Hard Mommy Week

This has not been one of my favorite weeks of motherhood, I have to admit. I've had sick, whiny, boys and Sadie has not dealt very well with the attention that has been taken from her...so much so that she has I think willed herself to also be sick. We had to have a parent-teacher conference for Sadie today at the end of the 2nd quarter, apparently she has lost the desire to please her teachers a little and her behavior has been less than par for about a month now. It is humbling to hear her shortcomings and realize they sound a lot like Steven and I's, combined. I am hoping with the knowledge that we are going to hear about her day, every day, from her teacher's perspective, will be enough to encourage better behavior. She was certainly threatened with plenty of consequences by her daddy (I don't know how people raise strong willed children without fathers, I pray I never have to). When Steven was in Kindergarten or 1st grade he had a lot of problems at school - enough so that his parents took ALL of his toys away at one point. Unfortunately, we both have strong wills so she has gotten a double dose of "I'm going to do what I want to do." Pray for us. I don't think I realized how hard this Mom job would be, I don't mean cleaning up vomit or picking up an entire bowl of macaroni and cheese off the floor - but dealing with these heart issues gets me. You have this baby who is just perfect, they turn into an adorable toddler, then a few years later they're being defiant at school?? I know all my children are just normal kids, sinners at best, but what appears to be a digression of character is hard to watch. I start wondering what I'm missing, what I'm doing wrong, will she ever recover from me having another baby? My dad is the oldest of 4 and he turned out pretty great, didn't seem to resent his parents, so hopefully Sadie has a chance. For now, my only answer is to go snuggle with her in our bed, where I let her fall asleep since she's now "sick".

Health scares...Grandma and the womb

This will have to be quick because my hands are already tingly (is that a word?) from wishing a friend happy birthday on Facebook, I can't do much fine motor things these days without my hands going numb. Oh the joys of pregnancy! I was going to name this post "Heart attack and another squirt" but re-read it and realized that it didn't sound quite right, so Steven helped me re-name it. I was killing time at Target last Thursday after D's 18 month check up when Steven's dad called me and asked me what hospital the EMS should take Steven's grandma to for a probable heart attack. We left immediately to meet Steven's parents at the hospital - between the 2 of us this is our only grandparent left - his Mom's mother. She is 83, but not your ordinary 83. She still snow-skis and water skis, does her own yard work, plus other people's if needed (not gardening, either, I'm talking power tools here). She had actually been painting the inside of a garage until 1 am the night before. So obviously, we were quite shocked with this turn of events. I have to say I was proud of Cone Health - from the paramedics to the quick intervention through the Cardiac Cath Lab - I of course give total credit and praise to the Lord but I know He used these professionals to save her life. After a couple hours we realized she was going to pull through and from that point on the news just kept getting better and better. She was irritated the next morning because she couldn't find anywhere to plug in her curling iron. The nurse answered "Well, most ICU patients aren't too concerned with their hair and make-up." She came home 48 hours after a "massive heart attack" and seems to be doing great now. We are so thankful that it wasn't her time, and I wouldn't be surprised if she hit the slopes again sometime this winter - she's just that tough.
While Steven's grandma was in the cath lab Steven convinced me to keep my ultrasound appointment to check the placenta, and while there the doctors got worried that she isn't growing as well as she should be. At 33 1/2 weeks they estimated she was about 3 1/2 pounds. Thankfully, everything else is checking out ok but they do want to monitor me more frequently to check her well-being. I took all 3 kids yesterday for a "non-stress test", where basically they hook you up and watch the baby's heart rate compared to the movement. I was thinking "what an ironic name, this is actually pretty stressful to manage 3 kids in this little room when I can't get off the chair." Next time I'll have to bring more candy. My sweet Sadie was only 6'14 and she was 9 days late so I think I'm probably just growing another petite little girl. I am certainly eating PLENTY, I am planning on this being my last pregnancy so I'm livin' it up. I try to ignore the numbers when I get on the scale. Steven's actually been on a no-coke diet so our weights might actually meet up this time - which he will never let me live down. Hopefully not. OK, thanks to swelling and carpal tunnel I need to sign off - I'll talk about my other 3 next time - they are making me laugh a lot these days. Which is good, since I feel extra hormonal. Goodnight!!

Christmas in pictures...and a few captions.

We started off our Christmas celebrations in Charlotte with the Nash side - Byron and his family came over as well as one of my uncles and his family. My parents bought a swingset off Craigslist for the grandkids to play on at their house and needless to say it was a big hit. Eli simultaneously learned to pump his legs so that was like a Christmas present to me!

 

Mom asked Byron to bring his woodburner and he spent a good bit of the afternoon working on the names of all the grandkids. Steven was just an onlooker. :)

 Here is the finished job!

 He is one happy camper around grandparents/cousins/swingsets.

 All the festivities wore them out! Sadie was soon to follow.

We came home after church with my parents and celebrated Christmas Eve and morning at our house. D was the first one up and he was so excited about his cereal that we couldn't get him to come open presents when Sadie and Eli got started.

 

 However, he did figure out that Christmas is pretty cool.

 Christmas pjs! And Sadie's new Dream Lights pillow pet.

 The only downside of Santa is that I didn't get any thank-you hugs like this one. Next year I might take a little more credit. :)

 Eli's new obsession is Toy Story - these are his Buzz Lightyear sunglasses.

I gave Steven a digital coin bank and a little Bible to carry with him. Saving money and Scripture - 2 of his absolute favorite things!

 We enjoyed a lazy day of playing with toys, the kids got to be with both sets of grandparents and their great-grandma for most of the day, and we finished off the evening by watching the animated version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

 Mom and Dad had never seen this movie, either, so it was a treat for all.

The next day we went over to Steven's parent's house for the Harrell Christmas - unfortunately I don't think anyone took any pictures! The pictures above are all from my Dad's camera - I am in desperate need of a new camera and hoping to just kill 2 birds with 1 stone when I get a new phone in a couple weeks. Anyways, we had a great Harrell Christmas as well, the kids were thrilled with their presents (Carolyn always does a great job with gift-giving!) and an afternoon of playing with cousins after a good meal. I had to work that night but the kids got to continue the celebration by spending the night at Grandma's.

I am so thankful that our kids get to grow up and enjoy both sets of grandparents and cousins, especially during times like these. We have enjoyed being out of school, last weekend Steven was speaking at a little church in Laurinburg so we got a hotel room the night before... which is like taking the kids to Disney - from riding the cart to the sugar cereal in the morning the kids just love every minute of it. We spent New Year's Eve at a friend's house with a bunch of kids and pizza, then Steven and the big 2 stayed up to watch the old animated Robinhood - Eli's new favorite movie. This morning he told us he had special powers in his belly that only comes out at night - like Robinhood. Tomorrow school starts back which means it is now past my bedtime. Back to reality! And the many nesting projects that are calling my name! Already I have organized and labeled the linen closet, cleaned and organized the laundry room, and started on the kid's closets. I love it!