Casting Day

I woke up this morning with 1 Peter 5:7 running through my head... "cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." A perfect reminder for cranial casting day! Our appointment went much smoother than I had anticipated!

I had talked with a mom a week or so ago who went through this same process... she explained the casting like a paper mache project... technology has progressed so much in the last two-three years that Cole's casting was all done electronically. It was amazing. Check out the process....

Here's the happy boy before we get started....


Since Cole has a lot of hair (he'll be getting his first hair cut soon), they had to put a sock type thing on his head to get a good picture of his little nugget. Amy is our tech... she will be getting to know us well as we'll get to visit her every 2 weeks from here on out. I told her today that she'll be getting to meet Miss Sadie soon, too... she ain't seen nothin' yet. :o)


There was a wire that went up the back of Cole's head that had a sensor velcroed to the top of the sock (the black piece on the top of the head). Amy is putting a band around Cole's neck to keep everything in place. As you can see, Cole's mommy is thinking this is a bigger deal than he is. Interesting.


Lastly, they put on a cape...


Apparently Cole thought this cape gave him super hero powers because from here on out he bounced up and down preparing for take off... making it difficult for Amy to get a good picture and this is why our photo session stops. Eric had to help Amy entertain Cole to get some good pics. Amy would take her picture "gun" (it looked like a cash register gun) and swipe from the sensor on top of his head downward. As she would swipe, it would create a picture on her computer. I wish we could have gotten a picture of the screen.... by the end, there was a perfect little picture of my baby boy.

For those who are wondering what our little helmet will look like, it will be a surprise to us all. You could pick different backgrounds... which we weren't too in to... or a solid colored helmet. We were really wanting a navy blue helmet (so we could put a Red Sox decal on it), but Amy was unsure if they could make it navy.... so if it's not navy, it will be red (Eric's banking on a good year for the Chiefs... maybe Coley will bring them some luck).

If all of the snowflakes were candy bars & milkshakes....

Well, like all if the rest of our Kansas friends, we received an unusual amount of ice and snow (for late March) over the weekend. I was sick, so I didn't get to enjoy it much (not that I ever really enjoy snow anyway)... but Sadie and Eric were able to partake in the fun. Here she is all duded up and ready for the weather... and here's the snowman they built! Sadie-sized. :)



Oh, and P.S. - if you were the punk that demolished my baby's snowman on Saturday night, you better watch your backside, this mama's on the prowl.

Sweet Caroline in the 8th!

Yep, it's official!!! Eric and I booked our flight and hotel tonight for our trip to Boston! I will miss my sweet children terribly (actually, I pretty much feel like crying every time I think about it!), BUT.... I'm so excited to get away with hubby for a few days A-L-O-N-E! I will eat my dinner in peace, will only need to carry MY purse and will get to hold hubby's hand!!! It will be amazing!

The Hot List

In the evening, Wally, my new favorite DJ, does "The Hot List" on Total Axxess. People send their top 5 songs in Christian Radio... if their list is selected, they are part of the show and share their "Hot List" on radio. Eric and I LOVE this... we like to try to guess what people will choose by what they "sound" like on the radio... you know, you can normally guess someones music taste from the way they talk... and if you can't tell by their voice, you'll have them nailed after their 1st song pick selection.

Anyway... I want to hear your "Hot Lists"... music only please, not your movie star hotties (another day, another blog... LOL). :) Christian/Non-Christian... send me your "Hot Lists"... maybe we'll all find something new for our playlists! Have fun!!!

My Hot List:
5. Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) by Chris Tomlin
4. Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
3. Click, Click, Click, Click by Bishop Allen
2. Captivate Us by Watermark
1. Chicken Fried (with Dr. Pepper on a Friday Night) by Zac Brown Band - if Eric and I knew how to dance, I'd make him cut a rug with me on this one!

Your turn! Comment, Comment, Comment!

Headed for a Helmet

I have hesitated for a few weeks to blog about a new journey in our lives. It seems that there are things in life that sometimes seem too personal... issues in life you want to protect for fear that you may be hurt... or worse, that your children will be hurt. A journey I had made up to be so horrible in my head, God is turning into something completely different... and is teaching me things about myself that I'm still sifting through. I want to share this journey with you... the pics, the good days, the bad days.... and eventually, the perfectly rounded head! Oh, how we'll celebrate!

Cole has a mild case of Positional Plagiocephaly, a super fancy term for flatness of the head. Since he was born he's preferred the left side of his head while sleeping. Despite my efforts in his early months, he continued to roll his head back to the left while asleep. At 3 months the doctors didn't think this was something to be concerned with, but at 6 months they did X-Rays to determine if the bones of his skull were fusing together prematurely. Thankfully this was not the case, as that would have required cranial surgery... something I cannot imagine having to go through.

Since the bones in Cole's head looked good, they sent us to Hanger Orthodics and Prosthetics to look into a helmet to reshape his little head. Correction of flat head must be done before the soft spot closes... and since he was still young we had a little wiggle room. Hanger suggested we reposition him like crazy and keep him off his head unless he's asleep (if there was enough improvement, we would be able to forgo the helmet)... so that's what we did... we repositioned like crazy, got up in the night, used positional wedges, carried him everywhere... and his cranial measurements improved... by 1/16 of an inch! Ugh....

So, Cole will soon be sporting a helmet... and despite the heartache I initially felt over all of this (and still do from time to time), I am coming to terms with having a little football player around the house... and a little extra cranial protection as he begins to crawl and get into everything!

Today God has been so good to us. The helmet expense is not a cheap one... and it's an expense that is not covered by insurance because it's considered cosmetic *eye roll*. There are places that offer grant money for this type of thing and to them we are so grateful... both The Children's Miracle Network and the Shriner's have agreed to pay for a portion of Cole's helmet. We've also had two very sweet families provide us with a gift... and today (I missed my MOPS meeting to meet with the Shriner's) we were given an enormous amount of money from my MOPS group... I didn't know mommies carried that kind of money!!! :) God is using this whole experience to teach me about giving like the Acts church gave... they gave to anyone in need... our financial need has been met. I am so humbled and thankful for the love God has shown us through His people in the past week.

Be praying as we will be fitted for the helmet... I will call tomorrow to schedule the fitting... we're probably looking at Friday or Monday... they will basically paper mache Cole's head to get a good mold of his head... it's a messy process and somewhat timely for a 7 month old.

God's gone before us... we'll keep trusting.

HIGH/low

it's a high/low bloggy day... the great things going on these days AND the not so great... we'll start low so we can end on a happy note!

low:
-eric started puking tonight... isn't that lovely? i haven't been within 12 feet of him for the last 5 hours. i'm a terrible nurse (seriously). pray his recovery is quick and that the lord places his protection around the rest of our tummies.
-my baby boy is going to be fitted for a cranial helmet to reshape his head from the side he's favored in his sleep... more to come on this.
-my grandpa's health is declining... it makes me very sad and concerned for so many i love.

HIGH:
-the lord has gone a head of us for cole's helmet. he is providing the money we need for this expense... confirmation that this is what we are to do. we are so grateful for the children's charities that have supported us and for some very gracious families that have given out of love.
-i enjoyed some good time to myself tonight... maybe it will recharge me to be a better nurse tomorrow!?
-i paid bills tonight and it didn't even make me grouchy... that may be a first.
-both of my children went to bed tonight without a hassle!
-i serve with some amazing women in mops... i'm going to be at a meeting in the morning and i know the mops meeting is entrusted to some very reliable women (i love you, girls!).

hope you're having a great week!

Super YUMMY!

My SIL gave me a really great cookbook for Christmas and I LOVE it... Deceptively Delicious! If you get your hands on a copy, start pureeing and enjoy the goodness! Wanted to pass along a yummy recipe that we couldn't get enough of this week! Hope you can try it out!

Avocado Spread
1 cup avocado puree
1/2 c. nonfat plain yogart
1 T reduced fat mayo
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. garlic powder (we used 2 garlic cloves instead)

Mix it all together and enjoy! We also diced some tomatoes (remember the tomatoes) and threw them it... ahhh... makes me want to go buy an avocado. :)

Hubby Did What I Asked

I have been crazy busy the last couple weeks... just a few extra things on my plate that I don't normally do. Hubby has been stepping up and helping out... last night he even went to the Wal-mart to get some groceries. Did you see what he brought home??? ELEVEN tomatoes! What on earth??? I had to check my list... yep, I wrote ELEVEN tomatoes... I think I need more sleep because we really only need one!

I got tomatoes, I got tomatoes, I got tomatoes, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!!!

Oh... and PS... do you like how hubby color coordinates the grocery list??? Pink items in the front of the store, blue items in the middle and green at the back... I think I may be rubbing off on him! :)

Neglected you like a dog....

Eric informed me today that I've been neglecting my bloggy buddies. He told me that blogging is like caring for an animal and I haven't fed you or watered you for 9 days. I'm terribly sorry... but you should just be happy that I don't kennel you while I'm away. :)

Building a Birdie House...

As I much as I hate birds, Sissy loves them. She purposely saves the last bite of her snacks for a special birdie treat and longs for a feathered friend to eat from the palm of her hand. She may be the next Mary Poppins singing, "Feed the birds, Toppins a bag..."

Sadie and Eric have been planning and gathering supplies to build a bird house... and today was the day. We now have a residence for our little birdie friends and even some seed for them to eat... now I'm just trying to find a cute bird feeder craft.

My favorite part about our new bird house... Sadie chose to paint it "Ballet Pink"... Pink is Sissy's favorite color these days and Daddy LOVES the beautiful hue, too. :)

Ta-Da!

Sadie was VERY excited to wear her "tard" (leotard) to "magic school" (gymnastics class) this week. Doesn't she look like an adorable little gymnast... now if we could just master the lingo, that'd be great!!!

For the love... WHY?

Today I had our day all planned out...

10:00 - Sadie gymnastics
10:30 - Journey from El Dorado into Wichita running errands along the way...
-The Book Grinder - I wanted to check out this cute little book nook
-Walgreens - to hit their weekly sales, of course
-Aldi's - for our weekly supply of fresh fruits and veggies
-Famous Footwear - Sadie needs some new shoes & I'm secretly hoping for a BOGO sale
-TJ Maxx - to pick up a baby gift
12:00 - Stop to feed hungry mouths, including my own.
12:30 - Finish up errands and MAYBE squeeze in a trip to Hallmark if I'm lucky.

Well GUESS WHAT!? We made it to The Book Grinder when my little 2 year old friend started acting like the 2 year old you swore you would never have. How is it that you can do all this training at home, discipline, striving for consistency... the whole nine yards and then you go into public and she pulls this number... all while trying to balance a 7 month screaming baby in his car seat?!

I couldn't handle it, we packed up and came home... but I did stop for a stiff Dr. Pepper on the way. Judge if you will... maybe I should have been super mom and trucked on to finish our list... but this mama hasn't had a full night sleep in almost 7 months and I was thinking there might be 2 of us acting like 2 year olds if we continued our errands. For the love... I guess we'll try again tomorrow.