Today like totally sucks man....

1. Do yourself a favor, go out to Starbucks and get yourself a peppermint mocha. TODAY!! Grab a cranberry scone while you’re at it….they’re delicious!
2. Today is one of those days. You know the kind. Where I just want to scream “WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!!!” at everyone.
3. This was somewhat remedied by a lunchtime trip to Target---They finally had boots in the kid’s sizes. FINALLY. I also bought 5 picture frames. I think I could live at Target. There is a Starbucks inside.
4. Did I mention Ed and I have been cataloguing all of our photos? There’s some funny fricken stuff in there! I have many things in my “to scan” pile.
5. Speaking of fricken, I need to stop saying fricken. Eddie keeps calling people fricken crybabies. He also says “son of a project!!” and I have no idea where that came from.
6. And speaking of Eddie saying funny things…. On our way to my cousins the other night, after Eddie and Caitlyn played with their baby cousin on Thanksgiving, Eddie said to me “so when you have 2 more babies mommy, how many of us will there be?” We probed him on it. “When you have 2 more boy babies. Caitlyn wants to be a big sister.” Oy Vey!
7. Eddie, Caitlyn and I pretended that we were camping last night and told stories in my bed and all went to sleep together. Sounds perfect, right? It was miserable. There were children bouncing off of the walls, screaming and not much sleeping. At one point, Eddie got up out of bed and said he was sleeping in his own bed and was walking around the whole house in the dark. Finally, after much wrangling and a bit of hollering, everyone was asleep before 9:30.
8. I have no idea what we are having for dinner tonight. I meant to put some chicken in the crock pot this morning and never did.
9. My hair is so long right now. I think I like it.
10. Still sipping my mocha. Hopefully today will be smooth sailing from here.

2-year-olds

We are working in the kids' room today, converting Cait's crib in to a big girl bed. I asked her if she'd like to help me clean up the toys in the bedroom.

She looked at me and said 100% deadpan "I'm really busy working on something. Sorry, can't help you."

She is so my daughter.

What day is it?

I ended up having a busier day then I thought I would today. I could not get to sleep for the life of me last night and ended up passing out on the couch waiting for Jon ad Kate Plus 8 to come on. Of course, as soon as I heard Kate's voice, I woke right up. She is one miserable woman. M I S E R A B L E . I ended up back asleep within minutes and before I knew it, it was 3AM and Eddie was sleeping on top of me. I put him to bed, and went to bed myself just as Ed came home so I ended up being awake until nearly 4.

When I dropped the kids off at school this morning I had every intention of coming home and sleeping for a while, but Ed suggested breakfast, and we went from there. I got the kids their winter coats. The sets with the snow pants at JC Penny were marked down from $70 to $31.99. Eddie's is an army green and Cait's is lime green. Both are adorable. Ed got some clothes as well, and we got underwear for Eddie and a rolling Dora back pack for Caitlyn.

From there, we went over to Best Buy to look at camcorders, since ours is ancient. We didn't buy, but got some good ideas. We kind of want one that takes stills as well as videos, but we don't necessarily want to pay $800 for it. So we'll keep looking...

I dropped E off at home because he was worn out and then headed to Target to look for winter boots, hats and mittens for the kids. I got all but the boots which were mysteriously sold out in girls size 7 and boys size 12. Got Cait a few things on clearance too.

From there I went grocery shopping and spent $300. $303.93 to be exact. I do feed a family of 5 you know...plus there were a lot of great deals and I had really good coupons. I saved over $80. Ed doesn't hear that though, he hears $300 on groceries.

I unloaded the car, threw dinner in the oven, picked up the kids and we all sat down to eat before Ed left for work. We've done amazingly well with this eating in the kitchen jazz. Oddly enough, it seems to help the kids clean their plates. It seems the television was distracting them. Who knew??

I finally got the kids in bed close to 9:00 because I was waiting for Caitlyn to poop, and here I am, pooped myself. (can I tell you how great it is to not worry about buying diapers any longer??? She even stays dry at night--for which it is difficult to praise her for since Eddie still does NOT stay dry trough the night) I need to do a few things to get read for work in the morning and then I'll be off to bed. 4 day work weeks tend to suck for me, having to jam in 5 days worth of work in to 4....but then again I'm working this Saturday so maybe that will make up for it.

I'm a bit crazy tonight thanks to my after dinner coffee with the peppermint mocha creamer that Swistle recommended. It was so good, I could die. Now where am I going to budget in those extra 70 calories? So good.

Ok, I'm spell checking but not proof reading. For your viewing pleasure.

I will write something with substance tomorrow. I promise.

Halloween Photos---finally

Thought of the Day: I truly am the world's biggest slacker.


But here they are, without further ado.... (I know you've been on the edge of your seat)



(it says "I left my princess costume at home.)

Mommy Daisy's Cookies


Our pumpkins


Ed, and Jeff Gordon



Our Witchy Princess







Ok, I have like 14 loads of laundry to do so I'm out for now. Happy Saturday!

Thought of the day: Sunday is by far my favorite day of the week. This also means that today, being Monday, sucks.

***Edited to say that Caitlyn wore underwear all weekend!! One small accident early Saturday! She went to daycare in undies today!

We actually had a pretty fabulous weekend from Friday straight through yesterday. I booked home from work on Friday to get Ed and the kids, and we went to see “Bee Movie” which was pretty cute. From there, we went to Toys R Us to buy the kids Power Wheels because they were discounted quite a bit and we figured we’d get them now while they could still use them as opposed to waiting until Christmas when they’d have to sit around for months. We had a quick dinner at Applebee’s and got home around 11:00, with both kids still being wide awake.

Ed worked Saturday morning and the kids slept in until 9:30! Ok, well actually, Eddie was up at 7, but went back to sleep on top of me on the couch until 9:30. In any case it was a bonus for me because I went to bed at my usual time and slept about 2 hours later than usual. I sat around drinking coffee and catching up on my TiVo while the kids played for a few hours and when Ed came home, we started in on the house. He went outside to build the rest of my furniture, and I tore apart the kitchen. Why we have so much Tupperware, I will never know. But I packed it- and half of my baking dishes away in the basement. I tore apart our utensil drawers as well, and now you can actually open and close them without losing a finger. The next kitchen project involves an over-the-range microwave and moving the cabinets that I acquired from my Gramma over to where our coats are now. If we can do this we may be able to accomplish something that is unheard of in our house---eating meals in the kitchen. We ended up in bed pretty early on Saturday sleeping so late stopped the kids from napping.

Ed got up with the kids yesterday morning so I could sleep for a while. I had been fighting a cold all weekend and woke up with 100% no voice. Nothing. (it did come back after a while) Ed made coffee and chocolate chip pancakes and let me just sit and relax, which was really nice. He and the kids went outside while I showered, and when I put Cait in for her nap around noon, Eddie and I went to a craft show at our local fairgrounds. I was hoping to find Christmas ornaments, but I didn’t really like what they had, so we had kettle corn, walked around for a bit, and I took him for lunch before we went grocery shopping. It was really nice to spend time with Eddie alone. So often it’s just Cait and me while Eddie goes off with Ed or FIL, so having a mama’s boy for the day was good for me.

This of course leads us to today where I am sick, and at work. This morning has been horrendous, so I’m hoping for a much better afternoon.

R A I N B O W

Like I mentioned yesterday, today was picture day at daycare. I’ve been apprehensive all day because 2 years ago, Eddie wouldn’t even go in to the room to have his picture taken (I was still on maternity leave with Cait, so she didn’t go at all) and last year both kids gave the people a really hard time—though Eddie eventually sat and smiled when they gave him one of their props to hold. Caitlyn though, was hysterical, and when they did get her to sit, she stared blankly at the camera, teas in her eyes, and snot dripping out of her nose. I have these photos displayed proudly on my desk though, because they do capture the kid’s true personalities. In any case, I hope it goes better today. They have a nice autumn background and I dressed the kids in jeans (Cait in a denim jumper) and Eddie in an orange striped shirt and Cait in a pinky/orangey and brown striped shirt. If it goes well, they will be adorable photos.

We’ve been having a really hard time with Eddie at drop off. He screams, and cries and carries on uncontrollably, saying “I want my Mommy…” or “I don’t like school!!” He’s been telling me that he misses the old school and wants to go back. I’ve asked him if the teacher is mean, or if someone is hurting him and he says no. I asked him if he gets in trouble, and he says no. Teacher says he is usually fine soon after we leave, but his anxiety really concerns me. He was doing a whole lot better until we went on vacation, and then he was sick for 4 days, so there was a good chunk of time where he was home. I don’t know if he feels like if he carries on enough, we’ll figure something out and take him home? Or if he really just hates it there? Or if he’s going through something that he can’t express? He hasn’t had any sort of separation anxiety since he was 18 months old, so I am at a complete loss as to what to do with him. I tend to make goodbyes quick, leaving him there crying. It kills me to do it, but I don’t feel like lingering will help anything. (not to mention having to be at work) Ed disagrees---wants to have him somewhat calmed down before we go and is actually horrified that I would just leave him there. In general, the whole situation sucks.

Caitlyn is easy though, like she always has been. She smiles, and goes off to play, or sits down to breakfast waving goodbye. Calling after us “BYE Mommy and Daddy!!!” She can’t get us out the door soon enough and generally doesn’t want to leave at the end of the day either.

Complete opposite ends of the spectrum.

Tuesday Randomness

1. We bought 2 snails for our fish tank. We now have a baby snail. From what I hear, they multiply more than rabbits. Maybe I’ll start a snail farm. You would think that the pet store would warn us about their spawning. They didn’t.
2. I went to Old Navy on my lunch break to spend the gift certificate I got from my mom and get some clothes for Cait. For some reason Eddie has tons of fall/winter clothes and she has none. Anyway, the store was super picked over so I ended up coming back and ordering some things online. You’re bored with me, right? This is what I got for Cait, and with the exception of the dress which I paid FULL PRICE for (because it is more than adorable), everything was less than $4. I can’t wait for the dress. (I got the black shirt in 3 colors and the pants in 3 colors too)






3. I started using Neutrogena’s complete skin care system and it is finally making a difference. I wrote a while back about how insanely horrible my skin was. I feel a whole lot better now.
4. I joined NaBloPoMo and have committed to posting every day in November. I decided that I am going to do a “Thought of the day” entry every day in addition to whatever regular entries I might write.
5. I saw my sweet niece Samantha for the fist time since July on Sunday. She is so fat and cute in her 6-month-oldness that I can’t stand it. I told my BIL to bring her over any time. What’s one more kid to watch? Eddie and Caitlyn loved her. When I told Caitlyn she was her baby cousin she looked at me with a huge grin and said “Mine Mommy? My baby??” It was adorable.
6. The kids also both had their hair cut on Sunday. Caitlyn now has a cute bob. Very cute.

Finally I just wanted to thank all of you wonderful ladies for your words yesterday. How amazing is it to have this cross country support network of people who know just how I feel? You all make me smile.

P.S. I did not go to the gym today on account of being super sore from yesterday. I always forget how hard the fist week or so is. I will be back tomorrow though. And I ate half a brownie last night. There, I’m being honest.

#99 Video Entry

I am still accepting questions for my 100th entry....I'd love to know what you'd like to know.

Here is the video I tried to post of Caitlyn the other night. Ignore my grating voice.



(and yes, she's always like this) :)

This week (so far) in review

-Monday--sent kids to daycare and overhauled my living room. BONUS.
-Tuesday-- spent entire day at Toronto Zoo and had a great time...until Caitlyn threw up all over herself, her car seat and the car while we were on the QEW and still more than an hour away from home.
-Tuesday night/Early Wednesday morning--up three times with puking toddler, wondering if I would be working today.
-6:30 Wednesday morning--Wake up to Eddie crying hysterically--he has a 101 temp.
-6:40 Caitlyn wakes up with 100 temp.
-6:45 I call in to work
-7:00 set up camp on the couch with both kids, we sleep until after 8
-8:15, 8:30, 8:45- Caitlyn throws up the little juice I could get her to drink and dry heaves quite a bit.
-8:50 I call daycare to say the kids won't be in (goodbye $80)
-9:00 Eddie eats half a pop tart and decides he is up to going to the store with Grandpa.
-9:00-11:00 Caitlyn and I sleep on the couch---or Caitlyn sleeps and I watch A Baby Story and Bringing Home Baby
-11:00- Caitlyn is sleeping deeply enough for me to lay her on the couch while I pee, make coffee, and toast. She wakes up to have a few bites and asks for her own. She eats half a piece with a tiny bit of juice. Lays on top of me for the next hour. 12:00- Eddie comes home pale and worn out....but Grandpa has bought him a belt and he's excited. I convince both kids to lie down for naps.
2:00 Caitlyn wakes up hysterical but decides she likes being in her crib and goes back to sleep.
2:05 Eddie gets up.....with a 103 temp I wait a few minutes to see if he cools off as he wakes up, but his temp actually goes up. I pump him full of Motrin. He lays on top of me lethargic and listless, falling asleep and waking up for 2 hours.
4:00 We send Grandpa to the store for Cheese, Bread, Milk and of course, cookies. 4:00 Caitlyn wakes up and feels a bit better but will not drink
4:15 I pull out the big guns and offer her a juice box....an ELMO juice box and she takes me up on it.
4:30 Eddie asks for crackers and peanut butter and Cait wants some too. The each eat 2.
4:45 I finally load the dishwasher and Eddie eats a plain piece of bread. Then a cheese sandwich.
5:00 I'm passing out from hunger and I make myself grilled cheese and tomato soup. Caitlyn eats my whole sandwich and 2 crackers.
6:00 Both kids go outside with Grandpa and have now been out there for 50 minutes. 6:50 crossing my fingers....this just might be over.

Weekend Fun

Ok, so did I scare anyone off with my enthusiasm for the sitemeter? I sure hope not. It's just so darn cool. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon enough.

While the main reason I'm here is to tell you about Cait's party and post some oh so cute photos of the birthday girl, I'm obliged to first share a video from the Kenny Rogers concert. Unfortunately, it is sideways, but you wouldn't have been able to see him anyway. I guess it never occurred to me that you could not rotate a video in the same fashion as a photo. Anyhoo, heeeeeere's KENNY!



Isn't he dreamy? Even from there? (ok, so apparently, the video feature SUCKS!!)

Caitlyn had a great birthday party. My only regret is not taking a picture of the fruit salad I made. It was truly a work of art. It was beautiful day, and I'm pretty sure that everyone had a good time. The kids played on the playground and the boys played football. I got to see Marisa, George and Sophia. I thought that I had taken more pictures, but there's really just a few. In no particular order, here are photos of Cait in her birthday crown, courtesy of my brother Matt, photos of her dipping her finger in to the cake, and photos of her in her new pink cowgirl boots and cowgirl hat, along with her new fall jacket. Yes, she was a happy girl. Everything she got was "I wear!!" I can't wait until Christmas.

Top 10 Hysterical (and sometimes inappropriate) Things Heard From My Kids Lately

10. Eddie “I’m a piss-pot!!! Right Mommy?” and when he’s told not to talk like that.. “But I WANT to be a piss-pot!”
9. Eddie ”Mommy why does Cait pee out her butt?”
8. Caitlyn, when asked her name “Caitlyn Mason Lastname, JR.” We tell her that her name is Caitlyn Renee, and she replies “NO I JUNIOR!!!” (she also pronounces Caitlyn Cake-Inn which is adorable.)
7. Eddie: “Do you love me, yes or no?” even though he says it 100 times a day
6. Caitlyn upon hearing someone else wished a happy birthday “NO! It my HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!”
5. And also “ I two!” and she holds up 2 tiny fingers.
4. Caitlyn every time I leave the room “Don’t leeeeeeeeeeave me Mommy!!!”
3. Eddie “Pssssssss” as he grabs his crotch and pretends to pee everywhere
2. Eddie “This is my FAVORITE toy!!” as he stis down in front of the mirror at the play vanity in his new classroom.
1. Caitlyn, while lifting up her shirt and pressing on her nipples “I got 2 buttons, Mommy!! Just like you!!!!!!”


I love them muchly.

To My Sweet Baby Girl

Dear Caitlyn,

Tomorrow is Saturday and you will be two years old. I don’t know where the time has gone because I swear that just yesterday you were your tiny baby self content to lie in my arms or be carried in your sling all day long.

You have accomplished a lot since your first birthday. Learning to walk was especially great and running and jumping came soon after. You knew many words on your first birthday and you gradually began stringing them together this year, and now, you speak full clear sentences and enjoy conversation with all of us. You’ve always been able to communicate your needs, wants, pleasure and displeasure, but to hear you put it in to words is absolutely amazing.

You still love to eat, and will try anything once. Your personal policy when it comes to food is “what’s on your plate is mine” and you help yourself accordingly. You are the best eating child I know.

For a 2-year-old, you are still quite small, but what you lack in size you make up for with personality. You are tiny, but tenacious, and quite honestly, you are something else. Everything is 100% with you; there are no in betweens. And for as frustrating as it can be sometimes, I hope you never lose this quality. Being headstrong as you are (just like your daddy) will take you places in life.

And though you are 2 now and not quite a baby anymore, you have the sweetest baby face I’ve ever seen. I could stare at your adorable nose and those big, beautiful hazel eyes all day long, kiss your chubby cheeks a million times and never be tired.

Happy birthday baby girl. I love you more than you know.

Love,

Mama

Caitlyn's Birth Story

Unfortunately, I don’t have an entire back story about Caitlyn’s conception. Ed and I were not being particularly careful and my cycles were completely erratic. I took at least one pregnancy test a month because after ceasing nursing at 7 months (along with coping with the demands of an infant) I had no idea where I was in my cycle at any given time.

I remember, right after Thanksgiving, telling Ed “I’m sure I’m done ovulating by now…”

Yeah.

There was a work Christmas party on 12/16/04 and I planned on drinking for maybe the 3rd time since I had Eddie. When I woke up that morning I had it in my head to take a pregnancy test before I went to dinner or else I would never forgive myself. For peace of mind, you know. I did not even consider for a second that it would be positive.

SURPRISE!!

I had never experienced a positive home pregnancy test since I found out about Eddie in the doctor’s office. I peed on the stick and continued on with my business. It blared a positive result after about 3 seconds. I, of course, went in to panic mode. I had an 11-month-old. And I was pregnant, again. I was just starting to look normal again. And oh.my.god. What was Ed going to say? I woke him up at 6:00am. He’d had no idea I’d even taken the test. I told him, we talked about it a bit, and decided that we were totally fine with it.

We told our families early this time, over Christmas, with Eddie wearing an “I’m the Big Brother T-shirt” on Christmas Eve. We wrapped it up for my mom to help Eddie open on Christmas Day. People were surprised, for sure. But we all knew that Caitlyn was meant to be. My due date was 8/26/05.

Early on in the pregnancy, I contracted a horrible kidney infection and was hospitalized for 2 days. I continued to have urinary tract infections through the pregnancy, but that was my only complaint. In comparison to my first pregnancy, this one was cake! As much as I hated pregnancy the first time around, I just loved it this time. I was never sick. I was no more tired than I had been while caring for Eddie. I felt great!

The cravings were a lot different the second time as well. I still drank my coffee, 1 cup of regular in the morning and a cup of half-caf in the afternoon. I loved on strawberries and whipped cream. I needed to have Cedar Point Corn Dogs and Ed wouldn’t go get them for me. Instead, I wrapped hotdogs in crescent rolls and ate them for lunch and dinner for at least 2 weeks. I went to Starbucks almost daily for the strawberries and crème frappucino with a shot of vanilla.

I knew from the beginning that this was a girl, and we had it confirmed with our 20 week ultrasound. We knew her name already, and until about 3 weeks before she was born it was going to be spelled Catelyn. I changed it to Caitlyn and then we moved on to the middle name, (which to this day, Ed is not a fan of.) Her name would be Caitlyn Renee.

We traveled to Virginia Beach and Richmond when I was 8 months pregnant and it was probably the most miserable car ride of my life. We walked everywhere though and had a really good time. Here is a photo of me 8 months pregnant feeding a giraffe. If you recall the photos from my 1st pregnancy, you can see that I carried her a whole lot differently. She was up high and under my ribs for the entire pregnancy.



I worked up until the beginning of August. The summer averaged about 90 degrees every day and I could hardly walk because my ankles were so swollen. I saw the one doctor at my practice that I hated, and she pulled me, so she was my new best friend. I wanted to nest, I really did, but I could barely move. I had until the end of the month, right? The good news was that we had never put the bassinette away after we moved Eddie to the crib. All I had to do was put the linens back in. I did manage to get her clothes washed and put away in all of their pink and frilly over-abundance.

On August 16th, we went to our county fair. I was having tons of contractions as we walked around in the 95 degree heat. Figuring I was dehydrated, I drank 3 bottles of water. Everything settled down by the time we got home. I went to the doctor in the morning and saw my very favorite midwife, the one who assisted in delivering Eddie. I told her about everything that was going on and she checked me out. I was 2 cm but very thinned out so she stripped my membranes with her finger. (This apparently separates membranes from the cervix.......I can still feel it when I think about it. Not cool.) She was sure I would go in to labor that night.

I was nervous because Ed was working out of town that day, but the contractions held off. I honestly had my first one as he walked in the door at 7pm. They were sporadic all night and I went to sleep in the recliner wondering if I actually was in labor. I woke around 2am definitely in labor. I had the classic feeling of “maybe if I just poop I’ll feel better.” I didn’t. I woke Ed up and told him we had to go. Then I proceeded to do 150 other things to make sure Eddie was taken care of. I called the midwife (the nasty one was on call) myself and she told me that if I was talking to her, there was no way I was in hard labor, but that she would meet me at the hospital anyway.

Ed took this picture right before we left. He’s charming, isn’t he? (to be uploaded later because i don't have it at work--it's a miserable picture)


My water broke in the driveway at 3:45 AM. We were at the hospital by 4 and I was in excruciating pain. It took them forever to get the IV started and me hooked up to everything, so I had to wait for the epidural. The anesthesiologist was in around 5:15am to do the epidural asking me all kinds of questions. The midwife was still not there. He finally started threading it through and gave me the initial shot. I started pushing (involuntarily) just was the midwife walked in. The anesthesiologist never even started the drip because Caitlyn was coming. Ed ran back in the room just as they flipped me over to get going. 3 pushes and she was out. (Don’t worry, the epidural kicked in just in time for my 3 stitches)

Caitlyn Renee was born at 5:37am on August 18, 2005. She weighed 9lbs 5oz and was 21 inches long. As with her brother, the NICU was paged because of her size. She was also hypoglycemic, but the doctor also felt an abnormal bulge in her belly. She was taken away before I could nurse her, and just after I held her for a minute.





They were afraid that the bulge was an intestinal problem, and didn’t want her to eat anything, so they started an IV to get her blood sugar up. We were relieved to hear that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her after a few hours, but disappointed to hear that because an IV was started, they would have to wean her off of it. Unlike an adult, a baby couldn’t handle the IV just being taken out and it had to be reduced gradually.

And so began the long ordeal of Caitlyn in the NICU. I could go up there to nurse her, but they were giving her formula to keep her sugar up. Every time they reduced the IV, her levels dropped just enough to be considered “unstable”. Day one turned in to day two and she was still on the IV.

All of my hopes and dreams were shattered in this horrendous post partum state. She was supposed to be in the room with me, and Eddie was supposed to come bounding in, wearing his big brother t-shirt, and climb up in my bed and hold his baby sister for the first time. Everyone was supposed to be there to fawn over my baby girl. Instead, Eddie came for about 30 minutes and played cars with me on the floor in my hospital room. Outside of Ed’s Mom, his Aunt Gail and Uncle Rich, and Marisa and George, nobody came to see me. Why would they if they couldn’t see the baby, right? I gave up at that point. I didn’t go up and nurse her regularly. I stayed in my room, slept and watched TV, checking on her sporadically. Ed and I fought because I wasn’t doing enough. I just couldn’t do it, physically or mentally.

Day 3 arrived and they had no idea if she would be released along with me. Her final reading was scheduled for 10pm. I decided that sitting around the hospital hoping she could come home wouldn’t do anyone any good, so I went home. I pumped. I spent time with Eddie. And then Ed and I went to his 10 year high school reunion for a bit and waited for a call.

The hospital did call just after 10 to say that we could come and get her. Her reading was still low, but nothing that I couldn’t handle, they said. So off we went. I still hadn’t put the bassinette linens on and the car seat straps needed to be adjusted from the last time Eddie used it. I went to the NICU for the final time and put her in her going home outfit, even though it was after 11 by the time we got there, and we took our baby girl home.




Fortunately, this was where any feelings of depression subsided.

Caitlyn was a great baby, came home sleeping 4 hours at a pop. She fit right in. Eddie wasn’t thrilled with her at first, as she took up a lot of my time, but he quickly became a good big brother. We got in to a routine right away because Ed worked a lot. I kept her in the front carrier quite a bit so that my hands were free to tend to Eddie and housework. She came to the park with us, on the car ride while I took Eddie to school. I think the most important part of integrating her in to the family was keeping everything very much the same. She did what we always did.

Our family was, and is, perfect.








****On a side note, I know this is really long…I know****

I spoke briefly about this in my 100 facts list. When Caitlyn was about a month old, she spiked a really high fever and was hospitalized with suspected meningitis. A ton of tests determined that it was just a viral infection; however, they kept her hospitalized because a baby that young should not have a fever. I spent three days in the hospital with her, nursing her, hanging out and taking care of her. At that point, I felt like we finally bonded. Ed said it to me then, and I truly believe that this was sent from God. No, it is never fun to have your child hospitalized and it was certainly stressful. But I spent the time with her, just me, alone, that I should have to begin with. And somehow, I finally felt complete. He does work in mysterious ways.