They Make me Smile

I know all moms out there have these cute stories- the ones that you think about often, tell coworkers, tell family. The ones that are so heartwarming that they seem to melt away the not so heartwarming ones(aka the kids have gone crazy and are taking me with them!)

So here a few of my recent faves…

• We have been having family sessions of “RockBand”.  Dan plays guitar, I usually sing, and Leah is on drums. K toddles around either dancing or trying to rip the drumsticks out of Leah’s hands.  The other night, we “rocked out” to Bon Jovi’s Livng on a Prayer. I am sure we sounded awesome!! LOL. The following morning as we were rushing around, running late as usual, L was singing -”I’m a cowboy, on a SeaHorse I ride”. I was cracking up and trying to hide the fact that I was cracking up. 
• K woke up this morning and as soon a I picked her up I could tell she was looking for Leah. I brought her downstairs and sat her next to L on the couch.  She leaned right over and gave her two kisses on her cheek. Then they hugged.  Priceless moment.
• When we were at the pedi last week for K’s one year check up and L’s flu shot(Thanks Corzine!), L had to use their bathroom. As we were walking to towards it, a gentleman came out. We went in and L noticed that the seat was up. She looked at, laughed, and said ” Look Mommy! I guess he has a bigger butt”.  It was too funny!!

Some days get hectic. Some days get nuts with juggling work, 2 kids, house work, hubby time, etc. Some times its all can get downright overwhelming. But there are those moments that stop me in my tracks- and make me fall in love with my family all over again. 

What are your favorite mommy moments?

My Pumpkins Painting Pumkins

Please note- Leah actually POSED for this action shots.

 

This weekend we hit the pumpkin patch at Leah’s preschool- so more pics to come!

Soapboxes and Perspective

I am not one to push my views on people. I have definate opinions on many things.  I have waffling opinions on many others.  I know there are 3 sides to every situation…and I like to refrain from judging unless I have all the facts.  Even then, I try to keep my judgements to myself.

I do feel I need to say that I respect people’s own opinions, decisions, or how ever else you may word it. Whether its a political debate, a decision on whether to breastfeed or not, or something else like whether to date the guy everyone told you to stay away from- it’s all up to you. 

I do not feel sorry for that baby with a bottle in his or her mouth just because I breastfeed. But I feel sad for any baby who does not know love, no matter how its nutrional needs were met.

I do not feel like an ” I warned you!” is necessary when my friend’s relationship, supposedly doomed from the beginning, ends in turmoil.  But I feel sad she feels pain.

I do not gage a person’s integrity by how they chose their political candidate. But I do hope they respect that others may have differing views.

When I get passionate about something, its hard to understand how everyone else can’t see my point of view! How can they not be as excited as I am?!  But I have to keep in mind that we ALL have or passions.  We all have our own perspectives that may have been shaped from when we were very young, our own experiences.  Like our fingerprints, we all are unique.

So I am not going to write about who I will vote for, whether I think the bailout was a good idea, or whether I am for the death penalty or not. But I will write that I respect that however I feel, not all will agree with me. And that is ok. I do, however, ask for that same courtesy in return.

The O’Connell Family Playhouse

My Leah loves stories. She loves preforming as well. Thanks to a project she does in preschool, called Doing Stories, she has perfected the art of telling a story and acting it out. She has an amazing imagination.

One night last week, she announced at bed time that we, meaning the whole family, were going to do a play and needed to practice. She meant business.

So last evening, we wrote out our play. Well, to better describe this- she told me her play and
I wrote it down.  DH, Leah, K, and myself all had parts. We acted out her play and had a fun time. But it wasnt over then! Not with  our Leah.

We decided our play was meant to be seen by a larger audience than teddy bears. We called our families over- giving them less than 2 hours notice. We were so happy that everyone was able to drop everything and come over at such short notice.

 We made props, got tickets ready, and costumes prepared. We even printed out Programs, complete with an Autographs Section. Tickets cost $1.00 per person, although we did have a special for 25 cents. L waited at the door to collect the money and give out tickets. Her piggy bank was all set up next to her.  She then handed out the programs.

We converted the living room into our playhouse. And everyone took their seats. The play went off without a hitch- all 5.5 minutes of it. As we took our bows, Leah was beaming.  My sister even had brought her a rose to give to our star.

Once we had concluded our play with a picture taken session, it was time for cake. Leah had told us while we were preparing our play, that everyone would eat cake once it was over. Without time, or ingrediants, to make one up- DH ran to Stop N Shop for a bakery cake. He even had them write on it- The O’Connell Play.

I am not certain what part of the evening was the most special. It could have been or family all coming over, dropping their previously made plans, to join us. Or maybe it was the 4 of us working on this together(OK- K didnt do too much outside some babbling). It may have been L’s story itself- full of all the things she loves.

Whatever the reason, the O’Connell Family Playhouse came alive last night. Critics agree it was an incredible show. Tickets go on sale soon for our next story written by our own playwright.

Because There are No Words

This post is 3 days late. And for good reason.  I have thought alot about what I would write to explain the emotions I feel, but I am unable to come up with words that truly express them.

My Kaylin turned one years old on the 8th.  One year.

One year ago, I laid in a hospital bed, 35.5 weeks pregnant. I had been admitted a week prior, told that I needed to be hospitalized for the duration of my pregnancy.  It was a crazy time. My mom was also in a hosptial, an hour away, having just had heart surgery.  My Leah was 3.5 and was without her momma. And I was unsure of how our baby, who was nameless at the time, was doing. Her amniotic fluid had gone to a dangerously low level, I was contracting, and her placenta was in a precarious state.

That pregnancy had started out…turbulent. I knew from the start it was going to be a bumpy ride. It was a feeling I had and was confirmed when I started bleeding only 1.5 weeks after I learned I was pregnant. Bleeding turned into hemmoraging. And I was certain, positive, that I had a miscarriage. Not wanting to be bothered with doctors or nurses at that moment, I opted to not goto the doctors to confirm this. However, I did get my blood drawn after the weekend to make sure my HCG levels were decreasing. That night I had terrible back pain.

The next morning, the nurse called to say my levels were not decreasing. They had doubled. I must admit I had a glimmer of hope as I headed to the doctors for an ultrasound, even though common sense told me there was no way I could be pregnant. I will forever remember the doctor words as he did the ultrasound- well, there is something there. And it has a heartbeat.

She had made it.

There were many more scary days and close calls during my pregnancy with K. And ultimately, I ended up needing a hysterectomy and an ovary removed during her delivery. She was early, but amazing.

I will never forget that feeling I had on the day she was born. Gratitude. I never knew the full meaning of the word until then.  And now, a year later, my heart still pounds a little harder whenever I think of all she and I have been through together.

So Happy Birthday Baby K, you are forever my Rocky.

Synchronized Swimming?

I look back at the birth of my first daughter, Leah, and I remember being shocked at how her arrival changed my marriage. Prior to L’s entrance, we spent lots of time snuggling, chatting, and just plain ole hanging out together. Well, when people say Make Room for Baby- they mean, make room for this little all powerful being taking over your lives as you know it.  Where my husband used to rest his head on my lap was a nursing baby. Where we laid in bed, in the center, was replaced with a pillow for my back as I side nursed all night.  Our funny conversations turned to discussions of night time parenting, bath time schedules, and diaper cream.

We still loved each other of course, and in many ways more deeply than before.  And even though we never had to Work at keeping those lines of communication open prior to kids, we knew now we had to keep that a priority. When we get too tired or crazy busy, its harder to make sure we are still in the game- our game.

Kaylin arrived nearly a year ago. And with 2 kids to care for, I grew increasingly worried that our relationship would feel alot of strain.  So we are really making sure that we remember how this whole family of our’s even got started- US!

Thanks to my Gardener Friends, we have come up with several new and improved ideas for making ‘us’ a priority like we do our kids. First, for the sake of everyone, we have moved up bedtime a bit for the girls. This leaves us a tad more time before DH has to hit the hay. To keep things fun- we have a great time texting one another all sorts of fun while we are away from one another. Again, keeping those lines of communication open, having some laughs, and making sure we know we are a priority to one another. Yes, our kids are our number one- we put them first. But we are swimming along together in all of this. And I can’t think of a better swimming partner than him.

A Kind Heart.

My 4 year old amazes me every day.

Tonight I decided to break one of my house rules and allow her to have a sugary snack just before bed. I told her it was a special treat because I was so proud of her for really using her words tonight. To explain- she has had some major whiny moments the last few evenings and the sounds make my skin crawl like nails on a chalk board. But tonight she stayed calm when things werent going her way and talked through them with me- a practice we are still perfecting on both our ends.

She asked for her special snack to be “mommy’s favorite cookies”. After figuring out she meant OREO’s, I said she could have 3. She was delighted. She whispersed something to Dan, who got them out for her while I nursed the baby on the couch. Then she came up to me with the biggest grin. She gave me one of the OREO’s. Instantly, my eyes filled with tears. I know. I know. I cried over THAT! But think about it- she was so excited to eat cookies at bedtime, but knew they would make me happy and selflessly shared with me. She had nothing to gain by doing so, other than making me happy. And I was- not because I even wanted a cookie, but because she is an amazing kid.

 She has such a kind heart.

If only it were that easy…

I watch alot of news. So the 4 year old is exposed to all sorts of topics way over her little 40 inch high head.

She has learned who Obama is, and is starting to remember who McCain is. Sidenote: Its obvious to me that she sees Obama alot more on TV only because the media gives him far more attention than McCain- whether or not this is a good thing remains to be seen.

So she asked me about these guys. I told them they both wanted to become president and that people would have to decide who they want to chose. Her answer? OK- lets do Eeny Meeny Miney Moe!

Morning.

My 10month old climbed into the shower with me while I was rushing to get ready for work. I had no time and needed both my hands, but she insisted on being in there and being held. I picked her up, frazzled and feeling frustrated. Well, she promptly put her head on my chest and her free arm out under the water. And stayed like that. Nestled in. I can only imagine how cozy and safe she must have felt.
I was 20 minutes late for work- and worth every second of it.

Butterflies

My Leah loves to understand things. She needs to really. If she doesn’t, she will beg for me to explain the mystery to her. Or she will rationalize an explanation on her own.

Recently, its butterflies. She knows they were once caterpillars that have changed. She knows what a cocoon is. So she has it all figured it. She explained to me that once the caterpillar is in the coccoon, she takes wipes of different colors and rubs them on her body. They stick and she has beatiful colorful wings.

Her explanation was so sweet.  And I found myself tearing up.  There was something so very innocent- such a feeling of childhood in her story.  I love that her life is filled with thoughts of butterflies.