Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Party Time!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Laughing, Melting, Losing it
Having a child really strengthens your testimony of the pre mortal life and that we came here with distinct individual traits and personalities. Do you ever feel like Heavenly Father is laughing while watching you try to parent a child who is probably just like you were as a toddler? Well, ha ha. He got me good with this one.
I remember some pictures from when I was little and I had really unkempt hair. My mom said that they called me wild woman and that I wouldn't "let" anybody touch my hair. And I thought, let? Since when do you let a two year old call the shots. What do you mean you can't always "make" a kid do something? Oh, watch me, I thought-I'll show you who lets who do what. Too funny. I feel like a was a stickler teacher and had discipline down but parenting is a whole new ball game.
Apparently I am the "sucker" parent and I let her do almost anything she wants. ME? Seriously? I had those first graders in line like you wouldn't believe. Tears didn't phase me. Tantrums were nothing. Set boundaries, be consistent. Done. It's time for me to reinstate that part of my life.
She makes me laugh...
Last night I was laying in her bed with her trying to help her go to sleep (see?!) and she was doing something weird with her hand over and over. I asked her what she was doing and guess what, she was rolling a booger between her finger and thumb. I couldn't help it, I got into a laughing fit-which didn't help her go to sleep. So we laughed and laughed, and I got her a tissue.
She makes me melt...
While we were home sick and Kurt was at a Superbowl party we watched The Testaments. Otherwise known as "Jesus movie". We watched it three times that day. And we watched it today. She loves it. A few days after the first viewing we were in the car and Felicity pointed up to the sky and said, "Jesus come down." Just like the movie. It was incredibly touching. She also started saying, "I love you mom." Sometimes she comes and snuggles my side on the couch and tells me that she loves me. And that she wants candy.
She makes me lose it...
And by it, I mean my sanity of course. Her sleeping habits are horrible since she was sick. She wakes up a few times a night, begs to get into our bed, she won't nap etc. Grrr! So today, after an hour of being nice, laying by her, letting her in my bed, getting certain pillows, blankies etc. she got locked in her room and fell asleep crying by the door. This is NOT the first time. You don't have to tell me I'm doing it all wrong, I already know. But we did some things that worked before and now it's time to start again. She is very resistant to the following; getting her diaper changed (she is actually making some progress with the potty though!), wearing clothes, wearing socks and shoes, getting her hair washed or brushed or done, getting lotion on, eating in the kitchen, getting in her car seat, coming in from outside and the list goes on.
I know these things are pretty normal for a kid this age, right? Tell me it's not all my fault! So, I have a naked little girl with messy hair who leaves a trail of clothes. Sound familiar mom?
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Round Two
Well-they were going just OK for a few days-then we were hit with another "stomach bug" and everything pretty much went out the window.
I will have you know that I went to bed by 10:30 for like, three nights in a row-I couldn't fall asleep right away though and one of those nights I lay in bed giggling because I was thinking of funny things to tell Jana and I really, really wanted to call her except I didn't because I was so disciplined at keeping my goals-partly-for a couple of days. I was also up-and-at-em by 10:30 for a few days.
I went to the rec center once (sincere thanks to Christie for helping me be motivated to go) and I called twice to make an appointment for pulmonary therapy but could never get a live human on the phone. I have been doing much better at remembering to take my new medication before bed. Ask Kurt if he likes the reminder on my phone each night at ten.
Since we have been sick I have been watching some t.v. and a lot of movies. But hey-I made the rule and I say that it's OK to break it for now. Also, I totally got new books at the library, but not as many as I usually do. I just couldn't take it anymore! I've got to have a book that I'm interested in (I have been muddling through some weird Orson Scott Card book and can't find the will to finish it. I just don't like his writing very much)
So-I just wanted to say poo-poo to my goals for now. We will see what happens when we are feeling better and not forever trapped in our lovely little home that smells like #3 and #4 (throw up and diarrhea-duh).
The good news is that we have been working on the smell and the cleaning and the laundry and the dishes and things are under control. If Felicity doesn't hurl tonight it would be a miracle and mean that I am almost caught up on laundry.
I asked Kurt last night if I was being punished for complaining about Felicity's last bout of sickness. He said no, and I say no because that's not how it works, right? Anyway-it's way worse this time. Felicity started barfing on Sunday night and woke up and dry heaved every half hour or so for almost 24 hours. We took her to the Dr. and got some medicine to help her stomach calm down. She was finally able to take in liquids and we avoided an I.V. Now it is Thursday night and we are praying for no more throwing up! She's got that other problem now too-the one that comes from too much soda and not enough food. I do think it's funny that she says, "scusting" (disgusting) when I change her diaper.
I'm sorry for all of the info on bodily fluids and such (don't read this one Tara) but I know some of you out there are not too phased by it (medical personnel and moms) and you might want to feel a little sorry for me and forgive me for skipping out on my goals so soon.
I am hoping we will get back to normal soon-but I am revisiting my footie pajamas for now. Thanks for listening and sorry for the lack of pictures-I can't find our memory card in all of the mayhem.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Get a grip!
The funny thing is..I could use a couple of these.So, lately I have been having what I call, "lose your mind days" and "get a grip" days. Usually I get a grip after one or two days of losing my mind.
I was kind of looking forward to getting past the (wonderful!) holidays so that I could rest more, get into a normal routine and set and achieve some new goals. I started thinking of things that I wanted to improve upon and it seemed like almost everything in my life made that list! Does that happen to anyone else?
Keep the house clean, read my scriptures, de-junk, save money, exercise more, watch less t.v., be less idle, be a better wife and mother, be more patient, get out more, do a better job with my callings and church assignments etc.
Lately the only things that I feel like I excell in are keeping us stocked with clean laundry, milk, bread and toilet paper. We hardly ever run out of those things. I know it's not much, but, ya know what? When I need to feel good about myself I think of those things and sometimes it's enough to be proud of.
If you know me well, you know that my house usually looks like a bomb went off and that I don't really "cook" often. You can also often find me in my footie pajamas and Felicity in just a diaper (if I'm lucky-she hates to wear anything-and today I could only get her to put on a swim diaper-not the same thing as a diaper apparently-pee pee went everywhere). I feel like I am a good mom and a good wife (most of the time) but I am so often feeling discouraged because I am a horrible housekeeper and cook.
Factors to why I feel this way/why things are this way:
-I like to be comfy
-I am kind of a homebody
-I give Felicity a lot of freedom-it is starting to backfire-she makes messes-she throws FITS about getting dressed etc.
-I go to bed too late
-Felicity is still "jack in the boxing" out of bed each night
-I have less energy and more pain than the averge Joe because of my Scleroderma
-I have a really hard time getting moving in the mornings-joint pain and fatigue
-I am pretty sure I am lazy
-One of my favorite things to do is read and this involves staying home and ignoring messes
-Keeping up with Felicity makes me POOPED!
OK-enough excuses-and you are probably wondering where all of this is going. Really this post is more for myself than anything. Today Felicity was especially stubborn and things are a crazy mess and I just thought, "Get a grip! I am going to make some serious goals to become the person I want to be-and I am going to put it on my blog so that 1)people will know that I am aware of my faults, that I know the jammies thing is not really normal 2)Maybe someone else will have a hard day and realize that they are not the only one who feels like they can't keep up with life 3) I can put my goals into writing and maybe get a little motivation and responsibilty from my friends.
So-there are a million things I want to work on-but I really just want to make many small and responsible decisions each day so that things are more in place. As a blanket goal I want to be closer to the person I want to be instead of the person I am often dissapointed with.
So-here are my goals for now:
1. The ten thirty rule. I will be in bed, lights off ready to sleep by 10:30 each night for a week to see if I feel more energized in the morning. Also, by 10:30 each morning Felicity and I will be showered, dressed, fed, and enlightened by scripture study and prayer whether we have anywhere to go or not.
2. I will finish the two books I am reading now and will not get anything for me at the library until March 1st. This will be kind of tough.
3. Until the Olympics start I will not watch TV for my own enjoyment. Instead of watching tv and reading I will work on the de-junking I am always putting off.
4. I will get an appointment for pulmonary therapy, make sure I am taking my meds twice a day as instructed and exercise twice a week.
*I know it seems like a lot, but believe me I've got a lot of room to improve!
*Thanks for letting me babble and for putting up with this self deprecating rant. I am not trying to fish for compliments or have your pity. I know I am a good person and that we don't have to be perfect at everything. I feel good about myself in a lot of ways, but it is time for me to get a grip! I will try to live so that someone can drop by anytime without me being embarrassed about my house or my attire (I WON'T promise to wear a b.r.a. all of the time, you know I hate those things!
-Thanks for listening-if you made it this far, leave me a comment and tell me one small thing that you are awesome at-something that makes you proud. Have a good day whether you are losing your mind or getting a grip on life..
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Two Laundry Lists
-Every stitch of fabric related to Felicity's new darling big girl bed (OK-not the bed skirt)-including two sheets, pillow, pillow case, mattress cover and comforter
-Kurt's brown pillow and case and our fitted sheet
-3 pairs of cute little pj's
-the kitchen rug
-two full size towels and multiple washcloths
-one set of my "undies"
-The kitchen floor
-The carpet near the kitchen floor
-Me! from neck to toes
OK-so not all of those things are "laundry" but they are all things that were VOMITED ON by a poor, sad, darling two year old within the space of five hours (2 am to 7 am-hardly a wink of sleep for any of us)And all of them had to be washed. Can you tell this is our first experience with multiple episode's of puking? We should have just undressed her and left her on a plastic sheet or something...
Poor Felicity was obviously very sick the other night. She threw up in her bed, then in my room. We got her changed, I sent the other two to sleep in our bed while I scrubbed, then she threw up in our bed, then once she was totally empty, she dry heaved every 15 minutes for a few hours. It was horribly sad! She kept saying, "All done!?" afterwards because she thought we could stop it. Finally after a few prayers and a call to the Dr's office things settled down until 7 when she finally was able to take in some liquid and then drench me in it when I picked her up off the counter. Seriously-so gross. Anyway... Things are better now.
It is weird to be a parent and have to deal with this stuff. It's strange how alert and sympathetic you become when a sick child wakes you (believe me, I am not usually alert or sympathetic when awakened). It's weird how you feel so bad for your offspring and not for yourself even though you're up scrubbing yuckies (I did start to feel bad for myself after no sleep and that 7 am dousing).
It made me think of my mom. Even as a young child I was amazed with my mom's kindness when I would throw up in the night. I remember how sweet she was to me and helped get me clean pj's and bedding and then she would be still cleaning as I drifted off. I always thought it was such a gross gross job and I felt bad for her. I think I remember asking her if she wanted help and she said, "no,no,no-go back to sleep." So nice. I was asking Felicity if she felt better today and she then showed me and told me everywhere she threw up. Then she said, "I naughty." She says this a lot and it's most of the time true, but I tried to explain to her that throwing up is not naughty, it's an accident because you're sick. Poor thing.
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Second Laundry List
-Felicity turned 2! We had a Curious George party and she was absolutely spoiled by family and friends!
-Christmas was amazing! We are so lucky to be able to spend time with both of our families. If Felicity wasn't spoiled enough on the 19th, she reached a new level of spoiled on Christmas!
-Did I tell you that my youngest Brother Brett is engaged to long time girlfriend Tara? They are getting married April first. I am excited!
-Kurt's brother Aaron and his wife Jeanette were here from Las Vegas. It was fun to spend time with the newlyweds
-My BFF Jana had a baby boy! I am so happy for her and so proud of her. Jay Otto Neser is adorable. Can't wait to meet him.
- I got all of my yearly tests done to check on anything and everything that could be effected by my Scleroderma. My brain MRI,Echo,lung function test,and barium swallow study were all pretty good-but my chest CT showed some inflammation in the lungs. SO-I am starting a new medication and will be testing lung function for the next year to see if things can improve or at least remain stable. This was kind of a bummer at first-because I have to add a pretty serious medication to my long list and because I would really like to be able to try to add another little one to this family (because I'm so good at handling the first one, right?) But, it is not in the cards for now, we will see how things are in a year. But,you know what? Things could definitely be worse and we are really really blessed in so many other ways. Especially blessed to have our little up-chuck queen.
I was thinking the other day about when Kurt and I were first married. I wanted to have kids from day one, but he had a year left in school and then wanted to do a masters, so we had decided that I would probably teach for three years and then we would try. But Kurt came home one day (after being married 5 months) and said, "I'm ready when you're ready." After some spiritual experiences and prayer, we were pregnant with Felicity in March. Looking back, I realize that if we would have waited three years or so, we would be trying to have our first baby now. And because of my Scleroderma diagnosis about a year ago-that probably wouldn't be possible. So, I just wanted to publicly count my blessings and if Felicity is the only child that we ever have on our own, I will be grateful.
Sorry, things got kind of heavy there at the end. But these are things that are happening, these are the things I think about. I'm happy for a new year and that none of Felicity's barf got on the new couch!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Confessions.
-Sweeping up broken glass in the kitchen while just wearing my "undies" and white and green pumas (gotta protect my toesies). This is Felicity after she threw the glass off of the counter today, "I throwed it." Yeah, obviously. No emotion, no remorse. Weird little girl.
-Replaying the part where our good friend Miley plays the "butterfly/daddy daughter song" in Hannah Montana the movie which I ordered from Netflix. While tears flood my eyes. Yep. Ordered it, watched it, rewound it, cried at more than one part. Seriously?
-Feeding Felicity candy from the gingerbread house we made a few weeks ago. Her begging got old and I figured we are going to toss it in a couple weeks anyway.
-Checking your blog just to see if you're pregnant yet.
-Taking ONE picture with my cell phone of my daughter on Santa's lap instead of paying for something cute. P.S. the adorable 9 month old asian baby in front of us had on fake hair! I'm serious.
-Writing this dumb post while I should be cleaning up dinner and taking a shower. Enjoy!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Help! She escaped!
The go utes red cast which came off last FridayWednesday, November 11, 2009
Autumn Day-God gives many gifts today
We love the fall. Except for the whole getting cold thing. But you can't help but love the falling leaves and Halloween and looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas.
News around our house:
-Felicity has a broken leg (trampoline) and has a hard splint thing on for two weeks. She is a trooper. She has had many accidents lately. You can see the scrape on her chin from when she crashed and fell into the couch-biting into her lip and scraping part of her face off. Now she also has a giant blood blister on her finger. I am feeling pretty bad for her lately-but she is happy enough and loves to be a monster and scare you. It's pretty darn cute.
-The Yankees won the world series! Yahoo. I guess Kurt growing out his beard and me growing out my leg hair really did the trick. What can we say, we are fans that bring good luck!
-Halloween was awesome-lots of parties. Felicity was Dorothy and we were the scarecrow and the tinman.
Monday, October 5, 2009
No more spring blossoms around here...
Long time, no see. There are really no good excuses-we have just been busy and lazy. But-just to catch you up-these are some of the things we have done since we last talked.
-Went to Yellowstone with Kurt's family. It was awesome. We saw lots of cool scenery and cool animals. Felicity liked to yell MOOO to the buffalo.
-Went to California for Kurt's brother's wedding reception. Aaron and Jeanette looked handsome and beautiful respectively and the reception was fun. We also got to spend some time with Jana and Wes and my cousins the Thorntons and all of their new babies. The trip was great except for Felicity's demeanor on the way home. Boo
-After the trip to CA we took away the binky. Yep-the green thing that was constantly in Felicity's little pie hole. Gone. It was hard for a few days-but we did it and I am proud!
-Kurt's sister Christie, her husband Brandon and daughter Addison got sealed in August. It was such a great day and we are so happy for them. Man-Addie had everyone in tears when she was brought in in her darling white dress, sweater and bow. After the sealing she said, "Mom, I'm in the temple!" What a great thing.
Kurt had his Birthday in September and we had a good time camping and celebrating with our families. Both of our parents celebrated 30 years this year. Congrats!We also celebrated both of our dad's birthdays in Sept.
I have been busy seeing lots of new doctors, trying new medications, getting a little swimming in (thanks Christie) and going to physical therapy. Trying to get my bod feeling better. I have some tests coming up in January and we'll see how things are going.
Felicity is starting to talk and it's pretty darling. She will copy almost any word you say and her favorite phrases are "I did it!" and "I got it!" Pretty fitting for such an independent, stubborn little thing. Gee, I wonder where she gets that. She is obsessed with buckling things lately. Carseats, strollers, her doggy backpack, my swim bag. She loves to do it over and over with a proud, "I did it!" Yes, she continues to run me ragged and drive me crazy sometimes, but it's all worth it.
I guess I will post pictures another time. The one hour napper just woke up.
Monday, September 21, 2009
bride, the brush, and bigos
Yes, that's right. Kelli is wearing her wedding dress. It's been 3 years and 3 months, and she can slip right into that thing. Felicity, your mom is as beautiful as ever. We sure are lucky!
We went camping the Friday before my birthday with the Woffindens. My family joined us for one tasty dinner. Thanks for spending that evening with us, everyone. You sure mean a lot to us. We love you!
Last, but not least, for this post - Kelli made me bigos for my birthday. This is a stew that I had a lot of in Poland. This version has cabbage, sauerkraut, bacon, sausage, and pork loin among other things. Throw in a few slices of rye bread and I was in heaven. Thanks, Kelli.The Radmalls are alive and well, even if our blog is not...What can we say? We've been busy.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Anger. Rising.
I say this because we live in a condo and there are sometimes noisy things going on that I can't control. Usually it is really quiet and we love living here but today i want to go rip someone's leaf blower off of their back! There is a new dog somewhere in the neighborhood that LOVES to bark at all hours .Grrr. The garbage truck woke Felicity up this morning at 6:40 thank you very much-now the lawn guys woke her up in the middle of nap time. Luckily after 10 minutes of letting her cry, she went back to sleep. But I swear they are just making circles around our building with their mowers and blowers and edger thingies. Why can't she be a heavy sleeper like her daddy? Oh wait, then when she grows up she won't hear her own baby cry in the middle of the night. . .
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The ramblings of an inmate
Lately, Felicity has been asking to get into her crib during the day. Mostly she just wants to play ring around the rosies with herself and "all fall down" on the soft mattress. I love hearing her start to talk. She is trying to copy things that I say. Yesterday I said "crap" as my car door softly brushed (don't worry, I wiped away the mark with my spit) our neighbors car. And yes, she then tried to say crap. The time has come to clean up my mouth (Orbitz?). My daughter is now understanding what I say and copying me. Today I sneezed twice in a row and both times she said her little version of "bless you". Too cute.
p.s. My sister had a baby girl and I got to cut the cord! Yahoo. I love little Molly Kay and as some of you know, I love to be present for delivery. Invite me to yours.
p.p.s Jillian-it's "he and I" not "him and I". Some of you know what I'm talking about. So many weeks of the same grammatical error, over and over. I cracked up because Reid made the same mistake during his going home limo rant. I guess they were a perfect pair.
p.p.p.s I know I probably make tons of mistakes on this blog. Apostrophes, quotation marks, commas, spelling and all. I told Kurt not to correct it for me. He and his journalism degree would offend me and make me feel stupid. So forgive me for being a hypocrite of types and criticizing Jillian the cute little Canadian.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Venting/Ranting
*Felicity woke up at 6:30 instead of 8:00
*She grabbed my spoon and tried to feed my cereal to her baby doll (it was kind of cute actually)-then she proceeded to put her babies blanket in my bowl-sloshing milk on my lap.
*Even though I put on Beauty and the Beast, she quickly found me trying to take a shower and insisted on getting in. Then of course she wanted to get out. Then she peed on the floor.
*She wanted to brush her teeth-instead of letting me help her she grabbed the toothbrush end and got her berry blue toothpaste all over her hand
*She unrolled half of a roll of toilet paper. Now I have to put it in a bag by the side of the sink and use it like that. Frugality and all.
*I was trying to take some Tylenol and the lid wasn't on tight-so the bottle dropped, spilling the glass of water and the Tylenol into a medicinal mess-wasting about 30 caplets. No-I did not try to dry them out and save them.
*I needed Tylenol because I had minor "surgery" on my toe yesterday-ingrown toenail stuff. Gross I know. At least Felicity hasn't stepped on it as many times as she did yesterday.
*I don't know what else-but it just seems like there were a million things that went wrong this morning. Of course there were the usual battles of diaper changes, getting dressed, combing her hair. ANYTHING that I want her to do is just so so tragic to her.
*And to top it all off, we are out of otter pops.
Now, I know that she is just a baby and almost anything naughty that she does is because I have enabled her to do so, by eating breakfast on the couch and such. But it's still frustrating-it's not like I'm leaving her on her own so I can eat bon bon's, I'm just trying to shower and get ready. I swear, there is nothing in this house that will hold her attention for more than two minutes. I think It's time for a toy swap or something. Just needed to vent.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Forf
Thursday, June 4, 2009
What's the Happs?
I am pooped because I am teaching swimming lessons in the morning at my parents. It is a good way to earn some extra money-but it wears me out. The last time I did it was when i was pregnant and I would take a 3 or 4 hour nap afterward. I don't exactly have that luxury now-but I do nap while Felicity does-it is usually an hour and half but it's better than nothing. Some friends in the ward are watching Felicity in the mornings. It's hard to drop her off-I am feeling some sympathy for all you working moms out there.
We celebrated my birthday, my mom's birthday and our anniversary. I was super duper lucky this year. I spent my birthday in Las Vegas with college bffs Jana and Rischel. They planned the whole thing, treated me to hotels and flew in to meet me there for 3 days of relaxation. It was a.maze.ing. We slept in, stayed up late, read magazines by the pool and ate and ate and ate. It was so relaxing and such a good little trip. It's too bad that on the last night there someone broke my driver's window and stole our GPS. But that's just part of life. Someone else's agency affecting my life in a negative way. Oh well.
We went to dinner and bowling for my mom's birthday. It was fun and I didn't even come in last. Second to last. But-I'm cool with that. Some people are bowlers, some people are mini golfers.
The terrible twos have come to our house early. Felicity has her sweet moments and it's fun listening to her learn to talk, but she sure throws a lot of tantrums. She's a pretty aggressive little thing.
Life is good-and it's nice to finally see the sun and use one of my few talents-getting tan. Even with spf 50 these swimming lessons are doing their usual damage. Happy Summer to you all!
I wrote this post a week ago-but didn't post it because I was too lazy to post pictures. Still too lazy. Soon.