Coming Home

Wonderful news! 
Today, after 54 days in the NICU,  Grace came home!  It was an emotional and exhausting day, so this post will be short.  Bruce is sick, Hope wants to help with everything and I am so glad my mommy comes tomorrow to help!  But it feels amazing to have our whole family together at last.  Things feel complete, normal, good.  Strangely, I feel more like a first time mom now than when I brought Hope home...  I'm afraid I'm not going to do things right, afraid Grace will get sick.  I need to trust that God will provide the knowledge and skills I need to be a good mom to Grace.
Well, Grace awakes and grunts so I had better go.  Wish me sleep tonight!

"I Poop!"

I'm sure there are times when those words are cause for elation but I always seem to find they evoke different emotions in me.  Take this morning for example.  I hear my daughter wake up at 7:30; I roll over, close my eyes and pray that my husband hears her and gets up.  It doesn't happen.  To my delight, however, Hope decides to play quietly in her room for awhile.  I fall back asleep.  At 8:05 she begins to bang on her door 'Mom?  Mom!  MOOOOOM!' (And I thought they learned this technique as teenagers!)  I dispatch my husband (still mostly asleep) to let her out.  As soon as her door opens I hear "I poop! I poop! I poop!"  Now, being a mom I immediately fear the worst, while my husband doesn't even seem to be processing what she's saying.  I fearfully ask "is she still wearing her diaper?"  Hubby responds "Huh? I think so... oh! Uh... Can you bring me some wipes?"  Yep, ladies and gentlemen, my daughter has pooped on the floor!  And then stepped in it.  She is now yelling "Yuck! Poop!" Sigh, what a way to start the morning!

I wish I could say that this is the first time it's happened, but it's not.  Apparently I'm a slow learner...  Potty training can't happen soon enough!

What's up duck?

Anyone out there? 

Well, here I am starting a blog.  This is the hard part, starting.  Once your blog is up and running it's easy: pop in, type what's on your mind, click submit and voila!  Huh, that's what I'm telling myself anyway.  To begin I need to be able to center myself, express myself, introduce myself.  Let you (and me) know exactly what I'm doing here.  Let's start with the introductions, I at least know who I am!

My name is Elizabeth, I'm 27 and I'm a stay at home mom of two beautiful little girls, one of whom is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at a local hospital.  Okay, so my name isn't Elizabeth, it's my middle name, but I'm preserving anonymity and all that jazz.  On that note, let me introduce my family.  First of all, my loving husband and man of my heart, Bruce.  We've been married 7 years and I can't imagine life without him.  He's stubborn, a poor loser, has no sense of direction, but has a huge heart and strong arms, is kind, considerate and loving, and loves God.  All reasons I love him.  My eldest daughter Hope is 21 months old and so much trouble fun!  She's funny and outgoing, a bit of a daredevil and stubborn (like her dad).  She's just starting to talk and I get such a laugh out of what she says!  I have a feeling that a lot of blog posts are going to come from this inspiration!  My youngest daughter Grace is 7 weeks old and has spent her entire life so far in the NICU.  She was born at 29 weeks gestation due to my health complications and weighed in at 2lbs 14oz.  She is now just over 6lbs and we are anxious to have her home with us!  She is an inspiration and a joy, and in some ways the reason I wanted to start blogging.  Now, about me...  I was a teacher, but have 'retired' to become a stay at home mom... Something I had always wanted to do.  Being a mom is important to me, and I'm glad that I am able to stay home and raise my children.    That's what I'm hoping to share with you... the stories of raising my children.  The highs and lows of having a preemie and a toddler, the hints I've learned and pleas of help for what I haven't, my online shopping addiction (it's a problem), my marriage and why it works (and sometimes why it struggles)... 
I don't promise it will be pretty, but it will hopefully be fun!