Happy Valentine's day!

Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment  

Love….. love is a funny thing. You can't live without ever loving someone or something. Love can break your heart & make you cry, it can make your heart flutter and make you smile. Love is a part of our everyday life yet we only have 1 day designated to celebrating  the ones we love. 

As a child Valentine's day was fun. I would awake on Valentine's morning to a little box of chocolates and a stuffed animal sitting in my breakfast spot. As a teenager and adult I never really liked Valentine's day. I never really had a bad Valentine's day just never really got into it! In high school if you didn't have a boyfriend and all the girls were getting flowers and candy and stuff you just felt bad about your self.  As an adult if you didn't do enough for your loved one you felt bad about yourself.  Why would anyone want to go through all this. 

Steve and I have been together for over 15 years we have had our fare share of Valentine's days apart and together! We have never really gone all out for Valentine's day. We choose to celebrate our love everyday instead of just one day! But now that I have children Valentine's day is fun again!

Makayla and I decorated the house with candy heart in all the candle holders,  we made warm fuzzies for  everyone, we glued pink and red glitter to almost everything that was standing still.  This past weekend we made strawberry pink cupcakes, with pink frosting covered in pink sprinkles! We've been reading Valentine's books for over a month now and last night we filled out all the Valentine's for her class mates. She will bring pink covered pretzels and fun cups to school today. 

Makayla does not yet have a boyfriend, though she tells me all the time she is going to wear a white dress one day and marry Daddy because he is her "Charming".  I hope she never looses site of these days and that we are making happy memories for her. I hope she is always filled with love and hope and never has to experience heart break or loneliness. ( I know I would have to put her in a bubble for this to happen)  As a mom I only want the good for my children. I want them to see how happy Steve and I are and that marriage, love and relationships is not something that just happens but something you have to work at everyday! And yes hopefully one day her real prince charming will come and sweep her off her feet but for now I think Daddy is the perfect Charming filled with love and laughs for his little princess! 

Makayla and Jackson Daddy and I love you to the moon and back!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Words to live by!

Life is too short. Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness. Laugh when you can, apologize when you should and let go of what you can't change. Love deeply and forgive quickly. Take chances. Give everything and have no regrets. Life is to short to be unhappy. ~ Author Unknown

Which one???

I need a new pair of sneakers desperately. In fact I couldn't tell you the last time I purchased a pair or sneakers for myself. I have decided I want a pair of Puma's but I can't decide which ones I want. Which ones do you like better???

I can wear both with short or pants and they both look comfy. They are about the same price so that is not a deciding factor either. Help!!!!

Now once I decide it will just be finding the time to go all the way to international mall to try them on without Makayla. She is not a shoe shopper when shopping for me only when it's for her, but then again when is not all about her???

Simple Pleasures

I have seen this on a few blogs and thought it would be a fun idea. Feel free to do it on your blog or facebook page as well.
List 20 simple pleasures that make you smile. Little things in life that make you happy or your bad day better. Life is so short and we sometimes rush through it. What makes you stop and say " ahhh this is what makes it all worth it"?

1: Hearing the words "Mama", and "love you" from M
2: The way people smile at Makayla when she waves HI to everybody
3: Kisses from Steve
4: cuddling with Molly
5: The big hug I get every morning from M
6: Fresh Clean sheets
7: When steve unloads the dishwasher or folds a load of clothes
8: Days on the boat
9: Sleeping in
10: watching steve and makayla laugh together
11: The smell and sound of a newborn
12: talking with Friends
13: New colored pen or markers
14: Lunch with the "girls" My mom, sister,M and I.
15: watching Makayla dance!
16: crying at good book or movie
17: Making a meal that everyone LOVES
18: being with family
19: Playing at the park
20: the warmth of the sun through the car window, or sleeping in the warmth of the sun through the car window..I have taken some good naps like that!

So those are just a few of the things that make me smile! What makes you happy? I would love to know. Either leave a comment or the link to your blog of facebook here so we can all read.
Ohh and don't forget to smile at someone today, who knows you might be there Simple Pleasure for the day.

Food for thought!

I was walking out of target the other day and I heard a Mom yell say to her 2 girls, " You know what? We are not going to say MOMMY anymore today! GOT IT?" and they both sadly looked up at her and shook there heads...

This almost brought tears to my eyes. I am so thankful for everyday that I get to hear the word Mama! There are so many people who can't have children or have lost a child and would give anything to hear those words just one more time. The world is suffering right now with all its loss, but I know I have my family and that makes me smile no matter how tough times might be. I am so grateful to have Makayla to love and laugh at and to just be part of my life..it wouldn't be complete without her.

Don't get me wrong we have our bad days, but good or bad I wouldn't trade them for the world. So just remember on those bad days when you want to pull your hair out or just scream, think about how grateful you are to hear the word Mama or Daddy everyday, and be thankful!

Mommy knows best?

Ohh so where do I begin? Last Thursday I took Makayla to the doctor for a runny nose and cough they said it was viral and to give her Tylenol and Motrin and lots of liquids, cold mist vapor, vapor baths....blah blah blah....I did not agree with this, but did all I could do to get her better. She was miserable and green and I felt she needed an antibiotic. I called the Doctors office on Friday and asked how he knew it was viral and not bacterial the answer I got..."Years of experience" (whatever) By Saturday night she was horribly sick and her party was the next day, at 10:00pm she was screaming nonstop and when she pooped there was black chunks. I freaked out! I thought she was bleeding from her stomach (there is a warning on the Motrin bottle that if they have black poop they can be bleeding internally) I thought she was screaming because of her stomach. Off to the Urgent care center we went. Makayla screaming the entire 20 minute ride.

When we arrived (M still screaming) the doctor came in looked in her ears and nose and said she has a bacterial and ear infection I will get her an antibiotic and she will be fine.

Me "uhhh I knew it, but ohh she has black poop we brought the diaper can you tell if she is bleeding internally from all the Motrin the past 3 days?"
Dr. "I am sure she is not bleeding and you did not overdoes her with Motrin but Sure I will check"
He leaves and the nurse comes in with her first dose of antibiotic.
Dr. comes back, "Good news she is not bleeding, but did you feed her raisins or prunes today?"
Me, "umm no" Thinks for a second "ohh crap blueberries" Husband--blank stare---"the only thing she would eat earlier today was blueberries"
The doctor put numbing drops in her ear and she finally stopped screaming. We went home she went straight to bed and made it to her party the next day.

Notes to self
1)black chunks do not mean bleeding and is not a cause to bring her to urgent care. Lesson learned.
2) Doctors are now always right, and sometimes I do know best even if this is my first time being a Mom.
3) I need to find a new doctor for Makayla.

It is now Wednesday night and Makayla is doing great. Tooth #3 is trying to make its way through so she is a little cranky but doing well.

She is now a professional at the word STOP. She spends a good amount of time on that timeout mat these days and is beginning to use her imagination. For her birthday she got a little fisher-price kitchen. She loves it. She opens the fridge, pretends to pull something out hand it to me and wants me to pretend to eat it and say MMMMM. We play tea party and she can even "cheers". She really is so much fun right now. We are getting ready for her first plan trip in a few weeks. I am a little nervous about keeping her occupied for the entire plane ride but I am going to bring lots of snacks and hope for the best. Any advise or tips would be great though.

Ridges and lines of a shell.

As I sat today on the beach looking at the water and watching the waves glide in and out over the sand I noticed all the shells that drifted in it's tides. (I could hear the laughter of Makayla with her and Nenny and Grandparents which made the moment so much sweeter. ) Looking at all the shells that have traveled a long and timeless path or have they? There are millions of different shells and each one has a different story or path its traveled, much like strangers, friends, fellow blog writers and readers. We all have this log path we have traveled to get to the same place. We ride along the waves that God places us on and we begin our journey. Some end up traveling long waves to end up carrying a precious life inside only to become empty again. Some carry life throughout there entire shell being if you will, some end up on the beach only to be buried by the sand and someday washed back out to shore only to drift again upon another warm bed of sand. Some get scooped up by a shell hunter placed in the bottom of a sandy bucket, washed out and placed in a bowl to spend it's life collecting dust. We have all done this. I have an entire room decorated around shells and sea life.

My point is have you ever looked a shell? I mean really looked at it? It can hold so much history that no one will ever know. Where did it begin it's jourey, mllions of miles away or the next island over? It's ridges and lines tell a story to make it what it is at that very moment you admire it and scoop it up or in M's case put it in your mouth. Shells are more like people then we think our lines and ridges make up our story. Each person different but in some way all the same.

We had a wonderful day on the boat and at the beach today. Makayla loves the sand, the shells, and the sun, the water not to much. I didn't take the pictures so I am waiting on them but as soon as I get them I will post them. We hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

I want a new Dr. and I want MY kid back.

The results are in. We went to the dr. today and Makayla weighed in at 17.2 lbs and 27 1/2 inches long. She is 50% on weight and height. (I guess Melissa wins the prize since no one else left there guess and she was the closest.) She was a champ at the dr. They took blood from her toe to test her iron and if looks could kill the nurse would be 6 feet under, but M didn't even cry. Then came the shot which again she gave the nurse a dirty look and this time came the tears. They quickly ended when I pulled out Winnie the Pooh. For those of you who don't know I am not big on characters or stuffed animals outside of the crib, but M LOVES her Winne the Pooh so we brought him along. (sympathy kicking in again)
So the iron test came back a little low and the Dr gave us a prescription for iron. Well come to find out our insurance does not cover it and it's $67.00 a bottle CRAZZZZY. I got it filled anyway. Well when I got home and read the insert the first thing I read in this: Overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under the age of 6. And yes it was in bold! After reading all the rules and restrictions of the medicine I did not feel comfortable giving it to her (mothers intuition) so I called the Dr. After 2 returned phone calls it seems her levels are a 10 and normal is 10.5 are you kidding me? It can be controlled with diet. Why did he not say this when I was at the office? So now I have a bottle of what seems like deadly iron that I wasted $67.47 on. I want a new Dr. for Miss M.

I was also told that her runny nose that I thought was just from teething is a bad infection/cold and her last ear infection never totally cleared up. So she is now on a stronger antibiotic.

Why I want MY kid back?
Most of you say you have never heard my kid cry and well this is true because she really doesn't cry. That is until the last few days. She is battling teething, a head cold, bad cough, and well just all around irritated. She wants to get into everything and for some reason I am always telling her NO (safety reasons of course) well now when she doesn't get her way she throws herself on the floor and SCREAMS. Since I haven't had to deal with much screaming in my days of motherhood this is all new to me. All I can say is I hope this doesn't last and I get MY kid back really soon. Poor Miss M she doesn't feel good and she is just not herself. I want my healthy, happy, and playful baby back, I miss her!

Also I have had to swaddle her to clean out her nose this is pretty funny I will take a picture tomorrow to share with everyone. It is so sad its cute.

For now I am going to enjoy my quiet night to myself minus M's coughing. Steve is away at a golf tournament.

tornado's, tired, and TEETH

For the past 3 night Makayla has woken up almost every hour. She wakes up screaming. This is very unusual considering she has been sleeping through the night since 6 weeks old. She wants nothing more then for me to hold and rock her. Since she has had a runny nose I have had sympathy and gone in and rocked her, or let her lay with me until she falls asleep. As soon as she hits the crib shes up again.
I have tried the cry it out and well after 20 minutes that feels like 20 hours I give in. She naps fine and still goes to bed fine but about midnight shes up.
Well today after a lavender soothing bath and warm pjs I put my finger in her mouth to feel her gums.....and.....WE HAVE A TOOTH! Finally she is getting her first tooth. I now have so much more sympathy, so much so that I gave her Motrin before bed and ahhhh she is still asleep.

So why is it midnight and I am still up? Well the past 3 night have told my body I don't need to sleep I guess. I also wanted to update with Easter pictures and let everyone know we are ok from the Tornado's that hit today. It was scary bad weather and then come to find out 2 tornado's hit just a little over a mile away from our house. SCARY. Besides much needed rain, and some thunder and lightning, we didn't get much else. I am off to bed now lets hope I get to stay there all night!