I'll Love You Forever

Last night I read Emma and Owen the book I'll Love You Forever before they went to bed. This is a beloved book of many children about a baby boy who's mom rocks him and says over and over how much she loves him and he'll always be her baby. It shows the baby growing to a toddler, then a bigger child, then a teenager and she is still rocking him and saying the phrase to him. Then, it shows her strapping the ladder to the top of her car, heading over to his house (he's now an adult), and climbing through the window to rock him.

It is a sweet story, however I have always found it a little creeping that she is rocking her adult son.....until last night. As I walked in to check on my children I was acutely aware of the moment. The rise and fall of each of their chests as they breathed the sweet breath of innocence. That innocence will not always be there. I watched their beautiful faces as they journeyed through dreamland, and my heart skipped a beat at the thought of them one day being grown. It made me want to take both of them out of their beds and rock them and sing to them and cherish the moment. It made me contemplate the future and what it would look like. Will Emma and Owen like to cuddle when they get older? Do you think they will mind their crazy mama climbing through their bedroom windows to rock them when they are grown?? ( I am kidding...I think).

For today, I am cherishing every moment with them. I delight in the world that they see, and I love to view it through their eyes as they learn new things every day. I pray that the innocence stays with them for as long as it can:).

Here's an attempt at photos this morning....how do you get BOTH children to cooperate?? UGH! Notice they are not looking at the camera (none of those turned out). However, this one is pretty sweet!

Happy Father's Day to all of you wonderful Dad's out there! I am so fortunate that my children have such a fantastic role model and a great dad! I was also lucky to grow up with a caring and compassionate father!

Have a great day:)

"I took my own medicine Mom"

I got out of the shower this morning to Miss Emma telling me, "I took my own medicine Mom". She kept reminding me that she needed to take it....and I kept getting side tracked (bad mom), so I guess...at 9:00 (an hour later than she usually takes it) she decided that she would just do it herself.

Now, I KNEW that Em couldn't open the pill bottles, so I brought her into the kitchen and I gave her the bottle and told her to show me how she took her own medicine. She said, OK I will....and went to Owen's diaper backpack (where I keep a baggie of extra medicine....3-4 Prograf capsules (immunosuppressant med due to liver transplant) and 3-4 Singulair tablets). The baggie was empty, and she proudly showed me the empty bag and said, "See, I took them all by myself" (with a huge smile).

So, a call to poison control and a couple of calls back and forth to transplant and all is well. We are to skip dosing tonight and tomorrow morning, but Emma is no worse for the wear...if anything it hyped her up a little more today.

That's my girl...always keeping me on my toes

Dieting:(

Can I I just say that dieting SUCKS!!! I have never been one that has needed to diet...until I had children. After I had Emma I was SO stressed that the weight literally just fell off (and then some). However, since I had Owen...not so much! I really feel that I NEED to lose about 15-20 lbs. and I hate it!! I am not good at dieting, and I don't like to excercise. I've been trying to drink more water and less soda, but it is not helping!! We have family pictures scheduled next month, and I am so afraid that I am going to hate them because I am not happy with the way that I look!!! AHHHHHH!!! Any tips??

Gimme a Break....Gimme a Break:)

Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat Bar:). OK...so actually today I'm feeling like I need a tiny little break from the special needs parenting world. Just a minor glimpse into that life that I just have a view from the sidelines...the "normal" life of other parents with small children.

Yes, I hit the all time high of parenting moments. Are you ready for it?? Fair warning...this post is NOT for the squeamish! So, we went to the swimming pool tonight. The whole family went. Emma actually did really well. She has always been afraid of the water, and tonight she walked in like she owned the place (we have a graduated pool...that is AWESOME). So, once she got to the point that it was getting a little deep, I handed her a floaty noodle and guided her around the pool. She was having a GREAT time....then, the water got into her mouth (Insert...BIG UH-OH)...for whatever reason, Emma cannot get unexpected water into her mouth or it causes her to vomit. Well, that's when it started. I knew it was coming, so I carried her out of the pool QUICKLY while cupping her mouth, then IT HAPPENED, she turned her head just right and shot the puke RIGHT INTO MY MOUTH (AHHHHH! YUCK!! Gross!) and we ran into the locker room, and into a private shower room...where she continues to vomit PROFUSELY all over me and her. At this point I am thinking that they have closed the pool to make everyone go home. I peaked my head out to see...everyone still swimming (including Tim and Owen). So, I get us cleaned up...and we go back to the pool.

So, we are having a good time now. Apparently, when Em got sick it went all over me as I was getting out...but we managed to miss the water (remember that I am the Supermama Puke Catching master...if you don't know what I'm talking about go to some of my earlier posts...circa 2005-2006-2007ish). Well, we go back to swimming. Tim and I switch kids, and I'm having a good time with Owen (who is a little FISH)...he LOVES the water and is so much fun. He dunks his head....no big deal...no big puking drama, right?? Well, that is until the Mama (who just fed the baby boy about an hour before) throws him up in the air numerous times (I know...what WAS I thinking??)). Yep, you guessed it...OWEN starts puking all over me as we run out of the pool. Same senerio (MINUS The in.my.mouth.part.thank.you.GOD!!!)

They STILL didn't close the pool, BUT we decided it was time to go. I'm sure they were glad to see our family go....glad that we are members:). Not sure that I want to go back REAL soon!

On another SN parenting note....Emma has been saying "What'd you say?" over and over and over and over and over. So, today I took her to the pediatrician and sure enough....she can't hear! Major fluid on the verge of infection. I never thought that I'd be glad to hear that she had fluid on her ears, but I was about to go crazy from the continual "What'd you say?". So, hopefully we can clear the fluid soon. We go to the ENT next month (10 hours away!), so they can tell us that we need to come back to get a tube put in:). I'll be glad when that is done:)

So, yes, I am up at 11:30PM because I needed a little extra ME time tonight. Call me selfish, but I just needed a moment to breath in and breath out and recollect my thoughts before closing my eyes to drift off to sleep.

Good Night!