Easter & Random Stuff

Our Easter was rather low key this year. Jimmy & Addy were up early and anxious, so I waited with them in the game room trying to keep them entertained until Timmy, Addy, & Daddy were awake. In their terminology " FINALLY" we went down stairs to see what the Easter Bunny had brought. They each had their baskets full of fun! They all had chocolate bunnies, Easter pez, chalk, and a few special eggs, then they got individual stuff. Jimmy got a star wars lego set, Addy got a barbie game for the plug and play piano, and Timmy got some hot wheels. Elly got a purple bunny & an Easter book in hers. The best part from my perspective was we already had it all! All I bought this year was the chocolate bunnies (88 cents each), 1 big pack of sidewalk chalk ($1) and 3 bags of candy at the dollar store to fill the eggs. All the basket fillers were items I had previously bought on clearance of 75-90% off. And the bunny Elly got, actually an old one of Addy's she has long since forgotten redressed in some outgrown preemie clothing. Cheap you say? I think I prefer the term resourceful! After the hunt we enjoyed some homemade pizza, and a carrot cake from scratch (yummy). In the afternoon the kids and I made confetti eggs for some smashing fun. And that was our Easter.

Recently we had 3 birthday parties to attend in one day. The kids of course LOVED it! I mean a day full of cake and friends, it's like a dream come true. So anyways, I tried my hand at being crafty for a few of the gifts. One was for a handsome little 1 year old boy for which I made some personalized blocks:

So I got the idea from a magazine, and of course mine didn't look near as good as those in the magazine. But they were still fun. You can't tell in the picture but the fabrics besides being different colors also had some different textures, and the blocks make noise! They have little shakers in them. Another party was for a 5 year old girl, and I made her 3 bows, a bow holder, and some bracelets. But I didn't get pictures of those. I had fun making all the stuff.

Other things... Being in the house all day with the exception of getting Jimmy from school in the afternoon, is getting old! So just about every evening I escape for awhile to do anything. Some evenings it is running errands, others it is just working in the yard on little projects. Just something to get myself out. And thankfully Dave has been very helpful and supportive in me getting out...

So I've never loved the entry area by the front door, last year we put in a simple rectangle bed, and it was better, but I still wasn't loving it. So one of my outdoor projects has been tackling this. I reshaped the bed, so it has some curves and I can definitely say it's looking better. I wanted some nice bricks to line it, but landscape bricks are pricey, and soon to be jobless I couldn't justify the cost. So I went to work with what we had already and here is what I came up with:I used the random pieces of black edging we had in the garage, and then I lined it with bricks from our yard. As any of you locals know the yards here seem to grow rocks! We've been making a pile in the backyard of rocks for the past 3 years and so I put them to use. It's not perfect, but I thought it looked a lot better than just the black plastic. I scattered many packets of flower seeds that we had, and am hoping that they fill the area with pretty colors.

This is our peach tree, 3 years ago it looked like this... a stick in the mud, literally. Now it is this full size tree in our yard, and for the first time it is bearing fruit. I am so excited to have fresh peaches! I just hope we are here to enjoy them...


I've been struggling lately with our unknown future. With the thought of knowing we may have to leave this place that I have come to love so much. I am one who doesn't do well with change. I like having a plan, and sticking to the plan. Right now, change is eminent, and there is no plan. I like feeling settled, and right now I don't feel it. I don't know how others do it, for example Military families who are moved every 2 or so years around the country, some even out of the country. We have been blessed in the fact that Dave has had several interviews already, and many have seemed promising. The problem is an internal struggle. The ones that would keep us here are not family friendly, in that they have LONG stressful hours. The ones that would be family friendly take us from here, far from here, far from extended family, far from everything I've ever known...and that scares me. I apologize if this is too much info, or if it seems I am whining...but this blog is my personal journal, therefore I putting my thoughts and feelings down. Part of me thinks I shouldn't worry about it, and live in the now. Enjoy what we have! But it's always there in my mind weighing me down and I don't think I'll be at ease until things are settled once again.

Chunky Monkey

Here's a peek at those super cute chunky cheeks! They are usually hidden by plastic tubing and medical tape. I snapped this picture during a tube switch...it's amazing to me how different she looks without the tubes on going between the two pictures. As for updates on the little lady, she is 8lbs 2oz now, and will be 5 months tomorrow. She went to the pulminologist today, and all went well, but she is still on the O2. The plan is to do a sleep study in April and monitor all her stats, and go from there...maybe, just maybe there is an end in sight. A mom can hope anyways!

The Toothless Wonder

Jimmy lost his 2nd top front tooth earlier this week and is having fun talking.

Bluebonnets 2010

We "bent" the rules slightly and took Elly out for a family outdoor photo shoot in the Texas Bluebonnets. I love Bluebonnet pictures!

Life as we know it...

So it's been nearly 2 1/2 months and so much has happened in our lives. There have been many times I've wanted to update the blog, but due to the craziness of life something had to give... (actually many somethings have gone by the wayside) but the something I've missed has been the blogging world. Not only have I not updated, I've hardly had a chance to read blogs, which was a favorite past time of mine. So here is some wishful hoping that we can work blogging back into life.

Biggest news, Elly came home on February 6th. This was significant as it was actually her due date. It also came as a surprise, since we had been told a few weeks later as the expected going home due to the fact that she was a micro. I was so excited to bring her home, but also so terrified at the same time! For months she had her own trained staff caring for her 24/7 and she was coming home to us, untrained, dividing time with other kids, and needing to work sleep in. She came home on oxygen, and a pulse ox monitor. This was not ideal but is worth it to have her home. The pulminologist (lung specialist) said she is still on it not because she "needs" assistance breathing now, but to strengthen her lungs for the long run. "We want her to have lungs for a life time" to quote the guy. Which I appreciate, but given the option I would happily ditch. The reason being she is not nearly as portable as a typical newborn. Always attached on the face and the foot to wires. All the pictures of her beautiful face cluttered with nasal tubing and medical tape. Plus the pulse ox monitor is obnoxiously loud when it alarms, which is often. Most of the time it alarms is because it has lost it's signal, very rarely has there actually been a problem. It was also recommended by the doctors we keep her home until June...which means we have been home bound for the most part. Other than Dave to work, and Jimmy to school, the rest of us rarely go out, and when we do there is lots of scrubbing before we come into contact with Elly. Right now as we have just hit one month of having her home June is seeming far off! They say it is a safeguard due to her lack of immune system and fragile lungs, and it being RSV season, that even a simple cold would be detrimental. So here we sit at home. We do get to go out to doctor appointments though, fun I know! But hey, I get her all dressed up for those! I figure she has all these cute clothes and it's her only outings might as well look like she is headed for a photo shoot. Another big chunk of time has been devoted to pumping. The months she spent in the hospital I dreamed of the day she came home and I could ditch the machine to just feed her, like cutting out the middle man. But those dreams were crushed, how sad. While she has been gaining weight it was not as much as the doctors wanted to see, so they agreed she needed extra calories, and that her intake needed to be monitored to ensure she was getting enough. So that translates to pumping, and fattening up the breast milk with preemie formula, then feeding it to her in these little bottles with ml lines. So instead of saying she eats 2 oz, or whatever it's measured in ml so we know more accurately how much she is taking. It has been time consuming to say the least, but it seems to be paying off as she is now gaining at a steady pace. She has kept us busy with her appointments. Up until last week she had home health coming twice a week to check her, she has a pulminologist that sees her once a month, she has a retinal specialist that sees her every two weeks, she has her regular pedi that sees her for newborn checks, she has easter seals that come to work with her and track her developmentally, and more that I'm forgetting. But the important thing is that she is here at home with us and that is great! The other kids have been so fun to watch as they interact with her. Timmy especially is getting a kick out of being a big brother. He will go up to her at least once an hour and say "I love you Elly, you so cutie cutie" it's adorable to watch!!! So that is Elly recapped, now on to the rest of us!
Jimmy had a birthday on February 14th and turned 7! I can't believe it, my baby is growing up so fast! He lost his 3rd tooth and proudly displays a toothless grin at the moment. He was accepted into the gifted and talented program at his school in January and has really enjoyed that. He is still doing the cub scout thing and recently earned some more badges. His favorite past time continues to be Wii, and has almost completed lego star wars that he got for Christmas. He has gotten really good at reading, and is so excited to be on spring break this week. Overall just a great kid!

Addy has been her regular charming, quirky, silly self. One of the first things she did when Elly came home was set up a tea party for the two of them. She loves teasing her brothers, and is quite good at it. She has been very interested in reading also and sounding out everything she sees. She keeps asking when she can start school. She loves the cat calendar she got from Nana and proudly tells me the day first thing each morning. She is also our night owl, the hardest kid by far to get to bed each night. It is amazing the number of things she can think of as excuses to come out and stay awake. A very entertaining little girl!

Timmy had a birthday on March 7th and turned 3! Any time I asked him what he wanted for his birthday his only response was "cake, green cake" SO that is what he got, a green cake (green mint chip ice cream cake on a brownie base...YUMMY!) and we hung green balloons, and green streamers and he was happy. If you haven't guessed his favorite color is green. He has recently finished potty training (YEA!) and we have been lucky to only have a handful of accidents. He still drags his beloved green blankie everywhere he goes, and is just a happy boy!

On to Dave...Dave has been unhappy at work for awhile, add the family stress we have had, then add sleepless nights that come with having a newborn in the home... and well lets just say he reached his breaking point. He had a melt down to put it simply. Through the marvels of modern medicine and a good solid week to let that medicine work into his system I am happy to say we have Dave back. This past Thursday his company announced a 20% cut in employees due to lack of funding...and he was in that 20%...so now we have this new info to figure out. His last day will be April 9th with his current employer. On a lighter note he has also been active in scouts with Jimmy and recently did dutch oven cooking for their pack's blue and gold. Since Elly has come we've had to cut soccer out, so he doesn't get out to the park as often with the kids anymore. Which also means he hasn't gone fishing as much. He did have the week Elly came home off and was able to take the older kids out fishing one day, and golfing another which they all enjoyed.

Which covers all but me, I have found myself lately repeating in my head "inspira, expira" not sure if it's spelled right, but it means breathe in, breathe out in latin. I took latin in high school and we learned all sorts of sayings. That is just one that stuck with my friends and I. So here I am, grateful that my doctor was proactive at Elly's delivery in starting me on some meds to help balance the stress, and reminding myself to just breathe. It seems there have been many mountains placed in our path lately and every time I think we are making progress something new comes along. I guess that is just life, and it happens to everyone, I just wish it were more spread out. It seems I don't have time to adjust to one thing before another hits. I know that we have been blessed and seen many miracles recently amid the stress, so I really have no right to complain... so here I will just continue along remembering to breathe and take it as it comes.

Other happenings worth mentioning, some friends threw us a baby shower when Elly came home. We received LOTS of diapers (that I am extremely grateful, especially now that we are soon to be jobless) and many cute outfits and blankets. We are truly blessed to have the greatest group of friends!!! Also my Mom, and sister came and spent a week here at the house with us. We all loved it! It was so great to have help around the house, and with the kids, and to just spend time together! And since we can't take Elly out and I've really been wanting to get family pictures they helped set up here at the house and snapped a bunch for us. Thanks guys!!!

So until next time, this is life as we know it...

A Long Overdue Update

It's been a month since I've posted any sort of real update...the problem is there just isn't enough hours in the day. Everything from before still needs to get done, plus I lose 3-4 hours between driving and Elly's visits, and another 3 or so hours is lost each day to pumping. By the end of the day I'm just exhausted, it's funny I thought I was tired before!

So here's the scoop...Elly is officially 2 months now. She hit 3 lbs on Christmas Eve and is 3 lbs 6 oz to date! It's amazing to see really! A 2 pound gain over 2 months on a regular person is not noticeable, but on such a small one it is so noticeable! She has been moved to a simple nasal canelia (spelling?) for her breathing. This has made holding her so much easier and nicer. It also means she doesn't have to wear all the head gear and has been able to wear some cute hats that were given to her. She has currently had her O's in the 20's between 21 & 25 depending on the day. This is GREAT progress, because it has been as high as 100 in the past! Also the normal air that we breathe is at 20, so she is really not getting too much assistance. She has had some more alert times lately, and we've been able to get a good look at her eyes. They are a beautiful deep blue. I still haven't been able to capture a great picture of them though because she opens them wide when it is dim, but then the pictures don't come out well because of lighting. If we turn on the lights for better pictures she squints up, and usually closes her eyes. We have been able to help give her a bath, which was fun. They filled her "tub" (those hospital basins they give you to throw up in) with warm water and a few drops of soap and used one of the oxygen tubes to make it bubble up, it was like a baby spa. I swear she was grinning in there with that ahhh look on her face. On the 23rd Santa visited the NICU which was fun. On Christmas we took her picture in her stocking, yes she fit with plenty of room to spare. Also on Christmas she got her first hold from someone other than me or Dave, they let my Mom hold her. Mom says that was the best Christmas gift. And that in a nutshell is the Elly news.

The other 3 have been keeping me busy, especially with the winter break and Jimmy being home from school. We've done projects, and played games, and kept up with things around the house. We have really wanted to do some play dates with friends, but Timmy has a cold and so we are steering clear of others for the time being. Due to the cold he has also been extra clingy which has made regular tasks difficult and drawn out. I think the best project so far has been the re purposing of their Halloween pumpkin patch pumpkins. They had been playing with them out front and stacked the up and called it frosty...so we made their imagination reality by painting and accessorizing the pumpkins...all from things we had around the house...

Mom, Dad, Laura, and Doug came here for Christmas and we really enjoyed their visit! The kids got their traditional Christmas Eve gift of new PJ's to wear...The "BIG" present this year was sea world passes for everyone. It made shopping real easy on us! We gave it to them early since Dave had the 2 days before Christmas off. They were definitely surprised! My favorite part is that it's a gift they can use year round without adding extra "stuff" around the house. We went for a few hours on the 23rd, and 24th. We saw the Christmas shows, and rode a few rides. Timmy loved the log ride and would of loved to do that all day. My fave was Christmas on Sesame street show. It took me back, I love Sesame street! And the costumes were soo good! I really just wanted to run up and hug cookie monster! I'm such a kid!

Before Mom and Dad left we went downtown one evening for dinner at one of Dad's fave spots, Schilo's Deli. It was yummy, and lots of fun! The kids loved the homemade root beer!

Over all we have had a busy, but good month. We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and wish you all a Happy New Year!

Elf Kids

Just a quick photo of my kids turned Elf thanks to Jill and some photo software. Check out those ears!!! Gave us all a laugh! Updates and pictures of Elly coming soon...just too tired tonight!