It's Sunday and instead of heading to our favorite cottage by the sea, we are heading back to the Pediatrcician's office with Hannah and her 104 fever.

3rd time's a charm

Well we headed back to the Pediatrician's office on Friday morning (for the 3rd time this week) after Hannah spiked another fever Thursday night. I knew something still wasnt right when she woke up wimpering and her eyes were all sunken in. I FINALLY was able to see Dr. Sowa and low and behold, her other ear was infected and the ruptured one looked horrible. Therefore, the antibiotic was not working and she needed to be on a stronger one. Dr. Sowa answered all my questions and I left there feeling much better about the situation. It is possible that we may be heading for round 3 of ear tubes in the near future. We will have to see how it all plays out. I just pray that she never has to endure another ear drum rupture... My poor Hannah just cant catch a break this week but fingers crossed she is on the road to recovery!

Friday morning I also had Baby Murphy's doctor appointment and how exciting was it that they double booked the 8:00AM slot with Dr. Boyle? Exciting because the other person just happened to be my sister Julie! What a chance of a lifetime to all pile into the same room and be able to hear both baby's heartbeats!!!! It was such a wonderful experience and certainly the highlight of our day. Although Hannah still doesnt believe there is a baby in Ju Ju's belly. Soon enough when she starts to show.. Both of our appointments went well. Baby Romano's heartrate was uncharecteristically in the low 140's where it usually is in the high 150's. Baby Murphy's heartrate was 147 which was uncharacteristically high and the first time it has ever been above 140! Hmmmmmmmm Ah I know.. we will just have to wait and see. Thankfully, I only have 2 weeks left.. I hope! I will know more at this week's appointment and I am so looking forward to that. I think a stay at Women & Infants is actually going to be like a mini vacation for me with a hotel stay after all we have been through these past 3 weeks!

Still keeping The Frezza/Cavanaugh Families in our prayers. Hannah made the boys some pictures today. I hear that Andrew is holding up well with the chemo and I pray that this continues to be the case. Please join me in holding this entire family up in prayer!!!

Today we are hanging low and giving Hannah another day of rest. She is actually napping on the couch as we speak. She has been taking naps the past few days. Something I am certainly not use to. She has never, ever taken naps! Surely her body needs rest in order to heal and I am glad she is getting it. Tomorrow we are heading to our favorite cottage by the sea for the first time this season.. fingers doubly crossed! So looking forward to taking a walk on the beach with the grils and playing in the sand!

White Flag

Can you see me? I am waving the white flag! I surrender! I just cant believe the amount of sickness we have been dealing with lately and it has totally taken it's toll. We got Hannah to the Pediatrician Monday and when he checked her throat he said it looked as though it was Strep so he did the test and we went home to wait on the results. They were NEGATIVE! Which lead me to believe that she ended up with the Mystery Virus that Layla had.. except she just had it with even higher temperatures. We rested Monday and by Tuesday she was feeling a world better. She was actually bored and asking to go back to school. She was also fever free on Tuesday so I was grateful that she seemed to have gotten over the virus so much quicker than Layla did. Tuesday night however, she had a very restless night's sleep. She was crying and whimpering and waking often. I attributed it to nightmares and just kept settling her down. I got up early Wednesday morning and jumped in the shower. All of a sudden Han came running in the bathroom crying that her ear hurt. I felt her head and her fever was back. What was going on here????? I gave her some Motrin for the pain and we headed to work early since I knew I would be back at the Pediatrician's with her.

I was able to catch up on some of my work before heading to her appointment. When the doctor came in he looked at us like, "Weren't you just here?" Yes doc we were.. now check her ear. He did and much to his surprise it was quite infected. He even said, "What a difference a day makes." So I left there feeling like okay this stinks but get some antibiotic into her and we will be good as gold and back to our routine by tomorrow. Not so much! By the time I got Hannah to the car she had started to whimper saying her ear really hurt. I must back up for a minute and give a brief history. Hannah has probably had at least 40 ear infections in her almost 6 years of life. She has had tubes in twice. 99.9% of the time Hannah has NEVER complained about any pain associated with the ear infection and there have even been times where I have taken her to "Well Visits" and the doctor has said, "Um, both her ears are completely infected." I had no idea! The only way I can ever tell anything is wrong with her is that her eyes will get sunken in a bit and she will become increasingly fresh in her temperament. She just doesn't feel the pain associated with ear infections and I always thought it was because of all the trauma she went through as an infant that she had a high tolerance for pain.... especially in that area. So back to the present situation and now she is really getting uncomfortable. We still had to pick up her prescriptions, head back to the office to grab our stuff and head home. I figured once we got the Motrin and antibiotic into her, she would be okay. I headed home to give her the Motrin first to relieve some of the pain she was feeling. Then to CVS where of course the prescription was not ready. At this point Hannah is now screaming in pain and crying hysterically in the back seat. It was HORRIBLE! I had never seen her like this and I really started to get nervous. I kept trying to calm her but nothing was working. I couldn't understand why the Motrin hadn't taken affect yet. I drove to the office and then back to CVS. Our errands took us a little over an hour and the whole time she was screaming and crying and then apologizing because she felt bad but she was in so much pain. She broke my heart into a million pieces and I began to cry with her.

I got her home and on the couch where she fell asleep for about 10 minutes before she woke up screaming again. I called the doctor and explained that something was very wrong. By the time they had called me back 5 minutes later, Hannah had a temperature of 105. I gave her a dose of Tylenol and got her to the tub to try and cool her off but she was just too uncomfortable so back on the couch she went. I sat there trying to console her and sponge her down. All the while I was completely FREAKED OUT! Again.. me and temps above 104 don't do so well. Plus.. the way this temp came on and the pain she was in.. I had no idea what was going on. Was something going on internally??? I had one foot out the door and was ready to get her to Hasbro, I was just trying to find someone to watch Layla for me. I ended up getting in touch with my Dad and he came right over. He was a Godsend in calming me down but he too, had never seen her like this and it was so bothersome and heartbreaking. I spoke to the doctor a few more times and Billy ended up picking up some numbing drops for her on his way home from work. This was at about 3:30. They didn't help. She had now been screaming from 11:00am til 4:00pm. At 4:10 she finally fell asleep and this was when I noticed that drainage was coming out of her ear.. tons of it. I mean TONS. I called the doctor back and low and behold, the poor kid ruptured her ear drum. Thankfully, once it ruptures, the pain is relieved and it was. Hannah was able to sleep for a good two hours. All the while her ear draining like crazy. I actually took pictures because I couldn't believe the amount that was coming out of her ear! We then picked up a topical antibiotic to help with the perforation.

When she woke up she was so much better and I was SOOOO relieved! I hugged her a million times! I was so happy that I didn't have to watch her suffer any more! She decided to eat a little and unfortunately that didn't go so well and she got sick. I think because of all the meds in her on an empty belly and thankfully it only happened once. We are the worst parents when it comes to puke and it took us forever to try and get it cleaned up. I was worse than Billy and what a show watching us trying to clean it. Hannah just sat there with this blank stare on her face.. LOL I got her to the tub and managed to get her cleaned up and the rest of the night went a lot smoother. I have to admit however, I was totally wiped out emotionally and physically.

She had a good night's sleep and tons more drainage came out of her ear. I cant imagine how long this had been brewing for and it obviously must have been in the middle ear where the doctor wouldn't have been able to see it. She says it still hurts, but nothing like yesterday so I am keeping her on the Motrin and Tylenol. My poor Hannah. I pray that she never has to endure that again because it was absolutely heartbreaking to watch. We have a follow-up with the ENT in June, so hopefully then we can ask some questions and get some answers on how we could possibly prevent this from happening again. I will mention.. and I have said this a million times in this blog, this is the ear that has the hemangioma wrapped around the ear tube. I cant help but wonder if this could be a contributing factor in all of this.

So here I sit praying that now these sicknesses can be over. I just want my girls healthy. I want to know that they are okay. There is no other desire greater than this for me. Fingers crossed that this will be the last of the episodes for a long time to come!

Now, when is this baby coming out?????????? LOLOL

Hannah Banana's turn

Well I certainly feel like I am being tested lately. No sooner do I get one child healthy, the other seems to have fallen ill. She kept coming off the ice at hockey on Saturday which is quite unlike her. Billy and I thought she was just tired from spending the night at Grammy's or anxious to take our ride to Matunuck. Yet once she got home and I felt her forehead, I knew differently. After registering a temperature of 103.9, it was on the couch with Motrin for her. She is only complaining of a sore throat, which reminded me that a notice was sent home last week stating that there was a case of strep throat in her class, Last night was rough as even though I was up every hour checking on her, the Motrin was wearing off long before it's time and she actually ended up getting a temp of 104.7. I spent an hour sponging her down with a cool facecloth while she lie in bed because I was so darn nervous. I know doctors say that fevers aren't harmful and yaddah yaddah.. but I dont care.. anything above 104 FREAKS ME OUT! She did end up vomiting last night as well, however, it was only once. I am wondering now if it was due to her fever being so high?

Today her spirits were much better and she had more of her bubbly self about her. I was able to control the fever better this afternoon. Unfortunately, I couldnt let her go to her picture day for dance. I feel horrible that she wont be posed next to her classmates on the wall of the studio. It broke her heart and mine, but what could I do? I'll just have to schedule a shoot at the studio and do them myself when she is feeling better. We spent much of the day just being lazy and I made sure she drank a bunch and had however many Popsicles she asked for. I did catch up on all the laundry as well.

Tonight, here we sit again with a high fever (104.3) and I have a feeling we are in for another very long night. I am going to take her in the morning to the pediatrician and get a strep test done. I hope that is what we are dealing with and after a dose or two of antibiotic we will be headed for better days. I don't think I can handle another 11 day mystery disease. Speaking of which, I am going to need to get Layla to the lab tomorrow to make sure her blood work checks out as well. She seems to be doing much better and is back to my happy little Layla Grayce!

I feel a bit battered and beaten myself. The long nights of not sleeping are taking their toll. I just want these kids healthy before it is time for me to leave them for two nights. I know I will go nuts if I should go into labor and have to leave them behind not well. Staying positive however, that we will rid all of these germs and be on our way to a healthy summer. I am saying my prayers for sure. Something has to give.. it's MAY for crying out loud! I am keeping it in perspective though, there are people who are faced with so much more...

I am asking for prayers for a very special little boy. Andrew Frezza. I am going to post more about Andrew when I have more than a few minutes to type, but please, pray for this little boy and for his family as he endures yet another fight for his life. This family has been through more than their share of heartache and Andrew truly exudes the word hero in my book. He surely can use all the prayers you could offer! Thank you dearly.

Layla...

Ahhhhh we have finally reached a fever free morning! Eleven days into this thing and finally Layla woke up without a fever this morning and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it stays this way! I was hoping that things were turning around when she actually got off the couch last night and played! Something she hasn't had the energy to do in quite some time. She is still sleeping ALOT which is so unlike her but it is probably her body's way of ridding herself of whatever it is that she had. Her spirits are much much better this morning and I couldn't be happier! Now if we could just get her appetite back we would be all set. She is still mainly just drinking and not eating much. The only other thing that is off about her is that she seems to be cold all the time. She keeps asking for blankets and saying she is cold? I will be curious to see how the blood work comes back next week as to whether this whole shabang is just some crazy virus or Mono. Either way, all the yucky stuff was ruled and she is feeling better. That is all that matters to me!

I think Layla would have even slept the entire night last night however, as Murphy's Law would have it, Mommy and Hannah kept her up! LOL I have this horrible chest cold and as I laid down into my kid free bed last night so excited to catch some sleep and be able to spread out, I began the whole choke cough thing. It persisted and persisted and well, let's just say I had a miserable night. In the midst of it all, Hannah woke up screaming that her ear hurt. So now all three of us are up and it is midnight! Both girls came running into bed and I was able to get Hannah settled with some Tylenol. I had to put a The Princess and the Frog on for Layla but thankfully, 10 minutes into the movie she was out cold!

Hannah woke up fine this morning which leads me to believe that she possibly got water in her ear during bath time and that is what was causing the pain? She did say it is a little blocked, but it doesn't hurt. So off to school she went! Now if I can just somehow find some time today to catch a nap....

Last but not least, I have been so overwhelmed with Layla sickness that I have yet to post that my dearest and closest friend Skip and his wife Jane, welcomed their newest addition last Thursday. Sophia Marie Young was born weighing 7lbs 13 oz and big sister Gracie is just thrilled! Welcome to the world Sophia! I can't wait to meet you once we can shake all of these germs! Congratulations Skip & Jane on your newest blessing! xoxoxo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ZW2gGx8vU

Update

Just a quick update for you all who are keeping my little Layla in your prayers! (I have a pile of work on my desk and with maternity leave just around the corner.. there is no rest for the weary!) We saw Dr. Sowa today. She walked into the room quite fittingly saying, "and the saga continues.." I had to laugh because my Lord this is so true between all of the health issues my 2 princesses have had! I will also add.. I just LOVE Dr. Sowa!

The good news is that an oncologist looked at Layla's blood smears and felt as though there was nothing to be concerned about. Praise the Lord! He does however, want us to do a follow up blood draw on Monday to make sure that her white count is coming back up and things are getting back into proportion. Dr. Sowa agrees as I will feel much better when I see those numbers back where they should be. This news however, was such a weight off of my shoulders. You can't imagine the place I was in yesterday when things are being tossed out there as to why her white blood cells could be so low. Things a parent NEVER wants to hear!

The blood cultures look normal up to date and even if they came back with anything positive, she has already been treated in the hospital yesterday with antibiotics so that would take care of that.

So this leaves us with this nasty virus that just decided to take on Layla's white blood cells and mess with them. Dr. Sowa is leaning towards something like Mono and actually called the hospital to see if they had enough blood to do the test. Unfortunately, the didnt. Yet, when we go for the white blood cell test, we will add this one on as well on Monday. She thinks that the fact that Layla still has a fever 8 days in and isnt eating or isn't herself, that this could be the road we go down. I can handle that.. I can surely handle that!

Today I am in a much better place with all of this. I could barely sleep a wink last night tossing around all the "what if's" but I am so grateful and thankful the Lord has answered my prayers. Thank you for sending us yours! They worked and hopefully will continue to work in getting this little ravioli feeling better so she can meet her new brother or sister soon!

Layla

To say that last week was yet another trying week, would be an understatement. Layla started with 104 fever Monday evening. She began a tight asthmatic cough on Tuesday and then it just all went from there. We began her on her Pro Air rescue inhaler while keeping her on her maintenance dose of Flovent and tried to ride it out but by Thursday her fever was still in the high 103's and her cough was now a heavy bark. She wasnt sleeping. She was miserable all around and just wanted to be held, watch Princess & the Frog and drink her "bubba". The last time she ate anything solid was last Sunday. So I brought her in to the Pediatrician and he checked her ears and throat and determined it was just a virus. Her oxygen was at 98% so that too, seemed fine. Yet I left there feeling like something was missed. This wasn't one of her "usual" doctors and he didn't know her previous history and I was a little uneasy about that. Nonetheless, we decided to ride out the weekend. There wasn't much change in Layla throughout the weekend with the one exception being that her temperature did finally drop to 101.5 on Saturday evening. Last night, I noticed a very tiny little rash appearing on her ear tips and I made up my mind that we would be heading back to the Pediatrician this morning. By morning, she had this rash on her ears, neck, shoulders, arms and belly. She still had the 101.5 fever. My first fear was that it could be 5th's Disease and I know that this could be dangerous for pregnant women to be around. With me being 3 weeks away from delivering and Julie in her first trimester I was hoping this wasn't the case.

Layla was seen at 9:30 by Dr. T. who was absolutely fantastic with her. We don't usually see him either but he was very thorough and squashed my fears of 5th's Disease. He did however call the rash Patiki Eye. This rash becomes present when there is an issue with white blood cells. Not at all what I was expecting him to say. He also wanted us to head to Hasbro for blood work so that we could be thoroughly seen and get the labs done stat and not have to wait days for them. I was so grateful for his proactive approach to Layla's condition. We headed on down and had the best experience in Hasbro ER. (All who know me, know that I am not a fan of Hasbro.. but this trip proved different) From the doctors to the nurses, they were all so very nice and accommodating. We saw a Dr. Charles Callahan and I just loved him and the way he sat and spoke to me. He did say that her Patiki Eye was quite impressive and that you don't usually see it in so many places. Leave it to Layla to deviate from the norm. The nurses were also so very nice and helpful and they even found me a set of scrubs to wear after Layla became increasingly angry with having to keep the IV in and got agitated enough to vomit all over Mommy! (9 months pregnant wearing scrubs.. I assure you was quite the sight!) Layla was such a trooper through it all and even when they stuck her with the needle. She just did not like keeping that IV in with the board on her arm and was having none of it! So after our 6 hour day at Hasbro, this is where we stand:

She is being diagnosed with Neutropenia. Neutropenia" is a condition in which the number of neutrophils in the bloodstream is decreased. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell also known as polymorphonuclear leukocytes or PMNs. Neutropenia affects the body's ability to fight off infections. This is a condition of the white blood cells and in Layla's case, they "think" it is being caused by a virus. They have also sent out blood cultures which we will have the results of in 48 hours to determine whether or not it could be a bacterial infection. Layla did receive an antibiotic shot intravenously in case any of those cultures come back positive, she will already have been treated and on the mend. Dr. Sowa wants to see us in the office tomorrow and once Layla is feeling better they will most likely do followup blood work to ensure that her white count has come back up and all is fine. I am staying positive that this whole thing is just a bad virus that decided to attack her white blood cells and in another week or so she will be back to my little Layla cakes. I know I will feel so much better once I have spoken to Dr. Sowa and she has eased all of my worries. As of tonight, she still has the 101.5 fever and congested cough.

Please pray with me that Layla gets better quickly! I can't bare to watch this little baby go through anything else. She has been through so much already and cant ever seem to just get the "normal" colds and viruses that kids get without them being blown into these big not normal things. She has been through so much with her gastrointestinal issues as well as her food allergies... She just deserves a break. I am so worried about going into labor and having to leave her for 2 nights. She is Mommy's girl and I just want to know that she is well for when I have to leave her overnight. I can't imagine being away from the girls for 2 nights, never mind how frantic I will be if Layla is not well. Please keep her in your prayers for a speedy recovery! Thank you!!! I will post more after my appointment tomorrow but for now.. I am going to cuddle on the couch with my little ravioli!

Happy Mother's Day

Well our weekend was a bit of a chaotic one. We were quite busy and relaxation and rest did not quite fit into our schedule. (Mental Note: Next year, make time for myself!) Saturday we were busy during the morning with dance and hockey. Saturday afternoon I had a photo shoot of an adorable little 2 year old who had the most beautiful blue eyes. After the shoot, I ran home and picked up Hannah and made it to 6:15 Mass. I truly enjoyed listening to the Homily as it was very insightful. It was about how our generation is inundated with stress and anxiety. Yet, 90% of the things we worry about, never actually happen... hmmmmm. How the Lord either spares us from our troubles or he gives us enough strength to get through our troubles. Food for thought there!



Sunday morning Miss Hannah Banana was determined to make Mommy breakfast all on her own. She toasted me a waffle and poured me a glass of cranberry juice. This by far, was the best part of my Mother's Day. She was so very cute! Layla joined in and handed me my cards and my pedicure gift certificate! Something I surely need desperately! It will be two years in August since I have had one! (Mommy needs to learn to make time for herself!) Throw in the pregnancy and the every day wearing of flip flops and wheeewww.. my feet need some tending too! We went to Julie's for our annual brunch to spend time with my side of the family. Most importantly, my Mom. The food was delicious and Mom seemed to really enjoy herself. I'll have to get the pictures we took from Julie so that I can post them. It was here that I received a most unbelievably special gift from my Aunt Charlene who is also my God Mother. She had Julie and I open our gifts at the same time and I had no idea this was coming but we both received handmade teddy bears made out of the dress that my Mama wore to our weddings. It was quite emotional to say the least. Add in my hormones and I was a blubbering mess. I'm not sure if I have ever received a more meaningful gift. At the moment, I can think of none more special. The instant I saw that aqua bear I was flooded with memories of Mama dancing at my wedding with Mikey. She just had the biggest smile on her face that night. I will never forget it. Mama will have been gone now, 3 years in July and I still can see her, smell her and hear her voice. My favorite memories are the ones of her laughing the joyous belly laugh she had. She was so very special to me. Even as I watched the horrible Alzheimer's take her over, I still had such a connection with her. I dont think I ever posted this, but Mama also waited until just after midnight on July 12th, to pass. She waited for my Hannah's birthday to be over. She is surely my angel in heaven and I know that she is watching over me.






After brunch we ran home quick to change and then took the trek to Mystic to see Billy's side of the family. Unfortunately, it was quite cold and windy and not the weather you look forward to walking about downtown Mystic in. We did enjoy a nice meal at S & P Oyster Company as well as good company. I hope that we will have more time once the weather is warmer to get back down there and visit all of my favorite shops! We didn't get back home until about 8PM and all of us were extremely exhausted by that point. I think I may have overdone it because I was up most the night feeling quite ill and had those pesky contractions again. I feel a little better this morning, however I will not lie.. I AM EXHAUSTED! Hoping to go home today and just rest!


I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day and enjoyed their weekend!

Girls/Maternity Shoot May 2010

Hannah's Big News

Here we are again meeting yet another milestone! My Hannah Banana Meatball has lost her very first tooth! I went to pick her up a few minutes early from school yesterday so I would have enough time to get to my doctor's appointment and out she comes all proud to show Mommy that she is now "missing" a tooth. My eyes filled up with tears the moment I saw that itty bitty tooth gone. I can't believe that we are at this stage with my first baby girl already.. sigh... Nonetheless I was so very excited for her and thankful that her teacher put it safely in a little white pouch so Hannah could have her very first visit from the Tooth Fairy. The funniest part about Hannah actually losing this tooth is as I had posted before, there is already one grown completely in behind it. This tooth had taken it's place long before her now missing tooth became wobbly. (Something I had never heard of before, but apparently is normal.) So she does have this gap in her teeth, but behind.. is the new tooth already set there and hopefully it will be moving forward to fill the gap?! She was very excited to put her tooth under her pillow last night and the Tooth Fairy did come, after some hustling around the house in order to fill her little satchel with a few tiny trinkets. My baby girl.. growing up right before my very own eyes!



To update on the situation between Hannah and the boy giving her a hard time at school.. well, apparently there was another situation at recess where this boy once again pushed her to the ground. I can tell you I became irate when I heard this. I swear just the thought of someone putting their hands on Hannah makes me go all crazy. However after calming myself down and sleeping on it overnight, I did go in yesterday morning and I spoke to her teacher. Again, I do love Hannah's teacher and she completely understood where I was coming from and promised to handle the situation. The difficult thing about this situation is that this little boy comes from a terrible home life. At 5, he is the adult in his household. I know that there have been social services involved and my heart breaks for him as I have seen firsthand how unparent like his parents are. (His mother is the one that sits in front of the school smoking cigarettes despite the signs posted everywhere stating it is a smoke free environment.) I do believe that he just doesn't know any better because he hasn't been taught TO know any better. Worse, I don't see the situation getting any better. This being said and as bad as I feel, I will not allow he or anyone else for that matter, to put their hands on my daughter. I will have none of it and I will not tolerate it. It's unacceptable, end of story.



I had my appointment with Dr. Boyle yesterday and all seems well. I did forget to ask what Baby's heart rate was as I was a little preoccupied with discussing the oodles of contractions I have been having the past several days. However, I know this is all normal and my body's way of "preparing for baby to come". The end is truly the hardest part for me solely because of the head games. I feel great (with the exception of exhaustion). Yet, the trying to decipher all the things going on with my body can truly take it's toll on me. I honestly don't care when I go, I just want to make sure this baby stays well and healthy so I don't want to misinterpret anything and put the baby in any sort of danger. This being said, I am sure that I will end up having to evict this bambino as well.. as long as he or she is healthy.. I wont mind one bit going to the very end! I will say that I do long for the nights when I can sleep again. Billy woke up early for work this morning and saw my eyes wide open at 4:45 AM and was astounded. He kept asking if I was uncomfortable, which I wasn't. It's just this crazy thing that happens when you are preggers.. it's called... YOU CANT SLEEP! LOL So I am hoping for some sort of sleep in the near future. :)

Catching Up & What happened to Common Courtesy & Manners?

It has been a busy few days in our household! Last week was a bit of a blur and to be honest, I think I would like to keep it that way. However, I refuse to dwell on the negative and I am focusing on the positive... and we do have so much positive going on right now in our family

I finally was able to get the girls' photos done on Sunday and they came out adorable. I am just waiting on editing and then I will post some here. I can't wait to have them enlarged and hang them in their room! They looked adorable in their tutu's and bodysuits and they really were so well behaved considering how long we had them in the studio for and how HOT it was on Sunday! I also, was able to have Shannon take some maternity shots of myself. I never in a million years thought I would do this. NEVER, EVER! Anyone who knows me, knows how terrible I feel in my skin. Throw in a third pregnancy and the last thing on earth I feel is attractive. However, being that Shannon is a close friend, I trusted her. In all honesty, I went into it thinking that if I could just get one shot of myself that I didn't despise, then that would be great. Much to my surprise, Shannon did a fantastic job in capturing these special moments and I actually have a handful of photos that I will cherish forever. I am SO glad that I did this as I know I will always have these pictures to look back on and remember this phase in my life. It certainly helps that Shan and I are friends and when it came to editing I could say, "OH get rid of that and fix that and ohhhhh please airbrush that!" LOL I even got Billy to pose for a few shots that I will most definitely cherish forever. (He was such a good sport!) So all in all it was a completely productive photography day! Thank you Shannon for bringing out the best in me!

On another note, I have lately been pondering another thought on those many sleepless nights I have been having. I honest and truly think that it is such a shame that this world has lost all sense of common courtesy. I can't tell you how many times throughout a day I take a step back and go, "Wow, did that really happen?" Where did courtesy go? Why don't parents instill this in their children? Why is it that grown men and women have forgotten how to use their manners? There are so many examples that I couldn't possibly list them all here but even just the simple use of "please" and "thank you" have been completely lost in our society and I wish there were some way that we could create a rebirth of common courtesy and manners in this country.

This is not to say that I am perfect. I am in no way perfect and I will get to my not so perfect Mommy moment in a minute. However, I do teach my kids how to use "please" and "thank you". I do hold open doors for strangers and I do use courtesy when driving. I can't tell you the number of times I have almost been hit by a car in front of Hannah's school. Parents are in such a rush to get in and out they drive like maniacs and it sends me into such a tizzy. This is a SCHOOL people. There are kids around! You need to drive with caution! Of all places, this is where parents should know enough to be so careful.

Which leads me to my not so perfect Mommy Moment. When I went to pick up Hannah yesterday, I waited for the bus to leave and I parked in front of the school as Layla had fallen asleep in the car. It was a beautiful day and I knew Hannah would want to play out front of the school with her friends as they often do on nice days. So I was able to stand near the car and watch Hannah play as well. It just so happened, that the same boy her girlfriends have been having some issues with started playing rough with them. In an instant, I saw him put Hannah in a headlock and take her to the ground. I will also add that she was in a dress. This did not sit so well with Mommy and Mommy LOST her cool. Hannah got up laughing, so I knew she was OK, but I could also tell she was a bit stunned. She looked at me and I looked at her and what came out of my mouth next I had no control over. I swear to you it was like another force was taking over my body. I looked at her and I said, "Take him down!" She looked at me like, "Really Mom?" and again I said, "TAKE HIM DOWN!" She did and the real Mommy was restored to her natural state. However, the pit automatically settled in my stomach as I knew this was NOT the way to teach her to handle the situation. I instantly felt guilty and even more so when I turned and saw his grandmother there. Yet, at the same time I was dumbfounded that his grandmother was a few feet away and she at no time told her grandson that this was unacceptable behavior?????!!!! I couldn't believe it! I grew up in the era when parents taught their sons that they do not under any circumstances hit girls and they certainly don't throw them down on the ground! That they should always respect a lady. Needless to say the whole situation did not sit well with me. Sometimes this parenting thing can be so very difficult. I want my girls to grow up to be strong, independent women. I want them to be able to defend themselves and yet, I want them to be respectful and courteous as well. It's such a fine line so I guess I have my work cut out for me!

Lastly, I am thinking that things are progressing along with baby #3. I have a few signs that baby is getting ready. Nothing immediate of course, yet the normal progression of how things go when you have 5 1/2 weeks left in a pregnancy. Nonetheless, I do know that even though I have had some "signs", I can still go to the very end and maybe even more as Miss Layla Ravioli had to be evicted at 41 weeks. So we shall see. When baby is ready, he or she will come! I just cant believe that it is almost over. I have mixed feeling about it since this will be our last. (Even though.. I would still love to have 4!) I know that I will miss being pregnant and being able to feel this miracle move about inside of me. I will miss my belly and the bonding time I have with my babies while they grow inside. Yet, I am so very anxious to meet this little one! I can't wait to find out if we will be dressing this miracle in blue or pink! Hmmmmmm

Maternity Shoot

I dont have much time to write today.. but I am leaving you with this picture.... It truly captures all of my blessings....