Playin' Catch Up

   Yeah, I know, I haven't posted in a while. Its been crazy busy around here. Just to catch up- Dustin had his 2 month check up and weighed almost 13 pounds, Samie has officially quit wearing diapers during the daytime, and Ella is talking in full sentences.
  One day last week, for about the 4th time that day, Samie announced that he was wet and told me that I needed to change him. I had ENOUGH! I said, "No. If you can tell me everytime you pee, and that I need to change you, then you are old enough and smart enough to go in the potty. I am not putting any more diapers on you until bedtime. You will not wera any mor diapers during the day, only at night in your bed." I took the dirty diaper off of him, and set him down. He looked so puzzled. He kept saying, "Mama, somethings wrong. I need a diaper." I stayed calm but firm and kept reminding him that I wasn't giving him anymore diapers until bedtime. I reminded him that if he felt the need to potty, he should go in the bathroom. He kept begging, and eventually quit asking for a diaper and started asking for a pull-up. I told him, "No. Everytime I give you a pull-up you pee in it just like a diaper." He kept begging, so I told him "We don't have anymore of your pull-ups because you peed in all of them." He kept begging, so I told him he could wear underwear if he would go to the potty. That was that! He has been wearing undies and going to the potty ever since! Just a diaper for naps and nighttime. Guess what else? He hasa fit about having to wear a diaper to bed! He doesn't want to wear a diaper at all anymore!
   Livie and Ella have been quite the little tag team. Now that Ella is talking more, they have been playing so cute together, and coming up with some really funny things to say!
   Hopefully things will calm down a little and I can get on here and blog more regularly so that I can remember all the little things. But for now, here is a pic of our typical Saturday morning that I hope to repeat every week for the rest of their childhood. I love our Saturday mornings SO much!

Every Saturday morning (and sometimes on Sundays too) they all pile in our bed and cuddle and play for about 30 minutes to an hour before we all go out to the kitchen for breakfast.

Havin' a Fit

 Friday night we made our 3,000th trip to the grocery store. Dustin was unusually fussy in the BH mei-tai, so Matt put the 3 toddlers in his buggy and I pushed the grocery buggy. Of course, the kids were bored and tired, and starting to get antsy, so Matt was driving that buggy like a madman. He was slamming around every corner, flying up behind me and suddenly stopping, barely missing my ankles. The kids thought it was just hilarious, but I cringed everytime he did it because I have had my ankles clipped with the front end of a buggy, and it HURTS. I was getting really annoyed and turned and said, "Could you just stop already?!?" Okay, so maybe the kids weren't the only ones getting tired and cranky. Samie looked at me and, in his most grown-up voice he could muster, he said, "Now don't you start havin' a fit." Oh my gosh! I wonder where he heard that before...............

 Saturday we finally got our bedroom set up how I like it, and all the cloth diapers organized! I was VERY happy about that because I was to the point that I was dreading everytime I had to go in there. And don't even get me started on how hard it was to change diapers in there with things spread out all over the place, only half un-packed, tripping over things, it was an obstacle course. By the time you got to the changing table, and found everything you needed, you had long lost the courage to face what was lurking in that diry diaper in the first place! The other 2 issues we were having were: 1) I need my diaper sprayer! One of them is still attached to the toilet at mom and dad's, and the other one is still hooked up at our house in Florida. I even tried to see if the kids' showerhead would work for this, but the hose on it was not nearly long enough to reach the toilet. 2) Everytime I went to change the baby, I'd open the wipe warmer...EMPTY! I don't know why Matt never says anything if he uses the last one. So then, I'd have to close the dirty diaper back up, grab some clean wipes out of the dryer, and mix up some more wipe solution, then go climb back throgh the maze of boxes to attempt the diaper change ALL OVER AGAIN. AND, if it was a #2, I had to go "get rid of it" without my sprayer! ACK! So, now that the room is unpacked and organized, and everything for changes is right at arm's reach, the next step will definately be getting my hands on a sprayer!

 Another big thing happened yesterday. We finally got an appointment card in the mail for Samie to see a pediatric GI!!! The only downside is that the earliest they could get him in was February 22nd. Anyway, I'm just thrilled that we finally got in.
 This morning has been wonderful. Honestly, as stressed out as Matt and I have been, I really think this morning we were able to put it out of our minds for a few hours and just enjoy our Sunday morning as a family. I felt like it was Christmas- the kids all came into our bed this morning, the toddlers were taking turns holding Dustin and talking to him, kissing on him, they all got along so well, and were playing so nicely, no fighting, and Matt made breakfast. It has been so good.

Beautiful, Not Boring

 Dustin's eyes finally turned brown! We waited 7 weeks to find out what their final color would be, and just this morning I noticed they turned brown. Even last night, they still had a greyish-bluish-green look to them. When I saw his eyes this moning, it was the first time in my life that I saw brown eyes as a beautiful thing. My husband and our other three kids all have blue eyes, so I (being the only brown-eyed one) was beginning to feel left out. Growing up, most people I knew had brown eyes, so I had always thought that brown eyes were so common and uninteresting. All of that changed today! Dustin's eyes are certainly interesting. They are not plain, solid brown. They kept a slight greenish hue that really shows in sunlight.

 Livie blew our minds last night. I rarely ever call her by her full name, so if you ask her what her middle name is, she normally can't remember. I was calling the kids to the table for dinner, and everyone was there in a flash, ready to eat......except for Livie. I, half being silly, half serious, called for her again saying, "Olivia Suzanne Clemons!!" She came down the hallway really prissily and said, "That's my name!" (said in the tone of a popular teenage reply of "Thats my name, dont wear it out"). Matt and I just looked at each other speechless.

 We are planning to go back to the park again this afternoon. Hopefully everyone can have a good time without any broken bones or reactions to the toxic wood chips. I watched "The Talk" a few days ago, and they were talking about how kids are exposed to so many more toxic chemicals these days, and the sources of some of those chemicals. I probably shouldn't have watched it, because I am already a little bit concerned about this stuff. Anyone can look at the huge increase in cancer and infertility in young people over the last three generations, and you know smething isn't right. But the show made me want to just get rid of everything! It was crazy. For example, do you remember the huge recalls they had about a year ago because of BPA? They were recalling basically everything plastic that you eat or drink out of, including baby bottles and pacifiers. Well, according to the pediatrician on the show, baby formula cans are still lined with substances containing BPA, even after the recalls! That made me kind of angry. All these people went and replaced their baby's bottles thinking they were protecting their kid, just to find out that the formula going into the new bottle was still tainted. 

 Well, it's time for the kiddos to go to nap (Yay for mama!).

Samie's Labwork Follow-Up

 Well, today we went back to the doctor's office to hear about Samie's lab results from his bloodwork two weeks ago. Basically it was just a repeat of everything we've already been through- no c. diff., no h. pyloree, and all other labs were normal. Now, onto the GI doctor, which is where we had left off in Florida. They told us to continue his Zantac for reflux, and the GI will be checking him for Celiac, Crohn's, and God only knows what else. Samie told the nurse practitioner what his reflux feels like, "I have a froggy in my tummy. And he jumps like this, 'ribbit', all the way up to my head." Poor baby. I just want to know what's wrong so he can feel better.

 I laid down when the kids went to nap because this sore throat is kicking my butt! When we got up, everyone was going crazy. All four kids were crying for different things: Dusitn to be fed, Ella for juice, Livie to be wiped ( there's nothing like hearing your child screaming from the potty, "Mama! Come wipe me!"), Samie to be changed. It was a madhouse for about thirty minutes. After that, it did finally start to calm down until Matt got home from work. Praise the Lord! Matt cooked dinner! I have to say, he did pretty good- bacon, biscuits, and an omelet. That might not have been a smart idea on his part, because now I know that he CAN cook. LOL.
  

Happy New Year(?)

  It's new year's day, and I wish I could be more optimistic, but right now all I can think is, "God, please let this year be better than last year." On one hand, the kids and I are in Texas with Matt instead of him being in Korea like last year. On the other hand, I'm  almost 1,000 miles from my family and friends, the house still hasn't sold and no longer has renters, and we are STILL unpacking ( UGH!!!). I'm hoping whole-heartedly that things will turn around this year. Technically, last year wasn't ALL bad. We celebrated Ella's 1st birthday, the twins' 2nd birthday, and the birth of Dustin. However, we also lost someone dear to us, had decreases in Matt's BAH ( housing allowance) while at the same time taking on an extra rent, and I had to leave everyone and everything I'm used to. We will see what this year has in store.
  I do have several goals ( not resolutions, they only last a week or two) for this year. After being pregnant for the majority of the past 3 years, our family is complete, and I can refocus on getting healthier. Also, Matt and I have made a savings account so that hopefully we can have some money in savings the next time an unexpected cost arises. Then, maybe we won't be starting off next year as stressed out as we are starting out this year! We also have some personal goals, and wishes for the year. I know most people probably don't make wishes for the new year, but I figure, what can it hurt? My three wishes are ( in this order!): 1) I wish that Samie gets a definitive diagnosis for his stomach problem, as well as a treatment, so that he can finally feel better and start growing. He was up until 1:30AM last night, and several times throughout the night, because of stomach pain. 2) I wish for the house to sell. I really love that house, and it really felt like home to me, but we have no idea if or when Matt will ever leave the Army, and even if he left tomorrow, it just isn't big enough for a family of 6. Besides, where would we send the kids to school? 3) I wish for Matt to fill out his flight packet, turn it in, and get accepted. Not only would it be a great career move for him, but it would also send us MUCH closer to home!