Thumb-be-gone

Growing up I was a thumb sucker until early elementary school. I can't remember how old I was when I stopped, but I do vividly remember the dentist calling me at home one night to remind me to not suck my thumb. Then in 5th grade, I got braces...for four and half years. I followed all the rules of my orthodontist and everything, but the thumb sucking got blamed for the years of orthodontia. I got braces again as an adult because my teeth shifted and my lack of saliva (thanks to being nuked during radioactive iodine treatments) was starting to cause some problems.

I vowed to NEVER. EVER. left one of my kids suck their thumb.

When we brought Jack home, one of the last things his foster mom said to me was "Don't let him suck his thumb!" No problem, I won't! And he wasn't.

Then we brought Sam home. And he was already a thumb sucker. He was nearly 18 months old and going through a lot of change so I decided to wait until he was 2 year old. Well, Ian was going to deploy and was going to go through a lot of change, so I would wait until he was home. I was diagnosed with cervical cancer about that time, so I'd wait until that mess way over. Then it was time to move cross country...you can see the theme here.

I allowed all these events to psych me out. I think I honestly just didn't want to do the hard work of reminding Sam to stop sucking his thumb. And it didn't seem to be terribly hard, he only sucked it when he was going to sleep. I guess it's one of those things that will make him into a big boy...and like most moms, I want to keep him little!

Last fall, Sam asked for a "bendy" seatbelt and I figured that would be a good reward for getting him to stop sucking his thumb. So we decided when he was 5 years old, he wouldn't suck his thumb any more.

On the morning of his birthday, December 27th, I reminded him what we talked about. That is was time to stop sucking him thumb so he could get a bendy seatbelt.

"How many days do I have to stop, Mom?"


Shoot. I hadn't thought of that. "14." Sounds good to me. A good two weeks to help him break the habit.


"Then on day 15 I get my bendy seatbelt, right?"


"Yes, Sam. 14 days in a row and then you get it."


He was sold. And meanwhile I'm thinking that this will be a long process...lots of reminding, lots of tears.


Well today was 15 days after his birthday...and guess who got a bendy seatbelt?!


I really never thought Sam was going to stop sucking his thumb this easily. But I'm thrilled! And so proud of him for doing it...and he worked hard...and with few reminders from me.

Painting our Bedroom

After living in our house for over a year and having multiple paint colors tested on the walls, I finally decided what to do! The room is large and I didn't want to feel swallowed by a single color so we chose two complementary colors and painted them on opposing walls. We used Valspar Leafy Rise (the green) and Lyndhurst Timber.

New paint colors!

Our bedroom feels so warm and cozy now. I love it! But after getting all the walls painted, I decided the gold outlet covers and switch plates had to go. I do not like shiny gold in my house. Yuck.

Outlet cover before: ugly gold.

 We are renting our house do I didn't want to invest much into it, so spray paint was my answer! I scuffed up the surface of the plate and the head of the screws with steel wool and sprayed away. I stuck the screws into a piece of cardboard so I could spray paint them easier. I used Valspar Metallic Silver. I think they look great!

Outlet cover after: awesome silver!

Now that the walls are wonderfully warm, I need to find a great duvet to go with. The job has been much more difficult that I thought. Any ideas?

One Sweet Half

For some reason I thought it was a great idea to train and then run a half marathon. Well, it turned out to be a VERY good idea! I signed up for a training group and got ME time twice a week...and had a blast! Made some great new friends and whipped my body back into shape. May 15th, I ran in the Marine Corps Historic Half and finished in 2:39. Pretty damn proud of myself!

Welcome to the world, Ryan!

The newest little boy has finally arrived!
Ryan was born October 4th at 9:55 pm weighing in at 7lbs, 14oz and 21.5 inches long.

The 3 loves of our lives!

One Year

A lot can change in a year. A WHOLE LOT.

It was one year ago today that I learned I had cancer again. One year ago today that I was uncertain about what my future would hold. One year ago today I felt crushed and defeated.

But I picked myself off the floor and charged on. I don't know any other way to fight the beast. I put on my gloves, hopped into the ring, and let cancer have it. I wasn't going to let it dictate my life again. As my sister-in-law told me, "Some people take lemons in life and make lemonade. You take a lemon and make a baby!"

So take that cancer. Another year from now you will be farther behind me and my brood of boys!

A month to go...

I was 35 weeks when this picture was taken and today is just 1 month to go until baby boy #3's due date! Thought we could have some fun and guess when the baby is going to come. Visit http://www.expectnet.com/games/JackAndSamsBrother to place your guess!

Hawai'i

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