Mommy and me

I made myself this top a few weeks ago but had enough to make a little one. A few night ago I decided to foolishly going to bed in a decent hour and made it. K decided we both had to wear it for her class breakfast and so we did. How fitting too since she read her paper about how I am the greatest mom. How ironic that it comes during the week I've been alone with the kids (Daddy is on a business trip), a week that I will admit that I've been the opposite of being the best mom.

Matching with me made K very happy. I think she feels very mature.

I love you, K.

Early present to me

From me...I've wanted to make this pattern for since it got cold but t had to take a backseat to sewing leggings and anything cold-friendly. But finally I made this scarf neck cardigan by Swoon. I really like it and so I am making another one. :) J asked me to make her one but will have to go under the many many things I have to make and do.

I've been sewing up a storm

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make a lot of shorts for the girls after getting rid of their outgrown clothes. They don't have shorts, and not a lot of pants. Pants is a bit of an issue especially for K. She is full on the waist so I have gone to buying size 8 and 10 pants. Of course they are too long, and he waist is either too tight or too loose.

I bought some patterns and got to cutting. I cut 8 pairs of shorts (some for the boys too) and Capri pants and pants. The girls are size 7 on dresses that I've been making so I just instantly picked that size to cut. It turns out that's a little snug after I completed one pair. What was I to do ? Sew everything up and just barely to into them or make some sort of modification. I tried one modification by adding a strip on the side. It gave K some room but the height of the waist was just too low still. I will probably have to add a waist band to it.

The pants I purposely picked a bigger size. The pattern called for elastic but I chose to making shirring instead. When it was done Daddy said it looked like clown pants. I admit while my fabric choice looked great as a peasant dress, it was on the loud side for pants. But hey, I was just using fabric I already had. I horned out it looked great with understated tops. Because of the shirring it was fine that it was long because it wasn't in the way. These pants would definitely last a while.

The Capri pants was the same size as the shorts. Same issue with the size. I am pretty proud though because I just added the ruffles. Daddy said they looked like bell bottoms. The man is out of touch. Ruffles are girly. :)

I then bought a pattern for me. Shocker! Make something for me? I need a dress for my son's first communion in April. I bought fabric from a sewing buddy's stash (cheaper than retail) and got to work. It looks great, so says my online sewing group, but it needed fixing. The bodice is too loose. Why don't I try these things on before sewing?? It may be because I'm sewing for myself and that is a new experience. So now I get to use the seam ripper. Whoopie. When I love the idea of being able to correct a mistake, I hate using it!

On another note, the hearts fabric were on clearance when I bought them - so everything I make is such a saving. :)

This is a modified Jocole's Essential pants cut shorter than the capri length and then I made up the rest of the length with ruffles.

This is a modified Jocole's Essential pants cut to shorts length (length based on my daughter's measurement) with added ruffle and side panel.

This is Whimsy Couture's Jump around pants modified to have shirred legs instead of elastic. And below is my daughter wearing it.

This Sis Boom's (Scientific Seamstress) Jamie dress. I have a pear shape body and this worked out well and does not make me look pregnant. Always a plus. :)

My carving

It's pretty relaxing to whittle wood, even though I've stabbed the fleshy part of my palm a few times. But had it not for the hubby's insistence on proper safety gear, I'm pretty sure I would have ended up in the ER more than once.

The wizard is my 2nd project and it's supposed to be a 5-minute project. In my case, it took more than an hour. I thought I did a pretty good job. Painting the eyes did pose a poblem. It's as if the human face is not something I see everyday. Hubby said it looks fine, so I'll let it go. Besides, it's a wizard. It's supposed to look weird.

The twisty thing was a hard one. The wood is a lot harder but I persevered. It took 3 hours one evening and then another 2 the next day. I'm just thankful it didn't break. It's not fully finished because I don't know what to do with the ends. But I'm fine with it. After 3 failed attempts, I mainly wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.

I've also attempted a full-body snow man but that isn't going very well. I took a leap too early and now I feel discouraged. I am learning that my brain cannot easily transform a 2D drawing into a 3D figure. It's tough! I told the hubby that I might pick it up again to finish someday....maybe in a couple of years. In the meantime, I need to stick to some simpler things. But I must say, both hubby and I are having fun. He's definitely better at this than I am, though. Bastard.

A new hobby

Daddy bought a wood carving magazine at Lowes and found an interesting easy whittling projects. He bought some wood and tried whittling a pencil. Then he made this wizard. It was so awesome I wanted to try it too. This owl was my first attempt. It was supposed to only take 5 minutes, but it took me am hour.

So now we're both hooked. Daddy has another project in mind and I tried my hand at a wizard for my 2nd try. We've bought more wood and bettertter knives. We're both excited to see where this hobby leads us! You know what they say about couples sharing the same hobby.... they go broke.

I have a night out and I'm paying for it.

It's against the laws of nature for a mom to go out without her husband and without any kids! Why else am I suffering today? Last night I joined a few other moms for a mom's night out in Dallas. We spent hours eating at The Cheesecake Factory and talked and laughed and talked. But of course a mom's night out is not as easy as getting dressed and leaving the kids behind with their Daddy. Oh no. My day began mid afternoon by cleaning up the kitchen and cooking dinner. And while the boys are somewhat occupied, I snuck out and got a quick shower so I didn't stink like Salmon. I mean, there's nothing like making friends when you stink like fish. Then I had to pick up the girls slightly early from summer camp so I could give them their baths before dinner. Incidentally, I got to sweat all over again giving them baths. But I guess sweat is better than fish. Right?
So then it's dinner time and I squeezed in a phone call to make sure hubby comes home in time for me to go.  Thankfully he came home with enough time for me to change and freshen up before I headed out.

So the other moms and I talked, ate, giggled, guffawed, snorted and then it was 10pm and we all run for the our cars because God knows what kind of mess the Dads made of our house.

I get home to a sleeping house, except baby was not sleeping. He was awake and wanted to play. I gave him Tylenol since he had been teething and in pain the past few nights. It helped him not be cranky, but it didn't make him sleep. Do they make Tylenol PM for toddlers? Gotta look that up. So now it was past midnight and the baby was crawling around me and was starting to cry. Another hour or so and I was going mad. Sleep, for the love of everything holy. Sleep!!! So another hour and baby was quiet. I moved his leg that was resting on my arm and he woke up. ARGH! Now I'm thinking I should have ordered wine instead of Coke at dinner.

So that's it. I had fun last night and now I'm being punished. How dare a stay-at-home-mother leave her den without anyone attached to her? Oh, and get this. While I was going mad in the middle of the night, a loud storm and bright lightening started booming. Yeah, I get it. I should have just stayed home.

Oh, I just love my kids.

summer is a drag!

Our summer schedule is exhausting! Big M go to summer camp MWF and the girls go TTh. This means I don't get to be by myself (or rather, Little M and I don't get to be by ourselves), unlike when school was in session. When there was school, baby and I were alone on MWF when the girls go to school on those days and of course Big M is in kindergarten everyday. On Mondays I clean the house from the weekend mayhem. I vacuum the kids' rooms, the living room, the kitchen and change bedsheets. When I don't have time to do all, I do them sometime on Wednesday or Friday. I don't clean everything, but I do get to what needs to be done some time and then I get to be in peace by myself when Baby M takes his naps.

This summer I either have 2 kids, or 3 kids depending on the day, which means I am constantly answering someone's request: I want juice, I want this, I want that, or I'm done (from pottying)! My kids are highly independent and self-sufficient but there are still never-ending requests! And I can't find the time to do any cleaning because when I do find a quiet time, I'm exhausted. I am also trying to get the kids out because it is summer after-all. It's just highly frustrating to leave a cluttered house and then come back to a cluttered house. ARGH!

I love my kids, but I need time alone!!!

But with parenting, there is the 90% of the time when I want to pull my hair out, poke my eyes out and stuff pencils in my ears, but there is that 10% where everything is awesome and we all get along. Without that 10% I would be in a mental institution.

what a night! - a milestone

Last night marks the first night Little M slept through the night. I opened my eyes at 5:45 am and realized he never woke me up. What a feeling! This is also his second night without breastfeeding. The night before last was a noisy one. He woke up and screamed when he realized I was withholding the boobies.  But I can't give in because I am on a stronger antibiotics.

I finished my 10-day antibiotic course to fight off strep throat for the second time. And 5 days later I felt my tonsils was a little tender. By the next morning (Sunday) my throat was starting to hurt. We were going to a friend's house for a pool party  in the evening and I didn't want to ruin it by feeling miserable. So I went to a CVS Minute Clinic and waited 2 hours to be seen. Sure enough, the swab test turned positive for strep. The nurse gave me Zpack since she said the Augmentine (my PCP gave me Augmentine for the past 2x of strep) was not doing the job. My throat was not hurting at all by that evening and by yesterday my throat didn't look so red anymore. But Zpack is a stronger antibiotic. It is category B, which mean a little amount passes through the breastmilk, but since I am already weaning I decided to go ahead and stop breastfeeding completely.

Having seen the nurse at CVS and am now feeling better, I don't know when to talk to my regular doctor about this 3rd bout of strep. He said we need to talk about going to the ENT if I get this again, and here we are. Right now though I am too busy. This is the last week of school for Big M, the girls birthday is on Saturday, and I know I'm forgetting a lot of important things. ARGH.

A date with K

K and I had a date yesterday for her special one-on-one day with me. I took her to chuckEcheese's which was surprisingly not a madhouse like I thought it was going to be. We went an house after it opened. I got coins and let her play whatever she wanted - and she played everything even the cars where she was too short to reach the pedal. We ate when she wanted and then she wanted to go. This may have been because I mentioned that I wanted to go to the store after. But being a girl, she changed her mind and wanted to play some more. So we did. In one game where we could win tickets, she pressed the button in the middle of me explaining to her what she needed to do. She won the jackpot and got 120 tickets. I let her do what she wanted after that. :) She also got a little stingy and wouldn't give me coins to play the games. "This is the last one, Mommy," she said. The little booger.

Of course when we got home the other 2 were jealous. We had to remind J that the me time would be her and Daddy.

recovering from strep

Back in the spring of 2009, I managed to get strep throat 4 times in 5 months. How that was possible, I don't know. In the 4th course of that battle against the nasty bug, under 2 very strong antibiotics I got pregnant with Little M. How it was possible that Daddy didn't get strep throat, I don't know either.  So this time around, I was very paranoid. My first symptom was the mild achy throat, then the migraine that never went away. After 4 days of that, the fever came. The next day I hauled my bootie to the doctor and thank goodness I did. That afternoon the misery started: the achy body, the chills, night sweat, the migraine. That lasted until a full 24 hours later when the antibiotic finally kicked in. 

Interestingly enough, I think I got the strep throat from my kids. Big M came home with severe headache one day and vomited that evening. He complained that his throat hurt. A full 24 hours later he was fine, except for the store throat. After that he was completely fine, though mildly tired. On the same day of the headache, J also got it. She had a fever for 2 days and then she was fine. So by the time I went to the doctor and asked weather I should take the kids to the doctor, my doctor said that there was no need because they were already feeling better. I am both amazed and thankful that they seemed to have fought off the strep better than I did.

When I came home Daddy asked if tonsilectomy came up. I didn't bring it up, and the doctor didn't either. This is the first time I have strep throat under his care. I'm praying there wouldn't be a repeat of the spring of 2009. I don't know the down time needed in order to recover from a surgery. Having four kids is not easy when you're sick. Daddy picked up the kids and drove them to school the next day, and handled the night-time duties but that's it. I have take over after that. And what happens after I get better? I have to clean up the mess from when I was sick. 

So many things to do, so little time, and so little energy to do them.

there is always something to be thankful for

After putting the girls to bed, we escaped to dinner out by ourselves. We left Curious George with Nana.

Daddy still doesn't have a job and so life is still a little hard. Our savings is dwindling, we are living in his parents' basement and we still haven't put our house in the market. Sometimes there is nothing else we can control other than our perception of things. So today, it shall be Thankful Tuesday (though technically, it is now Wednesday according to my watch).

Some things I am thankful for:

-the kids are trashing Nana's place instead of my house
-only my left knee bothers me now
-great in-laws (I'm sure I am the envy of many!)
-awesome mother's day present from hubby (he let me talk his ears off for a good 2 hrs!)

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

it's just all about the knee

After completing 6 weeks of physical therapy post right knee arthroscopy with bilateral release, I'm still in pain and have a great deal of pain lifting my leg straight up (with knee straight/locked). I saw my orthopedist again a few weeks ago and he said that usually this operation alleviates pain and it doesn't seem to be working so I was referred to a Sports Medicine Ortho. On Wednesday, I had a consult. He said that because there is pain right on the knee that I can't get passed, the physical therapy is not doing it's job of strengthening/developing the quads (thigh muscles). This is important to keep the knee cap where it's supposed to stay. There is definitely more surgery that could be done, but the Sports Medicine Ortho said it's a lot more invasive and more downtime and something that should really be put off after trying other measures.

After x-ray of both knees, he said that the cartilage under both my knee caps are thin, especially the right one. He gave me a cortisone shot on the knee to take the pain away in order for give physical therapy a chance to do it's magic. I agreed that this was the best course of action. I don't really want to have another surgery (cartilage replacement from a cadaver) with our financial future in limbo. The words "knee replacement" were thrown in the discussion, and hopefully I'm many many any years away from that.

I must confess that I never really knew how much pain/discomfort my knee was in until the pain was gone. Halleluiah! Now, I still can't lift my leg straight up because there is still pain and my thigh is very weak. But at least now, the pain is not as intense and I can do more exercise.

I will be doing physical therapy until April at which time, both the doctor and I can discuss whether the physical therapy has done it's magic. If there is improvement, we will continue with the shot and go for more therapy. And if there is no improvement...well. Who knows.

I've been in physical therapy for a total of 6 weeks for both knees pre-surgery and 6 weeks on the right knee post surgery and an additional 4 weeks. Now, with this new course of action, I will have another 4-6 weeks. I tell you, my physical therapist and I are pretty chummy, but apparently, we're going to be even closer.

On to a possibly bad news - my husband and I have decided to elect COBRA coverage. We submitted the application a few days ago, and when that kicks in, we will have the same exact health insurance coverage that is effective the day after his termination of Feb. 6th. I stopped going to PT a week after that because didn't know which route to take with the health insurance. But once we've decided, I kept on seeing other doctors. Yesterday, my husband tells me that should the company (who has already filed for Ch. 11) file for Ch. 7 bankruptcy, there will no longer be COBRA coverage. If that happens, this means that I've been seeing doctors without health insurance. I estimated that we'll already be about $1,500 in the whole, and it's just going to be bigger if I keep going 2x a week for physical therapy.

Do I keep going to therapy even though there is a possibility that we'll have to pay for the treatment out of our own pocket? Or I do I stop now and proceed only when we're certain of the future? Questions, questions. My wonderful hubby thinks I should keep going. I'm pretty much useless if my knee doesn't improve. And the Sports Medicine ortho already said it won't improve on it's own if I don't do anything.

Oh my. And to think I used to think I was as healthy as a horse.

my little mommies

Big Bro loves this stroller and the dolls when I bought them for him to get him used to having 2 little baby sisters. He used to zip through the house and stop suddenly, sending the doll flying forward. It scared me thinking this is what he was going to do with his sisters!

Here are the girls enjoying the doll stroller for the first time. Of course Thing 1 had to put her baby in. She wouldn't let go of it, so Thing 2 didn't even bother fighting for it. She just moved on and used the Wiggles car.

Thing 2 looks on as Thing 1 investigates the doll stroller.

Thing 2 moves on to the Wiggles car and waits until Thing 1 is done.

Then I try to trap them in my arms to take pictures. It used to be so easy!

Thing 2 on the left, Thing 1 on the right.

I was able to hold Thing 2, but Thing 1 was just too into her own picture on the camera!

By the way, these 2 aren't all about fun and games. They are also into terrorizing each other. Yesterday I found a circular red mark on Thing 2's left arm. I had a suspicion on what it could be, but I didn't get a confirmation until today. I saw happen to see Thing 1 about to bite Thing 2's arm. I had to rush over to them to make sure it didn't happen and chastised her. But as soon as I turned my back, she bit Thing 2 anyway!!!! And Thing 1 is still into taking Thing 2's things, whatever it is, even if she has the exact same thing.

Thing 2 does her thing too, but nothing so damaging as the Thing 1's bites.

running errands with a 3-year old & having fun!

I was on church nursery duty bright and early this morning and of course I brought the little man with me. I don't think the husband would let me keep volunteering if I were to leave all 3 chitlins with him. It was fun, even though there was a 1-year old and a 2-year old that would really prefer not to be there. But for some strange reason, the total of 11 kids that were running around wasn't really too bad. I guess it's because they weren't mine!

After church, the little man and I went to Costco and bought a few things, including one ginormous box of diapers and one equally ginormous box of wipes. The little man is getting to be quiet fun to be with when he isn't throwing a tantrum. And he only has them lately when he is getting sleepy. We saw a fireman rain coat and he wouldn't let me put it back down. I didn't really want to buy because it's lined, and this boy being as warm blooded as he is he would just sweat like mad while wearing it. But, we ended up with it anyway.

Here we are having fun while eating lunch at Costco.

isn't genetics fascinating?

Mommy & Jojo

Katie & Daddy

Daddy & Matty

Daddy & Katie

Mommy & Jojo

happiness

some more Memorial Day shananigans

Being the photographer, I rarely have a picture/video of me here...but I will grace you all with my loveliness on this one.



And here is Katie. No, she's not having a fit. She's just happy.

In Times of Uncertainty, A Comic Relief

The TV was on Sesame Street one morning and on the TV were ducklings hatching out of their eggs.

Matty: Mommy, look! They're coming out!

Me: Oh yes. The ducks are hatching.

Matty: They're coming out, Mommy!

Me: Can you tell me what that is that the ducklings are coming out from?

Matty: They come out of the mommy's butt!

And the title of "Honorary Mommy" Goes To...

I bestowed the title "Honorary Mommy" to my husband this weekend. And it's not just for show either. You know when a celebrity is invited by their alma mater and they show up and all of a sudden they get an honorary Ph.D.? No, it's not like that.

Jojo, as mentioned on my previous blog, refused to nurse. Every time I put her on the breast, she cried. And oh, how she cried. You would never suspect such a sound coming from such a tiny little girl. Well, 14 hours past since she last nursed, I was getting a bit worried and didn't know what to do. That's when the husband suggested that I pump and give her breastmilk via the bottle. I already thought of pumping to relieve the inevitable engorgement, but it didn't occur to me to try to feed Jojo through a bottle. But once the husband suggested it, I thought, DUH I'm sure she'll take the bottle because the milk comes out faster without much effort.

But then pumping proved to be too much. The girls had to be on the nebulizer every 4 hours (each session lasting 20 minutes), and then I nurse one, and then pump for the other. Then I also had to clean the pump. The twins feeding was no longer sync and there was barely any time to sit.

Then the hubby had another bright idea. He said, that maybe while Jordan was feeding, I should take the bottle away and immediately put her on the breast. And that worked again! No more pumping!!!

So, for coming up with solutions (that usually only moms think about) that make my life easier during these trying days, the husband becomes an honorary Mommy. His ideas attest to his involvement in parenting our children. What a great guy. I mean, he talks about breastfeeding with women at his job! How many husbands do you know who can talk about the ins and outs of breastfeeding and not get embarassed about it. Really.

The next day, Jordan was still fussy when I put her on the breast. And since she took to the breast the previous time, I stopped pumping. I put water on the bottle to get her to suck on it, but she didn't want water. Oh, great. I thought I need to start pumping again just to get her to suck on the bottle so that I could transfer her to breast. GROAN.

I jokingly told the husband that I am taking back the honorary title and he got upset. Hmmm. I really meant the title as the ultimate compliment, and apparently, he did too. For the rest of the day, I had to reassure him that he could keep the title.

So, hubby, this one is for you. You deserve it!

Oh, To Be Free!

Have you had one of those days when you just want to be free as the day you were born? I mean, who doesn't want to see what every nook and crany, every dirt, every splinter, every cold surface feels like on your ass? You don't? Me neither.

But obviously, this boy thinks otherwise. He progressively lost a piece of clothing in a span of 1 hour. Jojo and I were trying to document the day, but she had other ideas too.