Wiped Out

Hmmmm I certainly dont remember feeling this wiped out when I was pregnant for Miss Layla. I knew that I was antsy and stressed a bit due to my parents being in Italy and wanting the baby to come either before or after they were to go on vacation... but I dont remember ever being so tired! With Hannah, this was as far as I got before my water broke and I went into the hospital so I cant compare there. I know that every pregnancy is different and I am taking that into account. This being said however, I AM SO TIRED! LOL I havent been sleeping all that well either so I am sure that is not helping the situation. Which brings me to last night's bit of nervousness.


Layla had taken a late and long nap yesterday afternoon, so I knew in advance that she wouldnt be going down at her normal time. By 9:30 I had to get some sleep so I bribed her with a movie in my bed so I could shut my eyes. I laid down to cuddle with her and all of a sudden I started to feel contractions. I thought no big deal, I have been getting them on and off for a few weeks now and I am sure they will go away. Well, they didnt. It got to the point where I was really uncomfortable. I got up to walk the hallway and it didnt help. I laid down and they still hurt. These were certainly more painful than Braxton Hicks but not as painful as the labor pains I experienced with the girls. Painful enough however, to take my breath away and put me in the fetal position for a good four hours before I finally drifted off to sleep. I did almost wake Billy but decided to just try and relax and not worry him as well. This morning I have had a few here and there, but nothing to the extent of last night. I am hoping this is just my body "getting ready" and nothing else. I most definitely dont want to go this early again. I figure it must be normal since they have subsided and my water is still in tact and I have no other symptoms of preterm labor. Yet, it did scare me a bit and once again hindered a good night's sleep. Fingers crossed the bug stays in long enough to cook as much as he or she needs to!


Which leads me to my next dilemma. What shall I call the blog once this blessing arrives? I am sure it will depend upon if I have been graced with another little princess or a prince.. but I am just putting it out there for you all to comment on. I was hoping you may even offer up some suggestions since all I have come up with so far is, "Chronicles of a crazy Mom" and "Adventures of the Meatball, Ravioli and Cavatelli"... LOL... So please, feel free to email me, comment here or facebook me any suggestions you may have! I gladly welcome them!


Last but not least, I leave you with this picture of Layla. I did a mini shoot of the girls last night for my girlfriend Sarah who owns, www.ChaChaBelle.com. Unfortunately, the pictures did not come out well enough for me to post them all as lighting was not on my side yesterday afternoon and I am going to re shoot... but this pic.. I just had to post. It truly captures my little Layla Diva and I could just eat her up! The dress and accessories are all courtesy of www.ChaChaBelle.com so be sure to check out the website! (As you can see, the eye is almost healed! PTL!)

Love is sacrificial

We had another busy, but fun few days with the girls this weekend. Friday they once again got to spend some time with Nonnie and Papa and I ran out of work early and headed off to cousin Matthew's wedding in Newport. The Church was beautiful and one that I had never been in before. The whole ceremony was very nice but there was one line in the priest's homily that truly made an impact on me. It was one of those lines that you hear and say, "Oh that is so very true." (It's also quit amazing how much more one is able to pay attention in Church when they are not tending to their children!) Back to the homily, he said, "Love is joyous, Love is wonderful, but Love is also sacrificial. We only need to look at the Cross to remember this." It just hit home with me. I remember being a little girl and dreaming of my fairytale wedding where I would be the princess and I would fall madly in love with my prince. As I grew older, I would romanticize about married life and what it would be like. Certainly there are aspects of some of my daydreaming that are present in my marriage, but what holds true more would be what this priest said about sacrifice. I truly think that both Billy and I make sacrifices for each other, for the girls and for our families on a daily basis. It's this understanding and commitment that keeps us together and united. I think there was a time in our marriage where maybe we didn't understand this so well, yet 6 years later I can honestly say that we are a team. Together we make it work and sacrifices are a big part of this. Who more is a better example of the ultimate sacrifice than the Lord Jesus himself? So this is what I left the Church pondering.

I met up with Billy at the reception which was absolutely beautiful and located at OceanCliff Hotel. Of all my days in Newport, this is one place I had never been. Although, I guess a Salve student probably wouldn't belong there anyhow as the sites and sunset were breathtaking and much different than my stomping grounds as a college student. We spent some time with the family and Billy and I caught a few dances. I will say this was quite the experience with my big belly in the way and at one point we just started laughing because we felt so awkward! All in all it was a very nice evening and you can truly tell how much in love the bride and groom are. We headed back home to pick up Miss Layla at Nonnie and Papa's around 11:00 as I was afraid she would keep them up all night long. Moreover, I was afraid that Papa wouldn't have much room in the bed with both girls lying diagonally across it! I kissed my sleeping Hannah who was spending the night and we were able to transport Layla home where she stayed asleep the rest of the night.

I did end up with this beautiful centerpiece, which I added some wine glasses too (Thank you Auntie Jill) to make it look perfect on the table. I kept thinking about Hannah when I saw it because I know how much she loves sea glass and how we look forward to finding it on the beach each summer.

Saturday morning the three of us went to breakfast and then Billy headed off to the rink to meet Hannah and get her dressed for hockey. I headed to Auntie Paula's to pick up my niece, Addison and then we headed to the rink as well. Both Layla and Addison behaved wonderfully as we watched Hannah skate about and practice her skills. After hockey I got to try out having three car seats in the MDX and Hannah was beaming from the third row as she has been wanting to do this for quite some time. It honestly was not bad at all and I can certainly still fit the double stroller back there as well. It may be a bit tight for Hannah to get in and out, however, we will surely manage as I have no intentions of getting rid of my car in the near future. I love it too much! We then headed off to the park where we were able to play on the swings and catch some of Nicholas's baseball game. Again, Hannah was thrilled to be able to cheer him on from the bleachers. The kids played and blew bubbles and were all on their best behavior. Before long it was time to walk back home and grab some lunch and then Uncle Dan came to pick up Addy and the rest of the day became a blur for me as I was quite exhausted.

Sunday was Church and Hannah's NRI hockey banquet. I had no idea what to expect at this gathering and I can say I was pleasantly surprised with how much effort was put in to make the afternoon a success. Drinks and refreshments in good ol' SHS's cafeteria and then awards in the auditorium. It has been years since I have visited my old alma-mata and it was a little bit eery to be walking those halls again. Grammy, Grampy and Papa came along and certainly came in handy when it came to entering the raffles (wink). They all indulged Hannah and she was able to put many a ticket in her preferred entry boxes. When it was time for the awards to be given, Hannah sat proudly up front and waited her turn to be called. I was a bit shocked, but also delighted by how many girls were involved in this program. Moreover, I was so proud that my Hannah was amongst them. I was also proud to be a part of a great group of people who truly care about these kids and who want them to excel. What a sweet bunch of people and I look forward to spending many more weekends with them as a "Hockey Mom". Not so much looking forward to the 6 AM practices, but I can surely see myself as Team Mom with the responsibility of taking home the jerseys and washing them! :) When Hannah's name was called she was so proud to accept her adorable trophy and we were so proud of her. As luck would have it and thanks to her grandparents, she also won two gift baskets in the raffle as well. One being a basket full of games such as Monopoly, Battleship and Uno and the other a gift basket full of cheer items such as cow bells, bull horns, megaphones and so on. If I could, I would surely like to give back the latter of the two as both girls have been having a bit too much fun with these ever so loud noisemakers! Anyone looking for a wonderful FREE gift basket, please don't hesitate to contact me! LOL Speaking of "cheer," this is Hannah's next endeavor. She has informed me that she would like to cheer for football come the fall. (Sometimes she does have a bit of Mommy in her!) Sigh.. so it looks like I will have a cheerleading hockey player.. quite the oxymoron eh? I will end with some pics of the banana showing off her hockey trophy. Congratulations Hannah Banana!

I am hoping to get up some more of Layla cakes tomorrow as her eye is healing.. slowly but surely!

7 Weeks Left

I can now cross "paint the girls' room" off my list. It is painted and it is PINK! LOL Nonnie picked out the color and although I thought it may be a little bright, once put on the walls it does look just adorable and very fancy! (Hannah was THRILLED) Especially up against the white closet doors and with the purple accents. It was so nice to spend an afternoon with Mom and have some quality time with her, no interruptions. We had a bunch of laughs and well let's just say a few spills as well. Thankfully, Billy and I were planning on taking up the girls' rug and replacing it with hardwoods in the near future anyway. So those pink and white marks will only have to be seen for a few months. In all honesty, they make me laugh when I see them and they make me think of the afternoon I spent with Mom making memories.

I hung up the "Hannah" and "Layla" letters above their bed. I do want to change the ribbon on Layla's name letters as they dont seem to match in the pink room now, but that is a simple task that I can do at any time. I was going to take pictures to post but I would rather wait until it is completely done and looking perfect before I do. For now, just imagine a very fancy, girly, bright pink room! All that's left is to hang up the wall hangings and get that "Sister" photo shoot done hopefully sometime next week when Layla's eye has healed. I plan to do a black and white shoot, however, bring out the pink in their tutu's and bows. (I love photoshop!) It doesnt get much more girly than that!

Speaking of Layla's eye, it is healing. Granted it is a million colors at the moment, but I am feeling much better about it. I am praying that it goes away quickly because it still makes me feel just awful looking at it. Yet again, I know this is only the first of many bumps and bruises to come. Health wise she has had a so so week. She has not been herself but I can't seem to put my finger on what exactly is bugging her. She has been extremely cranky and has had an on and off fever. I am thinking a little virus since I see no other signs of anything else it could be. (Her throat looks fine as well as her ears). It's most likely one of those "mystery" Layla viruses and in a few days she will be back to herself. Hannah on the other hand has been spectacular all week! She has been in a great mood, very helpful and has had a great attitude all week long. We have managed to do something fun with each day even if it were something small. Monday was Toys R Us, Tuesday was Cool Licks with the Tsonos's, Wednesday she spent the afternoon with Papa, Ju Ju and Reanna at the park, Thursday she spent the day with Grammy and cousins Arielle and Addison and today she is back with Papa as Billy and I have cousin Matthew's wedding in Newport. So all in all we can say she had a good week!

I had an appointment with the baby doctor yesterday and all is moving along well. June Bug is growing and the heart rate was 140 while he or she was awake! I am only measuring one week ahead which is normal for me as I measured a few weeks ahead with Miss Layla and she only ended up being 8lbs 7 oz a week late so I am not worried there. I still can't believe I only have SEVEN weeks left! Whoa, where did that time go? It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant with the bug! Now we are closing in on the time when I am going to meet this baby! I truly can't wait and I am feeling that anticipation all over again for the third time! Let's hope I can keep my motivation going and get everything done that needs to be before this miracle baby arrives! Have a wonderful weekend!

Toys

The girls received Toys R Us gift cards for Easter from Auntie Linda and Uncle Jay and we decided that yesterday would be a great day to go spend them! (Part of my "Do something fun every day of vacation" ploy!) The girls had a blast running up and down the aisles trying to decided just what suited them best. In all honesty, I had an entertaining time as well. I love when they receive gift cards just as much as they love receiving them, purely because we can make a fun trip of it and create memories.

Posting some pictures of what they chose. Warning: Layla Grayce is sporting the Rocky Balboa black eye, although worlds better than what it looked like on Sunday. Thankfully it seems to be healing well.... (sigh) Hoping to photo shoot them next week!

Can you tell how much they truly LOVE each other?

Layla chose a vacuum cleaner.. but of course!

And Hannah.. well she was all about the Hannah Montana make-up set. Although I usually dont allow this, I thought I would let her be a little independent and have it. I did place rules with it and she came out of the bathroom after about an hour looking like this! HYSTERICAL!

10 Years off my life

So my little Miss Layla took at least 10 years off my life yesterday. We were packing up to go to cousin Amy's house and I asked the girls to shut the television off. In both of their efforts to try and appease me, they collided and Layla catapulted off of Hannah and went eye first into the corner of the end table. I saw it happen and there was nothing I could do. I scooped her up as she screamed and kept feeling her head since I originally thought it was the side of her head that hit. As I grabbed for ice and held her back to check out the scenario, my stomach dropped. Right on her eyebrow line there was already a blue egg rising the size of golf ball. I quickly put ice on it and began to sooth her. I just dont deal well in these situations. I am always so afraid that I am doing the wrong thing! This is not to say that I dont stay calm enough to deal with the situation, but my insides turn a mess and you can most assuredly hear the panic in my voice. Billy came in from outside once he heard her screams and helped to calm my fears. We were able to keep ice on it for a good 20 minutes which definitely helped. To say she looked like Rocky after he fought the Russian, would be an understatement. However, I am hoping that it looks worse than it feels. I didn't sleep much last night as my stomach was still in knots and I needed to make sure that she was alright and there was no concussion etc... and mostly to keep checking that the swelling was going down. She woke up this morning with it looking much better than yesterday. It is still swollen, but nothing like yesterday and of course it is black and blue ...and red.. but she seems just fine and that is all that matters. Just a bump in the road and I am sure there will be many more to come. Yet I can tell you that it took years off of my life. I guess we are doing good considering she is 2 and a half and this is our first major injury. I thought about taking pictures to prove how terrible it looked, but then thought better of it because in all honesty, I dont want to remember it. AT ALL!

Despite our "incident" yesterday, it was quite a productive weekend for me. I went up in the attic and moved around bins and found my baby girl bins. I put them right near the stairs so if need be, they can be quickly accessed and the items can be washed and put in the Armour. I also took down all of the wall hangings in the girls' room, spackled all the holes and sanded them down. I washed all of the bedding and all of their blankets. We replaced the ribbon on the "HANNAH" letters with an adorable purple flowered one that Hannah picked out at Ryco on Saturday. I just have to take down the curtains and move some things around so that the walls are accessible and she is ready for a fresh coat of paint! I am looking forward to having their room all set and looking pretty. We will just have to put off that "Sister" photo shoot until next week as Layla aka "Rocky" will have to wait for her eye to go down.

The nursery is staying as is for the moment. There is no need to do a thing if it is a girl since I love the way we had it decorated for Layla. This week I have been leaning towards "girl" since my skin is telling me so! Yet, that heart rate of 141 is throwing me right off and I think it could be a "boy". Both of my girls were in the high 150's... hmmmmmmmm Chinese gender chart says "girl" but AHHH WHO KNOWS! I just need to be patient and wait and see! (Easier said than done!) All I know is that Saturday night I was watching my belly and all of a sudden I could see the baby's heart beating. The baby must have had their back up against my skin as there was a bulge and I could see the rise and fall of the heart beat.. which was different than mine. It was neat to watch and I called Billy right upstairs to witness as well. These are the things that I know I will truly miss about pregnancy.

This week is school vacation and I can honestly say that I love having Hannah around! Granted my office looks as though a bomb went off, but I truly dont mind it because I have Hannah to keep me company! She has just grown so much. It is so hard not to look at her and pine for my little baby back! She was the first. The one who originally came to the office with me. I remember her at Layla's age skirting to and fro between offices. I remember her playing with her puzzles and reading her books. I remember playing Elmo games on the computer and playing dress up. I can't believe that turning six for her is looming just around the corner. (Sigh) It all just goes by too quickly for me. We do have some fun things planned for the week and we came into work early so we can leave earlier to fit everything in! Looking forward to spending this time with both of the girls this week. I am promising to cherish every single second... even the ones that take years off my life! (LOL)

Hannah's Week - A Lesson in Selflessness

We are officially dubbing this "Hannah's Week" as she has had quite a terrific one! From being "Star of the Week" in dance class, to winning a pizza party today for creating the best bookmark in her class last week during reading week, to doing a wonderful job at the dentist despite her being completely terrified, she has shone brightly all week long. However, perhaps not as brightly as she did during our little conversation yesterday afternoon. Apparently there has been some teasing going on between a boy in her class and two of her girlfriends. She was quite upset to hear that after I had picked her up early on Wednesday for the dentist appointment, he had punched both of them in the arm. Moreover, after school yesterday while the kids were all playing out front, he proceeded to tease her friend Nya and make her cry... twice. (Parents have been informed as well as the teacher) So during our "talk" I asked her what she was doing to help the situation and she told me that she has been comforting her friends when he teases them. I also told her not to be afraid to stand up to this boy and tell him to knock it off. That he needs to be nice and not fresh. What came out of her mouth next was conceivably the most selfless thing I have ever heard her say. She said, "You know Mom, I don't know why he has to pick on Nya and Makenzie. I wish he would just leave them alone and pick on me instead." I can tell you that she said this with the utmost sincerity and in the sense that leave them alone, pick on her because she is strong and she can take it. This, this right there is what makes Motherhood so special. You may not get these moments all too frequently, but when you do it is by far the most triumphant feeling in the world to know that you did something right in life. Be it just the pure fact of reproducing and creating this little blessing or the fact that you have set a good example, this feeling cannot be duplicated! I made sure I told her how proud I was of her for saying what she did. Sometimes I truly feel like she is the teacher and I am the pupil, for what a great lesson to be taught on how to be selfless from a five year old. Thank you my dear sweet, strong Hannah. Thank you for always making Mommy so very proud of you!


Miss Layla and I are just finishing up our afternoon in the office before we head on out to pick up Hannah and ENJOY our Friday evening. It is the perfect night for a movie night since it is cool and dreary. I think we may make it fun and have a picnic in the living room as well~ I also must use this weekend to prepare the girl's room for a painting as Nonnie is coming over this week to help put a fresh coat of "pink" on the walls. I need to take down all the wall hangings and pictures and spackle all the holes so we can hang up new pictures and both of the girl's name letters. I desperately want to do a photo shoot of the two of them as well and decorate the room with pictures of the little dollies together. Lastly, I REALLY need to create a list of all the things I still need to buy the bug before he or she arrives! Gee whiz I have been slacking in that department! All I have bought so far are diapers and wipes. Mental note: GET MOTIVATED MOMMY! :) Have a wonderful weekend!

A day of pictures

Layla and Gracie driving around the office this morning

Braeden and Layla driving...

We do actually get work done here at KFC headquarters.. I promise.. we do!


Layla in her Silverstein hand-me-downs.. I just love hand me downs!



Shannon's name on the KFC Bucket for Cure!
She's famous!


The KFC Bucket for Cure. Every time you buy a bucket of chicken, KFC donates 50 cents to the Susan G. Komen Foundation!
https://www.bucketsforthecure.com/

Daddy and his princesses blowing out the Birthday candles... Hannah made him wear the hat!

My sidekick taking pictures of Hannah on "Word Day"

Her word was "Princess".. but of course

If you are on Facebook, please become a fan of the Layla Grace Cancer Foundation! Help Layla's legacy live on! (click below!)

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Layla-Grace-Childrens-Cancer-Research-Foundation/111320672232355?ref=mf

Wobbly Tooth & Welcome Home Babies!

It seems as though we are about to hit another milestone in the Murphy household. (sigh) Yes indeed, Miss Hannah banana has a wobbly tooth! I can't even believe that my once little 5 lb-der is about to lose a tooth! She is so excited she ran into school thrilled to be able to tell her teacher and friends. Ironically enough we have a dentist appointment for her today which will be good since prior to her tooth even being loose, she had one grow in behind it!!?? Oh my Hannah.. how big you are growing and how quickly time is just flying by!

My Hannah funny for the week: As we were getting settled at Church on Sunday, I leaned over and reminded Hannah to say her prayers. She knelt down beside me and said, "Yeah.. I prayed before Mommy and it worked!" Of course I then asked her to explain a bit more and she told me that she had prayed at Church one Sunday that her friend Nicholas would be back in school on Monday.. and he was! (He had been out sick the previous week.) My heart smiled. I can't even put into words the amazing personality Hannah has and the way she thinks. At times it can be so very funny but at the same time it is so sincere. My miracle baby...growing up by the minute.

Speaking of babies.. I have a few things to say on the subject! My girls have been introduced to this Justin Beiber character and I honestly have to listen to "Baby" at least 500 times a day. It is quite comical and Layla has even begun to use pretend microphones. SHE IS TWO! I have tried to put it into perspective by comparing him to what the New Kids on The Block were for me, but I still don't get it. I'm not supposed to though, am I? I'm a mom now! The song is very cute and that is why I have allowed it and they certainly have a ball dancing around the house to it. Mental note, I must get that on video and share!

Secondly.. babies...my girlfriend Ana (Nicholas's Mom) has just announced that she is also pregnant with her third! This is very exciting news and we are all so very happy for her and her family! I was thrilled when she told me yesterday and how wonderful that our two beans will be a little over 4 months apart! Looking forward to seeing her belly grow!!

Lastly.. babies.. WELCOME HOME BABIES!

Cooper Joseph Tsonos was born on April 7th weighing in at 7lbs 15 oz and after a bit of a scary start at life I am thrilled to announce that he is home and doing well! Congrats Tsonos family!

Kaeden Kievenaar Manni was born April 9th weighing in at 7lbs 2 oz. Congrats Manni family!

I wish both families the best as they enjoy their new little miracles! Ahhh there is nothing more exciting than bringing home your newborn! Welcome to the world baby boys!

Lastly, I will leave you with Layla Cakes wearing Cha Cha Belle http://www.chacha4her.com/. I apologize that the picture is not so great as I took it with my cell phone, but she was too cute not to pass up!

Why Three?

I find it quite amazing the things that people will say to you when you're pregnant.. period. When you're pregnant with your third, it is truly a whole new rash of comments. Sometimes I think people need to have an "edit" button on what they say to others. Since finding out I was pregnant with my third child, I have received so many blatantly rude comments I find it quite remarkable. From, "Oh good luck with that!" or "You're having another? Do you know what you are getting yourself into?" to "THREE???? Hope you know what you are doing." So today I am addressing why I am pregnant with #3.

Since meeting Billy, we always talked about having a large family. He had always planned on having three children and I had always dreamt of having four children. A big family was important to us both as we both came from families that had three children. This we actually had discussed in our Pre-Cana classes before we were wed and we have the workbooks to prove it.

At the same time as us WANTING to have children, I also feel as though being a mother was my calling in life. I have NEVER looked at either of my children as a burden. If there is one thing in this world that I am sure of, it is that each of them are a blessing, a direct gift from God. The Lord chose ME to be their mother. He chose ME to raise them and he chose ME to love them. So YES, I do know what I am getting myself into because I chose this life as much as the Lord chose it for me. I do know what having children entails as I do already have and have been raising two. It is truly the greatest gift I could have ever been given and I take each day I have with them as a gift. Each smile, each hug, each kiss and each cuddle.. a GIFT. End of story. Furthermore, I have to acknowledge another comment in saying, NO we are NOT trying for "the boy". We are trying for a THIRD, HAPPY, HEALTHY baby and we will be delighted in whichever sex the Lord has chosen to send to us. Girl or Boy, Billy and I are just delighted to be able to add to our family and ALL we are praying for is that this child be healthy.

I find it funny that society currently looks at someone having three children as being "out of the norm". In all honesty, I really don't see why people find it their right to even have an opinion. If children are being brought up in loving, caring homes with parents who are able to care for them, what gives you the right to judge how many children a couple should have? I think that is 99.9% of the problem with society is that people are so willing to throw out judgements about others when they really should be taking a deep look at themselves and their own lives.

I consider myself truly honored that the Lord has chosen to bless our family with another child. There is no other gift greater in my eyes. Moreover, there is no other gift greater that we could be giving our girls than that of a sibling to walk through this life with. I am so very excited and happy to soon be meeting my third miracle and I would never let any judgements or remarks from people take away the amazing feeling that I have to shortly becoming a mother for the third time. Or the feeling that I have right now as my baby moves about in my belly. It is a miracle. There is nothing more exciting for me than to be adding onto my already amazing family and I honestly can't wait for the day to come when we become a family of five.

Spring has Sprung!

What a wonderful Easter weekend we had! Our festivities actually started last week when Grammy made a delicious dinner for us prior to the weekend since she and Grampy would be spending Easter with Auntie Jill and Uncle Dave on Long Island. The kids had an Easter egg hunt in the house while the flood waters rose outside. The kids had a blast with their cousins as usual and it was a very nice evening. I wish I had remembered to take my camera but it totally slipped my mind, so I will have to borrow some of Grammy's photo's from the evening!

I took Friday off to spend the day with my mother making rice pies. If you have any Italian in you at all, then you know what a rice pie is. For years my Mom has made a gazillion of these pies for family and friends. I took Hannah with me and she kept Papa company and they ran their errands together while Mom and me got started on the pies. I have a new found respect for my mother completing this task each year. We started at 9:00am and it literally took us until 4:00pm to complete this task. AND we had back-up at noon time, my sister in law Amanda came to help us. In all honesty, my ankles were the size of balloons by this time and I still had to take Layla to the Pediatrician's, cook dinner and give baths. I was in bed by 8:00pm completely and utterly exhausted! I will say this, our hard work paid off because the pies came out fantastic! There is just nothing like homemade rice pie on Easter!

Miss Layla did well at the Pediatrician's on Friday. Her oxygen was back up to 98% and her breathing was much better. She had her last dose of Prednisone on Sunday evening and started the Flovent and things seem to be settling down for her. She slept well last night only waking once at midnight and once at 4:00am. This was a dream compared to the sleepless nights she had been having. All a side affect of the Prednisone I presume. We did receive a call from Boston on Friday letting us know that there was no way for her to have her endoscopy any time soon because of the respiratory issues and because she had been on steroids. (I somewhat already knew this). They have to wait 4-6 weeks before they can reschedule her procedure and they will have to give her a stress dose of Prednisone during the procedure. (This I knew from Hannah). There has to be ZERO signs of respiratory distress in order for them to give her anesthesia. As much as I hate waiting another month and a half to get to the bottom of her esophagus issues, I also know it is the safest thing for her. I will say that I am stressing the fact that it will be creeping up on my due date, but I will remain positive that we can fit it in before and get it all done!

Saturday was egg coloring day and Auntie Ju Ju came over with cousin Reanna. Papa makes his appearance every year as well. The kids had a blast coloring eggs, and themselves! This tradition will never grow old with me! Billy and I also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary and treated ourselves to a wonderful steak dinner at Fred and Steve's Steakhouse. I honestly dont remember the last time Billy and I have been to dinner alone! We were trying to think of the last time and all either one of us could come up with was last anniversary when we spent it in Boston. Mental note: We really need to get out more! LOL Dinner was excellent and it was so nice to spend some QT with Billy! We spent most of the dinner trying to come up with names for Baby Murphy.. without much success!

Easter Sunday was just perfect. The Lord gave us a gorgeous day to celebrate His rising. The girls were overjoyed to see that the Easter Bunny hid eggs in their shoes and all about the house. They adored their baskets and Miss Layla went to town on her Dairy Free, Nut Free & Soy Free chocolate bars! It is such a great feeling to watch her actually enjoying something we have had to keep away from her! Their dresses looked absolutely ADORABLE on them and the matching hats via www.ChaCha4her.com complemented them perfectly! They both felt like princesses and they surely looked the part. We headed to 10:00 Mass and then on over to Momma and Pa's for a visit. We took some pictures in the yard and just enjoyed the beautiful weather before we headed on over to Rob and Amanda's. We spent most of the day soaking up the sun in the back yard while watching the girls run and play. Hannah had everyone involved in her imaginative play and thank you again cousin Amy and cousin Danielle for helping to keep her and Layla entertained. (I am still laughing Amy about Hannah making you pretend to be a teenager!) Oh my Hannah and her imagination... I tell you she is going somewhere in this life! Dinner was wonderful and I must say, my Dad's hams were truly DELICIOUS! Oh Dad, all the things you have learned how to do in the recent past. I am so proud of you and again.. Billy thinks your hams rocked!

We spent Sunday evening watching the Sox or else trying to anyhow. Between the sound going out and then coming back in Spanish, it was a bit tough but hey.. they won, right? Moreover, what's better than the first Sox games of the season? It just exudes Spring and all the warm weather and longer summer evenings to come! The BBQ's and the kids being able to play outside til their hearts delight! Night time walks and trips to CoolLicks. Ahhh it just doesnt get any better than that!

Last but not least, I have hit the 30 week mark. YIKES! 30 weeks! That only leaves 10 left. I really need to get my butt in gear and start checking off the items on my list before this beautiful miracle arrives! I started having the dreams about meeting Baby Murphy. I LOVE these dreams. I had them with both of my girls. There is just nothing like holding your own flesh and blood for the very first time. It truly is a miracle! I am getting so very excited and anxious to meet him or her that I can hardly contain myself! Ahhh I just simply cannot wait! Please pray with me that #3 will be healthy! That is all I ask for.. all I ask for!

Breathing

Layla still had a bit of a rough night last night, however it was not as bad as the previous night. She woke frequently, but was still able to get chunks of sleep that lasted more than 10 minutes at a time. She was extremely thirsty (prednisone) and just all around restless and wired. Her breathing was still not great, but it wasn't any worse so I am hoping after another day of steroids and antibiotics she will begin to turn the corner in that department. Unfortunately she started with bouts of diarrhea this morning that I am thinking could be from the Zithromax. Hoping that this doesnt last and that it was just an isolated incident. She is totally loopy with all of the meds and one second she is crying for me to hold her and the next she is jumping off the furniture! I told Billy to keep a close eye on her today as he is home with her. I am worried that she will hurt herself because she is so wired. She is still her sweet little self in the midst of it all and gave me a million kisses last night while I was trying to get her to fall asleep. We have an appointment tomorrow to check her oxygen and I am hoping that it will be okay. Fingers crossed these meds are doing their job!

Thankfully Hannah Banana is staying healthy (knock on wood) and I am hoping she stays that way! She is very much looking forward to the warmer weather this weekend and I know she is just aching to get outside to play again!

Tired

Today is one of those days where I wish I could just be home resting on the couch. I am so unbelievably tired and I am feeling a case of the crankies because of my exhaustion. Layla started with a cold on Saturday. Nothing big, just the usual runny nose and congestion. By yesterday, she started to wheeze a bit and by last night, the poor kid could only sleep 10 -15 minute intervals because she was having trouble breathing and the wheezing had really picked up. She was so tired but just couldn't sleep because she was having a tough time breathing. By 4:30AM we ended up downstairs on the couch doing another breathing treatment. This worked for about 30 minutes and then the wheezing came back.

Needless to say, we just got back from the Pediatrician's. Her oxygen was running at only 92 / 93. They gave her an immediate dose of Prednisone and had us do another breathing treatment in the office. Upon hearing the pure hell we go through with her and the treatments, the doctor handed us an inhaler with a long cylinder to use instead. Praise the Lord! (Billy literally has to hold her down and causes red marks on her because she screams and tries to get free. The whole time she is begging for me to help her and it is pure torture. Nothing I say or do will calm her and at times I have to walk away so I don't cry. Yesterday, I literally put the vacuum cleaner on so I couldn't hear her begging for me to help her. That right there, is the WORST feeling in the world for me!) It is the longest 8 minutes of my life sometimes and I am grateful that we have this inhaler now. She will also have to go on Flovent on Sunday when she has her last dose of Prednisone and she will have to be on this through the season change. Once this episode calms down, the doctor would like to have her on Singulair as well. On top of this, she has an ear infection and will be on Zithromax for that. We will be back for a visit on Friday so that they can check her oxygen levels and make sure the meds are doing their job. Last but not least, the doctor strongly recommended us finding a new home for Leo the Lion Cat. How on earth am I going to do this for a cat that is 12 years old and has been with me since he was a baby? How can I not do it if it would help Layla? I am so confused. I had asked this question up in Boston to the Allergist and he told me not to worry, that even if we got rid of Leo, the pet dander would be around for years to come because you can never fully get rid of it. Who do I listen to? What do I do?

Moreover, we are trying to get her endoscopy scheduled to figure out the cause of her esophagus issues and I don't believe we will be able to do this for some time now until her breathing is better and this episode has calmed. There is no way I can put her under anesthesia with breathing issues and I don't believe they would even entertain the thought anyhow. So it looks like we will be putting that off for a bit longer.

Like Reanna, they cant diagnose Layla with asthma because these episodes would have to continue on for them to do so. This all started with the RSV and she could have flare ups for a year or not. She could still have issues in 3 years and she could have issues when she is 6. It is all on a wait and see basis at this point. (Not very comforting to me however!) I could kick myself in the A%& because had I not sent her to daycare, this would have never happened. I thought I was doing the right thing by socializing her one day a week with kids her age and instead, I exposed her to this. As if she needed something else to hinder her health. I feel fully responsible and I hate seeing her sick ALL THE TIME! How I wish I had made a different decision. How I wish I didn't have to watch her go through all of this. I pray that she will get better quickly and a few months down the road this will all be just a distant memory as she is building her sandcastles on the beach! For now, I am just looking forward to getting out of work and snuggling her tight on the couch!

My Hannah Funny: She got in the car from school the other day and said, "Mom, I did a kind deed today." I told her I thought that was great and asked her what she did. She told me that she bought her and her friend Nya a snack at lunch time. I told her that was very kind, but then asked her where she got the money to do so to which she replied, "Oh, I just told the lunch lady to add it to my check." HMMMMMM Thinking I better give the school secretary a call to find out how much Hannah's tab is over in lunch land!!!

I am posting a video of Layla from the other day. It truly cracks me up and I could watch it over and over again!

Long Island

The girls and I headed off to Long Island early Saturday morning for a visit with Uncle Dave and Auntie Jill.  We drove to New London and then took the ferry on over to Orient Point.  It's always easier for me to take the ferry over when I have the girls, espcially if I am by myself with them.  It gives them a break from the car ride and allows me to spend some quality time with them too.  They were excellent on the ride down and we got to Auntie Jill's around noon time.  We went to Hannah's favorite restaurant for lunch, Friendlys and by the end of lunch both girls were covered from head to toe in ice-cream and frozen yogurt.  We then headed over to a Sesame Street puppet show that was simply adorable!  The actual place was beyond adorable; decorated in a million different colors with anything you could think of hanging from the ceiling.  From butterflies to fancy chandeliers, it truly was magnificent.  Even Hannah thoroughly enjoyed herself.  I thought it was great to have some good old fashioned fun with the girls in the age of television and dvd's.  I am going to ask Billy to build a puppet theater for Hannah for her birthday.  Wouldn't that be fantastic?  I'll paint it all bright colors and it will be something all three children can enjoy playing with.  "The Murphy Family Puppet Theater"  Things like this truly excite me.

Saturday night we took the girls bowling.  Layla was literally all over the place.  She was beyond excited and containing her proved to be a difficult task.  She was falling down in the lane and running in front of our neighbor's lanes.  Yet, it was quite comical all the same.  She just got the biggest kick out of the whole ordeal.  Hannah loved bowling and really did exceptionally well for only her second time.  She most certainly has a competative nature about her and kept asking who was in the lead!  One game proved to be enough for all of us since we were starving by that point.  We ordered some take out and headed back to Uncle Dave's and Auntie Jill's to watch the much anticipated "Kid's Choice Awards".  Hannah has been speaking of these for at least a month now and she was literally glued to the television the entire time.  Poor Uncle Dave had to endure the frantic screams and yells over who her favorites were!

Sunday morning we took it easy while Hannah and Auntie Jill went to the bagel shop per Hannah's request.  (Insert my "She is her father's daughter" line here).  We then went to noontime Mass for Palm Sunday.  Unfortunately, Miss Layla woke up with a nasty cold and was quite unruly in Church.  The Church was extrememly crowded and there were no seats when we arrived.  I had to take several trips outside with her and even had to try and calm her by taking her to the car for a bit, but to no avail.  The poor bug just didnt feel well and there was nothing I could do.  I always feel so terrible when this happens because I feel like I have totally missed the whole purpose of Mass when I am unable to pay attention.  I know it happens and I know that I can only do the best that I can do.  I just always feel a bit guilty as if I didnt even attend Mass.  Thankfully, Hannah behaved herself and once Church was over we said our goodbyes to Auntie and Uncle and headed towards the Throgs for a quick visit with Ant Denise, Uncle Chris and the kids. 

As Murphy's Law would have it, we hit quite a bit of traffic and our commute to New Rochelle turned out to be a bit longer than expected.  The girls fared well however and actually behaved quite well despite the extended time we spent in the car.  We were thrilled to finally make it to Ant Denise's and Uncle Chris's house.  The girls were so happy to see the kids and play.  They always play so wonderful together and truly enjoy each other's company.  (Sigh)  If only we lived closer.  I can't believe how quickly the time flies by and how big Skylar, Finnley and Camden are getting.  Camden is about to be 2 in a few weeks!  Wait, wasn't he just born?  It was wonderful to sip on a cup of coffee and have the opportunity to talk with Denise.  I could have stayed on that couch for hours just chit chatting and catching up!  Our times together are so few and far between yet I am so fortunate and blessed to have her in my life. 

As always, she had been saving up some clothes for the ravioli.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate this!  Layla always ends up looking like the most adorable little bean and 9 times out of 10, the clothes are hand me downs!  Adorable ones to say the least.  We truly get so excited to look through the bags of clothes and see all the adorable girly girl clothes!  The shoes, the sneakers, the coats, the dresses!  They are so very much appreciated and I am so grateful.  She is actually wearing one of the dresses today and of course, I havent been able to pry the Twinkle Toe sneakers off of her feet!  I can't thank Denise enough for thinking of us and letting us have all these wonderful items. 

Today, Miss Layla is still not feeling herself.  She only has a low grade fever, so I am sure it is just a cold and nothing more.  How I wish those gummy vitamins would help the poor child out and keep her healthy for more than a few days at a time!  She is napping at the moment which is good since our plan is to go see the big guy with the floppy ears after picking Hannah up from school.  Layla is so excited to go see him and inform him that she would like some chocolate for Easter.  Auntie Mimi has found chocolate bars that dont have any dairy, nut or soy in them and to say that Layla has been enjoying them would be an understatement.  "Mommy, when is a the bunny gonna bring a me some chocolate?"  Can you blame the child?  So the bunny better be hopping on over to the health food store to put some in her basket!

I am going to try and figure out how to upload some video of our weekend to the blog tomorrow so stay tuned!

Spring, Spring, Where are you?

The girls and I got all ready and packed up for our day this morning and headed out the door, only to open the garage to find.. SNOW!  Yes, it was flurrying!  Hannah had a jean jacket on and Layla had her raincoat on!  Who knew?  Guess I should have watched the forecast last night!  We headed back in for our warmer coats and jumped in the car to begin our day.  I have been hearing that this weather is going to stick around for a little longer.  I was so hoping that Spring was here to stay and soon enough I could pull out my flip flops and sandals!  Looks like we will be waiting a bit more to feel that good ol' Spring air! 

I did survive Hannah's field trip on Wednesday.  She had a wonderful time and her teacher said that all of the kids were extremely well behaved which was nice to hear.  Hannah was very excited to tell me everything they learned and how good their pizza lunch was!  I was just happy to have her back in my arms safe and sound!  (Is it bad that I am secretly wishing that this is the last of the field trips for the year?)  After a quick snack and a change, I carted Hannah off to dance class.  All the while nervously checking my phone waiting for my sister to call.  Baby Reanna has had a few terrible weeks with high fevers and sickness and I knew Julie had an appointment at the pediatrician at 2:30.  When I hadn't heard anything by 5:00, I called.  (I am patient.. but not that patient and by this time I was a nervous wreck!)  Julie answered and informed me she was on her way to Hasboro with Reanna.  Apparently her oxygen level was dipping low and her Dr. was concerned.  I told her not to worry I would take care of whatever she needed.  My Mom had been staying with her for a few days while my Dad was out of town, so we fed the kids quickly and Billy darted off with Hannah to Math night with Grammy and Layla and I headed on over to pick up Nonnie and head to Auntie Paula's Arbonne evening.  I wish I could afford this skin care line because I so very much love Arbonne products and would buy them all if I could!

Billy got Hannah home and settled before we arrived home.  He said she did a wonderful job at Math night and Grammy even said that one of the principals remarked on how serious and intelligent she is.  (Gush)  Nonnie spent the night with us and the girls loved it.  A little too excited maybe, because they both woke up at 6AM the following morning excited to still have their Nonnie visiting.  

Miss Reanna ended up coming home yesterday afternoon and she is doing better.  Her chest XRays show cloudiness that they are unable to determine whether it is pneumonia or an asthma exacerbation.  She is on prednisone and antibiotic for the infection.  Her Dr. feels as though this was all brought on by the fact that she had that darn RSV the end of January.  Unfortunately now she will be susceptible to a lot more and they will have to watch every little cough and cold and take her in to check her oxygen levels at the hint of anything.  I sure hope she doesnt end up having asthma.  I know all too well how scary it can be and I remember it being traumatic for me at times when I was a child.  I can't imagine how it feels for an 18 month old, nevermind for a parent to have to watch.  I can still remember the panic in my mother's vouce as she would grab me and run to the bathroom and put the shower on hot so I could breath in the steam in order to be able to breath without gasping for air.  In order for the Dr.'s to diagnose Reanna with asthma, episodes like this would have to happen again.  I am praying they dont and that it is pneumonia which will be out of her system quickly!  Come on warmer weather.. get her soon so all these babies can get their health back!!!!! 

The girls and I are headed to Long Island this weekend to visit Auntie Jill and Uncle Dave.  We are all very excited for the visit.  Auntie Jill has some fun things planned for the girls and Uncle Dave came to the rescue in taping the "Kids Choice Awards" which Hannah was completely worried about missing!  She has asked every morning when she wakes up, "Is today the 27th?"  She is her father's daughter when it comes to TV!  On the way back, we are going to stop and visit Ant Denise, Uncle Chris and the kids.  It will be fun to see them again as the last time we saw them was August.  I am sure we will have a fantastic weekend and I am looking forward to our little girls adventure. 

Please keep Reanna in your prayers in hopes that she will have a speedy recovery and no more attacks like this one!

Where's my Pickle?

Last night was a productive sleep night for Miss Layla!  Both girls were asleep by 7:30 and Layla slept through until 5:30 AM!  Hannah on the other hand, had her first bout of sleepwalking!  About a half hour after putting her down, I heard her scream twice.  I ran upstairs and found her in my room with the light on and the bed was rustled.  She was just standing there.  I asked her twice what was wrong and she said nothing.  Then she ran past me to the bathroom, went, and ran back into her bed.  I layed down with her for a few minutes and within seconds she was sound asleep.  Upon asking her about the episode this morning, she had no recollection.  LOL  I hope she doesnt end up sleep walking the way I did when I was a kid!  My parents use to find me trying to get out the front door.  One time, I even mistook my brother's closet for the bathroom!  WHOOPSIE!


Today is Hannah's first field trip and to say that I am a wreck about it would be an understatement.  They are heading to the local Children's Museum.  The permission slip alone was enough to give me a heart attack stating all of these horrible things that "could" happen and that the school would not be responsible for.  Moreover, Hannah coming home from school yesterday saying that there were several children staying behind because their parents would not allow them to go did not ease my worry.  One in particular because he had gotten lost on a previous field trip (at a different school) for over four hours.  No, this story did not help ease any of my fears.  So needless to say, I probably freaked the kid out entirely last night by giving her a run down of all the safety rules.  To be sure to stay with a buddy at all times and have her teacher in sight.  Never wander off away from the class.  Keep your voice down on the bus so the bus driver can pay attention to the road and lastly, if anyone should grab her, to scream fire or stranger, kick, bite and do whatever she could to get away.  I know that I probably sound like a total freak but in this day and age you honestly can not be too careful.  Just turning on the news is enough to want to keep your children in bubbles for the rest of their lives.  I know I certainly can't keep her in a bubble (even though I really really want to) so I had to let her go and enjoy her day.  She was so very excited and I am sure she will be just fine and will be overjoyed to tell me about her day.  I wish I could have chaperoned, but unfortunately, too many parents wanted to, so they had to say no to all of the parents as to not cause problems.  So I will be breathing in and out until 3PM today when I go pick her up and she is safe and sound in my arms!


My Layla funny for the evening was last night when she was playing with Hannah's guitar.  She came up to me and asked me where her pickle was.  I made her repeat it twice because it was the cutest thing ever.  Then Billy made her repeat it.  What she wanted was the "pick" for the guitar.  She just says the funniest things!  Something else that she has said forever that I just melt when she says it, is "Mommy hold you!"  She says this when she wants to be held.  I just love it and I would never think of correcting her because it seriously melts my heart when she says it.  I hope she continues to say it for a long long time!

On another note, Mommy's feeling a little funky today.  I started feeling a bit "off" last night and thought maybe dinner just didnt agree with me.  Yet, this morning, I wasnt able to drink my usual one cup of coffee.  Now I am feeling a little feverish and my stomach is still off.  Hmmm I surely hope I am not catching a bug.  We have a marathon day today and there is just no time in the schedule for it!  :)  Hoping it passes quickly!

 

Happy Monday

Wow, I can't believe it is Monday already!  The weekends go by way too fast.  We did have a lovely weekend and the weather was definitely a huge help in that department.  We spent much of our weekend outdoors riding bikes and playing on the swingset.  We took walks and even had our first ice cream at CoolLicks (our favorite summer hot spot!)  The girls loved playing outside so much so that Layla refused her naps this weekend!  No way, she wanted to be outside with big sister Hannah! 

Speaking of Hannah Banana, I had a wonderful time going into her classroom on Friday and telling the class about our Family Business.  The kids were absolutely adorable and Hannah loved having me there.  She melted my heart!  I tried to think of interesting facts about the business that would keep them entertained.  One being the fact that the secret recipe of the 11 herbs and spices is locked safetly in a vault in Louisville, KY.  One little boy was simply enthralled and kept asking me questions such as, "Now say the Colonel had the recipe written down on a piece of paper on his desk and he had to leave to use the bathroom, and someone came in and stole the paper... that would be bad, right?"  I could have stolen him!  The children were extremely well behaved and they thoroughly enjoyed their mashed potatoes and crispy strips as well.  It was a pleasure to have volunteered!

Furthermore, we received Hannah's report card on Friday.  I was simply blown away.  She did such an unbelievable job I was in awe!  First semester she had mostly S's for Satisfactory and a few O's for Outstanding.  It was what I had expected since they can't give the kid all O's or what would they have to work up to?  This semester, she turned 7 of those S's into O's.  SEVEN!  I am so proud of her!  She is such a smart little booger with such a desire to learn.  Miss Geremia loves having her in class and I believe Miss Geremia has done such a wonderful job teaching her!  Han also got to take home the class Mascot this weekend, JT the stuffed Koala.  She had a fantastic time entertaining JT and keeping him with her at all times.  Last night she did a wonderful job writing a journal entry about all the neat things JT got to experience with her over the weekend.

Layla Grayce had a lovely weekend as well.  She had Billy and I in stitches often.  The things that come out of her mouth are just hysterical.  I wish I could just freeze her in time.  She is quite the disciplinarian and will reprimand anyone she hears saying or doing something wrong.  "DaDa dont you a say a bad word.  You freshie."  Everything has an extra "a" in it and she sounds like this little Italian baby!  Her facial expressions are priceless as well.  "Mommy where is a my socks?"  Healthwise she had a good weekend, until last night that is.  When we got home from Momma and Pa's last night she felt warm.  I checked her temp and low and behold, 101.  Granted it isnt high.  Yet, usually for Layla, anything 101 and over means something is going on.  She woke up this morning after a restless night of sleep with 99 and she seemed in good spirits.  However, after just feeling her head again, she is feeling quite warm to me.  I really wonder if her food allergies could have anything to do with these unexplained fevers, as of right now she has no other symptoms.  I remember that when she was an infant, she would often get unexplained fevers for several days and then they would just disappear.  She has had several blood tests and everything has checked out fine.  So as of today, I am back to keeping track of everything she eats.  I am determined to find a cause to all of this as tedius as the task might be.   

Last but not least, I have noticed this weekend that my belly is huge.  No, not huge, actually MASSIVE!  I really cant get over how big it is!  I swear I was this big when I delivered Layla.. a week late!  Even Billy was contemplating with me about how it could possibly get any bigger considering I still have over 2 months to go!  I am not complaining, because in all honesty, I think it is so neat!  I admired it a few times this weekend in the mirror thinking, "What are you little June Bug.. what are you?"  I still cant believe that I have survived not knowing the sex of this baby!  I just can't wait to meet him or her and embrace them into our family.. our soon to be family of five! 

Poor Ravioli

Just when you think you have it all figured out, all your theories get squashed!  Layla had another horrible night last night which leads me to believe that she may not have even injested the spoiled milk on Sunday.  She went to bed fine for me with no problems.  Hannah and she were sleeping soundly by 8PM.  Layla awoke around midnight and came into my room.  I picked her up and put her in bed with me.  She was fine for about minute or two and then all of a sudden the screams began.  The kicking began and the crawling out of her skin began.  I have to tell you that it is the worst feeling in the world because nothing I do, will console her.  If I try and hold her, she crawls out of her skin even more.  Moreover her kicks are so fierce that I am afraid she will kick my belly and harm the baby.  Walking the hallway would only work for a minute or two and then we were back to square one.  She wont let me rub her belly or her back and she screams louder if I try.  It is the worst feeling in the world to know that she is in pain and nothing I do will help ease it for her.  Through her screams she was saying, "belly" so I knew for sure it was belly pain.  So all I can do is sit there and cry with her feeling so helpless.  Every few minutes it would ease up and then it would start all over again.  By 2:30 AM I was able to calm her enough to put a Mickey Mouse movie in.  She was still uncomfortable but she had at least stopped the screaming.  By this time however, the poor kid was wide awake.  So it took watching the movie twice in order to get her to go back to sleep which wasnt til around 4AM.  Thankfully, she slept the rest of the morning without incident and didn't wake until 9AM this morning.  I called her GI doctor in Boston and thankfully received a return phone call by 8:30 this morning suggesting we up her med to twice a day.  (This is why I love Boston Childrens!)  Immediately I receive a response!  I am praying that this helps relieve her of the pain and will allow her a night of sound sleep.  Now I am really looking forward to her procedure which I am hoping will be scheduled no later than next month.  I just want this precious ravioli to feel better!  I want her to get a good night's sleep!  I want answers and I want to be able to make it all better for her!  I am so tired of feeling so helpless.  I pray that the endoscopy gives us answers and gives them to us in a reasonable amount of time!

On a lighter note, I have a Hannah funny.  She had come home from school on Monday saying that she needed a "Frankenstein" shirt to wear to school on Tuesday.  Puzzled, I asked her why.  She said he was coming to visit her school and again insisted that Daddy must have a Frankenstein shirt.  I assured her that Billy, indeed, did not have a Frankenstein shirt.  She then asked me to describe what Frankenstein looked like.  I went into my green faced, squared shouldered, tall, hunched over description and then noticed that her expression was puzzled.  I am not sure what happened but the conversation was dropped surely because I was distracted by something else and that was the end of it.  When I picked her up from school yesterday, she got in the car and said, "Oh Mom, It wasn't Frankenstein who came to visit, it was Alan Shawn Feinstein."  I tell you, I laughed so hard I cried.  Leave it to Hannah.  The child can make me laugh under any circumstance!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Long Night

It was a long night in the Murphy household last night.  Everything had been well throughout the weekend with the exception of Layla having a mild virus which had started on Thursday and that looked to have been so much better yesterday.  We went to Church in the morning and she really seemed fine all day.  She took her nap and everything.  Billy then read to both girls last night and put them down to bed.  For some reason Layla just wouldnt settle down.  She seemed as though she wanted to, but just couldnt get comfortable.  After an hour and a half of me constantly checking the monitor, we went up and got her.  We snuggled her on the couch and yet, she still couldnt seem to simmer down.  I finally went back upstairs with her and tried to soothe her to sleep.  It took a while, but finally, by 11:30, she was sound asleep.  By 2:00AM she was up screaming.  I mean SCREAMING!  I tried everything and nothing worked.  I walked the hall with her, I rocked her and I rubbed her back but she seemed to be very uncomfortable.  She kept kicking her legs and arching her back.  I tried to rummage through my head and remember what she had to eat during the day and I really couldnt come up with anything that could have bothered her belly so severely.  The only thing she did have was a teaspoon of Cool Whip, which she has had before and never reacted this way too.  Nothing would console her.  It was terrible!  Billy woke up and came upstairs and he too, tried everything.  Finally around 3:45 he headed downstairs with her and held her on the couch.  She fell alseep for about an hour and a half and then she was up again screaming.  I ran downstairs and just held her and rocked her.  Eventually I put Mickey Mouse on for her and after another 45 minutes I got her back to sleep. 

Today, she is just downright icky!  She is not screaming anymore but she is completely exhausted and rightfully so.  I am hoping that she is going to go down for me in a few minutes.  Even poor Hannah woke up a few times during the night and I felt so terrible waking her up to get her off to school today.  I know she must be exhausted and I am hoping she will take a little nap after school today.  Although thankfully she didnt give me an ounce of trouble and really woke up rather happy.

I dont know what to think as far as Layla is concerned, since it is still sometimes difficult for her to communicate with us what is wrong.  She is only 2 and one moment she can say her belly hurts and the next she says it doesnt.  I am wondering if this could even be part of the little virus she had or if it is a food related issue.  Whatever it is, I pray that she can just get some much needed rest tonight.  This has happened before during the night, but never to this degree and never for as long as it did last night.  So once again I am left pondering as to what could be wrong with the ravioli.  I have a call into her GI doctor in Boston to see if he can shed some light on the issue as well and thankfully we will have her scope appointment soon as well. 

So for now, my fingers are crossed that she is going to be snoozing soundly within the next 15 minutes.... and I cant promise I wont be curled up right along side of her!

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UPDATE:   After a long afternoon yesterday and another hour of Layla screaming and me crying, my mother in law called us to remind us of an incident that took place the everning before.  Sunday night we had gone to their house for dinner.  The kids went to play in the playroom while the adults finished eating.  Layla came out of the room with a cup that was not hers and it looked as though she had taken a drink of it (and who knows how many more before she had come out of the room).   I yelled for Billy to grab the cup because we had no idea what was in it, but knew it was not hers.  The verdict was spoiled milk from one of my nieces.  Not only is Layla allergic to milk, but day old spoiled milk must have done a number on her tummy!  No wonder why the poor kid was screaming in pain!  Aye Carumba!  She finally settled down around 9:30 last night and although she still woke 4 or 5 times, I was able to get her back down without a fuss and she didnt scream anymore.  So hopefully after a good night's sleep tonight, we will have her back to our bouncing baby Layla!  (Sigh)  Of all the things... sheesh!