My own firecracker

The other day I went to my friend Stacey's house to take pictures of our kids for 4th of July pictures. I took a ton of Elizabeth because she was just so darn cute, trying to catch her with her hands clasped from clapping. Every picture only caught her with her arms open just before the clap. She is going through the stage where any amount of praise she'll start clapping, she is so pleased with herself and what she can do. I decided to video it. Enjoy. I especially love the way she folds and intertwines her legs in the sitting position. It is pretty graceful.

Ode to Brianna, My big 4 year old

Happy Birthday Brianna!! You are four years old! I can't believe how quickly time flies since I've become a mommy. It seems just yesterday I held you for the first time at the hospital. You don't remember that day, but Joseph, Grandma Johnson, Daddy, and I remember it well. When Dr. Ivie pulled you from my tummy she said, "Wow, she got her hair done, like mommy, with highlights and all!"

You weighed 8 lbs 4.5 oz., were 19" long, and redish-brown highlights in your lush dark brown hair. The hospital staff couldn't stop "ooooing" and "ahhhhing" about how pretty a baby you were. Some people say it was because you didn't get squished coming out since you were born by c-section.

I thought you were perfect, because God made YOU and blessed me with a girl.

Some things you've been doing lately, cute and not so cute, some down right frustrating. But, that is the job of your mom and Dad, help you grow, learn, and become a better person.

• You almost always wake up happy, your little cheerful "good morning, mom!" makes mornings better.
• You enjoy going to church, singing church songs, and love your primary teacher.
  
• You love, love, love your daddy. You have said you want to marry him.
  
• You have been such a good little mommy's helper with your little sisters.
• You love to carry Elizabeth, bathe her, feed her, and play with her. It is very sweet!
  
• You love to dance. You will often ask me to put some music on for you.
• If I'm not fast enough to put music on you'll find it yourself on my computer.
• You absolutely love and adore Joseph, who consoles you when you've been disciplined and who plays babies/dolls with you. You've said you want to marry him too.
  
• You've been sneaking things out of the fridge or freezer. I'm sure I feed you enough, but maybe not, you are always wanting more food!
  
• Hiding your contraband under your brother's bed. Hiding it is a sign you know it's wrong, and are disobeying the rules intentionally.
  
• When caught you'll always try to convince me it was someone else mostly Kaitlynn (what else are little sisters good for?).
• If something is put up high for a reason, you can still find a way to get into it. Nothing is safe from you if you want it.
  

We love you pretty little girl. You are learning and growing normal. You've been such a joy to have in our family! Our family wouldn't be complete without you!

Febril seizure

Elizabeth, 9 months, has been teething with some pretty serious teeth, fever, congestion, the works but still really good natured. Today she ran a fever and we took a few naps with some cuddling in between, very sweet. Silly me didn't check to see what her temperature was, she's only teething after all. Long about 8 pm after nursing we were having another cuddling session. She put her head back and looked like she was looking at to ceiling for something. Something didn't feel right. She seemed to be zoning, wouldn't look at me when I called her name, and then started convulsing. Panicking I start carrying her out of the bedroom calling my husband for help. We meet in the hallway with all the children gathering in as well. I state she is convulsing, he finds a phone to call 911 (good thing he keeps his wits about him!). I try to remember my infant cpr from before Joe was born but I think my brain went into I'm losing my baby mode. All that kept running though my mind was "there was no sign anything was wrong. She can't be dying, I don't want to let her go right now!" Her lips were turning blue and I kept tapping on her chest lightly. I don't know how long she convulsed, or how long she went without breathing. When I could tell she was breathing again I just held her. The paramedics didn't take long to get there! Maybe I lost track of time. We were whisked off to the emergency room just to make sure she was alright.

They say it is common for a child to have a "fit" or "convulsion" that occurs when there is a spike in the fever. Gosh, I never knew that! It is common for them to be brief, lasting less than 10 minutes. One minute, ten minutes, the time doesn't matter to me, it is very scary, common or not! Most children who have febrile seizures will outgrow them by four or five years of age. Probably a good thing or the mom would probably not live too long with her heart constantly stopping each time they convulsed.

So, here's what I did wrong (although they never told me I did anything wrong...)
I assumed it was teething. She has a little virus, the doctor said.
I didn't check her temperature. Her fever was 103.3 at the hospital (who knows what it was when it spiked enough to send her into convulsions).
I was giving her 1/3 the amount of fever reducing medicine she should have been getting. I was erring on the side of caution, which didn't reduce anything!!

I don't know what I could have done about the other children seeing the baby convulse. I think we are all scarred for life! They picked up on my stress and worry plus witnessed everything. Joe kept saying "But, I don't want her to die, I love her too much." Brianna was the only one who was obedient and went to sit on the couch when told to do so, with worry in her eyes and tears running down her face. Kaitlyn was obedient getting ready, Brianna went to the hospital with just a shirt and underwear (I only noticed after Elizabeth was released, much to my chagrin). When they came back to visit Joe felt it necessary to bring a toy for Elizabeth, very smart thinking for a worry worn brother.

Needless to say, I am thankful we were blessed that it was something common that nothing really bad happened. Sometimes a little scary experience helps to jostle us back into appreciation mode, and remind us how short life can be...we shouldn't take any of life for granted.

Imagination

So, what could be better for the imagination than a book about some kids who go to visit their grandparents over Summer Vacation and experience the mystical land of Fablehaven their grandfather is overseeing? We have been thoroughly enjoying this book on disc which I thought might be difficult for the girls to sit still during, but which has proven me wrong. I have been extremely impressed with how Joe has shown such interest in something other than a game or a movie. One night while we were waiting in an extremely long line of cars to watch a movie at the Drive In he asked if we could listen to the story while we waited. How could I refuse?

I have to admit I am also impressed with myself. I opt to watch a movie instead of read a book because it is quicker and I don't get as side tracked. I could easily blame it on my lack of down time, what with four little children to chase around all the time and all. But, I think it is because it is all laid out for me and I don't have to use my imagination. I want more for my children.

I am now a big proponent of books on tape/cd because it opens new realms for me. Where it is hard to do anything else when you read a book, I can put on the book and do the laundry, fix a meal, or drive the car etc. I recently finished Stephanie Meyer's Twilight trilogy, now I'm looking forward to the movie to see if it follows the book. Very different than what I would normally do, wait for the movie! Who cares if it follows the book, and how would I have even known the difference??

I have fond memories of my mother reading us books like The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis before bed while I was a teenager. I hope I can instill in my children a love for literature, but I know I must do my part to make that happen. This is just a start.

New life of leisure?

Schools out!! It is the end of one of the biggest daily tussles I've had since Joe started first grade back in August. He has a wonderful teacher! He'd much rather stay home and play all day with his sisters, he has often begged me to home school him. So, imagine the humor the last day of school when he was crying about school ending for the summer. I had to stifle back the laughter as tears ran down his face whenever we brought up summer break. The fact that he had to see his teacher and friends every day was a burden to him throughout the school year, but now that it was over, he wouldn't be able to see them every day. Kids!!

We started the summer break off at Chuck E Cheese with our good friends the Clement Family. Joseph didn't want to go there, he has a fear of the over sized rodent, but he soon found himself enjoying the place where "a kid can be a kid!" Joe has had this aversion to Chuck E. since our first visit. I thought I could find a picture of his earlier days where he'd go hide under a table all balled up if he caught sight of the mascot heading out to greet the children. If it was a fear of spiders or snakes I don't think I'd find so much humor in it. I understood it when he was three but now he's almost seven. Hope it doesn't affect him too long.

The girls decided to use their body as a canvas to produce what some might call a masterpiece, but what I call body graffiti and ordered a bath shortly after. Joseph has been wanting to use permanent makers in his artwork but often forgets to put things away. With regular ink the bath cleaned up the girls with no trouble. Joe doesn't quite understand the WHY when I refuse his request. Here's a picture of when Brianna found the permanent marker two years ago and gave herself a goatee she wore for a few days.

I can't wait to see what else the summer holds!!

Motherhood

This weekend I redeemed my mother's day gift, a massage at a Spa in Mesquite, NV, my sweet husband thought to give me. I had big plans for that Memorial Day Weekend...of staying at the hotel for a night...going to visit my grandmother in St. George, UT the next day...taking my Uncle to lunch at Cracker Barrel for his birthday... Unfortunately mommy duties called and made other plans. After dinner the baby wouldn't keep down my breast milk. Long about one in the morning my son wakes up and calls my name and then loses his dinner. Brianna follows a few minutes later (luckily they were not sleeping in my bed). One good thing about being at a hotel when there are sickies, you don't have to wash the linens yourself. I debated about whether or not to call housekeeping but, with a family of six, unused beds are a waste and that is one thing I can't handle. When Daddy got back from his "birthday splurging" he had to make a "sprite" run. I don't think I was able to really get any sleep until about three.

We had to call and cancel all extra activities involving other people we chose not to inflict with illness. It might be a while, with gas prices going the way they are, before we can make the trip to see family again. The next day I followed suit and got sick. I'd love to blame it on bad food, but it wouldn't explain the baby getting sick first or why it took me longer to show signs. And, why did my husband and Kaitlyn not get sick at all?? Glad it was a four day weekend for our family!

At least I got a massage!
It does make for a happier mommy!!

Where has all the hair gone?

This is Brianna at the beginning of the day. Isn't she pretty?! Don't you just love her pretty LONG hair? I know I do. I know Daddy does. I know Brianna does too. I have to remind myself at times that she is only three...and although three year olds are smart, sometimes they still do dumb things...heck, I still do dumb things (and I haven't been three for a LONG time)!

+ =

As I tried to reassure her father after he told me he was sick to his stomach over HIS loss, it could have been worse! Even now he says he wants to cry when he sees the before picture.

Brianna and I went on a date to get her hair FIXED. I probably could have done it myself but I couldn't bring myself to make the first cut off the length of the hair she still had in the back. We'll see how fast it grows back.

At Cool cuts 4 Kids the hairdresser said just the other day a little girl had come in after cutting her hair too, only this little girl didn't leave anything where she cut. Apparently she was giving herself bangs, cut it all the way to the scalp. I was counting my blessings at that time!

I have been wanting to cut her hair in a cute little A-line bob but really couldn't bring myself to cut that much off...so, she helped me with my dilemma. We just can't do the A-line right now till the spot she cut right over her ear grows out some...

And wouldn't you know it, just a couple of days ago my friend and I were talking about little girls who cut their hair one too many times and what should be done about it. She had mentioned that she heard one mother actually shave her little girl's head after the second cutting incident. A little brash, I thought, and was grateful my little girls wouldn't do such a thing!! You'd think after all my experience I would know better than to say/think such a thing. Tisk tisk tisk!

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This is Brianna at the end of today. Isn't she a pretty little three year old girl?? Don't you just love her pretty blue eyes? I know I do.

Blast from the past

Here are some funny pictures from back in my high school days. Back in "simpler" days as my sister put it in the e-mail she sent me with these pictures attached. Funny how hind sight works, everything seems simpler, we are not caught up in the latest emotional battles or family problems that seem to plague our thoughts and emotions now.

Gosh, the boys alone took up a whole couch...don't think they could all fit like that again. Look at my dad's full beard! Dave, my brother sitting at my father's right, has a head full of hair, I heard he chuckled pretty hard when he got the e-mail.

Yes, looking back, I'd have to say we had some really good times together...simple or not. I sure love them.

Sleep?

My husband, Greg, is currently facing an M.E.B. (Medical Evaluation Board) and possible discharge from the military. This has actually been in the works for years since his last deployment where he was injured in a combat zone (not combat related). He has been working with his doctors to stay in the military but it doesn't look like he'll be able to say in much longer. He has been put on medical profile after profile limiting his exercise regime and ability for deployment. When the last tasking came down he was in a predicament. The deployment would be on an Army base and would include Army training which would be more physically demanding than his knee could handle. Any change in his profile/limitations would flag an M.E.B. He only needs four more years to complete his 20 year retirement requirement!

They must do a full physical before the board can decide the outcome of his career. I have been asking him to look into his difficulty in sleeping for almost a year now. He had been fearful of bring it up to a doctor because he wants to finish out his 20 and had heard once you've been tested with sleep apnea it was an immediate discharge. Since all medical concerns need to be addressed he agreed to mention it. Don't get me started on how he'd be better off all around if he'd listen more to his wife!! Just one word...Appendicitis. We are just glad to have him alive and with us now.

I found some information on Sleep Apnea from the Stanford education site and have changed the font to red for my comments or what symptoms he has exhibited with me.

The most common kind of sleep apnea is called Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome. Sleep apnea means "cessation of breath." It is characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction that occur during sleep, usually associated with a reduction in blood oxygen saturation. (Greg tested at 58% oxygen saturation during sleep!) The upper airway can be obstructed by excess tissue in the airway, large tonsils, a large tongue and usually includes the airway muscles relaxing and collapsing when asleep. Another site of obstruction can be the nasal passages. Sometimes the structure of the jaw and airway can be a factor in sleep apnea.

What are the symptoms?

• excessive daytime sleepiness (Greg NEEDED his 8 hrs of sleep or had difficulty functioning during the day and if he had time off would always find some extra time to sleep.)
• frequent episodes of obstructed breathing during sleep. (The patient may be unaware of this symptom -- usually the bed partner is extremely aware of this). (I've never timed Greg's obstructed time myself but my mom said she counted 45 seconds one night when she was in town...not that they were bed partners).
  

Associated features may include:

• loud snoring
• morning headaches
• unrefreshing sleep
• a dry mouth upon awakening
• chest retraction during sleep in young children (chest pulls in)
• high blood pressure
• overweight
• irritability
• change in personality
• depression
• difficulty concentrating
• excessive perspiring during sleep
• heartburn
• reduced libido
• insomnia
• frequent nocturnal urination (nocturia)
• restless sleep (Greg does the running man in his sleep)
  
• nocturnal snorting, gasping, choking (may wake self up) (and everyone else!)
• rapid weight gain
• confusion upon awakening

How serious is sleep apnea?
It is a potentially life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical attention. The risks of undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea include heart attacks, strokes, impotence, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and heart disease. In addition, obstructive sleep apnea causes daytime sleepiness that can result in accidents, lost productivity and interpersonal relationship problems. The severity of the symptoms may be mild, moderate or severe. (Greg's Military Doctor mentioned in the 6 years she's been dealing with sleep apnea the highest score she's seen is 129, Greg's score was 144.)

How is Sleep Apnea treated?
Moderate to severe Sleep Apnea is usually treated with a C-PAP (continous positive airway pressure). C-PAP is a machine that blows air into your nose via a nose mask, keeping the airway open and unobstructed. For more severe apnea, there is a Bi-level (Bi-PAP) machine. The Bi-level machine is different in that it blows air at two different pressures. When a person inhales, the pressure is higher and in exhaling, the pressure is lower. Your sleep doctor will "prescribe" your pressure and a home healthcare company will set it up and provide training in its use and maintenance. (At Greg's first visit to discuss being tested for the sleep disorder his doctor explained that depending on the severity of the case one could still have sleep apnea and stay in the military. If the C-PAP machine was needed but could be weened off of, one could still remain in the military. It would mean an M.E.B. and discharge if the disorder was severe and a person needed to be on the breathing machine for life. Although she never said anything about the M.E.B., which is already pending, the doctor did say from the looks of it he would be on the breathing machine for the REST OF HIS LIFE.)

We are waiting to hear more. More posts pending results.

Thanks Grandma!

In August of last year we had Grandma Fisk for a visit to help out during the c-section of Elizabeth. She helped out with everything around the house (cooking, cleaning, laundry) and still had time to play with/teach/walk the kids. Besides helping potty train Kaitlyn (before she was two!), teaching Joseph to read better, Grandma also made Joseph a "Legend of Zelda" costume.

Joe knew what he wanted and showed a picture to my mom. So, we sifted through my material and found more material at the DI. Grandma whipped up this outfit for him. She is the greatest!! Thanks mom!

She made the tunic, hat, and boots. We used belts and a mini camera holder (found at DI) that could be attached to a belt as Link's jewel holder. The shield pictured here is one purchased at Big Lots. Joe would dress up in it all the time and recently had the opportunity to wear it to school for their character day for Nevada's reading program.

My sister Rose brought Joe a big jewel the last time she visited. Put it all together and Joe has an outfit made by those he loves and who love him too.

Black and Blue

OUCH!!!

I've tried to use their magic wand to help Kaitlyn become more graceful but to NO AVAIL!! This girl is just plain clumsy! She trips over her own two feet more than not.

This picture is after she climbed on the top bunk (even though we removed the ladder so she wouldn't) and fell. Actually we don't really know what happened, Grandma was watching her. She is pretty clever at finding a way to get where she wants to go. Poor little girl, she will have bruises all of her life I'm sure! I'm just praying the bones don't get broken and there are no bloody gashes or head injuries!!!

But, she is the sweetest little girl! She is my most obedient child so far!! Even if I ask her sister to do something Kaitlyn is right there to do it instead. She is very quick to obey too. Well, except when her "gingervitis" and "TERRIBLE Twos" set in. Then she can be pretty stubborn (I'm sure she gets it from her Daddy's genes! :-P ).

Oh, and if the phone rings, she is faster to find the phone and quicker to answer it than her mommy. She loves to "hock on the hone," and will insist to do so if it is Grandma Fisk or Aunt Rosie.

What can I say, my girls are GIRLS, and my boy is a BOY!

Dancing Princess Brianna

Brianna is a little princess! She is such a girly girl who loves to dress up in pretty clothes especially princess costumes. When we go to our friend's house she was always dressing up in their dresses. Up until Christmas we were just wearing hats and boas and gloves when we played dress up. Thanks to her Grandma Johnson and Momo she now has her very own princess dresses. She loves to have tea parties. Her Grandma Fisk taught her how to pour when Brianna was only two and enjoys having tea parties with her when they get together.

Brianna also love to dance. She asks me to play music on the computer so she can dance every day. I think she would dance all day long if I let her!

Her Aunt Rosie, who just adores her, has handed down some very sweet ballet leotards, a couple of tutus, along with wrist scarfs. Dressing up and dancing will be even more fun.

Sir Joseph

Joseph is my little warrior, he loves the idea of fighting, I know it is a guy thing. He wants to fight for RIGHT and defend people from the foe. He was very upset when we had the "Bad Lady" incident at the Library because he felt he should have been there to PROTECT his sisters from bad people.
His instructions after finding out was "Next time, Mom, you need to come and get me from school so I can make sure nothing bad happens, OK?"


As always with Joe, he is obsessive! He wants to take his swords with him everywhere. He wants to take them to the park, to the grocery store, to school, on our trip to Oregon to see family over Spring Break. I have even found them in his bed under the covers before he goes to sleep.

His drawings depict men with swords too. His latest assignment at school was to draw a picture of something he sees himself doing in the future and then writing a few sentences to describe the picture. Can you guess what it was? Right, a Warrior. He rescued a princess, and I had to talk him into marrying her. After talking him into marrying her and having a bunch of kids his thoughts just flowed. He would teach all his boys how to fight and then drew about ten boys varying in age all with swords. He would become a leader and protect the people from the enemy. He didn't want to stop writing (which was astonishing to me!) normally he would write three sentences and be done with it.

I am looking forward to meeting Sir Joseph in the future, I hope he still feels the desire to defend and protect people (especially his family) from the enemy. Maybe just not with swords...

Thermometor or Excitment Indicator??

Elizabeth used to do this funny thing with her tongue until late. Whenever she would get excited or happy she would stick it out. When I'd carry her around in the back-pack people would stop to talk to us, I could usually call when her tongue was sticking out. We got the funniest responses and made most people laugh.

Just about every time we'd put her in a swing she would stick out her tongue too. Her daddy said it was to test the air, I think she really liked swinging. The tongue would usually come out and her hands clench and shake in excitement.






She doesn't do it much anymore, I miss it a little. Luckily there is always something new to look forward to while she enhances her communication efforts.

Scary!

Today the girls and I went to the library. Had to use the bathroom (remember I have three (3) little girls). I had quite the conundrum before me. I would usually take all three in the same stall (baby in a backpack or carseat), but this time I was holding the baby and didn't want to place her on the floor. So, I put her on the diaper changing table just outside the handicapped stall...I strapped her in, and asked Brianna, my three year old, to watch the baby while mommy went to the potty real quick. Kaitlyn, two, was already pulling down her pants in another stall. I asked her to wait for momma to help her cuz I was going to be real fast. And I was...real fast, but heard the baby cry, yelled "Oh, Shit," while pulling up my pants as I opened the door (I didn't take time to flush!). There was no baby on the changing table, no baby on the floor, and no three year old either!

As I am calling LOUDLY after Brianna I'm checking all stalls and find my Kaitlyn still waiting for her boost up. I tell her I'll be right back as I open the bathroom door to an empty lobby area but hear my baby crying. I find her on the floor around the corner all scraped up. I scoop her up and continue looking for my daughter all the way outside asking if anyone out there had seen a little girl. No one had. So, I went to get Kaitlyn out of the bathroom and search other places. As I turned the corner to the bathroom I saw Brianna trying to get back into the bathroom. Assuming she had been hiding from me I asked her if she had pulled the baby off the table and put her on the floor and then hid. She replied, "No mommy, the bad lady did."

We finished up Kaitlyn's potty time while I asked Brianna a few questions about this 'bad lady' not sure I really believed her. She said, "she had dark hair like Daddy and Bubba (Joseph)." I asked if she could recognize her if we saw her again, she thought she could.

I know I didn't have all my wits about me because I just wanted to get my babies home and out of dangers way. Once in the car I questioned more, without offering details. Originally she said the bad lady put her in the bathroom, but I had checked all the stalls on my way out and knew she hadn't been put in a stall. It ended up being the Boy's bathroom which coincided with me seeing her trying to get back into the girl's bathroom.

I questioned my own thoughts as I suspected a possible abduction gone bad. Could it be my three year old had actually pulled the baby off the table and was trying to cover up? The more I replay the situation the more unlikely I realize those thoughts were. Brianna can barely walk two steps with her "big" baby sister let alone open the door by herself without difficulty. The time it took for me to open the stall door after hearing the baby cry was not long enough for her to even carry the baby across the bathroom floor, at least I would have caught her trying to open the door. I think someone had taken them, heard me coming, and put the baby down and the three year old in the men's bathroom, either ran out the exit 10 feet away or hid in the men's bathroom until all was clear.

After I got home I did call the library to report the situation and see if they had any serveillance equipment that might have caught the incident. They said they did not have any surveillance, the assistant manager was empathetic to my situation and was glad the children were all safe. ME TOO!! She suggested we fill out a police report which we did, even though there was nothing they could do since there was no suspect and the "witness" was too young to question successfully. The officers said there could be a few scenarios: the three year old did it and created the story, a concerned person seeing two children without obvious adult supervision may have thought they were helping and then decided it was none of their business, or a possible abduction aborted. I still stick with the abduction gone bad theory.

Long story short...I am glad to have my babies home safe and sound. I will never do that again! And I think public places like the library should have surveillance equipment covering all exits (this would have covered the bathroom door as there was an exit not 10 ft away from where I found the baby on the ground). I wish I knew for sure what happened, but I'm gut-wrenched when I think of what might have been. Be ever vigilant, and hug your little ones close!!