Music

Frank and I differ greatly on our choice of music. Frank's a Dead head. He's all Jerry Garcia all the time. Literally, he has a six 6 cd changer in his car and ALL SIX have The Greatful Dead. Hey, I don't mind them but not my choice. The kids call it Jerry's band and seem to like it. I, on the other hand like completely different music. I like all kinds. Really all kinds. I listen to classic rock,some country. I even love Justin Timberlake. But my favorite band is Metallica. Most people who learn this about me are shocked. I don't really seem like the Metallica type.

I can't tell you the last time I put music on in the car. Between the kids and the DVD player I just never put on the radio. Not to mention I was paranoid to listen to the radio when Cormac was first implanted because I didn't want to add any more "background noise" then there already was in the car. But as time has passed and I realized Cormac can hear me just fine in the car and since we got the new truck I thought I would throw on the CD player. Got out my favorite CD, Master of Puppets and loaded it into the changer. By God, these children LOVE it! I played a few songs and I look back in the car and they were all rockin' out. Heads going back and forth and some serious dancing in their car seats. THey asked me who was singing and I told them. Now every time we get in the car Colin, in particular, asked for MEtallica. Master of Puppets is his favorite and you have to hear him sing it! Here's some video of them in the truck. I took a great one on my cell phone but the audio didn't work for some reason.



I taught them the hand movement as a joke but they seem to like it. I know, not the most appropriate music choice but it doesn't have any curses and for now they are too young to understand what it's really about. They just think it's about puppets!

I have never taught them the lyrics but the know a lot of the words. I was pleasantly surprised to realize Cormac could understand the lyrics as well. I wasn't sure how he would react but as you can see he really likes it!

I am sure Frank would be much happier if they were chillin' to Jerry, but hey, I can't control what they like!

On a different note, I had to share these pics of the boys. When they were small I always took their picture in the rocking chair in their room.



Just seemed like it was easy to prop them all up and get them all together...


Well, the chair has been moved to Calleigh's room but I asked them to sit in it all together for old times sake.... Notice Cormac has to sit on Colin's lap because they are just too big now. This is why I LOVE these boys....






Can you just see the LOVE in their eyes when they look at each other? Warms my heart and makes me smile. That's why I love the candid photos much better than posed.

And I feel like the princes is being neglected in the photo department so here's a few the the little lady...




She's just started smiling for real, you know, not just from gas :) This is the first photo I caught of her smiling.



FOr those that don't know, Calleigh was born with an incomplete lip. It's actaully even smaller in person than in photographs. SHe will have it repaired in a few months. Funny thing is I don't even notice it when I look at her.

Out of the mouths of three year olds....

Today we are leaving my sister Trisha's house (she has been helping me out tremendously since the baby was born) and her landscaper was finishing with the lawn. Colin says to me "Mommy, is that his job?" I say, yes. Just like Daddy works for the phone company and Uncle Mike drives the UPS truck (their latest obsession) that is his job. Well, I decide to ask them "what is Mommy's job?" After some thought from the three of them Ciaran says "Mommy, your the best driver. That's your job. You drive us everywhere" Cormac chimes in that I "cook and clean" and Colin says "But you don't do the laundry. Daddy does" (Yep, Frank does almost all the laundry. If I could only get him to put it away....)

Needless to say I got quite the chuckle on the car ride home. But really, in most ways, I am a driver, a cook, a cleaner, a problem solver, a referee, an advocate, a teacher. Being a Mom you wear many hats. There is no one job description that can define motherhood. It is an evolving job and no two days are really ever the same. While it is probably the most demanding job on the planet I also think it is the most rewarding job. And above all a Mom's most important "chore" of the day is to just love their kids. Not really much of a chore!

My kids apparently have there own language as well. They have about 5 words they say that are nonsense words but they all know what it means. Frank and I? We have no clue. If you ask them they won't tell you. The most frequently used nonsense word is "noneena". As much as I can figure out a "noneena" is a noun and causes them to act crazy whenever the word is said. Let alone one of them say "the noneena is coming" then all Hell breaks loose!

Cormac's spontaneous language is just growing by leaps and bounds every day. The things that come out of his mouth just amaze me. We are working on taking turns and having a conversation. Keeping him on topic isn't always easy but I am not sure how much that is related to hearing or just that he is a 3 year old. I am realizing his hearing is just amazing. Lots of things he says are just things he picks up in everyday conversations. The fact that today I had a conversation with him while I was in my bedroom and he was downstairs in the kitchen speaks volumes. He came in the house from the back yard and yelled "mommy, where are you?" I said "I am upstairs in my bedroom". He answers back "you're in your bedroom, what are you doing up there?" (I was pumping for Calleigh) I tell him this and he says "oh, you getting milk for the baby?" SOmetimes it's hard to remember he is deaf. I mean, I always KNOW he's deaf and our lives revolve around language aquisition BUT we have been doing this for almost two years and it's just part of our normal routine. It no longer seems like we are always working more like it's just our life. Does that make sense?

"You're the best Mommy in the whole wide world.

You are super smart and super sweet." This is what Ciaran told me today on the car ride home from school. He just said it for no reason what so ever. I had to document it so I can show him someday. In case you couldn't guess, it made my whole day. Ciaran is by far the sweetest child. He loves to cuddle and hug and kiss me and Frank. He says so many sweet things. He is quick to touch Cormac's cheeks and tell him he is so "adorable" or "sweet". Lately, he's been telling Cormac he is beautiful since Cormac has been wearing a tiara around the house :).

Sure, there are times during the day when I think the three of them are little hellions but man it's so worth it to hear them say such wonderful things. I hope it's a reflection of how I talk to them. I make an effort every day to point out all the good they do and recognize kindness. Trust me, I spend a lot of the day telling them what they did wasn't nice or was fresh so I figure I gotta point out the good as well. You would be surprised at how quickly behavior changes when I am praising one for doing something sweet or for behaving nicely and listening to Mommy. All kids want their parents approval and it's sometimes easy to forget to point out the good.

I will say the three of them were filled with EXTRA energy today. Blame it on days and days of rain. Blame it on them being all thrown off by the baby still being in the hospital and our lives have been so hectic lately but WOW they were energized. I need to find something to do tomorrow to wear them out.

On the potty front. We have made a GIANT leap the last two days. Colin has FINALLY agreed to wear "big boy underwear". He has been wearing a pull up but doesn't go the bathroom in it but REFUSED to wear underwear. Well, yesterday he decided he was done with pull ups. He did great today in his underwear. He had one mishap in the morning but other than that he was perfect all day. Gotta love three three year olds getting out of diapers. Just in time for Calleigh.

As for Miss Calleigh. She is doing really well. She is eating more. Tonight she was bumped up to 25cc (30 cc is an ounce) and was switched back to breast milk :) She isn't taking it all by bottle but is making improvements each day. She weighed 6pounds 10 oz tonight. That's up 9 oz from her birth weight. She is starting to look chubby! She is just a beautiful little girl. I hate leaving her at the hospital but I know she received the best care while she is there.

Frank is finishing her room tomorrow. It's really almost done. He just has to put in the new light fixture, finish the wainscoting (just a small bit more) and move the computer downstairs. Not too much. Her room is turning out just like I envisioned. So pretty and girly!

On a side note, please say some prayers for some of the babies in the NICU with Calleigh. It seems a large number of very premature babies (a 23 weeker, a 24 weeker and a another 24 weeker who only weighs 13 oz) have been born in the last few days. They are so tiny and are really struggling right now. They could use some extra prayers.

Busy days

The last two weeks have been hectic. Calleigh is already 16 days old. She is still in the hospital. She is doing great especially the last two days. She is starting to eat more and more. I have guilt for not being with her all day. I have guilt for leaving the boys so much to see her. It has not been easy but somehow we have been working it out. Life will be so much better when everyone is under one roof.

On Tuesday we went to Summit Speech School for their graduation ceremony. Cormac isn't graduating but all the preschoolers were involved in the program. I swear, I cried through the entire show. These kids have come so far. I have known a lot of them from the beginning of group class. I have seen them all make huge strides over the past year or so. What really got me crying was the music. They played the song "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. (It's playing on the blog as you read this :) ) Last week on the ride home from the hospital that song came on the radio. Frank was driving and I told him to listen to the word to the song. I said "this should be the anthem for our family". I was crying like a baby. Well, I walk into graduation and they are reading the lyrics from that song. It was all I needed for the water works to start.

Here is a little video from the ceremony. Cormac is wearing the red hawaiian shirt. He is the smallest kid up there. I am pretty sure he is one of the youngest at the school at the moment.



Even though Calleigh isn't home I am still not allowed to sleep through the night. Since I want to breast feed her if possible I have been getting up every three hours to pump. Not an enjoyable experience but necessary.

Cormac also got his evaluation from Summit. I will give you all the good news about it in another post.

Home from hospital

I am home but Calleigh is still in the NICU. Breaks my heart to come home without her but she is in the best hands. Her breathing is great but she is having some issues with her belly. She can't seem to digest her milk. They don't think it's anything serious but have stopped her feeds and are giving her another day to regroup. They ran a ton of tests and they all were negative which is great. I haven't been able to hold her yet because she had a venus line in her belly. It just doesn't seem right to not be able to hold you own baby. The venus line should be out tomorrow so I think I can finally hold her. Keep your fingers crossed.

I will post more when we know more. Looks like at least another week before she will be home to join her family. Who said having a singleton would be easy???