Back to the real world....

It's hard for a mother sometimes to look forward to getting away...there is laundry that has to be done, packing, arranging of schedules, etc. before the mind can focus on the actual event. This is how I felt trying to get ready for our girls beach trip....and then we got the stomach bug. Two nights before I was to leave, little man woke up from 2:00 - 4:30 throwing up then I got it the next morning (Wednesday) the day before we were to leave. So instead of concentrating on what needed to be done on Wednesday - I was playing catch up washing all the throw up sheets PLUS the other laundry.

All that to say, it didn't really hit me that the beach trip was upon us except for a slight moment on Wednesday when I was praying this stomach bug wouldn't keep me from getting the break I needed and Thursday when I finally was in the car on 85 Southbound for Florida.

The road trip always goes by so fast when you are in the car with 6 girls - there is always something to talk about and luckily, my kids are at the age where I wasn't missing them. (One year I left my then 13 month old - also first born- child at home for the first time ever and cried practically the entire trip down) This time? Not so much....

The trip was a blast! No time frames, no alarm clocks, no agendas - just ten girls doing whatever you wanted - some read books, some stayed on the beach all day, some napped, some rented bikes and me? I did as little as possible the entire time although I did have a little trip to the emergency room. I'll include a group photo as soon as I get it

To make a long story short and catch you up to date - I had been having this pain in my right side/ribs for a few weeks now and had even gone into the doctor to have it checked out thinking it was maybe pneumonia or bronchitis? Are those painful? They thought I may have pulled some cartilage from either coughing so hard or picking up little man. Tylenol, rest, blah, blah, blah, all those things would help. It's been a little over a week since that visit and I notice on Friday after a day at the beach that it's actually getting worse...another call into the dr. and he says to do the tylenol, don't do anything to aggravate it and alternate ice/heat. I guess a good thing would have been to not laugh as hard as you possibly can with 10 girls for hours since it hurts to breathe or move. Friday night I couldn't sleep due to the excruciating pain - I would've made another call into the dr. at 2:00 am but couldn't get cell service and didn't want to wake anyone to borrow their phone. Tears at the breakfast table Saturday morning caused me to put another call into him and he said if I was in that much pain, then I needed to head to the ER.....That's the background - here is where it gets funny. (Is anyone even still reading this?)

Sweet Heather is adamant about taking me to the ER even though I swear I can take myself (thank God I didn't!) so on our last day at the beach, we are headed to the hospital. Luckily, they got us in and out in a hurry. They didn't do an x-ray which made me feel more comfortable plus it wouldn't matter either way whether it was a fractured rib or a pulled muscle since there is nothing they can do but basically manage the pain. So when the dr. asks if I wanted a morphine shot, Heather urges me to get it knowing how bad of pain i'm in. YES, I'm still wondering how that is safe when you are pregnant... It didn't take 5 minutes for the shot to take effect. Heather had to literally hold me up to walk out of there. She takes me to Publix to get my RX filled and knowing that I can't walk by myself, she drops me off at the front and tells me to have a seat somewhere while she parks the car. Morphine has definitely set in and taken me to my happy place....the closest spot I find to land is on one of those electric buggies and I'm hysterically laughing (tears running down my face) at NOTHING! No one is around me and I'm aware that I can NOT stop laughing....well, here comes Heather and she starts dying laughing - I guess she thinks I'm about to drive this thing away! She starts throwing my wallet and things in the buggy at the front and says "well, let's go!" Again, I'm HYSTERICAL and just reply to her "heather! I can't drive this thing! They told me I can't drive! I will run over displays" Please remember this is all through laughing and tears....She walks me into the pharmacy where continue to cry I'm laughing so hard (mind you at nothing!) and I can't even fill my form out - heather has to do it. The pharmacist asks me with this concerned face "are you okay?" This makes me laugh even harder if that's possible! All the time I'm thinking that pharmacist isn't going to "serve" me Loritab! They are going to be like "cut her off!" No more for her!

Needless to say, I got my RX, heather took me back and sprayed me down with 45 sunscreen (thank goodness for the spray sunscreen! That really came in handy!) She walked me down to the beach and I swear it was like Weekend at Bernies - of course, me being bernie! She propped me up in my beach chair and I was happily out! I could actually hear people talking around me but no matter what I did, I coudn't bring myself to speak or become part of the conversation.... The morphine worked WONDERS and completely numbed the pain along with about everything else for the next few hours!

It didn't put a damper on my trip though....Once the morphine wore off, I doped up on Loritab - which was hilarious in itself. I'd be in mid conversation and start to "head out" which basically meant fall asleep with everyone talking around me....still hearing but not participating!

I'm home now and back to reality - I can't take the pain medicine during the day because I have to be functional and drive my kids around! And honestly, I don't know how this pulled muscle will even have the opportunity to heal until this baby is out but I am embracing it and thankful for this baby everyday. I'm just ready to get it here safely and meet this new little member of our family.

I'm 33 TODAY!

"Do you remember the 21st night of September?

Love was changing the minds of pretenders

While chasing the clouds away

Our hearts were ringing

In the key that our souls were singing.

As we danced in the night,

Remember how the stars stole the night away"

- Earth Wind & Fire

Do y'all think this is how my parents felt the night I was born!! I did not take one picture on my birthday yesterday. That's the joy of turning 33 - you don't feel like you have to document it!

Things I know for sure......

These are things I know to be for sure right here, right now, today.....

*Fall is on the way! I got my Southern Living creative side out and redecorated my front door! I LOVE DOING THIS! The only thing that's missing is the pumpkins. Numero Uno was such a big help planting and cleaning. It is such a joy to work out in the yard with my kids (even though I don't do it that often!)

*Numero Uno can try and convince me all he wants that he doesn't need a nap everyday but then I find him like this after our little planting session. Does this not look like the perfect napping spot? I guess he thought so!





* Little man went poop on the potty today! YEAH! But then he wet his pants after our trip to Home Depot....One step forward, two steps back....Still celebrating the small victories! (Here is the picture of the boys I took on little man's first day of preschool)





* I have some really awesome friends that aren't going anywhere and I know we will be friends forever. I'm blessed to have more than my share of these types of friends but last night two celebrated me turning 33 at the park. It was such an awesome night and we relaxed, ate and laughed while our kids played....such fun memories.

* I turn 33 tomorrow and am so looking forward to a quiet, adult conversation only, dinner date with my husband tonight! YEAH!

(This song always makes me think of these people)

Happy Fall!

Come all those who are weary.....

Yesterday was just not good. I'll leave every tiny detail out but I'll just say that my child held it ALL DAY!!! YES!!! He is really that stubborn! He basically sat in the bathroom until 2:30 yesterday until we had to feed him lunch and put him down for his nap! We thought for sure he'd poop his diaper when we laid him down for his nap but nothing - and nothing for the rest of the day!

We were exhausted - you start to doubt yourselves as parents! I mean, we've done this before and you'd think we had NO IDEA how to potty train! Our two children are seriously just that different!

So this morning, as with every Sunday morning, it's only through the will of God that we make it to church. Does every mom feel this way? Trying to get everyone up and dressed....the four year old is complaining he doesn't want to go to church, the two year old is about to poop his pants so we've got him sitting on the potty....yet AGAIN! So when we finally get there and get the kids in their classes and finally sit down, I feel so drained, to say the least. Plus I sat down this morning bringing everything from the week with me leaving me not only drained but broken and defeated.

My husband and I started this thing (not even purposely) when we were dating that whenever a prayer was said whether before a meal, at small group or at church, we always reach for each other's hand. It's so great because now it's not even thought about and it actually feels weird if he's not there during a prayer to hold my hand. But this morning, when we both sit down exhausted and doubting ourselves and constantly debating with each other on what we should do - the prayer starts and it's such a small thing but holding hands connects us no matter where we are at that moment -we know we are together....we are on the same page and whatever it is that we're facing, we are going to get through it together...so comforting. ("A chord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12)

I was anxious to pick little man up from the nursery to see if he had pooped (of course he had to of, right? Wrong!) so after lunch with my family, we came home and knew he had to go so bad - sat him on the potty and I know this is going to be shocking to read but he actually WENT!!! I couldn't believe it...we called everyone to tell them. It's so funny how your mood can change over that! Then my only thought went to "now what?" So I just had a little talk with him that "you know what are doing now...when you feel that feeling, you need to sit on the potty!" (Make no mistake though, we've done all this before!)

After nap, he woke up and went outside to play and the first second he was by himself....he pooped his pants. wow. just wow. I got nothing else.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28

Parenting/Pottying the Strong Willed Child

Before any of you read this, let me preface it by saying this is NOT easy - BUT with that being said, I can honestly say that I can't even believe he would SIT there!

As I write this, little man has been sitting on the potty for a little over an hour (I'm updating the blog as we go!) When he woke up this morning, I told him "today is a new day" to which he burrowed his eyebrows and looked at me with this expression that said "what are you talking about, Willis?" I continued, "today we are going to poop on the potty, okay?"...........he simply said, "Okay."

I fed him breakfast, he watched a little tv with big brother and then I took him in the bathroom as I was told to do and simply said "I've talked to your doctor and he said you can go in the potty so you are staying in here until you go poop in the potty...call me when you're done" and walked out. At first he said "okay" and I started thinking if he immediately poops on the potty, I'm going to freak out. But after an hour I realized that wasn't going to happen. After the first 3 minutes, he started yelling for me "mommy, I'm done" to which I went in there and nothing. In the span of one hour's time, this has probably occurred at least ten times. I just keep saying "the doctor says you can do this...call me when you are done." One time I went in and he was crying so I leaned down to hug him and I literally didn't think he was going to let go....that broke my heart but for the most part he's just sitting in there. At the hour and a half mark, he opened the bathroom door to which I walked over to see what was going on and he immediately shut it....I said "that's what I thought".

Hour two - I'm starting to get weak but I just keep repeating Matthew 5:37 "Let your message be "yes" for "yes" and "no" for "no"..." I wonder if this smart little two year old can tell that he's breaking me down? I'm trying so hard to remain calm.....After continuing to pick him up, turn him around and put him on the potty too many times for this pregnant mom, I hear him opening the door so I go to check on him and he's CRYING!!! Um....he has pooped on the floor - exactly what we thought he would do! It's so close to the door that I have to smear it all over the floor to even open the door. I'm wondering why in the world is HE crying? I'm so frustrated and don't even know where to start cleaning this mess up that's all over the floor, on the rug, all over him....UGH! So I take him up to my bathtub and completely clean him up, get him dressed and direct him back downstairs with big brother. That is when I completely lose it - is it crazy for me to be in tears over this? Everyone says you have to remain calm - yeah right!!! It's so hard to remove yourself ESPECIALLY when your pregnant, exhausted and hormonal! So once he's downstairs I figure I can let my guard down and lose my "calm" demeanor...As I scrubbed my bathtub clean of his feces on my hands and knees, I couldn't stop crying - the crying continued as I was on my hands and knees in the downstairs bathroom as well. I was exhausted, defeated and I had to get out of this house. So we went and met some friends (the friend that seems to be there everytime I'm crying!) I'm sure she thought I was a joy to be around today! But it was so nice to get out of the house....came home & everyone took naps! I wanted to stay in that bed until daddy came home and physically lifted me out of it but we were all up to welcome him home.

This is where it gets even worse.....I know you wonder if that's possible. We all sit down to eat dinner and afterwards little man is dying to get down from his seat - so he's still in a booster that buckles so we unbuckle him and he's playing on the floor as far as I know....oh no, he pooped his pants AGAIN! Daddy took over this time knowing I didn't have it in me and that's when the tears revisited....I needed a break which I took in my room/bathroom for close to two hours...The kids would come up & bang on the locked door - "mommy's taking a break right now!" I woud hear daddy yell upstairs "get back down here, I told you not to go up there!" I did come out a little bit restored but....tomorrow is a new day - and we will be in that bathroom again until he poops on the potty!

I'm on board.....

So if you've read my blog before, you know how much I love John Rosemond who is a family psychologist who since 1990 has devoted his time to speaking and writing. He has a weekly syndicated parenting colomn which appears in some 250 newspapers. Along the way, he's managed to write eleven bestselling books on parenting and the family.....BUT none of this truly explains how great and practical he is.

We had the pleasure of meeting him tonight and hearing him speak and as I got him to sign my book, telling him it's the "best book I've ever read" - I proceeded to ask him if he was going to have a question/answer session. He said not with a crowd this large but that he's right there if I had a question! Um...YES i have a question! After a month and a half of little man hiding from me to poop in his pants, I was anxious to throw this question at John Rosemond to see what advice he'd give! He asked if I knew about what time he poops everyday - yep. He asked if he can communicate? Can he talk - oh yes. So after establishing that my child completely knows what he's doing he says "I'm going to tell you what you do but don't tell your friends because they will be appalled (might not be the best idea to post it on my blog!) but he said to put him in the bathroom, set him on the potty and say "I have talked to your doctor and your doctor says you need to stay in here until you go poop on the potty so let me know when you are done" and walk out! I asked him do I shut the door? What if he doesn't stay in there? To which he replied "put a gate up" - alrighty then. I mentioned that the preschool wants him coming in a pullup (which I was totally against - I think it's so confusing if you are tring to potty train!) and he said " no, you are DONE with diapers and pull ups.... you are DONE and he doesn't go to school until he's trained." So I get back to our seats, turn to hubby and tell him and he says "don't send him to preschool? Is John Rosemond going to reimburse us for preschool?" We also came up with another question that I asked him afterwards "What if he poops on the floor in the bathroom?" He answered "you tell him that's not good enough so we'll try it again tomorrow." wow.

Do you think I've got my work cut out for me? Friday is the day because I have to open the shop in the morning and he'll be at preschool. So look forward to the blog update Friday night.

John Rosemond has a new book coming out on the 16th but I just finished his latest book called "Parenting by The Book - Biblical Wisdom for Raising Your Child" and there is no reason for me to sit here and harp on how big of a fan I am so I'm just going to recommend the book to you. I guarantee you won't be able to put it down. America has tried parenting according to pyschology for nearly forty years. It hasn't worked, it's not working, and it's not going to work. It's time people got back to parenting by The Book.

Long time...no update

So I haven't been the best blog updater lately - Crazy would be a good word for the past few weeks. Here's a quick recap of what's been going on over here:

* Celebrated numero uno's 4th birthday for literally an entire weekend - putting together a fire station birthday party for over 20 kids, hosting family for dinner and traveling to be with our other family on Sunday - exhausting for my pregnant feet as I tend to stand and talk to everyone when I'm hosting! I think this might have been the only time I sat down all weekend...to take this picture!

* Both boys started preschool at a new school and getting adjusted has been harder for mommy than it has been for them! At the orientation, I looked at my husband and said "I miss MY friends!!" to which he replied "you'll make new friends sweetie" - Can you tell it's been harder on me than on the kids? I do know some people - actually one of my best friends since birth sends her little girl there - but it's not my comfortable stomping grounds yet. I'm used to knowing all the administrators, teachers, assitants and kids at the old school....it will come I know.

* The car didn't start on Little Man's very FIRST day of preschool (numero uno had already gone the day before)....I broke out into a sweaty panic attack and finally called the above mentioned best friend to come get us. She gladly picked us up, dropped me off at the curb, where I stepped out of the car into a puddle, it was pouring down rain and walked in with a boy on each hand only for the director to ask me if I had my badge to get into the school...."um, I have nothing! My car wouldn't start, my friend just dropped me off at the curb, he is in Muldowny's class and he is in Conner's class" to which she replies "I'm so sorry....I'm going to have to walk them back" - Had I been able to think straight which I couldn't in my rushed panic state, I would've asked to walk back with her to escort my little man to his class on his first day of preschool but because the tears were coming fast, I quickly turned (forgetting to even hug my kids) and ran to my borrowed ride just in time to let the tears fall. Was it a big deal in the big scheme of life? No but it was a huge deal THEN for this hormonal pregnant mom that had already been hard on herself for not even getting his PICTURE taken on the first morning, much less not walking him to his classroom. He was completely fine - walked right in and had a blast with no tears....his mom on the other hand? Not so fine.

* Numero uno has started going four days straight a week (Mon-Thurs) and while I know there are moms that do way more than this...it has been a huge adjustment for this mom that's not a morning person at all!!! I've been so proud to have them up, dressed and even FED in time to head out...and I know I'm going to eventually get my rhythm down but I just don't have it yet. Two prime examples, the morning after the director tolded me I needed my badge, I proceeded to drop numero uno off in the carpool line. Well who comes to open his door? The same director who probably thinks I'm the biggest nutjob in the world - well I have two kids and the only one getting out was on the opposite side of where he was supposed to get out. She tells me "Could you please switch him to the other side?" Whatever....Of course I can - Was i bugged anyway? YES! It's hormones. Another day I had both boys completely dressed and getting in the car when I happened to walk by the calendar and read that today is Spirit day and they should wear their school tshirts!!! CRAP! So I quickly changed them, putting on their school t- shirts so I'd look like i was somewhat on the ball. I get there and numero uno's teacher tells me that it's not spirit day for them, only little man.....WHATEVER!

* I joined facebook and can not even begin to tell you the amount of friends that are coming out of the woodwork! People from elementary school are contacting me! It's great but everytime I sit down at my computer, I have a new friend to confirm in my inbox! This has taken a chunk of my blogging time.

* I came down with the most horrible sinus infection that I've had now for over a week. Finally went to the doctor because all of the things that a pregnant person is allowed to take (Tylenol, Sudafed, Benadryl) wasn't touching it. Now I'm just on some category B drugs that still aren't touching it...It's not so fun being pregnant, but SICK and pregnant...wow - I'm taking grumpy to a whole new level. I have so much sinus pressure that my TEETH hurt...yes, you read that right - my teeth.

* Hubby left early Saturday morning to spend the weekend at his Alma Mater, see a football game, hang at the fraternity house and catch up with old friends. I couldn't be more thankful to have him back - our kids don't do so well when one of us is gone. Bedtime is HORRIBLE! And it doesn't matter which one is gone! If one isn't here for bedtime, it's not good. Little man basically cried himself to sleep even after we called Daddy to say his prayers over the phone and I had gone in to rock him several times. Do other kids do this? We talked about it tonight and he's not looking forward to me going away for four days soon. I, on the other hand, am counting down the days!!!!

*Little man is still pooping in his pants after a month of potty training - he really has no desire to tell me he needs to poop or even try to make it to the potty in time. I've tried stickers, bribing, toys on the fridge, even spankings and this strong willed child seems unphased. I, on the other hand, am about to lose my freaking mind...again hormones, pregnant, sick, child pooping his pants daily, not good! So as of today we have taken away his blankie that he LOVES for naptime (he pooped his pants before church this morning) and bedtime tonight (since he pooped his pants after dinner) He's got to get it eventually right? I guess I should be encouraged that they make adult diapers in case he doesn't! I'm going to hear John Rosemond speak Wednesday night on Parenting the Strong Willed Child and I swear I'm taking my list of questions with me regarding our strong willed child! I know every child is different and I've said this before, my two are night and day!

So basically that's about all that's been going on over here - hope it explains the lack of updating as I've literally FALLEN in bed every night.

Was going to post the picture I got on little man's first day of preschool when I went to pick them up but the camera is dead....stay tuned!