Poop

This post might be a little to much information for you about Sariah's poop. If you don't like to talk or read about poop...don't read this post. Since I use this blog as a journal I am writting it down because I don't want to forget it. The author can not be held respobsible if you have issues with poop and continue to read. You have been warned.

Little Miss has not fully recovered to her 100% functioning intestines since she was sick with the puke almost 2 weeks ago. She has been having issues with the pooper. Seriously no fun.
Yesterday she had a problem going down for her nap. I let her read a book to herself in bed until she is sleepy. Most the time she is asleep within 15 minutes. Yesterday, she took about an hour before she fell asleep and then woke up an hour later.
For some an hour nap might be great but for my 2 year old...not so great. She was a mess when she woke up. At first I thought her problem was that she was so tired....which of course was a small bit of the problem but not the heart of it. Just as I started to get her calmed down she would scream in pain. My husband thought I was crazy and came and took her outside to distract her. When he brought her back in all she wanted was for me to hold her and I got her to almost fall asleep when she started crying again in pain.
This time I noticed that her tummy was tight and came to the conclusion that she had to poop. So I massaged her tummy and did some exercises with her legs hoping to help. Every time she tried to poo she would cry so hard and ask me "mommy tell me what to do". Finally I came up with an idea to put her in the bathtub and see if the warm water would help her tummy relax. I have a huge tub in my bathroom and the kiddos hardly ever get to use it. So I filled it up as a special treat to see if it would make her feel better.
Oh my goodness is all I have to say. Sariah and I were in the tub for 5 minutes when she asked to go potty. So she got out of the tub and successfully got a itsy bitsy turd out of her pooper into her little toilet. Congratulations were going on since that was the first time she pooped in her toilet. I wiped her, shocked that such a little turd was the problem, and put her back in the tub with me.
As we were playing in the water after a few minutes she says, "Mommy I have to go poop." The next words from me to get on the toilet don't even make it out of my mouth when I see this ginormous poop floating in the tub. It was huge. No I did not take a picture of it....that would be way gross. But it was huge and I don't know how it was able to fit inside my little girls intestines. Seriously it scared Sariah it was so big. She thought the poop was trying to get her and harm her. I would be afraid of that thing too if it had been in my body causing pain.
Well we clean her up and the tub. She proceeds to have 3 more poopy diapers....all diarreah. She seemed to make it through today with out any problems. She ate normal and had a normal range of diapers. I am hoping yesterday was the last of this but I don't want to hold my breath. This flu bug that hit our family is horrible and I am sorry if any one else is getting it. Our intestines are a mess, especially my little gal and I am just hoping that all the spinach smoothies I have been making will help repair the stomachs much faster.

Youth Conference: Be Strong!!

As I back track to the beginning of the summer I come to Youth Conference with the 14 to 18 year old kids in our area. I was lucky enough to be asked to be one of the group counselors and had a blast. The theme for the conference was based from Joshua 1:9. "Be Strong".
It was a 3 day conference. First we had a BBQ and swimming to kick off the conference. Then our first day we had classes on various elements of living strong. The class topics were based from The Strength of Youth Pamphlet. Our next day we did service in the community. That night after our service we had a fancy dinner and dance that was loads of fun. James and I got to go as chaperon's for the dance since I was one of the group counselors. The following day was Sunday and we all went to church and then had a guest speaker that evening to close the conference.
I only took pictures during the time we were doing service. Why I forgot my camera all the other days I do not know but had an enjoyable time nonetheless.
For service the group of 5 I had with me got to paint fire hydrants.
Here they are at the beginning of the project.
During our lunch break they still had smiles

This kiddos were so much fun.

Painting our very last fire hydrant.

It was the dirtiest hydrant by far....doesn't that look like blood on there?

Here they are in their gq poses' after all the hydrants were painted....we painted 15 of them all around town.

Wanting to post

I am totally in the mood to post Sariah's birthday pictures from her eventful weekend of birthday stuff but my computer is not working with me in the uploading of the pictures. So sorry you must wait till my computer savvy husband is feeling better and can spend some time fixing whatever is wrong with my computer.

Sickness

If you have a weak stomach please do not read!! If you continue to read know that the writer can not be held responsible for what happens to you!

I wrote the puke post the day after the tater tot spent puking, not even thinking that I would have another experience with puke with in a few short days. Seriously Heavenly Father didn't think one puke day was enough for me he had to give me another one.
Saturday morning everyone woke up pretty healthy. I had taken Nyquil the night before and all my aches and pains were gone. I was determined not to be the one puking with this flu. So since everyone seemed great...since I was only checking Sariah and my temp....we rescheduled the Birthday BBQ and went forward with our plans. I spent the day getting everything ready for an awesome party.
The party was great. It was so great that we even ended up staying at the park later then expected. It was a Saturday night and we could all take good Sunday naps the next day, is the thought that went thru my head. So I got the kiddos in bed by 10pm and started cleaning. Cleaned the kitchen with the hubby and then took a long needed shower. As I was snuggling in my bed with my computer and reading email I heard Justin get up to use the bathroom....being almost midnight I was shocked. He never wakes up at night...he is a heavy sleeper!
I went to check on him as he was getting out of the bathroom and he said he woke up with an upset tummy. His tummy doesn't do well when he eats hot dogs....he loves hot dogs...but his intestines don't...he is hot dog intolerant...you know like lactose intolerant. He knows what happens when he eats them so I gave him a glass of water and tucked him back into bed thinking that was the last I would see of him. He giggled as I left him because when he jiggled his belly he could hear the water swishing around. That was the last time he giggled for 36 hours.
The next thing I knew, I was sitting in my room with my computer and I heard a very loud splatter and a moan. As I jumped up and grabbed the dirty towels on the floor from my husband's last shower, visions of puke everywhere was horrifying me. The only positive thought I had in the . 5 seconds it took me to get to his room was, I am so glad we still hadn't carpeted the house. The only positive side I can think of for living in a construction zone.
Thank goodness Justin had made it half way down the bunk bed ladder before he started to puke. But oh my poor little man was spewing red hot dog chunks everywhere just like I had visioned. (Red because the cupcakes for Sariah's birthday party were elmo.) It was nasty...oh so very, very, very nasty. His daddy's office is right next to his room so daddy got there first. I threw the towels on the floor where he was puking. I was amazed at how much had already come out. Seriously I didn't think he ate that much and he said he only ate 2 hot dogs. When he took a breath, my strong and smart husband picked up the puking kid and ran him to the bathroom. Where he continued to puke for what seemed like forever.
I would like to say that is where the puking ended and we all went to bed peacefully. But for the next 4 hours he puked every 30 minutes. It was so miserable for both of us. Miserable for little man because he got everything in his stomach out with the first puke session. Which meant he was puking what little fluid he would consume between each puking and then dry heaving the rest of the time. This is painful. I know from personal experience that I will spare you the details.
Miserable for me because, I sat next to him each time praying that it would stop. He was in so much pain and exclaimed at one point that he was going to die because someone was strangling him to death and he couldn't breath. His normally happy little face was so pale and sad.
Finally around 4:15am he had his last puke session for the evening. He moaned for about an hour and I would go check on him every 15 minutes just so he would know I was there. He hates to be alone when he is feeling normal so you can just imagine what he was like when he is feeling like he is going to die. Poor little guy was so miserable. By 5:50 Sariah was waking up and I checked on Justin one last time and encouraged him to do his best to fall asleep. He slept until 12:30. So almost 7 hours of sleep with no puking.
By the time little man woke up I was so exhausted from spending all night up with him and then all morning with Sariah that I could barely keep my eyes open. Sariah was so excited to see Justin that she kept trying to hug him and lay on him. Of course that didn't work too well with Justin. So I got her to eat some lunch and then lay down for a nap. As I got Justin started on a movie and encouraged him to drink something, I kept telling him that he was over the worst part of it. Dad came out of his office and told me to go take a nap while Sariah slept.
I was into a deep slumber when I woke up to Justin screaming Mom. He was puking again! After 8 dry heaving sessions the night before....9 hours later he was at again with puke number 9. As I ran to his side in my so not awake at all state, I realized that Dad was there next to him and returned to my bed before the dry heaving had begun. I was so tired.
I am happy to say that was the last time he puked. We battled a fever the rest of the day and he barely ate a thing. I think I got him to consume 3 crackers and half an astro pop. He went to bed with some children's tylenol and a bucket later that evening praying that he would not wake up to puke.
He woke up Monday morning all smiles but with a very little appetite. His fever was gone but I wasn't letting him go to school. Since the fever stayed away all day today he gets to go to school tomorrow. As he ate his Eggo waffles with no syrup this morning, he vowed never to eat hot dogs again. We will see how long that lasts....I probably won't ever buy hot dogs again which will make it last a lot longer.
I realize that there are parents out there who have sick kids all the time and I am so grateful in the almost 3 years that I have been Justin's mom this is the first time he has been horribly sick. He has had a runny nose or a small cough. He did have pink eye for 2 days once. But never anything this horrible before and I have a new found gratitude for the health of my children. I hope they don't get sick again any time soon. If it continues to happen every 3 years that is fine by me. If all it takes is me continuing to feed them healthy foods and getting them adjusted regularly by a chiropractor then I will keep that up!

Happy Birthday Little Miss

All week you have been talking about your birthday and it is finally here Little Miss! We get to celebrate you! Wahoo!
I can hardly believe that it has already been 2 years since this picture was taken.

This year you have grown so much. You are walking, running, climbing, talking, singing, giggling, playing pretend, putting away the silverware, reading books to yourself with your own words "no more monkeys jumping on the bed", hugging, kissing, oh the list goes on. It has been an eventful year that is for sure. Wouldn't change it for a minute.

I feel so blessed to be your Mom. You are one of a kind. Not another like ya. Each morning when you wake up and give me that great big hug I thank Heavenly Father for sending you to me. I love you Sariah Marie and look forward to many more birthdays.

Puke

I have pretty healthy kiddos. I am grateful for their health everyday. Today I was even more grateful as I held my almost 2 year old while she puked 11 times. Yes from the wonderful waking hour of 4:30 am to the early afternoon of 1:45pm she successfully puked 11 times. There was a 2 hour break from about 9:30 to 11:30 where she slept. So technically she puked 11 times in a 7 hour period.
I know I might be a little crazy for counting the number of times she did this but it was a bit frightening and I wanted to be able to answer any doctor's questions if asked. Plus I did 3 loads of laundry with enough towels and clothing items to fit a small family for at least 4 days. I have never been puked on so many times in my life. Seriously one time I thought I was going to vomit along with her it was so nasty as it ran down my shirt. Oh the joy of being a mom.
It was a rough day as we watched movies on the couch with her puke bucket and liquids. She laid so lifelessly it was sad to see. As she rested between vomit sessions she would say to me in her sad little voice "Mommy tell me what to do." I so wanted to take it all away from her and make her better instantly. When she fell asleep on my chest after the 11th puke I kept hoping it would be the last.
Thankfully it was and she was all smiles when Daddy came home. Which allowed me to get ready for my meetings this evening. She went to bed without puke and let's hope it stays that way. My day was less then productive and so sad for us both. Plus I want her to be better by Friday for her big birthday...yep...she will be 2.

Awesome Giveaway!!

One of my best friends is having a birthday this Saturday and she is doing a birthday giveaway on her blog.
I blogged about her store a while back when she was doing the giveaway for these cute towels...

Go check out her giveaway
If you don't want to enter yourself...you can always do all the things and say you would like to give your entries to me... :)

Wolf!!!!

Little Man had a pack meeting last night and earned a whole bunch of stuff. He worked really hard to meet his requirements to be a Wolf before he turned 9!
Here he is entering on the red carpet...it's a little fuzzy because the lights were out. Doesn't this picture just make you want to smile?

Doing their skit as a wolf pack.

This was little miss pretty much the whole night....can you here the whine?

I love that the give the Mom's pins for each badge the earn....here he is pinning me my wolf pin.

As a tradition in his pack he has to "wolf" down some whip cream to find the dog treat...or starburst. (as a side note please disregard my roundness in these pictures...no I am not pregnant)

Cleaning off all that whip cream.

Congrats to our little man! He is amazing in so many ways and we are so proud of him!

1st Place Reader!!!

Last week was Little Man's last AR assembly. Each Semester they have one rewarding kids who meet their reading goals for the semester. Justin doesn't just reach his goal, he exceeds it every time. I can't remember if I have told you how brilliant my son is for a 3rd grader. He is a freaking genius! He reads at a 6th grade reading level. Soccer is his first love but reading comes in a very close 2nd. This year he seriously was reading everything.
Well all his reading this year paid off. He got the highest percentage for the entire 3rd grade. He worked so hard at getting his points. 4 days before the final reading test he read a book worth 21 points just to make his goal that much higher. (Most 3rd graders read books between the 3 to 10 point range.)
I was able to go with Sariah to school to see Justin get his award. My cute sister who is also in 3rd grade got 1st place for girls. He got a shirt, certificate, and medal. He seriously is such a handsome little man.

It was cute to watch Sariah cheer for Justin. When they said Justin's name the whole school cheered super loud. It was awesome! Justin took this picture.

After school we took Justin to Amazing Jakes to celebrate his award. Sariah loved to ride the horses with Daddy.

Justin and I hung out a bit having fun. Here he is waiting in the line for bumper cars.

Getting ready to bump.

Bumping around.

The little family before we left amazing jakes around 9.

It was such a fun Friday night with the kiddos. We are so lucky to be the parents of these 2. So many blessings, so many good times, so many smiles and tears....I am the luckiest by far.
Congrats again to Justin for reading the most! Love you!

Pedicures.....Sariah style.

I know I have posted about pedicures before....I love them! They are the greatest things. Seriously, you can never go wrong in giving the women you love a gift certificate to get a pedicure....that is of course unless you are with a woman who hates to have her feet touched.
Anyway, for mother's day my husband had me go get a pedicure. I normally go by myself or with a girlfriend to get a pedicure but this time I decided to take little miss. It was her first time to go to the nail salon and she did such a great job. She sat on my lap and dipped her feet in the water as I soaked my feet and got them clipped.
Then when there was an extra gal to paint her toes they took her to her own seat and painted her toes. Oh she loved it so very much! Sariah picked out the color and we got matching purple toes. Hopefully this will become a mother's day tradition for the 2 of us.

Cute and Cuddly

Here are some of my favorite things that I think are cute and cuddly.
Little MissLittle Man

The 2 of them together....Seriously these 2 make my days so much brighter....especially when they look this cute and cuddly.

Then we went to the park and enjoyed some other cute and cuddly things....like baby ducks.

Sariah and I got this close and she sat so still watching the baby ducks. I was amazed that I got pictures of it.

Menleigh's Talent Show

Super Talented Piano player Menleigh was in a talent show. Here is the crew watching her.

Here she is performing.

First Pinewood Derby

We experienced our first pinewood derby in the month of April. Justin had a blast making his car with Daddy...I wasn't there for that part so there are no pictures of the making process. They had such good bonding time.
Then the big day of the Derby came and they were all excited. All the cubscouts waiting for the race to begin.

Pinewood Derby is a serious event....look at this track.

Patiently waiting to race their cars.

Awesome leaders setting their cars on the track.

a look at the track

Justin's car is on the middle blue lane.

Oh he is so cute.....intently listening for his number.

Cheering squad.

Big Smiles

She really is laughing in this picture even if it looks like she is in pain.

Little Man didn't win but he had so much fun!