Poop Poop & More Poop!!!!

Yup, that's right, I'm going to write about poop!!! When you have children in the house it is a never ending topic of conversation! I cannot tell you how many dinner conversations at our house have been about poop!

Solid waste.

Excrement.

Feces.

Fecal matter.

Dung.

Crap.

Dookie.

#2.

Turd.

Well, whatever you call it, poop happens! :0)

I know, some of you are probably grossed out and don't understand why I would be blogging about such a thing, but to be honest with you... it's a common thing we deal with all day long around here!

If I had a penny for every diaper I've changed in the last 3 years, I'd be a rich woman... but it still wouldn't pay for all those diapers we've bought!!! (Did you know the average family spends $3240 on diapers per child!) No, I don't do cloth diapers, but I have friends that do and I give them credit for being smart with their money!!

We have a newborn in the house and he alone creates enough poop to keep me busy all day! He has actually started a new pattern of pooping... he has been going #2 about ONCE every other day! For a little baby, that creates BIG messes! I have cleaned up more blow outs (I'm talking about up the back to the shoulders and down to the toes) in this past week than I've ever had to in my life!

Our 1 1/2 year old likes to play in her poop and I can't count the number of times I've had to wash poop off of her hands... gross, I know!!!

Bailee, the "big girl" in the house thinks that the toilet is an evil place to go # 2! She has decided since she's been potty trained that pooping in her night time diaper is the only way!!! This has caused many issues with her bowels and the doctor has recently put her on Benefiber. It's not working, so the next step in a laxative to "clean her out." Poor girl! It's been a rough road for her, but we're working on it!

My bowels are pretty regular, wow... you actually thought I was going to talk about my poop too... NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!

So, as you can see poop is a "regular" (get it?) topic of conversation around here!

Here is an odd web site about poop if you want more info! :0)

Photography Fun!

I have been having so much fun with my new DSLR camera! I might not be a professional photographer, but it makes taking pictures so easy! These are a few from yesterday...

Mr. Blue Eyes Jack

Miss Bailee in a tree!

A few flowers from my mom's garden!

My niece!

My 2 sweet daughters!

Bailee's hair was so curly!

Playing with the coloring of the photos!

Mia was a little bit cold!

I love Tom's face in this one!

The colors just pop in this photo!

Love the butt ruffle!

Jack is getting giggly and more smily every day! I love it!

I cannot wait to take a photography class to learn a thing or two about taking pics, but for now it's fun to pretend that I know what I'm doing! :-)

Emotional Roller Coaster

I have been so emotional since our son was born in April! I cry more often, I get tears in my eyes when I just look at one of my children, I get frustrated easily, I want to just stop and cuddle more and just soak up the moment!

I know a lot of it is postpartum hormone changes, but I think a HUGE part of it is the fact that Jack is probably our last baby. (I say probably because nothing is permanent and God could change our plans and/or our minds!) We always wanted to have 4 children, but now that we have our 2 girls and our little boy I feel like our family is complete... or is it?

This is the exact thing that has been on my mind a lot lately! How do you decide exactly when you're done having children? I'm not too old to stop having babies, but I don't want have teenagers in our home when we're grandparents! We have plenty of love to give, but do we have enough money? We have two more seats available in our minivan, but do we have enough space in our house? They could get college loans, but would we be able to help pay for some? A big family could be fun, but do I want more laundry to do? More siblings for the kids might be nice (it could mean more grandchildren) but would that mean more conflict in the home?

I have been going around and around in my mind with these exact questions and thoughts.

Just the very thought of not having another newborn in the house crushes me, yet I don't think we want more children. That's why I've decided to make Jack stop growing. Just kidding, I just wish there was a way to freeze moments in time so I could just sit and watch him sleeping, or hold him as long as I want to! Those days of him sleeping on my chest, changing little diapers and nursing him will all be over way to soon! He is 2 months old already and I don't feel like I've had the chance to soak him up yet!

My oldest daughter is 3 already and I feel like I should still be dressing her in newborn clothes and rocking her to sleep at 2 am!

I have a hard time thinking that I will never use our bassinet for another baby, or that I will never wear my maternity clothes again! I don't want to give away our infant car seat or baby swing. And I love the bond that nursing Jack created... will this be my last time nursing a baby?

I'm sure a lot of you have felt the same way!

So, should we have more children? Well, we're not making plans to have more children, but I'm not saying we won't! We're not promising anything, I've just been pondering the idea...

Laundry woes!

So, this is a true story of a load of laundry that had a VERY rough couple of days!

It all started when our dryer broke a week ago! When you have a family of five, laundry is a continuous event! It's never ending!!! So, with no dryer, we've gotten creative with hanging laundry outside, inside and anywhere in between!

Wednesday Morning- My son, Jack (2 months old) had an explosive poop everywhere! We are talking about bright yellow, thick mustard poop from a nursing baby, all over the place! On his blanket, his outfit, his bouncy seat and all over his little body! It was smeared from his toes to his shoulders! I cleaned him up (which is a whole separate story in itself!) and HAD to start a load of laundry with the mess of dirty laundry he created!

The washing machine finished running around 10:00 am, but it was raining out that morning, so I decided to wait until the afternoon to hang it out.

Wednesday Afternoon- Do you think I remembered to bring it out? NOPE. I totally forgot!

Wednesday Night- I still have wet laundry in the washing machine... :-/

Thursday Morning- The forecast said that it should rain in the afternoon, but the morning should be clear! (Can you see where this story is going?) So, I hurry the kids outside onto the deck first thing in the morning so I can hang out the damp laundry and finally be done with this mess!

Thursday Mid-morning- It starts raining! Of coarse, it's raining! I run outside to bring it in and I kick the door frame on my way out and split my toe open!

Yup, it's gross and hurts really bad! Now I have a basket full of wet laundry in my breezeway, it's raining outside and my dryer is still broken!

Thursday Afternoon- I decide to hang every piece of laundry where ever I can in the house. I had laundry hanging in the bathroom, in the breezeway, on hooks, on doorknobs, on the washer and dryer, etc...

Thursday Night- My husband decides to hang the 'still damp' laundry on the clothes line again because it's nice outside and it should be dry within an hour or so. This would also help air it out and get rid of the dampness and wet smell it still has! "We'll bring it inside before bed time," he says!

Friday Morning- Yup, we went to bed without giving the laundry a thought!!! Therefore, it had to stay out longer this morning because it was wet from the over night dew and moisture!

Friday Afternoon- I actually went out and brought the laundry inside (it's now dry!!) And, I have to rewash some of the shirts because they had pigeon poop on them! UGH!!!

And now, I have a basket of clean, dry laundry sitting next to me that needs to be folded, but I found it all so humorous that I am writing this first! Maybe the folding will get done by tomorrow......... this is the longest episode of laundry I've ever had to deal with! :0)

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Yes, it definitely feels like Christmas around here! We just ordered a new Nikon Digital SLR camera and it came in the mail yesterday! I have been playing with it ever since and can't seem to figure out all the buttons and options, but I am determined to learn how to use it! I have been wanting a new camera for a while and I wanted to get one now before our kids are all grown and we don't have anyone's picture to take anymore! :)

The kids probably think I'm crazy, because they haven't seen my face in a while, it's always behind the camera now! :0) Mia has even been practicing with her camera... maybe she'll have a career in photography some day!

Another reason it feels like Christmas is because a dream of mine is coming true! (On the side of my blog I have a running list of personal goals I add to once in a while. I was going to blog about those things as they happen... well... I have something to write about already!)

My husband has been trying to win Red Sox tickets on the sports radio station for a couple of months now, and a few days ago he was the "right caller!" It couldn't of happened on a better day either!

Earlier that day, I took the 2 girls to their regular doctor check ups, and my 1 1/2 year old (pictured above) fell off the chair in the examining room and landed on her head right in front of the doctor. The floor was made out of hard tile and she immediately started to scream! Of coarse I felt like a terrible mother as I sat there trying to explain to the doctor that she is VERY accident prone! The doctor didn't look convinced and I felt terrible! I would never intentionally hurt my child, but sometimes doctors and other professionals make you feel like an incompetent parent when accidents happen!

Anyways (I got off on a bunny trail), it had been a ROUGH day and my husband came home glowing and declared his victory! I was thrilled because #1- I had had a bad day! #2- We don't get a lot of dates alone! #3- We don't have the money to afford Red Sox tickets, and #4- I've always wanted to go to Fenway!!!

Can't wait to go on July 18! Here I come Fenway, and don't worry I'll bring my new camera to take some cool pics! :0)

8 Free Photo Books!!!

I couldn't help but share this...

At artscow.com you can now get 8 free photo books. They are doing a limited time offer... simply create an account and type in the promotional code- 8FREEBKS. I hope this works for everyone, I thought I would share since photo books can be pricey, but are fun to make! I've used this website for other things and like the results! (You do have to pay for shipping and handling, but what great gift ideas for cheap!)

Let me know if you try it! It expires July 4, 2010!! Happy book making/shopping!

Forever 29!

Hand made clothes and hand written letters seem to be a thing of the past! Rarely do you see these things anymore, but they are a few of the things that I cherish! I sometimes wish I lived in the day and age when there were no computers and no Wal-Mart to visit. It would make things much more simple and wholesome, but also more challenging!

There is one person in my life that I can think of that still values these simple things in life, my Great Aunt Medora. She is an amazing lady that I love dearly! She has always put others first and is like a Grandmother to me!

In this picture she is holding my son Jack and my 2 girls and niece are standing next to her. I LOVE her shirt! At every birthday she has always told us that she is 29 again! I have no idea how old she is exactly, but it doesn't matter because her sense of humor keeps her young! :0) To me she will always be "forever 29!"

While I was away at college, she never forgot about me and sent me handwritten letters. I was a pretty busy college student, but it always meant so much to me that she would sit down and write out a card or letter to me. It made me feel so important and loved. E-mails are nice but very impersonal, so when someone takes the time to write out a card, that means the world to me. I tried really hard to always write back, in hopes that she would respond again... she always did!

She still sends notes to me once in a while through the mail, even though we only live 5 minutes away from each other. She probably doesn't even know that it means that much to me, but for someone to take time out of their day and send some love through the mail is rare now-a-days!

After my son was born she came over for a visit bearing gifts. That might not seem like a big deal; most people bring gifts to babies after they are born. These gifts were different. She had saved clothes from when her grandson was born (18 years ago) and gave them to Jack. She said she had saved them all this time for "someone special." One of those items was a handmade sweater that she made her grandson when he was a baby. For her to pass those special items on to me was a honor and a privilege!

I will always cherish my memories with my Aunt Medora! She is an amazing lady!

Bubbles Bubbles Everywhere!

On a lighter note today... bubble fun!!

My mom made up this bubble solution a few nights ago and the kids loved it! (The adults, big

kids at heart, loved it too!) It makes great giant bubbles! If you don't have a giant bubble wand, you can use just about anything that will make a continuous circle! Try putting the solution into a cookie sheet and use a coat hanger for the wand! It works great!

Here's the recipe...

12 c water

1 c dish soap (Joy works best, but Dawn works good too!)

1 c cornstarch

2 Tbs baking powder

For those of you with musical kiddos, try these fun bubble songs/finger plays!

My Bubble - sung to "My Bonnie"

My bubble floats over the housetop.

My bubble floats over the tree.
My bubble floats over the hilltop.

Oh, come back, my bubble, to me.

Come back, come back
Oh, come back, my bubble, to me, to me.
Come back, come back;
Oh, come back, my bub...pop! Oh, gee!

POP! Goes The Bubble! - sung to "Pop Goes The Weasel"

Soap and water can be mixed.To make a bubble solution. Carefully blow, Now, watch it go! Pop! Goes the bubble!

I'm A Little Bubble - sung to "I'm a Little Teapot"

I'm a little bubble, shiny and round.
I gently float down to the ground.
The wind lifts me up and then I drop.
Down to the dry ground where I pop.

Bubbles - sung to "Twinkle, Twinkle"

Bubbles floating all around
(pretend to catch bubbles)
Bubbles fat and bubbles round
(make a big circle w/ arms)
Bubbles on my toes and nose
(point to toes; point to nose)
Blow a bubble. ..up it goes!
(pretend to blow bubble; point up)
Bubbles floating all around.
(pretend to catch bubbles)
Bub. . .bles fall. . .ing to...the...ground.
(sing slowly & sink to ground)

A Humble Thank You!

Before I post anything else about myself or my family, I want to just stop and thank my readers! This blog was started only a week ago and already I have received some amazing feedback! My blog would be nothing without readers/followers!

Sooooo many of you have either told me face-t0-face, on the blog, or on Facebook how much you can relate to my life and the chaos surrounding me! ;-) I would love for you all to feel free to share those thoughts and comments publicly so everyone will know we're no alone in this battle called motherhood! Being a mom is really hard and takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears! I will continue to share my heart and thoughts with you all, if you promise to be "real" with someone in your life too! You'd be surprised what you'll discover when you open up and stop trying to be perfect! Those of you that have shared your thoughts with me, keep sharing! There are several of you out there, and we're al struggling with similar issues, so keep your chin up and keep smiling!!!

This is a little something someone shared with me once and made me cry! (I was having one of those days!) I hope you enjoy it too!

Click here to watch "THE INVISIBLE WOMAN" It's worth watching!!

So, what are you building when no one sees? Keep up the good work all you moms out there! God sees what we do, even if no one else is looking or cares!!!

A Mother's Love

A Mother's Love...

I had no idea what that meant before I became a mom! I used to hear people say, "I would die for my son," or "there's nothing I wouldn't do for my little girl!" I figured I would feel the same way about my kids once they came along, but I had NO IDEA those feelings would be so strong!

A Mother's Love...

My son was wearing a shirt tonight that said "My Mommy Loves Me" and my comment to my husband was, "isn't that the truth!" My three children are my pride and joy! I wish there was a way to communicate to a 3 and 1 year old, and a 2 month old how much there mother loves them! They don't have the slightest clue to what lengths I would go to protect them!

A Mother's Love...

When my children get sick or injured my heart breaks! There is nothing worse than when your child is laying helplessly on your lap and is crying because they don't feel good! At those moments the world stops and as a mom, I would trade places with them in an instant!

A Mother's Love...

When my second daughter was born, she was tongue tied and had to have her tongue clipped. I took her to the eye/nose/throat specialist where they made ME hold her down at 4 weeks old! I have never cringed so badly in my life as I did in that moment! I wanted to run out of there screaming, but instead quietly talked to her and nursed her for a good 30 minutes right after to calm her down! I put on the face of a brave mom, and no one saw the tears running down my face!

A Mother's Love...

Pregnancy, labor and delivery! Enough said!

A Mother's Love...

Watching your child achieve milestones and grow up is priceless but also makes my heart break! My 3 year old likes to hear stories about when she was "a little tiny baby," so I tell her about when she would cuddle me all night long, drink from a bottle and crawl around the floor. I then proceed to tell her that she needs to stop growing and be my baby forever. Being the feisty 3 year old that she is, she argues with me and says, "No, I not a baby no more! I grow up really really fast and be a big girl!" I give into the argument and tell her, "I know honey, you're growing up to be a big girl!" Then I turn around and wipe the tears from my cheek as I think of how fast time has flown by already! I don't want her to grow up, but that's one argument I'll never win! :-(

A Mother's Love...

I can honestly say that I know what that mom meant when she said she would die for her child... I would give my life in exchange for one of my children in a heart beat!!! I'm sure if you're a parent you feel the same way!

A Mother's Love...

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Because Father's Day is this weekend, I thought I would share this fun story about my amazing Dad! He has been such a great role model and Godly example for me, my husband and my children, Thanks Dad!!

I'll never forget this day....

It was a very hot summer day and my Mom had gone away for the day. So, that meant Dad was in charge! I was about 12 years old and my sister about 10. My Dad had a great idea and decided to take his two little girls on a small hike! Oh what fun memories we would make! He told us to put on our sneakers (great thinking Dad!!) and off we went! What a great hot summer day it was! I'm not sure if we had sunscreen on or not, but it didn't matter because Mom wasn't there to worry about that! It was just us girls and Dad! :0)

So we drove to the "hill" and started to hike. Well we quickly realized that this "hill" was more like a rock covered mountain! Oh well, Dad kept telling us that we were almost there! I believed him and kept on moving. After the 8th time or so of Dad saying, "come on girls, we must be almost to the top," I stopped believing him!

We got to a nice a place to sit and rest, so we stopped for a few minutes. Dad had brought us some water bottles, so we tried to get rehydrated and rest our legs. I remember my stomach growling and thinking that it must be lunch time! So we asked Dad if we could eat our lunch now, and his facial expression said, "uh oh!" To make a long story short, Dad had forgotten to pack us a lunch and thought we would be done hiking before we needed to eat! Luckily up ahead there were lots of little blueberry bushes that we cleaned out! I think we ate every blueberry in sight; and then picked the rest for Mom to make us a pie!! We definitely made some memories that day, just not the kind I think my Dad had intended!! To this day we harass Dad about not feeding us and making us climb this ridiculously hard trail, but I still love him for spending the day with us and taking the time to be with his girls!

Thanks Dad for the fun memories, and the future memories that I know we'll continue to make together! Happy Father's Day!

Creature of Habit!

Okay, so here's my dilemma... I LOVE Wal-Mart! Actually I think I visit Wal-Mart obsessively because it is the ultimate place for parents with little children to shop! Everything I need under one roof! That means ONE stop, ONE time out of car seats, ONE trip in, and ONE trip home! When I have lots of energy and patience, I will pack the kids up and make a routine trip to Wally-World and stock up on the usual things; soap, bananas, milk, chocolate, diapers, etc...

So, what's my problem you ask? Our local Wal-Mart is REMODELING!!! Yes, you heard me right! Usually that's a good thing, but not for a busy mom of 3 kids! I expect to go into Wal-Mart with my cart full of children and be able to locate every item on my list within a reasonable amount of time! After all, each child has a very short attention span for shopping! They are crammed into a cart (usually with things piled on top of them) and not allowed to run! Even with snacks, toys and lollipops, every toddler has their limits!

Because the store near us has been remodeling, EVERYTHING in the store is a mess and has been relocated to another area! You can't even push your cart through the aisles because they have crammed everything together to re-do one section at a time! If you want shoes, try the lawn and garden department... if you want diapers, try the ketchup aisle... if you want clothing, try outside! (they actually had clothing racks on the outside sidewalk!) I might sound a little extreme, but it was very frustrating!

I was trying to find where the little girl's pajamas were and so I asked a nice lady with a blue vest on, if she would be able to help me, and she replied, "I'm sorry I don't know where that is because they moved everything around again last night!" What??? The employees don't even know where to find things! UGH!!!

Lets just say that after circling the store a few times and not finding everything I needed, my patience was gone and I was going home. So, after standing in line and paying for the few items I located on my list, I put the kids back in the van and went home exhausted! I like Wal-Mart because I know where everything is like the back of my hand, but I think it will be a few months before I go back! What can I say? I'm a creature of habit!

Dad's Day burgers!

We're having a Father's Day BBQ at our house tomorrow night for my Dad and I've decided to try something new! I got this recipe from allrecipes.com... I'll let you know how it comes out! They look yummy!!!

Blue Cheese Burgers

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By: QUIKSMYLE

"Hamburgers? Yes. But basic fare? Definitely not! What a treat they are, and the wise cook will make up a dozen or so for the freezer. If you like blue cheese, you'll never forget these burgers."

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21,297 people have saved this | 13 custom versions

Prep Time:
15 Min

Cook Time:
10 Min

Ready In:
2 Hrs 25 Min

Original Recipe Yield 12 servings

Ingredients

3 pounds lean ground beef

4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

• 1/2 cup minced fresh chives
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 12 French rolls or hamburger buns

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, blue cheese, chives, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, salt, and mustard. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Preheat grill for high heat. Gently form the burger mixture into about 12 patties.
3. Oil the grill grate. Grill patties 5 minutes per side, or until well done. Serve on rolls.