Apartment News

Our application was approved. We will have to pay the minimum security deposit, administrative fee, and pet deposit fee. All of this will be due by the end of September before we move in. We were planning to move before the end of the year, thinking that we might spend Christmas in our new place, but it appears we will be moving even sooner than that. There is a first story apartment available in October. Our move in date is October 1st. I've got a lot to do. I have packing to prepair for, storage to bring out, cable, electric, phone to set up. It's going to be a very busy month!

My family is being very supportive and helpful. I imagine it must be as sad for them as it is for us. Phillip has never lived elsewhere, but even more than that, we're moving with Mariana. Mom and Dad have been very close to her. They have been teasing us mercilessly, but understand our desire to be on our own. It will be a sad day and an exciting day at the same time. So, next month we'll be in our own place, wierd.

Apartment Found

Phil and I found the place we hope to move to. It's an adorable complex. There is a pool, beautiful courtyard, and it has secure access. It's near his work and everything. I'm very excited about it. Today we are going to take in the application and pay the application fee and such. Wish us luck.

Life Decisions

Phillip and I have been thinking that it is time we move. Our family has been fantastic and very supportive. I never imagined that we would all blend so well into one household, but we did.

Unfortunately, with another baby, it just feels a wee bit cramped. We've spoken over it again and again and decided that by the end of the year, we will probably have our own apartment. I've been dragging my heels really looking at places.

I'm excited at the idea and sad at the same time. When Phillip and I got married. It was the first time I'd moved from my parents home. I went straight from their house to Phil's family's home, my current home. I remember driving away with my car full of boxes. I stopped a brief moment and cried. I was thrilled to be married and moving in with my husband, the love of my life. But part of me cried for the closing of a chapter in my life. I imagine I will feel the same way when we move from here. I love my family. By that, I mean that I love my in-laws... I very rarely refer to them as my in-laws, because they are simply my family. It's almost like leaving home for the first time again.

Eventually I'm going to have to get this process going though.

Another day in my life...

Well, I figured its about time to update.

Everything is going really really well. Phil is working 2 1/2 hours a day, 4 days a week for the next 2 weeks. This has been both kind of sad and relieving. It's been sad because he has to work during his summer break and we were really enjoying him being home. It's relieving because of the money, of course. It's also been good for me because it's about 3 - 3.5 hours that I have the 2 kids by myself everyday. It gives me a minor preview of what life will be like in August when he goes back to work full time.

The kids are awesome. Mariana is really hitting her terrible twos. She's a great kid, but boy does she know how to test your patience, lol. She's been just a little challenging, but we love her all the more for it. She has been extremely sweet to her little sister. She hasn't required very much adjustment time at all and immediately started treating Maddy like she belongs. In fact, she cries when she thinks that Maddy isn't going to be with us when we go somewhere. She's learning new words everyday and really starting to amaze me with her intelligence. She starts dance class next month! I'm really looking forward to that.

Maddy is wonderful. She requires a little more effort from me than Mariana ever did just because of the choice to breastfeed. But, I'm enjoying the time with her. She's changing everyday and is beyond adorable. Her neck is strengthening and her head control is getting better. She's also losing the jerky motions of newborns and moves her arms and legs with more purpose and more gracefully now.

Phillip has been a Godsend. He takes great care of me and the girls. He does everything he can to help me and give me some time to relax. He helps straiten up, makes me food and drinks all day, takes care of Mariana and plays with her while I have to take care of Maddy, takes care of Maddy when I'm exhausted, and just about anything he can do to help.

So, that's about all that's going on right now. I'll update again soon.

Maddy is home

Madeline and I are home. She's a sweet little baby. Mariana seems to love her little sister already. We were fortunate in the fact that I am able to breastfeed Madeline, at least for now. Hopefully, my health will continue to bloom as she grows so this will not change.

She was 20.5 inches long and 7 lbs 0.3 oz. She has a head of hear, can you believe it? My little Maddy was born with hair, and I don't think she'll lose it, but we'll see.

I cannot believe we've been gifted with 2 little girls. Phil and I are so happy.

In more news. Meghan and Alan were blessed with Lily just 1 day after our Maddy was born. Lily is a cutie pie. Meghan's delivery didn't go quite as planned. After quite a bit of painful labor, she had a cesarean since Lily was breech. I told her that she can feel blessed in knowing her next delivery will be as easy as Maddy's was, since I remember the discouragement I felt at having a C-section with Mariana.

Meghan and Lily will be residing in the hospital for a little bit. Probably just a few more days. Lily has raised white blood cells, so she has to be given an antibiotic. Please pray for them.

Don't know how much more...

So, I know I sound dramatic. But honestly, I really don't think I can deal with 2 weeks like the past 2 days. I've passed out like 4 or 5 times within a 24 hour time span. Phil is going to call the doctor tomorrow and see what they say. I just feel so damn drained and out of it. My body is off. I'm afraid that if I do go through two more weeks of fainting and dizziness then I WILL have to go back on meds and I really was hoping to be able to breastfeed this time around. I don't know. Maybe I'm worrying too soon or jumping the gun, but the last 36 hours have not been fun.

Pray for me.

Mariana's NOT Sleeping

Mariana is 26 months old. She's never had a problem sleeping through the night and she always slept in her own bed in her own room. She's in a toddler bed.

She used to complain about bed time and my husband and I created a night time ritual to get her adjusted. Every night we tuck her in together. She says goodnight to everyone who is at the house, gives kisses, we change her into pajamas, she gets in bed without a fuss and we cover her up and say goodnight ourselves and such.

For the past 7 days EVERY NIGHT she has gotten up. I don't mean immediately after. I mean between midnight and 3 am. I walk her back to her room and put her back in bed, and sure enough within 45 minutes she's back at my bed "Mommy, I wake." I've tried skipping a nap and putting her in bed at the typical time, didn't change anything. She just keeps getting up. After about 3 hours of playing this game, I'm so exhausted that I put up her playpen next to my bed and then she sleeps there.

Is this typical? Does anyone have any suggestions? I just want to sleep well. I've been joking about how she's just preparing me for the newborn coming in a few months, but seriously!

Happiness

Phillip has been on vacation. Starting last Thursday and right on up until Sunday, no work and all play. Well, maybe a little work, but mostly play.

This means I've been immersed in my family for 9 days now with 2 fulll days left.

I love being a stay at home mom. It's wonderful and if it is the only occupation I'll ever have again, it's worth every moment and is more fulfilling than anything else I've ever done. I like being home with Mariana and I'm sure I'll like being home with Mariana and Madeline come July. But, after the last 9 days, I wish we could win the lotto and stay home together. I've so enjoyed watching Phil with Mariana. He's had so much time to enjoy what I get to enjoy daily. One of my favorite sounds is the sound of them playing. When I'm in the kitchen or another room and they're in our room playing, I can hear Phil growling and "Daddy's gonna get you" and such. Then I hear this high pitch giggle escape my daughter and I know what true happiness is. They are just so cute together.

Wednesday we went to the Florida Aquarium again. The Explore a Shore section actually had running water and such this time, so we took Mariana's swimsuit and let her run wild in the water and have a blast. Phil and I sat side by side watching our angel play and I wondered how I got so fortunate to have days like that.

Today we went to Adventure Island. We have not been since last year, so obviously today was a different experience with Nana. My brother, sister-in-law, mother, neice, and nephew came with us. Mariana had a blast. She loved the wave pool and the kids section. She ran and splashed. She giggled and giggled all day long.

With weeks like this, I wonder how life can get any better. I love my husband, I love my daughter, and I love my life.

My Blissful Existence

Well, I can't even tell you where I should begin. My pregnancy is going great. The baby is growing and we're almost in the third trimester. I'm at the point where my appointments are biweekly instead of monthly and the next one is my gestational diabetes test as well as my Rhogam shot. Maddy's heartrate is very stable and strong, my belly is growing big, and she's always kickin!

Phil is doing great at work. His evaluation came back and he's doing fantastic. They are very impressed with his teaching ability and such. He got all high scores.

Mommy is finally getting better! She's been my old mom again. She's been going out and waking up earlier. She and I have even begun going to the gym and walking the treadmills and getting in the pool there. We've spent a lot of time together in the past 5 days and only a small percentage of it was at her house and she wasn't in bed during any of it. This is monumental! She quit smoking and her medications are controlling her blood pressure and stomach problem. And she's on half the medications she was on 2 weeks ago. Its been great.

Today we went to the gym, then we went to lunch at the mall, then we got Mariana's picture taken with the Easter Bunny, and we went to my dr appointment. Twas a good day.

My Latest

OK. Last week was far better than the week before.

Mom is doing MUCH better. They managed to regulate her blood pressure and she's been able to hold down food for over 5 days now without any issues. Her medications were cut in half and then the dosages were reduced even further when she got home from the hospital. So, she seems to be improving. She is determined to get well, has quit smoking, and has been eating 3 meals a day for almost a full week. She hasn't smoked in over 2 weeks now. I'm very very pleased with the progress she's made.

I'm doing quite well. I had a follow up with the doctor and everything is going well with the pregnancy. He says I'm a very healthy pregnant woman with a very healthy baby. So there isn't anything to worry about. I think my little episode was God's way of saying, "Catherine sit still for a few days and take some time for you." I listened.

Yesterday we took Mariana to the Florida Aquarium. My daughter loves fish. So she was very excited and loved seeing all of the fishies and sharks.

Phil and I had a fantastic weekend and I'm completely destressed and relaxed. I'm quite energetic and happy in fact.

I intend to go to the gym today and renew my membership. We were going to just let it go, but I've been a member for 4 years now and my membership is less than 20 a month, so it's kind of stupid to switch or let it run out. Plus I intend to lose all of this baby weight and get in shape after this baby. In fact, I've decided to get healthier than I've ever been. Seeing my mom and her twin sister go through so much with their health has made me realize that I have to keep on top of mine now. Part of that is definitely activity and exercise. I looked up some stuff on Weight Watchers website. My in-laws have been advocates of WW forever. WW says that I should 115 lbs. SO, I'm gonna strive for 120 and see how I look. Of course this is all AFTER the baby is born and such. Wish me luck on that. I am slightly worried about looking too thin at that weight, but we'll see.

Anyone have any tips on how to potty train a toddler. She's 2. Two days in a row, she used the potty... then boom, she doesn't want to sit on it again. I dont' know if she's just not ready or if I'm just not on top of it enough. Oh well. Until next time, I hope everyone is well.

A week worth foregetting...

I've officially declared last week as one that I'd rather not have experienced. Monday my mom went to the doctor. They told her she had a bad flu and put her on an antibiotic. By Tuesday afternoon she'd been vomiting virtually non-stop since Monday night. Tuesday the doctor told her to go to the ER. Tuesday night they admitted her in the hospital for dehydration. Wednesday, I went to visit her and she didn't really know I was there; she was vomiting or sleeping the entire time. Wednesday night they moved her to ICU because she'd shown warning signs of a stroke. Her blood pressure was so high it was over 200/160. Thursday I went to see her in ICU and she was doing better. She hadn't eaten since Monday, but she was well hydrated and they'd maintained a healthy blood pressure for the entire afternoon. Friday morning I woke up and was bleeding... SO, I was advised to go to the hospital by my OB. Friday afternoon they admitted me for observation. I'm fine and the baby is fine. They have no idea what caused the bleeding, so I have to go to the doctor on Thursday or Friday this week. The good news is the Placenta Previa has corrected itself, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. We will still have another ultrasound in 4 weeks, but the doctor said I'm a very healthy pregnant woman with a very healthy child, so I don't have to worry...

My mom was supposed to be moved from ICU yesterday. But, they changed her BP medication and her BP dropped to 80/50. So, they wanted to keep her for more observation. UGH! I'm on bed rest until Monday morning, so I can't go to the hospital to visit her.

The only thing I can really say that has been positive in the last week is my family has been phenomenal. My husband has been so sweet and helpful. He's taking very good care of me and Mariana, emotionally and physically. My entire family has been supportive and loving. This week, however, better be an improvement.

What's Up Here.

I'm doing really well. Phil and I are as happy as ever (to which I know many of you are rolling your eyes and saying, "Of course, duh!") Baby number 2 is half way here. I'll be 21 weeks pregnant on Thursday and for those of you who don't know it, pregnancy is typically a 40 week process. My next appointment is on the 27th and after that I'll have another ultrasound. That ultrasound will tell me whether or not my placenta has moved away from my cervix, so here's hoping... We're also hoping to get another confirmation on the fact that we're having another girl. They were pretty sure on the last ultrasound, but I'll believe it better after they've seen "girl parts" (as the ultrasound tech put it) twice.

Phil's doing really well in school and settling into teaching even more with each year. Next year he'll even teach an AP course. He's looking forward to that.

I've been getting back into my scrapbooking and working on Mariana's baby book. I know I'm horrible, she had to turn 2 before I started it, but I have started it and it is going well. I've also discovered the extremely fun game Guitar Hero II. I haven't been on WoW too much recently, but not because I don't want to ever play anymore, just because I've been on kind of an off period with it.

Mariana is getting enormous! By that I mean big, not fat. She's growing really tall and beautiful and she's really growing up. She can count to 6. I don't know why 6, but she particularly likes 4-6. She's also getting rather good at identifying her colors. I'm very very proud of her and everyday she reminds me of how grateful I am to be her mother.

Right now the poor girl has a fever and is rather miserable. I, too, am sick. One of the joys of being a parent... I seem to have a cold far more often since she is forever picking them up from cousins or other family members who get it. While I can avoid them, I cannot refuse hugs and kisses from my adorable child.

So, that's what's going on. What it boils down to is I am blissfully happy. I'm enjoying my life and I'm eternally grateful to God, Phillip, and my family for everything they give me.

My Baby Girl Is Two

Today Mariana turned 2 years old. For her birthday her father and I bought her a Power Wheels Dream Dazzlers Jeep. We woke her up this morning and brought her out into the living room, where the angel was grumpy and tired. Then we brought in her car. She loves it. She says, "Das my car." Then I took her outside and let her drive it around the block. She did very very well.

I can't believe that's she is already 2. My, time certainly does fly by quickly. She's so cute and learning so quickly. I miss her being a baby, but I just know that she's going to be more fun and more adorable with each passing year.

We will be having her birthday party at Chuck E Cheeze. She's going to love it.

So far, I feel truly blessed with the gifts God has given me. I think the most important and wonderful gifts He's given me are my husband and my daughter. I don't know where I'd be without them. I just hope that God continues to give me the guidance I need to be a good mother and wife to them.

Welcome to my crazy existence.

Ok... Today is Wednesday. I usually love Wednesdays. I get to go to Lakewood and work with the kids there on Wednesdays. Then I have my Intro to Ed class tonight. I'm basically out all day today. Mom and Grace keep Mariana while I do my field experience and Phil will keep her tonight. I'll leave at about 9 and be gone until around 4. Then I'll leave again at about 5:30 and come back at about 8:30.

Typically, I enjoy this and it doesn't bother me at all. But, today I'm not looking forward to it. The first trimester is exhausting. I'm always tired. I never feel completely rested. Hopefully, that will change once I go to the doctor and he gives me my prenatal vitamins and such. Meanwhile, I think I'll go to the store today and pick up the over the counter ones.

In other news. Mariana is a joy to have. She's the sweetest little girl in the world! We went to Walgreens last night and she was so cute. She was like a kid in a candy store. She ran around all excited, wanted to see everything, and we didn't have problems with her making messes or grabbing everything from the shelves. We went in the toy aisle and she kept picking up this Cinderella doll.

Then she saw a purse set with Ariel on it. So she picked that up and Phil grabbed both of them and held them up for her and said, "Mariana, you can have ONE of these. Which one do you want sweetie?" Without hesitating she walked up to the Cinderella doll and said, "That. Baby." and didn't look at the purse set again.

Meanwhile, she's sitting here singing to her doll and making it dance.

Well, I have to go... singing time is over. She looked at me and said, "Mommy, I hun'ry." Time to make my cutie breakfast.

Halloween Party

Well the Halloween Party was a giant success. Though, my poor mother was ill and in bed the entire party. I think everyone had a grand time. I avoided all spiked beverages, since I am pregnant. I love saying that.

This morning we were given some fantastic news, but as it is not mine to share, I will decline sharing. I simply ask that you pray for my family.

NEWS

Yesterday, I confirmed the fact that I am pregnant. Phillip and I are overwhelmed and overjoyed. We cannot believe we are going to have another baby! Mariana isn't even 2, lol. But she will be around 2 and a half years old by the time this little bundle of joy joins us. I always said about 3 years apart was a good age difference.

Last night after confirming that we were pregnant, we went to the Guns N Roses concert. I was exhausted, I don't know if I can blame it on first trimester exhaustion, or just being tired. I actually slept through half the concert in the chairs provided in the box. I'm ashamed... lol.

We've told our family the news. Everyone is pleased for us. I was most nervous about telling my sister-in-law, since she and her husband have been trying to get pregnant for a couple of years. But, she was genuinely pleased for us. She said, "Who knows, maybe now that you're pregnant I'll get pregnant. Maybe that's what it takes for me to get pregnant." To which I joked, "If that's what it takes for you to get pregnant, I will endeavor to be pregnant always."

I do hope God blesses them as he has blessed us. She'll make a fantastic mother.

Awesome Experiences

I don't know how many people know this, but I'm getting my Bachelor's in Elementary Education. I'm taking a course called Introduction to Education. The course requires 15 hours spent doing field experience. This means I have to spend 15 hours volunteering at a school and witnessing teachers or working with students. I decided to volunteer at the elementary school my sister-in-law teaches at.

The volunteer coordinator hooked me up with the 1st grade teacher. We met and made a schedule. Today was my first day of actually volunteering. I went in and was introduced to the kids and informed that I will be working with them individually on Great Leaps. I'm to work with these kids on Phonics, Letter Recognition, Sight Words, and such. How perfect is that? I want to help young children with reading as a primary goal as a teacher, so this is a fantastic opportunity.

Well, today I've already had a tear jerking moment with a student. This little girl came into the room with me. She's 7 years old and we're working and simple phonics, what sound does this letter make. The kids have 60 seconds to get as far as they can on the worksheet. Then I help them with the sounds they had a problem with. Well, she was perfect on all ONE letter sounds, /a/, /m/, /t/, /i/... But she just couldn't put the two together sometimes... Like at... she said "ah" instead of at. Then some of the sounds on the page were mat, sat, and tat... Well, of 48 sounds, she got 32... That's really quite good. But, she had 7 mistakes. Evertime 2 or more sounds had to be put together she struggled. So, for privacy sake I'm going to say her name was Melanie... It wasn't, but we're pretending. I said, "Melanie, what sound does this make" and pointed to an "a". She said, "ah". Perfect. I congratulated her. Then I pointed to the "t" and she said, "tuh"... So I told her she was right again. Then I pointed to "at"... and she said, "ah". Now I said, "Melanie look... see what sound does the first letter make" and she responded correctly, so then I said, "what about the second letter?" and she responded correctly. So then I said, "Put them together now." She said there concentrating with her brows drawn together silently mouthing the sounds. And after a few second I said, "Say it out loud, I want to hear you." and she sounded out "at" out loud. Then she said, "at?" I said, "That's right... now what about this word?" and pointed to "mat". She sat there struggling, and I covered up "at" with my fingers and said, "now say it out loud." She looked up at me and said, "mmm". Then I said, "that's right, now this." and moved to cover the "m", to which she replied, "at". "So put it together..." She said, "mm. at. mm. at. mmmat. MAT!" Then I pointed to sat, "sss. at. sssat. SAT!" Then I pointed to "tat", "tuh. at. TAT!"

Somewhere while figuring out "mat" she sat up and got all bright eyed. It was like watching someone turn on a light bulb. She was so excited.

If I had any question of what I wanted to do, it ended today.

Much Better

OK. Now, I was quite discouraged on Wednesday. Thursday morning was almost as bad, but my mother-in-law packed me and Mariana up and took us to my mom's house. She and Grace took care of Mariana and I slept until noon. That was enough to get my system in gear. I have been taking my pills though, just to be sure that I don't relapse.

Friday morning I went to the gym. I figured one of the reasons this week sucked was because I've been busier (which means more stressed) than usual. I used to work out at least once a week but haven't been doing that for the last 6 weeks or so. Working out of course helps me maintain a healthy stress level and such, added to the fact that it's just good for your body, so I figure it is time to quit slackin on that department. Grace and I went on Friday at around 8:30 AM and worked out for nearly 2 hours. OMG AM I SORE AS HELL. My muscles are pissed off. I'm going back tomorrow.

Yesterday we bought our halloween costumes!!! YAY! We are a little pirate family. Aren't we gonna be super duper cute. I LOVE IT!

Sucky Day

I think I've been dealing with life and school quite well. I'm thrilled with my marriage and I love my daughter. I'm there for my family and I'm passing all of my classes with flying colors so far. But, today sucked. I missed my first (and hopefully only) class this semester. I have been in bed all damn day. In fact, I'm posting this from bed. Everything has been going so well and then today, BAM, my health acts up. WTH. Out of no where. I've passed out twice today, fallen once from dizziness, and spent the rest of the day in bed to avoid the falling because every time I get out of bed I get light headed. I mean, honestly, how sucky is that. Oh well. I'll go to bed tonight and hopefully wake up tomorrow and be back to my normal healthy self.

My teacher said she understood quite well and has a similar condition, so I'm not worried about her reaction anymore. If anybody is reading this, say a prayer for me that this is a one day deal.

The good news in it is my husband is a god among men. He called in to work today. He's taken care of Mariana, made me food, brought me drinks, served me dinner, and just all around made sure that I am completely taken care of. Man did I hit the jackpot when that man fell in love me with.

Quoting George Washington Carver

"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the ages, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these."

I took my mother to the doctor again last week. We go every Wednesday to the wound care clinic where they look at her wound, poke into it with a metal stick of some kind, stick a stick into it to measure its depth, and then probe it before stuffing it with something called Prisma and bandaging it back up again. Every Wednesday she goes through this process. Not to mention the nurse who comes to the house every other day of the week to do the process at home.

Last Wednesday I got up to drive her to the clinic. I was nauseous from the time I ate, I wasn't feeling well, I was tired, and I was quite cranky. Phil had just gone back to work this week, and Mariana wasn't adjusting well. So needless to say, I was not feeling very sympathetic to my mother's pain. I think sometimes I get jaded by all that she has been through. So anyway, I didn't want to have to see her go through it that day and I didn't want to be compassionate, I wanted to be miserable and pity myself for how ucky and ill I was feeling.

On the way out, she had to stop in the restroom and I was waiting at the counter and I saw this bright yellow calendar, just a random flyer they give away. At the bottom was the quote by George Washington Carver.

I have been young and am young, I will be aged and am aging (though I know I'm still very young, technically we are all aging every moment), I have been striving and am always striving to accomplish some goal in life, I have been weak, and I have been strong. I have been and will be everyone of these over and over again in my life. Odd how soon I lose sight of that fact. It takes so little of us to remember to keep those around us and their pain and circumstances above or even at level of our own. How very selfish of me to even consider ignoring my mother's pain because I want to wallow in my own. I would never consider putting myself above my children, as my mother has always put our pain above hers. Why then was I not willing to do the same for my mother? Even for an hour of the day?

I like to think of myself as a loving and caring person, but even I need to remember to look at those around me and continue to be tender, compassionate, sympathetic, and tolerant at all times, and not just when things are well for me. I challenge everyone else to do the same.