No one warned me my last baby would grow at lightening speed! He is 6 months old and already hitting more milestones than I can keep up with. He has transitioned beautifully to the crib which is quite an accomplishment considering anytime I tried to put him in it, he threw such a fit that I would eventually cave and plop him back into his glider. I am sure it helps that he can roll around until his little heart is content which he could not do in his other thing. While I am so glad to have him in the crib (because the last time I picked him up in his glider, he was sitting up straight which meant he would soon figure out how to flip out of it head first), I will miss checking in on him to find his right fist pressed against his forehead and his left fist gripping the hair on the back of his head.
Three weeks ago he uttered his first "real" words. We were gearing up to celebrate Aunt M's birthday and check out a local festival and Kirkiez was suffering from an attack presumably brought on by a dish from our favorite New Mexican restaurant. While he was laid out in bed and I was frantically getting the kids ready for what was turning out to be an afternoon without the hubby, #4 said "dada". Ever since, he hasn't stopped showing off his new found one word vocabulary. I swear ever time he says it, I freak out as if it is the first time I have heard him because it is so darn cute!
He can also sit up with only the occasional tumble, roll the entire length of the family room within seconds, and loves bananas...I can't seem to shovel them in his mouth fast enough. In the last few weeks, he has been perfecting the push up which is quickly evolving into the prelude to crawling. Curious to see if he is a commando crawler, sit and scooter, or skips straight to all fours.
With my first child having finished kindergarten and gearing up for first grade, #2 preparing for 3 instead of 2 days of preschool, and #3 desperately wanting to do everything her older siblings do, my head is spinning. Will somebody please sloooooow dooooown the clock. I am turning 34 next week and feeling like my life is passing me by while I sit here trying to figure out where the heck it is going in such a hurry. So this summer, while we don't have school, alarm clocks, bus schedules, car pools and what not to restrain us, we are going to focus on enjoying every last second we have to do whatever it is that pleases us and hope that just for a little while we can challenge that clock to let us feel like we have the ability to slow it down...and just in case that doesn't work, I'll be sure to have the cameras charged up and ready to record those moments so that we can savor them as many times as our hearts desire without worrying that time once again slipped away from us before we were ready for it to do so.
Happy Summer Everyone!
Monkeys
Monkey #3
Monkeys #2 and #4
Monkey #4 loves to get himself stuck under the family room tables.
Monkey #1
Happy Father's Day
Thanks for being such a wonderful father and letting us make you sparkling shiraz, lobster tails, king crab legs, spinach/cuke/tomato/fresh moz salad, brownies, and blueberry flop. We love you Kirkiez!!!!
Take Me Out To Pasture
Ah the joys of aging. I didn't consider the 30's to be old, until I started falling apart at the seams. In between kids 3 & 4, I had a double umbilical hernia fixed, a tumor (the second odd vascular formation since the age of 10) removed from a pinky toe, and my tonsils removed which the ENT found out during the surgery were severely infected.
Having one's tonsils removed as an adult can be quite a task and made even more challenging when you spontaneously bleed but are reassured by the doc that as long as it isn't cups of blood, all is good. All surely was not good the morning I woke up to the cups of blood. The same spot that had been bleeding on and off for a week opened up and bled for several hours...a trip to the local ER turned into a trip to an ER an hour away because little did I know the doc did not have rights in our town. Thankfully the nurses at the local ER provided some comic relief when they thought Kirkiez looked familiar. Turns out they remembered him from when he was "dying" with a flu virus. During the ride to the 2nd ER, the ambulance tech had the nerve to say something to the effect that he didn't want me making a mess of his ambulance with the blood so he grabbed all sorts of towels and buckets. He is lucky I have a fairly decent sense of humor considering I had been experiencing this most uncomfortable problem for 3 hours. By the time we reached our destination, the bleeding had subsided, the doc was able to cauterize the spot and I talked the ER doc into letting me go home to my kids instead of spending the night with the promise that I would rest and pop iron pills to make up for the 2 units of blood I had lost. After a month of anemic dizzy spells, I was as close to normal as I could get.
Now, 2 years later and with my 34th birthday quickly approaching, I am going thru another lovely medical adventure. I have stumped the doc with the cause of the hip pain that has lingered since a fall down the stairs 3 years ago. I was carrying kid #2 when she was 6 months old I took a spill. I spared the kid any bumps and bruises and took the brunt of the fall in my hip. After 2 weeks of a limp that conjures pictures of that horrible horror flick Shocker, the pain transformed into a dull sensation that I attempted to pinpoint by getting an xray until I found out I was pregnant with kid #3. I never got that xray and am finally getting around to figuring it out what's going on. An xray has proved there weren't any breaks, so I now get to see an ortho. I'll probably be told I need one of those lovely steroid shots that feels so good and of course won't be able to get that until I am done nursing which will be in another 6+ months.
On top of the hip, I have a beautiful facial cyst that was born 1.5 years ago...the ortho I saw for my toe said cysts are very common for someone like me whose hormones have been on a roller coaster ride since I have been pregnant and/or nursing constantly since December 2000. Due to the location and nerves present, I was sent to a plastic surgeon who will remove it next week. His surgical partner is the one who reattached Bobbitt's member...guess I am in good hands. :)
And it doesn't end there, I got sick with Parvo (Fifth Disease) in the beginning of the year which made me anemic, I get my first permanant crown attached next week, and must find the time to schedule an MRI of my brain due to mysteriously smelling cig smoke that doesn't exist and occasionaly feeling dizzy enough to almost pass out. Kirkiez recently started a new position in a new group at work and taking time off to help watch the kids while I enjoy this wonderful medical adventure, isn't the easiest to do, plus his boss must think I am a train wreck....I sure do. I seriously thought I was losing it and did not tell a soul about the smoke smells until a week later when I was able to search the web and found other's who suffer from what is termed phantosmia. My gen pract sent me to the ENT when he felt a lump on one of my throat glands and saw a polyp in my nose. I was treated for a sinus infection and started taking Claritin, but the smell returned and now I get the MRI to rule out fun stuff like brain tumors.
So instead of feeling like celebrating yet another year, I feel like I should be taken out to pasture and put out my misery. I think I will either call it a night and retire extremely early or drink just enough cocktails to feel loopy enough to forget my worries, but not so much that I can't wake up in the morning and tend to my 4 lovely children who will be wild and rambunctious whether or not mommy has a headache.
Having one's tonsils removed as an adult can be quite a task and made even more challenging when you spontaneously bleed but are reassured by the doc that as long as it isn't cups of blood, all is good. All surely was not good the morning I woke up to the cups of blood. The same spot that had been bleeding on and off for a week opened up and bled for several hours...a trip to the local ER turned into a trip to an ER an hour away because little did I know the doc did not have rights in our town. Thankfully the nurses at the local ER provided some comic relief when they thought Kirkiez looked familiar. Turns out they remembered him from when he was "dying" with a flu virus. During the ride to the 2nd ER, the ambulance tech had the nerve to say something to the effect that he didn't want me making a mess of his ambulance with the blood so he grabbed all sorts of towels and buckets. He is lucky I have a fairly decent sense of humor considering I had been experiencing this most uncomfortable problem for 3 hours. By the time we reached our destination, the bleeding had subsided, the doc was able to cauterize the spot and I talked the ER doc into letting me go home to my kids instead of spending the night with the promise that I would rest and pop iron pills to make up for the 2 units of blood I had lost. After a month of anemic dizzy spells, I was as close to normal as I could get.
Now, 2 years later and with my 34th birthday quickly approaching, I am going thru another lovely medical adventure. I have stumped the doc with the cause of the hip pain that has lingered since a fall down the stairs 3 years ago. I was carrying kid #2 when she was 6 months old I took a spill. I spared the kid any bumps and bruises and took the brunt of the fall in my hip. After 2 weeks of a limp that conjures pictures of that horrible horror flick Shocker, the pain transformed into a dull sensation that I attempted to pinpoint by getting an xray until I found out I was pregnant with kid #3. I never got that xray and am finally getting around to figuring it out what's going on. An xray has proved there weren't any breaks, so I now get to see an ortho. I'll probably be told I need one of those lovely steroid shots that feels so good and of course won't be able to get that until I am done nursing which will be in another 6+ months.
On top of the hip, I have a beautiful facial cyst that was born 1.5 years ago...the ortho I saw for my toe said cysts are very common for someone like me whose hormones have been on a roller coaster ride since I have been pregnant and/or nursing constantly since December 2000. Due to the location and nerves present, I was sent to a plastic surgeon who will remove it next week. His surgical partner is the one who reattached Bobbitt's member...guess I am in good hands. :)
And it doesn't end there, I got sick with Parvo (Fifth Disease) in the beginning of the year which made me anemic, I get my first permanant crown attached next week, and must find the time to schedule an MRI of my brain due to mysteriously smelling cig smoke that doesn't exist and occasionaly feeling dizzy enough to almost pass out. Kirkiez recently started a new position in a new group at work and taking time off to help watch the kids while I enjoy this wonderful medical adventure, isn't the easiest to do, plus his boss must think I am a train wreck....I sure do. I seriously thought I was losing it and did not tell a soul about the smoke smells until a week later when I was able to search the web and found other's who suffer from what is termed phantosmia. My gen pract sent me to the ENT when he felt a lump on one of my throat glands and saw a polyp in my nose. I was treated for a sinus infection and started taking Claritin, but the smell returned and now I get the MRI to rule out fun stuff like brain tumors.
So instead of feeling like celebrating yet another year, I feel like I should be taken out to pasture and put out my misery. I think I will either call it a night and retire extremely early or drink just enough cocktails to feel loopy enough to forget my worries, but not so much that I can't wake up in the morning and tend to my 4 lovely children who will be wild and rambunctious whether or not mommy has a headache.
Sickiepoo and Picture Blues
Our weekend didn't turn out to be as fun and busy as we had hoped. #2 came down with a fever Saturday night so we had to cancel our plans to celebrate a friend's birthday and see a dance recital at my old high school. Instead, we hit the store to stock up on some kid medicine to help tonight go a bit smoother than last night and entertained ourselves with movies while waiting for the boys to get back and tell us all about their camping trip. To our surprise, they came home with zero, zip, zilch, not a one picture of their adventure. I was hoping to have some documentation on how #1's pastey white feet turned black or how his entire body gathered the layers of dirt and grime that littered the bottom of the tub.
#4 turned 6 months old today and this is the first time I failed to make cupcakes to celebrate. For each of the other 3, I did so and even topped each 6 month old's cupcake with rice cereal. So I will charge the empty video camera battery tonight, whip up a batch of the brownies, and celebrate him being 6 months and 1 day with brownie sundaes tomorrow. And, while he is the baby of the family, he will actually be able to experience a first that none of the others has had the luxury of sharing...his 6 month celebration will be the first to be documented on a blog. Okay, so it isn't an earth shattering first, but a first nonetheless.
#4 turned 6 months old today and this is the first time I failed to make cupcakes to celebrate. For each of the other 3, I did so and even topped each 6 month old's cupcake with rice cereal. So I will charge the empty video camera battery tonight, whip up a batch of the brownies, and celebrate him being 6 months and 1 day with brownie sundaes tomorrow. And, while he is the baby of the family, he will actually be able to experience a first that none of the others has had the luxury of sharing...his 6 month celebration will be the first to be documented on a blog. Okay, so it isn't an earth shattering first, but a first nonetheless.
Field Day/Split Lip/Cots/Another Bug
According to #1, field day was fun. The kindergarten race involved a "Home Depot" bucket (which means the buckets were orange) filled with water and sponges. They had to take a wet sponge to an empty bucket and squeeze the water out. Whoever got their bucket to full capacity was the winner (I am guessing it was a team rather than individual event). There was also a moon bounce. Other than that, I haven't been able to squeeze any other details from the little guy.
The bus ride home from a day of fun at school turned out to be less than stellar. Apparently the substitute driver's grandson punched him...which would explain the bloody lip. Kirkiez called the school and was referred to the Department of Transportation who told him they would review the tape (guess they have cameras on the buses) and get back to him.
Thinking the bus incident was the cause of #1's pathetic mood, I tried to convince him to perk up and promised him as soon as we got the cots, we'd head home to watch the new movie in the mailbox (Arthur and the Invisibles). His mood continued to deteriorate as I frantically attempted to find the cots, which thanks to the sales associate were found underneath some hanging sleeping bags. While I was excited to find them at the very first store we visited, they were substantially more than the $20 quote last night...try $49.99! But, they are pretty cool. #1 also convinced me to buy him a new headlamp and mini maglite...helping to give him a bit of a smile. Once home, I checked his temp and it was 102 and eventually hit 103.5!!! Hopefully he'll have the fever licked in time to go camping.
The bus ride home from a day of fun at school turned out to be less than stellar. Apparently the substitute driver's grandson punched him...which would explain the bloody lip. Kirkiez called the school and was referred to the Department of Transportation who told him they would review the tape (guess they have cameras on the buses) and get back to him.
Thinking the bus incident was the cause of #1's pathetic mood, I tried to convince him to perk up and promised him as soon as we got the cots, we'd head home to watch the new movie in the mailbox (Arthur and the Invisibles). His mood continued to deteriorate as I frantically attempted to find the cots, which thanks to the sales associate were found underneath some hanging sleeping bags. While I was excited to find them at the very first store we visited, they were substantially more than the $20 quote last night...try $49.99! But, they are pretty cool. #1 also convinced me to buy him a new headlamp and mini maglite...helping to give him a bit of a smile. Once home, I checked his temp and it was 102 and eventually hit 103.5!!! Hopefully he'll have the fever licked in time to go camping.
Field Day and Trail Magic
#1 set off to school this morning with a mohawk, suntan lotion, camo hat, and a yellow shirt to participate in his very first elementary school field day. He was a bit more ecstatic about this event before he took a spill yesterday attempting to take some bricks down the hill in a wagon that went out of control and rode over him leaving him with some scrapes to his knees, hands, and oddly enough, his chest. He walks perfectly fine when he doesn't think anybody is watching, but the minute he thinks he is within somebody's field of vision, the dramatics surface and all of a sudden he is limping and whining about "the pain."
After picking #1 up at the bus stop and hearing all the lovely details of field day. We will set off to drive all over Loudoun and possibly Fairfax county in search of this cot:
After picking #1 up at the bus stop and hearing all the lovely details of field day. We will set off to drive all over Loudoun and possibly Fairfax county in search of this cot:
for the 2007 Hogs Camp Gap Trail Magic adventure this weekend. I called several stores last night and supposedly two of the local Sports Authorities have them in stock. I am not so confident they actually have this specific cot. Both sales assistants put me on hold several times but I couldn't help the feeling they were twiddling their thumbs rather than actually looking for the cots. Several times they would take me off hold and answer the phone as if they had never talked to me before and asked how they could help me. I am also skeptical considering one of the associates assured me the cot was only $20. I can't seem to find any website listing it for less than $30 and most have it for $45.
This will be the second time #1 and the hubby partake in the wilderness adventure with Katita and Naton. #1 finds it hilarious that he gets to "go" in a hole in the ground...the very first memory he conjured up the other day when discussing his upcoming camping trip. The rest of us will join one of these years. Aside from the fact that our 6 month old has yet to sleep thru the night in anything other than his Fisher Price glider that could work in a tent if it weren't for the noise 3 other children would make....I am not ready to hear #2 complain that she wants to go to her bed at midnight 3 hours away from home. #3 would probably be fine, but getting her to sleep somewhere other than in a room by herself means at least an hour of her throwing anything she can get her hands on at those who are trying to sleep or get her to calm down (learned that the painful way when she whacked me on my brow bone at Nana's house over spring break).
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