My sweet, sweet Muse

It's amazing when my muse comes to visit.  Most of you know I love to write.  I'm a romance writer and have been since somewhere in the vicinity of the 7th grade.  It's my passion (excuse the pun), it's my hobby and it's my release.  Now whether I'm actually good at it or not...well, I can't rightly say.  I'm not BAD at it...but I wouldn't say good either.

My muse is a force to be reckoned with.  She likes to travel frequently.  Apparently small children ain't her thing.  It cramps her style.  But lately, she's been bored of travel and has come home for a visit and has left me with far too few hours in the day to get out all that she's wanting to say.  In the last three days I've written 22 pages of pure gold.  When she's home, I'm unstoppable and it's these little sessions with her that leaves me with my best writing.  As I mentioned last week, if I walk away from something after she heads out for some travel because it's not "flowing" I come back and reread it later and can't believe I actually wrote it.  Sometimes there are words in there I forgot I knew or phrases that sounds so eloquent I've actually accused Hubby of editing my work.  I began writing thinking all this business about muses' was hype, but I'm a believer now and she earns a spot in my household, flighty and unreliable as she may be.  So let's pray she sticks around for awhile.  I need to finish this book I'm working on.  I'd love to actually finish one!

Let's also pray for those in the hurricane's path.  I'm sure it's pandemonium around New Orleans right now and hopefully all the evacuations have been successful.  And I also hope all of you have a great Labor Day.  

2 pounds lost!

When Hubby comes home from work every day he immediately becomes a human jungle gym.  The kids crawl and bounce all over him.  Temporarily forgetting this, I lay in the floor this morning to do some sit ups.  I was instantly attacked by Punky and Chicken.  And let me tell you.  After three kids, sit ups don't feel good.  It used to take over 50 of them to make me feel it.  I think after 8 I was feelin' the burn.  Of course, it didn't help that I had two children making the actual SIT UP part near impossible as they were both sitting on my chest and stomach.  I did take advantage and used their weight for some leg lifts, though.  ;oD

I went to my six week check up Wednesday and I'm all clear to resume normal activities.  That means I can hit the exercising hard.  I didn't manage to do any at all this week, but I still lost 2 pounds.  2 down, 33 to go.  When you say it like that, it's definitely a little discouraging, but hopefully with exercise, those numbers will go a little quicker.  And once New Baby is sleeping through the night, I might be able to get out of bed a little early to do it before Hubby goes to work instead of the evening like I'm planning now.  Of course, that's all big dreams right now. 

My OB acted like he was going to miss me when he realized this was it for us.  I've been with him for 7 years and while I'll still go to him for PCOS management and my yearly exams, I obviously won't be seeing him every month like I have been.  For almost 3 years now it's been at least once a month I've gone to him for pregnancy.  I told him I didn't know what we'd do not seeing him so much (Hubby and I used to tease that he was my second hubby since he knows me about as well!), and he replied with a sort of whiny, "I know, it's been great!"  And I'll never forget when we did our intra-uterine insemination during my infertility days.  After Hubby did his thing, he left.  I asked him, "Don't you want to stay when Dr. What'sHisName gets me pregnant?"  I still laugh about that one.  It's amazing the attachment and friendship you develop with your doctor when you see them so much!

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend.  We don't have much planned here except enjoying some time off!

Why is it that...

...I can think a manuscript of mine is total junk, move away from it for awhile because I'm disgusted and then come back to it and find a work of art?  I just reread the last manuscript I worked on and couldn't have been happier.  It flowed.  It was witty.  No passive voice.  Good sentence structure.  Man.  Why did I stop and get out of character?  Now, I'm finding it impossible to get back into it the way I was.  UGH!

Anyone got any pointers?  I'm losing a good book as I type!

Reflux Burping 101

Traditionally, reflux babies are hard to burp.  As a mother of three of them, you find new and creative ways to get the air out and I usually go in this order...

1. The classic upright against your shoulder.
2. When that doesn't work, you hang them half way over your shoulder so it's pressing on their gut.
3. When that doesn't work, you sit them upright your leg and move them back and forth and continue patting...
4. Next comes walking around while they're upright against your shoulder.  If you walk flat footed and jar them a bit, it works much better (If I had stairs, I'd be getting my exercise in, that's for sure, I've read that's a great way too!)
5. After that, you pat a little harder, because SURELY after all this, the air should be out by now.
6. Eventually, you hold their stomach up to your ear and move them back and forth gently to make sure you hear their stomach contents sloshing which, indeed, indicates there is air present.
7. When all else fails, you do laundry.  

Yes, you read me right.  Do laundry.  Or pee.  Or take a nap.  At 2 am, all you can do with a relaxed baby who is sleeping and won't burp is lay her down until she's ready to.  Last night, I happened to have peed before I fed her.  I just remembered half way through that I had laundry in the washer that needed to go in the dryer before it soured.  So I laid her down flat and proceeded to do laundry.  AT TWO A.M. people.

You see, the beauty of laying them flat when they have a big air bubble is that it somehow brings it up (think about us having reflux and how they tell us not to lay flat it will make it worse).  After a minute or two of them laying like this, they'll start to squirm.  All three of mine have done this and if I just ignore them or put them down before they've burped good enough, they wake up after a few minutes crying.

When they start to squirm, you begin all over again with the steps I mentioned above.  Very rarely do I get past the first classic shoulder position.  After that, I just plop her back down and she's back to sleep for good until she's ready to eat again.  Reflux babies are my specialty apparently.  New Baby doesn't spit up much but has more of the "silent" kind where it just pops up in her throat and she swallows it back down.  But hey, at least I got a head start on my chores for today!

Silence Speaks a Thousand Words

What Mommy and Daddy say when Punky goes poop in her pants...

I did it, YAY for me.

Well, I joined Weight Watchers this morning.  And I'm starving.  But it'll pass.  I remember the last time I did this the first 3 days were bad and then my body adjusted and I felt great.  Hopefully, this time there will be no possibility of me getting pregnant (I need a certified letter from the urologist before you touch me, babe!) so I can finish what I'm starting.  My goal is 30 pounds, that'll put me at 115, but I'd be completely happy at 125.  That was what I weighed when I got married.  115 was high school and let's face it, who weighs that anymore?  But it's my goal and I want to be done by the end of the year.  That puts me at losing 1.5 pounds a week until the end of the year.  If I can get the time to exercise, I'll be home free.  I lost 7 lbs in three weeks before!

So anyway, I've done it and I'm proud of myself.  As long as I keep with it.

I'm planning a beach weekend with my best friend in a few weeks.  We're just going for a couple of nights but I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it.  After Hubby's hiking trip and his time away, I approached him about going some where and he was quick to tell me I could.  It means he has to take time off, too, to stay with the kids, but I appreciated his willingness to do it.  I need a weekend away with my girlie friends as hubby put it.  ;oD  Just as much as the company, I'm looking forward to the sleep!  New baby is still only eating once at night, but that still interrupted sleep which equals exhaustion.

I've also stopped breast feeding.  My goal was 6 weeks, but just like the other two, New Baby started acting as though breast milk was hurting her more than helping.  She was obviously having tummy troubles and wasn't feeling good.  Of course now, she's still having tummy troubles but they don't seem to be as severe as it was since weaning.  My hormones have been on a roller coaster since I quit last week, too.  I thought at first I was getting some depression, but that only lasted a day or two.  Now I feel better, but all the crazy things I had going wrong with my body before I ever got pregnant and PCOS was in control...well, they're back.  I haven't had a single problem with eczema in almost 4 years and all of a sudden my whole body is getting little breakouts.  I'm really hoping that at least my cycles will continue to be regular now.  Everything else I can deal with.  I do NOT want to have to do provera therapy again or have to get on birth control to keep my cycles regular.  That would totally suck after the Hubby got fixed so I didn't have to stay on hormones!

Maybe losing the weight will help with some of that!

One of THOSE posts...

Last night was one of THOSE nights.  New Baby didn't sleep well because after switching her formula, I had to give her a bottle of the old stuff before bed because we ran out before Hubby made it back from the store and she pretended to be starving.  Anyway, long story short, she had a tummy ache most of the night and I wound up, against my better judgement, holding her and shoving a pacifier in her mouth so she wouldn't cry.  I was pretty much just dozing from 2:45 am until 8 this morning.  I'm exhausted.

But somewhere in the middle of the dozing, I had one of THOSE dreams that makes you wake up in a sweat and appreciate everything you have.  A lot of people at our church have been diagnosed with cancer lately.  In a congregation of 300, it's bound to happen.  So in my dream, I was one of those people who had been diagnosed with it.  I was the age I am now and so were my kids.  There's nothing more eye-opening than hearing your child in your dream say, "Are you going to heaven, Mommy?"  and telling your husband to find another wife that would make him happier than I ever could.  I realized Chicken and New Baby wouldn't have any memories of me and possibly not even Punky.  Wow, talk about hard.  I didn't sleep much at all after that because I was thinking about my kids and husband's life if I was to leave them.  My girl's wedding day with another woman there putting their veil on.  I guess I can only pray God wants me to live long enough to see them into adulthood and do all I can to be healthy.  Guess it's a good thing I start weight watchers tomorrow!

Sorry for the downer post, but wow, I feel like having a dream like that is sometimes God's way of making you wake up and appreciate things.  It's hard to do when you have a newborn and your goal is to just make it to nap time and bedtime for sleep, but I'm certainly making sure I'm stopping and enjoying my kids and Hubby today and every day afterwards!  I certainly found an overabundance of patience last night when I usually just want New Baby to go back to sleep so I can too!

Bears on the loose

So hubby had to cut his backpacking trip short.  Apparently park rangers were advising people to go home.  Several shelters Hubby was staying in were closed and they were going to have to be rerouted or go home.  Bears were attacking the shelters, tearing off the tin roofs and reaching in to get food.  The Park Ranger told Hubby that he'd never seen them so aggressive like this.  There had been two attacks in the last week.  So hubby and his two hiking partners rode in the back of a Prius with their 50 lb backpacks in order to get back to their car.  I don't know why I find this so funny.

We're still having trouble with Punky and the potty training.  She just pooped in her diaper and I told her that I would buy her a bunny (we just went to a local petting zoo and she fell in love) if she would start using the potty all the time.  She was crying and whining and I said, "Mommy will buy you a bunny if you use the potty.  Big girls use the potty."

To which she replied in tears, "Babies use the potty, too!"

I guess reverse psychology doesn't work, either.

Yeah, I was just kidding...sort of.

Weight watchers had to be postponed.  We still have family in town until next Tuesday, Hubby is on his hiking trip until then and we've eaten out almost every night.  I had planned on joining yesterday, but we had Five Guys (burger place) for lunch and Mexican for dinner.  Not exactly the greatest start to a new lifestyle, huh?  So I made the difficult decision to hold off until next Friday to join.  Maybe it'll motivate me even more with a week of bad eating behind me.

Got a call from the "Great Smoky Mountains" yesterday.  The lady identified herself and said she was trying to get in touch with Hubby.  One of the shelters they were planning on staying in on their hiking trip was closed.  Ok, was this before or after they checked in and left and if before, why did they not tell him when he was there?  Closed as in full for the night or closed closed?  The bad part?  Hubby and his two hiking partners are totally out of touch.  My sister in law (who's staying with me this week) and I text messaged them, tried calling them, everything.  Wednesday night was the last time we were in touch with them and they were about to lose service then.  Kinda scary when people are getting attacked by bears up there already this past week.  Oh well, maybe it'll make for a good blog when he gets back, right?

This and That

Every day the sense of peace and blessing I have over having a complete family just fills me up.  My mom told me when she was here after New Baby was born that one day I might want more.  While that's true I might one day have a moment of insanity and want to start over again, at the moment, I feel almost giddy that we can finally start planning the rest of our lives.  We can plan family vacations.  I can plan a career outside the home if I choose after they're out of school.  We can sleep through the night again.  I guess what I look forward to the most is watching my babies grow and seeing who they become.  I look forward to each stage with them and pray I can become the mother I want to be.

I was recently blessed with a very "adult" conversation with someone that enlightened me with everything from discipline to how I want to raise my children in everyday life.  I'm excited about implementing the things we talked about, enjoying every day with my kids and spending more special times with them.  I can't wait to start having more fun with them.

And to add to the excitement, I'm joining weight watchers again.  Tomorrow.  I have to do something.  Yes, I'm only 4 weeks postpartum, but the belly is killing me.  It's not uterus, it's fat.  Lots of fat.  3 or 4 inches deep of fat.  AND.ITS.GOING.  I lost 7 pounds in 3 weeks before, so I'm hoping to be on maintenance by the end of the year.  Help me stay motivated!

The Next Christian Bale

He will star in The Bright Knight.

Happy Anniversary, Hubby.

Today marks 7 years of wedded bliss.  Some ups, a lot of downs, 3 kids, and 3 houses later, we're settling into a nice routine of the all American family.  He works, I play, I mean the kids play, I take care of them.  it's hard to believe thinking back on it that it's been 7 years since we sat in the sand during a beautiful Florida sunset on our honeymoon and expressed how scared we were to be a spouse and how scared we were of failing each other.

Well, Hubby, I think we've both succeeded and we've both failed.  That's part of it, I guess.  It's the process of growing up and choosing to love each other every day.  We choose to make each other happy or sad.

You're the man I CHOSE to marry and chose to spend the rest of my life with.  You're the man that still, after 7 years, amazes me with your intellect, your eloquence, and your dedication to what matters most to you.  Nothing in this world could make me want to change the path my life has taken and the road we've shared together.  There's no one else I would wish to be the father of my children.  Without you in my life, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Here's to 70 more years...  ;oD

Little Helper

Apparently Punky is in rare form these days.  Hubby's hosting a diaper shower for a guy friend of his from church tomorrow night at our house and I told Punky today we had to clean all day.  She took me very seriously.  She immediately went to get the disinfecting wipes and went to the bathroom after I handed her one and wiped down the rim of the tub for me.

Family brought in a HUGE bag of cute clothes for New Baby that Punky found and strategically hung all about my bedroom after that. We're talking on the hardware on the dresser, on the pack and play, everywhere.  But hey, that's her little way of helping, so I didn't stop her.  Yes, it's more mess for me to clean up, but she's trying to help and it's ridiculously cute when she stands there with her little chest puffed, proudly exclaiming, "I hung up the clothes for you, Mommy!"  

Then I found this (pay attention to the bottom of the picture):

She apparently thought New Baby needed to be fed since she was crying.  She got in the utensil drawer and the pantry (even though that's off limits) and got this out for me.  

Days like this melt my heart.  She's turning into such a big girl!

Don't forget...the baby?

So we've had family in town this week (hence not posting much).  They've been entertaining my two eldest and I've had some valuable time with New Baby.  Well, today, I've got the two eldest and they have New Baby.

And we're driving home from a nice lunch, both kids are over-tired.  Punky keeps looking next to her where New Baby should be.  She burst into tears.

"Mommy, you forgot the baby!" she wails.  "Go back and get the baby!"

I try to assure her that Grandma has the baby and she's taking good care of her.  "No she's not!" she continues to wail with HUGE crocodile tears.  "Go back and get her, Mommy.  You forgot the baby!"

Needless to say, I don't think I have to worry about her actually running away any time soon.  Seems to me like she's pretty attached now.  

I can't believe it. Wait, yes I can.

Most of you know that I'm a die hard "Baby Whisperer".  All three of my kiddos were whispered and I LOVE the ideals in the book.  It meshed perfectly with my personality and how I viewed infanthood and parenthood.  Punky was whispered from about 6 weeks on and slept through the night at 14 weeks.  With Chicken I was lazy, confused with how to deal with 2 kids and didn't implement whispering with him until he was 3 months.  By 4, he slept through the night.  What most of you don't know is that I was determined to start New Baby on this from day one.

Low and behold, she was born at 7:17 am.  Well, the book recommends a 7 am - 7pm schedule for babies so she was born right on schedule.  :oD (that really has nothing to do with it, but it certainly made for good conversation, right?).  I started as soon as we got home from the hospital getting her on track.  She's such an easy baby, I think that's part of it, but I'm not complaining.  We're not 100% there, but she's mostly on target, although her bedtime is around 8 pm right now instead of 7.

3 nights ago, New Baby starting sleeping a whopping 7 hour stretch for me at night, 8 pm to 3 am.  I'm just tickled pink.  But you know what?  I KNOW she's doing this because I've been working hard on getting her on schedule (I don't brag about much, but I think I've earned the rights with this one).  With three very different children (personality wise), it can't be a fluke.  People tell me, "Oh you got lucky with her sleeping so well."  No, I didn't.  It's like discipline.  You don't get lucky with good kids, you make them.  Babies aren't born knowing how to sleep, you have to train them.

Therefore, my new motto is:  Good sleep habits are not born, they're made.  What do you think?  Do you agree?

Sorry babe...

So this morning I was in the bathroom and heard Hubby singing this in the kitchen to the kids...

So wrong

As I told him, it's disturbing that he even knows who singing it, much less the fact that he knows the actual words. It's a sad day when your hubby is rocking out to a Miley Cyrus song. But I guess, after all, he's just being Miley...

But, for the record, I thought it was pretty cute.