Doctor, doctor give me the news...

Wow, have we been to the doctor's office a lot lately. On the 14th Mackenzie had her check-up and hearing test after having tubes put in her ears a month earlier. All is well with her ears. She still has a 30-60% hearing loss in her right ear. Even with the hearing loss she is doing well in Kindergarten. The doctor wants to us to get her a hearing aid, but we opted to wait and see how she continues to do in school.

On the 18th Lexi had her 1 year check-up. She is getting so big. Lexi now weighs 18 pounds and is 29 inches long. She is perfectly healthy and growing like she should. Lexi may be petite but it fits her giggly personality just perfect.

The next night (the 19th) I took Kennedy into Urgent Care because she was complaining of bad ear pain. You guessed it, she had an ear infection. She is feeling much better now.

Two night ago I took Lexi and myself into Urgent Care as well. I had a sore throat for 2 days and was really tired and achy all over. Lexi had spiked a fever of 101.8 that afternoon so I feared she was getting a sore throat too. Come to find out I have strep throat and Lexi has a double ear infection. After a few days of antibiotics the girls in the house are all feeling better.

The house is in shambles and needs a good cleaning. But my energy level is slowly returning to normal so I will get the house back in order this weekend.

Halloween is on Sunday and the girls are excited to go trick or treating and to the church party. So we all need to be in good health.

Until next time~ Anita

Harla, we miss you!

The first time I met my husband's mom, Harla Kwallek, was Easter 2006. I was really nervous about meeting the mother of the love of my life. When in reality I think she was more nervous about meeting me. Harla readily accepted me and my daughter Mackenzie into her family. She loved Mackenzie tremendously and fell into the role of her grandma easily. Fast forward to my bridal shower. Harla gave me an awesome baking cookbook and a card that said she had been praying that someone like me would come into Scott's life. The day Scott and I got married I could see the happiness just beaming off her face.

A few months later we announced that we would be parents again in January 2008. The night Kennedy was born Harla, Randy and Christian drove an hour to the hospital to be one of the first to meet her. Harla always lit up when she got the chance to see her grandkids. She spoiled them rotten and usually gave them what they wanted. She loved her granddaughters with her whole heart.

For my birthday in 2009 Harla gave me a gift certificate for a cake decorating class and some supplies to get me started. I didn't get to take my class until August of 2009. At this time I was pregnant again with our 3rd daughter and I loved being able to get out of the house for the hour a week. When Harla gave me my birthday gift that year it was like she had known me my whole life and knew that I would fall in love with cake decorating. She was right!! I loved it and became instantly hooked. Harla and I finally had a hobby to talk about.

The month of September was a very hard month for Harla as she struggled with the breast cancer she had been fighting for 3 years. I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Alexis Grace (Lexi Lu) and Harla kept telling me that Lexi wasn't going to come until she (Harla) was strong enough to meet her. I believe she was right. Lexi was born on October 9th and she met her a week and a half later.

This last part is tough for me. I type this with tears in my eyes. Harla was in the hospital in Dubuque, IA and we drove down with Kennedy and Lexi to see her. I'm not sure how long we were there for but I know it wasn't long enough. The whole time Harla laid in her bed and held little Lexi while she slept. The nurses were so very happy that Harla and Lexi got to meet. We talked for awhile then Kennedy decided that Grandma needed some chips. It was so unbelievably cute as Kennedy was feeding Harla. As the time wore on Kennedy became increasingly bored and ready to go home. I left some recent pictures of her granddaughters with her as we packed up to drive back to Madison. My only regret is that I didn't give her one last hug before leaving. My arms were full of baby stuff and I thought I would see her again.

On October 25th 2009 Harla went home to be with God. It was a cold dreary day much like today. We are told that she is glad she was able to meet Lexi before passing. We are also told that she was hanging onto the pictures I gave her as she took her last breath. Words can't even describe the pain we felt in the coming days leading up to the funeral. It took me awhile to process it all. Between taking care of a newborn and 20 month old I was exhausted and hormonal. At the funeral they played a song called "I can only imagine" by MercyMe. It was at that moment that I let all my grief out that had been building up over the last week.

Harla, you were an amazing woman, mother, and grandma. We will forever miss you and never stop loving you.

I thought it was suppose to get easier

Growing up I was always under the assumption that having babies was hard and that it gets easier as they get older. Boy was I wrong. The older our girls become the harder and more difficult our life seems to get. We love our 3 girls more than life itself but wow, some days I really need a drink at 4 o'clock. No one ever told me that being a mom would be such a challenge.

I'm currently reading 2 books trying to better figure out how to get a grip on the dynamic of our house. The first one I'm reading is The New Birth Order Book by Kevin Leman. I think I've discovered more about myself reading this book then my kids. While the girls are still to young to know if they will fall under the typical birth order it's nice to know what to look for.

The other book I'm reading is The No-Cry Discipline Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. Since I started reading this book I have felt a sense of calmness come over me. I know that I am a long ways off from where I want to be but it's a start. Here are some reminders from the first section that I read;

• First: Solve the real problem: Tired? Hungry? Frustrated? Bored? Overstimulated? Scared? Confused?
• Be consistent.
• Offer a choice.
• Play a cooperation game.
• Make it talk.
• Engage the imagination.
• Sing a song.
• Tell a story.
• Be silly.
• Use 5-3-1 Go! (Give fair warning.)
• Have an eye-to-eye discussion.
• Use positive words. (Avoid no, don't, stop.)
• Use when/then, now/later, you may/after you.
• Distract and redirect.
• Use family rules.
• Make it brief, make it clear.
• Think it, say it, mean it, do it.
• Follow daily routines.
• Use happy face cards.
• Use a time-out to interrupt misbehavior and calm emotions.
• Be firm-it's OK.
• Be flexible. Don't fret. Pick your battles.
• Give compliments, encouragement, and kind words.
• Build a foundation of love, trust and respect.

Until next time ~ Anita

Cupcakes make a good breakfast.

I love fall! The cool, crisp weather. The beauty of the fall colors that only God can create. And of course fall baking!

Yesterday I made 2 loaves of banana walnut chocolate chip bread and 2 dozen black bottom cupcakes. (I had planned to make snickerdoodle cookies, but never got to them.) I love the satisfaction of putting all the ingredients together, sticking them in the oven and poof a few minutes to an hour later out come wonderful treats. The house fills with such appetizing smells and the warmth of the oven feels so cozy.

I was up really early for Life Group today so I did feel like it wasn't to big of a deal to eat a cupcake when I got home. Besides, I did have some banana bread for breakfast.

Until next time ~ Anita

5:45 a.m. may be to early for some.

However, for me it's the perfect time to drive to Dodgeville to meet with the ladies in the Life Group at Hidden Valley Community Church. We are currently reading The Miracle of Life Change by Chip Ingram. This book is awesome!

The changes I am experiencing in myself are just astonishing. I can feel myself drawing closer to God in all aspects of my life. I am learning to trust him more and go to him first when I am having a problem. I am no way close to the spiritually mature person that I long to be but I'm getting there. God has done so many great things in my life and I'm remembering that only he can provide for us the things we need.

And I can't say enough about the wonderful ladies in my group. They come from all sorts of backgrounds and are in different places on their walk with God. Just listening to the stories of these women is an encouragement to me. I have always longed for a group and a church where I can truly be myself and not worry about being judged. They accept me for who I am and it is such a relief. This is the place for me. Hearing the honesty from these women and seeing them being authentic with each other is fascinating to me. We grow up in a world that tells us to be guarded all the time. To not trust anyone and to only think about ourselves. That leads to a very lonely life of unfulfilled relationships. The friendships I am forming in these Life Groups is truly a work of God.

Until next time ~ Anita

Not sure where to start

I got the idea to start a blog from a classmate from high school, Thanks Jen. Go Dodgers! After the stressful day I had today it seemed like the best thing to do to relax.

As the title states. I'm not sure where to start. I have so many thoughts running through my head that I'm afraid it will spin off into space any second now. Sooo, I'll start with the day I had today. I could just tell before getting out of bed that it wasn't going to be a good day. Kennedy (2 1/2) was up earlier than usual and I didn't really sleep well the night before. I had to drag myself out of bed and get Mackenzie ready and off to Kindergarten. The rest of the day was pretty normal; dishes, diaper changes and laundry.

I did get a chance to get outside and start raking up the leaves in the front yard. The air was so crisp and cool that I shuddered a little as Kennedy and I stepped out the door. I knew that I had at least an hour to rake as Lexi (1) was down for her first nap of the day. It was nice to get some fresh air and the exercise of raking was a good energy boost. Kennedy was content with scooting her ride on toy up and down the sidewalk while I raked the leaves to the curb.

The rest of the day....wasn't so nice. The girls started to get whiny, clingy and crabby. By God's grace and his alone I was able to get through the day. I'm not sure why but today was just one of those days where everything seemed to go wrong and the girls needed me every time I turned around.

Until next time ~~ Anita