First meeting with the OT...

Today was our first meeting with Pierce's OT. She was amazing! I am so tired of dragging Pierce from place to place, looking for information, answers, or even just someone to listen to our concerns. She did all of this, finally!

Her name is Michelle, and Pierce clicked instantly with her, which is all I can ask. She said that she feels that while he is on the mild end of sensitivity, there are obviously some regulating issues for him.

She seems to be really well educated in the eating sensitivities, and had lots of suggestions for kid's with low muscle tone in their faces and cheeks. One thing that we are going to try right away is stimulating Pierce's cheeks with tapping before he sits down to eat.

We also talked about some of his other anxieties, like the foam soap, shampoos and lotion, and she agreed with me about being careful not to push him. It was a breath of fresh air to talk to someone who didn't look at me like I was creating these issues myself.

We are going to try some of the strategies she suggested for 6 weeks, and then meet with her again close to his birthday to see where we need to go from there. I am hoping in the meantime we get some answers from the respiratory clinic, and that our Dr. will refer us for more of the allergy testing.

It feels so good to not feel crazy!

Playtime

"Mommy, let's pretend you're my servant, ok? I'm a princess, and you do all my cooking and cleaning. Oh, and you carry me everywhere so I don't get my shoes dirty. Oh, and you wash my clothes, and fix stuff when I break it. Ok, Mommy, let's start now!"

Yes Liv, I would love to play REAL LIFE with you. It would be a lovely break from what I do, day after day.

Alyvia- Creating Awkward Situations Since 2006.

I thought Liv's gibberish spelling was cute at first.

"Pierce, you are M-R-P-S-T-N...that spells amazing!"
Until today.
"Mom, I think you need a P-A-P"...
...
Of all the letter combinations, she had to use that to spell coffee? The poor cashier looked like he couldn't choose between dying on the spot or vomiting.

This kid is all kinds of adorable.

*Ignore the laundry in the background. That rocking chair also serves as a laundry basket.

26 Things That Make Me Smile on My 26th Birthday.

1. Cody. I could not have married a better man. He's here when I need him, works harder than anyone I know, and takes better care of us than I ever could have imagined

2. LivBug. When she isn't teasing me, talking back or causing bodily harm, she is lighting up my life. Everyday I smile at her amazing personality.

3. Pierce Man. What's not to love? This kid is his Daddy in a smaller package, so he is my kind of guy. He doesn't talk much, but what he does say makes me smile EVERY time.

4. My parents. Not every girl gets the kind of help and love at 26 years old that I do from my Mom and Dad. I smile everytime I watch my kids with them, and appreciate everything they do for me.

5. The rest of our family! My kids have an abundance of people who love and care about them, and I smile everytime a goofy uncle plays hockey with them, or an Aunt reads them stories.

6. Coffee. More specifically, Java Jive's Medium Iced, Half Sweet, Low Fat Vanilla Latte. Oh, and the fact that it is called a "Hannah".

7. My truck. I know, nobody wants to admit material things make them happy, but that was the best gift my husband ever bought me. And these days, when van shopping seems imminent, I smile just a little more everytime I hop into it.

8. Polka Dots and Zebra Print. Not together, obviously. But both of these things make me happy.

9. Friends. I have so many. I don't know how it happened, but I may have created my own "In-Crowd". They all love me, listen to me, and laugh with me, and really, what could be better than that?

10. Micheal Buble, Jack Johnson and Kesha. I have no limits to my taste in music...or maybe just no taste, but loud music in a car on a hot day makes my cheeks hurt. I love it.

11. My kid's giggles. I know I already used them, but this is specific to the identical laughs they have. When they both get going, I can't help but join in.

12. Salt and Vineger Chips. This is the one thing Weight Watchers and I disagree on. They have to be good for me, they make me so happy.

13. The movie theatre. This is the whole experience. Loud shows, popcorn and Iced tea.I love it.

14. Shopping. Just in general.

15. A really good deal. Like finding something you have been wanting on 50% off. I think that makes everyone smile though

16. Family Pictures. I love getting pictures done of us all together. Everyone that comes into my house comments on how many photographs hang on the walls. In 5 years, this family has some pretty special moments to look back on.

17. Size 6. This is the first time in YEARS that I have been able to buy things in a size 6. Everytime I do, something inside me is proud of the hard work I have put in.

18. Oprah. I miss her.

19. Snuggling babies. Especially my own. I am generally a very hands off person (to my husband's disappointment) but holding a warm, clean baby does something to me I can't explain.

20. A positive pregnancy test. Now, before we get all ahead of ourselves, this is not an announcement. I just love the feeling you get when you realize you instinctively already knew what the test is now telling you.

21. Checking the mail. It's something I thought I would outgrow as I started receiving more bills with my name on it, but I love walking to the mailbox and checking for surprises. This is something Liv and I love to do together.

22. Hot Showers. Like, so hot my skin tingles. Cody and I can't shower together because I like the burn and he is a wimp.

23. Gardens. I hate digging in the dirt, weeding, remembering to water and everything that comes with gardening, but I love to sit in a quiet garden and drink iced tea. Thank God I have a mom that likes to do all of the above mentioned chores.

24. Grey's Anatomy. It's dirty, sexy and one hour of my life that I cherish. This may change when Patrick Dempsey moves on.

25. Having a clean house, or catching up on laundry. It's rare, but I am sure to appreciate when it happens.

26. Facebook. It's another guilty pleasure but it has also been my connection to the outside world for the last few years when I feel like I am trapped inside my house with 2 screaming monsters and a headache.

I thought 26 things might be hard, but I think I could probably do 100 more. I am trying hard everyday to appreciate the things I have, because truth be told, I am one blessed girl. Happy Birthday to me.

Don't be a Drag, Just be a Queen.

I had no idea that my daughter was going to be an exact replica of myself. But, holy shit, am I ever glad she is. Style points for both of us. I love this kid.

Head Banging

Only at my house would the timing work out for Liv to open a drawer the same second I flip my head over to blow dry my hair. I must have killed somebody in a past life, and my children are my karma.

Father's Day

There has been something hanging over me that last few days. It's been hard to put my finger on, until tonight, when I realized that tomorrow is Father's Day. That's not true. I knew tomorrow was Father's Day, and I had plans to get MY dad a card, and Liv put something together for Cody at preschool. But it occured to me that Cody really won't be here tomorrow, and my kids will be missing out while so many other kids will be celebrating with their dads.

I didn't expect Cody to be an amazing father. I didn't expect him to leave or anything, but the circumstances around my pregnancy with Alyvia were not the most desirable, and Cody is not in any realm, a lovey sort of guy. Or he wasn't, until he held his baby girl.

From that day forward, Cody has done things that amaze me. The relationship he has with each of our children is beautiful. He is not gruff, he has the patience of a saint when it comes to a certain cheeky 4 year old, and he loves more than anything to share his passions with his kids. When I watch him shovel dirt with Pierce, or drive snail paced circles on the dirtbike with bobble headed toddlers, I realize that I could not have picked a better father for these children.

Whether the bond developed instantly, as it did between him and Alyvia, or it was slow and steady, like with his son, his love has been unfaltering and unconditional. He blows me away, has exceeded my expectations, and makes me proud.

I am sad that we have to celebrate Father's Day without him home with us, but it also shows me what an amazing person he is, for getting through this time apart so that we are all in a better, more comfortable place. It isn't hard to see that everything he does is for us.

Happy Father's Day Cody. We love you.

Ok, so it's not just me. They have gotten smaller.

**In a very busy public place. **

Liv- "Whoa, Mommy! What happened to your boobies? They weren't that huge when you had your shower. How did they grow SO fast?"

The "wonders" of a Wonder Bra. I'm locking the door from now on.I am also considering duct taping Liv's mouth shut for public outings.

Taking numbers....

Is it weird that I collected personal information from the man hitting on me tonight in the bar. And kept it to pass onto my husband? They both ride dirtbikes, like beer and have great taste in women. Really, it was a match made in heaven.


*Note, it has been at least 5 years since I have been approached in a bar. Actually,it's probably been close to that long since I have even set foot in a bar!

Well, at least I have a good personality, right?

Liv-"Mommy, your hair looks kind of ugly today"
Me-"Alyvia, that's not very nice"
Liv-"Well it does. And you have a pimple on your face"
Me-"Liv, if you're trying to hurt my feelings, you can go spend some time in your room until you have something nice to say"

Spends 10 minutes in her bedroom.

Liv-"I have something nice to say Mom. My Dad never has ugly hair or pimples."

These are the days of my life.

Mommy Tip: Don't wake one child up from a nap, make the decision that lunch can be later today, and head out for a massive grocery shop. People WILL openly judge you, and you WILL consider leaving the screaming cart of children in aisle 2 and running straight to the liquor store.

- Shout out to the lady who tried to stop me from feeding Pierce the cookie before paying. I'm not sorry he kicked you in the leg mid tantrum. I wish he had better aim.

Daddyyyyy!

Pierce Man is lucky he is so cute. Otherwise, I might have killed him today. This definately has made me realize that we really need to think about Cody finding a job that allows him to be around more. It is starting to screw with the kids.

Pierce is always "looking" for Cody. Every truck that drives by, or street bike (never mind that he actually only rides a dirtbike, that detail means nothing to Pierce) he asks if it's "Daddy?". But lately, he has pointed men out, and instead of asking if it's him, he states it. If I ignore it, he gets louder. If I respond, it escalates, and he wants to go visit his "Daddy". At first, it was funny. Now, it seems like Daddy is everywhere we go, and we are giving EVERYONE we see the impression that

a) we don't really know who Daddy is
or
b)we don't know WHERE he is.

Either way, I already get the teen mom look from most people (which, if you do the math, I am not) and now my kids are getting pity stares and probably starting to make some men's heart rate increase while they rack their brain to see if they know me.

Today was the worst though, ABSOLUTELY.

I only had Pierce, and he was in my arms. He spots some 16 or 17 year old kid across the bank and screams "Daddy!!!" in his direction. I know ignoring it doesn't work, but I tried it anyways. I avoided eye contact with the poor kid, but Pierce was flailing and kicking in my arms, and shouting "Daddy, Daddy, Daaaaaadddyyyyy!" at the guy. Once his shoe connected with my chin, I had to put him down before I dropped him. He raced over to the guy, arms up, still calling "Daddy!"... The kid ignored him, but the kid's MOTHER walked over and BLOCKED her son from Pierce's view, all the while, glaring at me! My cheeks were on fire, I was shaking and desperate, and there was no convincing Pierce that this kid wearing the same Metal Mulisha hat the Cody wears was not his Daddy. I had to pick up my screaming, kicking toddler and run out of the bank. I swear, the kid probably thought he had just been punk'd, and his mother realized that she had left "the talk" a little late.

I'm not leaving my house again. Ever.

Mini-van Mama

I am a little bit ashamed of myself. I am really enjoying the rental mini-van. Cody's right, I am getting lamer by the day now.

Poopy Pants

Me- " Do these pants look bad? They're too big"
Cody-" Nope, they look great, let's go"
Me- "For sure? I think I need new pants"
Cody- "Hannah, they look good, I swear. Don't worry."

...I wore the pants all day.

That night:
Cody- "Um, don't wear those pants anymore ok? The bum is so saggy it looks like you pooped in them, I think they're too big."

Gee, thanks. I would have appreciated the newsflash 10 hours ago.

Adventures at the Chiropractor

There is nothing better than taking off all your clothes and hanging out in front of someone that has never had children. Especially if that someone picked on you in Junior High. The paper thin gown I put on did nothing to hide the fact that my boobs are pancakes, and my stomach has a road map on it. My day is off to an AMAZING start.

On a brighter note, I think the chiropractor really did something to help my back. Turns out I had dislocated a rib without realizing (How is that possible?!?) and once he popped it back in, the pain went from an 8 to a 4. He said my muscles will be sore for a few days, but I can handle that. The last few days of pain have been unbearable.

3 down, lots more to go.

Well Cody, One big wedding, One baby, Four moves, Three Lonely Winters and One Idiotic Broken Leg. Let's hope the next 97 years are less eventful than the first three.

PS- I know that I have 2 children. One of them is definately older than 3, so don't correct my math.