The post that had no title nor tags.

Hey, everyone. I posting just to say that I am not posting tonight.

Did that make any sense? I didn't think so.


Allow me to start over:

I'm posting to let you know that even though I forewarned you that there would not be a post last night, but there would be one tonight (with pictures), I am entirely too tired to do so.

We've been going a thousand miles an hour all day and, quite frankly, it's exhausting growing a person while nourishing another (even if it's only part of the time)! So, I'm off to bed and I really do promise to post tomorrow night with something other than a "I promise to post"-post.

Sheesh...I'm now confusing myself!

Goodnight, and have a great night and even better tomorrow!

Prayer Request Update

Happy Friday, friends! I thought I'd give you an update on what you've been busy praying for:

First off, the whole nursing vs. weaning issue is going swimmingly. The plan was to offer William a bottle of luke-warm organic whole milk whenever he would usually nurse. If he took it, great, if not, then he got to nurse. We started that whole process a week ago and since then he is down to nursing only once in a 24 hr. period. I was really sore last week from the decrease in Wip's nursing, but this week I feel fine. Last week I was also extremely emotional about having to give my baby a bottle, but I am feeling way more open to the idea (if not down-right excited). I don't know if all this excitement is mainly just pride for my son and his flexibility, or if it's the fact that I get a break from being a milk cow for a few months- maybe it's a combination of the two. Either way, William is completely happy and so is his mama. He takes about 3-4 (4 oz.) bottles a day and 1 (if any) nursing. In between bottles he is happy munching on goldfish, eating what Mama eats, and drinking Juicy Juice out of his favorite Nuby cup. Right now we're doing a bottle at both naps and bedtime with a possible one in the a.m. or in the middle of the night- before the baby's born I would like him to take half those servings of dairy in his cuppy.

FYI- The reason we decided to give him a bottle of milk rather than go straight to the cup (that he's been drinking out of for 6 months) is for comfort reasons, and comfort reasons only. All you nursing mamas know that when you have breastfed your baby for 14 months it's for more than just food. 95% of the nursing process is comfort. William still needs that sucking/cuddling comfort because it's what he loves and is used to. Call it backpedaling, but I call it choosing my battles.

Also, I have a hugeee praise to add to my two paragraph praise above:

For the past two nights, William has slept 12 hours straight! Holy guacamole! Can we say, amazing?? Wip's usually a good sleeper, but wakes up once to nurse...always has since the day he was born. I think his belly is getting more full after his nighttime bottle and, thus, he just sleeps through the night.

Thank you for all your prayers, comments, love and support! We can feel each and every one of them. God is so amazingly good!

We're off to Farmville tomorrow for a wedding, so I doubt I'll be posting tomorrow night. Stay tuned though because I'll post pictures. I hope you all have a fantastic night and an even better tomorrow.

Name that baby!

Ok, blogees (since I'm the blogger that makes you the bloggee...right??), I need your help. Because you are so loyal and loving towards our family, we are coming to you for advice. I know, I know, you've been listening to me for so long that you thought you'd never get a word in edge-wise!

Here's the deal: Even before we got pregnant with William, we knew his name. We had our girl name and we had our boy name. The very day that we found out we were having a boy, we referred to him as William Parker. I loved forming that special bond with my baby and so did my husband. As a matter of fact, when William was born (screaming and crying) his Grammy said his name and he immediately stopped and looked at her.

He. knew. his. name.

A name is such an important thing to me and that brings me to the part where I need your help. You see, we've got our girl's name, but we can't seem to come up with another boy's name. I know that I have plenty of time in the grand scheme of things to pick out a name, but I like to be prepared. I like to say the name aloud. I like to write it on scraps of paper. I just plain like the idea of having a name picked out- it just makes the whole thing more real.

Sean and I have chosen Madelyn Paige as our girl name and would like something similar for our boy's. So far these are the names we can agree on (somewhat), but can't seem to strike anything that makes us go "ahaaaa!":

-Mason
-Isaac (I don't like it as a first name because it can't be abbreviated)
-Jackson (Jack for short)

See? We're hopeless, and since Sean's convinced we're having a boy, we'd better come up with something! Please feel free to send me a comment with your name suggestion (it doesn't have to be one off the loooooong list either). Thanks so much for your help and I look forward to seeing what you all have to say!

Have a great night and an even better tomorrow!

It's always better when we're together...

Today William and I had the pleasure of watching Emily and Alie while Hillary went to a doctor's appointment. William slept during most of their visit, but woke up just in time to gaze out the balcony window with his girls. Oh boy, were they the cutest site to see!

What I didn't catch on film was the moment that occurred right after this shot. William and Alie finally realized how close they were crammed together in that doorway, and started yanking at each other's scarce strands of hair. Neither would let go, instead they preferred to just stand there screaming at one another until I pulled them apart. Less than a minute later they were "cooking" together in William's kitchen and playing like perfect angels!

I hope to post tomorrow with some some specific thoughts that I have on my mind, rather than generalizations. Be sure to check back tomorrow to see what's going on!

I'm off to bed to let this baby grow some more! I'm trying to sleep, or at least rest, when William does (yet my sweet boy has been asleep since 8 so I'm got some catching up to do!).

I hope you all have a great night and an even better tomorrow!

Look at my baby, my baby and me!

Good Tuesday evening to you all! I have had a crazy day that was filled with lots of driving, but lots of smiles as well. The last week of school, put up a sign-up sheet outside my door for whomever wanted to go out weekly outings/playgroups with William and me. Today was our first scheduled get-together and we had planned on going to the zoo for a picnic. Unfortunately, all we had time for was the picnic portion because the rain had other plans.

Bryan, Hillary, and the girls came over for a mini pizza party, and the hubs were ever so nice to watch the kiddos while Hill and I went to Color Me Mine. Funnn! Oh I love that our families have become so close. It's so nice to have friends that everyone enjoys being around (and that goes for the adults and kiddos alike).

Tomorrow William and I plan on enjoying our day "off" by (hopefully) staying in our PJ's and getting some stuff done around our apartment. We shall see.

Anyway, I'll leave you with a picture of my (yes, it's already there) baby bump. I know it's very early, but we are ever so excited and if I didn't share this info with you then how could you specifically pray for us? Mmmhmmm you know I'm right. I want pictures from the very beginning of this journey to enjoy forever. I have probably 10 pictures total of Sweet William from when he was inside of me, and I sorely regret not taking more. This time it's going to be different. Sean and I want to take a picture with our blackboard door background each week and make a flip-book at the end of my pregnancy (don't worry you won't have to look at 35 more of these, I'll only post with baby bumps every now and then). I know, it's cheesy, but so. are. we.

I hope you all have a great night and a even better tomorrow!

Beach Bums

I know I promised to post with pictures tonight, but I am having trouble uploading them. I managed to get a few up here so those will have to do for now. Enjoy!

Funny the way it is...

Hey there, friends. I have pictures from our weekend to share with you, but those will have to wait until tomorrow. For now, I'd like to share a couple random thoughts with you. First off, one of my favorite groups, Dave Matthew's Band, has a new song out and I absolutely love it. As you know, I'm a fan of irony and all things that make one say "Hmmmm....". Just take a gander at these lyrics, they really get you thinking (the most moving lines, to me, are in bold):



Lyin’ in the park

On a beautiful day

Sun shine in the grass

And the children play

Siren’s passin’

Fire engine’s red

Someone’s house is burning down

On a day like this



The evening comes and we’re hangin’ out

On the front step

And a car goes by with the windows rolled down

And that war song is playin “why can’t we be friends?”

Someone's screamin’ and cryin’ in the apartment upstairs

Funny the way it is



And if you think about it

Somebody’s goin’ hungry

And someone else is eatin’ out



Funny the way it is

Whether right or wrong

Somebody’s heart is broken

And it becomes your favorite song



The way your mouth feels in a lover’s kiss

Like a pretty bird on a breeze

Or water to a fish

But a bomb blast brings the building crashin’ to the floor

Hear the laughter while the children play war



Funny the way it is

And if you think about it

One kid walks 10 miles to school

While another’s droppin’ out



Funny the way it is

No matter right or wrong

On a soldier’s last breath

His baby’s being born



Standin’ on a bridge

Watch the water passin’ under me

It must have been much harder

When there was no bridge just water

Now the world is small

Remember how it used to be

With mountain, and oceans, and winter’s, and river’s and stars



Watch the sky the jetplanes

So far out of my reach

Is there someone up there lookin’ down on me?

Boy chase a bird

So close but everytime

He never catch her

But he can’t stop trying



Funny the way it is

And if you think about it

One kid walks 10 miles to school

While another’s droppin’ out



Funny the way it is

No matter right or wrong

On a soldier’s last breath

His baby’s being born



Funny the way it is

No matter right or wrong

Somebody’s broken heart

And it becomes your favorite song



Funny the way it is

And if you think about it

One kid walks 10 miles to school

While another’s droppin’ out



Standin’ on a bridge

Watch the water passin’ under me

It must have been much harder

When there was no bridge just water

Now the world is small

Remember how it used to be

With mountain, and oceans, and winter’s, and river’s and stars







See???



It got you thinking, didn't it? How many times have you been at a picnic, the zoo, a park, or anywhere else fun with your family and you suddenly heard the sound of sirens in the background? Do you give them a second thought? While you're having the time of your life, someone else could be fighting for theirs. It's the way life is and yet it completely boggles my mind. Irony.



I challenge you stop what you're doing for just a moment to pray for whomever may be in that ambulance, or for the recipient of that fire engine. I just think that we should all become a little less oblivious to the world around us...I too am quite guilty of this. Ok, that's it, I'm off my soap box.



Wait, no I'm not. I have one more thing to comment about. As you know, I mostly just blog about my adorable sunshine, Wip, but I actually have some "celebrity" gossip to comment on. The only reason I decided to blog about this is because I am genuinely upset about this, as silly as it sounds. Oh yeah, if you haven't guessed yet, I'm talking about Jon and Kate.



I have loved and followed this family since the beginning of their sextuplet's story, 5 years ago. I watched all the specials early on, I've read their books, and I've seen all the episodes. Kate was even the one who turned me onto eating Organic. Seriously, I love this family. I know that Kate can be overbearing to some, but I absolutely adored her and Jon's relationship and the way they interacted. It was real.



This is why I'm so upset that they are in the situation that they are. I watched the season premier tonight (of course), and it was just the saddest thing to see. Jon has changed. Kate has changed. I mean, I know that I don't actually know these people, but after watching their lives for 5 years, you feel like you are a part of their clan. Just look at Kate 5 years ago. She was a true mama- belly fat, no make-up, sweat pants, you get the idea. Flash forward to now: she's freakin' hot! I'm happy that she hasn't let herself go, but you can just see how she's evolved into a star, for lack of better words, since the show has gotten bigger.



I'm seriously considering not watching the show anymore because it's not uplifting, inspirational, and lighthearted- as it once was. I sincerely hope that they can work whatever issues they have out, because they are real people, with real lives, and real children.



Ok, that's it for me. Thanks for reading about my silly reality TV obsession. I know Sean's sick of hearing about it!!

I hope, as usual, you have a great night and an even better tomorrow!

Just call me Fertile Myrtle!

As some of you may already know, Sean and I just found out that we are expecting our second child. I wanted to wait to let everyone know until I had the doctor's official confirmation...which I do as of today! We are beyond thrilled (despite all of the questions, concerns, fears I have running through my head) and I couldn't wait any longer to share the good news. Of course William has no clue what's going on...just wait though!

I'm not going to get started on my list of concerns, not now at least, because I want to focus on the miracle inside of me. By the way, my due date is January 25th, so that puts me at 4 weeks 3 days. I know, I know, it's really early and I probably shouldn't be telling anyone yet, but how else am I going to have you pray for my sweet baby? Exactly.

Just in case you were wondering, Sean and I had decided that once William turned a year, we would let God take the lead and decide when it would be right for us to have another baby. I'm not even kidding, our first "try" we succeeded. Holy moly! So even though I am worried, and even though I am scared, I know that God wanted us to have this child and he will provide. Please keep our family in your prayers, as we have a lot of changes ahead!

P.S. I will leave you with one specific prayer concern:

We are in the process of trying to wean William because I am just not comfortable nursing him too far into my pregnancy. He typically nurses 4 times a day, and for the past 2 days I've swapped 2 feeding out with a bottle of warm whole milk. My GYN suggested that I try that for awhile to reduce my milk supply then we can move to one or none. Please pray for peace and encouragement for me as we go through this process, and that William will adjust well.

*MRSA Update: It's gone and the baby's fine. I was completely off of my antibiotic before getting pregnant. No worries there.

Important prayer request below:

Greetings, friends! I have good news...Alie's surgery went great and I'd say she's darn near close to her normal self! We stopped by earlier this evening and she was playing with little Wip as per usual. Praise God for answered prayers!

On another note, I am asking (quite vaguely) for your prayers for our family. I'll post with more later, but for now I'll just tell you that we have big changes ahead and you know me and my worrying. I'll leave it at that for now, and I promise to not be so ambiguous later. Thank you so much for all your love, support, and prayers. We definitely need them.

I'm off to bed...tomorrow's my kiddos graduation and I am NOT ready for this at all (on so many levels). I hope you all have a fantastic night and an even better tomorrow!

Purses, Pictures, and Prayer Requests...Oh my!

Hello, all! I've got quite a post for you this evening, so please excuse me if I'm all over the place. First lets start with some pictures of the adorable purses made at my last PURSEnally Yours party. If you want to make one of your own, just shoot me an e-mail @ hingleytrio@gmail.com, and we'll set a date! Ok, ok, enough promoting my new business venture...on to the pictures:

For my second act, I'll entertain you with some pictures of the amazing Wipa doing what he does best....cracking his parents up:


Seriously, he's playing with toys:

This NEVER happens, seriously:

Then he moved on to bigger and better things (ahem, the rocking horse):

(Ignore the Band-Aid on his head...it does add to the silliness though!)

After dancing for a bit, William thought it would be fun to play with the baby bouncy seat...in his closet:

Yes, we caught you, Wip:Thirdly, but most importantly, I have a prayer request for you all. My dear friend Hillary's daughter (and my Goddaughter!!), Alie, is having surgery tomorrow morning to correct a blocked tear duct. It's supposed to be a quick and routine surgery, but to parents, the word surgery is a big deal. Please pray for the procedure to go well, peace for Hillary and Bryan, and quick healing for Sweet Alie. I'll keep you posted with how the surgery goes. Now, go ahead prayer warriors, do what you do best!

I hope you have a great night and an even better tomorrow!

*MRSA Update: Lookin' good folks!

God is so good, he's so good to me!

Happy Monday evening, friends! I thought I'd post with a MRSA update since I haven't done so in awhile. Thankfully, after a month of this whole ordeal, my wound is completely healed over. The spot that Dr. G cauterized has healed very quickly (much to my surprise). I am still keeping the spot covered with a Band-Aid because it is still sensitive and, quite frankly, I'm not comfortable walking around with it aired to the world. At this point, however, the rash from the bandage's adhesive is worse than the wound itself! Funny how that happens...the side-affects being worse than the disease itself (like how the antibiotic made me feel crummier than anything else).

My*PPD has been practically non-existent. Of course I have the typical ups and downs, but not the come-straight-home-from-work-and-go-to-bed kind. William has been sleeping through the night and has been very well behaved, so I'm sure that helps with my improved mood! I'm still on the Zoloft, but will probably be weaning off of it in the next few months. I want to be completely off of it before trying to get pregnant again away.

*Post-Partum Depression

While on the topic of my family's health, I'll go ahead and let you know that Sweet Boy's head is healing wonderfully! He's still got a little scrape where the "gash" was, but that is almost gone completely. God is good, and God heals very quickly!

I hope you all have a wonderful night and an even better tomorrow...talk to you then!

Winner, winner, jam's for....breakfast??

Because I am incapable of making up my mind, I let Sean pick the winner of my jamfest. With no further adu, the winner is............


Hillary!!!!


Congrats, Hillary! I'll bring you a jar of jam tomorrow (the only stipulation is that we will need a sliver of the Absolutely Almond pound cake!). Yum!

Thanks, everyone, for playing along! There will be more contests to come so stay tuned and thanks a million for reading :-) Love you guys!

Yes, my son has pink toenails and no, I don't care!

We just got home a couple hours ago from our weekend trip to the valley. Uncle Daniel's graduation went off without a hitch and William was smothered by loads of hugs and kisses. First, we spent time with Sean's family at a cookout, then it was off to graduation. Both Friday and Saturday night were spent with my Nana and Uncle Wayne at their beautiful home near New Market. Check out all the fun Sweet William had (just a warning, there's a lot of scrolling to do!):

William with Uncle Brandon:

"Yay!!!!"
THE General Petraeus was the guest speaker (can we say, amazing?!):

Some of the cadets admiring the graduates:

Uncle Daniel's up next:

Congratulations, Uncle Daniel:

William found a new use for the toy box at Nana's:

"That thing hit me on the head, I'm outta here!":

William loved Heidi:

See???

This isn't a real McDonald's cup, but a toy that was mine over 15 years ago:

And then the rain came down:

And down:

We had to entertain ourselves somehow:

William also loved Lindsey:

Can we say center of attention??:

William and Nana:

Ok, so before you start wondering about this picture, let me just say that this is one of like ten KFC's that has a buffet. Mmmmmmm!!!

William was in need of some entertaining in the car on the way home:

So I gave him my sunglasses:

And painted each of his big toes. And, yes, my son has pink toenails, and no, I don't care!

Hope you all have a great night and an even better tomorrow!