Our Little Hoosier

Kerrigan was working on English today and needed help coming up with adjectives for various words. She kept telling me the noun and I was NOT understanding her pronunciation. She repeated the word several more times and insisted it was not "walk" - what I thought she was saying.

I finally asked her to spell it. R-O-C-K. But she was saying rawk. "Oh, I said, 'Rock!' You need to open your mouth when you say it." She tried. I laughed.

"Say it like a Michigander," I advised. Her reponse? "But I'm NOT a Michigander; I'm an Indianer!"

You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

Today, I was looking through my box of misc memorabilia for something and happened upon this ultrasound picture from when I was pregnant for Kerrigan, 8+ years ago. I was amazed at the difference!

Ultrasound of Kerrigan, 8/18/00 at 18 wks, 2 days

Ultrasound of Megyn, 1/23/09 at 20 wks, 5 days – approx 8.5 yrs later
(she’s giving us a thumbs up =)

Adjectives or Nouns?

Today, Kerrigan decided she didn't want pizza for lunch like the rest of the family was enjoying...she wanted an omelet. So Tony made her one. When she finished, she wanted another and of course, all the stuff was put away. So I told her to ask her fairy godmother.

She thought about it for a minute, then said, "I don't know who my fairy godmother is." Then she modified that statement with, "Well, I know who my mother is, but I don't know who my fairy or my...well, I know who my mother and my God is, but I don't know who my fairy is."

(By the way, she didn't get another omelet. One item for the short-order cook was enough...just in case you thought she was spoiled. Well, okay...she is, but...=)

What We Only Think, She Says Aloud

Tony and I had to chuckle this morning when Kerrigan was looking at a postcard advertising the Talley Trio's appearance in the area. She looked it over and then remarked, "She's pretty [Lauren]. She's ugly [Debra]. And him? (long pause) I don't know WHAT to say about him."

Mommy's Having a Baby

The sibling next to me in my family line-up is a sister 7 yrs and 10 months my senior. Welcoming me into her world was not an easy thing for her. But unfortunately that detail wasn't discovered by my parents until many years too late. Having that knowledge and knowing that Kerrigan will be getting her eight year position as "baby of the family" usurped, we have been making an attempt to involve her with my pregnancy in anyway we can. She was especially looking forward to the possibility of a little brother (so she could still be the baby girl - her actual words upon finding out I was expecting!) We tried our best to prepare her for the fact that we were most likely having another girl. So it was even more important after the ultrasound to make sure she felt a part of the changes happening around here.

I was very excited to find out that the hospital offered a "Mommy's Having a Baby Class" for siblings ages 3-8 yrs old. And how much cooler was it that she was the only one of our girls to qualify. It was all about her. She has been waiting quite impatiently since my first doctor appointment for the opportunity to attend this class and last night was finally the night.

The first thing they did was draw a picture of their family for the new baby. Then Nurse Chris read a story to the group. After the story, each child was given a teddy bear of their very own, a tape measure, an I.D. bracelet and card, a diaper, t-shirt with the hospital name and a hat - all the same as the ones that will be used on our new arrival at the hospital. They measured the bear's length, head and chest, weighed it on the digital scales and then dressed it up for it's trip home. We were then given a tour of the awesome maternity ward. It was too beautiful to describe. All I can say is it compares to a hotel room without the carpet!

While we were in the class, a little chime went off with the first few measures of "Rock a Bye, Baby". About 10 minutes later, it went off again. The song signified the arrival of a baby, so we were privileged to see two brand new babies in the nursery during our tour. Of course, all that made us anxious to see our little one and yet apprehensive for all we know that goes along with her arrival. All in all, the evening was a huge success.

What Can Brown Do for You?

Today, we were discussing the fact that Tony is trying to get bronchitis. I hate when people pronounce it 'brown ki tus'. (sorry if that includes you =) We don't say it that way around here. But apparently that's what Kerrigan heard since a few seconds later, she piped up and asked, "Do you have to be brown to get bronchitis?"

And you thought this post was something to do with UPS didn't you?

God IS Good - part one

From the minute we told the girls (waaaaay back in the fall - seems so long ago :) that we were going to have a baby, some of Kerrigan’s first words were, “I hope it’s a brother so I can STILL be the baby girl!” Her words; not ours. I was worried from the get-go with that attitude. We kept telling her since I was so sick that it would probably be a girl but she was adamant that it needed to be a boy. After we heard the heart rate, we were more insistent that it was probably a girl but she wouldn’t hear it. When it was confirmed on the ultrasound last Friday, Tony and I were totally fine with it (I actually thought I’d be more disappointed but once I saw her squirming and wiggling on the screen, I instantly fell in love with her!) Our biggest concern was how to break it to Kerrigan and how she would take it. We didn’t know whether to take her aside or to go ahead with our "reveal" plan. We decided to play it by ear and go with the original plan and see how she reacted.

When Tony got home from work that day, the girls had been home for over an hour and were chomping at the bit to know what we were having. We gathered them in the living room and I gave them each an envelope. Britnee opened hers to find a photo of sugar pouring from a spoon. Janae opened her envelope next and it had a picture of a spice rack with these spaces and words below it “& _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ nice.” Then Kerrigan’s read, “That’s what little _ _ _ _ _ are_ _ _ _ of.” The other two girls figured it out after Janae’s was opened and they looked at each other and said, “Uh oh,” in quiet, hushed tones. Kerrigan read hers and finally said, “that’s what little BOYS are made of?” I said, “Are boys made of sugar?” and she looked up at me with hopeful eyes and said, “SOME boys are.” So I suggested we look at the spaces and see what fit. We spelled B-O-Y-S and of course had one space left over. I suggested we try the word girls. She spelled it with me and when she got to the “S”, she looked up at me with the absolute saddest eyes and said, “Gir…..” Then her face crumbled and she buried her head in my side and cried and cried and cried. It was awful. I started crying with her (and am crying as I type b/c it’s a moment I don’t think I will forget for a LONG time!) We did our best to console her and tried to explain that God knows best. She watched a minute or two of ultrasound and then went and cried on Tony’s lap and wouldn’t look at the rest. It was so heart breaking.

Each girl was supposed to call one of my sisters, but even Britnee was disappointed to the point that she wasn't ready to share. So I ended up calling two of the three. I told Aunt Barb that Kerrigan was supposed to call her but didn't want to in case that gave her any hint as to what we were having. I asked all three sisters to pray for Kerrigan as I didn’t figure we would have a positive turn around until the baby actually arrived. She was so full of anger and sorrow all mixed together. I told my oldest brother, who was disappointed for us as much as anybody, and he simply suggested that we sympathize with her. It was good advice. And that's the approach that we took.

Over the course of the next few days, I would be watching our little girl on video (Tony put the ultrasound to a song off my lullaby CD and put it online for our family's to view) and Kerrigan would come sit by me. Each time, I would point out that baby's different movements and her arms and legs or smile or nose. Just being very casual about it. And each time, I would see a little more warmth creep into Kerrigan's eyes.

Yesterday, she came home from school and handed me a drawing as she often does. But this drawing was different than the others. In the center of the page was an image labeled “Mommy, Me (Kerrigan) and Baby”. She is HOLDING the baby. I had to smile really big when I saw that! I passed it off to Tony and he grinned really big too. Whew! Prayer works. God IS good!

The Most Recent Birthday Girl

Blowing out EIGHT candles! (p.s. she had a choice between a store-bought cake or special ice cream from the Schwan's guy w/basic homemade cake - she chose the latter)

The wished-for Webkinz

The birthday treats that had to sit an extra day since Kerrigan was sick on her birthday :(

And Nonnie would title this picture, "The Lollapalooza"

8 Years Ago Today...

...I was at St. John's Hospital in Anderson, snuggling a new born. My new born.

I remember the day I called to tell my parents we were expecting a surprise. I cried when I broke the news to Dad because I was afraid that something would be wrong like with our previous births. But he assured me in his gruf voice that this time everything would be okay. "And I believe that," he said with much conviction.

And everything was okay...with the delivery and following. But the pregnancy sure was a bumpy ride. I was in the hospital twice over weekends and twice in ER for fluids in my first trimester. After many trials of meds, the last resort was a Zofran pump. And thank the Lord, that last resort worked to keep me out of the hospital and to keep food and water in me.

Britnee became the Mom for both me and Janae while Tony was away 9 hours a day plus 2 hours or more in commute time. It wasn't easy but we survived.

And at 10:40 a.m. on the 12th of January, we got to see the reward of our labors when we welcomed our third princess into our family, Kerrigan Brook, (whose name was chosen by a wishbone - click here for that story).

The last 8 years around our house have not been without laughter, thanks to our little comedian.

Happy Birthday, Kerrigan! We love you lots!

Of All Places

Why can't they look like this for me or the photography studio?

She Reads

A few minutes ago I heard the girls in the dining room working on a project together. I thought they were all getting along for once (hard feat to accomplish on any given day and especially over a long vacation from school!) when suddenly, someone came bursting down the stairs. It was Kerrigan and she asked if we wanted to hear something funny in a book she was reading. I looked in her hands and saw a small chapter book that I bought for her last spring. That surprised me in and of itself. Then she proceeded to relate what had happened to this point in the story as if she had watched it on a video! I asked how she knew all that about the story and she looked at me like I'd lost it. "In the book, Mom!" she said (and I knew she was thinking, "Duh!") I was impressed that she had comprehended that much and could tell it flawlessly. I've been waiting for this day.

P.S. But the funny part might have been when I just asked her what the name of the book was and she said, "Santa Dog. I think we have all the seasons." :)

Kerrigan's Nightmare

(Note: Brit and Nae, you do not need to let Kerrigan know I posted this on my blog. I am mainly putting it here because I want to remember it.)

Kerrigan has come into our room two nights in a row with a nightmare. The first night, I was barely awake but I heard Tony pray with her and tuck her in between us. That was a sweet moment...I'm usually the one that's up dealing with the girls in the night and he is never aware of what's going on :)

Anyway, this morning, she was still snuggled next to me when I woke up so I asked her what the deal was with nightmares lately. She told me that a bunch of skinny guys with LONG beards were chasing her. I asked her what was making her think of such things...book? dvd? She immediately said, "No. The devil puts them in my head. You see, I have a liiittle door in the top of my skull." Then she quickly inserted this comment, "But he doesn't have the key! Jesus has the key!" So of course, I asked, "If the devil doesn't have the key, how is he getting these little men in there?" To which she replied, "There is a little tiny crack at the bottom...see the crack there and there?" and she sat up in bed to point out the cracks under the closet and bedroom doors.

So if YOU'VE been wondering how those things get in your little one's head...now you know!

To Read or Not to Read?

Tony likes to read but he rarely has time to just sit down and enjoy a book. This morning it became obvious just how long it had been when 7.5 yr old Kerrigan discovered him in the living room, book in hand. Her observation? "I didn't knew you read!" (said in her exact words - typo intended - read prounounced as red)

Pace or PACE?

Earlier this week we were trying to get ready to go away. I had a deadline to meet but also wanted the girls to get their chores done before we left. I saw Kerrigan taking alot of time to do her dusting detail and on my out the door to take a bag of trash to the curb, I told her to pick up the pace. When I came back in, she was looking around in confusion and asking, "PACE, what PACE?"

You know your kids go to an ACE school when...

The Truth About Fafa

When we were getting the girls ready to go spend a week at Tony's parents recently, Tony was measuring out Kerrigan's medicine for each day. She was watching him intently then proceeded to provide us with this humourous insight, "Shamu or Uncle Lauren are going to have to give it to me every day because Fafa...he'll either be sleeping or joking around."

Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English

Every St. Patrick's Day since 2004, I recount this story. We were renting Tim and Chelle's house. All four of us "girls" were in the spacious bathroom (how I miss that room!) while I combed Britnee's hair for school. Realizing that uniforms made it a bit tricky to get some green in your outfit, I decided we would go against all my fashion rules (I can hear some of you snickering and others with a puzzled look on your face, but there WAS a day...) and put green ponytail holders at the end of her braids. That way she wouldn't get pinched!

While I was finishing up her hair I told her that she did indeed have a tiny little bit of Irish in her. She asked what else we were and I told her lots of Hispanic, quite a bit of German, some Irish, Welsh, English. And before I could get the last one out of my mouth, 3 yr old Kerrigan piped up and said, "And she's TICKLISH too!"

Littlest Biggest Loser

BEFORE:AFTER

I bought Kerrigan a new pillow the night that her sister's were at a sleep-over. She was a little bored without them here to fight with. So pillow-stuffing is how she entertained herself. It was hard to fit it all in her jammies! lol!

Bathroom Conversation

A certain 7 yr old and her mother were in a public restroom stall together. The conversation went something like this...

MOM: You’re wearing those underwear? (thick, training underwear that still fit but have been around forever)

7 YR OLD: Mo-ooom, it was either these or my bikinis. And I hate the bikinis. They give me... (pauses for effect, juts chin out, widens eyes and raises eyebrows) ...THE WEDGIE.

Scrap Inspiration

Do you ever take a picture that just makes ya wanna scrap?? I haven't had an inkling of a desire to scrapbook, even digitally, for several weeks. But today, I download my photos (upload?) and I'm clicking through the pictures and there it is, the photo that says, "Scrap me - NOW!"

Bows Bigger than Their Buns

Okay, that title is a little inside joke but the other day while shopping at Target, Kerrigan saw these bows that were HUGE and she immediately decided that she needed one to top her gift to Uncle Lauren. I looked at the five dollar price tag and decided it probably wasn't an absolute necessity.

A few days later, I stopped in at the Dollar Tree to pick up tissue paper and saw that they had the same size bows for $1...a little - okay, a lot - easier to swallow. I grabbed three of them figuring that Britnee and Janae would most definitely feel left out if they didn't have one for Liz's and Shamu's gifts. Kerrigan was estatic as were the other two girls. These are just so much fun!

After I took the photo I realized that you would not get the full effect of the size even if I told you the box it tops was a boot box. So I decided to give you a more visual comparison. The red bow below is sitting on a dinner plate. Now go get one out of your cupboard and be amazed :)