ADJUSTMENTS!!!

Let's see.....I last left with Cooper fighting a cold. He is doing much better now but it was a fight for him. Last week after his fever going down and then coming back two days later, we were sent back to the lab for a full work up again. Only this time they were not able to find a vein. After digging in my little boy for 45 minutes they finally drew it out of the top of his little hand. The good news is again it just showd that he was still fighting a cold. We had a few nights that he did not sleep and just when I thought there was no way I could make it through one more sleepless night, Cooper decided to sleep. Of course we (I) :) was still up every 3 hours to feed him but after a few nights of no sleep the few hours between feedings felt great and I was back to feeling human again. The last few days he seems to have been feeling pretty good. He fights sleep horribly but eventually Dad and I win out. He is getting so big and eating like a horse. He is also getting cutier by the minute. He smiles so much now and that gets our day started on the right track. He loves his sister and she can always make him smile which in turn makes us smile. She also loves him. She insits that Cooper sit in his bouncy chair beside her while she eats and in the bathroom while she takes her bath. She also fills him in on all the happens as they watch Micky Mouse Club House, Little Mermaid and Cars over and over again.

Things are falling right into place now but at the beginning of last week I wasn't sure it was going to go so smoothly. The first few evenings after being back to work were chaos and not very pleasant. I was picking the kids up for work and heading home around 5:30pm. We would get inside and I was trying to get dinner ready right away. While doing that Raelynn was demanding a snack and much more attention than I had time for. Then there was Cooper who also wanted my attention and needed fed by 6pm. The kids seemed to be battling for every second I had and there were a lot of tears being shed. I realized very quickly that this wasn't working because by the end of the night I was exhausted, felt like I had no time with either of them and just felt like I was not being the Mom I wanted to be. So I took a deep breath and made some adjustments. Now a menu is written out on Sunday for the whole week. I go to the store on Sunday, alone, while Terry has time with the kids and get everything we need. Each night after the kids go to bed I get the meal for the next night ready so that all I have to do at the most when we get home at 5:30pm is put it in the oven or on the grill. That changed everything. Now we get home and we get settled in our comfy clothes and talk about the day while we put coats and shoes away. Raelynn gets a snack while I put whatever we are having on to cook and get Cooper's bottle ready. Then I feed Cooper while Raelynn reads us a story, dances around the living room or whatever else she may feel like doing and of course Cooper and I show our appreciation for whatever entertainment she comes up with. By the time dinner is ready Terry is usually home and from then it is just tag team for us between the kids. You know....Terry gets Raelynn in the bath-I clean up the kitchen; I wash Raelynn's hair and get her out of the bath-Terry gets Coop his meds; Terry helps Raelynn into her PJ's-I get her snack. Then we all sit down to watch a little TV or play Memory before Raelynn is off to bed. Even Cooper is starting to like that game, hahaha. Then Terry feeds Cooper, I do laundry or do laundry or do more laundry or pay bills...whatever may need done. It works great and at the end of the night I feel like we have spent great time together and usually have very few unhappy moments. I absolutely love to be with them and get excited just for them to wake up in the morning.

I am also excited because thanks to my friend, Kelly, have found a church that I think we will really be able to grow in. They had an open house this past weekend to introduce their new youth wing and Kelly invited us to attend. I had been thinking a lot about the fact that we really needed to start attending church because I think it is so important for Raelynn at this age and also important for us in general. I took her up on the invitation and the church is wonderful. The new youth wing is amazing and I know Raelynn will love when she gets a little older. One of Raelynn's classmates also attends this church so she was happy to see a familiar face in her little Sunday school class. She didn't want to stay in the class this past Sunday but has promised me that she will this Sunday. :) While in church with me though Raelynn heard the pastor speak about God. She asked me where God lived and I told her in heaven. Because the fact that Grandma had told her that her Daddy had died because he was old and now lives in heaven, Raelynn derived that God must be old too. I agreed with a smile and said yes God is very "old". She is so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!