Course".

I want to work on my focus and develop better habits. But it's going to take time, patience and persistence! And since all of the "experts" claim that accountability is crucial to keeping resolutions I'm asking you to be my accountability partner. Which really just means you'll have to read my posts about how I've progressed (or not!) each week. That is if I remember to post about it...because I tend to get a little sidetr....

SQUIRREL!!

The Stars are Brightly Shining

2011-12-25T13:21:00.003-05:00

Print Credit

I saw this on Giving Up On Perfect and had to share. I cried like a baby, especially around 4:40. Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like freaking out the kids by doing the ugly cry on Christmas morning! Don't worry Riley and Brenna, mommy's already started the fund for all the therapy you'll need later. :)

May your Christmas be filled with love, joy, laughter and all things that don't traumatize the kids!

Hey! It's Okay Tuesday!

2011-12-20T19:27:00.003-05:00

It's Okay to...

Raid the kids stockings for candy after they go to bed.
Be excited for Christmas, but a little ready for it to be over.
Sit and stare at the Christmas tree. It makes me feel all warm, cozy and Christmasy. I normally take it down Christmas evening, but I may just leave it up a little while longer this year.
Coupon to help others. Because of couponing, I was able to donate three bags of things to Riley's school can drive - including ten bottles of shampoo, 14 packages of soap, 20 single load packets of Tide and 13 tubes of toothpaste. None of it cost me a dime.
Be a few days late with my "It's Okay" list.
Pray for Gracie. She goes in for a CT scan and neurosurgeon appointment this morning. It's a routine check-up, but they adjusted her shunt a few weeks ago and she's been acting a little off. She also just had her shots and is getting teeth, so it's hard to tell if a combination of those things or if it's an issue with her shunt. I'm not sure a Christmas in the hospital would be very festive, so I'm praying for a clear check-up!

(Check out Airing My Dirty Laundry for more It's Okay lists!)

Scout the Elf

2011-12-17T22:30:00.000-05:00

Our Elf on the Shelf has been a huge hit. I've only forgotten to move him once (I told the kids that he was so comfortable he fell asleep - they bought it!) Here are a few places we've found him:

On top of our TV, where he made his first appearance.

Playing a computer game.

He left Christmas socks in Riley and Brenna's shoes, then fell in Riley's boots!

Playing with cars.

Playing with one of Gracie's toys.

On a date with Barbie! Little scamp!

Aargh! Pirate Elf! (the patch is felt I taped to his head). There were chocolate gold coins in the "treasure chest".

Clipping my coupons for me.

Taking a nap in the Kleenex box.

Brushing his teeth!

Hey, It's Okay Tuesday!

2011-12-13T18:13:00.003-05:00

It's Okay to:

Because sometimes sweatpants just aren't frumpy enough...

Wish I had fleece one-piece outfits like Grace. They are so cozy! (Mom, this does not mean I want the Forever Lazy for Christmas...)
Give my husband coupons to use when he goes Christmas shopping for me this weekend.
Buy stuff for your own stocking.
Purchase pajamas instead of sew them. The intentions were there, the time is not. Hello K-Mart 50% off sale!
Not mind watching the Elf on the Shelf movie over and over. It's cute.
Think it's sad that Michelle Duggar had a miscarriage. It's a shame people are saying she deserved it and that it's God's way of saying she shouldn't have anymore kids. No one deserves that heartbreak.
(I stole this one directly from Airing My Dirty Laundry - where I link up this list. Check out her site!!)

I've been taking pictures of our elf Scout's adventures and hope to show you later this week!

GGOOOOAAAAALLLLL(S)!

2011-12-12T10:01:00.001-05:00

I've been at this stay-at-home mom gig for almost three years and I have a confession to make...I'm not very good at it.
Before staying home, I had visions of a clean house, wonderful home cooked meals, and educational activities with the kids daily. I knew it would take some time to adjust and get the routines down, but we're heading into year four and my house is still a mess and some days the most education my kids get at home is learning the new catchy tune from Sponge Bob. I do have the home cooked meal thing down somewhat - mainly because our pared down budget requires it. Otherwise we'd become very close friends with Papa John. I'm beginning to realize that this home management thing is something I'm not naturally good at. But I want to be. So with help from Money Saving Mom and Nony the Slob, I'm taking some steps to get this life under control.

Crystal at Money Saving Mom writes a list of 10 goals each week and posts them on her blog. I loved the idea of having specific goals in the different areas of my life (Household, Mothering, etc.) and I hope the accountability of posting it online would help me keep on track.

Picture Source

I also am ~~stealing~~ borrowing the daily checklist from Nony the Slob. I've modified it a bit to fit our needs, but it's the same basic idea.

Hopefully I'll start to become a little less "chicken with her head cut off" and a little more "this chick's got it together".

By the way, here are my goals for this week:

Mothering/Family

Read the Christmas books we got from the library.
Make snow globes.

Personal Goals

Be in bed by 10:30 or before.
Finish reading "The County Fair"
Read a chapter in the Bible each night.

Home Management

Finish cloth doll diapers (Christmas gift for Brenna)
Sew pants for Brooke (also a Christmas gift!)
Move craft drawers into the family room
Find 3 recipes for freezer cooking

Blog

Blog 3 times this week. I've listed topics I want to cover, but I don't want to spoil the surprise :)

So do you think I can do it? Do you have goals for this week? What do you do to stay on track? Or do you feel as aimless as I do most days?

Turtle Love

2011-12-05T15:11:00.001-05:00

Before Riley started Kindergarten I was determined to find a method for organizing my paper clutter. When he would bring things home from preschool, I kept ALL of them, shoving them in the top of my hutch in the dining room. I saw this little tip on Pinterest and decided to give it a whirl.

Picture from iloveorganizing.com

I bought a black crate from Walmart when they were supercheap during back to school shopping. We had several file folders already so I just popped them in, but would like to get many more in the future. My crate is not NEAR as pretty as the one above, but it works. Every day I sort through the 400,000 papers he brings home, find the ones with cute pictures, funny writing, or something that just makes me proud, put them in the folder and recycle the rest.

Today he brought home a prime example of the papers I must keep:

A wonderful drawing of several turtles. He did his best to sound out "turtle" and in the end named one of them "Riley Turde". HA!

I'm so proud of my sweet little Turd. :)

Hey! It's Okay,Tuesday!

2011-11-29T16:03:00.001-05:00

It's okay to...

Jingle All the Way!

have the DVR already being filled with holiday movies. I'm a sucker for the ones on the Hallmark Channel!
wear flip-flops at the end of November. If I'm not getting out of the car, I'm not wearing shoes.
to give the baby her Christmas gifts as I buy them. She won't understand that there isn't anything under the tree for her anyway!
to understand exactly why they call early evening "the witching hours". From 3-7 PM my kids act as if they have lost their minds. And it makes me very close to losing mine.
to really wish they would put Judging Amy on DVD. I loved that show!

Hey! It's Okay, Tuesday!

2011-11-22T21:24:00.001-05:00

It's okay...

MMmmmmm...Come to Momma...

to not like Thanksgiving food. I'm not a fan! (Except for pumpkin pie!)
to stay at home in your pajamas on Black Friday.
to go out and shop at 2AM on Black Friday - to each his own! I will be staying home. :)
to be very excited about putting up our tree. I can't wait to see Gracie's reaction to the lights!
to be thankful my daughter refers to Bratz dolls as "those bad dolls".

In Her Own Time

2011-11-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

I love giving (and getting!) books for Christmas. I believe you can never have too many books, especially when you are little! This year I've carefully selected books for the young ones on my list and hope they enjoy them. The book I've picked for Grace is one that I originally picked up at the library and fell in love with it.

Ruby in Her Own Time is about a duck that hatches late, doesn't like to eat and won't swim. Father duck worries that she'll never do these things, but Mother Duck assures him she will "in her own time." And she does!

It's a bit hard to find (I don't want a used copy, but also don't want to pay $40!) but I will find it. There are a few other Ruby books that may be added to our library as time goes by.

I'm sure I don't have to explain why I love this book for Grace. She has delays now, but she can and will do anything she wants....in her own time.

Something Beautiful

2011-11-07T21:28:00.000-05:00

Sweet, sweet girl.

I dare you to look at this and not smile!

My big girl.

Sister smooches.

Grace's favorite toys - her maracas that her physical therapist gave her.

These are just a few of the great pictures taken by Jeri Hoag. Grace wasn't an easy subject - her quirks with her eyes made it difficult I'm sure! But Jeri did an amazing job. Thank you! (And a super big thank you to the anonymous person who generously gifted this photo shoot to us! I hope God blesses you many times over!)

Hey! It's Okay/Not Okay Tuesday!

2011-11-01T09:07:00.000-04:00

Shaking things up a bit with this weeks list!

It's okay to dress up when you take your kids trick-or-treating. I didn't, but I wish I had. I have plenty of time to plan for next year! Suggestions?
It's NOT okay to dress your child like she just fell out of a whore house. I was amazed at the spaghetti straps, short skirts, and booty shorts I saw on young girls. When your daughter is 20, she can choose to dress up as a "sexy pirate". When she's 12, it is YOUR job to make sure she is dressed appropriately for the weather and for her age. It's just not okay and it makes me sad.
It's okay to prefer to watch Sponge Bob or Phineas and Ferb over any "grown-up" daytime shows.
It's okay to NOT give two snits about the upcoming Twilight movie.
It's okay to feel like you have to clean your house for the babysitter so she doesn't think your family is a bunch of slobs. {Got this one from a friend!}
It's NOT okay to pass along your Pinterest addiction. Sorry! :)

Sunday Super Mom Fail

2011-10-31T00:01:00.000-04:00

During the week I can pretty much keep a good routine. The house is never spotless, but it's presentable and I normally know what we're having for dinner by noon. But when the weekend comes, all that goes right out the window. By Sunday my house is a wreck and dinner is normally very late.

Tonight I had Riley try on his Halloween costume for the first time. He's going to be Luigi and since The Mario Brothers are a huge thing at our house, I was afraid he would never take it off if I let him try it on earlier. He excitedly puts it on and IT IS TOO SMALL. I convinced him to take it off and ran to Wal-Mart to try and exchange it. Of course they are all picked over and the only Mario related costume is Waluigi.

Not exactly the cute costume I'd hoped for.

I called home and got the "okay" from Riley to get Waluigi and was reminded that we hadn't had dinner yet. By now it's going on 8:00 - my kids bedtime! I picked up some frozen meals and headed for the customer service desk to make the costume exchange. Since I didn't have my receipt, they needed my driver's license. Which was in my wallet. In my car. Heading back out to the parking lot I realized I didn't drive my car, I drove my husbands! So I ran back to the customer service desk, told them I would just take the Luigi costume and headed home.

So my family got frozen dinners at 9 PM and my son will be wearing a tight Luigi costume for Halloween. And now you can feel better about the ways you messed up this weekend. :)

Tomorrow is a new day...

Rainy Days and Wednesdays (And Pinterest!)

2011-10-26T15:25:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling a little down today. I think the sleep deprivation and gloomy weather has finally gotten to me. I hate feeling like this and can't wait to snap out of it!

So what makes this grumpy girl smile? CRAFTS! I saw this idea on pinterest:

And loved it. So I whipped out an old cookie sheet, painted it turquoise and added a ribbon. Then I took my makeup (99% of it was free with coupons!) and stuck some magnets to the back of them. The end result...

It's cleared off my counters and it's so much easier to find the color I want. Pretty and functional!

Now excuse me while I go listen to the Carpenters and look wistfully out the window...

Your melancholy Mighty B

Hey! It's Okay Tuesday!

2011-10-25T22:23:00.000-04:00

It's Okay...

MMmmmmm....Come to Momma!

To not know what a cider doughnut is, but be certain I would love it.
To just throw the pajamas away when dealing with a diaper explosion.
To eat more Gerber puffs than the baby does.
To be annoyed that I can no longer buy books through my Kindle app. I do most of my reading in bed. If there is something new I want to read I don't want to run out to my laptop, buy it, then try and get cozy again.
To be thankful for Fall Break on Friday because it means I don't have to drag the kids out of the house to take Riley to school.

Do You Elf?

2011-10-24T21:43:00.000-04:00

I love finding new Christmas traditions for my family, but I'm a bit disturbed by one I've been seeing a lot of lately.

Hellllooooo

The Elf on the Shelf. I love the idea of it. The elf comes to your house to watch and make sure the kids are good, then reports back to Santa. Each morning, the kids can look for the elf in a different place. Some of the poses I've seen online are really pretty funny!

But I'm not to sure of his little smirk. Is he a scary elf that will come to life at night and kill me in my sleep? Or maybe a pervy elf who will hide and watch me undress? Will my kids like it? Or become paranoid that this thing is watching them?

I both love and hate the Elf on the Shelf. Do you have one?

Today...

2011-10-20T22:58:00.000-04:00

I have strep throat. Again.
The dog had me up at 5:30 so she could go investigate what was outside. (By the way, it was just the rain. Stupid dog.)
I busted the zipper on Riley's winter coat. It's not fixable.
I lost my car keys ("in the great big foam" - inside joke!) which caused us to be late dropping Riley off at school.
The cat puked in the dining room.
My sweater got caught on the door and now has a lovely hole ripped it in.
The trunk lid fell on my head when I was loading groceries. And then my kids got to hear mommy curse loudly in the Meijer parking lot.
Tried to pick up my coke from Wendy's to take a drink while driving and the lid popped off and I dumped coke in my lap. While still driving.
Something broke at work, so my poor husband hasn't gotten to come home yet. He's been at work for almost 16 hours.
My kids were like cracked-out monkeys all night because they were upset daddy wasn't home yet.
Oh yeah, I turned 31. :)

Not the best birthday I've ever had, but it certainly could be worse. I just kept laughing wondering what was going to be next (maybe that's a sign of maturity?) and singing this song in my head.

"This is the stuff you use to break me of impatience, conquer my frustrations. I've got a new appreciation. It's not the end of the world!"

Half-Time Show

2011-10-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Brenna LOVES to dance and is determined to be a ballerina one day. Riley is participating in a basketball camp this month and Brenna thought the crowd (about 20-30 parents and siblings) needed a little sideline entertainment.

What a performer. No idea where she gets that from. :)

What Gracie Sees

2011-10-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

Looking up is something new for Grace. Because of the pressure of the extra fluid in her brain and her low vision, she normally keeps her eyes downcast. Seeing her look up makes my heart sing.

Grace recently had her follow up with the opthamologist. We still don't know how much she can see, but the nystagmus (eye's shaking) and strabismus (eye crossing) is getting better. He asked if I think she is seeing better and I wasn't sure how to answer that. Sometimes I feel like she can absolutely see. Other times she won't look at something that's right in front of her. She seems to see better with her peripheral vision and when it's especially well lit, but tends to hold toys very close to her face often.

Grace looking at her ring. It's hard to know if she does this because she can see them better
this close or if this is just a quirk. She does this frequently.

So many things about Gracie's condition are "wait and see". Will she be able to see normally? Will she need to learn braille? Will she be able to attend school without special assistance? Will she run into things a lot when she starts crawling/walking? There is no guidebook on what to do when your child is visually impaired. No "What To Expect - The First Year with your VI Baby".

Maybe I should start writing one...

Happy Pin-Day!

2011-10-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

Pinterest is my new favorite way to waste time. I've gotten so many good ideas from there (Follow my boards here!) but was worried that I would never actually implement them. Thankfully I have friends who aren't afraid to call me out. :)

I actually tried the "Egg McMuffin in a Muffin Tin" idea. What it was suppose to look like was this:

I greased up my muffin tin, cracked in my eggs and it looked like this (I forgot to take a picture right away, so this was after like 30 seconds in the hot oven):

Not to bad, right? The "recipe" tells you to take a muffin, slap on the egg and cheese and you have yourself a sandwich. What they failed to mention is that the eggs DO NOT COME OUT OF THE MUFFIN TIN. And the yolk doesn't cook all the way so it looks weird.

The sandwiches were okay. The biggest downfall was in the middle you would get a bite that was only yolk *BLECH*. And I am still trying to scrub that egg out of my muffin tin. I'm seriously considering just pitching it and asking Santa for a new one.

I am considering the Muffin Tin Egg Muffins my first pinterest fail!

Hey! It's Okay Tuesday!

2011-10-11T11:51:00.000-04:00

It's Okay...

To forget why you put your kids in timeout....or forget that they are IN timeout.
To sign up for and be excited about Oprah's Life Class. She's just a little successful, she may be able to teach me a thing or two!
To feel like everyone else my age is grown-up and I'm just playing the part. I don't feel 30.
To not be strong enough. I know I'm not strong enough to be everything that I'm suppose to be.

You've Got a Friend in Me

2011-10-10T15:53:00.001-04:00

We dance a lot in our house. Here is Brenna and Riley dancing to the end credits of Toy Story 3. Riley was trying to dance like the aliens...Brenna was doing the flamenco. My favorite part is the full-on body roll at 37 seconds. Enjoy. :)

{Day 5} Never Ending

2011-10-05T23:05:00.002-04:00

Laundry has taken over my house. I've tried to keep up with a "two loads a day" routine, but what ends up happening is I wash and dry two loads, but they never get put away. I've decided to try dedicating two days a week to doing only laundry - and hopefully it will break me of my "Just leave it in the dryer" habit.

Maybe if my laundry room looked like this, I'd spend more time there?

My laundry days will be Tuesday and Friday since they are the days we normally have free. Yesterday I spent the morning doing laundry and was surprised at how quickly I got things done. But it's only been one day and the laundry basket in my bathroom is already overflowing. How do people do this? Or does my family just produce a ridiculous amount of laundry? Can I only do laundry two days a week and still have clean pants?

Only time will tell.

Hey! It's Okay Tuesday!

2011-10-04T23:16:00.001-04:00

Hey! It's Okay....

To be a woman and not like Dirty Dancing or Top Gun.

To hate Jersey Shore, but enjoy Jerseylicious.

To be so thankful that Amanda Knox and the hikers imprisoned in Iran are all free. And to be a little scared of ever leaving the country because of these incidents.

To think jeggings are ridiculous.

These are NOT pants. I repeat, these are NOT pants.

{Day 3} Smack That

2011-10-03T22:56:00.000-04:00

This video makes me laugh SO HARD. Enjoy :)

{Day 2} Stinky

2011-10-02T20:48:00.000-04:00

I've recently started working in Tiny Town, the nursery/toddler area at my church. I work with the one-year-old group and it's heartwarming, fun, exhausting and very busy. Today there were 16 little ones. About half way through the service something started to smell. A lot. As a mom, I knew that distinctive smell could only come from one thing. Poo. While another worker changed diapers, I tried to figure out who the pooper was so we could get him/her changed pronto.

Photo: Pinterest

So I spent my morning sniffing toddler butts to see who the culprit was (turns out there were 3 culprits!). It was quite a productive (pun intended!) morning!

31 Days of....What?

2011-10-01T22:06:00.001-04:00

A few of the blogs I follow kept mentioning this big blogger fest where everyone writes about their passion for 31 days. (It's going on at The Nester if you'd like to find out more!) The idea intrigues me. Sharing my passion for 31 days! But then I thought, what is my passion? My kids? Avoiding housework? Pillsbury Sweet Moments Cocoa Carmel Obsession brownies? I really have no idea. But I'm still going to try and participate. I'm not going to link up - because that would hold me accountable to actually posting every day in October. I'm not up for that kind of pressure! But I certainly am going to try.

31 Days of Crocheted Shorts?

Maybe I'll find my passion. Maybe I'll make you laugh. Maybe I'll just share a song or a picture of a dog in a Halloween costume (one of my most favorite things EVER.). Who knows. It should be ~~annoying~~, ~~boring~~, ~~crazy~~, exciting!

Can you handle 31 days of the B?

Couponing: Anatomy of a Bargain

2011-09-29T14:30:00.002-04:00

I've had a few people ask where I found my ridiculous deal on the Toy Story Operation game. Here's how it was done folks!

Big Lots had the game on sale for $5 last week. I also had a "$4 off any Operation game" coupon I had printed from Hasbro.com. Unfortunetly, Big Lots does not take coupons. But Wal-Mart does - and they price match! So I ran to the cash register at Wal-Mart with the game, a copy of the Big Lots ad and my coupon. A few scans and customer service maangers later (The cashier couldn't seem to believe that it was a legit transaction!) I got my game for a buck. And I'll have one happy 5 year old on Christmas morning!

I got this deal off of one of the many coupon websites I follow - so I can't take all the credit. I wish I remembered which one! Next time I see an awesome deal like this I'll pass it along instead of being all Gollum and hoarding the deals.

Hey! It's Okay Tuesday!

2011-09-27T12:15:00.002-04:00

It's Okay:

To get super excited over great coupon finds and do a happy dance in the aisle. (In case you were wondering, my happy dance looks like the dance she does at 2 min. 27 seconds. And my coupon deal was the Toy Story Operation game for $1 - regularly about $14!)

To have already started Christmas shopping. And maybe listening to Christmas music...
To give yourself a break. You will never be "caught up". There will always be dishes, laundry, etc. Breathe, relax, and do something you enjoy for once. (Now if only I could take my own advice...)
To love and respect your husband. There seems to be a trend of male bashing these days - specifically on commercials. It bothers me.

On that note, Happy 8th Anniversary to my husband Jeff! I'd marry you all over again. :)

Baby Celebrity

2011-09-21T22:07:00.001-04:00

The photographer at church snapped Gracie's picture while she was in the nursery and our Pastor used it in his blog today. I feel like she's a little baby celebrity! Read it here.

Hey, It's Okay Tuesday!

2011-09-20T20:24:00.001-04:00

It's Okay:

To feed your family dinner from a box every once in a while.

To not care that Chaz Bono is on Dancing With the Stars.

To think that the Missoni line from Target looks like crocheted afghans from the 70's. Ugly.

To let your kids watch SpongeBob and eat PopTarts. They will survive.

To be a TV Junkie. There are worse things to be addicted to. (Why hello Glee, The New Girl, Millionaire Matchmaker, Judging Amy reruns and every other delicious morsel of television goodness taking up space on my DVR.)

What's okay with you?

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

2011-09-19T22:08:00.001-04:00

What an amazing year. I can't wait to see how much you grow! Love you my sweet, squishy girl!

On This Day in 2010

2011-09-16T08:56:00.001-04:00

I really love Facebook's new feature that shows you what your status was the year before. On this day in 2010, my status was, "heading to the specialist TODAY instead of tomorrow. Expecting nothing but good news! (Prayers appreciated!)"

The day before this we had gotten an MRI to look at why our baby's ventricles were enlarged. We were told that it was probably a developmental issue. The tubing in her brain hadn't gotten big enough and everything would fix itself. And so that is what we expected. Jeff would take off of work, we would hear our baby is perfectly normal then have a great dinner at Chick-fil-A.

But it didn't turn out that way.

Instead we were ushered into a conference room. The doctor sat us down and handed us some papers. He started saying things like "severe brain bleed" and "blockage from blot clot" and I just kept thinking, "You've got the wrong people. That's not us. You are suppose to say it's perfectly fine."

The doctor told us there was nothing they could do until she was born, which needed to be as soon as possible. We went from having a perfectly normal baby around October 10th to having a baby with brain issues by c-section on September 18th. I was excited to get to meet Grace early. But mainly I was just scared. Jeff and I were both scared. And I remember sitting at Chick-fil-A and crying because this was all just too big for me.

There were two songs that brought me - and still bring me - a lot of comfort during those days. Whenever I hear these songs it takes me right back to that doctor's office, to being in my car running last minute errands before her arrival, to the restless night before her birth.

The first is "Your Hands" by JJ Heller.

The second is "No Matter What" by Kerrie Roberts

And of course this story has a happy ending. A very happy, squishy, giggly ending. More on that later...
What songs bring you comfort?

Hey, It's Okay Tuesday!

2011-09-13T08:25:00.000-04:00

{I found this over at Airing My Dirty Laundry and loved the idea. Here goes!}

It's Okay...

To wonder why there are always random socks laying around my house.

To love watching The Millionaire Matchmaker. Guilty pleasure!!

To obsess over finding the perfect planner. Digital ones don't do it for me, I need pen to paper. Most of them don't have enough space to write in or too much junk I won't need.

To prefer Dunkin' Donuts coffee over Starbucks.

Hydro 101 - Causes and Cures and Treatments, OH MY!

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

In Gracie's case, we know why she developed hydrocephalus. She suffered a severe brain bleed in utero and a blood clot from the bleed prevented the CSF from draining properly. Unfortunately, we have no idea what caused the brain bleed.

Some cases of hydrocephalus are caused by infection, some by trauma, but in many cases there is no known cause. Most cases (about 70%) are congenital, which means it is diagnosed before or shortly after birth.

There is no cure for hydrocephalus. There is no pill, exercise or magic wand to wave and make it all go away (trust me, I've prayed for one of those!) The only treatment for hydrocephalus is surgical - a shunt is surgically placed in the brain to help drain the fluid. There are three parts to a shunt - the catheter, the valve and the distal end. The catheter is a narrow tube enters the ventricle of the brain. The valve is usually placed outside of the skull (under the skin) and behind the ear. It's job is to control how much fluid is drawn from the brain. The distal end is a long tube that goes down the neck and into the area where the excess fluid will be absorbed.

Grace has an adjustable VP shunt. Since it's adjustable, her doctor can increase or decrease the flow with a magnet instead of having to do surgery. (It's a special, heavy duty magnet - fridge magnets won't affect it at all.) The "VP" refers to the part of the body where the excess fluid is drained. Gracie's distal end of her shunt leads into her abdomen, but in rare cases it can also be fed into the lungs or heart. Grace has a small scar on her belly where they had to adjust the placement of the tubing during her first surgery. If you feel above the scar, you can actually feel the tubing! You can also sometimes see the tubing in her neck if she turns just right, although that is getting harder now that she's getting chunkier.

The really bad thing about shunts is that they are not permanent. They can last 5 minutes or 50 years. In our case, Grace's first shunt lasted 7 months before it had to be replaced. Hopefully her new shunt lasts much, much longer.

Since there is no cure for hydrocephalus, Grace will need her shunt for the rest of her life. This treatment isn't just a one time thing - it's a constant, daily issue of watching for signs of malfunction. It's unexpected hospital stays. The possibility of major surgery looming over her sweet head regularly. Fear of her being hit in the head accidentally.

Grace had her shunt replaced in April and we are just now on the verge of getting the flow right. She's had 19 CT scans in her short life. The radiology department is on a first name basis with us and I have her neurosurgeon on speed dial.

I hate this for my daughter. I don't want this for the rest of her life. But these are the cards that we - and so many other families - have been dealt. I pray daily that they find a cure at some point in her lifetime.

Hydro 101 - What is Hydrocephalus?

2011-09-08T08:00:00.083-04:00

It has been almost a year since we were thrown into this whirlwind of having a child with hydrocephalus. I've certainly learned a lot and have found that there is a lot of confusion and misconceptions about the condition. Many people really have no idea what hydrocephalus really is. Let the Mighty B break it down for you a bit. :)

Hydrocephalus is the medical term for the condition commonly referred to as "water on the brain". The 'water' is cerebrospinal fluid (or CSF) and is produced in our brain, travels down and back up our spine, then coats the brain to nourish, cleanse, and protect it. CSF is then absorbed into our blood system and discarded by our body. In most cases with hydrocephalus, there is a blockage preventing the CSF from going on it's merry way. The CSF then backs up, enlarges the cavities in the brain (known as ventricles) and causes loads of problems.

I recently explained it to Riley in terms I knew he'd understand. Our brains are like sinks with the faucets constantly flowing. Gracie's sink got clogged and the water couldn't drain down properly. Dr. Yount (her neurosurgeon) is like Mario. He put new pipes in her brain to help drain the water.

So what causes hydrocephalus? Is there a cure? How is it treated? How does it affect the rest of the body? Stay tuned to learn more!

Hey! It's Okay Tuesday!

2011-09-06T12:32:00.002-04:00

{I found this over at Airing My Dirty Laundry and loved the idea. Here goes!}

It's okay:

To be super excited about a Tangled sequel. I really like that movie. Best. Day. EVER!

To want to curse at having to wake up early to get the boy off to school.

To wonder why my gray hairs want to stick out straight. The brown hairs are curly - CONFORM GRAY HAIRS! Be part of the group!

To do/hear/see something funny and think, "I need to post this on facebook!" It's like the "party line" my mom used to have back in the day, just much, much bigger.

To pray all the way to the elementary that you won't have to get out of the car because you didn't have time to change out of the XBOX boxer shorts you slept in. That has never happened to me. But someone I know. *ahem*

To support National Hydrocephalus Awareness month by wearing a light blue ribbon. There is so little research for this condition, so many unknowns, and so much ignorance in the public. If you'd like a ribbon, please email me at mightyb1020 (at) comcast (dot) net. Free of charge!

Give Her a Hand (Brace)!

2011-09-02T20:52:00.000-04:00

Last week we picked up Grace's new hand braces. Since Grace likes keeps her hand in a fist with her thumb tucked in, it's making it hard for her to learn to use her left hand. Her occupational therapist recommended we get two braces. The one in the picture above is her Benik brace. It has extra support on her wrist to give her a little help when we are working with her on putting weight on her arms. Her other brace is called a "joe cool" brace and just wraps around her thumb and upper palm. It's less restrictive and allows her to use her fingers more. She's suppose to wear it at night to keep her from tucking her thumb in.

She absolutely hates putting them on, but once they are on she'll wear them for a while. My clever little monkey has figured out how to get both of them off, so she wears them for periods of time throughout the day.

Hopefully with this extra help she'll be using her left side just as well as she does her right!

Fishing for Babies

2011-08-26T16:00:00.000-04:00

First Day of School

2011-08-17T18:33:00.000-04:00

Quit being silly and look at me!

Look at ME, not Spongebob.

I can't tell what your sign says...

Come back and let me take a good picture...please!

Forget it, let's just go. (At the school putting stuff in his locker!)

Despite the traumatic event of a little boy getting a bloody nose on the playground and the woman who was "not very nice" and wouldn't let him finish his lunch, it was a good day.

He thinks he'll go back tomorrow.

Problem Child

2011-08-11T21:49:00.000-04:00

Today Grace had another CT scan and follow-up appointment with her neurosurgeon. We are trying to make sure her shunt is at the right level for her little head, so it's taking a lot of follow up. Just a reminder, about three weeks ago I took Grace to the doctor because she wasn't acting right. We found out her shunt was over-draining and her ventricles had collapsed. Since the ventricles collapsed, the fluid was collecting on the outside of her brain by her skull. Her ventricles are recovering well, but the pockets of fluid outside her brain are not getting smaller. Normally they would be showing some signs of decrease. We can't leave the fluid on the outside of her brain because it will eventually calcify and take up space where her growing brain should go. But he also doesn't want to perform surgery unless he's completely confident we've exhausted all other options. This surgery would include drilling holes in her skull and he just doesn't want to put her through that and risk infection, etc. unless it's necessary. So we are giving it a bit more time and will go back in three weeks for another follow up. And of course we were given instructions to call if ANYTHING changes.

While he was considering all of our options, he tickled her and said, "Grace, you are a such cute little girl, but you are certainly a problem child!" :) Thankfully we've always had great outcomes, but it seems that Grace's little head doesn't always do exactly as it should.

Kicked back, snoozing at the park.

I am so grateful that Grace has such a kind, caring and experienced neurosurgeon. I know he cares about Grace and always, always looks out for what is best for her in the long run.

Please pray for Gracie's fluid to go down so she won't have to go through another surgery!

I Could Hide Out Under There

2011-08-10T22:16:00.000-04:00

I just made you say 'underwear'! (Thank you Barenaked Ladies for your wonderful lyrics!)

But seriously folks, stop for a moment and think about your underwear. Bras, panties and such. If you are anything like me, it's a sad, sad thought. I honestly can't remember the last time I purchased new 'underthings' for myself (besides the nursing bras I bought before Grace was born - NEARLY A YEAR AGO!).

Aluminum can underwear. OUCH! No thanks!

My friend Carmen has started a challenge - The Bra & Panties Challenge. She believes every woman should make herself a priority and be sure she has pretty, functioning underwear and bras (That fit!). I joined the challenge and splurged on some new undies from Victoria's Secret (Victoria doesn't make bras big enough to cover my Secrets, but that's a whole other blog post!) and let me tell you...it does put a little extra bounce in your step knowing you're wearing something pretty. I think she may be on to something...

You don't have to have a glamorous lifestyle to wear nice underwear. You don't have to look like a Victoria's Secret model to feel pretty. It's okay to want something nice for yourself!

New underwear makes your butt smile!

So are you woman enough to join the challenge? Pop on over to her blog and check it out!

12 panties, 12 bras, 12 months. Lets do this!

(Follow her blog to join in on the challenge.

I'm interested in knowing who else is spicing up the panties drawer!)

In the Right Direction

2011-08-02T23:05:00.000-04:00

Gracie had a follow-up CT scan today and things went well. Her ventricles are puffing up perfectly, but now fluid is pooling around her shunt again. It's not as bad as it was in May, but we have to watch it carefully and keep her sitting up as much as possible. Sally, the nurse practitioner extraordinaire, said they kind of expected it to do this. The fluid pools mostly when she is playing on her back. If it continues to do this she'll have to wear her fancy headband again until things even out.

We'll go back next week for another CT scan to make sure everything is still going in the right direction. Now it's kind of a game to see which level her shunt should be on. She is doing really, really well - getting such a silly personality. Here are some pictures I took tonight while she was playing (and cuddling!) with Riley.

Beauty Shop

2011-08-01T20:48:00.000-04:00

Brenna and I went to the "beauty shop" on Saturday and got her first official haircut. She did such a good job! I was thinking about cutting it into a cute bob, but once we got her up in the chair, I couldn't bear to see her hair all chopped off! So we just trimmed it up a bit.

I told her to smile and this is what I got. Goofball!

I also got my haircut. I was going for this look:

But once my hair was cut my curls got ultra tight and I look more like this:

Off to research ways to relax curls! Not sure I can pull off the "Jewfro"!

Manic Monday

2011-07-28T23:12:00.000-04:00

Over the past weekend, Grace was acting a little fussy. She would be really clingy one minute and just fine the next. We chalked it up to teething and went along our way. Monday morning was a different story. Grace was nearly inconsolable and had a high-pitched cry - almost like a scream. I still wanted to believe it was from teething, but I knew better. One of the signs her shunt is malfunctioning is a high-pitched scream. I called her neurosurgeon who had us come in that afternoon for a CT scan.

By the time we went to get her scan, she was her happy self again. I fully expected the doctor to confirm that it was just teething or other regular baby ailment. Instead we were told that her shunt was over draining, she had a bi-lateral bleed (her brain was bleeding on both sides), her ventricles had collapsed and that she would be admitted to the hospital. I was shocked and so thankful I listened to my gut and had called the doctor. Sally, the nurse practitioner we love, adjusted Grace's shunt to reduce the flow and we waited to be admitted. Since Grace has an adjustable shunt, all Sally has to do is hold an oblong contraption up to Grace's head, then twist a magnet near the shunt. Modern science!

Peek-A-Boo! I will not nap for you!

Twisted in two blankets and all her cords.

Jeff left work to get the older kids and be with us for a little while. Since the kids weren't allowed in the PICU, Jeff took them home and Grace and I settled in for the night. Her neurosurgeon came in to see us and told us that there was NOT a bleed (Thank the Lord!) but her ventricles had collapsed and it would take a while to resolve. He wanted Grace to stay at least one night to be sure that she didn't get sick from the adjustment in pressure in her brain. In the meantime, Grace was causing a ruckus singing, eating the cords and getting all twisted around in her bed. Around 9, I left to run home to grab some clothes and came back about two hours later to find out that Grace had thrown up all over a volunteer that was holding her. Afterwards she was completely fine and slept soundly for a few hours. About 6 AM, we went down for her second CT scan. Her neurosurgeon came in around 6:30 and said that everything looked the same, which is what was expected. He was comfortable sending her home as long as we watched her closely and called if anything changed. We made it home around 9:30 and surprised the rest of the family!

Nom. Nom. Nom.

She's thrown up a few times since being home, mostly after eating solid foods. She's very congested right now and the mucus has made her throw up in the past, so since there hasn't been any fever or change in temperament we're holding on and keeping in close contact with her neurosurgeon for the time being. She will go back for another CT scan and check up on Tuesday. She will also be fitted for her hand brace and have a second hearing test next week. So pray for all good results and lower gas prices! :-)

So glad to be home!

Mighty B Coupon 101: Finding Coupons

2011-07-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

If you are going to start saving using coupons, you first have to have the coupons. Duh, right? I find most of my coupons in the Sunday paper. We subscribe to two local papers for around $13 a month. Both papers normally have the same coupons, so I get two sets of each. This works out well because:

Two sets don't take long to organize
A lot of stores will only double two of the same coupon
Rarely do I need more than two of any item

I went through a period where I would not print coupons from the internet. I had heard that it costs more to print than they are worth and stores do not take them. I did a little research and with my printer, a Kodak 7250, it costs me $0.04 for the ink and paper to print one page of coupons. If I print out and use at least one coupon worth $1.00, I can print out another 24 pages of coupons and still break even. I'm very selective about what I print and I've never had a store give me any hassle about using printed coupons. The website I print from most is coupons.com.

There are "clipping" services you can purchase coupons from and you can even buy full coupon inserts from eBay. I have not done this, but know some people who have and have had success with it. You can also find fellow couponers and swap coupons. I belong to a facebook group of local couponers and have made some great swaps. You could also go all "Extreme Couponer" and dumpster dive. I'm only slightly tempted to visit the local recycling bins and see if anyone left their coupons behind, but I would never actually climb in the bins. Pick around the top maybe.

Where do you get your coupons? Any hot spots I missed? Will you send me YOUR coupon inserts? :)

State of Grace

2011-07-20T22:20:00.000-04:00

Grace:

Is rolling around everywhere. For the longest time she could roll to her side, from side to belly, and from belly to back but just wasn't putting it all together. She's got it now and is starting to explore her environment. It's funny to put her in one spot on the blanket and see where she ends up!

Likes to roll everywhere - even in her chair!

Has looked at me! She now looks right at you when you are talking to her. It's not quite consistent, so I don't know how much she's actually seeing. But having your baby look at you is a super, super thing! Her eyes still shake back and forth (Nystagmus) and her left eye still turns in (Strabismus). We saw her opthamologist in June and he advised us to continue patching her right eye and we will talk about possible surgery to correct the strabismus at her next appointment in October. Here is a video that I took today. It really shows her nystagmus and strabismus - this is pretty typical for her. It also shows little (POTTY TRAINED!) ballerina Brenna and my son singing the Bee Gees towards the end. He's NOTHING like me. Nope. No idea where he gets it. (I tried to be clever and get her whole body in the shot, but now I can't figure out how to rotate the video. So it looks like Gracie is amazing and can stand and dance on air.lol)

Has out grown her infant carrier. But doesn't sit up on her own yet. This is a problem since she can't sit up in grocery carts or high chairs at restaurants. I found the Hugga Bebe which is GREAT for restaurants, but doesn't work in grocery carts as she tends to fall over. Right now it's not too much of an issue and hopefully she'll be sitting soon. But until then I think we'll have to try the Hugga Bebe and blankets stuffed around her in the carts.
Double-Chin Grin

Jumpy-jump!
Has a perfectly working shunt. Everything is moving along as it should. We go back in September for another CAT scan and check-up. Just a routine thing for my little baby!
Bright Eyes!
Now has an occupational therapist added to her entourage. Sherrie will help Grace learn to use her left side more. Specifically use her left hand to hold objects. We see her occupational therapist twice a month and her physical therapist, Cynthia, once a week. It's both strange and nice having a "team" that just wants your daughter to succeed.
Giving me the ol' stink eye.

I recently heard Beth Moore say, "Blessed are you when what comes naturally to others comes supernaturally to you." In the midst of everything, it can be so easy to look at other kids and wish she was "normal". That she didn't have to work so hard to meet her milestones. But when she does get those milestones, it is so, so sweet. I'll take the miracle over the natural every day. (Watch this to get a better idea of what I mean.)

Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, "What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this." - Luke 1:66

The Great Debate

2011-07-20T14:07:00.001-04:00

I'm so done. And I felt super guilty about it.

With my other two kids, I breastfed until around 6 months and then it just got to be too much. I was working full-time, pumping was hard, etc. So when I got pregnant with Grace, I resolved to breastfeed as long as possible. A year! 18 months! 6 years! Okay, I never once considered six years, but my commitment was there. So around month 6 when we were still going strong I felt empowered. I am super mom hear me roar! And then it went on and on and on... Here we are at almost 10 months and I'm done. My supply has gone way down and frankly I'm just tired of it. So I took the plunge and decided to start weaning. But first I had to buy formula.

This was not an option, but I wish it was! Japan makes the cutest baby formula.

I would stand in the formula aisle and stare at all of the tubs trying to decide which one would be best. The Similac? The Gerber with it's coupons burning a hole in my binder? The Enfamil that mocks me with it's label reading "breast milk is best!" I would finally give up and march off emtpy handed. I was convinced that by giving Gracie formula, I was robbing her of the essential nutrients she needed to survive. Who knew what medical issues would be resolved with the power of my magical breast milk?!

(Please refrain from writing to me to tell me I'm ridiculous. Trust me, I know. I have the secret ability to give myself epic guilt trips and work myself into a frenzy of ridiculousness. It's one of the very few flaws I have *ahem* and I'm working on it.)

But I had to put my own feelings aside. I wasn't producing as much, so Grace wasn't getting enough from me. She wasn't learning to hold a bottle and for some babies that's no big deal. But for Grace, since she doesn't consistenly use her left hand, it's something I had to keep at the top of the list. By allowing her to use a bottle, it would help her learn to use a cup. And the thought of nursing AND pumping so we'd have enough for bottle feeding made me want to crawl into the corner and lie (lay?) in the fetal position until she was old enough for college. So after weighing the pros and cons and some simple straight talk from a friend (thanks Megan!) I knew I had to commit to weaning her. And we're all doing just fine with that.

*Update - I wrote this about two weeks ago and things have gone downhill from here. Grace is now REFUSING to drink formula. A nurse friend of mine laughed when I mentioned I was worried about not producing enough. Gracie's chubby leg rolls apparently mean everything is just fine. So we are kind of back to square one!*

Digging Out

2011-07-18T22:18:00.000-04:00

Princess Brenna before her party.

Lots of things going on here in Ruddville. Brenna turned 3 and has started potty training boot camp. (So far, so good...), Grace turned 10 months today, and Riley is preparing for kindergarten.

I'm just trying to keep up with everything! We had a family birthday party for Brenna Saturday and I'm still digging our house out from the shindig. I have lots of things to share - coupon tips, lots of pictures, a super update on Grace...but first I need to make sure we have clean towels. Hopefully I will be able to write it all soon!

Mommy's Sanity Savers (No, it's not booze.)

2011-07-12T20:49:00.000-04:00

One of the things I love about being a mom is that my kids love to be around me. One of the things that drives me batty about being a mom is that my kids love to be around me - meaning I cannot get anything else done. I've found some awesome *FREE!* resources to help entertain my kids when I need a mommy minute (and they are educational! win/win!) Here is what you need to check out:

Our absolute favorite resource is Zoodles. It's an "educational online experience" that allows kids to watch videos and play games at their favorite websites. It combines websites like Nick Jr., American Girl, PBS Kids, and more so your child doesn't have to skip around from website to website to find what they want. Your child is blocked from going to any other website by their crazy clicking and there is even an option that allows you to block ads (there is a small fee for the upgrade). Each week I get an email telling me which games my child played and how long they spent. The kids are always asking to play Zoodles and the big blue "Z" icon on my desktop makes it easy for them to find. LOVE IT!
Starfall is pretty new to us, but it's great so far. It's described on the site as a "free public service to teach children to read with phonics". They have options that are basic preschool lessons (learning letter recognition) and go all the way up to stories your child can read on their own. They also have tons of free printable worksheets in case you don't want your child hogging the computer.
I stumbled on 1+1+1=1 when I was searching for decoration ideas for a Toy Story party. After seeing all of the super-cute options and realizing that they are FREE, my mind was sufficiently blown. I can't wait until the ballerina and dog packs are available. You know...for the kids. *Ahem*
I have picked up copies of The Mailbox magazine from the library and thought they were so neat. They definitely appeal to the teacher inside me. So when I checked out their website I was thrilled to find a section called My Mailbox where you can register (for free!) and find loads and loads of printable resources. I found cartoon suns that were meant for bulletin board decorations, typed my kids names on them and had them color them. They thought it was awesome and the suns are now taped to their bedroom doors. I'm sure we'll do a different one for the fall!

I'll be sure to share more that I come across. Do you have any kid-friendly distractions you go to when needed?

Mighty B's Couponing 101

2011-07-10T22:08:00.000-04:00

I love the TLC show Extreme Couponing. It's completely unrealistic (even the supermarkets are coming out and saying they bend their coupon policies for the sake of the show) but the idea of going to the store and getting carts full of products for free is intoxicating to a ~~cheap~~ frugal mom like me. So at the beginning of May I started clipping and in just a short period of time I've managed to get us a nice stockpile of toiletries and cleaners. Hopefully soon I'll be able to start the food stockpile.

So how do I do it? The hardwork is already done for me by several couponing websites. My favorites are The Krazy Coupon Lady and Faithful Provisions, but there are tons more. Each week they matchup the coupons to the sale ads and tell me exactly what to do. But there is some leg work on my part. We subscribe to two newspapers (Sunday only!) and I clip every single coupon in the inserts. They go into my couponing binder, I make my shopping lists, pull out the coupons I need, sort them into envelopes by store and shop away! It's a lot of work. And while it certainly isn't hard, it does take a lot of time. But as a stay-at-home mom, I consider saving on our grocery budget part of my 'job'.

Interested in hearing more? I hope so! Cause I'm excited to share with you. I am in no way a couponing expert. I'm learning as I go. But I'm finding that so many people aren't taking advantage of coupons each week! Hopefully, I'll help some of you realize that a little work and planning can save you quite a bit! You'll get to learn from my mistakes and hear what works for me and what doesn't. And learn that saving can be easy-peasy lemon squeezy.

So Big

2011-07-07T21:57:00.000-04:00

When did she get this big? And how do I make it stop?

Enchanted Gardens

2011-07-06T23:38:00.000-04:00

One of our favorite (and free!) things to do is visit the petting zoo at Linton's Enchanted Gardens.

It's just minutes from our house and the kids love it.

We stopped by today for a few minutes to say "Hi" to the animals.

Brenna and Riley going to see Chocolate the Goat.

Riley with his miniature pony and donkey friends.

Riley feeding the donkey and pony.

Tom Turkey

One of the cute houses at Linton's.

Another cute building.

Feeding the goats.

Grace was not amused and found closely examining her fingers to be more entertaining.

Grace, Not Karma Part 2

2011-06-22T16:09:00.000-04:00

Last night after Grace was in bed, I snuck out to do a little "couponing". It's my new ~~obsession~~ hobby and maybe I'll go into more detail in another post. At the store, I found my items and headed to the check out. My dear, sweet friend (SARCASM!) Elizabeth was waiting for me. My first thought was, "Great. I just wanted a little "me" time and now I get to deal with Mrs. Grumpfish." But then I remembered Grace, Not Karma and repeated it to myself several times. And then I called her by name and asked how she was.

I found out a lot about Elizabeth last night - more than I would probably tell a stranger, but she felt comfortable enough to share. She was getting flack from a co-worker for taking the day off to attend her daughter's wedding last weekend. She gets paid on Wednesday, but is a month and a half behind on her rent. She told me that the body wash I wanted was out of stock, but will be on the truck on Thursday and she just happens to work that night. I told her I would try to make it in that night and would be sure to buy a candy bar from her. (They have a candy contest everyday to see who sells the most. I don't know what they win, but it seems important to her.)

I think she just wants someone to acknowledge that she is a person. She wanted to be seen.

Jon Acuff wrote a post about a similar situation he was in - I strongly encourage you to click over! (And while you are there, check out the rest of his posts. He's funny and poignant and I love his blog!)

My new mantra: Grace, Not Karma. Grace, Not Karma. Grace, Not Karma.

Knowing Me, Knowing You June 2011

2011-06-18T00:46:00.000-04:00

knowing me, knowing you - june 2011

1. What's you're favourite kind of chips?

You really can't eat just one!

I'm not a big chip person. I prefer my empty calories to be sweet and covered in chocolate. But I suppose my favorite would be good old fashion Lay's.

2. Have you read Gone With the Wind?

UGH. I've tried. I just couldn't force myself to do it. Most of the time, books are way better than the movie version. I've found the opposite is true with this book and anything by Jane Austen.

Well, hello Mr. Darcy!

3. Do you sleep on your front, back or side?

Always on my left side.

4. Do you own a pair of white pants, shorts or capris?

I own a pair of white capris that I like, but don't think anything looks right with them.
*True story! I once dumped a bottle of chocolate milk on said white capris. After soaking them in hot water and OxyClean - they were white again! Yay OxyClean!*

5. On any given day would you rather wear heels or flipflops?

FLIP FLOPS. Heels are the devil's footwear.

Linking this to Fairy Blogmother's KMKY!

Grace, Not Karma

2011-06-16T09:32:00.000-04:00

Dear Doris and Elizabeth,

You are the thorns in my rose garden of deals, the burnt chips in my bag of bargains, the poo in my swimming pool of savings. As cashiers at my favorite coupon stomping grounds, we've had many interactions - none of them pleasant. You are both rude, unhelpful and act like my coupon use is a direct attack against you and your job.

No...More.....COUPONS!!!!

But this week I noticed something. You get talked down to a lot yourself. People aren't very nice to you and really let you know when you mess up. So instead of being rude to you, I will try to be kinder than necessary. To paraphrase my friend Myra, I will respond with grace, not karma. Who knows, maybe you'll even start being nicer to me.

Thanks,
The Curly-Haired Girl Just Trying To Save a Buck

Do You See What I See?

2011-06-10T08:15:00.000-04:00

We've known for a while now that Grace has vision issues. She started seeing a pediatric opthamologist when she was about five months old. At that time, we were told that she had significant nerve damage from the fluid pressure in her brain. We know that Grace can see. She can tell light from dark and can see big objects. Since her condition (optic nerve atrophy) affects the way the images are sent to her brain and not the way she actually sees them, glasses will not help.

We recently met with a representative from the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to get more information on how to help Grace. Annie is a very quirky and kind woman who has a passion for helping visually impaired children. Her visit was incredibly educational. We talked about Grace reading with braille and having to have a special helper in her classrooms to help the teacher adapt to Grace's vision problems. She may need an Orientation and Mobility therapist to help her learn how to navigate safely using her other senses. I don't want these things for my daughter, but I'm trying to remember to focus on what Grace can do instead of what she may not be able to do.

So how do you parent a child with a visual impairment? Will I have to learn braille? Will she be able to drive someday? I don't know the answers to these questions. Until then, we take it day by day and celebrate every small step forward.

Bird is the Word

2011-06-07T08:34:00.001-04:00

I went to fire up the grill last week and I'm glad I opened it up first. This is what I found:

A huge nest with four tiny blue eggs!
(Update - I just looked again and there are now six eggs! And they are getting bigger!)

Looks like we will not be doing any grilling this year!

Best Day Ever

2011-05-31T18:00:00.000-04:00

(The inferior original version)

SpongeBob SquarePants
Tags: SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes,SpongeBob SquarePants,SpongeBob SquarePants Games

knowing me, knowing you

2011-05-29T23:37:00.000-04:00

I saw this on Merry's blog and loved it! So I'm going to participate and link up at The Fairy Blogmother. You should too! Here goes...

Does this mustard make me look fat?

1. What was your wedding song?

It's Your Love by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. Possibly one of the most overused wedding songs, but it's so sweet!

2. If you could guest star on any TV show which one would you pick?

GLEE! I would be Kurt's super cool, hip aunt. Mr. Schu, Finn and Puck would all fall madly in love with me. I would have to publicly break their hearts on Brittany's internet show "Fondue for Two" by announcing that I was running away with Dr. Carl.

Not that I've thought about it or anything. *ahem*

3. What is your favorite children's book?

Growing up, I loved the Ramona Quimby books. I also read all of the Babysitter's Club and was so proud that I could write just like Stacey. Now my favorite book to read with the kids is "Wiggle" by Doreen Cronin.

4. Did you watch the Royal Wedding?

I watched the kiss on the balcony. So sweet - Kate was so beautiful!

5. What is your favourite thing to have off the barbecue?

I LOVE BBQ food! My favorite is probably burnt hot dogs slathered in mustard. Mmmmmmm...

(This was fun!)

Tee Ball Love

2011-05-24T23:23:00.000-04:00

Captured this moment tonight at Riley's tee ball game. Turn up your sound! (I don't remember hearing that buzzing noise during the game, but we sat with a friend who has a very active baby. I'm guessing it was her.)

I Love You, Chick-Fil-A

2011-05-23T23:26:00.000-04:00

Tuesday after Gracie's procedure, we decided to celebrate with dinner at Chick-Fil-A. I had a migraine all day and my throat was really starting to hurt (strep throat kicking in full force) but I LOVE Chick-Fil-A and couldn't bear the idea of not stopping. The instant we walked in it was like all Hell broke loose. People were EVERYWHERE. Clowns making balloon animals. Kids running around with no shoes on. People from Lowe's doing crafts with lots and lots of tiny hammers. Do you know what doesn't help when you have a migraine? KIDS POUNDING LOTS AND LOTS OF TINY HAMMERS.

You keep pounding that hammer sweetie and I'm going to knock you into next week.

We had stumbled into Family Night. Yippee. And that's when my mood when from semi-crappy to "Look at me again and I will stab you with this straw". I couldn't eat my favorite foods or drink their ~~sweet nectar of life~~ lemonade because of the demons stabbing me in the throat. Grace was crying, Riley and Brenna were going crazy because they wanted a balloon animal from Creepy the Clown and the laser beams I was trying to shoot from my eyes to shut everyone up weren't working. So since I couldn't eat anyway, I stood in line and waited patiently for balloon animals for the kids. The clown was nice enough to notice the screaming baby and stabby look on my face and let me cut to the front. (To the little boy who complained that he was next to get his monkey - you may have been next in line, but I'm an adult and you pick your nose. Life's not fair Boogers.)

All in all it was disappointing, gross, loud and probably the worst dining experience ever. And we'll probably go back next family night. What can I say? Kids eat free and I'm a sucker for the lemonade.

(p.s. after coming home and downing a ton of ibuprofen, I got to eat the best chicken salad sandwich known to mankind. God Bless Chick-Fil-A.)

Becoming a Hermit

2011-05-23T00:19:00.002-04:00

Last week was very busy for my family! We're home-bodies, so being out and about so much was a little jarring for us. Looking forward to it slowing down just a bit for a while!

Don't bother me. Mommy's resting.

Wednesday was a whirl-wind and pretty emotional day. I had to go to the doctor's office in the morning and was diagnosed with strep throat. It was Riley's last day of preschool, so after my appointment we went to his class picnic. That was fun, but I spent a lot of it on the phone with the neurosurgeon's office. The area around Gracie's shunt was filling up with fluid again very quickly. It was very scary. After a few suggestions from the neurosurgeon, we got the fluid to go back down and made an appointment for Friday to have her seen again.

The appointment with the surgeon went well. We have to keep Gracie's head elevated above her body as much as possible and keep her headband on for another week. We go back next week to hopefully be able to take the band off!

She's been a little fussy these past few days. It's so hard to tell if it's her head bothering her or if she's teething. I think it's both! I'm so ready for her to feel 'normal' - but I suppose that's a relative term now.

I have so much more to talk about - a meeting with the School for the Blind, Riley's Preschool Graduation, Chick-Fil-A Family night with a migraine...and I know you can't wait to read it all. :) The suspense is maddening!

Refreshed

2011-05-18T21:51:00.001-04:00

It's been a long, rough day so this will be short. (In fact I'm writing this in my bed on my phone. Yay for technology!)
I get morning devotional texts from our local radio station Pulse FM. Tonight I got a text that just said, "God is in control." I normally get them in the morning, but I don't think it was any accident that I got it tonight instead. He knows how hard this is. He knows how I want to fix everything. He knows that I don't feel strong enough. He was reminding me that he's got this. He's writing Gracie's story and has amazing things planned for her, better than I could ever imagine. I just need to let go of MY plan for her.
Suddenly my day doesn't seem so rough after all.
More tomorrow - I promise :)

Somewhere Between Rambo and Olivia Newton John

2011-05-18T05:43:00.000-04:00

Grace's procedure went really well yesterday. Dr. Yount (her neurosurgeon) injected dye into each part of her shunt and they are all working correctly. So she does not need surgery! He believes the "problem" is with the small hole in her skull where the shunt enters her ventricle. It's not wanting to close up, so fluid is escaping out the hole and pooling around her shunt. She'll have to wear a headband for about two weeks to keep pressure on the area to help prevent the fluid from coming out of the hole so it can close up.

During the procedure, Dr. Yount closed the door and had us wait in the seating area just outside. When everything began, we could hear Grace start crying pretty hard. Riley was so concerned, he laid down and tried to peek under the door to let Grace know he was there. Brenna started singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" (Gracie's favorite song) loudly to make sure she could hear her. Knowing your kids care so much about each other certainly does a mom's heart good. :)

I wanna get physical, physical.

At first, she HATED the headband and would scratch at it and just cry. But I think she's getting used to her new accessory. She'll go back to the neurosurgeon early next week for a follow up.

The nurse practitioner that works with Dr. Yount used to work in the NICU. She was in the unit when Grace was born and now takes extra special care of Grace through all of her procedures with Dr. Yount. We've always had such caring and compassionate medical professionals caring for Grace, but I am especially thankful for Sally. It is much easier to hand your baby over to be poked and prodded when you know that someone is there that genuinely cares about her.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. We know God has had his hand in every step of Grace's journey.

Denial Is A River in Egypt...

2011-05-17T14:19:00.000-04:00

I should be getting ready to take Grace to the hospital. But I have two hours before I need to leave and maybe if I keep putting it off, pretending we don't have to go - everything will just disappear! Like some procrastination magic.
(In case you don't know, we are going today to have a "tap and dye" - they will inject dye into her shunt to see if there is a blockage/malfunction. If there is, she will be admitted to the hospital tonight and have another revision tomorrow. Basically we are re-living last month all over again.)

But you get to benefit from my procrastination! Lucky, lucky you.

Pros and Cons of another hospital stay:

Pro - I'll get to watch Glee fairly uninterrupted tonight.
Con - Hospital cable really leaves a lot to be desired late at night.

Pro - I'll get to sleep in a bed all by myself.
Con - That bed is a very uncomfortable recliner.

Pro - All of my meals will be brought to me and I won't have to do dishes!
Con - It's hard to get excited about hospital food.

Pro - I'll finally get some peace and quiet.
Con - It will be too quiet and I'll miss my family like crazy.

Pro - I'll get some time to with just Gracie!
Con - She'll be hooked up to things and the wires will make cuddling difficult.

Okay, I can't procrastinate any longer. I'll try to post something as soon as we know what is going on! (And hopefully it will be from my own noisy, cluttered house instead of the hospital!)

Ready, Not Ready

2011-05-15T22:36:00.001-04:00

I am ready for Riley to be challenged by kindergarten.
I am not ready for my baby boy to start kindergarten.

I am ready to get a start on my day before the kids get up.
I am not ready to leave my cozy bed at 6AM.

I am ready to manage my family's finances better.
I am not ready to stop trolling the web for cute toddler dresses.

I am ready to burn my nursing bras.
I am not ready to stop having those quiet moments in the middle of the night when it's just me and Grace.

I am ready for Brenna to be potty trained.
I am not ready...no, actually I'm just totally ready for that!

Trying To Let Tomorrow Worry About Itself

2011-05-11T16:18:00.000-04:00

I am so in love with those gummy smiles!

Every time I see them, I just want to eat those chunky thighs.

The area around Gracie's shunt is still spongy and is actually looking a bit bigger (You can see the big bump on the side of her head in the above picture). We go back to the neurosurgeon tomorrow to check it. I'm preparing myself for her to have her shunt tapped. I really hope that this does not lead to another shunt revision so soon, but my husband and I are getting ready to spend another weekend in the hospital just in case.

In the morning before Gracie's appointment I will be taking Riley for his kindergarten physical. Can he possibly be this old??

It will be a busy day full of anxiety and needles. Send a few positive thoughts my way, will ya? Thanks. :-)

Girls Can Be Superheroes

2011-05-10T21:41:00.000-04:00

photo courtesy of mikiep - very talented artist on etsy.com

Today I picked my son up from preschool and he had on the cutest superhero mask. They had made them in class, decorating them with stickers of various cartoon superheroes. When I asked if everyone made one he said, "No. The girls made some girly thing with ribbons. They can't be superheroes."

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.

He's five, so I don't know exactly what was said in class. I'm sure that it was not specifically said that "girls cannot be superheroes". But the boys made superhero masks and the girls made something frilly. I am okay with girls wanting to be princesses. I think every girl wants to feel pretty and regal and twirl around in gowns. But why not give them the option to be either a superhero or a princess? Or both?

I'm sure I'm making too much of this. I tend to do that. But I worry about my girls. I worry because they'll grow up in a society where padded bikini tops are marketed to preteens. Where a nine year old worries about the size of her thighs. Where it's more important to be good looking than to be a good person. I don't want anyone telling them they can't be a superhero. That they shouldn't be smart or speak their mind. That they have to fit a certain mold to be beautiful.

To quote Jon Acuff:

I want to send my kids into the world so full of love that the world won't be able to empty them.

Gracie's Shunt Revision Update

2011-04-29T23:23:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow will mark two weeks since Grace had her shunt revision so I thought I'd better post an update! Grace's surgery went really well. The doctor replaced her shunt and catheter, but didn't have to replace the tubing that went into her abdomen so she didn't need any incision on her belly. This shunt is bigger and it sticks out quite a bit more on her poor little head. But it could potentially last the rest of her life and she'll grow into it! For now we are investing in some (large) hats.


The dark line to the left of her stitches is just leftover adhesive from her bandage. That stuff WILL NOT come off!

You can sort of see from this angle how much it sticks out from her head.

We went to the neurosurgeon this past week to have her stitches removed. The nurse practitioner removed the stitches and noticed the skin felt "spongy", so she had the surgeon come in and check it. He took one glance and said, "She's leaking spinal fluid." (It always amazes me how he can just look or touch her head and know what's going on. But he's been doing this for nearly 30 years!) Apparently the hole where the catheter was placed hasn't closed up yet. To try and explain it a little better, Grace has a small hole in her head that allows the catheter to enter her ventricle (brain). The catheter works kind of like a straw and pulls the fluid out of the ventricle into the valve (the straight incision right behind her ear) and down the tubing into her abdomen. The hole where the "straw" is hasn't closed up yet, so the fluid is choosing the path of least resistance and coming out of that hole and pooling around the shunt. What we are hoping for is that the hole closes and everything works as it should. What could happen is that the hole doesn't close or this means part of the shunt isn't working. We go back in two weeks to have it looked at again. If it isn't better, the surgeon will have to "tap" the shunt (stick a needle into the area, withdraw fluid and test the pressure) to see if the shunt is working properly. Please pray that everything works correctly! Anytime they have to introduce a needle into her, it can bring the risk of infection.

Other than this potential setback, she is doing so well. She's laughing, smiling and interacting with us like she hadn't before. Here she is giggling at the way Riley's head feels. Silly kids.

The Problems You Create

2011-04-28T21:23:00.000-04:00

I recently made a mistake. Shocking I know. But it was a pretty big one. I don't want to tell you what it was because it's embarrassing and it's sort of a taboo topic. Let's just say it may have involved my bank account, my bad math skills and my love of dresses in size 3T.

Darn you irresistibly cute dress!

This made things inconvenient, but wasn't really all that big of a deal. If a friend had told me that she made this mistake it certainly wouldn't change the way I thought about her. We are human and we all make mistakes. But unfortunately here is what went through my head:

What an idiot. How could you be this stupid? You are awful with money. You always will be. Hopeless. Irresponsible. Stupid.

Ouch. I would never talk to anyone this way, why do I think it's okay to tell these things to myself? But I do it everyday. And I think you probably do too. So let's make a promise. Let's promise to be kinder to ourselves and show ourselves the kind of forgiveness we would show others. Pinky swear?

Because you are more than the choices that you've made. You are more than the sum of your past mistakes. You are more than the problems you create.

Why I Hate Penguins

2011-04-22T09:44:00.000-04:00

Some might think that penguins are cute, but I think they are evil birds wearing tuxedos stitched by the devil himself. Bud Light forever ruined penguins for me with their 1990's ad campaign. These commercials give me nightmares to this day!

Creepy!

Okay, well they can be a little cute...

Book Review - Max on Life

2011-04-19T22:16:00.000-04:00

We have questions. Child-like inquiries. And deep, heavy ones.
In more than twenty-five years of writing and ministry, Max Lucado has been the receiving line for thousands of such questions. The questions come in letters, e-mails, even on Dunkin Donuts napkins. In Max on Life he offers thoughtful answers to more than 150 of the most pressing questions on topics ranging from hope to hurt, from home to the hereafter.
Max writes about the role of prayer, the purpose of pain, and the reason for our ultimate hope. He responds to the day-to-day questions—parenting quandaries, financial challenges, difficult relationships—as well as to the profound: Is God really listening?
Including topical and scriptural indexes and filled with classic Lucado encouragement and insight, Max on Life will quickly become a favorite resource for pastors and ministry leaders as well as new and mature believers.
Review:
In Max on Life, Max Lucado delivers Biblical answers to hard-hitting questions. These questions are not ones that he has come up with, but ones that real people have asked him. Real, searching people with honest questions. They can be very simple and also very profound. Max answers all of them Biblical and most of his answers, if not all, include a Bible verse. He goes through just about everything in life: hope, hurt, help, him/her, home, haves/have-nots, and the hereafter. A lot of the questions are hard ones that have importance. If you’ve got questions about life, Max on Life can be a valuable resource, a resource that will point you to the One who knows everything and His Word: God and the Bible. Prayer and Scripture reading are the best places to find wisdom. It’s a great book!

I was given a free digital copy of this book by BookSneeze in exchange for my review. The opinion is my own!

That's Not My Name

2011-04-15T11:33:00.000-04:00

The kids were outside playing and Riley yelled, "Robin!" and started chasing after the birds. Brenna, close on his heels, yelled, "No! I'm Brenna!"

Why I Love My Job

2011-04-14T23:47:00.000-04:00

Today Riley asked me, "Do you like being a mommy?" I answered, "I love being a mommy." His reply was "Why? You have to do so much work!" Amen, brother. Amen.

I'm sure I'm mostly preaching to the choir when I say being a mom is a lot of work. It can be frustrating, hard, mind-boggling and sometimes just plain gross (who else cleans up all the boogers, poop and vomit?). I can spend day after day doing the exact same things over and over and still feel like I've accomplished nothing. Some days no one listens, every one's crabby and I'd like to just run away with the circus.

But...

There are the sleepy smiles first thing in the morning. The polite requests for more "hocklate milk". The dance parties. The smooches. Hearing them say, "please" and "thank you" without being prompted. The excitement over things like bubbles and going down the slide. The smell of baby lotion. And a gazillion other benefits.

When I watch Riley become so independent, Brenna do "ballet", or rock Gracie to sleep I think, "Please don't ever let me forget what this feels like." Because I love my job.

I'm linking this up to "Why I..." At Vanderbilt Wife. :-)

To Make A Short Story Long

2011-04-13T23:15:00.000-04:00

Each time something has happened with Grace, I am overwhelmed and humbled by the prayers, love and support that pours out from our friends, family and even complete strangers. I hope that I can be the same comfort to others when they need it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

There may be some people who don't know what happened with Gracie and why she needs the attention she does. So I thought I'd start at the very beginning ("A very good place to start.." name that movie!). So here's the story...

Cutest. Baby. Ever.

I was having a routine ultrasound during my last trimester when a problem was discovered with Grace's brain. We were referred to a specialist, had another ultrasound and the problem was still there. For some reason, the ventricles in her brain were enlarged. On September 15th, I had an MRI to get a better look at her brain. On September 16th, we went into the specialist's office expecting to hear that the MRI showed nothing and it had all been a fluke. Instead we heard that our unborn baby had a severe brain bleed and would need to be born via c-section very soon to minimize the damage to her brain. On September 18, we welcomed our sweet Grace Elisabeth into the world - four weeks earlier than her original due date. We saw her briefly before she was whisked away to the NICU.

Over the eleven days Grace spent in the NICU, we learned that she had a stroke around the sixth or seventh month of my pregnancy. A stroke in utero can be caused by an infection, a serious injury (the example we were given was a baseball bat to the stomach!) or a genetic issue. Since I hadn't had an infection or injury and there was nothing found in our genetic testing, we don't know what caused her stroke. Blood clots from the stroke prevented the cerebrospinal fluid from draining properly and she was diagnosed with congenital hydrocephalus. Grace had a shunt placed at four days old to drain the excess fluid from her brain into her abdomen where her organs absorb it.

Gracie with her patch, hanging with Hello Kitty

We were told that Grace should not have any type of mental delays, but to expect developmental delays and possible weakness on her left side. She does have some developmental delays and rarely uses her left arm/hand. She has optic nerve damage from the pressure in her brain, but we won't know how much her vision is impaired until she's 2 or 3 and can tell us what she can see. At this point we think her vision will be her biggest obstacle and the main cause of a lot of her developmental delays. (Most babies learn to roll because they see a toy they want to play with, if she can't see the toy - she has no incentive!)

Grace keeps her hand in a tight fist with her thumb tucked in between her little fingers most of the time.

We learned on Tuesday that her shunt has malfunctioned and will need to be repaired or replaced. She goes in Saturday at 2:50. The neurosurgeon will inject dye into her shunt to see where the blockage/malfunction is then perform the surgery to repair. She will definitely have an incision on her head (and have her poor little head shaved again!) and possible have an incision in her abdomen if the tubing needs replaced. She will be in the hospital for about two days.

If you are still hanging with me, thank you for reading our journey so far! I will post updates about Grace as we know more. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Worn Out

2011-04-12T22:19:00.000-04:00

It was a bittersweet day. A long day. An emotional day, in both good and bad ways. This morning we found out Gracie's shunt is not working properly and she will need surgery. We knew this was likely. We were told to expect it. But I'm not sure anything prepares you for finding out that your tiny, baby daughter will have a major surgery. AGAIN. I just want to wave some magic wand and have all of this go away. I want her to feel good all the time and roll over and sit up and do all of the things seven (!) month old babies do. I have so much more to say on this. But I can't seem to form my words right now.

On the other hand, today was Kindergarten Round Up. Wow. Can it be possible Riley is old enough for kindergarten? He was a little nervous at first because he didn't know anyone. But soon after we sat down in the school's gymnasium he spotted two of his friends from preschool. And met a new friend. And now I'm pretty sure my son and his buddies have a reputation with the teachers before school has even started. Once he was with his friends, it was like he was a new boy. I was so proud of him when he marched down the bleachers to head off with the teacher - not scared at all, just ready for a new adventure.

Oh! And his new friend? His mom just happens to be the nurse that took care of Gracie while she was in the NICU. We had no idea we lived just down the road from each other. Small, small world.

Tonight I'm going to count my many blessings and head to bed.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28

Lord of the Dance

2011-04-07T21:23:00.000-04:00

Move over Michael Flatley, there's a new River Dancer in town.

March Madness

2011-04-05T23:12:00.000-04:00

Today I was standing in front of the trash can holding Grace and she threw up. Some of it went on my shirt, but a good part of it went directly into the trash can.

Two points for Grace, mom with the assist.

Not On The List

2011-03-31T14:56:00.000-04:00

Riley has had a bit of an issue with saying inappropriate things lately. Not necessarily bad, but potentially hurtful things. We expected this since he's five and has no real filter on his mouth yet. So I decided to be proactive and work on it with him. I found this program called the Character Crew that helps you discuss and develop good moral character in your kids. So we're giving it a whirl. The first one is on respect. I printed out the cute little sheet that goes over what respect is and has a list of examples of respectful actions.

Fast forward to today when Riley is teasing his sister for the 11,000 time.

Me: "Riley, do you remember that stuff we went over yesterday about respect? Do you think you are being very respectful to your sister right now?"

Riley: "But mom, that wasn't on the list."

Ugh.

Gracie

2011-03-28T10:10:00.001-04:00

Scrapbooking Ideas Photo Tinks by WiddlyTinks.com

Mom Insurance and kind of a menu

2011-03-27T15:22:00.000-04:00

You know how Aflac pays for expenses if you are injured? Like lawn care, housekeeping and such if you can't do that yourself? I think there should totally be mom insurance to provide help with the laundry and dishes when mom's are sick. I'm trying to at least do a little bit so it doesn't overrun our house, but switching laundry from the washer to the dryer and loading the dishwasher is like running a marathon and I need a nap between loads. Of course if someone did come to clean my house, I'd have to clean it first so they didn't think I'm a total slob. Maybe it could just provide someone to entertain my kids so I could just lay in bed, moan about how crappy I feel and watch "Downton Abbey" over and over again. (it's a period drama that was on PBS and I'm obsessed with it. Don't judge.)But the endless amount of cartoons on Netflix seems to be working for now and as long as I throw food at them occasionally they're happy. Kidding of course. I don't throw food AT them. Just in their general vicinity.

Speaking of food, my menu for this week is this: whatever you can pull out of the fridge, pantry, and/or freezer and microwave. Thankfully I have a few things I've made and then frozen, so we wont be surviving on just cereal and frozen pizza.

Normally, I would proof read my posts but today I'm throwing caution to the wind and just hitting "publish". So just consider this an example on why you shouldn't blog while on cough medicine.

Good day.

Saturday Shorts

2011-03-26T08:17:00.000-04:00

If you didn't happen to see my mom's comment, Gracie's head is normal. A nurse entered in the wrong information at her appointment and caused some panic! Her head did grow 2 inches in two months, which is slightly more than normal. Her neurologist scheduled a CT scan at her next appointment with him in a few weeks.
The black plague has invaded our home. It began with Riley and now everyone has it. We're all coughing, blowing our noses, and just very irritable in general. We've watched Toy Story (1,2, and 3) a gajillion times. Our house smells like Lysol and Vick's VapoRub. I cannot wait for us to all get better!
Grace didn't escape the plague, but returned to her cheerful self last night. Along with spit bubbles, she's now a professional at blowing snot bubbles. That girl's gonna go far! She also spun around in her bed last night and now has her head in the opposite direction from how I laid her down. She's brilliant I tell you.
Bonus of having a nasty virus at our house? We now own this:

Ellie lives in and humidifies (is that a word?) the girl's room. If one of us has the energy to shower today, we'll also be the proud owners of a frog humidifier per the request of Riley. (This thing is CUTE, super quiet and works really well. I highly recommend them!)

That's all for now. I have noses to wipe, medicine to give, and beds to make on the couch. Hopefully a nap to take. See you all on the flip (and hopefully healthier) side!

Book Review: Who is My Shelter?

2011-03-23T17:17:00.000-04:00

I was so excited when I saw that this book would be available through BookSneeze. I love Neta Jackson and devoured the first three books in this series. Who is My Shelter? did not disappoint. The story picked up where it had left off and did a wonderful job tying up loose ends and bringing up new plots for new books.

One of the things I love most about Mrs. Jackson’s books is that her characters are Christian, but far from perfect. She does a great job showing how a normal human being can struggle in their daily walk with God. Gabby Fairbanks is one of my favorite fictional characters. Early in the series she would aggravate me for not standing up for herself, but as the series progresses, she grows as a person and begins look out for her best interests. She struggles with wanting to solve problems herself instead of trusting that God will work it out, which is an issue I think many women can relate to. The plots are not predictable and really draw you into the lives of the characters. The only issue I had with the book was the introduction of a young man named Will Nissan and the development of his story. It seemed a little far-fetched to me and I don’t see things playing out that way in real life.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book!

Mega-mega-mega Mind

2011-03-22T17:16:00.000-04:00

We noticed a while ago that Grace has a big head and I gave her the nickname "Megamind".

The resemblence is uncanny.

I have a huge forehead (or fivehead as my sister used to call it) so we just assumed that she took after me. This is also can be a physical trait of someone with hydrocephalus, so in the back of our minds, we knew it could be because of that.

Today at her well baby checkup, we got a bit of a shock. A "normal" baby's head grows approximately 1/2 an inch per month. Gracie's appears to have grown nearly 9 times faster - a total of 9 inches in two months. She's acting like her normal, happy self and not showing any signs of shunt malfunction, but we have a call in to our neurosurgeon and he is reviewing the measurements.

This could be a strange growth spurt (she only grew one inch lengthwise and gained four pounds), but it could also be much more. She's been such a miracle so far, I can't bear the thought of difficulties now.

Would you please pray for our little Megamind? I'll post as soon as I know more.

Sweet Six Months

2011-03-18T09:00:00.001-04:00

I can't believe she's six months old already. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital, but it also feels like she's been with us forever. Grace is turning into such a happy baby. She's a lot more vocal than my other two were at this age. She loves to coo, babble and hum {according to the "experts" that means she's advanced verbally. :-)}

Riley and Gracie

Brenna and Gracie

Physically, Grace is starting to fall a bit behind. She is not rolling over or sitting by herself. We believe this is because of her impaired vision. Most babies start to roll over so they can reach for and play with toys. Since she can't see the toys well, she really has no incentive to work for them. She still doesn't want to use her left hand and likes to keep it tucked into a fist. We still work with a physical therapist once a week and have our own "exercises" we do daily.

My super cute pirate with her girly patch.

After seeming to move backwards this week (we have to increase the time we patch her eye because they seem to be getting worse, the physical therapist mentioned the possibility of adding an occupational therapist in a few months, etc.) I was ready to throw myself a pity party. She kicked my party to the curb by sitting up in her Bumbo seat with no additional support. (A pretty big step with her head control) It seems every time I start to get upset about what she can't do, she shows me that there's so much more she can do.

Her pal Minnie

So what can she do? She can blow the best spit bubbles. She can down bananas and apples like nobody's business. She can instantly recognize when her big brother is near. She can have a favorite song at such a young age ("Row, Row, Row Your Boat" always calms her down.)

Eating carrots. :)

Most importantly, she reminds me everyday that miracles happen. And that the sweetest thing that you'll ever see, in the whole wide world, is a happy girl. :)

Candid Camera

2011-03-14T17:27:00.000-04:00

This was suppose to just be a cute video of Grace trying peas for the first time (she didn't care for them). My darling 2 1/2 year old, Brenna, turns it into so much more about 40 seconds in. Listen for her laughing.

Classy Brenna. Really classy. :-)

Project Simplify: The Closet

2011-03-11T12:16:00.001-05:00

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Over the past two years, I've whittled my wardrobe down to my unofficial SAHM wardrobe of jeans/yoga pants and solid colored v-necks. I didn't think I'd have anything extra to purge, but I still managed to get rid of two bags! It's nice to be able to actually walk into my walk-in closet now!

I'm linking this to Project:Simplify at Simplemom.net!

Luck of the Irish

2011-03-08T18:02:00.001-05:00

There is just a little over a week left before St. Patrick's day and I'm excited! Weird, right? I've never really even thought about this holiday until I saw this:

Mmmmm, come to momma!

I've seen these on a few cooking websites, but the above picture is from Wee Kitchen. I have to make these cupcakes. I'm in love with them! I'm not sure eating only rainbow cupcakes is the best for my family, so I've been looking up some other things to make on St. Patrick's Day. Since my family would totally boycott any haggis or corned beef, I'm thinking we'll stick with shepherd's pie and I might try my hand at some soda bread.

** UPDATE! You can find a recipe along with a chart on which/how much food coloring to use here. **
Are you celebrating St. Patrick's Day? How are you making it special?