Coco Cabana

You know, that song? Okay, got it in your head? That's the tune we sing this to:

Holland, she's bumbo-licious
Holland, she's bumbo-squishious

It actually started with Boaz because he was so dang chubby he practically spilled out of the Bumbo. But look at this pic and tell me if it's not just totally true for little Ha Hay (or Howand Hazol as Boaz says), too!

Old Friends

I had a little bit of an organizational spurt last weekend. I still haven't tackled our junk drawer, but I did manage to arrange our 3 cd drawers. It was such a mess. Not even pre-Holland nesting could force me to attempt it. But I had bought some plastic boxes at Wal Mart like 3 months ago and they've just been sitting on top of my dryer ever since. I wanted to finally find a place for them, so I just had to bite the bullet and do it. I wish I had taken a picture. I threw away about 500 broken jewel cases and about a hundred CDRs and/or ones Kevin had bought when he was in his weird techno phase. I put all the discs that were loose in either an intact case or a big travel case. Now, I didn't get so far as putting the discs in the correct cases, but it was better than nothing. At least the drawers open and close now.

By chance, that same day Kevin had let Boaz play in my car. I never do this as the boy is notorious for reprogramming electronics. But this time, he only managed to take all my current music selections out of my disc changer (something Kevin can't even do by himself, I might add). I've been in a music rut lately. Slot 1 was Ryan Adams, 2 was The Pop a Wheelies, 3- Ryan Adams, 4-Ryan Adams, 5-Ryan Adams, 6- Coldplay. You see what I mean.

But while I was cleaning out the drawers, I ran across some old friends. Albums I loved once upon a time and listened to non-stop at various points in my life. So, I decided out with the new and in with the old. And very much like old friends, some of the relationships have been difficult. With some friends you can pick right up where you left off, and with others you find you just don't click anymore. Here are my old pals:

#1- Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Still a great buddy, but I can only take just a little at a time.
#2- Don Chaffer (they guy from Waterdeep). I don't remember the name of this album. I can't find the sleeve anywhere. But it's just as well, because this friend is boring and depressed.
#3- 100 Portaits, don't remember the name of this either (I told you these were old!). Still very interesting, though. I'm wading back in.
#4-Misty Edwards, Always On His Mind. I am so glad that I can listen to this again. I made the mistake of listening to it while I was very first pregnant with Boaz. After that, anytime I heard any of the songs I was instantly nauseous. But I love it. It's a friend that inspires my in my walk with God and fills my heart with love and longing.
#5-Shane&Shane, Carry Away. A very comfortable pal to be with, that brings back wonderful memories. When Bronwyn was little bity there was a cd player on top of the armoir in her room. Every time I would nurse her I would listen to this album (or Radio Reader on NPR). Listening to it now reminds me of those sweet moments as a brand new mom with my first born. She's so grown up now, I like to think about when she was still so new and helpless, and I was the love of her life.
#6-Heather Clark, Undivided Focus. Umm, not so much. I haven't really figured out why I hung out with this one. Maybe we werent as good of friends as I remembered.

I wonder when Ryan Adams will become and old friend instead of a current passion? Probably never :)

Snip Snip

Well, Kev got "fixed" Friday. No more babies for us! He handled it pretty well. He was extremely nervous going into it, but afterwards he had to admit it wasn't that bad. It was an in office procedure and they gave him something to help him relax a bit. I think the whole thing took about 20 minutes. I for one was chuckling almost the entire time. It's not every day you get to see your husband's legs up in stirrups :) The funniest part was when I ran out to the car to inhale my breakfast croissant (hey, it was supposed to be at 8:30 and it wasn't until 11, I was STARVING). In the hall I passed another one of the uroligists talking with a medical student. When I came back into the room Kevin said, "They asked me if a medical student could watch and I told them I guessed so." To which my reply was, "Oh yeah, I saw her, she's really cute." His look was priceless!!!

As for me, this whole thing is bittersweet. I mean, I don't want any more kids. Three is plenty for us. Our quiver is full. I don't want to be pregnant again, have ridiculous sleep deprivation again, get any more stretch marks, etc... I want to be able to pour everything I have into these children I have been blessed with. I really don't think I could even be an adequate mom to more than 3. I'm just not that good at it!! But I will miss that sweet, new baby smell. That completely floppy little body, and that helpless, almost cute tiny cry. I will sort of miss the feeling of those first little butterfly movements in my belly, and the triumphant feeling after just giving birth. But not enough to do it all again!!

Dead Dog

Just kidding. But the ol' girl is going on 10! This is exactly how she slept as a puppy. She's about 30 pounds overweight and has terrible hips. But somehow this is comfy. Go figure.

If you pray...

Please pray for Dakota Sharp. He is an 18 year old young man that works for Kev. Yesterday he fell 15 foot off a scissor lift onto concrete...on his head. He had surgery yesterday to remove a "bone flap" from his skull in order to let the brain swell without the obstacle of bone. He is now in a coma. He is so sweet and is really trying to make something of his life. Please just lift him up in your thoughts and prayers. He could really use some good vibes about now.

Just Curious...

So, it's pretty obvious that this lady in California who had the octuplets has created quite a stir. I was just reading an article online about the costs invloved. I'm just curious what people think of all this. People I know. What is your opinion? If you don't want to comment on here, email me at kevlex_wright@yahoo.com.

I, for one, am totally fascinated by people who have large families. I guess lots of other people are, too, otherwise we wouldn't have shows like Jon and Kate Plus 8. Our children's pastor at church and his wife are expecting baby boy #6. I talked to another lady last week who just had baby #7 and still wants one more. I really like my kids and all, but 3 is our absolute limit! Maybe for some people the more kids you have, the more patience you inherit. Not me. I find my fuse a bit shorter with each kiddo, unfortunately. When that lady told me it was her seventh child by jaw dropped. She probably thought I was so rude, but I just kept asking her questions! I couldn't help it. I want to know how you feed, clothe, bathe, and do laundry for that many people. Or how you read to, tickle, play with, and discipline them. Not to mention pay to have them. It seems like a lot of folks who have several children are in ministry or non-profit vocations. We are basically self employed and it is all but impossible to get any kind of maternity insurance in these types of jobs. Fortunately for us, if you pay cash upfront our OB doc and our hospital give discounts. That was still $12,000 bucks in 2 years for 2 babies. How do you afford that for 7? I mean, if you're not Brangelina? I'm not trying to be cheeky, I really do want to know what the options out there are. Home birth? Great! Seriously, that's great. But surely that's not free. Right?

As for this California lady, I truly feel sorry for her. Raising 14 children would be extremely difficult for any couple, but how much more for a single mom? I absolutely do not agree with her choices. I think she was selfish, irresponsible, and needs serious mental evaluation. (On a side note, I think it's ironic she is in the mental health field!) But none of that is really relevant now. Now she's in it. Alone. And it's the kids who will pay the price for that. I don't think that punishing her is going to help them out any.

So anyway, what do you think?

Holland Update

Thanks so much to all of you who have prayed for and checked up on Holland. We are blessed to have such amazing friends. The good news is that the Tortocollis is nearly resolved. That means that Holland's neck has loosened up considerably and her head is nearly aligned. She has great range of motion to the right and we will hopefully be able to start lengthening the time between physical therapy appointments. She is in the bouncy seat next to me as I wright this and she is trying to sit up! She is rolling over from her back to her tummy and vice versa. Overall, she is an extremely happy, healthy baby who is developmentally right on track. Praise God!

However, though the Tortocollis is much better, the focus has now shifted to Plagiocephaly...aka smushed head. As I mentioned in the previous blog about this, because she looked left for so long her lead flattened out on that side. Lots of people have funny shaped heads, but with plagiocephaly the facial features can be affected. In Holland's case, her ears are not even with each other and her right eye and cheek are bigger than the right ones. It's not that noticeable on first glance. But if you look at her closely it becomes pretty obvious. The PT and I were joking about how once you know what to look for, you start to see it everywhere! I was watching the red carpet for some award show the other day and an actress they were interviewing totally had plagiocephaly! Now, the actress was still incredibly beautiful, but it was pretty obvious.

All that to say, we are getting Holland's head fixed. We have an appointment later today for a CT scan of her head to confirm bone placement and later in the week we will be getting her fitted for a helmet. Now, I was dead set against this course of treatment at the beginning of all this. But I see now that this is really the least invasive method in the long run. The good news is there is a place in town who will do it. We had originally thought we would have to go to a clinic in Dallas for treatment, which would require trips every two weeks for adjustments. Our wonderful pediatrician has assured us that the place here in town will do just as good of a job, and will obviously be TONS more convenient. We've already decided we will decorate her helmet with flowers or something and she will be the cutest little thing ever in it! So, keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I'll post pics of my little helmet head soon!

To The Pure, All Things Are Pure

First of all, let me just say that yes, I know this is very wrong. But it's still pretty darn funny ;) In case you didn't know, one of Thomas the Train's sidekick pals is named Percy.