An Awesome Weekend

Friday afternoon we got to pick up baby girl for the weekend.  I noticed right away her runny nose and excessive drool.  Yep, time for teething already!  She was a little fussier this weekend and clingy but I just used it as more time to cuddle!  Thankfully, she loves being in the Moby wrap as much as I love wearing it!  It really is comfortable and feels so snug.  My back has been sore a little bit each day but not much at all which is great considering I am wearing her for 2+ hours each day usually.

On Saturday I ventured out to Walmart with Nehemiah and baby in the Moby.  She did great and barely made a peep the whole time in the store.  I figured I better start breaking myself in with going places with multiple children.

Both nights she slept great.  I used my essential oil diffuser in her room with peppermint and thieves in it (I was pretty sure it was just teething but just in case, I wanted to kill those germs!). I also used peace and calming on her after bath time.  For myself and Nehemiah throughout the weekend I used Joy and Valor a good bit.  I am seeing so much good from using our oils regularly.  Much more calm, less anxiety and better mood stability.  On Sunday, when I was taking the kids back, baby was crying and wanted to be held, which of course I couldn't do in the car for an hour drive. Her crying was making me anxious and driving the boys crazy.  I pulled out Stress Away oil and rubbed it on my wrists and held it in front of A/C vents.  It was a pretty instantaneous calming for all and baby went to sleep.  So thankful for our essential oils! (Side note: let me know if you want to order some since I am a distributor for Young Living).

Sunday my mom came over to help for the day.  The boys arrived around 11 am. Time went by so fast!  I started out by going over some house rules which I neglected to do last week.  They were calmer anyways since it wasn't the first time over.  They played with toys some and then the Wii and iPad.  Everyone took turns well and shared thanks to my trusty kitchen timer! This also allowed me some one-on-one time with the boys while others had turns.  One of our boys is developmentally delayed and I wanted to feel out what he knows already and where he is at educationally so we played with the dry erase board for a few minutes.  Things I had read in the files that he didn't know when those reports were typed, he now knew! I was so excited!  He is showing such great improvement and so much potential when in the right environment and therapies.  There is no telling how far he can go.

My mom cooked lunch for us, otherwise we would have starved I guess!  Baby wouldn't let me put her down much and the boys were begging for attention left and right.  I know over time this will improve and I will find what works.  For now I think I need to cook when they are sleeping and just heat up food when it is time to eat.  Any other ideas for food preparation with multiple children? So far the boys haven't been great eaters, so I need to find out their favorites.

After lunch, we went to the playground.  Big kids had fun and baby took a nap in the stroller.  When we couldn't stand the heat anymore, my mom treated us to ice cream cones at McDondalds.  She is so brave.  At first I wasn't sure about taking them all to a restaurant yet, albeit fast food, but then I decided I better practice while my mom is here to help!  She said next week we should take them to Walmart and see how that goes.  Probably a good idea, otherwise we WILL starve if I am afraid to grocery shop!  Hahah!

Weekend went even better than last week!  Feels so good to have them here.  So thankful that they will move in one at a time though with a couple weeks between each one so that I can get each one settled and into the routine.  Caseworkers meet again on the 14th to decide on some dates for the next part of the transition plan so I am excited about that!

We've gotten some donations and gift cards in the mail and it makes me cry each time because I am so thankful for how willing you all are to help us.  God always provides and uses friends, family and even strangers to bless us!  Thank you!