Mirror mirror on the wall....

Finch: Mom, I have to go look in the mirror.
Finch: OOOooh!!  I am BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

On!

No, this has nothing to do with certain rival football teams.  Angel really, really, really wanted to wear the red one....and then Seraph wanted one, too.
Seraph has been sticking up for herself more lately.  Angel was drinking from Seraph's sippy cup earlier...and Seraph made a HUGE stink about it.
 She's also tall enough to grab all the spoons out of the drawer and throw them on the floor.  She pretends she doesn't know she's not supposed to do it, but I know better!
I used to avoid putting Seraph in blue at all costs....(it makes her skin look even more purple)...but she loves this jacket and often brings it to me and makes me put it on her.  and I'm a sucker for every bit of effort she puts into communication.

Seraph's Vocab

 Words: moo, meow, ruff, tweet, oh oh, up, down, jump, more, purple, thank you, ma, da, Elmo, blue, woah!

We watched the first half of the game.  Go team Go!!!

What I did NOT do today

• I did not rush Seraph to the hospital when I saw that the bruise over her eye had doubled in size over night
• I did not take pictures of Beautiful Rabbit sledding in the foothills
• I did not send off the final full-color illustration for a book 
• I did not get the kids to go to sleep (or even stay in their beds) at bedtime
• I did not watch a zombie kiss garlic or hug a walnut tree.
• I did not watch the series finale of Medium for the third time
• I did not withhold any tears while watching that finale for the second time
• I did not cover Angel's entire bed with duct tape
• I did not make lasagna for breakfast
• I did not have a bad day

What I did today

• found the what I did today blog
• played make-up with my "dolls"
• "camera me!"
• tickled Bear
• ate sushi
• a little shower/water therapy with Seraph
• listened to that lil stinker (Seraph) empty the spoons out of the drawer ....twice!
• reminded the kids about the "no water out of the tub" rule and made them clean it up.
• walked Bear to the corner for school
• hugs and kisses
• "run for our lives!" (that's what Finch says every time she flushes the toilet....and you just have to run! She grabs her pants on the way out...and comes back to wash hands)
• learned about a heart defect that doesn't affect my life
• opened a late Christmas present that was beautiful (and my favorite color) with a note that make me LOL (thx, M)
• watched the first Yin/Yang episode of Psych w/ Beautiful Rabbit.
• mourned the loss of "Dora Saves the Day" because of a huge scratch......though Dora will always be with us in our hearts.....and also with us because Angel can recite the whole thing start to finish and does so almost every night at bedtime and then again at 4am.
• ran out of room on my camera's memory card!
• enjoyed being happy

Not again!

I have sooo many things crammed into each day.  That doesn't count changing diapers or dealing with icky insurance problems.  So I'm big on multitasking.  But, kids know when they're being multitasked.  They know you're not really comforting them if you're clicking your mouse.....or not really reading them the book if you're folding laundry. You can double up too much and then no one feels like they got any time even though really everyone got all the time.
So, today I did it the other way.  Instead of juggling all the kids, I grabbed the closest one and gave her 10 minutes of all my attention.  It was Angel.
She taught me a new game: you say "not again" with different nuances giving it a slightly different meaning each time you say it.  Clever girl.
Later I gave most of my attention to Finch (while I was preparing meds).
Instead of trying to split my attention fairly, I tried to give it out in bigger/more focused chunks.
Potty training went better.
The girls were happier.
I'm happier.

Ooops...

Made the mistake of showing Finch how silly she looks when she's jumping up and down for the picture!

How do the kids know to be wild and crazy at bedtime when Dad's working late?
Strong Bear read bedtime stories to Finch tonight while I took care of the twins.  Wow, it's nice to have another reader in the family!

Plant Soilers!

My cute lil zombies love it when their cousins visit!  It's like a bright sunflower bringing us rays of sunshine...with really cool music in the background!
Hope to see more of you soon :)

Under a Mountain of Laundry...

I got bit by the cleaning bug today!  I moved my bed to clean and vacuum under it. The kids cleaned their room:

Mom: is your room all clean?

Bear: yep

Mom: so, everything is off the floor and I can vacuum now?

Bear: oh, nope.

Mom: hey, why did you put your clothes in the garbage bag?

Bear: I didn't know you didn't want me to throw away my clothes!!!

Mom: is your room clean now?

Bear: all clean

Mom: so I can vacuum?

Bear: umm....maybe

Mom: you wanna go check?

Bear: well, Finch wasn't helping!!

....[etc]

Go Team!

Watched the Jets with my lil football fan today.  Sexy Haqon watched the game with us - rooting for the wrong team just to spice things up.
The kids also played a game where they stack all the pillows on the floor and then run and jump over the pillows or knock them down.  At one point, they let the twins have a go.  Seraph was crazy happy to be included in the game.  Rabbit dropped her off on the couch afterwards and she couldn't stop jumping.  Angel just ran to jump on the pillows again and again. I love our couch!

Delightful Finch: Camera me!!!

 

Dinner time

Silly Seraph

Dinner came early tonight because Mommy was craving pancakes at 4pm.  Seraph had pancakes, eggs, pumpkin-spread, and cereal.  She hated every moment...but was back to smiles for the camera.  Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever have another peaceful meal.  ...but who am I kidding - meals weren't that peaceful before we started force feeding Seraph!
She's more and more grown up all the time.

Dress up

princesses

The kids played dress up tonight....and then marched downstairs all together to show Dad.  Ooops, guess they forgot Dad worked late and wasn't home yet.  Good thing I got lots of pictures!

Doctor Visit: GI

I thought Seraph's cardiologist trumped everyone else.  I was wrong!  Seraph's Gastrointestinal (GI) doctor says Seraph is on a good track for her weight and height gain and that she won't be 30 lbs by May.  Cardiologist wanted her to be 30 lbs in May for her next surgery.  I guess the surgery will be later.
I also learned that Seraph's stomach empties very slowly.  This is why she's been having trouble with the last 3rd of her feed.  I need to feed her (thru the g-tube) over 40-45 minutes. I told the doctor straight up that it's just not going to happen.  We agreed to a modified feed where I do 1/3 of the feed and then go do something else for 20 minutes and then repeat until her feed is done.
I thought she'd be happier on this schedule, but she HATES being bugged so many times.  I have high hopes that she'll get used to it.
The doctor also asked me if she'd been vomiting.  No. I asked him if vomiting was common in cardiac kids and he said yes.  He didn't know why - mumbled something about organs not getting enough oxygen for extended periods of time. He wants to see her again in 4 months.
It's still kinda funny to me that we're hoping Seraph will *become* a picky eater.

What did I say??

B: Mom, can I have some gold fish [crackers]?
Mom: You haven't finished your dinner!  You need to clean your plate before you can have any goldfish.
B: Mom, my plate is clean. [lasagna having been dumped in the sink] Now can I have goldfish?
Mom:  ooops...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
poor word choice on my part.  No, this wasn't delightful Finch...but I love this picture of her.  I bought my current camera so I could take pictures of her that aren't blurry.  That girl can NOT hold still when she's happy.

The Bedtime Games

Tonight we put the kids to bed.....
and they just kept coming back downstairs.  Finally I put Bear and Finch to bed for the last time.  Under no circumstances where they to get up for any reason.  If they got out of bed again, I'd close the door. (the lightbulb in their room is not working, so closing the door is a big threat.) If I had to come up again after the door was closed, no computer or iPad for either of them tomorrow. Less than a minute later.....I see a rope-like object dangling over the side of the stairs accompanied by giggles.  Unbelievable!!!
Finch hurt her leg running back to bed.
It didn't help that Seraph was outside their bedroom door playing.  Angel slept through all of this.  She's an angel :) [Seraph goes to bed later than the other kids....but that's a story for another day]

Ouch

Beautiful Rabbit:  Tickle me!!

Mommy had a migraine today.  ...til about 7pm
I bet my kids learned some new phrases...like, "no, I can't do that.  My head hurts" and "ouch, ouch - you're kicking me in the head!!" It was great fun - they'd copy the new phrases and then giggle and scream. /sigh
They'll rotate them into their playtime this week.
silly gooses!

Snip and Load

long hair [B.Rabbit: Mom, that picture is awesome!!Seriously, he looks like...older.  Kinda like he's in a spy movie.]

short hair

Strong Bear.  Spy movies aside, it was getting waaaaay too long and I'm happy to have it short again.
We also tested the nerf guns with a full on war against Dad.  It was awesome!!

The Gal in Charge

Delightful Finch woke me up this morning to tell me that she didn't want diapers any more and she was going to wear princess underwear today.  She'd already taken off the (completely dry) diaper from last night and was fully dressed. I guess that's the end of that.  Even with the weird week, she's still easier to potty train than her brother :p
Happy the weekend is here!
People are starting to get ready for CHD Month (February)....I can't think of anything I want to do to promote CHD awareness aside from drawing more hearts.  ...and I'm already doing that, so I'm not sure it counts..heh!
Seraph has an appointment with her GI doctor next week.  He'll check her G-tube and see that her eating/weight gain is on track.

One little, two little, three little...

ninjas-in-training

Delightful Finch woke me up around 5am.  She seemed upset but I couldn't understand what she was saying.  I gave her hugs, told her the sun wasn't up yet, and sent her back to bed. Two hours later I came downstairs to find her eating dry cereal and watching Dora.
I'm pretty sure she just stayed up.  She's crashed on the couch tonight. I hope she isn't having nightmares again.
She still refuses to use any potty but the one in the kids' bathroom.  Instead of diapers or pull-ups, I've been putting her in swim diapers. They're great because they really don't work.  She peed in the first one and it leaked all over and ran down her leg which totally freaked her out.  Since that first time she's been keeping the swim diapers bone dry.  She comes and tells me when she needs to go potty....almost like she's asking for permission.  She hasn't gotten to the point where she just goes by herself.  I'm plan to leave her in the swim diapers for a week or two.
Seraph's speech therapist came today with lots of presents!  (little cups of food!) We discovered that Seraph hates Nutella and deviled chicken slightly less than she hates other food. She also cries when she's thirsty and can't reach her sippy-cup.  She points and tugs on your hand 'til you get in the right spot and hand it to her.
We watched Dora the Explorer while waiting for the therapist to arrive.  Seraph picked up some new words: "backpack" and "ya!!"
It was a good day :)

Meatloaf, please!

We started a new thing for dinner last week.  7 people in my family...so each person gets a night to be in charge of dinner.  (Mommy is their helper!) It's been crazy fun. The kids love measuring, stirring, and especially picking what to have. I get to kick everyone out of the kitchen save the ONE person in charge of dinner.

Tonight Delightful Finch is making meatloaf. We had it last week, and the kids loved it so much they wanted to have it again.  Beautiful Rabbit declared it the week of yummy dinners every night.  and Strong Bear said I'm the best mom he's ever known. (which, of course, is totally true!)
-----------------
Finch [kneeling in front of the oven staring at the meatloaf]: I did a great job, Mom!

Peace

Seraph didn't scream during every second of dinner tonight.  She didn't scream at all.  Not even when I shoved beans and stars in her mouth.  She took it out straight away and played with it!
Her new speech therapist missed our last two appointments.  But, she's assured me that she's coming this week - we have a standing appointment.  To be fair, the first miss was because she was sick...and the second was because she was snowed in!
Excited to see how Seraph acts around the therapist this week.
She's been sneaking sips from her cup instead of dumping all of it on the floor lately. Yay!

Babies take naps

my "sleeping" princess

Delightful Finch is having some potty trauma.  It started around Christmas time...and it's getting worse and worse.  After being completely potty trained for a month, she's having accidents without realizing it.  She's terrified of some (but not all) of the potties in our house.  The scary toilets rotate a bit.
I put her back in diapers...but she still tries to hold everything in til she can go potty.  So, we have to take off the diaper for potty breaks at various intervals.
No fever, no pain. Trying to get her to drink more water - with some success.  However, it hasn't changed anything.
I can't figure out what's going on with her.  Any ideas?

Two's

Seraph & Angel 1/2/11

Nope, they're not in a corner for being naughty.  That's where we had our Christmas tree.  The couch is all pushed back funny to make space for it....and now there's just nothing there!  I'm thinking of leaving it because I like funny spaces for playing.

I still have lots of things on my every day this year list...like exercising...and hugging my kids.  I lost the licorice, though. (that's what happens when you pig out on New Years'.

The kids go back to school tomorrow.....

and I still can't find my keys!

wish me luck :)

Happy New Year!!

Seraph & Angel

Things I've done every day in 2011 (so far):

• Played Castle Ravenloft and Castle Panic
• Slept in!
• prayed
• read scriptures
• hugged my kids
• ate licorice
• Exercised
• watched Sexy Haqon make dinner
• watched the kids play with their cousins
• killed half my pet fish then brought them back to life
• read Lee Childs
• watched Psych
• washed dishes
• updated my blog!!