A Good Day

I'm about to ramble; beware.

It was a good day around here. Everyone slept until 7 a.m. or later. That was a blessing. We had no major meltdowns. Chuck even left for 2 or 3 hours to run errands and I was able to hold down the fort. Tristan has eased into a good feeding and sleeping schedule and for the most part sticks to it.

Noah even allowed Chuck to pick him up a number of times today. He still is preferring me and if he's not getting his way he will stay far from Chuck and get really clingy with me. This happened at dinner time. Both the boys were whining for bread as dinner was cooking. We decided to put them in their chairs before dinner was ready and start them off with some bread and butter. Samuel was down with that idea. He is currently the better eater of the two. Noah was not okay with it unless I was the one to put him in his seat and sit right next to him. Well, I'm not supposed to lift him (though I do when I have to) and I was busy getting dinner on plates, so he didn't get any bread before dinner. He had a mini meltdown over it, but chilled out once his spaghetti was in front of him. Speaking of spaghetti - they are eating a lot of it. It's one of the few things they will eat. They will try almost nothing new. I keep trying and throwing stuff out. So, tonight I wanted to get some protein in their bellies. The spaghetti sauce we ate had meatballs in it and I knew they weren't going to eat them. Then I remembered that Terri got us the magic bullet and we could puree the meatballs. It totally worked. Both boys ate meat in their spaghetti and didn't know it. I wonder what the diapers will be like tomorrow...

I am seriously more in love with Chuck than ever before. He is such a good daddy. It hasn't been easy for him to be rejected by Noah, but he perseveres. One might think that we'd be fighting like cats and dogs under this new level of stress, but we have been a great team for the most part. Yes, we've had our moments and I've snapped at him, but we are doing really well as team Cason. I absolutely love to watch Chuck play with the boys. When he came home this afternoon the boys were thrilled to see him. They immediately started rough housing to the point I was frightened they'd hurt the baby as I nursed him on the couch. But it was awesome. Chuck took some video yesterday as we all played with a few balls in the living room. When he has a chance to get it on YouTube he will.

Hopefully tonight will be the night I can download some pictures. The night is young and two out of three boys are sleeping and number three shouldn't be hungry for a few more hours. I'm typing this from the boys' room as I've been waiting for Samuel to conk out.

It really does get better each day. Sunday was probably the hardest day I've ever experienced, but each day shows improvement.

God is funny. The timing of all of this and the added stress of having a c-section recovery is overwhelming. I'm a "ducks in a row" kind of gal. I like to be prepared. I like to go to bed with a clean kitchen and a good idea of how the next day will flow. My ducks are dead, I think. I'm pretty organized, but I feel like we are operating in survival mode right now. I can plan meals, but if the boys don't eat them, I have to quickly come up with a new plan. It is especially hard that I can't leave the room without Noah freaking out. My laundry room is in the garage, and I really can't take the boys out there with me. They follow me from room to room as I do things around the house. They even come to the bathroom with me. Fun!

Okay, I need to ask for some prayer requests. I'm terrified that Tristan will get sick from the boys. We have been hypervigilant with handwashing. Noah has an eye gunk thing going on and Samuel has a raspy cough, but thankfully no runny nose. Both boys were treated for scabies before coming home, but scabies can be hard to get rid of. I don't think they have scabies, but if they do it is so easy to spread. Babies Tristan's age cannot be treated for scabies. They both also have a weird spot on their scalps. We see the doctor on Friday. Please just pray that the boys don't get any of us sick in the meantime.

Another prayer request if for the visit this weekend with my mom and sister. Please pray that the boys don't suffer any setbacks over having guests in the house. My mom and sister both know that they can't really interact with the boys or hold them. They are coming anyway and will help out with Tristan. I'm really looking forward to seeing them and having some extra sets of hands.

Our van has something majorly wrong with the brakes. Chuck is bringing it in tomorrow. Please pray that it's not too expensive. We just spent a fortune getting the boys home and our savings has taken some big hits lately. Oh yeah, and the van is the only vehicle we have that gets all 5 of us around.

Chuck has developed plantar fasciitis. It is incredibly painful and makes it hard for him to get around. It really kicked in the day we got to Miami and he could barely walk. Please pray that God would heal this. It's the last thing we need right now.

I'd also ask for continued healing following my c-section. I was just telling a friend this afternoon how well I'm doing and I've been having pain ever since. I'm doing too much and picking up the boys, but honestly I can't not pick up Noah at times. Friday will be 4 weeks out from the surgery, so we are getting there.

And finally, lots of people have emailed and called to see how they can help us. The answer right now is that we're really not sure. Meals are great, though we feel like we've received so much already in the meal department. Initially I thought it would be great to have ladies come over during the day once Chuck goes back to work, but having visitors in our home may be detremental to the boys as we work on bonding. So, in the meantime, please pray for us. We can feel it and it's really the best thing you can do for us.

Okay, I've rambled longer than I expected. I'll try to work on getting some pictures posted.