Author Archives: themielkeway

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About themielkeway

I'm Andrea~ teacher, foster momma to 17 little angels, wife to Ian (otherwise known as Dizzle) and Mommy to the three loves of our lives...Grae, RJ and Gigi. Am I a lucky girl, or what? ;)

The Stinky Hand

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Smart and stylish, our little man has started to flirt with the camera.  He is working on developing a smile for every occasion- some big, some small.  He watches intently as we describe the pictures on his blankets, as if he understands perfectly.  He stays awake for 15 hour stretches on the regular now- but is doing much better sleeping through the night as well.  His favorite past time is to suck on his entire right hand, which we affectionately refer to as his “stinky hand”.  We have to wash it frequently to avoid the aroma of sour milk. 😉  He has had that stinky hand in his mouth ever since our first ultrasound picture.  The hand seems to have a mind of its own and has taken to running interference on the bottle as it approaches his mouth.  Even Grae seems to get annoyed by it delaying his next meal by a few extra seconds.  “Damn that stinky hand!”

Even before he was born he was a fist sucker 😉

Grae’s Big Papa

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This is what happens when I leave Daddy alone to babysit my innocent baby boy. 🙂

Click Here to watch: Grae’s Big Papa Video

If this doesn’t deserve a vote, I don’t know what does 😉 If you agree, just click the box- that’s all it takes- your click counts as a vote.  Thanks!

Our little traveler

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Grae has now been to FOUR states in only EIGHT weeks of life.  🙂 He’s a little traveler!

Our weekend trip to Orlando was a blast.  We arrived Saturday afternoon and spent a couple hours exploring.

Downtown Orlando

We ate at a delicious pizza place and our pizza was three times the size of Graeson!

Gino's Pizza

That evening, I met up with my friends and had an amazing time out on the town for my bestie’s Bachelorette Party.

Dinner at Ceviche

VIP at Vintage 🙂

 While I was out for the first time without Grae Baby, he and Daddy had a fun night doing “man stuff” in a BEAUTIFUL hotel (The Grand Bohemian) in downtown Orlando, watching football and making their own music videos.  Yes, music videos… and to make it worse- RAP music videos.  There’s no denyin’ this Lil G is from the A. 😉  I will share that little treat with y’all as soon as it uploads- I’m trying to put the video on YouTube now.  Trust me when I say this is something you do not want to miss so be sure to check back soon.

If ya don’t mind, please click the box below- it will count as a vote for us on TopMommyBlogs.com 🙂 We are currently #14 out of 4,500!

And if you are feeling extra generous- 

We are now a “LEADING NOMINEE” on BABBLE’s TOP 100 Mom Blogs- and you vote for that by clicking the following like and pushing “LIKE” 🙂 Y’all are the best.  Couldn’t do it without ya.  

http://blogs.babble.com/top-100/2012/01/03/themielkeway/

In the spirit of Dr. King

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I am so proud to be a part of such an amazing group of educators at work that I have to share a little story.  This past Friday, our school lobby was overwhelmed with four and five year olds carrying placards with such demands as No More Nap Time, More Spinach, More Time for Painting, More Recess, Peace for Israel, and You Can’t Say You Can’t Play.  The demonstration was vocal but peaceful.  The headmaster was asked to address the crowd and announced that their voices had been heard and naptime would be suspended for that day.  The cheers were exuberant.  In the back of the crowd, one of our Pre-kindergarten students was holding up a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr.  After the children were complimented for their peaceful and nonviolent protest; the headmaster shared that he was reminded that Martin Luther King Jr. had used the same methods to bring great change to our country.  It was a perfect teaching moment and I was in awe of our preschool staff’s ability to connect the message of this great American on a level that could be understood by four and five year olds.

 

On this day, we renew our commitment to creating students who not just have the power of knowledge but have the capacity to think for themselves and act for the greater good.

 

I hope you and your family had a meaningful holiday weekend.  And to those parents whose Pre-Kindergarten children were off the wall on Friday afternoon and evening due to not having naps, consider it a sacrifice in the name of civil disobedience.

 

 

 

Great Job, Teachers!


The 2 Month Well Baby Exam -aka- first shots. :(

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We took Grae to the pediatrician today for his two month check up.  The doctor was shocked at how much the little man had grown.  She said, “Are you SURE you are just feeding him breast milk???”  Bahaha!  He now weighs 14 pounds, 2 ounces and is 24 inches long- putting him in the

97th PERCENTILE  

for both weight and height!  Wow! Dr. C said he looks perfect and is well proportioned, so we shouldn’t be alarmed by his rapid growth spurt.  (Last month he was in the 50th percentile for height.)

My little trooper also got his first set of vaccinations today.  Three shots in his thighs.  He didn’t even flinch for the first one.  The second one he took like a champ, with only a slight whimper.  By that time, he was SO over it, making the third and final vaccine pretty horrible. He screamed, his face turned red, and his little chin quivered.  It broke my heart.  Thankfully, he only cried for a second and was easily soothed with a big hug from Mommy. Daddy presented him with a great big bottle full of the good stuff and all was right with the world once again.

😥

Pleeeeaaasseee? 🙂 

Road trip! :)

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We are going on our first real trip with the baby this weekend- I mean, other than to our parents’ houses.  We are only going to be gone two nights, but the amount of stuff we are bringing is unreal.  I was pretty terrible at packing before I had a baby- now my over-packing is pretty much out of control.  Hopefully I’ll get better about this as Lil’ G gets a little older. 🙂

We are heading down to Orlando, Florida for my best friend’s Bachelorette Weekend!  I am so excited to have the opportunity to celebrate with her!  There is no way that I could be away from Grae for a whole weekend, so Ian gladly volunteered to come and take care of Grae in the hotel. I think he is looking forward to “Daddy/Grae” time as much I am looking forward to see my girlfriends from college!  This will be the first time Ian will be alone with Grae… and the first time I am away from him. It is nerve-racking, even though I know he is in the best hands. Cut me some slack though… Grae and I have been inseparable for the last 11 months…  😉

We are hoping the 7 hour car ride goes by as fast as possible with a two month old, and that Grae likes his new car seat better than his infant seat that he decided that he hated last week.   Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Have a great three day weekend!

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Grae has spent the ENTIRE day EATING!   So much so that I even had to dip into my “reserves” in the freezer.  With that being said- there isn’t much time to write anything meaningful- I should be warming up another bottle right now- but I had to share this short little video… he’s so much fun 🙂

8 weeks old

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GRAE BABY~

You are eight weeks old already!  You just keep growing- and you are perfecting some really good lookin’ rolls on your thighs!  Your Great Grandma Jean would say “It looks like you were screwed together!” just like she used to tell me when I was a baby :).

You are about to outgrow your infant seat already- we had to buy you a big boy car seat today!

One of your favorite past times this week is pulling Mama’s hair then giggling.  It is adorable (as long as you get over this phase by the time you are a toddler ;)).

You have me laughing hysterically at least ten times a day now- you are going to have a great sense of humor- I can tell already.  You love to make people laugh (Daddy is pretty good at that, too).

You think its really funny to stick your tongue out at Daddy and me and you think it is hilarious when I act like a monkey and jump all over the living room (I know, I know, people- embarrassing visual- but I would do anything to make this kid laugh :p)  It is the hardest I have ever heard you giggle.  I’m going to try again so I can get that precious sound on video.  🙂

And the last thing that’s new this week is the fact that you NEVER SLEEP!  Yesterday you were up for 15 hours STRAIGHT.  Grandma thinks its funny that you are paying me back, because I never slept for her when I was a baby.  She said “He sure does have a lot of stamina for a little guy”… hahaha, yeah- I’d say!  Daddy says you are a monster 😉 He was up all night long with you last night.  You wouldn’t let him put you down.

I never knew I could love anyone as much as I love you… and I love you more every single day.

Lots of Hugs and Kisses,

Mommy

Baby Talk

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Today, Mom told me about a video that all new parents should watch.  It teaches you how to interpret your baby’s cries.   It is called Dunstan Baby Language- it was featured on Oprah- you may have already heard of it. If you haven’t, and if you have a baby between 0 and 3 months old, I strongly suggest you take the time to watch it. 🙂 I have a feeling its going to save us all a lot of stress.  There is nothing worse than not knowing what to do to make your baby stop crying.

I’m really excited to try to distinguish between Grae’s noises. 🙂 I’ll keep ya posted about how it works for us. 🙂

www.dunstanbaby.com is the website and you can watch the video by clicking HERE.

Thanks for sharing this with me, Momma! ❤

 

 

 

Guest Blogger… What a story!

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I am honored to have the opportunity to have an amazing, courageous mama be a guest blogger here at TheMielkeWay!  She blogs about her struggles she went through as a brand new mom diagnosed with a terrible type of cancer.  She is a fighter, and even against the odds, a survivor.   Inspirational doesn’t even begin to describe her, as she shares her story to provide hope and guidance to other parents in similar situations.  I think we could all learn quite a bit from her.  I’m pleased to introduce you to Heather-

For as long as I can remember, people have told me that I wear rose colored glasses, that I’m an optimist. Those traits never served me as well as when I was diagnosed with cancer. My daughter was only three and a half months old when I received word that I had Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. My life was turned upside down. I had two choices, wallow in the diagnosis or fight. I chose to fight.

When you talk with people who have fought cancer they will tell you that it’s a double edged sword. Part of your life is changed forever in ways you cannot fathom. Another part of your life is changed for the better. You learn a lot about yourself when you are sick. You learn not to be a victim. You learn to fight for yourself in ways you could never have imagined.

 

I was lucky. Mesothelioma treatment is grueling but I was referred to one of the world’s leading experts. He gave me hope that I would beat this thing. I vowed that I would help others if I got better.

 

We nicknamed my tumor Punxsutawney Phil when we found out that my surgery to remove it was scheduled for Groundhog’s Day 2006. Soon after we changed Groundhog’s Day to Lungleavin Day, because I was going to lose my left lung. Every year since then we celebrate Lungleavin Day. It’s a day of hope and love for life. A day for conquering fear and seeing the good that can come from an otherwise bad situation.

 

I have met so many wonderful people since my diagnosis. It amazes me how strong and courageous they all are. I call them Mesothelioma warriors, because that’s what they are. Warriors who fight harder than anyone I know. These are people who are committed to bringing awareness to the disease, not just a quick clip on a day time commercial. These are people I now call friends. I would have never had the opportunity to know them if it weren’t for my battle with cancer. Since my diagnosis, my life is filled with so much more purpose. I strive to give help and hope to all of those who need it.

 

 

Thank you so much for the post, Heather- and if you all would like to read more of her stories- please visit her blog at http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/heather/ .