Life and what not...

So much has happened since I last wrote in my blog that I'm not even sure how to try and fill in what's gone on. I have an actual "thing" to write, so I'll catch you up here and then write that stuff separately. Here is the nutshell version of the craziness that has taken place over the past six months, and I'd like to just preface it with saying this: God is so good.

*I went on a trip by myself to Las Vegas with some friends in July. It was way too much fun and I wish I could do it about once a month. We also took a vacation to California in August. I felt really bad about not bringing Mason, but at that time, he was in the stage where he wasn't yet walking but wanted to be on the ground ALL of the time. We took the kids to Disneyland with my parents (well, actually they took us) and Mason stayed with Chris' parents. I felt better about my decision when we were in the park with two perky, energetic kiddos and we were surrounded by people with crying, miserable babies about his age. It was a fabulous trip and the kids had so much fun. We spent one afternoon at the beach and the rest of the trip was all Disney, all the time. There is just something about watching your children experience a feeling of pure joy and wonder that makes your heart swell. Walking through the gates and seeing Mickey Mouse himself standing there signing autographs was one of those moments. They just about burst from excitement and to actually GET his autograph?? Well, it was an event. They still look at their autograph books all of the time. So much fun!

*We decided to give the whole selling our house thing another go so the week before we went to California, we put it back on the market. (If you don't remember, we had it on the market for ten VERY long months right before Mason was born. Tons of showings, not even ONE offer.) This time, we got off of the plane, I turned my phone on and there was a message from our realtor letting us know that someone had made an offer. This was FIVE DAYS after we'd had it on the market. So bizarre! The entire first day of our vacation was spent going back and forth with our realtor through phone calls and faxing documents. We actually worked out the details of the contract while eating a sandwich on Huntington Beach! It was nice to get that all settled the first day and know that we could just enjoy the rest of our trip without fielding phone calls about showings and contract negotiations. It was a pretty stressful month and a half, but we did manage to find a *wonderful* home that we love in a great neighborhood, and closed on the homes on back to back days. We moved ourselves, so I will just let you imagine the fun that was included in that whole ordeal. It's been six weeks since our move and the only area that still has boxes is my husband's office, which I not so lovingly refer to as "The Pit." We don't have anything on the walls yet and have a lot of painting and decorating to do, but we actually feel pretty settled for having been here such a short time. It's nice to actually live in the same neighborhood that our kids' school is in.

*Mason turned one in July. Yes, that's right. Baby Loo is one and is very determined to keep up with his brother and sister at every turn! He's also walking, running, falling, crashing, and generally getting into trouble. He can now reach the top of the kitchen table and desk in the eating nook which in the last week has resulted in a broken dish, a cup of milk poured on his own head, and several tantrums from his sister over stolen princess figurines. I tell Chris that he is the one who will end up being our tattooed, sky diving, motorcycle riding risk taker. He just gets this look in his eye and has this almost cartoon villainish laugh that makes me ultra nervous. I always thought Miss G would be my biggest challenge, but I think ol' Mason is gonna give her a run for her money in that department! He is starting to try and talk more and more every day. He has a few signs that he uses a lot and has a couple of words he can say: bye bye, mama, dada, and uh-oh are about it at this point. Mostly we hear a whole bunch of very interesting, animated stories that sound like this:
Mason: DADABABAmamamaDABAMA!!
Us: Really? Is that true?
Mason: MAMADAbadamamamadadababaBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! (These types of stories are also usually followed by a very mischevious "hahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!")

*Mitchell is in first grade and although it's only the first week of November, is now at his second school. He is doing fabulously and makes us very proud just by being the best Mitchell he can be! We had to move him from the school he started the year in when we moved, and it was a really hard decision for us to do that but has worked out great. He has made some really nice friends at his new school and is happy there. My current worry is that I don't have anyone's contact information. His teacher was so nice and sent a note home with some of the kids before they tracked off for three weeks, but obviously she can't give us their information without their permission so I am just praying that the parents feel motivated to at least email us with their email address. His birthday is in a few weeks and I would feel so badly if we had no way to get in touch with the families of the kids he wants to invite. We signed up for cub scouts but I totally underestimated the time commitment there. Most of the activities are from 6:30 - 8:30 pm and in addition to that making a very late night for Mitchell, many times it would mean I'd either have to get a sitter or take the other two with me, and well -- that's just not gonna happen. We are thinking about starting him in karate instead. I'm really looking forward to some special one on one time these next few weeks with him while Miss G is in preschool and Mason is sleeping.

*Georgia is back in preschool and loving it! The biggest day of the month for her is when it's her turn to be snack helper. I wouldn't be surprised if she prepared a speech. (The name of the snack helper and what they brought is also the first piece of news I receive when I pick her up from school each day. It's quite the snazzy position in her eyes, apparently.) She just started gymnastics and is super psyched to get back into that again. Her teacher assures me that klutzy kids make fabulous gymnasts, which is a relief since she managed to cut her forehead once and her right eye twice in about 6 weeks' time this summer. (Three scars, three stitches and one dermabond application resulted.) She is an expert at being three, especially when it comes to the associated drama and tantrums. Georgia is currently obsessed with rhyming and spends a lot of her day doing just that. "Shoe to who." "Me to he." Alllll day long. The trip to Disneyland took her love of all things princess to a whole new level and the little figurines that we brought back are her most prized possessions. She also has a very distinctive "princess voice" that she uses almost more than her actual voice. Her current favorite game to play with Mommy is "Cinderella." She loves it when I'm the stepsisters/mother and she's Cinderella, so it usually means I get to grab a magazine and a cup of coffee, lay on her bed and tell her to fetch me stuff. The other day I got realllllllllyyyy into my role and tossed the fake peas on the floor because they were cold. I thought she was gonna pee her pants from laughing so hard...she is my biggest fan and is really helping my acting come along! *teehee*

*Chris is still working hard! I can't really get into details, but his job has been VERY stressful lately, and it's just so hard to feel like you can't help at all. He is such a wonderful husband and Daddy...I just wish I could take some of the stress away from him. Anyway - he is still all about soccer and just finished another season. He is like a kid with the whole thing -- it's so good for him!! His drive isn't any longer than it used to be but in order to keep it that way he has to leave about a half an hour earlier than normal, so that took some getting used to on his part. Football and basketball season always make for a happy Chris on the weekends, especially now that we have a new giant HD flatscreen tv. I am actually really surprised he didn't sleep on the couch that first night or two! He looks fabulous and has done a great job of keep his 45-50 pounds off...he had to get some new clothes and fits into some that he hasn't worn for years. (I have tried to tell him that he might just want to replace them with something a little more updated. Not so much.)

*As for me, I am still just plugging along. It's funny, when I wasn't ready to take any more clients on, I got referrals all of the time. Now that I'm ready to work a bit more, it's sort of been a struggle to find new clients. In all honesty though, I haven't really worked too hard at it since I've been trying to get settled in the new house, so I think I'll give that a better effort here after the holidays. I am enjoying our new home and all of the extra space that we have. It's been wonderful for the kids to have their own rooms and to have an actual PLAYROOM for all of their stuff!! Makes me so happy to have two tiny little baskets of toys and books that are out of the way in the living room and everything else in the basement where, even if it's a ginormous mess, I don't have to see it or step over it all of the time. I still am taking myself to the gym on a regular basis and have managed to maintain my weight loss. Right now, I'm 60 pounds lighter than I was when I had Mason. I'm sort of disappointed that I've been plateaued for the last six months, but given what's gone on, I guess I should see it as a victory that I haven't gained anything back. I've recently recharged my efforts and am hoping to start seeing a loss again. I have about 25 more pounds to say goodbye to, and I know that they will be the hardest ones yet. It's such hard work!!

I think you are now officially caught up on the Loo family happenings. It feels good to be back in bloggy land, and I really do think I'll be here more often. I have updated my recipes with two of our faves and will also update my menu plan, as I still plan our meals the same way. (Sad that one of the days still said "Christmas Party" next to it. Yikes.)

I will leave you with a picture of the kiddos from our recent blizzard. (I know Miss G's eyes are closed. Trust me when I say, this was the best of the bunch.) *sigh* It's hard to believe how big they're getting! Gotta love Colorado though -- this was last weekend. This weekend it was 75!

Until next time, love and hugs to all of my bloggy friends. *mwah!*

Some kidbits...

I haven't taken the time to keep track of some of the funnies that have happened around here lately, so here are a few from the past few days. It's hard to stay grumpy some days with stuff like this being said! Oh, and just so you know, any time you see the words "And don't forget..." from Miss G, picture her holding her right index finger up in the air like you do to get a hot dog from the vendor going up and down the aisles at the baseball game. It's her new thing.

****************************************************
Mommy: You're doing such a great job going potty, Georgia!

Miss G: Yeah. I love to go potty!

Mommy: You're almost ready for big girl panties. You just need to start going poop in the potty.

Miss G: And don't forget PEE!!

****************************************************
Mitchell: I'm ready to go outside.

Miss G: Me, three!

Mitchell: It's "Me, too" not "Me, three."

Miss G: It's me, too.

****************************************************
Last night when we were trick or treating on our block, this adorable little black dog followed us from house to house. He was obviously loose from someone's house in the neighborhood, but he didn't have on tags and didn't want anyone to get too close. He didn't growl, he'd just back away. Mitchell was really concerned about him. When he got up this morning we were talking about how much fun we had last night...

Mitchell: Mommy, what happened to the little dog?

Mommy: I don't know, buddy. Hopefully he found his way home.

Mitchell: I wish I could have helped him. Batman ALWAYS helps save lost little puppy dogs on halloween, you know.

Mommy: Awwww.

***************************************************
At breakfast this morning....

Mitchell: Can I have a treat when I'm done with breakfast?

Mommy: Hmmmm. Probably. Just one and only if you eat all of your eggs.

Miss G: Me, three! (seriously. she says that.)

Mitchell: And Mason, too!

Mommy: Well, Mason can't have a treat.

Mitchell: Sure he can. His MILK can be his treat!

***************************************************
While I was making dinner last night, Mitchell and Georgia were each laying under a blanket on a separate sofa in the living room, pretending to sleep. After a few minutes, they started to run laps around the kitchen table. I told them to go play in the living room for a little bit and that dinner was almost ready.

Miss G: Let's play Mommy & Daddy!

Mitchell: Nahhhh, we just DID that! Let's read books.

Daddy: When did you play Mommy & Daddy?

Mitchell: When we were asleep on the couch.

Mommy & Daddy: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

***************************************************
Here are some pictures of our little trick or treating trio...by the way - Georgia called her wig her "crazy hair" and Mitchell was quite upset that his outfit was missing the yellow belt that the picture on the package showed. That's what happens when you go for the cheapo craigslist costume, dude. Oh - and I think I should say that out of the whole big bucket of yummy treats that they collected last night, both of them were most excited to eat -- their chips. A bag of cheetos for Mitchell and a bag of fritos for Miss G. Too funny! Have a great weekend!

Fun at the pumpkin farm...

We had so much fun at the pumpkin farm last year that we decided to go back to the same one this year! We all had a great time and the weather was gorgeous, minus a steady wind...but hey, that's what you get in late October on the plains of Colorado. (Actually, I think that's what you get year-round out there.)

I realized on the way home that we didn't get a single picture of Mason while we were there, but trust me. All you would have seen was a picture of the stroller with blanket covering it. No one saw him and he didn't see anything but the back of his eyelids, so I don't feel too badly. We have more than enough pictures of him in his carseat by now! (Isn't it funny how many of those sleeping and/or in the carseat, or sleeping in the carseat pictures you end up with, by the way?)

In any case, here's our day in pictures. Well, sort of. I was kind of a slacker with the camera this year. Anyway - I'll put a couple of videos at the end of the haystack jumping, which was noteworthy for two reasons: (1) We were in awe that the little two year old boy who would completely freak out with fear at the thought of going down a little gymboree slide was now a risk-taking almost 6 year old, jumping with glee off of a haystack tower and (2) I didn't have to take my husband to the hospital for another knee surgery after all. (Thank you, Lord!)

I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful season as much as we are! Happy Fall!

Waiting for Daddy to pay for our tickets.

Feeding the ducks and fish is fun!

Proudly emerging from our successful trip through the corn maze! (Which is amazing, considering that I was the navigator.)

Gotta love the good ol' barrel train! Daddy took one for the team while Mommy took pictures. Doesn't he look thrilled? His expression makes me giggle.

And now...for some haystack jumping.

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday - Gettin' Crafty.

My friend Jenn inspired me to do some crafts with my kiddos yesterday. I had this package of pipe cleaners, pom poms, and googley eyes sitting in the cabinet, so I whipped them out and now we're all decorated! (Seriously - that's all we used...markers, construction paper, glue and scissors. I'm not into very involved crafts.)

The top pumkin is Miss G's, the bottom is Mitchell's. He named his "Stinky" as you can see at the bottom of his page. The spiders were fun, too. Mine's on the left, Mitchell's is in the middle, and Miss G's is on the right. She kept knocking everyone's spider head off before the glue dried (shocking, I know), so those took a while to dry before we could hang them up. The kids LOVED it. I think we're going to make some leaf picture placemats today. Anyway - here's how they turned out!

Wordless Wednesday

Here's the face that gets me all melty.

A Great Opportunity & My Favorite Cuties...

Most of you that know me know that when my husband asked to support two U.S. soldiers for his Father's Day gift two years ago, it was a great decision for our whole family. It has really blessed us to be pen pals and provide care packages for our troops. You think you're going to help them and it ends up blessing you more than you can dream of.

Anyway - I just got an email saying that they are pretty desperate for support right now. If you have any interest in being a pen pal and/or care package provider for one of our guys or gals overseas, you should check it out. Just go look and see what you might possibly be moved to do. They also have some special programs and holiday support, so look at those, too. It's a wonderful organization -- I can't say enough good things about it.

http://www.adoptaplatoon.org/

**********************************************************

I just uploaded some new pictures from the camera and thought I'd share. It's amazing to me how quickly these kids grow. (And I have the receipt from a recent shoe shopping trip as proof!)

Miss G is so good at making messes. As you can see, she loves it. What you don't see in this picture is that she has the ENTIRE newspaper spread across the living room floor. She had just as much fun picking it up (I had her put it all in the empty laundry basket - it was just easier that way) as she did taking it apart. And it let me get dinner together, so I didn't mind too much.

In case you are wondering what Mason might look like when he's 5, here's a rough estimate:




Mason clearly enjoys being admired by his Big Sister. I think that she was singing "Twinkle, Twinkle" to him.



I love the little moments that make up our days together. Most of them, anyway...

We have a baby!!

And it's a.............

very long story.

The labor -- well, the labor is its own little ball of wax. Nothing major, just long. And by long I mean 3 days of very little sleep and lots of contractions. We did end up being induced the night before, which was not fun for me at all. I wouldn't change a thing though, as it's all gone the way that I know it was supposed to.

Actually, as I was laying in bed Wednesday night, fighting through some very painful contractions for the third exhausting night in a row, I started to get discouraged. I started to doubt myself. I started to question the way it all was going. I started to cry and swirl negative thoughts around myself.

Then I realized what I was doing and heard my husband's voice in my head...he had been saying all along that we were going to be positive. We were going to say positive things. We were going to have the positive experience that we wanted. (When we were walking the halls of the hospital at 3 am Wednesday morning before they sent us home...I told you the labor was its own story...I told him that I was positive I wanted to go home and sleep.) He was asleep on the little pull out sofa bed in my room and had no idea that my sleeping pill had worn off when I started diving into my little negative pool. But I looked over at him and just knew he wouldn't stand for it -- if I woke him up to tell him what I was battling through -- and he would be right.

So. I made a decision to just knock it off and I went back to my word for the year. Trust. I made that the focus of my prayers that night. Trust in myself and my body. Trust in my husband. Trust in the doctors and nurses caring for myself and my baby. Trust in our family to care for Mitchell and Georgia. Most of all, trust in The Lord and His plans for all of the above.

My decision to meditate on and pray for the trust I so desperately needed to give myself over to resulted in a huge surge of the strength, hope and encouragement that I so very much needed at that time. It's the best thing I could have done for myself, and you know what? Things started to turn around shortly after I made that decision.

As long and drawn out and painful as my labor was, my delivery was equally as quick, painless and wonderful. I can honestly say that this was the best delivery of the three and that I would do it all again in a heartbeat without a second thought! One of my favorite things is that while we waited for the doctor to arrive (yes, I had to sit and breathe through some contractions and fight the urge to push!) I decided that I wanted Chris to tell me who this baby was. So, when the doctor finally arrived, I told him that I wanted it to be my husband who announced the news about it being a girl or a boy. That was a great decision -- it was so wonderful to hear the joy and see the delight in my husband's face as he pumped his fist and yelled

"Yes!! It's a boy!!"

I remember just crying and laughing, all at the same time and being about as full of happiness and gratitude as one person could be for the healthy new life that we were welcoming into this world and into our family.

Mason Lawrence arrived at 12:33 pm on Thursday, July 31st. He was 7 lbs, 12 oz and a lengthy 21 1/2 inches long. He has a head of black hair and is as sweet as can be. My mom made the comment this morning that we'll need to label all of the newborn pictures or we'll get his and Mitchell's mixed up -- he is the spitting image of his big brother. Well, except that Mitchell was totally bald. But put a hat on them, and it is a pretty striking resemblance.

We are beyond thankful that he is a healthy little man. Believe me, I don't take it for granted that we were able to stroll out the doors of that hospital with our baby boy just days after his birth. As we waited for the elevator to come, I said a special prayer for all of the mommies and daddies in this world who don't get to do the same thing, and an extra special prayer went out for those people in my life who have had very different endings to their own birth stories.

As I rode in the car after leaving the hospital, hand-in-hand with my very best friend in the world, we remarked how different our journey home has been with all three kids. The first time, I honestly couldn't believe they were letting us go home and wondered how they could be so certain that we could keep him safe and healthy without help. The second time, we were bathed in pink, marveling at how much things had already changed and how we just couldn't believe we had TWO children. This time, we left feeling happy and relaxed, grateful and proud. It was like the thing we never knew was missing was in place, and we were the last ones to know how good it would feel.

Well, Mason is beside me and starting to squirm around, which means he'll be ready to eat (again) in a minute. I'll leave with some pictures of our magical little guy and the very proud family into which he was born.

Still going...

Just a quick fly-by to let you know that yep...still pregnant. Feeling pretty good actually, all except for the feet. Pretty sad when only 3 pairs of flip-flops fit. (The tops of my feet and my toes are so swollen I can't wedge them into anything else. Sort of like those chubby little baby feet, only significantly less cute.)

I have another doctor appointment tomorrow, so hopefully nothing will be going on again. Chris is almost off of his crutches (Friday), so next week would be okay. The following week would be great! As always though, the only one who knows what's up isn't sharing the big plan.

In the meantime, we're hanging out and enjoying our time together. I think I've finally checked everything off of my baby "to do" list and feel ready to go in that regard. I believe the most impatient person in our family may very well be Mitchell. He simply cannot WAIT to meet his little brother or sister! It's so cute how excited he is.

I will leave you with some pictures from the 4th of July - and a belly picture, since I know you will ask for one, Jennifer P! We enjoyed a quiet time at home with my parents and hope that you all enjoyed your holiday as well. It certainly is a privilege to be able to celebrate the amazing blessing of being an American!

I'm A Flip Flopper!

Yes, that's right. Right in the middle of campaign season and everything.

You see, my friend Alana hosted a flip flop swap on her blog, and being the flip flop lover that I am, of course I played along. It's been so fun seeing what everyone got - they are all so stinkin' cute!

MINE are no exception! Thanks to Reese for sending these great flip flops to me! There were also some English tea biscuits and some raspberry vanilla tea! Yum! As you can see, the kids were eager to taste-test the cookies for me the minute I unpacked the box. (Oh, and dream on if you think my ever-growing cankles and sausage toes are going on the web. Not so much.)

I wear a LOT of black, so they will get some major mileage. (And I'm thinking that if Alana says giraffe is in, so is zebra print, right?) Thanks, Reese! I love them!!

I do have two sort of sad things to report though:

1. During my first outing in them, I stepped in someone else's gum. It all came off with some ice and scraping, but still. It was quite sad. And yet, so very me.

2. There was also a lovely card that Reese sent along with the shoes and treats, but my little card-stealing-Miss-G decided to play "mail" with it and it ended up getting ripped, bent, and generally over-loved so I decided not to post a picture of the "after" side of the card. Just know it was a very sweet addition that got some extra TLC from some little hands.

Head on over to Alana's blog to check out the rest of the flip flop swap goodies. It's fun to see them all...many of them I'd love to add to my collection! What a fun way to start out the summer!

A Day For Moms...

Happy Mother's Day, friends. Whether you are a mom, a grandma, an aunt, an "auntie"...I hope that this day finds special joy for you as you reflect on the little ones that you hold dear in your life.

I'd also like to throw out a special big hug to those of you who are grieving this Mother's Day -- the loss of your mom, grandma, special friend(s), relatives...and to those of you who have lost precious babies of your own (no matter how big those babies may have grown to be)...and to those of you who mourn children you long to have or never got to hold in your arms. Mother's Day is for you, too - and I hope that through the pain you can hold onto some happy memories...and if there is only pain, or it's more bitter than sweet, my prayer is that you are granted an extra dose of grace, comfort and peace today. Know that I am praying for YOU today, though I may not know your name. Some of you know I am praying for you by name, and I hope you feel my hugs.

It seems like I get a little more sentimental and a little more weepy with each Mother's Day that I am actually celebrated for being a Mommy. I care less about the gifts and more about the true gifts that I am given each day in my children. Really...if I never got another card, another rose, another crayon or marker filled picture, it would be okay. For me, Mother's Day has become less about me each year, and more about them in that I use that day to really, truly reflect on how immeasurably blessed I am to be able to hold these little lives and hearts in my hands every day.

I'm also more appreciative of the gifts I've been given in the form of my mom, my grandmothers, aunts, "second moms", my husband's family, and my friends. Being a mom myself makes me really take a breath when I stop to think how fortunate I have always been to have been surrounded by such special and amazing women.

Every year there is more to think about, more to celebrate, more to appreciate, more to smile about. Each year I've watched more people that I love and care about suffer through hardships and losses in their lives, and it makes me ever more grateful for what I have in my own life. So many days I take for granted things that I should not. So many days I do NOT count my blessings, nor do I give appropriate thanks for them. Mother's Day is sort of my "reality check" for myself in a lot of ways.

(By the way, my husband is currently downstairs baking some brownies for tomorrow and the intoxicating smell is very distracting! Stuff like that is definitely a bonus, too!)

We had a little scare today with Miss G as we were getting everyone ready to go to a family dinner party at my parents' house. She slipped on a wet spot in the bathroom and fell right into the tiled corner of our bathtub. I was putting the hair dryer away and when I heard a thud I looked over to see her in a pile holding her hand over her eye, and after a very long pause, her blood-curdling pain-filled scream filled my heart with fear. She looked up and I immediately saw a trail of blood coming out from just underneath her right eyebrow. (You know how anything on the face and near the eyes bleeds like crazy.) My husband (who was combing his hair) scooped her up and was trying to get a look at her eye.

I'm sure many of you can relate when I say that my husband is very good at comforting our kids and is completely competent in that department. BUT. When she was in that state and I wasn't physically holding her -- oh. my. word. It was like he was literally holding my own heart in his hands and as I watched a small goose egg instantaneously form above her little eye, I just kept saying "Give her to me. Give her to me. Give her to me." All the while, she is holding her arms out to me saying "Mommy......Mommy....."

*ache* It truly makes my heart ache remembering that moment.

It was probably only about 15 seconds from start to finish, but I just would not have been okay until I was holding her in my arms and physically pouring my love and comfort onto her. Chris (thankfully) didn't fight that and just handed her over. He knew better than to be offended or to take anything personally. He just sort of stood back and let us do our thing. She just melted into me, and really - I did the same to her.

We clung to each other, both crying, for a few moments until my overwhelming emotional tidal wave subsided and some reason set in. I gave her about three kisses and handed her back over to Daddy so that I could run downstairs and grab some ice for her eye. I prayed with each and every step for my sweet girl and tried to keep my heart from beating out of my chest. When I got back upstairs, Georgia and I reached out for each other again and I just headed straight for her rocking chair. She was NOT happy about the idea of ice coming near her eye, so I settled for just having her be still and sang to her as we rocked.

Thankfully, it quit bleeding very quickly as the corner of the tub made more of a puncture-like cut in her skin as opposed to splitting it open. Our focus of concern then changed from the bleeding to swelling, but that also slowed down rather quickly. In other words, we are so very, very fortunate. It's one of those "a millimeter this way or a centimeter that way and things would have been different" sort of injuries. We are SO lucky that she will likely end up with a small scab (hopefully not scar) and a black eye and nothing more.

I was a mess the rest of the day. Truly. It just shook me up. I know I'll get a jolt when I see her for the first time in the morning, too. *shudder* Thank you, Lord - for covering our sweet girl today. Talk about an easy transition into the Mother's Day perspective that I described earlier. Yikes.

I will leave you with a glimpse of my first taste of motherhood with each of my sweet, precious treasures. I am beyond blessed and eternally grateful for being able to say that. Happy Mother's Day.

Mitchell - about 5 minutes old. Can you tell we had a rough start to our journey?


Georgia - one day old and I was already smitten.


Baby Loo - 28 weeks and still cookin'... For those of you who I *know* will be giggling about it, please just this once, ignore the faucet. I was REALLY tired when I took this and forgot that it ends up there. *sigh* So silly.

One Eyed Wonder...

That's me! I am somewhat of a cyclops this week. You see, sometime while I was sleeping Monday night, I developed pink eye. I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed that my eye was sort of itchy. And watery. And sort of gooey.

Fun, right?

So, in the morning when I got up, I noticed that it was worse, and also very pinkish/red. *sigh* Who doesn't love a good dose of pink eye in the morning? Yeah. So. As the day went on, my eye continued to get worse and worse. I *had* to go to the store with the kids, as we were literally on our last diaper/pull up for Miss G. The cashier literally gasped when I pulled up my sunglasses to see the pinpad to pay. I was like "I know. It's bad. I brought my own pen, don't worry."

I started to get somewhat worried while Georgia was napping in the afternoon as this was quickly turning into something other than your typical run-of-the-mill pink eye. My doctor, my eye doctor and my husband's doctor all had policies that prohibited them from calling in a prescription for medicated eye drops without seeing me first. At this point, I was unable to get an appointment with my doctor until Wednesday morning and I had a feeling that waiting that long would not be a good move. I was reading up on conjunctivitis in my kids' pediatrician's book and started to become concerned that I was having what could be symptoms of cellulitis. My dad said he could come stay with the kids while I went to the urgent care clinic before Mitchell's soccer game.

You know it's probably not good when the DOCTOR gasps upon seeing your eye for the first time.

Apparently, my "allergy" week was more like a sinus infection week. I had green yucky goo in my right sinus cavity and fluid behind my right eardrum. This explains how the pink eye came to be, as they all drain or not drain in the same spot, but she was stumped as to why it was so violently attacking my eye. She said there was a lot of bleeding in there...most likely due to the fact that my eye had so much pressure from the swelling. She put me on an oral antibiotic as well as antibiotic eye drops and told me that if it wasn't improving by the next day, I'd need to go to the ER.

FOR PINK EYE. Seriously??? Only me, I swear.

So. That night was horrible. I couldn't sleep at all. It felt like it wasn't improving at all. The only good thing about no sleep was that I could put my drops in every 2 hours all night long. Thankfully, when I woke up in the morning the swelling and redness in the skin surrounding my eye was better.

So, 3 days later here we are. The discoloration and swelling in the skin around my eye is lots better and I'm not having too many goobers anymore. That said, I 'm still very uncomfortable and still very cyclops/bloody eye looking. Seriously. I went shopping today for a few things and it was the topic of conversation each time I pulled my sunglasses down. Fun, fun. Chris would love it if I wore a t-shirt proclaiming that it's pink eye, not a black eye, by the way.

One funny thing did come of this whole thing last night. I had started to doze off on the couch while we were watching tv last night and my hubby said my name and tossed me something. When I first opened my eye, I couldn't see too clearly. I could swear to you that this man threw me a blackberry. All I know is that it was black and white and rectangular. And cold. I was squinting and trying to figure it out while I sat up and Chris starts laughing at me. He says "It's an ice cream sandwich, you dork." I started laughing, too...I told him I thought he got me a new phone. Maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty amusing. We decided the only way it would have been funnier is if I had put it up to my ear and said "Hello?"

I have never washed my hands so much in all my life. They are just raw, despite using more lotion on them than I have in all my life. So far, so good in the way of no one else getting it. (Any prayers to keep it that way would be much appreciated, by the way.)

Okay - if you are squeamish -- avert your eyes. I know that some of you are dying to see what it looks like, so here ya go. The first picture is about 1 am Tuesday and the 2nd picture is from last night before bed. Gross. Totally gross, I know. Okay - off to do eyedrops before bed!

Motherhood in a nutshell

This is my entry picture for this contest.

I was tempted to use a sweet, awwwww-inducing moment, but in the end - I really do feel like this one sums it up for me. I guess the general idea is to hang on tight and try to enjoy every moment. (Even the sleepless, poopy, and tear-filled ones.) Even though it may not look like the textbook definition of it in this picture, I know without a doubt that I'm holding two priceless treasures in my arms. My smile gets bigger every time I look back at this moment.

Yep, that's motherhood.

Wordless Wednesday...

So, I can just hop back into this like I never stopped, right? Riiiiiggghhhhttt!!


Peek-a-boo!

Off to a rockin' start...

So.

Last time I posted I told you how we were going on a 4 day mini-vaca as a family and were excited to be leaving the sickies behind as we rang in 2008 as a healthy, relaxed little group.

Welllll...it didn't quite work out that way.

On Saturday we spent the day packing up our stuff (more of a "me" than a "we"), putting Christmas stuff away, shoveling walks (that was more of a "he" than a "we"), and finally loading all of our stuff and ourselves into the van. Seriously - you would have thought we were going for 4 weeks, not 4 days -- that thing was packed to the gills! We had already decided to just avoid the headache of taking the kids out to eat and instead brought enough food and drinks to last us the whole time. Also, the hot item of the week had been the new kitchen, fake food and tea sets that arrived at Christmas, so we decided to bring those along. (The kitchen barely comes up to my waist -- it's tiny. The fake food and tea sets are all in one 3-drawer rolling plastic bin, so it was easy traveling with those.) We also loaded up a bag full of trains and books. We were all set!

We planned on leaving around 1 but didn't get on the road until about 3. Not a big deal until we decided we needed to make two stops once we got into our little mountain town. By the time we got to the condo, checked in and got everything unloaded it was about 6. I think it was around this time that I told Chris I felt like I was getting sick. My throat was starting to hurt, I had a headache and I just felt a little "off". (Remember that Mitchell and I were both already on antibiotics for strep at this point.) I sort of shrugged it off though because I assumed it was just from having a busy day and not staying totally on top of drinking enough water, so I just started drinking a lot of it right then.

We had a fun night and made some pizzas for dinner. There was a great gas fireplace in the living room which really warmed the whole room -- and it was so cozy and relaxing. (The kids did a wonderful job of staying away from it, too!) The kids were so excited to be in the mountains and it was snowing off and on, which was beautiful to watch. Mitchell was already asking to go play outside in the snow, and we promised him that we would the next day.

We are a sports-loving family, so we were all having fun watching football together - especially since Mitchell insisted on bringing his new Broncos outfit and helmet with him. He loves to pretend he's in the game and "helping the team" - it makes us laugh to see him running around in his own little football game. Such a goof! The only problem that we found was that the large, rectangular window above the couch was REALLY drafty...super drafty. That weekend was filled with high wind and very cold temperatures so we had to improvise with some extra pillows and sheets to block the draft. We never got it completely sealed off but it was much better after our little alteration. The kids also had fun "making dinner" and just playing together in the living room.

We got everyone settled into bed that first night -- Georgia didn't really even fight sleeping in her pack n' play, which was fantastic! There was a little cut-out closet with no doors right inside of our bedroom that made the perfect, cozy little spot for her. Mitchell ended up just sleeping with us. We have a queen sized bed at home, so this HUGE king bed had more than enough room for all of us. Chris and I were both exhausted, so we all went to bed at the same time.

The next morning (Sunday) when I woke up - I knew I was about to get hammered. (I should mention here that we had some "people" over for dinner on Friday night and it turns out that one of them had been sick in bed with a bad cough/cold and the chills *read: fever* all day, yet didn't tell us this and still came to dinner at our house so I was hoping against hope that this wouldn't happen. I'm trying VERY hard not to be bitter or angry about this, as I'm sure you can understand.) I felt absolutely HORRIBLE and feverish. I also was starting to cough and every time that I did it felt like my entire throat and chest were literally on fire. (You know how it feels when you run in really cold weather? That burning?) Mitchell was also starting to cough a bit, which worried me as I was sure he'd soon be feeling like I was. We got everyone fed and sort of got our stuff a bit more settled in the kitchen and living room. It really is so very beautiful up there -- and the kids, like us, were amazed by the view out of our window. We all sat taking it in for awhile, watching for birds and squirrels and other wildlife. There were some gorgeous bluejays that kept flying in and out of the trees right off of our deck.

Mitchell was begging all morning to go outside, so we decided that since the wind hadn't kicked up too much yet, that it would be as good a time as any. (Good thing - the 20 minutes we were outside was it for the WHOLE weekend!!) I really can't believe that I'm putting this picture in here -- you can see how great I felt. Oh, and for the record, I didn't even BRING my makeup bag with me on the trip so just know that. (And BethAnne, my friend, I don't even want to HEAR about another horrible hair/no makeup day from you -- I've clearly trumped you but good in the looking glorious department.) Anyway - it was pretty cold out there (but then again, I had a fever) so we didn't stay long but the kids had so much fun just tromping around in the snow outside of our complex. They cleared the whole picnic table off -- I think that's what took the most time -- and Mitchell made a few great snow angels. Oh, and sweet Miss G did her usual face plant in the snow thing, of course. Then we headed back inside for more football and some hot chocolate and snacks.

I'll give you the nutshell version of the rest of the weekend:

*By about 2pm that day, Mitchell and I both were feeling awful. He and I both kept our fevers until Tuesday morning. His got up to 104 but was usually around 102 and mine was around 101 most of the time. Tylenol and motrin (just for him) helped, but only temporarily. *Georgia joined in on the fun for most of Monday by throwing up once and having a low grade fever, but other than that seemed to be feeling like herself most of the time. *Chris ended up escaping the sick bug -- but I wonder if that's because he was already on Tamiflu from his little episode the week before. *We watched a lot of football and cartoons and I was thankful that there was a Law & Order Marathon on tv all night long since I didn't do much sleeping. *Chris ran to the grocery store 3 times for more medicine, drinks, etc. which was the only money we spent, so at least that was a good thing *He got in the private hot tub on our deck exactly one time but was in sheer heaven while he was soaking *I was actually awake at midnight on New Year's -- of course that's because Mitchell's fever wouldn't go down and I was worried sick while he slept on me. *There were super high winds and it was freezing!! all weekend long, so even if we'd wanted to go outside, we couldn't have.

So.

Here we are, back at home a week later. (And it's the middle of the night as I'm still not sleeping very good, thanks to this monster cough.) I'm still sick, though much better. Mitchell is the same way. Georgia drank out of his cup a few days ago and today came down with a 101.6 degree fever and a cough. *ding,ding* Round 2 anyone??

Still.

It's manageable. It stinks like crazy and I truly have not been this sick in years, but it's manageable. And temporary. And as Chris and I kept repeating to each other all last weekend while we were away...at least we're together.

I'll be back more often once we kick this thing for good. Hope everyone else's year is off to a better start!

Still here...

Thanks for checking on me, friends. I'm still here. Not feeling all that horrible, but not feeling all that great either. I had my first appointment at the OB's office on Monday and all is well. I even got to see the little bean on an ultrasound, so that was reassuring. My due date is now officially July 27. I've just been really, REALLY tired so blogging has been put on the back burner until I can keep my eyes open past 8 pm. Plus, I've been enjoying the fact that my husband has been getting home earlier and we've been spending time together at night. This week I have got to wrap presents as so far, I have wrapped ONE. Probably not a good pace I'm setting.

Seeing as how it's Wednesday and I'm in a rush to get Mitchell to school so that Georgia and I can go finish my shopping, I will just take the Not-So-Wordless-Wednesday path today. I *do* have a more thinking cap type blog in my head -- it's been there for about 2 weeks now -- maybe this week I can find a few minutes to get it down.

Love and hugs to all my bloggy friends. Hope you are wrapped in the love of Christ as the day of his birth draws near.

Our first family gingerbread house. We were sort of over it by the time we got to the windows and the wreaths. The kids loved playing in the backyard after the snow. Unfortunately my camera batteries died after these two shots. That last one is of Georgia after she face planted. Doesn't she look thrilled? It was pretty funny - she is SUCH a drama queen.