True Vine Design

Keeping Very Busy These Days

2010-04-20T20:29:00.000-04:00

As most of you know, a lot has been going on that's been very stressful the past few months. Because of that I haven't had any time to make new jewelry or even update this blog. Hopefully that will all change soon as life changes get easier to deal with. I especially hope to blog more in the future.

Thanks for checking in here! I appreciate you!

Adding More New Jewelry!

2009-11-28T19:26:00.001-05:00

I've been adding lots of new jewelry to my website today.

Please check out True Vine Design

You can purchase directly off my website

and I can ship anywhere in the country.

Handmade jewelry makes the perfect Christmas gift!

A Really Great Day!

2009-11-24T23:12:00.002-05:00

Today was just a really great day, so please let me count my blessings:

1) I feel good and do not have an allergy/sinus headache! Thank God!

2) I made another jewelry sale on my Etsy site!

3) The kids and I had a blast this morning at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery.

4) All 4 of us had a yummy home-cooked dinner; meaning that the kids stayed at the table and ate with us!

5) Luke went to bed at a decent hour AND is in his bed instead of on the couch! I was so relieved to not have to sit next to his bed until he fell asleep. I had to threaten him with locking his door if he didn't stay put, and that worked! Here's praying he'll stay there through the night and that I can remain firm and consistent.

6) Lexie was her usual darling self. Then at 8:00 pm, she said, "Want to go night night," so I put her to bed and she fell right to sleep. I'm hoping that she'll always be that easy to get to bed!

7) My sweet hubby and I had a wonderful 7th anniversary yesterday. I feel so blessed!

Thank you, Lord, for the little things in life!

Adding Lots of New Jewelry

2009-11-19T21:09:00.002-05:00

I made a large sale this morning, which was super exciting! I'm so grateful to have found a fun hobby which is also a successful home business.

Remember, even if you can't make it to my Holiday Open House, I can ship jewelry orders anywhere in the country.

I added some new, beautiful jewelry to my Etsy site: TrueVineDesign

Handmade jewelry makes a great Christmas gift!

A Holiday Open House on Dec. 6

2009-11-14T15:34:00.003-05:00

Please come to my holiday Open House on Sunday December 6.

I'll be featuring my entire stock of handmade jewelry for sale.

Feel free to stop by anytime between 2 and 6 pm!

Refreshments provided compliments of Pampered Chef.

A friend will be on hand if you'd like to

place an order with Pampered Chef.

A small sampling of my inventory can be seen at

TrueVineDesign

Remember, handmade jewelry makes the perfect Christmas gift!

I can ship jewelry anywhere in the United States!

Thanks to my Loyal Readers!

2009-11-12T14:20:00.002-05:00

Sorry I've been so busy these last few months that I haven't had any time to keep up on this blog.

But thanks so much to all my loyal readers who still keep checking back to find out the latest on our family and True Vine Design jewelry. You are all very much appreciated and are such a blessing!

There will be new updates to come very soon...

Craft Supply Sale this Saturday

2009-08-12T12:59:00.003-04:00

Kettering Rec Center is having their first every Re-Create-It sale this Saturday from 9-noon. I have a ton of fabric and sewing supplies to sell.

There should be lots of great craft supplies to buy cheap, from fabric to yarn, from scrapbooking stuff to all kinds of paper-crafting items. Here is the website for more info:
http://www.ketteringoh.org/newweb/events/events_09_08_15a.php

Hope to see you there!

Luke Slept Great Last Night!

2009-07-28T21:18:00.002-04:00

It truly amazes me that just a few specific rules about where and how Luke can have his sippy cups could have such an impact in only one day! I'm grateful that the doctor carefully laid out the new plan directly to Luke, and he's not really questioning it. By making him sit at the table with his drinks and offering food at the same time, he's actually eating! He's been such a picky eater up to this point that I really had trouble getting him to try anything; he just wanted juice or milk. I realize that he simply got used to always having a drink handy.

Today, he asked for milk on the couch and I simply said "No. The doctor said it's not good for you." And he accepted it as fact! And I really wasn't expecting him to eat better as a result of the 'Plan', but he's now associating drinking at the table with food. How awesome!

So, last night I did have a little trouble getting him to stay in bed initially, but he was asleep by 10:30. I told him there would be no drinks in the night. "The doctor said it's not good for you." Then I didn't see or hear from him until 5:00 am! Truly a record. That's when Marty gets up to go to work and he usually wakes up at this time. The cool thing is that he just climbed into bed with me and never asked for a drink! I changed his diaper in the dark, then we both slept until almost 7:30. Very nice!

And today he's been eating and drinking at the table and even now sits with us during meals. Lots of added benefits with this plan, so I'm highly recommending it for anyone who's having trouble getting their kids to eat or sleep well.

Thanks again for all the prayers and encouragement!

A Gameplan for Helping Luke Sleep

2009-07-27T19:15:00.003-04:00

I met with the pediatrician today and had Luke checked out to make sure nothing else is going on. We ruled out anemia and checked his glucose levels. Since he is so attached to his drinks, both juice and milk, she was afraid he may be diabetic. I was concerned he was be a bit dehydrated after a week of diarrhea. Turns out he's almost better and has nothing wrong physically.

I realize I created a monster when I let Luke have a sippy cup in his crib at 18 months. (Hindsight is 20/20.) My advice for all you first time moms is "Don't do it!" No matter how tempted you may be to give your child a bottle or sippy cup in their bed, don't give in. I wish so badly I hadn't started that horrible habit. At least I know better with Lexie; she only gets drinks in her highchair.

Here's the plan: The first thing we'll do is tell Luke he can't have any drinks at night, not even water. He had gotten into the terrible habit of wanting drinks all night long, and once his cup is empty he wakes me up wanting more. Dr. Pipik said we need to simply break him of a bad habit. When he wakes me up I just have to firmly walk him back to bed; and if it means doing it repeatedly I've got to stay consistent.

Next, we're to tell Luke he can only have his drinks at the dining room table or at his small table along with food or a snack. We're trying to encourage drinking only with meals, not while sitting on the couch watching videos, in his bed or even while riding in the car. He's simply too orally fixated on having something to suck on all the time. (He might as well have a pacifier.)

To encourage success with these 2 things, we're implementing a sticker reward chart. The pediatrician said positive reinforcement and staying consistently firm are our keys to success. He'll get a small sticker or checkmark for the following: going to bed without crying, having drinks at the table, not needing drinks in the night, and the biggie will be for not waking mommy in the night! Marty and I are trying to figure out a big reward for getting 20 stickers, or something like that.

I feel very encouraged by this plan, especially since it doesn't involve locking him in his room. Marty and I both feel very strongly that wouldn't help with Luke. We don't want him to be afraid of going in his room or feel trapped in there. We want it to be a comfy safe haven for him.

So, we're trying to break Luke of needing to suck on a sippy cup all the time. It should also help him become a better eater. The good thing is that he gained 3 pounds in the last 3 months and is now up to 29 pounds. He's still a picky eater and has his days where it seems he eats nothing, but it all seems to balance out. Dr. Pipik told me not to worry that I might be starving him... he's getting what he needs.

Thanks again, everyone, for all your feedback and encouragement on helping Luke stay in bed at night. Please keep praying that we'll have success with our new plan!

Learning Patience as a Mom

2009-07-12T21:56:00.003-04:00

In the evenings when I sit in Luke's room in the dark at bedtime, I've been talking to God. It's become a great prayer time. God has really taught me patience and to see where my priorities lie.

Even though my son needs me to sit near him while he falls asleep, I realize it's okay. I'm a mom; it's my job. What other pressing needs are there, other than TV or reading a book in the evenings? (I can make jewelry while the kids are playing or during naptime.) My kids must be the most important focus each day. I've learned to show Luke that I'm there for him to offer the reassurance he needs. He's very clingy right now and I believe it's just a stage and he'll soon grow out of it. I'm trying to remain patient and really listen when he tells me what he needs.

Everyone keeps telling me they're only this young for such a short time and to take the time to really enjoy my kids. So, that's what I'm trying to do. Each evening Marty and I head into Luke's room while both kids jump on his bed and climb on the play structure with the slide. There's a lot of tickling, giggling and laughing going on then; it's been great quality family time. We've learned how much how our kids need this time with us. We've learned to let go of other distractions for a little while, especially the computer.

Last night it took extra long to get Luke to bed. He kept getting up repeatedly for over an hour. But I have to remember that many nights, he goes right to sleep. Even though he's still waking up in the night, I just keeping walking him back to bed. I figure it's only a matter of time before he begins sleeping through the night again. He no longer needs a sippy cup to fall asleep, thank God. He only gets drinks of water if he wakes up, and usually will go right back to sleep. And God is helping me endure on very disrupted sleep, even on those days I don't get a nap.

So, I just wanted to remind everyone that God is good, He is always there for us, and when we keep the focus on Him we can get through anything!

Luke Keeps Waking in the Night

2009-07-10T13:40:00.005-04:00

I can't figure it out. Why does Luke keep waking up 2-3 times a night and come to get me? This has been going on for a couple of months now, it seems, since he made the transition to his big boy bed (a twin mattress on the floor). But at first, he'd stay put all night. Then all of a sudden, he just starting waking me up, and mostly asks for milk or juice every night.

I'd chalk it up to thirst, but it happens too often. It's usually around 1 or 1:30, then again at 4 or 4:30, and then he'll climb into bed with me after Marty has left for work, usually around 6:30 or so. Needless to say, my sleep is so disrupted that it feels like I have a newborn in the house again. (Thank God that Lexie is sleeping 12-13 hours a night without waking these days!)

I thought it might be because he's a bit dependent upon drinking a sippy cup of milk while he falls asleep. But I've stopped that, and won't let him have one anymore to go to bed each night. He usually gets his last cup of milk around 9 or 9:30.

Luke doesn't always need a drink to get back to sleep, and sometimes he does need a new diaper. But usually, if I just walk him back and tuck him in, he'll go right back to sleep. Unfortunately, it doesn't last for longer than 3 hours.

He also tends to be a very picky eater who prefers milk or watered-down juice to food. It goes in spurts, which the pediatrician said is normal; he'll have his eating and non-eating days. And he's healthy and certainly has plenty of energy during the day.

Is it insecurity? He won't settle for daddy tucking him back in, or even doing the bedtime routine. It has to be mommy. He's definitely going through separation anxiety from me when I leave him with a sitter or in the nursery at church. So I'm praying it's just a stage he's going through. He gets grumpy from time to time, but that's probably because he's not sleeping well at night.

He'll turn 3 in September, and I have discovered a couple other moms whose kids seemed to wake more frequently around this age. I'm open to suggestions, or discovering what has worked for you.

The one thing that Marty and I agree is not an option for Luke is locking him in his room. I tried that a couple of times and he went ballistic... totally flipped out and hysterical. He was so upset that he started choking. Besides, I really believe this has something to do with needing access to mommy right now.

Please feel free to leave comments here or put them on my Facebook Wall. Thanks so much for listening, and I sure appreciate your prayers! (In the meantime, thank God for naps!)

Helping with Vacation Bible School Next Week

2009-06-22T22:00:00.002-04:00

I'm excited to be helping with VBS next week at Mt. Zion Church, which is on the border of Beavercreek and Xenia, just off Indian Ripple Road. It's for ages 3 years through grade 5 and should be tons of fun! It will run from 9 to noon each day.

It's free and should be a great time for your kids. I'll be helping teach the elementary crafts... right up my alley!

Here's the website; just click on 'Crocodile Dock' for all the details: www.mountzionchurch.org

Hope to see you there!

Americana Festival Booth Assignment

2009-06-18T08:31:00.004-04:00

God is so good! We just got our booth assignment and checked out the location and can't believe how blessed we are!

It will be so easy to find us in Centerville on the 4th of July... Just look for the traffic light on St. Rt. 48 at Iron Gate Park Drive. Turn onto that street and we're the 1st booth on your left. We're right next to the BP station directly on the corner. We'll have a lime green banner in front of our canopy, which should help us stand out.

Booths must be set up by 9:30 am, and the parade starts at 10. The parade route will be on Franklin Street, so feel free to come check us out during the parade before the crowd gets too large.

I'm so excited about this opportunity to show my handmade jewelry to the world. I hope you can all come by to visit!

Ceramic Pottery Beaded Jewelry

2009-06-18T08:18:00.004-04:00

I found the coolest beads at Hobby Lobby! I discovered that they have a great selection of high quality glass and semiprecious gemstones at really decent prices.

When I saw these gorgeous glazed ceramic pottery beads in shades of blues and greens, I had to have them. I accented them with copper for a truly one-of-a-kind effect!

A Power Struggle with Luke

2009-06-11T23:18:00.003-04:00

There's nothing like a power struggle with your two-year-old. It's all about him wanting to sleep wherever he wants: the couch, the floor of the living room, or the floor of his room, but not in his bed.

We had to put him back in there too many times to count tonight, but he has finally stayed put. It actually took an hour and a half! I thank God for giving me the patience to hang in there, be firm with bringing him back every time, and for not losing my cool.

We absolutely cannot lock him in his room. For some reason, that terrifies him. When I just put the baby gate across the bedroom door, he went hysterical. After 10 minutes of being locked in there, he was crying so hard he started choking. Apparently it scares him to death if he realizes he can't get out of his room by himself. So, we'll be passing on the door locks.

The first hour went well... just a lot of putting him back over and over. As soon as I'd get up he'd turn around and walk right back in his room. But then he started getting hysterical when Marty took over. For some reason, it had to be me to take him back... he kept crying for mommy. I had to hold him until he settled down a little bit, tell him I loved him... then when I put him back he finally stayed put.

Unfortunately, Marty goes to bed early since he's up by 5 am, so I'm the one who has to put Luke to bed almost every night. And he's a night owl like be, so bedtime is around 9:30 - 9:45. (What a blessing that Lexie will sleep from 8:30 pm until 9 am most every night now!)

The crazy thing about Luke is that he'll go right to sleep if I let him stay on the couch. Some nights I had reached the limit for my patience and just let him stay... so, I ended up creating a monster!

But after talking to a couple of friends and hearing what they did for bedtime, I realize that I just had to stay firm... I'm the one in charge... not him!

Finally... a Necklace!

2009-06-07T21:49:00.004-04:00

I finally finished a necklace and posted it on my Etsy site. I'd love to know what you think!

I'm excited to finally get it finished. It look a long time due to all those tiny seed beads and it being a multi-strand necklace. But I'm really happy with the way it turned out!

I have 2 other necklaces in the works, so more pics to come soon...

A Busy Weekend

2009-06-07T20:19:00.003-04:00

We had a really busy, yet great weekend. I spent part of Friday at the parents' house and discovered that the city of Monroe was having a community-wide garage sale weekend. So, we went back on Saturday and must have made it to 12 garage sales, all within walking distance of my parents' house. It was a beautiful day for a neighborhood walk, and we got some great deals, too!

Then it was off to various graduation parties and Sinclair's family picnic today. Lots of fun, but I think we all got too much sun.

Here's hoping that I'll get to bed early!

Sold Another Piece of Jewelry!

2009-06-04T13:34:00.003-04:00

I'm super-excited because I just sold another piece of jewelry on my Etsy site! A complete stranger in Massachusetts bought my sterling and lapis earrings... she said they were just what she was looking for. Yay!

I've been hoping to make a small income from this jewelry business, and so far so good. The Americana Festival on the 4th of July will be very critical in determining if I can earn back all the money I've invested in supplies. I believe it will be a huge success!

Thanks, Lord, for small blessings!

Our Goofy Girl

2009-06-01T12:33:00.004-04:00

Lexie is teething big time now. You can feel all along her gums where several teeth are ready to pop through at once. She sure is grumpy, but it's about time. She wants to eat big people food and is tired of eating mushy stuff.

Here's our precious girl being goofy, taking after daddy. She put her sippy cup on her head all by herself!

Selling at my First Craft Festival!

2009-05-29T21:06:00.002-04:00

I'm super-excited because I booked a booth to sell my jewelry at the Americana Festival in Centerville, Ohio, on the 4th of July. It should be super-fun, and I'm anxious to show the world a whole lot of unique handmade jewelry.

From now through July 3 I will be making jewelry like crazy to build up my inventory so I'll have a nice variety to offer.

I hope many of you will be able to stop by my booth, see what I have, and let me know what you think.

More details as it gets closer to show time!

A Fun Sunday

2009-05-25T08:40:00.002-04:00

Sunday was a lot of fun for our family. We started the day at church... Marty went to the service while I hung out with Luke in his class; he still is insecure without one of us to stay with him.

Then it was home for naptime, and off to Mim's graduation party. Very cool to see friends we haven't seen in a long time!

From there, we headed over to Springboro Baptist Church for their family dinner and festival. We had great food catered by City BBQ, tons of desserts, then rides and games for the kids. Luke was in heaven with the giant inflatable bouncy thing... he patiently waited in line a few times for his turn. Then he jumped like mad and laughed hysterically... such a riot to watch! He was intrigued by the barrel train, but when it gone right down to climbing in, he said he was done. He was a bit afraid of it... kept wanting to go see it, but wouldn't get too close after that. All the way home, he kept saying, "Ride the train. Not scared." Such a big boy, trying to be brave!

Lexie was content to push her walking toy all over the church sidewalk and front drive to practice her walking. So cute to watch her stiff-legged waddling along trying to walk! I'm bummed we forgot the camera. So you won't be able to see a picture of how cute Lexie looked in her pink ruffled top with the khaki skort and her little tiny sandals. She's such an adorable sight to see, especially because she's so tiny and bald!

We got home around 9, and I thought the kids would crash, but no such luck. Luke was up until 10, and Lexie was wide awake until almost 11! Silly girl. She kept pushing her riding toy around the house, practicing her walking, and squealing and laughing. She's such a happy little thing... what a joyful sound!

Luke was up at 7:30 this morning... really not too terribly early. And, it's almost 9 am and Lexie is still sleeping. Yay! So, we're enjoying a nice leisurely holiday morning.

Yay, I sold my first bracelet!

2009-05-24T15:02:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited that a friend bought the chunky turquoise bracelet I made! Yay! That brings my grand total to 9 sales among friends, family and co-workers.

I've registered for a booth at the Americana Festival in Centerville, Ohio, on the 4th of July. I'm looking forward to selling a bunch of jewelry and earning back most of my home business start-up costs. I'm praying that selling at this festival will be such a success that I'll be able to book a few more festivals and craft fairs later in the summer and fall. I sure am having fun with this!

Thanks so much everyone for helping me get my business off to a great start!

Added Dainty Earrings

2009-05-23T18:31:00.004-04:00

I created another dainty pair of earrings so there could be something for everyone on my website. I call these ones 'Elegant Simplicity'.

Experimenting with Bracelets

2009-05-19T19:28:00.003-04:00

I recently created my first bracelet. This is made out of turquoise-dyed jasper and has a really pretty aqua color to it.

A friend recently commented that most of my jewelry looked dainty, so I decided to experiment with some larger stones in my designs. This bracelet is chunky so it has substance to it. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

Lexie's Birthday

2009-05-04T12:27:00.003-04:00

Here's Lexie being silly and trying to put her hat back on her head. She's a happy girl today!

Lexie and Birthday Cake

2009-05-04T11:53:00.004-04:00

Lexie's birthday party was fun. We had some close family over and celebrated in our backyard. The weather was gorgeous! I'm only posting one pic here, but there are lots more to see on my Facebook page.

Here is a funny picture of Lexie from her birthday party. She was so dainty and serious while eating her cake... she didn't like making too much of a mess, so this is her after she decided she was finished:

Give Handmade Jewelry for Mother's Day

2009-05-01T22:27:00.004-04:00

Handmade beaded jewelry would make a great Mother's Day gift. Please check out my unique selection of sterling silver earrings, wire-wrapped pendants, beaded silver bookmarks, and fun zipper pulls/charms. And my prices are quite reasonable, too!

I'd be more than happy to help you make your mom's day very special. Just check out www.TrueVineDesign.com
(there's a direct link on the right...)

I also take custom orders. God bless and thanks for looking!

Finally Have my Mac Back...

2009-05-01T22:25:00.002-04:00

I haven't updated in several days, because my Mac was in the shop. Thank God I have it back and that it didn't cost too terribly much to diagnose the bad power adapter. And thank you, Joy, for having a replacement adapter! Boy, I really missed this computer while it was gone. Is that bad? Sad maybe...

I'll try to become a bit more regular with my posts from now on. Since I've been making jewelry regularly the past few weeks, I've let other things slide (like house work!). I'll try to work harder...

Lexie's 1 Year Checkup

2009-04-23T23:23:00.003-04:00

At Lexie's 1 year doctor's appointment on Tuesday, she weighed 19 lbs 1 oz. She's only in the 10th percentile, poor baby. But I do enjoy having a petite little girl... it sure is easier than having to carry a large baby!

On the down side, we discovered she has a little ear infection in both ears. So she's back on antibiotics. She's been very fussy, and we can't tell if it's because her ears hurt of maybe she has teeth coming in. We're hoping for teeth, because she still doesn't have any yet!

Her birthday party was fun. I'll post details and pics tomorrow...

A Blessed Easter & Cardboard Testimonies

2009-04-13T15:48:00.004-04:00

Marty decided to attend the Good Friday service at the Dayton Vineyard on Friday at 7 pm. I stayed home with the kiddos since it was close to their bedtimes; they wouldn't have done well in the nursery that late. After he got home, he said it was a really great service, so we decided to attend their Saturday evening Easter service with my parents.

Even though Luke didn't do well in the nursery -- he seemed insecure since it was a new place for him -- we really enjoyed the service and got to re-connect with so many people we hadn't seen in way too long. The most powerful part of the service was at the end, when about 15 people walked across the stage displaying their cardboard testimonies while a worship song was being played.

Cardboard Testimonies: this is a person's testimony written on a sheet of cardboard as a sign for all to read. The front is where you were BC or Before Christ, and the 2nd side is where you are now: AD or After Christ. I hope that makes sense....

As people walked across the stage, they'd stop and display their 'Before Christ' for about 10 seconds, then flip their sign to show where they are now as a new person in Christ. They were so moving! It was an amazing way for many people to give brief and powerful testimonies! One that comes to mind is a person's sign that said 'Addicted' on one side, and 'FREE' on the other. Such a simple yet impactful testimony!

The last one was a man whose sign said "Struggled with Infertility for 2 1/2 years". Then when the husband flipped the sign over to display "Now the proud parents of TWINS!", the mom walked up there with these 2 darling 2 year old girls. It brought tears to my eyes!

After the service, Marty grabbed a piece of cardboard and said he had to give his testimony on Sunday, especially since so many unbelievers would probably be attending. At first, I wasn't so sure if what he wanted to say was appropriate. But when Marty explained that he knew with a doubt that God wanted to work through him, all I could do was support his decision.

Easter Sunday, Marty went to the Vineyard at the end of the first service while I finished getting the kids ready. When I got there at 10, my mom was leaving, so she took Luke home with her. Marty said it was a moving experience to walk up there with his cardboard testimony, and asked if I'd walk up there too once he flipped his board over, carrying the baby, at the end of the 2nd service. So, here's what we did:

After about 20 people walked up onto stage, they let Marty go last. He walked up there with his sign. Here's what Marty's Before Christ was:
"Pressured my girlfriend to have an abortion."
Then he flipped over his sign to show where he is in Christ right now:
"FORGIVEN. Husband, Father, Worship Leader".
Then I walked up on stage carrying Lexie.

That had an impact like you wouldn't believe. People started standing and clapping. We both had tears in our eyes. I kept thinking, "We don't deserve this." It was so powerful and humbling!

As we walked out, so many people were smiling and thanking us for sharing. Then the pastors asked us if we could stay and do it again for the 3rd service. So, since Luke was with my mom, and we just had the baby, it was a very easy decision to stay.

After walking up onto that stage and sharing Marty's testimony for the 3rd time, the results were just amazing. We witnessed at least 10 people gave their lives to Christ for the first time! I believe that everyone's testimonies were so real that they had a real impact on those who didn't know the Lord!

As we were standing out in the lobby, a single mom named Jessica, thanked us for sharing what we did. She sad she needed to hear that, and just gave her life to Christ! How amazing is that?!! Just like that, God demonstrated how he can use Marty and I to reach the lost. There were several thousand people at all 3 services. I believe we definitely reached many people yesterday. Hopefully, those that are still unbelievers are at least thinking of Jesus and his forgiveness in a whole new way.

We just thank you Lord for dying for our sins!!!

From here on out, Marty and I now know that God wants to use us at the Dayton Vineyard. So many unbelievers and seekers come through those doors... we need to be there for them. And we need to maintain all those relationships we established years ago at that church. It felt just like coming home!

Nothing feels better than following God's will for your life!

Sinus and Allergy Issues

2009-04-01T22:37:00.002-04:00

Well, I saw my Ear, Nose, Throat specialist yesterday. They did a sinus x-ray and were concerned with what they saw. There's still some infection in there, and a possible cyst, all after 2 previous rounds of antibiotics in the last month. So, it's on to another dose of antibiotics, a different one, of course, then another sinus x-ray in 2 weeks. Dr. Howard is hoping the infection will be cleared up enough to see more detail. If it's still inconclusive, or hard to tell for sure, he'll order a cat-scan. The goal is to see if they can get rid of the sinus pressure and continual headaches. If it can be managed by more frequent allergy shots and 3 different allergy/asthma medications, he hopes to avoid surgery even if there is a cyst.

I had sinus surgery back in 1998 and it wasn't fun, but did keep me from having many sinus infections for many years. But this last 4-6 weeks has been bad for me. I'll be happy if I can just be pain free. These last several weeks have been miserable. I've had bad sinus pressure headaches with dizziness and nausea off and on, and last Thursday was actually throwing up. It was horrible.

It all started with a severe sinus infection that my family doctor was able to clear up with a round of Doxycycline. But one week later I was even sicker than before. I not only had the sinus infection again, but I had a horrible seeping eye infection and got laryngitis! I don't remember feeling that bad in a long time. This time, he put me on Levaquin, which is what they usually use for Pneumonia, to really knock it out. The crazy part is that there's still some residual infection in there. Amazing!

Now I'm on Augmentin, along with a medrol dose pack (prednisone) to try to reduce the several nasal swelling the doctor could see. After only one day on this treatment I feel a ton better already! I just pray that it continues. I just want to function and take care of my family. Thank God I didn't have to teach last week since we were on spring break!

Please keep my health in your prayers. The doctor is convinced it's mostly allergy related. Instead of every 2 weeks, he wants me to get shots every 5-7 days now. He also took a swab of one of my sinus cavities (not a pleasant experience) to determine what type of infection it may be. Hopefully, something will lead to consistent good health.

Just Like Daddy!

2009-03-25T16:20:00.004-04:00

Marty likes to wrap a bandanna around his head sometimes, especially when he's going to be riding his motorcyle. Luke patted his head and said "Me, too, daddy!"

So, here are both of them with their 'doo rags'. (And of course, Luke wouldn't sit still, so this is the only shot I could get!)

Lexie Enjoys the Swings

2009-03-24T22:10:00.001-04:00

We took advantage of the beautiful day on Sunday to play at Delco Park. Marty took this great shot of Lexie enjoying the swings. Don't you just love the cute pink sunbonnet?!

I'm tired of being sick!

2009-03-16T19:39:00.002-04:00

I am sick for the second time in less than 3 weeks. I finished my antibiotic for a sinus infection and now feel like it has come back with a vengeance! The pressure is horrible, plus I have swollen glands and a sore throat. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, as well as an order for a sinus x-ray. It's been 11 years since I had sinus surgery, so I have this feeling there may be blockages again. Bummer...

The kids are mostly healthy. Luke is keeping us on our toes by his creativity in finding new things to climb. Today I caught him trying to climb from the computer desk onto the shelf above it. Yikes! He's a very busy little boy. I'll be so grateful when I'm healthy and it stays warm out so we can go for long walks and play at the park.

Lexie is having fun crawling everywhere and exploring her world. She's gotten really fast. She seems to have no interest in cruising even though she pulls herself up to standing all the time. She's a very happy, chatty little girl.

We have lots of fun!

Please keep my healthy in your prayers... I'd sure appreciate it!

Lexie's Eye Infection

2009-03-05T10:09:00.005-05:00

Here's our poor baby once I had cleaned all the yellow gunk out of her eyes from the eye infection. She looked all swollen and bloodshot.

Very Busy at Our House

2009-03-04T21:55:00.003-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated my blog. We've all been sick, and when the kids are napping, I've had to nap, too. I've had a sinus infection for a week now and am ready for it to be gone. I've had some of the most horrible headaches this past week... the kind that make me dizzy and nauseous.

I took Luke to the doctor on Friday for an ear infection; then I went on Saturday; and I had to take Lexie on Monday. She had it the worst: an ear and eye infection. Her eyes were oozing so badly that she woke up several times with her eyes gooped completely shut! It was so sad... she just looked pathetic with those red, swollen eyes and all that yellow crusty stuff in her eyelashes. Poor baby!

Now that the 3 of us are starting to feel better, Marty is feeling a bit stuffy and achy.

Luke keeps us on our toes, though. He's into climbing everything, and I mean everything! He climbs onto all dressers, desks, the dining room hutch, the bathroom counter... the list goes on and on. And his latest feat is dragging a dining room chair around the house to climb up on to reach whatever he wants. Yikes!

I sure will be glad when we're all healthy again and the weather stays warm. I'll keep that busy little boy occupied with long walks and playing at the park.

Lexie is Trying to Stand

2009-02-17T17:35:00.001-05:00

Lexie has been pulling herself up on toys so she can stand. Here is a cute shot of her slippery feet jammies sliding out from under her, so she's almost doing the splits!

An Innovative Two-Year-Old

2009-02-17T17:32:00.001-05:00

Luke has mastered the ability to problem solve. He wanted to reach the items on top of his dresser, so he figured out a way to do it. He first emptied the dresser of all his clothes, then used the drawers as steps!

Silly Kids!

2009-01-30T19:29:00.002-05:00

Luke is talking up a storm these days. He's stringing more and more sentences together. It's really cute to here a complete sentence come out of his mouth. His favorite thing to say when he can't find something is, "Where'd it go?" He answers himself with, "I don't know!" Then, when he finds it, he says, "There it is!"

When we're driving somewhere he likes to point out and name things. When we arrive where we're going, he says "Here we are!" or "Here it is!" It's so cute!

The baby is saying a few words now, too. She says "Ma ma ma" and "Da da da", "Uh oh" and "Up". Super adorable! And she gets a huge kick out of her brother. He'll run in and out of the room, and every time he runs back to her she gets really excited and laughs and kicks and throws her arms out.

We have a lot of fun at our house!

Kids are Sick Again!

2009-01-23T13:03:00.002-05:00

We had about 3 weeks of wellness, but now both kids are fighting off colds again. They both have runny noses, are congested and coughing. No fever, though, so that's a good thing. Just a lot of whining from Luke and fussiness from Lexie. She keeps waking up in the night, too.

I'm just praying that Marty and I stay well!

I love teaching again, and my class at Clark State is a good bunch of kids. I'm having lots of fun and enjoy the periodic break from mom-mode.

Other than that, everything is good!

Helping with the Housework

2009-01-17T12:32:00.002-05:00

Luke has been terrified of the vacuum and would cry when I'd turn it on until he was almost 2. (I had to vacuum while he was either sleeping or out of the house.) Then he became fascinated. Mine is too large for him to push, so while I vacuum with the large one, he vacuums with the smaller broom-vac. It's great! He also likes to help empty the dishwasher, and throw wet clothes into the dryer. Lexie just stares while I vacuum; she's simply fascinated with it.

Our house is usually in a cozily cluttered disarray. We try to pick up the toys every few days so you don't break your neck, vacuum at least once every couple of weeks (or when the baby tries to eat crumbs and fuzz off the floor), and run the dishwasher when we run out of cups or spoons. And laundry... well, I'm never caught up on that, and it only seems to get worse!

Oh well, at least we're happy and healthy!

Lexie and Babyfood

2009-01-14T19:29:00.005-05:00

Lexie has issues with babyfood. Perhaps it's too mushy. I don't know. She'll only eat baby oatmeal mixed with fruit, occasionally sweet potatoes, and that's about it. She simply clamps her mouth shut and refuses to let you put any spoonfuls of food in.

But, Lexie seems to want whatever she sees you eating.

Earlier today, Luke offered her a donut. She opened her mouth and eagerly leaned toward it. I intervened just as her mouth clamped onto it. Hmmmm... apparently she wants real food. Of course, it would help if she had some teeth!

We ate spaghetti and Italian sausage for dinner, and sure enough, Lexie ate several small bites and kept opening her mouth for more. She even ate some garlic toast! Go figure.

Lexie's 9-Month Checkup

2009-01-13T13:31:00.002-05:00

Lexie is doing fairly well. She's only 17 lbs 6 oz, and 26.75" tall, which puts her in the 25th percentile. (Apparently our kids are destined to take after their short parents.) She has a huge head, though: 44.8 cm (75th percentile). She's going to be one smart girl!

She only recently decided she'd eat babyfood. When she was 6 and 7 months old, she wouldn't have anything to do with it. She was so disgusted with rice cereal, even mixed with fruit, that she'd clamp her mouth tightly shut and simply refuse to take another bite. I'd simply try again every few days, but it wasn't until 8 months old that she started enjoying oatmeal with fruit. The only vegetable she'll eat so far is sweet potatoes. The pediatrician said all this is okay and just let her eat at her own pace.

She's really cute holding her own bottle to eat, and prefers to sit propped up to eat; she doesn't like to be held while eating. (Little miss independent!) She's really close to crawling. She lunges forward from a sitting position onto all fours and rocks. Then she sprawls out on her belly and slowly rotates in a circle to reach what she wants. She only rolls over a little bit to get across the room. She's pretty content to simply stay in one location and play with whatever is in her reach.

I'm actually kind of glad she's hitting all her milestones a bit later than Luke. That means she gets to stay a baby longer, and I'm really enjoying this stage! She's super cuddly and loves to be held and talked to.

She's almost sleeping through the night. At least she doesn't need to eat when she wakes in the night. She still likes to eat sometimes as late as 10 pm, but then she'll sleep until 7ish. She usually wakes up 1-2 times a night crying and simply needs her binky popped in to go right back to sleep. I've tried letting her cry for awhile when she wakes in the night, but she never quite settles down or soothes herself. Oh well. I'm praying it's only a matter of time. On average, she'll sleep 8 to 6. And yes, it's pretty rough because I am absolutely not a morning person. I don't do 6:00 am very well. Thank God for coffee!

Luke is my good sleeper. At this age, he slept 8:30 to 8. It was lovely. Now, he sleeps 9 - 7:30 ish. Oh well. You take whatever sleep you can get!

At least both kids are beautiful and healthy!

A Grumpy Lexie

2009-01-08T09:33:00.002-05:00

Last night, Lexie was up from 2:00 am until 4:30. She kept crying and nothing I tried seemed to help. Usually it's either teething pain or she's hungry. I tried teething gel, tylenol, a diaper change and a bottle. She just kept crying. She wouldn't stop rubbing her eyes, though, so it must be the dermatitis/eczema on her face acting up.

I tried rocking her and walking with her and she kept fussing. The only thing that settled her down and stopped her from rubbing her eyes was swaddling her tightly, strapping her into her bouncy seat, and popping in a Baby Einstein video. And by 4:30, she feel asleep in front of the TV. Thank God something worked!

Then, of course, both kids were up by 7. Boy, am I tired! I'm going to try very hard to get them both in for an afternoon nap at the same time. Then I plan on falling into bed!

Lexie is almost 9 months old!

2009-01-05T09:59:00.004-05:00

She's been doing a really cute smile. (I'll try to upload a picture as soon as I get one.) She scrunches up her nose and gives this big gummy grin. It's awesome!

Here she is wearing the Santa baby dress that Aunt Chas bought her.

More pics

2009-01-02T22:08:00.001-05:00

I had several Christmas pictures to upload, but blogger is having trouble. There are lots more to see on my Facebook page.

Santa or Jesus?

2009-01-02T13:22:00.003-05:00

Luke has Santa confused with Jesus. We explained how Christmas was Jesus' birthday; but then when he heard us say that Santa brings presents to put under the tree for Christmas morning, he got really confused. Now, whenever he sees Santa, he says "Jesus!"

How do you explain the concept of Jesus to a 2-year-old? He knows that when we pray we ask Jesus for things, thank Jesus for blessing us, and that Jesus will bless those we love. He also knows that the big statue on the side of I-75 south down near Monroe is of Jesus.

He simply doesn't understand who this Santa guy is and how he fits into the picture. He won't go anywhere near him! It's funny.

Lexie in her prettiest dress!

2008-12-28T20:59:00.005-05:00

Here is my darling girl offering me a Christmas ornament:

Missing Sleep

2008-12-22T12:23:00.003-05:00

Boy, do I miss a full night's sleep. That is the hardest part about having a baby for me. About a month ago, Lexie had started sleeping 6-8 hours at a time at night, which was very nice.

Now though, the past couple of weeks that the kids have been sick, Lexie has been up 2-3 times and Luke once a night. So I've been getting my sleep in 2-4 hour increments. Yuck!

Luke usually takes one nap for 2-3 hours around 1:30 each day. He didn't sleep well last night and was so grumpy this morning. I decided to put him back to bed at 10:30 and it paid off. It is now 2 hours later and he's still sleeping. What a relief! There's not much worse than a whiny grumpy toddler.

Luke has bypassed the Duct Tape

2008-12-21T17:50:00.002-05:00

Well, the duct tape is no longer working as a way to keep Luke's diaper on. He pulls off his pants, then carefully pushes his entire diaper down his legs and simply steps out of it like it's a pair of underpants, with the duct tape still intact.

The only thing I can think of now is putting some one-piece jammies on him backwards so that they zip in the back. Then he can't unzip them, right? Do they make these for 2-year-olds without feet?

What should I try now?

Luke's Leggos

2008-12-20T19:37:00.005-05:00

Luke loves his leggo table! We're grateful for it, too, since he'll play quietly by himself for as much as 20 minutes at a time!

Lexie's First Christmas Tree

2008-12-20T16:38:00.003-05:00

Here's Lexie hanging out in her bouncy seat under the Christmas tree. She's fascinated with all the lights and just loves to stare at it!

Keeping Luke out of trouble

2008-12-20T16:27:00.003-05:00

We had to put the baby gate up again between the kitchen and dining room, and keep Luke out of the kitchen completely. The final straw was when he got into the fridge, managed to get the childproof cap off Lexie's antibiotic, and dumped the entire bottle onto the kitchen floor. What a sticky, pink mess. Thank God he didn't drink it!

He is able to bypass a lot of security and baby-proofing techniques; he is too smart for his own good! He reaches his hands inside the kitchen cabinet and unhooks the latch to open the door to the pantry.

We need to install a hook and eye on the outside of the bathroom door as well as the inside. We like to keep Luke out when we're in there; sometimes it's nice to have a small amount of privacy in the bathroom. We also need to keep him out when we're NOT in there. He loves getting into my makeup, hairspray and feminine products.

He really loves the Christmas tree, too. He helped us decorate, and enjoys taking the ornaments down and putting them back on again. When he has trouble hanging them back up he just throws them on the floor. There's about 9 ornaments all over our living room. Oh well...

Where's the Snow?

2008-12-20T16:20:00.002-05:00

We went to the Spring Valley Tree Farm last weekend to cut down our Christmas tree. Here we are in front of the tree we selected.

What's missing here? Yup... no snow. Marty had a really rough time pulling us all through the grass. Just kidding. He only pulled Luke; but even he thought it was lame and decided to walk instead!

We had a lot of fun. Luke absolutely loves being outside. I wore the baby in the front carrier and she was talking and kicking and very excited to be outside in the cold!

Uh oh... please pray...

2008-12-16T09:52:00.002-05:00

I just took Luke's temperature and it's up to 103.6. Please pray for it to go down and for him to get better quickly.

I'm getting ready to call the pediatrician. It seems we don't have to worry unless it goes over 104....

The nurse said that a rectal temperature reads 1 degree higher than it really is, so it's 102.6, which is still high. She recommended a tepid bath which brought it down initially, but it's slowly climbing back up. I need to keep giving him lots of water and juice and cut back on the milk which may upset his stomach.

Thank goodness Nikki is lending me her temporal artery thermometer which will make it easier to monitor Luke.

He's just lying here on the couch watching videos. He's so lethargic that it's kind of scary. The nurse said I didn't need to worry unless it hit 105. Please keep praying, though!

Sick Kids

2008-12-16T09:25:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we had to take Luke back to the doctor since he wasn't getting better. His cold has developed into an ear infection and his fever has been fluctuating around 100-101. The good thing about the fever is that he is very mellow and just wants to lay around and snuggle. I can handle that! At least he's not bouncing off the walls.

Lexie went to the doctor on Friday and has a double ear infection. She's doing better and only has a low-grade fever. She just keeps waking up twice a night needing medicine, and Luke at least once. I'm tired but hanging in there.

The tylenol definitely helps with the fever; and benadryl has helped dry up all the mucus and runny noses, not to mention helping them sleep. (We should probably buy stock in tylenol, benadryl and amoxicillin!)

After a second round of antibiotics, my bronchitis is almost gone. I guess I had it pretty bad since it's lasted 3 weeks now. Marty is coughing now, so we're praying he doesn't need antibiotics, too. Please pray that we can all be healthy soon, especially in time for Christmas!

Solutions for Luke

2008-12-16T09:15:00.002-05:00

We've tried a couple of solutions to the diaper dilemma. The most successful one being the duct tape. Even our pediatrician said his daughter uses it every day to keep her 2-year-old's diaper on him! Another good solution that was recommended is putting his diaper on backwards so he can't fiddle with the tapes.

We thought about pull-ups, but then he'd just push them right down. He just wants it off... he doesn't necessarily want to go potty regularly yet.

The backwards diaper is easier to put on than messing with the duct tape, but the duct tape is way more secure. I had a heck of a time getting it back off. But after Luke taking off a poopy diaper in his crib the day before yesterday and getting poop all over, and then him handing me another one yesterday afternoon, I realized we had to go with the most secure solution.

He doesn't quite tell me before he has to go, so we keep trying the potty; but it's very irregular and usually after the fact. Oh well.

Thanks everyone for all your helpful solutions and tips!

Diapers. Who Needs 'Em?

2008-12-12T15:39:00.002-05:00

I forget to mention another little mishap that Luke enjoys... taking off his diaper. Twice now after I've put him in for a nap, he gets really quiet. Then after about 10 minutes I hear "Uh oh, Mommy. Uh oh!" The first time I ignored him thinking it was a ploy to get up, but I know better now. Sure enough, when I went in there everything from his bed, including his pants and diaper, was on the floor. All that was left was the sheet. When I asked him why he did that, he said "Wet."

I suppose it's a good thing that he's beginning to dislike being wet so he'll go more on the potty. Who knows how long he was half naked in there, though, because after he took off his diaper he had peed on the bed! Thank God I have 5 crib sheets, and he does like to sit on the big potty. He's been asking to go potty about once or twice a day up to this point, so hopefully we can encourage him to go before he goes in his diaper.

After baths Luke likes to take off and run naked around the house. He just laughs and laughs. And sometimes he just stands in the middle of the living room and takes off his clothes.

Sooo.... how do I keep a diaper on my 2-year-old?

Who needs a calendar when I have Luke?

2008-12-12T15:23:00.002-05:00

If I may say so myself, Luke is a little darling. We went to Wal-Mart this morning to pick up some groceries and get Lexie's medication. (She has a double ear infection, poor thing.) We were almost done and Luke said "Home." I told him yes, after we paid for our stuff that we were going home. Then I corrected myself and told him we had to go to the bank. So I asked him to say "Bank" once we were in the car so I wouldn't forget. About 5 minutes later as we were in the check-out line, I said "Let's go home." And Luke said, "Bank!" I said "Your right. We can't forget to go to the bank. Thank you!" Then, the entire drive home, he kept saying "Bank" every few minutes to make sure I was indeed going to stop there. He cracked me up! It's amazing how a 2-year-old remembers absolutely everything he hears!

He wants me to name things for him now so he'll know what they're called. He just points to something and asks "This?". It's great! We talk about all the stuff we see when we're in the car.

Silly 2-year-old Mishaps

2008-12-11T19:07:00.003-05:00

You have to laugh at all the ways Luke manages to cause mishaps.

When Luke took a bath the other day, in only about 2 inches of water, I went in the other room for a minute. In that small amount of time, Luke managed to use his little bucket to dump over half the water in the tub onto the bathroom floor. He flooded it so well that it soaked into the hall carpet and dripped into the basement!

Yesterday he helped himself to the toilet paper. He unrolled about 1/3 of the roll and shredded it into tiny pieces all over the bathroom floor. Earlier today he stuffed half the roll into the toilet. I managed to pull most of it out before he tried to flush it.

He got into my makeup the other day. The funny thing is that he tried to apply it just like I do. He used the makeup sponge and smeared foundation all over his cheeks and chin. He actually did a decent job and didn't waste very much at all!

He loves to get into the refrigerator and help himself to whatever looks good, even if he doesn't know what it is. He hands me salad dressing all the time. In the past 2 days he has dumped 2 containers of yogurt all over the kitchen floor. Today he brought me the jar of dill pickles. We even have a 'child proof' latch on the door. Right... He just yanks hard until the door pops open!

He certainly keeps us on our toes!

New Computer

2008-12-09T17:17:00.002-05:00

You gotta' love eBay. I got a 3-year-old Mac laptop for $390! Thank God for small blessings! It will come in very handy for teaching at Clark State.

I've been having fun updating all the system preferences and setting it up. Now I just need some design software... cheap!

Still Sick

2008-12-09T17:12:00.002-05:00

We're still sick, but hanging in there. Luke has a cold with a nasty cough. Lexie is congested, has a runny nose and is teething. They're both is fairly good spirits with some occasional fussing. At least they're both sleeping pretty good. Luke usually sleeps 11 hours and Lexie is now doing 8 hours. I just wish that instead of 8 - 4, it was 10 - 6 or something like that. 4:00 am is rough for me!

I have a cold on top of bronchitis that just won't go away. The cough wears me down, but I've been fortunate in getting both kids in for an afternoon nap at the same time so I can rest or just take it easy. Definitely a blessing!

Lexie Reads While Waiting at the Hospital

2008-12-03T15:10:00.003-05:00

When we first got to Children's Hospital, they gave Lexie a book. She decided to take advantage of the downtime while we answered the nurse's questions. (She's a genius already!)

Lexie's Swollen Eye

2008-12-03T15:06:00.003-05:00

They gave us a vanilla flavored soothie pacifier for Lexie. Since she wasn't able to eat after midnight, we used this to trick her into thinking she was getting something fulfilling. And it actually worked; she loved it and settled right down!

Here's Lexie's red and swollen eye. You can see a little bit of the bloodshot areas, but the cut isn't visible since it is above her pupil.

Lexie in Her Hospital Gown

2008-12-03T15:04:00.002-05:00

We put the tiniest hospital gown they had on Lexie. Doesn't she look cute?

Lexie Sleeping after Anesthesia

2008-12-03T15:00:00.002-05:00

When they wheeled Lexie back into her hospital room, she was sleeping so peacefully. She was cuddling her juice bottle and her pink monkey.

Lexie is Doing Fine!

2008-12-03T12:43:00.004-05:00

Thanks so much for all your prayers. They definitely worked!

We discovered that what the doctor thought was something in her eye was just dried blood from the cut. So he just cleaned it out; and there was no need for stitches or anything else, Thank God!

The doctor said there was no way to know for sure how bad her eye was without knocking her out so the doctor could carefully examine Lexie's eye. You can't ask an 8-month old baby to hold still so we can look in her eye.

Right now she's groggy and should sleep a lot for the next 12-24 hours. We have antibiotic ointment to apply 3 times a day, and she has a follow-up exam on Saturday. We'll be taking it easy today.

Lexie having eye surgery

2008-12-02T19:21:00.002-05:00

Please keep Lexie in your prayers Wednesday morning. She's had something wrong with her eye and we just thought she had scratched it. At first we thought it was healing, but it's actually gotten worse.

Today we were sent to an opthalmologist at Children's and discovered she has something lodged in the white of her eye. (We're still not sure how it happened.) They need to put her under anesthesia to get it removed and she may need stitches depending upon how deeply it's lodged. Yikes! Poor baby.

We first noticed some burst blood vessels on Thanksgiving, but didn't see the cut until the weekend. It didn't seem to bother her until the last couple of days. It's high up on the white of her eye above the pupil. Last night she cried for a couple of hours and wouldn't stop rubbing it. I'm not sure how well she'll sleep tonight. She can't eat, including formula, after midnight. And she's only allowed clear fluids from midnight to 6 am.

Please keep her in your prayers during the procedure at 10:30 am. We're praying for no complications, an easy removal, no infection and little or no pain afterwards. Thank you!

Sick Again

2008-12-01T19:05:00.002-05:00

Yup, we're all sick again. I have bronchitis and I'm thinking that maybe Luke does, too. He's had a nasty cough for several days now so I may need to have him checked. I took Lexie to the doctor today and the poor girl is in terrible shape. She has a cold, thrush (a fungal infection) in her mouth, and a cut on her eye.

Apparently, when she fell on a toy while trying to sit up a few days ago she cut the white of her eye. We had no idea how bad it was until today when her eye was really red and swollen and wouldn't stop watering. We'd thought she just scratched it since she didn't seem to be in any pain before today. The good thing is that it's not infected. We'll just have to keep a close watch to make sure it doesn't get any worse.

At least Marty isn't sick, too. Thank God for that, because he's staying home tomorrow to help take care of the rest of the family!

Fighting off Something

2008-11-26T07:49:00.002-05:00

Luke and I seem to be fighting off something. Luke has had a cough for a few days now, but doesn't have a fever. He seems to be feeling okay... just a little bit more whiny than usual. He's sleeping really well at night... 11-12 hours straight, which is awsome.

Lexie is sleeping much better at night. She's been sleeping 8-4:30 or 5, which was a little rough for me. But last night she slept 8-6:30. Thank God! I actually got 7 hours straight of sleep last night. I'm just dragging and feel a bit achy. I got over the mastitis but seem to be fighting off something else. It feels as though I may never be completely caught up on sleep.

Luke is talking more than ever. He's asking me to name things for him. He points to something and asks, "This?". It's a lot of fun. I just wish he'd eat better. He is the pickiest eater. He's crazy about milk and juice, but it's like pulling teeth to get him to eat anything other than fruit.

He used to eat all kinds of stuff, especially veggies. It seemed to change around the time Lexie was born. I'm trying all kinds of tricks but not much works. He'll eat something, like yogurt, for 3 days in a row. Then he won't touch it again for weeks. He'll seem to like something a few times then doesn't want it again, so it's frustrating. Oh well.

Other than that, we're good. Have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

Back to Crazy Sleep

2008-11-20T08:04:00.002-05:00

The last several nights Lexie has been going to bed around 8 or 8:30, waking up to eat at 11:30 or 12, then getting up again at 5:30 or 6. (She got stuck on 5-6 stretches of sleep.)

That schedule has been a little rough for me, especially considering I can't get to bed before 10 or 10:30 since I'm a night person. (At 4 months old Luke was sleeping 9-7, so I got a little spoiled with him!)

Then last night Lexie was asleep by 7 pm, so I thought she'd be up by midnight for sure. She ended up sleeping until 4:30, drank 8 ounces and went right back to sleep until 7. Not too bad. I'm definitely encouraged by the 9 hour stretch of sleep; I just wish she'd do it from 9-6 or even 10-7 since I'm not a morning person!

Mastitis Again!

2008-11-12T10:39:00.002-05:00

Yup, I just went to the OB and he confirmed it's Mastitis again on the right breast. This one is even more painful than last time. Yesterday I thought it was just sore and engorged because Lexie has been cutting back on feedings, and is now only nursing 1-2 times at night or first thing in the morning.

But when I woke up in pain and feeling achy all over and like I've been run over by a truck I knew what it was. Antibiotics and rest are what I need, but the rest may be a little elusive with a toddler. All I want is sleep. I pray that both kids will go in for their afternoon naps at the same time. That would be such a blessing!

Fortunately my parents will be here this evening to celebrate Marty and my mom's birthdays, so I'll have help then. Mom will help again tomorrow afternoon and then Marty will try to take Friday off to watch the kids so I can get some sleep.

Please pray that I will get some rest and that this will heal quickly!

Lexie Slept 8:30 to 6:00!

2008-11-10T08:59:00.005-05:00

I'm so thrilled that Lexie is sleeping better. I actually got both kids in bed between 8:30 and 9, which was quite nice. It gave me time to relax in the evening for a couple of hours. Time to myself... what a luxury!

Lexie was fussing at 5:00 am when Marty got up for work, so I popped her binky back in and she slept another hour. Then she wanted to play and talk. Go figure. (I though she'd be starving since she hadn't eaten for almost 10 hours!) She just wanted to hang out in her bouncy seat and start the day watching a Baby Einstein video.

That Fisher Price rocking bouncy seat is awesome! It's really secure and she's slept in it many a night. I was even able to lie back down for another hour. This gave me a grand total of almost 8 hours of sleep As Marty would say, "Woohoo!"

I ended up feeding Lexie at 7 am. I tried nursing her, but she's pretty much weaning herself. She prefers a bottle now and is too busy looking at everything going on around her to nurse. We've been giving her formula during the day for the past month or so already, so I think we'll be done nursing very soon. I don't mind at all, especially because it's easier to feed her a bottle when I'm busy chasing Luke.

Luke got up at 8:15 this morning, and I'm very happy with that. Right after the time change last weekend, both kids were up at 6 or 6:30 for several days which was killing me!

So we're all good here. After having kids, I will never take sleep for granted ever again!

Go Buckeyes!

2008-11-08T21:24:00.005-05:00

While I was out getting my allergy shot this morning, my sweet husband decked our kids out in their OSU gear and took some adorable pictures!

Lexie Shares her Bottle

2008-11-08T21:19:00.004-05:00

Here's a great shot that Marty took of Lexie trying to give him her bottle. We think she's practicing to give out bottles of water at the next church outreach. Looks like she'll have no problem showing God's love in a practical way!

Lexie Slept Through the Night

2008-11-08T07:23:00.003-05:00

Lexie finally slept through the night again. It's been almost 2 months since the last time and it was sorely needed. (Lately I haven't made it through the day without a nap.)

My parents watched both kids so Marty and I could go out for our birthdays. (Yay for Red Lobster and shopping at resale shops!) Mom put the baby to bed by 8:30 pm and she slept until 6:30 am! Praise the Lord! I only had to get up and pop her binky back in once around midnight.

It appears Lexie does best if she's put to bed much earlier than Luke. (At this age, Luke slept 9-7.) I think I'll try putting her in between 7:30 and 8 from now on, because she seems to do her best sleeping early on in the evening.

Unfortunately, Luke was up at 1:00 am. (Figures, right?) I think his molars are trying to come in. I had to change his diaper and give him teething gel and tylenol, then he went right back to sleep. Thank God!

Either way, it's the most sleep I've gotten in a long time and I'm very grateful for every bit of it!

God Bless Elmo!

2008-11-03T20:31:00.003-05:00

Tonight while we were watching tv, Luke folded his hands and said, "Pray. Jesus." It was so adorable that he wanted to say a prayer even though it wasn't dinnertime or bedtime. (Sidenote: He knows who the Touchdown Jesus is off I-75 near Monroe!)

Usually the main person he asks to pray for is the baby. He always makes sure we don't forget her!

So I asked him who he wanted to pray for tonight. He listed the usuals: "Baby, Grammy, Poppy, Daddy." Then he said, "Elmo".

So... God bless Elmo!

Lexie's 6 month checkup

2008-11-02T18:07:00.004-05:00

Lexie went for her 6 month checkup the other day. She now weighs 16 pounds and is 25 1/4" long. (Luke was 17 pounds at this age.) She's in the 50th percentile so she's perfectly average. She's very healthy and only reacted a little bit to this round of vaccinations with a mild fever.

The only problem we're having is with eating solid food. She hates it. I've tried to feed her rice cereal and baby applesause every couple of days for the last several weeks, and so far she doesn't want anything to do with it.

She makes the most disgusted faces, gags, and clamps her mouth shut tight so I can't get any more food in. You'd think I was torturing her! The pediatrician said to keep trying every 2-3 days and she'll eventually get used to it.

I sure hope she does, because at this age Luke was loving the cereal and fruit and veggies, although he is much pickier now.

Halloween Costumes

2008-10-31T09:09:00.007-04:00

Trick-or-treating last night was a riot! Luke was Elmo and Lexie was a ladybug.
At first, Luke didn't want to go up to the neighbor's front door, he just wanted to go for a walk. But once I explained that they would give him a treat, reluctantly agreed to let me carry him to her front door. Then, when he actually saw the treat in his bucket and realized that we could get more, he practically ran to the next house yelling, "Treat, treat!"

On our walk home last night I tried to explain that we couldn't get treats after tonight. But right now he's asking to go for a walk and for treats!

Finally... some photos!

2008-10-30T21:54:00.002-04:00

We finally got a new computer. (Thank God for the great deal!) Which means we were able to download the photos from our digital camera.

Below are a few of my favorite photos of the kids.

Enjoy!

Playing Peek-a-boo

2008-10-30T21:49:00.000-04:00

Here's Luke showing Lexie how to play peek-a-boo!

Our Silly Children

2008-10-30T21:46:00.001-04:00

Lexie sits in her bumbo seat in the middle of the dining room table so she can be a part of our family dinner. As you can see, Luke likes to ham it up!

A Great Close-up of Lexie

2008-10-30T21:43:00.001-04:00

Look at this cute shot of our adorable bald baby!

Teaching Winter Quarter

2008-10-25T21:08:00.004-04:00

I just got offered the chance to teach again at Clark State during Winter Quarter. Yay!

I'll be teaching a computer graphic design class called 'Digital Typography', which should be right up my alley. It will be Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30 - 5:20, so Marty will be able to watch the kids. They also have a need for 2-3 classes to be taught during spring quarter... just not sure which art or design classes they might be yet.

Pretty awesome how God is taking care of us!

Now I just have to brush up on the latest versions of the Adobe Creative Suite software. Does anyone know where this can be purchased any cheaper than JourneyEd.com?

Some Ideas for Temper Tantrums

2008-10-25T21:06:00.002-04:00

I was reading the local website 937moms.com and found this great advice for handling temper tantrums when your toddler or pre-schooler wants his way:

"Attention tantrums are special performances that keep parents involved in trying to stop the unwanted behavior. If parents try to ignore this type of tantrum, it usually escalates it, while nagging the child to stop gives negative attention, which is a payoff. Instead, tell children that you can't understand them when they talk or act that way. Give them a specific suggestion for how you want them to get your attention in a positive way. Reassure them that when they calm down, you will pay attention to them. Then, if you ignore the tantrum, it will work. When the child says or does anything calmly or in an appropriate way, respond respectfully. The child will soon find that tantrums will cause the parent to withdraw attention, rather than get more involved."

This makes sense to me. I'll try it with Luke the next time and let you all know how it goes.

A Whiny 2-year-old

2008-10-13T21:04:00.002-04:00

Now that Luke is 2 he's really wanting to have his way. He wants to go outside in the yard or for walks every waking hour (at least I'm getting some regular play-dates set up), and it's just not practical sometimes. Of course, he doesn't understand that, so he has little meltdowns that last up to 5 minutes or so. Sometimes he just screams... so loud it's ear-piercing. This happens several times a day.

Please tell me this will stop. Soon. Please. (Yup, I'm exhausted!)

On the positive side, Lexie slept 11-7 last night! Praise the Lord!

A Wonderful Night's Sleep!

2008-10-09T08:35:00.003-04:00

Last night I fed Lexie rice cereal before bed and I'm convinced it helped her sleep longer. She slept from 10:30 - 6, nursed for 45 minutes and then went back to sleep for another hour and a half! And Luke slept from 8:45 - 9:15, so I got the most sleep I've ever gotten since Lexie came home from the hospital! Thank God!

The 2 nights before that she slept 11 - 5 and 12 - 6, so she's doing much better!

Finally... a few minutes to myself!

2008-10-05T15:07:00.002-04:00

Lexie is such an inconsistent napper. Sometimes, though, like now, she sleeps when Luke naps. Then I'm torn about what to to with my time: housework, sit and read, or a quick nap? Such a tough decision! (As you can see, I've opted for computer time since I haven't been online in over a week!)

Luke has been napping less and less. It's usually an hour and a half to 2 hours long. Oh well. I figure it's better than no nap at all, because that boy takes a lot of energy. He sure is fun, though!

I'm trying to find things that cost little or no money to do with the kids through the cold winter months. Boonshoft may work occasionally, but Luke wants to do all the big kid stuff, and it's tricky with the baby, too.

All you stay-home moms in my area: let me know if you'd like to schedule regular play-dates (either weekly or every other week) alternating meeting at my house and yours. Luke goes nuts if he can't go outside or bye-bye on a regular basis; he simply bounces off the walls. I figure it will give you a place to visit as well.

I may end up taking the kids for walks around the mall a lot... ending with the play areas which have come in very handy. Luke is okay in the stroller as long as we keep moving and aren't actually shopping!

I'm open to suggestions for things to do with a rambunctious toddler in the winter time. Playing in the snow will be tricky with a baby along, although I can probably bundle us all up and go for walks when it's not ridiculously cold outside.

That's all for now!

Things are Good

2008-10-05T14:48:00.003-04:00

Things are going well in our household. I'm still hoping to get the baby on a more consistent feeding schedule. Even when I feed her at 9:30 pm, Lexie still insists on eating around midnight or 1 and 5 or 6 am, but at least I'm getting 5 hour increments of sleep now. Believe me, every extra hour really helps!

During the day, she's such a happy baby now. It's a total 180 from her first 2 months of life. She's so silly and laughs a lot at her brother's antics! She loves to talk, squeal and just hear herself make loud noises... she's a lot of fun!

Luke is darling now that he's talking more. Getting rid of his binky had 2 huge benefits: he talks up a storm now, and he's eating much better. Apparently sucking on that binky was satisfying him orally so he wasn't eating well.

His current favorite (and adorable) phrases: "I non't know!" (I don't know); "Marney" (Barney); "Graash!" (as he points out a garage); "Sanother graash!" (There's another garage!). He has quite the fascination with garages and points them out whether we're walking or in the car, and he yells extra loud if the garage door is up; he wants them all closed! A little bit OCD? I'm afraid so.

Luke's 2 Year Checkup

2008-09-22T22:29:00.003-04:00

Luke went to the doctor today and fortunately didn't need to get any shots. He weighs a whopping 24.5 pounds and is a whole 32" tall. He's in the 10th percentile for weight and 15th for height. Oh well... so he's small for his size. But he's in the 85th percentile for his head circumference!

The pediatrician gave us a great idea for getting rid of Luke's binky. She had us put the 7 extra ones away and simply cut the entire tip off one and give it to him. He just looked at it, tried to put it in his mouth, sucked air, and handed it back to me. That was it. He picked it up a couple of times this evening and tried to suck on it, but it just wouldn't work. He said 'binky, binky' and I told him they were all gone and he seemed to accept that.

I thought we'd have a meltdown for sure at bedtime, but it didn't happen. He asked for a binky and I told him they were gone. I was going to give him the broken one but we couldn't find it. I put him to bed with his 2 blankets, toy motorcycle, stuffed monkey and giant Barney, and he laid right down. (He's a little bit OCD about taking all this stuff to bed!) It ended up taking him an hour to fall asleep, but he never cried. I heard him talking and playing, and every once in a while he called for me. I ignored him and he eventually fell asleep. I'm hoping that's the end of needing a binky!

Marty & the Kids

2008-09-22T22:26:00.002-04:00

Here's a funny picture I just found of Marty holding both kids. As you can see, Lexie wasn't too happy about getting her picture taken this day, which was a few weeks ago!

Luke is 2!

2008-09-22T13:56:00.003-04:00

We had Luke's 2nd birthday party at Young's Dairy in Yellow Springs. It was a lot of fun and most of the family on both sides was able to make it. We took a wagon ride over to the pumpkin patch where Luke got a small pumpkin. He keeps calling it an apple!

A few of Luke's favorite gifts include a giant stuffed Barney, a pogo stick Elmo, and his Diego tricyle! He can't reach the pedals, so he just pushes all around with his feet. He loves it!

I hope to have pictures downloaded as soon as I figure out how to get them off Walgreens.com. We don't have enough room left on our hard drive to download them all directly to our PC. Yup, it's an old machine and probably time we invested in a new one.

Luke Likes His Potty

2008-09-06T21:58:00.002-04:00

I thought I'd talk about Luke for a change. He's been fairly fussy since he's had a cold, but did much better today.

Sometimes when I'm changing his diaper he says 'potty' and wants to sit on the little potty chair in his bedroom. I put him down quickly and he usuall pees in there. He's slowly learning to tell me before he goes, so he may be potty trained early and hopefully easily.

A few days back he said 'poop' and pointed to his potty. I asked him if he wanted to go poop in his potty and he nodded yes. The really precious part is that he then said 'mom' and pointed outside of the door of his room. I said "Do you want mommy to go in the other room while you go potty?", and he nodded yes.

I left him alone to do his business, and sure enough, when I came back in 5 minutes later, he had pooped in his potty. I got the biggest kick out of the fact that he wanted privacy! And he was so proud of himself, too. Very cute!

Better Sleep at Last!

2008-09-04T14:43:00.003-04:00

Well, I discovered that the key to me sleeping better is moving Lexie out of our room. The past 2 nights she has slept in the living room in her bouncy seat, and I slept much more soundly. She sleeps quite well in that thing, but usually goes to bed just fine in her crib. She's still waking once to twice a night, but now I'm not waking to every little sound she makes. A lot of her noises are made while she's asleep, so I think I made matters worse by getting her when she wasn't really waking up.

Tuesday night I even let her cry for a bit at bedtime to learn to put herself to sleep. I figured she had to learn sometime, and she had a clean diaper and had just eaten. It only took 10 minutes and she was out! Yay! (Thanks, Anya!)

I've also decided to give Lexie a bottle for her middle of the night feeding for a couple of reasons: It worked well for Luke; I'd rather she didn't just nurse then simply because she enjoys it; and it should fill her stomach better. Sure enough, these last 2 nights she's eaten only 2 ounces of formula and then gone right back to sleep. So she's not really hungry at 3:00 or 4:00 am; she just likes to nurse!

We're moving her crib to the back room today, so that will be where she'll sleep until she's a little older. It should work out well.

Please keep praying for us, though; we all have colds. Boy, does Lexie scream when I have to suction her nose! Thanks for all the prayers for a solution to better sleep; I believe we are on the right track.

Thoughts on Sleeping at Night

2008-09-01T15:45:00.003-04:00

I'm a very light sleeper, which is why I'm seriously considering moving Lexie to the back room at our house. Of course, she wakes up so often during the night that I'd be constantly running back & forth checking on her, so I may have to wait a little longer to move her. Right now she's in our room, and I wake up at every little sound she makes, even when it's a time she might put her self back to sleep. I try not to let her cry for long since Marty has to get up most days at 5:00 am and I don't want her to wake him up. Having her in our room is very conveniet, though, for all those night-time feedings.

I usually nurse her lying down in bed and sometimes manage to dose off, but not for very long. I don't sleep well with her next to me, and sleep much deeper knowing she's in her own bed.

Luke was a good sleeper and easy to get on a regular night-time schedule right from the start. He'd go to sleep by 10 or 11, then get up once to eat around 4:00 am from the time he was one month old until 4 months old. Then, at about 5 months, he starte sleeping through the night from about 11-7.

Lexie, on the other hand, doesn't do the same eating and sleeping schedule from one night to the next... even when I try to feed her around 9:00, and then again at 11:00 pm to top her off. She seems like she's starving every 3-4 hours, and sometimes it's every 3.

Last night she ate at 10:30 pm, and then was crying at 12:15 am. I figured there was no way she could be hungry again and just tried to swaddle her and put her bink back in, but she wanted to nurse and ended up eating for 20 minutes. Then she ate at 3:00 am, and was up again at 6:15. She really doesn't sleep well at all, either at night or during the day.

That's all for now... she's crying again. Thank God Luke still takes one good 2-3 hour nap every day!

Help! I Need Sleep!

2008-08-29T09:20:00.003-04:00

I would really welcome any comments pertaining to how I can get my baby to sleep better at night so that I can get more than 3 hours of sleep at one time. Marty suggests trying rice cereal since she's old enough now. Maybe that will keep her little tummy so full that she'll sleep more deeply.

I'm so exhausted that I can hardly think straight. Some nights are better than others -- 2 nights ago she slept from 1:30 to 5:00 am. But last night she ate at 11:00 pm, was up crying at 12:30, hungry at 3:00 am, then again at 5:00 and 7:00!

And then, on the nights when Luke wakes up, too, it's crazy! Usually I can get him back to sleep pretty easily... he just needs a diaper change and maybe some milk.

Lexie seems to either need re-swaddled and her binky popped back in to get back to sleep. Or she needs to eat. I've never seen a hungrier baby! And we can't let her cry it out because she's in our room! Our pediatrician recommended not letting her cry it out until she's 6 months old. She said that at 4 months of age Lexie probably still needs to eat 1-2 times a night.

So... I need thoughts and prayers, please! Thanks!

Lexie's 4 Month Checkup

2008-08-20T21:30:00.003-04:00

Lexie now weighs 14 pounds, which is the 75th percentile, and the crazy thing is that Luke weighed 15 pounds at this age. I think she seems bigger than him because she's shorter. She is 24" long and her head circumference is 42 cm. She's very healthy, other than the acid reflux and itchy skin on her head. We had lots of screaming once her tylenol wore off after the shots. Thank God she settled down and we had a nice long walk last evening, which Luke loved.

I guess I won't get to update this blog as often as I'd like now that I have 2 kids under age 2. Life is very busy. I barely get to check my email once a week, so I know it's unrealistic to expect to get to write something here regularly. (If you need to reach me quickly, it's best to call me at home instead of emailing!) Oh well. I'm hoping things will get better once Lexie decides she doesn't need to eat every 4 hours at night. Some nights it's every 3 hours, so I'm exhausted most days and have to nap when they do. Thank God for that option!

For any of you with one child who are considering having a second... I recommend waiting until your first one is at least 2 years old before getting pregnant again. I think that having them 2 1/2 to 3 years apart would be ideal. Then the first born would understand better why you have to hold the baby so much and about nursing all the time. (Susan said that having hers 3 1/2 years apart is great.) Just something to consider...

Well, it's 9:30 pm and both kids are asleep, so I'd better go to bed myself. If Lexie does what she did the last couple of nights, she'll be up at 1:00 am and then again at 4 or 5. Please pray that I'll get to sleep longer than a 4 hour stretch sometime soon! Thanks!

Feeling Good!

2008-08-11T14:46:00.004-04:00

Even though we had a busy night last night, I feel really good today. Thank God!

Luke was up at 3:30, and again a little after 4:00 am. He kept crying when I put him back to bed so I brought him into our bed. The only problem with that is that he kept moving around and wouldn't go to sleep. Marty tried to put him back in his crib at 5:00, but he was crying again by 5:30 am. I think his teeth are hurting. Then Lexie got up about 15 minutes later. So we all got up... Luke and I ate breakfast while watching a Barney video, then I nursed Lexie. We all went back to bed at 7:00 am and got to sleep for 3 more hours, so it wasn't that bad.

Luke got up at 10:45 am, then we went to the park in our neighborhood. Lexie was a good sport and was content to stay in the stroller playing with her toys. So I was able to climb on the playground equipment with Luke for about 20 minutes. Then we walked to Goodwill and had a pleasant shopping experience, which is really rare. Luke was happy in the stroller because he was holding onto 2 new Barney videos and Lexie slept the whole walk home. All in all, a very nice day. And the weather is absolutely beautiful!

Now it's after 2:30 and Luke is in for a late nap. So now I gotta' go feed a hungry little girl!

A Cute Shot of Luke

2008-08-01T09:46:00.002-04:00

Here is Luke at 22 months old. While we were at his cousins' house, Luke kept sitting on this old tree stump since it was just his size!

Luke with His Cousins Last Weekend

2008-08-01T09:44:00.001-04:00

Here's a cute picture of Luke with his cousins, Ali and Alyss. I don't know why they all look so serious!