catching up. . .

So, I haven't done nearly as well as I had hoped I would with this blogging thing. I just realized that it's been nearly two weeks since I posted, and I my goal is to post at least once a week, so I have some catching up to do. The girls have done some fun things lately, so this one is going to be pretty long.




We are lucky enough to have my sister Kasey as the girls "hairdresser". She spent a brief period of time in cosmetology school and does a great job with the girls. I am so thankful that I don't have to deal with having someone else cut their hair (especially with my painfully shy Molly who I'm sure would scream if anyone she didn't know tried to touch her hair). Kasey is EXTREMELY patient while they are wiggling all over the place and trying to get into anything within their reach. Somehow she manages to give them really cute haircuts and not cut them or herself in the process.



Last weekend we visited Cagle's Dairy Farm for some fall fun. Kelly was on call, so we went with Kasey, Josh and Josh's brother Jason and his family. Once we got everyone together we realized we had 7 kids with us and we were scared!! But, everyone behaved very well and we had a great time. They had alot of fun stuff for the kids to do, they got to pet calves that were just a few days old, go on a hayride, and see pigs race. They had a great time. Sadie was all over the calves, sticking her arm in their cages and petting them, while Molly watched to see what happened before she tried!! The highlight of the trip was when one of the calves Sadie was petting grabbed her sweater and pulled and wouldn't let go. The green slimy mess left on her sweater was really disgusting, but she thought it was hilarious.

Bedtime struggles

The newest struggle at our house is with Molly's bedtime. When Molly turned three, the "paci fairy" came to get her paci and left her a guitar (like Laurie Berkner, our newest hero). Taking it away was prompted primarily by starting preschool--they aren't allowed to have them in her class. She has suprised us all and has done really well without it. Before I had kids, I always said that MY kid would never have a paci when they were older than 2. Never say never!!!

The only problem with taking the paci has been that she is very difficult to get to sleep. Not only is she hard to get to sleep, but she is waking up during the night and getting in the bed with Kelly and I. She has never slept in the bed with us since we put her in her crib when she was 8 weeks old. I have to admit that snuggling with my sweet angel during the night (we all know they are the sweetest when they are sleeping!) is nice sometimes. Her tiny little body right up next to me, the smell of her hair and the sound of her breathing make me appreciate these times, and forget that I'm going to be sorry if I let her make a habit of it!!!

Molly has always been my good sleeper, she slept through the night at 5 weeks old (unlike her sister that didn't sleep through the night until 8 months!) and has always been a great napper (also unlike Sadie). I remember a time when she would go to bed at 7:00, get up at 9:00 and also take a 3 hour nap. As I look back, those were the days!

I honestly think that without the paci she doesn't know how to soothe herself to sleep and has lost some of her security. It makes me sad to think that I took that from her, but I know it was time.

So, Kelly and I are trying to teach her to sleep again, but I'm afraid the days of long naps (and naps in general) and sleeping like a rock are over for Molly. Hopefully, we will be able to get her to sleep through the night again soon.

Busy, busy, busy. . .

just so stinking cute!!


Wow! It's only been a week since I posted (which is longer than I intended to wait), but alot has happened since then. Molly has finally recovered from the preschool cooties, but not without a trip to the Pediatrician and a round of antibiotics. Sadie is still sufffering with a never ending runny nose and cough, but Daddy decided we should start her on antibiotics yesterday, so hopefully she'll be better in a day or so.

Kelly has been working a ton and I am pretty worn out and ready for this awful rotation to be over (as is he). Although he doesn't have to take overnight call during the week, he hasn't been getting home until pretty late, usually the girls have been in bed. He has the weekend off though, so we are thankful for that time with him!

Earlier this week, I took the girls to have their silhouettes done. A local kid's store had arranged to have an artist come in. She was amazing. With the girls sitting in my lap reading a book, she took a small piece of black paper and a pair of scissors and within 10 minutes had cut out a perfect silhouette. I was astounded by her talent! Here are copies of them, I think they are adorable!!

Molly

Sadie

Weekend with Granna

Jumping on Granna's bed after baths!

Daddy was on call this weekend, so we hung out with Granna! We've been sick all week, so we (mostly Mommy) needed to get out of the house. Mommy is a little worn out from taking care of sick kids that aren't sleeping so well and refuse to take medicine, so Granna stepped in to save the day. Something about being three has made Molly stubborn about taking medicine :-) --I'll let you all know if I figure out what it is! I kept telling Molly all week, "you have two choices, you may take this tablet that tastes like bubble gum or Mommy will have to put the medicine in your bottom (tylenol suppository)" She often was obstinate and I had to do the latter, which was great fun for all that were involved. Apparently the "two choices" thing sunk in because she was coloring with Granna and quoted Mommy. She had colored two pictures and said "Granna, you have two choices, this one or this one". Granna cracked up and couldn't figure out where she had gotten her little saying from!!! She doesn't miss a thing!



We made a HUGE decision this week. Kelly signed a contract with a practice in a small town in the northwestern part of the state about an hour from where we are now. When we visited and Kelly interviewed, we were blown away by the kindness and hospitality we were shown. We really both knew in our hearts when we left the interview and visit that it was the right thing to do for our family. Kelly looked around a little bit and talked to a few other practices, but it always came back to this one. He was thrilled when he went to dinner with a two of the partners and they offered him the job. We are so excited to be moving on to this new chapter of our lives and leaving residency behind us. It's been an incredibly long and hard road (but we wouldn't change a thing), no one realizes how hard doctors work to get where they are.

It's also bittersweet because we will be moving away (not too far) from my family and many of our friends. I honestly could not have waded through Kelly's residency without their help. Kasey and Josh live about a mile from us and often come by after work to save me from the "witching hour"! Granna drives 40 miles (like Libby does!) to keep the girls one day a week while I work. I have a wonderful friend (actually from high school) that lives right across the street and both of our husbands work like crazy, so we keep each other sane (at least we try, Amy-I'm not sure it's working, what do you think?)!! Molly and Sadie have so many people that love them so close right now, we have been very fortunate. We spend a ton of time with my family and love to hang out and will miss them when we move, but will visit all the time, we won't be too far away! As I've told my Mom, "We aren't moving to Montana!". We are still trying to convince Granna and Big D to come with us, we'll see. . . . . . .

We are ready to go, but have 9 more months of residency to endure. But I know the time will fly and we'll be moving soon! I'm trying to slow down and enjoy the time we have left close to our family.

Preschool Cooties. . . .

Molly and Sadie are kids that RARELY get sick. So rare that Molly has been on antibiotics once and Sadie never has. I will say that the fact that their Daddy is a doctor keeps us from visiting the pediatrician unless absolutely necessary. He doesn't get worked up about anything health related unless it is pretty serious. I like to say that the girls would have to have blood shooting out of their eyes and their ears in order for him to be concerned. (It's not that he doesn't care, he just sees much more serious problems than a sore throat or a runny nose!)

But, since the girls have started preschool (three weeks ago) they have both been sick--Sadie is working on her second illness. This does not make for a fun experience for anyone involved! I also feel like I am wasting a ton of money since Sadie has missed 50% of her school in the past two weeks. In some ways I feel like it's my fault for not exposing them to enough situations with other kids until now, they obviously don't have the immune systems to handle all the germs associated with a room full of kids. I will admit, they've been a little sheltered, but it's not something I am sorry about---I think they are quite lucky kids! I do work part-time, but on those days either "Aunt Bibi" or "Granna" (my Mom) stays with them. We have been fortunate enough to not have to put them in daycare. In fact, I was telling someone the other day that we have never had to pay a babysitter!!!!!!!! We always have family around to help out, which means the world to us (and the girls!).

These are pictures of what we did today in order to keep us all sane while we were stuck in the house sick. A bath is always a good distraction for the girls, it is often the cure for the "witching hour" (any of you that have children know what time I'm referring to!), my Mother-in-Law calls it the "arsenic hour", which is also appropriate for the behavior that occurs during this time of day! The other picture shows the girls having fun coloring on a box--it kept them entertained for about 30 minutes! Just proves the point that the box is often more fun than the toy inside!!

Here's to hoping the preschool cooties pass soon. . . . .