Lessons in Sneakiness

I've been reading a devotion for little girls with Scamp several days a week. Today's lesson was on being sneaky only in good ways. I wasn't sure if she really understood the concept, so we went on with the rest of our day. I put her down for a nap a couple of hours later and carried Scoodle downstairs with me for a diaper change. Her supplies are in our bedroom, which is right below Scamp's room. I heard what I thought was Scamp getting out of her bed, and I slipped upstairs all prepared to discipline her.

When I opened her bedroom door, I saw a mop of sandy blonde hair making it's way out from under the bed with a golden brown, fuzzy teddy bear. Her eyes met mine, and she knew her well-planned bear rescue wasn't such a good idea after all. She immediately burst into tears, and I had to leave the room to hide my quite inappropriate amusement. I wasn't laughing at Scamp's misfortune of getting into trouble, but just the unexpected situation I caught her in.

She continued to wail as I made my way to Beef's office two rooms away and explained to him what I found. He was quite amused, too. We called a very distraught Scamp over, and I explained to her that her getting out of bed without permission was being sneaky in a bad way. And that next time she would get punished for that behavior. She seemed relieved as she crawled into bed, and now we will have a good example of what being sneaky in a bad way means for tomorrow's lesson.

We Survived HFMD Part 2

Read Part 1 Here.

The doctor also instructed us to give her children's benadryl, not the most pleasant idea we found out later. At 2:30 pm I returned home from the pharmacy with a chocolate pedisure and the acid-rinse, um, I mean benadryl. The pedisure was a success. Praise God! There would be no trip to the doctor. But, the most heart-wrenching part was to come when I brought the benadryl in the medicine cup to give to Scamp. We coaxed her to drink it, and she let out the most horrific scream and said it burned. Oh no! And she still had over half the dose to drink. After that, we put all her medicines into a spoon to pour it in her mouth in one drink.

That night we allowed Scamp to sleep in our bed. Daddy left the house for an emergency run to the store and both girls were asleep in our room. Oh, now I could have a little relaxation until I heard an alarming sound coming from the bedroom. Scamp awoke in pain and was wailing which in turn awoke 4 month old Scoodle who was screaming. Now, I know what parents of twins feel like when both children are crying. Who do I attend to first? I gave Scoodle her paci and tried to coax Scamp to calm down. She did, but Scoodle spit her paci out and began to scream again causing Scamp to cry. Oh dear! Back and forth the girls played off each other. Finally, I took Scoodle into the other room with a bottle, and daddy arrived home in time to put Scamp back to bed. The house was peaceful again except for my racing heart.

The next morning we were all worn down from lack of consistent sleep. I was feeling quite claustrophobic since I hadn't left the house but for a 30 minute trip to the store, which was cut short by my being needed at home. Carrying Scoodle on my hip, I took her to her daddy and said, "We've got to leave the house today even if it's just a drive in the car. He must have sensed my near panic and took the baby from me. I thought I was holding it together until Scoodle was released from my arms. I began to cry, and Beef immediately called his mother, the girls beloved Meme, and asked her if she could come up. She arrived a couple of hours later and stayed for several more. God bless you, Meme.

Luckily, HFMD has been the worst virus we've experienced because of how long it lasted (6 days) and how much pain it caused Scamp. She lived on pedisure for another couple of days and slowly returned to solid food. Daddy gave up his side of the bed to Scamp during that time. I know Scamp appreciated it. Some of the research showed that she still may be contagious for another few weeks. Baby Scoodle has had no symptoms, and we are very thankful.

We Survived HFMD

Have you ever heard of HFMD (Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease)? Not so luckily I have (through experience). It's a nasty virus that leaves very painful blisters on the inside of your mouth and throat and not so painful blisters on your hands and feet. My husband and I have both had it...twice. His experience left him twenty pounds lighter. So, you can only imagine how afraid we were when Scamp came down with it.

Saturday she started complaining about her mouth hurting when we were eating lunch at the pool. She even insisted on throwing her icee away unfinished because of the pain. But, I didn't discover the blisters in her mouth until that night.

She refused to eat much by Sunday, the day we started giving her children's ibuprofen for the pain. She doesn't take medicine well, so you can imagine how heart-breaking it was to give her liquid medicine that caused her mouth to hurt even more upon taking it.

We put her to bed upstairs Sunday night, but she woke up crying in pain. We then put her in bed with us and she proceeded to cry out in her sleep about every hour and a half for most of the night.

Monday morning was looking up when she was able to eat ice cream for breakfast, the only good thing about having HFMD, so we forwent taking her to the doctor. But, by mid-day she was in pain again and not on the verge of dehydration we hoped. Anxious, we called her doctor to see what the signs of dehydration were. If she hadn't used the bathroom by 4:00 o'clock, we were instructed to bring her in.

Read the second half tomorrow.

Little Mama

Scamp so loves her baby sister and takes many opportunities to play with her. I usually make Scoodle a bed on the couch with a blanket so that she can watch everything that Scamp happens to be getting into for the moment. Scamp typically has a purse filled with needed essentials: baby bottles, baby clothes, dress-up clothes for herself, toy food, make-up, everything that she needs to take care of herself and her favorite stuffed animal of the day.

Scoodle won out today. I peeped into the living room from the kitchen and saw Scamp feeding Scoodle with a plastic baby bottle. The best part was that Scoodle was playing along trying to get a drink. She was cooing and mouthing, very happy about the attention.

A couple of days ago, Scamp stacked several stuffed kitties and bears around Scoodle's head for her to play with. Scoodle could barely move, but she had a look of content on her face from being able to "play" with her big sister. She seems to love Scamp as much as Scamp loves her.

And for the first time today, I became a "real mama." I couldn't believe it. I had been waiting for so long. Scamp took her magic wand, sang "Bibbidi, bobbidi, boo," and said, "Now you're a real mama."

"I wasn't one before?" I asked.

"No," she stated matter-of-factly.

Oh, what fun conversations we have.

I Like to Move It!

A few posts ago I commented about how I sing certain songs to the kiddos, and my friend Lu stated she sings I Like to Move It from the movie Madagascar to her son. I've been singing it to Scoodle ever since! But, today I decided to mix it up and add new words. I started with "I like to burp it, burp it" while I was burping Scoodle. Then, for Scoodle's part she sang (well, I sang for her) "I like to eat it, eat it." Scamp caught on quick, and while she was eating her Cheetos she sang, "I like to crunch it, crunch it." We had so much fun taking turns and adding new words to the beat. I think it will be a new game for a long time to come.

New Summer Look

I finally had the chance to get my hair done since the baby has been born thanks to the help of my two wonderful sisters-in-love, Beth and Shan. They watched my girls while I was pampered for three hours. It always takes that long to get my hair highlighted and cut. I wanted something different and decided to go shorter. I haven't had my hair this short since Beef and I got married.

Before...

After...
I'm never quite sure if I like a style or not for several days after a cut. I want to see if I'm able to style it myself. At least it will be cooler.

Baby's 2 Month Check-up

I just got home from Scoodle's 2 month check-up. I took both girls, and it was a bit stressful with my rambunctious 3 year old. She's been testing me more lately, and it's been a challenge to remain calm and kind. Both girls are in the bed, so I'm getting a few minutes to collect myself and relax.

Scoodle's appointment went well. She's 12 pounds and 13 ounces. Scamp was 10 pounds 13 ounces at 2 months. They are both in the 95th percentile for height, and I often wonder how tall they will be. I'm thinking they will be taller than me. I'm 5'8" and Beef is 6'5". Scoodle got a shot today, and it wasn't pleasant. It took several minutes to get her settled down. She wouldn't take her pacifier or bottle. Finally, after walking her around she stopped crying and took a little formula. The doctor said she may have a fever, so I've already given her a fever reducer.

We took Scamp to the eye doctor a couple of weeks ago and found out she has a turned eye. It turns slightly inward and can make it hard for her to focus. The week before my nephew's eye completely turned in. They have treated him with a patch he wears over his good eye 6 hours a day plus prescription glasses to help his turned eye strengthen. His eye has improved somewhat. We are going to take Scamp for a second opinion. The first doctor prescribed glasses for her, and we just want to make sure that's all that needs to be done. Please pray for both Scamp and my nephew.

Swimming in the 'Boro

We went swimming today. You don't know how much of a feat that was with two little ones. Well, maybe you do. You may understand the exhaustion of what used to be a relaxing day at the pool when my hubby and I were still DINKS -- double income, no kids.:) I would not have been able to manage this without the help of a dear friend, Ashley. She's a high schooler that lives down the road from us. She's actually my friend Janice's cousin. That's how we met. I figured she could help me out and work on a tan at the same time. She had a rough job, too. She was Scamp's personal assistant most of the day while I camped under the canopy umbrella beside the kiddie pool with Scoodle.

Scoodle actually has a good day. She slept most of the time since it was so hot. Sometimes I have awesome ideas, and today I came up with one of those.:) I took Scoodle's bouncer with us. She sat up in her bouncer and felt the cool breeze without being trapped in her stuffy carrier all day. I was able to load it up on the sit and stand stroller. Those things are great. The front part of the stroller holds Scoodle's carrier and underneath has a seat when she's big enough to sit up by herself. The back of the stroller has a place for Scamp's tookus. She can sit or she can stand up and hold on. The stroller can hold a lot of gear, and I was able to load up a small cooler, a diaper bag, a swim bag, and the bouncer not to mention Scoodle in her carrier leading the way.

I wish I had taken some pictures, but I forgot my camera. I would have loved to take a few of Scamp and her friends. We've actually got a small group of kids that seem to frequent the same play areas on the same days we do, and today was one of those times. We first met the two moms and their five kids at the park. Then, Scamp had a gymnastics class with one of the kids, then they ended up sharing the canopy umbrella with us today at the pool.

Scamp is asleep. Scoodle is catnapping beside me on the couch, and I have a chicken in the oven. Now, it would be nice if the house was clean, and we were all bathed But, that will have to wait for another day.

Singing Songs

I have a favorite song I sing with each girl. Funny, but you think the songs would be sweet lullabies. They aren't. Scoodle's is Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice. We bounce and dance to the chorus, and Scamp even tries to sing it. Scamp's song was Hot Stuff by Donna Summer. Scoodle likes that one, too. I have know idea why I chose those particular songs. They aren't necessarily my favorites, but they are fun and have a nice beat to groove, too.

Good Friday Tornadoes 2009

Our house still stands. My family is fine, but this is what happened to our neighborhood on Good Friday as a tornado, one of several, hit our city. These houses were less than a quarter mile from us. Beef saw the funnel cloud out our back window only minutes after Scamp and I arrived home from a lunch date with my family. It was a close call, a scary close call, but God kept us safe. I had no idea that when Beef called and told me to come home because tornadoes had been spotted that I was heading in the direction of one of the ones that would touch down, and yet our neighborhood was not hit the hardest. At least three tornadoes touched down in our city, and over a hundred homes were damaged or completely destroyed. Two people lost their lives, a mother and a 9 week old baby from our neighborhood.

Beef just happened to be cleaning out our stairwell closet that day when his dad called and told him about the tornadoes. As soon as Scamp and I arrived home, I grabbed baby Scoodle from her bed and shoved a few pillows and a blanket in the closet. Beef then saw the tornado, and we all got inside forming a pray circle with our girls. We didn't hear a sound unlike the last time we had to get in the closet. Our neighborhood has been hit more than once. About 5 years ago, a severe wind and hail storm hit during the middle of the night and damaged almost every home in our neighborhood. We were lucky it wasn't a tornado, but it did sound like a freight train whizzing by outside our house. Our next home will have a basement.

We are thankful for our lives and our home but feel saddened for those who didn't come away unharmed. We are thankful to all our family members who prayed for us and called to check on us afterward.

Before the Storm

We had several tornado warnings this past Saturday, but right before the bad weather really hit us, this is what we saw in the sky. There are actually two rainbows. A fainter one is right above the vivid one. I always feel blessed every time I see one. I know it is a gift from God. The wind and rain hit us about an hour after that. It only lasted a few minutes. We were in Wal Mart when it hit, but by the time we left, it had already passed. The winds hit a few places in town including destroying the front of our older movie theater.

Tomorrow, I'll be 39 weeks. Going into labor is most of what I'm thinking about at this point. Every pain sends a thought of, "Was that a contraction?" My emotions are pretty much on a roller coaster ride. My hopes are up. My hopes are down. My hopes are up, and so on. Poor Scamp and Beef. I'm so irritable. I've felt a bit more encouraged today, but it is a trying time, a worrisome time. I want everything to be ok with the baby. I don't want to be induced, but at the same time, the waiting is really getting to me.

I'm also worried about the big change that is about to happen in our household. I have a hard time with change. Two children instead of one. How will we all survive?! I was freaked out, too, when I was pregnant with Scamp. I disliked people asking me if I was excited. Yes but more so freaked out about being a mother. I do have a little more confidence since this will be the second one.

This tends to happen to me: I freak out, lose faith, see that everything turns out just the way God intended, then I wonder why I ever doubted. I'm on my own journey through the wilderness. Gee, isn't it funny that that is exactly what we are studying in BSF? The books of Moses as he led the Israelites through the desert. And as if that big honking rainbow in the sky didn't speak clearly enough to me to have hope.

I really could use some prayers.:)

Week 37

Can you believe I'm at week 37? Many of my friends say that the pregnancy has flown by, and I just laugh. It seems as though I've been pregnant for years! I'm already dilated to 2 1/2 cm and have been for almost 2 weeks. So, I really could go into labor anytime. I'm hoping for next week!

I've been so busy getting the house ready and going through Scamp's old baby clothes. That girl had a lot of teeny baby clothes. And now there all washed and sorted except for one load. Whew!

My 2 sisters-in-law and mother-in-law came over a couple of weeks ago and painted the new nursery for us. It's purple with a 2-foot pink horizontal stripe in the middle of the wall and a 3-inch green stripe on the top and bottom of the pink one. I have some pictures, but I always have trouble uploading them from my laptop.

I have a bag packed for me, Scamp, and new Baby Squirt, so we'll be ready to go when the moment arrives. I'm having the biggest trouble finding pajamas to wear at the hospital though. Hopefully, I'll find some this week.

The one-year anniversary of when we lost the last baby due to an ectopic pregnancy is Monday, March 23. So, Squirt could be born on that day. To see what God has done one year later is amazing, and I am so thankful for the new little life we are about to have.

I miss all my bloggy friends I haven't been able to check up with the last several weeks. I am thinking of all of you!

Make-up Worries

I am proud to say that Scamp no longer asks for her pacifiers. She even found one a couple of days ago and brought it straight to me to cut up. Here she is with her first round of Big Girl make-up. I was a little disappointed that all the eye-shadow was cream instead of powder. We end up making a big mess every time we use it, but Scamp loves every minute of it.

(Above) Here is my version of putting make-up on a three year old, just enough to make her eyes shine.

Here's Scamp's version (when she puts it on herself): Scary Eyes as she calls them.

Do you think I'm going to be in some big trouble when she's old enough to wear make-up?

The Great Passey Exchange

My three and almost a half year old Scamp has still been sleeping with a pacifier. I've noticed many people have strong views about passeys, and I used to be one of those people who would question why a two or three year old still had a passey. It's hard to take away something that your child feels they need. Scamp is emotionally attached to her passey like other children are attached to their blankets or stuffed animals. Plus, her daddy and I are attached to it since it has so long served as a calming agent. It's hard to tell a three-year old in the back seat of the car no to her passey when she's screaming and crying uncontrollably.

This past week my mom (aka Nana) offered to buy Scamp the big-girl make-up she's been wanting for months if she threw her passeys away. We talked with Scamp about it everyday, and she would agree until naptime or bedtime rolled around. Finally, I set the passey-throwing away event for yesterday, Monday. As soon as Scamp got up, we cut up her passeys at her request then threw them in the garbage. But, her daddy and I hid two just in case.:)

Scamp and I got dressed and headed to Walgreen's to buy the Hannah Montana make-up kit she chose prior. Scamp was very excited. I even had Scamp tell the cashier why she was getting the make-up to help reinforce her decision to throw the passeys away. We got home and opened the box immediately and let her choose whatever colors she wanted. She called her Nana and her Meme (Beef's mom) to tell them the wonderful news.

I continued to talk with Scamp about how she wouldn't have a passey for nap today, but when her 2:00 pm naptime came, she freaked out. She came running into the bathroom where I was drying my hair, crying and saying she didn't want to be a big girl anymore. I tried to comfort her by telling her she could do it with her responding back that no she couldn't.

Finally, her daddy, who works from home, told her he would put her to bed. She was upset for about ten minutes, but he calmed her down by letting her watch a TV show before bed. She fussed in her bed for several minutes and finally fell asleep. The same reaction happened before bedtime last night as well. But, today was much better. She asked me to buy her more passeys, but she didn't cry for nap today. I'm proud of her and have been telling her that often. I hope the rest of the week goes as well as this afternoon. Way to go Baby Girl!

An Exhausting But Fun Week

Whew! I'm in my comfy clothes today with absolutely no plans. Scamp's still in her jammies, and we just enjoyed some chocolate chip pancakes and eggs for our 11:00 am breakfast. Sleeping in to 10:00 am was nice.

We've had to be out the door before nine almost everyday this week. It doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but being pregnant and not used to putting that much energy into mornings everyday has taken the breath out of me.

Monday was MOPS, and did I have a good time sharing in my small group. All the ladies in my group are so very nice. We plan to have a Girl's Night Out next week.

Tuesday was Toddler Gymnastics. Scamp had a good time learning to do forward rolls and log rolls, walking on the squishy balance beam and singing songs with her teacher. We then went to ABCs 123s to learn the letter T and play train with 20 plus toddlers. Exhausting!

Wednesday was BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). We had to read almost the entire book of Leviticus the few days before class. After class, I dropped Scamp off at home and went to our monthly group fellowship. Again, God has blessed me with wonderful, loving group buddies.

Thursday was another doctor's appointment. I'm 29 weeks and will be going to the doctor every 2 weeks from now on. All is well! The appointment was short, but the drive was long. We went to McDonald's and Wal Mart after the visit. Wal Mart yet again whipped my tushy! Thursday is also our game night. We got some awesome pictures of all the kiddos that came. I hope to share them soon.

Today, Friday. My only tedious task is baths for Scamp and myself. I'm resting up for that! I'll need to rest today to handle the weekend. Saturday won't be too bad, but we have a family breakfast at 8:00 am. I'm not a morning person.:) Sunday, Beef and I have the 3 year olds in nursery. We'll both need a day to recover from that. They're all bundles of energy and fun. Let's hope we can keep up!

Whoville in Ice

Is anyone else having trouble uploading pictures to blogger? I have tried to post about our trip to Ice! three times now. I'm finally able to get some photos up!

This ice sculpture event is held every year with a different theme, and this year's theme was "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas." They provide parkas for every one. It is so cold inside. At first, Scamp was scared to go in because you had to make your way down a narrow hallway blocked by long plastic flaps, but once inside she was thrilled. Scamp and Beef both went down an ice slide. We saw lots of Who's, and the finale was the Nativity scene. It was quite spectacular. I hope to post some Christmas pics soon.

Belly Bump

As promised, here are the pictures of the "bump" at 18 weeks. No one has stopped me yet to ask if I'm pregnant.

My belly button started poking out a long time ago. I told Scamp the baby inside was growing and pushed my belly button out. She talks about this often. I wander how she really comprehends this.
The belly looks much more pronounced from the front. I definitely look pregnant from this angle.

13 Weeks and Counting

You all are probably wondering where I've been. I've had to take a big break from the computer and reading due to nausea. Actually, my morning sickness hasn't been as bad as it was with Scamp, but blogging and checking email cause me to feel sick. I've been trying to catch back up, so if you've emailed me and I haven't responded this is why. I still have over 200 messages to check in my yahoo account. Thank goodness a lot of them are junk mail.

It's only one more week until I'm out of the first trimester, and I'm hoping the nausea will subside. I did have an ultrasound a couple of weeks ago to make sure the baby was planted in my uterus and not my fallopian tube again. Great news! He/she is right where they're supposed to be. Scamp was so excited to see the tiny baby on TV. She claimed the ultrasound photo as her own. We still won't know the sex of the baby until another 5 weeks or so.

This pregnancy has been somewhat easier due to less nausea although I am uncomfortable a good portion of the time. I'm ravenously hungry all the time, and it's been hard to try to limit sweets and other highly fattening things that taste so good during pregnancy but may cause excess weight gain. Ok, the dietitian is coming out in me.

I do have to monitor my weight a bit more because of the back problems pregnancy causes for me. I have a mild form of spina bifida (spina bifida occulta), a birth defect in which the spinal cord may be protruding through an opening at the end of the spine. In my case (and my mother's since mine is genetic), the spine was not protruding out at birth, but the lower vertebrae are fused together. This has not had much affect on me besides the fact I will never be able to touch my toes, and I have to use extra caution with certain exercises. But, due to the weight gain with pregnancy, I will continue to have increased back pain with all activities. I had to wear a belly belt with Scamp and go to physical therapy because even walking caused severe pain.

Anyway, back to the positive side. I am so thankful that everything is ok thus far with the baby. God has blessed us, and we are trusting that He will continue to carry us through the pregnancy. I miss you all and hope to resume normal blogging very soon.

The Things Scamp Does

I'm here catching up on my blog stuff while Scamp is supposed to be in her bed sleeping. I hear some banging from upstairs and go to investigate. She's in her bed trying to hide because she's taken her pants and pull-up off so that her pet kitty (stuffed) can wear them! I bite my tongue to keep from laughing. I help her back into her clothes, well pull-up anyway because kitty still wants to sleep in her pants, and then put her back to bed. It's always a riot around here!

A Week Alone

Where has the time gone? I've neglected my blog posts lately as well as my Bloglines! Hopefully, I'll catch back up soon. This week Beef is in Arizona for his work. It's the first time he's been on a business trip since we've been married. We both got teary-eyed on Sunday afternoon when he left. Scamp has been doing fairly well without her daddy being gone. He left for his flight while she was taking a nap. When she woke up, she cried for him but we went to McDonald's and the bookstore to keep her mind off his absence. She asks about him everyday.

I've been trying to conserve my energy for the week since I'm solo in taking care of her. Tomorrow, we are going to my sister's to spend the night to help watch my nephew, so that should be fun. Beef will get back on Saturday. Scamp and I will pick him up from the airport, and I'm sure she'll be ecstatic.