John’s chin-jury

Well, we ended 2019 with a bang... right on the concrete.  The kids were outside playing and John took the ramp down to the cup-de-sac a bit too fast and busted his chin.  He quickly started bleeding. As I took him inside he held his body chin with his hands. I tried to clean it as best I could with warm water before putting a giant bandaid on it. The bandaid seemed to calm him a bit but it definitely still hurt. Hubs and I had plans to go see a movie and the kids spend some time with Mimi and Popi. I thought all was all right, but I was still worried that I hadn’t taken him in. I kept reasoning with myself that it was too small a cut for stitches, but that didn’t ease me. I waited til after the movie to check on him, and received this picture:

!  Needless to say I had to call and ask what the giant bandage was doing around his head!  Mimi calmly explained that he had bled through the bandaid because there was no pressure on it. So Popi decided this was the best solution. It had stopped bleeding and he was fine with it. 

*sigh*

Okay, so today after he woke up we tried to clean his face up a bit more, and put fresh bandages on. We were able to, but he wouldn’t let us have a good look at it, so we don’t know how bad it really is. At least he’s all smiles today. 

Erin’s finger

A week ago yesterday, Erin got her finger caught in the van door. I was just finishing up bible study and had just gotten the kids from the childcare. We were walking outside and it was freezing. The car had frozen.  While walking to the car, I tried to open the doors with he button on the keys, but it wouldn’t open. When we got to the car it opened just a little bit so she put her hand at the opening and then it shut back closed. I kept hitting the button to try and open it and get her fingers out.  Finally she got them out and was screaming. I couldn’t see it that well so I got everyone in the car. I had to climb into the front seat to turn the light on so I could take a better look. I was afraid it was broken how bruised it was. That’s when I noticed the blood. I grabbed some napkins from the car and wrapped her finger in it. Then I called Chris and told him to go straight to the ER where I would meet him. I had to drive there slowly because the weather (sleet), but we made it right after chris did. She was at the ER til past midnight with Chris. While I took the boys home for the night.   It was a scary light where we asked around for prayers that it not be broken. Luckily she didn’t need stitches either. They just used glue. This is a picture from today:

Valentine’s Day

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. And I would have posted then but my battery died. Oh well. It was a fun and busy day. John and I spent the morning with nana and had lots of fun playing with her. While they napped I was able to go to Paul and then Erin’s party.  They handed out the valentines I spent all night finishing up. They were cute heart shaped crayons that I made using the crayon factory.



 I made them over the course of a month whenever I had the chance. And then the machine broke after just a few so I had to get another and hope it lasted longer. It did. 

Anyway. The parties were fun. Then we came home and I made Mac and cheese and chicken. Then Erin and I rushed off to Girl Scouts while the boys stayed with nana. We came home to her with a rose and some chocolate. I came home to a similar box of chocolate and gave a matching one to Chris. Overall busy but good day. 

Erin’s Barbie birthday

We had a really cool party at the Artisan down on Main Street Collinsville where the kiddos got to paint Barbie furniture (couches & coffee tables) for the activity. 








 It was nice and low key. We had chips and cake 
 And punch for snack and just a few friends and family as guests.
 It was a nice intimate yet low key affair. Erin got some stuff for her desks, doll outfits, dolls, a dog set, and shopkins. She was really greatful for all the gifts. 

John’s McDonald’s birthday

For John’s third birthday we decided to do a McDonald’s party. It was so nice and easy. I’m glad I didn’t have to choose between PJMasks and Paw Patrol. We just let them do everything. The goodie bags had some fun stuff in them and the playland was a hit. Who doesn’t want a happy meal when they’re young?  Only two friends RSVPed so it wasn’t too many people. But the addition of the family helped. 

Bullet Journaling: the Beginning

So I’ve been pinteresting for a while and one of the boards I have is journaling. I’ve been facinated eith journal pages for a while and come to find out they’re almost all a part of a bullet journal. So I’ve been doing some research, like I do, and have decided that for the new year this is something I want to do. 

So, while I wait for my journal to arrive,  I’ve narrowed down my focus and have been trying to figure out which layouts I want to try out. I know I change change my weekly and monthly as I go, but yearly is another thing. So what yearly layout do you like best and why?  

Also what are the extras you like up front?  I’m going to do a page to track my MS symptoms, Lady time tracker, and a bill tracker. Ither than that I’m just not sure what I need or want. Suggestions?

John gets a haircut

So John hates haircuts. I mean hates them.  Whenever we’ve taken him in he cries and screams like were hurting him. And he gnashes about scaring the girls with the clippers. I’ve only witnessed it once, the other times Popi and Chris take him. Well it was no different today. But he was in desperate need of it. His hair was in his eyes and bothering them and starting to gather the waxy discharge from his ears too (yuck!).  
He needed it. So they took him. I’m so greatful to them for it because he did the same thing this time that he always does. But at least it got done. 
The picture does not show the tears but after being home long enough to get a bath and calm down.  Hopefully it won’t be as bad next time. The only time he hasn’t done that was when he got his first haircut. The only tears then were mine. She did it all scissor cut which I think helps but the did that this time too. So I don’t know. Maybe because it was in somebody’s kitchen with a little toddler friend around that he didn’t act up. Whatever it was it was the best experience so far. Hopefully one day he will get like that again. 

New year new blog posts

It’s a new year and I’m gonna try to post on here more often. We’ve had an interesting year last year with a new house and everything that comes with that!  

Well it looks like it’s been a few years since I last posted and a lot of little things have happened in our lives. I’ll try to post date some posts so that y’all can catch up. But until then I am moving forward!

John's First Tooth

Well, the day has come... The first sign of a tooth is evident within the gummy grin on my little guy's face. A bottom front tooth is barely poking through the gums with razor sharpness. He hasn't bit me, nor has he shown the other "usual" signs (I.e., drooling, fever, fussiness). I just thought he had stuck something in his mouth that should not be there so I started fishing it out, and that's when my finger ran across its edge. I can't get him to let me look at it, but it's definitely there. I can't believe he's growing this fast!!  We went out to celebrate at fogons where he demanded the guacamole with yells of nom-nom!  It was super cute. I will include video soon. 

Fab App: Baby Loggy

So even before I went to the hospital with John I was trying out apps for tracking nursing. I tried out a few, the free versions at least, and found one that I liked the most. 

Baby Loggy is that app. The only problem I have with it is not a problem many will have:  it doesn't allow you to change the baby's name once you've entered it. This was my own fault. I had thought we'd go with Luke Jacob for a while so when we were at the hospital and decided on John Gabriel I didn't think about it. I just started logging feelings and diapering right away under the name I had put in. 

You shouldn't need to change the baby's name after you start logging it, so that really shouldn't be a problem for most. You do have the ability to add more children, which is nice for multiples.  And honestly it's an app I'll use far past its original purpose because I can add my older children in and keep track of medications now (that was a new feature added after my original purchase).  

I've emailed the creator of the app and he's not a big corporation or anything. He's just a one man show, but is very nice. It takes a bit of time for new features to be added (ie., the medication tracking), but the app really has everything you would need for tracking as a new mom. 

You can track all sorts of things with it: pumping, medication, sleeping, diapers (just wet or poopy, too), measurements, milestones, bathtime, fevers, and three different types of feeding (breast, bottle and solids). And within each of those categories the additional information it lets you choose to add in great. I like that I can record not only what time, how long, and what size I nurse him on, but I can record what hold I used. 

Within the measurements area I can record height, weight, and head size. With bottle feeding I can tell it what kind of liquid I used. And in the pumping section I can tell exactly how much I pumped on which side in addition to start time and how long I pumped. 

I used the free version for a while, but it does limit you to (I think it was) 100 entries before you have to purchase it to keep using. It is totally worth the few bucks you'll spend.