Keira at 9 months

C is for Cookie

Readers, meet the cookie that almost burned my house down. While cooking a tuna casserole a few nights ago, I was shocked to see the bottom of my oven suddenly burst into flames. Turns out Brody didn't think this cookie was quite done cooking, so sometime throughout the day he shoved it way down into the crack at the bottom of the oven. A bowl of water and lots of smoke later, I saw the culprit, and got it out.

Ah hem, Your Attention Please

Internet, at 2:30pm EST WE HAD POOP!!! Keira FINALLY, after two weeks of torture, had NORMAL poop! (I restrained myself from taking a picture and showing it to you all, be happy.) Who's throwing a party? This girl deserves presents!

Streaming Thoughts

I am all for keeping a clean house. In fact, there are a few things that I won't budge on and need to make sure get done on a daily basis. It is such a shame though, when more important things are pushed aside for the pursuit of the perfect house. This morning I was smack in the middle of cleaning every surface of my house when my dear little Brody continued to tug at me and play silly games. I didn't ignore him, and played back, but only while continuing my cleaning process. It was at that moment that I decided that the cleaning could wait. That moment, the one that I will never again have back with Brody, when all he wanted to do was play with his mama, that was something I couldn't pass up. Parents, there are so many expectations that I think we put on each other. Don't tell me you're not judgmental when you go to someone else's house, we all do it. It's not just keeping up with your house, it extends to making sure we look as close to perfect as possible, when we're not and never will be. I guess all I am saying here is, that load of laundry can wait. The world will not come to an end if the dishwasher isn't unloaded right away. Your children will not blame all of their adult psychological issues on you if you didn't give them only organic, homemade foods. What is important, what actually matters is if you dropped everything to read your child's favorite book for the 4,987th time, or waited to clean the floors later so that game of peek a boo could last longer. We don't get this time back. Perfection is overrated. I'll scribble outside the lines with my kids, thank you very much.

Heartfelt

The people of Haiti, and their family and loved ones are in my thoughts and prayers. I am relinking this page with six ways you can help.

Knock on Wood

Ok internet, as soon as you read this email you are required to knock on wood so we won't be jinxed here. WE HAD A GOOD NIGHT. (Despite a 3:45am wake up call of Brody puking in our bed, and requiring a bath... the up chucking is due to bad coughing fits, we think, and as I write this I am thinking to myself, my idea of a good night is very warped.) Keira has not had diarrhea since yesterday after noon. Yes, I am now one of those moms that talks about her children's poop. Check out my last few posts. Poop, poop and more poop. In fact if you put 20 different dirty, poop filled diapers in front of me, I don't think I'd even cringe. I think I could pick my kid's poop out of the line up in 3.7 seconds. Yes, I am THAT in tune with their poop. Smells, textures, colors, I know it all, and I am not afraid to admit it!
Back to Keira's lack of poop, well we figure that is a HUGE start. Our new motto is not having diarrhea is better than having it at all! However this has so far meant nothing, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that her little body is again binding itself and soon my posts will read, "Internet, we have normal poop!" and then we can all celebrate together. Let's spread the joy around, think of it as a conversation piece... "Did you hear Keira finally had normal poop?"
Keira had her nine month check up today, and we of course followed up on the bastard RSV. Her lungs sounded clear, with just residual upper respiratory junk lingering. Hallelujah!
She measured in at 27 1/.2" (No she did not grow an inch since the hospital... or maybe she did, but we're guessing they just measured wrong.) This was right at the 50th percentile. She weighed in at a whopping (not really) 16lbs 3 oz. (Hanging between the 5th and 10th percentiles.)
Here is the part where I sound pathetic, when my dear friend Dr Hoder told me I had to make her next appointment, I got upset because I realized that not only was this appointment her 12 month aka ONE YEAR appointment, but that it was only THREE months away. Hello?! Readers, WHY did no one prepare me for this? After her appointment I promptly called my mother and whined about this horrifying realization.
In other news I began the process of coloring my hair today. I was reminded by Auntie Kuckie (Kerrie's new name via Brody) that August was the last time I have done anything to my hair. If I admitted the last time I got a pedicure (before Keira was born) never mind a manicure (we're talking years) I'd be really giving you a good vision of where I stand looks wise.
Oh Internet, I must cut this short... we have poop (but I don't think it's the kind to make headlines just yet...

Who Needs a Vacation?

Keira's stool sample results came back today. She was positive for Clostridium Difficile Toxin A and B. Since Keira was not on antibiotics, which is usually the cause of this, it is the doctor's belief that she picked this up in the hospital, which is where unfortunately these kinds of bacteria are thriving. This is also most likely the cause of the horrible stomach cramping and pain and running to the bathroom that the boys have been going through the past few days. The bacteria is again, highly contagious.
How are we holding up? As I spoke to the nurse this morning as was going down the list child by child, I started laughing, because really what else can I do? It's not funny that my children are so sick, but it just seems so ridiculous, this string of bad luck I mean, that I feel like laughing about the event of it all is the only way to push through.
Although I will say one of the nurses who I again just had to repeat all the childrens symptoms to did not sound very happy when I laughed on the phone telling her everything. She must think I am crazy. I am now going to look out my window for the men in the clean white coats who are coming to take me away ha ha.. coming to take me away ho ho hee hee ha ha, to the funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time...

A Case of the Crazies

Hi. My name is Nicole and I am officially going a little crazy. I think this means that I can not be held accountable for my actions or words until I can be clinically diagnosed as sane once again. (See, this means this is a judgment free zone now.) Keira has still been throwing up, so she was back at the doctor's office today. She lost the weight she had regained since the hospital and is down to 16lbs 3 oz. The doc said we should expect her to lose more weight as long as this continues. On the bright side of things, separation anxiety seems to have left the building, and Keira is a pro and getting poked and prodded and bats her eyelashes at the nurses and doctors and waves hi and bye to them. She is really just such a sweet baby girl.
The pukey bug has gone through Brody, and tonight it struck Nate. Looking on the bright side of things (this is where I start to sound crazy) I am seeing this as one more anti body we all will have, and one less illness to potentially derail us this lovely year of 2010.
In other news the one lone non sickie (Nathan) suddenly had horrible pain in his ear, and went to the doc's and turns out he has a middle ear infection. Looks like no one is immune to this.
Ty is doing much better though... on the bright side.
That is as much of a depressing update as I can give (even with the bright side) so I'll switch gears a bit. I am a diet coke addict. Last week, right before New Years, it just so happened that I didn't have any soda for a day or two, then being in the hospital with Keira, again no soda. I have wanted to quit for a while, so I saw this as my opportunity, and low and behold I feel so much better without aspartame in my life. No more highs and lows (energy wise) and my body just feels better. After the lack of sleep going on, you'd think I'd be crashing constantly, but without soda, my body seems to regulate itself and I am actually okay. For those of you who don't know, I am not a coffee drinker, so I am caffeine free as well. Add to the mix that I can not have any dairy products (due to Keira being sick) and well by golly if I don't start dropping weight really fast without soda and cheese in my life, then something is wrong.
On the no cheese subject, I had plans to make pizzas with the kids for dinner last night, but when I realized pizza obviously contains cheese, I was a bit discouraged. I made it work though. I created this wheat pizza with fire roasted tomatoes (instead of sauce), mushrooms, and red and green peppers. I drizzled some olive oil over the top, and when I ate it, I put a touch of hot sauce on it. It was HEAVEN. All I could think when I was eating it though was that my child self would be appalled by my adult self enjoying this. I am however in desperate need of some new recipes (remember dairy free as much as possible... a splash of milk is okay) so please, share with me!
Also, as you can see, I have changed things up a bit on here... I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks for bearing with me during this hellish start to the new year, and my loss of sanity.

And the Fun Continues (In Bulletpoints)

• Preface: Somebody call the Waaahhhhh-mbulence.
  
• I have become an expert diarrhea in diaper scooper. Moms... c'mon, you know this is a skill.
  
• We watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs last night, and my mom brought us dinner. That was the most blissful part of my day and night.
  
• I can barely go a full two minutes without attempting to cough up my ENTIRE lung.
• We went to bed early last night (8pm) to get rest. I was woken up at 10:52pm by Keira projectile vomiting all over my neck, chest, and even a bit of my face. She looked like one of those gags in the movies where a thick steady stream of vomit comes shooting out of the character's mouth for an unnatural amount of time. I actually had time to think that as she continued to recreate an exorcist moment all over me. She promptly whimpered and went back to sleep, I picked up my phone and called Nathan (who is not sick and was downstairs) to please come bring me things to clean up. I was too tired and sick to even shower after that. Go ahead and judge.
• Brody woke up at 4am, climbed out of his crib, and went downstairs. Since the exorcist child had just woken up to refuel for her next showing, I told Nathan to get him.
  
• Nathan got up and retrieved him, only to have Brody turn to him and projectile vomit on him. Nathan had enough sense to aim him towards the sink as soon as it started coming out though.
• K woke up bright and early, we sat down on the couch to play and she decided that the crusty baby vomit smell was not enough, so she added explosive diarrhea (that somehow shot out of her pants and all over MY pants and the floor) to the mix. I wish I was exaggerating even a little bit here, but I shit you not. Ha, get it... I know, I know, but my sense of humor is all that is getting me through this.
• I have still not showered.
• It is not even 8am.
  

Virus-Gate 2010

This morning Keira ran a fever again, and had a very difficult morning. After speaking with her doctor, he decided she should be seen again. Her lungs sounded better, still coarse though. His concern was the fever and constant diarrhea she has had since the first. He decided to order stool samples and I am on a strict diet to help her (because I am still breastfeeding.) My question was how do you collect a stool sample from a diaper when it's all liquid (and diapers absorb liquid.) n I have to line her diaper with plastic wrap and I have a handy scooper (I can probably just pour most of it in the vile though.) Gross. I have so much more respect for lab techs who have to deal with all kinds of poop on a daily basis.

Starting 2010 off with a bang!

Happy New Year! It has been an eventful one to say the least, for us. New Years Eve Brody had his follow up hearing test at Children's and although he did far batter than the previous one, he does seem to have some hearing loss in the high frequency range and low frequency range. This really just seems to effect him when things are very soft (low volume) in those ranges, not when they are loud. He will go back when he is three years old to do a more extensive test.
We rang in the new year with lots of board games, a movie, sparkling grape juice (for the kids) and a glass of champagne (for me and Nathan). It was perfect.
New years Day Keira started getting a little cold, and by that night, Brody seemed to follow suit. Over the next day or two they became worse, coughing a lot, and I noticed Keira was doing a whole lot of wheezing. I joked that the poor girl sounded like Kathleen Turner if she were a squeaky toy. Sunday I attempted to take them both to the urgent care center at their doctor's office, but the roads were terrible, and I have a nebulizer at home, and decided to wait until the following day. At 1 am Sunday night/ early Monday morning I woke up because Keira's breathing was very shallow, very strained, and VERY scary. I got up, got the neb and gave her a treatment. No luck, just a lethargic, barely breathing baby. I got up, got dressed and headed into the ER. When we got there, they checked her oxygen levels and they were 92-93, not bad but not great. The did an xray, stuck this lovely tube up her nose pushed saline in her nose then suctioned it all out to do gather as much mucus as possible, she was given breathing treatments and oxygen. Her oxygen levels dipped to 88-90. The dr came in and told us she has RSV. She also told us due to her difficulty breathing without oxygen, she would be admitted and the pediatric dr would come speak to us. It was around 4 am at this point. We didn't get moved from our lovely ER accommodations to the depressing pediatric floor until 11:30am. I will spare you the frustrations during this time period, but I'm pretty sure I saw two very old men die and the lady in the next room was on her way too, because she was moaning in pain and agony the ENTIRE time. I am not heartless, I felt bad, but I am/was also extremely sleep deprived and upset and I just wanted someone to help the darn lady and give her some morphine or something to make her more comfortable!
When we got to the pediatric ward (I called it depressing because what is happy and joyful about a bunch of babies and children crying in pain and so sick?) and met her dr and her normal pediatrician came in to meet us as well. (Reasons why we love Dr. Hoder.) Her dr at the hospital was a funny, but in a kind of geeky way, young Indian dr. He was quirky and entertaining, but great at making us feel like she was getting the best care possible. Keira had a rough couple of days, needing oxygen almost the entire time. Her breathing treatments made her shaky and we had a very scary morning Tuesday where she ran a high fever, was lethargic and shaking all over. Her oxygen level had dropped to 81. Thankfully that was the very worst of it. She has slowly been making progress since that morning, albeit slow, but progress nonetheless. We were released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon because her oxygen level remained around 91-93 without giving her oxygen since 4 am.
During our hospital stay (I remained with Keira the entire time) Nathan took off work to be with the boys. Brody was seen at the doctor's office Monday for the same virus, just (as you can read about in the RSV link) just not as severe as Keira. I was more worried about him getting an ear infection. He is still coughing so hard, but isn't running a fever. We had a follow up appointment at the doctor's office Thursday morning, and I had to make an appointment for Nate also because Wednesday night Nate's fever reached 103.5. Keira's lungs sounded better, which is great news. Nate however, didn't get great news. He has pneumonia. (You're thinking we can't catch a break? I agree!) He is on meds and more breathing treatments.
I forgot to mention that Keira also has a stomach issue and has been having diarrhea since the 1st as well. Yesterday was my first day with the bad cough, and my empathy has turned into sympathy because man this virus is doing a number on me, and their bodies are just so little.
I do want to take a moment to thank my family and friends for their support and thoughts and prayers. Words can not express our gratitude. Whether it was a phone call, a message, visits at the hospital (so I could take a shower), or bringing me dinner and a magazine at the hospital, bringing us dinner and breakfast at home (which ended up being even more helpful now that I am so sick), and just being there for us. Knowing we have so many people willing to interrupt their lives and give themselves to us at such an overwhelming time, well it makes us feel very loved. I know saying two words can not convey thee true emotions behind them, but thank you.
Keira sleeping in the hospital, and her and I cuddling in the hospital bed.

Videos Galore

Visiting Santa

Keira waving hi

Breakfast (and listen carefully, Keira says Done)

Brody explaining hockey

Magic

Despite Brody's attempt to stay awake to see Santa, and Ty's brief sleepwalking venture right when Santa was about to come, Christmas went off without a hitch. We don't take many pictures Christmas morning, and instead videotape the whole ordeal. Nathan and I actually decided to spend the night before Christmas watching all of our previous Christmas mornings together. It made us so excited to wake up early with the kids. Santa left a very nice note to the kids, and he ate all his cookies, drank most of his milk, and the reindeer really chewed up the carrots the kids left for them. Santa left so many gifts for the kids. The boys were in awe. We had more gifts than I knew was possible to fit under a tree this year, so after they looked through their gifts from Santa, we got to tackling those wrapped gifts under the tree. The boys loved giving the gifts they had picked out for their siblings and for us, and actually were great about looking at who things were from this year. Brody was so excited to tear open wrapping paper, and even would exclaim (in most cases) what he got! HUGE progress!!! Keira was so funny, because when I would help her open (yes she got into the wrapping paper rip off game) she would squeal with delights and pat the gift. The kids changed into their new clothes, and helped put EVERYTHING away. I made a yummy breakfast casserole and we prepared for our Christmas visitors. This is the first year we have not gone out on Christmas. my family stopped by to open gifts first, and Nathan's family came over in the afternoon to open gifts. It was so nice to be with everyone. Ty went with his Nana and cousin Christmas night until New Years Eve, although we will be seeing him tonight for Disney On Ice (can't wait!)
Thank you everyone, for your generosity, thoughtfulness, and giving spirit. We all are so blessed to have you in our lives. Thank you for making each Christmas more special than the last, and for helping us create wonderful memories. We are so grateful for your love and kindness.

Merry Christmas

On our town's common, every December, Santa's Headquarters, or a wonderful little house, magically appears, and every afternoon Santa is there to visit with kids and go over their lists. As much as I love the very famous resident mall Santa that is in my hometown, the lines are usually outrageous, and the prices of pictures with him are expensive, and well, to be honest, holiday season at any mall gives me instant claustrophobia. Have I mentioned that our town common Santa is there for free? He takes lots of time with each child, makes sure to tell them to behave, and do what parents tell them to do, and generally we leave with the kids promising Santa to be the world's most perfect children. No complaints from me on that.
Nate went first and told Santa that he wants a robot that cleans houses and folds laundry and can make food, and I shouted a big AMEN to that one. Ty made a very thought out list with the items he wants, and Brody, bless his heart, was very nice to Santa, gave him his letter, talked to him but refused to go anywhere near him. Did I mention they take a picture for free picture too? Well when it came time for that, I asked Santa if he wanted to hod Keira, who was smiley and happy this whole time, but as soon as I passed her off to Santa, screamed for her life. This picture makes me smile.

Silly Boys

watch the boys pretend to be on So You Think You Can Dance

An Early Christmas

Lots of pictures of Keira on her first Christmas. The boys were so excited to play with their cousins. Thank you all for everything!

About that...

I am feeling abandoned as I am writing because Keira is no longer content in crawling around the toy/computer room, and she immediately crawled off to find her brothers.
I didn't get to mention that I have recently started actually using my prescribed inhaler (suddenly my asthma has made itself front and center in my life, because I obviously needed something else to worry about.) The side effect of using the inhaler is that for about a good chunk of time after I use it, I feel like I have been given a shot of adrenaline and am like wonder woman. Or maybe wonder woman if she was all shaky from too much caffeine or something. To put it in perspective, after dropping off Nate at school yesterday morning, I came home and had 4 hours to start my baking of cookies, make a double recipe of chicken, broccoli and ziti, and make a wonderful pumpkin dip (and the dip was an "if I get to it that would be great" item, that I know could hold off until morning.) My mom stopped by with some ornaments for the kids. I had just used my inhaler and well, before I knew it, less than an hour later, I had completed around 40 sugar cookies, made that double recipe of chicken, broccoli and ziti and finished the pumpkin dip. I also packaged everything up, so my mom could take it with her, cleaned up, and hung the new ornaments, AND did a load of laundry. In fact when I was done, I went back and made another big batch of cookies for our house and for our new neighbors. Honestly, I am a self confessed master multitask-er, but even I was shocked when I was done. I should mention that Brody and Keira were both home, awake, and yes I was taking care of them, which included holding them each intermittently. I'm not a coffee drinker, and have been weaning myself off of diet coke (which is a WHOLE other subject.) Who knew using an inhaler would turn into this?

Bullets

• I have a major cooking day today
• Christmas shopping is nearly complete!
• Keira tried to climb up the stairs today, yikes.
• I love hearing Keira's sweet little voice.
• Brody looks like a mini Nathan. I think they should dress up as Dr Evil and mini me for Halloween next year.
• Yesterday I got a text from my wonderful, dear friend Meg asking me what I was doing (she lives in California) and I found out she was home, and was coming to visit me. I cleared my day, because there is nothing better than having a friend you don't get to see often come visit.
• On that same subject, I think my boys may have scared her daughter, and they each put up a pretty good fight for their attention. I have actually never heard Brody attempt to speak to another child as much as he did to her daughter. I should add he was pantless the whole time.
• When I returned home from errands yesterday I found out that my wonderful child Brody had stolen a shirt from an unnamed store. He had somehow, wriggled out of his jacket, put on the shirt (a Boston Bruins Jersey) and then put his jacket back on. I was unaware until we were home and I took his jacket off. Oops.
• As those close to me know, I find complete joy in putting things in alphabetical order. This stops with helping Ty put his spelling words in alphabetical order because he takes all the fun out of it by complaining about how much he hates it.
• It is below freezing here. Nate wanted to play outside early yesterday morning despite my warnings of his fingers/ears/limbs falling off from frostbite. When he came in (20 minutes later) he ran up to me and asked me if his nose was red. I said yes, to which he broke out into a huge smile and said "Now I know how Rudolph got his red nose!"
  

The Here and Now

I hope everyone is doing better than we are, and has finished up their holiday shopping, and has a sense of peace. I on the other hand still have about a third of the shopping to do, and have a general feeling of anxiety. Ah, tis the season, after all!
On the brighter, more day to day side of life, Nate is getting better about waking up in the morning for school, and has been so helpful (when he's not on a crazy, too much energy induced state) and that has been an enormous help.
I have re decorated the tree about 25 times per day since putting it up. I am on constant Brody-watch because those darn ornaments are apparently too fantastic to pass up. I can not be mad because his eyes light up and he screams "Santa!" or "tanta" in Brody speak, and his excitement is infectious. Think Buddy the Elf level of excitement. Brody also has decided to potty train himself (we have been telling him this was his last package of diapers, and that Santa is bringing him a potty and big boy undies.) He has however, refused to wear a diaper, or has been running into the bathroom every 2 minutes to pull down his diaper and pants and try to go potty. Can't ask for anything better than that! Both Ty and Nate were fully trained by the time they were 3, (Ty just around 3, Nate 2 1/2) so we are on the right track!
Keira has started waving "hi" (I will get it on video very soon) and it melts my heart! She gets very shy around others, and likes to bury her head into me, but when she peeks back out, her little hand opens and closes in the most adorable effort to communicate. I can not even fathom that in four short months she will be a year old. It blows my mind.
Ty got his first graded report card. He did alright, mostly B's, one A+, and two not so hot C's. On the other hand, he got mostly excellents with a few goods in effort, which is what matters most to me. Parent teacher conferences tomorrow. His basketball team was leading their entire game this past Sunday, and in the last period the other team tied it up and the game went into overtime. Unfortunately they lost by 5 points in overtime, but it is a far cry than the past two games.
I will try and update more soon! Happy Holiday Season!!!

Hooray for the Holidays

Ty hanging the first ornament
Nate hanging his first ornament
Brody's turn to put the angel on top this year (we are a democratic household... equal opportunity and such)
I love Christmas lights
the kids in front of the tree
Ty and Nate being silly

Bath time

click here for yet another video (I'm freeing up my camera, finally!)

Mobile Baby

Here are two videos of Keira. Click here to see her crawling. Or click here to see her cruising the train table.

Songs for the Elderly

Here is a link to the video of Nate's preschool singing in the elderly home. Unfortunately, I can not just post the video here, because the file is too big.

As Promised

As promised, here is a slideshow. Some random pictures, Thanksgiving, Brody getting his ride-on Thomas from his godmother, Brody's first haircut, and Nate's haircut, ZooLights, Dinner out and Keira's first pizza, Keira standing, playing in the snow, Keira in her new outfit from her godmother. I'm sure there's more in there too!

Almost!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am getting my computer back tonight! Words can not describe the excitement!!! Turns out it wasn't the fan that was broken (what we thought) but the sensor that detects if the fan is working or not. So simple fix, turn the sensor off, and we're back in business. AND we got it tuned up added some ram and ta-da! Tonight I can look forward to setting it all back up and uploading the 200 plus photos anxiously waiting on my camera. We've had a fun weekend, following a chaotic week. Friday night we went to ZooLights at the Stone Zoo with Nathan's parents (our new holiday tradition with them) and then out for dinner at Polcari's for some can't beat Pizzeria Regina Pizza. The kids loved ZooLights, but this was definitely Brody's year for it. He could have watched this one train display for hours. It's so much fun to see the wonder and amazement in the kids faces. It makes me love the holiday season. Keira had her first bit of pizza that night, and didn't seem too impressed, but then again she had already filled up on the warm bread appetizer.
Saturday we had NOTHING, yes that's correct, a big fat ZERO to do, so I took advantage, cleaned, relaxed with the family. I even got to go to my friend's house for a Lia Sophia party and got a free necklace... can't beat that! We had a family movie night and watched Night at the Museum 2 (really cute) and all in all it was a wonderful night.
Sunday we woke up early and played in the few inches of snow that we got overnight. The boys stayed out for a little over two hours. Keira and I called it quits and watched from the porch after 45 minutes. We all came in, made some wonderful hot chocolate and finished up some cleaning before heading out to Ty's basketball game (another loss, but only by 15 points this time.)
Keira has learned some new tricks as well the past few days. She has mastered going from crawling back to a sitting position, standing on her own, and is getting lightening fast crawling. She seems to alternate between the army crawl (only she does it with one leg crouched, one leg straight) and the typical crawl, depending on the surface of the floor. She is getting more and more vocal every day. She is also getting very daring with her cruising, thinking she can let go and walk on her own.
I will GLADLY be uploading a slideshow of all of the pictures from before Thanksgiving until now sometime tomorrow.
Nate's school's holiday party is tomorrow, and Wednesday his class is singing at an elderly home. (It's another very busy week!)

I see Audiologists...

Brody had his hearing test yesterday. We went to Children's Hospital to get the test done, and I will spare you the details of my day, which include driving for most of the day, back and forth, and never coming home until it was all over with.
The woman, who is a specialist in the Audiology Department, was very nice. We discussed the reasons for the test, and concerns, and then she checked his ears. His left was nice and clear, but his right had a lot of "junk" in it. She then did what I have referred to as the air pressure test, and he actually did better than he ever has on that. Essentially what that means is that his middle ear looks good, where as before it did not. After that we entered a small sound proof room, and Brody sat in my lap. Another Audiologist came into the room and sat across from us, and the original woman was sitting on the other side, observing Brody and working the sounds. If Brody turned towards the speaker the sound came out of, he was rewarded by a little cartoon snip it coming on a tv, or a little animal would light up. It was very odd, and A Clockwork Orange-esque. I was not allowed to make any noise, or talk, or hint that I could hear the sounds.
They switched things up, leaving us alone in the room, and then the women switched places. But there were a large chunk Brody didn't react to.
At this point Brody was done, and had lasted a pretty long time, and I'm sure he will recall memories of this odd place to his therapist someday. We then sat down, and the woman explained that Brody is hearing mid range tones perfectly fine. He could hear some low range tones, and was not hearing any high tones. What does all this mean? Well, for now it means we will be back in Children's to repeat the test focusing primarily on high and low tones (he goes back in 3 weeks) and if we get the same result, there is one more option before having to go in for a procedure where Brody would be sedated and they would record his brain waves when playing sounds.
So that is where we currently stand.

Inevitable

It has happened. I have fought it off for so long, not being sick since shortly after I had Keira, but tonight I have become horribly, disgustingly ill. I would love to be able to scratch my eyeballs right out of my head, as well as claw most of my face off. I have not had a cold that has made me itch so much in my life. It is always when you are the busiest, and when life won't stop no matter what happens, that just for added fun, a virus is thrown your way. Murphy's Law I guess.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone is in the throws of a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. After I started a fire in my oven yesterday (I put my food, that had a layer of marshmallows on top, under the broiler and 30 seconds later, marshmallow flambe! I fixed it though, don't worry.) We spent most of the day at my mom's house with her sisters, their husbands, and my grandmother. We then stopped by Nathan's family's house for dessert. It was a wonderful day, with great food, and lots of fun. We even made it home by 6 o'clock last night. We decided it was early enough for a family movie night, and decided on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Everyone got blankets and snuggled up on the couch with their bowls of popcorn, and it was so relaxing. Those little moments are ones I hope the kids don't quickly grow out of. I hope those are times they cherish, even as they grow.
On another note, my computer crashed a few days ago, so until we figure out what we are going to do, I am using my mom's old computer, and let's just say it's a bit old. It works though, and that is all that matter. Unfortunately this does mean no photos or videos will be uploaded for quite a while, and if you are trying to contact me via internet, please direct those emails to my actual email address ( NicParrish7@gmail.com ) and not to my facebook inbox, because apparently this computer does not want to me open that inbox. I have found out I get a lot more done without a computer, which kind of feels good. It's freeing in more ways than I can say.
Today Nathan has to work, and the kids and I have plans to decorate the house. We're not doing this because I am anxious for Christmas to come, but because honestly, this is our only sports/party/event free weekend, so we're making the most of it. The kids are very excited, and I have promised cookies, and lots of music.
I'm going to cut this short because Keira is now cruising out of my reach and I hear the pitter patter of little feet coming down the stairs, waking up for the morning.
I hope everyone is able to enjoy some time with the people they love!

New Day

This morning I am a new woman. I am rejuvenated by a night out with my best friend. Now normally I can't keep my eyes open past nine, but I sucked it up, drank an extra can of diet coke, and headed out to the movies for a 9:30 show. We went to see New Moon, and I had two whole hours of "adult time". I would say quiet time, except anyone who has ever gone to a movie with me and Kerrie, know that we are anything but quiet. Separately, I'm sure we'd make decent movie companions, but together... let's just say we keep an ongoing dialogue, most of which people would be appalled to listen to. Of course last night's dialogue revolved around a 17 year old boy who remained shirtless for 95% of the film.
It is amazing how refreshed I feel this morning though. I feel like a HUMAN again. I didn't walk in the door until close to midnight, and yet when Keira started rubbing my face to let me know she was ready to get up at, oh 5am or so, I got right up without even trying to convince her it was too early. Yes, ladies and gentlemen two hours at the movies did ALL THAT. It has been around ten months since I last went out at night without any children. Maybe that explains my excitement. Oh, and trust me, I was checking my phone every three minutes convinced a text message was coming, telling me Keira was screaming her head off and trying to claw off Nathan's face, but nope, no text came. In fact, Keira woke up an hour after I left and went right back to sleep on Nathan's chest. When I came home and saw her cuddled up on him, my heart could have melted right then and there (in all fairness it was already pretty sappy after watching Edward and shirtless Jacob for TWO HOURS... nope not letting that go.) I resisted every urge to ruin the moment and grab my camera.
So the world did not end when I left all the kids at home, and I have an extra pep in my step today. Thank you New Moon.

Oh Baby!

me at 7 1/2 months, when we lived in Illinois :)

Home Made Gift Ideas

There is nothing like a homemade gift, and with everyone tightening their belt this year, I want to share two fun, easy, inexpensive gift ideas that are not only home made, but are easy for kids to make themselves or assist you in making.
Last year the kids and I made home made French Vanilla Hot Chocolate, and made "ice cream cones" to give as gifts. We purchased clear pastry bags (can be found at any crafts store) and scooped in the hot chocolate powder. We then put a scoop of mini marshmellows, then topped that with a scoop of chocolate chips. We tied off the bag with a red ribbon, and made a little gift tag with instructions.
You can make this process even easier by purchasing pre made hot chocolate powder.
These make great gifts alone, but can also make perfect gift toppers.


Relatives love to have new, updated photos of kids, and you will love sharing your special moments as well. A unique way to do this is with a puzzle piece picture frame.
If you have any cardboard, or even an empty cereal box, you already have the backing for your frame! Place your photo on the cardboard and trace around it to get the approximate size. I recommend leaving a 1" to 1/2" border around the photo, depending on the relation of the faces to the edge of the photo. Next get out some of those straggler puzzle pieces. (You know you will never find those 3 missing piece from that box you've been saving!) Or pick up a puzzle at your local dollar store. Get the kids involved by having them paint the puzzle pieces. We prefer washable paint in our house. Next Glue the photo to your pre cut piece of cardboard, and glue your colorful puzzle pieces around the edges. Add some glitter, or pom poms to the frame. Personalize it. you can write letters on each puzzle piece. Have fun with your design!

Feelings

Holiday Wreath Craft

This Holiday Wreath craft can be a fun way to get the family into the spirit of the holidays, no matter what age. It also makes a wonderful gift.
What you will need:

• paint (preferably washable)
• Paint brushes
• Construction paper
• Glue
• Ribbon

How to make it:
Dab your child's hand or hands with paint (green/red pain for a traditional holiday wreath, or make a fall one, using yellows, oranges, reds and browns.. HAVE FUN WITH IT. Another tip, add some glitter to the paint, to really make it "sparkle".)
Make the hand prints all the way in a circle, try overlapping them a bit.
When you are done making handprints, take a paint brush and dab little "berries" on the wreath. When making a fall wreath, try making a few twigs or a pine cone.
Next take some ribbon, try making a bow, or have fun "stringing" it through the wreath. Just use some glue to keep it on.
Carefully cut around the wreath, to make a circle. If you'd like, punch a hole in the top and loop some more ribbon through for easy hanging.

Video of the Day

The Holidays are Coming!!!

Doesn't it seem like Spring was just arriving? Never mind Summer? And now we're already past Halloween and almost all the way through Autumn!!! The Holiday season is here, and I thought I would pass on some fun ideas, and some of my own "Holiday practices" that I find helpful in a house full of kids. Thanksgiving is a fun teaching time for kids, when you can have them really think about all they have, no matter how big or little that is, and to teach about giving back to others. Even young kids can get into the spirit of giving by helping bake, or press cookie cutters into the dough, sprinkle cookies, etc. Make it a family affair, and give back to those you are thankful for in your life. We started a little tradition in my family of tracing the kids hands onto construction paper, and having them color them in as turkeys (thumb is the head, and the other fingers become feathers.) We created one for each family and I asked the kids things they were grateful for, or loved about the people in that family, and wrote what they had to say on the back. It's a great memory, and it's fun to see the kids hands grow, and their gratitude and understanding grow as well.
In thought and preparation for the gift giving/receiving part of the holidays, I like to have a give back as much as you get theme. We do this prior to birthdays as well here, but the month prior to Christmas (you can apply this to which ever holiday you celebrate) the kids go through their toys and decide which ones they no longer play with, and we fill up big ol' bags and donate them together. Some toys get recycled into our own family (from one child's toy box to another) but I have to say I am quite proud of my kids for letting go and getting into the spirit of giving. Again, I like to use this also as another teaching opportunity with the kids, to explain that not all children will receive toys, and that hopefully the toys they are donating will help make a child's day. The boys like to talk about who might get their toys, and may talk about how much they loved playing with them, and that some other boy (or girl) will love the toy just as much. It's kind of like a whole new life for the toy, and I think they find that comforting.
I'm going to try and blog some fun, inexpensive, holiday themed ideas over the next few weeks, that hopefully you will find useful.

Brody's 2 year checkup and more

Brody had his 2 year check up today. He did great! He weighed in at a respectable 27lbs (just under the 50th percentile) and is 35 1/2" tall (75th percentile.) He had to have 2 shots today (we were behind on two random ones due to illness in the past) and also had to have blood taken (NOT FUN.) Overall he did wonderfully. I'm so thankful for a healthy, happy boy!
Ty starts basketball this week, but unfortunately I doubt we'll make his first practice since it is an hour after Ty's football banquet begins, but his first game is Sunday, and we are looking forward to it.
Nate has been very excited about his class's new pet, a turtle. It is all he has been talking about. His class is also busy learning songs to sing as a holiday presentation at a nursing home. He has been singing when he is not talking about the turtle. :)
Keira is cruising her way around her crib at lightening speed. Today she pulled herself up on one of her toys and then cruised over to the train table (then she fell.) I am starting to wonder if she will walk before she really crawls?
Yesterday was the first day in who knows how long that I did not leave my house. I had no where to go, nothing to do, and it was FANTASTIC. I can not explain to you the relief I felt NOT rushing to be anywhere.

Brody's 2nd Birthday Party

A very special thank you to everyone who came to Brody's party. It means so much to me that you helped make Brody feel special and loved today. Another very special thank you to those who sent him cards and gifts, your thoughtfulness means the world to me, and again helps make Brody feel so special.
Brody is very in to monkeys, and I found this great recipe for organic banana cupcakes with chocolate chips, and a chocolate glaze frosting, decorated to look like a monkey. They tasted just as good as they looked! In my quest for something new and different to try as a favor (I would have liked to find a whole bunch of "barrel of monkeys" but couldn't.) I decided to let the kids make "monkey prints" (their own hand prints, painted on) a tee shirt. I found this cute monkey design, and created a print that said "monkeying around 2009". This is the design shown in the pictures. (And yes, I am very proud of myself for figuring out a cute design and different favor that didn't cost me and arm and a leg, and was actually not that time consuming.... giving myself a pat on the back for that one!)
Brody has gone from toy to toy tonight, playing with them all, and nicely sharing with his brothers. (What a generous little boy!) He is so happy.
Thank you again, everyone!!!

Dear Brody on your 2nd birthday

My dearest Brody,
It is the night before you are turning two years old. Two years ago, I thought you would NEVER get here. You never seemed to want to leave the warmth and comfort of the womb, and hung in there as long as possible. How all 9 pounds of you managed to get comfy is beyond me! Now I can't imagine you not here. Brody, my sweet baby boy, you are a delight. You fill me with so much happiness. You are light hearted and a free spirit. You love to laugh, and make others laugh. Your spirit is infectious. You wear your heart on your sleeve. You love to help me, and anyone else you can. You are adventurous and energetic. In these short, fast two years you have become a vital and cherished part of our family. My precious Brody boy, I love you more than I could ever find the words to say. There is no doubt in my mind that for all I will be able to teach you in your life, you will help me to grow so much more. I love you so much. Happy second birthday Brody!

Keira is 7 months old!

Keira is 7 months old, and still as happy and smiley as ever. She can pull herself up to stand in her crib, and can crawl (in her own way.) She is cuddly and has such a sweet nature. She emits joy from her inner being that is palpable when you are around her. We are so blessed to have her in our lives.

Thanks For Your Patience

My head has been swirling with all of the things I could tell you about and say, and of course when I take the time to sit and write, my mind goes blank. Nothing comes to me, or what does come seems like such an overwhelming task that I refuse to cooperate. Sorry.
Ty's team played in the baby bowl on Sunday. Ty and I talked about the huge, gorgeous sun rise over Boston as we drove in, and it actually was fun. Do I think having to be in Boston at 630 in the morning is the fun part? No, BUT seeing all the boys so excited, and knowing what a big deal it was for them was exciting. I stupidly decided that holding Keira was the way to go since I didn't want to carry her car seat, and didn't know if the place would be "stroller friendly." We had to walk about 3/4 of a mile to the stadiums, and, well 5 hours, two games (only one of which I could sit for) and lots of sleeping baby weight, my arms shakily put Keira back in her car seat to head home. Ty's team won the first round and lost in the 2nd, but all of the kids got amazing medals with their names on them and shirts from the event, oh and a free hot dog.
Keira has learned to stand up in her crib, and pull herself up on anything within her reach.
I have been busy organizing for Brody's 2nd birthday party, made slightly more difficult because as of Sunday, when I was attempting to get things together for goodie bags, I still had 13 kids unaccounted for. See previous blog posts around the time of any of my kids parties for my feelings on this. So I will wait it out, and have to put them together the day before his party, which, you know, isn't much of an inconvenience. The funny part about this, is I tried to make it easier for people this time around. Usually I send out invitations in the mail, and people have to call to rsvp, but this time I did a simple evite, which you can easily reply to, and yet here I am, yet again. Do I realize how complain-y this sounds? Yes. Do I hold resentment against these non rsvp-ers? No. It's my own pet peeve, and I know this. But when you have four kids, and deal with this frustration at least 4 times a year, you'd probably have a pet peeve about it too. Moving on!
Nate has been having a wonderful time in school so far this year. He is getting very excited for kindergarten and I am amazed that time has gone by so quickly. Sometimes as parents we hit that point where we can not wait for school to come, can not wait to see our children in that environment, and yet, as it is now less than a year away, and I know now how rapidly they go from "all about mommy/daddy" to "all about friends", I am sad that this time has flew by. I look forward to seeing Nate grow and mature and become the distinctly individual person, man he will be, but I am also mourning the baby boy he still is. I don't think you realize how precious those years are before "school age" begins, until you are already there. Your whole relationship dynamic changes with your child, and instead of being their everything, you become a whole slew of things, and their world splits in two, school and home. Remember back to when you were in school? You just pray and hope that your child is kind and respectful, and in turn hope that he/she is well liked. Trust me, there will come a day you want to will want to fight a 7 year old for calling your child a hot air balloon, not because it was a bad thing to call them, but because it felt bad to your child and made them cry to you. I have met many children along the way that I have felt this way about, or at least wanted to call them something back, or tell their parents that they should teach their kids to be nice. None of this would mean anything though, because what is important is that you are there for your child when it happens, and that you teach them the right way to deal with things, like dumb little booger faced children. (Without really calling them that.)

We've Been Busy

That is my excuse for not really sitting down to write, and I'm sticking to it!
I have been at the doctor's office twice this week and it's only Tuesday. Yesterday was for a follow up for Brody's ear, and they (the ears) looked MUCH better. Still some fluid, but nothing compared to how bad they were. He did much better on his air pressure test thing as well. He had some peaks (what they look for) but they weren't quite as high as they would like. Still I'll take it over the flat lines he got before.
Ty's football season is wrapping up. His team wrapped up the season 5-3 and he had so much fun. Thank you to everyone who came to cheer him on the past two months, it meant so much to Ty, which in turn means so much to me. Tonight is (hopefully) his last practice of the season. His team will be competing in the baby bowl on Sunday, an all day event. After that we have the Football Banquet and equipment return, and we are DONE!!!! On the other hand basketball starts in 2 weeks.
Nate is currently coming down with something and is curled up on my couch, starting to get a fever (have I said it never ends?) He loves school and is doing so well. His teachers tell me what a joy he is in the classroom. I have been elected to his school policy council as a voting member, and we just had our first meeting. Although it adds another thing to my already over flowing schedule, I like being involved in making the decisions for his school. I have a say in things that are important to me, and that is always a good thing.
Keira was at the doctor today because he comeback of a cough turned into wheezing last night, and she has bronchialitis. She is on nebulizer treatments at least four times a day. Not my favorite thing to do, but I just hope it helps and she gets better soon. She is slowly crawling a bit more every day. It is so fun to see her grow, but my heart feels pulled because I want her to remain my baby forever.
I am busy planning for the holidays and Brody's 2nd birthday party (2 weeks away!)
I plan on posting some great Thanksgiving crafts and foods to make with the kids as soon as I can.
Thanks for bearing with us!

Happy Halloween

Please enjoy this slideshow from Halloween and the day before!