Miracle #4

Katelyn Rose

The twins were 9 months old, and we had finally settled into a nice routine. They were almost walking, and had transitioned to a sippy cup instead of a bottle. (Granted it wasn't much different than a bottle, LOL, it was just cheaper!) Then one day, I just got that feeling. The same feeling I had when I knew I was pregnant with the twins. Bryan didn't want me to take a pregnancy test. I guess he just didn't want to know. So, I went on my lunch break one day and picked up a test. I took it in the bathroom at work. I was working at a daycare, and had been since a little before we conceived the twins. I had taken a bit of time off after they were born, so I think I had only been back to work for maybe 6 months.

Another teacher was standing outside the bathroom when I came out, and saw my face. She knew then too. Said there was only one reason to look that way after being in the bathroom. :) Yep, the test was positive. So again, I called up my doctors office and asked to come in for a blood test. That evening, it was confirmed. I was pregnant. I was a pregnant mother of 9 month old twins. Holy crap!

Bryan couldn't believe it. Wanted to know what had happened, how in the world? Like I've got an answer to that question besides the obvious! LOL. But all I could come up with is that God has a strange sense of humor.

When I went in for my first OB appointment, my doctor walked into the room, shook my hand and said "Valeri, your the one person I never expected to see back here this soon!" Yeah, me too doc, me too!

The pregnancy was a difficult one. My body wasn't quite ready to be pregnant. I showed even faster than I did when I was pregnant with the twins, and I was sick. Very sick. I had intense morning sickness, and I had never done that before. With Dylan, I didn't have any really. I just didn't want to eat with him, had no appetite. With the twins, I had a little bit of nausea in the beginning.. but it passed early on. And I ate everything in site until there was no more room for my stomach in my own body. LOL. But, with this pregnancy.. I had each and everyone of those. I was sick sick sick, I was hungry hungry hungry, I was disinterested in food... Repeat pattern over and over and over. It was crazy.

It was early on that my Doctor decided this pregnancy was different for me, and put me on depression meds. Actually, I asked for them. It was pretty clear I was dealing with more than the usual hormonal cry at every commercial issue.

The day we went in for the ultrasound to determine gender, I was completely sure we were having another boy. That was my track record, ya know. Boys boys boys. There was so much testosterone in my home that I was producing high levels of it too! They had rubbed off on me!!! ROFL! So when the technician told us that this time, its a girl.... I didn't believe her. I asked her to check again. And she did, and said "yep still a girl". We repeated this at every single ultrasound until birth. HAHA. We also repeated the teasing. The "Oh gosh, I think I see more in here" or "Did the Doctor talk to you yet? We think you are having triplets". They nurses did this at every visit, with big huge smiles on their faces and laughter echoing down the hallways. And the doctor, he was in on it too!! Drove me crazy. They would try to switch it up, catch me off guard. And a couple times it worked, and I waited all freaked out for the doctor to come in and laugh "Got ya this time!" There is something to be said about a doctor with a sense of humor... but ummm.... at this point, I've had my fill of strange sense of humors!

I didn't open any of the baby girl stuff. Didn't take off tags from the clothing. I was so sure that somehow, at delivery, she would morph into a boy. I even had a boys name all picked out, as well as twin versions for both a girl and a boy... Just in case. I was covering basis. I mean, I was living the "stranger things can happen" scenario already, wasn't I? Things could get stranger, seemed almost like a given! HAHA. But boy did I want her to be a girl. I wanted that badly. I can't even express how much. I love my boys, and wouldn't trade them for the world, but I did want that baby girl too.

Somewhere in the craziness, we decided to move. I quit my job, we bought a house with 4 bedrooms and a large playroom, and moved 60 miles north to where Bryan was working. It was insanity, but worth it after we settled in. We celebrated the twins first birthday in the new house.

At about 5 months, I started to wear down physically. I was exhausted, and in alot of pain. My doctor said it was from my hips spreading to fast.. all I know is it was bad. I could hardly walk. I felt like I had to carry my belly everywhere I went. If I didn't support it, the baby would just fall out. I was put on modified bedrest. If we went anywhere, I had to ride in a wheelchair. I hated that. HATED that. I didn't have to do that with the twins at all, but did with Dylan. It didn't help that I was bigger than I had ever been while pregnant. I carried this baby so very different, and it showed. At 6 months, I was huge.


And the biggest frustration, I was alone. Bryan was traveling extensively for work. He was gone for weeks at a time, only to come home for a weekend and head back out at the beginning of the next week. It was very hard. I was taking care of the twins, suppose to be on bedrest, and I felt completely and totally alone. My mom eventually came up and stayed with me. I think she practically lived at my house for 3 or 4 months. She was a life savor, and I am extremely grateful for all the help she gave me. I wouldn't have been able to do it with out her. She gave the boys attention, when I was spent and couldn't. She would force me to bed, or make me stop cleaning and take over. At the time, it was frustrating (the cleaning)... but now looking back, she was more than a blessing and I love her even more for it.

Baby girl was born 6 weeks early, via a c-section. I went into the doctor on monday because I was hurting more than usual. I had this sharp pain that had started the week before, that just kept getting worse. When I got to the doctors office, he didn't want to let me go home but decided that sleeping in my own bed would be better than a stay over night at the hospital and allowed me to go. It was a scary night, cause he really didn't tell me why he was rushing the c-section besides a scary comment of "I am surprised you made it through the weekend without delivery. Go home, lay down and don't get back up." And that is exactly what I did.

Delivery day was crazy. I hate c-sections, I've had one for every pregnancy, and they stress me out terribly. With Dylan, the experience was bad. So many things went wrong, and no matter how many times I told myself that I was in better care now, the fear never went away. By the time I was wheeled into the delivery room, I was a big ball of scared beyond belief. The twins' c-section went fine, with no complications at all. I was alert and responsive, experiencing everything all through recovery. But, this time, I was still terrified. Did not help when my doctor informed me that if we had waited one more day, or even a few more hours, we would have lost baby girl. That pain I kept complaining off? Baby girl was falling out of my uterus. It had torn, and one of her legs had fallen out. I remember not breathing in that moment, waiting for him to deliver her and hear her cry. I was terrified that we had waited too long. In the moment I heard her, I felt every bit of the tension that had built up in my body, just flow off of me like waves of water. I was staring in Bryan's eyes, and he was trying to reasure me... and I think we both started crying at the same exact time. I saw the fear in his eyes too, and watched it flow away just the same as mine. And the only words I could think to say? "Is it a girl?"

Yes, it is. A beautiful, wonderful, loudly crying baby girl!! Katelyn Rose. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life. They brought her over to me, and I just ran my fingers down her cheeks, thinking that I was the most blessed woman ever alive. My daughter was here, after one of the scariest pregnancies, and she would be joining a family so happy and eager to have her with them. The twins were super excited, in their 18 month old way, to finally see the baby thats been in mommy's tummy all this time. And Dylan, he was the most attentive older brother in the world. He adored his sister from the moment he saw her.

I bounced back from this C-section faster than my other two. I was out of the hospital and home in 1 day. Seriously. I only spent one night at the hospital. I had been down for so long already, I was ready to get up and run. Katelyn had a struggle for the first year of her life. At 3 months of age, she was diagnosed with "failure to thrive" which was very scary. She wouldn't gain weight, and would even lose some. Between her 2nd month visit and her 3rd, she had lost 2 pounds. Dispite that, this girl has always been a mover and shaker. She was crawling at 4 months. Not rolling over, crawling. She was the most determined baby ever. The Case workers from Early intervention were astounded by her. She was the littlest thing for the longest time, but that didn't stop her at all. She rated 2 months above her age for development, and 3 months below on growth. It was the strangest thing ever. And to this day, she is still doing things above her age... she's right there with the boys, who are 18 months older than her, on most things. And some things, she's even doing better than them. She learned to talk very very early on, and I don't think she's stopped since. In fact, she was making vocal sounds in the hospital the day she was born. We called the nurses in all scared cause she was making this grunting noise... and they smiled and informed us that she was "talking". No truer words ever spoken about my Katelyn. She's "talked" since day one. I've got a video clip of her at 3 months talking into the phone to her grandma. :)

Katelyn is now 3 years old, and is the life and party of our house. She runs circles around all three boys, and rules the house... just ask her! But even with all her spunk and attitude, she is the sweetest, most cuddly child I have. She will come over and give me a kiss or a hug at any given time during the day. And it always brightens my mood. She is joy, in a little body. And I thank god every day for blessing me with her. With her birth, I learned that sometimes things seem so very overwhelming but, in the end that in itself is a blessing too. I can not imagine my life with out my daughter, she completes our family. Yes, its crazy having three children that are less than 2 years apart... but it is also a ton of fun. There is never a dull moment in my life, and I remember praying for just that, an exciting life. I didn't think it would come in the form of so many miracles, but I am beyond thankful that it did. I started my journey to motherhood believing that it would never happen. That I would never have my own children. The road was long, and filled with obsticales along the way, but here I sit, 13 years later with a full house of noise, toys, craziness, fussiness, and love... Lots and lots of love. And I wouldn't change a thing. Ever.

Miracles #2 and #3

Dylan spent the first 7 years of his life as an only child. We wanted more children, but it just wasn't going so well. I had my first miscarriage when Dylan was about 3. It was devastating, and I didn't handle it very well. I became angry and depressed. Very much so. Then about a year later, I had another miscarriage. And I became silent. I don't think I told anyone, except my husband, about this one, because it was just too much for me to handle. I started shutting myself off from everything and everyone.

In 2001, we decided, after the big flood in Houston took my husband's job, that we would relocate to a small town where my brother lived. We moved into a house, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by ranch land and the Brazos river. Dylan was 5, and started school shortly after we moved. I spent the days alone, trying to deal with all the walls I had put up.. all the anger, the depression. I would walk every single day, down to the river and just sit and throw rocks into the water. For hours. I would think, and pray. And pray. And pray. And I would listen. Listen to the sounds around me. The sounds of peace. Quite. Solitude. Serenity. It was in this place that I started to heal. So that after 2 years, when my third miscarriage came, instead of pulling even further into myself... I did the opposite. I reached out. I was finally strong enough. And I credit the time I spent on introspection, in prayer, listening, healing, living.. with out it, I would not have survived the third.

I was finally diagnosed with PCOS, was put on some medication that could possibly help. I started seeing an amazing Doctor's assistant, that really took a special interest in me and my health. She saved the day when the meds my Gyn gave me started messing up my liver, and switched me immediately. We talked a lot about my difficulty in conceiving, and my inability to stay that way once I did conceive. She was interested, and wanted to help. She researched things, came up with answers. This is the type of doctor every single person should have. A blessing, when I needed one most.

I stopped walking down to the river, and started working outside the home. I started connecting with people again. And it felt good. Better than solitude. I was finally back invested in life.

And thats when it happened.

I new I was pregnant very early on. I could almost say immediately. I just felt different all of a sudden, and it wasn't going away. I called up my Doctor's office and asked if I could come in and have a blood test done. That very same day, My doctor calls me at work and says " I thought you said you couldn't get pregnant? Why then do I have a report on my desk that says your blood test is positive?" Positive! I was pregnant. And terrified.

When I went into the OB, they did a urine test, just to verify since I didn't have the blood test done through them... And the nurse showed me the dip stick, because it was unusually high... her words "You are Very pregnant!" This was the only visit I had with them, and quickly changed OB's because of some personal reasons. I really didn't like the doctor, he was great for treating my PCOS, but I didn't feel comfortable that he would be able to help me through a pregnancy... or another miscarriage. I talked with my amazing Family Doctor's Assistant, and she recommended a couple different OB's.

I settled on one, only because after calling his office with a question about a Vback, HE called me back HIMSELF and talked with me for 45 minutes. He was another blessing, an amazing OB, and to this day I would recommend him to anyone. But, that's getting ahead of myself! LOL

My first visit with the new OB went really well. Your typical first visit. I explained my fears about misscarriage, and he promised to be there every step of the way, and even had recomendations for therapy contacts, just in case. He was very knowledgeable about my PCOS, and for the first time, I learned from my doctor instead of having to do my own research. I was put as high risk, and had visits every 2 weeks, due to my tendency to miscarry. I was very thankful that he was taking this approach, mainly to sooth my worries.

On probably my 5th visit, and my second ultrasound.... Everything in my life changed dramatically.

I remember it so very vividly. My husband didn't come with me, as it was just a routine visit. He had come to the first ultrasound, but the baby was too small then to even hear its heartbeat. We figured since it had only been two weeks, it would probably be much the same. They were doing the ultrasounds to measure the baby, making sure it was growing... .miscarriage prevention, if you can call it that. It was reassuring to me, and that's all that mattered. But, this day.... this ultrasound..... turned out to be very different.

I remember laying there, watching the screen, when the Ultrasound tech starting sitting up straighter. She looked over at me, with this little smile, and asked me if I was happy about the pregnancy.

"Yes, We've been trying so very long. We are hoping this time things go ok"

"You've had trouble?"

"Yeah, alot. I've had a few miscarriages and I don't ovulate very often."

"Do you have any other children?"

"a seven year old son. He's very excited about this pregnancy. Been asking for a little brother or sister since he was 2"

"Would he like more than just one brother or sister"

"Sure! I think he'd like several. Hopefully we can have more after this one"

"Do twins run in your family?"

"Twins? Yes, My grandma is a twin. Why?"

"I didn't see it before, or the last time you were here. But I do now. There are two babies. Two heartbeats today."

"Twins?"

"Twins. I need to go fetch the Dr, but he's gonna see what i'm seeing. Your having twins."

It was then that the tears fell. Silent tears. The kind that come with no sob or sound.. they just roll down out of your eyes, and you have no control over it. The ultrasound tech just smiles, squeezes my hand and heads out to find the doctor. Leaving me there to stare at the frozen picture of two tiny little peanuts.

When the doctor gets there, he is wearing the biggest smile I have ever seen on a Doctor... None of my other doctors had ever smiled at me... I was complicated.. even a frustration for some of them. But this doctor, he smiled and was probably just as excited as I was about the prospect of twins.

"Well, Valeri, lets see what we have here!"

And he proceeds to do another ultrasound, looking at the babies... and smiling even bigger!

"Wow! Imagine this! Twins, Valeri! You did tell me something felt different about this pregnancy and you were right! You are defenantly having twins! Look, can you see their hearts beat?'

And I could. I could see every beat. And the tears just kept rolling. I couldn't even talk. I was just beyond happy.. the joy filled me up, and flowed out my eyes.

I drove home in a stupor... trying to figure out how best to tell my husband. I stopped at a walgreens hoping to find a card that said congrats your having twins. I don't even know if there was one there, because everything I read was a blur. My phone kept ringing, and i wouldn't answer it, afraid that I would just scream out to the world that I... I.... I was having twins! And I wanted to tell my husband first before anyone else.

I had to wait hours. I went home and just sat and sat... then paced and paced.. and sat and sat. My son kept asking me what was wrong, and I would shake my head and say "nothing, everything is just right!" and he would give me a funny look and walk away. When my husband finally got home, I was about ready to burst. I met him at the door and asked him to sit down.

"Why? I don't want to. Just tell me. Whats wrong? Something's wrong isn't it?"

"No, will you please just sit down. I'll be right back"

and I went in the room and picked up a picture his mother had given us. It was an Ann Gedies photograph of three babies in a tub. I handed it to my husband and said...

"One of those babies represents Dylan. Whats left?"

"I don't know what you mean.'

"If you take one baby out, that represents Dylan, how many babies are left?"

"Two"

"Thats how many babies we are gonna have"

"What? I don't understand"

"Two, that is how many babies we are going to have. I'm having twins."

He just looks at me for the longest time, then starts to smile and says..

"Wow! Twins? Are you sure? I've got to call my mom and dad!"

And he proceeds to run for the phone and start dialing as I'm yelling out that I get to call my family FIRST I'VE WAITED ALL DAY!!!

The rest of the pregnancy was a dream. I had the best care possible. I worked full time, all the way up till 2 days before having my c-section. I was the happiest woman alive. I was beautiful, even though I was huge. I felt like a princess whose fairy godmother clipped her on the head every morning, dressing her in her ball gown and glass slippers.

Except for the weeks I had the shingles, now I didn't feel so well then.. but when that was over, and the "oh and ahing" by my doctor finally died down (he was so very interested in my shingles case, it was annoying! LOL) I went back to being that princess, glowing and happy.

The day the twins were born was absolutely wonderful. When Dylan was born, I was out from the spinal block for 9 hours. Most of my family members had the chance to hold him before I did. But with the twins, they kept them with me in the recovery room. I got to touch them, kiss them, watch my husband beam as he held them, one in each arm. I watched as my son smiled and proclaimed that he was their big brother. My mom was there, and took pictures of everything...and I didn't care that I was a mess, laying there after a difficult c-section. I was happy. I had my babies. My twins. Finally. Ian and Zachary came into our lives at the moment we were ready for them. Before this, I hated the saying "God gives you what you can handle" Because it was always uttered in regards to the bad things that had happened to me. But now, that had changed... and God did give me what I could handle, when I could handle it.

The next few months were hectic. But I wouldn't change them for the world. Having twins is an experience that teaches patience, understanding, scheduling.... and learning that things just arnt gonna be perfect, but they will still be lovely in their imperfection. My house hasn't been clean since the boys turned 1... toys everywhere you look. Kid stuff, markings on the walls, balls in the corners.. But I love all of it.

Ian and Zachary are now 4 and a half years old. They will start school this September, and I find that shocking. It just seems like yesterday that we were welcoming them into our lives. Yesterday when I handed Bryan the photograph and said we were having twins. Yesterday that we celebrated their first birthday with cakes of their own. Time flies when you are happy.


When the boys were just 9 months old, we got another shock... probably even a bigger shock than learning of the twins. I was pregnant again, with Miracle #4. Spontaneous Fertility after pregnancy, that's what my doctor called it. I called it "God sure does have a strange sense of humor!"

More on Miracle #4 next time. :)

Miracle #1

My children are miracles. Each pregnancy, in my mind, had to be a complete act of God. He has a funny sense of humor, this God we cherish... but, I wouldn't change the way things played out for anything. Today, I'm going to tell you all about miracle #1

Dylan.

When I was 20, I was told that I could never have children. I spent a while digesting that. Talking it out with my boyfriend, who I had planned to marry. Figuring out how to accept this about myself. I had always seen myself as being a mom. That was my life's goal. for as long as I could remember. It was a hard blow, and dealing with my own fallout over it was difficult. But I did, and then I went back to the doctor to figure out why. No, the doctor didn't tell me why, he just told me I couldn't. Nice Doctor, huh? It gets better....

I saw this doctor a lot over the next few months. I was dealing with severe abdominal pain, had been for years. Long story short, after several months of different stupid treatments that don't work, and tons of frustration on my part... this doctor decides to schedule surgery to diagnose endometriosis.

The week of the surgery, I was scheduled for lots of pre-op stuff at the hospital. One day I had to have chest xrays, another blood work up. On the day that I was there for my blood work up, the nurse started acting a bit funny while reading my paper work. She wanted to know why the doctor hadn't requested a pregnancy test with my blood work. So I tell her that he did a test in the office that was negative. Not blood though, a urine test. She said my dates didn't add up right for her, and that under good concsience she could not sign off on the blood work with out a pregnancy test, and added one to the form. I thanked her, and didn't think anything more on it.

3 days later, the doctor's nurse calls my mom and asks for both of us to come to the office, the Doctor needed to speak to us. My surgery was scheduled for the very next day. We were surprised that the doctor was calling us in, when he would see us first thing in the morning. We thought, maybe, it had to do with a very heated conversation between my mom and the doctor just the day before. He had informed her that his intentions were to do a full historectomy on me, and she informed him that he did not have that consent. In alot more words than that. ;)

When we got to the Doctors office, the nurse immediately takes us back to his actual office, not an exam room, and leaves us there. When the doctor arrives, he brings in two nurses with him... one stands next to me, and the other moves over close to my mom. We were thinking this is all getting kind of strange. And my mom makes a joke to me about the doctor being scared of her.

He sits down at his desk, opens my file and then says "Well, Valeri, I've got good news and better news. Which do you want first?"

"I guess the good news"

"You won't need to come to the hospital tomorrow morning, your surgery has been canceled"

"Really? Why? What happened?" I say as I'm looking back and forth from my mom to the doctor completely and totally confused.

And thats when he says the words that changed my life forever

"The better news is, Valeri, Your Pregnant"

I don't think a body can slump any further into a chair than mine did. To say I was shocked isn't quite enough. I was literally dumbfounded. It felt like the world was in slow motion around me. I watched the Doctor squirm, the nurses smile, then laugh, and I watched as my mom jumped up and down screaming in excitement.

I was 20 years old, not married, and pregnant. It took a while before my mom's kind of excitement hit me.

But it did. I became so very excited with the life that grew inside of me. That was the last time we saw that doctor, soon deciding that my care was better off somewhere else. Can't blame me, he almost killed my baby. I can not imagine what would have happened if not for that nurse at the hospital adding the blood test to the sheet. She saved my son.

My life changed so much in the next few months. I got married, moved out of my parents home. I loved being pregnant. Specially that first time. It was all so wonderful, every single change. I remember the first time I felt him move, the first time I heard his heart beat, when we found out he was a he, all of it...

At 6 months, though, things started to go wrong. I was having contractions alot. And my care had been transferred to UTMB in Galveston, as high risk. On one visit, they didn't let me go home. I had to stay there, at a little hotel like setting, where they kept high risk pregnant ladies that didn't need complete hospital care, but did need daily monitoring. There were 20 of us there, give or take. All of us with different issues going on. I was there because Dylan was breech, and I was 75% effaced... at 6 months. I also had this other issue going on. During the same pre-op test that detected my pregnancy, they also found a mass resting near my heart. That mass became the center of all my medical files, while at UTMB. They believed it was the cause of the difficulties in my pregnancy. My heart was beating so very fast, and there was nothing they could do about it. My heartbeat mirrored the babies so closely that they would often mix them up while monitoring. I can't even begin to count the nights I spent in labor and delivery, hooked up to all kinds of monitors and heart thingamagigs, because my heartbeat had increased or my blood pressure was off. I was watched so very closely. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that no matter how frustrating it seemed at the time... I am here, with a very healthy 12 year old, because of their diligence in treating me.

A baby I couldn't have, that almost was taken away by a bad doctor, whose pregnancy was riddled with difficulty going full term to delivery, and is now a very very happy healthy 12 year old. I would say that falls under miracle, Don't you?

Stay tuned for more miracles, Next miracle #2 and #3. Ian And Zachary.

Medical Tip #1

Schedule your emergencies around Tuesday.

Seriously.

Don't be like me and get seriously sick on Monday, wait a few days until hubby decides he's gonna force you into the doctor.. Give in on Friday cause you just can't stand being this damn sick and even YOU know deep down now that its not just a virus that has to play its course... Drag your lethargic, puking tush into the Dr's office to see another dozen or so faces that look JUST LIKE YOU. Meaning they are all in the "Sicker than Sh!t" stage too, and realize your gonna have to compete for this doctor's attention. Freak out the nurse with medical information, realize you can't give that urine sample you just agreed to cause you puked everything up for 5 days, and then proceed to almost pass out while hunched over the sink in the exam room after the doc checked out that "spot" thats been hurting you for years.

Then, Friday afternoon, at around 3:30... be rushed in after school traffic (why must there be an elementary school on every corner in this town!!) to get to the imaging place so that the Doctor can have a Cat scan report before she leaves the office, and can call you with results. Realize that the time frame just isn't working out in your favor when they inform you that you will have to down 2.... 2..... did i say 2!!!!!! full water bottles of contrast liquid before they can start the scan. Remember, I dragged my PUKING tush into the office, the tush that had been puking for 5 days... "Please, just don't vomit in the trash cans. This stuff is red." At 4:30, be ushered back in for the scan despite my lack of finishing the second bottle of nasty red contrast... only to have two veins blown and an iv put into another in my upper arm. But I will have to say, the 20 minutes or so it took to do the actually scans where the quietest most relaxing minutes I've had in weeks. They even so kindly warmed me all up, as if they had wrapped me up in a heated blanket and stuck me in a hot tub... toes first.

After all of that, realize that you might not make it back to the office next door to the doctor to get your chest x-rays to determine if you have Pneumonia. Did I mention, this is Friday? Rushing again, in after work traffic this time, to get back where we started. Thankfully they were still open, but with no Radiologist on the clock. So the pictures couldn't be read till Monday... and by the way, why did the doctor send you all the way over there for the ct scan? We do scans here. ???? What? You don't say!! Crazy small world, huh... you do CT scans, I needed one, your right next door to the doctor, I was sent across town.... Wish we could have met in the middle. But, since the doctor pushed us apart.. I'll just take my already blown veins and contrast full kidneys and go home.

To wait.

And call mom.

And wait.

And in between that, I think I'll get a little worse.

and wait.

And wait

And explain again to mom

And Wait.

So.... you see... Don't be like me. Schedule your emergencies around Tuesdays. That way, you've got at least 2 days for all the crazy in between doctor crap... but yet you still feel like your accomplishing something. And 2 days for the doctor to get the results to you before you feel completely helpless and vulnerable sitting on the weekend wondering if she really meant a very very strict clear liquids diet or if you can nibble on some damn french fries cause you can't take another freaken spoonful of chicken broth or jello.

I promise you, if you heed this advice... you will save your self a ton of frustration. And jello.

Funny Things Katelyn Said!

Today, every single one of us was sick. Well, almost all of us... I have a little feeling that the very active Zachary, who claimed he wasn't feeling well the moment the medicine bottle came out.. really isn't sick. But the rest of us, we were sick, and spent alot of time in bed or lying on the couch. Some of the most interesting conversations happen at times like this.

Some like these.....


I was laying on my bed, minding my own business, when all of a sudden I was attacked by a hoard of children! They jumped up on the bed, wrestled with my husband and then ran away. Or so I thought! Katelyn had stayed behind, laying in between her father and I. When she wouldn't go with the others, He proceeded to start zerberting her. You all know what a zerbet is right? Well, Katelyn Doesn't like them at all. Seriously. So instead of acting like a normal child, wiggling and giggling at her father blowing air on her tummy.... She starts to fight. Sits up between us, lays her back against my back and both her feet against her dad, pushing as hard as she can. I tried with all my might to just ignore it... but then my hair got involved, and well... it hurts when you pull my hair! So I scream a bit that its hurting me, try to pry my hair out from under this very determined little girl, and ask her.....

"What do you think you're doing?"

And that "little girl" came back to me with

"No time to talk, MOM!!"

Both hubby and I busted out laughing, and Katelyn won the no Zerbert wrestle. She proudly strode off the bed wondering what in the world had gotten into mom and dad!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We have a Great Dane. He is not yet a year old. But, that don't mean a thing cause well, he's a Great dane! LOL He was HUGE at 6 months. So now, at almost 11 months, I believe he qualifies as gigantic! ;)

Today, we have him inside, locked up in my bedroom. We tried to let him roam the house, but with all his pent up energy, he proceeded to knock down every kid in the house on his way to check out the really cool lights coming from that hole in the wall we all call a fireplace. So, to the room he went.

I was also sent to the room due to my pent up energy making it hard for my hubby to sit at the computer playing computer games. ;) So, there I was laying on the bed, with Jake (the dog) playing "Guard the door". Which is his way of obsessing, planning an escape because he is such a stealth dog that he can sneak his 150 pounds right passed who ever opens it with out them even
knowing!! Needless to say, he has yet to master this new power.

The lucky person to open the door was Katelyn. She opened that door about 20 times in about 1 minute, thinking that Jake would give up his post. Not a chance! LOL. So, on the 20th or so time, she finally decides to come into the room.

Katelyn stands at about Jake's mouth. He can rest his head ontop of hers. But that doesn't discourage Katelyn. She will even argue that it is HER turn to walk Jake, when we head over to the walking path. As if! ... But thats a whole nother post! LOL

So, there she stands... there he stands.... And he proceeds to give her one big lick from one cheek to the other. I waited patiently for the "HE's trying to eat me!!" scream, but instead she broke out in this big smile and said.....

"He makes me so Happy!"

:) "He makes me happy too!"

And at the sound of my voice, Jake turns, preparing for his hind leg catapult onto my bed. He never makes it even into position to pounce because he steps on Katelyn's foot in the process....

"HE NOT MAKE ME HAPPY NO MORE!"

Ah well, that was a short lived lovely moment.... But it happened, and that's all that counts! And her mad scream broke his thought process, which saved me and the bed! ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Why are you in here laying down with me, Katelyn?"

"I want to be a mommy with you"

"You want to be a mommy with me?"

"Yes, with you. Do mommy things"

"Can we go do mommy things in the living room?"

"No, only here."

"Why?"

"Mommies lay down alot."


This child cracks me up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yesterday, I was challenged to a blog challenge by Flora.

The challenge, basically, is to post the 6th picture in the 6th folder in you picture file... So, I'm thinking its probably a picture I've taken of the kids, or the new cats.... maybe even jake.. When I opened the file and counted down to the 6th picture, I got to laughing so hard I couldn't breath!

You see, I didn't take this picture. Ian did. I didn't even know it was there! But this is such a great picture of Zachary!! It is really a perfect depiction of him!! He is always making crazy faces, and I guess his brother thought this one was so funny it was worth the risk of getting caught with the camera!

The kids are always sneaking pics with my camera. I've got a dozen pictures of the floor or the couch, some more of the boys' toy cars, even a few self portraits. Some I delete, but lately I haven't even been looking at the pictures on the camera. I've just been uploading them to the computer. This was one of those times. The one right after this one, is a picture of our flat screen TV with Ni Hao, Kia-Lan on it! Seriously!! Look!


Now I think that show is really cute, but a picture? LOL It must have been a really good episode!

HAHA

So, now its your turn for the Challenge! Here is what you do,

Go to your photos folder in your computer.
Go to the 6th folder of photos.
Go to the sixth picture in that folder.
Put the picture on your blog and a description of it.
Invite six friends to join the challenge.
Link them in your blog and let them know they have been challenged.

I'm challenging...

Lori
Stacey
Christy
Susan
Anne
Dielle


:) Looking forward to seeing your pictures!

Sleep My Pretties, While I Scrap

Tonight, my kids went to bed on their own for the very first time since we moved them all into one room. Before, We had the twins in one room, and baby girl in her own that doubled as the guest room.

We could put baby girl in her room and know with out a doubt that she would go right to sleep. It was lovely. The twins, no way. They had to be monitored at all times. If not, they would destroy everything they could get their hands on. We decided to move them all into one room, so that we could have a guest room available for, well, guests. LOL My parents had been coming to visit often, and Bryan's parents were planning visits as well. It was getting hard for baby girl to share her room with everyone. She wouldn't let them sleep!

So we moved the guest room to the twins old room, and all three kids into the biggest room in the house. Yes, their room is even bigger than my room. So far its working out really well. I think they've been in their since May or June. But, it became apparent on the very first night that they could not be trusted to go to sleep with out supervision. So, either myself, Bryan or sometimes even Dylan, sit with them every single nap time and every single night.

Tonight Bryan asks me if we could try to let them "do it on their own". So, with great fear, I agreed. It only took about 3 hours, but they all did finally fall asleep on their own. And they didn't destroy the room, or even leave it! So, I think all in all it went well. I'm hoping this is a new beginning of nice evenings sitting with Bryan, instead either of us passing out in the very uncomfortable chair in the kids room.

But then there is a part of me that will miss that time with the kids. They had gotten in the habit of singing to me on the nights I sat with them. Twinkle Twinkle little star was their favorite song to sing. And even though the "He waked me up", "She waked me up" was annoying, it was also adorable in a crazy sort of way... and more than a few times I had to catch myself from laughing out loud at them because of it! Half the time the "waker upper" hadn't even moved! :)

And most of all, I will miss the extra hugs and kisses I get in when its my turn. Probably about 10 extra per kid cause I can't ever refuse the "Can I have a hug/kiss" when its said with big droopy eyes.. you all know the eyes, the ones that melt your heart, and bring a smile to your face even when you've just been totally ticked and frustrated that they WON'T GO TO SLEEP!!! Those eyes get me every time!

Its such a bittersweet moment, as is all the "they are getting older" moments, for me. I want to stop time, yet I also really like the changes too. I remember going through similar moments with my oldest, and feeling much the same way. Missing what was, and liking what is, and looking forward too (and fearing sometimes) what was to come. Maybe I'm more overcome, knowing with out a doubt that this is the last time I'll be "here". These are my last children. And I wish I could slow it all down and treasure it, revel in it, devour every moment completely... because soon, it will be something else.. some new change, and this will be the past moment I wish I had held closer.

And that is Why I scrap. Because it gives me the moment to hold on to forever. With out holding too tight to the kids, and holding them back. It is for me, the tangible, touchable, memory saved forever. And I love that.

A day in the life.....

7:30 am

Wake up to sounds of kids chasing the new kittens and Big Brother yelling "I SAID LEAVE THE CATS ALONE!!!"

7:45 am

Katelyn comes into the room to inform me that "Dylan is a big meanie! He won't let cats out from under table" (He was not letting HER get the cats out from under the table)

8:12 am

I hear laughter radiating from the walls. I walk out of the room to check whats going on. All 4 kids are standing around the coffee table laughing hysterically at the two kittens trying to catch the feather on the fishing pole. Dylan being in charge of said fishing pole. Wish I had thought to get the camera.

10:00 am

All 3 kids are found in the front room holding down both kittens so they don't "get away". But its all ok mom, cause they like it! hmmm... I'm not so sure.

10:45 am

all 3 kids are found holding down both kittens, hiding in the corner by the couch in the living room. "They like sitting wif us, mom!" I can't find my camera.

11:15 am

Abby is cuddled up with me on the couch, but Pepper is MIA. We call her, but she doesn't know her name yet. Cause we keep changing it. She no longer even comes to Kitty. ;)

12:00 -2 pm.

Lunch then naptime. Kittens seem content sleeping under the coffee table. Want to take a picture, but still can't find my camera. No one will admit to touching it.

2:15 pm

We open all the windows in the house. Abby is playing on my lap next to the window. Jake's favorite window. He notices it open, and comes running. Abby notices the dog in the window and actually LUNGES TOWARDS him! Then I guess she realized he was BIG because mid air, she freakes and the claws come out. She lands on me. But doesn't run away. She seems intriqued by the big dog outside, and even gets closer to the window. Wish someone would find my camera, already.

2:30 pm

We start in on the major house cleaning. Goal is to get all kids toys upstairs. ALL of them. We set the kiddos to taking stuff upstairs. But, instead we find all 3 of them in their closet holding down both kittens.

3:00 pm

We are still cleaning (of course, this place is a mess!), the kids have been upstairs for awhile... they are being way too quiet. Investigation shows that they have locked themselves into our guest room with both kittens.

3:15 pm

Half the toys have made it upstairs. Both kittens are running around the computer room as I move the couches and clean out from under them. Pepper finds the trash bag very interesting, along with junk mail. Every piece I put in the trash bag got dragged out. I shoo her away, even though I was laughing. Zachary thought it was funny and proceeds to chase her down the hallway with a flyer from some church. Man, I wish I could find my camera!!!

3:30 pm

Do another search online for cat names. Come up with Dax from Deep space nine, cause Pepper has lots of cool spots. We all think this is cool, and start calling her Dax.. at least for the next few minutes.

4:25 pm

Found the camera. It was up under the computer desk. Pictures reveal that a child with bare feet and wearing blue jeans had the camera last. Why must I insist on dressing the boys in the same pair of pants?!?! Yeah, yeah...its easier... but now I can't tell whose feet these are!!



5:00 Pm

The kids are being awfully quiet again, except for this really wierd thump thump sound. This time I catch them playing with their brother's Bakugun stuff. And, the cats were in on it! Seems those little round game pieces are fun for the kittens to chase... specially when rolled across the room or down the stairs. Yes, down the stairs.. thump thump


5:30 pm

Don't think the name Dax is working out. We keep calling her "Pepper, oh I mean Dax" That is too long of a name.

5:45 pm

Zachary brings me one of the kittens, "here ya go mom, she wants you" How sweet, but please hun, dont carry her upside down!

6:00ish...

Find all three kiddos on the couch in the Front room, along with both kittens who look very comfy all curled up in the corner between the kids. All three have their hands going, petting the kittens. Darn camera! Batteries dead, new batteries found... kittens gone.

6:45 pm

I find Abby all curled up on Dylan's lap. She really likes him.


After snapping pictures, I went on a search for Pepper, oh I mean Dax. Found her curled up behind the computer monitor fast asleep. This seems to be her favorite place in the house.

6:50 pm

Stop trying to call Pepper Dax.

7:30 pm

Find the kids with both kittens again. Realize that maybe the kids aren't searching the cats out... maybe, just maybe, the Cats are searching the KIDS out?!?! I am starting to think so.

7:45 pm

Fed the dogs... put fish oil on Jake's food. I got some on my hand. Pepper decided it was very tasty!!

8:00 pm

Bath time.. for the kids, not the cats... I'm not that brave! ;) Hanging out upstairs seems to confirm my belief that the cats are hanging out where the kids are. Cause there they are, peaking out from under the train table! I thought about getting the camera, but then looked around me.. I am so not taking a picture of this mess!

9:00 pm

Kids all tucked in. Sounds like something just fell down the stairs! Oh my gosh, that's the kittens!!! how can something that small make that much noise running up and down the stairs?????

10:00 pm

Realize that this has been an interesting day and decide to blog about it. Abby wants to help and keeps walking all over my keyboard. She opened some navigation window in Photoshop?? Have no idea how. Maybe I should let her scrap? ;) We could become famous... "Cat creates pages in photoshop, knows more about the program than owner" hmmm... on second thought, maybe not! ;)


Wonder how tomorrow will go?

Picking out names...

I've always had a hard time finding the right names. For all of my Children, except my last, it took almost the entire pregnancy to decide on names. The twins, wow... that was hard because I had to pick Two names, and then what if they were triplets? Or one of them was really a girl? Oh my, it drove me batty!

With my daughter though, I started out just the same. Making lists, writing names out in all different configurations.. first name + middle name. middle name then first name. Then all that hard work was blown out of the water one Afternoon in Target. As I stood looking at an adorable pair of butterfly slippers, I said, out loud even... "These would be perfect for Katelyn!" Katelyn wasn't even on the list of names. At all. Hadn't even thought of it before that day. But the moment it was out of my mouth, I knew it was her name. And it is, just ask her. She'll tell you exactly who she is!

"I'm Katelyn Rose!"

"I'm not a turkey! I'm Katelyn Rose!".

So, here I sit today, having to pick out new names. Two new names, actually.

No, I'm not pregnant. Please don't ever even think that word and me in the same thought... cause well, we all know its contagious and even the tubal I've had can't stop God's crazy since of humor! I mean, come on.. he blessed me with three children in less than two years!! He can be a bit crazy.

So why do I need to pick out two new names, then? Today, we adopted two 6 month old kittens. And it was my idea. Yes I am crazy, too... maybe that's why God keeps blessing me with crazy things? I should look into that.



I've been looking to bring in a new cat for some time now. One that will play with the kids. If you remember my first post, in which I mentioned that my Cat is the smartest living creature in my home? She is. She hides from the kids. She hears them, she disappears. She will not, under any circumstances, play with them. She is SO above that! ;) I mean, they are kids! Their hands are dirty. The make a lot of noise! She's really picky.

I really wanted my kids to have the fun experiences of having a cat. You know, the crazy moments where the cat bounces on them from around the corner where it sat and just waited for the first kid to walk by. Or the absolutely priceless cuddle moments. The cat searching them out just to sit on their lap. That stuff wasn't happening with Gracie. And I desperately wanted it too. The only thing my kids were learning was that Gracie can run fast, and that she will even scratch you if you aren't looking at her! So I went on the search for a cat that would be comfortable with my dirty, noisy kids.

Yesterday I spotted an ad on the local Craigslists, that claimed these two kittens were kid friendly. That they allowed her 2 year old to carry them around in a baby carriage. It was like reading destiny! That's what I want! I want a cat that will let my kids cart it around in their pirate boat or that crazy train they are so found of that I wish would disappear. We don't have any baby carriages, but I'm sure that won't stop my kids when it comes time to try to cart these cats around in something!


When I brought up the idea to my husband, he wasn't as excited as me. TWO CATS??!!?? Yes, two. The ad stated that she would like to place them together, and I really saw no reason to ask for just one of them. I wouldn't have been able to chose anyway. Plus, I just really like cats so whats one more? Two or Three, its not that much different except that there is one more cat to sit on one more lap. 4 kids, 3 cats.. better numbers if you ask me.


I didn't tell the kids that we were going to pick up the kittens today. They had no idea what we were doing, except going to someone's house. When we walked in the door, Katelyn saw one of the cats and ran towards it yelling "That's my cat!" She looks so much like our Gracie, that Katelyn thought at first it was Gracie. Except that the kittens are so much smaller. We talked with the Lady giving them to us for a few minutes before I explained to the 3 little ones (Dylan already knew what we were doing) that we were taking both cats home. Their smiles spread slowly as the info was processed and they realized I wasn't joking. And then each one of them, at the exact same time, asked if they could hold one of them for the ride home! LOL


So this afternoon has been one of the most eventful days of the year. We've grown as a family. Our count is now 2 parents, 4 kids, 3 dogs and 3 cats! My kids have had amazing experiences playing with these VERY kid friendly kittens already. And I'm feeling very very good about the big decision of adding more responsibility to my plate. How can I not be, when I walk into the room and see one of the kittens cuddled up on Baby Girl's lap, and a smile that could melt any one's heart on her face? It is absolutely one of the best feelings ever.


Except for the naming part. That's not going so well. And I don't have 9 months to come up with a hundred different lists. I'm thinking that these poor cats need names by tomorrow, or my kids will come up with some crazy sound to call them and the damage will be done forever!

Following the Rules

Today, while doing some laundry, I found my daughters flower pillow in the laundry basket. I picked it up, walked into the kitchen and tossed it over the bar into the living room. And I went back to doing laundry.



A few minutes later, my son Zach comes into the laundry room and asks

"Who threw that pillow at me! You throw it, Mom? Dad says so!"

"Yep, I did. I tossed it right over there to the couch."

He looks at me with a look of disbelief, shakes his head and walks away.

And then I hear my Husband laughing. I step out of the laundry room, to see Zach still shaking his head standing between the kitchen and dining room. Right next to the bar I tossed the pillow over... and his hands are on his hips. He looks at me, with the most serious expression I've ever seen and says...

"We don't throw things in the house, Mom."

To which my Husband just had to say, with the biggest smile ever....

"He told you!"

Yep, bad mom. Bad Bad Mom. She wasn't following the rules.

I'll try to do better.

The Cheap Seats

We found a dollar theater near us. Well, not technically a Dollar theater, since it cost $1.25 matinee, $1.75 evenings, and $2 weekend nights. Dollar Theater is easier than saying "The not quite 2 dollar theater unless its a weekend night". Guess we could call it the two Dollar theater, but then it just wouldn't seem as cheap! So, Dollar theater its been named.

We took the kids to see Highschool Musical on Sunday. All of them. Even the 12 year old that should have been interested in going, but complained the whole way that we were seeing "THAT" movie. Whats up with that? I know he wants to see it, but I'm not suppose to know he wants to see it? And he's got to make sure I don't know he wants to see it by telling my a hundred different times how he just doesn't want to see "THAT" movie. This is the same kid who asked over and over to go see Twilight, after reading the book. When I finally was able to take him, he acted NON excited (you know the over fake lack of interest that really means they are interested) and slumped down in his movie seat and grumbled a lot through out the movie. Granted, the place was packed with giggling teenage girls, and they were highly distracting even for me (I think I laughed at them more than I did the movie!).. but still... those weren't "Cheap seats" buddy!

We let him sit where ever he wanted to... but he chose just one row from us. The kids did their best to bug him.. but I think he was paying more attention to the movie than he wanted to let on, cause they would always come over and say "Dylan not listening to me" AH HA! Caught you buddy! I think I even saw his head swaying to the music a few times, too!

The little ones loved the movie. They danced in their seats, and even in front of us in a small open handicap section. Baby Girl showed off some cool new dance moves. The Twins hopped up and down, not quite to the beat, but good enough! It was a blast! And as we were walking out of the theater, I noticed a smile. On Dylan's face. And I thought to myself... those were the best Cheap Seats I've ever bought!

My very own Blog!

Well... I've been thinking about doing this for awhile. Starting my very own personal blog. Though I'm not even sure what I'm going to post about. Lord knows I have a ton of stuff going on around me to use as inspiration! HAHA!

So, I guess I will just start this out as an introduction of sorts.

Hi, My name is Valeri
and I'm a kidaholic..


No wait, that's not right. Lets start over....

Hi, My name is Valeri
and I'm a Mother of monkeys.....


Nope, that didn't work out right either....

Hi My name is Valeri
and I'm just trying to Survive.
Chaos runs rampant in my home in the form of three children under the age of 5. Oh, and then there is the 12 year old that most days actually could fall under the term "Under the age of 5" if you take his fits into account. So really, I've got 4 toddlers. My life is crazy.
Did I mention we also have three dogs, one of which is a 100 pound great dane pup, and a cat.

But the cat doesn't count, cause she leaves me alone until the kids go to bed. She's smart. Probably the smartest living creature in my home!