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.

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.

My Best Friend's Wedding

One of my closest friends, Janice, got married a couple of weekends ago. We had a full week of activities with showers and rehearsals. This was at the rehearsal dinner. Scamp has to take a purse filled with her most needed essentials everywhere we go. This pirate hat and princess top just happened to be handy for this occasion.



Beef was one of the groomsmen in the wedding. He cleans up well, huh?


This is Janice and I. I loved her dress.


We had a great Memorial Weekend. We had lunch with some friends on Saturday and a big cookout with Matt's family on Monday. They pulled out the inflatable water slide from last year, and the kids played on that all day. Click on the link to see pictures from last year. Scamp was a bit hesitant to get on at first, so we left her alone. Then, she climbed up and went down by herself. We couldn't get her off the slide after that.

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.

Who's Who?

Same outfit, same swing, same baby? The top is Scamp, and the bottom is Scoodle. Now I can really see how different and the same they look.

Scamp's Animal Parade

I had my 38-week doctor's appointment today and found out there has been no progress towards me going into labor. It is getting harder to wait. I took Scamp with me to the office. She is always so good while we're there and hides behind the little changing curtain and pretends it's her house.

After we left the building and got to the car, I cried. Scamp was really concerned and said, "Why you cryin', Mama?" I told her I was just ready to have the baby. She told me we were going to see baby sister soon and not to cry. She was so sweet.

We went to the outlet mall after that and got some specialty chocolates. I needed something to cheer me up. We went home, and I let her play for another hour before bed. I fixed her a snack and told her I was coming up to her room to put her to bed, and this is what I found: Scamp smirking from ear-to-ear and all (I mean all) her animals and babies lined up on the steps for an Animal Parade. This made my day. You've got to see the video below.

Birthday Pool Party

Sunday, we went to my nephew's (Bubby) 6th birthday party at the pool. I can't believe he is six already. He's had a big year with starting kindergarten. He had the stomach flu earlier but was able to still have fun at the party. He even had to be rescued by a lifeguard. He went into the 5 foot area without his life vest on. He was bobbing up and down, not panicking, so the lifeguard near him didn't think anything was wrong. But, another one a little further away saw him and tried to give him a life preserver, but when he didn't take it, she jumped in after him. We got a good scare, but Bubby wasn't even upset. When I was about his age, I went under and had to have my sister, Bubby's mom, pull me out. I cried and didn't want to get back into the pool for awhile.

Scamp had to wear her shades in the indoor pool. The party was in the evening, and the sun wasn't even shining through the windows. She's so adorable. She had the biggest time in the kiddie pool with her other cousins until she got mad at Bubby. She whopped him in the face with her bucket then cried when he yelled at her to stop. We didn't know what had happened until we saw the welt on Bubby's face!

Here's a good preggy shot of me. I'm 38 weeks today and still holding on. I'm ready to have this baby anytime you are, dear Lord!

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!

Snow Days '09

It usually snows here in March, and we certainly didn't miss out on snow this year. We got a whopping 2-3 inches! At least this year, we had enough snow to make a snowman before it melted away. BTW, that's Scamp's birthday cake above.
I was so glad to have a coat that actually zipped. Squirt was all bundled up!


At my parent's home about 30 minutes away they got several more inches. My mom measured 9 inches. This was the second day of snow when Scamp and I traveled up to see my niece, nephew and dad who were off for the day.

I wish I could have rode the sled my dad hitched up to his T-Rex. Maybe next year.

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!

Silliness at the Doctor's Office

Today, I am 33 weeks and only have six more weeks left until my due date. Hooray! Last week's doctor's visit went well. The baby is growing. Usually, I take Scamp with me to my non-invasive visits (if you know what I mean) as I did this past week.

We are standing at the receptionist's desk in front of several other waiting patrons when Scamp asks, "Mama, do you have to pee in a cup today?"

I can see that the receptionist heard her when a huge grin appears on her face. I'm too embarrassed to turn and see who also has heard. I reply back, laughing, "Yes, baby, I do."

We are sent back to the restroom, and Scamp points to the cups and exclaims, "Get you cup, Mama." She can hardly contain her excitement. When it's her turn to use the potty, she lets me know matter-of-factly that she does not need a cup. "No, you don't, baby. No, you don't," I say trying not to laugh.

Oh, the laughs she gives me. I love my little Scamp.

More Belly Pics

Here are some more photos of my growing belly. A few people have noticed I'm pregnant now. I was pregnant with Scamp in the summer, and all kinds of people would approach me about my pregnant belly. Now, when I go places I'm all bundled up with my thick coat on, and people don't notice as much.

Scamp is always poking at my belly saying, "Hi, baby." When she sees other tiny babies she says, "I'm gonna have one of those." She asked me today if we we're going to have two babies. I told her no, just one. She seems to be fine with that.

I am 28 weeks today. We're getting very close to delivery. Last week, I had some excessive sharp pains in my lower left side. I have had them since the start of my pregnancy and was told it was a cyst (good thing) that developed on my ovary because of the pregnancy. The pain typically lasts 5-10 minutes and subsides, but I had been in pain for over two hours when I called my doctor. They told me to go to the ER, where they admitted me into Labor and Delivery.

The doctor who performed my surgery for the ectopic pregnancy I had back in March saw me. He did an ultrasound and found out everything was fine. I have a strained ligament, which is pretty common in pregnancy. I haven't had much pain since then. I also found out I'm anemic. It's funny how your pregnancy symptoms are the same as iron deficiency symptoms -- fatigue, irritability, inability to concentrate. I'm taking an iron supplement and am eating an iron-rich diet. Overall, I'm feeling pregnant, but it hasn't been too bad. We are feeling very excited and blessed. Beef has even cleaned out his office for the nursery. We hope to paint soon.

Famous Words of a Sassy Three Year Old

Scamp has such the vocabulary. I don't know where she comes up with half of what she's saying, but she seems to know when to say it. Here are some of her famous sayings:

"I'm not your best friend anymore." (when she's mad at you)

"Mama, are you ready to rock?" (I'm thinking cousin Bubby helped with that one.)

"I can have some of that."

"Oh my goodness!" (she got that from me)

"That was uh accident." (for all things whether intentional or not)

"My girls are comin' over." (think "peeps" or girlfriends like she has her own passe)

"You wanna play with me?"

"I wanna hold you." (for you to pick her up)

"Let's do somethin' fun."

"Let's do a project."

"Baby sister's in my belly. Don't touch it." (I wonder who she heard that from?)

Here are some of her miss sayings:

"I'm goin' to Skunday Skool."

"Can you fix my plughouse?" (her version on clubhouse)

"Pa shot that i-Cody." (Coyote)

Singing "There was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name-o. Here I-N-G-O, Here-I-N-G-O, ..."

I would love for you to here more of her songs. She's a riot! Oh, and the looks she gives while she's saying some of those things. Like she's saying "I know you did, now don't deny it!" She has got the attitude!

Big Girl Bed

Scamp finally moved from her crib to her big girl bed the night after Christmas. We bought a princess tent for her big bed as a Christmas present. We had tried several times beforehand to get her to move, but she was always too scared. She would ask us to make her a "plughouse" (club house) using a blanket on the top of her crib. She had to sleep like this every night. That's when I got the idea to put a tent up on her big girl bed.

We told her a few days before that she was going to make the move. She has been saying for several months that she is going to sleep in her big girl bed and baby sister is going to sleep in the baby bed. But, when the time came for Scamp to get into her tent bed, she requested to be put back in the crib with her blanket plughouse. Her daddy told her she couldn't have a plughouse for her crib anymore, only her big girl bed. She decided right then she would sleep in her new tent bed so that "the monsters wouldn't get her." She is obsessed with monsters! She is now in her big girl bed with no problems. The crib has been moved to baby sister's room. We eventually hope to put up a canopy on her bed to replace the tent. She has a traditional canopy bed that just happened to be her Meme's (Beef's mom). Plus, Meme is going to make the canopy.