Say a prayer.

I am sick. I am so sick, I cannot drive myself to the dr. I think I have the flu or pneumonia. I am terrified Mercedes is going to get it. I am wearing a mask, to try to avoid passing the germs, but I don't know if it's good enough. Please pray our tiny baby does not get this. At least the other children are older & can tolerate it. I'm not sure she can.

Thanks!

* I did have to go to the dr. because I thought I was dying. Literally. lol! I tested positive for the flu! What?!?! I don't think I've had the flu since I was in high school! Of course my main concern is the baby & we are just praying she does not catch this. Good thing is we have been doing everything "right" (like the mask wearing, etc.) so hopefully all will be ok. It's killing me though that I can't hold her. I just want to hold her & hug my other kids. This sucks! Thanks for the prayers!

My baby girl.

This baby is so adorable. She loves to be held. I love that. She is almost inconsolable unless I am holding her. When I first drove down to meet her, I held & rocked her for 2 or so hours. We bonded. :) I think she knew, then, that I would always hold her. And I will. :) It hurts my heart to know she had no family for 4 days - she had no one cuddle her & I do honestly believe that is why she loves to be held. She melts my heart. :)

I LOVE this photo below! :)

Mercedes had her 2 week pediatrician visit last week. She weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz.! What a chunk. :) I had turned into TurboMom - then I got sick. Now I'm ExhaustoMom. lol! I am very tired. She has her days & nights backwards & it is very difficult. Some nights are good, some nights are bad. Seems when husband is on duty, she sleeps great! What's up with that? She is sleeping between 5-6 hours (at night) though so my goodness, who can complain?

She is an angel. It's hard to believe she is already 3 weeks old. She is already changing so much. This Thursday she will be home 3 weeks. It seems like she's been with us forever. :)

She is so precious. We are so incredibly blessed! :)

I guess I don't get it.

We made it to church yesterday. All six of us. I just love the way that sounds. :)

As far as I'm concerned, my family is a walking testimony. We can't have biological children - we had rely on God to help us. He did. Four times. Regarding our growing family & our newest blessing - I guess I just don't understand comments such as these...

"This is your last one, right?" - said sarcastically from a girl who used to be in our previous SS class.

"Do you feel like the old woman who lived in a shoe?" - said a friend/SS teacher. (btw, I replied "No, I don't" as I looked at her dumbfounded.

"How many kids are y'all gonna get?" - said our previous SS class teacher.

None of these comments came from anyone in our current SS class. :)

My tolerance to tacky comments such as these has come to an end. I've just about had it with rude & insensitive comments & quite honestly, I can find absolutely no reason why I should just shut up & smile when people talk ignorantly to me. To us. No more. We are not a freak show because we have four children. We are BLESSED!

I'm so dang proud to have four children. So proud. So honored. I am in a place in my life that I never could have imagined. I'm a great mom. My husband is an amazing dad. Our children are healthy, happy, beautiful, well-mannered children. There must be a reason God keeps blessing us with them. From here on out I will politely yet matter-of-factly remind people that a "congratulations!" and/or "she's beautiful!" and/or "God's never failing!" are in order & appreciated - not unnecessary, inconsiderate comments. :)

Oops he did it again.

Yep, yep, yep. Sigh. :(

Kidbits.

Conversation in the car while driving today -

Me: "You know your dad's birthday is in about three weeks (Valentine's Day). That's our wedding anniversary too. Let's see...we'll then be married..."

Bentley: "12 years."

Me: "Bents, how'd you know that?"

Bentley: "Because last year it was 11."

LOL!

Alrighty then. :)

He grew!

This here is big stuff people! He grew! Yay! Let's compare. Last year, at his 3 year old well visit, Audi was 27 lbs. & 33 1/2 inches. Today at his 4 year well visit, he is now 29 lbs. & 36 3/4 inches! Yeehaw! I knew he was getting taller because last week, I was finally able to put him in 3T jeans! He still isn't on the chart for height (barely on the chart for weight) but at least he grew! Oh gosh we are so darn excited over here! And then he got 3 shots, 4 shots because she had to "restick" one, & that blew all the happiness. A root beer from Sonic made up for it though. :) Go Audi, keep on growing baby! You cutie patootie! :)

Side note - Cailyn now weighs 8 oz. more than Cason (I really thought she weighed way more than that compared to him!) & she is 1/2 inch taller. She looks about 3 inches taller though because of all that hair! You should have seen us trying to mash all that hair down to get an accurate height. :)

The tooth fairy.

I had phoned the tooth fairy last week, & asked her if Bentley worked & worked on getting his tooth out, & succeeded, would she bring him something extra special? She said yes. :)

Fast forward to Sunday night. We got Bent's two top teeth out at about 8:00 p.m.ish. I told Bentley that since it was after 8:00, & since I had not yet had the time to clean up his teeth, the tooth fairy just might not make it that night. But hey, who's to say? :)

Low & behold, Monday a.m. Bentley went into my bathroom (where we had left his teeth) for something & found that the tooth fairy did indeed come! For some reason, here at our home, the tooth fairy leaves her little surprises wherever we leave the teeth - & we don't ever leave them under his pillow. Bentley loves it when he finds her surprises & then we always giggle that she left the surprises right where we left the teeth! One night it was on the kitchen island, one night it was on the floor in front of the tv, & this time on mom's bathroom counter! This tooth fairy is one amazing fairy I'm telling you. I bet she's really cute too. LOL! :)

Anyway, he was very pleased to find she left him a $5 bill for each tooth & a new hotwheels car! After all the trauma we put him through, the tooth fairy knew he deserved a little extra. :) And of course, she left his two teeth, sitting on little cotton balls, as she always does. :)

Honestly, I didn't think my Bentley could get any cuter. I must say this child is so dadgum cute with those teeth out & to hear him talk is priceless! Such a cute, cute boy. :)

He loves having those teeth gone. I think they were really bothering/hurting him. If I had to do it over again, though, I'm not so sure I'd do it that way. I think we'd visit the dentist. :) Thank you all, again, for all your sweet comments! :)

I learn from her.

I have referred people to her blog & I'm going to do it again. Out of respect, I will not copy anything on her blog. Not to mention, that copyright thingy. So you'll have to click below. :)

I love Tara. I love reading her blog. I love her free spirit. I love reading inspirational blogs that make me smile, & hers does. I love people who take the "simple", & make it anything but simple. I love when others can remind me what life is all about. All too often, the simple is ignored. Life has become all too complicated. Honestly, I love simple! I am all about simple. Sometimes the simplicity of words are the most profound.

I have been on the hunt for new coffee/hot chocolate mugs. Good ol' fashioned fat & round, bulky, cute, happy mugs. I haven't been able to locate any - then Miss Mercedes arrived halting my search. But now I know I'm not going to buy matching coffee mugs. I want simple, individual, unique mugs. All because of her & her posts:

http://www.tarawhitney.typepad.com/. Be sure to scroll.

I'm sick & going to bed. I'll post more about Bentley & the extremely generous tooth fairy when I gather more energy. Thanks to everyone who left him a comment! :)

They-are-out!

Do you remember the beginning of November when I posted about Bentley's loose top tooth that he had jacked with for so long, he had relocated it? And it would not come out? Everyone said it would come out. It didn't. The dentist even said it would come out. Nope. I have been wiggling it now & then when he would allow it. Which was very seldom. His loose tooth (& now the one next to it!) had become a topic of conversation in our home. We kept telling him what he needed to do to pursuade that tooth to exit his mouth. He didn't care & he refused to touch it. Today was the day. I have had enough of my beautiful boy walking around looking like a beaver. :)

He let me mess with it a tad today, but absolutely forbid husband to touch it. We had pretty much decided we'd have the dentist extract them both this week. Then...I noticed at dinner tonight that it hurts him so bad when he eats, he totally eats with his side teeth. It made me sad. I told him after dinner, the tooth was coming out. We worked on it. He cried. I wiggled & twisted & pulled some more. He screamed. Finally I told Mitch to get the tooth out. It was a battle I won't soon forget. I held him down with all my might while hubby twisted it. Bents was absolutely hysterical but we had to get it out. Hubby heard a "pop" & blood started flowing. We told Bents there was no turning back now. I squeezed him even tighter as he fought me screaming & kicking the crud out of me with his tennis shoes. Boom. The teeth came out! Both of them at the same time! We started yelling & telling him what a big, brave boy he was! A sense of relief instantly calmed him. I gave him motrin for the pain & told him his teeth wouldn't hurt him anymore. And he smiled. And he's so happy! :)

That was one of the most difficult things I have ever done! Would you please be so kind to leave him a comment telling him how brave he was? I would love to be able to read some to him. His little adorable face would light right up! His beautiful smile is back. Minus two teeth, but it's back!

I love you Bents! I am so proud of you! xoxo

Mercedes.

Which one do you like better?

This baby girl is absolutely adorable. :)

Two little birthdays.

Before Mercedes, came two little birthdays.

Audi turned 4 on New Year's Eve.
Jaguar turned 3 on New Year's Day.

Because they arrived so close together, we all have referred to them as the "babies". It's hard to believe they are now 3 & 4. And now there's a new baby.

I love & adore them so much. Audi is our sunshine, Jaguar is our tiger. Audi is full of love, Jaguar is wild as all get out. Audi is our happy-go-lucky, Jaguar is our fiesty hormone.

Happy Birthday to my two "babies".

And now we are blessed enough to have three birthdays in one week. Thank the Lord Bentley's birthday is in April! :)

Wow!

When you clean 'em up, well, they kinda look different! :) Miss Mercedes is sweet! :)

She's 6 lbs. exactly & 18" long. In other words, she's just perfect. :)

Home.

She is home! They phoned the attorney @ 8:00 a.m. (Thursday) & told them she was ready to be discharged! We didn't leave to get her though until 3:00 p.m.ish. We had too much to do & we waited for Bentley to get out of school. We took all 3 children so they wouldn't be left out. :) We arrived home last night at 10:30 p.m.

My gosh why don't we get advance notice when our children arrive? Holy cow it has been a madhouse since Monday! I certainly won't complain though. And all 4 of our children came "over night". You'd think we'd be prepared. We weren't. :)

The 2-3 hour drive back & forth to hospital about did us in. I have to say, though, the nurses at the hospital were absolutely fantastic! Such sweet, sweet ladies. They actually hugged us good-bye & thanked us for helping Mercedes. So sweet. :)

So, it's 8:20 a.m. & I've had 3 hours sleep. I washed clothes at 12:30 a.m. & unloaded & reloaded the dishwasher at 7:00 a.m. :) Mercedes slept 5 hours between feedings at the hospital & I hope that pattern continues right over here at home. :) So far, no such luck, but 4 hours is good enough. She is absolutely guzzling her bottles so feedings are a breeze. I'm taking to her the pediatrician today because she is a tad jaundice - I'll be glad to have our doctor check her out.

Thanks for all the comments! We really appreciate it. And, Bentley, Audi & Jaguar are loving their new sister. :)

Shhhhhhh...don't tell...I am already mourning the fact this is our last adoption...

Her name?

Mercedes Faith

She is ready to come home - I have no car seat, no diapers, no nothing! I better get busy. I'll post photos later tonight. :)

Here she is!

Oh my gosh, she is beautiful! It was sooooooooooo hard leaving her at the hospital. They actually offered me a room & told me I could spend the night! But we have so much to do here since again, we had no notice upon her arrival. :) She does have reflux but is now on medication & doing wonderfully. The feeding tube will be removed now that it's not needed. She should be home tomorrow or Friday. :)

Husband is home now & we are completely exhausted. But, gots to get busy! xoxo

IT'S A GIRL!

We have a baby girl! Born yesterday, 1-6-08. 6 lbs. 6 oz. :)

This baby girl is off to a rough start. Tomorrow will reveal more details & information. Tomorrow will also answer many questions - we may have to pass on this situation - but for now, we're having a girl! I mean, we have a girl! And she has no name!

Kinda freaking out right now, as husband just left this a.m. for Minnesota.

Please say a prayer. Thanks! :)

* Baby is doing fine. She is ours! We will pick her up tomorrow or the following day. They have scheduled an upper GI because baby "C" can't keep food down. We are beyond excited & know this baby girl is meant for our family. I'll post a photo later. :)

Bentley & Public School

I know. Here we go again. Tonight I am very irritated. :(

Bentley is allowed to buy his lunch at school if he will eat at least 3 items on the menu. He is an extremely picky eater, so we take time discussing the menu & we'll then decide if he will take or buy.

Today, there were about 4 things he would eat, so I let him buy. I am very, very aggravated that the district is straying from the menu, serving alternatives instead.

Bentley's 'lunch' is at 10:45 a.m. Is that ridiculous, or what? His lunch is in the morning. Today, he barely ate anything because the menu served was not what the menu stated. My son went all day with pretty much nothing but his breakfast. Yes, I have an issue with that. A huge issue. The thought of him starving all day is too much for mom.

On a side note - I don't know how much longer Bentley will last at public school anyway. As you know, he also has severe insomnia - this is creating exhaustion for him, & behavior issues at school as well as at home. A few months ago, we had moved his mattress into our master closet (because it has a vent & a door) & his sleeping improved. After 3-4 weeks we moved him back upstairs to his room to see if there would be any improvement. This weekend we will be moving him back downstairs to sleep in our bedroom. Whatever it takes to help him, we will do. Short of medicating him. I honestly think all day school is too much for him & I'm afraid his health will take a toll. I can't & won't let that happen. Dealing with him right now is proving more than challenging, but we are trying so hard to remain calm & be understanding. I feel so bad for him. I love my boy so much & I'll do whatever I can to help him. My cute little boy is having such a difficult time right now. :(

Kidbits.

Bentley: "Mom, whatcha eating?"

Me: "Pickled Okra"

Bentley: "I don't think I like Pickled Oprah"

Ha! :)