Well, isn't that neat...

I submitted some info and pictures to ireport.com a few weeks back (posted a link on here somewhere...). I've gotten a few contacts from someone that works with ireport.com and CNN (they are connected) and this morning I have 4 e-mails that my kids photos are on CNN.com :)

The story isn't ours, it's about a young man that was voted prom king and then went on to go to college. Inspiring story! And the four little faces at the top of the page I must say are quite adorable too!! Our picture is the first one in the slide show. You can see it on CNN.com/health. HERE's the link to the photos. You need to click "story" at the top to go to the article about the young man.

ps. you can click 'hide caption' to see the bottom pics better!

Today

Brianna seems to be feeling much better, thank God! She drank some juice and had wheat thins for breakfast. Micah got up at 5:30 and my sweet husband got him back to sleep until 6:30. Emma woke up in a PUDDLE. Maybe it's time for those bigger diapers on her? She's still so tiny but man can she um... leak :) Kristopher is at school and got a special lunch packed for him. I bet he's enjoying that. Right now, actually... they eat at 10am! (and then he eats the rest when he gets home at 12:30 lol)

This morning all 3 little ones got baths, Micah got a second bottle, and EMMA ATE 4 OZ OF BABY FOOD OFF A SPOON! Not without a little convincing, but she swallowed, only gagged once, and didn't even complain all that much! Now I'm working on getting shoes on everyone and dry diapers so we can disappear to Wal-Mart for a few hours and grocery shop/shop for our trip. I kept the two little ones out of KAD today because they hadn't been feeling well and we don't want to spread the wealth ;) That does make shopping a little more... um... interesting though!

This afternoon I HOPE to get some of our things packed for our trip, I can't believe we leave in 4 days! I love getting away with family for a time and changing up our routines a bit. I know that the kids will be a little "off" from sleeping different places and not necessarily getting great naps and such, but I really look forward to having this time all together to hang out. Plus, we'll get to meet some new people along the way! More on our trip later, off to grocery shop!

The story of 2 two yr olds... and other random things

I know you're telling me NO, but I really want her to come play!

Ha, she got up anyway!

 

I'm so glad you're feeling better! *kiss*

 

Me too, thanks brother! *hug*

 

Now leave me alone so I can read a book!

 

Brianna is feeling much better.  She ate oatmeal and you'd be surprised what this cup means to her!

Oh, that's SO MUCH more than just Starbucks... she knows there's something heavenly in that cup and in her refusal to eat went WILD when she saw my cup- which was then empty.  I asked if she wants some and received my first good YES of the day.  It's amazing how much better drinkable yogurt tastes when it comes from Mommy's washed out Starbucks cup than it would in a plain old sippy :)

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Just a random thing now, there's a lot of bloggers posting this fun set of info about themselves and several blogs I read have done it and asked their readers to do so as well.  So... here goes, they may be sorry they asked :) :)

20 years ago... I was 6 and was in first grade.  I lived in Massachusetts and I don't remember a whole lot from that long ago!  My parents were probably just starting to think about moving, which we did the next summer.

10 years ago... I was 16, a junior in high school, and had been dating my sweetheart, Mike, for almost a year.  I was in a CNA program, played upright bass in the school orchestra, jazz band, and wind ensemble, and was the captain of the flag corps at Titusville High School.  Wow, I haven't picked up a bass or a flag in forever... but that CNA stuff has turned out pretty handy!

5 years ago... I was 21, was finishing my last 2 months of college, I'd been married for my high school sweetheart for 2 years and was about 6 months pregnant with our first child.  I was working as a student teacher at the school I hope my children will all attend next year under the best first grade teacher :) :) 

1 year ago... We were about a month into our international adoption plans and were waiting for our homestudy to be returned to us.  Kristopher was 3, Brianna was 20 months, and we were ready to add "Aleksa" and hadn't yet decided to adopt a second child. 

Yesterday... I spent the day working around the house, playing with the kids, and being so happy that Brianna was feeling better!

Today... I started like any Monday might by cleaning up throw up, then proceeded to hold a sad little sick baby girl a better part of the day.

Tomorrow... I don't have a clue what will happen because I can't count on getting things done around here lately! LOL

So... if you blog and feel like sharing your 'years' please drop me a comment so I know to check it out :)

Know who gained 2 lbs?

That's right... Miss Emma weighed in at 22lbs just about 2 weeks ago and this morning (different scale, so might be a bit off) she weighed in at 24!  She's on a LOT of pediasure and "ensure" drinks.  The Ensure variety has 350 calories and she likes those flavors better so we trade off between the two.  I picked her up a few times today and (besides me being SUPER tired!) she felt heavier!  So on to the bathroom scale we went and there's surely at least 1.5 lbs to tip the scales! Yay!

And... if that wasn't enough for today... Here's her other surprise for the day:

She kept grabbing my potato salad while sitting on my lap so... I figured why not, right?

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Brianna's been pretty much miserable all day.  She's sipped on some watered down apple juice a time or two but isn't interested in anything else.  I gave her a cookie (at her request) which she licked and gave back.  However, this morning post-puking and pre-feeling-crummy she sure was cute :)

Someone's throwing up again

Wouldn't it be nice if

The makers of Pediasure (and the off brands there-of) would make their tops the right size to fit a bottle lid and nipple? That would make life SO MUCH EASIER. Not to mention dishes. Or what about selling it in quart size containers if we can't screw the lids on? Gallons? C'mon people there's got to be SOME way to do it...

Pictures from the past few days

When you can't find something good to lean on... Why not a brother?  And see Emma CLAPPING??  New trick! YAY!  This (all of these actually) was taken after bath without brushing E's hair LOL

I was taking this picture of the two of them sharing a book together... but Emma threw the book just as I took the picture!  She doesn't share so good yet  :)

My Kristopher was dodging the camera for a while there... Now he's much happier about getting his picture taken.   But sometimes gets a LITTLE CLOSE!

  

More pic's of the kids playing, Emma gets tired sitting up pretty quickly still but is doing SO MUCH better!  Then she went in for the attack.  She really wants to play and interact with Brianna and Micah lately (just in time for them to both get sick and me try to keep them APART! LOL)

Micah likes anything he can throw or bat.  This little "rock" is the perfect size for a pretty decent pitch!  And Kristopher likes giving the little guys hugs :)

Since Emma wants to be upright but still is lacking that basic neck strength, she comes up with some pretty creative ways to do what she wants.  For instance... this table as a chin rest?  And this morning Kristopher went in to the girls' room and closed the door.  Often this means he's into mischief :)  But this time, he'd gotten Emma a pillow and wrapped her up in his blanket while she was playing with the dollhouse toys!  What a sweet big brother he is!

 

Another "propping up the noggin" pic and Brianna, hopefully feeling better, this morning.

Brianna LOVES GROOVY GIRLS!  I bought one on clearance for Emma because they're similar to the HUGE ones in her bed and I wanted a more 'travel friendly' toy.  Well... Brianna has taken it over :)  Emma has really taken to a few other things, so it's ok.  We now have three- two girls and a boy- and they travel around the house pretty frequently.  Also, I found these big bins at Lowe's the other night.  We were there to pick up a tool to finish the adjustments on the wheelchair and these bins were on clearance for $2.50 each :)  In this pic they look almost round, but they're oblong and hold a LOT of stuff!  We bought 4- the other one is blue- and my family room no longer has a PILE of toys :)

  

You know you've got a few kids when...  This is the mantle (directly above the fireplace in the picture above).  Kristopher got in trouble for using Wal-Mart bags to individually bag his toys about a week ago.  After he'd been told that wasn't a safe thing to have with the little ones, he didn't put the things away.  The consequence for this was that all of the things still in bags at the end of a set period of time became MINE.  They now decorate my once-snowman-covered mantle (um... hadn't touched it since I was in Ukraine!).  I'm slowly giving him back a toy at a time.  Oh, and the penguin is Micah's nebulizer.  Weird, isn't it? (Michael took the picture that's hanging there- I had it printed on canvas for Father's Day a year or two ago.  Love the detail :) )

  

How much mess can a 5 yr old little girl make in about 20 minutes left to her own?  PLENTY!  And when I went to check on her (I'd been in there previously to check too...) where do I find her?  Not playing with ANY of the toys, but instead with the quilt rack that's being stored under her crib. 

The sick house...

Micah's been on his way to being sick for a little while now. Of course the ear infection, but he now has a barking cough to go along with it and a good congestion. It's been back to the nebulizer for him so it doesn't settle in to his chest. He's gone from fine to pneumonia before pretty quickly and we'd better be safe than sorry...

But, to add on to that... Brianna started throwing up around 6 last night. She tossed cookies twice, then 20 min later a few more times. I called Mike to come home, he and K were at church and it was a visiting missionary speaking so we knew it would go long. I had stayed home with all the little ones because Micah wasn't feeling well and Brianna had a little runny nose too. Glad I did!

When Bria first came up to me I thought she needed to go potty so I picked her up and started going that direction. I got to the baby gate and she let it go... all over the gate. Luckily she'd just had a bath and I hadn't drained the tub even. She had been playing in just her diaper so off came the diaper and in she went to the tub. It was even warm still! She played a minute while I cleaned the floor, but it was ALL OVER the gate and under it too. That's why I ended up calling Mike to come home- to take the gate down and clean it up and help get the other two kids in bed without getting them in the midst of her puking.

Micah had fallen asleep in the highchair but still needed pj's too, and Emma was playing on the floor. We got everyone in bed except Brianna- she slept until about 11 in a little rocking chair that tips back. Then we pulled our extra crib mattress out of the living room and put sheets on it. We put it up against the couch with an ottoman at one end and pillows on the other two sides. She slept there and Mike slept on the couch. I'd been up for 3 hours in the middle of the night the previous night with Micah and Mike had gotten a good 2 hour nap yesterday so he took the night shift last night.

Of course Micah wanted his share of attention too and was up from 12-1 and then up for the day at 6:30. I just have to remind myself that when everyone's healthy they DO SLEEP and one day we will too!

Fall clothes

Well, it may still be 85 degrees in Florida, but next week we're heading up to Tennessee and Georgia, and they have MUCH nicer "fall" weather up there!  So today I took all of the clothes out of ALL of the drawers and closets, I brought out the bins I have with the next size up clothes for each of the kids, pulled out every jacket and sweatshirt, pajama and t-shirt...  The closets and dressers are now EMPTY!

First I sorted into "fits and doesn't fit" just by eyeballing.  Micah still had several 18 mos size shirts in his closet that aren't long enough and show his tummy.  So even though the 24 mos are a little big on the shoulder they cause a lot less budda belly to stick out during the day :).  I'd MUCH rather have the kids be cool and comfy and in clothes a little big then to have their clothes fit tight and them be uncomfortable or hot.  So... Off those go to the "doesn't fit" pile.

I sorted everything for each 'size range' (girls are together still) and then shorts, pants, short sleeved and long sleeved shirts, and all the PJ's for now went into a bin and set aside... too much at once :) 

Then I made Kristopher come first.  He stood there with one arm out to his side and I held up each of the shirts in both 4t (that he wore last year) and 5t (that were still in a bin).  Several of each size fit.  A few still too big, a lot were too small.  Then for the pants... I just held them up for now to narrow them down.  He had a LOT of jeans last year and only 1 pair of those fit!  But... several of his casual and dress pants still fit and I had a few hand-me-downs in a bin of 5t as well.  I'll have him try them on to see which will STAY UP later on.

Micah was next.  I was afraid of his!  I thought I had a bin somewhere of 24 months clothes for him that I hadn't gotten out yet- pants and cooler weather clothes.  I can't find it if I do!  So out of the back of his closet I pulled out mostly 12 months size onesies with long sleeves, LOTS of 12 months and 18 months long pants, and a few 18 months shirts.  I was afraid I was going to have to go on a house hunt for the other bin or else have to buy some things this week.  No need!  The 12 months onesies are snug- but in a good "this is warm" snug way, not a "this is tight" way.  They won't last through the entire "winter" months, but they'll work for next week. And the shirts that weren't onesies tended to be much LONGER than their short sleeved counterparts!  So Micah has a good set of tops with long sleeves!  Also, believe it or not, the pants that fit him best on his short little legs were size... 12 months!  He's SO little!  And pants also tend to have larger waist sizes than shorts (why is that???) and most fit him pretty decent.  Also, his little budda belly is above his diaper, so often his bottoms sit under his belly :)  I tried on probably 20 pr of pants on him- anything with a questionable waist- and he has a decent amount that will fit him this winter.  Honestly, probably more than he needs.

If you remember back when the kids first came home, a friend of mine mailed me 4 boxes of clothes for Micah!  A lot of those are a perfect fit for him this winter, and I'd saved a few of K's things as well.  Micah is set for the time being :)

Next will be the girls, which will be a little more confusing because Emma has so much longer legs than Brianna and a longer torso... but a smaller waist and a similar shoulder width.  So... SOME clothes fit them both, and some clothes fit one or the other.  With shirts and shorts I've basically figured it out, but now with long sleeves and pants the learning curve starts over again.  This is why I match up the kids' clothes and put them in the hanging shelves in the closet each week- anyone can grab something for each kid and know it'll fit them (like Mike or grandparents that might need an outfit for someone). 

Here's a few pictures of my morning mess...

The bed... sorted into piles... with 6 sizes worth of summer and fall clothes on it...

 

The pile of clothes that are too small and the hangers waiting to be put to good use

 

Empty bins waiting to house everything that's still too big...

 

The Cornish Bus

Ok, so I pulled the camera out twice today.  Once after grocery shopping and the next time at Lowe's when Mike was getting the stroller out of the car.  Here's the new wheels...

 

The wheelchair (see the tiny wheels??) fits standing up but then we have to lock the wheels, laying it down is just as easy so it doesn't roll.

I went to Wal-Mart with just Micah and Emma after a dr's appt for Micah (got some antibiotic drops for that ear infection at the ENT today...)

 

Kristopher had this flier to keep the sun out of his face while we were driving.  He likes to tuck his legs up into his chair LOL

 

Reading the ads to us... and shading his face :)

 

The crew... well, you can't see Brianna but she's next to Emma.  She likes to 'knock' on the window next to her and talk to the people outside! LOL

 

Opened up- see how LONG it is? we were pulled all the way up to the sign...

 

Getting the "monster" out of the trunk

 

The Driver's side, with a BRIGHT sunset...

Q&A

Hite Family said... So Im interested in the Melatonin for sleep. Not for Ashlie though but for Taydem. This child doesnt require that much sleep and she honestly needs it but for some reason doesnt fall asleep. She will fall asleep around 11 every night and up and down throughout the night and than up for good by 7. I put the kids to bed around 8 every night to wind down but how does this Melatonin work and where can I get it?

I bought ours at GNC. I have 1mg caplets and I break them into about 4-6 little pieces. I don't use them all the time but whenever Kristopher or Emma has a hard time getting to sleep they work wonders. It works backward for Micah and I though!

THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED... IN MY SLEEPLESS STUPOR I WROTE 100 MG INSTEAD OF 1!!! IT'S JUST A 1MG CAP!!

Lou said... You've got me curious about the food--- did you cook the raisins? Do you cook the grapes? Then blenderize them? I may need this info...

I don't cook the raisins. I did find out that if you don't add enough water that they somewhat solidify into a pudding-like texture when they rehydrate though :) So maybe I'll soak them next time! I also don't cook the grapes... or bananas... or pears... And I don't HAVE to cook the apples but they seem a bit smoother texture if I do, so I have been.

Mommyto2 said... We live in Nashville, let us know when you are going to be in town and maybe we can meet up one day. Sarah and Micah are the same age. Sarah is about 2 weeks older. She is adopted also. We could probably get Renee Garcia to meet us also. Let me know. Robyn

I'd love to meet you! We'll only be there a few days but we'll see if we get get a little meet-up. I'd love to meet Renee too. I know she's having computer trouble right now but if anyone in those parts wants to get together one day that'd be great! (Just don't make it nap time LOL).

Shelley said... Pictures???? Where are the pictures???? You know that I am anxiously awaiting the pictures of your BUS!!!!!!

I'm getting there!! Sorry, the pic below is actually our van but I hadn't taken any pics of it with the kids and all. I took a few tonight which I'll try to post in a few :)

Stephanie said... Congrats! I'd love to see some pictures. I don't know how it works for other families, but whenever we get a new vehicle we mysteriously end up with a new baby! Enjoy your bus.

Pictures are coming! We got the babies FIRST :) :)

Kerry Shealy said... Okay, so when are you coming to pick up my kids??? Just kidding! I look forward to seeing your bus! Just think of how many kids you can have now!!!

I'll be there as soon as everyone's back to feeling good! And the kids.. you been talking to Stephanie??

Kerry Shealy said... It was great to see Brianna stand up and walk! I love your kids! My kids love your kids! By the way, Lauren asked if we could watch a girl next time. She had a lot of fun with Micah, but she wants one of the girls next time! She still wants to have a princess get well party for Emma, too, so maybe when my kids are well, and your kids are well...well, I don't know when that will be, but in the future we want to have a little party for Emma! LOL!

How about Halloween?? Our girls can all dress as princesses and our boys as... whatever... and they can play for the morning :) We can make up some snacks and sandwiches then go our separate ways for naps? Think on it, we'll be a bit out of pocket until after the 25th (Buddy walk) though! Sounds fun Lauren!

Updates all around...

Brianna fell and smacked her head on the sidewalk while her class was outside today. She has a little shiner and a big lump in the center of her forehead and then a scrape on the side of her forehead. She's fine otherwise though.

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My brother does want to buy Mike's car so it's great to know it has a home soon and that we'll be able to give R a good deal on it too.
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Micah's follow-up from his ear tubes is tomorrow. It was rescheduled twice already and I think he has a bit of an ear infection (a little drainage in one ear). Glad we go in tomorrow morning!
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We had church directory pictures on Tuesday night (good thing, before Bria's fall!) and the family pic turned out ok. We need to get over to Picture People soon, but now we want to wait for Bria's head to heal up. Maybe next week...
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I've done a few things on my to do list but there's a lot on there still needing to get done. Luckily most of the future things aren't priority ever... or else I'd be sinking :)
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Kristopher is learning to write his name in school and it's great to see him trying so hard! When he runs out of room he's writing the rest down the side :) The coloring in the lines could still use a little work...

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Emma has decided she likes Strawberry "ensure" type drinks with 350 calories/8oz! She's had quite a few in the past 2 days and I'm so glad. Mike even commented last night that her little cheeks are starting to look a little fuller :)
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Micah is doing pretty well with cruising to get toys the past few days!
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I've been doing a little more online with Reece's Rainbow which has taken some of my "free time". I am enjoying it and it's nice to do something in a volunteer capacity outside of raising the kids, so I'll continue with it as long s it's feasible. It's nice to be able to do it in my time and at the house rather than having to be at a specific location to volunteer. Right now I'm not able to volunteer at the church for that reason. My reliability for being anywhere isn't so good right now. Anyone might have a runny nose, and E doesn't get left in the nursery still (too many germs and there's no one that would feel comfortable with her yet). Anyway, I'm enjoying doing a little bit of ministry again even though it's just parts and pieces.
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Micah woke up from nap today with a high fever. I knew about the ear draining but he hasn't had any fever or anything, not even discomfort to speak of though he grabbed at it once which alerted us and after a dose of Tyelnol he was good. That was a few days ago. Generally... ear infections are viral and just have to run their course and with the tubes in the fluid drains. But... I think he might need something to kick this one. He's crawling around in a diaper and had some tylenol and seems to feel much better now. His fever went down immediately after waking up and getting cooled down so I'm sure it was "artificially high" because he had been curled up asleep.

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Emma found our mice today. Yes, pet ones. They are in an aquarium on the fireplace... keeps the kids out of the fireplace :) And... how often do we use a fireplace in Florida anyway? She was sitting playing and leaning against the hearth and saw something move REALLY close to her. She sat and watched the little critters for a good 20 minutes! Their little "house" is up against the glass so they're always visible and Emma was sitting with her arms on the stone and her face up against the glass watching them :)
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Believe it or not, I actually laid down and fell asleep while the kids were napping today. Kristopher curled up in a chair and stayed there for the most part. It's been a lot of late nights and early mornings and I have a feeling that tonight, with Micah not feeling well, might be requiring a bit of attention overnight.
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Brianna and Emma are playing so nice together now! Emma is sitting so much better and she wants to interact with Brianna. She reaches for Brianna's hands and just sits and LAUGHS while Brianna holds her hands and swings them around. They rolled around on the floor with Brianna hugging and Emma laughing for a little bit too. It's nice to see those two finally interacting and Emma wanting to be a part of it! Before Brianna mostly just played with Emma and Emma rolled away :) The video I got is after Brianna was 'done' playing but then she decided Emma needed some hugs at the end :)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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Kristopher has taken a big interest in activity pages here lately! He brought a coloring and activity book with us in the car yesterday to go buy the big van and he sat at the dealership and did the different mazes and activities for a good 20-30 minutes. He's never been really into thoes but now that he's started school... all the sudden it's fun and exciting! I'm glad he's figured out that these kinds of things are entertaining! Especially with a LONG car ride coming up when we go on vacation :) School has really been good for him and he tells me all the time that he LOVES Mrs. L and Mrs. L!
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Emma found a hairbrush this evening and surprised us by picking it up and brushing her hair with it! What a smart little cookie!

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Kristopher took the camera and captured several of the pictures above. Then we got a few of him, and him of us :) He just finished eating a corn dog. With ketchup, can you tell? Not sure what the goofy poses are about LOL Yep, that's me blogging this post... If I can post a pic like that of myself... you must know it's been a long week :) :)