Did you know....

"It's hard to go to sleep when your tummy is empty and your mind is full"


Analese told me this at dinner tonight, When I asked her what her mind was full of, she said

"UNICORNS!! I really really want one to come to our house".



I hope she never changes.

So long, Farewell.....

It looks like my dairy-filled days are over once again :( Rose has been reacting to dairy for almost a month now, and it only seems to be getting worse. My fear is that she will continue to develop stronger reactions if she continues to be exposed to it.
My plan is to go off of it for the next month and see if there is any change. If things are going well, I may try and test to see if its possible for me to have foods with dairy in them. Right now we see the biggest reaction when I eat straight dairy, like ice cream, milk in my cereal, etc. I am somewhat sad to be off of it again, although I really did not miss it that much when I avoided it. I have been off dairy for almost 2 1/2 years, and was enjoying the past 5 months of being able to eat it. Let's just pray that this is it for restrictions!

But I am excited to have some new nondairy options. I can now have coconut yogurt and coconut ice cream (which is delicious!) I think we have decided to buy an ice cream maker and make our own, as a pint is $5.00!

Tonight we are having a special meal...my last meal with dairy. I chose Italian, as I haven't had regular pasta in years! I cannot wait to eat it!

I know I have a bunch of catching up to do....I was hoping to do that this weekend but suffered from a migraine instead. I have to play catch-up tonight with studying...hopefully this week I can at least get some photos up!

I am back!

or at least I hope I am :)

Sorry it has taken me so long to update! I wanted my first post to be Rose's birth story, and just couldn't find the time to write it out. My goal is to do it tonight, as I really do not want to forget the details of her birth.

Things here are going well. They get better every week. To be honest, having 3 children under the age of 4 has definitely taken some getting used to. We have had a lot of adjusting to do! For me, I had to once again adjust to no sleep, no free-time, and absolutely no personal space. It's definitely been tougher this time around. I don't think I gave myself enough time to adjust before the guilt set in, and I set out to do too much too soon and ended up just feeling down that I wasn't accomplishing all I needed to. I can see that now. I felt bad that I wasn't being the best mother I could be, as the lack of sleep definitely ate up much of my patience! There were many days where I felt like all I did was nurse, change diapers and help the older two with the potty. Oh-and cleaning up the older twos bathroom mishaps! Mara had many accidents (which is expected, as she has only been using the potty for a few months) and Analese also thought she would join in on the fun. A few weeks ago she decided to stand there and pee all over our bathroom rug! I couldn't believe it. She just smiled and said " I couldn't make it". Ugh.

But each week it has gotten better. Rose is now sleeping through the night, she sleeps from 10-3 and sometimes 10-5! I am in heaven, as Mara didn't sleep through the night alone until she was two! I should note that this is sleeping with us. When she is next to me in her cosleeper, she is up every 2 hours! But I do love sleeping with her. There is nothing like having your newborn snuggled up against you. No matter how stressful the day, looking down at her sleeping face,listening to her little sighs as she snuggled up against me...it just puts everything perspective and the stress melts away. She is only little for such a short amount of time..I plan to savor every moment I can!


The girls just love their sister, and are constantly smothering her with love. I do my best to protect Rose from all the love without hurting the girls' feelings or make them feel like they are doing something wrong. I'll admit, its tough! Rose does not like to be put down at all, and one of the reasons for this-I believe- is because the girls are right up in her face! Mara has to be constantly touching noses with Rose, as she wants her to "see her"...but then that is ALL she sees :) I should also add that Rose just lights up when she sees her...for those few seconds that she can see all of her (and not just a cheek). Mara has begun nursing her baby-I found her on my bed, IN THE DARK, shirt off nursing her baby the other day! She also walks her baby around, bouncing her to sleep exactly like I do with Rose. Just too cute....

Analese has just grown up overnight. When Rose is crying, she always tells me "it's OK Mom, I got this" and will go to her and sing. Her emotions are still all over the place, and we butt heads on days I just do not have the patience to help her through it. But even when she is testing me like crazy, I can't help but laugh at her. Her latest thing is singing out her her objections.."No, no I won't clean it up...Yoouuuu can" to the tune of different songs. It is hysterical, I must admit. Although the " I won't lay down and take a nap" song is one that amkes me want to cry :)

So just a quick update. I have a ton of photos to post and hope to get on that as well. I have Analese's birthday photos and trip to Dutch Wonderland to post about, and the many photos of baby Rose, who is growing so so quickly!

Sorry for the rambling post, I hope this makes some sense!