Potty Star

I think she has it! Nalani's been going potty now for 4 days. She has only had 2 accidents. Now don't get me wrong....we have a long way to go. She is still wearing a pull-up to bed and it weighs about 12-15 pounds in the morning, but during the day she is good to go. I'm so happy. Cousin Macy played a big part in this!! Thanks Macy!:) Notice Lani's shirt...hence the title of my post. No word yet on the Allsteel job. Hoping to hear word tomorrow. I'm trusting things will happen the way they are supposed to. 

You May Notice a Change!

Yes, I have changed the name of my blog. In one of my deep moments of thought, I realized that I may not want the whole world to know what city I live in. So it is now random thoughts from a crazy woman...which is obviously more appropriate anyway!:)
MY INTERVIEW! It went pretty well. After over a month of anticipation I am just glad it's over. Whew! I just prayed that the answers would come easily. It went pretty smooth. I should know later this week if I got it or not. I'm really not stressed at this point.

Another Weekend Gone....

It just goes too fast. Cousins, sisters, nieces and nephews...it just feels good to be with family. Dora, potty training, panties, poopy everywhere, crackers and cheese, play-doh, going potty, chocolate chip pancakes, Monsters Inc., Shrek, coffee and baileys, mexican food, going potty, monster cookies, wild hair, Clifford, hiding cars, stickers, going potty some more, eating, musical instruments, laughing, telling stories of boogers and dry noses, and going POTTY! These are just a few memories from just 23 hours of being together and I know I'm already forgetting some and it's only been 2 hours since the house emptied by two. You just want to remember and hold on to these precious moments. It's passing so quickly! Seems like just yesterday Lisa and I were battling mastitis and talking about nursing and pumping and getting up in the night. Now we are discussing potty training, counting and color identification! I'm trying to remember and absorb as much as I possibly can during these years. I am tyring to hold on and let go at the same time. Not always easy. "He will fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy." - Job 8:21 

Tis the Season

Never fails....every winter is tough on these kids. Brigg had a 102 fever today and we ended up at urgent care. He has a bad sore throat and they prescribed an antibiotic. Hopefully he is better by tomorrow evening. She seemed to think he'd be better in 24 hours with the antibiotic. Paul had plans to take him to the IMAX theater tomorrow to a jet fighter show. Maybe it'll still be possible later in the day. We'll see.
I came across a poem in one of my books last night and loved it. Just thought I'd share. The author is Lee Fisher and it's entitled "A Little Fellow Follows Me". I can just envision Paul and Brigg as I read it...

A careful man I want to be.
A little fellow follows me;
I do not dare to go astray,
For fear he'll go the self-same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes,
Whate'er he sees me do, he tries;
Like me he says he's going to be,
The little chap who follows me.

He thinks that I'm good and fine,
Believes in every word of mine;
The base in me he must not see,
The little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go,
Through summer's sun and winter's snow;
I am building for the years to be
That little chap who follows me.

The most important profession in the world is parenting.

Musically Challenged?

I have always said the one talent I wish I had was to be a musical genius! HA! Unfortunately God did not grant me that talent. I am hoping and praying that it pops up in one of my children! As you can see from this photo, I am afraid it has skipped Brigg's genes as well. Dang it! 

TICKLE TIME

A picture is worth a thousand words....this says it all. The kids enjoyed some much-needed tickle time tonight. Funny how just a couple hours can create such great memories. Two hours of no TV and some instruments and a little Go Fish Superstar music and you have the recipe for a good time. My my how things have changed over the past 4 years. I never thought the previous words would come out of my mouth. I love these little people so much it hurts!!! 

Bode Visits!

Chris, Brenda and Bode are heading to Florida early tomorrow and stopped by tonight for a bit. We had a little photo shoot and Brigg was responsible for this photo. He's actually very good for a 4 year old! It was so fun seeing the kids interact. Bode is getting so old so fast! Lani can't keep her hands off him and Bode loves to grab at her face. These moments are so precious and sweet. Feeling blessed to be a part of this crazy family ....

A Realization

Someone recently told me I think too much. So guess what...I starting thinking about that. And I have recently realized something that I am sure everyone who knows me realized a long time ago. I do everything in excess. I think too much, I definitely eat too much, I talk way too much, I ask too many questions, I read too much and research too much, and I'm on the computer TOO MUCH!! I simply take on too much. Good or bad, doesn't matter. It's just the way I am. I have been wrestling with this decision about going back to work full time for months now. And needless to say, I am still confused and doubting. I have been reading a book titled "Sacred Parenting". And appropriately enough, the chapter I was reading today was "The Gold Behind the Guilt". HA! I have this incredible guilt about going back to work full time. I don't think I'd have it if I would have gone back right after Brigg was born and then taken off 6-12 weeks when Nalani was born, but MAN do I have it now. I am beginning to come to grips with it I think. It sounds as though everyone has guilt about their choices as a parent. Do we stay home or work? Part time or full time? Do we breastfeed or formula feed? Do we co-sleep or separate beds? You know what...it doesn't matter as long as we love our children and do our best to point them on the right path. I have decided just tonight that I am giving myself WAY too much credit if I think staying home with my kids at this point is going to be LIFE ALTERING for them. I really thought this quote from the book hit home for me...
"We are not raising robots; we are shepherding image bearers of the Creator God who live with freedom of choice, their own wills, and a personal responsibility of their own. It seems to me that we tend to take too much credit for kids who turn out good, and too much blame for kids who turn out bad. You want to hear a severe truth? None of us can be such good parents that God becomes obligated to save our children's souls. On the more encouraging end, none of us can mess up so badly that our children somehow extend beyond the reach of God's mercy."
So a week from tomorrow I am going to interview for a full time, permanant job and I am no longer going to feel guilty about it! Thank goodness for blogging...a place to ramble on and on about things that I'm sure others read and wonder "Whoa, Cassie is a fruitcake!" Have a good night...

Nalani's Cut

Trust me, this is the cutest it will ever look. It hasn't looked like this since that exact moment I took the photo. It currently looks like a rats nest since waking up from her nap. She is showing signs of girl. She looked in the mirror and with a shy-acting smile said, "Mommy, Nani pwitty." Yes Lani, you are adorable! She is going to cause me some serious heartache! 

Haircuts!

Jennie and Sean were here this weekend, so she set up shop and we all got cuts! Brigg loves his short hair and lani was such a poser during her session. It looks like she actually has a style. I haven't figured out how to post more than one picture at a time, so I'll have to post one of her next. Brigg is such a crack up. He was watching Spiderman this afternoon while Nalani was napping and he came up to me and interrupted my reading to tell me, "Mom, Power Rangers SPD is on at 8, 7 central tonight!" Ok, time to turn off the TV! 

Hot Rod and Custom Show!

Brigg and Paul just got back from the Hot Rod and Customs Show. They were both all smiles. Paul of course loved the camaros and brigg fell in love with the Superman motorcycle. Brigg took all photos from the show other than this one of him. He did pretty a fine job, too. Lani and I were able to spend some quality time together. She let me read her elmo book to her about 20 times and then we moved on to her "Body Book" and read that about 30 times. Too funny. I love my time with her but these two books are beginning to get on my nerves. I better go so I can go pull them out of her bed while she's napping and hide them for a while!

Another Day

What a week! I am feeling a sense of relief at the thought of FRIDAY! Paul is at a hockey game and the kids have been in bed for a while now so I have been alone with my thoughts and feeling like I am finally unwinding from the week. I am so discouraged by the way the week has gone. I have felt completely consumed by work issues. I don't know why I let myself get wrapped up in it. These are not the important things in life. When I am alone with my thoughts I realize this and feel so disappointed in myself! I am starting fresh...shifting my focus right now! Hoping and praying that I can stick by this come Monday.
Counting my blessings tonight....

The Infection

Well, we thought Lani had a diaper rash. When it didn't go away for over TWO MONTHS, we decided maybe not. I took her to the Dr. last week and he gave us a cream to treat a yeast infection. One week passes and the infection is still there. So we found ourselves again at the Doctor's office yesterday. Now he is saying he thinks it is a staff infection?!?! What the heck is that? She is now on an antibiotic...which can sometimes cause yeast, so she is STILL on the thousand creams to prevent the yeast. And this antibiotic causes diarrhea which could make a diaper rash flare up. It's a vicious circle. So on top of her snotty nose and hacking cough, she has some unexplainable infection. At least it is not slowing her down a bit! We even had time to play outside today when I got off work for an hour or so. The kids were in heaven! We have snow to look forward to tomorrow....FUN! Brigg truly says he can't wait. Think healthy thoughts....

An Unconditional Love

Lani was up in the night. She was just coughing and coughing and coughing.
At first I thought it was just a little spell, so I let it go. She kept hacking away for like 5 full minutes. So I rounded up some cough syrup and headed down to her room. Of course, she gulped the medicine right down and wanted to be held. I brought her up to our room to the recliner to hold her in the upright position until the meds kicked in. I felt so helpless. She was coughing so hard that I thought she might puke on several occasions. At one point she looked at me straight in the eye and put one hand on each side of my face and coughed really hard directly in my face. I think I could literally FEEL the germs enter my body and pollute my lungs and spread throughout my blood stream! I didn't even flinch. I love this little girl and I cannot even for a second be concerned about my own health when she is struggling so bad with hers. I have to think this is a brief glimpse of how Jesus feels about us. The love I feel is just a fraction of the strength of the love He feels for us. It is actually quite amazing to think about that at 2 am in a dark room with a sick child. A pretty good metaphor, I believe. I am thankful for this brief glimpse and reminder from Him. I am thankful for this unconditional love for MY babies. I pray that reminders like this keep presenting themselves to me and I not too busy to notice.

SPD Emergency....

My children are obsessed with Power Rangers. Paul will act like he is attacking me and they will run over and start beating him. So cute, yet so disturbing! I had to post this photo because when I took it I was not paying attention and it was kind of off center. When I downloaded it I noticed the 2 power rangers on the bed. Hilarious! 2 power ranger figurines...red and pink. And 2 life size rangers...red and pink. Last night Brigg looked and Lani and said, "I love you Lani!" Lani replied with, "I lub you, too, Bwigg!" Of course tears filled my eyes and I about fell over from the joy I felt. Maybe this Power Ranger teamwork is beneficial after all! Have a great week!! 

Eagle Watch

I am back!! Thank goodness it's Saturday! We went to an Eagle Watch this morning. It was a beautiful day for it weather-wise, but the amount of eagles were down because the river isn't frozen. We probably saw 7 or so. As you can see, I spent most of my morning children-watching rather than eagle-watching. My heart just fills so full it HURTS when I look at the world through their eyes! Every little thing is so fascinating to them. Lani's favorite part of the day was drinking the hot chocolate during the bird program. Of course she found the turkey vulture the most amazing. It is my belief that she made the correlation between the turkey vulture and her father. The number of things they have in common is incredible! The turkey vulture has no feathers on his head, has huge nostrils and will eat ANYTHING. Sound like anyone you know? I am certain Nalani saw the resemblence. =) I live for moments like these. You can almost see their little brains growing. Brigg loved the bald eagle and I was most impressed with the barn owl...which is endangered. The lack of gas yesterday has escaped my mind and been replaces with memories of eagles, turkey vultures and hot chocolate. Have a great weekend!

Out of Gas

Imagine for a moment....
driving dad's FULL SIZE van on a very narrow street. Remember, we are talking about like a 20 year old van. Ok, it's cold, starting to sleet/snow. It's about 7:20 am the kids need to get to daycare 20 minutes ago. Suddenly, the van DIES. You pull over on the side of the road. You start the van up again and take off. You come to a hill....going down. You think "ok, I can coast down this hill and hopefully make it to the next gas station." No such luck. About half way down the van dies again. You make it to the bottom and try to start it up again. Not going to happen. Cars are backing up behind you....kids are saying "MOM! Are we gonna make it?" People are honking and trying to get to work. Cops pull up beside you..."What's the problem?" they ask. You get the picture. One cop is directing traffic around your 10 ton van with fear-filled little voices yelling inside while another one is getting gas to get you to a station. That was how my day started today. Trust me, I think I would have been better off to stay there though and skip work. I'm going to go to bed. Maybe tomorrow I can pull off some sort of positive, humorous spin on this. But for tonight....I'm tired.

Be Still and Know that I am God...Psalm 46:10

Birth defects, a neighbor battling cancer, a friend who's child needs a new heart...some days it seems as though heartache is everywhere I turn. It is so easy to get caught up in it and forget about the goal. I've been wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of a changing life. Thankfully, yesterday I was pulled back down to the ground and for a moment and just needed to Be Still. My neighbor just "stopped by because I missed you". Where have I been? Everywhere except where I should be. Thanks Lyn. I missed you, too.

The torch has been passed....

Well, Lani has passed the sick torch on to Brigg. UGH! Lani had pink eye, fever, cold and a yeast infection. She was at the Dr. yesterday and seems to be much better today. I got a call at work from daycare and, you guessed it, Brigg has a fever. Not fun. 

Everything Happens for a Reason

One month ago we were certain we would find ourselves in a van down by the river...hey, at least we'd have a view!! Here we are, just one month later and we are still here in our cozy little house. Now, if only we can stay caught up on those gas bills!