A new look at Mom.....

...a week or so ago my niece, Rachel (8 yrs), and I sat on my couch as she held Lilah. I can't remember exactly how it came up but somehow our conversation drifted to nighttime feedings. Rachel said, "You mean you have to get up and feed her during the night???"

I said, "yeah, usually two or three times."

She said, "dang!"

I said, "You didn't know your Mom did that when you were a baby?"

She shook her head.

I said. "Oh yeah, she did......see, you should ALWAYS be nice to your mother. She does a lot for you!"

She nodded.

I think she might have gained a whole new insight on motherhood.


Tell your mom you love her today. She did get up in the middle of the night to feed you, which I'm sure she didn't mind too much, and that was probably one of her easier tasks of motherhood before you were all grown up.

Say it Ain't So!

...so there are some things you NEVER want to hear your hairdresser say. I heard two of them this week.

1." Sally recalled several of their flat irons. They were frying people's hair".


This explains why I had to hear the next one.


2. "If I cut it any shorter it will look like a mullet."


Don't bother asking to see pictures....it ain't gonna happen!


p.s.....please say a prayer for my sister Crystal and her hubs Chris. They are currently on a plane headed for Hawaii where they will stay for 10 days, and to say Crystal was nervous about the 13 hour plane ride would be more than an understatement!

......and hopefully a hair miracle will take place and by the time she returns to take my Mother/baby photos with Lilah my hair will be back to it's previous length so the curls will look more like curls and less like,....well, like feathers.

HA!

Goodness Gracious.......

......this grill is on fire!! Seriously! The one day during the week when I have actually got it together enough to grill myself a burger for lunch, and grill some for supper too, I nearly manage to burn the house down!

This all happened on Wednesday of this week. I have this "special" recipe for fabulous hamburgers and had been wanting one for a while, so I thought I'd go ahead and grill them for lunch and then I'd have time to spare before church that night. This was not to be!

I had them on the grill, which my husband got for Father's Day last year, and had came in the house to get my spatula, when I realized there were flames in the bottom of the grill...........where the PROPANE tank is! Uh OH!

So I immediately grab the fire extinguisher from the kitchen and just as I'm about to pull the pin I think, "what if this makes the propane tank explode?" I wasn't sure how to put how a propane involved fire,....so I immediately call my husband at work...(did I mention he is a fireman? I just knew he'd have some "expert" knowledge on the subject!)

Our conversation went like this:

(Me) "THE GRILL IS ON FIRE, THE GAS TANK IS ON FIRE WHAT SHOULD I DO?!!!!!!!"

(Mr. Fireman) Okay, bye!

(Me) stare blankly at phone. He hung up!

(Me)after I redial him: YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO DRIVE HERE!!! WHAT DO I DO??

(Mr Fireman) PUSH IT OFF THE PORCH!!!

(Me) WHAT IF THAT MAKES IT EXPLODE?? (it would be landing on concrete) DO I USE THE EXTINGUISHER OR WATER TO PUT IT OUT???

(Mr. Fireman) WATER!

(Me) LOVE YOU, BYE! ( I had to say "love you" because what if I exploded myself?)

Anyway, I did get the fire out and my husband, (did I mention he is fire CHIEF??) sent another fireman who was in my area to check on us (thank you Aaron!). I'm glad he did because I did have enough sense to turn off the gas, after I put on my long oven mits, but I wasn't about to move it off the porch!

But thankfully fireman Aaron did this for me.

All I could think of was Carter standing there watching me through the window (what if I caught myself on fire with him watching???).... he normally is right on my heels but when I saw the fire I screamed at him to get back in the house and I think he was afraid to move!



Needless to say we did not get to have our burgers.......and won't for some time!

Big Miracles, Little Packages!

Update: Tyler and Taylor have arrived! Both Mom and babies are doing great! They both weighed 5 pounds and something ounces, but my info came via men so I don't have the exacts yet, only that everyone is doing great!

Thank you so much for your prayers!!


...so I have a bit of a request from you guys. I know that there are some serious prayer warriors out there and I would love it if you could show a friend of mine some "blog world love" of the prayin' variety!

I have a precious girlfriend who has wanted to become a mom for years now and has gone through so so much to become one.

Well, God has shown out big time! She will be delivering her twin boys on Thursday of this week!!!!! Just in time to celebrate Mother's Day! Isn't that just awesome???

She will be delivered via C section at 8:45 AM EST on Thursday morning and I would love it, and she would too, if you would lift her and her precious babies up in prayer! So please help me as I pray for Jeff & Alicia and their babies Tyler & Taylor! The pregnancy itself is an answered prayer for so many, including myself, and I feel so blessed to have been able to share in being pregnant with Alicia, and look so forward to watching our little ones grow up together!

For those of you who know them, you know just how precious this couple is and I know that you will join me in praising God for this miracle in their lives!! If you want to leave a comment for them, Alicia has my blog addy and I will be glad to pass any comments along to them as well!

Thank you girls!! (and guys,....I know you're out there!)

Twenty Three Months + One

23 Months

(05/01/08)

Dear Carter,

It is so hard to believe that next month my post will not be a "month" post, but a "2 years" post. It is amazing to me that 23 months have passed with you brightening our lives every single day. From the first day that we brought you home, things in our house would never be the same! Mama and Daddy fell in love with you at first sight!

Lately you have so many new things to say. If you hear it, you say it.....which isn't always good! For example, just the other day you dropped something and I heard you say, "oh sh**". I stopped in my tracks! "Good grief! Where did he hear that?" I finally convinced myself that you must have said something else because I knew you didn't hear that from me or daddy. Then you said it again,.....and again. I'm not really sure where you picked that up, but I do have a few suspects I will be checking with!! You also have been cracking us all up with your version of "where did Lilah come from?" your response? "Chattanoogy"....Well, that IS where we went to get her!

You also have loved getting to go to Lilah's well baby visits. You ADORE Dr. Jeanie, and she adores you. You always stroll through the long hall to the exam rooms calling..."dooooctorrrr Jeeeeeeanie!!"..lol! And she calls to you from her office....."Hi Carter!" She told me you are the ONLY not even 2 year old who knows her name and calls her by it!

Today we had lunch with your buddies (and ours!) Old Glenn (as you call him...and it fits!), and Phyllis (which sounds like "Fill It" when you say it) and Kenneth (who you call Kenny) and Tammy, and you loved every single moment of the attention you got! Then you got to ride in a "Big Truck" with Papa and Daddy, not to mention that you got to show off your new baby sister and get some kisses from KayLee & Karolina ( who you call Kay Kay) and Aubree and baby Clay at church today. I'd say you have had a full day!

In the last month I have watched you go from a baby to a real bonified "big boy" with such joy and grace. You love your baby sister so much and don't want to be away from her for long! In a little less than a month you will be two, and these have been the best two years of my life. I look so forward to watching you grow and learn and play with your baby sister.

I love you Carter,

Mama

One Month

(05/02/08)

Dear Lilah,

It's so hard to believe that you have already been with us for a month! You are the sweetest baby I could have ever imagined. You have such patience with your big brother! You just let him hold you (which can't be alot of fun for you at this point but he sure loves it!) and kiss on you (kinda hard sometimes!). You don't mind being laid down when he needs a little extra love and attention from Mom.

Rarely do you cry. Mostly it's just a grunt or two here and there when your hungry and that's it! You sleep alot still but when you do open those big eyes you take everything in. Watching your brother as he performs his every talent for you at his highest volume. You take it all in stride.

I cherish our time together. I love the night time feedings when we are the only ones awake in the house. I adored nursing Carter for as long as I did (10 months), and hope that I can do that with you. He has rarely sat still in my lap for long at all since then.

I look so forward to watching you grow and learn, Lilah. You are a true joy and blessing to all of us! Mama, Daddy and Carter love every moment with you. I thank God for my beautiful, healthy family every single day.

I love you Lilah,

Mama

Diaper cream as hair gel

Little Doll!

Oh. My. Goodness!!

Q.T. anyone?

Does anybody remember the old self tanning products from the 70's and 80's? Q. T. I believe it was called? Myself and my sister, and probably even my mother have a pretty vivid memory of the stuff due to the fact that my nosey little self, and my nosey little sister decided once that we wanted to Quick Tan just like mom.

We ended up being about the color of rust.

For days.


Lovely.


So, a few weeks ago,....prebaby...pre lack of sleep...I decided to buy myself some gradual self tanner for after baby when my body image is completely shot (not that it was great at any point, but all you moms get my drift!) because everybody knows any body looks better tanned,....right? And since I do not tan unless my freckles manage to connect themselves and I refuse to use a tanning bed (because I've HAD a skin cancer removed and it was NOT fun!) this gradual self tanner seemed to be the perfect answer............at the time.


Let me just leave you with this image:

Sleep deprived.

Barely getting a shower.

Decides to use gradual self tanning lotion.

NOT a pretty sight.

yeah, go ahead and say it.

"ya big barely showered sleep deprived QT'd Dummy!"

Needless to say, I will not be leaving the house for a few days.

Our newest resident....

.....so you all know that Lilah is here, but maybe you're wondering how things are going since the new addition arrived on "The Farm"? Well, let me just share a few things....

* Carter adores her. ADORES her! The first place he goes every morning is to the bassinet. I don't really know how much Lilah enjoys this since the first thing Carter says to her is..."Lilah,...WAKE UP!!"..lol

*She is such a sweetheart. She almost never cries and when she does, it's one little cry then she's done. If she didn't look so much like her brother, I'd wonder if they gave us the wrong one.

* I wouldn't remember whether or not they gave us the right one either. I developed some complications after the C section and don't remember much of anything on the day she was born or the day after...and not much the day after that! Thank you God for a healthy baby, and for a healthy mommy...and a fabulous nurse and doctor!!!!

*Carter wants to hold her at least 30 times per day. When he isn't holding her then he must show her how he dances, how he plays with his tractors, etc, etc, etc..... He thinks she has been sent here to be his audience of one and that he is totally the star of the show. I hope she likes the entertainment!

*Lilah poops projectile poop. Carter thinks it's the coolest thing there ever was. Mommy has to learn to get out of the way!

*Carter has some sort of coughy, snotty nose thing, which the Dr says is viral (which apparently is good??) and Lilah is coughy and snotty too (Dr says this is probably mostly newborn reflexes????).......this really wears on mommy's nerves since a sick (or reflexy) newborn is a new thing for me. Carter didn't so much as cough until he was 18 months old!!

*Lilah is a big cousin! My first cousin, Emily, who is just a couple of months older than I am, gave birth to a little boy, Koen Micah, on April 6! Just 4 days after Lilah! Isn't that too cool??

*One last thing, (sorry this one is short, but it's literally taken me 3 days to manage to sit down long enough to type this much), for those of you wondering how her name is pronounced, it's like Delilah, (the one in the Bible) only without the "De".

Thanks for all the emails and well wishes! Hopefully I won't go a week and a half before blogging again!

Lilah has arrived!!!

Lilah Rae made her appearance on April 2, 2008 at 7:28 AM!!! She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 inches long. She is a beautiful, healthy baby girl who rarely ever cries (so far!!). I will post more later but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for some pics of Carter's new baby sister.....and let me tell you, he is one proud big brother!!!

Propped up....Well, sometimes anyway!!

....so here I have gone almost a week again without blogging! I KNOW! Well, I really don't have an excuse other than I just haven't been on the computer much. Not to mention, I am supposed to be staying off my feet as much as possible so I haven't had alot of exciting things to blog about this week.

Not alot,....but I did have a few things. Here are the highlights:

Monday: Dr appt. All is well except that blood pressure is climbing. He tells me to take it easy as much as possible and not to get excited.

Tuesday: Carter stands at the end of couch with a strange goo on his hands. I'm sitting on the couch (off my feet as instructed) and ask him what's on his hands. As he is rubbing them together he casually says "poop". Oh MERCY!!! He was telling the truth!! He had taken a big ol' dig in his poopy diaper and was just about ready to rub it all over the arm of my couch when I caught him....So much for not getting excited!!!

Wednesday: Not feeling well at all. I pretty much hang out on the couch the whole entire day. (Well, as much as you can with a 21 month old)

Thursday: Feeling a bit better. I have a hair appt (which makes me feel much better!) and Aunt Crystal takes Carter to the park. Then we stop for a few innings of my nephew Matthew's Baseball game. Carter loved it (of course!) and so did I. I was so afraid I might not make any of their games this year! Three innings is better than nothing!! Carter actually said "ball" in his sleep last night....that's big! He hasn't done that since football season! He definitely liked it!! The bad news is, I spent part of the night on a heating pad,....apparently I wasn't off my feet quite enough!

Friday: BP through the roof. After a few light headed incidents and a persistent all night and half the day headache, I called the dr and he told me to come in. I have orders to stay off my feet for the weekend and see him first thing Monday morning, unless bp hits 150, then call him immediately (p.s...my dr is not on call this weekend but he gave me his personal cell number in case I needed him....isn't he awesome???) Anyway, if I'm still having bp probs Monday, as he suspects I will be, he says delivery will be moved up to the middle of the week,probably Wednesday unless something happens before then (which it might if Carter plays with another poopy diaper before then!!! Ewwwww!) ....sooooo it's looking like Lilah will make her appearance very very soon!!


Updated....
Saturday: I had planned on trying to make my niece Rachel's game for a few innings this morning at 9:30 so while I was getting ready I noticed Carter was reeeally quite for a few minutes, which is never good! Turns out, he opened the door (deadbolt and all!!!!) that goes from our bedroom out to the back porch and let himself out!!!! When I got to him he was thankfully still on the porch (did I mention there is also a hot tub out there, and a pond in our front yard??) just casually walking around testing his newfound freedom. Needless to say I spanked his little rear and gave him a stern talking to!! Then I called his dad at work to bring home something to keep him from opening the doors!....Now, I'm going to lay down......lol

I'll do my best to keep you posted!

The Week In Pictures...

Hangin' In...

...yes! I'm still hangin' in there. I have my orders to stay off my feet as much as possible and this time, I'm trying to do just that! As of now I'm scheduled to deliver via C section on April 10. I myself will be amazed if I make it to that date (I will spare you the details as to why I think this...). My mother in law is convinced that I'm going to have her any minute now. I don't think it'll be quite that soon, but the lady did birth 4 of her own so I will choose not to argue with her on this particular subject.

In other news, baby news that is....(lol, like I have any other kind lately!) we have decided on a name. Her name is going to be: (drumroll please!!)

Lilah Rae

So far everyone in the family likes it, or at least hasn't said they don't.........except for the MIL. One thing I'm thinking she's coming to realize is that her opinion has no bearing whatsoever on the choice we have made and will continue not to. (...and just to clarify for anyone who might be wondering,....we are NOT naming her after the mayor. Not that there would be anything wrong with that, I'm just saying....). Lilah is being named after two people who I know will be very special in her life. One of them, my dad who's middle name is Ray, knows this. The other doesn't know it yet but I know she will be thrilled when we tell her.........

One more thing. I got the sweetest package in the mail this week from a fellow blogger and friend. I cheated on Dr's orders and drove to the post office, (because my husband never remembers to) and discovered a package waiting for me all the way from New York! My friend, Elizabeth, at FullOfGraceNBlessingsInAbundance, sent me the sweetest card and most adorable outfit and blanket! After seeing so much blue baby stuff with Carter, it tickles me to open up something beautiful and pink! Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness, Elizabeth! I can't tell you how special you are to me!

Now, I'm off to give my husband further instructions on what baby stuff to bring downstairs from storage. Then, I'll give him instructions on how to turn the toddler bed back into a crib and where I want it, then I'll tell him what stuff of Carter's I want put back upstairs in storage...........oh and then there's all those things that have to be taken apart and washed and then put back together....lol....I bet he's never so glad to go back to work as he will be tomorrow where there's no bossy hormonal pregnant lady telling him what to do!

Baby Got Back.....

...so this article came to me via Babycenter email...

Why pregnant women don't tip over

.....now, you can click on the link if you want all the technical info on why they think this to be true. Me? I don't NEED to click the link. I know why I don't tip over. In fact, when I was pregnant with Carter, I had a little boy ask me about it in Walmart. He wanted to know why my rear was getting big if I carried the baby in my belly.

Well, duh!

To keep me from tipping over (you little stinker you!!)

disclaimer: To say his mom was appalled would be the understatement of the year!! haha!

Oh Me!!

...is apparently something I say alot. How do I know this, you ask? Well, because Carter has started saying it! I was getting him dressed after his bath and he climbed up on the bed and said,...ohhhh me!...lol. Like it was all he could do to climb into bed! (Yeah, it sounds familiar!)

Then today I put him in his car seat and he kind of got tangled in the buckles and while I was trying to free him he said it again,....OH me!..

Adorable.

What makes it even cuter is that I know exactly where I picked that phrase up. My grandmother used to say it all the time. She's been gone for 8 years now but I know that it would tickle her to the bone to hear Carter say it,....like he's been bearing the world on his shoulders....."Oh Me!!"

...In fact, I can almost hear her giggle just thinking about it!

Isn't it funny how we start to miss the ones we love so much when a new life is about to come into the world?

*****for my grandparents....Mama & Papa Kirby, and Grandaddy B and for Kyle's Grandma Smith, and Grandma and Grandpa P. ....we know you are all in a better place, but we love you and miss you dearly.******

The Burning Bed......

So, yesterday was the most beautiful day here and we spent it outside. The whole entire daylight part of the day. I won't go into detail about how badly my back hurt, or how massive my swollen feet and ankles were, but I will tell you, It was all and all a wonderful day!

One thing though, we did get a bit of alarming news about my husband's grandpa. You remember Grandpa, right? Well, bless his heart, he has outdone himself again. My husband and I are pretty concerned about his well being after hearing this story.

Apparently, he dropped a button or something under his bed and rather than get a flashlight to look for it, he rolled up a newspaper, set it on fire and commenced to looking under his bed for the button. I AM NOT KIDDING!! Well, you know what happened, right? He totally set the mattress on fire!

Anyway, they got the fire put out and he is okay, but I ask that you all please remember Grandpa and his children in your prayers. He is 86, and I don't know how much longer he's going to be able to live in his own home (he doesn't live alone, his son lives there too.....and that's all I have to say about that!) There may be some decisions that have to be made soon and I can tell you one thing for sure........THAT will not go well!!

I thought about going by to visit him tomorrow but my MIL tells me she is afraid he might shoot at us if he doesn't know we are coming, so she wants us to wait and go when she's going and he knows she is coming.

Alrighty then.

Like I said....remember them in your prayers.

Twenty One Months.....

Dear Carter,

Today you are 21 months old. You have become our constant entertainment around here lately. It's amazing to watch how fast you are learning new things!

You first looked in the mirror this month and instead of saying "baby" like you used to, you said "Carter". Well, actually you said "Carger". You've started referring to yourself in first person alot lately. "Carger's chair" "Carger's tractor".....everything now belongs to "Carger".

You have also started referring to your dad by his first name occasionally too. Just last night during your bath, Daddy came in and you said to him, "Kyle, shut the door!" Daddy still thinks I put you up to it, but it shocked me as much as it did him!

One of my favorite things that you are doing lately is saying "hug" then hugging me like there is no tomorrow! I love love love that one! We can play that game all day long if you want to!

Like your daddy, you have become an avid Walker, Texas Ranger fan. It never seems to be on when dad is at home, so mom thought she was being super thoughtful when she picked up the first 3 seasons on DVD for dad to watch from time to time. Little did she know that every night from that point forward would turn into a Walker Texas Ranger marathon! She also didn't expect you to love it quite so much. It must be all the action that gets your attention, because now all your big trucks are "walker's truck" and your puppy is named "Trivette" and you seem to be much more action packed after you get a little Walker into your system. You used to want to watch Diego every time we came near the TV. Now Walker is your first request.

You have mastered climbing into the kitchen sink. The sink is in the island and you simply push up a chair from the table and climb on in and proceed to "wash dish". Daddy suggested this week that we bolt the chairs to the floor.....

You mastered saying "thank you" a few months ago, but just this month started saying "please". You also sing and clap along to the radio, TV, or to the choir at church. You have started "simming" (swimming) in the bathtub on your belly which is completely adorable.

I'm thinking potty training is just around the corner because you are now very much aware of when you pee or poop and come to tell me immediately. You also reeeeally want to sit on the potty these days. Mom is hoping to put that off for a couple of months because it gets pretty heavy holding you up on the potty and carrying your baby sister at the same time.

You still never meet a stranger and have recently started introducing me or your dad to anyone you meet. You smile and wave "Hi" to them, then point to me and say "Carger's Mama" or sometimes just "Mama". It's so incredibly cute and never fails to get a smile or laugh from even the grumpiest looking people. I even had one lady tell me last week that seeing your sweet smiling face made her day.

You make my day every day, Carter. These have been the best 21 months of my life and I look so forward to watching you grow. I am so blessed to be "Carger's Mama"!

Love,
Mama