12 posts tagged “matt”

Friday the 18th was Logan's birthday. I decided that we were going to do a Thomas the Tank engine theme and that turned out pretty good. I made the cake myself, so it would be dairy free for my little soy boy. Thursday I spent all day baking the cake, making muffins, decorating the cake and muffins, I made hummus and roasted garlic. Oh yeah, amongst all that Grace bunt three of her fingers. I felt so bad. She screamed for almost 2 straight hours. I was at my wits end. I started crying because I didn't know what to do and Logan was crying because he was hungry. Grace wouldn't let me do anything to her burn. No water, no medicine, nothing. Finally I starting putting my spit on them and blowing on them and that made her stop, but was making me dizzy. So finally I gave her a paci. She stopped taking one at 7 months, but had one in while she was in the hospital for the whole cashew thing, so I thought I would try it. She took it and was happy! She didn't even have it and hour and mainly played with it when she did have it, but it was worth it! It gopt her mind off of the pain and onto Little Einsteins! She is doing much better now. She likes to keep bandaids on them, I think she like the attention it brings.

Friday I started cooking as soon as a woke up. I made chicken with polenta and marinara. It is polenta(Italian grits) with cheese. You put chopped up chicken on that and then top it off with homemade sauce! It is real yummy. I got the recipe from an online friend of mine and I have made it several times. Thanks MJ, we love it! It is Logan's favorite. It was a hit at his birthday. I think the only person that didn't like it was my grandmother, but she doesn't like anything remotely different. I think all the adults got seconds! I also made homemade bread with roasted garlic. Yum! Matt's Grandmother sent Logan balloons and the kids had so much fun playing with those. Logan got a lot of clothes. That is what I asked for with Christmas was just a few weeks ago, God knows he does not need any toys. He has gotten so big. He is wearing 18 and 24 month clothes now. I plopped him on the scale the other day and he showed him weighing 25 lbs. I can't wait until his appointment on Friday.

The party went well, but I was totally exhausted. I had done everything myself, because Matt had to work. When he got home he really helped though. He cleaned up basically by himself. My kitchen was a disaster, but he had it up to my standards before we went to bed. What a great man I have!

OK, now for pictures!

Gracie saw the lady come and deliver the balloons. I told her they were for Logan and when he woke up we would give them to him. As soon as he woke up she took them into his room and put them in his bed.

I know that it has been a while since my last post, but it has been crazy busy around here. Matthew had a hospital stay not too long ago. You can read about that on his blog. We are also trying to get a popcorn business started. We really need to get the move on with that.

The kids have been keeping me busy. Most days I don't even get a break until Matt gets home. Today is a lucky day though. Both the kids went down for their naps at around the same time and are still napping. I like days like this. A little breathing time. I can hardly get on the computer without Logan crawling under my legs and Grace either climbing on my lap or getting into something. I have two active kids, but wouldn't trade them for the world.

We had Logan's 9 month check up yesterday and it went well. He weighs 21 lbs 14oz. The nurse said that is as much as a 21 month old. That puts him in his 97th percentile for weight. He is 30 1/4 inches long which puts him in the 95th percentile for length. What a big boy I have! She said that he will have two new teeth on the top in the next few days and probably 2 more on the bottom in the new week or so. I can't believe his teeth are coming in so fast. They are making him so grumpy, so I hope they come in soon.

In the hospital after the OB did the circumcision she told us that she didn't cut enough off. So anyway, other mothers have made comments about it and I thought that I would bring it up yesterday. The Dr looked at it and said that it is basically uncircumcised. You can't see the head at all, so he will probably not grow into it like I was hoping. She said that you see it a lot where the head is still showing a bit and the boy will eventually grow into it, but not in Logan's case. She said that is is our choice if we want to have him re-done or not. If we do we need to wait until he is one year old and take him to a urologist and he will have to be sedated. She said that whatever we choose to do he will be fine. I think at this point we are leaning towards having it re-done. The Dr also said that we could wait until Logan is old enough and let him choose. The Dr said that if we leave it the way it is we need to teach him to keep it clean. It does get irritated and red at times. OK, enough of that.

The Dr and I also talked about Logan's intolerances to wheat and dairy. She said to definitely wait a year to try him on milk again. She said that between 10 and 11 months I can try him on wheat again if I wanted to, but she suggested a wheat free cake for his birthday. She said by a year she really thinks he should be OK. If he still has problems with the wheat at year he will have some tests done and they will test him for celiac disease(something to do with gluten intolerance). She really doesn't think that is the case though because people with that usually have problems gaining weight, which is so not Logan's problem.

If anyone has any wheat free recipes I am up for them. So far I am doing pretty good, I even experimented with wheat free panckes, they weren't the best though. I did make some wheat free cookies that were very tasty.

It has been a while since my last post. Things have been crazy busy around here and every time I sit down to the computer Grace needs something or just wants me to start paying attention to her. I finally have a few moments where I can sit down and type for a bit.

The week of 4th of July we went down to my parent's house in Michigan for vacation and of course to visit with my family. Grace had so much fun and really got attached to my sister. She absolutely loves my parents and has asked to go see them. I try to explain to her that it is too far to go there all the time. It takes at least 12 hours. She had fun in my parents pool and we even took her to a train museum, which she loved. She loves trains and cars, what can I say?

This week was Vacation Bible School this week at our church and both Matthew and I were teachers, so that has kept us busy also. It went well and the kids seemed to have lots of fun. Gracie even went and did crafts and music time with the other 2 year olds and had a blast. Her teachers loved her. They said she has a great personality and really makes them laugh. Now that is something every parent loves to hear.

Logan is getting so big, or should I say getting bigger. He is now wearing mostly 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers.  He is now eating solids twice a day and drinking formula the rest of the time, except when he wakes at night. I am nursing him then, mainly because I am too lazy to fix a bottle when I am half asleep. I notice yesterday that he had a little white blister on his bottom gum and this morning a felt a little tooth poking it's way through. It is sad and happy at the same time. I can't believe my little boy is growing so fast. I am guessing that he is going on 18lbs. He has on appointment on Tuesday, so I will find out then.

Here are some updated pictures.

I can't believe that July is almost here. It has been so busy and stressful since Logan has been born that time has just been flying by. I promised myself that I would enjoy my newborn and I feel like I have missed it once again.

I have been in such a "funk" lately. I am always so stressed, grumpy, irritated, can't concentrate and just can't seem to have fun. I am not depressed, at least I don't think so. I feel good about my body and I am already down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I guess I just don't deal with stress that well. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband to put up with me. I know that it has been hard on him, but overall he has been great.

The kids are both wonderful, but Grace is such a little handful and can wear on me by the end of the day. She is full of energy and curiosity. I guess I need to take more time to sit back, relax and take time to myself. I guess that part of my problem is that I don't feel like I have much worth. Being a SAHM is a very trying job, that you don't get paid for and of course your kids don't thank you for doing it. Matthew does a great job at making sure I know how much he appreciates me. I guess most of it is just me and the fact that doing what I do is a never ending job. It is pretty much the same thing, day after day.

All of this being said I wouldn't change it for the world. My feelings of inadequacy and stress aside, I would rather be here with my kids then anywhere else. The other day I was reading a story about a family in Florida who picked their 5 month old up from the sitter's house one night and ended up having to rush him to the ER that night. After much investigation the authorities came to the conclusion that the baby had Shaken Baby Syndrome and that the caregiver was responsible. This happened int he beginning of May and that little boy is still fighting for his life. This being said I feel fortunate that I can be the one responsible for my kids care during the day. In addition to this I also don't get to miss a thing. Sure I am here for the bad, but also the good. Every word, roll, step, crawl, smile, giggle, laugh, hug and kiss, I am here for it all. I have said it before and I will say it again, rather then getting paid in money I get paid in kisses and cuddles.

Today is going much better and I feel so much better today. I think that is mostly because my son has slept really well the last two nights and also because I have sat back and genuinely enjoyed my kids yesterday and today.

Her are some pictures of some of the things that make all this worth it!

It has been a little while since I posted. Not much is going on and I finally think that everyone is feeling better. I have really been sitting back and appreciating my children lately. I just can't believe how big they are getting. Gracie is a sweet little angel, yeah right. OK, well, she is sweet, but not an angel. She is trying to help take care of Logan which is sweet and annoying at the same time. She is a good little helper. She loves to help me empty the dishwasher and vacuum the floor.

Logan is still trying to master the art of rolling over. He is becoming more aware of the things around him and his big sister never fails to get a grin out of him. Well, enough said, I have some pictures, that will tell the rest.

I love this picture! There is nothing I love to watch more then my daughter and my husband spending time together. Siting on the couch and sharing a dessert or smoothie is one of their favourite things to do.

Here is my sweet Grace trying to help out. She loves to feed Logan his bottle, but always gets impatient because she doesn't think he drinks it fast enough. She has asked to feed him his cereal, but I don't think that is a good idea.

Gracie always has to jump in when I am taking pictures of Logan. She always likes to be right next to him.

While I was laying down taking this picture, Gracie was jumping up and down on my back. It was worth it though. I really like this picture.

Gracie and her daddy were playing on the swings in the park while Logan and I watched, so I managed to snapped this picture.

OK, so these pictures really made me realize how big my boy is getting. He is almost 5 months old and already catching up to his big sister. He will probably be the same size as her by his first birthday.

So, can you tell that I am proud of my family! I love to show them off! Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

it was a Friday. I remember that day very well. I was 17 years old and Matthew and I were in high school. We were nearing the end of our junior year and had known each other for a few weeks now.  My family had just moved to the States from New Zealand. We were missionaries over there and my dad had just resigned from the mission field to come back and be the pastor of the his dad's former church. I wasn't too happy about moving back and leaving all my friends back in New Zealand, but such is life of a missionary's kid. I had sworn that I would never fall in love with an American because I wanted to move back to New Zealand after I had completed the one year of mandatory bible college set by my parents. Needless to say, I met Matthew and that idea was immediately thrown out the window. He immediately caught my attention by his gutsiness.  I remember I was siting in my parents van one day waiting for mom and he walked up to me and said, "Kenny said you don't think I like you, well, I do. I will call you tonight." He turned around and walked away. I was wondering how he would call, he did not have my number and we were living with my grandma at the time because mom and dad were still looking for a house. Needless to say he did call that night. We got to know each other while our school cleaned the Martinsville Speedway after the big race. It was a process that took about 2 weeks. We went to a very small private school so there was no hundreds of kids doing it. It was fun to get to know each other. We hit it off immediately.  We always had something to say and we always felt comfortable around each other. All this brings us to April 25th, 1997. School was out and Matthew was walking with me outside. He looked at me and said, "I have been promising your sister Michelle that I would do this, so here is goes; do you want to be my girlfriend?" I said yes. He got in his car with his brother Tim and drove off. I still pick on him about not offering to give me a ride to my grandmother's, I was walking there. It was just up the road on his way out. I think he was just nervous. Well, here we are, 10 years later, almost 7 years of marriage, 4 apartments, 7 moves, and 2 children later. We have gone through a lot in this time. Matthew lost his best friend, my parents moved to Michigan, we broke up for a few weeks, we got back together and Matthew started to talk about marriage, but through all the tears and laughter we have always loved each other.   We are still so much in love, even more so then our wedding day.

So many people ask Matthew and I why we chose to move back to Martinsville. We have been criticized for our decision before, but I know that it was the right one.

Matthew and I moved to Virginia Beach in August of 2000 so Matthew could go to Old Dominion University. We loved the area and both still miss it at times. When Matthew graduated in May of 2003 what we had gone there to do was complete. We wanted to start having kids in the near future and wanted me to be a stay at home mom, but knew that was going to be near impossible to do at the beach. We had a nice 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment that had no amenities(pool, gym and such), that we only paid $750 a month for, which is great for that area. People could not believe how little we were paying for what we had. We were on a main street in Chesapeake and were close to everything. This was a huge step up from our first apartment which was right next to an airbase in Norfolk and was only 450 square feet. Matthew had a good job and so did I. I worked at a huge dental office just 2 minutes from our apartment. I had gotten to the point that I really enjoyed my job and what I did. I was the hygiene coordinator of the Chesapeake office. I was responsible for the schedules of 6 hygienists. I had went from $7 an hour to $11.50 in a matter of 3 short years.  Matthew's part time job turned into a full time job. Things were truly falling into place. I desperately wanted to start having kids and Matthew was getting there. We knew that if we stayed in Virginia Beach I would have to keep my job.  One day Matthew came home from work and told me that his boss said that he could work from home! This meant we could move anywhere! We thought about it and prayed about it for some time. We decided that if we were going to do it, Martinsville would make the most sense. More family lived there and it it is only 5 hours from Cheapeake, so traveling there when they needed him would not be horrible. Now for telling the parents. We knew his would be ecstatic and mine not so much. For those of you who don't know, his live here in Martinsville and mine in Michigan. His parents couldn't have been happier. Mine on the other hand not so much. They wanted to know why we chose here instead of there. I don't really like the cold for one and Matthew wanted to be close to Greensboro and Roanoke in case he ever had to look for another job. They didn't say much, but I could hear the disapproval and disappointment in their voices. So life went on and we started making plans to make the move that would change our lives forever.

We decided that we would stay with Matt's parents for a few months until we could find a house. We started packing and got Matthew a lap top for work. In amongst all this I went to get my birth control at the pharmacy and they were out. In my 4 years or taking birth control the pharmacy has never been out! They said it would be about a week. I called Matthew to tell him, I think all he said was "Well, you wanted to start having kids, I guess it is time" and that was that. I put in my notice which was one of the hardest things I had to do. I really had gotten close with a lot of people there and continue contact with some of them. Matt's parents came down one week end and we packed everything up and moved. It was fast and seemed so unreal. I was flooded with emotions and really didn't know how I felt. We got to his parent's and there was a tiny room that Matt and I were to call ours for a few months. They had cleared it out so we could put our stuff in it. For the first time in years, I had no job. I felt down and depressed. I cried several times. I really missed being on our own. I felt that we had really messed up the good thing we had. Moving from a big city like Chesapeake to a small town like Martinsville was not easy at first and to top it all off I was not getting pregnant. It hadn't been that long, but after all that was the reason we moved. I thought I was a few times, but only got negative tests. Matthew too was starting to get down about the situation we had put ourselves in. We started going to Roanoke more and decided that we were going to move in that direction. He told me to get a job and just like that I got a job. Yes, it was that easy. I went for one interview and got a job all within a period of just a few days. I traveled to and from Roanoke for several weeks. Everything seemed to be falling into place. We started looking for houses and decided to rent a small apartment on a short term bases to make things a little easier. We found a small one bedroom apartment 2 minutes from where I worked.

Just a few days after moving I realized that I was 4 days late for my period. I really didn't believe that I could be pregnant. It had been only 5 short months and the last month we really didn't try, because we were both stressed out. I think the only day we "did the deed" was on our anniversary. Anyway, Matthew said "You have a test right? Why don't you take it?" Matthew had to go meet his mom in Rocky Mount, but he wanted me to take it right then and call him. I took it and I must have missed the stick or something because I got no lines. Hey, that is worse then just one. I called him and told him to pick some tests up on his way home. My nerves had gotten the best of me. I was pacing around the apartment(didn't take long) drinking water so I would have to pee again. I couldn't wait, so yes, I peed on the same test. I couldn't believe my eyes, two lines!!!!!! Was I pregnant? I called Matthew while drinking more water. Told him what had happened and to still bring more tests because I did not believe it. All this time he was in front of his mom trying to hold back his excitement. When he got home I took another test and it too was positive. We were so ecstatic. Things were finally falling in place! Life was once again good except for the bad morning sickness the child had given me. We were going to wait to tell everyone, but could not contain ourselves, so we told our family and told them to keep it quiet until my appointment at 8 weeks. Not long after this we put a bid in on a house and were making plans of moving by the end of the month. With house we had gotten I would still have to work and we were going to have to put the child in daycare. Some where along the way we had lost site of or goal. I got up one morning and was struggling through my morning sickness to go into work and the guy who oversaw the office I worked at called and I believe his exact words were "We are going to have to let you go. Your heart has not been in it since you got pregnant. Don't worry we will let you go, not fire you so you can collect unemployment." What the crap? I was now 18 weeks pregnant and if you were still throwing up 3 times a day your heart probably would not be in it either. With the major change in our income we knew that we would loose the house and we were just one week from closing. I cried uncontrollably that day, not because I got fired, but because I felt like a failure in the true sense of the word. I hated my job anyway and had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I walked into that place, something just wasn't right. We called our real estate agent and she looked at everything and confirmed what we thought, we would loose the house and the $800 we had put into home inspections and stuff like that. She said that if we could get someone to sign my car in their name that we could still do it. My parents said that they would be more then happy to. I was happy that I would still get my house.

Matthew came to me one night and said after much prayer he thought this was the wrong choice. If we couldn't do it on our own we shouldn't. He said that we had lost track of why we moved in the first place. He wanted me to stay at home with our baby and if we took this house we would both be working our butts off. I did not agree with him. I was angry at him at the time, but felt in my heart that God wanted me trust him and follow my husband. I choked down my tears and said that I agreed. We lost the house and worst of all the $800. We went with his family to the beach for a long weekend to get away, we really needed that. When we got back we had decisions to make. Our apartment was way to small, we barely had room for us. We started looking back in Martinsville at apartments. We knew we didn't want a house due to the economy here and also we didn't know how long we would be here. Apartments didn't seem feasible and neither did renting a house. I was getting more pregnant by the day. We were staying with his parents more and more and just going home to our apartment to feed the cat. We were looking in the paper one day and saw an advertisement that caught our eye. It was about a mobile home. We decided to check it out. I was now going on 7 months pregnant and ready to get the baby's room ready. When we got there we found out that we could buy a trailer right off the lot. It was 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and 1200 square feet. I loved it. Matt's mom owns land with her brothers and  they all said we could put our trailer there.  It was already hooked up for a trailer so we were good to go! Things were finally falling into place again. Then the dreaded call came. They had rezoned the area and we could not put our trailer there. Matt and I really didn't want to live in a trailer park, but our options were limited. We couldn't find land that we could put the trailer on, but we did find a nice park in Ridgeway. There was an end lot with nothing but trees on one side. The lot was fairly large too. We decided that this is what we were going to do.

Matt was working one day and got a call from his boss that part of the company had been sold off and there was major lay offs. Matt knew his job was "safe for now", but we had a new place and a baby on the way, "safe for now" wasn't going to cut it. He immediately started looking for jobs. He had an interview in Greensboro, but nothing came of it. He had another in little old Stoneville. They loved him and offered him a job. They great thing was, this job was only going to be 15 minutes from our new  home in the village(sounds better then trailer in the park). They offered him a little less then what he was making, but told him they would give him a raise in 3 months. They also were paying the premium for the Cobra insurance for me. Since I was pregnant that was our only choice for me to have insurance. Things were once again going right. I think that we had lost track of our goal and God was trying to set us straight. I truly feel that for some reason He wants us here. Matthew has looked for jobs and we have thought about moving. Recently he was going to quit, but lets just say that his employer was not going to let him go with out a fight. He is still working in Stoneville and it seems that he will be there for many years to come. He really likes his job and we thank God every day for giving it to him. In a couple of years we will start looking for a house around here, but for now we are happy right where we are. We are trying to save up money and pay off some debts first. We finally got our perspective back and all it took was tears, a move or two, $800 and putting complete trust in God that He would work things out.

God has blessed us with another child, after 7 months of trying we conceived our beautiful baby boy who is almost 3 months old. God is continuing to bless us and I truly believe that he has a purpose for us here in Martinsville and at the church we currently attend. Matthew plays in the praise band and  enjoys it so much. It is good to hear and see him use his gift to serve God. I am still a SAHM and totally blessed to be one. I admit I want to pull my hair out some days, but wouldn't trade it for the world. People can continue to say we made the wrong move, but I am more convinced every day that this was right. The more we trusted God the more he blessed us.

I can't believe it! My baby boy is 2 months old today. He is getting so big. He is growing so much faster then Gracie did. I guess that is a boy for ya. As Gracie would grow and get older Matt and I would look at pictures of her to compare how she had grown. We still do that and are in awe of how big she is and what a precious little girl she is now. The other night I took a picture of Grace holding Logan that we could compare to one that was taken the week he came home from the hospital. It is clear that he has grown like a weed. He has a well baby appointment on Wednesday, I can't wait to see how much my baby boy has grown. Here are the pictures. What do you think?

I know that I usually don't say it enough, but I am a lucky women to have such a wonderful husband. He truly is the best. He really is wonderful at what matters. Last night he took the kids outside for an hour while I finished up dinner. Logan has had a bad past couple of days I really needed that. He put Logan in the front pack and took Grace for a walk. I should have taken a picture. It was so cute! I couldn't ask for a better husband or better daddy for my kids. He is so good at playing with Grace. I think her favourite part of the day is when he comes home.  Now that he works out in the mornings Grace doesn't get to see him until that night. She asks for him every morning and usually through out the day. I know sometimes I complain about stuff and make him feel like crap, but I guess that is me being frustrated at the kids or hormonal. Gotta love the post pregnancy hormones. I love you honey, you truly are the best! Now we have to work on you knowing what I want without me actually saying it. :) After all isn't that what every women wants? :)

Time is passing so quickly these days and I just don't know where it has gone to. My little boy with be 2 months old on Saturday, that is hard to believe. It seems like we just got home from the hospital. My days fly by because I am so busy with the kids.

Thursday Matt stayed with both kids for the first time while I went grocery shopping. He did rather well, so I will have to do it again. It was a plus for both of us. I got out of the house and he got to skip out on our twice a month grocery shopping. I generally hate grocery shopping, but it was good to have some time to myself. 

Friday was fairly uneventful. We just spent a quiet evening at home. On Saturday Matt and I had our first date night in a while.  We went to Roanoke and left the kids with his mom.  We spent the first part buying clothes for Logan and picked Grace up an easter dress.  Logan is growing so fast. He is already in 3-6 months clothes. I am sad that I am already having to pack up some of his 0-3 months stuff. We ate lunch at TGI Friday's, it was delicious as always. We went to see the movie the Number 23.  I thought it was a good movie. I really enjoyed it and thought that Jim Carey did a really good job. He is not one of my favourite actors, so it is a good compliment for him. Matt also bought me some shirts.  Since I am nursing I am having a hard time finding something in my closet that isn't going to show off the girls in a very tacky way. It was good to get back to the kids, I was starting to miss them and I really needed Logan to take some milk off my boobs. I just can't wait until we can take an overnight trip with out the kids. That is going to be great!