I am devastated...

I just don't even know what to do or think or anything. We found out that the munchkin needs a feeding tube and will be getting it next Thursday. I am so definitely opposed to it that I can't even take it. He has been progressing so much lately with eating and movement that I feel like this would be such a setback. We also have to patch his eye for 2 hours per day because he refuses to wear his glasses. So we have therapy 2x per week 30 minutes away, 2 hours per week someone comes to the house to work with them, The munchkin has to be in his stander for however long he can handle it, we still have to have him wear his glasses (try), he has his hand brace that he wears all day. He needs to eat more pureed food than other stuff and I have to do exercises with him. The feeding tube will be added time. Plus there are 3 other children that need attention and a house that needs cleaning and so on and so on. And the hospital stay is 2-3 days which will be his 3rd hospital stay, first was for his double henia surgery, 2nd was when he swallowed the battery and this will be the third. I am completely overwhelmed and just devasted that we are veering no careening off the road that leads to normalcy. I am venting, thanks for listening.

He sure is cute though, little stinker!

All about Ironing

Ironing has never been my thing unless we have somewhere extremely special to go. Our form of ironing is to spray the clothes with a water filled spray bottle while you are wearing them and if you were really thinking ahead they might get sprayed before putting them on but that is highly unlikely. For Easter I purchased a pair of pants and I was doing my usual spray-to-iron technique and it wasn't working. I couldn't figure out why the water was beading off the pants. I was trying to smooth the water onto the pants to make the wrinkles get out still not working. I looked at the label, Plain as day it said "Stain Resistant" . I was so very frustrated. I had to bring out the iron-what torture! Why would a company cause you to iron pants, don't they know how many children I have??? Anyway, Brad's new job is at the pro-shop at the Bob Hope Classic Golf Club so he has to wear nice, unwrinkled clothes. Darn! He is perfectly capable and willing to iron his own clothes (He has been for the dropping off of applications, interviews and so on) but I want to attempt to keep his clothes ironed for him so that when they hit his closet, he knows they are ready to wear. We do have to get a new ironing board though. Ours is broken, it is bent and won't stay up high. It wobbles and is frustrating. If there is any hope of me keeping up with the ironing for him we will have to purchase a hanging ironing board-one that lives in the laundry room-then I can iron when the kids are awake.

Maybe we will try to teach the kids to "iron" like this helpful little boy I found through google. How much can I hire him for?

Just to let you know...

*I do know how to iron, I just choose not to

*Brad ironed before he met me, I converted him :) The first time I came at him with the spray bottle, he looked at me like I was crazy. He was like why are you getting me wet? You will dry, I said.

*My Mother taught me to spray iron- her philosophy is: "It is too hot where we live, and by the time you get where you are going you are sweaty and wrinkled again, so you have wasted your time ironing. Or if you have spray ironed-your are dry and look fabulous!!" Love you Mom

*My Best Friend Jody in Boston is also a fan of the spray iron technique she has three kids, (with twins) it is a busy mom ironing technique

* After rereading this post I have realized that I must live in a dream world, Do I really think that I can keep up with the ironing?? I will try though...

Team Chaotic

Brad has found a job, it is not as much money as he was making but it has some really awesome benefits to working for that company. He is also looking for something else to fill in the gaps.

Brad was home because they called and said they didn't need him at work anymore, so last night I had all the kids pitch in with dinner which is much harder than just doing it myself but it was nice to give them that sense of accomplishment. The munchkin and the bulldozer were in charge of sitting in there seats and not screaming, I must say they did a nice job. The older two were in charge of making meatballs, setting the table, making the noodles, sauce and so on. After dinner I had the brilliant idea that we could go to the store and get some popsicles. We also had to pick up creamer so I could have my coffee in the morning. What a nightmare. There was so much excitement about the popsicles that there was yelling, and screaming, I couldn't even hear which ice cream they were so excited about. After calming down the hoodlooms, we decided upon our ice cream and left. The Prince referred to us in the car as "Team Chaotic" What a perfect label!

New Tricks!

This first video the munchkin has been doing this for a while now I just keep forgetting to let the world know. He easily transitions from crawling position to sitting.




This second video is breaking news. (Daddy hasn't even seen this trick yet)He has been reaching up to things to try to get up but he couldn't quit do it on his own. I took the cushions off the couch so it was lower and he did it! He climbed up all by himself. Yeah Munchkin! He has been doing so well, he has been eating 6 oz at a time and about 15-18oz per day. This morning he ate 7 oz. he also eats table food at every meal with us. We have our weigh-in on Wednesday, the doctor was on vacation when we called about the feeding tube before so the nurse said we should wait until our next scheduled appointment. What a blessing! He is eating 3x the amount he was eating at the time of his last weigh-in. Hopefully the doctor will agree that a feeding tube is not necessary! Thank you all so much for your prayers!



Some other news about the bulldozer. Do you remember when they all had to go to the emergency room for the battery incident? Well they had found that the bulldozers heart was skipping beats. We took him for an EKG and they found an Incomplete Right Bundle Branch Block (Incomplete RBBB). Brad looked it up on the internet because our cardiologist appt. isn't until Aug 5, and it said that f it is on the rught side it should be fine (which our is) It's the left side that brings MAJOR concern. So hopefully we are all good there, we shall see.

Blessings!

This is the sign that has been outside in front of our house since we moved in 1 year ago. It couldn't be more true. Blessings came today in the form of an envelope delivered by a good friend. I feel like we are undeserving, it has humbled me and just last night I was going over the notes from church this last weekend about how being humble is not a fruit of the spirit, it is a choice.

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 1 Peter 5:6

We have been so unbelievably blessed and I am so grateful for my friends from church and their giving hearts. 15 friends pooled money together to help with this time of transition in Brad's job.
What an amazing gift, I cried when I opened the card. Brad was speechless. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

The Reunion

So we went to the reunion last Saturday night. It was awesome! I am so glad we went and I got to see one person that I was very good friends with in high school. I did not expect to see her because she lives in Atlanta. It was so strange to see everyone that I haven't seen in 10 years. I thought for sure we would get some sort of prize for having four kids, we were the only ones that had 4 one other family had 3 a few had two but most had either one or no kids. They did give out a prize for youngest child- we did not qualify. There was a couple that had dated in high school and they are still together, how awesome is that? There were a few people that still live out here and I didn't know they did. All in all it was an amazing time. I also got to see the maid of honor from my wedding. She graduated in 2001 but her sister graduated in 1997. The reunion was for 97/98 graduates. My camera completely flaked out on me that night and made all the pics gray. But I have taken these pics from Jenn's myspace page.
These were from my camera, I really don't know why it did this. I tried all different settings and light-oh well.Two sweet friends.

A day trip

At the dentist

We had to drive out to Riverside to pick up the munchkins new frames for his glasses that he broke. Since we were going to be in slightly cooler weather we decided to pack a picnic lunch and find a place to eat it after we got there. The princess had her first dentist appointment early in the morning and then we would leave after that. By the way, she has two cavities, I know, I know what terrible parents. We have already adjusted the juice consumption and the teeth brushing has been upped. Just for the record, the Prince has never had a cavity. Okay so back to the story. On the way driving the kids were starving. I was handing our small amounts of snacks and we told them that when the temp dropped from 107 (Where we live), we would stop for our picnic. When we got into riverside it was 90 WooHoo what a treat. after driving around in the gorgeous historic district, we all want to move now, we found Fairmount Park. We found a tree and had our picnic, then we went walking around near the water. It was beautiful! The we left to the eye glass place, and then went shopping for my dress for the reunion, which is tonight. We decided to go. We paid for it and if we get into financial trouble later we will have a few options from our Moms. I am excited and nervous and I am worried that people will think I have abused because of two hug bruises on my legs-from when I put the kids in the car, I hit the cup holder every time! I tried to tan my legs outside today hoping it would maybe camouflage the bruises. We shall see. I will post pics from the reunion.

Sprinkles, Sprinkles EVERYWHERE!

The other night while I was recording the munchkin playing sweetly by himself, the other kids were destroying my dining room. The oldest was making an ice cream sundae for himself and his sister. Just then.... the bulldozer gets a hold of the sprinkles.


It was totally fabulous! Actually it wasn't too terrible because I sent the kids to go play in the princess room so they wouldn't track the sprinkles all over the house. I couldn't walk anywhere without getting them on my feet because they were truly everywhere! I thought that the vacuum would be perfect for this job but when I tried it they shot even farther across the room and into the kitchen. So, I put on the "Left Behind" audio book I got from the library and got on my hands and knees and started cleaning. It took forever so I got pretty far into the first disk of the book. What a night.

Feeling Better

When Brad came home from work tonight I showed him my last blog post. Without saying anything, he pulled up this passage. There is no question in his mind that the Lord hasn't been in control of this situation. He is completely at peace and he is such a light for me. He knows that where he is, is unpleasing to the Lord, the place has no moral values. He has been put down today and been yelled at by this awful man at work. I am going to go and hug my amazing husband.

25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:25-34

Getting a little nervous

Brad is supposed to be done at his current job next week. He has already filled out a million job applications and reapplied at school. He only has 12 classes to take until he graduates probably Dec 2009. He will be graduating with a BA in English with an emphasis in Literature so he can teach High School English. He will of course have other things to do before teaching but he will be closer. He is so excited to be able to finish school and fulfill his dream. He is trying to find any job that would be flexible with school hours and he is looking into working two part-time jobs to be able to achieve that. If needed I would also be willing to be a server again to fill in any gaps. I am trying to stay faithful but I am beginning to question whether he should have quit in the first place. Maybe he was supposed to stay there and stick it out and be miserable to see how strong he was. I am just really hoping that the Lord isn't planning to make us homeless to see if we really do trust Him and love Him. Yes, we still would, so hopefully our marriage does not have to overcome any more trials like the ones we already have. Please pray for us, for strength and for our family to come closer together. I have noticed that we have been kind of on different teams, we have let ourselves get caught up in the craziness of our lives and we are just not working together. I know the Lord is trying to show us something through this time I am praying that we can "see" what it is he is teaching us and for it to really sink in.
I am also thinking about this reunion thing and how badly I want to go, why do I want to go? So I can be nosy and see what everyone has been up to. That is not what the Lord wants, I do not need to be concerned with other peoples' lives. I also wanted to go on a camping trip, first it was going to be for a week and then I was just wanting a day. A day away in cooler weather with our family. Well we have decided that it is just not in the budget to drive anywhere extra. We don't know what the future holds so we have to make good choices with what we have today. We do have some money that is saved up, so we will be okay for a short (very short) while. We can be closer to each other in our own home and that is where we need to begin.
Thanks for listening and praying and letting me vent. Have a good day.

Uncle Brett

Well he is not actually and uncle but he is the closest Brad has to a brother. Brad is and only child, as am I, so we have to create Aunts and Uncles for the kids. The kids absolutely adored Uncle Brett, and it was so nice to have someone stay at our house. He left at about 9 this morning after making french toast for the kids, what an awesome Uncle! He has been on a "Super Vacation" Travelling from North Carolina where he lived- he sold his condo to go to graduate school full time. He has gone to (I believe) Colorado, Hawaii, San Clemente, our house, he is on his way to Arizona right now and I think he finishes up in San Diego. He is very kind and we were sad to see him go knowing that it will be a while before we can see him again. Yesterday the boys BBQ'd steaks, corn on the cob, potatoes, and chicken, and I made Brussel Sprouts inside. There was so much food! We had an awesome and lovely evening with Brett. The only thing that was missing was our Prince, he was with his Dad, but I think he would have remembered Uncle Brett from the wedding. Thank you Brett for coming, we will miss you!

The BIG Stand-er

My Little munchkin got his stander yesterday, it will help him to put pressure on his hips so he will want to stand on his own. On the way to pick it up, my husband got pulled over by a police officer. Brad explained where we were going and he apologized and the officer let us go with a warning. Brad was going 67mph in a 50mph zone, the ticket would have been $497. Wow what a blessing, the officer was referred to as the nicest man in the world for the rest of the day(by us). I was going to try to catch a video of the kids taking turns pushing the munchkin around in his stander but I was too late they had exhausted themselves doing so and became cranky very quickly, here is a pic of my cutie though. I cried when I saw him in it at therapy. It made him look so big and so little at the same time, and it is another step farther away from "normal". I know that in God's perfect timing he will be healed, it is just that I am having trouble with the fact that the Lords timing doesn't coincide with my timing. I'm working on it. The munchkin is sure adorable in his stander and the other kids love to be able to push him and interact on a whole new level. I also included some pics of the family resting after running through the house with the munchkin. Brad's cousin (who was also his best man in our wedding) is coming to stay with us for the day and leave tomorrow. We are very excited and have been cleaning like crazy people. He will be here in about 2 hours I'll post pics (after we take them of course lol)

Horsin' Around

I don't know what is so fabulous about pretending your brother/sister is a horse but my kids do it all the time. So much so, that when a friend and her baby were here, the Bulldozer tried to ride him like a horsey, "Um he's not a horse sweetie, he is a baby!" I told him. Well at least they are being nice to each other!

Notice Given, Yeah!!

My husband has turned in his two weeks notice two days ago. The last straw fell today when he got into work and well the camels back broke. He has put up with so much, I gave him the okay to go ahead with whatever he needed to do. He wrote it at work, he actually probably had it written out and saved on the work computer. It is very scary but we are relying on shear faith. Please pray for us to be strong, faithful and um frugal :). I know the Lord will take care of us, he always does. It is strange how I seem to stress over small things but when HUGE obstacles come my way I am very calm. We were going to go to my 10 year high school reunion but it is $200 for us both to go. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to go in the first place and now that we need to be extra cautious, the decision has pretty much been made for us. It is probably better, I was totally stressing about what outfit I would wear and if said outfit would make me look pregnant(someone asked me if I was the other day). So now I am more relaxed-oh but I am sick or suffering from allergies, also the bulldozer is not sleeping at night, from 1am to 4 or 5am he is awake and laughing or talking. I don't know what the deal is. Teething? too much sleep? I have no idea but it better stop-we are exhausted. I got my hair cut today, I love it!! My girl does such an amazing job. The pic of my new hair is now my profile pic nut I will put it here also.

Pictures from this past week

The kids were getting ready for swimming on the Fourth of July and then having fun in the backyard. The last picture is just of my sweet girl looking so very big.