1st trip to er with my second daughter

It was suppose to be a quick trip to target and it ended up being a very long drawn out day in the emergency room. I had my son in the big part of the shopping cart, my youngest in her carseat in the front of the shopping cart and my almost 3 year old who wanted to lie flat down on the bottom of the shopping cart which she has done before. now i understand why it's not such a good idea. I'm not sure if she was trying to grab something or simply wanted to get off but put her hand out/under/in front/on the floor (I JUST DON'T KNOW) and sure enough I kept pushing and could feel that I ran over something and then heard the scream.

Oh my poor baby, what have I done? I quickly picked her up. Her index finger was white which speedily turned to a blue and then red.....red with blood and the  fingernail had a mind of its own. I quickly ran to the nearest bathroom while holding her and pulling the cart with my other 2 children to get a paper towel to hold over it. I thought the less she saw, the better. Obviously, we left right away and headed to an urgent care which was less than a mile away who then sent us out and heading to the hospital emergency room.

This is when I started to panic because the hospitals close to us are not very reliable and you have to drive a way to get to a respected one. but i also had to run by the house to get insurance card, snacks for kids, and most importantly, bottles and formula!!!

It was a long 5 hours in the waiting room but I proud of how my baby did even if she did scream pretty darn loud.....hell i would too if it were me and acceptable for adults to! There may have been some quirky employees there but there were also ones who showered my kids with Popsicles, coloring books and crayons, drinks, etc. The guy who told me they must not have paid their cable bill when I asked about why the kid channels weren't working probably should have kept that bit of information to himself.

we walked away without a broken finger but also walked away without a fingernail and came home with a pretty soft pink cast. I remember thinking how I even thought about going to nursing school years ago but after just seeing my little girls finger today......I'm not so sure i would have been able to handle that. maybe i would feel differently if it weren't my child injured, who knows?

hospital er visits to date: 7 (this # includes all children)

The Challenge or lack thereof

Let me start with a little history on the subject. My husband and I have had an amazing sex life. For a little while, we had as many children as we did years of marriage and more! We are not shy with each other and are open to trying new things as long as we keep our respect for one another. We will celebrate 5 years of marriage in two months and have 3 children of our own. I have been pregnant as many months in our marriage than not being pregnant. Now that is exhausting to think about!

After our 3rd baby together (4th child), I had no interest in sex and was a little concerned. Our daughter was barely 7 weeks old but I knew that sooner or later my husband may question why we weren't having sex since the "6 week" period of time your OB recommends had passed. We eventually did have sex when she was about 8 weeks old but I still wasn't craving like in the past. Geez-no wonder though....we are are physically and mentally drained.

So one day I get an email from my husband playfully asking me if I would be interested in trying the "7 Day Sex Challenge". Honestly, I thought about telling him how ridiculous I thought this was since he is usually the one that is asleep and says no (he goes to bed at 8pm and wakes up at 4am) but I just agreed to do it.
  
We had sex that evening and yes it was terrific. But we didn't the next day or the day after that and so on. We are extremely busy-seriously some days we don't even have a 5 min conversation. Whether we are chauffeuring one of our kids to and from practice or just the simple fact that we can't get a word in with the kids speaking.

I'm thinking about attempting this challenge with my husband again but maybe not when we have a newborn and 2 other children ages 2 and 4. Who knows maybe if we just wait a couple of months and revisit the topic-the results could be different! What I do know is that the more my husband and I have sex, the nicer, more respectful, and more aware of each other's feelings we are. AND HAPPIER!!!

If you ask me, it's worth it! It's too easy to get caught up in your routine and the everyday stresses and at least in my case, the person who I love the most in the world (beside my children) and consider my best friend is the same person that I jump on the second he walks in the door from work because I need a break!

Have you and your spouse tried the challenge?

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/05/02/7-day-sex-challenge/?test=faces

It's called R*E*S*P*E*C*T

Next to the last day of school for my 13 year old daughter. We have had our issues lately which I assume is to be expected given her age and my sensitivity. She is excited to show me her yearbook which I am excited to look over with her. On the back cover, she has written the year "2011" a million times which is fine. It looks like it could almost be the cover and I understand she is trying to make it "her own". Next I see, "i ate a taco", "i eat tacos", and "i will eat a taco" written on the front......small thank goodness is all i can think. This is pushing the limits but she is silly and still trying to make it her own.

We open up the yearbook and to my surprise see a couple boys who's pictures are drawn over, horns drawn in, funny faces, etc. They are not recognizable. Now I feel like this has gone to far. I have made myself clear in the past that I don't agree with this behavior.....and it's just straight up mean. I know these boys and understand that they have hurt her feelings but why should she stoop to their level? Not to mention the fact, that I AM THE ONE WHO WROTE THE CHECK for the yearbook-not her. My money.....wasted-again. I swear I am speaking another language to her. It's as if everything I say to her is complete nonsense. I mean everybody does it so what's the big deal? She then tells me that she made sure to tell everyone before they signed her yearbook not to use foul language. REALLY? and this is suppose to be a proud moment.....I don't get it. Do these other parents just not give a shit? Who can't sign a friends yearbook without writing foul language? Did I mention these are 7th graders????

Oh and I should be happy that she didn't come home covered in ink. Some of her friends were "signed" by friends all over; arms, legs, god knows what else. WHAT??? She said yeah, she didn't let anyone because she knew I would be so mad. WHY would she want ink all over her? Why do they have to sign each other's bodies? I mean really? Where is the respect for your friends and MOST IMPORTANTLY your body?

Someone, please tell me high school is better than middle, PLEASE!

By no means is this the beginning...

Although this is my first post, this will definitely not be the beginning. It will not describe the beginning of me or the beginning of how I got here. It will just be about today because I prefer to write in the present and to go back is way too exhausting.

My lovely children drove me to drink a rum and diet pepsi this evening which in turn made me act like a child. I was not belligerent but I was also not going to argue with them anymore today; not my 13 year old, my 4 year old, nor my 2 year old. And of course, my 4 month old.....well she's just perfect compared to the rest of them.

I do believe that they enjoyed my playfulness and my anything goes attitude. My husband knew better than to complain. What a man he is. He walks through the door happy as can be and after taking one look at the expression on my faces knows that he has his work cut out for him tonight. He took over like a good man should even though he had been commuting, working, and commuting for the last 12 1/2 hours.

I had my day pretty much under control until I made the mistake of going to the craft store with my children to pick out something to make their dad for father's day. I'm not sure if it's just my kids or what but jesus-going to ANY store with them is NOT an enjoyable experience. They don't want to sit in the cart, they want to buy anything just because, oh and they LOVE to wander....well really just the 2 year old. I know what you are thinking....I'm a push over, aren't I? One day I will learn my lesson and plan my shopping adventures accordingly.

My four children are magnificent. I am so thankful for their uniqueness and their strong personalities because I know that they will go far in this world and that they will be okay whether or not I am here to pick up the pieces. Even if they do drive me to an evening cocktail once in awhile, we all will survive.