April things...

Yesterday was my Grandpa Kenny's birthday & I didn't get the chance to call him & wish him a Happy Birthday. Good thing I'm planning to attend his birthday party on Sunday. I look forward to hugging him & getting another picture with him. He's such a fantastic and special man. Being with him warms my heart.

For the last few days the kids have been really missing their daddy. He's on a business trip to Traverse City and will finally be home this evening. We're all looking forward to his return as I know he is too. In his absence I have taken the opportunity to disassemble the living room ceiling so that we gained another foot and I've managed to tear almost all the wallpaper off the walls already. Next comes my least favorite part of the whole remodeling project and that happens to be washing the wallpaper goo off the walls. So time consuming & unfun. BUT it needs to be done and I am pleased that I am almost to that part in the process. I started this project just Sunday evening and in just a few days it is nearly ready to be patched & taped in preparation for texturizing and then painting. I look forward to having my new painting on display in the living room with warm colors all around rather than white/cream against the dark woodwork we have. And goodbye gross carpet full of 30 years of dirt that a good Dyson wasn't around to help keep it clean until we moved in a few years ago. Perhaps our allergies will improve again. I know I could use less allergy problems on a day to day level. AND Adam will have missed most of the mess that he hates, I had something to keep me busy while he was away, and the kids had fun coloring on the wallpaper & helping me tear it off after. I'd say this little venture worked out for all of us. Glad I had the idea to get working on it. :)

Morgie's New Milestone

This one has taken a long time to achieve BUT is well worth it. Morgan can finally lay in her bed and go to sleep on her own. I've probably explained before why she has never learned to fall asleep on her own until now when she's 3 1/2 but I'll explain again. Since she had so much trouble with breathing we never ever let her cry for long. It would just work her up & cause her more trouble breathing right from the day we got to bring her home. As she grew older she didn't have quite the same breathing trouble but developed Reactive Airway Disease. It's pretty much just shy of being bad enough to call it Asthma. Morgan seems to catch colds quite easily & then has to have breathing treatments twice a day for the duration of the cold to make sure it doesn't develop into something more like bronchitis or pneumonia. It seemed to me that just when she'd get better I'd start working with her to get her to try to stay in her bed & go to sleep & then she'd catch another cold & I'd have to hold her to do a breathing treatment at night & she'd fall asleep in my arms. Not helpful when trying to develop a new habit. She got quite used to falling asleep in my arms or next to me so she didn't know how to do it on her own. After some discussion with Adam, I decided that if Morgie got sick again I'd give breathing treatments earlier in the day & downstairs so that she would stop associating it with sleep and then maybe I could teach her a way to fall asleep on her own. At first the most difficult thing was to get her to stay in bed without me laying right next to her the whole time. I'd sing to her a little & that usually helped but as soon as I would leave the room she'd get out of bed to find me or go harass her brother who was usually already sleeping. (He's like his Papa Blaine & can fall asleep in literally 30 seconds after he decides he's going to sleep.) I had an idea...what always helps me to fall asleep at night besides praying? The answer is rubbing my feet together. I told Morgie to try it & she said she didn't know how. I showed her & I can't believe how well it works. She starts rubbing her feet, I often have to remind her, and after about a minute she starts yawning. Soon after that she's out for the night. I can't believe how well it works. It's almost like magic & I am so happy I thought of telling her to try it. Her future husband might not be as thrilled as I hear many people in my family rub their feet together & some of the spouses get annoyed with the sound of the rubbing feet. I find it humorous as both Gabby & Braly used to rub their feet together when they were babies. Makes me think it really could be a genetic trait. Hahaha LOL