Random Thoughts

Jonah sure does love his daddy!

I printed play money on the computer for the boys. We pretended to be selling toys in the store and they used a toy computer for the register and paid for things with the money.

Jacob told me when he grows up he's gonna have store and eveything will be free. And he said I can come in and get whatever I want.

We put Jonah in underwear today and he pooped in them after only wearing them 10 minutes.

Jaron is going in kindergarten but some days he says he doesn't want to go and other days he can't wait.

Jonah fell off my bed today flat on his face and has a bruise on his top lip and nose.

Jacob has kissed me and said "I love you" atleast 10 times today! :-D

Jaron needs more speech therapy and feeding therapy. We went to Atlanta thursday to see his doctor and I'll post details later on that whole visit.

Jonah has been sleeping in his "big boy bed" now for 3 or 4 nights. He doesn't get out of it yet. He still calls for me in the morning not sure if he's allowed to get down off the bed.

Today the boys got really involved in the leapster and other handheld games they have. It was so cute to watch them sit together and play (without fighting)

James 4:10

(Jacob praying at 2 yrs old)

"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up."

My favorite room!

Well with 3 boys in the house and my husband, I am out numbered so everything is boy colors. Our bathroom is the only room I can decorate girly. So I love purple and have been busy fixing up our bathroom lately. Well let me back up~we had to do some repairs because Jaron jumped off the tub and grabbed my towel rack and ripped it out of the wall. So Chris patched the holes and then we had to paint. So we painted it the other night. And then I put the border up tonight. We've had it for months I just never felt like it. It took me about 2 hours. My back is killing me from standing that long but ~ I LOVE IT!!! What do you think?

SPLASH ZONE!!!

We found a place for the kids to play and have fun. It's cheap and close to home. It's called Frances Meadows and the kids love the splash zone! We told them Saturday at 9:30am to get in the car with their pj's on. Jacob was so confused as to why we were leaving the house in our pjs. I had packed a bag with bathing suits and towels. They didn't even see me put the bag in the car. So the entire 20 minute ride they were asking questions. "Where are we going?" "Do we have to get on the interstate?" "Is it outside?" "Is it a family members house, cause we're in our pjs?" And then we pulled up. You could see the waterslides from the parking lot.

And Jacob said "Oh no we have to go back home we don't have bathing suits" I said "No we don't, I brought them with us" So they changed clothes in the van and we were one of the first families there. We had fun for 2 1/2 hrs then we had to MAKE them leave to come home.

This last picture is at bedtime. Jonah was exhausted. They were relaxing watching a movie and Jacob got the empty diaper box and turned it upside down for Jonah to put his cup on and his bowl of dry cheerios. Jacob said "I love this baby!"

Basket~Foot~Base Ball & Skebidy

Jonah got all "geared up" by himself and I asked "whatcha doin?" he said "playing baseball" It was so cute!!! Notice the helmet is on backwards :-D
Well we had "skebidy" (spaghetti) for dinner and Jonah LOVES IT!!! He was rubbing his hands together like he had lotion on them.

PS. Tell me what you think of our new layout. Just click on the word "comment" below my signature.

Ways we save!

The boys all got haircuts last night and here they are all clean and ready for bed.

Those of you who know me, know that I am thrifty. I save money in all areas of our lives. Here are some of the ways we save:

-I cut all the boys hair and Chris's hair too.

-I do our taxes every year.

-I paint my own toes, no pedicures unless someone else buys me one.

-I wax my own eye brows, I would never pay someone to do that to me!

-We love to shop at Goodwill and thrift stores for clothes and anything else we might need

-We cancelled our home phone since we both have cell phones

-Chris sprays around our house outside for bugs so we don't pay an exterminator

-We don't pay garbage pick up since we live 2 miles from the dump he takes the trash

-We use online bill pay instead of buying checks and stamps to mail all our bills

Just imagine how much we have saved in haircuts alone. Chris and I have been married 11 years and I have cut his hair on average about every 2 weeks. I am not sure what they would charge at a barber but it ain't cheap. I paid $20 for a pair of clippers and they lasted me for years. Last year we bought another set of clippers cause the old ones were worn out. I'm sure our "haircut savings" is in the thousands!!! My mom also cuts my hair for free so that's another way we save.

I love being thrifty!!! It feels good to save money and just use it on the more important things like GROCERIES!!! :-D

Wal-mart wanderer!

When I go to walmart for groceries I try to just take one of the boys and get some alone time with them. So today was Jaron's turn. He was a little sleepy and didn't want to walk. So he sat in the buggy for a while until it was too full and he got out and laid underneath for a while too. I was getting one last thing and I looked down to see that my little boy was GONE! I freaked out! He was just now laying under there and I was moving..where did he go??? OMGosh I am going to cry just thinking about it. I have never been so scared in my life. I was standing near a walmart employee and she got a call over her walkie talkie...."Do you have a Mom Carrie or Terri in your dept. tell her I have her son at Customer Service".

I was mad and scared and relieved all at the same time. I went up front to get him and took him straight to the bathroom and spanked him. I couldn't believe he ran off. He knows better. He's five years old and we talk about it all the time. "Don't run away from mommy, someone will take you" "please stay with mommy Jaron" "Hold onto the buggy or stay where I can see you" I say these things so much and he knows not to do it. He wasn't crying and but I was about to. So we checked out and went home. The ride home was silent.

We had dinner and baths. When I tucked them in the bed I said "I want to know how Jaron felt when he got lost in Walmart." and he said "I was a little scared". A LITTLE? That was the worst 3 minutes of my life!!! I went in circles with the buggy looking for him and calling his name louder and louder. Leave it to Jaron to do something like this. He's our unique child with tons of extra energy. Jacob has never done that before and he better NOT ever. Thank God for nice Walmart ladies doing their job!!!

Splashing not swimming...

Well we are content with our little pool but the boys are too big to swim in it so they just do a lot of splashing...

When it's 95 degrees outside it's nice to have something for them to cool off in or playing out side is no fun.

Jonah was playing in the closet so I got the camera and he said "123 cheese!"

Pictures

Our boys and two of the children I babysit.

Jaron jumped in the laundry basket and came out in Daddy's jeans.

Jonah has learned to climb up in the bar stools and he loves to "read" his Bible like daddy.

Overdue Update....

Well where should I start...Jonah has a virus and he's been puking and having diahrea for 2 days. I'm worried about him, trying to keep him hydrated. He is sleeping now but not sure how long. He woke up at 3am this morning and puked all over me and he floor. I am so glad the other boys aren't showing any signs of it so far. I am wondering if he got it from VBS or maybe from the quick visit we made to the hospital. You know that place is covered in germs. I am sorta a germafobe. I wipe counters and highchairs a lot and I love germx and babywipes for cleaning everything. Jonah wanted me to hold him all day...crying "I wanna hold you" and I would hold him sitting but that wasn't good enough, he would cry again saying "Stand up walk around" so I told him I can't he's too big and it hurts my back and my belly to stand with him. Then he just keeps saying "get up". ALL DAY LONG. I felt so bad so I walked with him off and on all day sitting and standing hold my 32 lbs. two year old. He had lots of gas and never wanted to be put down. I had to sit him in the bathroom floor just so I could pee. Poor baby I feel so sorry for him. So I took him to the doctor today and they had him pee in a cup and said he was almost dehydrated and had shown some signs of a fever but nothing they could do it was just a virus. So I bought him some gatorade. He won't drink it though....only water. Maybe tomorrow will get better.

So let me think what have I been doing these last few weeks??? I am just more tired I guess and seemed a little more busy without any time to think about blogging or even read other blogs. Going to Boston then coming back home and doing VBS for a week was exhausting so I am trying to get back on track here.

Chris is so great about doing the laundry THANK GOD! And some days after babysitting 3 little ones and my own 3 boys I am too tired to do anything else. I load the dishwasher and go to bed! I have noticed that if I miss a few days of my prenatals I will get a headache every day! I guess thats why I get headaches...not enough vitamin rich foods. So I missed my vitamins the whole week of bible school and had a headache almost every day. I tried to get back taking them monday and tuesday but I never found time today so maybe tomorrow morning will be better. One big reason I put them off is because I have a problem taking pills. They always get stuck in my throat so I have to take them with food. Basically eat something to push them down. It's weird I know but that's why I dread it every day. So no headache today :-D

Chris went to church tonight and suprised me with a milkshake from zaxby's when he got home. I haven't had a milkshake in a year or more. It was so GOOD but I am not sure how my stomach will handle it. I am pretty sure I'm lactose intolerant.

Jacob asked me yesterday if the baby gets light in my stomach when I open my mouth. ;-D I laughed so hard. It was so sweet and he was so serious. Kids are so innocent. I need to show him a diagram of the human organs so he sees it not just one big open belly....there are sections. Jacob is so sensitive and seems to be more and more afraid of sleeping in his room at night lately. I have made him aware of "bad people" out there in the world so he will stop hiding from me in walmart. I just told him some people like to kidnap children and you have to stay with mommy or someone might take you. He has started coming out of his room almost every night saying he heard something tapping on his window or he saw a shadow. I just tell him to pray for Jesus to put a hedge of protection around our house while we sleep and he tears up just talking about it. He's so sweet.

Jaron is gaining weight!!! I think he has calmed down a little since he's five now. I was pretty sure he was ADD but maybe not. He's very smart and I watch him do things in his room playing. He is very detailed and pays attention to instructions. I can tell him 3 things to do and he'll remember and do all 3 if he's not distracted by the tv. :-D He is slowly learning to taste new foods. He voluntarily asked to taste some Trix cereal the other day and said he liked it. He also had a huge peice of bubble gum for about an hour which is very good for his chewing issues. He is 37 lbs. right now. We are still giving him 2 pediasures daily and I am still nervous about school starting in 4 weeks. He does seem to be swallowing a little faster and not taking an hour to eat a sandwich anymore....We often can get him to finish in 30 min with a lot of coaching and begging.

Jonah is 32 lbs. and loved to eat before he got sick. He's talking more and more and has decided that the baby in my belly is HIS baby. He won't let anyone else touch my belly. It's really sweet and I can't wait to see how they behave when Jude arrives. I am feeling movement more and more lately. Jonah loves ketchup, peanut butter, purple grapes, white donuts and much more that I can't think of right now. He is so precious but he's also stepped into the "TERRIBLE TWOS" phase. He wants all the toys and noone else can have them. He screams and crys if he doesn't get his way. I have learned that this is just a PHASE and it will pass. After 3 this 4th one should be a BREEZE!

Thanks for reading if you made it this far. Sorry to all my faithful (grandparents) readers for taking so long to update. I am just tired as you would expect. I'll try to get back on a regular routine soon. Oh and if Jonah is better I've promised the boys a trip to the park so maybe we'll get some pictures while we're there.

I'm still alive just too tired to blog. Wish I had a laptop so I go type in the bed. That's when the thoughts come rushing in. Using my phone for this. Nite...

We've Decided His name....

Jude Andrew. Chris and I both liked different things and I was having a hard time deciding. I'm not sure if it's because I don't really feel pregnant or haven't felt him move a lot. I just wanted to wait a while longer. But Chris was very anxious to start calling him by his name and we agreed on Jude. We like it because it's biblical and Chris likes it because it's only one syllable. Andrew is also Biblical and means "Manly". And my maiden name is also Manley so that was a given. It has to be Andrew.

So Jude Andrew Cote is on his way. I went to the doctor today for a regular check up and his heartbeat was 135 bpm and I've only gained about 5 lbs. My blood pressure is normal. Thank God I've never had any blood pressure problems with my previous pregnancies. I go back in 4 weeks and she said the will do another ultrasound to look at his growth and heart and everything. This will be at my regular doctor not the specialist. So it's just routine, nothing to worry about. I love getting more pictures of him. I am starting to feel him move more when I sit down or lay down after eating. It seems more real to me when I can feel him. I guess with 3 boys and babysitting 3 kids I really don't have time to think about it.

Well school starts for Jacob and Jaron in 5 weeks and I am so worried about how Jaron will do for lunch time. I am still giving him 3 pediasures every day along with having him eat 3 smaller meals a day. He takes so long to eat I have him taste what we are eating but don't give him full portions. So we follow each meal with a pediasure.

Anyway, one more night of vacation bible school and I am exhausted. It's been a busy week but so worth it. Two kids have already gotten saved!!! I gotta go to bed. Babysitting starts at 7:30am!!!

Too Busy...

Well this week is Vacation Bible School at our church and I am also babysitting all week so I am too busy to blog. I'll post pictures and update the blog maybe on Saturday.

It's A Boy!!!

Chris and I went yesterday to get another ultrasound at the specialist. They were looking for birth defects and we were hoping for a girl. It didn't take her long to tell us it is definately a boy no question. His lip and nose look perfect and so does the hard palate. She said he was about 8 oz right now.

So everything looked so good that we don't even need to go back for any more ultrasounds. I was glad to hear that. I am a little sad that we aren't having a girl but God knows I probably don't have the patience for a girl and all the drama. I was a tom boy myself. I am very experienced with boys and I am so relieved he doesn't have a cleft. I can breastfeed and I am happy. God gives us what he knows is best for us.

We still haven't picked out a name but we've narrowed it down to a few:

James Andrew

Judah Andrew

Jace Aaron

Josiah Allen

Or something like those. We still have plenty of time to decide. This pregnancy has been different than the others. I haven't really had time to sit and think about it. I'm so busy with my 3 and babysitting all the time I almost forget I'm pregnant. Now that I'm starting to feel him move some it's becoming more of a reality. As I get bigger I am sure I won't forget it. I am taking it with more ease this time. I guess because I've already done this 3 times I know what to expect and I'm not worried or scared. I am relaxed and I don't think about it too much. With Jacob I worried about how I would get him out and watching Discovery Health one night, a lady in labor, I almost passed out. (pregnant with Jacob) And with Jaron all I thought about was his cleft. I worried all the time and wondered how I would feed him. With Jonah I was still busy getting Jaron through therapy and knew Jonah would be fine so I didn't think about it much accept in the end when I was HUGE and miserable.

This baby is different. I feel calm and relaxed without any worries. I am starting to show and I know it will get harder as I get bigger but I hope to control my diet a little better this time. We'll see....

Our Trip to Boston...

..well it was not without problems but I won't get into those details and give the devil any credit. We arrived at the hotel wed. night and got settled in for bed. Thursday we woke up and ate dunkin donuts and oatmeal for the boys for breakfast. Then we went downstairs to meet the babysitters provided and get the children settled in. Then Chris and I went up to the 16th floor to listen to some doctors speak about cleft lip and palate. They started at birth and went up through the teenage years talking all about dental issues and surgeries to come. I learned a lot about what to expect in Jaron's future and took 2 pages of notes. The other speakers didn't really pertain to Jaron so we relaxed the rest of the day. Chris napped with Jonah and I took Jaron and Jacob to the pool. We ordered pizza for dinner and tried to get to bed earlier that night.

The hotel garden...a place for the boys to run around and play.

The tunnel to get to the pool.

Friday breakfast was provided and then they got huge buses to take everyone (hundreds) to the New England Aquarium. We all wore matching shirts and this is Jaron with his friend Seth.

We got a cab back to the hotel and then left again on a hotel shuttle to the Children's Hospital. We got their a little early so we shopped in the CVS inside the hospital. Stocking up with snacks and drinks for the hotel room and a new toy for the boys.

Jaron's appointment with the doctors was at 2pm so we headed over to the clinic. The waiting room is nice and big with toy cars Jonah rode in and a huge chalk board and books and other toys too. Jacob watched tv and played with his new hangman game. Chris waited out their with them while I took Jaron back to see the speech specialist and then the feeding specialist. They were very thorough and didn't rush. I came prepared with reports from all Jaron's local doctors and they were happy to see those.

Overall Jaron's speech is not perfect but he is doing ok. Some air is escaping out his nose because his soft palate is a little weak. It might be too short or just not closing all the way when he speaks. They want to do a speech study next year. (x-ray while he talks) He might need a p-flap surgery next year. And they watched him eat a few snacks and said he doesn't have great chewing skills. He might be forgetting the food is in there or maybe he can't feel it all. We are going to start back Occupational Therapy ASAP to try to fix this problem. I need to find an excellent therapist who specializes in this area. He may even have some nerve damage in his mouth. He doesn't use his tongue very well either. They said he is doing a tongue thrust but it is mostly a problem for teeth not swallowing.

Then the put us in a room with his plastic surgeon Dr. John B. Mulliken and the dentist Dr. Bruun and about 15 doctors in training. We sat at the front, Jaron and I, and it was a little overwhelming at first but if you know me....I'm not shy so I got used to it. One came up with a flashlight and shined in Jaron's mouth first looking at his teeth. Noting his overbite and how is teeth touch in the back as well. His back teeth seem to be aligned pretty well right now and it looks like he may only need a palate expander and may not the broken jaw surgery. Nothing is for sure right now. We are just waiting for his adult teeth to come in and see what they look like and where they are located.

Dr. Mulliken (plastic surgeon) was very pleased with his scars and said he doesn't anticipate a lip or nose revision. I asked will Jaron's nose get any flatter and he said the nostrils shouldn't widen and the tip is flat but shouldn't get any worse. He will need his deviated septum corrected but not until age 18. One lady looked up close and said I can't even see any scars. (THAT WAS AWESOME) Dr. Mulliken said to me "you're the one who keeps sending me all these patients." and I said "Yeah I've sent a few your way" :-) He is so nice and took us in another room with his personal camera to take some pictures of Jaron. He asked about my pregnancy and told me to make sure they do the ultrasound right. I asked him should I keep sending him patients or is he retiring? He said "You know I just got married, I'm a new man!" So he took another close look at Jaron's lip and nose and said how good it looked. He said his lip is a little flat but once he gets his teeth in his lip will stick out more normally. Right now Jaron doesn't have his 4 front teeth (2 missing incisors and 2 extracted front teeth.) So next surgery could possibly be next summer for p-flap (palate extension) and then dental surgery age 8 or 9.

Overall I am very happy with our visit to the hospital. After 3 hours of doctors and waiting for Jacob & Jonah we took the boys down to the hospital playground and then got a cab back to the hotel. CCA kids provided dinner in the hotel ballroom. And they had a magician there for the kids. THEY LOVED IT!!!

Jaron's friend Daniel and his family.

Saturday breakfast was provided and they planned a pool party for all the kids 11am-4pm Lunch was provided as well. Chris's dad came to visit since he lives close by and we spent most of the day with him but took the boys to the pool for a while too. Dinner was provided by CCA kids that night too in the hotel ballroom.

Jonah was so curious about this guy and he kept finding him in the crowd walking over to look. I know it was innocent and I told him to say "hey". His dad was very nice and didn't mind me taking a picture with his son Scott. He is 26 years old. Very sweet guy.

Sunday breakfast was provided and we said our goodbyes. Our flight home was good even though we sat by the engines and couldn't see out the window---at all.

Jonah did better on the flight home but didn't fall asleep until we landed so Chris had to carry him off the plane.

In Atlanta airport going out to the van. We were all ready to get home. It was fun but it's always nice to get back in our own beds. Notice Jaron with his new Toy Story backpack with wheels. He was so proud of that thing. He felt like a big boy wheeling it around the airport.

Going to this family retreat was educational and humbling. We met so many children and families with many more medical issues than we could even imagine. I almost felt guilty for being there. Jaron looks normal and some of these children will never be normal. They were all so precious and I wish we could get to know them more. So many children with all different syndromes from all over the country all came together to make friends and form relationships with ones they can relate to. A place where they felt normal like they belonged where no one would judge them and they could truly be themselves. It was precious. We are so blessed.

Well I've been feeling baby moving the last few days. It still amazes me that there's actually another little person inside me!!!

Father's Day

Well I got so busy packing and planning for this trip to Boston I forgot to send out Father's Day cards. So I'll dedicate this post to my dad.

He's always been there for me when I called and always had encouraging things to say. He raised me to think positive and find the good in everything. He taught me to avoid conflict and don't start trouble. I owe a lot of who I am today to my dad. Even though we live in different states I know he would be here in a minute if I needed him. I guess you could say I'm daddy's little girl.

He was here when we had our first child and stocked my freezer full of meals. He encouraged me and hugged me when we told him about Jaron's cleft lip. He congratulated me when we announced we were pregnant with our 3rd son Jonah. And he was also happy to hear I'm now pregnant with our 4th child. He has always been supportive. What more could a girl ask for.

Thank you Dad Happy Father's Day! I love you.