another instagram monday

February has been a whirlwind of a month, and I'm so glad I've been participating in the daily photo challenge on Instagram with @fatmumslim to keep up with everything. She's already put out next month's list, and--you guessed it--I'll be participating in that one too.

We've...

started ballet...

played without coats...

had beautiful weather...

done a little retail therapy & I'm still trying to figure out what to do about my hair.

I have a few exciting announcements coming up this week, but they're not 100% internet-ready yet, so stay tuned for just a little later in the week!

Linking up with a {little} dash of ash this week. P.S. Are you following me on instagram yet? Find me @melinda7!

before i forget

Potty training has been the biggest source of laughter in my life lately. Each & every time Shepherd makes a poop on the potty, he gets up, examines it, and then compares it to a shape.

"MOMMY! I made a BANANA!" 

"MOMMY! I made STICKS!"

"MOMMY! I made it like CIRCLES!!"

I hope I never forget this. This kid is too damn funny.




Linking up with The Mommyhood Chronicles

i can see how some kids get spoiled.

Sometimes discipline for the kid is as much a punishment for the parent as it is for them.

It would be so much easier to just say, "Next time you kick my seat, I'm turning your music off!" and then let the kid go ahead and keep on kicking you. In my quest to raise a non-spoiled child, I turned the music off, and also suffered getting kicked in the back and screamed at for a 25-minute drive through rush hour traffic.

Sometimes I see why people take the easy way out.

i think i'm learning how to use my camera.

and just to prove it really is winter:

it's not that bad.

If you want a numbered list of 1-10 why I hate taking my medicine, here it is:

1. I was just going to comment on someone else's blog, and I can't remember the name of the dog from the Wizard of Oz.
2. So, what was that dog's name?
3. We've been watching a TV show on Blu-Ray every night this week, and I just asked my husband what the name of the show was tonight (Boardwalk Empire, if you're curious).
4. TOTO! (Thanks, Google.)
5. This seems like a better place to stop rather than trying to get all the way to 10.

From medicinenet.com: "Confusion, slowed thinking, trouble concentrating, and memory problems" are all possible side effects of AEDs (anti-epileptic drugs).

And it seems like God has been giving me daily reminders that it could always be worse. My prayer list seems to be getting longer these days, and I hope everyone around me keeps hanging in there.

Maybe some crossword puzzles will help my memory problems. Or I can just always be sure to be in range of Google...

is february over yet?

I've never been the biggest fan of February. When I went to Purdue, it seemed like a big gray cloud always settled over West Lafayette for the entire month. While the weather hasn't been terrible this year, my luck hasn't been the best. I'm just ready for it to be March.

In the past 8 weeks, I've had 4 seizures. I haven't had this many since I was pregnant with Shepherd. My "doctor" (if you can call him that) doesn't even want me to come in. Doesn't want bloodwork done to check my medication levels, nada. Just called in an increase on dosage and that is it. Needless to say, I'm on the hunt for a new neurologist. This guy is a joke.

This past Wednesday, I was in an accident with the kids in the car.* We got rear-ended, and so did multiple cars behind us, so we felt multiple impacts. Our car was fine, until the adjuster looked at it today, and now the rear bumper is falling off. Sooo... I can't drive anywhere until it's either bungee-corded or duct-taped back on or ripped all the way off. The kids & I are totally and completely fine, and I just had to buy new car seats for them, which was just a little obnoxious, but I can deal with that. Safety first, ya know.

So, here's to the rest of February looking up. Here's to a new doctor. Here's to uncomplicated insurance handlings (especially when there's 3 people at fault). Here's to MARCH.

I won't even go into the speech, vision, and hearing screenings that they had at Shepherd's preschool on Thursday. Shepherd was marked to be re-checked on speech in 6 months for "l" "s" and "r," among other things. I guess I'll save that for another day before this gets too ranty. Thanks for listening.





*Before you ask "if you have seizures, how are you driving?!" Let me answer: I have nocturnal seizures, which means they happen in the safety of my own bed. So unless I fall into a deep sleep while I'm driving... We'd have something much more serious to worry about! ;)

suddenly, i like snow.

I used to hate snow. I whined, and I whined, and I whined some more. But when you see everything through two toddlers' eyes, it's hard to hate the beauty. Especially when they love it. So damn much.

I had a one-on-one session with local blogger/photographer, Burgh Baby, to learn how to better navigate the Canon I got for Christmas, and I already feel like it's making a difference. But I do know that I still have a long way to go before I can take the type of pictures that I dream of taking. Word of caution: I may will be posting my practice here, but I'm not going to inundate all 5 of my readers with a huge load of them--that's what Facebook & instagram are for. ;)

a love letter to pittsburgh.

Sometime in September, we were the proud recipients of a Flat Stanley who came all the way to Pittsburgh from San Francisco.

This isn't the first time I've had Stanley, but it is the first time I've actually shown him around. The first time he came to visit, I forgot about him, lost him, and kind of didn't really have anywhere exciting to take him. Carlsbad, NM? Sorry about it--but I just don't love you like I love the Burgh.

I do have to admit, however, that I went to TWO Penguins game (one in a SUITE!) and forgot him at home. I left him at home when I went to Primanti's with a friend too, but nevertheless! I took some good bridge and skyline pictures with our little laminated buddy.

The skyline and bridges are always breathtaking on the first look out of the tunnels, no matter how long we've lived here, and we're coming up on our 2-year anniversary next month. I love this city. 

Everyone asks me how I like it here, if we'll stay, what it's like, and I always have the same answers: I hope we stay forever. I've never encountered a city that loves itself so much. And that's a good thing. 

We sent the 2nd graders in San Francisco a souvenir from each of Pittsburgh's sports teams, because...What better representation to send back from the City of Champions? Right?

p.s. we are linking up at a little dash of ash again today, so head over there & check out the other instagram pics too!

things i wish other moms told me: a list.

1. When I found out I was pregnant and freaking out about it, no one told me 2 under 2 was actually pretty freaking awesome. It gets better every day, and I'm sure even if someone had tried to tell me how much fun it was at the time, my postpartum depression might have smacked them in the face, but damn if it isn't fun now that they can play together, have conversations, walk holding hands, and so much more.
2. If you & your husband are both stubborn, strong-willed people, your kid is bound to come out 10x more stubborn than the both of you, making potty-training nearly impossible.
3. On the topic of potty-training, why didn't anyone tell me that sometimes a 3 year-old boy might pee STRAIGHT OUT? As in missing the potty and hitting the cabinet?! Why must these things be kept a secret?! Moms need to be informed so it's not a surprise! (And, please, if you don't know why a boy is peeing straight out, go call your mom.)
4. Kids start arguing as early as 2 & 3. It's as simple as, "No!" "Yes!" "No!" "Yes!" And no one told me that when my kids were this age, I'd look in the rearview mirror at the Chick Fil A drive-thru, and tell them both to keep their hands in their laps or no one was getting a juicebox.
5. It's not always fun, and that's okay.

These days, I've really wished my kids came with a manual--they are always keeping me on my toes. What do you wish people told you beforehand?

deep breaths. gulp.

I don't know why I can't even write about it. It's hard for me to even talk to my friends about. I just don't want anyone to think anything is wrong with me, and I definitely don't want to be treated any differently. So, if I've been alienating myself? I'm sorry.

It's been part of me since October 2002. No matter how much I tried to deny it in college, quit taking my pills because I didn't think I "needed" them, it's not going away. After 5 different experimental combinations, my doctor, my parents and I finally found a medication that worked. Although the side effects of all of them have been rough, the benefits have outweighed the risk mostly. [We won't get into the pregnancy side of that right now. That's a story for another day.]

While my the current medication has always worked well to control seizures & keep migraines at bay--when taken correctly--lately it seems like it is not doing its job

Throughout the almost 10 years (seriously?!?) I've been living with epilepsy, I've done all the tests. CT scan, MRI, EEG, sleep study, you name it. Nobody can figure out why I have tonic-clonic* seizures in my sleep, in the wee hours of the morning. I suppose no cause is better than some of the causes that are possible, but there are times that I do get worried.

The majority of the time, I take my medicine like a good little girl and don't think about it, but when I have 2 seizures in a month like I did in January, I start to get that feeling that someone could be doing something more. First thing's first though--I need to get past that overwhelming feeling and start calling some new doctors.

If not for me, for them:

*formerly known as grand mal