Today is the Day...

We are leaving Micah today and I have to admit I woke up with my stomach in knots. Last night Mick had to assure me that it was ok to leave Micah and that we aren't going to scar him by abandoning him for three days. My feelings are very mixed because I also rocked him to sleep for an hour last night, which I wouldn't have done if we weren't leaving him tonight. But after that battle part of me is very excited to go to bed tonight whenever I want, but then I wont get to say Micah's prayers with him. Ah, the joys of motherhood, always a tug in two or three directions. All that being said we are going out of town with 3 other couples and I am so excited to spend some time with other Christian women and be able to communicate without toddler interruptions. The guys are going too and I am excited about spending time with Mick as well, but the girl time is something I rarely get! For your Micah update yesterday was one of the longest days ever...it wasn't a bad day, just exceptionally long. I had Hayden to take him to meet his new teacher for preK and then I took Micah back to the doctor because I thought his ears weren't better and then home to pack and play and dinner with Jenny and Budda. Hayden loved going to school and before we left he played with Micah for a bit. I went upstairs to get something while they played the piano. When I came back down I could hear what sounded like clapping every so often. I started peeking around the corner to see what they were doing. Well, Hayden would play then Micah would start to bang on the piano. Hayden proceded to grab Micah's little hand and then swat it with a stern no no. Micah just looked at him like "who the heck do you think you are?". I watched this happen twice then made my presence known. Guilt was all over Hayden's face and he headed straight to time out with little pressing. He apologized to Micah and we went over who was allowed to spank who. Once he realized I was going to start letting Micah spank him he wised up pretty fast:). Then I took both boys to the doctors office where we waited over an hour to see the doctor. They were going crazy by the time the doctor came in...and so was I. Micah's ear is healing and it turned out to be teething. After we got home I noticed he was not only getting a tooth closer to the front but there was a random one breaking the skin way in the back! I thought they came in side by side but I guess not. Ok, so this is a really long post of randomness but I figured it would tide you over since I wont be writing for a while.

How could I leave this cute fanny, I mean face at home?

We have had lots of rain and poor Micah has been dying to go play in it. With a runny nose that just isn't possible so we let him have naked time and watch it for a while. Miraculously no tee tee on the sliding door!
We are starting to get packed because Mick and I are leaving Micah for the Labor Day weekend. I am a little anxious, not as to how Micah will do, but how I will do. I am a little but of a control freak and I like to do everything with Micah a certain way. Nana will do a great job with him but I hope to not worry about him the whole time I am gone. Other than that I am so excited about getting away. I am even excited about the 6 hour car ride because it will be uninterupted conversation with Mick.

I am even making a list of things we need to talk about...you can laugh I am crazy I know. We have left Micah overnight but not for more than 24 hours so any advice on this would be great. Also, is it rude to leave a schedule for someone who is graciously keeping your child? I guess Nana could tell me herself:) We have to start packing today so that I make sure I have it all organized and ready...

he overtakes me...

There have been quite a few times where Micah has gotten so big and so strong and so twisty that he can overtake me. It usually happens in public and makes me feel so frustrated and usually causes me to act in a way that is just a bit unbecoming of a lady. Often times I feel as though Micah is dragging me to his level where I want to bite and kick like a toddler too. Today we have had an especially challenging day. He is feeling good enough to play but not good enough to handle being disciplined. My plan to stay at home all day was changed when Micah nor I could stand looking at each other or the 4 walls. We headed to the chicken house for a little work then to Mick's school to have lunch. When it was time to leave Micah didn't want to and he let me know by trying to bite me and then fling himself out of my arms. He then started to hit me and just act defiant. All of this is taking place in the parking lot. When I tell him if he doesn't stop I am going to spank him he literally screams and tries to throw himself out of my arms. I then swat his fanny, not near hard enough. (I have to digress here to say I had not had a shower or really brushed my hair well, I had my hair in pigtails (silly, I know) and a hat on.) He takes one look at me after the swat and stares me down, reaches around my ear and grabs my left pigtail and precedes to yank it. Are you kidding me? How would he know to do that...I had to hold back laughter because the last time that happened to me I was in the second grade and my best friend Josh Kirby pulled them because I beat him to be line leader. Again I wanted to enter the level of a toddler but I did not. I put him in the car and didn't talk to him the whole way home. (like he even noticed)

Here's Looking at You Kid...

Even though my hair is a bit nappy I love this picture of Micah, thought I would share his sweet face. We made another trip to the doctor today because Micah woke up sick sick. He was so grumpy and tugging at those ears. And...another ear infection. In the ear that has a tube in it. The other ears tube has already fallen out. So the dr says sinus infection+ear infection=antibiotics. I am not sure that is the answer but what other choice do we have? I am not one of those mom's who insist on a quick fix, but I do want what's best. The doctor's seem to think antibiotics, but then when I go in and he doesn't get them they preach to me about building up a resistance to the antibiotics and that we should use them sparingly. But how can you use them sparingly when your little man is sick so often? I don't pay my copay just so they'll write me a prescription, I just want them to tell me what would be best. I hope and pray that I am doing right for Micah and helping him both feel better now and preparing him to deal with the future. We shall see. For now pray that he keeps that green junk to himself so that I can go to the beach snotfree!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Happy Day from your favorite son, daughter-in-love and grandson!

Every Sunday night is family dinner with the Harper's. Tonight we also celebrated Nana's birthday. She was out of town on the real thing so we celebrated tonight. Rita is probably the best mother in love (she likes to call it) that anyone could have. I tease her all the time that I would never know if she didn't like me because she is so nice to everyone. Seriously, she does so much for her family and gives all of us a picture of who Christ is and how we should live our lives in service to Him. I know she didn't birth me and I love my own momma too, but Rita is an extraordinary woman, mother and nana and I am proud that she is part mine. So, Happy very Late Birthday Nana! We love you very much! Thanks for all that you do specifically for me and Micah bird. We don't know what we would do without you! Micah thinks you are pretty swell too!
At dinner tonight I let Micah show off his mad eating skills. This past week I have had a hard time cooking or eating a meal because Micah needs to be fed too and Mick is gone... and by the time it is all said and done there is no time for me. Sooo, I started giving him a bowl of something and letting him go at it. Mick has a hard time watching this kind of thing go on so we haven't shared it with him til this weekend. Micah did pretty well the last few days with applesauce but tonight I took yogurt and he drowned himself in it as well as a toy car he found and sunk. I was impressed with Mick's patience and that he let Micah enjoy. I bought cheaper yogurt this week, not to worry with the light and fit, we haven't put Micah on a diet just yet!

Random Pics

All is ok with our bird's eye. He woke up completely healed by Saturday morning. Completely healed but with very dirty teeth. I finally brought myself to brush them tonight. Of course Saturday his eye was better but his nose was running. I think he is either getting a cold or he is also getting a new tooth so maybe that is causing the sniffles. For those of you that know Micah's teeth; you know that two of them decided to come in at the same spot, well now there is a third vying for the very same position in his tiny little mouth. He has one messed up grill at this point. Braces are definitely inevitable. This weekend we just mainly had some much needed family time. We hit up a big sale at Dillard's where my best deal was a pair of shorts for $2 and a prom dress for $8. I will be looking good at the prom this year! We spent some time with the Dobb's and had a good time just being together. I just told Mick tomorrow will be miserable because Micah will be so mad that his Daddy isn't here 24/7 and I will be pretty ill to be honest. But there is a ray of sunshine at the end of the week. Beach weekend here we come!! Here are some of the random shots of the weekend.
The injury at it's worst...Thursday night.
Micah thought it was humorous at this point that I was taking pictures of him.
Paxton borrowing Micah's swing. He loved it!
Uncle Brad ready to swing.. Nice stance.
Micah throwing the deuce.

no good very bad day, no week, no month really...

So the last twenty four hours have been less than pleasant. I am aware they could have been far worse, but I found myself telling the Lord "you are kidding me, right?" about 4 times.
Things have been pretty stressful with work, Micah and dealing with my sister. Last night we were having a good night getting Micah ready for bed and brushing his teeth. He hates the toothbrush so I sometimes let him walk around and brush. Last night I handed him the toothbrush and he got one step away and fell on it. I thought it was going to be lodged in his throat. But oh no he gets up holding his eyes and squinting and there is blood coming out of his left eye. He was holding it closed so I went to get the toothbrush fully aware that his eyeball might be on it. Thank goodness it was not and Dr. Mick went to assessing the situation while I dealt with some pent up anxiety. His eye immediately started swelling shut and applying ice to a one year old is like trying to stand on the tip of a pencil. You just can't! I call the doctor/nurse line they say he is probably alright but we should go to the er anyways to have it looked at, since she can't see it over the phone. We pack up and head out, after I have a brief breakdown upstairs since it is virtually my fault that our child almost lost an eye. We get to the hospital and can't even find a parking space, great sign. Go inside and the nurse just smiles at me signing in with this look of good luck to you! After talking with a lady with appendicitis and a boy with staff infection we find it is going to be an hour to see the nurse and then about 5 to 6 hours to see a doctor. Mick and I talk to Aunt Amy and Uncle Brad who suggest we take him outside and stand him in front of a car to see if he can follow the light. Since none of our family was in town and we share the same pediatrician this is who we call. After I talk it out with Amy and then Mick we pack it up and head home, hopefully without any lifethreatening illnesses. I call the doctor again and get the actual doctor, she says he sounds fine bring him in the morning to get checked out. Which seems reasonable since that is about the time we would have been getting out of the er. We get up this morning and both Micah and I are in bad moods so I go to get us in the car and realize I can't find my keys...I left my purse in the car during our haste to get inside after our midnight ER run. AHHH...still family out of town and now Aunt Amy and Uncle Brad are at work. Mick has to come home and unlock my car and we finally make it to the doc's where I just happen to run into one of Mick's past girlfriends. I mean seriously I just kept laughing it was all to silly to be happening in 24 hours. We are home now and had thought about going to the lake, but I think we will just hibernate at home for a while and try to stay safe. Oh and lesson learned...Micah wont be walking around with his toothbrush anymore.

The Facts of Life

So lately in my day to day life I keep hearing the theme song to the "Facts of Life" running through my head. Don't ask me why but I find it pretty appropriate. Things have been hectic this last week because nana and pops are out of town and I had to go do adult things at work three days this week. Soooo, Micah had to really go with the flow and I have been exhausted getting him to a sitter each day before 8 oclock. Hats off to all you mom's out there who do it everyday. It is extremely difficult when that isn't part of your routine. Plus he is changing so rapidly that just the nine hours he was away from me in a few days I missed things that I didn't want to miss. (there is the theme song again...) Micah went to the babysitter with Hayden two days this week and did so good. He cried the first day (truth be told, so did I) but after that was fine. Hayden runs to my car with the report each day and today's was "He didn't cry at all, when are you bringing him back?" Which is better than yesterday when Hayden told me he kept cryin and cryin' and that Ms. Rhonda didn't have room for Micah on Thurs. Our house is a disaster because we are like a whirlwind passing through each day but we are managing. Mick has been gone each night so Micah and I have to go to the ballfield to see him through the chainlinks...Hopefully things let up soon. After hearing the "facts of life" first verse for the seventeenth time I decided to look up what the 2nd verse was and I found all of this:

Seasons 1

There's a place you've got to go for learning all you want to know about the facts of life the facts of life. When books are what you're there about and looks are what you care about the time is right, to learn the facts of life. When the world never seems to be living up to your dreams it's time you started finding out what everything is all about When the boys you used to hate you date, I guess you best investigate the facts of life you gotta get'em right the facts of life, the facts of life, the facts of life

Seasons 2-5

You take the good, you take the bad,

you take them both

and there you have The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life.

There's a time you got to go and show

You're growin' now you know about

The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life.

When the world never seems to be livin up to your dreams

And suddenly you're finding out the Facts of Life are all about you, you.

It takes a lot to get 'em right

When you're learning the Facts of Life. (learning the Facts of Life) Learning the Facts of Life (learning the Facts of Life) Learning the Facts of Life.

End Credits

You'll avoid a lot of damages an enjoy the fun of managing the facts of life; they shed a lot of light If you hear them from your brother, better clear them with your mother better get them right, call her late at night You got the future in the palm of your hands all you gotta do to get you through is understand you think you rather do without, you will never make without the truth the facts of life is all about you

Who knew there was so much in that theme song. The ending credits part is pretty humorous! I miss the good shows like that, don't you?

Micah-in-the-Box

Micah has been in rare form the last few days. I have had to work alot and get things done and he has been quite the trooper. Yesterday we had a really good morning just enjoying each others company. Often times we end up fighting and spending alot of time disciplining but yesterday Micah bird just went with the flow. I was very thankful. I was going to sit down and write about that but then he only took an hour nap and then at bed time he had a complete meltdown, which has never happened before. Sooo, you take the good with the bad and we are still thakful for what we've got. Which these days is a bundle of changes. He is talking up a storm just in the last two days. He is trying to repeat everything I say...there is some serious accountability with that for sure. I can see him imitate frustration when I am frustrated and imitate my excitement when I am excited. It is all happening like everyone said it would...way too fast!

These are pictures of Micah with his new buildabear...but of course he much prefers the free box!

Bay's Week of Firsts!

We are so proud that our niece Bay started kindergarten yesterday. Her mom sent me pictures during the day and I even got a little weepy. Lord knows how I'll be when Micah goes...they'll have to pry me off of him instead of the other way around. But we talked to Bay yesterday and she was so nonchalant about the whole thing. Yeah it was fun, no I didn't cry, Momma did though. She never ceases to amaze us. These are pictures of Bay's first soccer game. She did really well and seemed to have fun. She only had 5 coaches on the sidelines because Uncle Mick was at a softball tournament. Micah and Charlee had fun hanging out together. Being able to see things like this make me thankful our families are close.

ballgame? where?

Mick had his first softball game of the season yesterday and the girls won in extra innings. Micah and I were there for the whole game to cheer them on. Unfortunately Micah had no idea that there was a game going on at all. Every now and then if Mick yelled out something Micah would run to the fence and yell back. Other than that Micah played with a rake, watched cheerleaders practice on the baseball field, talked to the girls in the dugout and screamed for his daddy on the field. Needless to say, my days of strolling Micah to the field and sitting in a chair are long over! He slept very hard last night for good reason!

Knockin' it back

Micah loves this little cup he has and always pretends to drink out of it. So yesterday I let him give it a try, with water, and he loved it. He was also so proud that he would do it over and over if I kept taking pictures. Of course the time for drinking ran thin and he eventually poored the remaining water on our kitchen floor. He looked down at the big puddle and said uh oh! I have tried to explain to him that uh oh isn't appropriate when he does something on purpose. It would appear that he throws and drops things just so he can utter his favorite phrase...uh oh!

the other visitor...

My Aunt Dot also stopped by this week and this picture encapsulates Micah's feelings for her. He loves her and actually laughs out loud at her.(which he rarely does with anyone) It is so cute to watch them play together. Micah had her read about 5 books and play basketball and drive him in his car. He loved the extra attention and I was glad to see her as well.

visits from friends...

Wendyroo, Micah and I
The fam...we always take advantage of another set of hands to take the picture of us three.
Birdy looking very mischevious, dontcha think?
He's still got it!

In the midst of the turmoil going on around us Micah has been such a good boy. I mean don't get me wrong he is still very hard to discipline. But he has napped when I needed him to and been so sweet at times when I really needed some lovin'. We also have had a few visitors this week. A dear friend from college, Wendy. Micah enjoyed having her here and she was such a help during a very rough few days for me. So thanks Wen, for your love and understanding!

what's going on?

So, I haven't been able to blog in awhile because it seems a little frivilous compared to the things that are going on in my life right now. We are still dealing with my sister and her struggles and would appreciate your prayers there. I don't feel like putting the situation with her on this blog nor is it fun or light reading so I have added a new blog for my own personal therapy. If you want to read it you can but feel free to continue with our fun blog about Micahbird and hopefully I will be able and in a place to update on him soon! So click here(www.addictioncannotwin.blogspot.com) if you want to read through the situation with me but it wont hurt my feelings if you don't.
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Knuckles...

Micah has been giving five for a while now but Mick just taught him to give "knuckles" and now he wants to give them all the time. Last night Paxton had his hand in a fist so Micah assumed he wanted knuckles. Nevermind the fact that Pax's hand was in his mouth.

Dinner with the Dobbs, sort of...

Best Friends times Two!Pax and his first ride on the horse.

Uncle Brad's daycare
Sooo cute!

Last night we had dinner with Aunt Amy, Uncle Brad and Paxton, sort of. We all were at the restaurant but Micah took only an hour nap yesterday so he was so tired and cranky. So I would sit and eat and then take Micah and we would do the switharoo so Mick could sit and eat. The Dobb's are good enough friends that I don't think we even apologized. Perhaps we should have...or perhaps that is the last time they invite us to dinner. They did come back over for dessert where Micah was comfortable being at home and we were able to actually conversate in some ways. Pax was all smiles except for when he puked all over our couch...poor guy! Seriously he is getting such a personality. He laughed and smiled and cooed even though he was seriously sleep deprived. Hope he slept through the night Aim!

Often I talk about things that go wrong but since everything has gone on with my family I have learned alot and I want to remember it in a few weeks...so I am writing it here. Feel free to wait for another post about silly Micah!

The stuff that happened with my sister made me realize how little control I really have and also how much more I need to be depending on the Lord, reading His word and spending time listening to Him. Since then as I have been doing these things my heart has been a lot more restful. I mean I am still an anxious person so I am not saying I am altogether different. But I am coping much better. The Lord has also just been doing little things to encourage me. I am so thankful for that and for Him reminding me that He is the one who is in control. Just today things weren't easy but I met up with someone at the mall that I just met and maybe even developed a new friendship (always a blessing to me) and then just spending time with Aim's family and having a friend to just understand my entire situation and not judge me for it for a minute is such a blessing as well.

big cuz...

The boys...this is as close as I could get them together but they are all looking which is a miracle in itself. Hayden is standing on a stool he didn't suddenly hit a growth spurt.
No more monkies jumping on the bed...

When I found out I was pregnant with Micah I made a shirt for Hayden that said "Big Cuz". Yesterday I took Micah over to play with Hayden and Harper (my sister's other son that lives with his father). It turns out that Micah is the real big cuz. He looks enormous next to Harper and he can pretty much take Hayden down as well. This isn't something I am proud of in the least, I am just stating the sad truth. We don't get to see Harper often so it was fun for them to get to play together. I think he was a bit overwhelmed by Hayden and Micah's aggressive nature. Harper is much more passive.



As a side note I got the Dare to Discipline book in the mail today and am reading it as fast as I can. I've already messed up a bunch but hopefully God will grant us grace and I can repair the damage and have a manageable child who knows who to respect and eventually comes to know and respect our Heavenly Father. What a daunting task parents have undertaken...without even taking a test to get permission to raise kids!

our little gymnast!

Well last night was Micah's first gymnastics class. I was more excited than he was...turns out there was only one other boy signed up right now so it was just the two of them. The teacher let both sets of parents in so that was nice for us. The other little boy was a few months older than Micah but that seemed to be ok. When we got in there and the teacher started I thought there is no way Micah is going to go with this. There was this huge room full of places to play and she wanted him to move from thing to thing...but he did it! There were only a few times that he got upset so for us that was definitely a success. He did things like swing on the bars and rings, climb ladders, jump on the trampoline, and even walking the balance beam (with our help). We had a great time and hopefully it will go just as smoothly next week. The bird is staying with Nana today and lets just say that is a much needed break for both of us. Not really a break for me because I will be working but he has gotten a bit clingy and whiny with me...when I say a bit I am being kind:)

me and my boy

So, something about these pictures I just love...I don't know I just love Micah's little face next to mine. It just makes me smile. So I am posting them just cause I can!

new do

Ok so the other day Micah and I had some time on our hands and I decided to fix his hair. I wanted it in a mohawk but his hair has gotten so curly that from the front it looked like the golden arches from mickeyd's. So I settled for the spike. Which turned out to be more of a tousled look, if you will. I loved it and so did Micah. He even worked it for the camera. The pictures just don't do it justice.

So then we get in the car to go see Nana and Pops, we had a reason to go there to drop something off, but the main reason was to show them his hair. It was at that moment in the car that I thought I might actually want a girl. I hadn't really thought it since the day I found out Micah was a boy. But after styling my child's hair I realized that I would have such fun with bows and curls and oh the things you could do. Poor Micah, having to be my little styleman. Don't get me wrong I love my Micahbird and all his boyness, but I had thought I wanted two boys, but now a girl sounds good too. Oh who am I kidding, another baby of any sex would be pure joy and a blessing. Who knows when that will happen though. I'll just stick to gellin' Micah's do for now!

By the way, his shirt says "just try and stop me" and no joke that is his mantra, life verse, motto, thought of the day, etc. right now!

The Real World

So today is the official start of the real world. No more Mick around this house for a while. These next few weeks are very trying for us as a family due to exhaustion and bad communication. What is really sad is that we know it's coming and there is little we can do about it. Micah woke up this morning in a bad mood. He stood at the bottom of the stairs and cried mama mama. What he was really doing was calling for Mick, since mama was right next to him! On top of Mick being gone I have alot of work to do. Micah was a trooper and traipsed all over town with me doing Chicken house work. We had to go buy umbrellas and I would promise you he said the word "umbrella" 3 times so clearly. The child can't say... well anything but umbrella apparently comes easy...it is so similar to dog, etc. Softball tryouts start today as well and that means all day and night with Micahbird. He is napping now and has been for a while, thank you Jesus so I have been able to get work done. Yeah! Ok, so nothing exciting to speak of today...that is the way we like it, right?

near death disasters...

Ok, so the title is a little drastic but I thought I would share a few stories about Micah. I don't know how many of you have seen your child or someone elses do something that nearly had a disastrous outcome but I never knew how many close calls one child could have...especially when you are the person in charge of their little life.
~falls - I have mentioned before that Micah falls constantly but there have been a few instances where his life has flashed before my eyes. Once when he was 6 months old and he fell out of the car in the target parking lot(I still can't talk about it because it freaks me out) and once about a month ago when he hurtled the chair at the top of the stairs and hurled himself down the stairs. I caught him by the ankle on his way to a broken neck.
The reason this post came about is twice this week Micah and I have almost had to call poison control. Not because he ate some odd household cleaner or ant spray, but read on for two examples of panic.
1)One day this week Micah got into one of the potted plants and had dirt all over his head and hands and feet. So I sat him in the sink to clean him off. He was holding on to the handsoap while I did this...which I did not mind because it was keeping him occupied. Then all of a sudden he put it to his mouth and sucked like no one's business. Well, it was the foaming kind, so it went straight in liquid like and then he looked VERY suprised then he vomited it back up in foam form with half of his squash lunch. I started freaking out but the vomiting seemed to do the trick. I contemplated calling poison control, but the boy was A ok after he had gotten it all back up. Although his breath had a nice cucumber melon smell.
2) Two days later I am trying to keep him occupied while I put away the groceries so I sit him under the arbor outside where I can see him with the door open and he plays at his water table. Well, I didn't know that Hayden had left his spiderman thermos outside and I look up and Micah is knocking it back. I say, ewww, nasty ran water and jerk it open to poor it out on the grass. Well, chunks of very old and very curtled milk splatter on to the ground. This time I am the one who wants to vomit. I contemplate whether Micah got any of that nastiness and decide the top was closed too tight. Then I smell his breath to be sure and it's no cucumber melon but it isn't curtled milk, thank you Jesus!

Ok, I know these are silly stories when I look back but at the time any of these could have ended really bad. I don't know how we make it to adulthood I really don't! Lots of prayer and watchful momma's. It is crazy how things can happen in an instant. Sorry for the random post but just something I think about...

old friends...

Yesterday Mick started his days of working from 7am-9pm. This doesn't happen everyday but once the sports start it will pretty much be routine. So for those of you who wonder why we have a boy that goes to bed at 10 it is so he gets to see his Daddy (almost) everyday. Since having Micah I have realized how important girl time is...last night we had some of that. I had two of the softball girls that I used to lead in Bible study come over. It was pretty fun and very neat to see how grown up they are...once you get into college everybody seems the same age. Ashli and Magan were more like our kids when they played ball, I even took them to spring break their senior year! We had a great time catching up and thank you Jesus Micah was well behaved. He absolutely loved having them here. So some of the time Mick is having a late night I am going to try to have things that keep us entertained and make the time go by faster. Plus Micah doesn't have to stare at his momma the whole night!