Kindness Day

Our Thanksgiving was absolutely wonderful.  5 straight days with the boys was just the pick me up I needed.  And by pick me up, I mean in the emotional/fulfilling sense, because Lord knows they completely wear me out!!

Before I get to Thanksgiving, I want to talk about the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving.  You see, it’s very important to me that my boys learn the importance of being kind and giving back to their community.  With all the negativity in the world today, I’m a big believer in treating others as we’d like to be treated.  One of my greatest memories from high school is leading the food and gift drive for Student Council.  In addition to collecting canned goods, we collected enough money to provide a few families with Christmas gifts.  I imagined them opening all the wrapped gifts on Christmas and it brought me such joy.  My hope for the boys is that they’ll too be find joy in giving.  That they’ll be generous and compassionate individuals who want to help others.

With that said, I took Wednesday off and declared it Kindness Day and we set out on a mission to spread cheer throughout our community.  We started with our neighbors and brought over a plate of cookies.  We mailed a card to W’s friend in Georgia and we also left cookies and a Target gift card in the mailbox for our mail carrier.  Then, it was off to our favorite Starbucks.  We went through the drive thru and paid for coffee for the person behind us.  Our favorite barista happened to be manning the drive thru and we left him a tip.  Next, it was off to Target.  W helped me pick 4 cars in the parking lot and we taped Target gift cards to their windows with a note wishing them a wonderful day.  Then, we headed out to the fire station to drop off more cookies.  Scratch that.  We headed to 4 different fire stations.  The first 3 stations didn’t answer their doors??  The fourth fire station was the city’s headquarters and there was a receptionist.  At first she was confused that I wasn’t there to see anyone in particular, but I explained that we were just dropping off cookies as a kind gesture and she returned with a hat and goody bag for W. J  After that, we met up with A for lunch.  We ended Kindness Day with A bringing treats to doggy day care and W and I bringing flowers to my mom’s 80+ year old neighbor.  We had so much fun and I can’t wait to do it again!!

I should also mention that W has not been kind to his brother lately.  So I hoped that all of the spreading kindness would rub off on him.  He did have a good weekend, but was back to hitting and pushing this morning.  I suppose he IS nearing three years old and the hitting and pushing comes with the territory, but I’m ready for this phase to be over.  I know what you're thinking... they're little boys and they're siblings... this phase will NEVER be over.  I get that.  But I'm at least hoping that W will come to me when he gets frustrated or needs help instead of hitting as an immediate reaction.

This and That

I have not been very good about blogging lately.  Tis the season for lots of plans and little time.  Throw in some extra busy work days and time for blogging is nonexistent.

W has been in a funk lately.  I’m not sure if he’s not feeling well.  I kept him home from school on Thursday because he complained of a tummy ache and did his spit up thing.  He had a cold, but I thought he was getting over it.  So not sure if this is cold number 2?  Along with his symptoms, he’s not sleeping well.  Thankfully he had been sleeping great up until a couple nights ago.  There was a period of time when I didn’t think that would ever happen.  Hoping my little buddy feels better soon. 

Speaking of W, he has been really mean to S lately and it bothers me.  Previously he would say things… put S down, leave S upstairs.  But W’s starting pushing and hitting.  I’m assuming this behavior is typical, but it’s hard to deal with.  Lots of time outs and even some yelling by me, but the bad behavior continues. L

In other news S is working on tooth number 4.  He has a doctor’s appointment this evening and I’m looking forward to finding out how big he actually is.  Whenever we meet people, they assume he’s at least a year and are shocked to find out he’s nine months.  He’s crawling, climbing, and pulling up on everything.  Little guy will be walking in no time.

We got our first snow storm over the weekend.  Truth be told, I actually liked it.  We typically get a few snow flurries in November and the first snowflakes are always exciting.  Mother nature decided to skip the flakes this year and dumped a big old pile of snow.  16 inches to be exact.  I was excited and tried to get the boys out for sledding and snowman building.  S cried and W asked to go back inside.  Wimps.  Just kidding.  The snow was still falling and hitting them in the face while we were out and they were not having it.  So much for that.

The snow was so heavy that it broke power lines and our power actually went out for a bit – I’m assuming that’s what happened anyway  The thought of being stuck inside with no power and two restless boys made me anxious so we decided to head out and do our grocery shopping.  I was very concerned about all the frozen milk I had stored.  Luckily the power was on by the time we got home.

Sunday was our usual routine and we decided to start decorating the house for Christmas.  No tree yet, but it was fun to get out the rest of the décor.  I’m super excited for Christmas this year – W is really into it and it will be S’s first Christmas.  I can’t wait! J

And some randoms:

Stitch Fix number 5 arrives this week!  Woohoo!

I’ve declared Wednesday Kindness Day and the boys and I are setting out on a little mission to bring holiday cheer to a few people around town.  More on that to come.

I have W’s and S’s nurseries posted on Pinterest.  I realized over the weekend that someone copied W’s nursery almost exactly.  I suppose that’s kind of the point of Pinterest, but it caught me off guard.  Maybe I missed my calling as nursery designer – Ha!

I know of at least 4 babies born in the last week!  Holy baby boom!

There are conferences tomorrow at W's school.  Conferences.  In preschool?!?  I didn't know that was a thing.  Hoping for a good report.

I’m not sure if I’ll have another post before Thursday so Happy Thanksgiving!!  So very much to be thankful for!!

Are You Done?

Are you done?

If only I had a dollar for every time I was asked this question.  When people ask, it’s in regards to having more children.  I was even getting this question while pregnant with S.  My own mom has asked no less than three times – I think she’s just afraid we’d ask her to watch another child. ;) 

Most people don’t know our story.  Only our families and close friends know that A has CF and only a handful of that group knows that I went through IVF in order to have both boys.  It’s not a secret and I’m not trying to hide anything.  But it is personal.  In general, A and I are relatively private people (which may come as a surprise considering I keep a blog).  The way in which our boys were created is not exactly something that comes up in everyday conversation so I don’t feel the need to discuss it with most people.  I also think most people are clueless about IVF.  And finally, I’d like to be the one who tells my boys their story.  I’d like them to hear about IVF and our journey from me and not anyone else.

So for the majority of people who ask, “Are you done??”, my answer is simple: Probably.

But it’s actually a lot more complicated than that.  A and I agreed to discuss this very topic and our family plans when S is older.  As in closer to two years old.  I love my boys with all my heart, but they do require quite a lot of energy, time, attention, etc.  A and I did agree that I will not go through another fresh IVF cycle.  All those injections, appointments, surgeries, and procedures have taken a toll and I’m just ready to be done with that chapter.  Not to mention insurance will not cover another round of IVF (so thankful that it covered the majority of the 3 fresh cycles I endured).  We do have 2 frozen embryos.  But the reality is that these are not high grade embryos so the chances for success are very very low.  They may not even survive the thaw.

In my heart, I would love another baby.  For some reason I can’t explain, I just feel like I was meant to have 3 boys.  And let’s face it, if I were lucky enough to have another, he would definitely be a boy.  Truth be told, I’d like to give those two embryos a chance, even if the odds are not in my favor.  We’ve never had frozen embryos from previous cycles so maybe, just maybe, those frozen embryos are here for a reason.

We have a lot to consider.  First and foremost – A’s health.  I'm still scarred from the hospital stay and poor health he experienced last summer.  But we also need to consider our ages, our family dynamic, finances, etc.  My brain can think of so many perfectly logical reasons to remain a family of four – expenses, we all fit in one car, we can travel easier as the boys grow up, we have an extra bedroom that can be used however we see fit, we'd likely have to find child care if we had another, we aren’t outnumbered, a third would mean even less sleep, our house is loud enough already, W doesn’t seem to like the one brother he does have, etc…  But then there’s my heart.  And my heart would love another.

So are we done??  Probably.  But the truth is, I hope not…

Weekend Recap

This weekend was one big celebration.  Saturday was my nephew/godson’s first birthday.  I can’t believe he is already one.  I have no idea how that happened.  And I know I’ll be saying the same about S in a couple months.  Anyway, I love to see W and S interact with their cousins.  I was very close with my cousins growing up and still feel a strong connection with them.  I hope the same holds true for W and S.  It was a wonderful birthday party… until W fell backwards and smacked his head on the coffee table.  Sigh.  I’ve never known a toddler who injures himself as much as W.

Sunday was A’s grandma’s birthday party.  She turns 99 on Wednesday.  99!!  Isn’t that amazing?!?  S is her youngest grandbaby.  It was so fun to see the two of them next to each other.  99 versus 9 months.  There was a great turnout and I’m so happy we made the trip.

And I had planned to write about how we waited over an hour for pizza on Friday (what a disaster!) and how we tried to go out for lunch yesterday after the birthday party (another disaster!) only to have W sit on the floor under the table and refuse to eat… but S’s lack of sleep and our busy schedules are catching up to me so I guess I’ll just have to save those stories for another day.  Or never.  Because they really aren’t very good.  Yawn....

Back from TX and W Says...

Happy Friday!  I'm back from south Texas.  I didn't realize what a long trip that was.  I guess I should pay more attention to travel times... duh.  A total of 4 hours in the plane. There were no direct flights so I had to take a connecting flight from Dallas/Fort Worth.  So lots of time in airports and on airplanes.  Everything really is bigger in Texas - including the state itself and DFW airport.  Holy Moly.  Also all the stereotypes about Texas held true - LOTS of cowboy boots, cowboy hats, "y'all", BBQ, guns, and pick up trucks.  South Texas was different than I expected and a bit of a culture shock.  Completely flat, very rural, farmland.  Farmhouses were run down and there were lots of boarded up, deteriorating shacks.  It was sort of a sad little area.  But the people were all very kind.  Chicago could learn a thing or two about hospitality (I'm talking to you, parking lady!  I put my credit card in the slot to pay for my airport parking and it literally shot out at me and landed at the side of my car.  The parking attendant just stared blankly at me while people honked behind me.  My bad.  I didn't realize I was playing catch with the parking pay booth.)  Anyway.  I'm happy to be home, albeit, exhausted.

Also, pumping while traveling is really difficult.  I'll spare you my stories.  BUT here's the thing... workplaces are required to have a dedicated area for nursing moms.  So why the heck aren't airports?!?  Seriously.  It's ridiculous.  And it wouldn't even be difficult - a small, private area with a bench and an outlet.  That's it.

So how about a little edition of W Says because he's been cracking me up lately. :)

W:  What's this song called?
Me:  Umm, let's see... It's called 'Boston'
W:  Where's 'Ice Ice, Baby'?

W:  What are those birdies doing?
A:  They're looking for worms for breakfast
W:  I'm looking for breakfast!!

W:  Mommy, you need a shower tonight?
Me:  Yes, I'm taking a shower tonight.
W:  Are you stinky?

He often makes up stories about our dog... Dee Dee is in the vent, Dee Dee bit the mailman, etc.

W:  Dee Dee is in the recycling bin!
A:  How did she get in the recycling bin?
W:  I put her in there!
A:  Why did you put her in the recycling bin?
W:  Cuz she was empty.

Weekend Recap

Life has been busy, hectic, crazy.  I feel like I’ve been writing that a lot lately.  I didn’t even have time for a weekend recap yesterday.  It went something like this: Saturday – errands with W(bank, Target, shoe store), lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, haircut for W, and a date with A to end the day.  By Saturday evening, it was becoming apparent that W was coming down with a cold and by Sunday morning he was congested.  We still went to church because W was still acting like himself.  But then at Starbucks, W did his spit up thing.  As you can imagine, that was loads of fun.  I never realized kids did this with colds, but W does it any time there is extra mucous.  Sorry to be gross.  But this is completely new territory for me.  Yuck.  We had planned to go grocery shopping after breakfast, but we never made it.

Yesterday, S came down with the same cold.  As you can imagine, it was a super long day for Nani.  Both boys have been really cranky and not sleeping well.  And the icing on the cake is that I have a business trip this week.  I fly to Texas tomorrow.  And I’m sure the cold will hit me while I’m on the plane and A while he’s attempting to care for two cranky boys because that just seems to be our luck.  We’re in survival mode.

BUT I do want to highlight our date night because that was so fun and very much needed.  A and I don’t get out much, which is to be expected with two littles.  Our moms watch the boys during the week and we don’t really know anyone (or trust anyone) to watch them during the weekends.  Family and friends are busy with their own kiddos.  That means we never go out.  So as an anniversary gift, my mom offered to watch the boys and gave us a certificate to a new local restaurant.  A and I LOVED it.  I ordered wine.  A ordered a fancy cocktail that I can’t seem to remember the name of.  I had the brick oven mole chicken and A had a filet.  So so yummy.  Then we ordered the chocolate fountain for dessert.  It was so great to be able to relax and talk to one another without being interrupted 50393 times.  It was also great to be surrounded by adults and normal conversation (versus yelling).  I can’t even remember the last time the two of us went out for dinner.  And I’m not saying I don’t love the constant toddler chatter and baby babble – this was just a nice change of pace.  I’m happy we got some quality time together.

Friday Thoughts

I think this weekend is the only one until Christmas where we don’t have plans or some commitment.  Uggh.  If you know me, you know I crave “down time”.  So this weekend will be filled with random errands and all the “down time” (i.e. play time) I can muster.

I ordered two different styles of boots for fall and was really excited about them.  Then I received them and didn’t like either pair.  They’re both going back.  Doh.  I’m not really a boots girl – not because I don’t like them, but because I can never find a style that looks good on me.  I guess I should’ve known.

W lately is either as sweet as can be or a hitting tyrant.  I realize this is what toddlerhood is all about, but holy moly.  He keeps hitting S and it’s driving me crazy.  No matter how many times I talk to him about it, tell him to let mommy know if he’s upset, tell him to offer S another toy, send him to time out, the hitting ensues.  Last night, I had to be really tough on him and he was sent to bed with no bedtime story.  I struggle with discipline – figuring out what is appropriate and will provide a lasting impression is difficult. :\  And then five minutes later he’s telling me he’s loves me and that I’m soooo special.  Sigh.

On a related note, I asked A who he thought was the tougher parent.  He said me.  I would’ve said him.  So that’s a good thing I think?  We’re doing our best to raise respectful, well behaved boys, while at the same time recognizing that they’re young and appropriate behavior is a learning process.

Starbucks red cups have debuted!  They always put me in a festive mood. :)

Work sent out an email regarding dress code.  The gist of it was that they want us to be comfortable so we can now wear jeans every day (as long as we’re not meeting with clients).  YES!!!  I’m so excited!!!

Have a great weekend!

Baby S is 9 Months Old!

Sweet S,

You are 9 months old today! ¾ of a year. You’re always a joy, but you were especially fun this month. Daddy and I even said multiple times that we wish you could stay 8 months forever. smile emoticon

You had a huge month in terms of development. You perfected your crawling skills and you now crawl throughout the house. You love to crawl to the stairs and try to climb up – yikes. You’re pulling up to stand. You also got your first two teeth. Finally! The bottom two came in at the same time and we noticed a top tooth poking through today. You babble quite a bit and make all kinds of silly noises. It sounds like you’re trying to say words – hello, dada, mama – but I’m fairly certain that these are coincidental. People keep telling me you’ll be an early walker and I’m hoping they’re wrong. I’m determined to keep you a baby for as long as possible.

You love to try new foods and love to eat. I’m so appreciative of this! Meal times with you are easy, my dear. This month, you tried gnocchi, eggs, peanut butter toast, spaghetti, sweet potatoes, grilled cheese, green beans, and stuffing. I can’t recall a single thing you haven’t liked. You seem to prefer actual food to puree, which is the exact opposite of your brother and completely new territory for me.

Speaking of that spirited brother of yours, you still adore him. He is by far your favorite person. I wish I could say the same for him. He’s still struggling with sharing mommy (and sharing his toys :\). But he is especially sweet to you in the morning. Just a couple days ago, you were having your morning bottle and W was sitting next to you. He excitedly yelled, “Mommy, S is holding my hand!!” I live for those moments.

You celebrated your first Halloween as the cutest little Dalmatian pup and we had so much fun participating in all the activities that fall had to offer – corn mazes, pumpkin farms, lots of walks outside, and pumpkin carving.

You’re the happiest little guy I’ve ever known and our church friends always enjoy your smiles and happy squeals. I think they look forward to seeing you every week. So do our Starbucks friends. They’ve been known to save us a table on Sundays.

You’re wearing size 12-18 month clothes and shoes. You’re in size 3 diapers, but can probably go up to the next size. You’re sleeping a total of 10 hours each night, but still wake up during the night at least twice a week – maybe teething related?

On to the next month! I have no doubt that you’ll enjoy your first Thanksgiving, my sweet boy. I’m especially thankful for YOU. You are our everything and more, Sam.

P.S. You share your 9 month birthday with Grandpa Tom in Heaven. He would have been 64 today. I know he’s watching over you and smiling down on you today and always.

CF Clinic with a Special Visitor

A had CF clinic yesterday and we decided to bring W along.  It’s a long trip to the Chicago hospital – over an hour.  But W was a trooper. J

A’s lung function was a bit down.  Down enough for me to be concerned – less than a 10% difference, but still lower than any of his recent readings.  On the bright side, I seemed more concerned about the lower numbers than A’s doctor.  Doctor B prescribed an antibiotic and A is to check in and let the doctor know how he’s feeling once he’s finished with the antibiotic.  A assured me he feels good, which is most important. But considering A just finished a round of Cayston, we were hoping his numbers would be higher.  One thing that worried me was Doctor B mentioned IV treatment if A’s lung function doesn’t improve at his next appointment.  I have flashbacks to last summer and the hospital stay.  It was such a difficult time for everyone.  I’m praying we don’t have to go through that again.  Not to mention that A’s next appointment is 3 days prior to S’s first birthday.  I’d be heartbroken (as would A) if he wasn’t home for S’s birthday.  With each clinic visit, I fear the lung function results will signal the beginning of a decline.  But I’m taking it as a positive that A doesn’t have to report back for another three months.

I also had a chance to talk to Doctor B about Orkambi and CF drugs on the horizon.  I really really like doctor B.  I never feel like my questions are stupid and he always includes me in discussions regarding A’s health.  He didn’t seem to be very impressed with Orkambi and mentioned that it was getting more difficult to convince insurance to cover it.  It is not approved for A's CF mutation, but I was curious if it might be some day.  He did say that the CF Foundation is working hard to advance it’s pipeline and find drugs that will benefit all 1500 CF mutations and not just a select few.  There is an initiative to have medications identified by 2020.  That doesn’t sound super optimistic, but I left feeling hopeful and thankful that we saw Doctor B this visit.

As for W, he was a big hit.  I’m not sure what it is about this hospital, but each time we go, he has several admirers.  Every time we were in an elevator, at the doctor’s office, in the lab, pharmacy, hallway, etc., someone would complement his hair, eyes, behavior, and even his shoes.  He was extremely popular.  At one point, A was sitting on the exam table and W ran over to him and said something like, “Daddy, I checking on you.  Are you ok, daddy?”.  It was one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen.  We also had a nurse? social worker?... I can’t remember now… introduce herself as Katie.  She was gowned up as each person does when they enter the exam room.  W saw her and replied, “Katie is all wrapped up!!”.  So cute.  He definitely makes a mundane appointment a lot more fun.

After the appointment, we took W to a kid’s café.  It was adorable - complete with a miniature town and ride on cars.  He loved it.

Weekend Recap

Ok, I seriously need a vacation from all these busy weekends.  I mean they are good busy, but whew, I’m exhausted.  Also, the whole gaining an hour of sleep thing is total crap when you have kids.  Oh, and thank you for not attacking me when I talked about everyone else being pregnant last week.  I continue to wonder if those surprise announcements will ever not affect me or not hurt.  Maybe someday.  Anyway, let’s get on to the weekend recap…

Friday, Nani took the boys to a local downtown trick-or-treating shin-dig (for lack of a better word –sorry).  Apparently they visited the bank and got to see Papa and Uncle Matt at work.  They went in stores and had their picture taken.  I hear they were quite a hit. J  After that, I met A and the boys at one of our favorite pizza places.  The boys were a bit antsy and I felt like I was shoving pizza in my face between entertaining the boys and cutting their food, but we still had fun.  A and I tried macaroni and cheese and bacon pizza (SO GOOD), buffalo chicken pizza (spicy), the Frisco pizza (spinach, tomato, and artichoke – YUMMY!!), and the Southwest chicken pizza (chicken and salsa – also really good).  The waitress made a mistake so the buffalo chicken pizza was a freebie.  Also, if you know A, you know that he is not an adventurous eater.  At all.  He’s extremely picky.  SO the fact that he actually tried these pizzas AND really liked them is a modern day miracle.

Saturday was Halloween and it rained the.entire.day.  So disappointing.  W spent the morning either asking if it was time for trick-or-treating or in time out.  Finally, it was time to head over to my mom’s house.  The boys looked so cute in their firefighter and Dalmatian costumes.  They got some goodies, visited the cats, and played for a bit.  We also went to visit Miss Joan next door who practically begged us to stay longer.  I felt bad leaving after a short time, but could sense that the boys were ready to go and trick or treating in our neighborhood was beginning.  W was super excited for trick-or-treating.  Since it was raining, we only planned to stay out a short time.  We’d ask W if he was ready to go home and he’d respond “One more house.”  Love him. J  And he took his trick-or-treating very seriously.  He loved ringing doorbells, but they were often a bit high for him.  He’d set his bucket on a step so he could really stretch to ring that doorbell.  But then he’d forget to pick up his bucket and when the home owner came to the door with a bowl of candy, he’d reach in and grab a handful – no matter how many times we told him that he wasn’t supposed to take the candy.  So funny.  For some reason, everyone thought S was a girl?  I’m not sure why the Dalmatian costume looked girly, but heard at least 4 “she’s” and “sister’s”.  By the time we got home, W’s shoes and socks were soaked through. L  He fell asleep on the couch in a matter of minutes.  On the bright side, the cold, rainy weather was a perfect excuse for our first fire of the season.  And I’m thankful the boys got to go out with Nani on Friday so Halloween wasn’t a complete bust.

Then Sunday, church, Starbucks, grocery shopping.  Of course the weather was absolutely perfect and gorgeous the day AFTER Halloween.  Gah.  We were supposed to meet up with the family at a pizza place (yes, we eat LOTS of pizza) at 3:30 to celebrate my niece’s birthday.  I asked W if he wanted to take a walk before going for pizza.  I warned him that we couldn’t be out too long because we’d have to leave soon for pizza and Lucy’s birthday party.  A stayed home to finish up some raking.  So while we were out walking, I heard a bang, bang, bang.  It sounded like gun shots.  I’ve heard them before and suspect that there may be hunting somewhere nearby?  Not sure.  I hate, hate, hate hunting, but I digress…  A few minutes later I heard sirens.  Pretty rare for our neck of the woods because we aren’t really by busy roads.  W even asked what the sirens were and I told him it sounded like a police car or an ambulance.  We had been out for about 30 minutes and I wanted to get home in the next 15 minutes so I told W it was time to head back.  Cue meltdown.  I’ve mentioned that he’s obsessed with air conditioners.  I have no idea why, but he makes it his personal mission to find each and every one that’s on.  And even though our weather is in the 50’s and 60’s, he always finds one that’s on.  Again, I can’t explain it.  These people must have skyrocketing electrical bills.  So W was very upset when it was time to head back because he had not seen every last air conditioner.  “I DON’T want pizza, mommy!  I DON’T want to go back home!  I DON’T want to go to the restaurant, mommy!” OVER and OVER and OVER.  SO after listening to W cry the entire way, I finally round the corner towards our house and see an ambulance with lights flashing right across from our house.  Panic.  At this point, I’m sure A has been shot (not at ALL dramatic) and I’m practically running to the house with a completely unphased, still whining W.  I park the stroller in front of our garage and run to the back yard to see if A is still raking.  Nope.  Oh Lord.  All the thoughts running though my head… if something happened, he would have texted, right?  But what if he was incapacitated and couldn’t text?  Oh my gosh… is he IN the ambulance?  Why aren’t the paramedics coming to get me?  So I get both boys out of the stroller and I’m practically yelling while trying to remain calm, “I need to find daddy!” “Help mommy find daddy.”  And W is still completely oblivious and still telling me he doesn’t want pizza.  I drag W inside and start calling for A.  A comes out from our bedroom totally fine – as in not shot.  And my heart started beating once again.  I’m not sure what exactly happened, but I don’t believe it was serious.  The ambulance was called for our neighbor across the street, but it didn’t appear that anyone was hurt, and their dog was outside a short time later.  I, however, lost years off my life after that little episode.  We eventually made it to pizza where both boys slept through dinner.  Sigh. :P