Mommy of 3, Genius in Parenting

Ok, 9 years and 3 children. I am pretty much a world renowned authority on child rearing. You don't need to pay for silly books or listen to childless 'experts'... you have me. Here are a few tips that I have gleaned from my experience thus far...

Seriously, I had babies with and without drugs, if you can get 'em- do it! Don't be a hero... drugs rock! Your husband, the doctor, nurses and your family waiting patiently in the waiting room listening to you spew forth profanity they have never heard before, will thank you.

You can never have enough thermometers, Tylenol, Band-Aids, pacifiers, diapers, granola bars, matching mittens or clean underwear.

No matter how many children you have and what sex, just buy all white socks of the same style. It will save you years of sorting socks!

You have to live with good enough. Even if you are perfectionist, after children, your house will never be perfectly clean, your schedule will never be followed perfectly and your children will never be perfect in any manner.

Children will never, ever have the capacity to shut a light switch off when they leave a room... but they will gladly call attention to it if you forget to.

You will not have a pleasant experience at an eat-in restaurant for at least 10 years. Come on, why do you have to be those parents who bring in the wailing 3 year old and stay just because it is a family restaurant and everyone has some nerve looking at you in that condescending manner?

Before you have children, you think snack time is 10 minutes somewhere around 10am... little did you know that it is really from about 8am-12pm and will be on ongoing bane of your existence if you stay at home with your children. They will never eat enough breakfast, lunch or dinner, but will always be hungry enough for a snack. Just invest in locks for the pantry, fridge and cupboards now and save yourself

Keep a backup diaper in your trunk, glove box, purse, pantry, fish tank... you will run out some day, somewhere and it will suck. (Baby wipes as well.)

No matter how many times you have the kids go potty before you leave the house, they will need to stop somewhere along the trip. And if you live in more rural areas with 38 miles in between stores/McDonalds/rest stops, you should add a roll of toilet paper to that backup diaper stash.

Really, $50 sneakers? Super cute for the 2 weeks they last on kid #1... but by kid #3- hand-me-downs and Goodwill works wonderful if you don't want to work 3 jobs to clothe your family.

Plan on replacing lots of remotes, cell phones, Wii controllers, DVD players... from baby drool, loss (possibly to be flushed down the toilet), breakage and general misuse.

Come on, any gifts before the age of 5 are an absolute waste! Buy a couple of trinkets and then save the money for college (or to pay for the sitter to actually get out of the house once in awhile.)

If everyone waited for the perfect time to have a baby (financially secure, stable job, done with schooling, traveled the world, perfect home... etc, etc.) the world population would come to a screeching halt.

For the sanity of all adults involved, never introduce your child to a CD with any number over '15' in the title (i.e. 50 Funtastic Tunes for Toddlers, and the like) Unless you want to hear an incessant version of Fingers and Toes 8,678 times over the course of 2 years, stick to stuff you love... say the Beatles, Grateful Dead, Jackyl... whatever.

You can NOT eliminate electronic devices from your child's life. Turn off cable, they'll go online. Take away the laptop they'll play with the DS. Take away the DS, they'll play on the IPod. Limit use of the Ipod they'll talk on the cell phone. Take away the cell phone and they'll go to a friends house.

Any attempts you have to discipline/ feed healthy food/ keep your children clean... will end at the Grandparents front door. As I was informed by Grampy, "Our house, our rules." Which means, up to and including, Oreos for lunch, bedtime at 11pm, R rated movies at age 5... and whatever else comes along with the pleasure of getting away without your children for an extended amount of time.

If your job has late meetings on Wednesday afternoons and you sign your child up for soccer, practice will absolutely fall on Wednesdays at 3:30.

At some point (Mom) you will look in a mirror and think, "Holy shit. When was the last time I plucked my eyebrows/ shaved my legs/ colored my hair/ bleached my facial hair... or something of that nature. Hopefully your husband/ significant other loves you unconditionally while you come back to reality and get yourself back in order.

If you start acting as a short order cook, they will expect that you are a short order cook. Make one meal for everyone and that is that. A child will not starve to death, no matter how much they allude to that fact. We had to eat what we were served as children and I am quite sure we all made it through just fine.

Honestly, this could go on forever... do you have any sage advice to add?

My Week In Photos

Ariana started 4th grade on Thursday.




Annika enjoyed splashing in the puddles.




I have a feeling we spent our last day at the beach...




Summer is over.

Random Thought Roundup (In other words: Time To Clean Out my Head)

It's been a couple of weeks since I did a roundup and it is well overdue, I have a ton of crap taking up valuable space in my head...

• First off: What he hell is up with these t-shirts by Hollister??? Although I have never shopped there, I know they market to preteens and teens. I really can not even put together a cohesive reproval for this company since I simply can't wrap my head around the thought process of marketing these shirts. "Legal-ish"???? Really? Although I did say that I did not agree with judging other parents, I have to say, if I saw your teenage daughter wearing this shirt, I would have to seriously call into question your parenting skills. It is even skeevier than "Hottie" written across a 12 year-olds ass in her short shorts.

• As I watched the man in front of my in the grocery check purchase 12 heads of lettuce, 12 gallons of milk and 3 cases of Moxie, I really, REALLY wanted to ask what he was possibly going to do with that stuff. But I didn't. And now I will forever wonder....

• When I told a man at work that I only work 5am-7am, he commented "It's good to get away from the old man for at least a coupla hours, huh?" Yeah.. the old man. We like to take our dentures out and watch Matlock every night while we do our crossword puzzles and recall stories of our youth.

• I finally finished Catcher In The Rye (6 freakin' weeks later!) I had this urge to read it since it's a classic and I had absolutely no recollection of the first time I read it and I like to sound smart in conversations when people talk about how it's one of the best novels of the 20th century (yes, my friends and I frequently sit around my fire pit drinking beer and discussing world literature... No, not really, but if we do, I want to be in the know) So I found it at this quaint little book store (Ok, Walmart next to the 8000 different 'Chicken Soup for the....' books) and read it every night until I feel asleep. Which, obviously, was about 1 page per night since it took a month and a half to read. And why??? Because it is a ridiculous story of a whiny teenage boy who is completely self absorbed ('a male that is self absorbed?' you ask? I know, I know, quite a character stretch there.) And I am one of those people who can not stop reading a book that I have started or I feel like a complete quitter, so I pushed through it. But I should have quit- it is a bildungsroman (coming of age story) and since I have come of age- it should be saved for the high school curriculum. Ironically, I am now starting Siddhartha, which I discovered is another bildungsroman story... wish me luck.

• Fantasy Football season has begun. My kind husband is the commissioner of the league and you think I'd have some sort of upper hand over the other players? Noooo... he scheduled the draft while I was away partying with my girlfriends last weekend. So, I got the luck of the draw with autodraft and I am calling it- I will finish in the top 50% this year. I do have Tom Brady, after all.

Ok, my head is clean- look out tomorrow for a much more coherent post.

Beach Party Baby!

We held our annual party last weekend and it went great. One of the biggest hits was my sand pail o' cake. It was fairly easy to make and really did look like a bucket of sand... right? (Please excuse the awful picture, I meant to take a better one before it made it to the table. But in normal 'I-have-a-million-things-to-do-for-this-party' fashion, I forgot.)

Would you like to know the secret to make one yourself... well here you go.

• Make a simple box cake 13"x9"(I made on version with chocolate and one with vanilla)
• Make 2 boxes of instant pudding. (I used the flavors that corresponded to the cake.) Let pudding set.

• For the topping: I used my super duper Magic Bullet to make crumbs from 2 types of cookies. I used Sandies and Nilla Wafers. (The Sandies alone were too moist and the Nilla wafers were too dry. But you could just use one or the other) Quantity really depends on how thick you want your sand topping to be. I had 1 box of each the Sandies and the Nilla Wafers and ended up making 4 buckets. If you don't have a Magic Bullet or food processor, just smash the cookies in a plastic bag with a hammer.

• For medium buckets (approx. 9' tall) one cake and 2 boxes of pudding made 2 buckets.

• Cut the cooled cake into chunks (mine were around 2"x1") Layer chunks of cake with an inch or so of pudding. Keep layering until about 2" from the top of the bucket and then add your 'sand'.

• Stick your shovel in and possible add some candy shells for decoration and... voila!

I made mine right before the party and refrigerated them. I was concerned that if I made them the night before, the cake would get soggy. Mine did not end up soggy at all, but it was nice and moist and it was a huge hit.

Add a game of musical beach towels, a limbo contest, a treasure hunt in the sandbox, lots of beach balls and you have yourself a beach party right in your back yard.

I Love Rock N Roll (and Blondie and Neil Giraldo)

As you might recall, my most favorite rock stars have lost some of their attractiveness to me. I have been disenchanted that as I get older, so do they! Damn them. The objects of my desires need to keep a certain image... to include (but not limited to) rock hard abs, a tight butt, and some kick ass dance moves. So I have found a new love... and he is Neil Giraldo. He is the guitarist/ husband of Pat Benatar... and good lord is he H-O-T!

My husband surprised me a few weeks ago with tickets to a Blondie & Pat Benatar concert. This was so thrilling for me since Blondie was my absolute all-time worshiped rock goddess. Some of my favorite memories include her, my bestie, some loud sing-alongs and animated dancing. Her music is so fun and just elicits my 80's punk rock diva.

She still rocks. She still has that quirky I-am-completely-stoned performance going on, albeit slightly slower. You can't imagine what it's like to see a 64 year old woman (yes, that is 6-4!) on stage writhing in her lace negligee, fish net stockings and crazy hair extensions. But I have to give it to her, she is still a rock star.

Bit, I digress.... back to Neil. He stole the show. Pat was great, but I could not take my eyes off Neil. He had these steel blue eyes that, since I was front row center, just bore right through me... and, yes, he WAS looking at me. See....


That's him... looking at ME! He wants me, clearly. When I showed Colb this pic he was all, "Him? He's old. He's your new crush?" Umm, yeah. Did you see those buns, those arms (I love me some sexy arms) those eyes???

Here's a better pic without the 50's pompadour....

Seriously. Look at him. Colb agreed Neil could be my new gimme (you know, he would forgive me that one lurid rendezvous if I could possibly get Neil to comply) So, now I just need to get Neil to notice me... oh and there is that pesky issue of his wife. Seriously, Neil, you have been married for 27 freakin' years... isn't that quite long enough? Or she doesn't have to know. I can be your heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker. I won't mess around... no, no, no!!!

See, aren't we a cute couple? How can you resist, Neil? Really... We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder, we belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under. Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better, we belong, we belong we belong together! Think about it.

I stole the concert photos from my favorite ticket agents website. I had to disclose that so he doesn't sue me- he's crazy like that. Make sure you call him if you want front row tickets like I got at Meadowbrook in NH- (especially useful if you are into stalking rock stars like I am).

For poise...

Karma Will Bite You in the Ass

This past Monday a 3 year old girl drowned in one of our town pools. She was there with her 2 older siblings, mother and 3 month old brother. It was a very hot day in Concord and the pool was crowded. Not only was the girls family present, there were 50 other adults and 3 lifeguards. It is unclear at this point what actually occurred, but I just can not imagine what that family is going through. After our ordeal with Acadia, I am ever more sensitive to parents dealing with the loss of a child.

What is really starting to bother me is people blaming the poor mother for the death. She is probably insane with grief right now and to think someone has the gall to further pull her down is horrible. It just eats at my heart now that I have children when I hear these stories about children dying accidental deaths. Recently we have heard stories of babies being left in scorching cars, being run over in biking accidents, drowning, car accidents... and countless other horrendous deaths. Each time I hear a story, it brings tears to my eyes and my heart goes out to the family involved.

It would be easy to blame the adults involved... but I have to say I can't live in a glass house and cast stones. I know that I have turned my head from Annika in the pool to catch Acadia as she crawls away. I have lost both Ariana and Annika as they have snuck out the front of our house (near a busy road). There have been many opportunities that our family has averted disaster- and I am so very thankful for that.

Seriously, laying blame on an already suffering family... you are just opening your door for Karma to come in and bite you in the ass. Be careful of those glass houses.

Happy Birthday Hubby, Thanks for Climbing Mt. Waumbek With Me

Today Colby turns 35!!! The BIG 3-5!!! But, although he is an old man, he still managed to climb Mt Waumbek with me a couple of weeks ago. It has a 4006' elevation, which falls within the 4000 footers in New Hampshire that he is trying to conquer. It was the first 4000 footer I have climbed in years, and boy, could I tell! My knees and legs ached for days after. But, the more scary part was that I have not hiked since I acquired low blood pressure- and, holy shit, is that frightening in high elevations. The hike starts in Jefferson, NH, which is already 1377' above sea level, about 1000' more than my body is accustomed to.

I guess hiking with low blood pressure isn't the greatest idea with the black spots in my vision, dizziness, and numb extremities. But, we persevered. And for what?

As we were hiking, we kept leapfrogging a father and son team, the son being around 10 years old. After the father revealed to us that this was the boys first 4000' peak, Colby and I started to discuss Ariana being ready to make a 4000' ascent. We were discussing what type of hiker she was and what draws her to hike. He told me that she has alluded to the fact that she only likes to hike if there is something at the top. Mainly, a view. She doesn't like to hike for hours just to end up in the middle of the forest to turn back around and hike down. "Well, she gets that from me." I explained. "I really have no use for climbing a whole big mountain if there is no reward at the top either."

Well, guess what? Karma bit me in the ass. That's what I get for bad talking fruitless hikes. We got to the top and it was smack dab in the middle of the thickest, tallest, fullest evergreen trees you could imagine. Not a speck of view to be found. Nada, nothing, zip, zilch. The only clue we had that we had even reached the summit was this....
A cairn. 'What is a cairn?' you say. A big ol' pile of rocks to mark the summit. That was my big payoff for plodding through the faintness, disequilibrium, loss of vision, probable brain damage when the blood couldn't make it to my head, numb fingers and arms.... A pile of rocks! This isn't even my picture of the cairn, I had to steal it from Dave at Naturally New England since I had been so disenchanted I didn't even take a picture of the top of the mountain.

And, to add insult to injury, every single person we passed on the way down asked, "How's the view up there?" with great anticipation in their voice. "There's nothing to see here. Turn back now. It's surely not worth the bottle of Aleve I am about to go through."

See if you can play Where's Waldo with Colby in that first picture. The hike up was pretty, as you can see. And, as the 4000 footers go, it is not too strenuous. I won't be doing it again, but if you need it to peak bag the New Hampshire 48- have fun!

Happy Birthday, old man! “I'm an old-fashioned guy... I want to be an old man with a beer belly sitting on a porch, looking at a lake or something.” -Johnny Depp

What an awesome idea...

When you live in a small schoolhouse and have 3 little girls, some parts of your house turn into playrooms by default... like this half of our livingroom...



And I do the best I can to keep it looking fun and funky and not too obnoxious. One thing I did was paint the bottom half of one wall with chalkboard paint. It is a hit when we have new guest ("You mean I can write on the wall??") So, imagine my delight when I discovered this...



You can now get chalkboard paint in different colors! I can pretty much make every surface of my house kid friendly. Don't tell Colb, though... he already thinks I am a fanatic... in the 2 houses we have owned I have repainted rooms over 20 times! But variety is the spice of life, right?

Screwed Again.

Last year Colby and I decided we should put Annika into preschool this year to give her a little socialization (not that being with me 24 hours a day isn't completely awesome!) So I called the school and asked the process to sign her up... I am pretty sure I heard the lady laugh under her breath at me. "There are no openings for next year."

"Ummm, ok, can I sign her up for the following year?"

"Well, you can try, but there is a waiting list and then a lottery."

A lottery? You now have to win the lottery to get into preschool? Does that have an annuity option or just a one time payout???

I have heard great things about this preschool, but I can't even get in a year and a half ahead of time? I guess I better get on the list now for Acadia!

So yesterday I ran into a mom at the pool who has a daughter that is also 3. I asked (with great disdain) if her daughter had 'made it into' preschool. She said "Well, we didn't originally, but we ended up getting lucky. (Sweet, I am going to find out the inside secret on how to finagle a way in...) "At her 3 year checkup, we found out she is behind on her speech.' (Lucky??? Hmmm..) "So that earned her a spot at preschool." I guess I looked a little (ok, completely) perplexed, so she continued on, "There are only a couple of spots open at the preschool for 'normal' children. The rest are reserved for special needs."

Damn it all! It happened again! Just because my children are healthy and well adjusted, we get the short end of the stick. Ariana is constantly held back from her full potential due to our wonderful education system, and now Annika can't even begin her education in our local school system since she is normal (wait, is being overbearing, loud, wild, and high-energy normal?).

The mother suggested that I take her to her pediatrician to get her tested for some sort of impediment that might get her in. Really? I should have to find something wrong with my kids to get them a proper education? No thank you.

Don't get me wrong, I would not take away from the children who need the extra help. But why can't there be enough to go around so everyone can learn? The whole 'no child left behind' really isn't true since my kids are clearly being left behind.

A few of my favorite things...

I just thought I would share my latest project here. I can't believe I forgot a before picture... but I did! So, all you can see is my new 'after' in all it's glory. I wanted to group some of my favorite things in my kitchen and here it is.

I really like that hint of blue in a kitchen, although my kitchen is currently a yellow and dark red coordination, so I have to be very careful with my blue or it will start to look like a clown car.


Notice the super cute juice glasses... I love, love, love them. And guess what? $1 for all 3 at Goodwill. Score!

The antique glass bottles came from various places but, when I lived in Littleton, NH, there was this awesome salvage yard (ADMAC Salvage) that had the coolest stuff- and I got a few bottles there.

The scrolled wire frame was a 30th birthday present from some wonderful friends, I think it showcases my mothers photo quite well.

The photo of Acadia below the shelf is very sweet in the antique frame acquired from... Goodwill as well. I also scored the brass pitcher and bucket from Goodwill a few years back. I saw them at TJ Maxx for about $15 each- then low an behold I found almost identical ones at Goodwill for $2 each! Can you see why I go there at least twicw a week and scour the housegoods department???

A couple of new things on the shelf are the colanders. I have always loved the look of the old school metal colanders and with that gorgeous Tiffany's blue, how could I resist???

You'll also notice 3 rusty pie plates hanging on the wall to the right. The came from my birth father and are original Table Talk Pie plates. They are so unique with their original 5¢ and 10¢ redemption engraved in them.

You probably see our Presto popcorn popper on the bottom of the side table. I really love that my kids get to pop their popcorn the old fashioned way and use the same popper that mommy and daddy remember.

These are a few of my favorite things....

Coolest Tableware EVER!

Seriously, who would not love to have these plates in their family? Talk about making dinner fun!

The Lighter Side of 911

So, now that you know that Acadia is perfectly fine after our adventure in the ER, I thought I could share the lighter side of calling 911...

As I had said, I bolted from my bed when I initially heard Acadia start to convulse- I grabbed her and ran to the bathroom. I am pretty sure my heart had stopped beating. I was completely and utterly focused on her and what Colby was telling me from the 911 operator. I had this odd tunnel vision that could not move from her. I could not think of anything but saving her. But, in the back of my head, was the itty bittyest little thought, "I am completely buck naked here. This might be awkward when the paramedics arrive." Of course, it did not even enter my mind to go dress myself... I could not have left her side for even one second. I didn't care what condition I was in, I needed to be there for her. Thankfully, Colby was a little more proactive than me. As he went down to let the paramedics in, he threw some clothes at me. I quickly dressed before they got upstairs.

When all the testing and drama was done in the ER and I felt like I could breathe again- I realized I wasn't really dressed in much... jeans, a very light tank top and... no bra! I started to become a little uncomfortable then because, well... let's just say the AC was working well. Luckily, Acadia was in the mood to cuddle on my chest.

I am sure they have seen way worse than me in the ER, it just goes back to the old adage about wearing clean underwear in case you get in an accident. I guess that also means make sure you are wearing underwear. Not only will Acadia be in our room until she's 10, I will be wearing jeans, a sweatshirt and a bra to bed now!

Wordless Wednesday: First Birthdays and Camp Life

It was Acadia's first birthday on Friday. We celebrated with Nana & Papa at camp.

Mommy Educates On Her Worst Nightmare

(...continued from Mommy's Worst Nightmare)

Acadia is wonderful now but I want to share some information about febrile seizures that I wish I had know before Tuesday. If I was more informed before it happened to my baby, it might have saved me some serious mental anguish. Please don't take what I have to say as any sort of medical advice, just a few facts I have gathered from the web to help other parents become more aware. I really should have researched this as soon as I had children since Colby and I both had multiple febrile seizures as babies... which leads me to the first fact...

Having immediate family members with a history of febrile seizures (convulsions brought on by fevers in small children/ infants) raises the risk of having them. So, if you or your spouse had them as children, you should research early on before/when you have babies to avoid the trauma of the unknown.

This is a VERY important fact to remember: simple febrile seizures typically cause no lasting harm to your baby. (I am not referring to whatever virus might be causing the seizure... just the actual, physical seizure.) Keep this in mind since it was that awful empty look of hers after the seizure that scared me the most. They will recover whether it is a few hours or a couple of days, they will return to 100% and usually have no lasting side effects.

However, it is important to keep them from injuring themselves while convulsing. Simply lay them on the floor, on their side to avoid choking if they vomit. Make sure there is nothing in their mouth to choke on and do not restrain them.

Febrile seisures occur anywhere from 6 months to 5 years of age but typically will subside by age 3. Once they have one, there is a 30% chance of having another (I guess Acadia's crib will stay in my room until she goes to college!)

There really are no studies that show a way to prevent febrile seizures. Of course you want to always keep an eye on a fever and keep it down, but that is not proven to prevent the seizure.

The most important thing I want to share is that it will be ok. I have not verbalized exactly how I felt at that moment when she was convulsing in my arms. But when Colby's father was recounting to me how he felt watching Colby's seizure as a baby, he said, "You feel as though your baby is dying in your arms." And I did. He validated exactly what I had thought and felt. Now, if it happens again, it will still be frightening... but not that heart-ripping-out-of-my-chest, I-am-going-to-lose-my-baby type of frightening. I will know that she will be ok and will laugh, giggle, dance, sing, screech and glow again.

Please pass this post on to any parents you know that have babies or young children. If I can ease the anxiety of any other parent, I hope I can.

Mommy's Worst Nightmare

As I posted on Wordless Wednesday, I have officially had the most terrifying experience of my life. I have made it 9 years as a mother through three pregnancies, three births and three daughters with very minor issues: a couple of falls down the stairs (no injuries) a few stitches when face met sink... but nothing truly scary.

Tuesday night that all changed. At 1am I got up to change Acadia and giver her some Tylenol. She had a fever and I wanted to make sure she was comfortable. I laid her back in her crib (which, thank goodness, is in still in our room), kissed her, put her blanket on her and went back to my bed. Minutes later I heard the most horrifying gurgling, choking noise (which still haunts my ears). I jumped from my bed and to her crib in a split second. It was pitch black as I grabbed her stiff body. She was face down with her face buried in the mattress. I first ran to the bed to lay her down but I couldn't see her so I ran with her to the light switch. Colb had no idea what was going on in the dark. He is such a sound sleeper, I am sure he thought I was having some sort of nightmare and was just running around like a mad woman. "She's fine," he muttered. "No, she's not!" I yelled. I ran with her to the bathroom, all I could think was to throw water on her. I stuck 2 fingers in her mouth to make sure she wasn't choking and her airway was clear. Colby followed behind me as I turned the shower on. "Call 911." He didn't move. "CALL 911!" I yelled "She's having a seizure!" "Oh my God!" he stammered as he ran for the phone.

The 911 operator told him I should just put her on the floor on her side and watch for choking. I put her on the carpet. I could only see her, only hear her, only feel her rapid heartbeat. I rocked with her, just repeating "I love you, baby. You will be ok baby. Mommy loves you. Stay with us." I was so scared, I wanted to vomit.

4 EMS men arrived and crowded into my little bathroom. As they asked questions, I couldn't answer them very well as I was in such shock. He wanted to know the length of seizure, her age, last dose of Tylenol... etc. It is hazy, but I know I had a lot of "I don't know's" because I just could not clear my head. I was shaking, nauseous, dizzy. I held her to my chest and carried her down the stairs to the ambulance. I would have to make the trip alone so Colb could stay with the other 2 girls.

The EMT assured me she'd be ok. She was screaming at him and writhing around. Good signs, I guess. But it was her eyes... I could not look away from her eyes. The were empty, cold. She was not in there. All I could imagine was that she had some sort of brain trauma. She gazed around, but wasn't really looking at anything. "Please look at me, baby girl. SEE me. PLEASE." I kept whispering over and over in her ear.

In the ER the doctor immediately assured me that it was a febrile seizure; fairly common and, although scary, almost never had lasting side effects. "But it's her eyes, she is not seeing me, Acadia is not there."

"She is not there," the doctor agreed. "She has no idea where she is or whats going on. It will be a few hours before she comes around... but she WILL be ok." I just couldn't believe him. My happy, vital, smart, giggling little girl was not in those empty eyes.

They proceeded with a catheter, a needle in one hand for blood... and then the other... and then one foot... and then the other... and then they finally had to call down a pediatric specialist to get a vein. And then an IV. At one point there were 6 adults holding down my baby. I rubbed her head and whispered to her how much I loved her as I tried to stay strong. The doctor asked if I needed to leave. LEAVE!?! Leave my baby watching these 6 strange faces as they overpowered her and she screamed screams no baby should. No, I stayed. She needed to know mommy was here with her.

After about 2 hours of trauma, her head tilted to where I was as she looked at me and cried out, "Momma!" The lump came to my throat as I kissed her all over her baby face, "Momma is here, baby girl." I knew she'd be ok.

That was 2 days before her 1st birthday. On her first birthday (pictured above), she ate cake, played with her new rocking horsey, yelled at her 3 year old sister when she got in her space, smiled, laughed, soaked up the sun with Nana and Papa and just enjoyed her special day.

Acadia is wonderful now but I want to share some information about febrile seizures that I wish I had know before Tuesday. If I was more informed before it happened to my baby, it might have saved me some serious mental anguish...

To be continued....

And the lighter side of the 911 call here...

A Scary Wordless Wednesday

Last night was the scariest night of my life. It was spent in the ER. Since this is Wordless Wednesday, I will save the details for later... but Acadia is resting and doing well.

The son he'll never have...

"Hey Colb, why don't you take Ariana down to the Patriots training camp, she'd enjoy that."

*****

"Oh, we didn't see any football players at training camp, but these nice ladies were kind enough to pose with Ariana."

She's Crafty

(Click to enlarge)
I have been wanting to redo this little corner for years. It is very dark and therefore won't grow grass and gets very mildewy (see first photo!) We have tons on crap sitting around our property that I knew I could put to use and repurpose to save resources and money.

Overall, this project cost about $24. All I needed to buy was hex lag screws for the bench, a 4x4 for the bench and the mums. I made the top of the bench from an old door that has set by the fire pit waiting to be burned for years. I had the bricks (and I stole sand from the sandbox) to make the brick inlay. The lattice was also sitting around rotting behind our shed. I had all of the necessary stains and paints, so I just used the colors available. The accessories were stolen from other areas in the yard. Except... the cheesy sheep statue... that is what happens when you take a 3 year old to Lowes and let her pick out a piece of artwork for our new sitting area. But, she loves him, so that's all that matters.

Now, you can't see our trash and recyclables from the deck and I like the look of the mulch much better than the gravel. Hopefully the grass seed I planted at the front with grow in, I added some very nutritious soil from my veggie garden, so we'll see.

It actually turned out to be a pretty nice place to sit because it is shaded and stays nice and cool. All it took was a little imagination, a few hours, some sweat and my pink tool belt!

Will Ferrell Makes Me Giggle

The Landlord from Will Ferrell

I forgot all about this video and then it somehow popped into my head the other day. I think it makes me laugh so hard since we like to make our babies say inappropriate things and then laugh at them. Alright, call social services on me, dare ya.

Kids Say The Darndest (Inappropriate) Things

I am not sure where I was for the last 10 years, but I had missed the whole 'tramp stamp' terminology until about a year ago. Now that I know what it is, I use it with wild abandon. Just saying it makes me giggle...

As it did on July 4th. At our family outing, my sister-in-law was painting faces. When it was Annika's turn, she asked, "What do you want me to paint on you?"

Annika replied, "A tramp stamp."

Ahhh, 3 year olds. Gotta love 'em.

Now I've Seen It All

Truly. I can't even bring myself to write about this baby doll since my brain is still processing it... It is a doll from Spain that promotes breastfeeding. The child wears a smock and when the dolls mouth is placed near it makes a sucking motion and sound.

Umm, yeah, like I said... still processing.