The WORST decision I've ever made...

The best thing about Buddy was definitely his killer hair. He had the most fabulous locks. Whenever we would go out he was always attracting attention. Ladies were always stopping us to comment on his hair. It was to die for. These perfectly curled locks. I would just have to bath him and let it dry and it would spring into these perfect curls. The last I bathed him his wet hair came way past his shoulders. I knew I it was time for his first hair cut but I REALLY didn't want to do it.  Like really didn't want to.  Well today after the twins doctor appointment we bravely stepped into the barber shop on Base. The lady who took us to the chair was pretty hideous. Buddy had initially been crying prior to sitting in the chair so she seemed worried about cutting his hair but once we sat down he was fine.  This lady did a HORRIBLE job. It was uneven. It was a sad mess. I was almost in tears. It was awful. I knew immediately I had made a bad decision. His delicious curls were gone possibly forever. In my grief (yes grief) I took a picture of his curls on the floor. He had so much hair and now it was gone into a bad hack job! I was hoping once I got him home and tried to style it it would be better. It wasn't. I frantically texted my friend Heidi and told her I needed her help. Luckily she told me to come right over and she fixed it. It looked so much better but I just felt sad. I know this is silly to be this upset about it but I am. He had the best hair of anyone in the family. It was so sad after we got home he was doing his signature high step where his curls bounce and there were no curls to bounce. I have been doing double takes all day at him because he doesn't look like my Buddy anymore. My sister joked that we will have to call him Austin now cause Buddy is gone. Here is to hoping his hair grows back fast and curly again someday SOON!!!                              
                                                                     Before

and after

And I thought he was faking!!!

Well life is certainly never dull. I'm happy to report Buddy is doing really good since his surgery but of course another issue has popped up.  We just found out Keri has a pretty serious heart problem. Let's start from the beginning when he started complaining of chest pains. Now granted I didn't know what to think but I wasn't thinking it was anything serious. If we are being honest Keri can be a bit dramatic at times. Well he took a few trips to the ER over the course of a month for these chest pains and finally and Keri was telling me all these things the doctors said it could be.  Of COURSE I was thinking it was probably nothing and wasn't paying too much attention to it. (I know, pretty awful.) Well they ran some tests including a "tee" which is a scope that looks at your heart and they informed him he had bicuspid aortic valve.  Boy were we ALL shocked. Here is a quick summary of what bicuspid aortic valve is according to the internet:

The aortic valve is a one-way valve between the heart and the aorta, the main artery from the heart that distributes oxygen-rich blood to the body. Normally, the aortic valve has three small flaps or leaflets that open widely and close securely to regulate blood flow, allowing blood to flow from the heart to the aorta and preventing blood from flowing backwards into the heart.

. The bicuspid aortic valve may not be completely effective at stopping blood from leaking back into the heart. This is called aortic regurgitation. The aortic valve may also become stiff and not open up as well, causing the heart to have to pump harder than usual to get blood past the valve. The heart then must pump that same blood out again, causing strain on the heart’s lower left chamber, the left ventricle. Over time, the ventricle will dilate, or over-expand. The main symptom of aortic valve regurgitation is shortness of breath during exertion, like walking up stairs.

Okay, so there are 2 scary things about him having this condition. #1- He could be fine one minute and literally have a problem and die.  An athlete that has this condition could drop dead on the court. Keri says one of his favorite wrestlers that had this was driving a car and died. So the doctor told us if Keri has any chest pains small or big.. get into the ER as soon as possible. #2- The condition is hereditary so now we have to have all of our kids checked. The doctor had heard a heart murmur in Ashley when she was little so we are mostly concerned about her. Keri's sister has to get checked as well. Luckily today we had to take the twins in for their check ups so the pediatrician put in for referrals for all the kids to get checked. How they check is they do an ultrasound basically so now I'm thinking ahead to a technician trying to do an ultrasound on Buddy. Yeah that is so NOT going to go over well. 

So the next steps for Keri now is to go to UNC to get an cardiac MRI and a cardiac cauterization to determine how severe his bicuspid aortic valve is.  If it is severe he is looking at open heart surgery immediately to replace the valve. If it is moderate he can put off the surgery for about 5 years. This also means Keri will be getting medically retired from the military. 

So that is the big news right now in our family.  The silver lining in all of this is that if one of the kids does have this as well.. it will be discovered and fixed early on. And that is truly a blessing.

Trials of having a Buddy!

Let me start by saying I have a million pictures I need to post but that will come.  I was just sitting here amongst the chaos... you know Cambree demanding another cup AND a blanket because she is soooo cold.. Ashley standing on top of the kids picnic table talking a mile a minute in her Ashley babble... and sweet little Buddy.. who is quietly watching tv while sucking on a pacifier and clutching another one in his hands... and I thought now is the perfect time to update my blog,

My focus on this blog will mostly be Buddy. Curly, browned eyed, everybody-stops-and-comment- on-how -cute-he-is Buddy. Since the second week in July Buddy has been sick. One double ear infection after another. He has been in and out of the doctor and has had at least five double ear infections and scarlet fever (which is strep throat with a horrible "scarlet" rash) twice all since July. The worst part is we had been dealing with a pediatric doctor at Pope Health Clinic that twice told us his ear infection had cleared up and twice we had to take him into an Insta Care and ER to find out it was indeed not cleared up.  This lady kept telling us she was going to put in a referal to ENT and then never did.  It was just a mess. At Buddy's worse he was completely lethargic. He would literally lay on the bed all day not moving. For a toddler that is the most abnormal and saddest thing to watch in the world. The last ear infection he had happened to be when we were vacationing in Florida for Labor Day. Buddy was back to acting sick. Laying down with his ear to the floor to play. Not eating. Not sleeping. No energy. It was hard to watch. We took him into the Insta Care and surprise... double ear infection and strep throat.  That was our final straw.  We had just seen this pediatric doctor the day we left for Florida and she had said everything was cleared up.  Keri got on the phone and the best they could do for a referral was Oct 9th which was over a month away. The whole process was just so frustrating. We took Buddy in to a different clinic on Base and we got the doctor to help us be able to take Buddy off base somewhere since they clearly were too busy on base to worry about a 20 month old with chronic ear infections.

Yesterday we took the 50 minute drive to the city of Cary and finally saw the ENT.  It was decided in a hurry that not only did Buddy need tubes in his ears but he needed to have his adenoids out in order to help him finally start to feel better.  I was so relieved we were finally on the path to help Buddy feel like a normal person again.  We were able to schedule the surgery for Friday so we had to come up with a plan really quick.  The hospital is 50 minutes away from our house and we have to be there with Buddy at 5:45 am.  Naturally the issue would be what to do with Cams and Ashley during the surgery. The thought of having to take Buddy by myself was sad. My sister lives an hour and 40 minutes away but she had her sons birthday party that day. She offered to have us drop the kids off at her house but with all the driving it really wasn't the best solution. Luckily things came together fast and Keri's mother Dana booked her plane ticket to come out and help us.  What an amazing mother in law I have! We are so lucky she was able and more than willing to help us out!!  This took so much stress off of all of us! The next few days are going to be jammed packed as we get ready for the surgery.  I have to take Buddy back up for a pre op on Wednesday and Dana will be flying in on Thursday.  Keri and I thought it would be easiest if we get a hotel close to the hospital Thursday night so we aren't having to head out at like 3:30am to get there Friday morning.  Really I feel so blessed things have worked out and Buddy doesn't have to wait long to get the tubes in.  His tonsils were already red and swollen again at the visit so I'm sure getting his tonsils out will be coming in the next few years.  It kills me that you always have that one person in your family with the medical problems.  Lucky for me Cams & Ashley may be my little diva's but they are typically pretty healthy. As I write this Cambree has been battling bronchitis however.  How we get things like scarlet fever and bronchitis while we are home 95% of the time is beyond me however!

I will update everyone after the surgery on Buddy's progress. I look forward to the day I don't have to watch Buddy lay on the floor to play with his cars anymore!!

Beauty is pain!!

So there I was....blow drying Cambree's long hair... plugging in the pink straightener and straightening Cambree's long hair.... putting her on the counter and pulling out the pink nail polish. Painting her toes and then adding glitter. Sometimes I think I spend more time making my 3 year old pretty than I do making myself look pretty.  I put her in her new cute halloween pajama's and she slips on her cute pink butterfly wings. I have got to say she might just be the cutest 3 year old on the block but boy is it work!! One day she better look back at her cute pictures and appreciate everything :)

Hands full indeed!

I hear that saying A LOT when I go out.  "Oh you look like you have your hands full..."  I usually nod and smile and pretend like it's not a big deal.  I can handle a 3 year old and twin 1 1/2 year olds without breaking a sweat.  The reality is most of the time I can.  It has become something I had no choice but to adapt to and make work.  I don't think anybody expects to get twins but when it happens it is amazing and a blessing.  Most of the time it isn't a big deal but then there are days when I think WHY?! To be entirely fair the twins really aren't the problem. The majority of my struggle is with my 3 year old.  I will be the first to admit I spoiled her.  When she was born I held her all day long.  You couldn't rip her from my hands.  I rarely put her in her crib in fact.  Even if she was crying none stop all day long (and trust me she was a cryer!) I wouldn't have the heart to put her in her crib and walk away for a bit.  Okay obviously I learned from that with the twins. I learned A LOT from raising Cambree and I do the complete opposite with the twins.  The twins have a schedule. They nap at 11 and go to bed at 7.  I think the thing about your first child is that it is a learning experience. You go in having no idea what to do and not to mention the fact I was clear across the ocean in England raising my first child.  I definitely babied Cambree too much and I am definitely living with the consequences now. Now I need to find a way to give Cambree structure. To enforce her being a big girl.  She hates to be alone. HATES it! I will put her upstairs playing with the twins and go downstairs for a minute to myself and she will follow me downstairs in less than 4 minutes flat. She has a lot of weird quirky things she does too. She hates drinking plain water.  If I give her a  sippy cup with plain water she says it is dirty and won't drink it! "Dirty mommy!" She inspects her food before she eats it. For example if I give her a graham cracker and if one of the corners is broken at all... she won't eat it. "Broken mommy!" She recently stopped eating chocolate chip cookies because she turns them over to inspect them and if she sees chocolate chips on the bottom of the cookie (and obviously there ISN'T a cookie that doesn't have a chocolate chip on the bottom) she straight up refuses to eat it.  I mean crazy stuff like that she drives me insane with.  Her newest thing is she has to have her food cut up into the smallest of slivers or she won't eat it.  "Too big mommy!"  I'm talking tinsy little pieces.  All these things add up to daily frustrations and someday's I just don't think I can do it.  Somedays it hits me that I am in over my head.  It makes me feel like I am a completely failure.  I try to take some deep breaths. Walk away if I need to and try to come back and be patient.  So yeah when people say "you have your hands full"... they are totally right. I do have my hands full! Here is to hoping that when Cambree turns 4 things go a little smoother. A little easier and hopefully she will start to eat chocolate chip cookies again!

Scarlet Fever!

A week ago Buddy started acting weird.  His behavior was just a little off.  As a mother you know your child and something was definitely wrong with mine. He also had this bright red rash on his face. At first I thought it was eczema but it was such a bring color and the look of it wasn't like when Cambree gets it. Here is what also started happening. He started laying down for EVERYTHING. We were outside drawing with chalk and he was laying completely down on the pavement to draw. While I thought it was cute I thought it was always strange.  Next we were shopping at the BX and he laid down in the cart! I have never seen him do that.  The last straw for me was when I gave him a bowl of mandarin oranges and he laid down on the floor to EAT THEM! Okay I knew something was wrong.  I called the advice nurse because it was about 4pm on a Friday and clinic would be closing soon on base.  I told her what was going on and she didn't concerned but she told me she would give me a referel to be seen off base to have some "piece of mind" going into the weekend.  A few minutes I had Buddy packed in the car and on our way to the urgent care.  Luckily the wait wasn't long and we got back to see the doc quick.  As I was telling the doctor about Buddy's weird behavior and the rash he sort of gave me a weird look like you brought him in for this? Well turns out Buddy not only had a double ear infection (which I had no idea he had) he also had strep throat and accompanied with his rash he had scarlet fever!!! I felt SO bad for little Buddy and SO thankful I brought him in.  Over the next few days the other two kids started acting a little weird (not like Buddy though) so I took them in and they got on antibotics for strep! Well then came on other bombshell. Shannon called to tell me Rylie has mono! Well THAT could explain Buddy laying down all the time.  Four days later on Antibiotics he is still lethargic so now I have to take him back in.  His rash was going away but now has spread and is worse. I don't know if this is normal or not but regardless we are going back to the doc. 

                                                Poor Buddy! Laying down to draw with chalk

                                                           Cambree after the doctor! 

                                                Ashley with some oranges trying to feel better!

4th of July!

 We had a fabulous 4th of July weekend! My sister's family came down and we had an amazing time! The morning of the 4th we went to our neighborhood pool to swim and then headed up to Fort Bragg for the day! Wouldn't you know it the second we get there and set out stuff down we were told that everyone had to go to their cars because severe thunder and lightening were coming.  Sure enough by the time we grabbed our stuff the rain started! Well of course Morgan and I had straightened our hair (apparently we need to check the weather forecast before doing such a silly thing next time) so picture the two of us trying to fit under a small umbrella while trying to save our straight hair. It only partial worked.  Morgs, Cambree, and I waited out the storm in my car and let me tell you it might have been the best part of the day for me.  Morgs and I were singing to songs and Cambree decided to keep honking the horn which made all the cars around us start honking back.  It was so hot and so humid after the rain but we had a great time! Gloriana performed and we all loved them (except Morgs lol) The fireworks were pretty cool and we all had a great time except for Buddy... who just wanted to run around cry! Here are a few of the pictures :)

Could Ash be America's Next Top Model or what?  Cambree is standing next to our neighbor Serena who she LOVES! 

Morgs attempting to entertain Buddy. ALL he wanted to do was run and be free!

This is poor Cambree hot & miserable but a great trooper. Naturally the cheetos helped!

Could Ashley BE any cuter? I'm here to say no!

Of course I got this drink for me and of course Ashley took it over. Cambree & Buddy fell asleep before the fireworks started but my lil Ash stayed up and LOVED them!

This was Morgs and me trapped in the car!