Crazy around here.

Is she pink enough? :)

Halloween costume dress rehersal.

How come Grandmas just have that natural ability to get a kid to sleep!

1-2-3 generations of girls!

Ok, I have to say that there is a difference with the number of children one has. For example:

With one child, you forget to brush your teeth as you crawl into bed, you actually do get up to brush them.

With two children, you forget to brush your teeth and pray to find the strength to get up, after much thought about if you are going to actually get up to do it, you eventually do.

With three children, you fall asleep on the couch with the baby and you wake up the next morning after the fact and brush them in the morning twice as long and use the Listerine twice. (It counts right?)

Yes, I am so tired. But I am happy to report that Abby's cold hasn't interfered with her ability to eat or to sleep. She has a runny nose still and sneezes quite a bit. But yesterday, I braved the crowds, put her in a sling and made it to mass for the first time since she was born. She slept the whole time, snug in her sling! I went to Saturday evening mass because that is a mass where less people show up. More of the older folks go instead of Sunday morning when we usually go. On Sunday morning, the church is packed and there are soooo many kids. And I love children, but right now I am looking at them like little germ sponges that can leak onto my newborn baby. However, I can say that that will go away at about five months old. Hopefully by then I will be sleeping a little more than four hours a night!

I ended coming down with a sore throat on Thursday. We took my mom out to dinner for her birthday, and I sipped tea the whole time. My friend Sharon had the boys, we bundled up Abigail and she just slept the whole time. I ended up sipping on five cups of green tea. I HATE sore throats. I took a dose of IBprofen the morning of than another like fifteen hours later. I also HATE taking pills for anything. I think my liver enjoys not having so many chemicals run through it, but I digress...

KC just shook his head and laughed at me. "Mandy you are the only person I know who won't take medications even after surgery, but you won't miss a chance to let a sore throat get ahead of you!"

I had to laugh in agreement with him. The doc prescribed me some oxycodone for pain for the weeks following the C-section, but because I hate the loopy way they make me feel and the fact I can't concentrate on my family, I won't take em. I ended up just taking a few Tylenol every other day or so. And yes, I didn't take the scripts with Thomas or with Ben. So Abby isn't any different.

I am thrilled to report that my mom flew down last Monday. Her flight was delayed a whole day but we got to spend the week with her. She got to cuddle the newest of her grandchildren. She also hand delivered to me (amid a mesh of other gifts) Little Abigail's homemade baby quilt! (Each one of her grandchildren has one) Its the tradition with the women in my family, weddings and babies, there are quilts to be made and given. This one was specially requested by me to be made of something called minke. Its so soft and cuddly! I let mom pick the type of color and patterns. She can do that because I don't have an eye for it yet. This is one my life's list of things to do: learn how to eventually use a sewing machine!

While she was here we took her out to a birthday dinner and the boys got to get dressed in their Halloween outfits and trick or treat once at our door to show off to Grandma. We gave mom a tour of the post and also KC got to take her into the simulator and show her how he really can operate a Blackhawk. We also got to take her to the helicopter museum and I finally was able to sit and watch The Hunt for Red October with her (a movie I have never seen all the way through but wanted to) It was like Niagara falls when she left. The cold hard realization dawned on me that there is a possibility I won't being seeing her again for another three years and my heart sank. I hope and pray its not that long but I have never been away from my family for that period of time before and it will be very, very difficult. So I cried hugging her and I cried for a while after she left. But I guess that just means she raised me right. :)

I am mending well, nothing a few nights of GOOD sleep wouldn't take care of. I have my one month appointment next Thursday and am anxious to see how much weight I have lost since the baby. So I hope for low numbers on that one!

But I know that this will probably be my last post until we can get established in Germany. I know this because it has taken me almost four hours to just get this far! Between the baby and the kids and the moving and all that is between, it has put a lot of stress on both KC and myself. I was told at my baby shower that an overseas move should NOT be our first station. But the upside to that is that every move from here after is going to be a piece of cake. I hate moving, but moving OCONUS (Outside the Continental United States) is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy! So I will sign off until such time as I can resume blogging regularly. So please, all your blog readers out there, keep us all in your prayers for safe travel, no more colds for newborns (or anything else for newborns for that matter) and we shall all be happy knowing you've got our backs!