Just a few pictures to tide you over until we get back from the Fiesta Bowl.
Go Cats!
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| Johnson Cousins |
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| Cline Cousins |
Monday, December 31, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Where does time go?!?
So sorry it has been such a long time since my last post! I can not believe Christmas is less than a week away!
~~
Kade had his adenoids removed the morning of the 7th. Saying the night before was tough for this Mama is an understatement. I kept telling myself that it was a routine procedure and he would be fine. It was a TOTALLY different situation than when Natalie had surgery. Still, the memories of when Natalie had surgery kept surfacing. I was a wreck. Since we had to have Kade at the surgery center early, I took Marleigh out to spend the night at my parents' house. I even had a hard time leaving her, and she wasn't the one having surgery!
We got Kade over to the surgery center, and he did suprisingly well without any food or drink. The nurse came to take him back and I lost it. Complete ugly cry, right there in front of everyone. About 30 minutes later, they took us to a recovery room. They said they would bring Kade right out. For about 5 minutes, I could hear the poor little guy screaming. My heart broke. He had no idea where he was or who these people were, let alone being in pain. They finally brought him to us, still groggy, and still with an IV in his wrist. He would scream and thrash angrily for a couple of minutes, then sleep for about a minute. They finally took his IV out, and about another hour passed of him trying to wake up from the anesthesia. The doctor came and talked with us briefly. He confirmed that Kade's adenoids were nasty, and that his sinus cavities were inflamed. A little while later, we headed home.
Within a day, you would have never known Kade had surgery. They told us not to let him run for 48 hours. Yeah, obviously they don't know Kade very well! ;) I am so glad he had his surgery. He still has chubby cheeks, but they are not as puffy as before. His sinus cavities were so swollen, that it actually made his cheeks puffy. Very thankful to have the procedure behind us!
~~
I had previously mentioned both on the blog and on Facebook, that Marleigh had been having some serious #2 issues. She all of the sudden was having accidents ALL the time, and it was sort of a sticky consistency. (Sorry, TMI, I know.) This all started at the tail end of her antibiotics, so I thought it might possibly have messed with the "good" bacteria in her tummy, so I pushed plenty of yogurt and fiber. I kept thinking things would improve. Finally, after battling it for a month, I made her an appointment with the doctor. The night before her scheduled appointment, she FINALLY had a nice, normal bowel movement. The next day, the doctor and I discussed everything that had been going on. I am officially the worst mother ever. Marleigh had had a bowel obstruction. She was leaking around the obstruction, and often, children can not control it. I felt absolutely horrible that I waited so long to go to the doctor. We have not had a single problem since.
~~
Tuesday, we took Marleigh back to see her opthamologist. She has been doing great wearing her eye patch the last 2 months. I was so shocked and pleased with the results. Her right eye had been somewhere around 20/70. In just 2 short months, her right eye is now between 20/30 to 20/20. I never could have imagined it would make such a dramatic difference in that little time. The doctor instructed us to go to wearing the eye patch every other day to see if she can maintain at that level. We will check her again in February.
I would SO encourage anyone that has a family history of "lazy eye" to get your children screened young by an opthamologist. Marleigh appeared to be seeing just fine. She technically could pass a vision exam, but she was only using her left eye. Her right eye would have continued to weaken to point where it could not be corrected, had we not intervened with glasses and the eye patch.
~~
We are getting ready to head back to Mound City for our Johnson side of Christmas this weekend. It will be good to see everyone. Marleigh is talking about getting to see her grandma, grandpa, aunties and cousins. She is so excited! I asked her if she was excited to see her uncles, too. She said, "Well, I suppose, but they are more for Daddy to play with." Ha ha.... sorry Uncle Ryan, Uncle Chewy, and Uncle Dave! ;)
~~
Kade had his adenoids removed the morning of the 7th. Saying the night before was tough for this Mama is an understatement. I kept telling myself that it was a routine procedure and he would be fine. It was a TOTALLY different situation than when Natalie had surgery. Still, the memories of when Natalie had surgery kept surfacing. I was a wreck. Since we had to have Kade at the surgery center early, I took Marleigh out to spend the night at my parents' house. I even had a hard time leaving her, and she wasn't the one having surgery!
We got Kade over to the surgery center, and he did suprisingly well without any food or drink. The nurse came to take him back and I lost it. Complete ugly cry, right there in front of everyone. About 30 minutes later, they took us to a recovery room. They said they would bring Kade right out. For about 5 minutes, I could hear the poor little guy screaming. My heart broke. He had no idea where he was or who these people were, let alone being in pain. They finally brought him to us, still groggy, and still with an IV in his wrist. He would scream and thrash angrily for a couple of minutes, then sleep for about a minute. They finally took his IV out, and about another hour passed of him trying to wake up from the anesthesia. The doctor came and talked with us briefly. He confirmed that Kade's adenoids were nasty, and that his sinus cavities were inflamed. A little while later, we headed home.
Within a day, you would have never known Kade had surgery. They told us not to let him run for 48 hours. Yeah, obviously they don't know Kade very well! ;) I am so glad he had his surgery. He still has chubby cheeks, but they are not as puffy as before. His sinus cavities were so swollen, that it actually made his cheeks puffy. Very thankful to have the procedure behind us!
~~
I had previously mentioned both on the blog and on Facebook, that Marleigh had been having some serious #2 issues. She all of the sudden was having accidents ALL the time, and it was sort of a sticky consistency. (Sorry, TMI, I know.) This all started at the tail end of her antibiotics, so I thought it might possibly have messed with the "good" bacteria in her tummy, so I pushed plenty of yogurt and fiber. I kept thinking things would improve. Finally, after battling it for a month, I made her an appointment with the doctor. The night before her scheduled appointment, she FINALLY had a nice, normal bowel movement. The next day, the doctor and I discussed everything that had been going on. I am officially the worst mother ever. Marleigh had had a bowel obstruction. She was leaking around the obstruction, and often, children can not control it. I felt absolutely horrible that I waited so long to go to the doctor. We have not had a single problem since.
~~
Tuesday, we took Marleigh back to see her opthamologist. She has been doing great wearing her eye patch the last 2 months. I was so shocked and pleased with the results. Her right eye had been somewhere around 20/70. In just 2 short months, her right eye is now between 20/30 to 20/20. I never could have imagined it would make such a dramatic difference in that little time. The doctor instructed us to go to wearing the eye patch every other day to see if she can maintain at that level. We will check her again in February.
I would SO encourage anyone that has a family history of "lazy eye" to get your children screened young by an opthamologist. Marleigh appeared to be seeing just fine. She technically could pass a vision exam, but she was only using her left eye. Her right eye would have continued to weaken to point where it could not be corrected, had we not intervened with glasses and the eye patch.
~~
We are getting ready to head back to Mound City for our Johnson side of Christmas this weekend. It will be good to see everyone. Marleigh is talking about getting to see her grandma, grandpa, aunties and cousins. She is so excited! I asked her if she was excited to see her uncles, too. She said, "Well, I suppose, but they are more for Daddy to play with." Ha ha.... sorry Uncle Ryan, Uncle Chewy, and Uncle Dave! ;)
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Weekend pics
I am going to the Fiesta Bowl! Yay! As a wise sister-in-law told me, years form now, the kids will never remember that I left them and went to the Fiesta Bowl. Looking forward to the trip!
~~
Here's a few pics from our weekend. Sorry that they aren't very clear. My phone doesn't take the best pictures.
~~
Here's a few pics from our weekend. Sorry that they aren't very clear. My phone doesn't take the best pictures.
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| I had football on the TV late Saturday morning. I went to the kitchen, and when I came back, this is how I found Kade. |
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| I get all of the kids' clothes ready and laid out before bath time at night. Kade found Marleigh's clean undies and was trying to put them on. I helped him get them on. He was SO proud of himself. Wish I had a video of him strutting around! |
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| Marleigh and I played beauty shop Saturday. I straightened her hair. :) |
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| Pretty girl with straight hair. She just kept touching it and saying, "It is so smooth!" |
Monday, December 3, 2012
To Fiesta or Not to Fiesta?
I really do try to not judge others. But sometimes, I fail at that miserably. I happen to know of a couple that both parents work full time. They have small children, yet 3 out of 4 weekends, they pawn their kids off on someone else so that they can have "adult" time. It floors me that they don't want to spend more time with their children. I feel like they chose to have these kids, they should be raising them. Not the grandparents or the babysitters. (On a side note, "Dear God, please help me to STOP being Judgmental Judy!") The LAST thing I would ever want to do is to be one of "those parents".
Being a parent is a sacrifice. It is also the greatest reward and privilege. My three kids are my always going to be my finest accomplishments. I love those little people and would do any for them. I fully realize that they are my number one priority right now. Many times, that means giving up or missing out on something that I would have done back before I had kids. But that's okay with me. They are only young once.
While "Mommy" is my number one job, I am still "Sarah", too. It took me quite some time to realize, but I do need on occasion to have some me time. I find that taking some time for me, lowers my stress and helps me to have more patience with Marleigh and Kade.
However, that doesn't stop the constant "Mommy Guilt". I think it is just the way women are wired. If I am away from the kids, there is that constant, nagging guilt that I should be home, taking care of my kids. Take for instance, last week. I had a tax update class in Wichita that I had to attend. Even though it was for work, I couldn't help but feel a little guilt about not being home with Marleigh and Kade at night.
This all leads to my dilemma I am currently facing. As most everyone knows, K-State is playing in the Fiesta Bowl in January. Marc is wanting me to go with him. Pre-children, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. I mean, who knows when the Cats will be in a BCS bowl game again? But, the "Mommy Guilt" and fear of being "those parents" is holding me back. Decisions, decisions.....So, to Fiesta or Not to Fiesta? That is the question.
Being a parent is a sacrifice. It is also the greatest reward and privilege. My three kids are my always going to be my finest accomplishments. I love those little people and would do any for them. I fully realize that they are my number one priority right now. Many times, that means giving up or missing out on something that I would have done back before I had kids. But that's okay with me. They are only young once.
While "Mommy" is my number one job, I am still "Sarah", too. It took me quite some time to realize, but I do need on occasion to have some me time. I find that taking some time for me, lowers my stress and helps me to have more patience with Marleigh and Kade.
However, that doesn't stop the constant "Mommy Guilt". I think it is just the way women are wired. If I am away from the kids, there is that constant, nagging guilt that I should be home, taking care of my kids. Take for instance, last week. I had a tax update class in Wichita that I had to attend. Even though it was for work, I couldn't help but feel a little guilt about not being home with Marleigh and Kade at night.
This all leads to my dilemma I am currently facing. As most everyone knows, K-State is playing in the Fiesta Bowl in January. Marc is wanting me to go with him. Pre-children, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. I mean, who knows when the Cats will be in a BCS bowl game again? But, the "Mommy Guilt" and fear of being "those parents" is holding me back. Decisions, decisions.....So, to Fiesta or Not to Fiesta? That is the question.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Just some stuff
The other day, I had ordered some diapers (LOVE diapers.com) and the shipment had arrived. Forgetting that I had also ordered a color book for Marleigh, I told her she could open the box. Once she found the color book, she gasped, "Thank you!" Just about as I was to tell her "You're welcome", she continued with, "Thank you, box, for my new color book!" and hugged the box. Next time I'll make sure I open the box and give her the color book! ;)
~~
Last night, Marleigh wasn't listening very well. Marc was talking with her and said, "You need to listen to Mommy and Daddy. We know what is best for you." With a smirk on her face, she quickly replied, "Actually, God knows what is best for me." Remembering something I had been told recently from a friend, I told her, "But God trusted Mommy and Daddy to be your parents and raise you." With a less than thrilled look on her face, she finished picking up her toys.
~~
Kade is the silliest little boy. He has taken to putting a blanket over his head so he can't see, and running through out the house. I've stopped him numerous times, but he keeps doing it. Last night, he did it again, but tripped on the blanket and landed square on the door jam with the middle of his forehead. He immediately had a big goose egg that was black and blue. But guess what he did as soon as he had his bearings again?!? You guessed it, the blanket was back on his head. Marc and I just shook our heads.
~~
We found out last week that Bubs needs to get his adenoids out. The doctor thinks it will benefit him greatly. He is also doing a sinus rinse when he takes the adenoids out. Doctor said Kade's sinus cavities are very inflamed and nasty. His surgery is scheduled for December 7th. You might keep him in your prayers over the next couple of weeks. Please pray that he'll stay healthy until then. Pray for us the morning of his surgery, as he can't have anything to eat or drink and that means he'll be up for at least two hours with nothing in his tummy. Kade is a bit of an eater, so I'm sure he'll be "hangry" as his Uncle Dave says. Hangry: so hungry that it makes you angry. And pray that his surgery will go smoothly and he recovers quickly.
~~
Last night, Marleigh wasn't listening very well. Marc was talking with her and said, "You need to listen to Mommy and Daddy. We know what is best for you." With a smirk on her face, she quickly replied, "Actually, God knows what is best for me." Remembering something I had been told recently from a friend, I told her, "But God trusted Mommy and Daddy to be your parents and raise you." With a less than thrilled look on her face, she finished picking up her toys.
~~
Kade is the silliest little boy. He has taken to putting a blanket over his head so he can't see, and running through out the house. I've stopped him numerous times, but he keeps doing it. Last night, he did it again, but tripped on the blanket and landed square on the door jam with the middle of his forehead. He immediately had a big goose egg that was black and blue. But guess what he did as soon as he had his bearings again?!? You guessed it, the blanket was back on his head. Marc and I just shook our heads.
~~
We found out last week that Bubs needs to get his adenoids out. The doctor thinks it will benefit him greatly. He is also doing a sinus rinse when he takes the adenoids out. Doctor said Kade's sinus cavities are very inflamed and nasty. His surgery is scheduled for December 7th. You might keep him in your prayers over the next couple of weeks. Please pray that he'll stay healthy until then. Pray for us the morning of his surgery, as he can't have anything to eat or drink and that means he'll be up for at least two hours with nothing in his tummy. Kade is a bit of an eater, so I'm sure he'll be "hangry" as his Uncle Dave says. Hangry: so hungry that it makes you angry. And pray that his surgery will go smoothly and he recovers quickly.
Friday, November 16, 2012
A Happy Heart
Thank you everyone for your sweet words on the previous post. If for nothing else, I will continue to blog, so that my children can have a journal of their childhood.
~~
Tuesday was just a bit of an off day for me. Do you ever have those days? It seems like from the moment you wake up, nothing quite goes the way you had hoped for. That was most of my day Tuesday. I woke up missing Natalie greatly. I think of her every morning, but it was more intense. Marc was gone for a few days on business, so I was missing him as well. Then I got to class, and realized I had forgotten my book, which is nothing major, but those kind of things continued through out the day.
I am very nonconfrontational. I want everyone to be happy and get along. I would much rather me be unhappy and just keep it to myself, then risk telling someone and upsetting them. I would gladly go 10 miles out of my way, just so someone else wasn't inconvenienced. Marc says that I tend to let people walk all over me. Usually, I can justify it. I can rationalize someone's actions or thoughtlessness. Two different times on Tuesday, I felt completely walked all over, and taken advantage of. Yet did I say anything? Of course not, because I am ridiculously nonconfrontational.
When I finally got home with the kids, I was determined to turn the day around. We made some deliciously naughty desert bars, and laughed and played. We ate our dinner, enjoyed more of the desert bars, and got ready for bath time. I apologize in advance if this is TMI, but Marleigh constantly battles constipation issues. She has a horrible time with it and it hurts her. We give her things to help, but every now and again, it is just miserable for her. Tuesday was one of those times. While, I was in helping her in the bathroom, Kade fell on something and had a pretty big bump on his face. We got through with bath time, and then the kids could not seem to get along. Normally, they do so well together. No matter what I tried, one of them wasn't happy. I would separate them, and within minutes, they were fighting again. Tired from the day, I put them to bed early. Both must have been exhausted, because they went right to sleep.
As I was getting ready for bed, I prayed for a better day for Wednesday. I was hoping good night's sleep would help.
All night, I tossed and turned. I even had a nightmare that I was in an elevator that somehow fell down the elevator shaft. So needless to say, I didn't sleep very well.
Marleigh woke up with an accident in her pants. She then chugged an entire cup of chocolate milk and was dancing around like crazy to cartoons. She proceeded to throw up all over the living room floor. Nice. She insisted she felt fine, so we waited a few minutes, then headed to daycare.
My wonderful day continued at work. So did my wonderful attitude.
I picked the kids up and we got home and played just like any other day. Kade has been big into pretending to be a dog. It is pretty comical. Marleigh has really started using her imagination for pretend play. We played farm, library, store, etc. To me, it seemed like any other day.
After dinner, I was coloring with Marleigh and she asked me, "Mommy, why is your heart not happy today?" Caught a little off guard, I responded, "What do mean? Has Mommy been grumpy?" She kept right on coloring and said, "No, but your heart isn't happy." Seriously. How is a little girl so insightful? I tell her all the time that "You make my heart so happy!" While I might not have been totally crabby, she could see that I wasn't happy. And she was right. But why was my heart not happy? Yes, I had a bad couple of days, but everyone does. Why let a few bumps in the road take away from the happiness that is in my heart? Maybe instead of praying for a better day, I should of been praying for a happy heart to deal with these days that are less than ideal. I pray that my heart be restored to happiness. I ask God to help remind me that there are always going to be bad days that I can't control, but I can always control the condition of my heart.
~~
Tuesday was just a bit of an off day for me. Do you ever have those days? It seems like from the moment you wake up, nothing quite goes the way you had hoped for. That was most of my day Tuesday. I woke up missing Natalie greatly. I think of her every morning, but it was more intense. Marc was gone for a few days on business, so I was missing him as well. Then I got to class, and realized I had forgotten my book, which is nothing major, but those kind of things continued through out the day.
I am very nonconfrontational. I want everyone to be happy and get along. I would much rather me be unhappy and just keep it to myself, then risk telling someone and upsetting them. I would gladly go 10 miles out of my way, just so someone else wasn't inconvenienced. Marc says that I tend to let people walk all over me. Usually, I can justify it. I can rationalize someone's actions or thoughtlessness. Two different times on Tuesday, I felt completely walked all over, and taken advantage of. Yet did I say anything? Of course not, because I am ridiculously nonconfrontational.
When I finally got home with the kids, I was determined to turn the day around. We made some deliciously naughty desert bars, and laughed and played. We ate our dinner, enjoyed more of the desert bars, and got ready for bath time. I apologize in advance if this is TMI, but Marleigh constantly battles constipation issues. She has a horrible time with it and it hurts her. We give her things to help, but every now and again, it is just miserable for her. Tuesday was one of those times. While, I was in helping her in the bathroom, Kade fell on something and had a pretty big bump on his face. We got through with bath time, and then the kids could not seem to get along. Normally, they do so well together. No matter what I tried, one of them wasn't happy. I would separate them, and within minutes, they were fighting again. Tired from the day, I put them to bed early. Both must have been exhausted, because they went right to sleep.
As I was getting ready for bed, I prayed for a better day for Wednesday. I was hoping good night's sleep would help.
All night, I tossed and turned. I even had a nightmare that I was in an elevator that somehow fell down the elevator shaft. So needless to say, I didn't sleep very well.
Marleigh woke up with an accident in her pants. She then chugged an entire cup of chocolate milk and was dancing around like crazy to cartoons. She proceeded to throw up all over the living room floor. Nice. She insisted she felt fine, so we waited a few minutes, then headed to daycare.
My wonderful day continued at work. So did my wonderful attitude.
I picked the kids up and we got home and played just like any other day. Kade has been big into pretending to be a dog. It is pretty comical. Marleigh has really started using her imagination for pretend play. We played farm, library, store, etc. To me, it seemed like any other day.
After dinner, I was coloring with Marleigh and she asked me, "Mommy, why is your heart not happy today?" Caught a little off guard, I responded, "What do mean? Has Mommy been grumpy?" She kept right on coloring and said, "No, but your heart isn't happy." Seriously. How is a little girl so insightful? I tell her all the time that "You make my heart so happy!" While I might not have been totally crabby, she could see that I wasn't happy. And she was right. But why was my heart not happy? Yes, I had a bad couple of days, but everyone does. Why let a few bumps in the road take away from the happiness that is in my heart? Maybe instead of praying for a better day, I should of been praying for a happy heart to deal with these days that are less than ideal. I pray that my heart be restored to happiness. I ask God to help remind me that there are always going to be bad days that I can't control, but I can always control the condition of my heart.
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