Diy paci-plushie or wubanub

My oldest boy, mind you, I have four kiddos 3 years old and younger, has a wubanub. It is his best friend! When he bit thru his wubanub and i showed him it was broken, he was devastated. I was going to be that mom that says you bit it, its gone forever. My little man bent in half bawling for his puppy to be fixed. My heart melted for him. So what I did next was probably what any mother of four tiny kiddos would do. I gently calmed him down and told him I would fix puppy. He must not hurt puppy again though. He agreed in his toddler way he wouldnt hurt puppy again. I brainstormed how am I going to fix this. The soothie is not replacable?? They dont sell wubanub in wausau (at least to mu knowledge). I thought i would take his nuk altogether but I just simply wasnt ready. Littleman has gone thru so much with his health, surgeries, an adoptive brother, and a new brother all in such a short amount of time that I wasnt going to take it. So i cut off the broken soothie and handsewn on a gumdrop paci! I brought it back to him and said I fixed it. He was the happiest little guy on the planet! It was priceless.  And its been at least 6 weeks and he still hasnt hurt puppy! 

So my littlest guy was going back and forth on his mam nuk. Not wanting it, then wanting it. I really wanted him to try a wubanub but he hated the soothie. So i gave up. Well until i discovered this...

Its a paci-plushie blankie!! How cool is that!! And the coolest part is that it takes a mam, better yet it takes all kinds of nuks/pacis!! So i looked it up on amazon $18!  I wasnt going to spend another $18 when I knew I could do this at home. So this mamma was at it again!! This is Little guys diy paci-plushie blankie!! 

I think it looks pretty good and he loves it!!! 

 

And this is how I did it...

I had found the mam holder and hand sewn it directly the the monkeys head.

Then pop in your nuk of chioce

And there you have it!! 

It's a paci plushie with no extra cost. Simply find a lovey that you already have. Handsew a holder to it and pop in the nuk! 

Lord, I need you

Screaming children, poopy pants over and over, spilled milk, whiny toddlers, crying babies all around me.  What is a mother to do. I have four kids three and under, man is it a lot of work.  Everyday seems to get harder and harder.  This is when I find myself holding unto the reigns of my life, trying to do it all on my own.  I love children.  I always have.  I dreamed of having many littles running around and beingtheir  mommy.  Now I have it and what do I do.  I try to take it all and not give them to The Lord.  It is not my children I am raising. These children are the Lord's children.  I now this, now I have to believe it.  I can see when I fail I am not allowing God to work through me.  When I scream at my children for the umpteenth time and still get disobedience. I'm at a lose; until The Lord gently and firmly reminds me to Come back to him.  To give his children back to him and lay my failings, shortcomings, selfishness, and the rest of my sin at the foot of the cross. The Lord is all I need.  

Psalm 46:1-3

1 God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.

Why do I forgot God, why do I try to do it without him when I know it's so much more peaceful and joyful with HIM!!!  

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:7

God's word is good food for the soul.  I want to believe that I deserve a break, I deserve someone to come help me, I deserve a chance to have time to myself. Satan wants me to believe that because I do x,y,z; I am a good person and do not need God but this List goes on and on, my wants and desires.  Truth be told, it wouldn't matter how much help I would receive, how many breaks I would get, or even if I by chance got time away; I would still be broken and in great need of my Lord and Savior!  I need you Lord, oh how I need you.  The words to this song, I desperately needed today.  I love my children, I love my husband, I love my life; however, I can't do this wife and mother thing alone.  I'm not enough and I fall apart without Him.  I need The Lord and so does my family.  

Lord, I come, I confess 

Bowing here I find my rest 

Without You I fall apart 

You're the One that guides my heart 

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You 

Every hour I need You 

My one defense, my righteousness 

Oh God, how I need You 

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more 

Where grace is found is where You are 

And where You are, Lord, I am free 

Holiness is Christ in me 

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You 

Every hour I need You 

My one defense, my righteousness 

Oh God, how I need You 

Teach my song to rise to You 

When temptation comes my way 

And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You 

Jesus, You're my hope and stay 

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You 

Every hour I need You 

My one defense, my righteousness 

Oh God, how I need You 

You're my one defense, my righteousness 

Oh God, how I need You 

My one defense, my righteousness 

Oh God, how I need You

I've been learning of grace in a women's bible study I am currently in and boy do I need to give myself grace.  Yes, I am nothing without God, yes I fail my children and my spouse.  I even fail myself.  But that doesn't matter,no none of it does.  What matters is Jesus! Jesus died for my sins.  The sins I committed as a child, the ones I committed yesterday, and the ones I committed today.  Here right now, The Lord  is holding me and whispering in my ear, "I love you."  I am not the perfect mother or spouse but I can be my best and Jesus will take care of the rest.  I need to allow myself grace and do the best I can with Christ's strength! 

Thank you Lord for giving me a few moments to spend time with you regardless of the screaming children all around me.  Thank you for the four blessings you have given me. I give them to you, they are your children. Please grant me wisdom to show your love and grace to them.  Thank you for the wonderful husband you have given me.  Thank you for rescuing me.  Thank you for redeeming me.  Thank you loving me and giving me grace. In Christ's name. Amen. 

My sanity...It's called "The Everest!!"

At 6 weeks post-partum; having four kids 3 and under, I was going a little crazy.  Going anywhere alone was a chore. I couldn't even go for a simple walk to enjoy the fresh outdoors unless I wanted to chase the older two.  I was going a little insane!  I had asked a friend if she still had her quad stroller because she too had four kids within three years.  Unfortunately, she sold it!  I turned my insanity into desperation and started searching for a way to get a break, go for a walk, with all four kids strapped in.  I was desperately looking for freedom! And I found it.  A New Zealand Quad stroller I have been drooling over this stroller ever since we found out about the possibility of getting our Little Dude, the little miracle we are adopting. It's not sold in America.  However, it can be shipped here so it's not impossible to find in America.  It retails for $1700 and costs nearly $300 in shipping costs to get it from New Zealand to America.  I had given up the idea of ever owning one of these strollers.  But our God still amazes me and continues to bless us.  Someone on Craiglist, just 3.5 hours away was selling the New Zealand Adventure Buggy for a fraction of the cost!!  This crazy momma, packed up all four kids, called Grandma to come with, and drove to get it!!  Here is the legendary stroller referred to as the Everest, my sanity saver...

All four kids at the mall, enjoying their ride.  

And it fits in the van like a glove!!

Thank you Lord Jesus for a break, for blessing us with this amazing stroller for a fraction of the price!!  I love my kiddos, I love my stroller, and I love my life.  It's certainly the little things, isn't it.  :)

Little Guy's birth story!!

On the morning of August 19, 2013, I woke up with contractions at 1:35 A.M.  I tossed and turned for a few minutes.  My tummy was constantly hard.  I woke up SuperDaddy and told him that I was sure something was happening.  It didn't feel like contractions, just constant pressure, EVERYWHERE!!  I asked him to call the midwives.  He said "no, I'm sure everything is fine, let's go on the couch and count contractions. (Mind you, I went into preterm labor just 3 weeks prior to this at 34 weeks, we were only 37 weeks when he was born)  So, to make him happy, I went on the couch.  Looked at him and said, "Call the midwives NOW, please!  The time was then 1:50 A.M.  Thankfully our babysitter for the other kids spent the night that night.  I ran upstairs to wake her.  I had to wake the sitter,  transfer another baby out of the birth-room, and set up the birthing bed, and birthing tub  yet.  I was feeling like I was running out of time.  SuperDaddy was still downstairs.  We managed to get the other baby transferred to another room, while we were sitting up the bed, my water broke, all. over. the. floor.  Let me tell you, that is by far the craziest feeling in the world!!  With my first, I only had leaking and it broke during pushing.  My second, I almost delivered him in the sac of waters until the midwife broke the waters with the amnio-hook as I was delivering him.  My third was delivered through adoption, so no water breaking there :)  So needless to say, I was in shock when my sac of waters burst!  The time was now 2:15. The midwives still had not arrived and it felt as if the water was never going to stop gushing. SuperDaddy decided to start filling the birthing pool as my babysitter made up the birthing bed.  I was now contracting almost constantly; kneeling against the side of the bed, waiting. Waiting. Waiting for the midwives to arrive.  By 2:30,  I laid down in the bed, praying the midwives would make it in time and gave up the hope of ever getting in the birthing tub.  The bed wasn't even fully made, but I didn't care, at that very moment I just needed to rest my head on something! It was 2:40 and I knew he was coming!  I heard someone say "Katie is here."(the midwife assistant)  She came in the room and said, "let me set up some things." I screamed; "No, he's coming!!  She had just enough time to grab gloves and catch him! The midwife was walking up the stairs as he was delivered at 2:44 A.M.  What a short pain filled adventure we had just experienced!! My shortest birth yet and we were  so glad he was a healthy little guy!!  The midwives had everything cleaned up and back in order before any of the other children woke up.  It was perfect. Perfect indeed.

Purely Perfect!  Born at 2:44 A.M  Weighing in at 7 lbs 14 oz and 21.5 inches long!! 

Can't believe He's 7 weeks old already!!!!

The day I've always waited for since becoming Little Peanut's Mommy...

Yesterday, September 9, 2013, seemed as if it was going to be a normal day in our new life of four littles.  Little Peanut was rambucksious and curious, the boys were all that-boys.  We had our fun before lunch, ate, and put the boys down for nap.  Little Peanut and I had our first day of homeschool-preschool this morning.  (Yes, you are welcome to pray we stick with it since we have a house full of babies :) Yikes!! But we love every minute of it!!!)  Then it happened!!! I was reading Little Peanut a story about "Who created the World," and out of the blue she asked, "Mom, do those kids (pointing to the pictures) have Jesus in their hearts?"  The next moments were priceless.  SuperDaddy and I have been sharing the gospel with Little peanut for at least a year now.  We have talked about accepting Jesus into your heart. Little peanut just hasn't been ready.  She could repeat the gospel in its entirety, however, she would say "I want to keep my dirty heart and be selfish."Yes in her own words, "No mommy, I'll do it tomorrow because I want to be selfish and have a dirty heart."  As hard as it was for almost a year, SuperDaddy and I said "ok, we will continue to pray for you sweetie," and left it at that.  But Yesterday, she was finally ready for her new clean heart!!  After she asked about the kids in the pictures, she bowed her head and said the sweetest prayer I've ever heard, asking the Lord to forgive her and give her a clean heart! She went through the whole prayer by herself then looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I have Jesus in my heart forever and he gave me a clean heart, I will be more kind and obedient now."  And she has!  You can really see a difference in her little life.  It still amazes me how God works.  Thank you Lord for the greatest birthday gift a mother could ask for!!!

A not so good update on Little Man...

Little Man has been showing signs that aren't so good lately. Would you please join us in praying for answers, once again.  For the last month, he has been refusing to eat most foods until he jump starts himself with a decent meal.  I was hoping it was a phase. Three weeks ago, he started having diarrhea and undigested food in his stools.  I was hoping he reacted to a friend's house because she has a dog and carpet.  His asthma symptoms are returning and his digestive system is completely going haywire.  Last week he was constipated for 4 days, I gave him a suppository, then the diarrhea and undigested food returned along with tons of mucous that afternoon.  His eyes get blood shot and swollen at times and he gets random rashes on his body.  We don't understand what is going on with him.  There are many red flags.  As of last friday, his nurse just wanted to blame it on the minor cold that he has.  I'm not buying that as an answer.  I told her I'm not waiting for him to be labeled failure to thrive and start starving again before we search for answers.  I decided to get him into his pediatrician next week to discuss further action.  We see him July 10.  It could be an array of things causing these symptoms.  Does he have celiac or gluten intolerance?   It's about that time his body would start showing signs of intestinal damage.  He may have a colonoscopy and biopsy done to confirm or deny this theory.  Is his body "more" allergic to milk now and rejecting it?  He was diagnosed with a level 1-2 milk allergy in April.  Being it was only a level 1 allergy the benefit outweighed the risk and we put him on pediasure and other diary products.  And right now, diary is one of the few things I can get him to eat.  Without pediasure, he cannot maintain his weight.  We tried removing pediasure in May and he dropped 1/2 pound.  We put him back on pediasure and he gained 1.5 pounds.  We have no idea what is going on with our Little Man, but please pray for some answers and doctors' willingness to help us find them.  He appears to be growing in length as his pants are getting a bit on the short side.  He is still in 12 month pants.  However, I know something isn't right about my Little Man and I will not give up until we have answers with positive results.  Please pray for wisdom for us and the doctors.  Please pray I will stay focused on the Lord during this time and completely trust him with my baby boy. (Yes, I may have 2 baby boys younger than him, but he is still my baby boy :) )

 You have my permission to take this post viral again because prayer is powerful and God works in amazing ways.  Thank you family and friends for your prayers and support.  Our Little Man is in good hands

Crazy life full of Wonderful blessings if I only give it up to my Lord!

We have been quite busy over here at our house lately. Three kids, 3 and under, and with another one on it’s way, in August, I’m one tired exhausted mommy!!  I’ve always loved children.  I’ve always wanted multiples of children.  God has surely blessed SuperDaddy and I abundantly in this area!  We will have 4 kids, aged 3 and under in just a few short weeks.  I’m glad a have a great friend to call on since she entered this boat 18 months ago with her clan of kiddos ;)  Most days, I feel like I’m running on empty.  I ask myself, “How can I do one more day, I didn’t get any sleep last night.”  Little Man has been showing signs of his “problems” returning.  I’m praying it’s just a fluke, a minor bug, or possibly an allergic reaction to dogs.  We visited a friend last week with a dog and he has been off ever since.  We are still in the process of adopting our nephew and the end is not in sight yet.  Please keep us in your prayers.  Last week, I hit the bottom.  I was expecting myself to be perfect.  Have the perfect house, perfect kids, and be the perfect wife.  I was draining myself, as I cannot nor can anyone reach such a standard I laid out for myself.  I read a blog post by a friend titled “giving up.”  It was just what I needed to hear. I need to give up everything to the Lord, not set my own standards but look to the Lord. He tells me in His word that He will carry the burdens, if I only allow it.  This past week has been more peaceful in our home but I cannot lie, I try to get back on the throne and take the reigns back from my Lord.  Today was one of those days.  I got no sleep last night, Little man is acting “weird”, as if he is getting sick all over again, He puked everywhere this morning, we have yet another adoption meeting tomorrow.  I’m tired and didn’t want to see the blessing in my day.  I have 3 almost 4 wonderful blessings to wake up to each day; to love, to cuddle, to play with, to feed, and to share the love of Christ with!  Would you pray with me, as I will need to daily give up it all to my Lord.  If you visit us, the dishes probably won’t be cleaned up, the playroom will have toys everywhere, folding laundry is a luxury around here, so you won’t find that done either.  But, hopefully, with God’s help; you will find a home full of Christ’s love and many little munchkins enjoying life with their mommy.  Here is a poem I came across on Facebook that helped changed my perspective on life today…Please enjoy! 

For the days we are running on empty. For the days we just don't think we have it in us to read one more story, play one more game of Uno, wash one more round of sheets. For the days when we think everyone else has it together. For the days we're sure anyone else would do this job better.

For those days. You know the ones.

Repeat after me:

1. I shall not judge my house, my kid's summer activities or my crafting skills by Pinterest's standards.

2. I shall not measure what I've accomplished today by the loads of unfolded laundry but by the assurance of deep love I've tickled into my kids.

3. I shall say yes to blanket forts and see past the chaos to the memories we're building.

4. I shall surprise my kids with trips to get ice cream when they're already in their pajamas.

5. I shall not compare myself to other mothers but find my identity in the God who trusted me with these kids in the first place.

6. I shall remember that a messy house at peace is better than an immaculate house tied up in knots.

7. I shall play music loudly and teach my kids the joy of wildly uncoordinated dance.

8. I shall remind myself that perfect is simply a street sign at the intersection of impossible and frustration in Never Never land.

9. I shall embrace the fact that in becoming a mom I traded perfect for a house full of real.

10. I shall promise to love this body that bore these three children out loud, especially in front of my daughter.

11. I shall give my other mother friends the gift of guilt-free friendship.

12. I shall do my best to admit to my people my unfine moments.

13. I shall say sorry when sorry is necessary.

14. I pray God I shall never be too proud, angry or stubborn to ask for my children's forgiveness.

15. I shall make space in my grown-up world for goofball moments with my kids.

16. I shall love their father and make sure they know I love him.

17. I shall model kind words to kids and grown-ups alike.

18. I shall not be intimidated by the inside of my minivan this season of chip bags, goldfish crackers and discarded socks too shall pass.

19. I shall always make time to encourage new moms.

20. I shall not resent that last call for kisses and cups of water but remember instead that when I blink they'll all be in college.

... with love from one tired mother to another.

Our Adventures with our Little Man...

Little Man was getting worse about 3 weeks ago, the new diet wasn't helping him.  He lost 2 more pounds and I was getting scared.  I took him into his pediatrician for a weight check and I found myself in tears when the nurse weighed him.  I emotionally broke down and and prayed God would show the right path to take.  This particular dr visit was the worst I've had in a long time.  I had both kiddos with me.  My son was still losing weight and I had no idea how to move forward.  The diet was taking all of my energy.  I was preparing meals every night for the following day. Everything had to be made from scratch, right down to what he drank.  I was drained and so were our finances. My little guy was only 19 lbs, how much more could he lose before there was nothing left.  The doctor came into the room; reviewed the chart and said "something has to be changed."  The Ped decided to take over everything since the specialist no longer offered any help or hope.  He looked over all of Little man's test results from day 1 and looked at his charts.  He could not find any diagnoses or lab work indicating my son had celiac and the growth charts were indicating the gluten free diet was contributing to the failure to thrive.  I was confused, frustrated, and at my end at this point in the clinic room.  My kiddos were literally throwing books and diapers around the room.  I think Little Peanut even jumped off the examining table at one point.  I felt hopeless, helpless, and confused.  I felt like the worst mother in the world.  I cried.

After many more test results, second opinions, and seeing a dietitian in Marshfield; two weeks ago, we decided to try Little Man on a normal food diet with pedia sure as a supplement.  Yes, we returned him to gluten, eggs, and milk.  Slowly over the last 2.5 weeks, we introduced things back into his diet. It was such a hard decision to make as we saw gluten hurt my little guy so much.  I didn't want to willingly bring him pain.  But, his weight was getting so low.  At this point, he was now smaller than he was at 8 months old.  The doctors and dietitian agreed that he wasn't getting enough calories to grow or maintain his weight causing him to have failure to thrive.  It was all we had left to try here locally. The current theory is that his stomach was immature and couldn't digest the gluten when he was younger.  It wasn't a fantasy that my son got so sick from gluten.  His grandparents can attest that our little man was very sick from it.  We all hesitated giving it to him.  Now, after two weeks of eating real food, he is doing wonderful. He is not in any pain from it.  He sleeps great!  He plays continuously. He loves his Thomas the train.  He runs around the house after his big sister, laughing.  He has learned new words and letter sounds. He responds better when talking with him or giving him a directive. He loves to annoy his big sister. The scratching all over is down to a minimum.  He loves eating crackers and bread.  He loves drinking regular cow's milk. And most importantly, the clothes he has been wearing since last July are finally starting to get too small!!!! He even grew out of his infant carrier seat!!! He is now in a convertible seat!!  Yippee!!! He hasn't been weighed yet to officially know if this "normal diet" is working, but I have a good feeling about it.  April 1 is his next weigh in at the ped's office.  Please pray that he has gained his weight back and maintains it!  This normal diet is only a trial run until we see enough progress to keep him on it.  We are praising the Lord for answering our prayers.  God can only receive credit for Little Man's progress.  Not the test results, doctors, or lack of information provided from the specialist.  God is healing our Little Man!  If he celiac or not: we do not care at this point.  What we care about is that our boy is doing better.  We are in no way out of the red zone yet. Please continue to pray that he continues to eat, respond well, and GROW!!!  If he goes downhill again or continues to not gain weight, they will do a biopsy to confirm if he has celiac or not.  In order for the biopsy to be positive, Little man has to eat gluten for 3-4 months before preforming the biopsy. If he grows and continues to do well, we will not have to do the biopsy.  Meaning this trial normal diet indicates celiac is negative. Please continue to share his story and pray for him.  I know this current answer sounds so off the wall.  We as a family, could get so angry at the first doctor for even suggesting celiac, but we choose not to.  We could be so angry for how much money we have spent on gluten free living.  But we are not. We have chosen to be thankful for help and finding a doctor that truly cares and wants to see him get better. We are thankful that we can buy normal food, practically giving ourselves a raise because of the cost difference in food.  We choose Joy that we have gone through many trials to grow us closer to our Lord and Savior and each other.  Someone once said, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade with them."  That's what we have chosen to do.

Philippians 4:4-9;13

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you…13 I can do all this through Him [Christ] who gives me strength.

P.S.  Please pray for April 9 for our Family.  It is confidential but we hope to be able to share with everyone very soon.  April 9 is a very special date. Please pray for all the details to go smoothly and that the person with the authority to make a change chooses to.  Thank you so much for your prayers.

Little Man's Check-up

Little man's check up on Monday didn't go as expected. He is down more weight. We are seeing a pediatric dietitian at Marshfield clinic next week for a second opinion and possibly alteration of his current diet plan. If the diet doesn't start stabilizing his weight, his pediatrician will put him into the hospital for a controlled environment to figure out how to help him grow. Please continue to pray for wisdom as we decide which direction to pursue. There are thousands of opinions being brought our way and it becomes overwhelming. We are making the best decisions we know how given the circumstances, our prayers, research, and the doctors God has put in our lives right now. Under the direction of his pediatrician, Dr. Mathias, and as a family this is our plan. We appreciate the prayers and support greatly. Please continue to pray for Little Man's healing and growth. Please pray that the dietitian can offer some help to him. If these next steps do not help our little man, we will consider looking into other options across the nation. But in my heart, from a parent to a parent, I don't feel it will come to that. I trust Dr. David Mathias with my son. God put this pediatrician in our lives for a reason and I'm trusting God with my son's life. As of right now, we are still working with Dr. Kevin, the nutritionist, as well.

This experience with my son has brought my husband and I closer, even when we thought we couldn't get any closer. We are closer to The Lord and our hearts are full of Joy. True Joy comes from The Lord not our circumstances. Our greatest prayer is that God will receive Glory and honor from our son's story. Little man is a fighter, I have faith that he will grow, and know deep in my heart that we all are going to be just fine, better than fine; we will all be better because of this trail in our lives. Romans 5:3-5 says "we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint (or put us to shame) because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us". We trust in our Savior, please join us in trusting God and praying for Little Man's growth and the doctors' wisdom. God never promised life would be easy just possible through Him! Philippians 4:13 " I can do all things through Him (Christ) who gives me strength."