JP IS TWO!

Holy smokes. 

Where have the last two years gone?!

Age: 2 years

Stats: Um... big and tall?! He's 37 pounds, and

I don't have the specifics on his height.

Clothes: 4T shirts and 3T shorts/pants

Favorites: He's all peanut butter, all the time. For the most part, he's a really

great eater, but if given the choice, he'll just take a peanut butter sandwich

and banana, please. He loves super heros and Woody from Toy Story.

I LOVE how he says, "Whoo-DEE!" and "Bah-gah". If someone could just explain to me

how bah-gah is supposed to translate to Buzz Light-Year, that'd be great. And just like his

big brother and father, he loves Transformers. Preferably Bumble Bee.

Words: Like I said, "Whoo-DEE!" is one of my favorites right now. He talks a ton, 

and has far too many words at his disposal to name them all, but "balloon", "love you too", and

"What doing, Mommy?" melt me. Every. Time. Oh! And the way he calls Eva, "sis-ha" 

and never by her name.

Not exactly thrilled to be participating (or lack there of) in a photo shoot.

Signature Moves: He is still my little sweet heart. He is so kind and snuggly. 

He's also become quite the little dancer as of late. Pharrell's Happy is a major hit in this house.

Mommy's MOST PROUD Moment: Would "everything" be a super lame answer? He's

the best little brother and his siblings think the world of him. At this stage, they

all get a long so well. He makes me proud every day.

Guess who's back?

Guess who's back?

Back again.

Katie's back!

Tell a friend.

Guess who's back?

Guess who's back?

Guess who's back?

Guess who's back?

Guess who's back?

Guess who's back?

Guess who's back?

Nah, Nah, Nah.

Just kidding.

But in all seriousness, I am back.

Finally. After a long hiatus for nothing more then LIFE,

I'm making serious time for this little blog.

I like writing.

This is for me and I need more me time.

So stay tuned...

#tbt

I love looking back at "old" photos of my kids, and Throw Back Thursday is as good of an excuse as any!

Showing off their winning cars last Father's Day. 

They participated in several matchbox races and totally stomped the competition. :)

I am so ready to ditch the winter coats and beanies for flip-flops and sunnies and this picture doesn't help...

My Cancer SCARE.

The last couple of weeks have been more than crazy.

I certainly didn't see this emotional roller coaster coming, but all-in-all we survived.

Here's what went down...

Long story short, since having my third child, I've had some not-normal things going on.

In lieu of those things, I finally decided to see my doctor the week of February 10th.

After much discussion, she suggested I have some lab work done. No big deal.

By Valentine's Day all but one lab was back and everything was normal.

We went out of town that weekend and I totally forgot that I still had a lab test outstanding.

Fast forward to the next Tuesday.

After a game of phone tag, I was finally able to connect with my doctor.

She reviewed all of my lab work with me again, saving the "worst" for last.

My last lab left me with results no one saw coming. 

Without getting into too much detail, the normal range for said lab is between 6 and 80.

Mine came back at 382.

My doctor didn't waste any time letting me know what the next steps would be.

Results THAT out of left field are most often seen in patient's with ovarian cancer.

That was tough to hear.

I'm 26 years old.

I have three little kids and a husband.

Cancer wasn't even on my radar.

I needed an ultrasound and additional labs right away.

So the very next morning, Wednesday, I was back at the clinic.

Looking back, I feel awful for the ultrasound tech because I was in no mood to

be chatty. She knew why I was there, and despite her best efforts, we spent most

of the ultrasound sitting in silence. 

And don't even get me started on the lab tech who used a dull prison

shank to draw my blood. It was an awesome day.

On Thursday I was notified that my ultrasound was normal.

And on Friday she called again to tell me all the additional lab work was normal too.

Not knowing what to do next, my doctor decided to consult an 

endocrinologist at a local, much larger, facility.

He recommended even MORE lab work, and repeating the lab that set all this off. 

And again, the new lab work was normal.

And the real kicker....

Keep in mind, "normal" is between 6 and 80...

This time it came back at 25.

Yep. You read that right. 25.

I was FLOORED! And thankfully, my doctor was too.

Her and I were both speechless. She was convinced that the lab messed up somewhere

the first time. My husband and I were dragged through hell for days, for no reason.

As happy as I am that it was a false alarm, this kind of false alarm is inexcusable. 

The worst part isn't even how emotionally taxing it was on me, but that

SOMEONE ELSE GOT MY ORIGINAL RESULTS!

SOMEONE COULD HAVE CANCER, AND NOT EVEN KNOW IT

BECAUSE OF A POSSIBLE LAB ERROR!

I have actually lost sleep worried about that woman.

And while the investigation as to what "might" have happened is still ongoing,

I pray everyday that there isn't someone else out there thinking everything is fine, 

while a quiet cancer wreaks havoc..

We are at WAR.

We are at war people!

The battle lines have been drawn and the stakes are high.

Each and every time we think we have the enemy in check, backed into

a corner with no way out, they muscle their way through!

We can't back down. We can't walk away.

The anarchy that would follow is unimaginable. 

No matter how hard we fight, the battle never ends.

We are gridlocked and we can't catch a break!

This is not a new war. 

This war was fought by our mothers (and fathers) before us. 

There are no new tactics and no battle plans left untried.

But we march on...

We continue to fight because it's all that we know.

The war is at your doorstep and in your home too.

The war on...

LAUNDRY.

I don't even know where to start when it comes to laundry.

There was once a simpler time. When it was just me and my husband, the laundry

wasn't even an issue. A couple of loads a week, no big deal. Throw in 3 kids

and the situation has gotten out of control. I hold on to the memories of what once

was when I'm up to my eyeballs in footed pajamas and toddler t-shirts.

I can wash, dry, and fold a load every

single day and STILL not stay ahead of the game.

My washing machine, Lolita, and I are on a first name basis these days.

No one warned me about all of the laundry that comes with a kid!

Clothes, blankets, bedding, towels... WHY DIDN'T ANYONE WARN ME?!

I'm here today to admit my defeat! I can't keep up the fight!

As long as everyone has something clean to wear

each day, I'm not going to worry about how many baskets of dirty clothes need attention.

The baskets aren't going anywhere and lets face it, as soon as I empty one,

my 3 monsters (4, because my husband fits the profile too) fill it back up.

I have lost the war.

Alright, alright. In all seriousness, if this is the worst part of our days,

we have it pretty good. And I wouldn't trade any of my babies or my husband

for a few less loads of laundry a week.

But I'd be lying if I said the three baskets that need to be folded and 

the two that need to be washed weren't stressing me out just a little bit...

My Slightly Sensitive 4 Year Old.

Time for another Cameron-does-the-sweetest-things segment!

Preface: We are Netflix obsessed in this house. We almost NEVER watch

anything on regular cable. That being said, my husband came across a show

called Flash Point. I have no idea if it's on/was on in the states, but it's based in Canada.

Long story short, it's a police drama that my whole house now likes.

Before you start lecturing me about age appropriate television for my children,

I will say, that they don't watch this alone, and the writers have done a great job

keeping it family friendly.

Blah, blah, blah... get to it, right?!

So anyway, Flash Point has sort of made it's way into our nightly routine as of late.

After potty breaks, clean diapers, brushing teeth, pajamas, and bedtime snacks,

we usually migrate to the sofa for the next episode.

A few nights ago, the story line revolved around a birth couple abducting

their biological child from the child's adoptive parents. There's a few tense moments, 

but in the end, the police recover the baby and return him to his parents, unharmed.

At this point, Eva and JP are asleep, and it's just me and Cam hanging in there for the ending.

I just happened to glance over at Cameron at the moment the baby is brought home,

and he's got TEARS IN HIS EYES. 

Me (slightly panicked): "Cam? What's wrong?"

Cam (starting to cry): "I was just so worried about that baby, Mom."

It was so sweet! I went on to explain that it's just a show, but the baby made

it home just fine... that there was nothing for him to worry about.

We quickly decided to call it a night, and I walked him upstairs to tuck him in.

Just as I thought the baby worries had passed...

Cam: "I need to talk to you."

Me: "Okay. What's up?"

Cam: "If we get another baby, are bad guys going to try and take

him from us? Like the show?"

I was already regretting letting him watch it, and now I felt even worse.

Thankfully after reassuring him that no one would come in our home and

try to take any future babies from us, he fell asleep without issue.

And yes, he's still asking us to "get" another baby.

His sensitivity and concern was so sweet though! I'll be totally honest, 

he's not always the nicest brother and the kids have their scuffles, but at the

end of the day, he really does have a gentle heart. 

And I love him all the more for it.

Are you there?

Well, hello!

Where the heck have ya' been?!

Just kidding. 

It was me who disappeared. Kind of my thing. ;)

I'm SO bummed that I didn't finish BLOGMAS! I had some really

exciting blogs planned... but I totally under estimated how busy we would be.

Christmas party. Christmas party. Christmas party. My birthday. New Year's. The FLU.

Yeah. We had the flu. It was awesome.

All-in-all, it was a pretty good couple of weeks.

Even with the body aches and cold sweats.

Here's a little holiday photo recap.

And possibly my favorite part of the holiday, our gingerbread house! Hurricane edition!

And this is about as good as it gets when making Christmas cookies

with toddlers. But I think they're perfect.