Life After Children

26

2010-04-14T21:48:00.003-04:00

That's how old I am today. I had a pretty good day today. John woke up the girls and had them (Cadence) sing "Happy Birthday" to me when I got up. He had a small store bought cake for me, along with a new purse and wallet. He actually did a good job of picking it out. This weekend, we will celebrate with dinner and I get to go SHOPPING! By shopping, I mean that I get to go to one store and buy one outfit, but that's cool.

I wasn't really looking foward to my birthday because birthdays means you're getting older. As the day went on, and sooooo many people assured me that I was still young, I loosened up. Twenty-six is just really close to 30 and I'm afraid of 30. I'm starting to realize that it may not be so bad now. I have a great life. I have a husband, 2 kids, a good job, a house, a college education, and I'm happy. I look at some of my classmates and realize that my life is to die for in comparison to some of theirs.

So, I'm going to enjoy being 26....until next year.

Aaryn is Walking!!!!!

2010-04-12T17:18:00.002-04:00

She's been working at it for a while now. I'm so proud of her. I'm proud that she didn't give up. She would fall and get right back up again for another try. All of her hard work has paid off. As proud as I am, I'm also sad. My baby is growing up way too fast and there's NOTHING I can do about it. Its all downhill from here. Now she's going to prefer walking over being carried and before I know it, she'll be wiping away my kisses and be embarrassed to be seen with me. Well, maybe its not going that fast, but it sure seems like it.

Back on Schedule...Finally!

2010-04-08T22:48:00.002-04:00

My husband, the girls, and I visited Oregon last week during my husband's spring break from school. My husband's paternal family lives there in the Medford area. We had a great time. I took my camera, intending to get some pictures of everyone with the girls, but issues with my camera prevented me from getting the shots that I wanted. I'm pretty sure, though, that John got some on his phone. Hopefully, I'll be able to upload those here later. The quality will suck, but its better than nothing, right?

The plane ride over was long...12 hours with 2 changeovers. We arrived in Medford around 12am PST(3am our time). Surprisingly, the girls did great. Aaryn slept most of the way. Cadence did some schoolwork, colored, and watched movies. She did take a little nap on the longest flight.

By the time we landed in Medford, I was exhausted. All I wanted to do was go to bed. The girls had different plans though. They did not want to go to sleep. Cadence was running back and forth through the airport. We finally got them to sleep around 2:30am (west coast time). They woke up at 7:15am....not fun.

For anyone who has ever traveled with children, you know that it is hard to keep kids on a schedule, with visiting, going out, staying up late, etc. So for a week, the girls stayed up late and only got to take short naps, if any at all.

Well, the vacation ended and we had to come home. We had another long flight back. We made it home around 9pm (EST). Appareantly the girl's didn't get the memo on what time it was. They were both wide awake until nearly 12am. They were still on Oregon time...3 hours earlier. I suffered with their schedules all weekend. Cadence adjusted after Monday. Aaryn struggled to go to sleep up until Wednesday. I tried putting her to bed earlier and earlier each night until we got to a decent bedtime. Both girls are sleeping as I type this.

Thank God for that!

Easter Portraits

2010-03-23T21:29:00.006-04:00

Hello. My name is Shalonda and I'm a picture junkie. Well, actually these Easter pictures were made possible by my BFF. Thanks Kristyn! Once again, the girls did great and the pictures turned out perfect. I blame my picture addiction on the fact that I have the most beautiful girls in the whole world.....bwahahahah! Enjoy.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

2010-03-11T23:11:00.005-05:00

So proud of her!

Aaryn is 10 Months!

2010-03-10T22:07:00.003-05:00

Time flies! Happy 10 months Aaryn!

RIP Layla Grace

2010-03-09T23:40:00.004-05:00

I came across Layla Grace's story through a friend of mine's blog and have been following her journey ever since. Layla Grace was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a rare cancer normally found in small children and infants. After many months of pain and suffering, sweet Layla Grace's suffering ended and she went to play with the angels early this morning. Layla was 2 years old. I can't imagine what her family is going through right now. Please pray for her parents and her 2 sisters while they grieve their loss. I can't imagine what they are going through. I can't imagine.

2 Years( + 1 day)

2010-03-09T23:26:00.004-05:00

That's how long I've been married to my wonderful husband. After several years as friends, 5 years of dating, two years of marriage, and 2 beautiful children, I can honestly say that we are still as happy and in love as we were the first day we met. Our marriage isn't perfect and of course we argue from time to time, but we're inseparable. I am so glad that God made him just for me. I look forward to the many more years that we will have together. Happy Anniversary!

Sisters

2010-03-01T19:47:00.009-05:00

In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips.
~Author Unknown

"Sisters are for sharing laughter and wiping tears."
~Author Unknown~

If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child.
~Linda Sunshine

"Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of.
You know whatever you do, they'll still be there."
~Amy Li~

Sisters is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship.
~Margaret Mead

How do people make it through life without a sister?
~Sara Corpening

6 and counting

2010-02-25T23:15:00.002-05:00

Aaryn now has 6 teeth! They're really coming fast now. I didn't even know until Cadence (who makes sure she counts Aaryn's teeth almost everyday) told me. I had just picked them up from daycare and had strapped Aaryn into her carseat already. As I was buckling Cadence, she was "forcing" Aaryn to show her her teeth. Then she says, "Aaryn has 4 teeth on top". Last time I checked, which seemed like just a couple of days ago, she only had a total of 4 (2 on bottom and 2 on top). I say to Cadence, "Are you sure. I think she just has two on top and two on bottom". She says "no, there's 4 on top". Well, naturally, I take a look, thinking all along that I'm going to have to count Aaryn's teeth for Cadence to prove to her that her sister only has 4 teeth. I open her mouth and take a look and what do I see?......6 teeth! The only explanation that I have is that they grew overnight. Now that I think about it, a couple of nights ago, she did wake up in the middle of the night crying. When I went in to check on her, she was biting on her blanket. I actually did assume that she was teething so rubbed a little Orajel onto her gums, changed her diaper, and put her back to bed. I never once looked into her mouth. That must be the night they made their appearance. Ha! I would have seen them eventually, but having an observant 4-year old has its benefits.

Gah, I'm Such A Slacker

2010-02-18T21:12:00.006-05:00

Shame on me. I'm finding myself doing exactly what I promised myself I wouldn't do...neglecting this blog. So much has happened since my last post, so I can't use the excuse that I have nothing to blog about. I'm going to attempt to update everyone on what's been happening these last few weeks.

Cadence's Birthday Party
Cadence's 4th birthday party was supposed to be on Jan. 30th, but we had to postpone it because of snow...well sleet and ice. I was disappointed, but she understood. I broke the news to her that morning when we woke up to find that it had sleeted all night long. I thought she was going to be devastated, but she surprised me and said "We can't have my party today because its snowing and I don't want my friend's tires to get stuck." What maturity? I will admit though that I was quite disappointed. We postponed the party a week. It turned out really good. I put lots of time and energy into planning this party. She wanted a Tinkerbell party theme. The girls were dressed as fairies and the boys pirates. We provided wings and fairy headbands for the girls and eyepatches and swords for the boys. The party was held at a small arcade/party room. Here are a few pictures:

Tinkerbell

The Cake: It was really good (especially for being in the freezer for a week) - Chocolate with buttercream icing. YUM!

Playing Basketball

Opening Presents

Later that day...
I hosted my first ever baby shower for my cousin. It turned out much better than I imagined. I am so proud of myself for being able to step up and give her and "Baby Boy Issial" the shower that they both deserved. I even made my first ever diaper cake. It turned out so well that I wanted to keep it for myself. Just kidding. Here are a few pictures from the shower:

Valentine's Day
For Valentine's Day, John surprised me with tickets to Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family. We celebrated V-day early because the play was performed on the 7th. Tyler Perry is one of my favorite entertainers. I highly recommend all of his plays and movies to anyone who appreciates great entertainment. The show was great and we had a wonderful time. I love my husband.

Snow Day
WE GOT SNOW! Snow without sleet and ice is a rare occurence around here. It happened on the Friday before Valentine's Day (too bad it didn't happen during the week so I could have an excuse not to go to work). It was pretty much gone the next day, but we enjoyed it while it lasted. This was Aaryn's first snow. We took the girls out for a little while to play in it then I made snow cream afterwards...YUMMY!!

I realize that this is a long post, all because I've been such a slacker. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I promise I'll make a better effort to update more often.

Happy Birthday, Cadence!

2010-01-29T21:34:00.002-05:00

My oldest daughter turned 4 on Wednesday. I know I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again..."Boy, does time fly!" It is really hard to believe that I have a 4-year old. It seems like it was just yesterday that she was born. She is really a sweet and very smart child. She never ceases to amaze me with all of the words and phrases that she knows. She's also a clown (she gets that from her daddy). She loves to act silly to make people laugh. It's her gift, and its a good one. Laughter is good for the soul.

When I found out that I was pregnant with her, I wondered what kind of mother I would be. I was a little scared at first. I didn't think I had much to offer her. I wondered what would I teach her. It's been four years and I realize that I'm not the perfect mother, but I am a good mother. I've realized that although I don't think I have much to offer, my children think the world of me. Most importantly, I've realized that motherhood is a learning process. I've learned just as much from my children as they've learned from me. They've taught me both forgiveness and unconditional love.

So Happy 4th Birthday, Cadence! I love you and am so proud of the child that you have become. You are my first born, but you will always be my baby.

Richard Ferber...

2010-01-25T11:00:00.016-05:00

...is a GENIUS! Who is Richard Ferber, you ask. Richard Ferber is a pediatrician, best known for the Ferber sleep training method. Most of you may know this as the cry-it-out (CIO) method.

In a nutshell, Ferber says you can teach your baby to soothe himself to sleep when he's physically and emotionally ready. He recommends following a warm, loving bedtime routine and then putting your baby in bed awake and leaving him/her (even if he/she cries) for gradually longer periods of time. The point of this method is to successfully teach a child to go to sleep on his/her own.

Ferber recommends waiting 3 minutes, then going in to check on the child, patting him/her on the back to reassure them that you are still there and that it is okay for them to go to sleep. You should gradually increase the time to 5, 10, then 12 minutes until he/she falls asleep. After a few days to a week of gradually increasing the waiting time, the theory goes, most babies learn to fall asleep on their own, having discovered that crying earns nothing more than a brief check from you.
(http://www.babycenter.com/0_the-ferber-method-demystified_7755.bc )

I thoroughly researched this method beforetrying it out. I'm the type of person that researches EVERYTHING. I rarely ever make huge purchases before reading reviews, etc. I even consulted with my online friend, Trinity, who had gotten results from this method. I had my whole plan worked out before even trying it out. The research paid off, because I was skeptical at first. I admit, like a lot of parents, that I thought that this method was cruel and that my baby would hate me for it. I've learned now, that this can be done in a loving way and that the results are worth the few minutes of guilt that you feel as your baby sit in his/her room crying their little hearts out.

The first night that we tried it, I fed Aaryn her usual dinner of 4 ozs of fruit and veggies at around 6pm. We all played for about 2 hours, then I got both girls a bath and into their pajamas. I gave Aaryn a 5 oz bottle of milk, just so I would know that she was not hungry. After she finished her bottle, I layed her down and braced myself for the worst. She cried and even stood up in her crib wanting out. I went to the living room and watched the clock and waited for 3 minutes to be up. After the 3 minutes, I went in to check on her. She was still crying. I put on so nighttime music from her toy puppy, Violet, and left the room. I repeated this, waiting 5, then 10 minutes. Finally, after a total of about 30 minutes, she was asleep...and she slept ALL NIGHT. I had to wake her up the next morning.

The next night, we followed the same routine. She only cried for about 10 minutes this time. Each night thereafter, she has cried less and less before finally falling asleep. Last night was the sixth night in a row that she has fallen asleep and slept all night on her own. We're at the point now where she only whines for about 2 minutes before going to sleep.

Ferber acknowledges that this method will not work for every child, but it worked for us. My only regret is that I didn't try this sooner. We've all rediscovered that a full night of sleep equals happier mornings. Did I mention that Richard Ferber is a GENIUS?

Blog Issues

2010-01-25T10:55:00.003-05:00

I've been troubleshooting my blog today. For the last several days, I've been having trouble seeing my blog, which is why I haven't posted anything in a while. It seems that the culprit was some of the widgets that I had on the page. I'm taking this opportunity to recustomize my page. Please bear with me through this process. Also, if you're having any problems viewing any of the elements on the page, please let me know by leaving a comment to this post. Thanks!

I Guess I Spoke Too Soon...

2010-01-15T18:27:00.002-05:00

Look at what we caught Aaryn doing today...

I guess she can crawl on all 4's after all.
(sorry the video is so dark)

TGIF!

2010-01-15T15:46:00.023-05:00

THANK GOD ITS FRIDAY! I will pay good money to the person who finds that bus that hit me this week. I feel like a walking zombie. This week has really hit me hard due to several circumstances this week. In just this week, Aaryn has been sick and refusing to sleep, my team of 3 at work has become a team of 1 (ME) due to my boss's child being born and the secretary being sick, John started a new semester at school, which means I pretty much have to take care of all of the housework by myself, everything that can possibly go wrong at work has, etc., etc., etc...

The point is...I'm thankful that today is Friday and I'm even more thankful that John has 3 days off so, hopefully, I can get a little rest before starting over again on Monday.

On a Happier Note...

2010-01-14T10:06:00.008-05:00

Here's the video I promised of Aaryn pulling herself up. This video was taken with my digital camera, that has no mic, so you can't hear anything. Also, the 'blip' near the end is Cadence trying to take the camera away from me.

Sick....AGAIN!!

2010-01-13T14:12:00.041-05:00

Both girls had been coughing for a couple of days, just as I thought they had gotten over it. I decided to wait it out and see if it would just pass. Well, the coughing continued in both girls, so I started giving them the cough medicine that the doctor had prescribed the last time I took them to the doctor. I REALLY wanted to avoid the doctor's office this time. I watched them both closely to make sure it wasn't getting worse...but it did...in Aaryn. She started wheezing and was getting so congested that it was interfering with her sleep. She woke up in the middle of the night Tuesday morning and was burning up. I searched for my thermometer to no avail, then remembered that the last time I saw it, Cadence had it playing Doctor with her dolls.

We decided that she needed to see the pediatrician ASAP, so my husband stayed out of school and was able to get an early appointment with the doctor. To make a long story short, she was diagnosed with a viral chest infection (after being tortured by the NP, the pedi, and the x-ray techs). I'm having to give her Albuterol, via a neubulizer to keep her airway clear, twice a day, and Tylenol every 4 hours to keep her fever down. I bought another thermometer (Thanks Cadence) so I could continue to monitor her temperature.

The breathing treatments have really helped with the wheezing and breaking up all the mucus in her nose and chest. This morning when we woke up, her fever was gone, and she was a much happier and healthier Aaryn. Of course, since the infection is viral, we have to wait for her immune system to fight it off, but at least she was able to get some relief (thanks to modern medicine). We're assuming that Cadence has the same thing. She hasn't gotten any worse, but we're watching her to see if she gets any worse, and trying to keep her and her sister away from each other as much as possible.

So we wait...and pray that this is the last we see of this nasty bug. With both girls in daycare, I highly doubt that...but a mother can dream, can't she?

"You're the best Mommy in the whole entire world!"

2010-01-10T22:12:00.002-05:00

That's what my oldest daughter told me tonight as I tucked her in and it made my day. I love her SO MUCH!!!

8 Months Old!

2010-01-10T18:24:00.005-05:00

Aaryn is 8 months old today. She's such a big girl now, not my little newborn anymore. It's hard to believe that in just 4 months, she'll be a year old. A YEAR OLD!! Boy, does time fly.

Since my last post, Aaryn has gotten her two bottom front teeth. They popped up right around Christmas (how appropriate). We've all learned that those things are sharp. OUCH! They're also very cute!

The girls are starting to become best friends. Aaryn's at the age now where she can follow her sister around and play with her. Sometimes Cadence is a little rough, but Aaryn seems to forgive her pretty quickly. I love watching them play together, and I pray that they are always close as they get older.

Aaryn is still army crawling. We're beginning to believe that is just her preferred method of mobility. She doesn't seem at all interested in getting up on her knees to crawl. She's also pulling up and cruising around the table (I have a video that I will post later). I don't remember her sister doing that until around 9 months old.

Check out those teeth!!

I really wish I had a PAUSE button, so I can keep her at 8 months old, but the reality is that she's going to grow up and one day have a family of her own...and I'm okay with that.

Christmas Portraits

2009-12-16T09:39:00.011-05:00

We had the girls Christmas portraits made last week. We were VERY pleased with how well they turned out. Both girls did good at the session. This has been the easiest session thus far.

7 Months Old

2009-12-10T10:25:00.002-05:00

Aaryn is 7 months old today. Happy 7 months, baby. We LOVE you!!!

Milestones

2009-12-10T10:12:00.003-05:00

Aaryn has reached so many milestones in such a short period of time. She can now roll over both ways, sit unassisted, "army" crawl (all over the house), and even pull up on things to stand herself up. I'm going to work on getting pictures of this today to put on the blog. She is growing up so so fast and it's making me a little sad. I am so proud of her though.

Dear Sleep,

2009-12-10T10:05:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I've seen you. Thank you for visiting my baby and me. Make yourself comfortable and stay a while, because when you are here, everyone feels better.

Love Your Biggest Fan,
Shalonda

LOL! Aaryn has slept through the night for FOUR days in a row. We both feel so much better now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this keeps up.

Thank You, God!

2009-12-01T09:59:00.008-05:00

Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever.

Psalm 37:27-28

My husband's job is about an hour away from where we live. He usually gets off work between 1 and 2am. Monday morning around 2:15 am, I was awakened from a terrible feeling that something was wrong. My husband wasn't home yet, so I called him on his cell phone. He told me that he had fell asleep at the wheel and had run the car into a guardrail on the highway. He walked away from the accident without a single scratch. Thank God! Things could have been much worse and I could be without a husband; my girls without a father. This confirms the power of God, prayer, and faithfulness.

Thanksgiving (Late)

2009-12-01T09:16:00.006-05:00

Man...I've really slacked in keeping this blog updated. It seems that the days are getting shorter and shorter. Both girls have been sick over the past few weeks, but hopefully, that bug has left our home for good. Between taking care of the girls, working, and the Thanksgiving holiday, I've had very little time to spend on the computer.

Thanksgiving was great! If I could rewind time, I think I'd go back to this past Thursday and do Thanksgiving again. Thanksgiving really makes me reflect on all the things that I am thankful for. Here are my top 5:

1. My family. My family means the world to me. I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband and two beautiful daughters. I'm thankful too for the rest of my family who are always there when we need them.

2. My friends. Though they are few, I am thankful for those who have been true friends to me and my family.

3. My job. I know I gripe and complain and don't look forward to going to work everyday, but I am thankful to have a decent job. It's not hard work and it allows me to help take care of our family and give my girls a good life.

4. My health. I am relatively healthy and I am very thankful for that.

5. My upbringing. I am thankful for person that I have become. My mom raised my brother and me as a single mom. She taught me to be kind, honest, and obedient. From her, I've learned how to be a good mother to my children.

There other things that I am thankful for, but there are too many to list. We should all be thankful for people and the things in our lives everyday...not just on Thanksgiving.

Since my husband and I have been together, we've had Thanksgiving dinner twice (with both families). We had dinner with my husband's family at 1pm. We all get together at his grandmother's house and everyone brings a dish to make up the meal. This year, we were responsible for the deviled eggs and drinks. Everything was good. I had to force myself not to go back for seconds because we still had another dinner to attend.

We had dinner with my family (at my aunt's house) around 4pm. We were responsible for the mac and cheese and a dessert. I found a great recipe for pumpkin cheescake and it turned out really delicious. The mac and cheese was good, but it could have been better. I really stuffed myself. I think I gained at least 10lbs, but Thanksgiving only comes once a year. I can always work on losing the weight tomorrow...or next week...or at the beginning of the year. Ha!

6 Months and 1 Day ago...

2009-11-11T15:35:00.002-05:00

I gave birth to my sweet baby girl, Aaryn! The time is passing by much too quickly. My baby is growing up before my eyes. I googled development milestones for 6-month olds and found this list:

Begins to speak single (hard) consonants, like "dada" (sorry mom!). NOT YET
Rolls over both ways (front to back and back to front). YEP!
The baby will begin to look for a toy dropped out of sight. YEP!
Has no head lag when pulled to a sitting position. YEP!
Begins to "tripod" (sits with one hand on the ground for support) and soon will begin to sit without support. YEP! (can sit for a short period without support)
Continues to grasp and mouth objects, but now can transfer small objects from one hand to another. YEP!
Six-month-old babies begin to rake at small objects but cannot pick them up yet because their finger coordination is not yet precise enough. I don't know. Too scared to give her small objects
Shows displeasure with loss of a toy. YEP!
Is able to recognize each parent and may even begin to show some stranger anxiety. YEP! (she prefers Mommy)
Makes attempts to feed himself or herself. YEP!
Smiles, laughs, squeals and begins to imitate sounds. YEP!
Can be content in a playpen for a while playing with one or two toys. YEP!
Can bear weight on his or her legs when held in a standing position (no, it will not make him or her bowlegged). YEP!

She's even scooting and turning to navigate towards objects. I predict she'll be crawling pretty soon.

As far as her growth rate, she has more than doubled her birthweight and she's grown at least 5 inches since birth.

I'm glad that she's reaching all of these milestones, but sad too. My little baby isn't so little anymore (sigh). They grow up waaaaay too fast.

Our Day Yesterday

2009-11-03T12:10:00.004-05:00

Awful, Awful, Awful! In an earlier post, I mentioned that both of the girls had colds and that they were getting better. Well, Aaryn got better. Cadence's cough came back and refused to go away. So after almost two weeks of a persistent cough, I called the doctor's office to make an appointment. They told me to have her there by 5:00 and she could see the doctor. Perfect. So I got off work at 4:00 and headed to the daycare to get the girls. When I get there, Cadence's teacher tells me that she's been complaining about not feeling well and that she had a temperature of 99.6. I inform her that she has a doctor's appointment at 5:00, so hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this.

We get to the doctor's office around 4:40. I know that it is packed because there are no parking spaces. I see someone leaving, so I park in their spot, unload the girls and head in. I was right. It is slam packed! We sign in and sit and wait, and wait, and wait. Cadence is getting hungry and Aaryn is sleepy and becoming very fussy at this point. We finally get to see the doctor. He runs down a list of questions about her symptoms, which I patiently answer. He then examines her and tell me that she has pneumonia on her right side. My heart dropped. I felt so terrible that I had let it get that bad. He also said that since it had been going on for so long, as a precaution, he wanted me to take her to the hospital to get a chest x-ray to make sure it hadn't gotten down further in her chest. Why didn't I just take her to the doctor when she first started coughing or even after it lasted for a week? Why!? He expressed to me that it didn't sound too bad, but just wanted to be sure then faxed a perscription for antibiotics to the pharmacy.

It was 6:15, we were hungry, and I was tired (I hadn't even been home yet), but decided to head on to the hospital right then instead of putting it off until the morning. We were all getting very hungry at this point so we went through McDonald's drive-thru, then headed to the hospital. I manage to scarf my food down on the way while Cadence worked on her fries.

When we get to the hospital, we have to check-in through the emergency room because Outpatient Services closed at 5. Cadence starts on her chicken nuggets and I hand Aaryn a bottle while I'm filling out all of the forms. We get checked in and the x-ray technician (who was AWESOME) comes to do her x-rays. Cadence does great with following directions when getting her x-rays so we're in and out.

By now it is 7:00, so I figure that the perscription should be filled by now, so we head to the pharmacy. I find out that they never received the fax from the doctor's office. Disappointed, I call the office, but guess what....THEY'RE CLOSED. Ugghhhhh! We go home without her medicine and she's still coughing. After all of that, I still felt like nothing was accomplished. Yes, I know what the problem is now, but what good is knowing when I don't have the medicine she needs to get better?

To summarize today, Cadence stayed with my mother while I came on to work and John went to school. I called the doctor's office as soon as they opened and told them that I needed them to resend the prescription to the pharmacy. After
several back and forth phone calls, my mother was finally able to get the medicine.

I learned a few valuable lessons from this experience.

1.) NEVER wait over a week for a cough to go away. A persistent cough could be the sign of a more serious condition, which it clearly says on the back of every bottle of cough syrup out there.

2.) Just because your kid is jumping around and acting like their normal selves almost 100% of the time doesn't mean that they're not sick and they don't just say that they're sick to get attention..well not all of the time.

3.) Always ask for a hard copy of the perscription especially if it's closing time for the doctor's office. Fax machines aren't always reliable.

4.) Grandparents are Godsends. I'm convinced God made grandparents so that the parents don't lose their minds. NEVER take them for granted. Thank you mama for all you do. I love you!!

Halloween

2009-11-01T22:52:00.003-05:00

Halloween this year was a blast. The girl's school had a Hallelujah Party on Friday with food, games, hayrides, face painting, and of course candy. It was lots of fun and Cadence had a really good time playing with all of her friends. On Saturday, my mom and I took the girls, dressed as Ariel and Flounder, out to a couple of church sponsored trunk-or-treats and a few friend's houses. Cadence really racked up on candy (mostly from my best friends house). I got lots of compliments on their costumes. Here are a few pictures that I managed to get of them.

My little Ariel

My sweet Flounder

The stash

It's been a while...

2009-10-27T20:12:00.003-04:00

...since I've posted anything. This has been a BUSY month for us. With visitors at the house for 3 weeks and family get-togethers, its been hard to find time to sit down at the computer long enough to do anything. Here's what's been going on (not really much).

Aaryn is now rolling over both ways all the time. Not only that, but she's scooting too...backwards. Where did my little baby go? I'm not ready for her to be so mobile yet. At the rate she's going, she'll be crawling soon. She's able to get up on her knees, but doesn't know what to do after that to get moving. I love watching her play on her mat and in her play pen.

Both girls have had colds this week. Cadence has been coughing with chest congestion and a runny nose. Aaryn has been a little congested, coughing and sneezing. It really bothers them when they're trying to sleep, so I've been up in the middle of the night with one at least one of them every night. They've both been taking medicine for a few days and seem to be getting better now, so we'll all be able to rest better now.

Well, that's all for now. Aaryn is crying for me, so I better go get her. Until next time...

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin.....

2009-10-16T22:15:00.003-04:00

She finally did it! After weeks of trying, Aaryn finally figured out how to roll over (back to tummy). She didn't know what to do with her arms at first, but now she's rolling over like a pro. She's rolled over from tummy to back a couple of times, but I think it was by accident. Check out the video below.

5 Months Old

2009-10-11T22:33:00.002-04:00

Aaryn turned 5 months old yesterday! Where has the time gone. It seems like just yesterday when I was hugely pregnant, miserable, and convinced that my baby would NEVER come. Now she's here and she's growing before my eyes. It's bittersweet seeing her grow up. On one hand I'm excited about seeing her accomplish milestones, but on the other I want her to stay my little, sweet, innocent baby forever. Oh well, I guess that's life. Happy 5 months Aaryn!!

Welcome Back, Grandpa!

2009-10-06T17:49:00.002-04:00

My father-in-law, who now lives in Oregon, came back to visit with us and to meet his new granddaughter. He'll be here for three weeks, which will give us lots of time to catch up. The last time my husband saw his dad was 2.5 years ago when he went to Oregon for a week and a half with our daughter Cadence, who was only a year old at the time. Of course, she doesn't remember him. He flew in on Saturday and so far seems to be enjoying being with us and the girls. We're doing everything possible to make him feel comfortable during his stay.

It's taken Cadence a little time to warm up to him, but she's coming around. We were telling her all week about his coming and she was getting really excited about it. Right before we left the house to head to the airport to get him, she was standing outside when she saw a plane in the sky. She looked up and started yelling at the plane, "Grandpa, come down! I'm down here!" So cute. She even told us that she was going to give her Grandpa a BIG hug when she saw him. Well, when she saw him, she changed her mind and decided that she wanted her daddy instead. She's a little shy at times, which I guess she gets from me. It's now day 4 and I'm glad to say that she has become a little more comfortable with him. Aaryn loves anybody who will hold her, so no problems there.

As pleased as we were when we found out that he was coming back for a while, we got another surprise that we would've never expected. His wife will be coming to visit during the last week that he's here. This will be the first time we meet her. From everything I've heard about her, she's a wonderful woman, and I can't wait for her to get here.

"Smarty Pants"

2009-10-01T22:19:00.004-04:00

I'm always looking for opportunities to brag on my girls, but what parent doesn't. I've always got a recent picture in my wallet and a story to tell. Today I'm going to brag on my 3-year old, Cadence. I call her my "smarty pants" and here's why. She is so smart and mature for her age. It's easy for me to forget that she is only 3 because she knows sooo much and speaks like a much older child.

She just started 3K last month at the daycare/school that she's been attending since she was 8 months old. The school that she goes to is great. They have the best teachers around here. They begin teaching their students very early (potty training, counting, ABC's, vocabulary, etc.). It's great how much those children learn at such a young age. It's a Christian school, so they also teach them bible stories, prayers, scriptures, and of course songs. It is expensive, but it is well worth every penny. I wouldn't settle for anything less for my girls.

Well anyway, in the month that she has been in 3k, she's able to count to 30, mastered her ABC's, able to recognize and write some letters and numbers, and recite Corinthians 13. She knows that there are 7 days in the week (and can recite them), and she knows all 12 months of the year. There's more. She knows "The Pledge of Allegiance"and "The Pledge to the Christian Flag". She knows so much that I'm sure I am forgetting something.

Just the other day, she was talking to her dad and me(and I forget how this came up) about Joseph. She was telling us the story of how Joseph had a coat of colors and how his brothers sold him, put blood on his coat and gave it to their daddy, and how Joseph became a king and forgave his brothers.

I could brag on my Cadence all day, but this will do for now. I love my little "smarty pants"!

Interesting Diapers

2009-09-28T21:12:00.002-04:00

Since starting Aaryn on solids, I've noticed some really interesting and colorful diapers here lately. There wasn't a noticeable difference when we were on the avocado, but the squash, well that's another story. My husband and I are just in awe at how the diaper "solids" looks identical to the purees I've been making. It looked as if someone put one of the puree cubes in the diaper to let it thaw there. The green beans diapers are even more interesting and colorful. I don't remember Cadence's diapers really changing after starting solids. I'm assuming that it's because she ate only store bought baby food. It doesn't take very much to excite us these days, as you can see.

Our Champion Eater

2009-09-27T22:47:00.000-04:00

My intentions were to wait until Aaryn was closer to 6 months old before introducing solids. Well those intentions went out the window when she started showing interest in my food. I decided very early in my pregnancy that I would attempt to make everything that my baby ate in my own kitchen. I bought a baby cookbook with lots of baby food recipes and researched baby food making extensively. I got some mixed reviews about it. In the end, I decided to give it a try and see if I could make it work for us.

I have two motivations for preparing my baby's food. The first is that it is a healthier choice. It doesn't have all of the additives that commercial baby foods have. The second reason is cost. I am saving us money by taking a little time to prepare her food.

So far, I've prepared butternut squash, green beans, and carrots. When preparing costs, I found that 5 ozs of Gerber squash would cost me $1.12. I bought a 3 lb butternut squash for $5.45, which after cooked and pureed made 38 ozs. What cost me $0.14 per oz and a little over an hour of my time would have cost me $0.22 per oz at the grocery store. That really adds up. I really saved big with the green beans and carrots. A 1 lb bag of frozen green beans and carrots cost $1.38 each. I was able to make 22 ozs of carrots and 20 ozs of green beans from these bags. Like the squash, Gerber green beans and carrots are $1.12 for 5 ozs. These purees took less than 20 minutes to prepare.

Along with the health benefits and cost savings, I get the satisfaction of knowing that I prepared that for her and she likes it.

We started with avocado this past Monday. It requires no special preparation aside from scraping it from the shell and mashing with a fork. We mixed it with a little rice cereal (which she doesn't seem to like plain). She LOVED it. She got the hang of eating from the spoon very quickly. She's always been a champ at eating. She never had any problem nursing and never had a problem switching from breast to bottle.

We did avocado for 3 days before moving on to butternut squash (3 days), and now green beans. She eats about 2 ozs once a day. We are both enjoying it. Her sister also likes to feed her. It makes her feel like a big girl.

Where to Begin?

2009-09-23T23:30:00.000-04:00

The truth is I've never thought about starting a blog. So why now? Well, the initial motivation stemmed from a discussion on the mommy board that I am honored to be a part of. Several of the AMAZING women on there have blogs that I follow and enjoy reading from time to time. After having a discussion about blogging, I got to thinking that it would be a good idea for several reasons. Through this blog, I will be able to keep our family updated about the major and not-so-major happenings in our lives, even the ones 3,000 miles away. My girls will have something to look back at, and even contribute to, when they're older. I haven't been the greatest at keeping my girls baby books updated. Actually, I haven't touched Cadence's in a loooong time, and I have yet to begin one for Aaryn (shame on me). Hopefully, I'll be able to stick with blogging so that some of the most precious moments in our lives are documented somewhere. Life is hectic. It's not easy working outside of the home full-time, taking care of two small children, taking care of my home, and being a wife all at the same time, but I manage. So this blog is dedicated to the stories of our lives with our beautiful children. I guarantee you'll be thoroughly entertained. The stories I have will make you laugh, some will make you wonder, and others may make you cry. Whatever your thoughts and feelings, we hope you'll embark on this journey called "life" with us. Happy Reading!!