Lazy Saturday

We had a wonderfully slow start to the day.  After breakfast and some cartoons we did not do much, but the day felt full and fun.

After we finally got dressed around 10 am the kids headed out to help Papa with the yard, but got distracted.  Johnny had to bring in the paper and Lily had to feed the cat!

Any time the camera comes out Johnny wants to make "silly faces for Daddy because Daddy loves silly faces." So there it is Daddy...Johnny's silly face.

Hercules enjoying breakfast.

The kids finally got around to helping Papa trimming the vines in the front yard....

...but that did not last long, when the kids cousins arrived for a day of play!  But I will leave that for Grams to post on :)

I don't post much on my parents foster son, but I want it to be clear that we all love him!!!  He came to live with my parents about 2 months ago.  He was born 6 weeks before he should have been and was already addicted to drugs.  He has more then doubled his weight here and has thrived! We dread the day he will go to others to be raised, but for now we are enjoying every cuddle of this precious little heaven sent gift.

The morning was going great, playing outside, watching TV and generally enjoying the company of family.  But right before lunch, in a matter of 10 minutes, Lily went from literally running in circles to curled up on the floor, refusing to eat, and crying needing to be held as she went mostly limp.

 

Would you be concerned, we are.  She was fine for 2 fulls days and then it happened again, why? No fever, no vomiting, nothing like that.  But she just was not her self.

She was like that until dinner.  She ate dinner, but was very tired after that.

My little monkey is always happy, no matter what!

Discovery the joy of education game systems.

And, as it often does, our day ended with a trip to time out....I wish that little boy would at least pretend like he was being punished.

Project Friday, Back to School

I guess I should start this week's post by saying that I have yet to finish any project I have listed on here yet, What dose that say about me? This week each of these project MUST be finished THIS WEEK!!!

School starts next week! CRAZY right? yea, crazy! I can't believe summer is nearly over.  Johnny went to PreSchool last year at a local YMCA, but this year he is moving on up.  Johnny will be in our local public school system going to half day PreK!!! We are all super lucky to have a teacher in our family.  My brother teachers Kindergarten at a local Title 1 school.  He always works his butt on for his students and his God son is no different.  Johnny gets to go to the same school that Uncle Tommy teaches at!  

One of my projects for this week is crayon roll ups for Uncle Tommy's class room. Each one of his kindergarten students will have there own special crayon roll up!

I am also knitting Johnny a special sweater vest for his first day of school.  My mom once told me it is important for kids to look special for school so that the teachers can see that this child has involved parents.  The first day is extra special since this is the first real interaction the teacher will have with the student.  My mom always had special cloths for us on the first day and I LOVED it!!

As an extra I am also planning on sewing some teacher themed totes for the kids to take to their teachers full of tissues and disinfectant wipes for the year.  

Sick, Again, Still, Maybe

Lily does not get sick very often but when she does it hits her very hard. When she was 5 months old and had a urinary track infection (leading to the discovery of her urinary reflux)  she was very cranky and sick for over a month.  When she had croup around her 2ed birthday it seemed like she was coughing for 2 months.  She feels illness worse then any kid I know and it really turns her into another child, a crazy, clingy, whinny, crying child and my laughing happy funny little girl goes to sleep until she feels a 100% better.  She is only two and this trait concerns me a lot, like some very serious condition could be hiding in her.  I take her to the dr often and so far she usually gets better as we are arriving so I feel like a crazy person sitting in the waiting room with healthy child.  But I am her Mommy and I am allowed to be crazy for her sometimes.

This go round of illness appears to have been the stomach flu.  She had all day diarrhea starting the morning after this picture.  She started to feel worn down and I knew something was about to happen.  The next day was rough and she was in a pull up (despite being fully potty trained) by mid day.  She cried alot.

The next day we were cleaning up and getting ready for her 2 year well baby check up.  She wondered behind me around the house moaning and crying and laying down randomly, including half way up the steps and on the bathroom floor.  The next thing I hear is her throwing up all over the carpet.  From that moment on she would not let me put her down.  The doctor cleared her, saying it was just a virus that was going around, no big deal. She had no fever and every thing else looked great.   But that she was probably aching and drained and not to push anything on her until she recovered her strength.

She did not show improvement till the next day and it was only a little more energy.  We went to my cousins wedding  (what a blast, I will do a post on that later) and she was great, but started to drag and need to be held and cuddled the morning of the wedding.....then she threw up, but as Grams says, at least she waiting until the ceremony was over, just.  During the reception she was a mess and cried and cuddled and generally seemed uncomfortable and out of sorts.  She perked up a little and danced in between sitting on my lap.  

The wedding was Saturday and she seemed sick until Thursday.  She spend FOUR days crying and NEEDING to be carried and cuddled.  She slept with me every night because she would cry out in the middle of the night. (Bless my Mom for getting up with her in the middle of the night and bringing her too me when she would not go back to sleep.) She seemed to be in pain and listless.  She would stop where ever she was a lay on the floor, just to rest for a few minutes. She wanted to eat, play and drink, but she just did not have the energy...but she never got a fever.

She did not care what you did or what you were watching on TV, she just wanted to be wrapped in your arms!  Papa got some very special time.

I carried Lily so much that my arms started to hurt and I think Johnny started to get jealous.  This was Tuesday, when he decided he was sick too and did not have the energy to even color in his books....until his cousin came over to play, then he found the energy.  It is a long lasting struggle of all parents....how do you know when your kid is faking being sick to get attention or is really sick and needs that attention.  

By Tuesday I was scared and so was our family.  I took Lily back to the doctor.  This is not my child and something is wrong...fix her! Make her feel better!! Of course for the couple hours we were there she was FINE, running around playing and talking.  It was not until after naps that she feel back to listlessness.  The staff at the clinic listened to me though and took some urine to test for a UTI (since Lily has a history of them and urinary refux) They discovered that her white blood cell count was 22, it should have been 5.  So they sent it off for more test and told me to keep a close eye on her.  I was scared, and me and my mother took pictures and videos to show the doctor her unusual behavior.  My child does not lay on the floor and moan.

You can see in these two pictures she is wearing the same jammies! Yes Wednesday evening she needed to be held close and was very uncomfortable.  The next morning she woke up and as soon as her feet hit the ground she was running and laughing and playing "make Mommy breakfast" with her brother.  No trace of sickness at all!

Two of her cousins got the stomach flu from her.  With in hours of throwing up they both were running around and playing again.  It took Lily literary a week to recover.  The doctor says her urine culture was clear.  No UTI or bacteria, she is not sick.  So why did she really spend a week listless and cranky and uncomfortable curled in my arms and her grandparents arms? I still do not know and it worries me a lot.  I am praying for it and hoping I am over thinking it all as usual.

John Robert....well he is a different story. He starts Pre-K in less then 2 weeks! But he is still only 4.  He fell asleep on the floor of the basement this evening when he was suppose to be cleaning. As soon as his eyes open in the morning his feet hit the ground and he is ready to go.  He also spent two hours making his room a disaster (with the help of his cousin) instead of taking a nap.  He has never done this before, but i it was going to happen it was going to happen today.

Project Friday- missing my husband

This week I just miss Shawn, a lot.  Not sure what it is exactly that I miss or why it is more intense this week then before, but it is.  So this week my project is for him.

I am knitting a blanket for my deployed husband. In one of his favorite colors and in the same pattern that I used to make our son's baby blanket, which Shawn often tried to sleep with but it was always just too small. I have a very long way to go on this blanket, but with every stitch I feel like I am doing something just for him and taking care of him, which I just can not do from here while he is over there.  

 

Project Friday...All

A few weeks ago I declaired to my family that I was not going to sew any more.  My projects never came out the way I imagined they would, they always took to long, and more often then not they did not fit the intended child.  But I apparently am a hyprocrite because I just could not stop! And this week I am sewing all of projects.  But I have a good excuse, I can :) This week we are house sitting for a good friend who went to England with her children and husband to visit her extended fmaily.  She is a seemstress and has tons of awsome sewing and embrodery equipment.  So when I say "house sitting" what I mean is "hanging out making sure nothing explods and crafting till I explod."

This is my summer vacation :) Here is a list of SOME of the things I am making

Halloween dresses

Hooded Capes

Crayon Roll Ups

Teacher Totes

Art Caddies

Pajamas

I am working on Christmas gifts, teacher gifts, holiday outfits, and fun things that I am been eyeing for a while.  It is so much fun and the kids have been helping and loving it! Johnny is still trying to learn the difference between kitting and sewing :) I can understand his confusion.

Update on Steggie from last week...I had to take it out and start over, it was going to be too small for my giant 4 year old dino lover.  It is a good thing I enjoy knitting or I would be frustrated since this is the 3rd time I have started this sweater over in the past year.

A Sister in DC

 I am the youngest child of three, I am the only girl and never had a sister. 10 years ago my eldest brother married his high school sweetheart, Natalie.  It took some time for us to warm up to each other, but as adults living across the street from each other I have come to know Natalie and Natalie has come to know me.  She is the person I call when I am lonely or angry or lost.  She has taught me about God, motherhood, myself and family.  She was a matron of honor at my wedding!  She has sacrificed for my brother and given us two beautiful red headed baby girls.  She is generous, kind and loving.

Natalie has been working in Washington DC for the last two months.  She is an Army civilian helping to design a website to help inform people about civilian jobs in the military... awesome huh? I think so.  But she has been in a hotel during the week and home on the week ends, she misses her girls! So we thought we would bring Sami up and take advantage of a hotel in DC to visit the sights and get some time with my sister! Double win!!  I had to split up our visit up into multiple blog posts since we took so many pictures and had so much fun!

The first night we went into Old Town and the National Harbor, which I, sadly, did not know even existed! We had a delicious dinner at an Irish pub, outside.  Johnny had Daddy's favorite, fish and chips. Since Daddy could not be with us, we enjoy the things that he does for him.

Sami and Johnny are nearly brother and sister! They argue and fight over toys and attention, but they LOVE to be together and always take care of each other when they are around other kids.

Boat ride to the National Harbor, so beautiful! The kids LOVED it!  But I was not going to risk my crazy two year old leaping into the water, because she is fearless and often thinks she is a fish.  The stroller came with, complete with 5 point harness.

We also had a military issued camel back with us to stay hydrate, a perk of being a military family! The kids love to grab the straw that hangs out of the pack on my back, makes me feel like a nursing goat :)

The beautiful sunset over the capital! Perfect time for the boat ride!  I remember my heart ached a little right here, I missed my husband, I know he would have loved it too.

We wanted to get some ice cream as a treat in the National Harbor, but I don't like to clean up diarrhea from my lactose intolerant children...so imagine my excitement when we discovered SORBE!!! Right there in with the ice cream and they can get it in a cone just like any other kid!!

Even with sprinkles, she may never know she is missing out on ice cream!

Then, as the sun completely set and the warm summer night settled in, we found the giant sand box with the statue of a 70 foot man being buried alive in the sand, it is called "The Awakening" 

The kids got to climb on the parts of the giant man that he was able to keep from being buried :) so much fun  .  Lily is being eaten alive!

Isn't that so unique? I can't believe I new knew about this place until now!

We headed back on the boat and it was late, and the kids had been running around for hours and very thoroughly enjoying themselves.  Sami just wanted her Mommy to hold her and sing Little Mermaid songs.  It was just so sweet!

And Lily fell asleep in the stroller for the first time in her life! What a perfect end to a perfect day!!!

But our DC trip was not over!!! The next day we went to the Smithsonian National History Museum, or the "dino museum!" 

Project Friday

I think I am a creative person.  I LOVE to knit, sew, embroider, cross stitch and generally craft meaningful gifts for my kids, family and friends.  I enjoy it and it gives me a chance to really think about the person I am creating for and give that person a little piece of myself.  I always have many projects in the works, so I thought that once a week I would write about something I am working on.  Lily gave me the idea when, instead of swinging on the swing set on playing in the sandbox, she picked up my knitting needles and started to "knit"  Crafting is not always easy with young kids around and my attention span is shorter then some of my projects.  I hope this will show the kids that I did create things and how much of a big part of my life it is, it is my down time and it fills me with joy and love.

Lily says "I helpen Mommy"

This week Lily and I are knitting a sweater for Johnny, a dinosaur sweater! The pattern is called Steggie and comes from a free knitting website called Knitty.  I have wanted to make this sweater for a while, but the spikes seemed hard, but in the end nothing is ever are hard as you think it will be and I am loving this pattern! 

Pattern & image © 2009 Julia Farwell-Clay.

I am using a wool blend yarn in green and will get to the red spikes on the sleeves and hood! If this pattern is as easy all the way though I might make one for Lily in pink and purple! She loves to roar just as much as her big brother.  Maybe she will want to help me with hers as well.

I miss you

I miss you blog! I was reading back to when Lily had no hair and Johnny had tons and I was missing how well I kept up with my family here and leaving these memories for my children to see. I became bogged down and depressed last year, it is strange that now I know what "busy" and "stressed" really mean, and last year was like a vacation compared to it. However I feel much better now, so many things have chnaged and i thrive in the rush. I am here to admit that I suffer from clinical depression, and have for a long time. I accepted that I could not go through life hating myself, crying for no reason, and ignoring joy of any kind. I accepted that medication helps and that every single day is a struggle to push past the depression and find motivation and energy to even do the things I enjoy or take care of my children. God has entered my heart and lifted me up. He has made a difference in the depths of my soul that I never thought was possible. I am not sure if I will be able to get back to blogging for my children, or what will become of this record of our lives, but I miss you and I wanted you to know I am doing well.

It can not have really been 2 years!

I guess it it something I have to accept, Lily Jean is two years old, officially NOT a baby!  It is not fair how fast the time goes by.  What a two years it has been and what a wonderful little girl my baby has grown into.

She has such spirit! She laughs easily and smiles constantly, she brightens up a room by running into it wildly! And is so easily excited by those she loves and anyone who as spent any time with her is left with a perment memory of her out going manner.  

Lily is a two year old and that brings with it what it always does.  She is always testing her limits and time out is a regular part of our day.  She did not want to listen for her pictures and ran around attaching her self to Mommy, Grams or Papa, in order to not get her picture taken.  It took two sessions to get these pictures, and one lolly pop or "Pop Pop"

She is like her brother and loves running around and chasing games.  She has not taken to to much TV or sitting still for that matter.  But she does like Mick Mouse Clubhouse and "Ninnie Nouse" is her favorite!  She also loves to color and eat the markers, she often leaves a coloring session with a blue or green mouth and nothing on her paper.

Lily Jean is very sturdy and rough and touble kind of girl.  Even though she spends her days in pink dresses and giant bows she also spends her days rolling in the dirt and being a bully.  She is learning about pushing and hitting and grabbing what she wants, she has the strength to accomplished pretty much anything.  She is also stubborn and demanding and is at that in between baby and toddler stage were she is still crying when she is upset, even though she could use her words.

Her favorites right now include any food and "emodaid" which is lemon-aid. She wants to cuddle only when she wants to, but especially when she does not feel good.  She spent the week before her birthday suffering from croup and we spent two late nights in the ER getting steroids to shrink her airway down.  But she spent that week in my arms and little were else.  It was nice, but not always easy, and no mom wants to see her baby so uncomfortable..  

There is always so much to say about the blessing of my life and I could talk for hours about how amazing they are.  Lily has brought so much personally to our lives, she is just adorable in every way!

I