Christmas Letter 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

Another year down!! Needless to say 2013 came in like a Lion and out like a Lamb!!! So let’s just do a quick factually review. We started the year (Literally Jan 2) with the Flu, Mike, Noah, Cam, Sadie, & then me!! The flu left some lasting affects for Noah; a 2 month ear infection that resulted in tubes. Winter brought tons of snow, & record breaking blizzard.  Later in the winter a stomach bug effected 4 out of 5 of us (Still not sure how I managed to avoid it). Early spring we mourned with our City due to the Marathon Bombings, we had another round of Flu for Noah and Sadie, & fluid in the ears for Sadie causing her to fail multiple hearing tests. To start the summer off and the ICING ON THE CAKE, Noah got a mosquito bite that caused his entire forehead swell and one eye to completely swell shut!!

With all of this we still managed to enjoy our Crazy lives… We rang in 2013 with a cold, wet, and SOOO FUN trip into Boston. During Feb Vacation we had an amazingly fun weekend in Maine with Friends; we went sledding, had snow ball fights, played games, and just LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED (If you’re ever looking for a fun game to play, Wise and Other Wise I highly recommend it)!!! In May we managed a much needed vacation to Florida (A sickness and injury free vacation I might add). We spent lots of time in Maine, at the Beach, and Cape Cod. We celebrated LOVE with friends at their weddings, celebrated LIFE with family at my Grandfather’s 90^th Birthday Party, and celebrated SUCCESS with the ENC woman’s Volleyball team making play offs, of course the Red Sox winning the World Series, and best one of all, Mike receiving a job promotion; we now refer to him as the Director of Facilities. We enjoyed spending time with friends and family, dressing up at Halloween, playing soccer & now Basketball, a tour of Fenway, and so much more.

There have been many moments this year where I have felt extremely overwhelmed with just the little things in life, the up keep of our home, the health and well being of our children, finances, just the typical pains of this world. In these moments without fail God has reminded me that he is my strength to take the next step up the mountain, not just the strength that gets me to the top, but the STRENGTH in JUST one little STEP!!! Sometimes the strength came in the form of laughter, an encouraging word, a moment of quiet or sleep, a good deal on an item we needed, a hug from a child,  or an “I love you mom”.  God’s strength came with many different faces, but I most often felt God’s presence when I had open eyes to recognize the small moments and a grateful heart to thank Him for this blessed life. 

In the next year I hope and pray that you may see the amazing presence of the One that Brings Peace beyond all understanding, strength for the weary, and Hope for the dismayed; may you SEE Him in laughter, a smile, a kind word, a hug, a moment of generosity and all the other GOOD little moments that make this life on Earth GREAT!!

For more updates on each of us… Read Below

                                                                                Love, Mike, Megan, Cameron, Sadie, & Noah Johnston

Mike: This spring he celebrated 10 years of work and commitment to his job, and this Fall Received a Promotion. As I said previously (But totally worth repeating) He is now the Director of Facilities. Mike also accomplished a big goal & something on his bucket list: he trained and completed a triathlon. Even with all these wonderful accomplishments and success if I were to venture a guess the High light of his year was taking 10 at Bats on Home Plate at Fenway Park, one of the 10 at bats he hit the warning track!!

Cameron: Is now 8 years old and in 2^nd Grade. He loves to Fish, play soccer & basketball, & when stuck inside you will find him doing one of two things playing Just Dance or Rainbow loom.  Proud parent moment: At Cameron’s Parent teacher conference besides telling us Cam was wicked smaht (While possible considering where we live she didn’t really say it that way) the teacher said that Cameron has been truly loving and companionate to the one problem child in the class; being this child’s partner, playing with him, etc. Even though Cameron’s determination can get him into a pickle at times, he really is a loving , caring, and soft hearted child.

Sadie: Oh my Sadie, she is now 6, but soon to be 7 and in the 1^st Grade. She is plugging away at her school work, but things of fashion and friends are of her highest priority!! Sadie is so funny and totally keeps us on our toes, she calls it like she sees it in this house!! Proud parent moment: Sadie’s teacher told me one day that while giving out stickers to the class. Sadie spoke up and told the teacher that she wasn’t supposed to get one because she had been absent. The teacher was very impressed with Sadie’s honesty and gave her the sticker anyway.

Noah: He’s 22months and a total charmer!! His smile really could just get you to do anything! Noah is following in his Brother’s Footsteps with a love for JUST DANCE!! With Noah food has been quite the battle (Dairy and Soy intolerance & textures), at the beginning of the year we were hopeful that he had outgrown his dairy and soy intolerance, but after about six month of unlimited Diet it was determined that his little body still was not ready for those proteins. So he is currently living a dairy and soy free life. Proud Parent Moment: This fall Noah had to go into the 2’s & 3’s Sunday School class for a day and the teacher wrote me a FB note telling me that Noah was Super Cute and had very good manners saying Please and Thank You.

Me:  Well my life overall is pretty much the same, however this summer I accepted the offer to be a Assistant Woman’s Volleyball Coach at the college level. My High School Coach Mr. Rendle is the head coach so I am learning from the best!! This season was really fun, we squeaked into the play offs during the last conference game of the season winning  a 5 game match!  This was the teams first playoff appearance in 7 years. Over the last few months I’ve been working on our house. I call it Operation LOVE my house again. My goal was for us to be de-cluttered by the first of the year which So far so good, over the break we will work on the basement giving Mike a “Handy Man’s” Work area and then come Jan 1st I’m moving onto a new project; Operation LOVE MYSELF! When I was given the green light to eat dairy and soy again I went a little “BUCK WILD” and gained 10lbs. Time to get back on track with Healthy Eating and RUNNING (5k’s anyone??)!!! So if you see me in 2014 ask me how it’s going it will help keep me accountable. 

Wanna Leave a Legacy that began before me!!

So This past weekend I was completely blessed to be with my GRANDFATHER my hubby, kids & mother, as well as my 5 aunts and most of there families. We are generally scattered all over the east coast from as far as Ft Myers, FL to as north as Boston, MA (clearly we are the Boston Folk!!)However on Saturday May 11th we were all together in Chambersburg, PA. where we came together to Celebrate my Grandfather's amazing 90 years of life and to wish him many more Happy days ahead.

He says "He is 90 years young and Turning 30x3" :-) Always a Jokester he is (and apparently I'm Yoda)

As I reflect on the life of those that have influenced me in my journey... My Grandfather is no exception.

Philippians 1: 3-6 says it best...
I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

My Grandfather demonstrates Great Joy in Christ...  As a little girl I can remember waking up every morning and my grandfather would be sitting in a "BIG to me" (the eyes of a child) high wing backed gold chair located in the living room of my grandparents 2 bedroom bungalow. He wasn't just sitting there he was reading his Bible. There is no doubt in my mind that is where the source of all my grandfathers Joy comes from. That Joy overspills through his Music, His Joke and Laughter, And the Stories he shares about life.

It is because of the Legacy of faith that was established in the life of my grandfather that I can look at my family as testimony to the God's Faithfulness and the Words of Psalm 100...

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His,
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

 

 

 

It is my prayer that I can continue the Legacy that began in the good work of my grandfather and will be completed through Christ.

 

 

 

 

Laundry and Credit Cards

Small observation as I work on our budget and laundry!!

So I've come to conclusion that Laundry is much like Credit Card Debt....

Once you get behind it is nearly impossible to catch up when you only do the minimum, and even if you do extra it still takes double the time to catch up then it did to get behind!!!

And thus I hate Credit Cards and Laundry!!!

Adventures in CIO #5: Starting Over cause Habits Die Hard!!

So two weeks of illness leads to MUCH regression in the CIO department.. Needless to say I've had to START OVER!!

As I laid in bed last night I kept saying "WE ALREADY DID THIS!! THIS HARD WORK WAS DONE!!!"

Now I will endure another week of sleepless nights!!! As if 2 weeks of sleepless nights due to illness wasn't enough!! (It's no wonder I have so much Gray Hair!!)

This adventure reminds me of my own habits and battles with bad habits!! When I allow myself to even take a taste of the bad habit I totally Regress!!! So when its time to go back to Good habits I think I am much like Noah... Banging my head against the crib, pulling my hair out, and SCREAMING!!! (Noah has a set of PIPES!!!)
Healthy living is one of those areas for me!! I just want to grab what is easy and not think about the nutritional value it has on me and my body!!! I don't want to walk / run, I just want to RUN. My body is so not ready to RUN a 5K. I think I've shared this before but I Hate the process and just want to get to the PRODUCT!!! Cause the Product means I can be "Laxed" and it doesn't take as much brain power!! The Product means I've gotten myself back into good choice routines!

 

Noah and I are both going to try and enjoy this process a little more... For example while I won't feed Noah in the night I will pick him up and rock and sing to him, taking baby steps back to sleeping through the night! Thinking that maybe for both of us COLD Turkey isn't the way to go!! For me I'll walk /run outside in the beautiful sunshine while listening to my Fave Music and hopefully the process of getting to Running a 5K will be a little more enjoyable!! Instead of dwelling on what I can't do at the moment I'm going to dwell on what I CAN do!! ;-) As for food... CHOICE AND CONSEQUENCE are what is on my mind, MY NEW MOTTO....

MY CHOICES TODAY WILL AFFECT THE RESULTS OF TOMORROW!!!

Fashion Faux Pas TOTALLY BUSTED!!!

When I was in 3rd Grade I would spend every Tuesday afternoon on the Campus of Eastern Nazarene College... My babysitter was a student and Quincy had 1/2 day every Tuesday... (They still do actually)

Well I had this light baby blue Sweatshirt and a Pink Polo shirt that I would wear with jeans (This outfit sounds terrible!!!!)... But I thought it was so Cool!!! So naturally I had to wear the "Coolest" thing I had on Tuesdays when I was with College students. Well After several weeks maybe even months... It came to my attention that when you only see people once a week and you wear the same thing on that day WELL you get the idea... They think those are the only clothes you have!!! ;-) (Even in later years it was known as my "TUESDAY" outfit) So at the age of 8 I learned a valuable fashion lesson... Variety is good, Mixing things up is important.

Well Fast forward to mommy hood meaning limited money, self-esteem issues, etc... And over the last few weeks I've been looking through our photos... Apparently I've reverted back to my 8year old ways. I'll just let you see what I'm talking about...

 

We'll just call this shirt my "Special Occasion" or "Photo Op." Shirt.

Holding on to Truth!!

As I prepare to send my children back to school after a week off and an extreme life altering, world view changing tragedy...  I have Two Scripture verses that I am HOLDING ON TO SO TIGHTLY and I am using as the words to my prayers in the aftermath of the Marathon Bombing.

2 Timothy: 1: 7
For God has not given us a Spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Philippians 4: 6-8
⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.


I pray these words not because I fear for their physical safety at school, I fear for their emotional and spiritual safety. I worry that the thoughts and words of the others in regards to these tragedies will take aways my children's innocence, sense of security, sense of peace...  We as parents have chosen our words carefully and have been as honest and protective as one can be. I pray that the focus of tomorrows discussion be on all the THINGS that were Honorable, Right, Pure, Lovely, NOBEL...

And the truth is this not just my prayer for my 3 children but my prayer for all the children that enter Boston (& the surrounding area) schools tomorrow. I pray for God's Hand to guide the words of the teachers & administrators as they comfort our children. I was so incredibly impressed and grateful for how the school handled the events of Sandy Hook.. I am praying for the same wisdom in light of the events in this past week.

So if it comes to your mind tomorrow as these children go back to school pray that  their little hearts and little minds will be protected from A Spirit of Fear and Timidity, and that they will be embraced by POWER AND LOVE!!! 



 



 

I am Boston Strong: Because I have Hope and Comfort in Jesus Christ

A glimps at our week....

Boston's 117 Marathon Monday... Need I say More (Clarification we were not at the Marathon, but the events that happened shook us)... BOSTON STRONG!!!!

Picture taken Last Spring (Not Marathon Monday)

Tuesday Phone call my mother is in ER from Dehydration she caught the stomach bug.

Wed 1am Noah is crying he seems fine... Sadie is Crying Fever of 102+
3am Noah has a fever of 102+

Wed & Thursday are spent secretly following the news online and trying to take care of Two sick children and entertain a Highly energized Bored 7 year old.

Wed afternoon my childhood/life long Best Friend delivered her sweet little boy Isaac.

Thursday Doc appointment confirms that Noah and Sadie have influenza B yes Round 2 of the flu for us!! UGH!!

Friday... Still two sick kids, a man hunt and Boston on Lock Down!! (Thankful my actual residence is safe)... Highly energized boy is outside playing!!!

Today I reflect on the emotions that have Filled my Heart this week!!!

I am Over Joyed by God's gift of new life

I am Sorrowful at the loss of young life 

I am Mad at those who have stolen our sense of security
I am Proud and Appreciative to those men and woman who risk their lives to heal and bring security back to our city.
I am Determined to not let fear overcome us

I am Tired from fighting infection and sickness

I am  Over whelmed by all that life throws at us
I am Grateful to God for the life he has given us and His gifts of Strength & Peace in the face of adversity!!!  

 

You may not be in mourning for the pains or loss of loved ones or fearful from acts of terror... but whatever hardships you may find in this life may this song remind you of the comfort that can be found in knowing that...

 

"The arms that hold the universe
Are holding you tonight
You can rest inside
It's gonna be alright

And the voice that calmed the raging sea
Is calling you His child
So be still and know He's in control
He will never let you go"

 

Stomach Bug Blues

This is by far a night for the books aka blog worthy!!

Dinner time 5pm Cam says my stomach hurts...
6:30pm Cameron gets his jammies on... Goes to put his dirty clothes in the bathroom closet and turns around to throw up in the toilet!!

Between 9:30 - midnight Cameron throws up every 20 min. Becoming mildly dehydrated, I kept using the capillary refill Test, (Check out this website I found it to be very helpful!!)
 (http://pediatrics.about.com/od/symptoms/a/05_symp_dehydtn.htm)
Eventually he started keeping fluids down and fell asleep!!!

10:30pm Sadie wakes up crying her stomach hurts

11:30pm Sadie is throwing up

1:00am Mike wakes up and starts throwing up... and a little later we all fall asleep for about an hour..

2:30am Noah wakes up crying I totally break the rules and start nursing him

2:45 Sadie threw up for the last time Crying for me But I was still feeding Noah... Cameron is already asleep and done throwing up...
3am fall asleep on the hard wood floor next to Sadie.

4:30 Noah wakes up for the day

Kids wake up at 5:30am

They've Managed to keep down drinks and Toast/Crackers.


I must say this morning I'm running on Adrenaline and of Course LOADS of Coffee!!


Counting my blessings
1. My children seem to be on the up swing of this nasty stomach bug

2. I'm getting tons of Laundry & Cleaning done
3. Motivation to clean to get these nasty germs out of my house!!
4. I've managed to Stay clear of this bug!! (Praying it stays that way!!! Throwing up and I don't mix!!!)

Mother Knows Best!

So when Cameron and Sadie were little the City of Quincy put in a beautiful little playground a block away from our house... It was right next to the Clam Box on the beach. The playground has the recycled tire on the ground and a small structure that little toddlers can easily learn to climb and mama can breath easily and let them be somewhat free.

Well when Cam and Sadie were little they were always getting sick and I was always trying to brainstorm patterns or connect the dots to find a common denominator so maybe I could prevent the germs. One of things I thought was that this playground seemed to something we did shortly before they got sick... Well I mentioned this to my mother and the thought stuck... She would often say "Don't take them there, they are gonna get sick". Well as they got older we stopped going there cause other playgrounds had larger structures more appropriate for my big kids.

That brings you up to speed...
Yesterday was beautiful day and the baseball team was practicing so we can't play in the yard cause I fear someone getting hit by a ball.. Every time I hear the crack of the bat my heart jumps. So the kids and I walked up to that park.. Perfect for Noah to run and climb and have a good time. I jokingly told the kids, "Don't tell Niney tonight at dinner we went here cause she's gonna worry that you guys will get sick". Despite what I said we talked about it at dinner and sure enough she said, "Why did you take them to that play ground... You know they always get sick, Just you wait within two weeks you guys are gonna be sick."

Well it didn't take two weeks more like 6hours... About an hour after Noah went to bed he started crying. (Strange) so we went up checked on him he fell back asleep. For the next 5 hours he would randomly start crying.. And then at 1am it all hit the fan I heard him cry, gurgle and cry some more.. I immediately jumped out of bed and said, "He's Throwing up!!" I ran into his room picked him up and found his head and crib covered... Into the tub and then for the next hour and half we tried to comfort a very confused baby boy, he would cough and throw up!! I'll spare you the gritty details but it was bad.

This morning he's sleeping and resting on the couch next to me and has managed to keep down some fluids (juice and mama milk) and a few cheerios. Let's hope it's just Noah and the big kids are OK!


The moral of this story is... Trust your "mama" instincts and when your own mother tells you not to do something... LISTEN!! After all....

Mother KNOWS BEST!!!!

 

 

Counting my blessings

 

1. A husband with a understanding employer so he can go in late and take the big kids to school

2. I'm a stay at home mom so I'm free to be home with my sick kiddo! 

3. My sleepy baby boys smile when he wakes up from a nap!!!

4. Cuddling my baby boy!! 

Double the Trouble

I swear sense the day Sadie was born Cameron and Sadie have been double trouble!!!

There have been several occasions where I got a glimpse into what the teenage years are going to be like when the two of them put their minds together!

So our church runs an Easter Egg Hunt where we stuff over 15000 Easter Eggs. Well one of the work nights the kids and I went over to help stuff eggs. Cam, Sadie and I stuffed eggs while Noah sat at the table played and ate Cheerios...

Fast Forward to after the Egg Hunt our children were sitting around talking about their eggs and what goodies they got when

Sadie: "I wonder who got the Cheerio Egg??"
Cam: hahaha Yea I wonder
Me: What do you mean the Cheerio Egg??
Sadie: We each filled an egg with Cheerios
Me: What... You mean that night when we were stuffing eggs you took Noah's Cheerios and Stuffed an Egg with them?? And then bagged it like the rest of the candy Eggs.
Cameron and Sadie: HAHAHAHA YEA!
Mike: HAHAHAHA, Ehem I mean That's not funny! (SMILING FROM EAR TO EAR!!!)

Later I was telling a friend about this and was reminded of the year we visited our friends the Yeh's I believe Sadie was almost 3 and Cam had just turned 4. My children are Early Birds and their beloved friends are night owls... So Cameron and Sadie Came barreling down the stairs one morning during our visit Laughing hysterically with the camera in hand... Come to find out Cameron had snuck the camera and took pictures of Sadie Making Faces at the sleeping Yeh Children!! OMGoodness.

And let's not forget the Lotion Fun while I was preparing for our trip to Florida. (Age 3 & 4)

 

I'm glad my kids can enjoy having some harmless fun together!!!

But Boy it can drive this mother Bonkers Sometimes!!

 

Oh and My apologies to the kid who got the Cheerio Egg!!!

 

 

Counting My Blessings

1. BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY!

2. The ability to take 2 one year olds outside for an hour
3. Walk to the playground
4. Chili's Dinner on Mom's Treat

5. Rocking Noah before Bed 

Dairy Free Soy Free days are Technically Over

So the official word from the doc... Noah has grown out of his intolerance to Milk and Soy. She recommended that I keep nursing while he is still interested. I'm thinking now that he can have food with Flavor the interest will die down significantly. Really I don't want to be the Time Magazine cover. No offense to anyone who nurses until their children are 4, but it's just not for me one year is enough for this mama. My guess is that his 4am 45min feeding will be the last to go!

Ok So on to more exciting things... I CAN EAT MILK AND SOY!!!

First thing I ate was a Reeses Egg... MMM It tasted so good but made me feel nauseous.

On the other hand I felt Fantastic after my 1/2 of Grumpy Whites Buffalo Chicken Sandwich w/Blue Cheese and a side of Mac and Cheese. MMMM It was so good and yet soooo BAD for a woman with a goal to lose 15lbs before May 1st. (To make up for it I ran on the treadmill like my life depended on it).

So if we recall I have a list of top five food choices
http://csjohnstonmommy.blogspot.com/2012/08/catching-up-change-new-life-style.html

So #1 is Complete.. Let's be real these food experiences are not going to help my weight loss goals. SO I have a plan! I will only eat this if they are for social reasons. (IE girls night out, special Family outing, Or Date night). The reality is between now and May 1st those experiences will only happen once. I think that should allow me to lose the last of the baby weight.

While my days of ingredient reading are technically over, and I'm glad to not feel as though I'm imposing on people when we eat at friends or at a restaurant, I'm really not totally ready to kick some of the life style changes to the curb. Actually I think some things could be permanent things at my house.

Here's what I'm keeping...

1. Cooking Fresh/from Scratch... I'm not going back to the days of Lipton Onion Soup or
MaCormack Taco/Chili Seasoning. Fresh flavors work for us and Less Sodium, Less Chemicals

2. Almond Milk/Coconut Creamer... I've always Hated Cows Milk, My cereal will still have Almond Milk and I just might stick to using it in my coffee at home. Of course when a Dunkins, Coffee Break, Or Mary Lou's Run are in order I'll have skim milk, but at Home Almond Milk or Coconut Creamer will work best!! (Not to mention Coffee Runs wont be happening very often cause EVERY PENNY is IMPORTANT IN this house. Home Coffee is the way we roll)

3. My Dairy Free Soy Free Recipes... Those meals were yummy so they will certainly be staying in my Recipe Box/Menu Plan. I probably will continue to Pin those kinds of things on Pinterest...

4. Ingredient Reading... If I can I will probably still choose products that are made with Canola or Olive Oil... I'm not gonna go nuts, but I'm still going to opt for those products I know are soy free... For example the Classico's Tomato Basil Sauce is what I will use from now on  (Sorry Ragu and that was just one thing I couldn't make from scratch!!! I was terrible at it!)... another product is All Natural Creamy Skippy Peanut butter.


There you have it while I'm free!!! I'm still changed by the total experience!



Counting My Blessings:
1. Decluttered areas of my house that had me totally overwhelmed
2. Cam getting to go to his first Celtics Game
3. The weekend
4. My New Flat Iron... No more Friz
5. Noah on a schedule it seems to be working!!

Adventures in CIO #4

So We've come a long way in a week I believe... We've added music to the mix... We put it on and YES it plays all night!! (Just like Cameron)

So getting Noah to Go to sleep on his own has become such a success that now when we are rocking him he will squirm and fuss until we put into the crib then he lays there we give a few pats to the back and out the door we go. (Again much like Cameron!!).. He is napping great 2 naps a day for about 2hrs... and goes to bed at night GREAT!

Biggest Struggle he will wake up at 3:30 or 4 and he can't get back to sleep until about 45 min before the kids have to go to school so then he has to wait for that morning nap thus he just walks around the house fussing while I get the big kids ready for school!!! I will say this these early wake ups do seem to be associated with an  AM BM. UGH!! We see the GI on Thursday Praying for some information to help us move foreward and hopefully get a little more sleep.

We are getting there!! I feel encouraged!


Counting my Blessings
1. I serve a Risen Savior!!!! He has overcome the Grave!!
2. Easter Egg Hunt was a success!!
3. Warm Weather
4. Window's Open
5. Kids are sooo dirty from playing outside
6. Yummy Dinners
7. Unexpectadly being able to afford our trip to FL
8. The knowledge to know how to lose weight!!! (Dr. Phil Weight loss challenge works for me!!)
9. Running
10. SUNSHINE POURING THROUGH MY WINDOWS!!!

Adventures in CIO #3... Caved!!!

I found this blog with a mother who had pictures of her clothes covered dresser and messy office and I thought Ok so I need to blog the real stuff too and not be like those other picture perfect blogs that totally discourage me on Pinterest.

That leads me to say....
I'm a little discouraged with CIO, in part it's cause I'm exhausted.
Monday I was feeling GREAT about the road ahead, I introduced 1oz of milk in a bottle to 2 1/2oz of Mama Milk and Noah downed the entire thing. WOW!! What an exciting start down the Road to Dairy & Soy FILLED life. Late afternoon Mike Came home from work not feeling so great... Sadie and I ran to the store to get a few things for dinner. We ate dinner & enjoyed the normal bed time routine. I watched a little TV, Mike was already in bed.

~11pm the Fun begins. Noah wakes up and as I Patted Noah's back, I listened to Mike getting sick in the bathroom. OH NO!!! I cancelled my babysitting duty for Tuesday and thought OK Tuesday would be alright cause the kids had a full day of school (OR SO I THOUGHT). When I finally crawled into the playroom bed, it took me a little bit to fall asleep (when someone gets sick in my house I often stress about disinfecting my home). Well sleep found me until Noah woke at 2:30... I tried to pat his back standing over the crib, but then picked him up just so I could sit, rocked him for a bit. I WAS JUST TO TIRED and I knew what the day ahead could potentially look like so I COMPLETELY GAVE IN... I laid down in the twin bed and fed Noah Back to sleep!!! BOOOO I CAVED!!! Well Noah and I slept til about 5am when Cameron came in woke me up to say... "Mommy we don't have school today it's a snow day... I just heard the message from our Principal!!"

Joy!!!

Kids and I had a productive snowy Tuesday however Noah was a fussy mess... and REFUSED the Milk!!! So I just let it go and by evening, I totally messed with Noah's schedule and didn't put him to bed until 8pm. Again he woke up at 11pm I patted his back, he fell right back to sleep and then woke up again at 2am... YEA you know what I did????? Fed him!!

Today he had shots for his 1 year vaccines so I'm not even attempting Milk... And tonight when he cries I'll be sure to run cause I'll need to make sure he doesn't have a fever.. And we come full circle... When I started this blog there was reason for the title...

THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING!!!

Counting my blessings...
1. Kids who are old enough to put there laundry away
2. A clean kitchen
3. Kids at school all day
4. Kids at home all day helping with the house hold chores
5. Sunshine after a snow storm... Everything just looks BRIGHTER.. Literally and figuratively

Johnston Adventures in CIO #2: Discoveries & Baby Steps

~ So the routine continues… Read books or should I say read the same book… Time for Bed (I Highly Reccomend it!!), it’s crazy but I do have it memorized and I can read it in the dark (& yes I’ve read it to Noah in the dark after having to change his diaper) lay Noah down pat his back, & leave the room. We have discovered that despite all this time some things haven’t changed  sense before Christmas, if he cries longer than 15 minutes it means he has pooped!! It almost seems like he cries so hard it causes the poop. Once he’s changed he falls asleep.

~ The other day I let Noah Cry and Cry and Cry for his nap, it was exhaustingly painful so I went in laid him down, patted his back and within 3 minutes he was asleep. After this I felt extremely discouraged, kept thinking ugh he just got his way, he won this battle. Then I got to thinking when I was a teacher I would spend the good portion of rest time patting little kids backs to help them fall asleep and for much longer than 3 min. So why can’t I pat Noah’s back?? (It may not be the "right" way to think but I felt better so I'm going with it!!!)

~ Night time progress is that Noah is weaned from ALL night time feedings, but he still wakes up 1-2 times a night and thus the back patting happens only if he wakes up so much that he is standing in his crib.   

We are progressing with baby steps… Process vs. Product is the catch phrase in Early Childhood Education, but sometimes, while the process is "More important" then the product, the products can sure be sweet!! I would like to think that in this "process" my child is learning, independece, parents are in charge, parents will provide comfort. But let's be serious it's just sleep!!! 

I look forward to the product of these baby steps we are taking; just ONE FULL NIGHTS sleep! Maybe tonight will be the night!

 

Counting my Blessings...
1. A weekend catching up with old friends!

2. Game night with the kids... Playing Candy Land with Sadie is quite the experience... The little figures not only move along the game board path, but they talk, dance, and cry!!!
3. Sunny days... and daylight savings!!
4. Duck Dynasty it makes me laugh!

5. The amount of work I can get done in the time Noah Naps...

 

Recap, Beginning of a new series of Blogs: Adventures in CIO

So I apparently I'm blogging at the rate of 2 a year!! But Thought I would blog about another parenting adventure... CIO (This is what a friend calls it)... AKA CRYING IT OUT!!!

Quick Recap...
Noah had acid Reflux and Dairy Soy intolerance
Reflux created sleep issues.. If you've ever experienced Heart Burn you know what I'm talking about...

So Once Noah was taken off his antacid (About the end of Nov. We had thought it should be time to sleep train in baby steps...) One thing learned during this time was when Noah cries it out he poops!! NO JOKE EVERY TIME!! So we always have to go in and change his diaper!! What else is there to do but Change it can't leave him in it GROSS and I don't want him to become a Poo Caso (as my SIL calls it when kids get into thier diaper and paint with thier poop)....

Well December hit and Christmas plans changed and we headed to PA spending a great Christmas with my Grandfather, But Christmas Night Noah gets a fever... And this is where Sleep training became non existent for 2 1/2 months... Ear infection, the Flu, another ear infection that lasted 2 months result Tubes(yesterday)... And that now bring us up to speed. Oh and for a side note.. all these ear infections has prolonged the Dairy and Soy free life style cause can't try to introduce milk until he's off an antibiotic... JOY!!!So Here I begin the blog Series...

Johnston Adventures in CIO:
# 1....

So Tubes are in, Fluid is gone… "No more excuses" (as a FB friend so nicely pointed out!! :-) So last night NJ was in bed at 6pm… He slept until 11:30 when he started fussing a little not fully awake but was fussing… I brought him his overdue dose of Tylenol and realized he was soaked.. (Stinkin’ diaper!!! That’s what happens when you are cheep and don’t use Pampers Baby Dry!!!) Well after fully changing him I read him his book and rock him for a minute. Well while rocking him, he started pulling my hair and I told him no so he up and WHACKED me across the face!! Needless to say Rocking was over and I put him right in the crib!!! You know what????? He didn’t cry a lick not even a peep of protest… He just went right back to sleep!! Sleeping until 5am... Where he was ready to start his day...
   
        I know what you are thinking... that is way to early... but no wonder you put him to be at 6pm... Let me tell you one thing I've learned from Cameron's sleep habits as baby/Toddler/preschooler... Doesn't matter the time I put him to bed he will always wake up at 5am


So back on track I’d like to think one of two things… about last nights CIO moment...
1. This child knew… YES I SAID KNEW there was no way after hitting me that I was gonna pick him up again; So why bother trying.
2. He was just that tired he didn’t have any fight in him... (More likely this one, but I'd like to think he learned a lesson too... You don't hit mommy)

So This is our first real adventure in CIO... More to come... Cause while writing about last night ... This mornings Nap was a Doosy!!! ;-)


Can't forget to count my blessings...
1. Modern Medicine that allows tubes to be put into my child's ears to alleviate pain and pressure
2. Freedom to sleep train and now introduce MILK!! (PRAY THIS WORKS!!! I'm not sure I can watch my little guy live life with out ice cream)
3. It's Friday... And There are a ton of Friends in town for FOL... Hoping I get to see some of them even just for a few min...
4. My Beth Moore Study came in the Mail... and I've loving every min. of it...