Doctor Doctor Gimmie the News!

So I meant to blog about this the other day and forgot! Silly me! I need to remember that funny/happy things past quickly with two children! I need to write it down right away! This happened just a few days ago (less than 1 week) so I consider myself still fairly on top of things. haha!


So the other day I was laying on the living room floor playing with the boys. I'm not quite sure how, but some how this playing on the floor session turned into "I'm The Doctor". Isaiah took it upon himself to be the Doctor. He had a walkie talking thing that actually is a baby monitor. haha! He continually stuck the antenna in my mouth to check my temperature. He also had some odd toy. I can't remember what it was (this is why I should blog right away). He would constantly check me. He used the tip of his antenna to check my fingers/toes/legs/hands/arms/face/ears etc. Here are a few things that he said throughout us playing. And by playing I mean, me lying there and him poking and prodding me. LOL!



After examining my hand he points to the lines in the palm of my hand and informs me "They're just breathing." Mmkay then!

One of the many times he stuck the antenna in my mouth I coughed while it was in my mouth and responded with a very emphatic "Don't get your dead on my tools" This to me was hilarious and I laid there laughing on the floor so hard. He just stared at me like "This is not a game lady! I'm dead serious! No dead on my tools or we're done!" LOL

At some point he said "I have to pour milk in your nose just like Dr Severance!" May I mention here that Dr Severance is our family doctor and has NEVER EVER mentioned anything remotely like pouring milk in your nose. LOL


So this concludes my story of Doctor! :)

Lying

Why do I feel it's okay to lie? Why is it that every time I feel a certain way to spare someone's feelings I lie? Yes, that may sound noble to some. Some might say "Oh! A little white lie doesn't hurt." The truth is....it DOES! The Bible speaks very much against lying. Did you ever come across an example of Christ lying? So why do we (as Christians) think it's okay to lie for whatever reason? You don't wanna hurt someone's feelings, you don't want to ruin a surprise for someone, you don't wanna crush someone's dream. All those things come off and appear to be noble causes. Let's start with some scripture

1) "Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right." Proverbs 16:13 (KJV)
2)"The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar." Proverbs 19:22 (KJV)
3) "Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight." Proverbs 12:22
4) "The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment." Proverbs 12:19

So there is a small handful of verses that say that lying is NOT good. It didn't say "lying isn't good BUT" No....lying isn't good. Period. The reason I decided to write this blog is because I'm angry with myself. I'm upset that I've lost sight of what God says is right. Yes, I know we all stumble sometimes. And I DO know God forgives. But I'm angry at myself for getting something so simple wrong. Just something to humble me. So, as of today I'm going to work harder on making sure everything that comes out of my mouth or anything I write is honest. Even if it is wrong, I need to make sure that I am being truthful with myself and with others. There's a reason why people say "The truth hurts" Because sometimes telling the truth can really hurt. Not just the person you're saying it to, but to yourself. It's not easy to be honest. So let's set a few things straight for the record. Just to get myself started right.

1) I have my own personal beliefs. I will not judge you for yours. I might not agree but that doesn't mean I'm judging you.
2) Posting something publicly on Facebook/Twitter/MySpace(if anyone still uses that lol) allows for other people to say their opinions. I am VERY careful about what I post on Facebook now. I didn't use to be as good at it. But now I am very careful. I understand that if I post something containing my opinion/thoughts that it's OKAY if someone posts theirs in return. That's how the social network works! Just because I respond back with maybe a little fight/oomph doesn't mean I'm judging you/yelling at you etc. It simply means I'm defending how I feel. Period.
3)What I post in my blog I A)Expect very few people to read and B)Feel I can vent/talk whatever I want without receiving any backlash for it. That's what blogs are for. To post your own feelings/thoughts (whether good or bad) and it's your right to do. I do not expect that you agree with everything I write, but since my blog is more private (kind of like a diary) I expect that people treat my opinions/feelings with respect and basically keep your thoughts to yourself if you don't agree. Social networks are where people can comment back. Blogs have comments to encourage/agree. Not start disputes. lol At least that's what I feel a blog is.

So I guess that's it for this blog. I just needed to get that out. I've got some apologizing and things to make right after this. -sigh-

The Essential Tools to Caring For and Raising a Child!

So earlier this morning as I was showering off Collin, it occurred to me that A)I haven't blogged in awhile and B)I should specifically blog about "tools" I feel necessary for the survival of caring for and raising a child. So, here I am blogging later in the day about such things! :)

First, let's start with a "tool" you wouldn't typically think of! A pull down shower head. Some of you may be thinking "Huh?!" Let me explain. When I first had Isaiah we would either put him in the kitchen sink or use the baby bath in the bathtub (but just put water in the baby bath. Since I gave birth to Isaiah via c-section I wasn't supposed to do much bending. So bathing him in the kitchen sink worked well because it was at a GREAT level to wear bending was not needed at all! I would just lay a towel on the counter next to the sink and that's what he'd go on when I was done washing him off. Unfortunately the kitchen sink didn't work long for Isaiah Brent. Since he weighed in at a whopping 9lbs 7oz AT BIRTH...he quickly outgrew the kitchen sink. The baby bath in the bathtub was worked okay for awhile. But while my knees were grinding into the cold tiles on the floor (No towel can cushion enough...trust me.) I noticed an ache in my lower back developing. Not to mention it felt like my incision was tight and probably stretching more than necessary. This was VERY annoying to me, but I thought it was the only way to get my child clean. Eventually I healed from my incision and Isaiah grew bigger and was able to sit up in the bathtub. I then though "The end to my suffering at bath time is over!!!!" My celebration was a BIT premature. Guess who still ended up on their knees bathing the child? Oh! Right! This silly Mother who dared think bath time would be easy because the baby could sit up! Silly, silly Mother I am! Due to the lower back pain that would make bath time near unbearable, I tried many things to relieve this pain. Sitting on the small side of the bathtub. As most of you know, I am NO small woman. So sitting on the side of the bathtub was more like an elephant trying to sit on a 4X4 plank. Not gonna happen! EVER! Then I would try sitting on the toilet and reaching over to the tub. That only served to make it more agonizing. Then I discovered "showering with you child"! OH! Hey! I can take a shower and hold him on my hip and bathe him off easier than I can do this whole bath time thing. Cool beans! Well, that's only good if you have an extra person there ready to take the clean baby from you, so you can continue your showering. I will note though, my children have LOVED showering with me. It's something about the naked bonding with your baby that seems natural. Having warm water soothe you. This may sound perverted...but I sure you...both of my children have LOVED shower time with Momma and Daddy. Of course I will also note that my children were all under 1 year of age when doing this. My oldest is now 2.5 and occasionally he will shower with me, but he stands on his own. LOL Anyways, to continue. After trying and trying and TRYING to make bath time easier, I finally submitted to my agony and gave up! Nothing I could do would really improve the situation. So like lots of things in motherhood...I would have to SUCK IT UP! Then I became pregnant with my second child. Dun-Dun-Dunnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!! Bath time became SO impossible that my oldest simply didn't get bathed unless Daddy was there to do it. Not only was the back pain worse with pregnancy, but I then had a HUGE belly in my way. Around the time it got really difficult and I just gave up bathing him at all, we moved to Michigan. The house we moved into had magic. GREAT magic! A pull down shower head! Whaaaaaaaattt?!?!?! The thought had NEVER occurred to me! A shower head you can pull down?!?! We also found a little tiny wooden step stool that someone had left in the house. Viola! Perfection and Magic!!!!!! Bath time became a BREEEEEEEZE. I became a more confident mother. Finally realizing that "Yes! I can care for my child! I can keep him clean! I can shower him EVERY SINGLE DAY if need be!!!! I am Super Mom! Hear my Roar!" And the angels sang! Being that my husband is gone far more often than he was gone at our last duty station, I definitely had to be able to bath my children. I cannot explain in words how much this useful simple feature has changed my world. Had we not moved into a house that had one, I never would have thought to buy one! Now, I sit on that handy dandy tiny step stool and pull the shower head down. Showering them off these days is a mega breeze! I simply sit on the my stool and "hose them down". And because you can pull the shower head down, they don't feel overwhelmed or scared of the massive amounts of water spraying towards their face. It's more easily controlled. So...to conclude this short story. A MUST-HAVE tool for every mother? Unless you're short to the ground and bending down into a tub doesn't hurt you all that much........A Pull Down Shower Head. Something so simple...yet something I will NEVER live without again!

Another "tool" I find handy are scheduled nap/quiet time and bedtime. Have you heard from other parents things like "My child refused to nap once he turned 2!" or "My kids were up until 10p.m. They just wouldn't go to sleep!" I've heard that over and over and over again. Here is my philosophy. First of all a parent NEEDS quiet time away from her children. Especially if she homeschools her children. (I know this because even though my children aren't of age to school yet, I've nannied 2 different families and homeschooled their children) Even more so especially if her husband is frequently gone and doesn't come home every night. A scheduled bedtime and nap/quiet time is KEY to not loosing your sanity! When your the only adult at the home front in charge of tending to the children there should be a small part of the day where you can sit down, catch your breath and put some food in your mouth. Because as all mother's know...eating is not a common occurrence in motherhood. You'll be so busy tending to the little one's, when your stomach finally DOES growl and you look up at the clock it's well on 1p.m. Even though you've been up since 6a.m. Anyways, here's the deal. If as a mother you don't want to loose your mind? You WILL in-cooperate scheduled bedtime/naptimes. For nap time, you don't have to nap BUT you will sit and be quiet in your room for at LEAST 1hour! Period. As for bedtime. Around here, for Collin it's 6:30p.m. (during the winter 7:30p.m. during the summer) and Isaiah it's (8p.m. during the winter and 9p.m. during the summer) Occasionally I will admit that when Daddy's home, Isaiah will be allowed to sit up a bit longer with Momma and Daddy. But he knows the rules. He HAS to be quiet. And when it's bedtime...it's bedtime. No exceptions. We will NOT have crying meltdowns or you will find yourself not only in your bed....but in your bed with a sore behind. Isaiah has tried only ONCE to throw a fit because he didn't want to go to bed. One time is all it took for him to realize the end result is worse than just getting into bed. LOL Yes, you might be thinking "You spank your children to go to bed!" Yes! I do! Because when I say it's time to do something...there are no questions asked. You obey! And when you don't....there are consequences...period. Plus I understand the importance of having MY own free time and space. I HAVE to have at least SOME of it or I will get angry and take it out unnecessarily on the children. Creating a bad situation.

So for now, this would conclude the 2 tools I feel are necessary and you can't live without when raising children. I have been interrupted while blogging, so now I must take off. BUT if I think of anything else, I'll post back here. Hope you have enjoyed! :)

Baby, Baby, Baby, Oh Baby!

So recently I've really been thinking about us having another child. I'm pretty sure we might only have one more. Of course at this point it's a bit too early to decide. But these have just been things I've been thinking about. How many? Can I even do this again. I know I'm stressed now, but it seriously has to do with the age of the boys and the stage their in. I'm really not struggling with Isaiah. That'd be Collin who daily tests my patience. LOL! But anyways, the plan as of now is to get pregnant sometime in late spring. That gives me a decent amount of time to drop some weight. I REALLY need to get at LEAST back into the 100's before I get pregnant again. I've had 2 unhealthy pregnancies (Gestational Diabetes) and I would like to have a less painful more healthy pregnancy. At least one that I can continue working out etc. So along with all these thoughts, it occurs to me....maybe I should go a different route next time. Now would be the time to figure these kinds of things out. First I'd have to start by calling my insurance company to see if I would qualify to hire a midwife. Or go to a birthing center. I only had contractions with Isaiah. Besides Braxton Hicks with Collin. I couldn't deliver the boys cause they were both over 9lbs. But the question arises.....was that just simply a fault on the Dr's part? Can my body actually deliver a child naturally?! If a midwife would actually be willing to help put there hand up there and preposition the baby, maybe it could be possible?! But this is the type of things I need to look into. I would like to get an x-ray of my pelvic bone to see exactly how wide it is. Etc. So, I just wanted to blog, get some of these ideas out of my head. I think I will start by calling the insurance company though! :) Never hurts to ask!

Discouragement......

I just need to vent a minute. After writing a blog about how satisfied I am with my results I went back to look at some pictures. How discouraging. I actually JUST took one now. I am SO disgusted with my body. I can feel the change but I want to SEE the change. I mean, I guess you can see it in my face....but you CANNOT see it on my body. I still look like a fat blob. :( I hate it! It's so discouraging because I've worked so hard just to STILL look fat. I guess it's my own fault because I allowed myself to get this big. But this is ridiculous! :( I'm going to go ahead and post some pictures. The first one was me at the end of last October. I do remember I was wearing my tummy brace there cause I was healing from my c-section. So I guess that's nice to know that now I don't need it. The second picture is the most current picture. I just took it today.

Update On Weight Loss!

So, it's almost the end of September! I have to admit....I took most of September off. I stayed pretty dedicated til Collin's birthday (September 8th) then after that I got so overwhelmed with scheduling a tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy, switching out summer clothes for winter clothes (that was almost a whole week job), cleaning the house and various other Dr appointments. I'm not eating the healthiest...BUT....I'm not eating in massive quantities anymore. We ordered Chinese (FINALLY) and I could barely eat a bowl full. Which is a LOT for me since I used to eat at LEAST 2 HUGE bowls full! I've stopped working out so much also. It's just too much. I want to continue loosing weight but I can't let it keep consuming my life this way. The house was a NIGHTMARE. The laundry was NEVER done and every time hubby was home, I just felt I couldn't enjoy cause everything else was such a nightmare. So, now that my house is clean, clothes are switched out, rooms are clean etc.....I'm dedicating more time to eating better. Theo left of Kentucky today and he'll be gone til Wednesday. So I'm kinda crash dieting to see what I can loose by the time he comes back home. I'm at 270lbs exactly. I've been wanting to drop down into the 60's but it hasn't happened yet. Even though I've not eaten the best, I haven't gained any weight. So that's good. Hopefully I can at LEAST get to 268lbs by the time Theo's home. I love that every piece of clothing I put on now fits appropriately. I don't have to worry about whether a shirt will be too tight and will show all my fat rolls. Now I can just put on any shirt or pants! It's SO nice! Down side though....I have NO clothes!!!! After packing away all maternity clothes...I'm left with about 2 pairs of pants, and only 1 long sleeve shirt. The rest or short sleeve and hoodies. Lame! But I can't go crazy buying clothes now. Cause I still have so much to loose, if I buy clothes now they'll become too big soon enough. So I've lost a total of 22lbs since August 1st. I'm still very happy with those results. I've lost a total of 3inches on my waist alone!!!!! That is SO awesome! Anyways, on Wednesday I have a sleep study then October 18th I will be having my tonsils removed. Then I won't be able to eat so I'm hoping to drop a decent amount of weight then as well! :) I'm pretty confident that by the time it's time to take Christmas photo's....a bit over a month away.....I'll be able to go to Old Navy and pick out an outfit directly from the store!!!! I won't have to order online cause I'm too big for what they carry in store! :)

The Big 'Ol 1!!!!

Collin Henry is now a whole ONE year old! I cannot believe it. At all! I honestly feel that due to the postpartum depression, that I missed out on most of his year. I didn't get to hold him right after birth because he had to be rushed to the NICU. Then he spent almost a week hooked up to machine's and etc. So even his first week of life, we didn't really get to be together. So, anyways, I just feel that a whole year has been cheated from me. But here we are. 1 year later. Of course I'm writing this blog late...but better late then never,right? Let's get to business! :) Collin Henry Scheungrab is now 1 year old! Favorite Foods: Anything! Seriously, he doesn't seem to favor anything. He just likes food and eats it ALLLLL the time. *He only eats soft foods...he's not quite a pro yet at food* Favorite Toys: Besides his binky his favorite toy would be the doodle board or one of the toy cell phones. Favorite Person: That would be his big brother Isaiah. Close second would be his Momma! :) Words He Can Say: Momma, Dadda (most frequent), Isaiah (A-yaa), Eat-Eat, Night-Nights (Nigh-Nigh) *He can also nod his head yes or shake his head no* Weight: 21lbs 1oz Height: 30 3/6 inches Walking or Crawling: He CAN walk and is getting more efficient at it...but he mostly prefers to crawl if he's lazy or wants to get someone where fast. Funny Quirks: If you laugh, he mimics you! In fact, he's quite the mimicking King. He likes to be a copy cat and mimic sounds and laughter. Teeth: He has 4 on top and a nice size gap between his top two teeth. It's super cute! On the bottom he only has 3. So 7 teeth altogether! Nicknames: Ceebs is the main one we use. He also goes by CeeBees, Stinky, Monkey-Butt, Fat Boy (cause he's SO far from fat) and Brother (Brudder-is what Isaiah calls him) Other:As of 9-27-12 He got his first haircut! He moved and wiggled around so much. Normally I would've cut it, but I had someone come over and cut my hair, so she just went ahead and did Collin's! He looks SOOOO much better now. *I'm not one of those sentimental mother's that saves the hair* In general, Collin is a very fun loving boy. He likes to cuddle with his Momma. Laugh and roll around with his brother. He cries if Daddy comes home and doesn't come over RIGHT away to pick him up. He LOVES to instigate trouble. You'll occasionally catch him doing something to stir up trouble and he'll just sit back and watch it all unfold. Not a very nice trait. He's also VERY defiant. Little Stinker will KNOW not to do something and will do it anyways. He doesn't like spankings but gets spanked more than Isaiah did at this age. He also is VERY clingy to Momma. If I walk out of the room for 2 seconds he cries. He'd rather ride around all day on my hip. Too bad I have a life besides him. lol As for birthday celebrations. We just invited people who are actively in his life over for Pizza, Cake and Ice Cream. We decorated the house and bought him a helium balloon. That was THE best gift he'd EVER had. He loved that balloon. We tied it to his play pin and he had a blast with it for 2 days until it finally gave way to abuse and deflated. LOL People who came over were Maddy and Bryan, LaToya, Kennedy and Kassidy, Payton and Anthony Powell. Grandma Lois was going to come, but ended up not feeling well. But she sent gifts for both boys! :) Elissa and Rusty Robinson also swung by to say their happy wishes! :) Overall, Collin is a VERY happy energetic healthy boy! I look forward to seeing his personality more and more.