I swear that someone always has a nasty nose, a cough, a fever, or are throwing up in this house. Today we had all four. Bree threw up at nap time, and Riley had the nasty nose, cough and teeny tiny fever today (99.6). Those kids better start getting better soon cuz their Yaya is coming to see them on Wednesday!!
That's right, my step mom Mindy is coming into town for Wednesday night, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then leaving on Monday. It will be so great to see her and visit with her! I am sure we will get many great pictures as she loves her grandbabies so much! :)
Sorry for the short post, I am SWAMPED with schoolwork...but NEVER FEAR! This class will be over on Monday and I will be on a two week break! Wooooo!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Break time!
A short post tonight just for an update on school. I am posting this a little later than usual because of school work that I had to do. This is the last week of the class I am in, and as usual it is crazy! However, there is a break coming up on the horizon...starting after this class I get to have a two week break after each class! Woo hoo!
This is because of how my classes will end. If I did not take a two week break after every class I would finish up at the end of May, which is right when school gets out. I would then risk going into default on my loans by waiting through the summer months to do my student teaching. So, for now I get to have a mini vacation in between my classes in order to avoid that. Yay! I am down with mini vacations, how about you?
This is because of how my classes will end. If I did not take a two week break after every class I would finish up at the end of May, which is right when school gets out. I would then risk going into default on my loans by waiting through the summer months to do my student teaching. So, for now I get to have a mini vacation in between my classes in order to avoid that. Yay! I am down with mini vacations, how about you?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Preemie Experience
November is Prematurity Awareness Month. Many people do not understand that prematurity, especially as early as Bree was, is not something most kids can 'outgrow'. It presents problems for them for a long bit of time, and quite possibly for the rest of their life. The following poem is one that a fellow blogger posted, and I am borrowing it from her in order to help raise awareness for the problems that premature infants, and the parents of those precious children face. This poem gives me chills every time I read it. It touches me to my core because this poem speaks raw truth about the journey that prematurity takes you on.
The Preemie Experience
By Sandra D Moore
The preemie experience is the shattering of all your dreams
For a normal, healthy delivery,
Of the ability to carry home a beautiful squirming bundle
After a short stay in the hospital.
It is lying there in your hospital room listening to
The happy sounds of whole families joined
Together by the birth of a grandchild, cousin, niece,
Or nephew, and knowing that your
Child is miles away and may not survive long enough
For you to see or simply touch.
It is that first glimpse of a skinny, scrawny, not much bigger
Than a Barbie doll child
And feeling, fear, awe, and joy for such a fragile soul.
It is sitting by your baby’s “bedside” day after day,
Week after week, month after month,
Alternating between the emotional high of “Look, her eyes are open,” or “She’s crying!”
And the lows of “I’m sorry, Mrs. Moore. Something has
Shown up in Lauren’s ultrasound,”
Or even “There is nothing we can do…”
It is hearing the alarms go off for the twentieth time in less
Than fifteen minutes because your
Child’s heart rate keeps hitting zero.
It is watching children dying around you, wondering if
Your child will be next.It is hearing your child’s cry of distress as the nurses
Insert yet another IV and do another
Round of daily blood tests.It is meeting other parents of children who are doing far better
And wondering, “Why me?”
And meeting parents of children who have just died,
And praising God for His mercy
To your child and feeling guilty because your child is alive
And someone else is grieving for theirs.
It is days of nightmarish testing and coping with less
Than positive results to the tests.
It is days of joy at seeing the first eyelash appear,
The child gain a whole ounce in one day,
And two bright shiny eyes look at you and into your soul,
And knowing that your child now recognizes you as Mama or Dada;
Or perhaps looks at you and does not see you at all…
It is that final hurdle before coming home!
It is the sorrow of waiting for the monitor company
Representative to show you what to do
If the alarm sounds when your child is choking,
Gasping for breath, or simply dying.
It is the joy of just being away from all those nurses
And tubes and wires and beeps, and
Walking into the nursery you hastily prepared because, after all,
The child wasn’t due for another three months!
It is thinking the nightmare is over…only to realize it still
Continues in the form of
Such acronyms as PVL, RSV, BPD, CP and numerous others.
It is the final realization that those developmental delays
Have to be dealt with,
That reflux is a normal and unfortunate occurrence in most preemies,
That the constant fight to gain weight is in direct proportion
To a preemie’s ability to do so.
It is watching a child struggle to pick up his or her head, sit,
Crawl, or walk.
It is witnessing only silence when the child should be babbling,
Because the child cannot hear.
It is the mental images of a child running and playing
And communicating with others in a
Perfectly normal manner that are marred when you face years of therapy
In order to simply get the child to eat by himself or herself,
To talk or walk and then run.
The preemie experience is a journey…
A journey through your soul in order to find the faith and strength to cope,
A journey of the mind when you face the emotional weariness,
A journey of the heart…to accept that, no matter what,
The Preemie Experience
By Sandra D Moore
The preemie experience is the shattering of all your dreams
For a normal, healthy delivery,
Of the ability to carry home a beautiful squirming bundle
After a short stay in the hospital.
It is lying there in your hospital room listening to
The happy sounds of whole families joined
Together by the birth of a grandchild, cousin, niece,
Or nephew, and knowing that your
Child is miles away and may not survive long enough
For you to see or simply touch.
It is that first glimpse of a skinny, scrawny, not much bigger
Than a Barbie doll child
And feeling, fear, awe, and joy for such a fragile soul.
It is sitting by your baby’s “bedside” day after day,
Week after week, month after month,
Alternating between the emotional high of “Look, her eyes are open,” or “She’s crying!”
And the lows of “I’m sorry, Mrs. Moore. Something has
Shown up in Lauren’s ultrasound,”
Or even “There is nothing we can do…”
It is hearing the alarms go off for the twentieth time in less
Than fifteen minutes because your
Child’s heart rate keeps hitting zero.
It is watching children dying around you, wondering if
Your child will be next.It is hearing your child’s cry of distress as the nurses
Insert yet another IV and do another
Round of daily blood tests.It is meeting other parents of children who are doing far better
And wondering, “Why me?”
And meeting parents of children who have just died,
And praising God for His mercy
To your child and feeling guilty because your child is alive
And someone else is grieving for theirs.
It is days of nightmarish testing and coping with less
Than positive results to the tests.
It is days of joy at seeing the first eyelash appear,
The child gain a whole ounce in one day,
And two bright shiny eyes look at you and into your soul,
And knowing that your child now recognizes you as Mama or Dada;
Or perhaps looks at you and does not see you at all…
It is that final hurdle before coming home!
It is the sorrow of waiting for the monitor company
Representative to show you what to do
If the alarm sounds when your child is choking,
Gasping for breath, or simply dying.
It is the joy of just being away from all those nurses
And tubes and wires and beeps, and
Walking into the nursery you hastily prepared because, after all,
The child wasn’t due for another three months!
It is thinking the nightmare is over…only to realize it still
Continues in the form of
Such acronyms as PVL, RSV, BPD, CP and numerous others.
It is the final realization that those developmental delays
Have to be dealt with,
That reflux is a normal and unfortunate occurrence in most preemies,
That the constant fight to gain weight is in direct proportion
To a preemie’s ability to do so.
It is watching a child struggle to pick up his or her head, sit,
Crawl, or walk.
It is witnessing only silence when the child should be babbling,
Because the child cannot hear.
It is the mental images of a child running and playing
And communicating with others in a
Perfectly normal manner that are marred when you face years of therapy
In order to simply get the child to eat by himself or herself,
To talk or walk and then run.
The preemie experience is a journey…
A journey through your soul in order to find the faith and strength to cope,
A journey of the mind when you face the emotional weariness,
A journey of the heart…to accept that, no matter what,
This child is yours,
And you will love this child no matter what.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Kill 'em with kindness
Moving always seems to create many shopping trip opportunities. And, it's not the fun kind of shopping either. It's the "we have nothing to eat so I need to go shopping" or "we packed the hammer and nails at the bottom of some unmarked box so we need to go buy a new one shopping". Today we actually had both of those happen. As luck would have it, the gas people were coming by today so someone had to be at the house allllll day. Adam was gracious enough to keep both girls while I ran to Walmart to get WIC, and pick up some other things.
On my list was WIC (cereal, bread, fresh fruits and veggies, juice, etc etc), curtains for the girls' room, a new shower head since the other one cracked when Adam was trying to put it in, a hammer, some nails, and few other things. It ended up being one of those shopping trips where just as you were on one side of the store, you realize you forgot something on the completely opposite side! So, 45 minutes later I had my basket full, my list checked off (or so I thought!), and I got in a line where there was only one guy in front of me. Score!
The man in front of me had WIC too, and since WIC has changed their new program it is a pain! While the new foods they have added are wonderful, the Walmart computer system has not caught up. That meant that every time a new WIC item was scanned a CSM would have to come over and approve it. Lots of time, and running back and forth on the part of Walmart employees! When my turn came there was one older lady behind me. I had three seperate WIC checks to cash and then my usual Walmart purchases.
The ringing up of WIC began and right off the bat we had to call a CSM. This cycle continued and two more people (an older man and another older lady) joined our line. About the time we got to the second WIC check I heard the second older lady engage in conversation with the other two in line.: "What the hell is going on here? Last week I waited in line for 20 minutes behind a lady with lots of coupons...what is this girl doing? I bet she's one of those who lives off the state and they give her free food. Humph." The three of them chatted, and while I only caught bits and pieces of the other two speaking I could clearly continue to hear the second older lady as she spoke very loudly. At first I was slightly irritated because she does not know our situation, and who is she to judge? However, I came up with a better plan.
After my purchases were complete, I grabbed my bags and loaded them in the cart. The three older people were watching me and seemed to be revving their little cart engines in order to move up in their places in line. I turned around smiled, made eye contact with the second older lady, raised my hand to wave and loudly said "Thanks for your patience and understanding, I REALLY appreciate it!"
I killed 'em with kindness. :)
On my list was WIC (cereal, bread, fresh fruits and veggies, juice, etc etc), curtains for the girls' room, a new shower head since the other one cracked when Adam was trying to put it in, a hammer, some nails, and few other things. It ended up being one of those shopping trips where just as you were on one side of the store, you realize you forgot something on the completely opposite side! So, 45 minutes later I had my basket full, my list checked off (or so I thought!), and I got in a line where there was only one guy in front of me. Score!
The man in front of me had WIC too, and since WIC has changed their new program it is a pain! While the new foods they have added are wonderful, the Walmart computer system has not caught up. That meant that every time a new WIC item was scanned a CSM would have to come over and approve it. Lots of time, and running back and forth on the part of Walmart employees! When my turn came there was one older lady behind me. I had three seperate WIC checks to cash and then my usual Walmart purchases.
The ringing up of WIC began and right off the bat we had to call a CSM. This cycle continued and two more people (an older man and another older lady) joined our line. About the time we got to the second WIC check I heard the second older lady engage in conversation with the other two in line.: "What the hell is going on here? Last week I waited in line for 20 minutes behind a lady with lots of coupons...what is this girl doing? I bet she's one of those who lives off the state and they give her free food. Humph." The three of them chatted, and while I only caught bits and pieces of the other two speaking I could clearly continue to hear the second older lady as she spoke very loudly. At first I was slightly irritated because she does not know our situation, and who is she to judge? However, I came up with a better plan.
After my purchases were complete, I grabbed my bags and loaded them in the cart. The three older people were watching me and seemed to be revving their little cart engines in order to move up in their places in line. I turned around smiled, made eye contact with the second older lady, raised my hand to wave and loudly said "Thanks for your patience and understanding, I REALLY appreciate it!"
I killed 'em with kindness. :)
Monday, November 2, 2009
Rough road ahead!
Man, if I knew on Wednesday last week what I know now I would have informed you all that there was rough road ahead. I would have told you to buckle down and hold on for the bumpy ride! However, we have all come out unscathed, tired and a little dirty.
Thursday morning Adam went to meet our new landlord at the house to get the keys. We had asked repeatedly (about three times) if the new house had gas for the water heater. We had been told no about three times. Well, Adam showed up and Jack informed us that it does has gas. Oops! So, after a quick call to the gas company we found out the soonest we could get gas turned on would be Tuesday. So for right now we have bin baths, and cold nights. Bin baths consist of heating water up in our electric kettle (I highly recommend one...they work great for tea, boiling water to sterilize and clean, and apparently for baths) We even have the pictures to prove the bin baths:
Thursday morning Adam went to meet our new landlord at the house to get the keys. We had asked repeatedly (about three times) if the new house had gas for the water heater. We had been told no about three times. Well, Adam showed up and Jack informed us that it does has gas. Oops! So, after a quick call to the gas company we found out the soonest we could get gas turned on would be Tuesday. So for right now we have bin baths, and cold nights. Bin baths consist of heating water up in our electric kettle (I highly recommend one...they work great for tea, boiling water to sterilize and clean, and apparently for baths) We even have the pictures to prove the bin baths:
I was even brave enough to take a bin bath...and let me tell ya! That thing is tiny!!! Adam, however, manned it up and took an ice cold shower. On Saturday we took some time out of our busy moving day to attend our wonderful friends Pat and Danielle's wedding! They all looked great and it was a beautiful and fitting wedding.
We all dressed up for their wedding...I was a flower, Adam was a farmer, Riley was supposed to be a butterfly (but refused to wear her wings...they freaked her out!), and Bree was a messy bumble bee (I say messy because she was SUPPOSE to be being fed on the way to the wedding on her pump. Little did we know but she unhooked it and was waving it EVERYWHERE the whole way there. She was a mess, the car was a mess and her outfit ruined!) We plan on having some Halloween pictures retakes, lame I know, once we get the dryer plug switched out here so I can do some laundry. Here's what I do have:
After their wedding, we rushed back home to finish up the last few big loads of stuff, and to return the rental truck! At that point it was 7 pm and we still had small stuff to move, and to clean the old house. We had to be out by 12 pm. We did eventually make it...but did not finish until 1030 pm. Whew! Sunday was spent shopping for a table, visiting with Pat and Danielle for a bit since we were losers and had to miss their super fun reception and trick or treating, and a bit of unpacking mixed in there.
We are slowly getting settled in, but I can honestly say I feel like this is home. I have not ever felt this comfortable in a house this quickly, but I like it. After this being our fourth move in just under four years, I think we are done with moving. I have certainly had enough and I do not plan on moving until we have orders to move. (which is hopefully no time soon!)
So thank you for bearing with me in my silence. The blog is back up and running...never fear!
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