Writers Workshop 10

Writers workshop brought to you by Mama Kat at Mama's Losin' it.

The prompts:

1.) Who really helped you get over something? Write about that person.
(writingfix.com)

2.) Is plastic surgery an option? Without being vulgar, write about the body part still attached to you that you would most like to dis-attach and replace with a better one.
(writingfix.com)

3.) Share an interesting email exchange you've had with someone lately.

4.) Have you thought about shutting down your blog? Why haven't you and what would cause you to make that decision final?

5.) Today I will...

Well I am choosing prompt #5 but like the rebel rule breaker that I am I will be mixing it up a little.

5.) Today I will...

...suffer in silence from morning sickness, and more likely then not vomit while being watched by little concerned eyes.
...listen to William read me a book, any try not to yawn or nod off while he is doing it.
...Demand a foot rub from Hector and sigh loudly when his hands get tired and he stops.
...change at least 10 dirty diapers and 3 pairs of wet underpants, without gagging(hopefully).
...wait in the pick up line for 30 minutes at the school because the truck is the no fail way to get all children to nap at the same time. The school pick up line is where I do all of my bill paying and appointment setting (the only quiet time I get).
...prepare, serve, and clean up from 3 meals and at least 3 snacks. One of said meals will be cereal and milk but it still counts.
...use candy as bribery.
...be asleep before 9pm (God willing)
...Vacuum at least twice.
...pray for tomorrow.
... publish at least two typos/spelling mistakes with this post.

Today I will NOT...

... clean the bathrooms (gagging just writing about it), but they will get cleaned.
... watch any reality TV shows
... yell at A.J. for throwing all his cereal on the floor. To early for yelling.
... think up names for the new baby. I have been really making myself wait. Must resist the urge.
... accept phone calls from friends who want to complain about their lives but do not want to make changes to it.
... feel guilty that the play room looks like a tornado went through it. I will just close the door and remember that this is the reason why I made a bedroom into a playroom in the first place.
... get to read and comment on most of my favorite blogs today. Please don't think that I have forgotten about you.

Go to Mama's Losin' it and see what others are talking about.

Two things.

Thing #1
This is what your house looks like when a 3 year old is left alone while his mommy is suffering from severe morning sickness in the bathroom. You have been warned.



Thing #2
This is what your little boys hair looks like when mommy is bored and "does it". Do you thing that he will be traumatized for life? Do you think I should have a little girl? Me to.

Bounce

We were invited to a birthday party at a new party spot in town. It was basically a warehouse full of blow up bounce houses and slides. What a great idea. Wish I had thought of it first. The kids loved it even Donovan.








The place was packed. The best part was that the all fell asleep on the way back home. Guess I will be returning this summer. It is always a dream to find active indoor places to play in the summer when it is too HOT to play outside.

Busy

We kept William out of school on Friday because we had early apts. for Donovan at the children's hospital. I know I have said it before but this hospital has saved my baby's life. We drive an hour each way to be seen by the specialists there. I don't even like to drive across town with 3 boys so you know that this place must be something special. Totally worth it in my opinion. I linked to the All Children's website below if anyone is in need of some specialized pediatric care.
All Children's Hospital- St. Petersburg

We were there to get a CAT scan of Donovan's sinuses. It went well procedure wise but I am still waiting for a call with the results. We also had a visit with the infection specialist to find out why he is sick all the time. We found out that Donovan has an IgG deficiency just like AJ and so now we know what to expect. Mostly IgG deficiency is a weak immune system. My kids have a "transient immunodeficiency of infancy" which is a long was of saying that they have weak immune systems while they are babies and it gets better as they get older. This is the best possible type of IgG deficiency. Please keep us in your prayers.

After we spend the entire morning at the hospital we headed for Busch Garden's. It was perfect timing. A Friday afternoon during the school year is a great time to go. Not very many people were there and the kids rides had no line at all. Many of the rides allowed the boys to ride over and over again without getting off. It was fun.

Hector took William on his first real roller coaster ride. It is a huge wooden one. It was the first time he was tall enough to go. I was so nervous waiting to see how he did but he seemed to like it. Now Hector has a ride buddy.


AJ was being braze too. He was never a real fan of the kid rides but this day he rode with William on all the rides. It helped that he didn't have to wait.


I don't think that AJ noticed that these guys were on stilts since he was on Hector's shoulders. They were right at eye level with them. He is usually scared by things like this.

How was your weekend?

Just back from the doctor. Had my 12 week scan. All is well with the bean. I love these uneventful appointments. I hope that they keep going this easy. Here are the grainy ultrasound pictures. They were much clearer in person. Enjoy.

Sea World

We broke in our new annual passes to Sea World yesterday. Next time you hear me complain about living in Florida remind me that I am able to drive to Sea World, and the Disney Parks, and Busch Gardens for the day and return home to my comfy bed at night. It is the one true perk of living in the armpit of America.

I always dress the boys in the same color when we go to the parks. Help me find them in a crowd. I tried all day to get a good pic of all three of them together in their matching shirts and this was as good as it got. Please ignore the red stain on the front of Donovan's shirt.

It was our first time here as a family and William didn't know what to expect. He was the fake Whales in the front and insisted on getting a picture with them.

As soon as I picked up the park map I noticed that Elmo and Abby were having a special show at Sea World. We are so lucky we made it in time. The only did one show the whole day.



Next it was off to see the animals. These seals were so cute. I actually paid 5 bucks for a tray of fish to feed them. I will spare you that photo.

This was a baby dolphin at the dolphin nursery. I couldn't get a better pic. then this but they were so cute and playful. We didn't stay to feed them this time.

Hector named this exhibit the Happy feet area. The boys loves to watch the penguins swimming.

Next was one of my favorites the seal and sea lion show. It was so funny. I can't believe what they can teach these animals to do. William was thrilled that it was a pirate themed show.

This big sea lion was the same one I remember here as a kid. He is getting old (and so am I).

Can you guess what the boys favorite exhibit was?

Here I am in all my pregnant glory pointing out something...moving on.

I sent Hector and the big boys on the paddle boats so I could get Donovan to take a nap.

Here they are getting ready to go.

The were just a little off balance but they had fun.

Donovan was not at all going with my plan for a nap and was awake the entire time.

A visit to Sea World isn't complete without the Shamu show. This show was titled Believe. It was great.

They had a baby killer whale doing jumps with his mommy at the beginning which I loved.

The big old Shamu himself came and get everyone soaked and happy. It was a great ending to a busy day.

Thanks for enjoying our day with us.

Sleep

The boys on the pull out couch at my mom's house on Easter weekend. I don't know how they sleep like that. For the record they love sleeping in the same bed and often find themselves awake late if someone is missing. If I put them to sleep in their own beds and in the morning they are together. It is sweet.

I was told my doctor's and specialists that co-sleeping siblings is dangerous and unhealthy. I disagree. Countries all over the world share beds and don't have all the alarming statistics that are pushed on me here. Ultimately it is my children's choice. They all have their own beds and I let them chose where to sleep at night (as long as it isn't in my bed, we have finally moved past that). I have just started letting the baby nap with the big boys. He does sleep in a crib during the night.



If you are interested in information on how to safely co-sleep with your baby please click on the link below.
Safe co-sleeping information

Springtime (a mother's work is never done)

Every year I buy cheep little seeds and plant them with the kids. They love to watch them grow and it satisfies my green thumb. I planted my seeds yesterday and placed them on the windowsill so that the kids could easily watch them grow.



William was watching my little project and had to go and ruin it my reminding me of all the things I need to plan for in the summer.



William: "You know school is almost done. No school in the summer."

Me: "I know"

W: "I want to go to camp like last summer..."

M: "I will look into it."

W: "...and art lessons...."

M: "Maybe"

W: "...and swimming lessons..."

M: "We shall see"

W: "...and tennis.. and the zoo... and"

Really all this, just because I put dirt on a few seeds? Off to Google summer art classes.

mostly eggs

We went to my mother's house for Easter weekend. It was a weekend of work for Hector. He redid all the landscaping at her house. We have several frosts during the winter and the wimpy Florida plants couldn't take it. I don't "do" outside so I was in charge of the indoor activities.

I planned to due eggs with all the boys, but William was the only one interested. He did a great job and had fun.

Sunday morning brought about TONS of Easter eggs. AJ was unable to collect eggs he needed to stop, open, and sample from each one before he could continue.

As you can see the Easter egg hunt was a long process and way to much candy was consumed before 9am (and not just by AJ).
The Easter Bunny knows that I love me some PEEPS and ONLY the yellow ones in this shape. I think these are supposed to be chicks...or ducks???
More Easter egg gathering. All the open eggs tells me this pic was of AJ's pile of eggs.
William was in to the actual finding of the eggs. He was quite good at it. The Easter bunny will need to be more sneaky next year.
This was "way to easy" according to William.
Unfortunately Easter morning found Donovan with a runny nose and fever. He wasn't really in an egg hunt kind of mood. He did spend a long time drooling on this egg.
The actual Easter baskets contained water guns and pool toys. The boys spent the rest of the day in the pool making good use of their new toys.

I hope that you all enjoyed this holy Easter day.

I'm all ears

I have been praying for a few days on a few things. I am faithful that the right decision will be made but am interested on hearing from anyone with insight or experience with a situation similar to this one.

I love being a stay at home mom and frankly it was a matter of life and death when AJ was a baby. He was in daycare for 2 months and ended up in the hospital for 2 months afterwards. That is when we found out that he has a weakened immune system. At that time I was told that he should not be in a day care center until age 5 when much of his immune problems are expected to begin to resolve.

I started supplementing our income by babysitting a few evenings a week for two children of friends in my home. Things were going great for a while. I was getting regular money and my boys were around other children. It also motivated me to do more with them. The income was regular and the boys had adjusted well. The best part was that because of the hours I was watching them, I could still attend mothers groups and MOPS groups which I enjoy.

Lately things have taken a turn downhill. One of the children's parents quit his job. She now only needs babysitting sporadically. I never know when she will show up at my house. I find myself waiting for her when I could have taken the kids someplace. Her mom called and said that she only wanted to pay me half of what she usually did and she would only have her at my house half as long as she used to. This drastically reduces the income I make for the week.

The other little girl's mom canceled all together for the past two weeks in a row with no warning. She is coming to my house today but is not returning the other two days she usually does. The week the income for watching these two little girls will be less then half of what I was expecting to make.

Since I am just a babysitter and not a daycare or anything I haven't made contracts with these parents. I charge them next to nothing. I don't ask them to pay when they don't attend. I do ask for advanced notice when things are changing but I haven't received that courtesy.

Well now this month I will be short on the bills because I lost so much of the income that I was expecting. I am a registered nurse and have been working several Saturday's a month at the job that I quit many years ago when AJ got so sick. I make more on one shift there then I do babysitting these two kids in a week. I will continue working as many Saturdays as I can until I deliver the baby.

I am debating telling these two moms that I am not watching kids in my home any longer, and returning to work as a nurse for one or two more days during the week. The problems are many no matter which way I turn. If I return to work for a day or two during the week, I will end up paying someone else to watch my children. This could really add up, especially in the summer when I have all 3 at home with me. I have to be very careful who watches AJ since he still has immunity issues and allergies. The biggest problem for me is that I love being home with my kids. I really don't want to return to work, it is only for financial reasons that I am even considering it.

Any ideas, advice, concerns, anything??? I'll take anything I can get. I am continuing to pray for wisdom.

Let the sun shine in

Since Friday was a washout we made up for it on Sunday with a trip to the beach. We headed to the coast after church. I unfortunately forgot that it was college spring break and it took 2 hours to get to Clearwater Beach. The air conditioner in the truck started blowing warm air after church and we almost called the whole day off. Once we were there the place was mobbed and there was no parking. People were parking a 20 minute walk away which is just not possible with 3 boys in tow. I headed back and found a small beach right off the highway. It was nothing fancy like Clearwater but it was sand and water so we were happy.

William was determined to make a sand castle. The babies didn't see the art in him work and kept running through it.


I was worried about how Donovan would respond to the beach, especially since he is still recovering from the surgery. He had a blast and was fearless.


AJ and Hector buried him in the sand and he thought it was hysterical.


I think he would have sat there all day. I was so worried that they would loose their custom earplugs in the sand put neither one of them seemed to notice that they were in.


AJ prefered the sand but the other two were true water babies. William couldn't be still long enough to get a pic but Donovan and daddy posed for one. William and his friend spent hours trying to stop the waves. Needless to say they were not successful, but they had fun.


I hope that everyone enjoyed their weekend as much as we did.

rain

So I live in Florida where we haven't seen rain for 5 months. I get it...we are in a drought...water restrictions, green grass, global warming...I get it.

Trying not to complain but, well, it is the last day of Spring break.

My boys want to go outside to play. Rain Rain Go Away, Come Again Another Day.

Really, next week would be fine. All next week would be better. Just not today. We had big plans.

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Just in case you are the one person in the universe that hasn't been following this little boys story please click the pic below. His family asks to be added to your prayers.

Writers Workshop 9

It has been a while since in have done a writer's workshop with Mama Kat. I couldn't resist these prompts and have something to say about each of them. Sit back and enjoy.


The Prompts:

1.) Why did you do it?

It was unintentional, a moment of passion, and I am damn good at it too. It is done now and nothing can change it. I can't undo it, but I wouldn't even if I could. Why is it any business of yours? You don't pay any bills here. You don't help out so why do you care? What is done is done. You say that you are worried about my health, about the others...since when. You said I should have been more careful but it was just what God wanted for my family. Not sure who told you that your opinions matter to me, but they don't. Not sure who told you that it was OK to push your personal opinions onto others, but save it. I did it. It is done. Move on.

2.) What is a common misconception about you?

People often thing that I am a push over. The reason, I feel, is that I keep a lot of my thoughts to myself. I try to keep the peace, and keep my comments to myself. Please be aware that no one can pull the wool over my eyes. I am to smart for that. Just because I didn't call you on your lies, doesn't mean that you got over on me. I am keeping track and taking notes. I choose my battles wisely. You do not want to be one the opposite side of one of the battle I feel is worth fighting. You will lose...BAD.

3.) Describe a moment when you felt afraid.

I have felt afraid many times. I feel most afraid when things are out of my control. The 5 times I felt most afraid (in no particular order)are: 1) On an airplane on September 11th 2001 when all the flight attendants locked themselves in the cockpit and didn't come out until after we landed safely. 2) Christmas eve 2007 when I called 911 for pain in my chest. It was my gallbladder but I thought that I was having a heart attack. 3-5) Laying on the operating table waiting for the start of each C section. Pure Panic.

4.) In what ways are you turning into your mother?

In No ways! We are completely different. My mom is scatterbrained and disorganized. I am completely anal, organized, and methodical. My mom is an animal lover. Me not so much. Just because I am not becoming my mother doesn't mean that she isn't an amazing mother. She is passionate and full of life. She will give someone her last dime if they asked. She worries about others and puts others needs above her own. She loves her family but also loves her time alone. Hey maybe we have more in common then I thought.

5.) Are you always right?

Hell yes! Just ask Hector.

Home again

Thank you for your well wishes and prayers yesterday. The boys pulled through their surgeries with flying colors. We left home at about 5:30 am and make the hour long trip to the children's hospital. The boys were not able to eat or drink anything and that made for a long drive. I was more worried then I needed to be since Donovan went back to sleep during the drive.

We arrived at the hospital and were checked in quickly. People often ask why I choose to travel so far to the children's hospital when the local hospital is capable of doing this type of procedures. I wish all hospitals were run like the children's hospital is. They are so family friendly. In each step of the admission, pre op, recovery, and post op, the children are comfortable. They put out age appropriate toys in the rooms. The entire hospital has murals on the walls. They have cartoons playing on the TVs and even scent the oxygen tubes and gloves. AJ had cherry. They reunite the children with the family really quickly. It has been worth the drive everytime we have went. If my children need to be in the hospital, I want them at the best.

Donovan returned to us first. He had his adenoids removed, sinuses cleaned and cultured, and ear tubes placed. He didn't feel so good when he returned.

It took him almost an hour before he perked up and would drink some Gatorade. They almost made him stay over but finally daddy got him to drink enough to let us take him home.

He was is quite a bit of pain once we got home. The medications seem to be helping some now and I got him to eat and drink more. He gets so mad because his nose is all congested and he can't suck on his bottle. The surgeon said that the first 48 hours would be the worst for him and then he would recover quickly.

AJ came out next. He was really sleepy too. He didn't seem to be in any pain at all. Once he woke up he ate a Popsicle and was completely back to normal.

He has ear tubed placed, sinus cultures done, and a lung biopsy done. He is supposed to have very little pain and I have only needed to give him Motrin a few times. He is bouncing around like a monkey at home.

I am supposed to keep him calm and quiet for the next 24 hours. Impossible!

So good to be home again and have this behind us.Again thanks to all who have kept us in prayer.