Aryn's 4th Birthday

I think it's safe to say that I have fallen off the blogging bandwagon. This also means that, in 20 years, when Lucas comes up to me and says "Hey mom, when did I get all of my teeth?" I'm going to answer with "around 1." Not "Oh at # months, # days for your top two teeth, and # months, # days for your bottom" like I can do with Aryn. Nope. Did I even blog about Lucas walking? Yeah, he walks. And talks. And is hilarious.

But I digress.

On September 6, 2014, we had Aryn's big 4th birthday party. It. Was. AMAZING.

Over the past few months, Aryn has really jumped on the whole "princess" bandwagon. Everything is princesses. She's a princess, Daddy is a prince, Mommy is the queen, Lucas is the king... yes, I wrote that right. I used to wonder how 75 year old princess movies could still be loved by kids nowadays... I mean, Snow White is old school. And by 'old school', I mean it was made in 1937. It is literally 77 years old. And comparing it to hits like Frozen, how can you put Elsa in the same basket as Snow White? Yet there we are, in a bidding war with some stranger on the Strathmore Bidding Wars page for a Snow White dress for a meagre $12 while I'm also Googling for an Elsa doll.

This is my life.

So when I found on Kijiji an ad for a Princess rental, I jumped at it. I booked Elsa and Anna... and I am embarrassed to say I was extremely excited. I mean, come on. How awesome would this be? And about a week prior to the party, Elsa texted me (they must have a good phone plan in Russia) and asked if Princess Jasmine could come along as well. Hey, free travel on Carpet, right?

So I got working on giving my little Princess the party of the century.

I made a castle entrance... that didn't turn out as awesome as I had hoped, but hey... it's not too bad, right?

 

The Princess table.

 

 

The pink popcorn was just red food colouring added to butter. It was NOT a big hit... :/

I had to do something to entice the little boys, who were going to be knights at this party. I made Knight armour out of a cardboard box and black duct tape, and the swords are from the dollar store. Score for Halloween stuff out now!

 

I made a banner for my Princess with downloaded Princess characters from Etsy.

The water bottle labels are a must-have for every party. I've become the Group Water Bottle Label Maker!

And the gift bags. Every Princess got to take home a twirly straw, a Princess crown, and this bag that had a crown cookie in it made by Out Of Chaos Comes Cookies. Every Knight went home with a sword, their armour, and a cookie made into a frog.

And the cake. I used the same Out Of Chaos Comes Cookies for the cake. She's just fantastic. It was a last minute thing as I was extremely unorganized and she pulled through with flying colours. Too bad the photo isn't better quality... it's the only one I have!

My Princess...

 

The party kicked off with some fun in the trampoline... that proves we may need to upgrade next year...

And we got some photos of the other Princesses who were invited.

 

And we had to do some group shots...

And then the Princesses showed up!

 

They sang songs, talked to the girls, played games, told a story, and didn't get out of character for even a second. It was fantastic and the girls were in awe!

 

 

Lucas even had a good time! 

 

 

And I even got a family photo with everyone!

And my favourite photo of all time...

And the Baby & Me 2.0 generation got some photos done too, of course.

 

And then we did the cake.

And the Princesses gave Aryn a gift for her birthday...

 

The girls were all sad to see them go, but it was a great party! 

 

Thank you to everyone who made it so special! And we're officially into the 4's... and I'm loving every minute of it! Happy birthday my sweet girl. Your dad and I love you to the moon and back. You are so special, sweet, funny and beautiful. Thank you for being our little girl!!

Stuff

My friend Cathy got onto a bit of a "health kick" and I kind of jumped on the bandwagon. It started with foods. You know - fruits and veggies pureed into pancakes, salads for lunch, even - *gasp* - sneaking salmon fillets into our house. Yeah, take that my anti-fish-family. There's salmon in our freezer!

My husband is the pickiest eater of the 3 of them. For instance, he loves meatloaf. Wait, let me rephrase that: he loves his mother's meatloaf. And it really is good meatloaf. But I like things to taste a little fancier. Why not throw some pureed fruits and veggies in there? How about some spices and flavour? Just because it's not on the recipe list, doesn't mean it can't be added! And then I don't tell him I've changed things up, and he eats it, says it's "ok" and "what did you do differently?" That discussion always ends with me promising to leave the recipe the way it is. But I never do. Sucker.

Our "health kick" turned into a bit of a "simplify your life" kick. Eating better meant I had to get rid of some items in our pantry, which made me clean out the entire pantry and re-organize it. I have literally never cleaned out our pantry in the 3 years we lived here. There were dust bunnies on the floor the size of actual bunnies. There was packaged food in there that expired in 2008. Our pantry may look empty right now, but it looks clean. I got addicted to the feeling of admiration for my pantry, and moved on to the entryway closets, then all of my clothes upstairs. Then our master bedroom. Then the kids toys. Let me tell you how many toys I am getting rid of: all of them. Not really, but it sure feels like it. I have weird kids. They don't play with toys. They prefer to play in our cabinets or with the tupperware. They love playing outside. They love going for walks. They do not love playing with toys. They are weird.

We have so much stuff. Just random stuff that litters our house. My husband, God love him, is a lot like his father. I am like my mother in this stance. I don't keep anything. I keep sentimental items. My husband keeps everything. Everything. Case in point:

I started cleaning out the closets in our downstairs entryways. I made 3 piles: shoes, baseball hats, sweaters/coats. These piles were made of items that I have never seen be worn. I took pictures, and sent them to Ryan. He replied saying he wanted to keep all the baseball hats and most of the shoes.

Let's paint a picture, people. One of the pairs of shoes were these ugly, brownish green shoes with no shoe laces and had an inch of dust on them. Never, in the last 8 years of knowing Ryan, have I ever seen him wear these shoes. I asked him why he wants to keep them. "They'd look good with jeans," he replied. I asked him if he's ever worn them. "No," he replied. When did you buy them?

"1994," he replied.

1.9.9.4.

He has owned these shoes for 20 years. He has never once worn them. Do you understand what that means? In the 8 years we've been together, we have moved 3 times. And he moved a lot since 1994 with university and billets and apartments. This means he has brought these ugly no-laces shoes with him on at least a dozen moves. He has taken them out of boxes, packed them up again, and thought, "I'll wear these." And he has never worn them. They have taken up space in a closet for 20 years, collecting dust and yearning to be worn.

They are now in a bag on its way to a donation box.

I also found a backpack in the garage filled with his University projects. I never went to University, so maybe I missed the sentimental value of it, but he graduated a decade ago. Why does he still have them? Is there going to be something in the future where he'll need a paper he wrote in 2002? If there is a zombie apocalypse, will these University projects help him ward off the zombies?

No. They are now in the recycle bin. Shhhh don't tell him.

When we got married, we got so much stuff. And not even things we really need. We got this ugly bowl. I don't even know who it was from any more. But we had to keep it "in case they stop by." Never, in the 7 years we've lived in Strathmore, has anyone other than Ryan's immediate family stopped by unexpectedly. And even if someone did, I doubt the first thing they'll say to us is, "So, how did that ugly bowl work out for you the past 7 years?"

We have 2 spaghetti strainers. And not the small hand-held ones. The huge stainless steel pots. We have 2. That means, an entire shelf in our cabinet is used to store spaghetti strainer pots.

How many times in the past 8 years of our relationship have we ever used a spaghetti strainer pot?

Never. Not once. I think we tried to use it once and I got frustrated with it and went back to our regular-sized pot. Both of these spaghetti strainer pots are going into the garage sale. Shhh. Don't tell Ryan.

I am not a fantastic cook, but I can make a small list of things really well. Most of them are chicken dishes. I make a mean Chicken Parmesan. So, from all the dishes and pots and pans we have in our house, I probably use maybe 20 items. We have 500 items. We have dishes on top of dishes, scattered unorganized throughout our kitchen. It's the most unorganized kitchen I've ever seen. And we don't use half the stuff.

Garage sale!

The garage sale boxes are filling up, and my cabinets are empty. It's a fantastic feeling. So long, 65-pound mixer. I'm not even exaggerating. We have a mixer that is literally 65 pounds. You need to lift it with your knees. So long, coffee maker! Who makes a pot of coffee any more? We have a Keurig! So long, size 8 clothes. Like I'm ever going to fit into size 8 clothes ever again. Even with my diet. So long, maternity clothes! You will NOT be missed! So long, bicycle with wheels that never stay inflated (I bought it at a garage sale 5 years ago for $20).

Everything is going. We'll have so much more room in our house! It'll feel great. Lots of room to buy new stuff!

Happy 1st Birthday, Lucas!!

When Aryn was born, we didn't think we could ever love anyone like we loved her. Then Lucas came along and proved us wrong. It's been a long, hard year filled with laughter, so many smiles, and quite a few tears. He has turned our lives upside down and it has been hands down the best year of our lives. 

Lucas, we love that you're a daredevil. Like how you jump off the couch head first.

We love your open mouth kisses. Slobbery and adorable.

We love your little white-blonde mullet. Daddy thinks it's red, but he is very wrong.

We love your temper when you don't get your way or when we ignore you.

We love how your favourite thing in the world to eat is Kleenex or toilet paper. We also love how weird you are.

We love that you love to stick your hands in the toilet (regardless of what's in there...).

We love how you massage the back of our necks when we hold you.

We love how much you love bath time, and splashing in the water and splashing your sister.

We love how shy you get when people acknowledge you.

We love how you're such a snuggler.

We love that you're finally sleeping through the night.

We love how you walk like Frankenstein.

We love how you flirt with all the ladies.

We love how you try to talk.

We love that you jump on your sister.

We love how I have to hold you down with my feet to change your diaper.

We love that you stick your tongue out whenever you're concentrating on something or trying to be bad, like throwing the remote control into the toilet or the baby monitor into the bathtub. Again.

We love that the first thing you do when you wake up is look for Aryn.

We love how you always pull your socks off. Always. Then throw them.

We love how happy you are when we go for a walk.

We love that you still nap twice a day.

We love how impatient you are (all.the.time).

We love how you're such a mama's boy.

We love your laugh. It sounds like a barking seal.

We love how fast you move to get into it when we have the fridge or dishwasher open.

We love your super cute tiny bum.

We love how you spin yourself around on your bum with your heels when you get excited.

We love how mischievous you are. 

We love your big cheesy tooth-filled smiles. 3 teeth on top, 2 on the bottom. And judging from your mood the last couple of days, we suspect 1-3 more are on their way shortly.

And we absolutely love the little person you are and can't wait to see who you're going to become.

You are a very loved little boy. Thank you for choosing us to raise you! Happy birthday, little man.

Credit: Diaper cover, tie and delicious cake (also Lucas' birthday cake, which will be shown soon!) are made by the fabulous BugABoo Baby Wear and Cakes Inspired in Strathmore, Alberta!

My kids and hospitals

Aryn had her first over night hospital stay when she was when she was 19 months, with a bad bout of croup and a super fun febrile seizure.

Lucas had his first over night hospital stay Monday night at the Alberta Children's Hospital. Yay!

He stood here in the window and waved

at all the nurses. He was quite popular.

As you all know, Lucas was born with Situs Inversus; his internal abdomen organs are all flipped around (mirrored). When he was born, he was checked out with an ultrasound and found to be perfectly healthy, despite his Inversus. The ECG he got when I was pregnant showed his heart to be perfectly normal (which is extremely rare for the syndrome he has - most people born with their hearts on the correct side and their abdomen flipped tend to have a heart defect).

So when Lucas started vomiting after every nursing feed for the past month, and spent Friday night screaming for 2.5 hours and Sunday afternoon for 1.5 hours, I woke up Monday morning knowing the only option was to get him into the doctor. Then I fed him Monday morning, and he vomited all over me and I had had enough.

Finally asleep.

To explain what was happening, basically I nurse Lucas holding him as one would expect: he lays on my arms, he eats. Regardless of how long he nurses, all of a sudden his stomach will "blip" (like a hiccup) and BAM - projectile vomit. It has been a very stressful month.

Why didn't I take him in earlier? He seemed happy. He was pooping, peeing, smiling, learning to stand, crawling around like a maniac.... despite his eating antics, he was a happy, healthy baby.

Why did I take him in when I did? Because of the screaming.

Getting his IV put in. He was a little dehydrated.

When he as born, the senior resident paediatrician in the NICU told us that if Lucas ever started to scream uncontrollably and begin vomiting, his stomach could be trying to flip back around. When he told us that, both Ryan and I stared wide-eyed and asked, "Can that happen?"

Doctor's response: "We don't know. Maybe?"

That's the fact of the matter: no one knows. Situs Inversus is rare. Situs Inversus Totalis (heart and abdomen flipped around) are rare. Situs Inversus with levocardia (or Situs Inversus Incompletus), which Lucas has, heart on correct side and abdomen flipped around, are even more rare. No one really knows what to expect.

So when Lucas was screaming uncontrollably, vomiting during and after every single feed, the only logical explanation in my mind was: his stomach is flipping around. Obviously. There's no other options.

So we went to the Children's, and I began explaining his symptoms: projectile vomiting, fairly tired (napping for longer, more often), and uncontrollable screaming. 

Oh, and he has Situs Inversus.

Well, let me tell you: throw that in the list and you are welcome with a red carpet. Not only was he seen as a medical marvel, they took me extremely seriously. We had an Upper GI done, a few X-rays, an EKG, and some blood tests. 

Lucas getting his EKG. The nurse was a total cow. She got mad at Ryan taking this photo because she didn't want her photo taken. Yes... cuz we wanted YOU in the photo... *sigh*

I'm also not sure why I had that face... probably because it was 9pm and I hadn't slept yet, or eaten, and I was exhausted and delirious haha!

(What's an Upper GI? Basically, first they took an x-ray. Then they stuck a tube down Lucas' nose so it goes into his stomach, and they fill him with barium. Then they take a GI machine and watch the barium fill his stomach and go into his intestines, to see if there's a blockage. Lucas literally screamed the entire time, and it was a 20 minute test. He was so mad at the tube in his nose! Then they waited 20 minutes and took another x-ray to get a big picture of his insides to make sure it's all working smoothly.)

Thank God, his stomach and intestines were fine. There was no blockage (which is what we were expecting to be the issue; we even had the surgical team on standby to operate!) and his stomach wasn't flipping around. Awesome. His heart is also perfect, much to all of the doctor's surprise. "We're extremely surprised his heart is fine, considering his Situs Inversus! It's so rare!"

We were then admitted. Dr. Les, the ER pediatrician, wouldn't let us leave without finding out what was happening. For the entire rest of the day, that night, and the following day, we were asked question after question, and test after test. 

In the end... we found nothing too serious. His hemoglobin is low (93 when it should be 110) so he's on an iron supplement. He has potential reflux, so he's on a Zantac-like product that tastes disgusting and makes him shiver. 

He took these Cheerios and threw them ALL OVER the place.

Zantac or not, he's still vomiting. This afternoon he nursed, and I spent 20 minutes keeping him awake to keep him from throwing up. He gags, chews, burps, etc.... then the next second, he's asleep and fine. 

It's a complete mystery what is going on with this guy! Could it be an allergy? Doubtful, as he throws up WHILE eating, instead of after he's digested a bit. And, after he's digested the rest of what he's eaten, he's fine. It's not like he's throwing up all of what he's eating; just a lot of it. Could it be reflux? Perhaps, but he doesn't follow the symptoms very well at all. 

So we wait. Trial and error, writing everything down (which I am AWFUL at, since I just remembered I was supposed to do that!), and learning new ways to nurse are how we're treating this. And.... I hate to admit it... considering ending our nursing relationship. The thought pains me, but so does watching him vomit 5 times a day! 

Any suggestions, ideas, and prayers are welcome!