Confessions from a MOM of a sick kid

Dear Diary,

Things I have learned so far from having a sick kid:

• There is no time for yourself. And when you do get that break when they are napping, you find yourself taking care of dishes and laundry and feeding the dogs and using the bathroom because having a sick kid doesn't leave anytime for anything else. 
• There is no time for anyone else, including your husband. Sorry babe....backburner for you. 
• All you want to do is take away their pain. Give me the fever. Give me the stuffy nose. Give me the flu. Give me strep. I could use a few days of just sleep....so go ahead and give me that burden. 
• Leaving him alone for any given period of time doesn't work. It just doesn't. 
• How I become the worst parent in the world because I need to plunge your nose out because you can't breathe and all you do is scream bloody murder like I'm cutting off your arms. 
• Cuddling is at an all time high. Which is the best except when they can't breathe or have a coughing attack or have fever and you are both sweating from it. 
• How yogurt is a bad choice for a kid who coughs so much that he spits up.
• Don't wear black when you have a kid with a runny nose. Snot shows up everywhere! 
• How poopy diapers become 10 times worse than they already are because of the medication. Where is my mask...stat! 
• How I remembered to eat, brush my teeth and shower is besides me. Seriously tho.....how did I remember to do those things?

Being a MOM is a kick-ass, up for anything and everything, wipe away snot with your fingers and wipe it on your pants, no sleep, no time alone, no break, JOB! Being a MOM is a JOB and I dare anyone to tell me it is not. Except I don't get paid to do this. Unless getting paid is being puked on, shitted on and snotted on, then I am the wealthiest women in the world. 

Now don't get me wrong, being a MOM is the best. It truly is. But being a MOM to a sick kid sucks balls. 

To all those times I was a sick kid, to all those times I did all the above, to all those times I didn't give you a break......THANK YOU MOM! Thank you for the cuddles, and the late nights, and the non complaining (to me at least) and the cleaning up you had to do. THANK YOU! 

Love, this MOM

Color Run 2016

 I have done the Color Run 4 times now. It is one of my favorite things to do and it wouldn't be complete without my girls. Kristen, Julie and I have done it every year we have done it. Each time, we have been with a different crew. But the one thing that stays the same, is us 3. 

Here is me, ready, at 6:15 in the morning. 

Us girls before the race begins. I swear these 2 make me laugh the most. I am the quiet one of the group, the more reserved one. We are all something to each other. When I need a crazy chick, I go to Julie. When I need advise, I go to Kristen. When I want to have a good time, I go to both. We usually always agree on the same things and even when we don't, it doesn't matter because we respect each other. We always have each others back and even though Julie is tiny, don't let her small size fool you. She even scares me sometimes :)

  

I don't take any photos during the race because my phone would get all messed up from the dry paint. But here is us afterwards. We have our backwards hats on, fanny packs on, sunglasses on, finishers medal on, covered in dry paint. We all said we actually didn't get covered in paint as much as normal. Which was fine when it came to cleaning ourselves. 

I went and found the previous 3 times of Color Run's to show you. 

Color Run 2012- Abby, Me, Liz, Kristen, Dori and Julie

Color Run 2013- Us girls. Josh and Joel (Julie's brothers) ran this one with us, but I couldn't find a photo of all of us. 

Color Run 2015- Mary, Kristen, Julie and I (21 weeks pregnant)

We always say we are going to bring the husband's along one year but we probably won't. I am going to try to convince Kristen to let Kent come next year. I think that would be so much fun for him and he would be able to keep up. 

We do this Color Run almost every year. If you would like to run/walk it with us, we would love to have you join our cool color run club! But be prepared to laugh, make fun of each other and other people (it's all innocent), and get dry paint smashed in your face. Just stay away from Julie when she has the blue paint! There's no telling where she will throw or slap it on you. 

34 weeks

I love this shirt. It says Daddy's Lil Bro and since we call him Bro-Bro a lot, it was just fitting for him

How old? 34 weeks

Likes? Feta cheese 

Hates? Being sick

Milestones this week? This week has been a drag for him and me. He's slept a lot, been cuddled a lot and hasn't done much of anything. He is pulling himself up on the ottoman to the standing position and turning around to grab the couch so that is kind of a big deal. Granted the ottoman and the couch are about 12 inches away from each other so it isn't a huge reach for him but I praised him for it. 

Sleeping? This week has been amazing, minus the one night we were up forever. But in his defense, he had a fever and couldn't get comfortable. It was awful. But besides that, he has slept through the night and has taken great naps. Granted he is on flu medicine but I'm hoping he will keep up the trend once he's off of it since that's been what he has been doing for a week now. 

Eating? He hasn't eaten much this week. Hasn't had much of an appeitite. So the only thing new he tried this week was Spaghetti O's and he loved them. 

Easter

Since I have been dealing with a sick kid, I haven't gotten many photos lately. I didn't even get a family photo for Easter! I did manage to get this (or my sister got it and sent it to me). 

It's probably one of my favorite photos. I have laughed more at this photo. Hayden refused to take a photo. The kid hates sitting down for a photo. And all Landry wanted to do was hold Brody and take a picture. And all Brody wanted to do was feel better! Kara had camera in hand, I grabbed Hayden and plopped him down and Kara started snapping away. 

Cracks me up! 

#besteasterphotoever

Brody is normally really good when we go out to eat. As long as I keep food handy, he stays really content. But not today and I have to chalk it up to him being so sick. So Bobby and I took turns holding him during lunch. At one point, Bobby decided to take him outside to relax a little. Brody loves being outdoors (I think most babies do) so it always calms him down. Later during the day, Bobby sends me photos of his time outside. 

I swear I am the luckiest women on the planet to have these two handsome men. 

O.M.G. 

I married a model (literally married a model, look up J.C.Penny ads, you will see him) and God gave me the cutest baby on the planet. 

One of my favorite things about Brody are his eyes. When I was changing him in the bathroom, a random lady walked by and stopped. She said "Oh My God. Look at his piercing blue eyes. Those are the prettiest things I have ever seen. I could just stare at them for days!" and proceeded to stare at my baby for days. I just laughed and said "Thank You, they are one of my favorite things about him." 

(But could you kindly keep going because you are creeping me out staring at my kid as I change his diaper in the middle of Outback in Irving) 

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. 

John 3:16-17

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son in the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." 

400

Today marks my 400th blog post. 

I can't believe I have written 400 post since starting my blog. 400 different ideas. 400 different days. 400 different thoughts. Some weeks come extremely easy for me. Some weeks I am struggling to write about something. I've poured my heart out to you. Showed off my child to you. Told you about my family, my friends. I've written the good, the bad and the ugly. I've cried, I've been mad, I've been tired, worn out and cranky. I've had my ups and my downs. I've shared with you my struggles, my heartaches. I've showed you all the joy and happiness I have surrounding me on a daily basis. 

For those of you who read everyday, or come by once a week, or if this is your first time reading it, I thank you so very much. Thank you for being here. 

I am still a work in progress and try everyday to be the best I can be. I've got my Lord, my son, my husband, my family, my friends and I have you! 

As hard as it may be, just don't eat them

Dear Diary, 

So I know I keep going on and on about these Lip Bon Bon's from Younique but guys....I just got all of them in and I can't stop wearing them. I LOVE them! They are super soft on the lip and add just enough color. Sometimes I like a full lip. In your face bam! But other times I just like something sorta there, to where I don't look dead. And I have big lips so if I don't have something on them, you can tell. And they dry out easily too so I must keep stuff on them. After I got all of them in, I decided I would show you them. There is no filter, bathroom lighting, and yes...this is me. I tried to go in order of lightest to boldest in my opinion. 

Up first was Vanilla Milkshake. A white, creamy nude. It does have a touch of color, not a lot. I went around my lips 3 times to get this color to show you. So if you applied it only once, it would be extremely light. 

Then I tried Raspberry Cheesecake. A really soft pink. Loved this one. I went around my lips twice to make the color pop more. 

Up next was Chocolate Truffle. This color is more of a coral color. A reddish, pinkish, orangish color. Beautiful. I applied this one twice as well. 

Red Velvet Cake was up next. I would call this color a berry. Kind of a mixture of all colors. I applied this color once. 

Cherry Cobbler was last and boy did it stand out. It is was red cherry and I applied it once. The boldest color of the bunch for sure. But extremely pretty. Especially if you like a red lip but don't want that red lip seen from a mile away or end up all over your face.

I made a picture of all the colors side by side so you could see them...

Top row: Vanilla Milkshake and Raspberry Cheesecake

Middle row: Chocolate Truffle and Red Velvet Cake

Bottom row: Cherry Cobbler

My favorite for myself and my coloring would be either Chocolate Truffle or Red Velvet Cake. If you asked me to pick just one, it would be Chocolate Truffle. I love that coral look on myself. Someone with blonde hair and light eyes would probably look best in either Raspberry Cheesecake or Cherry Cobbler. My least favorite was Vanilla Milkshake but it's only because I am extremely pale and when you add a pale lip to that, it makes me look dead. Now once summer comes and I am a tan goddess, Vanilla Milkshake will be worn a lot. 

They are $22 a piece or you can buy all 5 for $99. Red Velvet Cake and Raspberry Cheesecake are on backorder till the beginning of April and the set of 5 is on backorder till early April. It is on a first come, first serve basis so don't delay. Order today and in a few short weeks after you forgot you ordered them, you will go to your mailbox, open it and a huge smile will come across your face! Believe me that because that's what happened to me. 

https://www.youniqueproducts.com/DaniLynnLewis 

Love, Me

Easter weekend with the Lewis side

Over the weekend we had Easter with the Lewis side. Yes, I know Easter is this weekend but with everyone having 2 families to try to work with, we moved the Lewis side to Saturday. But this year, we moved it a week early. Not sure why but didn't care. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining warmly. Bobby's whole family, including his aunt and uncle and their children/grandchildren came over to the house. Bobby and I have a really large backyard with lots of trees and hiding spots. Perfect for hiding eggs. Matt made whole chickens, everyone else made a side or dessert, and after we ate, it was time to hunt eggs. I don't know who has more fun, the kids or the adults. We buy confetti eggs every year and Kent and I decided to have an egg fight once they were done finding all the eggs. Colton got in on the action and they teamed up against me. I had confetti in my hair for hours. It wasn't until I washed my hair did they all come out. 

Weston and Brody playing the ball pit. This ball pit was a hit with all the kids. Everyone of them was in it at some part of the day. We had a ball fight which was fun. 

Brody and Honey. Honey will just stand and stare at Brody. She loves his face. And he loves hers. I love Honey so very much. She is a very special lady to me. 

 The food! This chicken was amazing. There were 2 large pans of these. It could feed a small army or the Lewis clan, one in the same. 

Sweet Jace

Time to go outside and hunt eggs! 

All the babies. 

Billie Marie, Kent, Brody, Jace and Colton

Weston and Loralei

Pinata time! 

Confetti egg fight time! 

Favorite pictures from the weekend? 

I have two. One being me and my oldest boys. I try really hard to be the cool aunt, the aunt who lets you do anything and everything (without killing yourself), the aunt who doesn't care if you eat cookies before dinner, the aunt that lets you smash confetti eggs on her head and doesn't yell at you to clean it up. So when these boys gave me a super big hug and kiss after our confetti egg fight, I thought I was going to break down in tears. These boys seriously have the kindest, largest hearts and I love them to no end. Even though it looks like I am breast feeding Colton, it still is my favorite picture! 

My second favorite photo might make a few of you question my parenting. Or who I let kidnap my son for a few minutes. Don't blame me for this....blame Uncle Billy! This is what happens when you leave Uncle Billy alone with your kid. You get photos sent to you of your son holding a Coors Light beer bottle. All I could do was laugh, and every time I see this photo I laugh. And if you think for one second Brody tried this drink, you would be mistaken. Uncle Billy might be super crazy but he isn't a bad uncle. 

33 weeks

shirt: Emerald Sky

How old? 33 weeks

Likes? When you make funny noises at him

Hates? A dark room. If his music turns off at night and the iPad goes off, he hates when he wakes up and can't see anything. One reason he cries out in the middle of the night. 

Milestones this week? He likes me to hold him under his arms while he plants his feet on the ground and we pretend walk. He will take a few steps (not by himself) and then he looks down at his feet. I have a very smart kid, not bragging, just giving facts, and he is a quick learner. If he realized what walking could do for him, I know he would master it quicker than he already will. 

Sleeping? The past couple of days have been awful. He is waking up twice in the middle of night and won't go back to sleep on his own. He just cries. And his naps have been sucking. 45 minutes. Y'all....if you have never had a baby or never experienced a child who doesn't sleep well....I can't begin to tell you how tiring it is on one's self. I pray it's teething, this time around he is getting 4 in and that's what is causing this panic attack in the middle of the night. And that once they are in, his sleeping will go longer. 

Eating? He tried a Hawaiian roll for the first time and loved it. 

The Passion

Bobby and I watched The Passion Live last night, hosted by Tyler Perry. I didn't know what to expect honestly. So after I watched it, I went online to read some reviews. To see what other people were saying about it. I know the story, I've read it multiple times and I was so thrilled that the story of the Cross and the Resurrection were able to be broadcasted all over the U.S. The world needs Jesus right now and to see this just opened my heart. 

So let's talk about it. 

"If Jesus walking into this city today, would you listen to Him, or just say, Hey Jesus- can we get a selfie?"- Tyler Perry

Favorite moments of the night: 

*Chris Daughtry's version of Evanescence's Bring Me To Life: Amazing cover of this song. I love me some Chris Daughtry and him as Judas was great. He was so emotional in this song, giving everything he had. 

*Trisha Yearwood as Mary: There is no one else in my book who could have played a better Mary. Bobby made a comment as to why they got her (being negative) and I said "Ok...think of someone better. Has to be someone pure, older, Christian, singer, full of light, people love, mother figure...." He got really quiet and said "Well, no one I guess. She is the perfect Mary." Every song she sang was perfectly sung. 

*The first time you meet Jesus and Peter: Peter was played by Prince Royce and Jencarlos Canela played Jesus. They are on a trolley going to meet up with the other disciples and they sing "Home" by Phillip Phillips. 

*The Last Supper: One of the best moments of the night for me. Jesus sang Creed's "With Arms Wide Open" and it was the perfect song for what was going on. They all had bread and wine and Jesus blessed each of them and told them of the betrayal coming. 

*The betrayal: Another big moment in the story of the Resurrection. Judas betrays him and Peter denies him 3 times. Judas and Jesus sing "Demons" by Imagine Dragons after Judas shows up with Pontius Pilate's guards played by the New Orleans' police and Peter sings "The Reason" by Hoobastank while he walks through a cemetery and denies Jesus to people who ask him if he was the one with him. 

*The cross finally arrives: This 20 foot illuminated cross makes it way down Bourbon Street (Lord knows that street needs Jesus) to the location where Tyler Perry was. It was beautiful to see how many people started with the cross, to how many actually joined on the way. The numbers grew hughley. 

*Jesus sings "Unconditionally": At the closing of The Passion, as a symbol of Jesus Resurrecting, Jencarlos stood on top of a hotel and sang Katy Perry's "Unconditionally". The power behind the song and the large crowd below, was just a nice ending to the Easter story. 

Least favorite moments of the night:

*Nischelle Turner: I am sorry...I am sure she is a great reporter but she almost ruined it for me. It felt misplaced. I was so into the story and then they would cut to her and the story got lost to me. I understand that the carrying of the cross was a huge factor to this production and a lot of the energy came from the crowd, but the random interviews needed to go away. I felt like they should have just stuck to story and showed the cross making it's way. 

*This "Live" production wasn't actually live: Hate to burst your bubble if you thought it was but only a portion of it was live. Trisha, Tyler, the band, the cross and everything after Jencarlos makes his way to the stage was live. But all the performances of Jesus and the disciples was prerecorded. Unlike Grease, which was all live, this was not. I had gotten my hopes up for this and it failed. Luckily for them, the performances were so good it overshadowed this detail but don't say something is going to be live and it not be. 

*The cross: OK....let me explain what I mean by this. The actual cross itself was gorgeous and seeing it from birds eye view was breathtaking. I'm not talking about that. I am talking about how I wish they had done more with it. Or maybe have Jesus walk with it. It wasn't a live production, he could have. I just felt like they could have done more with it. We as christians see a cross and we think of Jesus. I also thought once it arrived, they should have hung it up for the city to see. Raised it up. But they just left in the middle of the crowd. 

Overall, it was an amazing production. I love seeing the Easter story told in modern day times. 

But seriously...

What would you do if Jesus walked in the flesh? 

Would you sit and talk with him? 

Would you give him a high five? 

Would you take a selfie (I think I would)? 

Would you ask him about loved ones? 

Would you get advice?

I want to know what you would do if Jesus walked as a human being in the flesh in this world... 

7 years

I was driving home from work two Monday's ago and I decided to turn on Top 50 hits on Spotify. I was just cruising along and this song came on. I wasn't pay attention but the second verse caught my attention. So I pushed the back button so I could relisten to it. I swear to God....I listened this song 6 times on my way home. And since then, probably like 100 times! I love it so much. 

 It's called 7 years and it's by Lukas Graham.

Here are the lyrics: 

Once I was 7 years old, my mama told me,

Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely,

Once I was 7 years old

It was a big, big world but we thought we were bigger

Pushing each other to the limits, we were learning quicker

By 11 smoking herb, and drinking burning liquor

Never rich so we were out to make that steady figure

Once I was 11 years old, my daddy told me,

Go get yourself a wife or you'll be lonely

Once I was 11 years old

I always had that dream, like my daddy before me

So I started writing songs, I started writing stories

Something about that glory, just always seemed to bore me

'cus only those I really love will ever really know me

Once I was 20 years old, my story got told

Before the morning sun, when life was lonely

Once I was 20 years old

I only see my goals, I don't believe in failure,

'cus I know the smallest voices, they can make it major,

I got my boys with me, at least those in favour

And if we don't meet before I leave, I hope I'll see you later

Once I was 20 years old, my story got told

I was writing about everything I saw before me

Once I was 20 years old

Soon we'll be 30 years old, our songs have been sold

We've traveled around the world and we're still roaming

Soon we'll be 30 years old

I'm still learning about life

My woman brought children for me

So I can sing them all my songs

And I can tell them stories

Most of my boys are with me

Some are still out seeking glory

And some I had to leave behind

My brother, I'm still sorry

Soon I'll be 60 years old

My daddy got 61

Remember life and then your life becomes a better one

I made a man so happy when I wrote a letter once

I hope my children come and visit once or twice a month.

Soon I'll be 60 years old

Will I think the world is cold,

or will I have a lot of children who can warm me

Soon I'll be 60 years old,

Soon I'll be 60 years old

Will I think the world is cold,

or will I have a lot of children who can warm me

Soon I'll be 60 years old

Once I was 7 years old, my mama told me

Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely

Once I was 7 years old,

Once I was 7 years old.

 

Don't you just love it? 

Think there is a song I need to hear or a video I need to watch? Let me know! 

Green day

Happy St. Patty's day from my little Leprechaun to you! 

I hope you have green on and maybe enjoy a green drink today! I've had green beer, green wine and green eggs and ham! 

I actually took 2 pictures of Brody for today and after I took this, I remembered another little boy who wore the same thing so I compared them. Aren't they adorable? 

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!