Master of time management!

Some of you may be wondering how I find the time to blog. Being the mother of 3 boys, there is very rarely time to myself for things like blogging {or anything, really} so...whats a mom to do? I blog when I am breastfeeding! Yup, you read right and I know what you may be thinking-breastfeeding is a time for bonding with your baby, time for singing, talking, praying, etc. right? WRONG! With Noah its not possible! I learned the hard way that when breastfeeding Noah you must be quiet..or else he gets an unexpected milk bath! You see, if I sing or talk to Mr. Noah, he wants to listen {what a concept, right?} but here's the thing if he listens, he stops sucking, and when he stops sucking, the milk keeps coming! So I blog and keep my mouth shut! :)

Utah...we came, we conquered!

Noah and I made our way back to the big city today! He had two follow-up appts., one with surgery and one with the opthamologist. The surgeon was pleased with how well his incision site had healed and gave us two thumbs up! The opthamologist was also very pleased, both of Noahs eyes are fully developed and he is at no further risk for developing ROP {retinopathy of prematurity} He made a point to tell me how remarkable that is for a baby born as early and as tiny as he was! Way to go Noah!
We also got to see and visit with some fellow NICU grads! We met Layton {and big sisters} and Catherine for lunch {in between our appts.} and got to see what a monster he is! 14lbs! He is adorable, cooing and blowing bubbles!
On the way home we stopped in to hang with Miss Lucy B. Cragun and family! Lucy you get cuter and funnier every time I see you! It was hilarious to see Lucy and Noah interact, wish I could speak baby and knew what they were thinking!

A day in the life of Noah...

6:30 am - Get mom or dad up by squawking, eat!...
7:30 am- Mom and Noah snuggle in bed until big brothers arise {and crawl in bed to maul us!}
8:30 am- Eat! again...
11:30pm - Eat yet again and down for a nap...

So you probably get the picture by now that Noah loves to eat! As of last Friday, he had gained a full pound in a week, for a grand total of 7lbs 3oz!!! For Noahs complete history, you may view his care page at www.carepages.com, his pagename is "mightynoah" by clicking on his picture. but from now on, all of his updates will be here!

Ah...Springtime!!!

Amongst the many rainy dreary days we have had, there were two gloriously beautiful sunny ones! This afternoon, I asked the boys if they could do anything what would they want to do? "Lets catch mine Oreo!" said Ridge. "Mine Oreo" is our wonderfully kid-broke {Half-goat I think, due to the massive amounts of hair he has year-round...} pony. So we did! And spent the day out in the yard brushing him, play-showing him, and tying him up any and everywhere! Happiness is... :)

The Simple things in life!

I would like to share how my day started today...I got up around 9 a.m. thinking to myself-I can't believe the Ryder and Ridge are not up yet! Upon entering the kitchen I find the two of them in the beginning stages of making breakfast. The griddle was out of the cupboard, the placemats were set and the homemade menus (made this morning!) were also on the table. They greeted me with a warm good morning and a "menu" of items to choose from. I decided on bacon and french toast...and we proceeded to make breakfast together! What a wonderful way to start the day...

Together at last...

As I sit here enjoying the afternoon, I can't help but wonder why I have been dealt the cards that are currently in my deck. I don't feel self-pity, but it pains me to watch my children deal with the trials and adversities set before them. And the issues at hand always seem to be centralized around one of my three beautiful boys.

I feel like we crossed one finish line and another one begins. Noah and I were able to finally come home the week before Easter! What a blessing it has been to have all my family together. The adjustment has been easier than I had thought it was going to be as far as integrating Noah into our little family. Ryder and Ridge absolutely love him to pieces! I have plenty of extra "help" all day long... :)

So my next trial begins...Ryder and I (and grandma Sheri-thankfully!) spent most of Friday night in the emergency room. Ryder went to the DNCFR rodeo with Chase and Grandpa Chuck and fell asleep on the way home. Chase carried him in to bed and noticed he was feeling really heavy. He proceeded to take his jeans off and tuck him in and noticed that he was massively swollen. It seemed to be centralized in the groin area but it was also down both his legs and up into his abdomen and his face as well. I immediately loaded him in the car and we were on our way to Idaho Falls ER. After a urine analysis and blood tests, he is believed to have Minimal Change Nephrotic Syndrome. We were referred to a specialist at none other than PRIMARY CHILDRENS HOSPITAL!!! Unbelievable right? I know... we don't have an appt. yet, they are reviewing his records and are supposed to call me back. I don't know much about it other than what I have found out by googling it...maybe not the best source of information but the ER doctor in IF seemed just as clueless as I am. He started on a course of steroids for the next 10 days that should help the swelling. My heart breaks for him, his spirits are good but he asks every day if I think today is the day that the swelling will be gone. I am praying that today will be that day buddy!

As you might know, I said I would never take part in the whole facebook/myspace/blogspot movement, but... I have been "invited" to a number of different blogs the last few months and I have to admit, the idea of starting our own family blog is definitely intriguing.

If you have been following our little Noahs progress the last few months, you probably know by now that we are home. I have continued to update Noahs carepage, but I feel like I need to gear our updates around the entire family and I feel a blog is the way to go...so there you have it, a long story to a simple conclusion-I am now a blogger!