Dental Virgins no more!.

Can I just say....my parents were/are awesome.  I can honestly not remember a time in my growing up life that we didn't get regular dental checkups, fillings, cleanings, etc.  Our teeth were taken care of.  And for that I'm very grateful.  Perhaps that attention is the ONLY thing keeping my scarey, traumatized teeth in my head.  I was NOT blessed with good teeth (thanks Mom).  Doesn't matter that I brush 3 times a day and floss.....and yet still cavities and broken teeth galore.  BUT, I digress, for my mouth is not what this is about.

Last week I FINALLY took my kids to the dentist for the first time (judge me not).  Maggie has had a visible cavity on her back molar for at least a year.  Maxs front teeth are all chippy and well, it was just beyond time.  But frankly, HOW do people ever afford to see a dentist.  No really...HOW?  There is a reason I haven't been to a dentist in at least 8 years.  They are insanely expensive and we have insanely NO money.  It sucks and if you must know, WHEN I win that ellusive lottery, I'm TOTALLY fixing my teeth first.

Anyway.......

To say I was nervous would be an understatement.  As we all know, Max has a freakish phobia of all things doctor.  We tried to really talk it up and make it seem like a cool thing.  We mentioned prizes and toys for going and that seemed to work.

Upon arrival they were calm, cool and collected.  There were video games to play and puzzles.  The kids were most enamored with the little "vending" machines with prizes in them.  They wanted money for it and I told them if they did well I would give them some.

We were called back fairly quickly and I'm not gonna lie, our little hygenist was darling and soooo good with the kids.

Maggie was first.  Watching the TV above her head, waiting patiently.

Our cute hygenist giving her teeth a good cleaning.  Sure enough, TWO cavities.  She gets to go back next week for her fillings.  Hope she's as calm then.

Max pondering if he is gonna remain calm for this business.

Trying to act brave as we make jokes to help him relax for this "intrusive" teeth cleaning. 

He got a bit jumpy and freaked for a minute.  He didn't appreciate the spit sucker outer.  Seriously, WHAT am I gonna do when he has an actual cavity or something and needs numbing.  I think I'll have to insist on some halcion for that kid.  But over all...he did very well.  And NO cavities for him.  YAY!

The best part....they got a goody bag with stickers, a new toothbrush and toothpaste AND a token to buy a prize out of the machines out front.  AWESOME!  They were both so, so pleased with the whole thing.  Hoorah, looks like I'll be able to convince them to go back in 6 mos.

This little beauty just sweetly slept through it all.

She's a keeper, that's for sure!

Floss and fairies,

Allyson

Ladies in Pink....

One morning I got the girls dressed for church and they both happened to be wearing pink and white.  I however was in black and purple.  But, upon seeing the girls in their finery, Jere begged me to please wear pink and white too so we could all match.  Fine, I gave in and match we did.  It was so "cute". haha  And yes, we did get a lot of comments on our matchery.

Can we talk about Maggies tan for a minute?  Holy crap that girl is DARK! The kids are little water babies and swim EVERY.SINGLE.DAY!  Oh to be young, innocent and free again where summer meant endless amounts of swimming (and loving it) playing with friends and no worries.  Le Sigh!

Pink"y" promises,

Allyson

Slices of Life

Again, since I uploaded pics, I figured I should just put a few pics in and give a cursory, summation of a few things that have gone down.

First of all.....Maggie graduated from Pre-school.  For reals this time, as in, never going back to preschool, but moving on to the big K.  I won't lie, I SUPER missed her teacher and school from the year before, 'cause it was soooo much cuter and they did more fun things.  BUT, Maggie had a great year.  She loved her friends and she did love her teacher.  Their "graduation" just left a bit to be desired.

Performing a cute little classroom song about fish or something.  They did a lot of songs at the end of each class.

Performing their special graduation song.

Proudly displaying their "diploma"

Maggie and her cute friend Claire.  We shared a carpool and I'm tellin you, these girls have a lot of sass.

Maggie and Miss Katie, her teacher.  Katie had JUST had a baby about 2 weeks prior.  So, she came back just for the graduation.  She was cute, 'cause she was totally post baby and cried everytime she mentioned the year with the kids. haha

Nothing I love more than a Daddy and the sleeping baby pic.  She spends many a morning snuggling with Daddy after she's been fed.  Aaack, I just can't handle the cute.

We had a rare moment where we were actually completely free and had nothing going on one Saturday.  So, Jere decided to have a "family fun day".  He took the kids to the store and bought snacks, let them choose a movie to rent and then he created an elaborate bed like seating situation out of all the couch cushions so all could snuggle and watch the movie together.  The kids LOVED it.  And mostly, I think they were just so happy to get to spend time with Daddy.  They don't get a lot of time with him.  Even Mayzie got in on the action.

One day Maggie wanted to "model" her outfit.  Coincidentally, it was a done hair day, which is rather rare and exciting.  And by model, I do mean she wanted to MODEL....she came up with these awesome poses all on her own.  I especially love the spoon.  She was quite pleased that she thought of it and made SURE i took a picture of her holding the spoon just so.  That girl is so crazy.

Speaking of crazy.....I truly hope this current phase of awful that she's in will actually go away.  The very mention of doing her hair sends her into fits of rage and insanity.  There is screaming, there is bawling, fighting, laying on the floor pounding the fists and feet, bargaining, refusal, you name it. And that's just MY side of it.  No, no I kid, it's all her!   It truly takes EVERYTHING I have to remain anywhere resembling calm to get through these moments.  For the most part, I let her go around looking like an orphan with mangey hair because the fights aren't worth it.  BUT, there ARE occassions where having her hair done is just not up for discussion.  Church mornings are the suck. 

So, the other day I had the gall, the audacity to put her hair in a ponytail, because she had sworn to me the day before that I could do it and she wouldn't fight.  Liar liar pants on fire!  So, I did the pony after MUCH shrieking, head jerking and fighting.  She was beside herself.  This was the WORST thing I've ever done to her.  I heard her say...."I just can't take it anymore, I can't take it.  This is nothing but a BIG disaster."  So sorry kid, guess you've got a lot more disasters to look forward too,'cause I ain't giving up the battle just yet.  Serenity NOW!

I'll just leave you with this.  Mayzie on her 2 mo. birthday.  She is truly the sweetest baby EVER!  And she's so full of smiles and happiness. We're so thankful she came to live at our house.

Life at warp speed,

Allyson

Super Max and the baby....

There is NO doubt that Max loves his baby sister.  Usually the FIRST thing he asks when he wakes up in the morning is "Where's Mayzie?"  He likes to know her whereabouts at all times.  He simply can NOT get enough of kissing, hugging, or touching her.  It doesn't matter what I'm doing, nursing, feeding her a bottle, sleeping, holding her, wahtever, he won't take no for an answer.  It's as if he can't help himself, the compulsion to touch her, love her, be near her is too much for him.  And while it's sweet, it can get rather frustrating at times.  But, that's neither here nor there.  I'm here to show you these pics I took, 'cause they cracked me up.

Maggie is a TOTAL "mommy".  She insists on holding Mayzie, burping her and just bossing everyone else around about taking care of her.  Max is always asking to hold Mayzie, and his timing is not always great.  So, on the rare moments he GETS to really hold her, he cherishes them.  One morning Maggie had her, and when I came around the corner, this is what I saw:

Apparently the goggles were key in his super power abilities to hold her.  I don't know, it just cracked me up.  That kid is so funny.

But this scene is most typical....Maggie hovering.  Telling Max what to do, giving him tips and such on how to hold her, oh and just waiting to snatch her away from him.

Which she of course did.  Would you PLEASE look at Maxs face here.  It is the story of his little life.  Big Sister ruining everything for him.  Poor kid.

But, I must say, Maggie really is a great big sister to the baby.  And Mayzie truly loves Maggie.  When Jere called me yesterday (I had to go somewhere without the kids) and Mayzie was screaming her face off (which she only seems to do for him) and he didn't know what else to try, I asked him if he'd let Maggie hold her yet?  He said no, so I told him to give her to Maggie.  And apparently Maggie held her and things were better.  And Maggie doesn't seem to mind that she loses a chunk of hair just about everytime she holds Mayzie, because Mayzie grabs on and doesn't let go.

So goes another day in the life at the MVP's.

Baby bums and Maxs glum,

Allyson

A Father

So last Sunday was Fathers Day, in case you forgot.  I only got one wee shot, but at least we got that.

I made them all sit down right after church so we could have at least one shot of this handsome Daddy and his 3 kids.  And what a cute bunch they are.

The kids made Jere the SWEETEST little cards and at their summer school they made him a frame with the most beautiful picture of them ever.  They also drew him pictures and showered him with loves.  It was a pretty simple affair at our house.  I gave him a card, some i-tunes and I made him a killer turkey sandwhich for lunch.  What can I say, we had to head to my parents house and then we had rehearsal for our show.  There wasn't time for a fancy dinner.  Good thing that sandwhich was so delish!!

In the kids card, there were 3 spaces for them to say what their favorite thing about Dad was.

Maggie said:  You always give us kisses and hugs.

Max said:  When you play connect four and the trapping game with us

Both said:  Pinching our bums.  (You guys, my kids have the cutest ghetto booties ever, you can't HELP but pinch them)

We're so grateful for Jere and the good Daddy he is.  He definitely provides the fun in their lives.  He has the BEST ability to talk to them and help them learn and understand things.  He is so patient with middle of the night children, and so good at helping them and PLAYING with them.  I'm thankful that he is continuing his education so he has the best possible chances for providing for his family, and doing what he loves. And I'm thankful for his childlike heart that relates so well to our kids and for his partnership in this parenting endeavor.

Thanks Jer for being the best Father to your kids.

We love you!!!

Cousin Lovin

When I FINALLY got around to uploading pictures from my camera (which for the record has had a serious vacation as of late, I almost never take pics anymore) I found this little gem.

I like to call it....."The Line of Love"

I went out to Porter and Lanas one day and of course Mayzie is everyones obsession.  She truly brings so much joy to my ENTIRE family, it's awesome. Well, when I came back from a trip to the ol' toity, this is what I found.  A literal LINE of kids waiting for their turn to hold Mayzie.  How adorable is that?  They were willing to stand in line for a TURN to hold my sweet baby.  That is Tatum holding her, followed by Dane, then of course Maggie, Owen, Olivia, Crew (who is far to small for a real turn) and the couch was rounded out by Morgan and Max.  And, for the most part, they did a pretty good job of sharing Mayzers.

The other thing I love about this picture?  As I looked at it, I realized that 4 out of the 7 kids in it are all wearing hand me downs from eachother.  Maggie is wearing clothes given to her from Brooklyn.  Crew is wearing clothes that were Max's and Morgan is wearing clothes that were Maggies (never mind that she's a year older than Maggie.  She comes from my sister Dixie who only makes wee tiny, skinny kids) and Max who is dressed entirely by Jayce.  We are SO, SO blessed and lucky to have cousins to give us clothes, and then I'm only so happy to pass them down to the next in line.  I honestly don't know what we'd do if it weren't for all the hand me downs.  My kids might forever be destined to be nudists, or only sport bad wal-mart clothes.

Clothes whores and baby lovers,

Allyson





A rare moment in time.....

ICK! I just have to say, I reallllllly don't like the "new look" of blogger, it drives me nuts and I can't find anything.  And yes, i realize I never write posts, so this is my problem. But still, I can complain if I want to.

So, what else is new....it's June which = the craziest month of my entire life.  I'm tired, I'm worn out, I'm overwhelmed and my house looks like an atomic bomb went off.  Pretty much the norm.

However....last Monday morning I found just enough time to make a "quick" trip to Costco for a stock up the pantry mission.  As we know, my kidlets lurve them some Costco and I made them SWEAR on their little lives that they would behave. And by behave I mean, stay by the cart, no running ahead, raising ruckus or begging me to buy something, or anything.  We were on a mission.

What can I say?  They delivered.  There was a little bit of "ice skating" on the concrete which ended with some falls, but nothing too bad. They did great and therefore earned a little lunch at the Costco "cafe" (we seriously love us some lunch there).

There we sat, the four of us lunching on our salad for me and pizza for them and delicious bottle for Mayzie.  The kids were uncharacteristically calm and GOOD! They actually just SAT there and ate.  They didn't fight, they didn't whine, they didn't jump up and down.  It was surreal actually.

About halfway through our lunching I noticed this lovely older woman looking our way.  She was sitting a table over and one up from us.  She was saying something to her cute little old husband.  When she caught my eye she said "they're so well behaved."  I laughed and said, "well at least this time they are." The cute man turned and said something, but to be honest, I have no idea what he said, I just smiled and nodded.  Anyway a few minutes later they got up to leave.  I noticed them whispering to eachother.  Next thing I knew, that adorable little ol' man in his shorts and knee socks walked over, reached in his pocket and placed a quarter in front of each of my kids and said "I think you two are pretty swell."  IT.WAS.AWESOME!  They hardly knew what to do with themselves.  Well fine, they pretty much  just didn't even really understand what had just happened.  All they saw was a big, shiny quarter, which equals MONEY for their piggy banks.

I tried to use it as a wee teaching moment.  You know....act good and behaved and you get rewarded.  I'm not sure it has sunk in.  But, it made this mama feel good none the less.

Lucky for you...I always have my camera.  So, here it is.....Our "rare moment in time."

Enjoying their smoothies

I especially love Max's pizza covered teeth in this shot. HA!

P.S. the shirts they're wearing are what they made in their summer preschool class.  FUN!

Days and moments like these make this whole parenting gig beareable.

A Birth Story.....Mayzie

Wait, what?  My kid is 2 mos. old you say?  How did this happen?  And all of you waiting so painfully long for her birth story.  My sincerest apologies!!!

Buckle up.  Here...we...goooooo

It shall be stated for the record that I SWORE this time I was going to wait until nature just took its course and I went into labor all by myself. I wanted to have that "moment" like they show in the movies.  You know the one...just minding your own business and suddenly your water bursts all over the floor and your rushing around in panic trying to get to the hospital in time.  Or just out of nowhere a giant contraction hits and your doing the crazy breathing and rushing to the hospital.  I was gonna do it.  I was gonna wait... no induction.  Enjoy the whole process, etc.    Phlbbbbt!  You know me....patience....non existent.  Frankly, you hit that last couple of weeks and all you can do is BEG the child to get out of you!

Sooooooo.....

I went to my Doctors appt. on April 2nd, I was dilated to a 4 and 80% effaced.  
'Cause I'm cool like that, my body all prepping itself and all.  So He stripped my membranes and we discussed when he could induce me.  However, really I wasn't planning on waiting around for this induction.  Jere was losing his ever loving mind.  Couldn't study, couldn't focus, couldn't do anything.  He was OBSESSED with this baby being born.  And at this point...so was I.

I had a couple of pretty big contractions that afternoon after the "stripping", but that was it.  I swore I would NOT do the castor oil this time, but finally I gave in and made the orange soda and castor oil concoction.  I somehow gagged it down and waited for it to do its magic.

You guys.....I took it at 4 p.m. and I didn't even so much as toot, nor feel a rumble in the jungle until after 8 p.m.  It was wierd, and disconcerting.  But finally, I had a nice visit with my toilet and things seemed to be working in the right direction.  I started having consistent contractions about every 3 to 5 minutes starting at 9 p.m.  We were watching "The Voice" and just timing contractions.  Jere was super antsy to head to the hospital. I myself was not.  I kept assuring him we could just do this whole "laboring" part at home.  Finally, at about 11:30 we headed to the hospital.  They checked me, still at a 4.  Told me to "walk".  So after 45 minutes of doing lunges, squats, running up and down stairs, jogging in place (in the chapel for privacy none the less, 'cause NOONE needs to see that bidness) and walking I went back and I was at a 5.  They decided to admit me and see what happened.

We spent the rest of the night in our room sorta sleeping, sorta not.  I continued to have contractions, but just run of the mill, not real painful contractions.  Just before 6 a.m. I decided I needed to go to the bathroom.  I called the nurse and told her I needed to go.  I was laying on my side and when I went to move to my back to get up I heard and felt a loud POP POP!  It was the strangest feeling.  Then there was a little bit of liquid on the table.  I told the nurse what happened, she checked me and said I wasn't that wet, so my water didn't break.  I said "are you sure cause it's running down my leg right now and I'm not peeing."  I went to the bathroom, there was lots of bloody show and the trickle down my leg continued.

The nurse said she didn't think my water had broken so much as it had sprung a leak.  Whatever the case, it was enough to change my contractions to for realsie and painful.  At that point I was at a 6 to 7ish range.  I said, let's do this epidural STAT!  The guy came in and did the epidural, except it hurt and it's never hurt before.  He no sooner finished the epidural than I felt some immediate relief.

I got all settled back on my bed, the nurse walked out the door and then I may have seen the face of God. I had a contraction that hurt so bad I thought I would die.  I literally felt like my bum hole would explode.  Now remember, I've been induced with the other 2 and had epidurals...I never really FELT anything.  So I was ouching and breathing through this saying "why does this hurt, why does this hurt sooooooooo bad?  I have an epidural."  Jere called the nurse back in.  She asked if I was feeling a little more pressure.  "A LITTLE more pressure? Sister this is FAR more than a little pressure."  So, she checked me and wouldn't you know, in about 10 min. I had gone from a 7 to a 10 and that baby was crowning.

AWESOME!!

TWENTY FIVE MINUTES LATER my doctor came in.  He was on his way but traffic was bad.  So for 25 minutes I had to endure those ridiculously painful contractions.  Poor Jere thought I was gonna break his thumb right off.  I might have too, cause it was intense.  Apparently I transitioned way to fast and that epidural did a whole lotta nothing.  Good thing I'm a rockstar and I don't yell.

Anywho...Doctor sits down, says give me a push which I happily did and out popped Mayzie.  No real effort at all.  She had a healthy cry and looked quite big.  He said....this is a 9 lb. baby. After they cleaned her up, they weighed her and she was 8 lb. 13 oz. to which the dr. replied....she's 9 lbs. they just dried her off. Hahahaha  He also told me I had a little tear, and then proceeded to put in TEN stitches.  Good thing that never really hurt me.

So that's it.  I actually had a baby without being induced.  It was quick and easy, other than that horrid pain one birthing a baby has to endure.  HOW do women choose to go through that pain without epidurals?  OY!

That night and the whole next day in the hospital she just never really cried.  She was so calm and so serene.  I could hear the baby in the room next to me crying alllllllll the time.  I finally said to my nurse....my baby never cries.  She just smiled and said...they come how they come, you're lucky.

Hours after she was born. All ready for visitors.

Our new family of FIVE!!

Look how handsome Jer is.

The kids were SO excited to meet their new sister. They can't get enough of her, to the point of mauling her on a regular basis.

Heading home for the first time.

I know, could you just die over her cute carseat cover?  I love it so.

And lucky I am. She continues to be the BEST baby. She is just mellow and happy. She rarely cries, she sleeps fully through the night and has since 4 weeks. She wakes up happy, never crying for food, and smiles all the time.

We're so grateful that little Mayzie chose to come to our family and is a part of our life.  She makes each day a little sweeter.

And just because i can....a few of my favorites from her newborn baby shoot.  Could you just eat this girl up or what?

I'm sorry, but I die from the sweetness every time I look at this.

The photographer declared her her FAVORITE baby EVER because she literally slept through the entire shoot.  And that was a lot of jostling for different positions, headbands, table covers, etc.

Perfect baby i tell ya, PERFECT!

Allyson

Man the Pumps!

Listen.....can you hear it?  It's coming from the distance. There is a faint pounding of the drums. Perhaps a plaintive yet primal yell here and there.  Hear it?  There it is.  It's a war cry.  Angry La Leche Leaguers are not happy with me.....I'm going down people, going down.

Ok fine....there are no disgruntled boob milk crusaders.....YET!  But, I'm about to admit some things here, and well, it's not gonna set me in good standings with nursing moms of America.

Picture courtesy of Google Images

Heaven knows....if THIS is what my nursing experience looked like, this would be a different blog entry.

Let's get one thing straight.  I think nursing is great, I think it is grand.  I think it's absolutely amazing that our bodies can produce life giving nutrients for wee babies.  I do, I really do. 
As a sidenote: I am however completely opposed to nursing past 1 year, it creeps me out.  And the recent photo on TIME (totally creeptastic) did nothing to alleviate those thoughts.
HOWEVER....when you've been cursed blessed with bodacious ta-tas roughly the size of King Kongs fist it's just not so simple.  In layman terms...Double D's that have somehow become overgrown G's (you read that right, G'S).  This does NOT make a pretty picture, nor a tidy feeding time.  Simply put....nursing boobs SUCK! (you see what I did there?)

And worse than these boobs is the effort it takes to try and nurse said wee infants.  Due to their largesse I can't just primly pull out my hooter hider and plop a kid on the boob.  Instead, I pretty much require toplessness, so as to hold and manipulate my massive mammory.  It's disturbing when the boob is literally bigger than the entire infant.  Somewhere under said feedbag is the child and if you're not totally careful, paying attention and not holding up, back or whatever the boobie then the baby could quite literally be either crushed to death or suffocate.  Can you imagine?  Death by boob?  It isn't pretty.  Never could I nurse in the mothers lounge at church, or under a blanket at a friends house.  I can't stand and do something else whilst baby is suckling.  Instead, it is a full on undressed, sitting, holding awkwardly, aching neck kind of ordeal.  BUT, I am always willing to try it.

A little background....with Maggie I was completely prepared to be a nurser.  I wanted to give that child the best.  Unfortunately my ginormous tracts of land could barely produce a trickle of life giving light.  I would pump and pump and pump and MAYBE get an ounce between 2 teets.  Maggie also could care less about eating, so I had to force her to eat and since I was worthless, it was mostly formula filled bottles.  I tried to stick with it for 3 mos. but it just ended in a sad sorta way. Wah Wah wah wahhh.   Then came Max.  This time, I actually produced a little bit more milk, but not much.  I TRIED to keep him on the giant breastacle, but before 3 mos. he pretty much flipped me the bird and moved on.  Along comes Mayzie.  The girl latched on like an Olympic gold medalist.  She was a pro at birth.  I was feeling quite optomistic....I seemed to be getting much more milk and we had figured out a way for her to feed without imminent suffocation death.  Things were moving along nicely.  I even FINALLY understood what this whole "letting down" of milk was.  I'd never felt that with the other 2.  But indeed, this time, the factory seemed to be in prime working condition.  Zing, Zing...there it was.  My nipples zinged, must mean the milk is in.  And regularly through the day, or when the baby cried, there would be that ZING!  Rather uncomfortable at times if you ask me.  My boobs were spilling over any and all bras I owned.  I looked freakishly misproportioned. YEP, nursing was happening.  THEN....the fated blood clot.  They put me on heparin shots for almost 2 weeks.  Guess what....no nursing in that time.  I pumped and dumped faithfully.  I was determined to keep up my supply and make this nursing thing work.

My supply was decent.  The milk was there.  The shots ended and then I was back to nursing.  Only, here's the thing.  She has never quite latched the same.  She will give me a cursory suckle, but it just is NOT the same.  But you know what?  I'm also perhaps the worlds laziest nurser.

I admit it.....LAZY NURSER right here.  I mean really, WHO has the time for this, stop everything, sit and nurse this child for 40 minutes every few hours?   I've got things to do, places to go, kids to take care of.  At least you tiny boobed women can nurse places, or multi task whilst nursing.  But not me, not possible.  So, I find myself more and more just pumping and then giving her the bottle.  I will nurse once in the early morning and once at night.  Now, the pumping is getting less frequent and the actual nursing, maybe once a day.  Because frankly.....bottle feeding is just WAY more convenient.  There, I said it.  Hate me all you want you breast feeding purists.  But, I prefer to give my kid a bottle.  And it's OK!  When you experience breast feeding at my udders size, then come and talk to me.  It's a whole new ballgame. 

I guess what I'm saying is....breast feeding just isn't for everyone, and apparently I'm one of those people.  (Though I won't lie, I do enjoy what precious little moments we do have while she nurses, it's sweet, just not working).   I want my "regular" large sized funbags back, not these grandeose, out of control poke someones eye out things that I'm currently sporting.  I like to be able to feed my child wherever, whenever I want.  I like that anyone else can feed my kid.  Bottles are JUST FINE.  They're OK!  And know what else?  My kids are just as smart and just as healthy as your breastfed kids.  So there!

Yep....I hear it.  Man your battle stations........La Leche is a comin.

Boobsteaks and baby barf,

Allyson