When does it stop?

The medical issues just keep on coming. I've had what my doctor thought was a UTI for more than 8 weeks now. I went throught two rounds of antibiotics, two urine cultures, and nothing has helped. Today I went to a Urologist for the first time. We determined that I have sustained some bladder trauma from when I was in the hospital after I delivered Lorelai. (I couldn't urinate, and my bladder got distended.) According to the doctor, it takes longer for an internal organ to heal than even a bone. So he thinks we just have to wait it out for another 6 - 8 weeks. That's fine with me! I was right all along. I knew something got messed up all those months ago! Sheesh! This is the fourth specialist I have seen since I got pregnant with Lorelai! I am so tired of doctors. They can be great, but I'm just done.

So now that Gabe is 3, he's decided to disobey us and do everything we ask him not to do. It got to such a crazy point that I decided to gut his bedroom. He has no toys, no lightbulbs, no blinds, and no climbing surfaces. We even turned the lock around on his door so that he can't lock us out anymore. I just feel that it's necessary at this point so that he doesn't hurt himself, or any of our more expensive belongings. He can slowly earn back his toys by getting stars on a special chart. 5 stars gets a toy back. (Thanks Jill for the idea!) He has to do things like say the prayer at dinner, stay in his room at night/nap time, read a scripture every morning, put his toys away, use the potty etc. So far, he's getting a good idea of what kind of behavior we expect and that we are to be respected as well. He gets to keep his books, puzzles, and stuffed animals, but that's it. Ryan added a little something to his punishment too; if Gabe has a screaming fit, he will get a spray of water in the face from a spray bottle. It's interesting, I know, and maybe it sounds harsh. But it works! When I was young, my sister and I used to spray the cat to make her mad. She kept a low profile after each time, and so far Gabe does too, so it's been nice. I just won't tolerate his defiance anymore. I want to have fun with my son, but only if he stops complaining and whining and starts to "use his big boy words". That's code for 'talk to mommy in complete sentences', not whines. I ignore him if he whines, so he eventually figures out how to get what he wants.

Lorelai is growing big fast! She is 3 months old now. She's such a cute little girl. We call her "Sparkle" for the way her eyes glint when she smiles. I also like to call her "Bunny" when I'm playing with her on the floor. She is still a golden child and super easy to care for. I love my kids so much and it is such an honor to raise them. I learn so many new things about myself in the process and I am glad for this opportunity to better myself through them.

I don't have any further information on the lump in my breast and whether or not we will be operating soon or if I will have to wean Lorelai soon. My appointment for this discussion is May 9th. I'll keep you all posted when I know more.

Gabriel's 3rd Birthday

On March 21st we celebrated Gabriel's birthday.  Robyn took the initiative to make an amazing cake with  homemade fondant.   The train cake.  Gabe thought the cake was really neat.  With Gabe's party, we invited both my parent's and grandparents and Ryan's parent's and grandparents. The Warners and the Lotts.  This party was held at Grandma and Grandpa Brower's house.  Once we had finished our Hawaiian Haystacks dinner, we had Gabe dive into his presents.  I wish we would have known that doing so was a bad idea.  Once Gabe opened all his presents he arrived at his present that was a Toy Story Train.  Having this toy train meant he didn't want to focus on anything else and he pretty much had a constant melt down when we told him to blow out his candles on his amazing cake.  It was cake time! Yum yum.