A Family Tidbit..............

A few hours after Kaitlynn was born we were talking about how our pets would respond to the new little person in our home; especially the cats we had at the time. One of the nurses suggested Phil take home the hat they put on Kaitlynn's head at birth. This article of clothing would have Kaitlynn's strongest scent on it. Phil said the dogs and cats were completely enthralled with it and wouldn't stop smelling it.

The purpose of this exercise was to help with the day Kaitlynn came home. All of the pets would recognize the scent of something familiar. It work!

This hat (Kaitlynn).

And this hat (Jackson)

And this hat (Madelynn).

Well a few weeks ago Phil came home from my parents house with some photos. There was some discussion as to which baby was in the photo. The picture in question was this one......

Which one was this???

During the discussion of who it was there was mention of the hat and that not all three kids had the same hat at birth. Phil was very confident that all three of the kids wore the same hat at birth. My parents were a little skeptical and wanted to know why Phil was so confident........

Because Phil pulled this out of his pocket.......

From left to right Kaitlynn's, Jackson's and Madelynn's hats.

My parents were a little surprised. By the way, the child in the photo was Madelynn.

October 3, 2008 I took this picture because I loved the fact that Phil does not start his day without first putting the hats in his pocket. I knew one day I would have a reason to use it. I loved the contrast of the cleanliness of the hats as to how many days they travelled in Phil's pocket. Until today there were only about 10 people that knew this family tidbit.

There have been some mornings where Phil has startled me by coming back in the house at 6am because he did not have them. There was even one morning I came downstairs to the kitchen and found them on the counter.

He forgot them.

I have to admit it stopped me in my tracks. The kids even asked me why Daddy forgot them because they know Daddy carries them.

I assured them it was an accident and just to make sure Daddy did not have a bad day we called him to wish him a good day. Everyday he comes home from work and I see him pull the hats out of his pocket. It always makes me smile.

TTFN~

88,888............

The title of this blog is a very large number and it has a lot of memories attached to it. It is the amount of miles driven in my van since we rolled it off the lot new in 2005. Where in the world have I been to reach such a large number?

Last week I was sitting at a stop light trying to prepare myself for what was going to be a ridiculous week. I looked down at the odometer and saw that when I rolled through the stop light I would be reaching 88,888. Suddenly pictures flashed through my mind like they happened yesterday of places I have been in this van.

We purchased the van because we quickly realized our CRV would not properly suit our growing family once Jack came along. Jack was born in July and we drove our 2006 van off the lot one late September evening in 2005 just hours after it arrived at the dealership. Phil had been shopping for weeks and finally found our best deal.

Just off the top of my head North Carolina Beaches, Florida to see Family and old friends, Washington, DC to see family and help old friends, Ohio and Indiana come to mind. Most of these trips were filled with laughter and hugs, peace and joy all surrounded by those who mean the most to us. I have the thousands of pictures to prove it.

Kaitlynn and Jackson's first Disney Parade (Orlando, FL).

Ft. Macon, Atlantic Beach NC



Hendersonville, NC (They last day I felt like my life made sense)



Family vacation (there is nothing like them)


I look back and see all of these wonderful memories of fun and laughter. Times when I was just worrying about that moment right in front of me and not what I needed to do tomorrow. I wish I could say it was all happy times travelled in those 88,888. It was not. There are many times I racked up miles with tears streaming down my face asking God why was I on this road.

Taking Jack to all three of his surgeries and emergency room visit due to post op complications from one of these surgeries, taking Madelynn to her first pediatric cardiology visit (the day we received her diagnosis) and the daily visits to and from the hospital hoping for good news as Madelynn recovered from her surgery are near the top of the list of most hated miles travelled.

Probably the worst miles ever travelled in the 88,888 was December 3, 2008. This is the day the pediatrician told me Madelynn was in trouble and needed to go back to the hospital. She was stable enough for me to take her but we had to go DIRECTLY to the hospital. It was the longest 20 miles I have ever travelled and I cried the entire way. It took two other visits like the one from December 3rd for the doctors and other specialists involved to finally get the tide to turn.

Today, Madelynn and I travel down the road everyday playing I-spy, talking about anything or me listening to a movie she is watching. Kaitlynn and I are making tracks as she turns herself into a fish once more making laps in the pool. Jackson is showing me that with each mile to and from the soccer field, we believe he found his calling. Both the joyous and painful memories are all part of the 88,888 mile history it is what allowed us to reach today's destination.

TTFN~

Jackson's 1st soccer game....

Attached is a quick little video of pictures from Jackson's soccer game. It made for a crazy hour of trying to watch the game, take pictures during the game and keep Madelynn happy while all of this was going on.

Enjoy the pictures......

While Jackson was running up and down the field Madelynn discovered that I loaded a new game on my phone for just such an occasion.

As for Kaitlynn, she discovered she wanted to take some pictures of her own during the game. So Daddy gave her his phone and she followed Grandpa Bacho around the field snapping her own pictures. I have not checked Phil's phone to see what the result was but It should be interesting.

Happy Saturday!!!!

TTFN~



Peanut's first day of school.....

Well we finally made it to Madelynn's first day back to The St. Gabriel Cradle. She absolutely LOVES her school and could not wait to start back. She watched Kaitlynn and Jackson pick out their new favorite outfits and fill their backpacks....she couldn't wait for her turn. This week is a staggered week and starting next week she will go everyday.

This morning she was a little confused at first, we were walking into a new classroom. I explained she was now three and this was the three-year old room. She seemed to like the comfort of her old classroom and really wanted to stay there. I explained she was now a big girl and big girls went into the big girl class room.

That seemed to be enough for her to explore the classroom. I showed her where the big girl potty was and her teachers showed her some new routine's. I asked her if she was ready to have fun??? She assured me she would love it, threw her arms around my neck, told me she loved me, kissed me and waved good-bye.

She was so ready for school!!

I am sure I will repeat this experience throughout Madelynn's life. Today was so much easier because I take her to school and walk upstairs to my office and walk back down to get her at the end of the day. Knowing she is on the floor below me instead of across town, across the state or across the country today was easy. One day it won't be so easy.

Happy First Day of School Madelynn!!!

TTFN~

The heart doctor........our annual visit.

Because of the way Madelynn was diagnosed with her congenital heart condition (chd) I am always a little gun shy when I have to take her to ANY doctor. For me the pediatric pulmunologist and cardiologist visits rank right up there with some of the scariest events in my life.

Since I didn't really talk about Madelynn's pediatrician visit until after it was over and received such stellar news; I decided to do the same for the pediatric cardiologist hoping for the same result. I have to say even three years after surgery every time I walk into the pediatric cardiologist it takes all I can muster not to puke while ANYWHERE in the office.

This time was no different. I walked in, I felt my stomach in my throat and tried to just remember to breath. As I looked around, I saw Madelynn everywhere. There is a big picture of her on the wall where she is about 17 months old, Camp Luck photo collages for the last two years and there is Madelynn and those big brown eyes smiling back at me.

It was as if Madelynn was reminding me, "See Mommy look at me now!!!"

About 10 minutes later, my breathing returned to normal and I could just wait. When we were called back Madelynn took control and just marched down the hallway like she owned the place. The staff just smiled. She jumped on the scale and told the nurse how to measure her height too. It was very cute. Then into the dreaded exam room. I tried to just focus on Madelynn helping the nurse get blood pressures and other vitals.

I know I shouldn't, but there is a part of me that waits for the pediatric cardiologist to very politely but in matter-of-fact style tell me there is something else wrong. I am always afraid that if I let that wall tumble, my world will change forever AGAIN. To be honest, I am not sure I am strong enough to walk this road AGAIN.

Thankfully, AGAIN would not happen Friday. After her exam and echo I was told that Madelynn was a PERFECT RESULT. She looked great in every sense of the word and her doctor told me he was very pleased. Before we left he would not be doing his job without a word of warning. For the time being she has to come back every year. Because Madelynn needed an "extended repair" there is always the possibility the repaired area will shrink and need to be altered again. He is not comfortable with her not coming back every year just yet.

So while Madelynn enjoys her second year of a pre-school she loves and lives every day to the fullest, I will be on the sidelines smiling, laughing and cheering her on. I won't lie though, there will always be a small wall that I refuse to let tumble.  The part of me that will do everything in my power to protect her with every ounce of my being. To give her every chance to live as normal as life as possible, broken heart or not.

Friday was a GREAT day!!! We received excellent news and it helped the battle inside me rest easy for now.

Who doesn't love a kid in goggles?

Beautiful and thriving!!

TTFN~

Girls Weekend......A little late................

The last weekend of the kids summer break we headed off to one last.....Hurrah!!!

Phil, Kaitlynn, Jackson, Madelynn, Grandma Bacho and myself piled in the van and headed off to Mason, OH to crash Aunt Jenni's for girls weekend. So why are Phil an Jackson going......They only dropped the girls off and headed further on to Phil's brother's for some family time of his own.

So while Jen's house was filled with five sqealing little girls, Phil and Jackson visited with his family and did a little fishing. There is a picture on my facebook page of the first fish of the day on the trip. There were probably 300 pictures from girls weekend. My only regret from this 2nd annual girl time, we never took a picture of Grandma Bacho with her daughters and grand-daughters.

Below are a few pictures of the five raving beauties............

In one year they have grown so much

So we told the girls to line up on the hearth and on the count of three they should jump.

Three!!!!!!!

Silly Girls!!! ....No Kaitlynn does not wear glasses.

They were hot, a little tired and ready to run through a fountain or two.

It was a really great weekend. My hope is that we can continue this tradion every year.

TTFN~