Busy Mama's Semi-Crunchy Army Wife Survival Guide

Wow! Its been over a year..

2012-08-31T12:02:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged in over a year! So much has changed, but its nice to be able to look back through my old posts at what was going on. I'll have to make sure to start posting more often........ someday........ when I have time. I wonder if my blogspot will still be here in 18 years? lol ;)

2011-06-29T22:12:00.000-05:00

Getting back to it!

2011-06-28T16:26:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! Dustin is 7 months old! He is loving floor play and his exersaucer enough for me to have my hands (and boobs) free for a few minutes a day now.

A couple weeks ago, we went to the battalion's town hall meeting to learn more about Matt's upcoming deployment. So, we were trying very hard to pay attention, but our kids have bladders the size of walnuts. Matt was taking the toddlers (mainly Livie) to the potty about every 5 minutes. Last week on Facebook, I noticed that the battalion page has added a handful of pictures from the meeting to its fan page. I look at the pictures and immediately notice that in about 5 out of 8 of the photos, you can see Matt walking Livie to and from the bathroom. Livie was standing right next to me, so I asked her, "Can you see you and Daddy?" Without missing a beat, she very happily tells me in her chirpiest voice, "Yeah! I see me... and Daddy,... with all his boy friends in the matching shirts!" I almost fell to the floor in laughter!

Ella celebrated her 2nd birthday on the 15th. She had a luau theme, ate cake, opened gifts, and swam in the pool. While we were at the pool, Livie puked. You can imagine how the rest of that week went as we all passed the lovely stomach bug from person to person. Ugh!

We have made some new friends in the last couple weeks and have been truly enjoying hanging out with them on the weekends. Its nice having someone to relate to, and who is going through the same things as me. Its crazy how much we have in common- the Army husbands aside, we both are about to go through deployments, our first experiences with kids in preschool this fall, and both have twins.

Then, of course, we have gotten close with some people at church, and I also have my lovely DS mamas that I enjoy chatting with. All in all, between a nursling, school (almost done- yay!), getting the twins ready for preschool, illnesses, and new friends, its easy to see why I havent really had time to blog.

Wow! Has it really been almost a month since I last posted?

2011-02-25T04:05:00.001-06:00

Well, lots going on! Samie saw the GI doc on Tuesday, and we have some *maybe* answers. We will know for sure after a few weeks whether or not these were really the answers we were looking for. 1) Toddler's diarrhea- no real "cure", just things you can do to treat it/lessen the severity, 2) SEVERE reflux, which is being much more aggressively treated now.

Dustin is 3 months now, and getting so big, so fast that he needed a bigger car seat! He wasn't over the weight limit or anything, but his back is so long that the shoulder straps were on the highest slot, and he was slunched over. He was crying everytime he had to get in it, and this is not his personality, because he is the happiest, smiliest baby I have ever seen.

We started going to a church last Sunday, and as different as it was from the church we went to back home, I really enjoyed it. Then, Monday night we went to a bible study group for families with young children. Wednesday, back to the church again, after the FRG meeting. It was great. They have been discussing getting things in your life in order, which is something we all need to do, right? They are about to begin a series about financial independence, which is something I'm VERY interested in. Matt and I are reading about the Dave Ramsey plan right now, as a matter of fact.

The FRG meeting was less than I'd hoped for. The new commander requires Matt to be there, which is fine I guess, but since its a "family" readiness group, and we had church afterwards anyway, we went as a family. It took us over 30 minutes to get ourselves and all thekids ready and loaded, and then we got there and it only lasted 5 minutes! It was basically just filling out a contact info sheet. Why didnt they just let Matt fill that out at work?

While we were at the FRG meeting, the commander's wife walked up and introduced herself. She was quick to let me know that they dont have children, which always makes me uneasy because people who are quick to tell you they don't have children *usually* dont have a lot of patience for their antics ( I know there are exceptions to this rule). Livie started telling her, "My name is Olivia, and thats Ella, and thats Samie," and pointing to Dustin sleeping on my chest in the babyhawk she announces loudly, "...and thats Dustin and he likes to drink milk from Mama's b@@bies!" That was just great! I just looked at Livie and said, "Thanks, Livie, for sharing." The poor commander's wife just blushed and was like, "Oh....umm.....thats nice."

Matt's been working like a crazy person. He's been getting off late, going in early (like right now), and getting called to the arms room right smack in the middle of his lunch. I feel like lately he's only been here to eat, get a quick shower, and a few hours of sleep.

Desperately waiting to here if/when Matt can take some leave for a trip home to Florida.... Let ya know how that one turns out. :)

Playin' Catch Up

2011-01-28T21:54:00.000-06:00

   Yeah, I know, I haven't posted in a while. Its been crazy busy around here. Just to catch up- Dustin had his 2 month check up and weighed almost 13 pounds, Samie has officially quit wearing diapers during the daytime, and Ella is talking in full sentences.
One day last week, for about the 4th time that day, Samie announced that he was wet and told me that I needed to change him. I had ENOUGH! I said, "No. If you can tell me everytime you pee, and that I need to change you, then you are old enough and smart enough to go in the potty. I am not putting any more diapers on you until bedtime. You will not wera any mor diapers during the day, only at night in your bed." I took the dirty diaper off of him, and set him down. He looked so puzzled. He kept saying, "Mama, somethings wrong. I need a diaper." I stayed calm but firm and kept reminding him that I wasn't giving him anymore diapers until bedtime. I reminded him that if he felt the need to potty, he should go in the bathroom. He kept begging, and eventually quit asking for a diaper and started asking for a pull-up. I told him, "No. Everytime I give you a pull-up you pee in it just like a diaper." He kept begging, so I told him "We don't have anymore of your pull-ups because you peed in all of them." He kept begging, so I told him he could wear underwear if he would go to the potty. That was that! He has been wearing undies and going to the potty ever since! Just a diaper for naps and nighttime. Guess what else? He hasa fit about having to wear a diaper to bed! He doesn't want to wear a diaper at all anymore!
   Livie and Ella have been quite the little tag team. Now that Ella is talking more, they have been playing so cute together, and coming up with some really funny things to say!
   Hopefully things will calm down a little and I can get on here and blog more regularly so that I can remember all the little things. But for now, here is a pic of our typical Saturday morning that I hope to repeat every week for the rest of their childhood. I love our Saturday mornings SO much!

Every Saturday morning (and sometimes on Sundays too) they all pile in our bed and cuddle and play for about 30 minutes to an hour before we all go out to the kitchen for breakfast.

Havin' a Fit

2011-01-09T13:39:00.000-06:00

Friday night we made our 3,000th trip to the grocery store. Dustin was unusually fussy in the BH mei-tai, so Matt put the 3 toddlers in his buggy and I pushed the grocery buggy. Of course, the kids were bored and tired, and starting to get antsy, so Matt was driving that buggy like a madman. He was slamming around every corner, flying up behind me and suddenly stopping, barely missing my ankles. The kids thought it was just hilarious, but I cringed everytime he did it because I have had my ankles clipped with the front end of a buggy, and it HURTS. I was getting really annoyed and turned and said, "Could you just stop already?!?" Okay, so maybe the kids weren't the only ones getting tired and cranky. Samie looked at me and, in his most grown-up voice he could muster, he said, "Now don't you start havin' a fit." Oh my gosh! I wonder where he heard that before...............

Saturday we finally got our bedroom set up how I like it, and all the cloth diapers organized! I was VERY happy about that because I was to the point that I was dreading everytime I had to go in there. And don't even get me started on how hard it was to change diapers in there with things spread out all over the place, only half un-packed, tripping over things, it was an obstacle course. By the time you got to the changing table, and found everything you needed, you had long lost the courage to face what was lurking in that diry diaper in the first place! The other 2 issues we were having were: 1) I need my diaper sprayer! One of them is still attached to the toilet at mom and dad's, and the other one is still hooked up at our house in Florida. I even tried to see if the kids' showerhead would work for this, but the hose on it was not nearly long enough to reach the toilet. 2) Everytime I went to change the baby, I'd open the wipe warmer...EMPTY! I don't know why Matt never says anything if he uses the last one. So then, I'd have to close the dirty diaper back up, grab some clean wipes out of the dryer, and mix up some more wipe solution, then go climb back throgh the maze of boxes to attempt the diaper change ALL OVER AGAIN. AND, if it was a #2, I had to go "get rid of it" without my sprayer! ACK! So, now that the room is unpacked and organized, and everything for changes is right at arm's reach, the next step will definately be getting my hands on a sprayer!

Another big thing happened yesterday. We finally got an appointment card in the mail for Samie to see a pediatric GI!!! The only downside is that the earliest they could get him in was February 22nd. Anyway, I'm just thrilled that we finally got in.
This morning has been wonderful. Honestly, as stressed out as Matt and I have been, I really think this morning we were able to put it out of our minds for a few hours and just enjoy our Sunday morning as a family. I felt like it was Christmas- the kids all came into our bed this morning, the toddlers were taking turns holding Dustin and talking to him, kissing on him, they all got along so well, and were playing so nicely, no fighting, and Matt made breakfast. It has been so good.

Beautiful, Not Boring

2011-01-06T11:10:00.000-06:00

Dustin's eyes finally turned brown! We waited 7 weeks to find out what their final color would be, and just this morning I noticed they turned brown. Even last night, they still had a greyish-bluish-green look to them. When I saw his eyes this moning, it was the first time in my life that I saw brown eyes as a beautiful thing. My husband and our other three kids all have blue eyes, so I (being the only brown-eyed one) was beginning to feel left out. Growing up, most people I knew had brown eyes, so I had always thought that brown eyes were so common and uninteresting. All of that changed today! Dustin's eyes are certainly interesting. They are not plain, solid brown. They kept a slight greenish hue that really shows in sunlight.

Livie blew our minds last night. I rarely ever call her by her full name, so if you ask her what her middle name is, she normally can't remember. I was calling the kids to the table for dinner, and everyone was there in a flash, ready to eat......except for Livie. I, half being silly, half serious, called for her again saying, "Olivia Suzanne Clemons!!" She came down the hallway really prissily and said, "That's my name!" (said in the tone of a popular teenage reply of "Thats my name, dont wear it out"). Matt and I just looked at each other speechless.

We are planning to go back to the park again this afternoon. Hopefully everyone can have a good time without any broken bones or reactions to the toxic wood chips. I watched "The Talk" a few days ago, and they were talking about how kids are exposed to so many more toxic chemicals these days, and the sources of some of those chemicals. I probably shouldn't have watched it, because I am already a little bit concerned about this stuff. Anyone can look at the huge increase in cancer and infertility in young people over the last three generations, and you know smething isn't right. But the show made me want to just get rid of everything! It was crazy. For example, do you remember the huge recalls they had about a year ago because of BPA? They were recalling basically everything plastic that you eat or drink out of, including baby bottles and pacifiers. Well, according to the pediatrician on the show, baby formula cans are still lined with substances containing BPA, even after the recalls! That made me kind of angry. All these people went and replaced their baby's bottles thinking they were protecting their kid, just to find out that the formula going into the new bottle was still tainted.

Well, it's time for the kiddos to go to nap (Yay for mama!).

Samie's Labwork Follow-Up

2011-01-03T22:09:00.000-06:00

Well, today we went back to the doctor's office to hear about Samie's lab results from his bloodwork two weeks ago. Basically it was just a repeat of everything we've already been through- no c. diff., no h. pyloree, and all other labs were normal. Now, onto the GI doctor, which is where we had left off in Florida. They told us to continue his Zantac for reflux, and the GI will be checking him for Celiac, Crohn's, and God only knows what else. Samie told the nurse practitioner what his reflux feels like, "I have a froggy in my tummy. And he jumps like this, 'ribbit', all the way up to my head." Poor baby. I just want to know what's wrong so he can feel better.

I laid down when the kids went to nap because this sore throat is kicking my butt! When we got up, everyone was going crazy. All four kids were crying for different things: Dusitn to be fed, Ella for juice, Livie to be wiped ( there's nothing like hearing your child screaming from the potty, "Mama! Come wipe me!"), Samie to be changed. It was a madhouse for about thirty minutes. After that, it did finally start to calm down until Matt got home from work. Praise the Lord! Matt cooked dinner! I have to say, he did pretty good- bacon, biscuits, and an omelet. That might not have been a smart idea on his part, because now I know that he CAN cook. LOL.

Happy New Year(?)

2011-01-01T22:42:00.000-06:00

It's new year's day, and I wish I could be more optimistic, but right now all I can think is, "God, please let this year be better than last year." On one hand, the kids and I are in Texas with Matt instead of him being in Korea like last year. On the other hand, I'm almost 1,000 miles from my family and friends, the house still hasn't sold and no longer has renters, and we are STILL unpacking ( UGH!!!). I'm hoping whole-heartedly that things will turn around this year. Technically, last year wasn't ALL bad. We celebrated Ella's 1st birthday, the twins' 2nd birthday, and the birth of Dustin. However, we also lost someone dear to us, had decreases in Matt's BAH ( housing allowance) while at the same time taking on an extra rent, and I had to leave everyone and everything I'm used to. We will see what this year has in store.
I do have several goals ( not resolutions, they only last a week or two) for this year. After being pregnant for the majority of the past 3 years, our family is complete, and I can refocus on getting healthier. Also, Matt and I have made a savings account so that hopefully we can have some money in savings the next time an unexpected cost arises. Then, maybe we won't be starting off next year as stressed out as we are starting out this year! We also have some personal goals, and wishes for the year. I know most people probably don't make wishes for the new year, but I figure, what can it hurt? My three wishes are ( in this order!): 1) I wish that Samie gets a definitive diagnosis for his stomach problem, as well as a treatment, so that he can finally feel better and start growing. He was up until 1:30AM last night, and several times throughout the night, because of stomach pain. 2) I wish for the house to sell. I really love that house, and it really felt like home to me, but we have no idea if or when Matt will ever leave the Army, and even if he left tomorrow, it just isn't big enough for a family of 6. Besides, where would we send the kids to school? 3) I wish for Matt to fill out his flight packet, turn it in, and get accepted. Not only would it be a great career move for him, but it would also send us MUCH closer to home!

Finally Made a Friend

2010-12-30T20:39:00.000-06:00

I FINALLY made a real-life friend today! We took the kids to the park near the apartment, and there was another Army wife with kids there. We started talking and exchanged numbers so that we can meet there again for the kids to play. Guess what? She is from South Carolina- no wonder we got along so well. It was nice to meet a fellow southerner. I don't have anything against people from the North or the West, but if you get two southerners together they are bound to hit it off. We commiserated about Texas' lack of certain southerner necessities such as: cheese grits, Duke's mayonaise, and Tetley sweet tea ( REAL tea, not instant). It was nice. Now I'm looking forward to our next trip to the park!

We went to the bank today to get a money order to pay the rent. I ran inside and left the kids in the van with Matt. When I came back, Livie needed to potty. After I got back from taking her in to the bathroom, Samie started saying he needed to go, too. Well, I go back in the bank for the third time now, just so that he can use the bathroom. When I lifted him on to the potty, he looked at me with those big, bright blue eyes and said, "Mama, I had to p*ss like racehorse." Oh my gosh! I did not quite know what to say other than, "You've been listening to Daddy lately, huh?" It didn't stop there. DH took him to the bathroom at home and when they came out Samie announced, "I sharted!" For those of you who don't know, a "shart" is when you think you need to pass gas, but then you have to change your clothes. My husband knew he was in trouble when Samie repeated that one.

Well, just a short post tonight. It has been a very long day. Catch up tomorrow!

My latest addiction

2010-12-30T00:16:00.001-06:00

So, mamas, I have a new addiction! I have been wanting to start a blog for a while now, but never got around to it until now. I guess I just finally had to have this outlet after being stranded here for a little over 3 weeks now. I have still not met anyone here other than DH (dear hubby)'s friend that lives in our same complex. Basically, I've been living on Facebook and Diaperswapers. This is not good because it fuels my other addiction- cloth diapers!

It isn't that I don't want to get out there and meet some other army wives, it's just that with 3 toddlers, a newborn, and STILL trying to unpack (UGH!), I haven't really had the time or opportunity. Facebook is the only way I can really keep up with my friends back home because cell phone calls are only free after 9pm, and with the time difference, they are pretty much in bed when I could call.

Today, like most days, started off with a bang. I was lying in bed nursing the baby when I hear Samie yell, "Mama! Mama! My butt hurts!" Immediately, I knew what that meant. Sure enough, diarrhea down to his ankles ( again!). This is a daily, sometimes several times a day, occurance. I took him into the bathroom and put him in the tub. Livie comes running in the bathroom, "Mama! I've got to pee!" as she pees all over the bathroom floor. By this point, baby Dustin is crying in the bedroom because his breakfast was interrupted, and Ella is yelling from the pack-n-play, "Mama! Potty!" This is when I would give my right arm for some help. DH, by the way, has been laid out on the couch for the past two days because "his stomach hurts". We all know how it is when a man is sick. I had the same stomach bug last week, but kept on truckin through the diaper changes, late night feedings, dishes, fixing meals, laundry, and all.

After breakfast, sweet little Ella came and got my cereal bowl from where I was nursing Dustin on the couch, and put it in the kitchen for me. She is such a sweetheart. The twins know this too, and they love to get her to bring them sippy cups, toys, and anything else that pops in their heads. She waits on them hand and foot.

I could not for the life of me get ahold of a real person at the doctor's office to find out about Samie's GI referral. The holiday schedule, I guess. Its just so disappointing because we have been waiting for a definitive diagnosis for over two years now.

Livie is going through some strange phase. Its like she's a teenager trapped in a 33 month-old's body. She is moody, and starting to be rebellious, but yet she still wet the bed at naptime. I never thought I would have to deal with someone rolling their eyes at me, while at the same time peeing the bed. I thought we would trade off diaper changes and potty training for eye rolling and "boyfriends".

Thank God DH's friend fixed chilli for dinner and sent some over! After the sick hubby, diarrhea explosions, and bedwetting today, I was in no mind for figuring out dinner!