My beautiful daughter

Happy Birthday, Monique!

Can't believe that you are turning 19 YEARS OLD! You are such a wonderful daughter, stepdaughter :), big sister, granddaughter, cousin, niece, godmother and friend to all who know you so well. May God continue to bless you in your NEXT 19 years of life. We love you!

Happy Heart Day!

My life is so full of love, laughter and overwhelming joy because God blessed me with a wonderful husband and 3 beautiful children. I pray that everyone in the world can experience the blessing of love in their life. Here's a little poem I wrote:

Birds chirp in the early morning
You rise to wake me up
Boundless energy fills the room
I feel love long before I reach for the coffee cup

Days are short and days are long
Filled with fun, work, and play
Longing for "Mommy" to just sit by his side
I feel love lifting me up the entire day

Romantic nights are redefined
Sitting on the couch to relax
Our minds and bodies recharge
I feel love fill my heart to the max

Sweet kisses and lullabies
Nursing a tiny bundle of joy
Looking into those adoring eyes
I feel love from my soul into you deploy

Nothing stronger, nothing more powerful
Given a gift to pass on to one another
God loves me unconditionally
He feels proud as I pass it on as wife and mother



Happy Valentine's Day!

FYI

If your 2 year old licks the top of the salt shaker, the salt will not come out. Happy seasoning of food!

Punishing the kids or me?

After a night of "messing around" in their room when they should have been going to sleep last night, the boys needed some consequences, so I took away TV for the day. After half the day had passed, I realized this "punishment" was harder on ME than it was on them. UGH!

What CAN I eat?

First of all, I have to say that I am dedicated to breastfeeding my children for 1 year (then they're cut off so I can take a vacation :) Well, my dreams of breastfeeding Elizabeth that long were almost crushed this past week as I heard devastating news about her health. She tested positive to allergies to milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, and cats. The doctor straight out told me that I MUST stop nursing because the diet that I would need to follow is "virtually impossible." As he continued to tell me which formulas she will need to eat, I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. I didn't let it out until he closed the door, and left my baby girl and I alone in the small room. All I want is the absolute best for her, but I was NOT ready to give up nursing when I know that my milk is the best thing for her (minus all the allergens). How could this be happening? I cried at the thought that the last nursing session with her was when she was being pricked in the arm for an allergy test. I cried all the way home, calling a good friend who talked so supportively to me. Then my sadness became ANGER. That doctor didn't even give me the option to continue nursing. Don't give me that "virtually impossible" sh*t! It IS possible, if I truly want to remain dedicated to nursing. I began researching, and then went shopping to find some foods that I can eat (very limited). I have been eating this "elemental diet" for 3 days now with so much enthusiasm that I am doing this for my sweet baby girl's health, and I will continue this as long as I can in order to give her the BEST. I'm hoping that all these natural foods I consume will make me really skinny, too :) Never tell me that I can't do something because I will at least try to prove you wrong (moral of the story).

Keep out of reach of children

Those warning labels on items were written for MY child specifically, I'm convinced. What hasn't Matthew gotten into these last few days? After our deodorant fiasco, we found the little guy sneaking in our room & putting huge globs of vaseline on his face (when he was supposed to be falling alseep). Tonight he tried to "wash" his hands with Victoria Secret's "Berry Kiss" lotion, and (prepare yourself) he took a bite out of a Christmas ornament...Yes, you read that right - a Christmas ornament. It was inside their bins of toys inside their bedroom closet (Joseph collects all sorts of random things). Guess he thought it might be tasty? The only thing that made me go in there was the "crunch, crunch" I heard coming from the closet. I was terrifed that he was cutting his mouth, throat or (worse) his intestinal lining with that material. I just yelled "SPIT, SPIT IT OUT!" We then rinsed out his mouth. I pray that his poop comes out okay (as gross as that sounds). I have cleaned out most of the potentially harmful medications and such from our medicine cabinet because I am so fearful that he will eat something that could make him VERY sick or die. What's next - the paint off the wall? HELP??!!!!

You can just see the mischief in his sweet, little face. You gotta love him!










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