The Adventures of Truman and Fletcher- boy

It's been a week since I said good-bye to Skippy--The first dog I got as a "grown up".  I still look for him and at times think I hear him in the house.  When I hear Lucy's collar, I look for my little guy.  When the baby cried the other night, I thought it was Skippers.  And last night as my sweet husband snored, I awoke to look for Skippy, because I could have sworn he was whining at the end of the bed wanting to cuddle.  I guess when some"one" is a part of your life for 14+ years you don't just remove them from your life. When I was 19 years old I went to the pound and was taken in by sweet brown eyes and ears big enough to fit a great dane.  My roommate, Vanessa, and I couldn't resist the urge to fill our apartment with a four legged friend.  Minutes after we got him home we wondered what we had gotten ourselves in to.  Man that dog was crazy!  But as years, and puppy stages passed, I found myself with a steady companion.  I found in Skippy som

Tonight is the last Sunday in the first house I purchased.  I purchased this house with my dear husband nearly eight years ago, and I have loved it.  There have been things about this house that drove me bonkers, but when I reflect upon the past eight years, I reflect with fondness.  This is a house that we made a HOME.  We filled it with friends, family, love, and memories.  In a few shorts days we will close the door to this home and open a new one.  A new house that we will again make our HOME.  But for now, as I'm being nostalgic, I will reflect upon this house. And call upon my friends.. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young... "Our house, is a very, very, very fine house With two cats  dogs in the yard, life used to be so hard Now everything is easy, 'cause of you" Ok, so maybe everything isn't easy, and we have two dogs ( and a cat ), but still.. this has been a very, very, very fine house. In this house I have been brought to my knees by news both earth sh

Courtesy of Erma Bombeck... How Preemie Moms Are Chosen (Adapted from Erma Bombeck) Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen? Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth, selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger. "Beth Armstrong, son. Patron Saint, Matthew. Marjorie Forrest, daughter. Patron Saint, Celia. Carrie Rutledge, twins. Patron Saint ... give her Gerard. He's used to profanity." Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles. "Give her a preemie." The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy." "Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel." "But does she have the patience?" asks the angel. "I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. On

 I went for a walk today with a friend who has a 3 month old.  It was fun to look back 9 months and try to remember what life was like.  Those first smiles, those L-O-N-G nights, and the return to work.  I was happy to share my successes as well as my struggles, and you know what, it felt to good to air my struggles.  It felt good to say out loud 'not every day has been a piece of cake', ' I actually haven't figured it all out yet'.  Because you know what, for most of us, we don't have it all figured out.  We get overwhelmed, we miss workouts, we're late for work-- we are parents.  Just when we think we have it all figured out, something happens--a growth spurt, a change in processes at work, a full moon.  Life happens. So it's kind of cool that tonight, just by chance, I found this quote " We have to stop comparing our worst moments with everyone else's best moments." Whoa. Hello..and duh, all at the same time.  How obvious does that s

Double digits....we have hit double digits ( in months that is!) .  And what an exciting 10 months it has been.  Especially the last few weeks!  But I'm getting ahead of myself, let's get up to speed. The list of things that my baby boy enjoys has definitely expanded, as has the list of 'do not likes'.  We DO NOT like getting teeth!  Ouch!  Thankfully two came through at the same time and we got to discover something we do like, which is popsicles.  Nothing beats a hot day with a sore mouth like a sticky sweet popsicle.  Other likes currently on the list: Watching baseball -in person, on t.v.--doesn't matter  Riding in the stroller while mama huffs and puffs up hills ( I swear if you could talk you'd be yelling "Faster, Faster!".  Instead you just kick your legs as if to spur me on ) Food...just about anything.  Although you made Daddy really proud when you turned your nose up at asparagus.   The dogs and cat...if only they didn't move ou

Today the world lost an amazing woman, your great grandmother Burke.  Grandmother, or GMO, as we called her was my Dad's mom.  To you, she was your great grandmother, so your GGMO.  I can honestly tell you, that although she never met you, she loved you deeply.  She loved to see your pictures and hear stories of all you were doing.  I remember talking to her after you were born, and she was so happy she cried.  She loved having another great grandson and couldn't wait to tell everyone at the manor about her new baby. I'm sorry that you never got to meet her in person-- but thankfully technology allowed us to introduce you to her via web chat.  I'll never forget the look on her face when she heard you cry and got to look into your beautiful blue eyes.  I'll never forget her reaching out to the screen so that she could "touch" your face.  When you're older I'll tell you stories of Gmo's house-- of the apple tree in the backyard, Fritz, and sitt

Holy cow...how has it been 3 months since I got on here and posted?  Sheesh, you'd think I'd been busy readying the house for sale, selecting options for the new one and chasing a kiddo around.  Oh right, that IS what I've been doing.  :) 1 week.  1 week until I'm no longer allowed to call the baby a baby anymore.  Excuse me?  A toddler is what I'm told a baby becomes on their first birthday.  But I'm not sure how we're already at his  first birthday.  I'm not sure how I'm about to have a toddler, as sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm not looking towards a due date, but a birthday.  I honestly cannot comprehend that the last year of my life has flown by in the blink of an eye. I try to think back to this time last year and recall being giddy with anticipation for the birth of 'baby awesome'.  I remember readying the room and thinking that that I had less than 2 months until our family added a member.  I remember thinking that

Viola Davis, star of "The Help" gave the commencement address at Providence College this year.  In her speech she said "You see the two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born."  I was born on August 3rd, 1979.  On September 16, 2011 I discovered why I was born.  I was born to be a mother. I waited a while to have a baby, in fact I had been married nearly eight years by the time I got pregnant.  This was a choice that Chris and I made together for various reasons. I think, down deep, I always knew we'd have children, even if we didn't do it at 25.  Or 30.  At 25 and 30 I was searching for my purpose, but you can't find and embrace your purpose until you are truly ready.  You can search and search for it, but it's not like buying a shirt at the Gap.  Realizing your purpose takes time, patience, self reflection and acceptance that maybe it's not what you thought it would be.  Honestly

Why is it that every time I take small clothes from Truman's closet to make space for what he's currently wearing do I feel like a little piece of my heart breaks?  I'm so happy that he's growing into a big boy, but when I look at a 3 month vest and remember when it was big on him I find myself on the verge of tears.  Sounds so silly, I mean it's just clothes, right?  Well I've decided it's more than that.  Every onesie, vest, shirt, etc, represents a precious memory that I'm storing away.  It's a chance to remember that when Truman wore corduroy pants for his 3 month photos that he smiled that morning like I had never seen him smile before.  It's a chance to remember that when preemie clothes hung off him that I could hold him and sing to him and soothe him, even though he was so tiny.  There are so many amazing memories in that closet, so I have to remember that as I wipe away a tear that we're just making room for new memories.

Don't drink the water...Thanks Dave Matthews.  Guess we all should have taken your advice.  I mean what is it with babies being born early recently?  Is it just because everyone and their brother is having a baby, or is there really something in the water?  I'm not sure, but I'm ready for it to stop and for these babies to be born healthy and full term. In the past few months I've had two friends deliver their little ones at 28 weeks--goodness gracious, that is so early.  And makes me feel thankful for every single day I got to carry my Truman.  It's hard to put in to words what I feel when I hear from my friends that their babies were early.  I do know that every emotion, anxious feeling and memory floods my system.  It's like I can see the isolette, be distracted by the bili lights and hear the constant symphony of beeps and alarms.  In a second I am standing in the NICU wondering how I got there.  My heart drops into my stomach and all I want to do is hug m

5. My son is 5 months old. I now have to use every finger on one hand to count the number of months he's been with us. How in the world is this possible? There have been so many sweet moments in the last five months and everyday gets a little sweeter. Our world is full of toothless, full face smiles and there is nothing like peering over the crib to find a cooing and smiling baby. I love to listen to Truman on the monitor in the early hours of the morning when he's 'talking' to his mobile and entertaining himself. I love sitting in a dimly lit room singing songs and reading books. I love snuggling up under a blanket. I love watching my husband kiss the top of the baby's head with a level of tenderness I have never seen before. My sweet son has discovered his fingers, and man must they taste good. We've also ventured into the world of solid foods and have a love affair with bananas. (It should be noted that every morning of my pregnancy found me eat

Today is a special day...but let's be honest, they all are with you in my life.  As I spend my first mother's day as your mother, I can't help but be filled with an overwhelming joy that brings tears to my eyes.  In your almost 8 months on this planet I have learned to love with a capacity I didn't know I had.  All it takes is one look from you:  one grin, one slobbery smirk and I know that all is right in my world. When I count my blessings I count you every second of every day...my son, my love. Happy Mother's Day to me.

Truman is almost 4 months old...4 whole stinkin' months. We've seen Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years come and go already! How is it that I feel like I have blinked my eyes and my child is rolling over, smiling, going to daycare and knocking milestones off the list? Here are a list of things that Truman currently likes: 1. Mommy and Daddy--no one gets smiles like Mom and Dad 2. The pictures that hang above the bed in the master bedroom 3. Skippy --the black and white dog with his contrasting colors is a delight to look at 4. Harry Potter--audio books play at night 5. Monkey pacifier 6. Baby Bjorn 7. Being outside and going for walks ( Thank goodness for a temperate January so far!) 8. Naked baby time! 9. Baths 10. Kicking and stretching I am truly trying to enjoy every moment. I've even started to relish our mid-nite feedings as I know before too long they too will be put on the shelf with the preemie clothes. I know that this list will soon ch