The Last 7 Days....

These last 7 days have been hectic to put it mildly...we have had so much going on between school starting, sick animals, dr's visits, etc....our heads have been spinning..hahahaha!  I feel like we have just been going non-stop.  Don't remember how I used to work too during all this.  And here I was thinking with me not working that I'd have tons more time to get it all done - ha!  How misled I was.....  :)

Last Thursday:
Dealing with this -

A sick dog with a severe allergic reaction to what we think was a wasp sting - swelling and huge welts all over his body.

Last Friday:
Visit #1 to the vet due to reason above not improving.  Got several prescriptions to help with the swelling and hives.

Saturday:

Swelling still continues but now add diahrrea & blood to the list of symptoms.  Also went to bday party and came home to mess #1 of many more.  He just laid around all day looking pretty pathetic.

Sunday:

Open house at Brookie's school - met her new teachers

Still dealing with sick dog and mess after mess - pretty much could find him like this all day

Monday:

Andrew's 1st day of school
Visit #2 to the vet to determine cause for his other issue.  Got more meds (finally seemed to do the trick)

Tuesday:

Visit to the specialist for Cannon's head - Dr confirmed that it is only a cosmetic issue and nothing medically wrong (very relieved).  He said it won't get any worse since he is now more active and doing more than just lying down.  We recently borrowed this walker from my friend Natalie for Cannon to use - he LOVES it - he plays in in while we are outside and just squeals and smiles non-stop - he is so proud of himself.

Wednesday:

Brookie's 1st day of school

Thursday:
Andrew's birthday - little celebration at home with us & Grandma.  (Party will be on Sunday afternoon - just hoping the weather cooperates!)

The yummiest chocolate cake

blowing out his bday candles

Getting ready to send some bday balloons up

Up up & away

Just had to add this pic - she just looks like such a big girl to me in this pic.  And yes...mother of the year award - I didn't even realize she was out without her shorts until we were done - such a proud mommy moment - oops!

Friday:
Andy got in our car to take Andrew somewhere earlier tonight and 'new' car was completely dead on the driveway.  Lovely end to an already crazy week.  When he told me about the car...all I could do was laugh and make a comment "well that just sucks."  I didn't even freak out - it honestly has just been that sort of week (and definitely been that kind of year financially) so I just figured... lets add some car problems on top right..sure why not?? lol...Luckily it appears to just be the battery...so thankful that is all it is.  So tomorrow we will add that to our list to do - get new battery :)

Here's hoping to a much less eventful week next week ;)

Brooklynn's 1st Day of School

Well we finally made it - school has officially started for BOTH kids...yay!!!!  Brookie's first day of school was today and it went well - no tears (from either of us..lol).  I really couldn't tell which one of us was more excited about today.  From the minute she woke up, she was talking non-stop about going to her new school (what she really meant was her new classroom...hahaha).  We got there on time (wishing I could say that everytime, but come on....I know realistically thats probably not going to happen) and made our way to her new classroom.  We are really lucky b/c there are a bunch of kids from her class last year in the same class again - from what I saw there were 7 of them together again...including her 2 BFF's, Lauren & Dalton (a.k.a. her boyfriend..hehehe).  Those 3 are inseperable and so cute together.  On Sunday afternoon when we went to the Open House to Meet the Teacher, Dalton & Brooklynn ran over and hugged when they saw each other - soooo sweet!  Brooklynn and Lauren got to play last week when they came over to our house so they had seen each other more recently.  When we walked from Chapel to the classroom, the 3 of them insisted on holding hands and walking down the hall all together - ha!

Anyway...today went well at school - Brooklynn said she had lots of fun and liked her new teachers and was so happy about seeing all her old friends again.

Here are some pics I took of Brookie this morning before we left - she was so excited about taking her 1st Day of School pics too - just like Andrew had done 2 days earlier.  She was so proud :)

One Down...One to Go!!!

Today marked the start of the 2010-2011 school year for Andrew - talk about EXCITEMENT!!!!  Somehow here we are with a 6th grader in jr high...how is that even possible???  And the best part of all of it is that he is going to a brand spanking new school that just opened this year.  It is such a neat school - and actually smells good - didn't know that was possible..hahahaha!  The school is literally right outside our neighborhood - couldn't get any more convenient.  Unfortunately its located on the other side of a major road so walking really isn't an option - especially since Houston is NOT pedestrian friendly - ha!  Although he would have made it to/from school a lot faster than the bus today. 
The first few weeks are chaotic with all the drivers learning their routes and stops...so we are hoping that the pick up/ drop off times improve a bit.  The morning pick up time is technically 8:17am but this morning I think it finally came at 8:50 or 8:55am.....and the afternoon drop off time is supposed to be 4:21pm but today he didn't get home until.....5:25pm!!! CRAZINESS!!!!  Even Andy got home from work before he made it home from school.  Brookie was a little anxious to say the least as she waited for her big brother to get off the bus.

The first day went well - he enjoyed it (and didn't get lost trying to find his way around and all his classes) and met some new kids in the area so we are excited for that.  And the bonus is he got out of there today without any homework - score!  Now we get to do it all again tomorrow and the next day and the next day....until the beginning of June.  Lets hope we all fall into a good routine this year :)

Of course we did our 1st day pics inside so none of his friends witnessed it...hahaha

Brookie was soooo excited for her big brother...she wanted to go with him on the bus too and was bummed that she couldn't.

Now we wait 2 more days and Brookie gets to go to her school - and the happy dance begins  :)  So long summer vacation!!!! (now if only we could lose this awful summer heat too!!!)

5 Months

Another month has flown by and we are loving how much Cannon is finally starting to come around and be more content and happy.  We are on a pretty good schedule which is really nice so we know what to expect during the day and what works and what doesn't work.  It all comes down to getting enough sleep - if that happens then we have a great day - if for some reason it doesn't happen....our day is a little bit fussier.  He is so much fun now - loves to play and interact with us - we love it!  He is just a sweet and snuggly little guy....I love just scooping him up and giving him tons of kisses - he is just so cute!  Here are some details about Cannon at 5 months old:

•Weighs 16.8lbs according to our bathroom scale

•Wears size 3 diapers

•Wearing some 3 months, mostly 3-6 months and now some 6 month size clothing

•Drinks 7 ozs in each bottle

•Started eating solid foods a couple weeks ago - not a huge fan yet...but we are getting there. So far we have eaten rice cereal (will tolerate it as long as I give him a drink of his bottle to wash each spoonful down).  Also tried sweet potatoes, squash and peas.  He thinks its hilarious to blow rasberries with his mouth full of food.

•Working on sitting up - can do it for a couple seconds before folding over

•Loves to stand up and jump on your lap while holding him - he is so strong!

•Loves to put everything into his mouth and suck on his hands and fingers.  He also loves to pull up his shirt/onesie and suck on that too - he is usually drenched within minutes of getting dressed...lol.

•He is a drooling monster - maybe starting to teethe?  So far nothing has popped through his gums yet but we are thinking they may be on their way

•Still a GREAT sleeper - has his last bottle around 8:30pm and will sleep on average for 11-12 straight hours

•Takes a couple naps per day - a shorter one in the morning - maybe 30-45 mins and then a nice long one in the afternoon - usually about 2-3 hours.

•Still enjoys his floor activity mat and likes to kick at the different toys and watch all the lights flashing.

•Loves to bat at and play with his toys

•Loves his jumperoo

•He is becoming more tolerating of tummy time - he is holding himself up so much better now and actually smiles when he is on his tummy - that is a HUGE change.

•He rolls over pretty frequently from his tummy to his back and is just so proud of himself when he does - flashes his huge smile.

•Loves being in any kind of water - pools, bath etc.  He splashes so much now in his bathtub at night - I am usually soaking wet by the time we are done.

•He has become such a sweet baby  He is pretty mellow now - still has his moments but they are nowhere near what they used to be - we are loving it!

•Smiles all the time - especially for Brookie, Andrew & Rocky - he LOVES Rocky too..hahaha

•Babbles all the time too - loves to squeal and make all sorts of sounds

•Loves getting kisses and being tickled - will make him squeal and giggle.  We haven't had a full out belly laugh yet, but the giggles make us just smile so much.

This last month has been huge for Cannon - completely starting to turn around and become such a happy baby - we have waited a LONG time for it.....and we are loving every second of it :)

Getting his monthly pic is getting a little more challenging - he rarely wants to sit still and is definitely taking an interest in his sign....should be interesting in the months to come!

Room Swap 2010

edited to add: I decided to participate in Show Us Your Life - Nurseries & Kid's Rooms.  I did this post a couple months ago - but it pretty much shows our 3 kids rooms since we switched them all around with the arrival of our youngest son, Cannon back in March.  Hope you enjoy!

So I just realized that I never got around to posting pics of all our rooms that we switched and painted at the beginning of the year before Cannon was born.  I had been waiting to get pics of Andrew's room since it had been occupied with my mom and then my brother while they were visiting us.  So I finally got the pics this morning of his room with it all put together and thought it was the perfect time to take some pics.

1st is Brooklynn's room - which was formerly Andrew's room.  We added chair rails and painted the tops & bottoms of the walls

I wanted to do a close up of this cross stitched birth announcement my friend Tina made for Brooklynn.  I LOVE it...and it took me forever to find the right frame and background for it, but it was worth the wait b/c I loved the way it turned out.

Next is Andrew's room which was formerly Brookie's room.  All we had to do in here was paint the bottom half of the wall to be a khaki color - this was the 'easy' room...hahaha

Excuse all the wires that are in this next pic - we need to find a way to hide them - they look awful - the joys of computers, speakers, tv's, phones - too many wires!

And finally Cannon's room.  This used to be our study/game room so we had to get rid of all the funiture that was in here and add the chair rail and paint all the walls.  This was probably the room that required the most work.

When we bought the house we had the option of making this room either bedroom #4 or a study and we went with it being a study so that means there is no closet in here.  So we just took my old armoire and repainted it a dark espresso color to match his other furniture and hung up a curtain rod in there and are using that for his closet.  I do realize that we will eventually need something with a bit more storage as he gets bigger, but for how it works really well.

And that was our great room swap of 2010.  Remember this????  I should have taken pics of it way back when we were in the middle of it all - it looked like a disaster area...hahaha!  

I Think....

I think we are officially in the 'dog days of summer' here in Houston - it has been HOT HOT HOT! 

I think its safe to say I am ready for it to be done already. We have had lots of fun in the sun and water....but I am still ready for it to be over.  Its rough with a little baby in this heat - especially with 2 other kids at home that LOVE to be outside.  Its definitely been a balancing act this summer - trying to keep them entertained but not letting Cannon melt in the heat - ha!

I think I am ready for school to start back up.  I am ready to be back in our routines - I crave routines - especially with small kids.  2 more weeks!!!

**warning...this next part is long..but its been weighing on my mind for a long time and I just wanted to get it out there for my personal memories - the good, the bad & the ugly :)

I think I am feeling the need to be real on my blog today.  I have never been untruthful about our lives on here, but I do know I have only made the effort to put the good & happy stuff on here...but believe me..we definitely have our days just like everyone else.  I have had several friends ask me how I do it each day and adjust to so many changes with such little effort.  I usually just put on a happy face no matter what - I have never really let people see the struggles we (or mainly me) go through.
anyway...

I think I am ready to get the show on the road too b/c I officially decided to stay home 100% this year.  I have been going back and forth whether to return to work (only part time hours as before) but I just think it makes sense for our family for me to stay home this year. 

First financially, it was very challenging to find someone that could watch Cannon a few hours/week and still make it worth my while to work.  Working only 8 hours/ week or so doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for childcare costs.  As big of a factor this one was...it definitely was not the main factor.

Second and the biggest factor is...I NEED this time with Cannon.  It is soooo different with 2 small children so close in age and an older child beginning junior high.  Brooklynn got 100% of our attention most of the time when she was a baby - since she was the only one here with us most of the time and Andrew was with us only part time so we got to focus primarily on her.  So we were constantly working with her and playing with her every waking second.  Now with Cannon....our time is split so many different ways.  As most everyone that knows us is aware, we not only welcomed a baby into our home this year, but we also were FINALLY able to get full custody of Andrew around the same time.  So he is living with us full time now and has been since February and it has been what we have dreamed of and wanted for so long.  Its going really well and we have seen such a difference in him during this time..we are just so excited to have it finally turn out this way.  Then of course there is Brooklynn who is almost 3 and anyone that has ever had a 2 year old can attest to - they are a full time job on their own - ha!  So we are officially out-numbered by kids...lol. 

So anyway back to my point - I don't have the dedicated time with Cannon anymore like I did with Brookie.  So with me staying home this year - I will get one on one time with my sweet baby boy.  Brookie will resume her preschool program on Mon/Weds/Fri in a couple weeks, Andrew will be in school each day and so there will be my time with just me and Cannon - I am so excited for that.  There are days that pass when I am putting him to bed at night that I feel like I have barely spent anytime with him that day and I feel so guilty....like I am cheating him.  I feel constant guilt about the back of Cannon's head being flat - that I leave him too long just sitting there in either his bouncer or swing while I am dealing with the other kids.  He has never been a fan of tummy time and it all goes back to what I said before - I don't have the time to just sit with him and encourage him when he starts fussing...so I have never made him do it for very long b/c usually I have to cut it short and go deal with the other 2 kids....and therefore he has never learned to like it.  We have an appt with a specialist in a couple weeks to get it checked out.  Our pediatrician didn't think it was anything more than a cosmetic issue, but I am scared of what this dr will say/think about me as a mom.  I constantly worry what others think of me as a mom too when they see his head - that I just let him sit all day.  The rational side of me knows that I AM a good mom and that I would do whatever it takes for my kids to be happy & healthy, but its the guilt that eats me up inside.  That is one of the worst feelings in the world as a mom - feeling like you are not being there for your kids and that you failed them.  I am still learning how to fix this so I am hoping our arrangement this year will help ease some of that guilt. 
Next fall (Fall 2011) Cannon will be enrolled in the same school as Brookie so it is my plan at that point to go back to work during the days they are in school.  I went for a visit to my office the other day and sat and talked with my boss and she told me whenever, however, whatever I wanted to work I could.  I don't take that lightly...I know I am incredibly fortunate and grateful for having a company that is so flexible with me and accommodating.  She told me before I left, that she will wait for me to let her know when I am ready and able to return to work.  What a load lifted off my chest - to know that if I had to return to work, I have that option - and believe me...we have seriously contemplated it this year - its been a rough year with a lot more expenses than we could have ever imagined last year when we made our decision for me to stay home.  We are so thankful we carefully planned it all out before cutting our income in half - if we hadn't I can't (and don't want to)even imagine where we would be right now....we could have been another statistic you see on the news all the time during this economy.  Scary thought. 

Anyway...sorry for rambling on forever about all this but I wanted to get it off my chest and get it on the blog so when I look back on this time...I will remember everything we were going through and dealing with.  What doesn't kill us makes us stronger...right?  Motherhood has definitely been one of the most humbling experiences I have ever been through in my life, but it is also the most fulfilling thing I have ever done all at the same time.  Its wild & crazy but I wouldn't have it any other way....

I love waking up to these two :)  Oh and no...they don't share the same bed - they just have snuggle time each morning before we all get moving for the day.