You Just Never Know....

As much as we wanted another baby,  Scott and I were a bit worried having another baby come into the family after all these years of just the 4 of us; we were unsure how the older ones would take to a baby or if they would see him as an intruder; would they be nice to him, would they get upset easily with the disruption, would they be upset that mommy's lap would be taken over for a while? Even though they were 6 and 7, we still do a TON of snuggling. We cuddle in bed all the time. We were worried about the time issues. We could not spend the same amount of one on one time for a little while until baby gets older. I use to take one out of school (or daycare) every once a month and do a "mommy day". One kid and what ever they wanted to do. I loved the time i got to spend with them. I know this sounds stupid and naive, but as much I as tried to prepare MYSELF I was not ready for the limited amount of time I would get with them individually after baby came.
It has gotten much easier as Cole has gotten older and he has created his own routine... not as needy.
I know this is sad, but I keep waiting for it... the jealousy, the "you love him/her more than me" ... you know. What I've heard from other parents.... 10 months an not once have I heard anything like that. On their end I could not be happier with the way they have accepted him so eaily and he is really their world!
No matter what he does, they dont get mad. Cole scratched Logans face over the weekend and I thought for sure he would get mad. He looked at him with a bit of blood on his face and said "Colie, buddy that hurts" in the most sweetest loving voice.... trying to teach him how not to scratch. Then he asked him if he was okay!!! Oh my baby boy is such a love bug! If Cole starts crying he jumps up and starts singing to him and dancing for him! He tells people its HIS baby! :) I love it!
Katelyn is a little mommy to him. Tonight I was making them cookies in the kitchen and Cole was really sleepy. I was trying to soothe him from the kitchen until I could get to him and she scooped him up in her arms, stuck his paci in his mouth, cuddled him with the blanket Logan gave him (Logans favorite blanket I made for him for Christmas) and rocked him ... enough for him to calm down in her loving arms and fall asleep! I finished what I was doing really quick, rushed over to rock him and found him passed out on his sissy! My heart melted! I tell my daughter that she is going to be a great mommy and she smiled BIGGER than I have ever seen her.
The other day I ask her if we should have more babies or not. She said for sure! I told her you know that if we have more babies that means that the time I have for her alone will be less and less time for her to cuddle with me. She says "mom, I know. It was the same when Colie got here and its okay". Then she says she wants lots of babies when she grows up. I said you better marry a rich man so you can have all those babies. She tells me "nope I am marring for love mom". Wow, this child continues to amaze me. She is one smart gal!! How did my 7 (almost 8) year old get this wisdom?

Transitioning to three has been challenging at times ... but honestly, the good times are more than worth it!

Attachment Parenting Quilt ... ongoing project

Attachment Parenting has been a huge part of my life since I became a parent in 2004. Day by day it grows stronger and I become more passionate about what AP means to me.
So when I started Colie Polie Quilting, it only seemed natural that I make an attachment parenting quilt. This was going to be a little of a challenge since the only symbols out there are for genital integrity and breastfeeding.... so off to Picnik I went to design a symbol for Co-sleeping/Bed Sharing and Baby Wearing.
Here is what I came up with:

Baby Wearing

Baby Wearing - Sling

Co-Sleeping / Bed Sharing

Now I am just working on getting them cut out and onto the quilt. Its not that big of a deal that the lines are blurry or that the colors dont match since I am cutting them out. I cant wait to get it all cut out.
I have a few ideas on how I want to put them into the quilt. Here is my first:

I would move all the hearts to the center and then add the symbols around the outside of the heart


and here is my second:

This one would be more straight forward. The 4 symbols in each square.



Who knows I may just decide to do both!

Since this is an ongoing project, I will just update this post as I my quilt comes together! Please follow my progress {here}

Changing My Life ... One Day At A Time ....

Toward the end of last year I got some news that I never dreamed of getting at the VERY young age of 32! ;) I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that will only deteriorate as I age. This has been something that has been in the works for several years. It has come and gone since Iwas a teenager and no one knew what was wrong since as fast as it came on, it was gone.
After I had Cole, I had it happen again but it was out of control, worse than it had ever been. They finally started looking deeper.....
When they finally figured it out, I was told to stop breastfeeding IMMEDIATELY and start taking some really potent drugs. If you are someone who follows me, you know that for me to wean the baby before he was ready would have to come down to a life or death situation. This not being the case I asked the specialist several times to find other options for me. He refused. I switched MD's .... I have Kaiser so the only other Rheumatoligst was about 45 minutes away verses the 15 minutes for this man who obviously had no experience or education on the goodness of boob juice. My new MD is a woman who has children and 'applauded' my efforts to maintain breastfeeding ... which to me sounded like a no-brainer, but whatever. She found me an alternative treatment, but it is just not as effective. The bright side right now is it takes the edge off. I can function, just not to my maximum potential. Scares me to think of what is going to happen, but for now I am taking it one day at a time; living in the moment if you will.
Looking more into my condition I found that loosing the excess weight, people seem to slow down the progression of their symptoms. I am not the best at limiting myself, but I have had several people close to me start a Vegetarian lifestyle. Is this a sign to me? I have a habit of not paying attention to the signs given to me, but this has been something in my face a lot lately.... so here I go, trying something new.
I am going to start out just taste testing some vegan/vegetarian dishes. I know this WILL be much healthier for me! I cant remember a day ever where I did not have some sort of animal product. Scares me to think of what is going to happen with my body and health if I dont make changes, but for now I am taking it one day at a time.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to start, some great resources, recipes to share...?