Poopy, Poopy, Wherefore Art Thou Poopy?

Oh what a day. For those of you who follow me on The Facebook you already know about how my day went. It basically went like this: Feed Baby, Burp Baby, Soothe Screaming Baby by exercising legs, rubbing tummy ,a warm washcloth & every other old wives tale out there. Mix in a few hours of work, interacting from a distance (If you, too, are getting over the never ending cold raise your hand) with Cayleigh and her nurse and whatnot in between. *sigh* No poop. Not one single turd did this little turd make ALL day. *queue anxiety* I made the phone call to the doctor, left a message, went to Google, tried more stuff, called the doctor back again and still NO POO. Shoot..I even FACEBOOKed it for goodness sake! {by the way, you can put your hand down} It seemed that nothing I did helped this kiddo and he was just.plain.perturbed about it. low and behold, many prayers later (and a warm bath, and massages, and pressure points, and a little water and wanting to cry myself) He heard me and my little man shot a rocket! whooo hoo I've never been so happy about poop in my life. (except maybe that first day after a C-section..... but I digress) and that is the jist of it. what'd YOU do today?

It's My Birthday & I'll blog if I want to

I'm officially in my 30s folks. That's right. I'm 31. What's that I hear you thinking? No, no I wasn't in my 30s before today. Before today I was, in fact, at the end of my 20s. You see, 30 is the very tail end of that ten year "20-30" span that I gloriously called my 20s. Makes sense right? Just go with me on this one. {It is my birthday after all. gosh} Wondering how I feel now? Want to know if there have been any eye opening revelations as I've turned this corner? The answer is Yes but the reason is not 31. The reason is a blog. It was one of those readings that make you scratch your head and go 'hmmm'. A real ponder-this moment. You can read it here. In my twenties I think I was the mom on my Iphone even though God put it on my heart to be more attentive to my children. The more this whole technology thing brings us closer together the more it brings us further apart. *shakes head* Seriously folks... I could see myself in the words of that blog and it struck a nerve. God has a way making those moments happen in our lives though.... especially when He's been trying to get through for the past few months - - and especially since I'd been praying for Him to help me do it well before that. *sigh* and yet...we are human I'd just like to go on the record as saying that I am, in no way, a perfect parent. As a matter of fact in the long line of parents I'd say I'm somewhere between that octolady and Madonna. But, I do try. I think that it's when we stop trying to better ourselves in any area of our lives and start getting comfortable or think "hey I got this" {your welcome for that run-on sentence} that we begin to fail. When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. It's true. So, in my thirties I am vowing to NOT be an Iphone mom. In fact, aside from taking pictures of my family with my Iphone and uploading them I'm pretty much not going to be using it. Save the technology for bedtime. As a mom its our job to be a mom while our kids are awake. So, I'm going to be a mom. The Iphone can wait, so can the emails, so can the status updates, so can the latest gossip, so can ...and so forth. When you look back in ten years and realize how little time you actually spent interacting with your children is it really going to be worth it? Will your Iphone need therapy or will your kids? Harsh words - but this is a self scolding here folks. All that mellow drama aside I'd have to admit that the first day of my thirties has been pretty great. My hubby took me to lunch at Logan's Steakhouse, he cut up my steak and cracked my crab as I nursed Noah. *swoon* Then I got a mani/pedi.. then we picked up the kids, found out the secret to calming the baby (holding him out in front of you, swinging slightly and singing "Mambo..Mambo..Mambo..Mambo...Mambo...Mambo...Mambo." just like Diego. (yes, the cartoon kid with the big head who is cousins with that football headed Dora girl who wanders the jungle unattended). Then tonight Nic made us dinner, we played Life with the kids and had a birthday cake bakes by my husband. His first ever..and it was delish. I'm a really blessed woman. I am thankful for my 'little' family, for my husband, my marriage, my family, my friends, our health, and all the rest that goes along with it. Thanks for listening to my very first rant of my 30s. Hope you'll be back for many, many more. oxox Samie Joe

Special Needs Momma Syndrome

I'm a hypochondriac. There, I said it. I do have a goodreason for that though. It seems that being thrust into the world of raising a special needs child, especially from birth, tends to make one...let's say...overly aware of medical issues. It really, REALLY opens your eyes to every little minute detail of anything the could even possibly be wrong with your child. From the all too common development of thealarmisgoingtogooffwhileiamintheshoweritis to the fear that you'll fall asleep and somehow not hear the alarms. Or maybe that's just me. For me, panic attacks that I'd never before encountered in my life started happening. The onset would be either as soon as I arrived at the hospital doors or the moment I arrived at the ground elevators on my way up to the 15th floor. It's the sights..the images..the sounds that surround you when your little tiny baby is in the West Wing of the USCF Childrens Hospital - where they keep their most critical/complicated cases. They had four wings, with the Preemies in the North and..well..you can probably guess the names of the other two wings. (If not, refer to compass) I would worry from the moment I woke up until the moment I fell asleep. I'd pray my way through the panic attacks and I'd get angry at anyone who so much as even coughed in my presence. I began carrying hand sanitizer. Scrubbing in became a way of life. Masks- no problem. In fact, I carried masks in my van for the kids when they got home from school because, you know, they're around other kids and other kids have germs. The kids would have to take their clothes off when they came home and change. Noone could be near Cayleighs room when she finally was released. We went nowhere. Bubbleboy? Pssh.. he had nothing on my kid. Fast forward to being pregnant with Noah. Hypochondria & fear set in full swing. Every little thing was an issue. The fear of a 5th csection scared my. The thought of anesthesia not working {again} horrified me. I panicked. Sure that the csection would result in the end of my life. I literally panicked all the time. BUT I prayed. I held myself accountable for my irrational thoughts and I gave them to God. I asked others to pray. You know what? When the moment came to go in to surgery & even in it - I prayed my way through it and I actually ENJOYED it. Aside from that whole Noah being completely limp upon birth...but evenespecially then I prayed. and God HEARD my prayers...and God breathed LIFE into my son. I got goosebumps just typing it. He did ya'll. For reals. Now here I am. 9 days post partum and my newest fears is over my stupid blood pressure. Well, let's backtrack a bit. First it was that I had a spinal headache. Ends up it wasn't a spinal headache I was experiencing but it was, fact, severe electrical like shock pain in my spine at the spinal site and in the back of my head that pulsated when it acted up - and that was due to nerve damage from the spinal. A little nerve damage I can deal with. My blood pressure it up though..well, the diastolic is up. They put my on labetalol (this was Friday) and I felt a bit at ease. Of course I googled my little heart out about things like "effects on breastfeeding" (even though the Doc put me on it because I am EBF, and I also asked the Pharmacist to double check him), and "side effects of labetalol" (even though the Doc said there really aren't any) and so forth. But today I got dizzy/lightheaded and I got fearful. I mean like really dizzy/lightheaded. At the time I didn't take my blood pressure but I immediately figured that is what it was. Why? Because I'd mentioned being a tad dizzy on the med and Cayleigh's nurse said (prefaced by "I don't want you to be afraid, this is just a possibility) that I could've been dizzy due to too low of blood pressure. Even though I read that it is normal to be a bit dizzy on it, especially around the 48 hour mark, as your bp begins to decrease as the medicine is finally stabilizing in your system and bringing your bp down. *sigh* I know. So then tonight I took my BP with my handy dandy wrist cuff, which a nurse already told me NOT to use because they are so inaccurate. but I did. Because I still felt a little dizzy and was convinced it was too low. Low and behold it showed 200s over 100s. Like three times. *sigh* So then of course I was sure that I was going to have a stroke. All the medical stuff comes flooding in and the pre-eclampsia and the stroke and blah blah blah. Then I was "is my upper right abdomen hurting" and "am I having vision problems" and so forth. *shaking head* I made the hubby drive me to Meijers. I used theirs. It was just like it was the doctors office Friday. 150s over 90s. I am so tired of worrying. I prayed a lot, but I think I could use some prayers too. I'm not letting Satan get foothold and I'm looking to God for guidance & healing. Not just for my worry but also for this post partum hypertension. I am going to give God the glory and just laugh at myself. I decided to write this post so I can look back on it and laugh, scold myself and remind myself that it really is just all in my head & that God is bigger than any problem. I hope you all got a kick out of my issues. I thought I'd share though. I know I am not alone in this big boat of being a Special Needs Mom who is a part time Hypochondriac. It's, unfortunately, somewhat normal from what I hear. One of those side effects listed on the bottle when you start in on this journey I suppose. In the end, I just want to say that I have an incredible husband (who shakes his head but still drives me to check my BP), and then who treats me to Applebees takeout for dinner, puts me on orders to get in bed, plates my food brings me my meds, a full ice water and my laptop. I am one VERY, VERY blessed woman to have him. I really, REALLY am. Thank you all for your prayers for me as I struggle to overcome fear, maintain a healthy dose of medical awareness for myself and most of all get rid of this hypertension once and for all.

Warm and Fuzzy

Have you ever seen that ECard that reads "I have really great taste, i just don't have the money to prove it"? When I saw that the other day I just about laughed so hard (inside my head of course - otherwise I'd have busted a seam...I mean a stitch) that I cried. It was one of those funny-cause-it's-true moments. I thought about that ECard tonight as I say nursing Noah and was looking around our master bedroom. With towels & curtains draped over wooden panels and 70s wallpaper this room could use a little Extreme Home Makeover. I began thinking to myself "if only..." which is never a good thing to allow your mind to think. I was able to stop those thoughts however. If not only because of a Facebook status Joyce Meyers posted something like two weeks ago. In the post she said something to the effect of "Do not allow your thoughts to take control of your life - allow God to be the only thing to be on control". It spoke to me in that moment tonight when I could've easily started dreaming those big DIY dreams. I'm not saying that it's wrong to have goals for your life or to make little DIY projects but it is wrong of you're only doing it because you aren't happy with where you are in your life at this very momet. And as I sat staring at my blanket curtains I realized I wasn't just brainstorming - I was self loathing. That's not what God wants. He wants us to be happy and to find joy where we are right this very moment. In all things we should praise Him. If we become too preoccupied obsessing over what we don't have - we can never be truly happy right where God has placed us in this very moment. So tonight I rejoice in our blanket curtains and I will feel nostalgic and not nauseous about our 70s wallpaper. I will rejoice in this day that the Lord has made. He loves me, after all. He doesn't see me as a DIY project, He doesn't preoccupy Himself in what I could be - because He already knows what that is. Tonight I will simply dwell on knowing that, much like my blanket curtains, the Lord loves me and sees me as doing a job well done with what little I have to offer. He sees me not for the designer curtains I could be but for the warm, cozy blanket He has intended for me to be at this very moment in my life. Frankly, I think this little sleeping baby on my chest much prefers his momma blanket anyhow ;)

I'm not cool but my kids are

Blogging from an iPhone - I see no better way to begin the journey into bloghood. I'm going to begin this by introducing myself since some of you may not know me - and feel free to comment with your intro below too. *stands up* Hi, I'm Samara and Ive just had my fifth baby via csection. (I will take a moment to let you grasp that before we go on...) Okay, great. Yes I did say 5th kid, yes they were all born via csection, yes I'm married (to the most incredible man on the planet) and for anyone wondering - I have so many so I can begin my ultimate plan of global domination. I mean, why else would someone have so many kids right? Actually I'm joking but unless you are blessed enough to have a large family you wouldn't understand just how many times people feel it is their Constitutional right to question a woman as to why she has more than the "ideal" 2 kids. This is not to say that having two children is on any way wrong but apparently having more than that is. Did I miss that memo? Three paragraphs down & I've already offended some & I've only talked about my kids. Sounds about right. :) My husband, Nic, and I have been married for nearly three years now and he is everything I've ever wanted in a man. He seriously is and I can say that in confidence because I literally prayed for him every day for almost two years. Together we have our two youngest children (gasp) Caybug who is nearly 2 years old, and our newest addition, Noah. My oldest child is 11 year old Tayla, followed by Jake who is 8 and Julez who is about to turn 6. That brings us to that whopping total of 5 kids. Clearly our defensive coordinator messed up. 2:5? How's that work? There's no man to man coverage going on over here. Thankfully though, my man is man enough to handle all of us. Like I said, he's perfect. More importantly he is an excellent father, he fears the Lord, he loves his momma, he's a hard worker, a good listener and best of all - he puts up with me. I'd say he's a keeper So I think I've covered the kids, the husband and the sarcasm and since it's 5:30 in the morning and I'm blogging post percocet, I will end this first post right now. I'm glad you stopped by & hope you'll come back again. If not for my cleaver and witty posts than for the freebie DIY's and whatnot. Talk to you guys soon! xoxo Samie Joe

He was here, and then he wasn't

I can sum up this weekend in a few words: Short but Sweet and now, a tad Sad Daddy {Nic} decided to drive directly from Arkansas after working a 16 hour day & 'sleeping in until 1 am' to be able to come home and see us for just as long as he could before leaving for the month long Wisconsin job. He arrived Saturday night at around 6 pm, we had family dinner, got the kids some sneakers for gym, woke up and ran some errands, and then he left at 12 noon as the kids and I were leaving for Juliette's cheer pictures & game. :( Instead of being sad about him NOT being here, I am rejoicing that he WAS here. I love my husband so, so much & so do the kids. He's the completion of our family (well, technically Noah will be but you get the idea) He completes us. After a very LONG day with running to Walmart for last minute black pants & white long sleeved shirt for under Julez' uniform, to going across town for individual & then team pictures, then racing to get a quick lunch before the hour long {COLD!} game. The Packers kicked butt in a 19-0 shutout and the girls were SO cold they got to wear their jackets. It was quite windy and you'll notice in some of the solo pics her squinty face.. LOL They aren't flattering, but what kind of mom would I be not to share? You'll also notice Cayleigh who was bundled up nice and warm on the sidelines. As we were all hanging out down in the den Juliette was sitting, biting on a plastic lid trying to get it off of the little ball thing she got out of the vending machine thing. Well, she suddenly springs up, panicked and jumping/squealing/nearly in tears and THROWS something at me. I search and find it - a tooth. Her mouth bleeding, she looks at me and I realize this is the FIRST tooth she actually lost naturally! So she now has two gone on the top, one on the bottom..and she's as CUTE as can be. If you'd like a Cheerleading wallet let me know (if I have enough). Thankfully she still had the extra tooth in the pic ;)

Cheer 101

Today was a beautiful day and made for perfect football weather. It wasn't too hot or too cold and Cayleigh really seemed to enjoy our outdoor time as we watched Juliette {for the first time ever} cheer at the Packers football game. I have to admit the boys really kicked butt & took names, especially this one little guy who I dubbed "A little Denard" because that boy could throw and he also proved to be quite the athlete in scoring 2 touchdowns that I could see. It probably was more than 2 but my focus was on Juliette in all her awesomeness. She really did a great job and I was very proud of how well she cheered. She didn't always hit the steps right on target but, hey, she's 5. Jacob was nearby playing on the playground equipment so Tayla, Cayleigh and I just hung out. The girls were, perhaps, a bit more comofortable than poor old mom who had to stand the entire time as you can see in the pictures. Oh well, I probably wouldn't have been able to sit still long enough considering how snap happy I was taking pictures and videos. My girl rocked today. Looking forward to her getting even better with each practice & have officially begun google-ing to see if there is some serum that will stop her from growing up any more. *sigh*

Before I say goodnight

I can distinctly remember wondering how you would know that you'd found "the one" before I met Nic. People would tell me that I would just know - as if by some magic recognition I would find myself with husband sonar when he came within eyesight. I have seen a lot of movies about love, have heard my fair share of love songs in the last thirty years and I'm pretty sure I've figured out everything I needed to know about what (not) to look for in a husband by following Elizabeth Taylor's matrimonial legacy. Ive come to one sound conclusion: It's all a load of crap.
The way you know he's the one is by experiencing the little moments in life with him, it's by praying ferverently for God to fix your own pitfalls and by the urge you get to lift Him up in prayers just because, it's when he leaves and you're sad that he's leaving but completely secure in knowing that he is going to miss you just as much, it's watching him be a father, it's how he treats his mother - and the number one way you know you've found the one? He's perfectly imperfect and you wouldn't change him for the world (oh, and he gives you most of the bed space)


I have definitely found my The One. I love you Nic

P is for Pyramid, H is for Heart Attack

"For I know the plan I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" Jeremiah 29:11

Today is a blessing. Even though I wasn't able to make my appointment for "The big Ultrasound" today because I wrote down the wrong time {again}, it was still one that I was able to enjoy with 4 beautiful, healthy children and in a marriage with a husband who loves me and his children. I am not going to lie - I was pretty upset when I found out I'd missed the appointment, and I was foul for about an hour, but I got over it. Something as simple as realizing God didn't have it wrriten down for me to find out today - and I'm okay with that.

I made a killer lasagna tonight with italian sausage, spinach and mushrooms that everyone must've enjoyed because there weren't any leftovers in the garbage.

Today was Juliette's cheer practice. I sat in the van for most of it and allowed her to experience her sport, listen to her coach and become friends with the girls on her squad.. that is until I saw them lifting her high into the air only to find one of the girls dang near drop her. Then, I spent the rest of the practice very, very closeby. I may be pregnant, but I guarantee I can run when it comes to my babies safety being in jeopardy.

So here are a few of the smaller triangles they did. They've got three of them and juliette is in the middle sporting a High V, whereas the other groups do Low V's.
Speaking of her accomplishments at practice - that girl couldn't do a cartwheel to save her life last week...but this week she was running as fast as she could and flipping herself over. She fell the first two times, but then she started actually getting her legs up and over, and she even landed two round offs! The girls were doing them all in a big group, and my girl was running as fast as she could to do as many as she could, over and over again, even when the group stopped, just so she could nail it. and she will.

Today was a good day. Tomorrow will be better

Any time you go to the surgeon and they DON'T repack your open wound is a good day. Now that's not to say that they didn't unpack my wound - but it was quick and we were in and out. This morning Tayla started her Safety Team/Security Guard stint so we were at the school at a happy 8:15 for her roll call. Despite it being a very rainy morning it ended up being nice, we got the house clean, Cayleigh got loving and then the kids came home.

We received a letter today that Tayla was officially one of only 10 students accepted into the FLL Robotnics club at her school. That's pretty official and she's super excited. Nic and I are definitely excited right along with her - this will be a great opportunity to learn teamwork, engineering of sorts and to have alot of fun.

It was Tuesday Taco night (no pictures taken but let's just say it's always a hit) and the kids are bed on time. It's a good day. But, I'm ready for tomorrow - because tomorrow, tomorrow we get to see Baby Bean Dulik on ultrasound and find out if he is a he or she is a she. (but he's a he)