What makes me so special

Jim said to me the other day, "You know what makes you so special?" Before I tell you his answer I'll explain what led him to say such a thing.

It was 4 a.m. on tuesday. I heard someone's feet hit the floor upstairs. (Our bedroom is down on the main level, all the kid's are upstairs). In my mommy ninja skills I was awake in that split second I heard the first noise. Then came the sound of feet rushing down the stairs. I was bracing for my what now mentality. Who had a bad dream or fell out of bed or who knows what. Into my room crept Mandy, wide eyed & frantic. She tells me that Angel has thrown up.

I jump out of bed & rush upstairs to their room. I was very confused as I found Angel sitting in bed with no puke in sight. I guess I had invisioned it all over her bed or something. I mean isn't that why she sent her sister down to get me? Well, she explains that she was being thoughtful and didn't want to make me have to wash all of her bed linen. So she threw up on the floor. But not on the side that has carpet, again being thoughtful, but on the side of the bare hardwood floor.

Different mentalities I guess. I would have rather had it all over her bed linen so I could just scoop it (the bedding) all up, shake off the chunks & then throw it in the wash. With it all over the floor I had to get down and clean up the goopey mess. Blech! I have a fairly sensative stomach. Not that it ever matters in motherhood. So fun, fun, I get to clean it all up. I made several trips up & down the stairs keeping quiet to not wake the whole house. Just going about my motherly duty.

By time it was all said & done (baby) Carmen was starting to fuss & stir so she got up to nurse. It was good timing I guess. It worked into her usual feeding time. I snuggle back into bed shortly after 4:45 a.m. in time to catch just a bit more sleep before I get up at 6 a.m. to see Jim off to work.

Before I sent him out the door with his bagel & coffee I told him about Angel getting sick. He seemed confused. When I told him that Mandy is the one who came down to get me he said "now I know you're really telling me stories". I guess he was thinking that maybe I was telling him of one of my crazy dreams I had that night. He also asked if Carmen got up to nurse, I was like "ummmm, yeaaaaaah". He asks if I woke her up or if she got up on her own. I said "no she was crying, so I got her up." He was totally clueless that anything had gone in the early morning hours.

Jim called me later & says "Do you know what makes you so special?" I'm confused by his question, but stammer out a idunno. I can almost hear him grinning "You're special because you get up at 4 in the morning to clean up puke & don't even complain about it." I was a bit flabbergast by his compliment, but took it for all it was worth and I felt extreamly loved & honored at that moment. All thanks to some puke.

A post from Andrew

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I'm dangerous

Last week for Valentine's Day Jim went out & bought me/us a new treadmill. Nothing says I love you like a machine that implies that you really need to workout. Luckily for me working out, especially running, is one of my favorite things to do.

Getting me to workout is not really a problem, but the legistics of getting to the Y can be. Until (baby) Carmen is 3 months old she is not allowed in the babysitting room or, as we found out, in the workout area either. Even beyond that there is always the occasional sick kid or whatnot that keeps me home from the Y. Now I have no excuses. I'm armed & dangerous.

The miles should start racking up and racing season will soon be here. I'll be so ready, not only physically, but mentally as well. Then I'll be even more dangerous.

Smile!

(Baby) Carmen is beginning to smile more & more. I've managed to capture a few on camera. The best time to get them is first thing in the morning. She has just slept most of the night and her tummy is not bothering her.

That needs some explaining as she's been a bit colicky for the last several weeks. It's always in the evening. At first we had several nights of non stop fussiness and even out right screaming & crying for several hours. I even took her to the Dr. wondering what was wrong. He smiled & gently broke it to me that it was "just" colic. We've never had a baby scream & cry so much so how was I to know? Since then we've learned to identify the symptoms as they come on & have some techniques we use to head it off. Luckily it seems to be limited to just the evening hours and once it passes she goes to bed for most of the night.

A typical night for her is from 9 p.m.-4 a.m. She gets up long enough to nurse then goes back down until about 7 a.m. So for the most part we're all getting our sleep. That makes for a lot of smiles in the morning.

Time for a change

I decided to whack off my hair. It's been long for 3 years or so. My hair grows fast so it's not such a big deal when I do decide to cut it off. I can easily grow it back within a year. But I was ready for a change, a big drastic one. I also got some curl put in (a perm) as my hair is not naturally curly.

I can't really say that I like my new hair do. I didn't really like it before hand either. I rarely ever "like" my hair. I just do the best with what I have. So here it is. Pictured below is the day I got my hair done & then with it all fixed up. (Excuse my pale pasteness, it is the middle of winter & I'm painfully aware of the lack of sun my skin has seen.)

Books

Andrew has a new love of books. He takes several to bed with him & "reads" them by the light of his nightlight. He'll get upset if I don't read them to him first. It's a new bedtime ritual.

First tooth

John lost his first tooth. He promptly wrote a letter to the "toothfairy" that he'd like $10.25 left under his pillow. Toothfairy was a tad broke since it was the day right before payday, so he only got $1.

Happy Birthday John!

Yesterday was John's birthday. Our first son born to us. It was a "normal" day with school & such. He actually had his party weeks ago with Brianna. They had a joint party since they both wanted the same thing to celebrate. Each of them had a few individual friends, but there was also many family friends. Plus you throw in the cousins and such....it's much easier to have 1 big party.

It's not only John's birthday, but Matthew's (John's twin). Many of you may not know John had a twin. This twin was not actually born, but we know from early on ultrasounds that there was a twin in there. And in our eyes & God's that counts 100% as one of our children. At the time, I'm sure due to shock, we didn't name the twin or even talk about it too much. John is the one who has embraced the fact that he has a twin, he is the one who named him when he was about 3 years old.

For me (Carmen) it is extreamly bittersweet as I have ALWAYS wanted twins (or any kind of multiples). It was shocking enough that we were pregnant again when Brianna was only 3 months old, but to find out there was twins. I was literally in tears as I wondering how I could possibly even do this. It was a darker time for me as those were the years I struggled deeply with post-partum depression. God, in His infinate wisdom, had a perfect plan though and I don't question that too much. We'll just have to wait to see that twin in heaven. Until then we'll just have to embarce him in our hearts!

On a flip & humorous side...can you imagine TWO John's!!!! If you know him personally and the little ball of energy that he is....oy vey! He's great to have though. Thank you God for giving us John! Enjoy the little slide show of his pictures.

John