My World Changed

7 years ago today, at 11:21 PM my world was forever changed.

I was blessed to become the mother of none other than, Brayden William-Lawrence.

He was 7 lbs 9 oz and 21 1/2 inches long.  He had 10 toes and 10 fingers and a head full of  dark hair.

He was absolutely perfect in every way.

It was on this day when I learned what it means to truly love someone and put another person's needs before my own.

No book or article could have ever prepared me for all of the lessons that this one little boy has taught me and continues to teach me each day.

On the day that he made his way into this world I turned down the opportunity to attend a Colts game with Brent.

He had been given free tickets from work.  The idea of climbing bleachers and squeezing next to some random stranger while 9 months pregnant lacked a certain appeal to me, if you know what I mean.

Brent's cousin was happy to take my place at the game.  When the guys returned home from the game I had dinner ready.  We ate, his cousin left, and Brent and I went about our typical Sunday night routine.

As I was sitting on the floor coloring something for the preschool class that I was teaching at the time I began to feel slightly crampy. 

I decided to stretch out on our bed for a few minutes thinking this would relieve the cramps.  Much to my surprise my water suddenly broke!

We called our families and quickly headed to the hospital.  We did stop to drop off lesson plans at my assistant teacher's house {it was on the way}.

When I quickly learned that I was already dilated to 7cm.  I was informed that if I wanted an epidural I needed to get one quickly or it would be too late.

The thought of a needle going into my back terrified me, so I chose to go without the epidural.

Considering the fact that my water broke around 7:30 and I was holding my sweet baby by 11:21, I'd say my first birth experience wasn't too bad.

I know I'm not alone when it comes to reminiscing about my little boy being born.  It is amazing how quickly the time has passed.

While we have had our ups and downs during his short 7 years with us, I know that began our family circle.

Becoming a parent has solidified our marriage and pushed us to limits we could have never imagined.

No matter what, in the end, we are a family.  We love one another and that's the bottom line.

Happy Birthday Brady!  Mommy and Daddy love you!

4th of July

In honor of the 4th of July I will share passed 4th of July experiences we have had.

2006 = B's first 4th.  He was 9 months old.  The daycare he attended at the time took the kids on a parade each year.  They used to decorate the strollers and wagons for the kids to ride in.  The older kids made posters and things to carry.  Everyone had so much fun!

 

2008 {for some reason I couldn't find any 2007 pictures} = G's first 4th.  Both B and G were in the parade at the daycare this year.  B was 2 and G 3 months old.  The shirt G is wearing fits him perfectly, he is a Little Firecracker!  Little did we know then that his personality would be so explosive!

2009 = LG was 15 months and B was 3.  It rained this year!  Usually we go downtown to watch the fireworks.  The parking garage for Brent's office provides the perfect viewing area.  This year they ended up cancelling the fireworks due to the weather.

 

2010 = G was 2 and B was 4. The first 4th of July parade the boys rode in our new neighborhood. Each year the neighborhood kids decorate their bikes. A fire truck leads the parade around the neighborhood. G's biking skills had yet to be developed. Brent and I had so much fun bending over pushing him around the neighborhood for this parade! {If you're sensing sarcasm in that sentence you are super smart!}

Finally we end with 2010.  B was 5, G was 3, and I was 16 weeks pregnant with Baby M.  G and B were waiting for the downtown fireworks to begin here.  This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them.

Tonight we plan to continue our tradition and we are super excited for Baby M to be a part of it for the first time.  We will pack up the cooler, some chairs, a blanket, and a few toys.  We are heading downtown to join the crowd and celebrate our nation's birth.


****~~~~****~~~~****~~~~Happy 4th of July to you all! ~~~~****~~~~~****~~~~****


What plans do you all have?  Are there any traditions that you will be celebrating?

Our trip to the moon

Before going to bed last night I asked (made the mistake of asking actually) B and G what they would like to do tomorrow. B said, "Well we went to the beach today. Let's go to the moon tomorrow!"

In my head I was thinking . . . how am I going to pull this one off?! Well after I thought for a few minutes (more like HOURS!) I came up with a few ideas . . .

B and G made stars to tape on the walls of our playroom (which became our moon).

They put on spacesuits (snow pants, coats, bike helmets, and sunglasses).

Boarding the rocket ship (wheelbarrow layered with pillows).

Traveling through outter space (our foyer, kitchen, and dining room form a great 'circle' for the rocket to ride through). Thankgoodness Daddy was home to help drive!

We landed on the moon (pillows covered with a sheet). Time to collect moon rocks (some decorative rocks I had already).

Jumping on the moon!

Watch out for meteors (soft balls)! Daddy loved throwing these at the boys!

Back to Earth!

I just don't understand

Let me begin by expressing my gratitude for the blessings in my life.

My Blessings:

Brent, my dear, sweet, loving, adoring husband.  He is my rock.  He stands by me in my wonderful moments as well as my awful ones.  He patiently supports me when I come up with crazy ideas and only slightly teases (this is just his personality) me when they fail miserably.

B, my kind hearted, thoughtful 6 year old son.  I simply love how he loves to figure out how everything works.  He is so helpful and I often refer to him as my right hand man.  He teaches me something new each day.  I am so thankful to have been chosen to be his Mommy.

My sweet little G, we never know what he is going to say or do.  He keeps me on my toes and reminds me to just simply laugh even when I don't think I possibly can.  He is such a happy go lucky silly little boy!  I love him bigger than a manatee.

My precious little sugar baby, Baby M.  She is such a laid back baby and her smile brightens my life each day.  Words cannot express the joy she has brought to our lives in the short (almost) 4 months she has been here.

Ok, now that I have shared my blessings, I feel that I need to share that realize how lucky I am.  There are others in this world who have experienced set backs that are much more devastating then the one I'm getting ready to discuss.  I am, however, a person and while I do have a lot of wonderful things going on in my life, I too, worry and questions events that I don't understand.

This afternoon, I took Baby M to the doctor for her 4 month (she'll be 4 months old on Saturday) Well Baby check up.

She was weighed and measured.  I was asked about sleeping and eating habits, weather she was rolling over or not, if she is grabbing for objects, and actually holding onto objects.  Finally, we talked about her eyes. 

At her 2 month appointment I mentioned to the doctor that her right eye seemed to turn in toward her nose frequently.  He told me to keep an eye on it and that it wasn't a concern until 4 months of age.  Well here we are at the 4 month visit and her eye is still turning in.  Our next step is to visit a pediatric opthamologist.

After being forced to face this reality I called the recommended doctor immediately to schedule an appointment.  Unfortunately, I was forced to leave a message because they stopped answering phones for the day. 

Now I get to play the waiting game.  As I wait more questions and thoughts arise within my head.  This is now child #2 in our family with eye trouble (We learned in the fall that G was in need of glasses.  We are so thankful for preschool vision screening.) 

Could this have been avoided? 
What could I have done differently while pregnant with these two? 
Is it simply something in our genes?
What kind of steps are we looking at to help Baby M?
Will she require eye drop therapy like G?
Is she going to need surgery?

I am hoping to hear back from the doctor tomorrow.  Only time will tell what we are faced with regarding her vision.  I know I need to be patient and thankful to simply be able to hold my sweet baby. 

For now the best thing I can do is hold her and tell her I love her, this fact will never change.

**10/17/12 Update**

Just Plain Busy!

 Oh my gosh, I can't believe that it has been almost 2 weeks since I have made a new post . . . 

Well if you have been following along you are aware of the fact that I have recently gone back to work after being home on maternity leave for 12 weeks.  Needless to say, I have been struggling to work, be a Mommy, be a wife, maintain our home, and blog all at the same time.

Since I have been back to work my middle child, G, has celebrated his 4th birthday.  Not only did we celebrate his birthday with our family (in our home), but we had a party for him.  Which meant having family come from out of town and stay with us while hosting the party.

Here are a few of the things I have been preoccupied with . . .

Baseball Practice 2 times  week with B.

Making hair bows for Baby M.

The supplies

Finished Products!

Making bow ties for B and G to wear for Easter.

B is beginning to be a PAIN about having his picture taken

G on the other hand is quit the ham!

Determining what clothes fit my kiddos and what I will need to purchase for them.

Attending a kids' stuff sale.

Washing and cleaning items from the sale.

This isn't even half of the goodies I found!

Cutting coupons, creating lists of sale items to purchase, and, shopping.

Taking down St. Patrick's Day decor and putting up Easter decorations!

As you can see I have done quite a lot recently!  I am on Spring Break this week so I'm planning on posting more frequently.  What have you been up to lately?

Surviving the Cycle . . .

I returned to work yesterday after being gone for a total of 12 weeks.  2 of the 12 weeks were during Christmas break.  Over all my day went well and more importantly, so did Baby M’s day. 

I’m not sure what is more exhausting, getting up at 4:30 and working all day without a nap or physically packing and hauling all of the ‘stuff’!

I began my back to work preparation on Saturday.  I went to work to ‘tidy’ up a bit and look over lesson plans.  In my mind I assumed that I would need to put a few things back in their correct places and pick up a little here and there.  I set a personal time frame of about 3 hours to take care of business. 

Sadly, I spent 6 hours because there was more cleanup to be done than I anticipated.  I was extremely disappointed with the condition my classroom was left in.  It appeared as if The Tasmanian Devil stepped in during my leave.  Needless to say, I missed out on family time and left me feeling even more upset.

On Sunday I attempted to pack up items that both Baby M and I would need to survive on Monday.  Last week Baby M and I took a load (diapers, wipes, extra clothes, blankets, burp rags, etc.) to the babysitters house when we went to visit.  I packed bottles, milk, toys, and the portable swing for her to take on Monday.

For myself I packed items to pump with (bottles, milk bags, a cooler with a cold pack, a blanket to cover with, the pump its self), a lunch, water, and my school bag.  When all was said and done, there were a total of 6 bags between us!

Brent and I took Baby M to the babysitter together because it was her first day.  I hustled into work as fast as I could.  After unpacking things I locked my door, covered the window on the door, and pumped as I checked my morning email.  I pumped again 2 more times throughout the day.

At 5:00 I packed up all 5 of my bags and headed to pick up Baby M at the sitters along with B and G (they attend Kindergarten and preschool in the same building).

I arrived home a little after 6:00.  Brent kissed me goodbye (it was like we were 2 ships passing in the night) as he headed out the door to a Little League meeting for B.    Brent had dinner made (how awesome is that?!) so all I had to do was warm it up after unloading the junk and putting it away.

Brent was back home around 7:30.  Just in time to read stories and put the boys to bed.  After tucking them in for the night I hopped in the shower, fed Baby M, and went to bed.

I woke up at 4:30 only to begin the cycle again.  I just wish there were some way to make the day longer.  I feel as if more time was wrapped up in preparation rather than with my family.

I know there is no simple solution to fix this.  It’s just a new routine that I’m going to have to get accustom to.  Unfortunately, time is the only fix for this situation.  I only wish I weren’t so impatient. 

Family One on One Time

Family One on One Time

My husband and I were beginning to notice that our 3 and 6 year olds were exhibiting some ‘new’ behaviors. They weren’t terribly out of control, but uncharacteristic, nonetheless. The only thing we could attribute their behavior changes to were the change in our family dynamic. Our third child was born in December. While we made every effort possible to maintain life for our boys, the true fact of the matter was that life had changed for all of us . . . there is no way around having a new person in your home.

We were forced to face reality, no matter how hard we tried there wasn’t a way to keep life the way it was prior to baby M’s arrival. After accepting this reality, we came up with a plan. On Friday night my husband would stay home with G and Baby M while I took B to a local Yogurt Shop for a treat. After our dessert we headed to an arcade to play a few games. On Saturday I stayed home with B and Baby M while my husband took G out for a treat and to the arcade. The following weekend we switched kids. My husband took B to watch his friends play basketball and to some batting cages. When they came home I took G to a pottery shop to paint.

Much to everyone’s delight we all enjoyed our One on One Time together. The behavior wasn’t cured over night, but it has improved. We all benefitted from being out of the house for a few hours. It also gave each of our children some much needed individual focus. While at the arcade B wanted to have a photo booth picture taken of the two of us. He then took that picture to Show and Tell in his kindergarten class the following week. When we were practicing what he was going to share with his class about the picture he said “This is a picture of my Mommy and I. It was the greatest day ever because we got to play games together!” If those simple sentences don’t speak volumes, I don’t know what does.

     

On the Go Bags

Are your kids anything like mine? Do they need things to keep themselves busy or else . . . trouble is bound to occur? Frequently we find that our weekends are spent running around town getting groceries and what not. We also tend to eat at restaurants more often on the weekend as opposed to during the week. In an effort to try and keep my kids occupied and maintain a sense of sanity for my husband and myself I helped my kids to create On the Go Bags.

You may be asking “Just what is an On the Go Bag?” An On the Go Bag is a bag with items in it that can be taken on the go. These items consist of many different things. The bottom line is that the items are small enough to fit in the bag and provide my kids with something to do in the car, at a restaurant, in the grocery cart, or while waiting at the doctor’s office, etc.

We had old preschool bags that my kids were not using any more sitting around the house. They are the perfect size for my kids to be able to handle them. I did not purchase new items specifically for the bags. We looked around the house for items that we already owned. From time to time the items need to be refreshed so we put away the old items and get out new ones. The bags are kept in the closet on a hook with their coats. I do have a rule that they must be able to track of. I asked my kids for their input when adding items to the bag. Let’s face it, carry the bag; my husband and I are not carrying the bags!This rule eliminates 2 things, 1) There can’t be too much stuff in the bag or the child will not be able to carry it and 2) I don’t have one more thing to keep if they don’t like what’s in the bag, the bag won’t serve its purpose!

Items you could use to create a restaurant bag of your own:

Puzzles, books, games, coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, stickers, small action figures, magnetic sets, cards, the possibilities are endless . . .

These are items from G's bag. He is 3. He has a game (which came in a kid's meal), 2 activity books, 2 books, a toy car, a toy animal, a magnetic play set (I got from the dollar spot at Target), and a pencil pouch with crayons and pencils in it.

These are items from B's bag. He is 6. He has 3 different games, activity/coloring/sicker books, 2 books to read, an mp3 player that has books on cd loaded on it, small action figures, and a tin with pencils, crayon, and markers in it.

Does anyone else have On the go Bags? What do you include in your bags?

DIY Slime

My boys do not have school today. I thought they would enjoy making some slime. I found instructions for it on Pinterest. At first it is super stringy and watery. I do have to admit that it was gooier at first than it was described. I was shocked when both of them took one look at it and said “I’m not touching that gooey stuff Mommy!” After I kneaded it a little it wasn’t as gooey and they both came around to touching it. I had to laugh at them though because after I did knead the slime and placed the bowl back in front of them, they looked at one another and said “You go first. I’m not going first!” They also made a comparison to pumpkin guts (Which they refused to touch as well). I agree, it did look like pumpkin guts at first.
You will need the following items to make the slime:

Borax, water, food coloring (I used the food coloring that is used to color icing. It’s what I had around and it makes richer colors than the liquid kind.), glue, 2 bowls, a spoon to mix with, and a teaspoon.

How to make Slime:

1. In a small bowl mix 1 tsp of Borax and 1 cup of water. Stir the mixture until the Borax is dissolved.

2. In another bowl pour 4oz. (1 bottle) of glue.

3. Add food coloring and ½ cup of water to the bowl with the glue. Stir until the food coloring and water are mixed with the glue. Add food coloring until the mixture is color you desire.

4. Stir the Borax mixture into the glue mixture.

5. Use your hands to knead the mixture together. ~Our mixture was VERY stringy and squishy. Keep kneading the mixture. Kids may need some Mommy help at this point.

6. When the mixture is as ‘together’ as it’s going to be pour off the excess liquid. ~We had quite a bit of excess liquid.

7. Keep kneading the mass. It will eventually become less stringy and wet and become more like slim.

My Review of the process and outcome:

My boys had a lot of fun making this. They enjoyed playing with it after it was made as well. I got out some of the tools that they use with PlayDoh. I wouldn’t recommend using the PlayDoh tools that require the dough to be shoved inside and pressed out. I think the slime is too sticky and may not come out as easily as PlayDoh. The cookie cutters, rollers, and scissors worked well though. While my kids played with the slime I had time to get ½ of my workout in. Then my youngest needed to be fed. I was ½ way through feeding her when the boys were ready to be done with the slime. So they managed to stay occupied with it for at least 45 minutes, not too bad, if I do say so myself!

I will warn you that it is a little messy. I would make sure to wear clothes that can get yucky. The boys did try to pick up their mess when they finished playing. When I came back down stairs I notice that there were ‘drips’ of the slime on the floor and some was stuck to the island where we made it and where they played with it at. Be sure to have an area cleared off so that kids can play with the slime and not get it on something else. My 3 year old thought it would be a good idea to put the whole blob of slime on a dish rag (I’m not sure why, but then again I don’t know why he does a lot of the things he does). I managed to get most of it off of the dish rag, but not all of it. Needless to say looks like I’m out a dish rag, oh well! He had fun and it gave all 3 of us something to do together.

When your kids do finish with the slime it can be stored in an airtight bag or container.

My Beginning

      
 I decided to write this Blog for a few reasons.  First of all, being a Mommy is one of the best tasks I have EVER embarked upon.  I would like to share Mommy tips that have worked in our house as well as receive tips that have worked in other homes.  Let’s face it kids don’t come with instructions and we could all use a little help now and again.  No one could have ever put into words; the joy, challenge, and feeling of pure unconditional love that come with being a parent.  I never imagined how one little boy would completely capture my heart and wrap me around his finger.  Not to mention little boy #2 managing to accomplish the same task and now finally, my most recent over taker, my sweet little girl joining her brothers in the Mommy overtaking.  Sometimes I wonder if they realize how much power they actually have over my husband and I.  If they ever figure it out I fear that we, my husband and I, will be done for!  I feel so totally blessed to be embarking upon this journey with my wonderful husband. He is not only head over heels in love with our 3 absolutely delightful (Well today I would describe them as delightful, but that changes from time to time if you know what I mean.) children, but he is also totally smitten with their Momma (me) as well.  In our home parenting can be described as a tag team sport.  There are days when all is right with the world and noting could be more perfect.  Then there are days when I feel as if I’m ready to throw the towel in and at that very moment, my Prince Charming is right there to slap me a high five and take over while I recuperate!          
 
                With all of that sappy stuff being said (Does anyone need a Kleenex now?) on to my next reason for ‘attempting’ to Blog.  I really enjoy making and creating things, especially things for my children and family.  So often I feel as if my job consumes my life and my children and family are set aside so that I can put other children’s needs in front of theirs.  You see, I am a teacher by day and a Mommy and wife by night.  Basically; I eat, sleep, and breathe CHILDREN!  The purpose of this is not to complain or seek sympathy.  The purpose is simply to set a foundation for my choice to Blog.  I have tried to utilize my love of crafting to create unique birthday parties for my children.  I believe that a birthday is a very important day.  Not only is it obviously the day that someone was brought into the world, but it is a time to show someone that you care about them and share with them how special they are.  It is one single day out a year when I strive to make an individual feel their importance.  On my children’s birthdays I strive to set extra time aside for them in hopes of making them realize how important and special they are.   I thought to myself birthdays are something I am passionate about why not share ideas that my children have enjoyed?

                I have a few other topics in mind as well, but I think it’s best to start our simply and add more as I grow more comfortable with Blogging.