An official update

It's been a while since I've updated.

Last week we had a follow up visit at Phoenix Children's Hospital. This was not a normal clinic visit, but a study visit - regarding the hypertonic saline study Samuel is participating in. We were expecting the normal news and events so you can imagine the surprise when the scale revealed a weight loss. A 0.6 pound weight loss. Now, for myself, I'd be delighted to lose this amount of weight and it's not difficult for me to do so. It's also that much easier for me to gain it back. In one afternoon.

But it's not so easy for Samuel. In fact, I often feel like we fight for every ounce he gains. I remember when he was stuck at 22 pounds for about 6 months. (Not sure if it was exactly 6 months but it sure felt like it!)

That very day I came home and started in on the "pink" milkshakes. He likes drinking strawberry milk so I enjoy making him some strawberry milkshakes. Yes, I eat vicariously through Samuel. Gotta problem with that? :)

He must have picked up on my stress (who wouldn't have?!?!) and almost immediately started refusing his ezymes. Talk about frustrating! What good is eating high-fat/high-cal if he can't process it?

Then, it wasn't too much later when the only thing he wanted to eat was Cheetos. Boys can't live on Cheetos alone but he sure tries. Luckily, the enzyme and eating strike has lasted only a few days but I'm feeling like we can't afford to lose any days! We have a clinic visit on the 26th where his weight will be taken and it will count then. I'm fearful we are having a repeat of the last weight plateau. He had a pseudomonas infection then. I *really* hope this is not the case. Aside from our high co-pay for Tobi, the time it takes to administer is just a little over our sitting-still time limit. It takes about 25 minutes just for that one medicine to be administered, making his twice-daily routine well over an hour.

Besides all the medical updating, Samuel is a fun two year old! He is such a sponge and is learning more than I realize. He says things like "I don't know!" and "What happened?" The other evening, as we were driving, Kevin and I realized that we were in the wrong lane to pass straight through an intersection and would have to sit at the light for another cycle. Kevin said "Oh, fiddlesticks" I said "rats!" and Samuel chimed in from the backseat with an appropriately and equally disappointing "Oh MAN!" And it was at that moment I was thankful we don't have, nor generally spend time with, potty-mouths.

He is also really enjoying spending time with me in the kitchen, which has become more frequent since my recent, uh, status change. Working at home means working in the kitchen! When he thinks something is happening at the stove, he wants to be held to see what's going on. And let me say, in addition to being dangerous, cooking with one hand is just about impossible. So last night I got smart. I brought his high chair in the kitchen, set it a few feet behind me, gave him some cereal to throw in the floor for the dog snack on, and he sat (mostly) in the high chair and watched me make dinner so I could cook.

Lately we've been having trouble with him not wanting to sleep and not wanting to stay in his bed. Just one more reason I have yet to transition to a big-boy bed. Last night, midnight, this was happening again. Kevin and I wanted to go to sleep and Samuel wanted to play the piano/our foot board and sing us some songs. A few nights ago I attempted an new strategy and it worked then and again last night. If you are having issues with your little one not wanting to go to sleep, I highly recommend trying it. Instead of saying "You have to go to sleep now" I said "Mommy and Daddy have to go to sleep but you can stay up as late as you want. You just have to stay in your bed. What story would you like me to read to you before I go to sleep?" Last night we read about Hermie, he had some toys, I left the closet light on and was only awakened a few times by a singing, playing little boy. It was wonderful.

Just a wee-bit busy

Yeah. My last update had me saying I turned in my notice, which I did. And my new job started on the 4th. It's been great! There is just one thing. My old job didn't exactly let me go. Not complaining. I love being needed. But now I'm just working from home. It's been fun: caring for an infant and a 2 year-old and working trying to keep up with the work that's pouring in from the office. So, my dreams of feeding kids, then everyone napping for a few hours while my house stays in pristine condition, and I get to spend my time in devotions, blogs, tweets, and crafts to my hearts extent have been crushed. Destroyed. In fact, I can't even finish this post because the kids are waking! Needless to say, switching gears to a stay-at-home mom has been eye-opening. And I love it.

I did it.

I turned in my notice at my day job.

I think I'm crazy. In a time when people are blessed to be working, I have decided to stay home with Samuel.

It wasn't an easy decision. I have the best job in the world. I work for a great company. They have never made me feel like Samuel shouldn't be my priority. But when it comes down to it, I was putting that pressure on myself. And we all know that when spread too thin, we aren't good at anything we attempt, and that is what was happening.

Keeping Samuel healthy is a full-time job in itself. Over the past year while I've been working at another job during the day, I've had GREAT help in making sure Samuel's needs are being met. He has the BEST care-giver a mother could ever hope for. Miss Amy (MeMe, as Samuel calls her) is willing to do whatever it takes to keep him at the top of his game. She cooks special meals for him. She steps in and administers albuterol when he needs it. Truly, I couldn't have found a better care-giver for Samuel unless, of course, I cloned myself, and even that is questionable.

But, as the year has gone by, I've found that I terribly miss being with him during the day. I've been praying for God to open a door to make it possible for me to have the best of both worlds: stay with Samuel and do something from home to help financially contribute to our family. Well, it happened. It was an open door. I asked and it worked out. Amazingly. I'm still astonished at how God works sometimes.

And then I started second guessing. Is this the best decision for us? I love my job! Is it really time for me to leave? In this economy... who really leaves their job? What about my co-workers? They are my friends too. What about the adult communication that will vanish from my day? uh-oh. This was going to be a tougher decision than I ever anticipated!

But, last week, I spoke up and made a decision. It's best for Samuel and, honestly and truly, no matter what I want, I have to do what's best for him and his health. And this is the best for him.

December 30 is my last day at my office job. Then I start the most difficult job in the world: stay at home mom. I'll be helping my dear friend Anna with her little (well, younger...he's not little...hee-hee) guy 4 days a week. I am so blessed. I'll go crazy, for sure, but it will be awesome. And in my spare time (ROFL) when I'm not chasing a very active two-year old, potty training, warming bottles and changing tiny diapers, I'll be studying chemistry. It's the last class I have to take before I can enroll in the nursing program. Yes, I'm going back to school too. Lord, help us all.

So, no, I'm not really leaving a job, I'm just changing jobs. And I am so excited about it. It's bittersweet, really.

Again, God help us all.

it's not worth it

Confession: I'm a selfish giver. I give things away knowing I'll get them back eventually. For example: I've given Samuel's friend Hudson shirts, shoes and toys knowing that when Hudson grows out, it will end up back in Samuel's closet.

It's in the spirit of selfish giving that I'm telling you to not even bother checking out this giveaway from BabeeLove.

The "Believe" pillow is not the cutest thing you've ever seen and you will have to look long and hard before you find anything you like on YouCanMakeThis.com. Trust me, I searched it for you already. And don't even bother going to BabeeLove and entering to win the current giveaway. You probably won't win either of the 2 she has available.

But, should you not take my advice and go over there anyway, don't steal my chances of winning. Good luck.

For those keeping track

I was impressed with Samuel's interest in the potty. I speak in the past tense because we had a relapse this weekend. Well, I didn't. He did.

I'll save you the long story but give the high points:
Samuel sat on the potty for 15-20 minutes with no activity.
I got Samuel dressed.
Went to get myself showered and dressed.
Samuel got himself undressed and went streaking through the master bedroom and closet.
He stayed missing a bit longer than most streakers do.
Samuel walks out of the closet and calls to me. "Mom! Mom!"
My response: "Yes, Samuel?"
Pointing to where he came from: "Mom! Pee!"
Indeed. Pee. All over my dear husband's clothes.
Thanks, sweetheart, for letting me know. Now, let's get you dressed again and put the laundry in to start.

Early Christmas and a Christmas Casualty

About a year ago I had a post titled Christmas Casualties. Although it's a little early this year, there has already been a casualty this year. Really, it's to be expected. Samuel is 2. He likes loves to play ball.

Before you get too impressed, I haven't yet decorated for Christmas. I changed the fall wreath hanging on our front door to a wintery wreath (you know, to keep up appearances) and set out 1 of the 2 Nativity scenes I have. And a box of decorations has made it in from the garage. That, my friends, is where the problem is. See, the box brought in has the ornaments in it. Glass ornaments. That look like shiny silver balls. Laying right on top. Begging little hands to play.

You can imagine Samuel's surprise when this ball didn't bounce on the tile, but broke into a million little pieces. What a loss.

There was another minor casualty. Of the 2 decorations I have put out, I broke something else. The Virgin Mary's hand broke at the wrist. I can't blame the little man for that one, though. It was all mommy. But nothing a little super glue couldn't fix. Now that I think about it, super glue has been my friend lately. It fixed a snowman/"believe" knicknack that somehow hit the floor a few days ago. Again, no big deal. Superglue. My friend.

I've had an early Christmas this year. My dad has come to visit for a week. When he visits, things get done around my house. Walls get painted, it feels more like home than before. This year, I got new furniture. An awesome dining table and chair set from World Market to replace the temporary (and 6 year-old) table and chairs* from Ikea. A brown chair, dresser and side table was added to the guest room. Now my guests can put their clothes away and not live out of their suitcase or pile clothes up on the floor.

Thanks, mom and dad (papa and gagaw) for the early Christmas gifts! Everyone in this house really appreciates it!

* Want some red chairs and cushions for your house? See my craigslist post.

Happy Birthday Samuel! It's really potty time!

First, I need to apologize to my readers, all two of you, for delaying my blog posts lately. I'm getting overwhelmed by not setting my priorities the way I need to. Things don't work the way they are supposed to when everything is equally important.

That being said...

My little man is TWO! His birthday was upstaged by the harvest festival preparations at the church so we postponed celebrating until the following weekend, when we wouldn't be competing with other plans for the fake holiday. After all, Halloween isn't really a holiday.

Since he loves Yo Gabba Gabba! we decided to have a Gabba party at our neighborhood playground. While I did plan some games, like Pin the Eye on Muno, a pinata, and some coloring pages, most were upstaged by the swingset and presents. We never even played, didn't even LOOK at my Pin the Eye on Muno game (it's awesome!). But it's OK because the kids had fun.

On his actual birthday I made a simple cake with his Yo Gabba Gabbas on the top (yes, they are from the Jack in the Box kids meals), even though I had wanted to do something more like MckMama's Rainbow Cake but I simply ran out of time.

However, for his birthday party, I DID have time for my version of the MckMama Rainbow Cake. It was, honestly and truly, easy to make. It took me a few hours but that includes mixing the colors and, of course, baking, which is like watching a pot of water coming to a boil.

I had intended to document my steps a little better but I had the help of a certain birthday boy in the kitchen so it's amazing that I even got the cake made. But, for those who asked, this is how I did it.

Using a recipe from the Cake Mix Doctor (the basic butter cake), I doubled the amout of cake mix I needed. After the giant vat of cake batter was prepared, I split it up onto 6 bowls. I started by measuring out 1 cup of batter in each bowl, but it ended up being about 2 cups of batter per bowl/color.

Yeah, I have a messy kitchen counter. I know. I used the gel food coloring because it would provide vibrant color without watering down the mix.

Because I don't have 6 round cake pans, and I wasn't about to buy 6 more kitchen items (see above picture), I bought the cheap foil kind from the store. They were 9 inch round with a scalloped edge, which did not make a difference. I buttered and floured all 6 of those and baked the cake in two cycles, 3 pans each time. Then, I stacked up all six in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning I made the frosting (yum yum yum) and cut all the layers to the same height using a Wilton Cake Leveler. You can also use a knife.

Then I stacked the layers between the icing, measuring the icing for consistency, put a quick crumb layer on and put back into the fridge. About 45 minutes later, the cake came out, got iced for real, decorated, and taken to the party. No pictures were taken at the party, mostly because we all were busy (lame excuse) and mostly since the cake stayed covered due to flies (yuck!).

But, from inside my refrigerator, this is the final product. Well, half of the final product. I acknowledge that it looks like it belongs on CakeWrecks, and for that, I am very sorry. Please take my word that it really truly was, cute.

In other news, the hypertonic saline study is going very well. We've been participating for 1 month. Only 11 more to go! By participating in the study, it's made our process a bit different. We can't double up and do neb treatments while he is hooked up to the vest. Samuel's treatments take an hour now, twice a day. Even more if he fights it, since I have to talk him off the ledge every few minutes. If Samuel should need to start back on TOBI, that will easily add another 30 minutes to each treatment time, not easy for a 2-year old. But he is a trooper and takes it rather well.

Also big news---Samuel is using the toilet! He started showing an interest a few days ago, so I put him up on there and he peed! He's using it at every opportunity and is really understanding what a big deal it is. And even though I'm super excited about it, I'm trying not to push him too fast to use the potty exclusively. I don't want to pressure him and make it a bad experience. He will do it when he is ready.

I suppose that's enough talk about the toilet. And there should be enough pictures here to hold people over for a while (mom and dad!). Check back later for more updates!