Let me begin by reiterating the fact that The Harpster is a pretty good baby. She's pretty good-natured and easy going. But this post is not really about her.
I am inspired to write this because of an email that I sent my friend this morning as I was fuming over the events of the night.
Harper cried ALL night. It all started around 11:45. She'd give us about 30 min of quiet, and then more crying, ummm, we'll call it screaming for now. I was already tired from the events of the past few weeks, so I was silently dreading the night I could foresee ahead of me. (Notice I said ME).
At one point (around 12am) my very smart, intelligent husband rolled over and spoke these words to me:
"Can you just figure out what is wrong with her, this screaming is really getting on my nerves..."
"Exxxccccuuussseee me?" I replied in a very sarcastic tone. "Can I figure out what is wrong with her...? Why don't you do it, genius...?"
Those were the only words he spoke to me the whole night. One may quickly conclude that this was a good thing... But it wasn't. Keep in mind I was up ALL NIGHT and this man was "sleeping" right next to me. Do you know how many times he offered to get up and help me? That's right folks, ZIP, ZERO, ZILCH, NONE.
I could have somewhat given him the benefit of the doubt if he would have had to work this morning, but I am afraid (for his life) to tell you what he had on HIS schedule today....(Gasp)....... GOLF... Yes, that's right, GOLF.
"Sweetie, let me take the baby to the rec-room so that you can get your beauty sleep. I wouldn't want you looking like you have pink eye on the course... If your eyes are dry and tired, you wouldn't be able to efficiently hit the ball, would you?" (puke. puke.) "The driving range may look just a little fuzzy after a night of reduced sleep, and I wouldn't want you to endure that!"
Oh, honey, I pity you right now as I know all the Mothers reading this are about to go POSTAL on your hind parts. (At this point, I wouldn't defend you...sorry....)
If he thinks he's leaving this house without a baby bjorn strapped to his chest, he's smoking crack!
So now that my vent is over, guess where my lovely husband is? You got it! Legends Golf Course, now I will say that he promised he would only hit balls on the driving range and be back by the time Grace woke up, but we'll see.
In his defense, he did let me sleep from around 10:30am to 1pm this afternoon while the in-laws had Grace out and about. And he did take Grace to the doctor this morning. (Another ear infection and allergies. Add that to the list of the Burton infirmities.) So, yes, I am still here with the babies, although one is asleep... the other is still crying on the floor beside me.
I was able to go (with Harper) to the 50% off day at the goodwill...but the people (shopping) were rude and obnoxious and it was packed, and I didn't find anything good, so I was annoyed about that. But hey, I was up anyways, and in the car, little H is just fine, so I took the opportunity to leave.
Ok, so just for the record, I am not mad at Chris anymore, and I think we just need a date night (and a trip to Anthropologie), WITHOUT the kids.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
My child is LOUD.
Everyone knows that Grace Ann is loud. Bless her heart, she is so full of life and she can't really help it. She is just loud. She cried LOUD as a baby, she said her first word at 5 months (no kidding...) she talks NON-STOP, from the time she wakes up in the morning, until about an hour after we put her to bed... and about 12 or 1am, she starts talking again, in her sleep.
Yesterday I had to snap this picture of Harper. It is not staged, I didn't position her hands like this, I promise!
Her fingers are actually plugging her ears! No kidding! Here is the scenario: It was naptime, and I had put Grace in her bed about 30 minutes earlier. Yesterday she was in a particularly talkative mood....at this point, she was STILL running her mouth...very LOUDLY. Harper is pretty smart for a 4 week old. She doesn't even know what she is in for!
Here's another picture for good measure. I love baby eyelashes. They are so delicate and pretty.
Yesterday I had to snap this picture of Harper. It is not staged, I didn't position her hands like this, I promise!
Her fingers are actually plugging her ears! No kidding! Here is the scenario: It was naptime, and I had put Grace in her bed about 30 minutes earlier. Yesterday she was in a particularly talkative mood....at this point, she was STILL running her mouth...very LOUDLY. Harper is pretty smart for a 4 week old. She doesn't even know what she is in for!Here's another picture for good measure. I love baby eyelashes. They are so delicate and pretty.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Well, POOP....
So what does the title have to do with the actual post? Well, nothing except I felt it may be inappropriate to use a curse word in the title of a blog post, so I opted for the word POOP.
Forget all the happy, good attitude posts I've published in the last month or so. Today's will not be happy, optimistic, and may not even be in good taste. For that, forgive me in advance. I just need to vent.
First, can I just tell you how my day started...? I had about 5 minutes before Harper woke up screaming and hungry and about 10 before Grace would want to get out of her bed, so I go down to get my daily bowl of cereal. All is well, I pour a mixture of Multigrain Cheerios and Honey Nut Shredded Wheat Squares and head back to eat it in bed. As I am crawling into bed, some unknown force comes and knocks the bowl right out of my hand. The BIG bowl of cereal and milk spill ALL OVER my bed. (just for reference: our cereal bowls can hold roughly 4.5 cups of cereal and milk easily) I will confess, lots of expletives flew from my mouth. So I scraped the cereal back into the bowl, stripped the bed (for the 50th time in a month) and had to throw away my eggshell matress (for I did not want to sleep on sour milk). Then to top it all off, I didn't want to waste all that cereal, so I just ate it.... moistened with the spilled milk... yum, doesn't that sound wonderful!
Anyway, back to the sickness story...
I've briefly mentioned how everyone in the whole family has been sick, but have I really let you know how sick we've been? IF not, you'll find out here, mainly because I am sick and tired of it and it is pissing me off to no end right now.
Let's begin the story way back at the end of December. (Notice that it's now FEBRUARY) I was still pregnant and about to have this lovely baby named Harper. I was sick. Sore throat, stuffy nose, sinus crud, you name it. I was sick. My poor mother was also sick, but faithfully took care of Grace for days on end, was at my side for the birth and took care of us for the 2 weeks after Harper was born also. Saint, I know.
About the time we came home from the hospital, Grace had come down with the crud. Coughing, fever, etc. and I had still not gotten over it. Let's give ourselves a week or so, and BOOM...Puke bug infested our house. I got it, Grace got it and Chris got it the worst of anyone. Then, yes, my poor mom got it too.
As soon as we were all over this, Harper starts hacking and coughing like a smoker, and is running a fever of around 100 for several days. I take her into the doctor, and praise the Lord she doesn't have RSV. But whatever she has is still sticking around. Oh, I forgot to mention that she has thrush and a yeast infection...Keep in mind... I am still sick. Never gotten over whatever I had.
Fast forward to yesterday afternoon. I pick Grace up from school and am greeted by rosy red cheeks that looked like they've been slapped several hundred times. YUP... Fifth's Disease. Can you freaking believe it?
So as of today, Harper is still hacking, her nose is stuffed up, she's got thrush, a yeast infection, and is still spitting up all the time...Grace has Fifth's Disease, I have the crud and basically the only one of us that is well is Chris... and he's gone all day (and night) and can't take care of his sick girls.
I was debating whether to document the gory details of each sickness, but I thought I'd spare you the mental picture. It wasn't pretty.
So now that I am done venting, we need prayer! Obviously, the doctors cant do jack for us and we can't help ourselves. We need healing, and maybe some warm weather! At this point, I am at my wits end, so I am praying that the Lord would rid our house of sickness and protect us from getting anything else.
As for my mental sanity, pray for that too. I've been doing pretty darn well on very little sleep with sickness infesting my body, but I can feel myself coming toward a breaking point. Most days I can just go with the flow, but I feel I could snap at any minute, and I am praying that that will only happen when I am in the shower, or alone somewhere, so I don't have to subject my family to it! Hopefully I can go workout this afternoon when Chris get's home and burn some aggression off!
PS. What does Jamie do when all this is going on in her house? Put Harper in the swing, Grace at the table with Play-Dough and get on my hands and knees and scour every cabinet and baseboard in the kitchen. Don't really know why I felt it necessary to do that, but it was kind of therapeutic.
Forget all the happy, good attitude posts I've published in the last month or so. Today's will not be happy, optimistic, and may not even be in good taste. For that, forgive me in advance. I just need to vent.
First, can I just tell you how my day started...? I had about 5 minutes before Harper woke up screaming and hungry and about 10 before Grace would want to get out of her bed, so I go down to get my daily bowl of cereal. All is well, I pour a mixture of Multigrain Cheerios and Honey Nut Shredded Wheat Squares and head back to eat it in bed. As I am crawling into bed, some unknown force comes and knocks the bowl right out of my hand. The BIG bowl of cereal and milk spill ALL OVER my bed. (just for reference: our cereal bowls can hold roughly 4.5 cups of cereal and milk easily) I will confess, lots of expletives flew from my mouth. So I scraped the cereal back into the bowl, stripped the bed (for the 50th time in a month) and had to throw away my eggshell matress (for I did not want to sleep on sour milk). Then to top it all off, I didn't want to waste all that cereal, so I just ate it.... moistened with the spilled milk... yum, doesn't that sound wonderful!
Anyway, back to the sickness story...
I've briefly mentioned how everyone in the whole family has been sick, but have I really let you know how sick we've been? IF not, you'll find out here, mainly because I am sick and tired of it and it is pissing me off to no end right now.
Let's begin the story way back at the end of December. (Notice that it's now FEBRUARY) I was still pregnant and about to have this lovely baby named Harper. I was sick. Sore throat, stuffy nose, sinus crud, you name it. I was sick. My poor mother was also sick, but faithfully took care of Grace for days on end, was at my side for the birth and took care of us for the 2 weeks after Harper was born also. Saint, I know.
About the time we came home from the hospital, Grace had come down with the crud. Coughing, fever, etc. and I had still not gotten over it. Let's give ourselves a week or so, and BOOM...Puke bug infested our house. I got it, Grace got it and Chris got it the worst of anyone. Then, yes, my poor mom got it too.
As soon as we were all over this, Harper starts hacking and coughing like a smoker, and is running a fever of around 100 for several days. I take her into the doctor, and praise the Lord she doesn't have RSV. But whatever she has is still sticking around. Oh, I forgot to mention that she has thrush and a yeast infection...Keep in mind... I am still sick. Never gotten over whatever I had.
Fast forward to yesterday afternoon. I pick Grace up from school and am greeted by rosy red cheeks that looked like they've been slapped several hundred times. YUP... Fifth's Disease. Can you freaking believe it?
So as of today, Harper is still hacking, her nose is stuffed up, she's got thrush, a yeast infection, and is still spitting up all the time...Grace has Fifth's Disease, I have the crud and basically the only one of us that is well is Chris... and he's gone all day (and night) and can't take care of his sick girls.
I was debating whether to document the gory details of each sickness, but I thought I'd spare you the mental picture. It wasn't pretty.
So now that I am done venting, we need prayer! Obviously, the doctors cant do jack for us and we can't help ourselves. We need healing, and maybe some warm weather! At this point, I am at my wits end, so I am praying that the Lord would rid our house of sickness and protect us from getting anything else.
As for my mental sanity, pray for that too. I've been doing pretty darn well on very little sleep with sickness infesting my body, but I can feel myself coming toward a breaking point. Most days I can just go with the flow, but I feel I could snap at any minute, and I am praying that that will only happen when I am in the shower, or alone somewhere, so I don't have to subject my family to it! Hopefully I can go workout this afternoon when Chris get's home and burn some aggression off!
PS. What does Jamie do when all this is going on in her house? Put Harper in the swing, Grace at the table with Play-Dough and get on my hands and knees and scour every cabinet and baseboard in the kitchen. Don't really know why I felt it necessary to do that, but it was kind of therapeutic.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
My favorite things
We've had a rough go of it over the past few days. Last Tuesday I came down with a touch of the throw-up virus. Wednesday, Grace got it, Friday night Chris got it, and now we are all over that, but have massive sinus infections that won't go away. Even little H is coughing, which worries me a little bit. In light of the sucky last few days, I thought I'd post some pictures of my favorite things to take my mind off the freezing cold weather, dreary days, a house full of sickness, and my all around bad mood!
Here are a few of my favorite things:
Sleeping Babies
Here are a few of my favorite things:
Sleeping Babies
Smiling babies! Harper has been smiling a ton in response to people talking to her and smiling at her, and it is so hard to capture those first few smiles, but this was the best I could do. This is the beginning of a huge-full face smile!
Friends...Love friends...
Craftiness part 1: These are the beginnings of Grace's valentine's present, felt cookies! Aren't they cute!
Craftiness part 2: Love these great wreaths, the picture doesn't do them justice! I think they are just so pretty and remind me of something they would sell in Anthropologie! I've made 4-5 in the last few weeks, stress reliever!
These yellow tulips were just what I needed the other day. Don't they just make you long for spring? Mom brought them over when I was in the midst of massively cleaning puke germs out of the house...and trying to take care of Chris and Harper at the same time. And don't miss the candle. Origins, Ginger Souffle, love that smell.
Ok, back to my grumpiness...
PS. any advice on the 2.5 year old tantrum? My tactic, move things out of her way so she can't hurt herself (because sometimes she throws herself on the floor), walk out of the room, and totally ignore until the fit has resolved...or resolved enough for her to speak to me in her big girl voice? (Did I mention that I have this uncanny ability to tune out crying children?) This fact is a blessing for a stay at home mom I guess.
PS. any advice on the 2.5 year old tantrum? My tactic, move things out of her way so she can't hurt herself (because sometimes she throws herself on the floor), walk out of the room, and totally ignore until the fit has resolved...or resolved enough for her to speak to me in her big girl voice? (Did I mention that I have this uncanny ability to tune out crying children?) This fact is a blessing for a stay at home mom I guess.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Lesson #1
Lesson #1 from Grace to Harper:
Despite being a little under the weather, Grace taught Harper her first lesson today. I have to say, it was one of the cutest exchanges I've witnessed between them.
Harper was sitting in her bouncy seat in the rec room. Grace was on her knees next to the seat elaborately explaining to Harper how to hit the little bear with her hand.
"Look Baby Harper, you just hit the bear like this: (pushes the bear back and forth with her hand) Here, look, do it like this! Take your hand, push the bear right here... "
The explanation went on like this for another minute or two and Harper was intently looking back and forth between Grace and the swinging bear. Not 2 seconds after Grace explained what to do, Harper's hand went up and hit the bear so it swung back and forth.
I can't even explain the look on Grace's face. Her eyes were as big as saucers and her smile grew and grew (she was so shocked) and she jumped up and ran around the room clapping and yelling "You DID IT! You did it! Baby Harper did it! YEA! I showed her what to do! She DID it! I showed her! YEA Harper!"
Harper actually hit the bear with her hand twice. I've never seen Grace so proud! She was genuinely so proud of her sister! I think she was proud of herself also for teaching Harper what to do. I wish I'd had the video camera handy, that would have been a priceless video.
So there ya go... Harper is not quite 3 weeks old and the lessons from big sister to little sister have already begun. This should be fun. I had to record the first lesson... and if I remember, I'll print it out and put it in the baby book.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Record the Good Ones!
Zephaniah 3:16-17
" Cheer up Zion! Do not be afraid! For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."
I need to remind myself sometimes to make record of the good days. I can get caught up in the frustrating days, the bad days, and the days I'd like to forget and pass right over the good ones like they never happened! I am constantly trying to figure out what the Lord is trying to teach or show me in the hard days, and what I fail to recognize or embrace are the sweet blessings God has for me on the good days too.
Monday was a good day. It was just me, Grace and Harper, all day; when I say ALL DAY, I mean ALL DAY. Chris had a game last night and so he didn't get home until after the girls went to bed. We had a great day. Grace had no tantrums, she was content to play by herself when I was feeding the baby, she wanted to help me clean and empty the dishwasher, she wanted to snuggle Harper and was just in an all-round good mood!
Harper is still having some breathing and gastro problems, but she was as happy as she could be and really enjoys watching Grace when she is awake. At no point during the day did I feel overwhelmed; at no point was my patience wearing thin, and even though I have a baby literally attached to me all day, I didn't feel 'claustrophobic' or anxious. I was also able to do some 'crafty projects' which always relaxes me and makes me happy.
I even decided to brave the cold and the early darkness to take both the girls out of the house by myself! We went to the Rainbow Room about an hour before it closed and Grace was able to play and slide to her heart's content. It wasn't too bad, although it's kind of annoying to carry a carseat on one arm and hold a toddler's hand as she tries to bolt across a parking lot. I'm sure I'll figure all these logistics in time.
I have noticed that becoming a 'mom' a second time is much easier than it was for me the first time. Maybe I am already in the groove or something, but that has been a nice surprise. I am able to see a side of Grace that touches my heart. She has fallen into her new role as a 'big sister' quite nicely. She is so helpful to me and loves to snuggle her baby. Her love for Harper already is evident. It's so cute. She is well aware that it's not all about her anymore, and she seems to be Ok with it...! Actually, taking care of Harper has pulled Grace out of her tantrums on several occasions. In the middle of an all out, fall on the floor, screaming fit, she will hear Harper whimper (although I am not sure how, above all her screaming) and immediately pull herself together and say "I need make Harper feel better!"
Today Grace is at school (which is the best thing we've ever done... BY FAR) and I am thinking about taking the girls to the mall for a pretzel and some play time when we go pick her up. Ambitious, I know... but I think I can do it.
I am just so thankful today. I do feel like the Lord is singing over us and he is rejoicing in our little family. My goal is to take it day by day, hour by hour even and never forget to be thankful for the good days, even the good hours throughout the day.
" Cheer up Zion! Do not be afraid! For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."
I need to remind myself sometimes to make record of the good days. I can get caught up in the frustrating days, the bad days, and the days I'd like to forget and pass right over the good ones like they never happened! I am constantly trying to figure out what the Lord is trying to teach or show me in the hard days, and what I fail to recognize or embrace are the sweet blessings God has for me on the good days too.
Monday was a good day. It was just me, Grace and Harper, all day; when I say ALL DAY, I mean ALL DAY. Chris had a game last night and so he didn't get home until after the girls went to bed. We had a great day. Grace had no tantrums, she was content to play by herself when I was feeding the baby, she wanted to help me clean and empty the dishwasher, she wanted to snuggle Harper and was just in an all-round good mood!
Harper is still having some breathing and gastro problems, but she was as happy as she could be and really enjoys watching Grace when she is awake. At no point during the day did I feel overwhelmed; at no point was my patience wearing thin, and even though I have a baby literally attached to me all day, I didn't feel 'claustrophobic' or anxious. I was also able to do some 'crafty projects' which always relaxes me and makes me happy.
I even decided to brave the cold and the early darkness to take both the girls out of the house by myself! We went to the Rainbow Room about an hour before it closed and Grace was able to play and slide to her heart's content. It wasn't too bad, although it's kind of annoying to carry a carseat on one arm and hold a toddler's hand as she tries to bolt across a parking lot. I'm sure I'll figure all these logistics in time.
I have noticed that becoming a 'mom' a second time is much easier than it was for me the first time. Maybe I am already in the groove or something, but that has been a nice surprise. I am able to see a side of Grace that touches my heart. She has fallen into her new role as a 'big sister' quite nicely. She is so helpful to me and loves to snuggle her baby. Her love for Harper already is evident. It's so cute. She is well aware that it's not all about her anymore, and she seems to be Ok with it...! Actually, taking care of Harper has pulled Grace out of her tantrums on several occasions. In the middle of an all out, fall on the floor, screaming fit, she will hear Harper whimper (although I am not sure how, above all her screaming) and immediately pull herself together and say "I need make Harper feel better!"
Today Grace is at school (which is the best thing we've ever done... BY FAR) and I am thinking about taking the girls to the mall for a pretzel and some play time when we go pick her up. Ambitious, I know... but I think I can do it.
I am just so thankful today. I do feel like the Lord is singing over us and he is rejoicing in our little family. My goal is to take it day by day, hour by hour even and never forget to be thankful for the good days, even the good hours throughout the day.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Doctor Update
Sorry it's taken me a day to post this. Thank you for all the calls and emails to check on us! We saw the cardiologist and the ped yesterday. I don't think that I've ever met someone who acted more like a rock than the Cardiologist. Seriously, I've never seen anything like it. Imagine trying to carry on a conversation with a wall painted a really cold gray color... that was this guy. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't rude or anything, but I am just not used to people with that little affect...
He did an echo of Harper's heart. I didn't get much more information than "yes, she's fine. Her heart looks fine. Don't worry about it." I did pry with more questions, and mentioned the breathing thing several times, but apparently "he's just a cardiologist" and I should talk to the Pediatrician about that.
So, I guess, it's final... her heart is FINE! Praise the Lord! I am so happy about that.
I absolutely love our Pediatritian. She is wonderful, attentive, doesn't take anything I say lightly and spent over an hour with us. She was willing to watch me feed Harper to see exactly what I was talking about. Sure enough, she did stop breathing, turn blue and choke several times.... She was also gasping for air almost throughout the whole visit.
It seems to her that all the above symptoms have to do with the reflux. While they are not really healty or normal, they are not that uncommon. She just recommended that I keep a close eye on her during the day and if it gets worse, or doesn't get better in a few weeks, bring her back. It doesn't seem there is much they can do about what's happening.
Since I can't stay awake 24 hours a day to make sure she's not turning blue... here we are back at the recourring theme in my life lately: just trust God. I am able to sleep, and I've started to be able to tell (in a groggy state) which noises she is making (or not making) need my attention. Aside from the fact that I have a newborn that needs to be fed every 3-4 hours, I am sleeping fairly well.
Anyways, here's all I know right now. Praise the Lord that He has healed her heart. No enlargement, no problems at all! All these other things will work themselves out, I know!
On another praise report... Chris was able to take a day off work today! Yay, I can't tell you how good it was for my emotional well-being to have him here for a day. It's so good for Grace too! I can tell that she is starting to exhibit a little bit of jealousy, especially during feeding time, but it has really only manifested itself in the fact that she wants to sit in my lap at the same time I am feeding Harper. I know that she'll get used to it, and if this is all we have to deal with, we are doing well!
Oh, and this small fact has nothing to do with anything except that I am amazed and feel the need to share: I am totally shocked at the sheer volume my bladder can hold now that I am not pregnant anymore.
He did an echo of Harper's heart. I didn't get much more information than "yes, she's fine. Her heart looks fine. Don't worry about it." I did pry with more questions, and mentioned the breathing thing several times, but apparently "he's just a cardiologist" and I should talk to the Pediatrician about that.
So, I guess, it's final... her heart is FINE! Praise the Lord! I am so happy about that.
I absolutely love our Pediatritian. She is wonderful, attentive, doesn't take anything I say lightly and spent over an hour with us. She was willing to watch me feed Harper to see exactly what I was talking about. Sure enough, she did stop breathing, turn blue and choke several times.... She was also gasping for air almost throughout the whole visit.
It seems to her that all the above symptoms have to do with the reflux. While they are not really healty or normal, they are not that uncommon. She just recommended that I keep a close eye on her during the day and if it gets worse, or doesn't get better in a few weeks, bring her back. It doesn't seem there is much they can do about what's happening.
Since I can't stay awake 24 hours a day to make sure she's not turning blue... here we are back at the recourring theme in my life lately: just trust God. I am able to sleep, and I've started to be able to tell (in a groggy state) which noises she is making (or not making) need my attention. Aside from the fact that I have a newborn that needs to be fed every 3-4 hours, I am sleeping fairly well.
Anyways, here's all I know right now. Praise the Lord that He has healed her heart. No enlargement, no problems at all! All these other things will work themselves out, I know!
On another praise report... Chris was able to take a day off work today! Yay, I can't tell you how good it was for my emotional well-being to have him here for a day. It's so good for Grace too! I can tell that she is starting to exhibit a little bit of jealousy, especially during feeding time, but it has really only manifested itself in the fact that she wants to sit in my lap at the same time I am feeding Harper. I know that she'll get used to it, and if this is all we have to deal with, we are doing well!
Oh, and this small fact has nothing to do with anything except that I am amazed and feel the need to share: I am totally shocked at the sheer volume my bladder can hold now that I am not pregnant anymore.
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