An update in pictures!!!

My Ike Ike
S wants to play baseball so bad! Here he is in D's uniform! :D
Beautiful Mags (This is the dress I bought for her as a gift from Aunt Sue.)


Cute boogar nose!!!
Race for the Cure, downtown San Antonio, May 1st 2010. Maggie was exhausted afterwards!! :D
Ready to go! We were both so tired! It had been a late night!!

Update? Not quite...

So I haven't blogged in awhile. I wonder why...

Oh yeah... I have four kids.

And one of them is named Sammy.

*sigh*

Ok... have to go feed the bebe.... while Sammy is sleeping....

Health and Healthcare

Yeah, on second thought, maybe I won't go there.

Heehee!!

Actually...

The past few weeks have been very ... laundry-full. About two weeks ago S got a cough. It went away and almost the very same day, he started throwing up... four-five days of fever, vomitting, diarrhea, miserableness. Then it stopped (although the diapers are still kinda gross), and he got a rash. Started out raised and red and looked like Roseola (that's basically a rash that can develop after a high fever). Called the pediatrician this last monday about it and they said it sounded like Roseola. Ok. So I took D in that day cause he'd had a fever virus thingy for about 2-3 days. They tested him for strep and it came back negative. That night, Ike began throwing up with a fever and diarrhea. That lasted till Wednesday, when Isaac threw up all over the dinner table. That was fun. But that was the last time he got sick and has been acting normal since. D's fever went away on Tuesday (Yay!), but S still has the rash. It's not red anymore, hasn't been since Tuesday morning/Monday night, but he still has really leathery skin covered in little bumps. He acts like he feels fine, aside from the itching. So I took him to the doctor today. He said it was probably scarlatina... in other words... Scarlet Fever. Don't people die from this? :D No, apparently not. Thank goodness for modern medicine! The -tina on the end of scarlatina, however, means that it's an acute form of the scarlet fever. He'll be fine and is acting like his normal self and is no longer contagious. He just looks weird. :D I can't wait till he starts peeling... hmm.

That's all. My update for the week.

Oh yeah, I'll add some pictures...

Mags loves her saucer... so much so that it puts her to sleep (these are pictures taken two days in a row...) AND... for my mom's birthday, I bought some helium balloons and we let (one of them) go for her/ "to" her. Isaac cried and did NOT want to let his go. We had been talking about how it was Granni's birthday and we were gonna have brownies and let our balloons go for her. I think the idea of letting it go was too hard. Actually, seeing that balloon flying away was kinda hard for me too...

A while....

it has been! This post is mostly gonna consist of pictures. We have a lot going on right now. March has been busy like February, though not quite so much. Just busy in a different way. N has had a lot going on with school (lots of papers) and work (don't get me started). We've had a few illnesses... tummy flus and colds.

That's about it.

Oh, and D started baseball. I have some pictures but they're still on the camera and N has it with him.... he took D down to Corpus Christi with the cub scouts for a special trip. They are spending the night on the USS Lexington (very cool)!! When he gets home I need to upload a few more pics! :)

But for now, here's a few...



First, my little man turned three this month!!! Even just in the last few weeks, I can see he is looking more and more like a little boy and less a baby!


My sweet girl is becoming quite social! Very talkative... ticklish...smiley! So sweet!!!




I love this picture! The look on D's face...!!!! He is such a good big brother and I know they will be close. She always cheers up for him!



Well, it's late and I should get to bed!

February

... has been really busy so far. Just this weekend was enough to make me not wanna get out of bed! I can't even remember all that we had going on... it was a blur! Ok, I do remember cake. Lots and LOTS of cake. And sewing... no, not by me. And stuff. Lots of stuff.

Um, I ramble.

Anyhow. Here's some pics of what we've been up to. :)

We went to the Rodeo, which was very fun. We went in Houston a few years back, but I daresay this was more fun... despite my hormonal breakdown... *sigh*

The boys got real cowboy hats... so they had to strut their stuff! :)



It was very fun. The weather here has been so screwy though. It got hot in the middle of the day and by 6 that evening we were freezing. Crazy.



Her first rodeo. :)



And Mags was blessed. Daddy made her dress.





By the end, she'd had enough! :)

We also had D's Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub scouts. These are just 3 of the cakes I made for it (there were five).



They did the Wolf Skit and D pretended to pass out after smelling Den Leader (Daddy)'s socks. :) (Performing... It's in his blood!) He got his Wolf badge and won some books for the door prize.

see more Political Pictures

Momma with her girl... and Little Man. :)

Just a few pics from this month! N's birthday and Mags... don't know why her one pic is sideways...grrr. :)

Baby Eats

POSSIBLE TMI herein... just so you're warned.

Nursing is hard. Something "natural" should not be this hard. I remember thinking it was hard with D, but not overly so. Just... an adjustment. And with Ike is was hard because we were adjusting to having two kids (I can remember feeding Ike and having D, as a toddler, bring me his sippy cup, milk, and nesquik so that I could make him some chocolate milk while I was in the rocker). And it was hard because Isaac had reflux and wanted to eat CONSTANTLY. But it was okay other than that.

S was a whole other ball game. I was engorged beyond belief with him. HUGE. Painful. Then we found a lactation consultant and she was good. We bought a pump and that helped a little except that I don't produce much when pumping. Very frustrating. Then I got yeast (Candida) in my breasts, which is SO painful. We got some special doodads from my consultant to help and some drugs from my doctor. It more or less worked. Then I got mastitis. WORST experience EVER. Fever, chills, pain.... PAIN... PAAAAIIIN. Swelling and redness and PAIN. My doc said it was one of the worst cases he'd seen. Eventually my pores opened up and ... *gross alert* oozed infection for like four days. I had to wear gauze pads and ... it was awful. I was on two different antibiotics for like a month. Crazy. And after that I was only able to nurse S on the unaffected side. That lasted a month and then he became a bottle baby.

With Mags I wasn't engorged, but at 3 weeks I got mastitis. Luckily, I knew what to look for and was able to get on an antibiotic in time, before it got bad. But I have yeast. Worse this time than before. It is so incredibly painful. SO painful. It's not unlike mastitis, but without the redness and this burns. I have been trying to limit my sugars, as that seems to set it off. But nursing hurts BAD and then after nursing I HURT. Oh, do I hurt!

I really want to keep nursing her, but I wonder how long I'll be able to keep this up. We are both being treated for it topically, but I probably need to get on an oral treatment.

We had a baby shower today that some friends threw for us, which was AWESOME! But I probably ate too much sugar, because as we speak, I am hunched over cradling my chest and she is livid in daddy's arms. She doesn't like it either. She has to be treated for it too so it doesn't turn into thrush and so that we don't keep passing it back and forth.

Anyhow... I better go rescue daddy...

Pics

Happy New Year, Ike Ike.

Mags and her Big D

Funny Girl

Mommy and her girl

Hello!!! (taken on PhotoBooth) ... look at that hair!

Meme blah

Saw this on a few blogs and thought I’d share the fun! Won’t answer all the questions, cause some are dumb and/or don’t apply.
FEEL FREE TO SKIP THIS POST…. ‘twas just for fun. ☺

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Had a baby girl.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
My resolution is always the same… return all shopping carts to the cart return. That’s the only real resolution I make, cause I’m cool. And I usually keep it till about March.
Therefore I resolve to try again this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
(See number one) Two of my SILs both had baby girls too!!! Wish we lived closer so they could grow up playing together! ☹

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes. My granddad. ☹

5. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Money. :P

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why:
March 19-20. Our first full days at DisneyWorld, first days of our move back to Texas, and right after Nathan’s graduation, and first of Mom’s bdays after her death (and another reason I won’t share :P) and December 8th. Mags’s BDAY!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
We keep coming back to this… Mags!!! And N's flight school graduation. (Heck yeah that’s my achievement too!)

9. What was your biggest failure?
I’m made of win.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yeah. See previous blog posts…

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Couch!!!!!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Nathan for graduating from Flight School and continuously working hard to provide for his family despite aggravation and frustration. He is a good man, and I am lucky to be married to him. D for being such an amazing helper and doing so good in school. Ike Ike for being the giver of great hugs and always making his mommy smile. S for keeping me on my toes, not letting me get lazy, and entertaining me everyday!!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Shyeah.

14. Where did most of your money go?
What money?

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
DisneyWorld, Graduation, Mags (this may get redundant!)

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
This Woman’s Work(Kate Bush), Strange Education(The Cinematics) wicked awesome song, The Water (Feist), and everything on the new Placebo and DM albums!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier, I think. Time heals…. Slowly.
ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner. HALLEfreakinLujah!
iii. richer or poorer? Poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Reading.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Reading. :P

22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yep. She has red hair!

23. How many one-night stands?
I have two night-stands.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
The Mentalist, So You Think You Can Dance

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is a strong word... loathe maybe.

26. What was the best book you read?
The Hunger Games/Catching Fire

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Tough one!!!!!!!!! I love my music. Love it hard. I don’t know that I really “discovered” anything new… Lady Gaga’s songs are catchy the first 1200 times you hear them. We saw Depche Mode live in August. Placebo put out a new record. Those both made me super happy!!!

28. What did you want and get?
Couch!!!!!!!!!

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I’d reaalllly like to say Half Blood Prince, but it was SUCH a disappointment! There were several I would have liked to have seen, but I’ll go with either UP or Star Trek.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Um. It was Mother’s Day, 31.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Nathan having more work satisfaction…

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Whatever fit over the belly bump.

34. What kept you sane?
Keeping busy.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Lady Gaga *snort*

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
**turns and runs**

37. Whom did you miss?
Mom, and all of our family that live too far away.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
My girls in SA. Awesome chicas!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:
Hm. Hm. Wow. Not sure how to answer this. So … I’ll pass. But, yes, I did learn some things. Just don’t really think I ought to share. :P

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

Um.

Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam!!!! A Sunbeam! A Sunbeam!!!!!

Updates and A New Year

Well, it's been almost a month since I last blogged, and Mags is now a month old, so I figure I better update. (Dang, I got some good music on my playlist... *jams out to White Stripes*) :)

Okay, where was I?

Well, after my last post, N's mom was able to come in for a few days. It was nice to have the extra help! And the boys enjoyed having her as well! Monday we went out and got some last minute Christmas shopping done. Then, that night, we got some good ole Texas BBQ. Tuesday I woke up SICK. SICCCCCK. Stomach flu extraordinaire. N took me to the ER that night. I was really dehydrated, but felt better after having IV fluids and some drugs. It was nice that June was here to help with the kids then. Really nice! She left the next morning and unfortunately had caught my stomach bug and spent her entire flight home sick. :(

Thankfully no one else caught it!

Christmas was nice. Low key. I am lucky that my children are not overly materialistic and don't expect grandiose things! My boys were both happy with their scooters (one was a black friday special and the other I got on craigslist!) and have ridden them almost everyday since. It's been too stinking cold this week for them to ride, which has frustrated them I think. I am just thrilled that they loved them. Things have been really tight this year. Really. So a lot of their gifts were hand me downs and dollar store, but they were happy. So we were!

We went up to Fort Hood after Christmas to visit some friends from Alabama, while Nathan did some training. It was so nice to see our friends again! On the way up, I developed a fever. BAH! And by the next day I was sure it was Mastitis. BLERGH. If you've never experienced it, be grateful. So my doc called in some antibiotics and I got over it pretty quick. Thankfully!!!

PopPop and Kaye were able to come in for a few days for New Years. It was SO nice to have them here!! We mostly just hung out at the house, but we did make it to the Riverwalk and Alamo one day. It was nice for me to get out too! The boys loved having them around to just sit with and watch movies (and of course, bring presents! :D)and they watched the boys for us so we could get out for a bit too. SO Nice! We saw Sherlock Holmes. I haven't decided how I feel about it yet, despite my love for RDowney Jr. I think maybe it'd just been awhile since I saw an action flick! :)

After they left, the boys' colds decided to rear themselves, and Mags woke up one day with a nasty cough. By the next morning we were in the ER with her. RSV. No fun. She still has a really awful cough, but she seems to be managing it a little better. Poor little thing. She's just perfect. I've said it before, but I didn't realize how badly I wanted a girl till I got one. S first called her "Baby Naggy" then "Baby Waggy" and now "Baby Daggy"... he's getting there!!

She's so much fun, but very draining. Especially since her sick has made her not want to be put down. And I've developed candida (yeast). Yay. So nursing is painful and I have to limit my white flours and sugars. Very little fruit, sugar, yeasty breads. Blah. Whole grains and veggies for me. Which will help with my continued weight loss, even though I weigh less now than I did when I got pregnant. My pre-baby jeans are too big. YAY!

*sigh*

But I am becoming more and more sure of the fact that she is the last one as time goes by. Our house is a tad chaotic, the boys have cabin fever BAD cause we can't go out cause Mags's sick, and it's COLD, and nursing is just HARD. So, everyday I think we are definitely done! :P

I guess time will tell.

I'm ready for Spring, warm weather, and healthy children!