Emmy says the sweetest prayers...

Emma during dinner prayers: Jesus thank you for Mommy being home with us, thank you for the baby, and thank you for bringing me my forever family and giving me this home. How is that for making this Mommy teary eyed? Yes, thank you Jesus for all of your blessings.

Deidra's TAKS test scores

I am so proud of Deidra...she did really well on the TAKS test....89 on reading and 85 on math. She's disappointed that she didn't get commended as she was so close in reading. I told her that it was ok and we are SO proud of her achievements. WTG, baby girl!

Respect

I've been talking to the kids about respect...Emmy is walking around this morning saying I do spect." makes me smile :-)

The arguing never seems to stop...

Josiah and Tracie are arguing...I sat back seeing if they could work it out. Josiah finally says to Tracie..."I'm older than you are, I think I know what I'm talking about a little more than you do." Hmm...wonder who has said that to him before. lol

Ah...this little boy never stops!

I put Josiah upstairs to take a nap as he just didn't want to listen today and was very whiny....he kept getting out of his room and when I went in there the last time I could smell something. I asked him what he had gotten into and he kept saying "nothing." Finally, I pulled out his bed and found the toothpaste container under his bed and that's when I noticed that he had toothpaste all over his bedding. It wasn't until later that I noticed that he had spread it all over his windows too. He's going to do his own wash and clean up his own windows. I suppose I'll laugh about it in a few days, but my goodness he keeps me on my toes. Of course the whole time I'm upstairs too trying to take care of him and his mess, Melina is down here screaming because she wants to be held.

Crazy day...

vacuuming done, dishes done, laundry switched, occupational therapy done, speech done, lunch ate, entryway cleaned and mopped, trying to get Josiah and Tracie to nap and found out Josiah got into Deidra's room and colored with her new highliter pen all over his carpet, and Melina has tummy pains...hoping the gas drops work soon...poor baby.

Accident after accident

I wish that I knew what to do with all of these accidents going on. I know that part of it is regression due to Melina coming, but its driving me batty. Josiah can not focus for the life of him either...standing right in front of the potty and he's too busy having to tell us where he is or trying to play with the toilet brush or the plunger and then he's peeing in his pants. It's happening several times a day. And nevermind all the times him and Tracie tell me that they have to go to the bathroom and then don't have to go. It wouldn't be such a big deal if they didn't all have to fight over who has to go potty and if one has to go then the other 2 do too. I hope the end is in sight. I'm having them clean up their own messes and hope this will help do the trick.

Awana awards

The end of Awana was tonight. I was a proud Momma watching my kids get their awards and do their programs. Josiah got a bit hung up on the fact that he wanted a cookie while he was supposed to be singing and needed a lot of redirection. School may be interesting with him come this fall.

We even saw Deidra's old kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Morgan, and we talked to her for awhile and she held Melina for a bit. It was good to see her again. I wish that all my kids could have her for their kindergarten teacher. She's so nice and so good with the kids.

Melina's first time to church

Church was beautiful this morning...Melina did really well too! She kept smiling all through the service. She wanted to worship too! :-)

I love baby smiles...

Awww! I was singing to Melina and she just smiled at me!

Tornado too close to home...

I was sitting here this afternoon rocking Melina while Tracie and Josiah were napping and the tornado siren went off. I thought it was a drill at first, but it didn't shut off. I looked out the front door and didn't see anything alarming. Called Andy to have him check the radar and he said he'd have to call me back in a few minutes but when he looked a bit ago it didn't look bad. The dog started scratching at the back door and so I went to go see what was up and that's when I saw the clouds behind us and new that something was definitely up. Andy called me back and says "yes, it's not a drill. There's a warning." My cell phone went off and it was my Mom saying that they saw 2 funnel clouds at Carlisle Chevrolet but that they never touched down. There was also a tornado touchdown in Midlothian. Andy told me to go ahead and get the kids into the bathroom and not to come out until he told me too. A few minutes later the sirens quit and so I assumed that it was safe to go outside. It was almost time for me to go get Emily from school. I got the kids loaded up in the van and started driving when Andy texted me not to come out of the bathroom that there was another wall cloud forming. I called him and told him that he was a bit late as we were already out driving. The clouds continued to look very freaky. I got up to Emily's school and a guy stopped me in the street and told me that the school was on lockdown and the tornado was on it's way. Yeah, that's not going to freak me out with a newborn in the car along with 2 toddlers. He tells me that the school is letting parents with small children into the gym. I knew if I took Josiah in there with all the kids in the hallways and the gym and he ran off on me that I'd never get to him, so I took my chances with going home. I wound up getting onto 77 as Brown st was blocked off and the hail hit. I called my Mom in a panic as I really didn't know what to do. I wound up driving to Carlisle so that I wasn't alone with the kids and took cover with my Mom. After the worst of it had passed, we went to the break room to watch the news. Josiah started majorly acting up in there. I was so embarrassed. People were trying to call to warn their families and he wouldn't stop jumping up and down, being loud, and throwing tantrums. I finally wound up having to leave even though the schools were still on lockdown. He just couldn't pull it together and the more I asked him to be quiet, the louder he got and just thought it was funny. I kept trying to explain to him that the weather was bad and that people needed to get in touch with their families to make sure they were safe and that it was a bit scary and he just needed to be quiet. Yeah, no such luck. An hour after school was supposed to be out, the schools finally called and said that they would release the students. I went up to get Emily and they had a NEWS van in the parking lot. It was pouring down rain and they wanted me to go to the office to get Emily. I wound up having to ask them to go get her for me as I wasn't bringing all the other kids out in the pouring rain. I didn't need Melina getting soaked or sick. Thankfully, the principal went and got her for me. I had Andy come home shortly after that. I was never so relieved when Deidra got off the bus and came home and then Andy came home a little after that. I was so relieved to know that we were all safe and sound at home.

Melina and her hands

Melina is just all about her hands...they are always up by her face and moving around. She gets a hold of her pacifier and rips it out of her mouth and then screams because it's not in her mouth anymore. It's too funny!

I am so proud of Emma

She has come so far this year...she has got all of her alphabet and their sounds down now. She was really struggling learning her colors and shapes even before she started pre-k...this is SO huge for her and I couldn't be more proud of her! I love you, baby girl!

Deidra and Melina

I just love watching Deidra with Melina. She reads to her and loves to snuggle with her on the couch. Deidra rubs her little head and talks to her and Melina just snuggles right in with her. It's too adorable!

Newborn Sounds

I could listen to Melina forever. i just love her little grunts and noises that she makes. Oh how I have missed having a baby in this house. I am SO in love with her. She's so little, but I just love her SO much!

Made some banana bread...

as thank you gifts for those that watched the kids while I was in the hospital having Melina. Brought some to our neighbor for keeping Deidra for free and getting her to and from school and homework done and all that fun stuff. She was shocked that I did that and told me that I totally didn't have to do that, but I wanted to. I brought some to my friend, Beth, too as she kept Tracie for me and helped so much with getting her potty trained that week as well. I wound up staying for awhile and chatting with her and that was nice too. I need to devote more time to my friendships that God has brought me here.

Melina's 2 week weight check

Melina had her 2-week weight check today. She was 5 lbs and 6 oz last week. This week she is 5 lbs and 13.5 oz. YEAH!

Had my 2-week post op check

Had my 2-week post op appt today. Everything looks good! The nurse told me how much smaller I look. 24 lbs gone! :-) Hoping it will be even more when I go back for my 6-week check up in June.

The itsy bitsy spider...

Josiah is on an itsy bitsy spider kick...he sings the same words over and over and over and when he's not singing he's humming it. I've tried distracting him with other songs, but it's not working. I may go crazy! Anyone want to come with me? ;-P

I guess we have too many kids...

lol. We got the kids insurance cards and they couldn't fit them all on 1 card. All the girls are on one of their own and Josiah is all by himself on another. hee hee. I just found that a little amusing.

Going to miss him...

Andy went back to work today....he was such a huge help with the kids while he was home these past couple of weeks. I'm hoping it's not too hectic with him being gone...oh who am I kidding...I know it's going to take awhile for us to get a routine down.

Emmy's getting SO big..

Awww! Emmy just picked up the shoes and put them all away in the organizer, picked up the toys in the playroom, and picked up some stuff that was in the living room all on her own without being asked. I'm SO proud of her! This is HUGE for her!

Mother's Day

So happy that God gave me my Mother's Day present early...I love snuggling with my little Melina. She truly is a gift from above!

Andy took Mom, Jimmie, and all of us out to Sweet Tomatoes for Mother's Day. Talk about filling up a table. :-) Dinner was good and it was fun to spend the time together. Mom really liked the quilled cross that Andy made her as well. He started it almost 4 years ago and just finished it up since he was home from work while we had the baby anyway. It turned out beautiful!

I love my husband!

I love my husband. He sent me up to bed last night and I didn't wake up until this morning...he took the whole night of baby duty so that I could sleep. I haven't slept that good since before I went into the hospital. Love you SO much, Rew!

Deidra

I am so very proud of my Deidra. She spent the night at her friend's house and another friend came over to play. Rather than fight with the friend that came over (she always wants Deidra to herself), she chose to come home instead. What a mature decision!

Josiah's behavioral testing

We went and met withe the psychologist from the Salesmanship Club to get the results of Josiah's testing. The report hadn't been drawn up yet officially, but she said that she gave him the umbrella of a mood disorder as he's so little yet that she couldn't really give him a label. However, she did tell us that she thinks he has childhood onset bi-polar disorder and she can't rule out RAD just yet. She wants us to bring him back in another year. She also said that he seems to have a very high IQ so we'll have to stay one step ahead of him discipline wise. He also has sensory integration disorder which we knew, but she also confirmed. Now to get the official report so that we can take it to his psychiatrist and hopefully get some meds that will help.

Lost all my baby weight..

I am thrilled that I am now officially 1 lb less than what I weighed when I started this pregnancy. It's nice to feel normal again without all the pregnancy hormones running through my system as well!

Had a good night...

One of my Boble study friends brought over dinner for the next 3 nights and one of Andy's co-workers came down to visit and see the new baby.

Incision check

Had to go in to have my incision checked out today since I got out of the hospital. My incision is really red, so I have to go back and have him look at it again next week to make sure an infection doesn't develop. All I know is that I am really sore. :-(

Trying to lose this baby weight...

I'm thrilled that I gained 21 lbs during this pregnancy and I'm already down 16 lbs. 5 more to go and I'll be at my starting weight. YEAH!

Melina's weight check

Took Melina into the doctor for a weight check this morning. She's down to 5 lbs and 6 oz (born at 5 lbs 12 oz, left hospital on Saturday at 5 lbs and 8 oz). Not sure if it's the difference in scales or not, but Dr. wasn't too concerned since she's eating well. We go back next week for another weight check and another PKU.

A little talk with Tracie

Tracie--I'm so glad that you're better now. Melina's pretty. I be big girl for you and I potty train, Mommy.

Mommy--I'm SO proud of you for working so hard and being such a BIG girl.

Tracie--I love you, Mommy. I help you with baby and be a BIG girl, o-tay?

Mommy--ok, Tracie (as Mommy tears up and hugs her)

Deidra just loves her baby sister

Deidra was a bit apprehensive of the baby at first...I don't think it helped that she saw her for the first time in the Special Care nursery hooked up to all the monitors and stuff that she was on. Now, she loves her new Snuggle Buddy and likes to lay next to her and stroke her hair. It's SO cute!

A conversation with Emma

Emma--that baby needs to run out of batteries.

Mommy--Honey, her batteries are just getting started.

Silly conversations

Overheard while the kids were playing "family" in the playroom.

Emma--my baby wants some milk.

Josiah--my baby is getting breastmilk like Melina.

Andy and I looked at each other and just busted out laughing.

It feels so good!

I am just loving being back at home with all my kids! I am one very blessed Mommy!

The best news ever!

Best news ever! The doctor says we can all go home today! We just need to get Melina's newborn pictures done first!