Thankful Thursday- man's best friend

Yesterday marked a week since my Zoe passed away. She was such a sweet, cuddly, kid-friendly, lovable dog and her life was cut so short. Back in March she wasn't acting like herself  so I took her to the vet. For the next month we tried several different medications before moving to blood work and then a referral to a specialty vet who diagnosed her with lung cancer. By the time I took her to this doc, I had a feeling it was cancer, but that did not make the news any easier to swallow. Particularly because the news came with the prediction of a "couple weeks to a couple months" to live. She passed just over three weeks later. 

I don't want to focus too much on this because it's the hard part. I want to focus on the joy my sweet girl brought to our family. I remember when we first got her- only a few weeks after we married- and brought her home to our one-bedroom apartment. She did not like her crate at first and would whine so loud I was afraid we'd get kicked out. We forged ahead with the crate training but after a few nights I started laying by her crate until she calmed down. Funny thing is that's how I spent one of our last nights with her- uncomfortably curled on the floor next to her already dreading how much I would miss her. Anyway this did help her sleep initially and I gradually backed into the bedroom but she would eventually wake up and cry for a companion. Once we moved her into our room, all was well. She was not the best potty-trainer until she realized how to communicate her need to go outside then she wouldn't go in the house for nothing; Daniel and I even laughed as we told Will the story of how she took a #2 in the middle of our living room carpet before we officially owned the house. Things that tried our patience back then, but are sweet memories now. Funny how that works, isn't it?

when she was a puppy, it was not uncommon for her crawl
right on top of me and curl up next to my face

her last week

Zoe loved playing ball and was quite the retriever-- every once in awhile Keenan would get to it first and she would stay on his heels 'til he dropped it (b/c he always would) and bring it the rest of the way. She'd even place the ball in my hands if I asked her too. She could catch 'em mid-air and as a result tore a ligament in her right, rear leg when she was only one or two years old. She loved chewing on bones and any manner of treats, especially ones from the table, and quickly learned that Will was a great source for scraps once he got old enough and eyed his highchair like a hawk. ZoZo loved a good chew toy and would tear all the stuffing out just to get to that squeaker. She whined for like a week when we brought Will home from the hospital but was always very affectionate of him, letting him crawl all over her. She wagged her tail with such excitement that her whole butt shook- I loved that. ZoZo girl loved curling up with me on the couch and even got to share our bed on occasion, but sure thought she was the only "person" in it and dominated all the space. She was always searching out a "comf" spot-- I'm pretty sure Zoe thought she was a human princess. I don't think she- or Keenan for that matter- was a fan of being moved from her deluxe penthouse with nearness to mommy to the living room, but once we replaced the carpet, it had to be done.

not sure what to think of this new person in the house

taking all mommy & daddy's attention

yea, that's a chewed up ball between her paws :)

I will miss my Zoe ZoZo. I cried almost the entire time I wrote this post- I thought a week would be enough, but the tears came against my will. Yes, I do and will miss her but I am thankful for the years I had with her and the love and loyalty she brought to our family. She was my best good girl as I called her and I doubt another dog will touch my heart the way she did.

Waistline Wednesday- 23 weeks

Wow, this pregnancy is going fast! With each pregnancy, the 20 weeks before the ultrasound- if you're finding out the gender anyway- is much longer than the following 20 until baby arrives. I'm sure most if not all of that has to do with preparations-- setting up the nursery, shopping for baby, rearranging the house, showers-- you know, whatever keeps ya busy. But I have to say with this pregnancy, it's all going by pretty fast. I'm still barely over half way, but baby 3 will be here in less than 4 months, oh my!! I should have less preparations this time, you say? Perhaps. Baby 3 is sharing a room with Will but there's still some items I want to sew/craft and some baby things that need replacing or upgrading. So, there's plenty to do. Plus, we're still deciding whether or not to keep the froggy/duck nursery theme going in Will's room or to transition him into a big boy room and find baby bedding to match. See?!!? So much to think about! And we've gotta get deciding so I can move on to preparing.
Dear baby 3, I promise we're thinking of a name for you and I'm pretty sure we've decided on one, but I'm not embroidering anything until I'm 100% sure!! I'm certain you'll have a name before your arrival and that's better than we did for Will- his name wasn't official until after he was born. You've been moving a lot more lately- mostly in the mid-morning and evening but on occasion, you check in at other times of the day. During my first ultrasound around 18/18.5 weeks, you were curled into a ball and the ultrasound tech couldn't measure everything, so I had another ultrasound at my appointment this week. Well this time you were very active! In fact, your heart rate got a little high at one point so I'm scheduled to return next week to check this again. I'm praying it's no big deal- the doctor wasn't concerned but she wanted me to come back to see my OB who was out of the office that day. I'm asking my readers to pray it's no big deal as well (hey guys, will you pray it's no big deal as well?) I'm excited to make some decisions about the room you'll soon be sharing with big brother so I can get to work! See you in a few months! Love, mommy.

The Seven Year Itch

Seven years ago I woke up to a day very similar to this (it's overcast here) but was still elated because it was my wedding day! Our wedding was not perfect-- the limo didn't show up then we got stuck in the rain while taking outdoor pictures. But I still married my best friend, the man God chose for me and put on my path so we could forever be changed together. And that's one thing I know, even if I didn't know it or feel it on that special day 7 years ago, it's not the wedding that matters. But the marriage. Our wedding day was perfect because it marked the beginning of a union God brought together and celebrated our covenant with Him along with family & friends, that we would remain in Him and with each other until death do us part. I am so thankful God chose Daniel to be my husband, my confidant, my protector, my love, my children's father. I could not imagine and do not want another man to walk with through life's journeys- the ups and downs and in betweens. He is my leader, my inspiration, my home, my family. And what a beautiful family we've created together.

So why is my post titled the seven year itch? Well, Psychology was one of my minors in college because my interest was peaked when I took a course my senior year of high school. One of the topics that always stuck out to me from that class was this idea of the seven year itch in regards to marriage. Summarizing here: basically, after 7 years, one begins to evaluate one's life, marriage and in some cases (I don't recall the statistics but we know the divorce rate) resulted in one or both parties to end the marriage because he/she/both were seeking something else. I also remember it being stated that after 7 years, one's marriage is generally in the clear. Whew! So glad to get past that hump, I've really been worried these last many years. Thank God neither Daniel or myself are itching (well, he did have that bad case of poison ivy this last week...) but I don't think we will as long as we continue to keep God in the center of our marriage and take the covenant we made seriously. Happy 7th Anniversary, babe, I love you!!!

Happy Mommy's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas out there reading my blog! Daniel and I missed seeing our moms again, but like I've mentioned before, Sunday holidays are particularly difficult to attend when you live out of town.
I woke up to my two beautiful children, and am always with the one residing in my belly:), had our normal morning routine and got ready for church. This year Daniel didn't do a separate gift from the kids, but that's only because I got a nice "mommy-to-be" spa package from all of them! I can't wait to go and feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family. After church, Will brought me a cute flower he made with a sucker as the middle and a picture he colored, then off to a mother's day lunch. Daniel and Maggie took naps when we returned home, Will played and I worked on a post for my other blog. Then we went swimming in pool water that was way too cold and had dinner. The day was overcast and then rained, but that didn't matter, I spent time with those who matter most. We had a wonderful day and I'm so blessed and grateful to have my husband, children, my mom and my MILs in my life.

 Maggie was after that spa gift card...I see mother/daughter

spa days in our future!

Last day of pre-school!

Today marks the end of Will's 1st little pre-school experience, possibly career (I haven't decided if I'll send him next year...I may leave him home with Maggie, baby3 and I or find somewhere closer). Anyway, I nearly cried as we were pulling away at the end of the day. I know change and growth are parts of life, but endings are usually sad for me, at least for a little while. He has lots of years of school left, but none of them will be like his first year of pre-school.

He had a really good last day: the teachers provided pizza for the kids and Mrs. Cheri brought cookies. Will is so sweet that he ate one of his "rainbow sparkle" cookies (sprinkles) and saved the other for Maggie. He really gave it to her when she woke up from her nap too, melt my heart. :) We brought Mrs. Cheri a gift since it's the last day and this is also teacher appreciation week but she also sent Will home with a gift and he loves it! As soon as he got in the car he was talking about the green basket and how you can put toys in it and bring it to the beach or to the pool- the basket came with a cute, embroidered towel. I love seeing and hearing him so excited, one of my favorite things.

After school I let Will decide what special treat he wanted to celebrate/mark his last day of school and he chose a shake from Chick-Fil-A. He took a few drinks of the shake and was ready for the play room where he met a really cool friend named Ben. How do I know he was so cool? Because he was wearing a Transformers shirt and liked Will's Hulk shirt. They exchanged these compliments before even introducing themselves, ha! Daniel is working from home this week because he has poison ivy so Maggie was home napping...just me and little man out for a treat. I so rarely get these moments, so I just soaked it up.

Waistline Wednesday

Poor baby #3. I'm 21 weeks and this is the first official belly shot I've taken. I had at least 5 of the other two by now. Oh well. If it makes a difference baby 3, I understand how you feel. I am the youngest of 4 children and while my sister has a whole photo album of her growing up years, I have like a page in an album. Just remember, it doesn't mean we love you any less (just as I don't think my parents loved me less), but only means  we have less time with two kids already demanding our attention.
So here's my new weekly post...or should I say only...it has been awhile since I've written a Thankful Thursday. Maybe tomorrow I'll write about being thankful for my expanding waistline. After all, there's really only one time in your life when it's exciting to watch your belly grow- at least for me- and that's now, while God is knitting a very special little boy in my womb.

Cutiepie Creations

I've been working on it for about a week now, so I think it's time to announce my new blog, Cutiepie Creations! I've gone back and forth about this for some months now and last fall was in the process of creating a website and working up a Facebook page to post my crafty work and possibly sell a few things (hey, we're a one income family, every little bit helps, right?) This didn't feel like quite as big of a step to me as Etsy (which I've thought about doing for even longer), but in the end I felt unprepared. So why now? I'm not entirely sure, I just felt an urging and I usually take that as God giving me peace about something. And let's be honest, it's not like life is going to get simpler any time soon so there's no time like the present right? I'm taking a leap of faith, putting myself out there, and hoping it pays off. Feel free to check out Cutiepie Creations and share with your friends!

Maggie is 20 months!

Well, baby girl turns 20 months old today. I feel like I won't be able to call her baby girl much longer...she's growing into a big girl every day and in just 4 months she won't even be my baby anymore. Wow! Anyway, here's what Moosie has been up to lately:

playing with her musical push toy

don't you love her 80's style shorts? They really are from the 80's- 

they belonged to me when I was little :)

 playin in the sink

 wrestling with brother

 and hanging outside

And, of course, we still have plenty of therapy each month. Sometimes it falls really heavy- like last week we had therapy everyday but Friday! Whew, it was busy, but good for Maggie. The more we work with her the better chance she has to develop into the independent person she wants to be. Marliese, our EI PT, does not pretend to predict the future but is very optimistic about what Maggie will accomplish. We are too, God is good!

More conversations with Will

Recently I thought to myself, "has Will not said much funny stuff lately or am I forgetting to write it down?" I think the answer is the later because I paid attention the last couple weeks and managed to catch a few things.

4/20
Mom, this isn't about you. This is about me...and you and everyone!
- I should've written down what this conversation was about -

4/24
D: Trees are made of wood
W: So, are we gonna cut a tree down?
- not sure what this conversation was about either, ha!-

5/4
I was in the water, a shark was trying to eat me! H was on the grass and trying to eat my foot. But he had holes in him and came out of the holes! Is that a silly dream?

I can't wait that long to see Kyle! I haven't seen him in a long time.
-aww. Little man loves his family-

I also want to write down a few names he gives restaurants, not sure if I have before, but I want to remember these cute little names he comes up with:
Pancake Place = Cracker Barrel
Bird Place = Red Robin
Star Place = Hardees (This story is so cute: I grabbed breakfast here one morning awhile back and after that he would come up to me and say, "can we go to that place with the star we went to that one time?" Ah, so cute. Just love that little man)
He also calls honeysuckle honeys....I think that's my favorite :)