Cup of Blessings

What's it worth to you to get your 1 yr old to sleep through the night? To get your 4 yr old who's in the 10th percentile for weight, nibbles at a limited variety of foods to EAT when it's mealtime and snacktime? For me, I was willing to pay quite a bit to remove those major frustrations from my life!

First the sleeping problem. I wrote about getting through the problem on here. I just didn't know what to do. Then I found a site that gave me hope. It's 'The Baby Sleep Center' . For $37 I got her basic program. In about a week and a half I had Layla laying in her own crib going to sleep on her own. She wakes up very early, around 5:30-6:00 and it's not nice but I do get more sleep than I was getting prior to trying this.

The current issue is with Aliyah. She is just so skinny and won't eat much at meals or snacks, yet asks for things to eat throughout the day. She won't try new things very easily and mainly eats chicken, crackers, chips, rice, SODA (yikes). The last straw for me was that two days in a row she refused to eat at daycare AND IT WAS FOOD SHE LIKES!! My mom had found a site that seemed like what I needed. It was 'Food Sense' I haven't received the hard copy stuff but I did get a quick start guide I could download. Let me tell the first few days of this were hell. She can throw a tantrum to end all tantrums. I just stuck to the plan and it's working. She's not eating a lot but she is eating what's prepared for a snack or meal. One night supper for her was just cucumbers and carrots but that's what she took from what was on the table. My hope is that eventually she will at least try new foods. She started to whine this morning after eating a strip of Tacon and a couple spoonfuls of yogurt that she wanted crackers. I told her if she was hungry she could eat the rest of her yogurt, there would be nothing else coming from the kitchen. After a few minutes I noticed from the corner of my eye that she had picked up the yogurt and was eating a bit more. Can't make eye contact when she's like this.......if she sees us looking at her she screeches and won't do what she was doing.

I feel like I have so much more support where I am now. I also feel like I don't have to constantly worry that if some decision I make regarding the children is wrong that I'll be criticized as I was in the same house with my husband. I think the girls are thriving in this environment, too. They have definite limits set which are adhered to even when I'm not around unlike before when a certain caregiver *cough*hubbie*cough* let them do and eat whatever they wanted.

My mom had breast cancer 12 years ago and had a mastectomy. After 5 years of tamoxifen she was pronounced cancer free at her yearly checks. Then this past spring a spot showed up on her lung. She had a CT scan and it was decided to recheck it in 6 months to see if it had grown. She had the CT scan before Christmas. It had increased slightly in size. Next step was a needle biopsy. We just found out Wednesday night that it was positive for the same kind of cancer as that found in her breast. She's working on a referral to the University of Minnesota Cancer Center to plan the next steps. At the very least a wedge resection of her lung or lobectomy. Then she will have to be on medications to suppress the cancer for the rest of her life. I'm praying really hard right now that the rest of her life will be a really long time and that it will be spent cancer free after this. I can't begin to explain just how close I am to my mother. We're best friends and I've really had a lot of support from her, especially now. My father would be devastated if he lost her, we all would. I'm asking that everyone keep her in your prayers. The power of prayer is incredible, it's brought me through some of the most difficult times of my life!

So God I know You're listening. Help me and my family get through this, to find strength and courage to face it and the uncertain future it holds.