Noah is full of nothing but....

SMILES

AND SWEET DREAMS!

(well, and a bit of poop, but I didn't want to show a picture of that)

This isn't too white-trash, is it?

Last week, I wanted to fill up our kiddie pool one final time for the kids. Unfortunately, the hose that goes to the house we're renting disappeared, therefore, I couldn't fill up the pool. I still really wanted the kids to play outside, so I came up with an alternative. Since they LOVE to play in water, I got the mauve puke bucket they gave me at the hospital (don't worry, I didn't puke in it) and filled it with water and put it in the front yard. I also gave the kids ice cream bars to eat while they played. Mike and I had pulled out two small kiddie chairs, put them on the front porch to sit on, and watched Eli and Leah play.

So, here's the list of things that was happening all at once to make me think this innocent family activity accidentally turned into a white-trash train wreck for all passers-by to view:

1. Make shift pool for the kids
2. Two, very dirty, messy-faced kids
3. Playing in the front yard
4. Half dead lawn that has only been mowed once this summer (but since it's pretty much dead it doesn't matter and for the record it's not my job to maintain it)
5. Parents sitting on the front porch lazily watching the kids
6. Someone (doesn't matter who) in overalls (I was that someone)

The only other key thing that was missing was someone in a mustard- and pit-stained wife beater. I tried to talk Mike into putting his on, but he refused.

If you don't believe that this really happened, here's some photographic proof:

Surprisingly, Leah didn't break the bucket and she didn't tip it over for a long time.

Noah's embarrassed to be seen with us.

Me in my overalls. They were the only pants that fit and that were clean that day.

Thanks Brittney!

This post is to say "Thanks" to my friend Brittney who's better at posting cute pictures of my kids than I am. We hang out with her and her kids about once a week and she's always ready, camera in hand, to capture the cute things our kids are doing together. So, if you want to see even more cute pictures of my kids, just check out the Miskin Family blog to the right and scroll through to see if you can find my kids. It won't be too hard.

THANKS BRITTNEY!!!

FREEDOM!!!!

Finally, as of today, Noah is officially plug, battery, monitor, and oxygen tank free!!!! This is a huge relief. Not only was it sad to have him hooked up to so many different things at various times, it was also really annoying. For a while there, it was a two person job just transporting him from one room of the house to the other. Those days are fortunately over. He's all better and we are so thankful and relieved.

Just to give you an idea of what it's been like, I thought I would include a timeline of pictures (sort of) so you can see the various stages of Noah's plugged-in-edness (Webster's Dictionary defines that word as the state of being plugged into or attached to something).

Some pictures may contain sad content; viewer discretion is advised.

Here's Noah right after he was born. Can you see how blue his hands and feet are?

Here's Noah all loaded up on a special stretcher to be transported to UVRMC. It took 1 1/2 hours to get him all hooked up. The ambulance he rode in was part of the Life Flight system. He got a cool T-shirt that says Life Flight on it. I think it would have been a little cool if he would have been able to ride in the helicopter instead, but I'm glad he didn't need to.

This is Noah in his bed the NICU. There were soooo many cords and tubes. Everything got tangled anytime they moved him.

His face swelled up because of the thing on his nose. It made him look like a little piggy.

As soon as he started to get better, Noah was disconnected from all that stuff very quickly and moved to the B side of the NICU. It's where more stable patients stay until they are ready to go home.

We had to stay over night before he could leave so that we could practice using all the monitors and stuff, just in case we had any question or if anything went wrong.

That's Noah with his grandma right before we left the hospital. See all the cords? We were hoping to leave them all behind, but we had to take a few with us.

This is the heart and lung monitor. It is REALLY loud. Fortunately, Noah only set it off 2 or 3 times the whole time we had it.

The thing on his ankle is not a house arrest anklet. It's the oxygen monitor for the sleep study he had to do before he was given the okay to be off the oxygen and heart/breathing monitor.

This is Noah, free from any tube or plug. It's only been half a day, but already, it's been great!

HOORAY!!! I'M A MONTH OLD TODAY!!

And sadly, today, I also had my legs amputated. (not really, I just tucked them up into my outfit to freak you out!!!)

It's happening again

I don't know what it is, but something about having a baby makes me lose my mind. Is it the lack of sleep? Perhaps. The change in hormones? Maybe. The constant feeding, burping, and diaper changing? Probably.

Whatever the cause, the lack of proper brain function always manifests itself in one, specific, disturbing way........I forget to put the lid to the washer down when I'm doing laundry!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Do you have any idea how annoying this is? I hate it!!!!! It's bad enough that it already takes me forever to do laundry. I always seem to have other, more pressing chores to complete. When I finally remember to switch the loads, I often find that the clothes are soaking in the water and the lid is up. It's frustrating because then I have to wait even longer to get the laundry done. It already takes a long time and I manage to make it last even longer. I don't know how to stop, how to return to my former level of brain function-the appropriate level needed to remember to put the lid down so that the washer can cycle all the way through and not just stop when the basin in full.

Please, I'm desperate. I need help! If any of you know or are a brain surgeon, please contact me at once. If any of you just want to take my kids for a few nights so I can get some rest, that will probably work to.

I'm not sure what to call this one.

This morning, I walked past the playroom and spied an article of clothing on the floor. I was pretty sure it was a pair of Eli's underwear. First, I thought, "Oh, I must have changed him there last night and left those on the floor." (Due to lack of sleep, I forgot that I didn't change him there last night at all) Next I thought, "Wait, no, that looks like the pair of undies I put on him last night after his shower." I just shook off those thoughts and continued on with my morning.

A little while later, the two big kids and I were watching cartoons on the couch. Eli was sitting in such a way that I could tell he wasn't wearing any underwear. I asked, "Eli, are you wearing underwear?"

"Yes....ummmm, no, I'm not," was his reply.

"Why don't you have any underwear on?" I continued, really curious because he was still wearing his pj shirt and shorts from the night before, just with no underwear underneath.

"Because I wiped my nose on them," he said honestly.

"WHAT? You wiped your nose on your underwear? Why didn't you just go get a piece of toilet paper?" I asked, totally shocked.

"Because it was an emergency. I'm sorry, Mommy" he said without turning his eyes away from the TV.

"Oh, okay, well next time, PLEASE just get a piece of toilet paper. DON'T use your underwear to wipe your nose again." I couldn't believe his response. His sneeze and subsequent buggers must have been so bad that he didn't possibly have time to run and grab a tissue. Instead, he took off his shorts and then his underwear, wiped his nose, and then put his shorts back on. I guess I should be glad he didn't put his underwear back on.

The funniest part is, when I told Mike this story, he said that last night he told Eli to stop wiping his nose on his shirt. Finally, something we have said has gotten through to the boy. He actually listened. I'm just not sure I like the alternative.