Wishing

Today I am wishing my kids would just stay kids. I love watching them grow up but I know eventually they will all go and lead their own lives. Most people would be loving this part of life, not me. I just want all my babies to be my babies and be at home.
What will I ever do when they are all grown up and out of the house... I say cry but I have friends who disagree with me-lol!
I love being a mommy.

Halloween

I remember as a kid that Halloween was the best. We all dressed up and went out trick or treating. There were kids of all ages and they were dressed up to the hilt. We stayed out till late knocking on doors. It was so much fun.

So this Halloween as I take my kids out thinking wow they are going to have so much fun I think, did I waste my money on costumes?

Trick or treating now has a time 5pm-8pm and anyone over the age of 12 can be arrested and the charge is a misdemeanor. What the hell is that??? They have sucked the fun out of Halloween!

So now when I take my kids out instead of every house being lit and ready to hand out candy all the lights are out. Too many people fear someone crazy may tamper with the candy, because it has happened. Then you have the trouble makers who snatch little kids bags of candy. Lets not forget those perverts out there trying to kidnap kids. So people have destroyed trick or treating. Thanks! Now you have community get together and stores or malls holding there safe environment trick or treating. Nothing wrong with that but I just miss the whole going door to door part of it all and seeing all of you're friends dressed up. Now a lot of kids don't even dress up. They just show up in street clothes with a bag. Whatever!

It just seems like it's going to get worse as time goes on. It's sad...

And So It Begins....

My sweet 13 1/2 yr old daughter has a, dare I say it....Boy friend.

Yes it has come to that moment where we are all quite aware that boys, although they have cooties, are a hot topic. Well so far he seems to be a nice young man, but regardless she is my daughter and she will be heavily guarded by big brothers, cousins, Uncles and yes, DADDY!

I have been good about having talks with her about the no touch zone-lol! He can't touch anything from the neck to below the knees. And someone (grown family member) is always with her! I took her with me when I gave birth to my youngest son. She wasn't a fan of that, but I wanted her to see it wasn't all fun and games. I constantly remind her of self control and behavior and just pray that I have gotten through to her and she remains a virgin till marriage!

Scared? Hell yes! I just want her to stay my little girl. I am not ready for this and well her dad is really having issues with this. But he let our oldest have a girlfriend and the same age when I was against it and well that set the age trend. I still talk to her, like daily. She is a beautiful young girl and I always remind her that in general boys want one thing. I just want her to be safe and I will do what it takes to keep her that way.

So here I am praying she behaves like a young lady and that I have raised her well. I don't want to screw up. This is my little girls life and I just want to keep her safe. If there are any extra suggestions, they are so welcomed!!

All In the Name of Physicals..

Yesterday was such a busy day!

Nathaniel had his kindergarten physical. He was so excited about it all. He starts Kindergarten and is so ready to go to school and play.

He was weighed in at 45 pounds and 6 ounces, and his height was 44 inches. He has just grown so fast on me. They checked his vitals too. His doctor came in and was really nice. The doc let him try to hear his heart beat. He put on the stethoscope but the ear pieces were to big so he couldn't hear anything. He sure did look cute wearing it all-ha!

After his appointment we went over to get his shots. He was ready, he wasn't scared anymore. I know he could do this so off we went.

We got to the area and I filled out the paper for his records. We get called in and so there we all are. Three of my sons, my husband and myself. He's so happy. There I was taking his pictures and he was just smiling away-ha! The nurse tells me he needs 4 shots. I knew this, it's kindergarten. So she gets all the shots ready to go. He was still fine. So there,everything ready to go. He was sitting there like a big boy and then she said, " Let's roll up his short so I can get to his thighs".

That's not what he wanted to hear. He cried out no and said "I want it in my arms"! So i said ok. He use to be fine with shots. He let out the cry but was fine. Well then he got the flu shot and the lady was a bitch and wanted me to hold him down. Now I have never had to hold his down for a shot so they screwed things up. After that he's been scared and it's because he doesn't want or like being held down.

So he sat there and took the first two shots in his left arm and let out his cry. Well we were going to his right arm and he cried out, "No we're done now, I don't want anymore". So cute and so sad at the same time-ha! I told him we had to do the other arm and he cried, so I held him against me and he just cried and watched. My poor baby. I felt bad for him but I understand his fears. after it was done he stopped crying like within a minute or two and the nurse asked me if he could have a lolly pop and I told her yes and of course that just cured everything-lol!

After he was done it was Immanuel's turn. A month late might I add. He was only late cause he didn't need shots, just a check up. So there he was, weighing in at 18 pounds and 3 ounces and 28 inches and 1/16 of an inch long! He's such a big boy. His Doctor is so awesome. He said I could let him start with the baby finger foods-ha! I was all really.. I knew I could, I am just taking my time with him. No need to rush-ha! But i got him these little yogurt melts and he loves them! So does Alli-ha!

So here we have it. Both of my baby boys are growing just fine and are healthy as can be. It's an awesome thing!

The Dangers of Breast Feeding :)

Dangers in breast feeding? NOT!

I have got to be one of the biggest fans of breast feeding out there. I have tried to breast feed each one of my kids. With my first two I had no clue what I was doing so it lasted a few days. They say if you don't want to nurse at least give them those first few days.
With Marrissa, I was doing great. Then just a few days after her birth I was hospitalized and had to stop nursing her cause of all of the medication they had me on.
Gabbriella I got in about 10 months of breast feeding. I was so happy.
Vikktorria was breastfed for 8 weeks. I got thrush and couldn't do it.
Nathaniel was doing so great. Again with the thrush and I said I was gonna stick it out. I did for 10 weeks. We just kept passing it back and forth to each other and it hurt so bad. Like someone slammed a door on my nipple. I would cry every time I went to nurse him. When I finally gave up I cried for a couple of days. I felt like I was taking away the goodness he so deserved. It truly broke my heart.
Alleynna. I swore I would not give up. I didn't either and we had some problems. Well she wasn't gaining weight and they couldn't figure out why. Well she had to have formula as a supplement. So I would nurse her first and then give her a little formula. I cried, they did blood work on her and she would cry and it made me feel so bad, I would cry too. She was 8pounds and 14 ounces till she was like 5 months old. She wasn't getting the calories she needed from me. But I kept breast feeding her. I did this till she was 16 months old!!! The only reason I stopped was so that we could have Immanuel. And now thanks to breast feeding and organic foods she is so healthy and happy!
My Immanuel is such a good breast feeder-ha! They gave him formula in the hospital and I didn't know till I got home a day later. I was so upset and feared he was gonna have to go to a bottle. Thank God I stayed strong. I worked him off the formula and he at 10 months old is still breast feeding. He started organic baby foods at 6 1/2 months old and is doing so fabulous!! He also drinks from a cup like a big boy.
People ask me all the time..."Don't you worry about the teeth?"
No, I don't. The most he ha done was hold on to my nipple with his teeth and smile at me-ha!
Now one time he did scare me but it was my fault. he was nursing one way and I went the other. Ya, not the brightest thing to do. I always say to him, "I need that nipple, your not the last."
Breast feeding is the awesomest feeling in the world. Just knowing that he really is relying on me and only I can do this is pretty cool. But mostly I love holding him. The way he holds onto me and my boob is just too cute. I love how they just look at you and smile. It's too cool.ha! It's like the most awesome way to bond with your baby. I will say to him, "you wanna nurse? or Mommy got booby, you want booby?" LOL! I know I am crazy but he LOVES it-lol! He laughs so loud and gets all excited and then just jumps to nurse-LOL! I LOVE IT!!! It's just so great a feeling and we are both happy.
Does it take up a lot of your time? Hell yes. You can't schedule breast feeding like bottle feeding. Breast milk is like water where as formula is heavy like food. So you maybe marathon breast feeding for well 6 months-lol! I had to nurse like every hour on the hour and sometimes before that. It just depends on the baby.So no whining aloud. Your baby is not gonna want to wait 3 hours for the next feeding. I don't care what books tell you that, it's full of crap and I doubt that man nursed any kids-lol! Some people can't handle their life being run by a baby's schedule...well newsflash maybe you should just keep your damn legs closed. I have seen and heard people whine about the fussy baby and the kids that just won't shut up. Pull your head out of your ass cause this isn't about you any more. It about what that baby wants and if he wants to nurse on you 24/7, guess what??? That's exactly what they will and should do.
Another thing, my kids that have breast fed the longest are the healthiest kids in the house!
Alleynna at 3 has been majorly sick maybe 3 times. Had it for like 2-3 days where the others were like a week. Immanuel has never been sick! And I have never gotten sick either. Remember, there are 8 kids in my house and to have a house full and not get ill says a lot!
So yes, Breast Feeding is beast...If you can do it.

Those Beautiful Eyes....

My Gabbi has the most beautiful eyes you have ever seen. When she was just a baby her eyes were so bright blue. A fabulous site to see. Her face just so adorable with those chubby cheeks and those beautiful eyes.

When she was about 2yrs old she started crossing her eyes. I thought it was normal, nothing major just run of the mill stuff. I think Jamie had noticed it and I put it off as no big deal. Then I saw this movie with Michael Myers. It was a comedy and he played a male flight attendant
and he had crossed eyes. Well in one of his lines he went on about how it came about and said they were stuck that way and I freaked-ha! Yes a movie made me take my daughter to the doctor! The next day I called and got her a consult at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, CA. It was a week later that she was seen and the doctor said she had what was called Lazy Eye. He showed me through a prism shaped lens what her vision was like. I felt like complete shit! I just really wanted to cry. I could not see anything other than shapes. My poor baby couldn't see. So we got her into some glasses.
It took about a week for her glasses to come in. She gets them and looks as cute as can be. I felt so much better knowing she could see things again. But had that thought of my poor baby has no idea what I look like. Well I know she does, it's not like she was blind since birth or anything, I was just feeling so bad. Well keeping those glasses on her was a pain. She hated them. Always throwing them off and then finally she just broke them. Thank God for insurance-ha ha! She looked so much like D.J. now with glasses-ha!
We made it cross country to Virginia and she began seeing a doctor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in D.C. Her new doc, Dr.Birdsong. He was awesome with her. A great doctor for kids! He ended up changing her glasses and adding bi-focal. WOW. Never thought I would see that on a kid. But she needed it to keep her eye from turning when she focused on things up close. A few months later we raise the prescription again, and again. Then it comes down to surgery. It was Stribismus surgery. They moved her inner muscles to help straighten her eyes. I was scared to death about it. At this time she was in pre-K. The surgery was quick and she came out really well. The only thing she wouldn't let them do was remove the I.V. needle. So I calmed her down and I removed it. The guys was all go ahead. So after that she just had normal eye exams and was doing great.
So we move and she is now seen at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Virginia and being seen by Dr. Klink. He actually trained with Dr.Birdsong so that made me feel good. He did Alli's eye surgery. She had a clogged tear duct as a baby. He is also a great doctor. Well she had a couple visits and was doing well and at the last visit he noticed her eye was turning in when she looked through her bi-focal again. We had a choice surgery or no surgery. This time it would be the outer muscles. Now if we didn't do the surgery it could have an affect on her later in life if she wanted to do any kind of intricate work. I did not want to keep her from any possibilities so I said wee will do the surgery.
Her surgery was July 27,2010. She did super. It took about an hour. But for her to wake up it was more like 2 hours from the time we walked in to see her. I wanted to just cry seeing my baby like that again. It's never easy and I know she was ok, it was just that was my baby and she needed her mommy and really there was nothing I could do at this time other than stand there and touch her and love her and oh, take 144 pictures of her-ha! She was so out of it waking up and really she wasn't awake as far as I am concerned until we got home and even then she laid on the couch and slept then woke up to eat and drink some, then she was awake. Her eyes hurt so bad. When she was waking up from the anesthesia she was like crying that she wanted to open her eyes but she couldn't cause they hurt. Oh I felt so bad. I told the nurse and they said she could have Tylenol. I was thinking to myself,"are you serious". My baby was hurting and needed some real pain relief and they gave her Tylenol. One of the nurses soaked gauze in ice water and then drained it and put it over her eyes and she said that helped her.
Well she is still recovering and her eyes still hurt, but she will always have those beautiful eyes.

Expectations

I've come to seriously realize that I have really high expectations for my kids. Every parent does but mine are really high.
Today was the first day of Vacation Bible School. I expected my older ones who were helpers to do that and my younger ones to behave and listen.
I take them in and I have my talk with Nathaniel about good behavior and listening and staying with groups and of course not running. I tell the girls to watch him and the older kids to do what is expected of them.
It's just me and the 2 youngest. A nice couple of hours of us time. Grab Alli something from McDonald's and Jamie meets me home with Chinese.
I'm nervous the entire time, thinking maybe I should have stayed. But surely if something was going wrong someone would call me. So I try to relax and let go. Which is so very difficult for me. I'm a bit of a control freak and I have to know what is going on with my baby. Not to mention this is Nathaniel's first "school" scene. So I tell myself I need to see if he can do this he will be in school next month.
So Jamie goes to pick up the kids and the first thing out of my daughters mouth is Nate was bad. I thought I was gonna die. She continued on with he was running and wouldn't listen. Then my other daughter Gabbi goes on about how they had to take him out cause he was scared about a story they were telling and they were using blankets like a parachute over their heads. OK I can kind of understand that. But still no one called me! I know he is 5 yrs old but he is going to go to school and I'm thinking damn it he can't do this in school. I yelled at him about his behavior and told him he couldn't do that. I hate that I yelled. I am so tired of yelling and really I don't have to do it too much any more.
So then Jamie decided to tell me that when he walked in Kyle and Evan were not doing anything other than sitting in the back. I at this point am wicked pissed! All they had to do was help with the pre-k kids. I could not believe this. Now I don't think that they did not hep. But I have noticed my son showing off for his cousin and it's really pissing me off. So I tell them no TV and no games. They get all pissy and Jamie decides to just take it out and put it our room! I am beyond pissed off over this. The crap always ends up in my room and I am so tired of it. I need to clean my room and every time I begin work on it or it gets cleaned people throw their crap in my room!!!
Is it awful that I want my kids to behave and act human? Well NO. But part of their problem is that they are spoiled! And that is my fault. So now I have been slowly working with the little ones on things like behavior and respect. And reminding them of how we are suppose to be treating others and reminding them of what God wants us to do. Some times I feel like I am waisting my time, but no I am going to keep doing what I am doing. They will get it, well I pray they get it.
I want my kids to know the difference between right and wrong and do what's right.
I am tired of temper tantrums.
I do not want them stomping up the stairs- ya fat chance, right?
I do not want my kids to lie about anything but especially things that don't matter.
I want my kids to be who they are and not adopt someone elses personality.
I do not want my kids to be followers, I want them to be leaders.
I want my kids to be happy with what they have and not want what someone else has.
I want my kids to study hard in school and get all the work turned in.
I don't want my kids to get anything below a B.
I want my kids to realize that life is a gift and right now they have no respect for it and it's pissing me off.
So here I am taking one day at a time and praying I can unspoil my kids and make them appreciate what so many out there do not have.
Well Nathan will get it, he's just new to this but still I do not expect him to be misbehaving tomorrow. This time we will have our talk before VBS and maybe his dad will hide out and watch him some, you know keep an eye out on our little boy.

Little Kids at Mass

I want all of my kids at Mass. Yes the little ones tell a different story..ha! They would much rather be at the day care playing.
Well with Summer being here people who volunteer for the day care tend to not show up. OK they don't show up or find some one to take there place. My son is one of the volunteers and he has had to fill in 2 times in the last month. Doing that he missed Mass. I do not like for the kids to miss Mass. It is important for my kids as well as myself to attend. So today I took my 3yr and 5yr old to the day care and no one was there. I was kinda glad. I know that they will sit just fine during Mass, well kinda fine-haha! So any way I waited then my hubby comes in and says he will sit with them. Worried cause my 3yr old really does not want to be in the day care unless one of her big brothers (teen-agers) is there too. Well I am thinking to myself...this can be good. They really need to get use to being in the Church and sitting and paying attention, as much as a 3yr and 5yr old can.
To me they did really good. I think my husband had a difference in opinion. He likes for the little ones to well, be quiet..But they are kids, hell even my teens need to be hushed-ha! Me I'm ok with it. As long as they aren't loud or screaming I'm ok. If they get out of hand then I will take my kid out. There are people that have their kids in there screaming bloody murder. My kid knows better. I mean seriously I have a look that will kill-ha!
My 5yr old did really good with sitting and standing and kneeling when he was suppose to. He tried better than the teens to do what was expected of you. He was really cute. The priest made and said The Sign of The Cross and my son repeating like really slow and loud the prayer. I thought that was awesome! That's why they need to be in church. They will never learn it if they don't live it.
My 3yr old is a completely different story... She just wants her juju and to be left alone. When I say alone I mean she turns the pew into her bed and takes the babies blanket and turns it into her pillow! HA! She wants to flip through the book of Hymns... She's a little more busy. She could be worse. I think if she keeps coming she will do fine.
I had to take the baby out. He wasn't upset but he was getting loud with lots of laughter and baby talk. It was so cute. So we step out and the other kids out there were so loud and really upset. I was and am so thankful my kids are better behaved and not as loud. I am shocked that he fell asleep with the other kids yelling and screaming, but he did. Yay!
Going to receive Holy Communion... WOW! So there I am holding a sleeping baby and walking with 2 little ones. I explained to my 5yr old that he needed to cross his arms across his chest to tell the Priest or Deacon that he was not yet ready to receive. I explained that it was so important that he did not receive the host and that it is NOT a cookie-ha! Yes he thought it was a cookie. My 3 yr old had been going with me so she knew already. The problem was that little kids walk fast-lol! I grabbed my 5yr old and said "hey, this isn't a race". It was so hot that I was truly wore out-lol! So they walked up and received their blessings and I received Communion and my 3yr old was bummed when we walked back to our seat and not out the door. Her face, she was so devastated-ha! But she got over it quick.
For me I want my kids with me at Mass. I don't care that they don't understand at that moment. They will get it and we have always told them that they could ask us if and when they don't understand something. God knows there have been plenty of times I had to ask and look things up. It's just important to me that we are there as a family. And at the end I felt great that they were there!

First Step!

Yesterday, July 24th at 2:40pm my little man took his first step to me!! He was standing at the ottamen just crying his little eyes out cause he was tired. He had this look on his face that just screamed pick me up mommy! As he was crying out ARRRRRR he took that one step on his own and holding nothing! I was so excited and sad at the same time. He stopped and I think realized what happened and then just sat down on his little bottom with his hands in his lap and cried. i picked him up and he nursed himself to sleep. He is so sweet. It was an awesome moment and I treasure every milestone he makes as well as all of his brothers and sisters. His poor daddy missed it. He was off taking the boys to the Coast Guard Beach so they could hang out in the heat. But I will take note on everything he does as well as scrapbook as much as possible!!!