More excitement

A week ago the insanity began. Well I guess I should say more insanity than normal since our lives appear to be a three ring circus on a daily basis. Two Fridays ago Blake woke up from her nap hacking like and wheezing as if she had just burned a whole pack of Marlboro Reds in her crib while napping. Of course her symptoms didn't show until around 4 p.m. This meant we had to drive over to Children's South after hours clinic on Acton Road instead of going to the pediatricians office. Thankfully we didn't wait very long. Blake had a chest x-ray, had her O2 saturation measured, all body parts checked out. The doctor determined she needed a Albuterol breathing treatment. She felt much better afterwards then they sent us home.
The following morning she woke up hacking and wheezing again. Jeff and I held her down (horrible) and gave her two more breathing treatments. After they didn't seem to be working the pediatricians nurse sent us to Children's Hospital downtown. Once we arrived her O2 saturation was 88 and it needs to be above 90. She was given, oxygen and a 45 minute breathing treatment. After several hours and little improvement we were admitted. Blake and I stayed there until they released us Sunday afternoon. She was much better, but still very congested and coughing badly. At one point we thought Palmer was coming down with bronchilitis too. We had Blake in the hospital, Palmer showing signs but scheduled for tubes on Tuesday, and my sister about to have a baby any day. Chaos!
The doctor checked everyone out and all was good to go. Palmer had surgery tuesday and she did amazing and seems to be improving quickly.
Finally on Wednesday things started to slow down until AK starting running a fever and coughing. Ugh! To say the least a week of fevers and snot just about killed me.
Palmer had tubes on Tuesday morning. She did great! On that note I have a little rant. As we were sitting there waiting on the nurses to call us back a family of four entered the waiting area. First off, it clearly states and you are told only 2 people per child are allowed because the waiting area isn't very large. This family with one child and three adults cruised in. As they did they brought with them a cloud of cigarette smoke. It looked a little like lyoness (spelling?) in charlie brown who had the cloud of dirt behind him all the time. I literally had to catch my breath when they walked by. To this family: is it absolutely necessary to take that final drag off your cig before entering a childrens surgical facility? Not to mention it is extremely unhealthy for your small childs little lungs. Ugh...so disgusting! Oh and of course they chose to sit right up on me!
My sweet mother in law came to help for the day thankfully. Palmer wasn't at her best so she was able to hold her while I attended to the other two. Extra hands are always a must.
Thursday was a exciting day! My sister was induced-finally! Mary-Ross Rolling entered the world at 1:26 p.m. on May 26th weighing in at 7 pounds 2 ounces and 21 inches long. She looks exactly (and I mean exactly) like my sister. Brown hair, beautiful Indian skin, and precious as can be. They are all at home now and settling in. So excited!
What a hectic couple of weeks it has been. Hoping for less excitement this week.

Girls!

Here are my girls! The twins were 7 months and AK was 2 1/2.

Can you valet my minivan?

Ashlyn Kay went to spend the weekend at her great grandparents house in Wetumpka. She tends to go stay with Meme & Papa about once a month. She obviously loves this because of the constant attention she gets which honestly she needs every now and then. Sharing "her house" with two siblings and a dog has got to get tiring at times. So since AK was out of town and Nana graciously accepted our invitation to come and babysit the twins so Jeff & I could have a night out. The plan was to meet friends at a local sushi place in Homewood and then just hang out and catch up. So excited! What used to be a weekly event is now the most special occasion of the month.
Before we left I asked Jeff if he had cleaned out the Trailblazer (which is his vehicle). He had been in Pleasant Grove all day cleaning up so I knew it probably smelled divine. He then ask me why we aren't taking the van? I turned to him and said, "Well I guess we could but I don't know how I really feel about valeting the minivan." It was like the whole scene played out in his mind right then and there. Two young (er) adults, finishing up with dinner. The wife dressed in a trendy/cute outfit (something other running shorts and a tshirt) and husband looking handsome. He hands over his ticket to the valet guy. While waiting outside of a trendy eatery the valet guy pulls up a variety of vehicles. A SUV, a luxury car, and then there it is the old silver bullet herself. MY MINIVAN! Ummm...no! So he quickly ran outside cleaned out the SUV and off we went. I laugh about it because there was a time in my life (a time not too long ago) where driving a minivan would have brought me to tears and possibly a stand on no driving at all. But here I am 28 and cruising with my three little peeps and loving it...
In conclusion we had a wonderful night. Many thanks to the most wonderful grandparents and great grandparents for allowing us to get out. We made it known that we are still cool and not ready to valet the minivan!

9 months

Another month has come & gone and the girls are 9 MONTHS OLD! One minute I was posting about how they were 8 months old and now here I am posting about how they are 9 months old. Time is moving much quicker than I expected. I am just so thankful that I get to be at home with them and watch each and every change. It amazes me what children can not do and then the next minute they are doing something new. Here are some things we can do since last month.
Palmer: crawl, sit up beautifully, say dada & mama, she also has a tooth, oh and she now is eating finger foods.
Blake: army crawl, sit up, say dada, no teeth yet, and loves her puffs!

Stats:
Palmer: 16 pounds, 6 ounces, 27 1/2 inches long
Blake: 15 pounds, 14 ounces, 27 3/4 inches long
It seems to be that Blake has passed Palmer in height by a 1/4 of a inch. That is absolutely amazing to us since at 6 months she was still one inch shorter than Miss P.
The girls both have so much personality and they are coming out of their shells, especially Palmer. I am so impressed with how much they learn everyday. Palmer has decided she really loves mommy's ZUMBA music. She sits up, bumps around on her hiney, and yells. It is hilarious!
Times have changed here in the Moran household. Moveable babies-ahh!

Holy Batman!

Yes, this is exactly what you think it is. A tiny but oh so creepy bat. It is hanging from our patio awning in the back of our house. My mother-in-law went outside this afternoon while keeping the twins and saw something, thinking it was a hornets nest, but oh no, nothing that simple, it was a BAT! I grabbed the camera and snapped some shots to confirm. So here is the proof. I seriously get creeped out just looking at the pictures. When Jeff ts home I nominate him to take care of it. I forsee a youtube video in my near future!

Birthday Project

I have finally finished the baby bishop that I smocked for the twins. Well I smocked one and my friend Lynlee smocked the other one. So I figured since it took me this long (2 months) I should get started on their birthday outfits. I looked online at
several birthday smocking plates and came across one I loved. Today I went to my local fabric store and picked it up. Here are pictures of the plate, pattern, fabric and my thread. I am so excited to get started. Can't wait to share my finished project. Thank goodness I have until August!

Heavy Heart

At 2:45 a.m. (yes you read that time correctly) I woke up to my iphone alarm clock which is a very peaceful song of church bells. I typically wake up thinking, "where in the heck are those church bells ringing", but this morning I was up at at em. Why was I waking up so early you ask? I had made a personal commitment to myself to go and help with the disaster relief. Here in Birmingham there is a ministry by the name of Graces Kitchen. It is a organization started by two families and they feed the hungry at a park here in Birmingham weekly. One of our sunday school teachers a regular volunteer so we typically get the information about what the ministry is doing. They were allowed to cook hot meals at our church and take them to Pleasant Grover and feed the families in need. They started doing this on Monday and have dedicated theirselves to do this for several weeks. The amount of food they provide is amazing. With this being said it takes a small army to get everything together. There was a schedule posted where people could come volunteer and help cook and deliver the meals. One of the times this week was 3:30-5:30 a.m. and delivery by 6:00 a.m. Since I can not commit to taking meals I knew that this time frame was manageable because thankfully my house is still as a mouse at this time. So I hopped up, threw on some clothes, and out the door I went (not to forget the very gigantic coffee cup in hand)! I was excited! We began with prayer then off to the stoves we went. I helped out with grits. We cooked, stirred, mixed, tasted (yum), and made some yummy cheese grits. Others made bacon, cut fruit, and sausage/cheese muffins (delicious). It was a wonderful time of fellowship and a feeling of accomplishment once everything was done and out the door. I have had this deep sense of urgency resting on my heart to assist but just didn't have the time. What a great ministry Grace's Kitchen is! Way to go peeps!
Back home, quick nap, more coffee, breakfast, back out the door to church again for Zumba. It was a great class and a great workout. Left church, back home, played with the kiddos for a bit, then checked my FB as usual. I was heartbroken to see a old friend was being uplifted with prayer for her currect sorrows. After more investigation realized her husband of less then two years had passed away last night from cancer. Knife to the chest is what I was feeling. I just can't imagine and nor do I care to honestly, but I am a woman and where does my mind go, straight to the sorrow. No one to cook dinners for, no one to yell at about their underwear on the floor, no one to hold my hand at the movies. These are the things I now realize I cherish so much and have no desire to live without. My heart is completely broken for her and all of those affected by this death. Life is so short. Why is it that I forget this everyday. Take for granted everything? I know I shouldn't. Every life is precious in its own way. Tell everyone that you love them today.