FINGERS!!!

FINGERS!!!, originally uploaded by Moon and Back.

Zoe has a MAJOR fascination with her hands. It's almost like she thinks... "OH! My hands!! I MUST play with them hourly!" She is a very content baby, and who would have thought it was mostly because, her hands are the BEST entertainers!!

Lone Daffodil

Lone Daffodil, originally uploaded by Moon and Back.

Angelina LOVES flowers, and while at the Farmer's Market, she begged her daddy to buy her some daffodils... then as nice as she is gave mommy her favorite one out of the bunch. Thanks girlie!

Living with a MAJOR Daddy's Girl

So, I can't help but sit here and think how this all came about. As the years have passed, Angelina has leaned more and more on Mike and less and less on me. Mike is tremendously involved in her life. And in Zoe's too. But, Angelina is almost 5, and as you guessed it, this post is about her. :) I do happen to adore that Mike and Angelina are ever so close, but at times, I can't help but wonder how their closeness evolved... I mean nothing will separate the bond these 2 have with each other. They are stuck together like glue! Once again, I love this fact, but it sometimes brings me to this sadness in which I am unsure I can explain. At times it's almost like she doesn't want to be with me. For instance. Right now, she insists on sitting in my bedroom alone while Mike is finished showering. She refuses to sit in here with me on my lap or otherwise. "don't take it personal". Well, I have been told that an infinite amount of times. But, hmmm, I can't help it! Don't get me wrong, there are times when she does lean the other way... on me. And, I soak every millisecond of that up! But these times are few and far between... and mostly when Mike is out of town! I guess I am just rambling, but I am getting this out at least.
My love for Angelina is immeasurable!! I love my girlie girl to the moon and back a million times. I just wish she had more of a want to be with me.
She and I do have our special things, i.e. crafts, and things. But man, as soon as a whisper comes out of Mike's mouth or a creak in the stair when he is coming... she is off like a horse from the gate! Now, it is SO cute to watch her to get SO excited about seeing her beloved Daddy! I love watching them together. And seeing how good Mike is with her, and with Zoe, melts my heart, and makes my love for him grow tremendously.
I suppose that I will have my time with Angelina, but I may need to wait until she is older. I was pretty darn close with my dad growing up... and I still am very close with him. But, I am also very close with my mom too. I would even go as far as to call her my best friend. I see how my mom and I are, and can't help but hope that Angelina, Zoe and I have this closeness someday! It's a day and time I look forward to very much!!
For now, Zoe is a mama's girl, so I have realized that I need to soak all of her love for me up like a sponge, because one of these days, she will likely be glued to Mike's other hip! :) ha ha!

Zoe's MILESTONES!

I wanted to blog a written update on Zoe, so that everyone can know what she has been up to, and what new milestones she has hit. A friend of mine does this every so often, so I figured that I would do the same. (thanks for the idea Suz!)

She is now 12 lbs. 12 oz. and 23 inches long!!
She started baby food on Tuesday (Sweet Potatoes)
Wednesday she ate Bananas
Thursday was peas
Today (Friday) is peaches. She LOVES all the new tastes, and is doing famously eating off a spoon! I am very proud! I can not be more pleased at how well she is doing with her new foods!!
She has been sucking on her thumb for about 1 month
She found out she can play with her hands about a month ago.
She started giggling/laughing about 2 weeks ago
She sleeps completely through the night (from 8:30/9pm-7-9am) and she has been for about 3 weeks or maybe a little more. I guess you could say that I got lucky with this little one!! She is a fantastic sleeper!!
She rolls over
she pushes up with her arms when on her stomach
Oh, and of course, she coos!
She is getting fantastic at tracking things far and near too! She LOVES ceiling fans... oh, and me! HA HA! She searches the room until she locks eyes with me, then she smiles, and won't look away very often. :)
She cries only when she is hungry, which is pretty great!!

I think that's all for now. If I think of anything else, I will post it! I also took some pictures of her eating baby food. I am leaving to work out, but when I get back, I will post a couple of pictures! :)

New and BETTER!

So, I am going to be leaving Blogger/Blogspot! Mike (my husband) is currently in the process of custom making me a blog. Tailored to how I want it. :) I am pretty excited! I am designing the colors, the actual image on my background, and more! This blog will be easier for everyone too! Easier to figure out how to leave comments, and just easier to cruise around period. Be on the look out for the post with my new blog web address!! :) I will let you know when it's ready!

Correction PLEASE! My husband, and I love him so, has brought it to my attention that HE is doing all the work, meaning writing the code and making all the pretty flowers bloom. Thank you SO much honey!! What would I do without your ever so SUBTLE reminders of how I need you in my life! :)

Sanjaya-ed? Are you serious?!

So, "bye bye Curly". As I sit here on my bed writing about this, and watching the end of American Idol, I can't help but laugh to myself... yes, my husband is gone, so of course I am going to laugh to myself. HA HA! Anyway, I know that my husband is going to gloat about Sanjaya making it another freakin week!! To be honest, I just don't get mad about it anymore. Truth is, my husband is right... American Idol is NOT a singing competition. It CAN'T be! If it were, Sanjaya would have been LONG gone!! For some reason, I got REALLY mad about my husband being a butt and voting for Sanjaya and then I got irked that Sanjaya made it! After realizing that my freaking out and bitterness can't change the fact that Howard Stern is an IDIOT, I got over it. But, mark my words again, I will NOT watch American Idol anymore if Sanjaya wins the competition. And, according to MSNBC, Simon won't be along for the ride next year either if he wins. So, we'll see! I just can't sit here again next year and watch as all the good singers are voted off while the ones that are so so so so TERRIBLE make it through!! Fortunately, most of the American Idols have had the right winners... other than last year and the year 2003 when Fantasia (AKA: "Tasia") won. Not a fan. Anyway.... enough running my mouth... these are my thoughts, what are yours?


***Glad at least that Gina, Phil, Blake and Chris R. made it!! Woo hoo! At least there is something to cheer about. The coming weeks Should prove interesting, as most of the singers are pretty good... hoping that Sanjaya will be GONE next week!!!! Tell your friends to vote for anyone except SANJAYA!!! -Currently laughing out loud (LOL) to myself again."***

The Pony Hawk

Why? American Idol's pick their own hair style... why in the world would you go with this one? TERRIBLE!! It actually makes me laugh a bit, because it is just so BAD!

All I can do is laugh about Sanjaya tonight! What was with his hair, that as Ryan called, "The Pony Hawk". Are you serious? ha ha ha ha!!! Can anyone say "ridiculous"?

My favorites from tonight?

Gina (She ROCKED!)
Phil (LOVED the song!)
Blake (Self Explanatory)
Chris R. (Loved the version of that song!) Plus, he reminds me of my brother in law Skippy!! :)

What did everyone think?

Read an article from MSNBC in regards to Sanjaya's Pony Hawk HERE.

Pics of the GIRLS!

This picture was taken last year... Angelina sure has changed! She is fearless when it comes to animals! These are 2 of our 3 ferrets.

My little baldy...

Car Show!!

Random Post Tuesday!

OK, this is the 2nd attempt for Random Post Tuesday, so let's hope that it works, or I will be screaming at the top of my lungs at my computer... not that my screaming will have any effect whatsoever on my computer, but maybe it will make me feel better.

This Random Tuesday is going to be fun!!! I am including a bunch of websites for everyone's random enjoyment! A lot of the sites I got from DOOCE. Thanks Heather!!

So, tell me what you think!!!!!! :)


I am not sure if any of you have heard of Latte Art, but see pictures below. To see a couple more pictures, click HERE!! You won't be sorry, oh, and watch the YouTube video! It's awesome!!


I was browsing through Desire to Inspire's blog, and found a picture they featured on their blog. This bedroom has got to be the BEST I have seen! It is now my dream bedroom!! Hint hint honey!! :)

Bored at home? HA HA! Then check out what you can do HERE. HA HA! Not sure if anyone is ever this bored, but I guess you never know!!

Want to see something totally amazing? Check out this dog HERE. Not sure, but I say that this dog is the best trained dog on earth! Worth watching!!

This guy is amazing too! Check out Abraham Lincoln in pennies HERE. This is pretty incredible!

I can't decide what I think about this. HA HA! It is REALLY random, though. Click HERE to check out this site, and please tell me what you think! I guess people use things that you would NEVER think to use as a craft project.

This woman takes some of the most amazing pictures!! She recently had a baby and has been taking a lot of phenomenal pictures of her. She takes incredible pictures of landscapes and other things too. Check out her blog HERE.

Here is another great photographer! This woman definitely thinks outside the box when taking pictures... Check out her blog here and her website here.

This is for all you knitters out there!! Check out Lauren Porter's website HERE. She knitted a life size Ferrari with 12 miles of yarn! Worth looking at!

A chandelier made out of gummy bears? Yes! Check this amazing chandelier out HERE!

More gummy bear art HERE, HERE, and HERE. Oh, and HERE, HERE and HERE.

My husband showed me the chandelier and the bear rug, but I just found everything else!! This is pretty amazing!



And last, BUT certainly not least, a hilarious dog photo to leave you with!!

HAPPY TUESDAY!!

Miracle Monday!

I met Christy King and her husband, Rob at WakeMed while Zoe was there. These people are totally amazing!!! I have posted about her before, but decided to post her on Miracle Monday, because their daughter, Sophia is such an incredible little miracle!! Christy, Rob and Spohia were recently featured in our local newspaper, the News & Observer. Here is the story as the newspapers wrote it.... GET SOME KLEENEX!

Christy King went into labor the morning of Aug. 26. It was not a happy occasion.

Barely 23 weeks into her pregnancy with triplets, King and her husband, Rob, had been warned that challenging times lay ahead.

Each of their children would weigh in at just over a pound. The infants' skin, lungs, eyes and digestive and circulatory systems would be woefully unprepared for life outside the womb. The Kings, first-time parents, would not be able to touch their babies. Doctors and nurses would use extreme care handling them.

If the babies lived, each one would likely need multiple surgeries and other interventions, but even the most advanced care might not save them. Survivors could be blind, deaf, brain damaged and afflicted with at least some neurological, physical and developmental problems.

Neonatologists at WakeMed asked the inevitable and painful question: Did the Kings want doctors to do everything possible to keep their triplets alive? Or would they prefer the infants receive no medical care and instead be allowed to pass on as their parents held them?

The question put the Kings, who live in North Raleigh, at the center of one of medicine's most emotionally charged and difficult ethical debates. How early is too early to try to save the youngest and most fragile premature infants, and how should decisions regarding their care be made?

Nationally, 30 percent of 23-week preemies, at best, survive with intensive care. Some hospitals, including WakeMed, typically provide these preemies with routine life support only, such as mechanical ventilation. Whether to provide more aggressive care -- or no life support at all -- often depends on the parents' wishes.

Christy and Rob King, who had a couple of days' warning before Christy went into full labor, agonized over their choice.

"As a mother, I was already in love with them," Christy King, 36, said of the two girls and boy she carried. "The selfish part of me wanted them . But as a mother, I did not want them to suffer just to make us feel better."

The Kings decided they wanted each triplet to be placed on a mechanical ventilator. But if there were clear signs the infants' bodies were failing, they would not seek further care. The couple saw no point in forcing their children to endure painful, invasive treatments that might extend their lives for a few days or weeks but would not ultimately change their final prognosis.

Roman Catholics, the Kings asked their priest to come to the hospital the day of Christy King's cesarean section. As his wife lay in recovery, Rob King stood with the triplets as the priest baptized each baby.

One of the Kings' girls, Natalie Rose, was in trouble within 12 hours of her birth. Close to midnight on the night of Aug. 26, the Kings learned their daughter's lungs were not working properly, even with help from the ventilator. The neonatologist on duty told them they would soon need to make a decision about ending support.

Then, an hour or two later, the same doctor came back into the hospital room with more bad news: the Kings' son, Robert Jr., was fading fast and was not expected to make it through the night.

A nurse appeared at the door with a wheelchair to take Christy King, followed by her husband, into the nursery. They stopped at Robert Jr.'s incubator. As the nurse gently disconnected the baby from his ventilator, Christy King asked that her husband be allowed to hold him first. Rob King held the small bundle for a while, then passed the baby to his mother.

Christy King gave the boy back to his father, who held the baby as he died. A nurse put Natalie Rose in her mother's arms. To Christy King, her face seemed no larger than a golf ball. Doctors and nurses stood around the couple in a circle, honoring the babies' passings.

"They were in tears for us," Christy King remembers.

When the babies were both gone, the Kings went to their remaining triplet's incubator. Christy King spoke to her daughter, Sophia Marie.

"I said to her, 'Little girl, this life has so much to offer. Mommy will never leave you. I will fight this with you,' " King recalled.

It took 146 days in the hospital nursery and five major surgeries, but today Sophia at last lives at home with her parents. Bills for her hospitalization have reached about $800,000, most of which will be covered by the private insurance Christy King has through her work in sales for a major food distributor. Sophia breathes on her own and drinks from a bottle. She sleeps, cries and charms her parents. At seven pounds, she is now the size of a full-term newborn.

"We're really happy with where she is today," said Rob King, 32, a special-education teacher at Garner High School.

he Kings know there will be more challenges ahead, as Sophia grows and doctors get a better idea of what lingering issues her early arrival might have caused. The Kings already know that their daughter might have serious vision problems, which are common among preemies. With three eye surgeries already behind her, Sophia might be legally blind, doctors have warned.

But when Christy King thinks of her daughter's future struggles, she can't help but think with pride of what she has already overcome. She recalls that, in the beginning, doctors gave her a 15 percent chance of survival.

"I look at my little girl and, to me, she has the quality of life of any newborn," King said. "We are not here to convince people that they should save every baby. It's a personal decision, and everyone has to make it on their own. But if this is a 15 percent chance of life, it's pretty damn good."

Sophia now weighs 7 pounds 7 ounces! They are having a little trouble with her eyes, but they are seeing an eye specialist twice a month from the Governor Morhead School. Sophia is doing fantastic!!




Sophia's Daddy's wedding band fit around her wrist!!

My constant "need" to blog...

OK, in the instance that you haven't noticed... I blog A LOT! Not sure why I feel the "constant need" to blog. I guess maybe because I haven't scrapbooked in a while, and for some reason feel this validates me to blog like a maniac. This gives me a way to journal what these pictures are so that when I do go to scrapbook them, I know the exact details of everything. So, when you are thinking about "Good grief! Shealynn Blogged 43 times so far this month! That's more than 2 times a day sometimes!" Just know that while I do acknowledge what seems to most as an obsession, I see it as documenting, remembering, and preserving my family's life... in many ways like scrapbooking, but on the computer. Not to mention, it's keeping my family and friends constantly updated on what's happening. :) At least when you check my blog, there is always something to read about or pictures to look at... or both! :) I love blogging! There! That is my justification for my obsession and constant "need" to blog... oh, and I take hundreds of pictures a week, so get ready for many more "just photo" blogs! :)

OK, so why not share pictures like this with everyone! I can't help but boast about how beautiful Angelina is!! :)

Baby blue eyes playing with those hands.
OK, and how adorable is my 2nd daughter?? :)
OF COURSE I will smile mommy!!

CSI Miami

This is SO for me!!! I absolutely LOVE this show, and Mike, my friend Amy and I are always laughing and poking fun at David Caruso's one liners!
Since watching this show I have decided that my next vehicle is going to be (hopefully) a HUMMER H2, so Mike is currently working on a cheesy one liner to put on a CD so when I turn on the car, there will be a cheesy one liner, followed by the theme song! **I am literally laughing out loud (LOL)** This is too perfect!!

The Magical Sitting Chair... Bumbo!

So, check out my new digs!!! Daddy bought me a Bumbo chair yesterday! In these pictures I look a little stunned and unwilling to smile... mommy thinks that I am just very pleased and amazed to be sitting up! I have been holding my head up since birth, which is quite advanced, especially since I was born 10 weeks early. But, it's a miracle that I can sit up ALREADY! :)

*There is never just one picture to share is there? :)




Chillin in my Bumbo!
"Mommy, where did you go?"
Look at my feet! :)

Oh! This Bumbo chair feels different than anything that I have ever touched!
WOW! This sitting up thing is pretty cool!

FINALLY! A Smile!!!

MOMMY! I AM DONE ALREADY!!!!!!

IT'S SANJAYA!!!!!

OK, THIS IS HILARIOUS!!!!! MUST WATCH! Apparently, my husband thinks that Sanjaya is going to take America by storm and become the next Indian Michael Jackson... so, click on this vidoe, and see Sanjaya...

American Idol

I told you... blame it on Mike!

All I am going to say is... I CAN NOT believe that Stephanie was voted of and Sanjaya is staying. Totally and completely absurd!

She's Advanced!

So, today I had to take Zoe to a pediatrician through the hospital. I guess it's a standard procedure for this peds office to see babies that were born prematurely at WakeMed. They needed to take an assessment of Zoe to make sure that she was developing properly.

First off, she got to wear a tiny hospital gown! See picture below (They aren't that great, because I took them with my cell phone). It was SO cute!! Yes, I did take the gown home so I could get better shots. :)

After admiring the "amazing" hospital gown, it was time for the weighing and the measuring. So, Zoe is now a healthy, 12 pounds 5 ounces and 23 inches long!!! A far cry from 3 pounds 4 ounces 5 months ago!! Good girl Zoe!!! :) Must be all the rice cereal that she is gobbling down.

After weight and measurement, the doctor's assessed her, and said that she is doing phenomenally well! They do several tests to see where they are at "that" point. The doctors then proceeded to tell me that she is advanced! Woo Hoo! She is ALREADY rolling over! She is holding her head up like a pro! She is smiling, cooing, giggling, holding her hands together, sleeping entirely through the night, holding things, tracking things from far away, etc. Zoe's corrected age (meaning the age she would have been had she been born at term) is about 2 1/2 months. The doctor's said that most of those things, excluding the smiling and the cooing, don't happen until between 3 1/2 to the 4 months old. Not to mention she is at the beginning stages of teething.

So... she's advanced! It's such a great thing to hear!! **Need I say that I have had a BIG smile on my face ALL day! Normally preemies aren't advanced, so hearing this is SO AWESOME!**

Put the blame on Mike...

In watching American Idol tonight, I found out that my dirty rotten husband is conspiring against me and the world... well, most of the world that is... he is voting for Sanjaya. You bad bad man!! Don't worry all, he is in trouble, and he will pay!! :) All I have to say is... IF Sanjaya does not get voted off tomorrow... Put the blame on Mike!! OR the pathetic crying little teeny boppers.

Random Post Tuesday!

So, a friend of mine, Amy, "made" me check out a blog that she loved a couple of weeks ago. Unsure what I might be getting myself into, I reluctantly typed in the blog address, dooce.com and to my amazement, found this...

which, of course prompted me to dig deeper into this blog, and then I found this...

and, as you guessed it, I was even more curious and thrilled! The thought that someone trained their dog so amazingly that he would let his owner do these things to him intrigued me! So, I looked some more, and found these...

I am so convinced that one of these days when we decide on getting another four legged lovable, that I will definitely be training my dog to AT LEAST balance things on his head! I mean, come on! Wouldn't you love to show your friends this...

Or this...?

And, since I know all of you are dying to see more....

OK, so I know what you are thinking... is this all that is on this blog? NO WAY! By the way, the dog's name is Chuck. She (Ms. Blogger) also takes incredible pictures like this...



I know you're hooked and want to see more! So... JUST CLICK HERE ALREADY THEN!

*** Disclaimer: I am not responsible for your reactions to her writing. She is quite bold to say the least in what she writes and the contents, and certain words that she uses. If you are sensitive to cursing, and occasional sex references, then go right to the pictures... if sensitive isn't in your vocabulary, then read on!!**