jungle-gym mom

love and ramblings from the sibs

2011-03-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

Charlie is smitten. He is constantly in her face. Constantly wanting to touch her.
His favorite game with her: cheekie to cheekie, ear to ear, head to head..you get the picture.

He must tell her he loves her 20 times a day. It is super sweet! And just as many kisses to her head!

Johanna's ramblings: " I love her so much because she is warm and cuddly"
"She is the cutest baby in the whole world"

"I GUESS I will share her with daddy"

"I love her hair cause it is fluffy..especially after it gets washed"

Welcome little one to the world of being a little sister.

my 5 days in the hospital

2011-03-06T17:17:00.001-08:00

February 28th...on my way to the surgery suite

prepping to take Vivianna out with Charles by my side. My co-worker and friend also there to take pictures.
I was nervous but had a calm and peace I didn't have with my other 2 c-sect.

Sarah another co-worker took care of her when she came out.
Vivianna came out screaming loudly!!

Charles' new tattoo!!

Charles cutting the cord.

A whopping 8lbs 10 oz.
She was so chunky she couldn't even open her eyes.

Getting checked out, and was told she was healthy, yaaaaa!

She cried for about an hour straight after being born, then after feeding her she finally fell asleep.
But it was short lived.

Our 2nd day in hospital.
Waiting for brother and sister, grandpa and grandma.

Johanna fell in love and wanted to be the only one to hold her.

proof that I am a mother of 3!!!!!!!!
This picture was hard to capture because Charlie just wanted to push the buttons on the bed making my head go up and down.

Charlie's turn but Johanna didn't go far. Charlie said "hi Vivianna" then paused and said "She didn't say hi to me"

Soon after this Charles didn't feel good and went home sick.
Post-op day 2 I was by myself.
My mom took care of the kids while Charles slept at home.
My mom came at 9pm to help me out.

Day3: Alone again with the girl. After being told by the pediatrician and OB Doc that I could go home but I shouldn't because Charles was sick I settled in for another night.

Day 4: I have no pictures of this day. It was a stressful day!
Vivianna kept me up all night the night before, I was alone and in pain.
In the morning I was told the nurse heard an arrhythmia and they wanted to do an EKG before they let her go. They did the EKG test at 10am.
I prepared for the best. I was packed and all my stuff loaded in my mom's car.
We waited till 530pm before the cardiologist read it.
He said there was no arrhythmias but it the pattern of her heart beat indicated that her ventricle in her heart was enlarged. They wanted to do a heart ultrasound to check it out.
More waiting and more tears. I was tired, sad, missing my husband, and hormonal. I was a mess. All I could do was hang on to God's grace and providence.
I kept thinking of the scripture "Be still and know that I am God"
They did the ultrasound at 730pm and the cardiologist read the report from home (as a favor that I really really appreciate!!) and text-ed the pediatrician stating that the ultrasound was OK and I could go home.
Soo relieved and thankful to our good Lord for this wonderful wonderful news!!
They told me at 930pm I could go home but I was so tired all I could think about was sleep sooo another night in the hospital. We both slept well that night and in the morning....

Day 5: we were dressed and ready to go home by 9am.
Just had to wait for my dad to come give us a ride.

Yay on my way out of the hospital!!!!!!!!!

At home, finally! It is good to be home with my husband and kids!!
I am so thankful to be home! Time for Charles to bond with his new baby.....

Although hard to be away from home or so long I realized what a sweet time I had bonding with Vivianna.
We had a lot of alone time. Time for me to hold her, feed her, sleep with her, stare at her, falling deeply in love with her!

Welcome my beautiful baby Vivianna. Thank you Lord for this wonderful gift.

4 More Days!

2011-02-24T22:53:00.000-08:00

So most people, when about to give birth do some nesting. I am assuming that this means that they are getting ready for the baby. Well I did do some of that but mostly I have been obbsesed with working on some projects. I took 2 photography classes, read about DSLR's for dummies, talked with some photographers for some tips. I want to learn how to take GOOD pictures..no beautiful breath taking pictures.

Well, I figure out that it is a gift and I don't really have it. I can come out with some nice pictures (you know after taking a few hundred) but I am sadly understanding it isn't my natural talent like so many people have.
But that is okay.....

I moved on to making headbands.....I collected flowers, material, headbands, glue, felt and started at it. (I know it really sounds like my hormones have gone crazy) I will post some mediocre pictures of them later. As my model, my daughter, has been sick with a cold, who then passed it on to my son who then passed it on to my husband.
I hope and pray I don't get it since I have 4 more days till my c-sect. Yay! I really do want a healthy family when she comes into our lives!
When Charles told me yesterday he felt like he had "it" (the cold) I had a bit of an anxiety attack. But God reminded me of this scripture:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Phillipians 4:6

Charlie's 3rd Birthday

2011-02-14T16:21:00.000-08:00

He is obssesed with tractors!!
A perfect theme for a party for a little boy! My mom made the cake!!
All John deere colors...., outside was beautiful!!!!!!!!!

Gift bags for the kids.

Tactile Learning

2011-02-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

We took the playdoo out for some educational tactile learning......
Charlie was to do shapes, notice the attention he was giving the shapes ..hmmm

Johanna was to make numbers and put them in order, she did well!

Charlie most definitely was more interested in his playdoo blob toy. Boys!!

No more!

2011-01-21T15:30:00.001-08:00

So I had my last ultrasound. Baby looks healthy maybe a little too healthy! The doctor laughed at her chunky fingers and was "wowed" by her measurements (I wasn't laughing). So are you ready....she is in the 94th percentile for her gestational age. (meaning only 6% of babies at her age weighs more than her!!) She is already 6 lbs 2 0z. and I have 5 weeks to go! I knew there was a reason I was soo ready to deliver. What she will weigh when she is born, well only time will tell. But I can tell you that she feels big!
My mom made the baby and Johanna matching hats. So sweet!

Just when I need more naps and rest time, Charlie decides he doesn't need naps anymore. Sometime kids have perfect timing (being sarcastic) So for my sanity we are trying "quiet time" and well it works for a little while. We have a nap blanket and the kids are allowed to bring their pillows and their animals they sleep with.

They can read, and whisper to each other and just rest. My dream was that they would fall asleep but ummm not even close. Well sometimes it is the parent who has a hard time letting go of those baby type behaviors and not the kids. Hmmm I am in mourning.

I'm Due February!

2011-01-20T12:43:00.000-08:00

My shirt reads "I'm due February" A friend made this for me. I was tired of the comments, "you must be due any day now" Wow, you are so big, when are you due?" Now there is no question about it, I have one more month. Yikes....I can't imagine getting bigger than this!!
photo courtesy of Johanna Pope

Thank you for the sun!

2011-01-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

Loving the sunshine and the warmth! Today is the perfect weather!! Loving it!

Love seeing my children with smiles on their faces. We have been cooped up way too long.

p.s. I am ready for this baby of mine to come out.

The Count down has just began

2011-01-06T22:23:00.000-08:00

We had a very quiet and simple New Years Eve. My sister came over and her daughter and my kids had an early countdown. They had poppers that shot out confetti and then they just wanted to get back to playing with the toys! Nice, simple and we all went to bed early.

Which is good for me since this pregnancy thing is really hard on me. Who would of thought a few years would add so much more difficulty to carrying a baby. My back hurts so bad that it often brings me to tears. Heartburn, crankiness, well I could go on but I won't. Who wants to hear all the complaints of ones life. All I can say is the only way I can get through this is through the grace of God. So my new years resolution isn't a resolution, they are prayers. Because I have come to learn that I can't possibly do things on my own. I pray I can endure the last two months of this pregnancy, I pray for a healthy baby, I pray that I can handle 3 children and love them all like they deserve. I pray that I treat my children with patience and love.......

Like when my daughter asks "please can I do my homework"

or my son asks "mom, play with me!"

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Phil. 4:13

Oh Christmas..... how I love it all.

2010-12-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

I love the age of my children and the wonder of what Christmas brings to them. This parade was actually the very first parade they saw and they loved it!!

At the Christmas tree farm the kids took a ride on Santa's sleigh. They thought that was so cool!

Admiring the Christmas tree after all the hard work they put into it. In the center of our tree we have the nativity scene, so we talked about what the true meaning of Christmas is!

Getting Bigger

2010-12-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

I am 29 weeks along and I have had some challenges. I have been off work since 26 weeks along. I have had contractions with work, so off I go. What this means...a frugal Christmas, which isn't a bad thing. I sometimes think kids get too much and I sure struggle with saying no to my ever so cute kids! I am feeling my age this time around with this pregnancy. I hardly have enough energy to make it through a day. I pray and hope that I can make it to 39 weeks. There are some days I really don't think I can make it and have some anxiety over this thought. Thankfully I have a very helpful husband who does a lot for me!
I had pictures done with this pregnancy. I never did with my other pregnancies but this time I just felt like I had to. I still felt awfully big and not so pretty but this is (well it better be) my last pregnancy. I love my pictures that were taken. www.keriannphotography.com You can also check out her blog for some beautiful photography ideas http://littlekiwisphotography.blogspot.com/

Bandon Oregon Fun!!!

2010-09-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

On our way there and on our way back we stopped by our friends house in Oregon.

They had dogs, a garden, a pond, and lots of running room. The kids didn't want to leave!

At the campground they had a very cool daily junior ranger program for the kids. One day it was a visit from smokey the bear.

Another day they talked about lighthouses and made some.

One day was a bike parade but have no pictures of that.

Play on the beach next to the light house.

We saw a great white shark washed up on the shore. It was a highlight for Charles.

Love this wild animal park zoo!!

Black spotted leopard baby. The coloring was beautiful!

This was Johanna's favorite animal!

The goat being silly.

Baby tiger!

Beautiful clear day on the beach.

On the dock in Bandon.

Charles went crabbing and caught 12 crabs. We cooked 5 of them and ate them all up ..yummmm Johanna loved doing the cracking and she ate some too.

What a feast!

Okay know for the real reason why we go to Bandon.... the chips and fish. The best I have ever ever had!! Right on the dock and you must get there early otherwise there is a line down the street for these delicious treats!!!

We are home!

2010-08-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

We are home from out 7 day trip to Oregon. It was jammed pack with lots of fun and activities. Everyone stayed healthy and the weather was nice and cool. I have been doing laundry all day (7 loads to be exact and I still have 5 more to go). I work 12 hours tomorrow, but as soon as I get some rest I will post more about our trip.

Enjoying our campfire and yummy marshmellows!!

I can finally breathe

2010-08-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

After feeling like I was going to have an anxiety attack when thinking of having 3 children, I can finally breathe normal now. I still don't know how we will do it or where this new child will sleep....but I am getting use to the idea. So in my desperation of trying to get things in order before a baby comes to rock our world, I decided that we needed to potty train Charlie asap. Well, it is going so-so with some frustrations, mostly because I don't think he is ready. Will keep you posted on that. I also decided that the kids can and should share a room. We moved Charlie's toddler bed into Johanna's room to see how they would do. It was a horrible, miserable failure! He (and that means we all) didn't sleep for a week. Charlie would talk, laugh, play around the whole time. We threatened, we bribed, we tried it all to get him to sleep. The day we moved him back to his bed was the day he took all of Johanna's sheets off her bed, took her wall decorations off her wall (where the tacks went ..who knows) and when we went in the room he just smiled like he was proud of what he did. Sooooo really we have gotten nothing in order yet.
I have to slow down and just take life the way it comes at me and enjoy my time with them. I feel like I need everything just right before I add a new one but I am learning quickly that this isn't going to happen. So what do I do......eat!!! That will make me feel better, right???

No seriously, one of my other goals is to not gain 40ish pounds again, this has yet to happen in my gene pool. Will let you know if I am still determined at Christmas time.

A BIG Surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-08-09T18:49:00.001-07:00

Soooo........ it isn't a tumor, it isn't menopause, it is a baby!!! Wow! I am in total and utter shock. In fact it was hard to breathe for a few days after finding out (at 9 1/2 weeks). No wonder I haven't been feeling good!! No wonder I was tired all the time. Here is the baby, it was waving at me and I really think laughing!!

I never ever thought I would have 3 children. I always looked at those who had 3 children in awe.....(how do they do it, it must be crazy at bed time, etc etc).
So what if I just now lost all my pregnancy weight from Charlie,
so what if our extra room is filled now with new furniture and exercise equipment,
so what if I have AMA after my name on my medical records (advanced maternal age),
so what if Charles had a vasectomy right after Charlie was born
so what if we got rid of all our baby stuff
Children ARE a blessing from the Lord! And God must of really wanted this baby to be born into this world.

The bad, the good and the unknown!

2010-08-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

After the 4th of July illness, Charlie came down with another fever and rash. We cancelled our camping reservations and thought we would stay home. Two days into our vacation (we were at home) we decided to do something fun..the railroad museum. On the way there we decided that we would much rather be in Tahoe soooo we turned around on the freeway went home and packed for Tahoe. We forgot lots of things and ended up at Motel 6 but it was well worth it!

For those of you who know Charles this was something out of his norm to do (just pick up and go). Way to go Charles!

These two girls are inseparable!

Charlie wanted to be at the beach everyday and even though his lips were blue and he was shivering he didn't want out of the water! It was good we went.

Now for the unknown: I have been having some "medical" issues lately that have been unexplainable. My doctor wants to talk with me tomorrow at 1130. Madalyn is coming from Monterey to watch the kids so Charles can be there with me, I think I might need a shoulder to lean on. I am nervous and anxious and my prayer is this: that I would have a peace that is beyond my understanding and that I would trust in His plan for my life. Till tomorrow.........

Daddy Day Spa

2010-07-09T18:22:00.001-07:00

Two lucky girls live in this house. Charles painted our toenails today to match. Johanna loved having daddy paint her toenails!!!
p.s. don't you just love pudgy toddler feet!!

Bubble experiment

2010-07-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

Ingredients: 2 cups water, 1/2 cup dish soap, 1 tsp sugar and mix it up and pour it into a kid friendly container:

results: home-made bubbles

try different things to make bubbles: a straw, twist a pipe cleaner, a strawberry basket and of course the traditional bubble wands.

gentle blowing gives you lots of bubbles and giggles too! Of course a nice mess but the laughter was worth it.

It was nice to have my sicky kids laugh again!

Oh what a fourth!!

2010-07-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

Well our big plans didn't quite turn out this fourth.

We went to the fire station first thing in the morning for a pancake breakfast. Kids wouldn't eat anything. They wanted to go down the big blow up slide. Once they were at the top they decided that it was too high and started to cry, so I climb to the top and slide down with them. The result: huge burns on my elbow and heels. It hurt! We left shortly after this happened.

A few hours later Charlie broke out in a high fever and Johanna had runny nose and cough. So we did a lot of this.

And this.....

And this: looking out the window wishing we could join in the fun of our block party. They had food, music, two blow up water slides. This was the hardest thing of the day, watching my kids wishing they could partake in the fun.

It was a bummer of a fourth!

so far my favorite meatless meal

2010-06-29T08:22:00.001-07:00

Pita with goat cheese and portabella and tomatoe

see recipie at www.myrecipies.com

Lazy Summer

2010-06-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

Summer seems to be flying by! With a list full of things that I wanted to get done (fun and not so fun), the summer is going by without a one thing done. Going to Ontario for my grandfathers funeral took so much out of me but I am now recovered. From here on out I plan on getting a grip and doing some of those things on my to do list.

The highlight of my summer is Johanna's tap/ballet class. Claudia gave me Fiona's old tap shoes and I thought I would make good use of them.

Oh and my other accomplishment is going meatless two days a week (despite extreme complaints from my husband!)

My go to

2010-06-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

When I am feeling down or blue or that things are out of control, I go to the one thing that I can control. I decide where the pictures go and what to put on this page. I am also reminded of the good times and the joy in the faces of whom I am scrapping. This was a slow morning that we just hung out on our front patio on a hot July morning of last year. I love my daughters faces in this hat it really shows her personality.

I hand-made the flowers and "distressed" them for an old fashion look.

So Proud

2010-06-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

In the last two months we have had a chance to go on two vacations with Madalyn, my stepdaughter. The first one was to Monterey where she lives and goes to college. I love it there. We went to the aquarium, beach combed, and went to the pier. It was a nice visit. I have longed to be able to say those words about my stepdaughter. It has been tough being a stepmother. Those of you who have done it can understand. Madalyn and I have had many obstacles and forces that tried to push us apart. But I can see a definite change in her, a maturity that I am proud of.

The person who she once was disappeared for so long and now it is coming out of her.

She is able to show the kids her love.

She is able to accept that there is more than one point of view.

I am so happy to be in this place with her! Yaaa

I will....

2010-06-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever gone to dinner with someone who complains about everything?... The prices are too steep, the waiter isn't very friendly, the food is too hot, etc. etc. Have you ever been around someone who looks at life as "the glass is half empty." I have been exposed to this of late and have decided on some things!

-I will choose to look on the bright side of things, "the glass is half full"

A pessimist see the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty- Winston Churchill

-I will choose to be a light in the dark world we live in

-I will choose not to let others criticism bring me down

-I will choose to raise my kids how we think fit and not how others think we should raise them

-I will choose to be myself even when I don't fit into the mold of what the world wants me to be

The wind will blow us this way and that but we can choose what attitude to take when we are blown from here to there.

Ahhh mom!

2010-05-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

Those curls melt my heart! They are so cute and soft.

I have been to the hair dresser with it in my mind that it is time to cut those curls and give him more of a boy hair cut. But what comes out of my mouth is "just a small trim, and don't cut off those curls" People no longer say, "cute curls" they just say "wow, he has long hair". But still I can't seem to go there and cut it off. Sorry Bud!

"Mom, not another picture!"

Johanna feeling jealous and saying"Mom, look take a picture of me, I am funny too"

Fire Fighters

2010-05-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

I used the Cricut cartridge: paper dolls. So cute! I know lots of teachers who love this cartridge.

Did you know that we own the fire department, yes, all those who pay taxes own the fire department. And the hard working firemen love to show off their place of work. All you have to do is call ahead and tell them how many will be there to tour the place, and they will let you know if it is a good time or not. It would be a good summer time family activity, my kids loved it and the firemen were sooo nice!!!!!!!

More scrap pages

2010-05-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

For the next few blogs, I will be putting up some of my scrap pages. I am new to putting them on here and not sure how to photograph them, so if you are a scrapper and post them on your blog please pass on the hints.

More basic grey here and we are at Apple Hill. The top picture is of my son peaking over the fence.

Those Eyes

2010-05-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Basic Grey products used.

Made flowers out of ribbon.

Home-made Bread

2010-05-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

A wonderful childhood memory is homemade bread from mom. I wanted to recreate that memory for my kids, sooo I called my mom and asked for her recipe. I let it rise, I pounded it, and rise some more...the result: a hard brick that could break glass. Then I found out about the 5 minute Artisan bread recipe. I love it! Foul proof even for me! I love this recipeand it is so easy!

Eye of the Tiger

2010-04-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

Exercise is for the birds! I have been watching my diet and working out. I lost 10 pounds in 2 months, sounds good right. Well, this week I gained back 5 of those pounds by going out to eat 3 times. I am very discouraged and upset. Why does it take so long to lose those pounds but they come back so quickly. I have heard of those people who love the burn when they are lifting weights....hate it! I have heard of those people who get a second wind while doing aerobics......doesn't happen to me. I am in need of some Rocky Balboa "getting stronger" attitude. I really would like to wear shorts above the knees this summer.
p.s. why, oh why does the Nugget have such delicious bear claws...yummmmm!

A successful cake experience

2010-04-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

So the 3 in 1 party was a success. The kids had a great time and the magician was hilarious. I still can't beleive my little girl is 4 years old. She told me the other night "Don't worry mom, I will always be your baby"

Her wish was for a unicorn cake. My mom who usually makes the cakes was worn down from Easter so I had to do it myself. I went to Target and found a very pretty unicorn that would be on the top. Then I did some on-line searching and found a great idea....a rainbow cake, when the unicorn lands on the cake it turns it into a rainbow. Sounded like a great idea. I was nervous about it, I mean really, I didn't even own a cake pan!

The kid's expresions were great, that is what made it a success, and it looked really cool!

Snow Snow

2010-03-22T13:47:00.001-07:00

Have you ever gone on vacation and felt stressed and more tired after you went? Some of our trips with our dear little children have been that way. Running after Charlie, making sure he doesn't trip and fall on a rock, or eat dirt, run into the camp fire and on and on. Well this Feb. we went to Tahoe for a weekend of play in the snow. We had such a wonderful time! It was stress free. The kids loved being in the snow and played together so nicely. The weather was fair but it didn't stop us from playing while being snowed on. I will remember this trip as one of our funest trips....up to this point.

My Little Cowgirl

2010-03-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

My daughter has inherted my love for horses. We take her to a horse rescue down the road for lessons with a gentle pony named Zoe. She has bonded and taken to Zoe as a mother to a child. She talks with Zoe and tells her how she missed her and how she is such a good horse. The first half of her lessons consists of brushing the horse and cleaning her hoofs. Johanna now knows the different names of horse brushs and hoof picks and the horse body part names. Then she gets on the horse to ride (English style). This is the part that makes me so nervous. I pray each time she gets on for her protection. She loves it and loves to do the challenging stuff like taking Zoe over the "jump" although it is all the way on the ground. I will always have a love for horses and love the memories I have growing up. I am glad my daughter has that love of horses too.

My little Honey Bee

2009-08-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

I love scrapping fall

2009-08-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

2009-08-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

2009-08-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

scrap pages

2009-08-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

sisterly love

2009-06-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

"Mom, I can't wait till I am this old (holds up 4 fingers) so then I can hold Charlie in my arms" I felt sad to tell Johanna that he was going to get bigger just like her and possibly bigger than her...I think it is time for a new baby in the family....hmmmm

Auto-immune disease

2009-06-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

I have been diagnosed with Vitiligo (a auto-immune disorder where my pigmentation is being attacked)...I am now a spotted leopard. When I came home with the new diagnosis I was in tears. My oh so sensitve girl asked me what was wrong and I told her. She gave me a hug and said "mom I love you even though you have spots" Charlie must of known that I was feeling sad cause he came to me as if I had been gone a whole day and hugged me soo tight. How could I be sad still with so much love coming my way!

PHOBIA

2009-06-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

Okay I admit it! I created a super phobic daughter...let me explain. I am allergic to bees..hence my hatred towards them. So when I see them I scream and run (I will spare all the other details). I don't like anything that creeps or crawls..don't have an excuse for that. I grew up out in the country and one would think that I should be use to them but I never liked them, I guess that is why my brother and cousin Gary always tormented us with reptiles and bugs. I always gave them a great reaction. So my dear daughter has watched me react to bugs and bees. So now when we are outside playing she has mini panic attacks when a fly or bee flies by. Sometimes she gets so worked up she starts to cry! As of late she has wakes up in the middle of the night crying saying there is a bee in her room...ughhh! Charles of course tells me.."you did this to her"
Well yesterday we played outside in the puddles after the rain the night before. Johanna was down the sidewalk some, holding something and yelled to Charlie and I "come here, look what I found" Charlie and I went running to her all excited and to my horror she was holding a worm. I reacted without thinking and screamed (yuck, gross and other words). Johanna dropped the worm and started to scream too. I realized my mistake and told her it was okay that she hold the worm but not to come near me with it. So soon enough both my kids decided it was funny to chase me with the worm in hand...my brother and cousin Gary would be proud!!