I took the kids to the doctor today. They all had check-ups. It was kind of funny because the waiting room was full and when they called "Tipton" all 5 of us get up and walk toward the door. I caught a glimpse of a couple faces and reality hit me...I am totally THAT mom. You know, the one that everyone stares at and thinks, "Doesn't she know what causes that?" Haha I sort of smiled to myself because I can recall thinking similar thoughts when I have seen a mom with a bunch of kids out and about.
Anyways, we were super special and got two MA's to divide and concur the task of checking in, vitals, and rooming. It was a little chaotic to say the least. Then they room us!!! All 4 of my kids in a 15x10 room! HAHAHAHAH Are these people crazy?! Do they expect there to be walls left by they time we leave?!
Our Doctor, or as the kids call her, Brittney, came in with her intern making this little room feel smaller then it already does which makes this claustrophobic momma start feeling uncomfortable. :-/ They jumped right in though. Brittney made them all sit on the table in order and went down the line. One of the many reasons why I love this Dr is because she is SO great with the kids. (She is actually is a PA) If she has a question she asks them rather then me. She doesn't make them feel like just another kid she sees. She actually involves them, takes the time to joke around and ask about sports and kid stuff. She is very thorough too! So FYI if your looking for a pediatrician her name is Brittney Snow and she is at Canyon Pediatrics on Baseline between Gilbert and Lindsay.
Ok now back to the original topic. All the kids are doing wonderful! Happy and healthy and a-ok! They did have to get shots though. Colten got 2. Caden got 3 and poor little Waylon got 5! :-( I could totally tell that Cade was scared and when they went to take his pants off to give him his shots in the thigh he told her no. I had to explain that it was ok. The MA asked me to restrain him while she did it. He didn't like that but he didn't cry! Once he was done he got pretty quiet for awhile. (For Cade that's a good indication that something is wrong!)
Waylon's turn and of course he cried. After the first two I had to make the other kids leave the room. It's very sweet that they all go into protective mode for their little brother but they were making it worse. He was screaming and Caden was saying, "It's ok Waylon, be tough!" but in a sad voice making Waylon cry louder. Katie was almost in tears herself from hearing him cry and Colten had a look of helplessness on his face and looked at me like "Awww mom that's so sad!" Once the MA's let him go and I picked him up he was ok. I swear my kids are SO drama!
As we were leaving Caden says, "That hurt mom but I didn't cry! It's cause I am Cowboy Tough!!! Now I gotta go ride my horse!" I think that's what he was thinking about when he got quiet in the room. Silly little cowboy!
So as I am sitting here tonight writing this post I started thinking about how lucky I am. I have 4 amazingly beautiful, healthy children. They drive me crazy on a daily hourly basis but at least they are here to do that. I started getting choked up a little as that very thought crossed my mind. At least they are here!
Every since December 14th, when I catch myself getting irritated or losing patience with them a picture of a sweet little girl with big blue eyes and blonde hair flashes through my head and I immediately feel sad. Because somewhere, miles away, are the parents of 20 amazingly beautiful, healthy children who are now in heaven. I think about how they would give anything to have their child around to irritate or drive them crazy. Instead, they have empty arms and a heart full of grief! I can not begin to imagine what that feels like and my heart just breaks at the thought of it. I feel guilty for letting such little things like arguing and bickering and back talking overwhelm me.
I follow a couple pages on Facebook that also remind me to be thankful for what I have and to cherish every moment because you just never know what tomorrow holds.
The story of Heather Brown (Bringing Home The Browns) is about a mother who went into early labor due to complications and slipped into a coma. Her husband was in Afghanistan at the time and rushed home to be with his wife and newborn. Baby John is 3 months old now and has to visit his mommy in the hospital because she is still in that coma.
Praying For The Nevil's is another tragic story of a family that had recently moved from TX to TN and were coming back to TX for thanksgiving when a car ran their SUV of the road pushing them head on into a tree. The accident killed mom Katy instantly and left daughter Lauren in very critical condition due to a traumatic brain injury. Lauren I currently in the hospital fighting to recover. I read about how the father, Steve, has to struggle with not only losing his wife but the problems with his daughter and taking care of his little boy and again it breaks my heart.
With the Sandy Hook killings and these stories I follow I am constantly reminded that "I could have it worse" I could not have my kids at all. It very well could be me sitting at my child's bedside praying and holding onto faith that he/she will pull through. Those thoughts make me feel guilty for wanting to pull my hair out because Caden is throwing a fit or Waylon is screaming or Katie is giving me major attitude or Colten is antagonizing all of them!
I am not really sure where this post came from and why I felt the need to post it. I guess my point is much like one of my goals I set for this year. Don't sweat the small stuff. Be thankful that they are healthy and are here to do their job of making me gray and insane. Cherish them and the things they do because one day it could be gone and I could be grasping at memories and could haves/should haves.
It makes me want to hold my kids a little tighter for a little longer each day. It makes me want to pick my battles with them a little better. But most of all it makes me thank God every chance I get for giving them to me and for keeping them safe, happy, and healthy!
XOXOXO
***If you would like to join me in praying for the above mentioned stories please click on the link (their name) and like the Facebook page.
Happy New Year!!
I can't believe it's 2013 already!!! What the heck happened to 2012? I swear if this keeps up I am going to be old before you know it! ;-)
This year has been full of so much for my family and I. Big changes, a lot of adaptation, some ups and downs and even a few unforeseen curves in the road. We have strayed off the path that we thought we were supposed to be on several times but it has been a learning experience. No regrets though. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.
So keeping up with a New Years tradition I am going to set a few "goals". I do not want to call them resolutions because we all know those are made to be broken. I like goals because to me it means something you work toward. Yeah you may fail a time or two but you continue to work on it until you eventually accomplish what you set out to do.
So with out further ado lets jump right in. Here are some of the goals I would like to work on in 2013:
1.) To love like Christ. I have been struggling with this for awhile now. Lately though, I have been pushed to a point where I find myself wanting to just say forget it I am done and go on my way. I get angry and hurt and frustrated and it would be so much easier to wash my hands of the problems then to continue fighting what seems to be a losing battle. But then I am reminded that God has never given up on me. Even when I have done ugly things and hurt Him numerous times. He is always there for me with out hesitation when I come crawling back asking for forgiveness. He has never turned away from me. I want to be like that. I want to be able to look past the pain and emotion and hurt that people cause me and just forgive and accept.
2.) Find my happy happy happy! It's seems as though I have lost my sunshine lately. I would like to find that again. I am not known to do well with change and I am struggling with this whole coming back to Arizona thing. I am trying my best to find the positive things about being here and focus on those but honestly, they are not stacking up as though I felt they would. I have a longing for home and unfortunately this does not seem to be it. It is my intentions to do some soul searching and assessing of our situation so I can figure out the best way to find my happy while doing what's best for my family.
3.) Be a better mom/wife. I am only human and I make TONS of mistakes on a daily basis. I lose my temper, raise my voice (a lot), lose my patience, make bad choices, and much more. My goal is to work a little harder to not do those things as much. Especially the yelling part. Not something I am proud of. Patience is the key and again that where I am struggling. It gets hectic with 4 children, 5 if you count my husband. :-) I need more patience with them.
4.) Stop and smell the roses. I am constantly stressing about SOMETHING which usually turns into me being overwhelmed, grumpy and irritable. My goal is to not sweat the little stuff. I need to learn to "let it be" and go with the flow. I would like to learn to relish in just hanging out with the kids reading books or telling stories or playing at the park. I want to focus on making memories and not the 50 million things I should/could/need to be doing.
5.) Get healthy! I am SO tired of this constant struggle with my weight and the way I feel about myself!! I want to get healthy and feel good about myself. I would like to start doing more 5k races and get the rest of my family involved. As we have established earlier, I am not getting any younger and it's time to take some responsibility for one of the biggest stressors in my life that I actually have control of! I can and will do this!! I am staring the Intensity workout today and I will be tracking my progress here. I also plan on getting back to running and doing 5k's again. I enjoyed the one I did last year and would even like to get my family involved.
6.) Apply for the Nursing program! I am SO close! It was my original goal to be working as an RN by the time I was 30 but kids, family, life kinda got in the way and well here I am. Honestly, I probably would have given up on it all together and found a nice cozy Dr office to work as an MA in had it not been for one woman's dying instructions for me to, and I quote, "get off your ass and get your schooling done Nickadina! These hospitals need nurses who know what the hell they are doing!" I made a promise and I WILL follow through with it! (Because if I don't I know she will find some way to come back just to kick my butt!) Rest in peace knowing I am doing it Grandma Betty!!
7.) Organize and back up my photos/videos. I have SO many pictures and in various locations with many duplicates. I need to sort through them all and edit, delete, organize, and then back them up to my external hard drive. This just may take me all year.
8.) Blog more! I want to be a better blogger. This year I will do my best not to let big chunks of time pass between posts.
Well, there it is.
In writing.
No backing out now.
I can do this. You can help me! Hold me accountable. If you notice me slacking feel free to give me a nudge or a reminder of this post. I can do the same for you. What are some of your "Goals" and how do you plan on making them stick? I would love to hear about them. :-)
My hopes for you, my friends, family, and fellow bloggers are that you make the best out of 2013. Love stronger, forgive quicker, pursue what makes you happy, and live each day as though it was your last! Life is to short for anything else.
XOXOXO
