Cool Kids!

Bianka is at work and left herself logged in so DaDa gets to sabotage her blog. Yay!

I just got home from running errands and now I'm hanging out around the house with my awesome kids. One of the first things I did when I walked in the door is I gave me daughter a kiss. After we kissed she said in her adorable angelic voice, "kiss owwie". I have a big wrap on my thumb from burning myself (that's a fun story too). Maddie saw the wrap on my thumb and wanted to kiss my owwie. I've been home about 40 minutes now and she's asked to kiss owwie about 4 times. DaDa's owwie feels so much better now.

Also when I got home I turned on ESPN to check out the college football highlights for the day (for all you uniformed ladies out there, ESPN is a TV channel where they have sports stuff on 24/7). My son AJ was rolling around on the floor. When football came on he would sit still and watch. In between highlights when the analyst would talk about the game AJ would roll around and squeal and get so angry. Then the highlights would come back on and he'd grin and watch football. I still haven't decided whether or not this is a good thing though. I mean I love that my 3 month old boy likes watching football but it's a bit early I think.

Well, I just wanted to share some cute stories about my very cool children. Thanks for listening!

DaDa!

AJ's legs

There are two moderately graphic picture posted here. I am making them small, so click to see them larger, however if you are squeamish, please close your eyes.

So I happened to mention on Facebook that we were waiting to hear what kind of treatment we would be getting for AJ's "curly" legs. That got a lot of questions headed my way because a lot of people weren't even aware that his poor little legs were having problems. Allow me to share..

AJ was a breech baby, meaning when I was pregnant with him he was feet down instead of head down like he was supposed to be. On top of that, he was a good sized baby. I also have a wide pelvis. ("Ample", as my midwife liked to call it. Hi Sue!) My cervix likes to dilate super early. (8cm dilated by 36 weeks and no sign of contractions for at least a month). I grow babies to at least 42 weeks of pregnancy. (Possibly longer, who knows.. haven't ever spontaneously gone into labor.) All of these factors contributed to AJ being completely wedged down deep and low in my pelvis. (If I bent over too far you probably could have seen his toes hanging out. Ha!!) Which led to him not being able to stretch his legs and use them for nearly my entire pregnancy.

Soooo, when he was born, his legs were "curly". That's the best way I can describe them. From the knees down, his legs were smooshed and had no meat on them. His shin bones seemed to be really bowed. His feet turned inward, and the toes on his left feet weren't lined up, almost like some were sticking out the top of his feet and some sticking out the bottom of his feet. His feet had been curled up and under/around his butt. If you picture him sitting cross legged and then wedged into your pocket, that is how he was. Here are the pictures.

Once he was (finally) born, it was clear that there were issues with his poor little legs. Carrying him around felt like carrying a ball.. his legs never straightened. A hip assessment was done on him (because 20% breech babies have hip problems) and he wailed so loud and so hard, not because he had hip problems but because the muscles in his legs were so tightly contracted from never having been stretched out that it hurt him! It broke my heart.

We visited a pediatrician. He said to wait it out. He said "I was a breech baby and I'm just fine!" John and I took it upon ourselves to stretch his legs every time we changed his diaper, and they began to slowly improve, but not completely. For AJ's 3 month check up we visited a new doctor. (Dr. Bob Sears.. love him! The 1st pediatrician kind of rubbed me the wrong way anyway when he said home birth is BAD! and thinks people who scrutinize vaccines before making decisions are BAD!.. but that's a whole 'nother post!) Anyway, Dr. Bob recommended physical therapy for AJ's legs, since at 3 months old his knees still could not straighten. He suggested I call CHOC.

CHOC has a waiting list, so they suggested in the mean time I rule out other problems by taking AJ to an orthopedic doctor. That doctor determined there is still a 15% angle in AJ's knees that is still there. He said we do not need casts for the time being (YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!) and to go forward with the physical therapy. He wants to see us back in 3 months to check for progress and determine if other treatment is necessary. He also requested AJ get an ultrasound for his hips because of the high incidence of hip issues with breech babies. Just to rule anything out. And last but not least, he suggested we see a genetic doctor to rule out any congenital deformities. A lot of ruling out going on, but I'm a proactive type of person and would rather prevent issues and treat them now, instead of waiting to see what might be wrong later and finding out it's too late to fix.

The goal is to help his tight muscles and ligaments stretch with the physical therapy. I assume the physical therapists will assess AJ a little more when they see him. I'm hoping that the stretching is what helps fix everything for my baby boy and nothing more drastic needs to be done. Thank you all for your concern and I welcome the questions you have been asking!

Weekend carnival

This may seem like a really boring entry, but it's what makes for a very happy day in my world... plus I am bragging about how awesome my daughter is at winning goldfish.

I had SUCH an awesome day today. I woke up and took baby AJ to our first day of baby and me yoga with instructor Lauren. It was so nice, as yoga always is, but it was extra special because I got to take AJ with me. He babbled through half the class, then nursed for a moment for a small snack, fell asleep, and woke up right when class was over. After that we headed home and took a nap together.

When we woke up, I strapped him to my chest and started cooking for my family. John had spaghetti left overs, but I brought out the wanna be chef in me for everyone else's dinner. My parents arrived and we had blackened salmon stuffed with corn bread stuffing, vegetables, rice with almonds, and cookies for dessert.

When dinner was done John and I quickly cleaned the kitchen (having a clean kitchen is for some reason essential to my peace of mind..), got the kids dressed, and headed off to the local church carnival. The loud rides and screaming were a bit much for Maddie so I put her ear plugs in. We played a few games and Maddie did the best of all. Seriously. I really wanted to play the win a goldfish game.. we found it and bought Maddie ten ping pong balls. She started chucking them at the bowls and landed 3 of them!! She almost made 2 more but they bounced out. If only the prize was money instead of fish! :) Perhaps on Monday we will go to the pet store to pick up the fish. They handed out fish coupons instead of actual fish. I like that idea, it's good for the fish. Keeps the people who don't really want the fish from getting them and hurting them! I typed fish a lot in this paragraph.

Maddie went on a few kiddie rides and had a lot of fun! She rode the car "roller coaster" that went in a circle, then rode the turtle that went in a circle. She had lots of fun waving at us every time she came back around.

Spending time with my family makes me happy, and today I got to spend the entire day with them. And I got to go to yoga! And I have a clean house! And I love my kids so so so much! And I got to play chef and make a tasty healthy fancy dinner! And I have an awesome husband! Ok goodnight..

Here's Maddie on the car ride:

Here is Maddie doing AWESOME at the goldfish ping pong ball game:

Here is me, my mom, AJ and Maddie. I learned the diaper as a bib for the wrap trick from my friend Lindsey. Thanks Lindsey!

My mom, Maddie, and her ear plugs:

A healthy chili recipe, my way

I enjoy cooking. Over the past 2 years I have become quite good at making meals fast and creatively. Though not fancy, here is a household favorite.. "Throw and Go Chili". I will list for you the cookbook's version AND my modifications.

Throw and Go Chili (American Heart Associations healthy version)

This recipe serves 4

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil spray
12 oz. lean ground beef
1 16oz can no-salt-added dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes with onions, celery, and bell peppers
12 oz frozen bell pepper stir-fry mix (bell peppers and onions)
1 tablespoon chili powder (I use Ancho chili powder)
1/2 tablespoon instant coffee granules (I do NOT use the coffee for goodness' sake! I don't need my 2 year old to be any more bouncy than she already is.)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fat-free or light sour cream

Step 1.) Heat a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and lightly spray with vegetable oil spray, being careful not to spray near a gas flame. Cook beef for 3 minutes, or until browned, stirring frequently. Pour into a colander and rinse under hot water to remove excess fat. Drain well. Wipe skillet with paper towels. Return beef to skillet. Increase heat to high.

(This is how I cook step 1.): "Lightly brown meat." Saves a lot of time if you don't have much, like when a two year old is pulling on your shorts and is "cooking" on the floor at your feet and by walking around too much for the extra steps in step 1 it would cause you to trip on her and you are stirring the meat with one hand and holding a barfy two month old in your other "free" arm and trying to wipe some barf from that "free" arm before it falls into the meat and adds extra flavor.)

Step 2.) Stir in beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, chili powder, coffee granules (again, I do NOT use the coffee for Pete's sake!, in my version), cumin, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

Step 3.) Stir in salt. Let stand for 10 minutes to absorb flavors.

Step 4.) To serve, ladle chili onto bowls. Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream.

(In the interest of saving time, this is how I combine steps 2 and 3 and 4.): Stir in remaining ingredients, except sour cream and the coffee are you crazy? Let it boil over medium heat while you set the table, taking care that baby does not barf on clean plates and toddler does not grab spoons. Get everyone seated and serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream on top.)

Sooooo, basically my version is Brown meat, Add remaining ingredients (except the coffee for crying out loud!), Top with sour cream. Done. A delicious, nutritious, and easy dinner with only 259 calories per serving! I'd add a picture, unfortunately it's all been eaten and I didn't think of it while it was cooking.

Big

I may have the barfiest baby ever. I don't know how he's growing. He barfs up so much milk I swear he's producing his own in his belly because he barfs up twice as much as I've given him. In spite of all this barfing, he is growing at a ridiculous rate. He's over 16 pounds already, and an absolute pork chop. A beef cake. There's rolls on his thighs and rolls on his arms and rolls on his toes. Did I mention the rolls on his thighs? Ya, this kid is big. Have you every seen the Michelin Man? Imagine if I had married him instead of John and had a baby. (I'm exaggerating, but only slightly.)

My thoughts right now are about when my kids get older. Maddie is not even 2 years old yet, but she is taller than most of the 3 year olds and even a 4 year old once in a while when we go to the park. Big boys don't have much of a problem when they hit school age, but big girls are different.

Is she going to be made fun of when she gets older for being different than her classmates? I do think her personality will help her get far. A few weeks ago we were at a beach party and Maddie approached a little girl who was collecting shells. This girl, who was much older than Maddie but the same size did not like that a "baby" was playing with her. Understandable because Maddie reached her hand right into this little girls bucket and pulled out a handful of treasures. Also, last week at the party I mentioned in my previous post, Maddie walked up to a little girl (again the same size but older), grabbed the girls arm and said Hi! Hi! Hi! The girl was slightly taken aback and shied away. Anyhow I think Maddie will be able to make friends.

Are people (children and adults alike) going to have expectations of her that they would have of an older child because they mistake her for someone who is older? Will she be denied the kids meal because she looks older than she really is? Ha ha I jest..

I hope this post makes sense, because my husband is being his usual motor mouth self and I am having trouble proof reading it. Maddie talks a lot too, and not only does AJ have lots of barf coming out of his mouth but he also has lots of babble coming out of his mouth. My children not only inherited their father's size but also his diarrhea of the mouth. I can only imagine my sanity in a few years when all 3 of them are trying to get a word in... :) Ha!

P.S. My husband really is totally amazing and I hope he teaches our son to be as good as him if not better, and teaches our daughter to expect no less from the person she marries.

Keepin' it real

Earlier this afternoon I was getting ready for a party. I put on my party dress, and it was snug. I haven't bought any new clothes recently because I am hoping to be able to fit into my clothing that I wore before I became pregnant with AJ. So I put on an old dress and I stood in front of the mirror and I didn't like what I saw.

I looked at how my abdomen pooched out beneath the waistband. I grabbed a hold of a full handful of flesh. I looked at how my once trim arms look bigger. I looked at my face and thought of how it looks fuller now. I stood there and I quietly critiqued myself.

As I was doing this Maddie was standing at my feet. She was playing with my skirt and she said something quietly. She said it again, then again, and then I finally heard her.

She said "Mama. Pretty."

Makes you realize you're beautiful just the way you are, especially in the eyes of those that love you the most.

If only you knew how important it is to hear those words, my baby girl. I love you so much and you make me feel like the most beautiful Mama in all the universe. I love you to pieces!!!!!

Ages!

It's been AGES since I have posted anything.. I skipped the entire month of August, actually. I'd use the excuse of having a new baby in the house but plenty of others write with a new baby in the house. I'll just say that I'm devoting all of my attention to my family. :) Which is true!

Maddie is 22 months old now and AJ is 7 weeks old, and an absolute TANK. He is enormous. I'm moving him up to his size 6 months clothes pretty soon here. He's almost 15 pounds. I wonder if he's going to be bigger than his 6'7" father by the time he's 15 years old. It's crazy that my milk can sustain a child that is growing so fast, nearly a pound a week since he's been born. Aren't our bodies amazing?

I'm going to try to get back into writing mode. I felt for a while that writing about my day to day life was getting boring for you to read, which for some I am sure it was (ahem I know who you are), but I am being asked by others to please post something! So back to posting I go. Day to day life is usually the best fuel for the funny stuff anyway, and funny is what I like to be. And OH BOY are my kids funny!!

I'll tell you all about the symphony of sounds that come from AJ's rear end almost constantly, the way the baby belly isn't for some reason just melting off like it did after I had my first baby, and Maddie's recent adoption of the words NO! and MINE! Hilarious, I tell you!

Of course, my blog wouldn't be complete without pictures of my adorable children and husband, and my ramblings of how thankful I am for them. They are amazing people and I'm so fortunate to have them all in my life. Stay tuned!!