From Two to Four to "SAY WHAT NOW?!"

 As I stood in the aisle at Target looking at pregnancy test, I just knew I was wasting my money! So, I walked off without one and proceeded to fill my basket with diapers,wipes and a few groceries.  I eventually made my way back to the "Family Planning" and threw a test in my basket.

On the drive home, Britt called. We carried on with our normal convo until I blurted out, "yea, I'm about to go in this bathroom and take this pregnancy test. If it's positive, I'm not telling Reggie until after our birthday festivities!" (It was July 1st.....Our birthdays are the 8th and the 10th!) Of course, Britt started screaming. "What?" "Why?" "Oh Lord!"

As soon as got home,I ran to the bathroom to take the test. It turned POSITIVE immediately! 

WTH?! CAN'T BE?!

Let's break out the other one....YEP, I bought a double! It was positive too! By this time, Lauryn was outside the bathroom door crying. Forget August! I scooped her up, ran in the living room and hollered at Reggie.

"Um Reg, I don't know how to tell you this. Come here!"

We all headed to the bathroom. Lauryn on my hip and Keylon following Reggie. Reggie looks at both test and says, "You got to be f* kidding me....You are not pregnant!"

So, with the whole family gathered in the bathroom, we learned that we were again adding another one to our crazy household!

After throwing myself on the floor, calling my cousin, Kysha, crying, and threatening to throw myself off the highest bridge I could find, I came to senses and accepted the news. I had my first sonogram two days later and fell in love with the sound of galloping horses....the heartbeat!

Last Thursday, I had yet another sonogram which brought tears to my eyes. My little baby was moving and flipping and had a healthy heartbeat!

Here we go AGAIN!

We are thrilled to announce our little bundle of SURPRISE is scheduled to debut early February 2013! 

You Raise Your Kids and I'll Raise MINE!

I am a HANDS ON MOTHER! I am sometimes accused of being too strict on Keylon and even Lauryn. Keylon DOES NOT and WILL NOT have a TV in his room, watches limited TV, drinks 100% unsweetened apple juice instead of soda, snacks on Nutri Grain bars instead of Cheetos, is responsible for cleaning up his room and isn't allowed to play with guns! Lauryn was exclusively breastfed for the first five months of her life and just recently started taking formula supplements when I went back to work. I make her baby food with the Magic Bullet her god mother, Britt, bought for her. NO, she can't have table food! I don't pick her up immediately when she cries if I know she is just having a moment. I don't give in easily..........

The way some of you look upside my head, you would think I was holding Blanket over the balcony!

I've told you what Keylon CAN'T do so let me take a moment to brag about what he can do! Keylon turned 3 yrs old in February. He recognizes, writes and is able to give you an animal for every alphabet. He counts in English and Spanish. He can identify all shapes and colors, communicate in full sentences and recite every book in his library. He dresses himself with the clothes I put on his bed every morning, brushes his teeth, washes his face and even puts Vaseline on his lips!  He is a very smart, independent and well mannered child! I am repeatedly complimented on his behavior!

It is my goal to raise the leaders of the next generation! World Changers. Entrepreneurs. Idealist.  I want Keylon and Lauryn to have the foundation to become anything they want to be in life. They won't be able to do that growing up with the TV as a babysitter, little to no structure or an unhealthy body!

Lauryn Elise is Four Months

 We had Lauryn's four month checkup last week. She was scheduled for a few immunizations with one given orally. In TRUE Lauryn fashion, she spit out all the meds.........like didn't take one drop. Oh, well! She screamed bloody murder when the nurse gave the shots in her legs and I almost pushed the poor lady down. Needless to say, Reginald will be on shot duty at the next visit. Otherwise, I might catch an assault case.

Weight: 13.4lbs (50th percentile)

Height: 24in (40th percentile)

Bunny Fun!

Easter 2012

Easter Sunday with the Howard's has become somewhat of a welcomed tradition! My family doesn't get together on Easter anymore so it is a more relaxed day for us. Unlike Thanksgiving and Christmas when we have to hit numerous houses. We ate, laughed, played and ate again! Here are the very few pics these kids allowed me to take......

Victory!

A couple of  months ago, my cousin/bff/etc Britt, and I were on Google talk as usual. We started a random convo about running. I explained that I saw a billboard for the Victory Over Violence 5K scheduled for April 7th and was interested but not convinced I could do it! Britt decided to send out an email to our friends just to see who was interested. After a few back and forth emails, we were surprised with 12 YESES! Some would walk, some would run and some would try both. Surely, everyone wouldn't commit to it. Guess what?! EVERYONE REGISTERED!


On the morning of the 5K, I woke up around 5:30. I lounged around for maybe 30 minutes, downloaded some Jay Z, UGK and Stanley Jenkins to my Ipod. I needed ALL the hype music I could get to make it through! We arrived at Trinity Duck Pond close to 7:45. The gun sounded at 8:30 and off we went. I had planned on running the whole thing, NEGATIVE BATMAN! I started running with Tamara and Britt for the first quarter mile but ended up walking/running  the rest of the way. I crossed the finished line at 43:02.....YAY for a first timer, right?! Hell to the naw, Bobby! We soon discovered the trail had been measured wrong which mad the trail 2.75miles instead of 3.1.........


Despite that mishap, I'm still very proud of myself and my team, Run Like a Girl! I am PROUD of the fact that I ran 4 months post Lauryn, PROUD that I did something for myself (rarely the case), PROUD of my team for coming together to rebut the statement that black women's social gatherings are centered around eating, and PROUD of my team for proving that Black Girls RUN!

Half of the team after the 5k

Keylon

Aunt Gina and Lauryn

Key and Britt looking at ducks

Keylon Says....

Aunt Pat: Keylon, I'm going to buy you McDonald's. What do you want?

Keylon: Nuggets, fries and orange juice!

Aunt Pat: Is Lauryn hungry? What does she eat?

Keylon! TABON! (Siobhan)

What's In a Name?

I have always been intrigued by the meaning of names. My  first name, Siobhan (pronounced Shavon),  is the Irish version of Joan and means , "God  is gracious"! My mother didn't know it's meaning at the time but knew she loved Ryan's Hope. I was named after a Soap Opera character. Could that be why I am so dramatic at times, you think?

In the beginning  of our relationship, Reggie told me he had always wanted to name his daughter Imani which is Swahili for "faith". I responded, "You should do Imani  Danielle. Danielle means God is my judge." Neither one of us  had any idea that we would share a child together.

Fast forward  to July 2011. "It's a girl!" Great, we have a name already, right? Nope! Although, Imani Danielle was pretty, it just wasn't right for our baby girl. We played with  a few names over the next couple of days. Kaitlyn , Alyssa, Sydney, Kennedy......none were it! I was determined to give  my daughter a name that meant something. What would it be??????

We started  looking  at family names . Surely, we could find something brilliant between our two families. Surely was RIGHT! Reggie's maternal grandmother , Laura, passed away before he was born. Despite never knowing her,  she still holds a special place in his heart. My  maternal grandmother, Elvera Louise, who we affectionately called ,Mema, passed away  from cancer when I was 20 years old.  She taught me how to cook eggs on a gas stove at the tender age  7,  thread a needle,  sweep leaves off the porch, make sweet tea and most importantly, gave me the nickname, Bunnie!  The  seeds she planted within me are countless. There isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't cross my mind.  Whether it's her voice in my head  telling me to put a pinch of salt in my food as I cook or thinking of one of her crazy  phrases when I see something stupid, she is there! 

Reggie already has a cousin named Laura and  Elvera as at first name wasn't an option.  Let's play with this for a minute. While driving  home from work, Reggie asked, "What  about Lauryn?" Lauryn? hmmm....But what about the middle name? 

Lauryn Elvera? No!

 Lauryn Louise? Nope! 

So, I decided to take the first two letters from Elvera and combine them with the last three of Louise. ....ELISE! THAT'S IT, LAURYN  ELISE!

Our daughter's name isn't defined by some variant or origin.   No baby name search engine  can come up with any meaning that compares to what Lauryn Elise means to us. It means two great women, two loved women , two admired women, two unforgettable women,  and two very missed women live on with every breath our daughter takes.

Laura May Phillips

Elvera Louise Hill

Lauryn Elise Howard

Introducing the Children

Keylon has been with us for a year now and we love him as if he were our biological child. He is smart, funny, very attentive and the best big brother Lauryn could ever have.......

The little diva, Lauryn is just as much as a handful as she is cute. My mini me looks, acts, sleeps, smiles and has an attitude just like ME. LORD HELP US!

Two to Four......

June 17, 2008, I met Reginald Howard and as they say, the rest is history. We went about our lives without children, coming and going as we pleased, staying up late,etc. November 2010, my PCOS started flaring up and after careful consideration, we decided to have a baby. The journey began with some ups and many downs  but nonetheless we kept trying.

Then: July 10, 2008

Now: March 17, 2011

March 2011, in the midst of our baby journey, a dear friend called explaining a horrible situation surrounding her children. Somebody needed to take her son, Keylon. Sure, no problem, it's just temporary! Keylon arrived at our place March 10, 2011.

April 2, 2011, I received a phone call from my doctor's office. Fearing that it was bad news, I ran to the restroom away from Reggie to take the call. "Congratulations, Siobhan! You're pregnant!" I remember holding my belly and jumping up and down. Reggie looked at me confused. I mouthed to him, "I'm pregnant" The look on his face was priceless, he was grinning from ear to ear. The nurse went on to inform me that my progesterone level was low so I was put on Endometrin inserts for 14 weeks!

July 26,2011, we found out the little bundle of joy I was carrying was a GIRL! I screamed with excitement! Up until this point, I was convinced it was a boy despite EVERYONE telling me it wasn't. I never knew I wanted it to be a girl until that very moment.

December 11, 2011 at 4am, I lost my mucous plug. I knew then that it wouldn't be long. My due date was two days away! I woke Reggie up around 9 and informed him of the activities for the day: Outback Steakhouse for lunch, Hulen Mall so I could walk around and look at Christmas trees at the Chesapeake Building Downtown.

We stopped for ice cream at Sonic on the way home. Around 8pm, I felt a little weird so I decided to go to bed. 10 pm......WTH is going on?! I woke up with contractions around 10 minutes apart. After sitting in the water for 45 minutes, we decided it was time to head to the hospital. We dropped Keylon at Reggie's sister's house, Gina around midnight thinking we were about to have a baby. We got to the hospital around 12:30. They monitored me for about 2 hrs. "You're just dehydrated! We're sending you home!" I was convinced I was in LABOR.....

We returned home around 3am. I took some Tylenol and laid in the bed on a heating pad. Reggie ate a bowl of cereal. FOUR AM, I felt a pop! I thought I had to go to the bathroom but when I got up.........WATER WENT EVERYWHERE! Now, these contractions were beyond painful. The first time we went to the hospital, I walked in. This time, I was rolled in! LOL

I went in thinking I was going with a natural birth but that ended at 8:30 am with a good ole' epidural. A Foley Bulb was inserted and an hour later, pitocin was started. After being in labor for 14 hrs, I had only dilated to 3.5.  At 12:30, Dr. Watson suggested a C-Section!

December 12, 2011 at 1:26 pm, Lauryn Elise Howard came into this world weighing 7lbs 1oz! She was 19inches long. After 3 months of treatments to get pregnant, blood work and ultrasounds for the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, 35 lbs of baby weight and NINE MONTHS of  throwing up, my baby girl was here! SHE WAS PERFECT!!!!!!