Rough Morning

The trash collectors woke me up at 5:30 this morning.  Wrong night to sleep with the windows open.  I must have counted my coffee scoops incorrectly as my morning coffee tasted like water flavored with a hint of coffee and cream.  I'm on my 2nd and correctly measured pot.  I spilled Piper's oatmeal all over the floor, my leg, my new sneakers and the cabinets.  My husband forgot to put the van seat back in the van last night so I spent 20 minutes wrestling and cursing it (and him) safely back into place.  This took 10 minutes longer than I had hoped and we therefore were not able to make it to story time at the library.  Our dog, Farley, is sick and isn't eating.  I have a vet appointment scheduled for this evening and am hoping it isn't serious.  He's old. 

I was a grouchy Mama this morning.  I hate when that happens.  When it all builds up and I snap at the twins for trying to talk at the same time or asking too many questions or talking while Piper is crying and I can't hear what they're saying and can't take all of the noise and craziness at once.  My morning, in a nutshell.  Thankfully, I don't have many of them.

I apologized to EJ for being grouchy and snapping at him.  He said, "It's ok, Mommy.  I still love you." 

Thank goodness. 

Day 70

Day 70 , originally uploaded by tlheyman.

Work has finally begun on our basement. Looking forward to a finished playroom/craft room/work out room.

Piper

I had some fun with Piper and my camera the other day.  She was such a willing participant and I got some great shots of her.

Piper will be seven months in a few days.  Hard to believe. 

Stats and habits of my almost seven month old:
She's 18 lbs and at her 6 month appointment was 28 1/4 inches, which is off the charts in height.

She's been sitting independently now for a few weeks.  Sucks her thumb on a fairly regular basis (especially when she's tired and putting herself to sleep).  Is enjoying solid foods and learning to pick up food and feed herself.  The "picking up" part is going well but the "getting it into her mouth" part is proving to be a bit difficult.  She has learned to use a sippy cup.  Is over (for the most part) her stranger anxiety.  Is using consonants now while babbling (dada, mama, etc).  Taking two naps per day, is sleeping through the night again (thank goodness) and has popped through two bottom teeth.

I am one lucky Mama to have been blessed with this little girl.    

It's so very sad...

what some people have to endure in their lives.  I always struggle with this.  Why some people must suffer through the most tragic of events while others never experience such a devastating pain.

I learned yesterday from a Facebook post about a little girl who lost her fight against stage four Neuroblastoma.  I followed this post to a blog that the little girl's parents had created.  There, along with a Twitter account, the parents posted updates for the world to see.  As of last check, the Twitter account had 45,000 followers.  Wow.

I'm almost glad that I didn't find this account sooner as I know I would have begun following their Tweets and, in turn, tortured myself daily.  I can't handle this sort of thing.  And, she wasn't my child.  I can't even wrap my head around the the type of pain you experience when it is your child.  Losing one of my children, especially in this manner, is my worst fear.  And, reading posts like this scare the crap out of me.  They make me paranoid.  They make me worry.  They show me that no one is immune to this scenario and miracles don't always happen.  I haven't been able to get this little girl, or her family, out of my head since I read their story yesterday.

Rest in peace, sweet little one.  If you'd like to read their story, you can see their blog here or their Twitter account here.

signs

the snow has melted and i can finally see the grass. albeit brown. and dead. but grass nonetheless. and if you look ever so closely, there are a few blades of green in the mix. spring will be springing soon. i. can't. wait.

day 48

 

My first missed photo.  The day just got away from me yesterday and I completely forgot until it was after midnight and obviously, too late. Our day was pretty full yesterday.  EJ and Olivia finally had their Valentine's Day party at school.  It had been postponed two times for winter weather.  And actually, yesterday was the first time they had been to school in two weeks.  Again, because of winter weather cancellations and then President's Day on Monday.  I also decided to give my Zumba class a shot again last evening and am happy to report that I returned home from class uninjured.  Hopefully I can keep things that way. 

I guess the kids were a bit worried about me returning to class since they watched me hobble around for two weeks on a painful leg.  EJ warned me before leaving that if I hurt my other leg, I'd have to use a "walking stick".  And then Olivia told me that if I hurt my whole body, I'd have to crawl to get around.  So much for thinking that their Mom is Super Woman.

Class went well, although I babied my leg the entire time.  I can't jump or run yet so it limits what I can do in class.  Plus, I'm petrified of it happening again so I'm being very careful.  The last thing I want to do is re-injure it.  We go to Disney World in about six weeks and I don't want my husband to have to rent a stroller for me as well.  

So, day 48 is a no photo day.  Hoping that I don't have too many of these "no photo" photos in my 365 project file.  But, I'm pretty proud of myself for making it 47 days without forgetting and am surprised that this didn't happen sooner. 

Day 46

Dear Piper,

Six months ago today you graced us with your presence.  Six months.  Such a short amount of time, relatively speaking, to feel as though you've always been with us.  We're so glad you're here.

Love,
your family