Catching Up....

Last February, one of my best friends since high school became a first time mommy! Michelle and Brian welcomed Mariella Grace on February 13, 2009. The day they brought her home from the hospital, I flew to NJ for 4 days to be with my best buddy and her new family! It was such an honor and a privilege to be there with Mariella at the very beginning of her life, and to watch Brian and Michelle step into parenthood! I got to watch them give Ella her first bath and go to the first pediatrician appointment, too. And, of course, I missed my little family while I was away, but I got to talk to them on the webcam everyday!

In March, the new family came to Ohio for a visit, and Jack and Emma got to meet Ella for the first time! They thought she was so cool! Rachel, Michelle and I also went out for our annual Christmas dinner (yes, in March), which has been a tradition since we were sixteen years old!My mother-in-law, Linda also celebrated her birthday in March, and Joel painted the most beautiful watercolor for her! He took a picture of the two of them that was taken on the day he graduated from the police academy in 2001 as his inspiration and created the most beautiful painting ever! I was so impressed and I really wanted to keep it to hang in my house! This photo of the painting doesn't even do it justice! My hubby is so talented!More catching up posts to follow......I have way too much to say to include it all in one post!

Hi, my name is Lauren, and I have been a very bad blogger.

So, it has been 8 long months since I last updated my blog......such a bad girl am I! My friend, Mary has just started a blog, and I am now remembering how fun it is to blog about the little ones! So, thank you for re-inspiring me, Mary! To bring my blog up to date is going to be a huge project! But, I must start somewhere.......hope you like my new template.......that is, if anyone even looks at my blog anymore! More posts to come!

Lovin' the Fresh Air!

Just had to post this cute pic of my babies. It was so wonderful to open the windows and smell the fresh air today! Jack and Emma obviously liked it, too! Emma was standing there and Jack walked over and threw his arm around her shoulders as if to say, "Isn't it grand, sis?" Of course, I immediately went for the camera! Here's hoping spring is here to stay!

Daddy's Girl.

When I married Joel, I loved him so much and knew he would be a great dad one day. My mom told me once that you have a whole new love for your husband once you see him as a daddy to your children...and she was so right! I just had to share these pictures of Joel and Emma because they are just so sweet. I look at the two of them often and think about the day Joel will walk her down the aisle, and then dance with her at her wedding reception. It is far off, I know, but that is a special memory I have with my dad so I look forward to Joel and Emma sharing that, too!

One Thing I Forgot to Mention...

This is exactly why I need to write more frequently! Thanks for the reminder, Rachel! And for everyone who wasn't there...a couple days after I hurt my back and couldn't even function in my motherly role, Rachel came over to play! She had brought Jack's birthday present over, which he is still obsessed with. It is a police helmet with a handset that has flashing lights and makes lots of noise!

It came with a police badge and a speed limit sign and 2 tickets for "breaking the law". It is the perfect Jack gift since he worships his daddy, the policeman! After playing for awhile, and me whining that my back hurt the whole time, Rachel offered to stay to put the kids to bed for me! So when bedtime rolled around, Rachel took the kids to wash their hands and brush their teeth and I just got to watch, which was great! The funny thing is, Jack will NOT ever let me brush his teeth. He thinks sucking the toothpaste off the toothbrush and then drinking water from a dixie cup and spitting it all over the counter is adequate oral hygiene. I have to pin his arms down at his sides to be able to barely get the toothbrush over his little teeth! But when his buddy Rachel comes along...he is the perfect angel who gives her the toothbrush and lets her brush his teeth! I think Rachel may have had a magic wand in her pocket.

Emma is obsessed with her toothbrush, too. She uses it more as a teether, though. She keeps a death grip on it and sucks on it until you pry her little fingers off of it and take it away. Once you take it away, she screams as if you have taken her whole arm with it....but not with Rachel! Emma actually handed her toothbrush over to Rachel! I have to fight that toothbrush battle every night at bedtime when Joel is at work!

So then Rachel got the kids in their jammies. We said prayers in Emma's room and put her to bed and then went into Jack's room to do the bedtime song medley (Happy and You Know It, You Are My Sunshine and then the ABC's). I think Joel and I are pretty cool when we do the medley together, but Rachel and I were incredible! Jack actually sat on the edge of his bed and danced and clapped while we were singing! Of course, Rachel and I jazzed it up with some of our own cool dance moves, so I can't really blame him. Jack thought Rachel was so cool, in fact, that after we said good night he came right back out of his room! I think he thought we were going to have big fun without him and he didn't want to miss out.

It was a very fun night for Rachel and I, and especially for Jack and Emma! Jack talked about Rachel the whole next day...and a couple days ago there was another friend of ours over here named Jen, and Jack kept calling her Rachel! Doesn't that say it all? :)

What We Have Been Up To...

First of all, I could kick my own ass for not writing on a more regular basis! Something cute, funny and memorable happens everyday and I worry if I don't write it all down that I will start to forget some of it! I will be a better blogger in 2009. In fact, I was at the bookstore the other day and I bought something there to also help preserve my memories of motherhood. It is called a promise journal and it has little quotes and sayings and scripture about mothers and children, and it is in a journal format so I can write in it for Jack and Emma. So whenever they do something cute or funny that I want to remember I will write it down in my new journal. My other 2009 goals are to cook more often...I have a great kitchen...I should probably use it. I think I may quit wearing bras altogether, too. They are uncomfortable and I really don't have anything to put in them...I am going to own and be proud of my 12 year-old boyish figure in the new year!

But back to the present...since I last wrote a lot has happened! Jack turned 3 and he has since pooped on the potty a whopping one time! He has very little interest in the potty. He asked me the other day, "Can Jack poop in his pants?" Yes, he talks in the third person, and he really said that. I said that I would not be mad if he pooped in his pants but that it would make me really happy if he would poop on the potty. My happiness obviously means very little to him. He proceeded to poop his pants and then politely asked me to change his diaper. At least he said please. So, anyone who is wondering about Jack's potty training...it is still a work in progress. Emma however, makes such a production about pooping her pants that we have enough time to put her on the potty and she is happy to deposit her treasures there.

She is 15 months old and she poops in the potty more than her 3 year-old brother! She is 15 months old and also refuses to walk on her feet, though. She is a knee-walker. I have never seen a kid do this before, and it really is funny to watch. I really think she walks on her knees so that the fall to the ground is shorter when Jack knocks her over. She is a very sturdy knee-walker, and she can walk on her feet all by herself, she just prefers not to! What's funny is that Joel and I will refer to her as "knee-walker" instead of "Emma" and Jack has picked up on it. Occasionally you will here him call her knee-walker like that's her name. It is hilarious.

We had Jack's 3rd birthday party earlier this month, too. It was a Thomas the Train party. It was not near as chaotic and crazy as Emma's party! There were a lot less people here for Jack's party. Partly because everyone was coming down with the flu, and also because the snow that day made it hard for people to get here! We had a great time, though, and more importantly, so did Jack!

Jeff, Janey, Gabe and Katie couldn't make it the day of the party, so they came up the next day and we had a great time all together! I was so happy that I finally got a picture of all 4 kids together! Jack and Gabe are both 3, born a week apart exactly, and Katie is 6 months older than Emma. I am going to treasure this picture and that memory forever!

About a week after the party, I hurt my back! Not an injury that is conducive to mothering and housekeeping! And I am so embarrassed to say that I did not hurt my back working out or doing something fun...no, I was simply bending over to plug in the Christmas tree! Isn't that pathetic? And it got to the point that I had to go to the doctor and get medicine in order to function because it hurt so bad! I will admit that I am the worst and whiniest patient ever. Nurses are not good patients. As soon as my back started feeling better, both kids and I all got sick. There was so much snot in this house! Thank goodness that is all in the past! Everyone here is feeling good now.

We took the kids to the zoo to see the Christmas lights earlier this month, too. It was so cold that I could not feel my face! Emma was so bundled up that her arms were stuck out to the sides and her hat kept falling over her eyes. She was probably wondering why we had her wrapped up like that since she couldn't even see anything! Jack had a good time, though, and so did Joel and I. We went to see the zoo lights on our first date 6 years ago. I remember it was so cold that night, too, but I didn't complain because it was our first date and I didn't want Joel to think I was a whiner! Of course, I have no problem complaining now since he married me. After 2 hours of almost freezing to death, we called it a night. The lights were very cool and pretty, but thinking back on it, I don't remember seeing a single animal!

I had a memorable experience at work this month, too. Have you ever felt like you were in exactly the right place at exactly the right time exactly as God had intended you to be? It was that kind of experience.

I got my assignment when I got to work at 7 and learned that one of my patients had been made a hospice patient that day, but since there were no beds available on the hospice floor, he was going to stay where he was on my floor. I had no problem with this as I feel that a nurse is a nurse is a nurse and I will care for any type of patient. I'm happy to take care of anyone who needs a nurse. I read in the patient's chart that he was expected to live 2-3 more days. I went to see him first after getting report, and although he didn't make any sense when he was talking, I know he understood that I was there to take care of him. I gave him medicine for pain and to relax him some, got him comfy and went to see my other patients while he rested. I peeked in at him every 20 minutes or so to make sure he still looked comfortable.

Around midnight, he was stirring a little so I went in and washed his face and brushed his teeth. I put a little pink pillow that one of the volunteers had made behind his neck. I combed his hair and even put some Blistex on his lips. He looked so peaceful and comfortable when I was done that I just had to stop in his doorway on my out to look back at him again and it made me smile. About 20 minutes later, I went in to the room next to his to check on my two patients in there and one of them asked for a sleeping pill. So I went out to get it, and as I walked by, I glanced into my buddy's room like I had been doing all night, and I noticed that his breathing pattern had changed.

So I went in and put my hand on his chest to see if he was breathing, and sure enough his chest rose and fell under my hand. And that was the last time. His last breath. Right under my hand. I left my hand there for a bit to see if there was anything more and then put my stethoscope on his chest to listen for heart tones, even though I knew he was gone.

I stayed with him for a few minutes before I went out to the station to ask another nurse to get that sleeping pill for my other patient. And then I went back in to see my buddy again. It was really special to know that in the 86 years he was here, I was the very last person he saw, heard, and felt.

I like to think that he was so comfortable in my care that he felt like it was okay to let go. The only thing about the experience that really bothers me is that his wife will remember getting that phone call from me that night for the rest of her life. I told her everything I just told you, though, so I hope that she found comfort in knowing I was right there with him. It was actually a very spiritual experience being there with this man as he took his last breath...it kind-of felt like while I was holding one hand, God was holding the other.

My job isn't always like that, of course. Sometimes it is frustrating, and sometimes it is fun...it is never boring...and sometimes, like that time, it is a true honor.

I promise to write all about our Christmas fun very soon. Right now, though, I must call it quits for the night! Christmas has turned my house into a disaster area, so I must go to bed so that I have energy for disaster recovery tomorrow. In these three days since Christmas, I have had to look at the poem I keep on my fridge quite frequently in order to keep my cool amidst this mess! And so, I will leave you with that...

Thank you, dear Lord,
for things to do;
Tasks to complete,
that are never quite through.
Thank you for the laundry,
that piles up so fast;
For the tub I just cleaned,
though I know it won’t last.
Thanks for the toys,
That litter my floor;
For the mud-caked shoes,
that sit by the door.
Thank you for the fingerprints,
On once-clean glass;
Thanks for my carpet,
Now covered with grass.
Thanks for the kitchen,
That never stays clean;
For the skillets to scrub,
That lay in my sink.
These things in my life,
Just prove that I’m blessed;
God gave me a family,
I can live with the mess.
By Sheila Hammock Gosney

It Was 3 Years Ago Today...

...we met Jack Steven Vogel for the first time! It is almost impossible to believe that there was a time when I didn't even know Jack...a time when he didn't even exist! How amazing it truly is to fall in love with a perfect partner and then go on to create actual people that love you, too! I know, I sound so cheesy, but I am so emotional today. It is my anniversary of becoming a mother, after all, and that is what I wanted to be for as long as I can remember! I didn't decide until I was 20 that I wanted to be a nurse, but I think I knew I wanted to be a mom by the time I was 6.

We had such a wonderful day celebrating Jack today! Emma spent the day with Grammy so that Jack could have Joel and I all to himself! He asked a couple of times where Emma was, but I really think he was just checking to make sure she wouldn't be imposing on his day anytime soon. We went to lunch at Cane's, which was sooooo good.

Then we went over to the party store to get the supplies for Saturday, and we let Jack pick out a balloon. He picked Scooby-Doo. Joel clipped the balloon to Jack's coat and he looked so cute walking out to the car with that balloon blowing in his face! We had plans to go to the movies at 1:00, and it was only 12:15 at this point, so we went into the pet store and looked at fish and birds and bugs and lizards and turtles. Jack thought this was so cool. He asked if we could go there again tomorrow! Finally, it was time to go to the theater. We bought our tickets and then let Jack pick out whatever candy he wanted...BIG decision for a 3 year-old! He decided on Gummy Bears. Before we went into the theater, though, the three of us stuffed ourselves into the photo booth there and got the funniest pictures! Jack was hilarious...he was looking at us like "why the hell are we sitting on top of each other?" And then our faces showed up on the screen inside the booth so we could see if we were sitting in the right place and Jack looked so surprised and excited to see us there! The machine counts down from 5 before it takes each picture so Joel and I were posing for 5 seconds each time and Jack was just laughing! The pictures turned out so cute...I am going to keep them forever. The movie was very cute. We saw "Bolt" and I would so recommend it! It was very funny and a very good friendship story.

After the movie, we finally came home and Jack took a 3 hour nap! When we left him in his room it was obvious he was so tired, but not ready to stop having fun. Once we came downstairs, we could hear him singing happy birthday to himself. He really likes that song. While he napped, I finished decorating his birthday brownies, and Joel worked out and then started dinner. My parents came with Emma and we all had Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder that Joel made. It was delicious! My birthday brownies were quite good, too! Jack was so funny when we sang to him, he just grinned and grinned. And he blew those candles out so fast that my dad and Joel didn't even see him do it! We gave Jack a (Fisher Price) digital camera for his present and he loooooves it! Hopefully, he loves it enough that he will quit trying to take ours! He has already taken a good amount of pictures, and it came with a USB cable so I can upload them onto the computer!

He also got his first set of real golf clubs from my parents, the golfers. He practiced putting here in the living room and it was so cute watching my dad teach him how!

It was easy to see that Jack had a wonderful birthday today. What makes me happiest is to look at his face and see there that he knows how much he is loved. It is amazing that you can know someone for a time as short as three years and yet love them more than anything else you have ever known.

Once things had quieted down, I sat in the recliner and rocked my tired little Emma, and then Jack crawled up on my lap, too. Having the two of them still in my lap lasted only for a moment, but it was a wonderful moment and I soaked up every bit of it.

Jack and Emma are sleeping now, and I am excited to go to sleep, too! This was one of those days, though, that I had to write about so I would not forget how wonderful it was!