From Bad to Good

Today had the potential to be a bad day, but it actually turned out to be a pretty good one. Today I'm thankful for . . .

1. Liam's 3am feeding. This isn't normally something I get excited about, especially since I've gotten used to him sleeping until 6 or 7am. However, this morning it was perfect because the extra feeding filled him up enough to get him through my doctor's appointment later that morning. Which bring me to...

2. My wonderful children and their ability to sit through my doctor's appointment without destroying anything or going berserk. I had to bring Liam and Sydney to my appointment. I was a little worried about it, but they were stellar. Liam stayed in his car seat the whole time- not that he can get out of it himself, but he was content and happy being there so I didn't have to take him out. He just smiled at all the nurses and swooned them with his baby talk. Sydney entertained herself with the little step stool at the end of the exam table and by pushing around the "doctor chair" on wheels. Then she found the best toy ever- a lamp. She turned it on and made her shadow dance on the wall. Then she turned it off and on again. It was the best free entertainment a kid could have in a doctor's office. I'm so glad I have good kids.

3. The nice lady at the hospital information desk who validated my parking ticket because I had no way to pay for it. The parking garage only takes cash or checks and I only had a credit card on me. I'm glad she didn't make me scrub the floors or clean the bathrooms to make me pay off my debt. :)

4. Speaking of debt forgiveness- I'm also thankful for the guy who works at our local branch library. He removed a "lost book" fee from my account and renewed the "lost book" to give me more time to look for it. I just know it's around the house somewhere. I paid off the rest of my overdue fines (I won't tell you how much they were. But I think they might open a new branch in my name with all the fines I've paid...haha j/k. Sort of). My account is now clear and I am no longer barred from borrowing materials. So Lillian and Sydney loaded up on books and a few movies. I do love our little library in West Philly.

5. Sleeping in until 7:30 this morning, even though it made us really late for Lillian's preschool. It was worth it. :)

6. My first attempt at grilling. Bobby has always done all the BBQ-ing for us and I've decided it's about time that I learn how to do it myself. He mentored me through the process and my chicken turned out pretty good (if I say so myself). The awesome recipe certainly helped. It's an Asian BBQ chicken marinade from this really good food blog called Our Best Bites. So many of their recipes call for grilling the meat, which is another reason why I want to get good at it. Yay for learning how to do something new!

7. Talking with my sister. I felt like I should call her tonight so I did. We ended up talking for a while about the award/grant she's writing to help fund her India project. I was able to help her through some of it which made me feel useful. She amazes me with her ideas, her motivation, and her accomplishments. I really hope she wins the award. I know she would put it to good use.

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Crimped hair. Lillian is into wavy hair. For the past two nights she has slept with a french braid in her hair so it will have that crimped, wavy look in the morning. Last night she took a bath and I braided her hair while it was still wet so the wave would stay in longer. Lillian loves the new do and she likes to watch herself in the mirror while she whips her hair back and forth. I think she's beautiful no matter how her hair is done, but it's fun to be girly-girly with her and get excited about a new hair style. I can only imagine what it will be like when she's 16. . .


2. Walking on the yellow. Every day after we drop Lillian off at school and are walking across the school yard to the van in the parking lot, Sydney wants "to walk on the yellow," which means she wants to walk on the yellow curb. I have to hold her hand while she walks so she won't fall off and when we get to the van she jumps down. It's the highlight of our morning. Thank goodness for the simple things in life. Like yellow curbs.

3. The way Lillian draws eyes. She gets and blue crayon and draws a circle for the blue part and then colors a black circle in the middle for the pupil. It makes for a very wide-eyed look. I love it.



I also love her seahorse drawings. The small circles are the babies that the daddy seahorse is carrying around. I think she learned that from reading Eric Carle's "Mister Seahorse". I love how Lillian is starting to draw real things (and I'm starting to be able to recognize what they are instead of saying- "Oh, how nice! What is it?") :)


4. Lunch with my sister. We went to a great Indian place called Saffron Kitchen. I got my usual chicken tikka masala...mmm, so good!! I'm so fortunate to have my sister and to live so close to her. It makes me so happy that she wants to spend time with me and that she makes time in her busy schedule to hang out.

5. Belmont Plateau. It's not far from our house and it has a great view of the city. We walked there tonight and took some pictures of the kiddos and let them run around on the big grassy hill. We like to drive by it at night when you can see all the lights from the big buildings in the city. The girls call it the "sparkly city." Tonight we happened to run into a friend who was so nice to take a family photo for us. Some day I would like to have a big, panoramic photo of the Philly skyline framed in our home. By the time Bobby is done with residency in 4 years (but who's counting??) our total amount of time in Philly will be 9 years. That will be more than a quarter of my life!

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Dinner at the hospital with Daddy. Lillian and Sydney were thrilled to take a field trip to "Daddy's Hospital" to dine in the Intern/Resident Lounge. It wasn't anything fancy but it sure was fun to have dinner with Dad and to meet some of the nurses that he works with.

2. Liam's bath. He smiled and splashed with his legs through the whole thing! I managed to get through it without getting peed on, which is an accomplishment.

3. The blustery day. It was a bit windy and brisk today, which seemed to add energy to the air. The girls had fun watching the trees sway in the wind, and they noticed all the tree blossoms blowing around.

4. Cereal box forts. I used to make them when I was little- I would line up 3 or 4 cereal boxes on the table so they surrounded me and my bowl of cereal. Then I would hide behind them while I ate. Lillian discovered how fun they are yesterday morning. She pulled out about 10 boxes and made a super-fort around herself. She would peek around the edge every now and then to see what Sydney and I were up to.

Today I'm thankful for...

1. An early spring and all the pretty trees that are in bloom.

2. Free minutes with Verizon to Verizon cell phones.

3. The hot cup of herbal lemon tea that Bobby made for me.

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The way Sydney fell asleep on the couch this afternoon.


2. Parents of Preemies Day. Today was the very first "Parents of Preemies Day," organized by the Graham Foundation. I am not the parent of a preemie, but I have a friend (also named Amanda) who is. Her daughter Charlotte was born 17 weeks early and weighed only 19 ounces. Today Charlotte is 2 years old and she's absolutely adorable. Amanda deserves this day of recognition. She is an amazing mother and she has become a valuable advocate for preemies and their parents. She has a blog called "Understanding Prematurity" where she writes about every day life with Charlotte and about the issues and challenges that come with raising a preemie. I'm grateful for the awareness that Amanda is helping to spread and for her willingness to share a very tender and often emotional part of her life.

3. Girls Night Out. I went to see "The Hunger Games" with some girlfriends while the kiddos stayed with- you guessed it- Grandma and Grandpa! It was fun to get out!!

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Liam's dimple. When he smiles big you can see a little dimple in his left cheek. Every time I see it I want to pinch it!

2. Sydney's smile and good attitude. Even when 2 out of my 3 kids are crying at me, Sydney can still have a smile on her face and a bounce in her step. That's what I love most about that girl.

3. Lillian's eagerness to help and her ability to do "grown-up" things. Tonight she poured her own cup of milk and Sydney's too, then she used a chair to find the box of straws in the cabinet up high. Yesterday she hauled a big bag of groceries up the stairs from the basement without being asked- she just knew that I needed it upstairs. She has a good heart and is always looking for ways to help out.

4. The "ghetto park" behind our house. It's a little ghetto because there is some graffiti on the playground equipment, there are no swings where the swings are supposed to hang, and the grass is often a little too high. But it's still a great park that is literally right in our backyard and it's a nice place for the kids to run around and have fun. It has a special place in my heart because it's where we had both Lillian and Sydney's 1st birthday parties and we have lots of fun pictures of the girls swinging on the monkey bars, going down the little slide, and crawling through the tunnel. I know I'll miss it when we have to move.

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Being home and getting better. Liam was a champ last night and his oxygen levels stayed high enough to be discharged this morning. His fever is gone, he's nursing better, his wheezing has cleared up, and overall he seems like a much happier little boy- the way I'm used to him being. I enjoyed my one-on-one time with him during our little outing, but I'm glad it's over, and I'm especially glad that he's getting better. Here are the pics from our hospital get-away that I wanted to post last night:

This is when we were in the ER and he was being monitored. He had finally had a good feeding session and totally conked out. I texted my mom and told her he was looking good and we would be home soon. Of course, about two minutes later he desat-ed into the low 80's, which sent everyone running into the room- the nurse, the resident, the fellow, and the attending. And that's what got him admitted.


The next time he fell asleep he kept desat-ing again. He would do better with the oxygen mask blowing in his face (called "blow-by oxygen" I learned), but as soon as I took it away he would drop again. That's how he got the nasal cannula (oxygen tube in the nose with cute round stickers on his cheeks to keep it in place).

He never actually needed it, which was good news for us (that's how we got to come home today), but I'm glad it was there just in case. Now he has a round, red circle on each cheek from the adhesive.

He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping. Oh, he's so cute! All the nurses loved him, too. :)


2. Picnic lunches at the park with friends from the neighborhood. We BBQ'ed at "Martha's Park" tonight with four other families. It was so nice to see all the kids playing together and having a great time. Lillian and her friends had a blast on the tall slide- they would all sit down and wrap their legs around the person in front of them to go down at the same time in a long train. They did it over and over again and every time was just as good as the last. Sydney joined in a few times and monkeyed her way up the jungle gym. I've missed seeing them run around with friends. I'm glad the weather has been nice enough to be outside and that we have friends who live close by.

3. David. He lives a few houses down and he deserves the "Neighborhood Beautification Award." We always see him outside doing something to spruce up the area. He picks up trash- sometimes as far as 2 miles down the road- he mows the strip of grass on the other side of the sidewalk that no one really owns and no one ever thinks to take care of- he'll even cut the grass in some yards when it gets too long. He puts people's trash cans out on trash day, picks up the trash that the trash truck drops behind (or that the racoons drag out and leave all over the place), and he puts the trash cans back (with rocks on the lids so the racoons can't get to it next time) after they're emptied- we've been the recipient of this service several times, can you tell? The most amazing thing David has done is transform the back woodsy area behind our row of houses. It's owned by Fairmount Park and it used to be all underbrush and snarly trees, poison ivy and briar patches- nothing that you would ever want to take a walk in. Little by little he has cleared it out and cleaned it up. He has used tree stumps to line a path through the woods to the park, and he's used other tree logs and branches to create an artistic fence along the service road that runs back there. He has truly transformed the area into something beautiful- now it's a clean, grassy area that is beautiful to look at and nice to walk through. I'm so thankful for David's hard work, his service to the community, and his vision that has transformed and beautified the area around us.

Overnight Get-Away

I know Liam loves me because he is taking me on an over-night get-away. But I need to talk to him about his choice of destination...the ER isn't exactly my idea of an enjoyable mother-son outing. He was admitted because his oxygen saturation levels are too low when he's sleeping. This is most likely the result of a viral infection like RSV that has caused bronchiolitis in his lungs. The docs are putting him on oxygen, giving him albuterol breathing treatments and monitoring his oxygen saturation and wheezing.

We are all settled into our hospital hotel room and Liam is fast asleep. So far his oxygen levels have been good (I hope I'm not jinxing myself here). I would post some pics but I'm using Bobby's iPad and I haven't figured out how to do that yet (anyone know how??). Hopefully we won't be staying long.

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Picnic lunches.

And watching the recycling truck go by.

2. Garden tea parties with friends.

3. The daffodils that are starting to bloom in our little yard. I had no idea they were there. Tara, did you plant the bulbs??

4. Our earth-friendly Family Home Evening. It was so nice out so I thought we would go on a walk to enjoy Mother Nature for our FHE activity. Then Lillian had the wonderful idea to pick up trash along the way. So we all donned surgical gloves, and while I carried the trash bag and Daddy carried Liam, Sydney and Lilly picked up trash along our street. Sydney's gloves didn't stay on for very long and we had to keep telling her not to pick up trash with her bare hands. At one point she had one glove on her right hand and none on her left; she would pick up the trash with her bare hand, then transfer it to her gloved hand before putting it in the trash bag. Her job switched from trash picker-upper to help-Mommy-hold-the-trash-bag-and-don't-touch-anything-in-the-bag. Lillian was a star at finding trash and she quickly learned what cigarette butts were, which led to a lesson about smoking, tobacco, and how Santa Claus smokes a pipe to "keep him toasty" (that's how Lilly put it...did she learn that at preschool???!). Yes, we admitted, but Santa isn't being a good example and cigarettes are very, VERY bad for you. Lillian tolerated us drilling this lesson into her head as she skipped along and found more trash. Now our little stretch of street is [mostly] free from cigarette butts and other litter. Now Mother Nature is smiling down at two little girls who made a difference today (and learned an important lesson about smoking along the way). :)

Today I'm thankful for...

1. The blossoms on the trees. Hooray for an early spring!!

2. Lillian's drawings that I find all over the house. Like this one:


I hate throwing them away, but we're beginning to accumulate piles upon piles of sketches, drawings, paintings, doodles, and notes. We don't have enough wall space (or tape) to hang them all up, nor do we have enough horizontal space to stack them all. So Bobby came up with a genius idea. Take a picture of it and throw the original away. Making a digital copy doesn't make me feel like a bad mom, and hopefully Lillian won't notice that the original is missing. :)

3. Bobby's work ethic. He told me a little story about something that happened at the hospital yesterday. He was in the cafeteria getting his lunch when he heard over the intercom, "Doctor pacemaker something-something" (I don't remember exactly what it was)- which basically means someone is coding (dying) and a doctor needs to get there right away. He put down his tray full of food, tossed his ice cream back into the freezer and ran out of the cafeteria. On his way out he heard one of the cafeteria ladies say, "Uh, I'll put that away for you." Anyway, he got to the dying patient's room and saved her life, but that's not the point of the story. Later in the day he went back to the cafeteria to get his dinner. Chicken parm was on the menu and he asked the cafeteria lady (the same one who put his lunch away when he left in a hurry), "How hard would it be to get two patties instead of just one?" She replied, "Not hard at all." Bobby thanked her and then she told him that she's never seen anyone drop their food and rush out as fast as he did. She said her mother had died in that same hospital and if it had been her family member in trouble today she would've wanted them to come in a hurry like he did. Of course Bobby was modest about it and he said, "I'm just doing what I'm supposed to. That's my job." And she said, "Well, I don't see everyone do the same thing. I can't tell you how many times I watch other doctors just sit there with their food and say someone else will take care of it." I'm proud of Bobby for being that kind of doctor, and for being that kind of person in general. You never know who is watching you and your actions reflect so strongly as to the kind of person you are. I'm grateful that Bobby's reflection is a positive one.

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Daylight Savings. It gets light later in the morning now so the girls have been sleeping longer. Yay for me!

2. The weekend. I'm on a "only-eat-dessets-on-the-weekend" diet to limit the amount of sweets and junk I consume. Because let's be honest- eating ice cream every night is not going to help me get rid of any baby fat. I try not to go hog wild when Saturday rolls around, but it's nice to be able to eat the cookie[s] (or the ice cream or what have you) I've been restraining myself from all week.

3. Hymns. I went to a meeting at church tonight and this was the closing hymn we sung. It felt like it lightened my load.

How gentle God's commands! How kind his precepts are!
Come cast your burdens on the Lord and trust his constant care.

Beneath his watchful eye his Saints securely dwell
That hand which bears all nature up shall guard his children well.

Why should this anxious load press down your weary mind?
Hasten to your Heavenly Father's throne and sweet refreshment find.

His goodness stands approved, unchanged from day to day.
I'll drop my burden at his feet and bear a song away.

4. Boathouse Row. The view from I-76 East-bound at night is my favorite. Especially during holidays when the lights are festive. Tonight they were- you guessed it- green! I just love the artsy side of Philly.

This is what it looks like at Christmas. Just imagine it all green and that's what I saw tonight. Photo from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/18416936

5. Sleep-overs with G-ma and G-pa. The girls are sleeping in their sleeping bags and play tent tonight at grandma and grandpa's apartment. Bobby is on call. It's just me and my little man Liam.

Toady I'm thankful for...

1. Green pancakes and green chocolate milk for dinner.



2. The long wait at the pediatrician's office. Normally I hate waiting but today it was a refuge from the emotional drama I left at home. Lillian and Sydney were both having melt downs when I left. I was about to reschedule and stay home to weather the storm but Grandma told me to go as she bravely dealt with the onslaught of preschooler screaming and toddler tears. She deserves a big gold star today. Thankfully Lillian was her normal cheerful self when I got back and Sydney went down for a nap ten minutes later. As for Liam, he weighed in at 15 lbs, 13 oz and 25 inches long. Big boy!

3. iPad, iPod...iLike! Bobby has been waiting for the new iPad and today he got what he waited for. He plans on using it mainly for his medical readings; instead of hauling around the big books and printing off thousands of papers worth of journal readings he can just download electronic copies and read them and take notes directly on the iPad. He can also do dictations and do some pretty cool photo editing. He felt bad buying it for himself without getting something for me, so being the good wife that I am I let him feel guilty and gave him permission to buy me an iPod Nano. It's so cute and so little and I can't wait to use it the next time I work out!

4. Hangman. It's become Lillian's new favorite game and I love playing it with her.

5. Ibuprofen. Both Sydney and Liam came down with fevers today. Sydney's could be from her teeth coming and and Liam's from his vaccines? But I think they just both have a bug. I hope it passes quickly.

Today I'm thankful for...

1. 4 months. Liam is a third of a year old! We'll see how much the little chunker has grown when we weigh him in at his well visit tomorrow. These days he's all smiles and giggles and he squeals when we find his extra-ticklish spot on his back. He loves to kick his legs and grab things. He's getting to know his reflection in the mirror and he tries to mimic our baby talk. He has the biggest, cutest fat rolls on his legs that I just have to squeeze every time I change his diaper. He rolled over once for Grandma, but he hasn't shown off this new talent to anyone else yet. He drools, he chews his fingers and he sucks his thumb when no one is looking. Overall he's a cute little guy and we love having him around. ;)

2. Gelato. My sister came over tonight and brought some delicious gelato to share. She also brought beautiful gifts from India- bracelets for the girls and a shawl, notecards, and a shirt for me. I'm so glad she came over and hung out for a little bit. She's been checking in on me lately and I really appreciate it.

3. TurboTax! My mom had a play date with the girls so I could crunch some numbers and get our taxes done. I don't know how I would do it without TurboTax- and our return is looking good this year! :)

Today I'm thankful for...

1. No training wheels. Lillian has been asking for weeks to take the training wheels off her bike. Today was finally the big day! Bobby took Lillian for a ride around the block without her training wheels. She's starting to get the hang of it- as long as she remembers to keep pedaling! I'm so proud of her!

2. Four new teeth. While Sydney and I were playing dentist I discovered that all four of her 2-year molars are coming in! That explains why she's been more clingy, temperamental, and dependent on her ba-boo the past few days. I thought it was just the terrible two's, but it must be her new teeth (at least I'll keep telling myself that to make me feel like there's an end in sight...haha).

3. 80 degrees. That's how warm it was today. In the middle of March. Crazy. This time last year there were still piles of snow all over the place. We went to the zoo this afternoon, grilled hamburgers for dinner and watched the sunset on our little patch of grass that we like to call a front yard. I could get used to this kind of March weather.

4. Memories. My father-in-law passed away last week and we attended his funeral this past weekend. I've been thinking about him a lot. It makes me sad to know that my children will not grow up with one of their grandpas. And it makes me sad to know that my husband doesn't have a father he can talk to anymore. However, I'm very grateful for the memories we have and I hope we can use them to help our children remember him. Things like this- how he liked his watermelon ice cold and his grapes frozen in the freezer; he always brought back soap and lotion samples from the hotels on his business trips; traveling to England, India, Australia, Germany, PEI- he was always going somewhere; books- LOTS of books; silver spoons, little toast holders, sovereign cases, antique bags and suitcases that he would collect during his travels; how he has his mouth open in every picture we have of him because he was always in the middle of saying something; the beach- he loved the beach and horseshoe crabs and the little purple and white shells called wampum; how he would take the time after Thanksgiving dinner to pick through the turkey to get all the good meat out so nothing would go to waste; the heart-felt email he sent to Bobby when he didn't match into residency; how he always told me that he prayed for me my children by name every night; the way he shared his raspberries and strawberries with Sydney and that's how he gained her trust; the photo at Christmas of three generations of Williams- William Dennis (grandpa), William Robert (father), and William Thomas (son); how he came to Liam's baby blessing a few weeks ago even though he was really sick and had to leave right after; the picture that I found in his room the night before he passed away that was taped to his mirror- it was a drawing that Sydney and Lillian had made for him and he had attached two photos of the girls to it....all these little thoughts and memories make up who he was. And there are so many more. I appreciate the person he was, especially for raising his son who became my husband and father of our children.

5. Picking up where I left off. The past few weeks have thrown us off our regular schedule. I'm grateful that we can now focus on getting things back together and getting into a good routine again.