Our weekend and 18 month stats...

Last Thursday after we picked Max up from school, the kids and I headed up to Charlotte for a fun and family filled weekend with 2 birthday parties.

We spent Thursday night at my sister Shea's house and the kids had a blast with their cousins! Friday was my nephew's actual birthday and Max got to go with my sister to Jack's class to have the cookie cake she made. He had so much fun!

Friday evening we headed to Jack and Charlotte's house. John was riding up with my parents (ahem...LUCKY DUCK) and I had the kids in bed by the time he got there so he and I went out for a "date night".

Saturday...dreary, rainy day...I took Max and Abby back to Shea's house for Jack's party and Lucy got to stay with Daddy at Grandma and Grandpa's house and to visit one of Daddy's friends and their little girl.

Jack had a "movie party" in their home theater and the kids had a blast with all the junk food :) We hung out for a little while after the party then headed back to Jack and Charlotte's. Sunday we loaded up the car and all of us headed BACK to Shea's house for a small family party to celebrate Sophie and Macy's 2nd birthday. After a delicious taco lunch and some MORE play time with the cousins, we loaded up the kiddos (just ours!) and started the long trek home.

WOW! I'm tired just remembering it all...we had a great time visiting and playing and celebrating...can't wait till they come down next week to play some more during SPRING BREAK!!!!

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Okay, I'm sure you've all been waiting for this...

Lucy had her 18 month checkup today....

24 pounds 3 ounces

32 1/2 inches long

doing great!

We went to Abby's class afterwards for her Easter party. Busy day and it's not over yet...we have to go get Max then Lucy can finally squeeze in a nap before we head off to Max's soccer game at 5:30!

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Please continue to pray for baby Stellan...he is not doing well right now. Click on the MckMiracle button on my sidebar for updates.

Learning...

Certain things that have happened over the past couple of weeks have really started me thinking about my life, my priorities, and my faith.

I have learned that the little things that used to bother me really just don't matter that much. There are parents out there who would give anything to have to clean up a mess their child made or have their child screaming at the top of their lungs but can't anymore because their child is gone.

I have learned that God answers all prayers...we just may not get the answer we wanted or hoped for.

I have learned that nothing I am doing is important enough to not stop and hug my kids and husband and tell them I love them.

I have learned that I can not say that enough or hear it enough from them.

I have learned that arguing over trivial matters is a waste of time.

I have learned that sometimes I may not understand "why" but I am not supposed to understand...just have faith and trust that God's plan is good.

I am learning to not fear the unknown...once again...place my faith and trust in God. Take things one day at a time and enjoy the days and nights we are given.

I have learned that I want to be a better person and I'm trying to figure out how to go about doing that.

I have learned that I worry too much and I should give it over to God.

I have learned that I want to deepen my relationship with God and try harder to be who He wants me to be...better wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend...

I have learned that miracles come in many different forms.

I have learned that I want to learn more about things that matter.

I have learned, I am learning, I want to learn...

Still Praying...

Still waiting on an update about Stellan this morning. MckMama's tweet from a few minutes ago said that Stellan had a very bad night and that he is currently getting an echocardiogram. Please continue to pray. If you want to check out her blog you can click on the MckMiracle button on the right side bar.

Also, I have done some Spring Cleaning on my blog and gave it a new background for the season. I might fiddle with the font colors a little more but I've got other things to do right now...like take a shower!

A Mixture of Emotions...

In lieu of NOT ME! Monday...

First of all, PRAYER REQUESTS...

Stellan, MckMama's sweet miracle boy is in the hospital right now. He is fighting SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) = high heart rate. This is what he was diagnosed with in utero and one of the reasons the doctors didn't expect him to survive in the womb. Please pray that the doctors are able to find something that will slow his heart rate down. You can check on MckMama's website for updates at... www.mycharmingkids.net or by clicking on the MckMiracle button on my sidebar.

Another prayer request...

I have posted a couple of time about Logan McCombs, a precious 1 year old little boy fighting a rare and aggressive cancerous brain tumor. Things took a turn for the worse last Thursday. Friday morning his parents had to make the heartbreaking decision to take him off life support...Logan Reid McCombs passed away at 5:54pm on Friday, March 20, 2009. He is now healthy and happy and celebrating his new life in Heaven with God. Please pray for his family...especially his mom and dad, Stella and Shawn and his big brother Colin as they grieve for the loss of their beautiful boy. You can read about Logan's story at his Caring Bridge site...

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/loganmccombs


This post is titled a mix of emotions because along with all the sadness of hearing about these sweet babies fighting to survive there is also happiness and celebration.

Today my sweet baby nieces, Sophie and Macy, who were delivered 9 weeks early due to twin to twin transfusion (not to mention my sister's REALLY high blood pressure) and were only 3+ and 2+ pounds respectively, are celebrating their 2nd birthday! They have gone from these tiny little bundles of fuzzy brown hair to these wild and crazy monkeys with a penchant for dirty dancing (click to head over to my sister's blog to check out the "dirty dancing"), laughing like loons, stripping themselves naked in their beds, throwing toys over the upstairs railing, and pulling each others hair and taking each others toys.

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY SOPHIE AND MACY!!!!!
Love, Aunt Staci, Uncle John, Max, Abby, and Lucy

We have a busy week this week...Max has a soccer game tonight, I have my cake decorating class Tuesday night (more about that later), and the kids and I are heading up to Charlotte on Thursday afternoon. We have my nephew Jack's 6th birthday on Friday and his party on Saturday and the twins, Sophie and Macy's party on Sunday! Lots of cake, noise, sugar, etc. I'm sure I'll be loaded up with NOT ME's! next Monday.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday today to a very special guy who is near and dear to my heart...my Dad!

Hope you have a wonderful day (even if you are just pulling up tile in your bathroom :)

You've got some rice krispie treats coming your way!

Please, Please Pray for this Little Guy!

I have mentioned this little guy before...

Logan McCombs is a precious 1 year old little boy who is battling an embryonal brain tumor. He is back in the ICU tonight due to some complications from a surgery. He was scheduled to begin his 3rd round of chemo this week but that has been put on hold due to these complications. Please visit his CaringBridge site and read about his fight and pray for him.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/loganmccombs

God Bless

Not Me! Monday - Lucy's 18 month Edition!

Yes it is Monday and you know what that means...time to let your guard down and be brutally honest about things. Did you "forget" about the piles of laundry or dirty dishes because you were too tired or you just felt like being a rebel? It's okay...you can admit that here and then turn right around and say, "Uh, Uh...no way...NOT ME!"

This week's version of Not Me! Monday here on MY blog is a little different. As you can see from the title of this post...this Not Me! is all about Lucy :) Here is what she is NOT doing at 18 months :)

~ our sweet little Lucy is NOT a year and a half today! No way. She is still my tiny little baby girl.

~ Lucy does NOT take after her big sister in the eating department! She is NOT constantly asking for a "'nack" and she does NOT prefer chips and pretzels! Haven't I said before that my children ONLY eat the healthiest of foods and never would even think to ask for any kind of junk food...nope...never crosses their minds :)

~ Lucy has NOT been walking now for 6 months and 3 days exactly. She has NOT been working on running and a skip/gallop thing that she has developed. Like I said, she is still my tiny baby girl and when I lay her down on the floor she stays in the same spot until I come back to get her!

~ She's NOT completely hilarious looking when she tries to jump and get both feet off the floor. We would certainly NEVER laugh at her when she does manage to get both feet up and then proceed to land on her bottom :)

~ Lucy has NOT learned how to shriek, scream, yell, whine, cry, or throw herself down on the floor in a fit when she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it! No way! She is still the same sweet baby who I bragged to everyone that had all the patience the other two NEVER had.

~ Lucy does NOT enjoy pulling her big sister's hair and smacking her whenever the mood strikes! My kids always get along and would NEVER do anything to hurt one of their siblings. So, of course, Lucy could NOT have learned this behavior from her big brother or big sister! Must have been at the church nursery...

~Lucy does NOT talk all...the...time! She does NOT know how to identify most of her body parts, she does NOT have a speaking vocabulary of so many words that I have lost count! She is NOT putting 2-3 words together into recognizable phrases, and she does NOT comprehend most directions given to her (and actually carry them out!) When asked a question she will NOT respond appropriately with a "noooooo" or a "yesh"!

~ Lucy is NOT already showing signs of getting ready for potty training!

~ Lucy does NOT absolutely LOVE Elmo, dancing, "reading" books, pushing her babies around in a stroller, playing outside, hanging out with her brother and sister, "petting" the cats, eating, making messes, and kicking the tar out of her crib when she is NOT ready to go to sleep!

~ Lucy is NOT attached to her Bobby and will NOT pitch a fit when I have to throw him in the wash and she can't have him. She has much better self control than that...I mean geesh, she is a year and a half already! She is also NOT attached to her "pappy" (pacifier).

~ We are NOT blessed to have Lucy as a member of our family. She does NOT make us laugh on a regular basis...we do NOT find it funny when she tries to copy her big brother and big sister whether it be actions or words...she does NOT have her big brother WRAPPED around her little finger :)

~ Lucy is NOT the cutest thing when she walks around the house eating an apple, or kissing her Bobby, or wanting to give all of us a "toos (kiss)", or says "Otay" or "Ye mum (yes Ma'am)" when I ask her if she understands what I'm saying.

~ We have NOT enjoyed the last 18 months with our sweet little Lucy and are NOT looking forward to watching her continue to grow and learn...and terrorize her brother and sister :) What goes around comes around!

Please do NOT enjoy the following pictures of our sweet baby girl Lucy as she goes from baby to big girl!

October 2007 - a couple of weeks old

October 2007

First Halloween 2007

"Story time" with big sis!
2008

Composing her first symphony...

Lucy and her Bobby...getting ready to crawl!

Summer 2008

September 2008 - 1 year

Christmas 2008

January 2009

No light sockets were used in the making of this hairdo!

Spring is almost here...lunch outside! March 2009

I don't need a bath to get clean...I can lick the dirt off!

An apple and her Bobby...she's a happy girl!

March 16, 2008...I'm 1 1/2 and I am cool!

Serious.Life Magazine...March edition

I wanted you to know about this publication I’m a part of called Serious.Life Magazine. They just published the March issue today, and I am in their Featured Blog Directory. It’s a very high quality magazine… you’ll really like it.

The magazine includes a lot of great content from bloggers you’ll appreciate, as well as great features, photos and other content. The magazine is owned and published by a family who have seven kids, three adopted and one who has Leukemia (www.riggsfamilyblog.com). The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries. Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics.

Not Me! Monday

Hey ya'll! It's Not Me! Monday and Spring is NOT in the air down here in the south! Time to share some things that I DID NOT do this past week. If I HAD done them then I might be considered less than perfect and we couldn't have that...now could we? Read on about what I DID NOT do and then click on the button above...yeah, yeah, I know, you already know the drill...to head over to MckMama's and read what other perfect people DID NOT do this week!

This week...

~Lucy, my sweet little baby girl, has NOT been picking on her big sister in the car. She does NOT reach over and smack Abby, pull on Abby's shirt, and she definitely DOES NOT pull Abby's hair! If Lucy did that then Abby would certainly NOT start screaming and crying and whining about Lucy doing those things...it just DOES NOT happen I tell ya...none of it. My kids are the poster children for sibling love!

~I DID NOT get so frustrated the other day when Abby and Lucy were NOT doing any of the above. I DID NOT and would absolutely NEVER tell Abby that if Lucy pulled her hair then she could pull Lucy's! No, no, no...we resolve all issues of sibling rivalry (if we had any of course) with calm voices and warm sincere apologies and hugs from the offender. None of that hitting back stuff around here I tell ya!

~Max DID NOT go on his first "sleepover" party to a friend's house the other night. We DID NOT pick him up at 10pm (after the pizza and movie and play time were done). Since Max NEVER wakes up screaming at night and NEVER comes in our room wanting someone to sleep with him...we would have no reason to worry about him sleeping over at someone else's house on his own. He DID NOT come home bouncing off the walls!

~ I DID NOT take Abby to get this cute haircut on Saturday. She was NOT excited to get it cut and I was NOT thinking that it might be harder for Lucy to grab hold of in the car!

~ I DID NOT read the 3rd book of the Twilight series in 4 days! I've got too much to do around here...I would NEVER be selfish and take time out to do something as menial as READ!

~Yesterday was NOT an absolutely gorgeous day and we DID NOT spend most of it outside! John was NOT giddy with excitement to be able to do yard work and I DID NOT open the windows and the back door to let the spring time in!

~ I was NOT so excited last Monday when the Bachelor, Jason picked Melissa over Molly and proposed. I DID NOT think she was the best choice for him. I WAS NOT quickly shocked and dismayed a few minutes later when he was breaking up with her on national television...for Molly. I mean seriously, why am I concerned with someone else's love life?

~ Finally, the time change DID NOT mess up anyone's sleep schedules around here! It DID NOT take Abby FOR.EV.ER to go to sleep last night! She DID NOT keep getting up saying she had to go potty and then go into the bathroom and play in the drawers and look at herself in the mirror. After the 5th time of going upstairs and putting her back in her bed with a stern warning to STAY PUT...she DID NOT get out of bed, close her door, LOCK IT, then turn on her light so she could play. When I went up to her room to put her back in bed again and have my "serious mommy face" on...she DID NOT say she would stay in bed then proceed to pucker up and throw her arms out wide for a hug and kiss. I DID NOT have to hide a smile at that!

Okay, I am NOT going to clean up my kitchen and eat a bowl of cereal :)

"Ad-lib" Abby

"Blah, Blah Ag she
Inny winny you
Yes sir, yes sir
three bags full
One for the master
One for the brain (sometimes says lane)
one for the little boy that lives down the lane."

This is Abby's version of Baa, Baa Black Sheep. She sings it over...and over...and over. Her version is becoming stuck in my head and I'm beginning to forget how it really goes :)

She also sings a song she learned at preschool (it's a church preschool by the way) about Mary having a baby. I haven't been able to figure out what she says exactly after "Mary had a baby, yes Lord" so I recorded her singing it. Can you figure it out? :)

Abby loves to sing and will usually get stuck on a song for a while before she moves onto another one. Many times while she's reading a book she will sing the same line or two of a song as if she is reading those words on every...single...page...of the book.

Some her favorites...besides the two mentioned above!

Jesus Loves Me

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

ABC's

If You're Happy and You Know It

Songs from Elmo

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Oh yeah, she dressed herself again today...another questionable fashion day :)

Somebody needs to hide those snowflake pants! Don't you love the white socks with the brown shoes? John is sooooo ready to get rid of those brown shoes! She wears them everyday :)

I'll post more pictures later...

Can You Hear Me Now...Max?

YES HE CAN!!! Max had his surgery this morning to put his 4th set of tubes in his ears. The doctor said everything went well and he had even more fluid behind his ear drums than he did just last week at the office.

The doctor also looked down his throat into his air passage to see if there was anything causing his recurrent croup. He did not notice anything abnormal about that so it will be something he just has to grow out of...

During the exam though, he did notice, and showed me pictures of Max's vocal cords and the nodules on them. He asked me about Max's voice and I told him that it has always been husky/raspy sounding. He is recommending Max see a Speech Therapist to work on this (too bad we don't live closer to Shea-Shea!). It is something that can be done at school so we won't have to worry about setting up appoinments, etc.

Recovery time after the surgery was a complete change from the last 3 times! No screaming, thrashing, or trying to pull the i.v. out of his arm. They gave him a drug that helps keep them calm and relaxed and IT WORKED! He was sleeping when I got back into the recovery area and stayed that way for about 45 minutes until we had to wake him up. He drank a full cup of juice and didn't even fuss at all when the nurse took the i.v. out of his hand.

Imagine the compete opposite of all this and that it what it was like the last 3 times he has had this surgery done. He was hungry as a bear when we left the hospital since he wasn't allowed to eat anything since dinner last night and didn't have the surgery until about 10:30 this morning. He inhaled some Chick-fil-a and has been doing great since we got home.

Not Me! Monday

You know what Monday means don't ya? Yep, time to fess up to all your imperfections and then of course pretend you didn't really do it. Come on, wipe the slate clean :) Read what I DID NOT do then click on the button and head on over to MckMama's and see what other people DID NOT do either. You'll find yourself in good company!

This week...

~ I DID NOT lose a check from the insurance company to pay for Max's ambulance ride last November. I run a tight ship around here and I am extremely organized so I would never misplace something so important!

~ I DID NOT leave one of Abby's favorite pairs of jeans at my parents's house last week! (Goes back to that being extremely organized person that I am). I did not do this because she DID NOT take them off to try on a new pair of jeans with "bling" on the back pockets. Abby DID NOT keep trying to check out her bottom to see the bling in the mirror.

~ I DID NOT feed the kids cold cereal for dinner...I always fix highly nutritious meals and we always sit at the table together as a family and have a civilized conversation :)

~ My mom and dad have a standing bubble gum machine at their house that they keep M & M's in "for the grandkids". My dad HAS NOT demonstrated to Lucy how to get "free" M & M's out. While at the house the other night, Lucy accepted my "no" to her request for more so she certainly DID NOT try to shake the machine on her own. If she HAD done that then she would NOT have shaken it a little too hard and proceeded to knock it over and break one of the "feet" on the stand (don't worry, the glass didn't break and it did not fall on Lucy).

~Since Lucy NEVER messed with the machine then my dad would NOT have had to take the satnd off to make it a "sit on the counter" machine. If he had then he would not have attempted to empty the M & M's into a bowl to make it easier and they would not have all dropped out onto the floor! Lucy's eyes DID NOT get about as round as saucers when she saw her precious chocolate just within reach! She DID NOT then proceed to stuff as many into her mouth and her two chubby little hands as she could get! Max and Abby didn't enjoy it either!

~ We DID NOT have a loud, sleepless ride to Charlotte on Friday and we DID NOT repeat the process on the way home. Our children are wonderful travellers who never argue, whine, fuss, beg for food, kick the backs of our seats, or talk at the loudest possible volume. They are quiet and never wait too long to ask to go to the bathroom. Our children are absolute darlings to travel with and we are confident they will be this way when we take them on a plane this summer...

~While in Charlotte, we DID NOT enjoy my niece Molly's Princess birthday party on Saturday and Abby DID NOT look so cute as Sleeping Beauty! Max DID NOT learn how to "pillow sled" down the stairs at my sister's house...he DID NOT learn this from his cousin Jack...thanks Jack!

~Finally, John and I DID NOT put the kids to bed at my in-laws house Friday night then go out for a "date night". We did not sit at a bar for two hours, drink adult beverages, eat an entire basket of freshly fried potato chips, and just talk, uninterrupted (except when the bartender asked if we needed another drink). We DID NOT soooooo need this and we DID NOT soooooo enjoy it. Thanks Jack and Charlotte for keeping the kids :)

Gotta go...Lucy is soooooo NOT STINKY right now!