Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day

The sweetest sounds to mortals given
Are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven.
~William Goldsmith Brown

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.
~George Cooper

Olivia's First Playdate

Since RSV season is coming to an end and Olivia is in serious need of interaction with other children, we had her first playdate today. Olivia's aunt Laura and her cousin, Rebekah, came over with Cabbage Patch dolls in tow (and I even dug mine out of the basement.) Rebekah is in kindergarten and because she only goes to school in the mornings, it worked out really well for her to spend the afternoon with us. We still have some strict rules as it's really hard to let go of the anxieties that we've had for so long. Handwashing is still a must and one must be healthy along with a healthy household. I think we're going to wait a little longer (end of the month or so) for her to play with the younger cousins and children her age since they can't always tell you if they're not feeling well. I'm hoping that when the rest of the cousins get out of school, they can spend some afternoons with Olivia as well. We had a great time today and you can tell that Olivia just adores Rebekah.

Rebekah and her Cabbage Patch dolls

Playing together

For some reason, in this picture, you can just tell that they are related. It makes me laugh.

Cooking up lunch

Hmm. . .which doll to play with. . .

Thanks, Rebekah, for a ROARRing good time.

Oh, and we found something else that Olivia and Rebekah have in common. They are both getting their molars! Olivia's getting her first molars and Rebekah is getting her 6 year molars. Thanks for a great afternoon and thank you to Laura for these pictures. I'm not sure why I didn't get my camera out.

This Mother's Day. . .

Mother's Day is fast approaching and I know that's a tough day for many people. I remember the heartache of wishing that I could be celebrated on that day. Even before I found out that I had trouble staying pregnant. . .I had trouble getting pregnant. It was only after close to 3 years, countless treatments and procedures. . .did my dream finally come true. Little did I know, but that was just the beginning of another difficult journey. I don't think simply having children makes someone a mother. It's a love, a selflessness, and a desire that makes someone worthy of the title. And, believe me. . .there are countless women out there with that love and selflessness and desire that are trying so hard to have children. They are already sacrificing and in love with the child that they dream and pray about. There are also countless women whose children are in heaven with my sweet Logan. Please know that each year on Mother's Day, I also celebrate all of you.

I have started a new section on my sidebar called Praying For A Baby. If you are traveling down the difficult road of infertility and would like to be added, please send me a link to your blog. I would be happy to add you and continue to pray for you.

My Little Helper

I'll help, mama!

Ooh! Look at this one!

I found one for me!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - Update

Uh Oh. . .look what I can do!

Olivia has started getting into everything (and I secretly couldn't be more proud.) Even though she hasn't really noticed them yet, I need to find a different place for my plants since she decided that she can climb onto the fireplace. I have found her toys in my desk drawer and noticed her trying to reach for things on our nightstands. I need to get serious about baby-proofing.

Oh, and I did take her into the doctor yesterday. They just called it another upper respiratory infection. Her lungs sounded good, her oxygen saturation was at 98, ears looked good, etc. That was reassuring to hear. We are using Simply Saline, a humidifier, and Motrin. Her cough has gotten a bit better. Hopefully, all three of us will start feeling better soon.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 - Update

Do you like my cute bow?

My mom went on and on about how cute I looked.

At least people will stop calling me a boy!

Well, I'm sort of in the blogging mood again. I'm not sure what happened, but I didn't want every post to be about how bad I felt, so. . . I figured I should take a break. I had to share these adorable pictures of Olivia! Any idea where I can purchase more hair clippies for her? Things are going good here, even with Olivia's runny nose and awful cough, Ryan's awful cough and my sore throat and headache. I'm not sure what's wrong with all of us, but Olivia will probably make a trip into the doctor today. She coughs so much (especially at night) that she throws up. I'll let you know what we find out at the doctor.

Olivia is walking all over the place and is able to pull herself to a stand all by herself. She loves playing in her crib when she wakes up in the morning. There is nothing sweeter than hearing her talk to her stuffed animals in the morning. This morning, we realized that she can reach the table by her crib and had the Desitin in with her, so we'll have to start watching that. She has also started signing "more" and can tell you where her nose and her toes are. It seems she has started learning something new every day.

Just Some Pics

Come on, mom. Let's go to the zoo!

I'll drive!


The Glunt girls (Julia, Rebekah and Olivia)


Betcha can't pat your head and make a fist at the same time!

I'm a BIG girl!

Sunday, May 3, 2009 - Update

But, I wasn't done with our walk. . .

Just when I start believing that I haven't lost my mind, I go out in public like this. Oh, they're the same color. . .just two entirely different shoes!

As many of you know, I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue about 6 months ago. I have been on multiple supplements as well as hydrocortisone during that time. I was told that it could take up to 2 years to see improvement because of the severity. Some days I feel okay, other days I feel pretty hopeless. . .like it’s never going to get better. The two major factors that tend to lead to adrenal fatigue are emotional stress and diet. I haven’t quite found a way to properly deal with everything that has taken place over the past 20 months, so I decided to begin seeing a therapist (after much coaxing from friends, family and doctors.) My therapist just so happens to be very knowledgeable about adrenal fatigue because she was diagnosed with it 7 years ago. She has only begun feeling better within the last year and that was after dealing with her food sensitivities and allergies, a large component of adrenal fatigue. I have long suspected that I have some food sensitivities/allergies. My therapist had to give up dairy and gluten and only after that, did her energy return. When your body is sensitive or allergic to a food, your adrenal glands pump out cortisol to combat it. When you react to stress in a negative way, your adrenal glands also pump out cortisol to combat it, which further exhausts them. Like anything that is overworked, your adrenals succumb to the exhaustion and can no longer keep up with the demand. The only way to deal with overworked adrenal glands, is to allow them to rest, which is why I’m on supplemental cortisol. I am also not supposed to get overly stressed (yeah, right) or do anything that makes my adrenal glands work too hard. Even vigorous exercise is not beneficial when your adrenal glands aren’t functioning properly because it makes them attempt to pump out even more cortisol. It’s sort of like trying to squeeze blood from a turnip.

I’m determined to feel better because I want Olivia to have a happy, energetic mother. My therapist thinks that she can help me. She also thinks that I might need help dealing with a bit of post-traumatic stress. I would think anyone who gave birth extremely prematurely or lost a child would deal with this as well. That still leaves my diet, which is something that I have to figure out how to do on my own. I know that bread does not make me feel very well, but I don’t know if it’s the gluten or the yeast. There is a blood test, I believe, that tells you exactly what you are allergic or sensitive too. I hear it’s quite expensive, though, and insurance doesn’t pay for it. I know that I have to do something about my complete lack of energy in order to do the things in life that I wish to do. Hopefully, I’m on the right track, but I could use some prayers along the way.

So, why am I telling you all this? Well, besides the fact that we’re all friends, right? It’s hard to feel like you are the only one experiencing a hardship or needing a counselor. Many of us tend to go through life with a fake smile on our face. . .not realizing that our struggles could help someone else. (Granted, a fake smile is better than no smile at all.) Many of you have been there for me and I want to be there for you. . .whether it’s because of infertility, premature birth, infant death, adrenal fatigue, etc. Or, just as a friend.

I’m still taking a bit of a blogging break, so I probably won’t have another post up right away. I promise I will try to take some pictures again soon. Olivia and I are both either really bothered by allergies or both of us are sick. . .again. I only hope she doesn’t feel as miserable as I do right now.