Maddy's 4 month appointment

Maddy's 4 month dr appointment went SO much better than the last one. After the last round of shots she screamed for 3-4 hours. She was inconsolable and not even nursing her would calm her down. When Danny got home, we were both crying. I called the nurse line because the excessive crying was not normal and was basically told that this was a good indication of my child's pain tolerance! Oh yeah, I was like say what? This is my third child and none have reacted this way. I also told her she needed to read her literature because excessive non-stop crying was a sign of a severe reaction! grrr.. Anyway, I had already made up my mind we would now delay shots and not take 3+ at a time! So, this time she got Roto and DTaP/HIB combo which resulted in only 1 shot. She has not cried at all! I told Dino (her ped) what happened last time and with the phone call. He laughed about the nurse not having much tact. He said the calls after 5 go to some nurses answering service in Chapel Hill. Dino thought she could have reacted to DTaP or even Prevnar. He also thought it could have been the way the injection was given and it was possible they hit bone. ugh....poor baby. Dino is great though. There are some things I do differently from mainstream and he is pro natural living and I love it. He is very knowledgeable on natural products and such. I told him we'd be in Tuesday for a well child with my eczema child. He didn't recommend starting cereal (which is GREAT), but I wasn't going to start it anyway. I plan to do child led solids especially since it all went downhill with Ian once we started rice cereal! Maddy is growing nicely. :-) She weighed 15 pounds 2 ounces and was 24 3/4 inches long (50-75 percentile for both). We go back in a month for Prevnar.

Today is Ash Wednesday...

and the first day of Lent, what are you giving up? I have chosen to give up sugar and artificial sweeteners. Yes, I do know that there are things that have sugar in them, but I am talking along the lines of soft drinks, cakes, cookies, ice cream.......... And for those of you who know me, ice cream is my weakness so this will not be easy. For those of you who don't know, here is the definition from http://wilstar.com/holidays/lent.htm

"Lent: What is it? Why is it?

The highlight of the year for Christians is Easter, the day when our Lord rose from the dead. Lent is a forty-day season of preparation for Easter. Lent always begins on a Wednesday, called Ash Wednesday. Why 40 days? Because, Jesus fasted and was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days. Lent, then, is our time of fasting, prayer, temptation and repentance. Lent is not required anywhere in scriptures, but it has been a custom, which Christians have practiced for most of the last two thousand years. In many languages, the word "Lent" actually means "fast." This is where the custom of giving up something for Lent originated. However, just to confuse things, Lent is actually 46 days rather than 40 days. Why? Because the 40 days of Lent are supposed to be days of fasting, which means days of discipline and self-restraint. But Sunday, the Lord's Day, should never be a day of fasting, but a day of celebration! So each Sunday we suspend our Lenten disciplines and celebrate. Lent is 40 "fasting" days spread out over a total of 46 days beginning on Ash Wednesday. The focus of Lent was always threefold:

1. It was a time to prepare new converts for baptism through intensive classes and instruction.
2. It was a time for long-standing Christians to review their lives and renew their commitment to Jesus Christ.
3. It was a time for backsliders to be restored to the faith.

In every case, it is a time for serious, disciplined self-examination, a time spent in intensive prayer and repentance before the cross of Calvary. To represent the dark and serious business of Lent, one custom has been to strip the sanctuary of all flowers, candles, and colors during Lent. This custom helps us to turn inward and examine ourselves, even as it reminds us of the dark and colorless Sabbath day when Jesus lay dead in the tomb. Put simply, Lent is a time to examine ourselves carefully. Here are some questions upon which you might pray and meditate during Lent:

• Am I sharing gladly what I have with others, especially the stranger and the poor?
• Do I have a gracious and patient attitude with others, especially those who irritate me?
• Do I feel the power of connection to God and the church in corporate worship?
• How is my devotional and prayer life progressing? Am I listening to God more and complaining less? Is it time for a change or a growth in my Bible study and prayer life?
• What are the lurking sin problems, which still plague me?
• Am I as thoughtful and forgiving of family as others, or do I take my frustrations out on them?
• Do I speak up for the maligned and oppressed, or do I remain silent in order to remain popular?"

Snow in the Low Country!

 It began last night about 6 pm and kept snowing through the night.This was the first snow in the Low Country since 1989!!  The boys were SO excited!! This morning we woke up to about 5-6 inches of the white stuff. It was such a pretty site. The boys have made snow angels, thrown snow balls, made a snowman and eaten some snow cream. I am ready for it to go away now!!  It is actually already melting and most will be gone today.

Here are some pictures:

Maddy was actually happy until Ian went to pat her head with a ton of snow on his gloves.

Happy 4 Months to Maddy!

It is so hard to believe Maddy is already 4 months old!! It seems like she was just born.  She is definitely a joy and a happy baby most of the time.

Here are some things she is doing:

*rolling from tummy to back and back to tummy
*loves to grab things
*loves talking to her little red headed man on her exersaucer
*still loves to be naked
*still no teeth yet
*loves watching and smiling at her brothers
* pushes her chest up off the floor and gets her knees underneath her
*she was sleping 6-8 hours until the last 2 weeks when she was sick! Now she is back to every 3-4 hours so maybe she is teething!
*hates the carseat
*loves to be carried (ALL the time)

False Advertising?

We ate at McDonald's tonight with some friends and took advantage of their "free kids meal" if you buy a large value meal. Well, their "free kids meal", is not really a kids meal.  At least my definition of a free kids meal is the exact same thing as a paid kids meal, including the bag/box and the toy.  To my surprise, if you get a "free kids meal" it doesn't include the bag/box or the toy!!!!  So how is that a "free kids meal"?????  All that is, is a free burger, fries and drink. And someone tell me how you explain to your other child that they didn't get a toy??

I don't know if this is the norm across all McDonalds, but if it is then it is false advertising!  They should not be saying it is a "free kids meal" because obviously my definition and theirs are very different!   Shame on McDonalds!!!