Most cherished moment in life are free!

From the time I was little my older sister and I constantly would rearrange our bedroom.  Although I love to rearrange rooms and redecorate still as an adult...I still HATE cleaning.  If I could I would hire a maid.  Oddly enough the scent of Clorox Clean Up in a house makes me smile.  Nothing like the smell of a disinfected, clean house. But as life would have it...it's not a reality. As an adult I have learned that just about anything you do can be fun when you have the right attitude.  Yesterday my goal of the day was so sort, organize, and yes rearrange my bedroom.  Now I have been told more than once by my sweet husband not to move heavy furniture.  To this day I am still to stubborn to listen.  I told Bryleigh that her chore of the day was to help me clean my room.  At first I think that she was in shock.  How many moms out there have ever told their kid that they have to their their parents' bedroom...lol ;-)  Bryleigh had a look of shock on her face.  After all, I knew I needed some help to move the furniture.  Her attitude at first was less then desirable.  I told Bryleigh that anything can be fun with the right attitude.  Started by moving some stuff in the hall so that I could begin to work.  The fun started when I tried to move Tyler's dresser.  It was HEAVY and I soon realized that I would have to take out some drawers.  As I did I discovered that his "junk" drawers were over flowing.  Not that I was trying to snoop, but I had to tidy things up a bit because there was no way to cram it all back in.  There was just no room.  Bryleigh's eyes lite up with excitement with all the "treasures" he was hiding in there.  We went through old pictures.  She laughed at some of the pictures of Tyler.  She said that he looked angry in his football picture.  I told her that he was just trying to look tough.  I showed her a picture of Tyler and I when were we dating.  She said, "Hmmm, Mom, I don't think I am ready for this."  Yes...I totally embarrass her with gushy love talk and love every second of watching her squirm.  The more we worked the more fun we had.  We laughed and joked.  I teased her.  Bryliegh called me a dork (I have to say I love earning that title).  We danced and made up silly songs.  And yes we even made up silly songs for Grace.  Cleaning a room has never been so much fun in my house.  I loved just being silly with Bryleigh and Grace.  It's one of the best parts of being a mom.  I am not a person known for being silly, or funny.  In fact there are very few people in my life that bring out that side of me.  Once it does come out...I know I am surrounded with the people that I love the most.  After hours...yes I meant to say hours of cleaning, organizing, and rearranging I knew that I was far to exhausted to make dinner.  So I did what any good mom would do...go visit dad at work.  We hit up a Red Box for some movies and went to Pizza Hut to see Tyler for some dinner.  Pizza, & wings to be exact. While waiting for our food I talked to Bryleigh.  I told her that cleaning my room with her was so much fun.  Bryleigh said, "Mom, can every time we clean be that much fun?"  I told her that anything can be fun with the right attitude.  I couldn't help but ask her why when I help her clean her room why is it so difficult.  Bryleigh's response was, "Mom, it's because you make me throw away stuff."

The moral of this all is that as silly as it sounds I had a blast cleaning with Bryleigh yesterday.  (Grace kept us entertained with all the cute/silly faces that she was making at us.)  But we had fun not because we went to amusement park, or because I bought her something.  We had fun just being silly by spending time together working.  This is a lesson that I wished I had learned (and sunk in) when I was young.  Most of all I am so very thankful for my family.  The most treasured moments in life don't come from a store.  The most treasured memories in life can most come in little everyday moments and I am thankful for each and every one.

Grace is 3 weeks old today!!!

Grace is 3 weeks old today.  Today we brought her to Dr. Jensen for a check-up.  Today we learned that she has colic.  Dr. Jensen is so amazing.  He took time to explain everything.  He said that they are learning a lot from research.  He stated that the studies are finding that colic has more to do with neurological development than intestinal development. Dr. Jensen said that reason that they are finding it is more neurological is because throughout the day babies are exposed to so many new things.  Each thing that they are exposed to, their brain has to process it until it becomes familiar.  An example would be wind against their skin, a blanket touching their arm, etc…  He stated that colic usually starts at about 3 weeks and ends at about 3 months.  He also said that it usually gets worse before it gets better and that there isn’t really any medicine that cures it.  I just hope that my baby doesn’t have to suffer with this for too long.  It breaks my heart to hear it cry and not being able to do anything to help her.  Luckily it only gets bad at night.  Tyler seems to be able to calm her down the best.  Grace is already starting to be a daddy’s girl.  I have to admit that it makes mommy a little jealous at times.  We also learned that Grace has a herniated belly button.  Dr. Jensen said that it isn’t anything that hurts her…thank goodness.  Grace also has a large birth mark on the right side of her belly that we are monitoring.  The birth mark can get bigger and there is a risk that the right side of her body might start growing faster because of it. Besides looking a little off having one side of your body grow faster than the other, it can lead to heart conditions.  Fingers crossed that the birth mark will not grow or even better go away on it’s own.  If the birth mark doesn’t go away, Grace can get it removed when she gets older.

Grace's birth mark.  Back view.

Birth mark view from her stomach.  

Grace had to get her heel pricked at the doctor's visit.  She didn't like that one bit.  

 Grace is growing quite big.  (Too fast for her mom!)  When we brought Grace home from the hospital she weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces. Grace is now weighing in at a healthy 7 pounds 8 ounces.  The only “chunk” that she has is in her cheeks (which is good because they are always getting kissed.) and her neck rolls.  Dr. Jensen pointed how impressed he was at how strong Grace is.  There really isn’t any moving her arms unless she wants to.  I won’t say what side of the family she is getting this stubborn streak from.   I know that mommy is not owning up to anything.

Grace has acquired the nickname Squeaky.  From the day that she was born she was always making some noise.  She will grunt, grown, or a little coo.  We all have so much fun just watching her and listening to all the sweet little noises that she makes.  I do think that once she starts talking that there won’t be anyone that will be able to stop her from being Miss Chatty Kathy.  Grace almost always can be found with her hands on her face, fists closed tightly, and her feet crossed Indian style.  It makes her seem so much smaller than what she actually is.  In my ultra sounds she was almost always that way as well.  We just all love Grace so very much and as you can tell the whole family is in awe of all the little things she does.  Grace is such a sweet blessing in our life.  Even though she is only 3 weeks old, it’s seems like she has always been a part of our family and I can’t imagine life without her sweet spirit.