Should I change my Husband?
My husband is getting his bachelor's in Sociology that focuses on Family Studies. He is getting ready to start his final project that he chose. He decided to do a seminar for Father's and Husbands. He is a little over worked this week, and needs a annotated Bibliography. I asked if I could help... I love to do this kind of stuff. All he needed were books and their information. Six of them. So I did some research for him. I didn't do his assignment. I simply looked for some books for him to look further into. However that is not my point...
As I was looking, I noticed how many book there are out there on how to CHANGE your husband.
Did you marry him? Why change him? I get so frustrated at how much society belittles men.
I have taken some women's history classes and it was hard to handle as we learned about the Women's Lib movement. it was originally established to get equal rights. The right to vote, to own land, to work for comparable wages...etc. Not to knock Men down and trample them. It has really begun to wreck our family structure. Men are told from a very young age that they are not good enough. And we wonder why the absent father is on the rise. They are considered worthless from birth.
I married a great man. He has flaws, so do I. We love each other anyway. Sure we all need to make changes in a marriage, but do we need to marry a man just to change him? I am aware that sometimes people change in a marriage. They can be a great person when you marry them, then throughout time things change. However, who do we think we are to think WE can change them... I mean, I know that a woman can do mighty things, but to change a man's ways? We take too much credit. God can change situations. Prayer can change our mindset. The power of God's word can change the mess we've made. And sometimes it is us that need to change. Our idea of changing the man God gave us may need to change into "How can I treat my husband better."
Well, I give thumbs down to these books...
How to Change Your Husband by A Friend of Medjugorje
Husband-ry 101: How to Train Your Husband to be the Spouse You've Always Wanted Him to Be by Michael H. McCann
However, I have judge them by their titles... but it still brought up some ill feelings within me.
I love my husband... there are things I want changed in my marriage, but I love the man I married. And it takes two, right!?

PICA--

Definition
Pica is a pattern of eating non-food materials (such as dirt or paper... or lint). This pattern should last at least 1 month to fit the diagnosis of pica.

Well, I guess my daughter has Pica. At first I looked this up just get the information on the word Pica so I could add it to this funny blog... but as I read the article it is a big concern. And maybe I should contact our pediatrician... but not before I share Lily's quirky habit.

When she was sick a few days ago, I laid her in bed with me to sleep. I watched her for 45 min as she pulled lint off her afghan blanket and ATE IT! I've seen her do this for about a year. It used to be that she just pretended to pull things off my shirt and eat them while I rocked her to sleep (as early as 5 months old). That is when I knew she was almost asleep and it was my cue to lay her down (not fully asleep of course!). I figured it was just that she had learned a task and was practicing its motions (like eating cheerios). It has has since developed into eating the lint on her blanky. We see it wrapped around her paci in the morning. She does it only when she is falling asleep or is in those first stages of sleep.
As I watched her for that 45 minutes I was amazed at how she would search with her hands for the right amount of lint, then yank it off, remove her paci and shove it in. She continued until she fell completely asleep.
WHO DOES THIS? We think its so funny. However, as I looked it up it is very common among children to eat non food items (not just put them in their mouths, but to pick a specific substance and eat it... Like Lint) However, the reasons are a lack of nutrition in some area... well, what does lint substitute? Fiber maybe... hehe... And there are serious complications like lead poisoning for those who eat paint chips (isn't their mother watching them??) or other harmful substances... but for other things a hard mass can form in the stomach... So maybe I should ask the doctor... I mean lint over a year's span may have begun to form a whole new afghan in there... I'd hate to see the colors of that one!

My baby girl---
She is sick. It really bothers me when my babies are sick. Its like this lump sits in my throat and I could cry at any moment. Lils is just as limp as a noddle. She has given me quite a scare this time. She always runs high fevers, so I should be used to this. However, she is just SO lethargic and pitiful. I took her to the doctor's today, and I am not sure if I was uneasy because we didn't see her original doctor (and seriously, she has an amazing doctor who always puts me at ease!) or if I was being prompted to pray harder. I just didn't have a good feeling even as I took her. As the doctor was leaving Lily jerked as if she was startled, but she didn't stop shaking. I looked at the doctor and cried out "WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER?" I was convinced she was having a seizure. The doc said she didn't notice anything, but then put her hand on her and could feel her shaking inside. She quickly called out for the nurse to bring a thermometer and some Tylenol into the room. Then she checked her pupils and her heart and informed me she had not had a seizure. She said her eyes did not roll back in her head and that her pupils did not dilate. the doctor's urgency scared me just as much. I actually started crying in the office. It scared me so bad!
I really hate when my kids are sick. Its a huge step of faith for me. It hard to put them to bed. I want to hold them and watch their every move. I notice how much I have to put my faith to practice. I believe God cares more than I do, and he knows the final outcome. He knows how and when she will get better. I find solace in that. But its scary all the same... So, Lord, can you heal her quickly!?

My Kids

My kids amaze me sometimes. I mean they seem so different than me and Dave at times then so much like us at others. I haven't really blogged much about them lately... and since I don't really keep up with their journals anymore, I thought I'd record their personalities, and how odd they are... well, not odd as in WEIRD (although they are at times) but odd in a sense that they are very unique.


Zech can be such an obedient boy, yet still throws the same fits he threw the day he was born! He came out screaming so hard he lost his voice... when he didn't get what he wanted right when he wanted it, it was a lost cause. Although I want to think he's getting better, he sure does put up a fuss once in a while. Yet he can be the most obedient by doing everything I ask of him. He may cry while doing it, but he does it. I often times look at moms who seem to have everything together and think they are just better moms than me. Then I realize they do not have my children and all their intensities...

Lily is starting her fits as well, however a quick hug and cuddle cures her. I try not to give such positive reinforcement for that kind of behavior, but it does calm her instantly. Every hurt, fight, or discomfort can be cured just by sitting on my lap. I love that about her. There are times when I feel like I just have nothing left to give, she has taken so much from me that day... but then there are days I feel like I'm missing out if she's not in my lap. It is my blessing and curse. I remember saying to Dave when Zech was born that I hoped the next baby was a cuddler... I got what I wished for. And for the most part I really wouldn't trade it for the world.

Zech hates to clean... he's like his dad. He will do it, and understands that its his responsibility (as I tell him each time he cleans his room before bed), he still screams and cries the entire time. Dave may not scream and cry OUT LOUD, but he has the same feelings inside when I ask him to clean before bed too.
Lily loves to organize. If I tell her to pick up her dishes, she gets right to it. She places the plates on top of each other ever so nicely and stacks them inside the basket. She stands back and admires her clean room... just like Mommy!

Zech is boy of all boy (as seen in the baseball post). And is a whiz at the computer. He can have a ton of energy and run and play all day long with no break, and then again he can sit on a lawn chair with me and chat it up. I absolutely LOVE converstions with him. They are just the highlight of my day. I like that he has a shorter rest time as Lily so I get that hour just to chat, lounge, and cuddle with my boy (who has MANLY TOES).

Lily is girl of all girl... WAY girlier than me! She falls all over herself to get to the bathroom when I hollar for her to come get your hair done!. She watches me as I put piggies in her hair, or ponies. When we are done she smiles her best smile and nods her head in admiration. She says "Oh, HAIR!" She loves every baby doll equally, and is sure to share her snack with them. I love getting her up in the morning and hugging her tight, she is my baby girl (who has pretty toes!!!)

They both love to be outside... something I really don't remember liking. However, I am begining to love it more and more each day we are out. To sit and tan a bit while reading or listening to music is a nice treat to me.

I just look at them and think of how much I've changed. How much just in the last 3 years 3months. I praise God for giving me patience. I look back on the fits and the stress of having the two strong willed kiddos so close in age and think... I really want another! Some days I stop and think, I dont think I'll make it... but I always do. So I know that God has built a new character in me. A more compassionate, patient, loving character. And boy do I love them, so I love these new traits.


To try to keep this blog short enough to read in one sitting, I will have to end... not to mention I am half way to tears thinking of how much a blessing they are to me. I remember trying to get pregnant with Zech and month after month would go by with no pregnancy. I would think to myself... I'll be a good mom. It comes naturally to me, so why aren't I getting pregnant?" then when Zech hit about 10 months (thats when the big fits started) thinking, what was I thinking, I can't do this! This parenting thing is SO different than my peachy keen imagination, but I really think God has given me some really unique kids... and I'll take their negatives just the same. Their personalities are so much more than their miscomings... and I can easily overlook that when they sit and cuddle with me like this...

You know those were special... I hate pictures of me... but check this priceless one of Zech (below)

I want S'MORE!

For Father's Day, Dave got a fire pit. We had decided ahead of time that we'd get patio furniture and a fire pit with our stimulus package money... as mother's/father's day. So, that's what he got.

I put it together for him and we fired it up! Ahh, the memories. The smells of bug spray, the sound of crackling twigs in the fire, and the feeling of family & friends and good conversation. Oh and the taste of SMORES!!!

Zech was amazed at the fire, but was very cautious as he threw sticks in. And he LOVED roasting marshmallows, however eating them roasted was NOT his thing... he just ate them raw!

Lily would eat them either way... even the nasty burnt parts (YUCK!). I liked how Brooklyn cooked hers, just enough to be melty and a nice tan...

And then there's Arianna's way...I am convinced she just wanted to set things on fire... OH SO NASTY!

It was just so fun! As exhausted as I was, I still went to bed happy! and dreamed happy thoughts about yummy smores!

Can't wait for more fun times!

Boy O Boy!

A Few weeks ago I went searching for the perfect baseball set for Zech. I had to, I had no other choice. He brought me a ball from his former ball pit and wanted me to pitch to him as he hit with a small orange marker. It was the best he could do... and he actually hit a few!
So he has now graduated to a REAL bat and a very REAL foam ball. He is obsessed. There are very few times during the day that someone is not pitching to him as he hits. He has gotten pretty good. He even lets you hit if you want.
Today, was hot, so he napped in just undies... sorry for the pics... it was just too cute. Oh, and your not a real ball player if you don't wear a baseball cap!

Yep, he's a lefty... he's tried it as a righty, and can hit pretty well, but he says he is more comfortable batting lefty! Dave's pretty excited!
He thought it was pretty funny to get his picture taken and could barely focus!
He hits 7 out of 10 (good) pitches. And Mommy MUST say "Great Hit" or "WOW, what a wonderful hit" If EVER I am not paying 100% attention to him ( I know, what kind of mom am I, I actually take my eyes off him) He makes sure to come over to tell me to say "Nice Hit!" or even "Good swing!"
And you must see the pitcher that pitches to a boy with an amazing .700 batting average!
Thats the posture and chair for the perfect pitch... hey, if you had to play baseball 4-6 hours a day, you'd want to be comfy too.