Cutest Cows!

If you live in the south, you most likely enjoy Chic fil A and you really, really like Cow Appreciation Day!  There's no shame in dressing up like a cow for free food!  I've participated with the B family for 3 or 4 years now in attending, as Sam is almost always gone.  It has been fantastic free fun, but this year I had something even better to add to it.  My own little calves!

During naptime, I pulled out my baggie of cow spots and tails, made a few extra, made ears, cow bells and threw together something for my littles!

Luckily, FL already had cow pajamas.  And the perfect finishing touch was cowgirl boots!

When the girls woke up, I asked them what any three year old would consider a valid and logical question, "Would you like to dress up like a cow with mama and go eat dinner?"

They thought I'd never ask!  It was just what they had been thinking about!  ; )

So, we cowgirled up and I rounded up the herd and we stampeded to town for feeding time!  We even got to meet up with the entire B family herd!  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, well, never mind!  ; )

 

It was a great memory!  My lonely summers at the farm are forever over! : ). And forever cute!  The cows have come home!

Crazy Day!

Sam is away a lot in the summertime.  We did very well as a little trio, but the was one day where I was NOT feeling well at all, and the girls were down and out, too.  What to do?  A crazy day!  Throw the rules out the window and have some fun!

Expresso for the kids!

Both kids!

Just kidding, it was empty and they wanted to play that they were "mama."  They know I never miss my coffee!  I can't with these two! ; )

I pulled out all of the playdough...

And let me take over the entire kitchen counter.

Playdough (or potato, as Charlotte calls it) was everywhere!   But we pulled out all of the tools and made a big, fat mess.  

We even squished our toes in it!  It was fun!

We filled our day with other crazy, I-will-never-let-you-do-that stuff, like jumping on my bed and letting them feed the horses in a ridiculous outfit.

We also took a trip to town just to pick up dinner, ate dessert BEFORE dinner (coffee for me, chocolate cookies for them), let them eat most of my fries, ordered sugary chocolate milk to drink, and, the pinnacle: 

I LET THEM EAT DINNER IN THE BATHTUB.  WITH BUBBLES.  Oh, yes.  It was awesome!  Well, at least they thought so!

Chicken nuggets fell in the tub a few times, they were crazy high on sugar and chocolate and FLs fruit salad was more bubbles than fruit at one point but they loved it!  It puts a new spin on the phrase, "eating clean" doesn't it?! ; )

It was a fun way to turn a potentially hard day into an awesome one!  Hooray for crazy!

Dog Whisperer

Library Story Time is one of our favorite activities of the week!  On this particiular visit, a local author who has just published a children's book came by with the star of the story!  A dog!

Now, if you know C at all, you know she is terrified of dogs, even our sweet, old dogs!  I was prepared to skip this week, but when presented with that option or the option of seeing the dog, both C and FL really, really wanted to go.  So, go we did.

What we didn't realize was that the Montessori school from next door would be bringing over 20 children to a program that usually has only 3 to 8 children per week.  The girls were more overwhelmed by the noise and surprise for that than they were from the dog.  The poor dog, Amos, was pretty overwhelmed, too!

Once the majority of the children left, I peeled C and FL off of me and took them to take a picture with the poor dog.  We talked about how scared the dog was and how he needed some friends to talk to him quietly and show him children were good.  I checked out the dog first, of course, and found him to be friendly, but a little scared.  The three of us sat and quietly talked to Amos and reassured him that we were good, kind friends.

FL actually likes dogs, so she was very willing to pet Amos.  C was much more hesitant, but did pet his ear briefly.   Let me tell you, FL was the only child that I saw Amos respond to!  He just loved her and. Gave he lots of licks and kisses!  FL kissed him right back, repeatedly!

Poor C.  She was so frightened, nervous and overwhelmed.  I was doing my best to reassure her that I would always keep her safe and I would never take her to see a mean dog.  She was repeating this back to me to calm herself down, when a little boy overheard and yelled at C in front of everyone, "Amos is NOT mean!   He's a good dog!  He DOESN'T bite!" I don't think he meant to hurt her feelings.   He was just very "expressive", but C was already in a fragile state emotionally.  Now she was hurt and embarrassed.  She burst into tears, which turned into broken hearted sobs.  I love and understand her tender heart and did my best to hug and kiss the hurt away.  I know the boy didn't want to make her cry, but he wasn't too concerned with the result of getting in her face and talking down to her.  Can I just be honest and say that I wanted to give him a good lecture on kindness and then some?!  She looked at me with her big brown eyes just filled with alligator tears, as if to say, "why are you letting him hurt me?!"  Ok, I really and truly thought about sticking out my leg and tripping him...  Please forgive my mama bear thoughts!  I think if FL had been a little bit bigger she would have done it for me!

So, all that being said, it was amazing that C even pet the dog.   And FL?  She enjoyed the dog, kisses and all so much that I am seriously considering moving our own dogs inside to give her that "pet therapy" that has done so much for me in the past.  And C?  Well, I'm hoping she'll come around and be an animal lover eventually!

This was post kiss - she just laughed and squealed over and over!

And C ended things on a good note.  Our librarian (who really likes C and FL) even came over to check on her.  Other library officials took pictures of the girls with the dog and I think FL need up on his face book page!

I was proud of the girls and the kindness they showed to the dog, putting aside their own worries and being brave enough to do something they weren't so sure about.

And my little dog whisperer?  Because of her I think we'll always have a dog in the family!  

Genetics Clinic

Because of FLs cleft lip and palate, birthmarks and some other factors, our pediatrician gave us a referral to a Genetics Clinic.  FL has already had a CGH panel run, which came out showing no abnormalities.  So, Genetics Clinic (provided by a state run program) was a "just to be sure" precaution.  I am also wishing that we had done the same for C, as I have so many new questions and concerns that have come up with hr possible CP, but she presents herself so normally and is quite brilliant (FL is, too - and though I am biased, I believe it is true!) that most every medical professional has laughed off my concerns.

The day started off rough, as Sam was leaving town for an extended period.  We were all a little blue, especially me!  The girls are pros at waiting for appointments now, so I usually don't worry too much about them!

The Genetics Clinic is put on by Children's Rehabilitation Services of Alabama through the state.  They have many other programs, and after meeting with a social worker, I found out that we qualify for the sliding scale of payment based on our income!  Also, there is never a copay.  The clinic was clean, efficiently run and the members of the team were kind and knowledgeable.  We met with a nutritionist (who absolutely fell in love with the girls - she spent a lot of time with us!) who took FLs measurements (she is on all American growth charts now and in many areas normal- yay!) and asked about her diet and eating habits.  She was very willing to answer some additional concerns I had about C and give me guidance in other areas of the girls' health journey.

The geneticist was kind and did a good exam of FL and looked at the different areas of concerns.  Even with those differences and her cleft lip and palate, he felt that she was just fine and needed no further testing.  He based this on his exam, my strong feelings that she is doing extremely well, cognitively and her CGH panel that showed no abnormalities.  He felt that if she had some sort of genetic issues, they would be showing up cognitively and all of her differences were "common" differences.  He said to watch her as she grows and develops cognitively.  He said, "the child will tell you!" In his thick Latin American accent.  : )

After seeing the doctor, we saw a social worker who explained more about the state's Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic.  Unfortunately, we would have to stop seeing our current craniofacial surgeon/team at Children's Hospital.  I have been advised by knowledgeable sources not to let the state team operate on my child, so this is not going to be an option for us, though it would greatly lessen our future medical bills.  FL is worth it and more!  We want her to have the best we can give.

Other than a double meltdown in the social worker's office and later in the restroom (I confess, it became a triple meltdown once we got into the hot car!) we had a great visit and I am going to look into further resources for both of my girls through the state, in addition to the private resources we are using for therapy and medical care.

If you have a child with CL/CP, please look into your state resources.  It may be well worth it!  If you have a child in need of therapy, please look into it as well.  Once our summer travels are over, I plan to really push to get the girls more help.  It is a joy, honor and privilege to have these precious girls to fight for, even if there are a few meltdowns along the way!

Armadillo Round Up

We have an unwanted guest that visits our farm from time to time.

This one in particular was digging holes in every place imaginable outside.  Especially the little bulb garden I started for the girls outside of their window...  

Every creature has a purpose, I believe.  I didn't want to harm the little stinker.  However, every creature does not carry leprosy, but this one potentially might, so he must go!

One morning, during breakfast, I spied him again (thanks to Scout alerting us).  Sam ran out to try to apprehend the little fellow and I sent the girls to the window to watch the armadillo round up!

Let me tell you, that little critter is efficient and fast!  He put more than one hole in the ground per second!   He also nearly escaped capture by digging quickly and almost making it under the slab of our house!

The girls and Scout thoroughly enjoyed the show and seeing the little guy up close.

Later that afternoon, Sam took the girls on an adventure and released the armadillo (which the girls named "Purple Dilly Cat" bless his heart) out in a field where he could find other armadillo friends and dig, dig, dig forever without destroying some overtired mother's bulb garden.  : )

Farm life is never dull!

Happy Independence Day, America!

Happy Indepenence Day!  So many reasons that I am thankful for my country, even with its many flaws. 

With Sam's work schedule, I previously have spent only one Independence Day with him out of nine!  How wonderful then, that the second one we shared together would be the first one to have our girls home with us on American soil!

"Maycahn fahg!  Maycahn fahg!"  (American flag, for those of you who don't speak Charlotte-ese!)They shout very time they see one now.  I never knew how many flags were around town, on clothing, at businesses, even in the grocery store until I had my little patriotic scouts with me!

C can almost sing the entire Star-Spangled Banner with a little assistance.  I'm certain FL is not far behind, though hers sounds a little different. (And they were so excited to wear this crazy hairdo!). It has been a joy to teach them about their new home and all that goes with it.  Thankful for my freedoms, and theirs.

We celebrated by going to my parents' in the afternoon, swimming, eating watermelon and grilling out.

The girls couldn't wait to get in the pool.

Let me tell you, spikey little pigtails give this one extra sass!

Our pool time was short lived, though.  A big storm rolled in and we had to retreat to the sun porch.  No worries, the girls were kept quite happy with some watermelon for snack!

Thankfully, they REALLY like it!

Especially this spicy, spunky little one!  Yes, she are almost the whole thing!!!  She went straight to the tub afterward!

And, yes, I do exist!  I want my children to know I WAS really there!

Oh, how could I be so lucky as to marry such a handsome man?! ; )

FL was not at all frightened, but rather annoyed by her Papa's antics and having her snack time interrupted.  No kisses for you, Papa!

This little girl loves him and thinks of him as her prince no matter what!  Kisses for silly Papa!

I love her, too.  I'm a blessed mama.

As for fireworks, I SO wanted to try it, but didn't think the girls would enjoy it at all.  My parents had some sparklers.  Sam wanted to be the one to hold them, but two cute girls showed their bravery and took over!

Oh, they loved it!

I could have watched them enjoy these all evening!

Fireworks were going on all around us, which they though was fantastic!  I was thrilled!

They wanted more, more, more!

Someone, who shall remain nameless, tried to grab the sparkly part of the sparkler...  We intervened at just the right time!  I'm sure you can't even imagine who would do such a thing!

All in all, it was probably one of the best, if not the best, 4th that I've had.

And living in America has a lot to do with it, along with two very special little people and my little family.

Summer Fun and Firsts!

Our first summer together so far has been a good one.  Sam is away on and off for a large part of the summer.  I have been concerned about what the girls and I would do (and how I would stay sane having them without a break 24/7) and how they would handle his absence.   Staying busy and focusing on Sam's return has been key for all of us!

Of course, we've been going to my parents' pool - the girls' favorite friend even joined us for a swim!

We made a "Papa Chain" to count the days until Sam returns.  Very helpful for their anxiety and they enjoyed ripping the links off each day.

The days have been incredibly HOT and I've had to work hard to come up with fun things to do inside.  We have a long, unused space by our counter with two barstools that are made for such little girls to sit on.  My creative juices were flowing one day and I decided to move the stools and make a coloring space.

C and FL have both enjoyed scribbling and drawing to their hearts' content.  We plan on saving each masterpiece to reuse as colorful custom wrapping paper. : )

We have a lot of open space at our home and a very long gravel driveway, but it just wasn't much fun to ride a tricycle on.  I brought them to my parents house, and an item that they once weren't very interested in has become a favorite!  It's amazing what smooth pavement will do for your ride!

And now, FLs legs are long enough to reach the pedals!  C has enough improvement in her coordination and muscle tone to TAKE OFF and ride FAST!   Her confidence (the main ingredient on her success) has grown as well.  Makes me so happy to see the good things blossoming in my children.

Of course, they love to be together (most of the time).  As long as we are in our little trio, it seems that we can go almost anywhere and do anything.

Their water skills are improving so, so quickly!  They can swim from the steps to the ladder in the deep (with puddle jumpers on) and climb out of the pool unassisted.

And this little fish would make her seaside birthplace proud.  Floating is her talent.  She gets in position all by herself and lays there and just enjoys it.  I'm sure she finds the underwater sounds so soothing.

C, on the other hand, does not like to get her hair wet.  My prissy little old lady!  We are working on it, though!   I'm too stubborn to let her spend her whole summer on the pool steps with one million flotation devices on and dry hair. ; ). We WILL have fun in the pool!  Ha ha!

I've spent many lonely summers now, quietly enjoying the solitude of the farm, yet dreaming of the things that I could be doing with my children.

It's wonderful to have your dreams come true.