In DEEP water

OK, OK, OK!!! I know I have been a major slacker for not posting in a very long time. I have lost the fire. I am on my way to bed but I thought if I write this quick post maybe it will spark something in me to do it again tomorrow:)

I have to post about our trip to Italy and all the happenings with the family. Wish me luck!!!

In paris

Well, we are in the Paris airport waiting to catch our flight to Rome. We are tired but have had a good journey so far. I am totally excited about the 3 weeks to come. It was a little hard saying good bye to the kids. Eliana woke up this morning happy and normal but when she saw Grandma and Grandpa at the house so early she realized that today was the day. She started to get really sad and cried. She got better after talking about all the fun things we would be bringing back for her. We walked her to the bus stop and she seemed fine. Tristan came with us to the airport and cried after we left for 10 mins or so until Grandpa took him to walmart to buy a little pool. Which I hear the babies absolutely LOVE. They are water junkies for sure. I didn't get to kiss the babies goodbye because they were sleeping when we left. I miss them already but it is not weighing heavily on my mind. I am sure once all the fun starts I wont miss them as much.

I will post pictures for the kids and all to see. Ciao!

Crochet giveaway!!

My friend is having a giveaway. you should check it out!
http://createcrochet.blogspot.com/

Achieving Goals

I was able to experience one of those "proud parent" moments yesterday at church. You know...the kind when you can't stop smiling and your tummy gets excited! Recently our Primary leadership put up a chart to keep track of those who could pass off their 13 Articles of Faith. As soon as Eliana heard about the challenge she wanted to DO IT! So every night we practiced an article of faith and the following Sunday she passed it off and got a sticker on the chart. I could see her beaming with a positive self-concept and the feeling of success. She set the lead in the whole primary and last Sunday was awarded a prize in front of everyone for achieving her half way point. If she wasn't SO shy she would have spouted the fist 7 articles of faith out as fast as she could. I am very proud of my little 5 year old who has a memory just like her daddy's!

When we first started practicing and she was doing so well, I could tell Tristan starting to feel down on himself. We were giving Eliana praise for her success every night at bedtime and Tristan was watching it all silently. I started to give him a little extra attention and tried teaching him the AOF but he didn't show any interest. The Sunday before last when they told Eli she would be awarded her halfway prize Tristan changed his attitude towards the whole thing and made efforts to learn the first AOF. He and Eliana are totally different personality types and this type of stuff doesn't come as easily for him. He gave it his all and passed off his first AOF on Sunday. Not only that, he showed an interest in doing the second. I hope he keeps his motivation and can feel the same success that is so good for building his own self-concept.

Lately I have been making a huge effort in my parenting. It may not be noticeable to others but I have been trying my hardest to not respond to my kids with anger when they make mistakes. Instead, I approach them with love and give out a solid consequence. I can tell a difference in their behavior already. This is a very difficult thing to do and I can't always bridle my anger or frustrations. I have been thinking a lot about their future and how challenging it will be to parent them as teenagers. I really need to shape them NOW and teach them respect, consequence and how to solve their own problems instead of coming to their rescue. I remember walking all over my parents and getting away with so much. I look back and feel awful for the stress I put them through. If only all parents had the resources and took the time to mold their kids at an early age then our society might not be so scary!

Well, I have to say I am very proud of my kids, and my husband for participating every night with the kids. It is a great feeling to have such a united family. Their is no greater love than what we share within our families.

Barrett's first words

I keep forgetting to post about important things and I don't want this to be forgotten. Barrett's first word is DADDY! He says it like (daa-tee)It is soo cute. His other word he loves to say is Ah-Oh. He learned that fast. He loves to drop things from his high chair and I used to say Ah-Oh and pick it up. Now he does it for fun and smiles big while saying AH-OH over and over. He practically throws food at the dogs and laughs hysterically watching them scurry to find the feast.

Barrett is an adorable little guy. He is great at independent play but on the other hand he doesn't want anyone but mom. He is very curious and likes to discover new things. He absolutely loves to play with the dogs. Poor Bella just lays there while he pulls open her mouth and cracks up laughing while she licks his hands and snuffs at him. Barrett has the biggest smile I've ever seen! His whole face lights up, he crinkles his nose and his eyes close shut. I can't help but laugh every time I see him smile. It is fun watching him finally start to walk from his never ending knee walking. He is so wobbly and unsure but he is quickly gaining confidence. I still love that the babies love to play and wrestle with each other after bath time. I always put them both in Barrett's crib naked before I get them dressed and they love to romp around. Tonight I got Soren out first and I put him in his crib and he started throwing a big fit. I realized he wanted to be in the other crib. As soon as I put him in Barrett's crib he laughed and waited. Barrett joined him and they were at it once again. Thankfully Barrett has cut back on the biting!

I love little Barrett!! He is very precious to me.

Easter fun

The morning started off a little mixed up. Tristan has been sick so he slept in late. The babies were up first and I didn't think about them going after all the eggs the Easter bunny had set out the night before. By the time Eliana had woken up I had already picked up all the eggs in the house. When she woke up she found her basket and I explained about the eggs and told her after Tristan woke up we would hide all the eggs outside.

Chris gave a talk in Church and I was SO bummed I didn't get to hear it. The Stake President said it was Masterful and he was Spiritually edified and everyone I spoke to that day commented on how much they enjoyed his talk. I am truly sad I missed it. After Chris came home we hid the eggs and all the kids came outside for the hunt. I think they had more fun hunting eggs at our home than any other place. It is great to have a nice, big yard to hide them in. This year I put little toys in the eggs instead of candy. I haven't really been limiting their candy intake as much as normal, I just want all of it to be gone asap.

I attempted family pictures. I have a feeling from now on family photos are going to be a real head ache with these kids.

Our Easter was filled with family togetherness, the love of Christ and an appreciation for the Atonement.

4 weeks and counting!

Our Italy trip is upon us! We have made all our hotel reservations and are excited about all the fun things we get to do while we are there. My mom asked me how long I thought it would take for me to completely unwind. I told her I would let her know:) Next on my list is to go buy some new clothes so I don't look like a run down mom in jeans and a t-shirt all the time.

The babies are walking...yeah!!! Soren started about a week ago and walks about 90% of the time. Barrett started walking on his knees 3-4 weeks ago and that is his preferred way of cruising the house. I catch him walking through the house but as soon as he spots me he gets down on his knees. I give him another week or two till he is trying to keep up with Soren. It is ironic since Barrett was the first to sit-up and to crawl. I guess one can never truly predict these things.

Eliana is turning into a beautiful little girl. Her hair is almost down to her waist and she is all about giving and getting hugs lately. She is learning to read and doing an incredible job. She is very enthusiastic about reading. She has made some good friends in her pre-k class this year. I am hoping we will have plenty of friends for play dates this summer. I am already getting anxious about having all 4 of them home all the time. I have a couple friends that we are planning trade-offs with. I think we will be at the pool a lot this summer! Hopefully the babies will enjoy the water like they do in the bath.

Tristan's birthday is TODAY! He is now a big boy of 4 years. I can hardly believe it. Where is the time going. We had a great little party planned for today but he has been sick with a high fever. If his fever is gone all of today then we will re-invite all this little friends, but for now it is going to be our little family, Jess and maybe the neighbors. We are cooking out on the Big Green Egg and having cake while the kids run around back and jump on the trampoline. Tristan is going through a fun yet difficult phase. He is all boy and loves to go shooting with his daddy. Soren loves to give Tristan hugs and Barrett just laughs at the crazy things Tristan does. Most of all I love Tristan's sweet spirit. He can be the most loving and kind little guy.

Today we are going to J.F. Gregory Park for a massive Easter Egg hunt. Last year it was insane to see the mass numbers of kids rush the park to find all the eggs. Even though it is craziness, the kids still have a great time so it is worth going.

Max and Ruby

Today I was able to go with Eliana's class on a field trip to the civic center to watch Max and Ruby. We all had a blast. We got front row seats right in the middle. They didn't allow any photos to be taken during the show which was a bummer! Eli had a great time with her friends and afterwards they had a picnic in the grass and ran around for a while. It has been a really fun day!

Happenings in March

I feel I have completely neglected my blogging lately. I consider blogging the only form of journaling I do and it is a way to stay personally connected with friends and loved ones. I have to blame how crazy my life has been lately and that I created a facebook account. I was completely addicted to it at first and I am trying to slow down and reconnect myself with reality.

Now that I have successfully stunk up my kitchen I can retreat to the office and blog. Here are some of the latest happenings of the Damato family:

-Tristan never fails to crack us up laughing. At bed time he said he missed our little dog Lanie (a Yorkie that we had to find a new home for). Chris said that maybe when Bella gets old and dies we can get another dog. Tristan replies, "I'm going to pray that Bella has an accident and dies so we can get a new dog". That kid! We obviously had a laugh then a little talk. Funny because he loves Bella.

-The babies are finally starting to walk!! They are almost 15 months old and still aren't brave enough to move those little legs. Soren will walk by himself across the room with encouragement. I even spied him walking down the entryway on his own accord. Barrett is extremely stubborn. He loves to cruise around the house walking on his knees. Every time I try to hold his hands or arms to walk him he buckles his knees and refuses. I just wish this would happen sooner than later. It is much easier to hold their hands and take them places than it is to carry two 26 lb. babies.

-OK I started this draft a couple weeks ago and never finished it. SO here it is and I am on to a new post. ;-D

under the weather

I am SO sorry I have not posted consistently. Most my days have been like yesterday...sick with a bad sinus infection, babies pulling on my legs all day and being a referee while Eliana and Tristan fight all day. Soren has another rash and this time I have no idea what it is. SO we are off to the Dr this morning. The kids have been home because in good ol' Savannah GA schools are off Monday and Tuesday for St Patty's day. We are avoiding downtown today. Tristan is off to Chuck E Cheese with Maddox from his class and Eli is extremely jealous so she is coming with me to the mall and a Dr. apt for my sinus issues. I am looking forward to a few hours away from the house and the babies. I just hope I don't feel rushed to get home. I hate feeling that my time away is always in haste.

On a brighter note, I have many thoughts I want to post about so I am planning a big one soon. Loves to all my friends.

slip and slide

I read a friends blog and she had her 3 boys mopping the floors for her. I thought that was a fabulous idea and put my little ones to work. We made a game of it and Eliana had a blast! She asked if we could do it again tomorrow. Tristan got burned out halfway through. All in all we had a fun day today.

I am NOT a Doctor!

I will make this brief since my last two posts have been long. Today Soren broke out in a rash which immediately explained EVERYTHING! Soren had Roseola. Eliana had it when she was a baby so I know all about it. I am a little annoyed that the Doctors nor I thought of it. Basically Roseola is a virus that is not very contagious. It's incubation period is 9-11 days then a high fever lasts for 3-5 days.

Can the fever cause a seizure?

Yes. The high fever of roseola may trigger a seizure (a convulsion). Febrile seizures (convulsions due to fever) are common in children between 18 months to 3 years of age. They occur in 5% to 35% of children with roseola.

So there you have it! I was wrong. How VERY odd that after such a long incubation period the fever would show up the very same day he had his immunizations. I am disturbed that the Dr prescribed antibiotics for a sinus infection. He told me some craziness about a sinus infection normally turns into a bacterial infection. When am I going to stop being such a push over when it comes to Dr.'s telling me what to do. I regret letting him have all his shots at the same time. I should have spaced them out but I was pushed by the Dr. I just need to think things through before I agree to treatment of my children. Which is never easy when they are rushing you out for the next patient.

Well, that is my ranting about this past week. I truly hope things slow down and life can get somewhat normal around here.

Getting better

After 4 long nights of 104-105 fevers I think tonight might be better. Soren is slowly getting better. He had Doctor visits Tues, Wed, Thurs and Friday each time with a different Dr. The Doctor on Friday diagnosed him with a Sinus infection. He refused to believe that the DTaP shot caused any of this. He believes Soren developed a bad virus in conjunction with the shots which escalated his fever. I am not as convinced of this. My children have been continuously sick this whole year with viruses and infections. They have never had a consistent high fever that even Motrin or Tylenol wouldn't bring down.

I read the CDC's web site about the side effects of the DTaP vaccination.

Moderate Problems (Uncommon)
• Seizure (jerking or staring) (about 1 child out of
14,000)
• Non-stop crying, for 3 hours or more (up to about
1 child out of 1,000)
• High fever, over 105oF (about 1 child out of
16,000)

Eliana had a mild cough this past week so she probably brought a bug home from school. Since Soren's throat was red and he has some post nasal drip (PND) it was a good excuse to diagnose him with a sinus infection. His flu and strep tests came back negative. I am not a Doctor so my opinion doesn't count for much. Whether he has some kind of infection or he had an allergic reaction to the DTaP, I am glad he is on an antibiotic and starting to get better. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Barrett doesn't get sick. I think that is also why I am so skeptical about the sinus infection. Barrett is always more sickly that Soren and he is still well. Maybe God knows I couldn't handle both of them being that sick at once. Well, that is enough of my ranting. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

The most TERRIFYING moment in my life!

There is no feeling worse than thinking I will lose one of my children...

Soren had his immunizations Tuesday morning. He started running a fever, which is common. Wednesday afternoon his fever started to spike up to 104. I took him into his Peds doctor and everything was perfect except for his high fever. She said to keep him on Tylenol and Motrin. We came home, fixed dinner and started to get ready for bed. As soon as I laid him on the bed to change he started shaking violently, rolled his eyes to the back of his head and went completely limp. I immediately called 911 for an ambulance. I was terrified that he was dieing. I didn't know what was happening to him. His lips and face started to turn blue. I couldn't give CPR because his heart was beating extremely fast and it was hard to tell if the little guy was breathing or not. My neighbor came over just as he was coming out of it. Soon after the ambulance showed up. It took them 7 mins to get to my house ( I was told the national average is 8 mins, so not too bad). His vitals were fine and he seemed to be getting back to normal, except for his high fever. The ER was a traumatic experience for him. He kept jerking every time they tried to get the IV in. Then on the way to X-Ray the IV came out and he bled all over me. He had to draw urine and blood. All the test came back negative for any type of infection. His fever was due to the immunizations. The seizure was cause by the rapid increase in fever in a short amount of time. With a lot of help from great friends we got home around 2:30am. He was so exhausted from this experience that he crashed out until morning. I have to keep him on a 3 hour rotation of meds and we are going back for a follow up this morning.

Even though it was something that didn't cause any permanent damage to Soren, it still scared me to death! It aroused so many emotions and it also revealed how I react in an emergency. I think I did most everything right but it makes me question if I am knowledgeable enough to handle emergency situations that could determine my child's health or even life.

A HUGE thank you to my neighbor Patty for coming over to stay with the kids then drive all the way out to the hospital to pick me up. Also to Marilyn for taking over at home and staying so late. It is comforting to know I have such wonderful friends.

BTW, if you are wondering where Chris is...he is in AZ for flight training and today he goes to Dallas for simulator time. It figures that things like this would happen while he is gone.

DADDY's HOME!!!

Chris got in late Monday night. I loaded the kids in the truck and my friend Kayleen followed us out to post in her truck to put all the trunks in. It was nice having a good friend wait with me and keep me company for the 1.5 hours until Chris came out. We were able to wait in the truck right by the flight line. His flight was scheduled to arrive at 9:20 and it didn't land until 9:45. When we finally saw him Eliana ran to him and gave him a huge hug. I was holding Soren while Tristan and Barrett were still asleep in the truck. After all the hugs and kisses Chris woke up Tristan and carried him out. My favorite part was watching Eliana go with her dad to get all his stuff and bring it over. There was this little blond girl standing amidst all these army guys waiting for her daddy. IT was the cutest thing ever. Tristan and Eliana had huge smiles on their faces and daddy sat with them in the back the whole drive home. Oh, how could I forget the little bit of drama we had? As soon as we loaded up to go the truck wouldn't start. I guess all that waiting and listening to music killed my battery. Thankfully Kayleen's truck had jumper cables and we were on our way. Since then we have been enjoying our time having daddy home. The first 2 days Eli wouldn't leave his side. If Tristan noticed he wasn't in the same room he would ask where his daddy is. They have done well with him going back to work. All in all, we are adjusting to Chris' return with ease. We are all thrilled he is back with us.

Annoyed

I JUST got a call from Chris saying they are delayed another 24 hours. AHHHHHH!!!! I think I am going to stop telling the kids when he is comming home. I dont think they can take all these change of plans. Good night.

The Truth...please.

Today there have been lessons of truth.

-Eliana did something to make Soren cry. When I asked her she looked at me in the eyes and said Tristan did it. Well, Tristan happened to be on the other end of the house. After her time spent in her room we had a little talk about telling the truth. I taught her that telling the truth, even if it gets her in trouble is always better than telling a lie. And that the punishment is always going to be worse for telling a lie. The rest of the night Eliana was very forthcoming about every little detail of the night. Who did what..when, where and how it happened. It was a little over kill but I am glad she got the point.

-Tristan brought me the pack of string cheese and was counting how many where in it. I opened one for him and told him to put the rest back in the fridge. When he came back I asked if he did it and he said yes mom. Tonight I open the silverware drawer to find a whole pack of string cheese.

-The truth is the military can never keep anything on schedule. I was hoping Chris would have come home this past Tuesday. Then it was firm for Saturday afternoon. Then it was delayed till Sunday in the middle of the night. Now it is still a mystery. I am truly hoping I can pick him up before Monday morning arrives.

-The truth is I am dreading getting off my bum to clean the kitchen and mop the floors.

-The truth is I am completely burnt out on my children being in a constant state of sickness. This is the third Sunday in a row that I will miss church.

-The truth of it is...I can still manage to be totally happy because I love my husband. I adore my children. I am happy with who I am. I have faith in my beliefs and peace in my heart.

Could it get any worse?? Of course it could!

Ok, all the kids have been sick for a couple weeks now. Last week I took Barrett in and he had Bronchitis. I thought all the other kids just had bad colds that were taking a while to get over. No...I was wrong. We now have pink eye in our house. Soren is wheezing really bad (bronchitis) and Tristan has a bad ear infection. Eliana complains of ear aches at night but then is perfect at day. I might be taking her in just to be sure. I think God knows I am a little stressed because I felt myself get sick a few nights ago with coughing and achiness that only lasted 3 hours than it was gone. I truly hope this sickness stays clear of me so I can take care of all the little ones. Thank goodness I have a housekeeper coming on Monday to clean. I just don't think I can get everything done before Chris comes home. I guess he would understand. Even when he is home things are never perfect. I am sure he will just be glad to be home. I hope I can get all this sickness out of the house before then. Well, I am off to bathe all the kids and put them to bed. Love to all!

Biter

So Barrett is my Biter boy. He bits shoulders, knees, fingers, backs and legs. Soren has suffered many battle wounds and they mostly happen just after bath with they are exposed. I would separate them after bath but that is their favorite play time. I dry one baby off and throw him in the crib then I quickly get the other baby and throw him in the crib. As soon as they are united they get HUGE grins and start wrestling and hugging (and biting). Well, last night Barrett totally made me crack up laughing. He was standing there jumping and saw his luscious arm that looked SO tasty. He leaned his head over and took at nice chomp on his arm and then followed a terrible cry. It would be nice to think he learned a lesson by biting himself but I still don't think he gets it.

Chris is coming home!!

Today I was counting the days till Chris comes home and it has totally snuck up on me. One WEEK! Yes, just one week. I truly hope we can get all this sickness out of the house before he gets home. I have a jam packed week with appointments and projects so I am sure the time will fly. We can't wait to have Daddy back home with us!!