The Ellenberg Family

Dubai

2010-07-11T05:30:00.000-05:00

I am in Dubai for a week on business. It's my first real international trip, not counting vacations to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Dubai sits on the eastern most tip of the United Arab Emirates, right across the Persian Gulf from Iran. The U.A.E. also shares it's border with Saudi Arabi. Everyone says that Dubai is very westernized yet I was surprised at how westernized it is. U.A.E. is basically a long skinny country so most everything is built along the coast so it's almost just one long road from one end of the country to the other. Extremely clean roads. Tons of highrises. Everything in arabic and english. Airport was very nice - immigration was easy to get through (unlike the US). All cars drive same as american's and are with driver on the left. Driving down the road you could almost think you were in a large American city. I commented about thinking I was in downtown Houston at one point.

Surprisingly the 15 hour flight was not bad. I was super impressed with the Emirates airlines. Very service oriented and tons of food! I flew coach and was thinking we'd have a little box dinner and drinks. When we boarded the plane and got to the coach seats, every seat had a "goody" bag which included pillow, blanket and headphones. Each seat had it's own TV / entertainment system - movies, music and TV galore. Shortly after the flight took off the flight attendants came around with water and a menu showing the choices for dinner, snack and breakfast. My dinner consisted of a somewhat authentic entree - cottage cheese cooked in tomato onion gravy, served with steamed rice and black lentil stew. It came on a serving tray that had a small shrimp cocktail appetizer, roll, cheese and crackers, apple crumb cake, piece of chocolate and water. That was the dinner. They then handed each passenger with a zippered canvas bag (about the size of a small camera) which included a pair of socks, travel toothbrush/toothpaste and eye covers. Very nice! I had packed my own little "freshen up" bag so didn't need theirs, but still. Pretty neat.

I watched two movies (Date Night and The Last Song) before trying to sleep. I was getting tired but took an over-the-counter sleeping pill anyway and I'm glad I did. Being in coach didn't provide for a fully reclining seat, but it was a little more of a recline than what you get on Continental, still not much. I slept off and on for about 5-6 hours (more off than on). I missed the snack meal which was either a barbeque sandwich or some feta cheese thing. After waking, I was able to brush my teeth and wash my face before being served breakfast. Again with the food! Of the three choices given, I choose eggs and hashbrown (middle eastern style) and something called pea masala. Fruit, orange juice, crossaint, hot tea were also on the tray. After breakfast we only had another 2 hrs to go which went by quickly after talking some, bathroom breaks and TV.

Let me tell you. It is hot - unlike any hot I've experienced. At 8 pm last night it was 100. So far today, it is 108. Heading out with my colleagues now to visit a local jeweler and go to the Emirates mall area.

A "Wicked" Good Time

2010-07-05T21:40:00.000-05:00

Hurricane Alex attempted to dampen our spirits for this holiday weekend when he landed in South Texas on Thursday bringing us lots of rain all day Friday. Streets were flooding in the downtown area by late afternoon. I wasn't able to leave until 4:30 pm and saw right away I might be in some trouble. The road in front of our building was completely backed up due to flooding by the highway. The road behind our office was also flooded. I attempted to go through but saw that the water was up to the doors of a van in front of me so I knew I would end up getting stuck in my little Honda. I am not familiar enough with the area to know other roads to take to wind my way to a highway. Thankfully a co-worker that lives near me had left earlier, called me (I'm still not sure how she got my cell number) pulled over on the road and got her map out to help me. Huge blessing! She helped me get going in the right direction, seeing as I was headed into more flooding areas, and after 2 hrs I was home! Next time there is potential flooding in downtown I'll be working from home. That was awful!

Coach and I still were able to have our date night so we went out to eat at Mia Bella's (yumm!) and then to Walmart. How's that for a date night?! It is what it is. We aren't always very good about planning, however we made up for it by going to Rao's for dessert. We made it home in time for "Aunt" Melissa's arrival. She is a dear friend of 27 yrs now and is as close to an Aunt as my boys will ever have. Since we now have a guest bedroom she stays with us even though her parents live about 5 minutes away. She travels a lot for work and will stay with us when she has work in the area. Just not room enough at the inn at her parents house, plus who wouldn't want to stay with us?! Kids waking up at 6 am, blaring TV, kids running around and yelling... :-)

We ran around on Saturday and ended the day going out to eat and then to my parents for dessert and a little reminiscing. We ended up watching old videos of marching band competitions in high school. We timed our departure for home perfectly. My parents subdivision put on a professional fireworks display that was starting as we were about to leave the neighborhood. We saw a perfect place to park, hopped out and the fireworks started. Joseph did NOT like the noise, but he liked the show. He had to get back in the car and watch - still with his ears covered. Kenneth didn't mind. He seemed to enjoy it.

Yesterday we had a "wicked" good day. We had center mezzanine seats for the 2 pm showing of Wicked. Three words. A. MA. ZING! I think this is the best production I've seen. It was that good. The three of us and a couple that used to live near us went. I highly recommend seeing it if you haven't. I'll never think the same about the Wizard of Oz. Afterwards we went to eat Japanese. An altogether wicked good day! We got home in time for another fireworks display - this time right in front of our house. Four neighbors surrounding us had a massive fireworks display. I think there must be some "keeping up with the Jones'" going on. I cannot begin to imagine how much money was spent. It went on for several hours. Kenneth slept through it all while we went outside with Joseph and watched the fun for a little over an hour. This time the noise didn't bother him as much.

Today Coach played golf while Melissa, I and the boy shopped, ate, played and napped. Also, we had my parents over for dinner consisting of hamburgers, hot dogs, cake and ice cream. TMI alert... The highlight of it all for me was that after a week and half of potty training with no pull-ups/diapers, just regular ole lil' boy underwear, Joseph went #2 in the toilet tonight. You would've thought we won the lottery with all the hollering we all were doing! It was wicked awesome! Seriously, it's been real old having to clean major poop out of underwear everyday. I am very hopeful he'll be successful at school tomorrow. Fingers crossed and prayers please! We may have just turned a corner.

Endings and Beginnings

2010-06-27T14:00:00.000-05:00

After 12 yrs of working at one company, I resigned almost three weeks ago to go work for another company. This past Thursday was my first day. It's been a long time since I had a "first" day. I've had lots of people ask me if I'm excited about my new job or how it's been the first couple of days. While seemingly easy questions, they are hard questions to answer.

I am excited for new challenges and future opportunities. Even though it was my decision to leave, it was still hard to leave my home away from home, dysfunctional as it may have been. I know the people and know what to expect from them, whether I liked it or not. I knew the job and what was expected of me. I learned a lot, worked hard, received 3 promotions and became the manager I am today while working there. Many positives happened, but over the last year or so, I felt like my story was coming to an end.

A couple months ago I was approached by a former colleague about this position and decided that if something was being put in front of me that it made sense to at least hear about it and see where things might lead. Three interviews later I was offered the position and accepted.

I started work last Thursday and am mentally exhausted! It's going to take a few months for everything to gel together in my mind. I have a heavy training schedule over the next couple of weeks mixed in with a trip to Mexico City and Dubai. The people are nice enough - I am just not at home yet. I know it will take time. Everything in time!

Time keeps on ticking

2010-06-16T13:47:00.002-05:00

Since I've been lazy about my journaling (blogging), I've missed the chance to capture, real-time, how my youngest is changing and growing since he turned one.

For Kenneth:

14 months

You had a blast at brother's birthday party. I caught you stealing the rest of his cupcake. No hesitation. You shoved it in your mouth before he could get back to it. Of course, I think all he really wanted was the icing anyway.

You love your Pops!

Baths are always a favorite too!

15 months

We went to the doctor for your well-child checkup and immunizations but you had ear infections and a bad cold so they sent us home with some antibiotics. I went to California for work two different weeks in a row on a Wed-Fri schedule. One morning Daddy took you to school for school pictures with brother. Within the first hour, the school called me saying you had a high temperature so Mimzy and Pops had to come pick you up. While you've had temperatures before, you have always been one to want to play and eat, but this time it was different. All you wanted to do was lay on Pops. We decided to take you in to the doctor. You had the FLU! Poor baby! And I wasn't there to take care of you. I know you were in good hands though.

Later in the month, my Aunt came to visit from South Carolina. She had not met you yet and fell in love immediately! She is a great photographer and took lots of pictures of us all. You were really tired of it all and just wanted to play. Ha!

We did manage to get some good pictures though!

Your personality has grown tenfold. You are charming and can be quite determined. When you want something, noone and nothing can stop you. You will not be deterred and if you are, well, let's just say we all hear about it (maybe even the neighbors).

16 months

We went back to doctor for the well-child visit and immunizations you missed when you were sick. You weighed in at 26 lbs! I have officially moved you up to size 5 diapers and you are starting to wear some 2T clothes! Some of your favorite toys are cars and dinosaurs. You like to walk around with two dinosaurs and very softly say "ah, ah" like you are trying to roar. It's pretty cute.

17 months

You are starting to say words like car (ca), ball (ba), water (wa), mommy (ma), dog (da), daddy (da). Thankfully a pointed finger accompanies the sounds as they all sound the same! While Daddy and I took brother to Schlitterbahn you had your own water fun at Mimzy and Pop's house.

Pool fun from Carole Ellenberg on Vimeo.

We have also learned that we can pretty much get you to do anything by giving you a cookie. Maybe that's not the best news, but it sure can be helpful!

18 months

We are only two weeks into the month yet we've been super busy! Pops had his 68th birthday the first week of June.

You were thrilled to have more cake!

You tend to fuss quite a bit when you want to be held (which seems to be a lot). It can sure be tiring, but I know you won't be this age forever! I don't think my arms could take it!

You love to be bounced, whether it's on someone's knee or leg. You like to saddle my leg when I have my legs crossed while sitting in a chair. That's my cue to start bouncing you. I get a good workout in my quads!

You and brother love to play outside. It's just a bit too hot right now though. Eczema has become a huge problem with you and heat really aggrevates it. I really hope you outgrow the eczema. But when we do play outside sometimes we can talk brother into giving you a short ride.

More recently, you had surgery last week for ear tubes and adnoids removed. No pictures to share, but I can assure you that you were none to pleased about it, at least the recovery period when you were coming out of the general anesthesia. Wow. We were glad to get home and you were glad to sleep for a few hours, but by the next day you were back to normal.

You bring such joy to our family!

Good intentions

2010-06-14T22:51:00.000-05:00

How does that saying go? Yeah, well. It's been a while, but here I am. No, it's not because I'm receiving intense pressure from 1400 miles away (you know who you are, wink wink!) but because my intent for this blog was to document our daily lives and I have done a poor job of it!

I'll do my best to catch up on the last few months and then start anew from here.

February

Joseph turned 3 and we had our first party where we invited friends from school and church to come over. I made cupcakes with homemade icing instead of getting a birthday cake. There were crafts and play-doh for the kids and food for all. We sang Happy Birthday even if it wasn't well received by Joseph (ears covered). It was a lot of fun and Joseph got some fun gifts (t-ball set, games, books, clothes, movies, football). After watching him nail the ball off the t-ball stand I can see he's going to be good, like his daddy!

March
We had several visitors in March. My Aunt from SC visited for a week and met Kenneth for the first time.

Then, my world traveling friend and her husband came down for the Elite 8 game in town since our alma mater was playing! We got to spend some time together doing a little shopping, a lot of eating and going to a local German festival.

April
Coach went to see his mom over Easter. Grandma has been in the hospital since January. She was moved to a rehabilitation facility so Coach wanted to see her given the last time he saw her she was in ICU and incoherent. We spent Easter going on an egg hunt, attending church and having another egg hunt at Mimzy and Pops house.

May

The boys bought me some begonia plants for Mother's Day. We went to church, ate at home, napped and I got to go get a mani/pedi. It was a nice day!

We took another trip to Schlitterbahn, tagging along with Coach. Coach was asked to drive one of the school buses for the band and choir kids. They love him! We asked our friends to come with us also. Mimzy and Pops kept Kenneth for the day. He'll be ready next year!

What a day (or two)

2010-01-27T09:18:00.006-06:00

Two days ago I was multi-tasking (read paying bills while working) and came across our new mortgage statement. Our break is over. Our first month's payment is due in February. The new statement was due to our loan having already been sold to a big-time bank. The back of the statement listed out the annual amounts they would be deducting for escrow. Without really paying attention to the dollar amount, I noticed that there were two entities missing, namely the school and utilities taxes. To make a really long story much shorter, let's just say that I identified that they were trying to deduct $13,000 in taxes from me when it really should've been half. Um, yeah. I had about 1.5 hrs of frantic, keeping my composure, research before finding some proof and then finally getting someone at the bank to confirm they were wrong after my second time to call them in a matter of an hour. Oh yeah. People, you need to really pay attention to bills, invoices, statements, etc. If you think something could be wrong, well, it is. And it's gonna be YOUR responsibility to prove it and correct it. Plain and simple.

Yesterday morning I had a 7 am work conference call. I'm so thankful for being able to work mostly from home. I got up around 6, put on my robe and slippers, went to the office to log in and prayed for peace to settle over my nervous stomach.

A few hours later I was multi-tasking (read Facebooking while working) and started having some crazy things happening with my computer. After calling my company's technical help desk and speaking to a local technician, his response was confirmation enough that I had a really big problem. I am convinced I contracted a virus from Facebook. I don't remember clicking anything different, but a virus came on me like a duck on a junebug (as my dad would say). It completely locked my system, disabled my antivirus software and wouldn't let me open any applications. Uh oh. Then, it would open my internet browser to some very risque and very inappropriate websites, every few minutes. My computer was possessed (and this time it wasn't a joke).

I had to drive into the downtown office to drop my computer off for them to rewave/reformat my hard drive and give me a new computer 6 hrs later. How nice that it's as easy as a snap of the fingers to get a technical problem taken care of or get a new computer. Man, am I thankful that wasn't our personal computer. Another reason to get an external harddrive. I need to check that off my list of to-do's.

Moving forward

2010-01-23T08:29:00.000-06:00

I enjoyed lunch yesterday. I treated a friend for graduating nursing school and having taking the RN certification test. She found out this morning that she passed. I am so incredibly proud of her! She is 37. It's almost like she's getting to start her life now. She married in our senior year of high school and had a baby a couple months after graduation. Two years later, one more baby. One year later, divorce. Few years later, married, had another baby, divorced. 4 years ago she married again. With her oldest in high school she started nursing school. She has dreamed of being a nurse for as long as I can remember. She busted her hiney to get into nursing school and has now graduated with one of the highest GPA's of her class. Her middle child should be graduating from high school this spring. Crazy. I was there when her oldest was born.

I cannot reiterate how proud of her I am. She's a survivor. She's had a rough go of things with marriage, family and children but she has perservered and focused on moving forward.

I'm excited to watch this next phase of her life!! Congratulations friend!

Running through my mind

2010-01-21T11:41:00.006-06:00

Coach cooked dinner last night. Cooking for him mostly means grilling something, but who am I to judge?! I helped by cooking up some green beans and mashed potatoes. I have to say that I'm a total fan of Birds Eye Steamfresh vegetables. Super easy to make and they are very good (and that's saying a lot since veggies are not my favorite thing).

I've been trying for a really, really long time to get Joseph to eat vegetables. I seriously think the last time he ate vegetables was when I was feeding him baby food. No, that's not true. He does like Veggie Patch Spinach Nuggets. [Side note: Veggie Patch Chick'n Nuggets are great too] and corn.

I always put a small serving of whatever vegetable we are having on his plate and encourage him to try it. I try not to fight over it if he doesn't eat it. Last night proved no different, but this time... this time, he actually ate it! He didn't even make a funny face or try to gag and spit it out. I was shocked and while I tried not to show my shock, I just repeatedly told him how proud of him I was for eating his green beans and aren't they yummy and that eating his vegetables makes mommy happy! Here's the kicker... he ate another 2 helpings of them. Whooo nellie! I'm hopeful we may see improvement in this area!

*************
I received my 20 yr high school reunion invitation for June 12. I'm feeling elated and deflated.

I am a stress-eater. Admitting my problem is half the battle, right? These are my two newest weaknesses...Nutella and Starburst Gummibursts. [do not read that I like these together]

**************
Around 10:15 pm last night, we heard a loud noise and then no electricity. I quickly surmised that a transformer blew. One look out the window confirmed my theory. Not a light visible on the street. Eerily quiet, and dark. Thankfully the kids like to play with flashlights so this time I knew where to go to find flashlights. [In the past, we've always had issues with where we've kept flashlights (and umbrellas)]. Mostly I was concerned about the kids waking up since 1) no noise and 2) no light usually mean someone's going to wake up. I have a tap light thingy that runs on batteries and figured that would help for a couple hours at least. I just set it on the hallway floor between their rooms. I only heard one rustling from the babe's room and then all was quiet (seriously quiet). We've had a great week of Joseph sleeping through the night, but last night he came down at 3 am, slight wimpers, but by then the lights were back on (thank you Lord) or we might've heard some serious terrors coming from him. He went back down with no problems.

**************
It's going to be a long weekend. Coach has basketball tournaments Friday night and all day Saturday and into the evening. Bummer. Same thing next weekend. On the bright side, he's got 2 more weeks of basketball and then he's done with afternoon practices until football starts in September! He'll be coaching tennis in March, so a few mornings out of the week he'll be gone and then the games are in the afternoon, but that's only once a week. The tradeoff is not having his help in the mornings but I think I'd rather him be home in the afternoon anyway. Sometimes that "witching hour" between 4 and 6 pm is too much on my own. Besides, it's really a great blessing to have him home when the kids are getting home from daycare. Lots more family time together.

On the bright side

2010-01-19T10:42:00.004-06:00

After three days of countless accidents and refusal to pee in toilet, I am trying to look at the bright side. The one success that came from the weekend was that he's telling us that he "potty'd". While that's seemingly insignificant, it's more than what he was doing. He may now be getting the hang of doing his business and then running to tell us he did it. At least we can move forward from there and hopefully translate it to using the toilet.

Also, quick update on MIL. Last week was touch and go, all the way. Early in the week she was put on an oxygen machine since she was having trouble getting enough oxygen. It was a mask that forces air into her lungs. I'm not sure, but it sounds like the CPAC machine my dad uses for his sleep apnea. Not fun having that thing strapped to your head. Anyway, her oxygen levels continued to decrease to the point where they had no choice but to intubate her and put her on a ventilator. That day in particular she had been very agitated and anxious, which could be due to her difficulty in breathing. Once they sedated her and intubated her, she was much more peaceful and I think this allowed her body to start some healing. The doctors continuously reduced her respirator oxygen levels and she tolerated it well, so much so that they removed her off the ventilator yesterday!

She is still having problems with her right hand blood circulation and will need to be monitored this week for that and her lungs, but it sounds like she'll be moved out of cardiac ICU soon. I'm not clear on next steps with regards to whether she stays in the hospital a little longer or needs to go to assisted living for a little bit (and why she would need to) or if she'll be able to go home with portable oxygen. I know we'll learn more in the next couple of days, but truly things are looking much better!

It's my party potty and I'll cry if I want to

2010-01-17T16:04:00.003-06:00

Suffice it to say that we are trying to get our 3 wks shy of being 3 year old to use the toilet. I'd rather be banging my head against the wall. Oh wait, I guess that is what I'm doing. He just refuses. All day yesterday, we put him in underwear and would take him to the toilet every so often. He had a few accidents instead. During nap, he wore pull-ups. We had an evening party to attend, so we put him back in his diaper and then he wore a diaper to bed.

Today, we've been taking him to the toilet every 15-30 mins. Sometimes he throws a fit, othertimes he just sits there. He will not use the toilet. I don't understand. I. just. don't. un.der.stand!

Frankly, I want to throw in the towel again. This is our second attempt at this. Last time, it lasted a day. I'm determined to make it through Monday.

**TMI alert**
On the flip side (not that you want to know this much information about me), my "aunt flo" has decided to visit. It's been two years, or I guess you could count the post-pregnancy flo visit last Dec/January, but that's really part of the delivery and recovery, right? So, needless to say, I've got my own issues to deal with.
**Back to programming**

CAN'T YOU JUST PEE? Why do you (boys) have it so easy and yet you are making this the hardest thing in the world? It's a hole, there's water (yes, it's dark down there when you are sitting over the hole), but you have one thing to worry about. Keep that thing pointed down and push. It's really not that hard.

Channeling Corey Hart

2010-01-13T07:34:00.004-06:00

I wear my sunglasses at night (and any other chance I get)

This picture was taken right after breakfast (notice the 'bed head'). On any given day and at any given moment, if these glasses are not either covering his eyes or perched atop his head, I hear the words, 'way my gas' (translated "where are my glasses"). A few weeks ago this love affair with sunglasses started. Bedtime must now also include sunglasses (along with cookie monster, OU play football and a racoon-squirrel looking thing called Schmoony [per the tag on the animal]). Interestingly, when he comes down for his 1-2 times during the night, the glasses stay in his bed, but when he makes the final trek to our room, glasses are in hand (or on head). He instinctively knows it's the right time for him to get out of his bed.

They must be worn at all times, however we require them off at dinner. It's a wonder that he can even see out of them given the smudged fingerprints all over the lenses!

What a funny quirk my spirited young man has about these glasses.

Ugh

2010-01-12T21:55:00.002-06:00

I've got nothing. I really want to complain. about work. But seeing as some people from work are FB friends and my link to this blog has been visible on FB for a long time, I'm thinking it would be prudent to keep my thoughts to myself. Too bad for me that I like to write things out when I'm frustrated and too bad for me that I now no longer like to write since I can type a lot faster than write. So I may start another blog just to vent.

Mommy of the year award

2010-01-11T13:48:00.004-06:00

Coach is on his way home. Woo hoo! I'm expecting him by 5:00 pm. I can't wait to see the reaction from our offspring. At my 5:30 am wake up greeting, there were a few tears to see it was me and not Daddy, then 'where's daddy?'. Should I have been insulted? Who has fed, loved, ~~beat~~ disciplined and played with you all weekend? Who am I kidding? At 5:30 am, you want your daddy? You can gladly have him... TOMORROW! I love ya, tomorrow, you're only a day away (and a morning for me to sleep)!

I'm glad to report that our children are relatively unscathed after only one set of eyes to watch their every move. Of course, the babe's face doesn't exactly reflect that. Yesterday, while toddling in his 18 mth oversized eskimo-looking coat and cursed rubber-soled shoes, he face planted on a toy flashlight and as I was saying my standard "you're okay, upsey daisey," I see a mixture of blood and saliva coming from his mouth followed by a high-pitch, deep breathed wail. He had busted his lip. Nice. Dude. We are on the way out the door for some grocery shopping! Nothing that some paper towels wasn't able to repair. Off we go!

This morning as we are about to leave, I had the thought to go brush my teeth. I didn't even bother with makeup (not that this is a big surprise) so why the need to brush my teeth, other than the fine example I was setting for my children. Again, with the toddling, the cursed rubber-soled shoes (minus the coat this time), my sweet faced, bruised lip babe tries to lean against the vanity drawer above him only to miss and forehead plant into the corner of the front/side of the vanity. Immediately a quarter-sized purple knot swells on his forehead. Niiice. Dude. We are on the way to school. Here, let me try and put some ice on your 13 month old head that refuses to be held still for some really cold ice. Let me try to see if your eyes are dilated. Hey, what's that white stuff on your gums? Leftover food? Wow! Those are molars - both sides! [wonder when that happened? last couple weeks I guess] Hey, thanks for allowing me this upclose view to the inside of your mouth while I hold you down for ice and to look at your head. Do you have a concussion, brain hemorrage? No? Ok, let's go. We're late!

Like I said, they are relatively unscathed. They will be very glad to see Daddy though. I'm sure my inbox will be flooded with thousands of applications for Mommy of the ~~year~~ weekend award.

Flying solo

2010-01-10T21:47:00.002-06:00

Solo? or should I say so low? Either way, I've been without Coach since Friday. Yes, I am solo and so low.

MIL (mom-in-law) had a triple bypass on Tuesday morning after having been admitted to the hospital over the weekend with seriously high blood pressure. If you even knew the half (or even an eigth) of what she deals with everyday, you'd be thinking no wonder she has high blood pressure. That aside, I'm sure it also has something to do with the heavy smoking, major coffee drinking and bad eating that she has done for the last 60 years. She's 74.

Over the next two days, MIL had two more surgeries. Wednesday, she had surgery on her right hand to correct some blood flow issues she was having. She's had a lot of numbness in her right hand but after the heart surgery they felt her hand should be better. She has some sort of vascular disease and blood flow just wasn't getting to her fingers appropriately. Her fingers were turning purple (and from what I understand still are). There has been ongoing discussion about possibly needing to amputate her fingertips or, worse case, a finger or two.

Then, Friday brought an emergency colostomy her way. She ended up having 4 ft of her colon removed requiring a permanent colostomy bag. She has suffered with diverticulitis for years and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). While it wasn't ideal to have this major emergency surgery two days after major heart surgery, it was good that the problem presented itself while she was under the watchful eyes of nurses and doctors. This emergency surgery is what prompted Coach to drive to see his mom. There was real concern at the time that they may not be able to repair the damage and have to deal with end of life scenarios over a course of a few hours.

Thankfully, I can report that her heart and lungs are doing well or as good as can be expected. Her bowels and kidneys are functioning. She's still having problems with her hand and fingers being purple. That could still end up being bad, but all things point upwards now so Coach will be making the trek home tomorrow.

Home is just not the same without him around. It's not just that I'm having to do it all myself (but, boy howdy, do I ever appreciate how much 'all' is when there isn't anyone to share it with). It's being asked "Daddy home?" everytime we turn the corner by our house, or hearing cries for Daddy when I'm disciplining, or being told that's Daddy's chapstick. It's just evident that there's something or somebody missing. I'm thankful though that he's just temporarily away. I can't imagine the alternative. Praying for safe travels for him tomorrow.

Seven Pounds

2010-01-06T10:18:00.002-06:00

Before you think I am going to talk about weight loss/gain (although with the amount of food I've consumed the last two months, seven pounds gain may be realistic), I was going to share my review of the movie Seven Pounds with Will Smith.

Rating: 2.75 stars (out of 5)
Theme: self-made/imposed redemption

I remember previews when the movie came out last year. While the movie was good, it didn't line up with my expectations from what I remember of the previews. That aside, it was still a good movie. A bit on the sad side, however. The basic premise of the movie was Will's character needing to redeem himself for a horrible accident that he caused. [I couldn't help but think how could Will's character's storyline been different if he were a Christian, asking for forgiveness, God's grace and healing and forgiving himself.]

The movie starts at the end, so you know what he's planning and then it moves back in time. I had a hard time at first trying to tie together the proposed ending and what he was leading up to, but then it started to make sense. From his viewpoint, he could sacrifice himself to help others that seemingly have no other chance. [Spiritual interjection... thank you God for doing this for me] Along the way, he falls in love and I believe has a moment where he looks to reconsider his decision only to hear that things may not be different if he were to not continue his plan. At this point, while the movie doesn't elaborate, I think his decision was purely a sacrificing love and that the redemption aspect was removed, albeit briefly.

The movie eventually ties everything together and gives you a take into the future. I always like the opportunity to let my mind elaborate on what might come. Maybe I get too involved in the characters? Anyway, it's a good rental if you haven't seen it yet.

That's it for my review. Until next time...

Sleep is overrated

2010-01-05T14:03:00.000-06:00

I am tired. I have been tired for 3 yrs now.

Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but how nice will it be to have one completely uninterrupted night of sleep one day. I am not complaining. I promise. I waited far too many years for the opportunity to be tired, however I wish I could know what is happening in the little mind of my almost 3 yr old boy. Every night, and I mean EVERY night, he gets out of bed at least once, maybe twice if we're lucky, to come to our room. It seems like he started this over the summer, maybe earlier, but it's been going on long enough! There was about a month break earlier this fall where he was sleeping through the night, now for the last few months, it's started again. Some of it can be blamed on the move, but still...

I feel somewhat responsible. See, we've been letting him get in bed with us before we all start the day. Usually around 6:30 am he's getting up for the last time to come to our room and we let him snuggle in bed with us and watch TV for a little bit before we get up to shower and make breakfast. Is that what has messed him up? Surely at 2:00 am, he's not thinking he's done sleeping, right? And, then again at 4:00 am?

Would it help to put an alarm clock in his room and set the alarm so that he knows it's ok to come downstairs? I really don't want to set an alarm clock. I've thought about posting a sign for him to match the numbers 6:30 am to the clock showing 6:30 am before he comes down.

Some nights, he's scared and crying, other nights he's fine and we calmly walk him back to bed saying "it's too early bud, you have to go back to bed."

Anyone out there in webland want to offer some advice, please feel free.

Something old, something new

2010-01-01T20:19:00.004-06:00

Out with the old and in with the new! Happy New Year to you!

I don't normally partake in New year resolutions, but thought maybe this could be a new year for me.

Out with:
~our old home
~massive amounts of boxes (still plenty to go through)
~bad eating habits
~self-deprecating mindset
~unproductivity
~self-reliance

In with:
~new home
~organization
~healthy habits
~self-affirming mindset
~patience
~completing projects
~renewed focus on reading/studying the Bible
~focused prayer time

How about you?

Silent Night?

2009-12-31T16:51:00.005-06:00

Is it me or does anyone else ever have the desire to just throw away everything they have and just start over? Seriously. I was surprised how much stuff we had when we packed it up and now I'm just overwhelmed with trying to find a place to put it all. It's a good kind of overwhelming though. I love our home. I just don't love unpacking our home.

Last night was our first night here. I was curious to see how bedtime with the boys would be since they had some difficulty adjusting when we moved in with my parents. Kenneth did good (3.75 on scale of 1-5) and Joseph did fair (2.5 on scale of 1-5). I was still dealing with some work issues last night so neither of us got to bed until 11:30 pm, then once settled in bed, the house noises started. You know the ones. The ones where you are sleeping at a new place and you hear the creaks, air systems going on and off, etc. Coach had to get up and investigate, standing in various places wondering where little sounds were coming from. So, after midnight we finally are settled in to sleep and then about an hour later it starts with Joseph.

Three different times during the night, he would scream out for Coach. Either one of us would go up there, but he was in bed, seemingly asleep so we just let him be. I guess he was dreaming? I was just glad he actually stayed in bed instead of me waking up and seeing him standing at the side of my bed. That still kinda freaks me out. Lately, at least he'll rub my arm. I always wonder how long he's been standing at my bedside.

All in all we are getting settled and hope to get the nighttimes back into rythm before Monday starts the work week again!

Move along now

2009-12-29T09:50:00.003-06:00

It's here, it's here! The furniture and loads of boxes are slowly being brought in. Coach is directing traffic while I am dealing with some crisis' at work. Nothing like year-end payroll deliverables to mess with a holiday and vacation.

We have been busy beavers this last week. It's hardly been a holiday and definitely hasn't been a restful vacation. Painting everyday, cleaning, changing lights, etc, etc. I am so tickled with how it all is looking! I can't wait to get pictures hung and furniture placed just right! If all goes as planned we should officially be moved in tomorrow. I haven't been able to take pictures of the paint since my camera is on the fritz. I need to get a new battery - this one just doesn't hold it's charge.

A few things still need to be done. Towel bars need hanging, additional closets need painting, shelving needs installing, closet system needs purchasing (and installing), on and on I could go, but it's as ready as it's gonna be for us to move in!

Explosion Imminent

2009-12-25T19:17:00.002-06:00

I have eaten so much I feel like I'm about to explode. I guess that's what the holidays are for, but man, I'm hurting! Huge breakfast of eggs, sausage and biscuits; hot dog for lunch (to tide us over until the afternoon rush); Christmas dinner of ham, sweet potatoes, broccoli rice cheese casserole, pumpkin pie, cookies, cherry cordial popcorn and then a repeat of some just a little while ago. I'm hurting! Coach and I are planning to go to the house and do a little more painting after the kids go to bed. We'll see if we can make it. :-)

Merry CHRISTmas

2009-12-25T11:27:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Jesus! Hope everyone has a great day! We've opened presents, played, ate a yummy breakfast, played and are now watching a Hallmark movie while one child and one Pops sleep. Mimzy disappeared to shower, but it's been awfully quiet so I'm wondering if she got lost in her bed before finding the shower. We'll go see the house later since I didn't get to go over there yesterday and see the final product!

We opted to paint the dining room in the same color as the kitchen instead of using part gold. So, the gold is in the bedroom. I'm anxious to see it all! Our furniture arrives on Tuesday.

CHRISTmas

2009-12-23T10:22:00.001-06:00

I'm sure you are wondering if I've turned into a scrooge given my comments on this post. Let me assure you I have not. Christmas is a special holiday but not necessarily for the reason so many people think. Let's be honest here. I.love.gifts! Who doesn't, right? I like to give gifts too. But what I really like about Christmas is the sentimental aspect of it. It's a time to be with family. A time to visit with old friends. A time to share love with others. Most importantly, it's a time to honor the birth of my savior, Jesus Christ. It's a time to be thankful for what He's given me and the blessings I've received from knowing Him. Of course, we should be doing that everyday, but this season is just an intimate reminder. It's just hard to feel that sentimental / specialness of the season with all the ads crowding my mailbox, TV commercials, billboards, angry people at the mall, angry people on the roads, etc.

So, while we didn't "do" Christmas, we still have the Spirit of Christmas with us.

New home ramblings

2009-12-22T21:08:00.008-06:00

It's been a full day today. Decisions made, colors chosen and floors laid. That sums the day up.

Decisions are never easy for me. It's almost a family joke so making this first decision as quick as I did was a huge accomplish for the day, although I'm pretty sure Coach would've been happier if the 2nd decision of the day was the first. I'll explain in a minute.

First task of the day was to get a cost estimate for a closet organization system at Home Depot. See, my preference is always Container Store. I. heart. elfa. But, one thing I've learned is that elfa is expensive. In my effort to save a few pennies in my last two major closet reorganizations I thought it wise to compare Closetmaid to Container Store's elfa. I think I could write a book now on pros/cons of the two systems.

This past Sunday I spent an hour at Container Store working with a design consultant on layout for my new bedroom closet. Final price = $3200. Um, yeah. To be fair though, this is an extensive closet system, not the average. Lots of shelves and drawers mixed in with the typical hanging space. We opt to have less furniture so we need our closets to be fully functional. What's so great about Container Store is they give free consultation and print out a design showing all measurements, layout, materials and costs.

Closetmaid's website has a virtual designer capability. So, the best way to compare costs is to use the exact layout and recreate it using the Closetmaid virtual designer. You have the option to print a parts list, but then you have to find a retailer and go price each part individually to come up with a total. After doing this at the local Home Depot, the final price tag comes to about $1600. Yep, half. Now, elfa does have an annual sale for 30% off, but that still doesn't get me close to the 50% off that automatically is there if I use Closetmaid. I had the same result the last time I did a major closet reorganization (at our prior home).

One major difference is that with Closetmaid, once it's installed, it's there for good because you have to mount not only the hanging system, but the standards that hold the shelves and rods. With elfa, you are only mounting the hanging system and have much more flexibility to move standards around, shelving, etc. I like the elfa products better: wire space is closer on the shelves, system is easy and quick to hang, shelves are smoother and vary in size, and lots more add-on's that make organizing so great! But, and I do mean a huge but, it's a lot more expensive, which makes me sad. Very. Sad. Because, I heart elfa. All that to say, my first decision of the day to go with Closetmaid was somewhat made for me given all that I want to do in the house (and all that costs money). I'm sad though. Elfa, you will be missed and are always forefront in my mind (especially when it comes to my smaller projects where I'm ok spending a couple hundred bucks).

If you are still with me, my next decision was to finalize the colors since the painters are coming tomorrow. Yikes! I was supposed to have told the painters early today, like around noon. I sent them an email tonight. Like around 7 pm. Hopeful that he even got it and that he'll pick up the paint needed for tomorrow! This has been one really, really, really long week of trying to pick a paint. I can't even begin to describe it. I really hope it all comes together.

I was forced (not physically) to go with an unlikely choice of color for me in the kitchen. It's a dark brown, makes me think of yummy chocolate, but still, not a color that I would likely think of. I think it'll be nice though. Dining room will be gold and then the brown from the kitchen. Master Bedroom and bath is gold from dining room and a red accent. Den area is a warm/cool color called Latte. Can't really explain it. Anyway, it's just hard to tell how it'll all look without the furniture being in the house. That happens in two days!

Wayne and I are going to paint the entire upstairs the Latte from the den while the painters are working on the downstairs. Again, having to do some sweat equity to put funds on other things. Quotes to paint the entire house were coming in at $3900 and $4000. Um, yeah. We cut that in half, less than half actually, by us deciding to do the upstairs ourselves.

The prior owners had new floors installed in the downstairs. Early on we decided, if we got this house, to extend the floors into the master bedroom, up the stairs, in the upstairs hallway and gameroom, leaving carpet in the upstairs bedrooms. Those were being installed today. Tons of dust! Wow. They'll be done tomorrow and I am really liking how it's looking!

Tomorrow will be a long day. I have work (my paid job) that I need to do and am not doing such a bang-up job of focusing on . I hope to get that back on track soon, but in the meantime, I've got to get our house liveable. Poor Coach, no rest for him over his nice 2 wk Christmas break, but man, what a blessing to have him during this time! It's time for me to head to bed. Gotta meet the painters at 8:00 am. They better be on time!

Home Sweet Home

2009-12-21T21:47:00.002-06:00

While we may not be home for the holidays, we'll be darn close! We closed on our new-to-us home yesterday and will be frantically prepping it for move-in next Monday. Specifically, we are getting some new flooring and doing a large amount of painting. Can I just tell you how frustrating it is to choose paint colors. I think I've spent close to $50 on paint samples. At $5 each, that's a lot of paint I'm playing with. Maybe I can just combine them all and call it a day. I made a big mistake in not leaving out key fabrics as references, like a chair cushion in the den or a pillow sham from the bedroom. Yeah, I'm thinking my minds eye isn't quite as accurate as I'd like it to be. Nope. Instead, all I have is a scrap of my dining room curtains which isn't exactly the best for using as a guide. It's been a trying week, where paint is concerned.

I have a list of things I'd like to do to personalize the home more but am trying to work within a budget. How do you create a budget without knowing an idea of cost? Example, I'd like to have some built-ins in the office and gameroom. So, without getting quotes it's hard to say that out of the money I've set aside, X will go towards the built-ins. I couldn't get quotes ahead of time because I didn't want to inconvenience the prior owners (and felt it'd be awkward to start bringing people on house viewings just to covertly get quotes). So, now I'm frantically getting people in the door and trying to work part-time this week. Who am I kidding?!

Did you know Christmas is Friday? I'm just gonna be frank. We are not doing Christmas. It's just not happening this year. We are with family, we have some gifts for the boys (mostly that came from other family - our gifts to them were packed away). We aren't doing a tree and there weren't decorations put up in our old home since we were trying to stage for selling and there aren't any decorations up at my parent's house. But you know what? I'm okay with it. I could go on about how Christmas has almost become a holiday I don't really enjoy anymore, but that's for another post. We'll be doing the family thing and definitely eating a yummy Christmas meal, but there won't be a gift exchange among us even though the boys will have a few to open.

For now, our Christmas is 4 walls and a new front door, which works nicely for everyone! I'll keep you posted!

12 months

2009-12-18T11:40:00.003-06:00

Happy [belated] Birthday baby! Life is happening and I don't seem to keep up! What a crazy month this has been for us. We've been in the middle of trying to sell our home and wouldn't you know it, it sells right in the middle of you turning 1! You turned one last Wednesday, we moved in with Mimzy and Pops the next day, closed on the house Friday and had a small, intimate family birthday for you on Saturday. I was beginning to think it might be January before we could celebrate! You'll learn soon enough though that where cake and ice cream are concerned, we'll figure out a way!

I'll upload pictures of your birthday hopefully before you turn 2, but let me tell you, you were quite funny! First of all, we 'designed' a poncho for you from a grocery shopping bag, then put your bib on. I wasn't taking any chances on getting cake everywhere. We sang while you sheepishly looked at us, no doubt wondering what on earth was going on. Joseph blew out your candle for you. He's a proud brother!

When you were presented with your piece of cake, you didn't hesitate. Before I knew it you, were mashing and squeezing it with both hands and just grinning! I wonder what it felt like to you and what you were thinking. Then you put the mashed cake and icing into your mouth, or should I say all over your face. You were quite the sight! I think you enjoyed your special moment though!

Here's what you've been up to in the last month (not much different than the last update)

~ official 1 yr weight is 24 lbs 12 oz
~ still wearing size 4 diapers during day and size 5 at night
~ you are walking much more unassisted, but LOVE to use your "walker" to cruise around the house (and you are fast and furious with it)
~ drinking exclusively from sippy cup and now you are off formula

I love you sweet boy!

11 months

2009-11-16T21:00:00.004-06:00

My baby, you are quickly becoming my little boy. Your turning a year old is still surprising me for some reason. This year has just flown by and too quickly if you ask me.

Here's what you've been up to in the last two months

~ 1 more tooth (8 total)
~ first fever - 102 was the high
~ wearing primarily 18 mth clothes
~ still wearing size 4 diapers during day and size 5 at night
~ first unassisted steps were taken on Nov 13. You were so proud of yourself! You took about 4-5 steps from the coffee table to the couch. Mimzy, Pops and I were your witnesses.
~ cruising (practically running) up and down the length of the couch and just laughing and grinning! So proud of yourself!
~ cruising the house pushing your Tonka truck. You sure get frustrated when your way gets blocked!
~ eating a pretty good variety of food. A few favorites are avocado, bananas, mac n'cheese, noodles, carrots, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, yogurt. I try to feed you from our plates first before switching to jar baby food. Still working on the green veggies!
~ drinking from sippy cup (note: you finally started holding your bottle around 10 mths, but only when the highchair is fully reclined)
~ drinking 24-26 oz milk p/day
~ blowing raspberries when you don't like something
~ waving bye-bye (started around 10 mths). I am convinced you said "bye-bye" today. Maybe not, but it sure sounded like it!
~ jabbering a lot - you are working on your M's today
~ shaking your head sideways sometimes when we say "no, no"
~ crawling up the stairs (and you are quick!) There have been several times you are halfway up the stairs before we even know it! You are undettered in your efforts in that you will repeatedly go back to the stairs every time we take you off the stairs and even put you in another room!
~ 2 naps a day (about an hour in the morning and around an hour and half in afternoon)
~ playing with your brother
~ following your brother and running away from him (I'm convinced you are scared of him sometimes, but I can't really blame you!)
~ baths with your brother
~ playing with blocks, rings, balls, pop-up toys
~ being a happy, social and friendly baby! Everyone loves you!

I love you sweet boy!

Top 10 lessons learned from the weekend

2009-10-12T10:29:00.003-05:00

In no particular order...

1. it's best to not do projects around the house with children present
2. wood stain is not compatible with carpets [see #1]
3. it takes 4 adults to hang a light fixture (one holds baby, one chases other child from ladder, one works the wires, one holds the light fixture) [see #1]
4. it's important to watch where you are walking or you could break your nose (almost) on a hanging light fixture that usually has a table underneath to block you from walking in that area.
5. wood floors and dogs are not compatible
6. after over a month of not having mowed and having just had recent rain, it may have been a better idea to bag the first mow before lowering the blade to mow again.
7. it's better to finish a project once it's started than to wait another day, such as trying to finish #6 in the rain the next day because you were tired (and hungry) of the mower cutting out the day before because the grass was so high to start with.
8. it is always easier to go to the grocery store without children; however, if you were to accidently unload an entire grocery cart on the conveyor belt only to then be told that you were in the '10 items or less' aisle and then look up at the glaring sign you really should've noticed in the first place, at least if children were present you could blame it on them distracting you.
9. taking dinner to a family that just had a newborn always makes you contemplate having a baby just so you wouldn't have to cook, if just for a while.
10. it might be worth buying oven cleaner and using a little elbow grease to clean that 7 yr old oven instead of using the 4 hour self-clean feature and having to smell/breathe, for 4 hours, the intensity of the disintegrating caked on droppings from years of cooking.

Letting Him out of the box

2009-10-08T11:32:00.001-05:00

And even though my problems seem typical
Nothing for you is ever too difficult
You never have reservations - love without limitations

And I don't wanna box you in
You've been doing big things since the world began
Sometimes I just don't wanna believe
That you're big enough - but you're big enough
-Ayiesha Woods, Big Enough lyrics

As we continue down this road of putting our house on the market, regardless of market conditions and area home prices being less than expected (from a seller's perspective) I have to remind myself that even though selling our home is a trivial matter in the grand scheme of things I feel are more important to God that it's still something God can handle if He so chooses. Is it His will for us to move? I don't know, but I don't see a reason to not try. I trust He has a plan for us and believe He will not put us in a harmful position. So, if we don't receive an offer based on what we need, we stay put. We are making an offer on a home contingent on selling this one.

Why do I put God in a box? Why do I limit what he cares about? Do you do that? In my mind, does God really care about our desire for a bigger and newer home? I mean, I hate to have Him focus energy on my mundane desire. Regardless, He does tell us to pray about everything. That means EVERYTHING. So, I will continue to thank him for all he's done for us and tell him what we think we need and want. We'll ask him to guide the steps we take and give us peace along the way and as we approach decisions. And, I'll ask Him to remind me that "no one puts ~~Baby~~ God in a corner."

One, two, three strikes bites you're out...

2009-10-07T11:04:00.002-05:00

My heart always sinks when I get a call from daycare. I never know what to expect from the voice on the other end. Is he hurt or sick? What happened? I quickly tell myself to stay calm and be open-minded.

Yesterday I received one of those calls. Two days ago I also got one of those calls. Same child. The call two days ago was to tell me that One (I've got to think of a blog name for my kids!) had fallen on the playground and scraped his nose and bit his lip. He has 3 scabs on his nose and upper lip. He kinda looks like Rudolph now. Anyway, when I received the call yesterday, I was wondering how he got hurt this time and was shocked to find out that he was the attacker, not the recipient.

Apparently he was aggravating another boy and then bit the boy (pretty hard too). Excuse me? Here's where I say I try to be open-minded. While my first thought was "What? Not my child? What did that other boy do?", I had to say how disappointed I was to hear that and ask for more information as to what led up to him making the decision to bite another child. Accept responsibility and recognize that he was in the wrong, regardless of what may have prompted him.

Truly, this is the first time ever that he has bitten another child. I kid you not. Even when he was younger and was the recipient of bites, he never reciprocated. The caretakers always commented on that. He never tried to bite me or Coach and he's yet to try it with his brother. Even after 1.5 yrs at this school, he's never had an incident where he bit someone.

Turns out though that the boy he bit has had a history of biting others - to the point where the school made his mother keep him home a few days as a result of it. (News to me). So, I guess my child decided that was how to handle relations with this other boy since that is what this other boy does. Great. But still, he's over 2.5 yrs old. I guess I thought that since it's been a non-issue up to this point that he was old enough to not start that behavior.

When I picked the kids up from school I had a good talk with One's teacher. We'll see what happens going forward.

Next, I went to the Infant building to pick up Two. The caretakers told me that he had been bitten twice, once on each arm. What? Ugh. He's been bit before. And it's by the same child that bit him twice yesterday! The caretakers have talked to the mom, keep trying to move the child away, give him teething rings, a rag to chew on, whatever, but he keeps doing it and they aren't sure what else to do now. Hello? My child is not your personal chew toy. The caretakers said that Two did not cry and that he continues to go on and play. Seriously this kid rolls with the punches (no pun intended). He's such a good-natured guy. However, next bite and I'm going to suggest they send that child to at-home-suspension as well. Maybe I won't wait til the next bite.

Creature of habit

2009-10-06T11:53:00.004-05:00

As I was entering the bathroom stall earlier, it dawned on me that I gravitate to the same stall every time I use this particular bathroom. I had to chuckle. What is it about this particular stall? The lighting isn't exceptional, it's the very first stall and everytime I walk into the stall I remind myself to not snag my pants on the corner of the shelf over the toilet paper. I've tried other stalls, but I keep coming back to this particular one. Wonder why?

What are your peculiar habits?

I certainly need to change some current habits, namely sitting on my tush all evening when I need to be walking on the treadmill. Crazy talk, I know, but this weight isn't going to come off by me wishing it away. I am still doing Weight Watchers, but got off track for the summer months and now am refocused on getting to goal weight.

I was good about exercising for a while and then we travelled and I got off schedule. Mostly, I just got out of the habit and man is it hard to get it started again. I use my son as an excuse.

After dinner the kids get baths and then pretty soon thereafter Two is going down, usually around 7pm, so the last hour is spent snuggling with One. That last hour of his day he will sit still, all snuggled up beside me with the blanket Grandma made for Two, while we watch Dancing with the Stars or PBS Sprout nighttime programs for kids. How can I give that up?

Then, when he goes down, I essentially have one hour to myself to watch TV or play on the computer before I need to go downstairs, clean the kitchen, make bottles and get lunch ready for the next day and start my bedtime routine. I'm usually in bed by 10 pm. Somehow I need to get exercise to be part of that hour to myself, but I so love to mentally veg out. How do I train myself to see exercise as another way to unwind and appreciate it as part of me time?

I guess until exercise becomes an acquired behavior pattern I regularly follow, until it has become almost involuntary, I may never see exercise as an enjoyable part of me time.

Tips? Thoughts? Encouragement?

Some things are just not right

2009-09-29T21:32:00.003-05:00

It's just not right to hear a grown woman talking like a middle school cheerleader. I guess you become like those you are around most.

It's just not right to apply for a position where a former boss of yours (who taught you everything you know) would be reporting to you, especially when said boss is more than qualified for the position.

It's just not right to have to buy a house at a pretty high price point and still have to put a good bit of money in it to get it to where you want it.

It's just not right to feel like the one always left out.

It's just not right when friends only call when they need something.

It's just not right for someone else to win the lottery.

Some things are just not right. What's not right for you?

To do or not to do, that is the question

2009-09-27T22:08:00.002-05:00

We've been going back and forth for over a year on buying a new home (or new to us). Our current home is almost 30 years old. Now that we have our two boys, if we are ever going to move, I would like to do so within the next 3 years so that we are where we are going to be once the boys start school. I love our home, but with two growing boys our home is getting smaller. and older.

We've found a couple of homes we like but just need to spend some time crunching numbers to see what we are comfortable with. Not to mention figuring out a price point for our current home. It's definitely a buyer's market right now which isn't that great for selling. We've put a lot of money into our current home in upgrades and we have it where we like it, for the most part. I wish I could take our bathroom with us - especially since we had the opportunity to remodel it and design it specific to our wants. I really dislike all the master bathrooms we've seen. So. blah. There also the fact that no matter how "perfect" the home, there is still stuff we want to do to make it more "us." If that even makes sense.

We struggle with the logical thoughts of how long are we cool with staying in a house that is getting older and older and is going to need more and more as it ages with the emotional want of a newer home, younger neighborhood, updated styles, etc, then back to the logical thought of the nice lower house payment now. So on and so forth. Back and forth. To do or not to do.

Do we press on and see what comes of putting our house on the market? What are your thoughts?

Check out The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry movie

2009-09-24T09:10:00.002-05:00

I am excited to share The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry website with you. It came to theaters September 18th and needs your help in spreading the word.

In our area, the movie is showing at Silverado 19 on 249. This looks like a great family movie!!

Theme

2009-09-17T17:09:00.001-05:00

I want to buy a web domain. You'd be surprised how hard it is to come up with a web domain. I think I'm pretty crafty and creative and I go to choose a name and nope, it's taken.

However, I think I've stumbled on a theme for my blog. I love music and since I tend to have random songs pop into my head given the situation at the time and then write about it, I thought I could tie that into my blog theme. 'cme' are my initials. What do you think of the following:

cmeandsingalong (see me and sing along)
cmesingmylife (see me sing my life)
cmesinglife (see me sing life)
singalonglife (sing along life)
lifesongsingalong (lifesong sing-a-long)
livealongsingasong (live along sing a song)

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

2009-09-16T15:18:00.004-05:00

Brace yourselves, this might get a little deep.

I used to housesit for a well-to-do family, with a pretty well-known last name, when the parents would go on business trips or vacation without their twin, somewhat creepy, boys. One of the boys was into the "dark side" of things (don't want to be at risk for labeling based on clothing, style, haircut, etc). I remember reading one of his homework assignments. While I can't recall what in heaven's name the assignment was about, I remember clearly what I read..."we are all born dying." Ok. Creepy or profound? He was 12.

Switching gears a bit. Stay with me. We watched The Biggest Loser the other night, only to have my heart pulled out of my body whenever Ms. Momma-who-lost-her-entire-family would speak and then watched Barbara Walters (anyone else want to say her name Ba-ba Wa-wa thanks to SNL's Gilda Radner?) special of her last interview with Mr. Dirty Dancer, P. Swazye.

Coach and I had a long conversation about death. Right before bed. I know. What were we thinking? Here's a summary of our conversation.

Death is inevitable. Why don't we think or talk more about it? I guess why think about it until something happens... um until, until what? You are diagnosed with a life-threatening disease? You are affected by a tragic, unexpected loss? Death is hard, especially when losing someone you love, but you have to prepare yourself and your family. Basics are needed: life insurance, a will, guardians for your children are just a few to start with. I digress.

What we really were discussing (too late at night) was the fact that while death is inevitable and we can prepare the basics, why don't we think about death more in the context of living? If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, would today be different for you than yesterday?

Don't you want to know that you gave life the best you had? Don't you want to leave that legacy (oh no, I hear another song coming on)? Don't you want to leave comfort to your loved ones that you truly lived? If you read regularly (even though I took a three month break), you probably have learned I like music and hear songs in my mind all the time as I am going through the day. I swear there is a song that can touch on any feeling, emotion and situation. Now before I get off on that tangent, raise your hand if you can complete the following..."live like you were ________". Thank you Tim McGraw.

Well?!, you are.

Step by step

2009-09-14T21:06:00.002-05:00

"Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you

Oh can't you see
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take"

Thanks, Sting. I couldn't have said it better myself. You see, Kenneth walked yesterday. Ok, so he wasn't on his own, but he was holding my hands and as I moved backwards, his little feet walked towards me. He's slowly starting to "cruise" between furniture. Those little hands grab for something near to help him move.

If only those little hands would hold his bottle. Yeah. 9 months old and he will NOT hold his bottle or sippy cup to feed himself. Correction. He holds the bottle to swat it around, bang it on the tray and drop it.

We continue on with baby steps. Walking. Feeding. We'll get there someday.

The 9's have it

2009-09-10T20:07:00.007-05:00

9 months old on 9-9-09.

Should've bought a lottery ticket. I mean, what are the chances, right?!

Here's what you've been up to since I last wrote

~ 5 more teeth (7 total)
~ 22 lbs 8 oz, 28.25 inches
~ fitting in 12 mth clothes and starting to wear some 18 mth clothes
~ crawling at 7 mths (moving fast!)
~ standing at 8 mths
~ working on walking
~ standing in your crib
~ feeding yourself Puffs
~ somewhat drinking from sippy cup
~ drinking 26 oz milk p/day
~ eating 4 jars baby food and 1 yogurt
~ blowing raspberries when you don't like something
~ playing with your brother
~ following your brother
~ baths with your brother
~ loving your brother!
~ playing with blocks, rings, balls, pop-up toys
~ visiting family (road trip to Gulf Shores)
~ visiting friends (road trip to Dallas)
~ staying with Mimzy & Pops for 4 nights while Mom & Dad travel
~ being a happy, social and friendly baby! Everyone loves you!

Bathrooms

2009-06-12T13:39:00.023-05:00

I'm participating in Kelly's Where You Live carnival. Each Friday she focuses on a particular room and asks everyone to link up and show your home to everyone!. My first time joining was to show our boy's bedrooms, now we are on to the bathrooms!

First up is our master bathroom. Three years ago we noticed water damage on the back of the house, where the shower was originally located. After investigating further, we realized there was quite a bit of damage. The insurance adjuster was called, a nice sized check was given and we set about gutting the bathroom to completely remodel it.

Our home was 24 yrs old at the time and every bit of the bathroom was original. It was in sad shape. We knew we wanted to update eventually, but were trying to save money and determine what we could do, while also going through various treatments in trying to get pregnant. When we found out how much we'd get from insurance, we added what we were comfortable in spending and had a nice amount to go forward with a full remodel.

We gutted it to the slab and tore out all sheetrock and tile. I wish I had pictures of 'before' and 'during' but you'll just have to settle for after. It's too bad really because you can't fully appreciate what we were working with in the beginning and how dramatically different the bathroom is now.

Before we get to the pictures, let me share the fun part! Two weeks after the bathroom was completed, we found out we were pregnant with our first born. I'm convinced this was all within God's plan. There is no way financially we could've done this extent of remodel after having children. I think it was a special gift from God to say you've been patient waiting for a child and diligent with your money and I want to reward you with a new bathroom and answer your long-time prayer. I was more than thankful!

So, on to the fun stuff... This is the view looking in from the bedroom.

As you turn the corner from the sinks... (door on left is toilet and door on right is closet)

Before I show you the toilet and closet, let me explain the shower. It is 8 ft across, with two shower heads. We intended on having a glass enclosure, however when we found out it would be $2,000 more, we had to wait. This was the very last thing to be done and we just didn't have the money. So, we left it completely open. Weird you might say, but I.LOVE.IT! It's so great being open. No glass to clean! Even when it's winter, we don't get cold. You're probably wondering if water gets everywhere. Nope. Think about yourself taking a shower. Do you see water flying all over the place? The shower is large enough that the water is contained within the perimeter. Okay, maybe some water sprays onto the edge of the bathtub a little and depending on how you angle the shower head to the right, a little water might get on the toilet room door or the floor, but so much easier to wipe up than having to clean a glass surround! I.LOVE.IT! Let's look at it again, shall we?

Toilet room

Closet...
I love The Container Store. I've done several closets in our house with their Elfa system. I had intended on doing that with this closet also but in the interest of saving money to apply to other things in the bathroom, I ended up using the design from Container Store and then purchasing individual pieces from Home Depot. They sell Closetmaid, which is very similar to Container Stores' Elfa system. The cost was half!

Next is our guest bathroom, also the kids bathroom. Because this is used by guests and children, I decided to make it neutral, meaning not kid-themed. Oh well. We tore off 2 layers of wallpaper, textured the walls (thanks Mom!), painted, got new counters, removed a window when we got a new roof and made an alcove where the window was.

View from hallway

Close up of the farthest sink. New faucets, hand towel ring, mirror, light fixtures and outlets

Sink closest to the door to the hallway

Close-up of the wall texturing. My mom did this all by herself using regular joint compound and a hand trowel. No rhyme or reason is needed, just apply in varying patterns. You can make it more rough or more smooth looking. Not too hard to do, just time consuming. I would've helped except that I was 8 mths pregnant with second born!

Toilet

Photo fun

2009-06-10T14:22:00.001-05:00

We have several family members that live far away from us and we only get to see them a couple times a year. I try to keep pictures of them visible to Joseph so he can remember fun times with them and hopefully not feel distant when he sees them again. I want him to 'know' his family, even if it's through pictures.

To date, I've been putting pictures in frames and placing them on his dresser. I quickly realized that adding more picture frames is going to overtake his dresser, not to mention make it more difficult for me as I dust! Less clutter, quicker cleaning! Anyway...

I bought a large magnetic dry-erase board and hung it vertically. You can find these at craft/hobby or office supply stores or buy online using the link provided.

Only two magnets came with the board, so I decided to make some instead. I had some red paint left over from when we painted squares in the nursery. I bought wood letters, lowercase, about 2-2.5 inches high and painted several coats and glued 1/2 inch magnets to the back (two on each letter).

I also bought a pack of wood stars and painted those and glued one 1/2 inch magnetic on the back.
I like how it turned out!

6 months

2009-06-09T15:00:00.001-05:00

You are now officially 6 months old. Here's what you've been doing this last month!
~ eating #2 solids (oatmeal, multi-grain cereal, veggies, fruit and yogurt)
~ rolling all over the place
~ cutting your first bottom tooth (23 weeks)
~ cutting your second bottom tooth (25 wks)
(2nd tooth is barely visible - but it's there!)
~ doing a semi-army crawl
~ rocking forward and backward on your knees
~ vocalizing your d's, sounding like da-da-da-da
~ wearing 6-9 month clothes (and they fit already as if you were already 9 months!)
~ blowing raspberries (telling us what you really think!)
~ enjoying baths with your brother
~ celebrating your first Mother's Day with me!

~ getting lots of love from everyone!~ enjoying cuddle time before bed time

Schlitterbahn

2009-05-31T22:41:00.014-05:00

Saturday brought sunny skies and playing on slippery slides!

Coach (web name for hubby now) was asked by the middle school choir kids to drive a bus to Galveston for the day in exchange for $100 and free tickets for him and his family! JW (still working on a web name for 1st born) and I followed the school bus for the 1.5 hr drive down to Galveston.

We made it to Schlitterbahn famished! You are allowed to bring a cooler and picnic lunch, just no glass or alcohol. I highly recommend doing this and bringing snacks unless you are wanting to take out a loan after having paid a huge chunk of change for the tickets alone! One adult all-day pass costs $37.99. I didn't look at the costs for a child's ticket, but I think it's close to half. Since we had free tickets and I figured it be another year before we came back, I didn't really pay that much attention to all the prices listed at the check-in area, plus there were swarms of people in line and I was on the nervous edge with trying to keep JW's hand in mine as we stood among the crowd.

There are several children's water areas to choose from. We stayed in the area known as Blastenhoff. Another mom and I got to talking and she told me this is the best area to stay and I tend to agree. It was in the furthest part of the park so I think those with children don't always want to "go the distance", but it's worth it with a little more seclusion, more available chairs and picnic tables and less crowded pool area. Plus, there is a super close bathroom and you get to watch people float by you on the lazy river. JW enjoyed that! This mom also mentioned that as the mid-summer heat warms the pool, making it more like a bathtub, they tend to migrate to the indoor play area in the Wasserfest section.

JW had a great time and really did well considering no nap and being in the direct sun and playing non-stop in the water for 4 hours. He showed hesitancy at first, taking tentative steps in the water and in going down the first few slides. After a while he would climb up to each slide on his own and would even try to slide down different ways - such as laying on his stomach instead of sitting on his bottom.

He made fast friends with two cute girls, ages 3 and 5. He played with them for at least an hour and didn't even pay us the time of day! I think he was "crushing" on the oldest girl, but the youngest constantly made goo-goo eyes on him. Classic.

Towards the end of the day, I took some video footage, primarily with him and his girlfriends going down the slides and playing in the water. The video is 10 mins.

Even though we'd brought a lunch and snacks, we were pretty hungry when it was time to head back home, plus it was going to be a couple hours before we got back. I decided to find a fast-food restaurant before leaving the island so we could eat on the way. I haven't been to Galveston in a long time and was interested in seeing how they have fared since Hurricane Ike. I only drove around the area nearest Schlitterbahn, but surprisingly, there were lots of people walking around, primarily at the Sea Wall. Also surprising to me was that McDonald's, Whataburger and some other big name-type restaurants were still closed with no apparent desire to open. As we were paying for our dinner at one of the few open fast-food joints, I commented to the attendant about the number of closings with it being tourist season and she indicated that those other fast-food restaurants have no plans to reopen and are looking to sell. Interesting.

We made it back home safely, but not without incident. A rock hit the front window and chipped the glass, enough to make a crack in the window, about 6 inches long. We'll need to get the window replaced before too long.

All in all we had a great day! I am looking forward to being able to come back as the boys get older. KJ had a great day with Mimzy and Pops and worked on his rolling and crawling skills. Crawling won't be long now!

Boy's Bedrooms

2009-05-29T14:04:00.004-05:00

Today I am participating in the blog carnival hosted by Kelly's Korner. Each Friday she focuses on a particular room and asks everyone to link up and show your home to everyone! Today the focus is on children's rooms.

UPDATED 6/9/09 (new pics in Joseph's room)

First up is

We moved Joseph into his 'big boy' room when he was 20 mths old. I struggled with finding bedding I liked that I felt would grow with him. I didn't want it to be too theme oriented, but wanted to still be able to incorporate different themes that he may like as he grows. Right now, he loves balls so we continued a sports theme, but modified it to look older. I finally found this bedding (only available online) at JCPenney's. I really like it and was pleased with how the room turned out. I still want to add more decorations, but I doubt he really cares!

Updated 6/9/09: bought the sports wall art and moved the previous picture to above the chest of drawers.

The furniture was the first furniture I purchased as a single gal living on my own. A couple years ago, we purchased new furniture for the master bedroom and moved this to the guest room, which then became Joseph's room. For now, this furniture works, but I don't see it being in his room long term. Maybe another couple years. I want to get something more boyish, but in the interest of saving money, this will do!

On the wall to the right of the dresser, I hung a magnetic board for hanging photos of friends and family. I'll blog about the details of this project in a separate post.

Both of the boy's rooms are the same layout. I do not like the double closet doors, with wall in between. If we stay in this house long term, I plan to get those closets remodeled. They really are awful. You cannot even hang an adult male XL shirt in the closet without the door hitting the hanger. Clearly, I have a few more years to worry about that. For now, there is plenty of storage with the furniture.

Updated 6/9/09: moved the other picture to here

Moving on over to Kenneth's room
I love how this room turned out. When Joseph was a baby, we had his name stenciled in the red square on the wall. I painted over it for Kenneth and found these wood letters at Michael's. I wish I had used these letters for Joseph instead of stenciling his name. Painting over the light blue stenciling with the red paint was crazy! I know you are probably surprised by that. I know we were! After talking to the paint store personnel, we learned that red has a transparency to it that does not allow for painting over something very well. We ended up having to apply kilz, then repaint the red. What a pain!

You are going to die when you hear this. This furniture was mine when I was a little girl. I know. After all, this is 30+ years old. I can hear you now saying "it's time to go shopping." But, this furniture still looks good and is serving a new purpose. We use the dresser as a changing table and it works perfectly!

We will have to replace the furniture in the next couple years as there is a drawer broken on the chest of drawers (same problem with a couple drawers in Joseph's room). I would love to find someone to fix the drawer though!

There you have it! Our children's rooms! Hop on over to Kelly's website to check out other rooms. Have a Happy Friday!

Fashion fun

2009-05-29T11:28:00.003-05:00

I'm all about comfort and cuteness, but it's hard to find both, especially in the t-shirt arena. I recently read about Wild Olive tee's at MckMama's blog.

Their designs are unique and inspiring, using God's word to reach the masses via you. You can be a walking advertisment for Christ (which we are supposed to be anyway)!

Be sure to check out their website. I recently bought the featured Tee, Unfolding, in Chili Classic! I can't wait to receive it!

Please pray

2009-05-29T10:53:00.003-05:00

I received an email this morning from a friend we know from church. His sister delivered a baby girl, Sara Rose, at 27 weeks. They started a blog (click here) to update friends and family.

Please pray for

~ Sara as she fights to live
~ Mom, Jenny: healing, emotional and physical strength
~ Dad, Jarrod: emotional and physical strength
~ Sara's sisters, Abigail and Emma Grace: understanding of the situation as best as their young minds can understand, consistency for them, emotional strength
~ Grandparents that have stepped in to help

Leave them comments and let them know you are praying for them!

Wordless Wednesday - My Mom

2009-05-27T15:09:00.006-05:00

Memorial Weekend Recap

2009-05-26T13:09:00.003-05:00

Having a four day weekend was wonderful! I spent all day Friday working on Joseph's baby book. Yes, I'm two years behind on that. I'm committed to getting it finished in the next month so that I can get Kenneth's started. We took way too many pictures of Joseph when he was a baby. Kenneth gets his photo taken a lot, but I'm sure it's half as much as Joseph. At least it'll make doing his album easier! After school, Wayne signed up at a local country club for a free 2 month membership. Needless to say, he's jazzed about getting to play free golf for 2 months. I jokingly commented to him that I'm going to be a golf widow this summer. I'm glad he gets the opportunity to play his fill of golf while he's off and not break the bank!

Saturday Wayne played golf while the kids and I went on a walk, visited with my parents and cleaned house. After Wayne got home and the kids were up from nap, we went to the mall. I had done a little bit too much of a shopping spree at Chico's last week and needed to return some of the clothes, especially after spending a chunk of change on new shoes for Joseph!

On Sunday, we enjoyed a great message and time of worship at church. Our pastor is doing a series titled "The End, what then..." focusing on turning concerns and mystery of End Times into hope and promise for followers of Christ. After church, Wayne golfed, the kids napped, and I played on the computer. When Joseph woke up, the kids and I went to Michael's. I'm going to make a photo board for his room so I can get the multitude of frames off his dresser. We headed back home to get Wayne and then made our weekly trip to the grocery store.

Monday was loads of fun! The day started early with Joseph getting up before 7:00 am. Wayne made waffles and then we all went on a long walk to work off the waffles! On the way home, we visited with my parents, then came home and ate lunch. Kids went down for a nap and I worked on the photo board for Joseph's room and stained some new wood trim we put in the kitchen. I desperately want to restain the cabinets but that will have to wait for another day. Once naptime was over, our friends came over to go to the pool with us and then grill hamburgers and hotdogs. We played at the pool for a little over an hour then came home to get the grill going. The weather was so nice we ate outside. The back of our house faces North so we have great shade in the late afternoon. So nice! When our friends left, we got the kids ready and down for bed and then Wayne and I watched a movie.

All in all, it was a nice weekend - very hard to go back to work today. I know Wayne is looking forward to school being out in 10 days!

I hope you all had a nice weekend as well!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-20T10:39:00.002-05:00

Slow Fade

2009-05-20T09:37:00.002-05:00

When the Casting Crown's song, Slow Fade, was new to the airwaves, I was driving around in a hypnotic state of mind - going from errand to errand. The very last part of the song caught my attention and then I wished I'd paid better attention to the song. I'm a sucker for children singing. As I listened to the little girl sing, I remembered having learned the song as a child:

O Be careful little eyes what you see,
O be careful little eyes what you see,
There's a Father up above
And He's looking down in love
So be careful little eyes what you see

Repeat the song with little ears, what you hear; little mouth what you say, little hands what you do, little feet where you go.

The song writer turned a child's bible song into an adult reminder of how easy it is to fade away from what is right, how choices we make can change our life and those we know and love.

Watch the following video. How often do you make choices, knowing right from wrong, and not even consider the course you are altering? I don't know that I personally think about how my choices are affecting my path. It's even harder to consider how my choices are affecting my children or husband.

For example, I ate 3 cookies yesterday and then a couple handfuls of animal crackers. Yeah, last time I checked that wasn't good for my weight loss plan. So, if I really sat and thought about those choices, I may have considered both the short term and potential long term impact.

Short term impact: my choice makes it easier to do again ("oh, it's okay, I'll get back on track tomorrow") and I might gain weight this week
Long term impact: Tomorrow comes and goes and I don't get back on track, I gain a lot of weight, my cholesterol skyrockets, I have a heart attack, etc.

Maybe I'm being dramatic, but the point I'm trying to make is that we slowly fade from what's right. We don't change in a day - it's a progression and we don't even notice most times, until it's either too late or we have to really struggle to turn around.

Galations 6:7 (from The Message) What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

Let Them Be Little

2009-05-19T15:47:00.002-05:00

I just heard this song for the first time. I love music and I especially like music with a message. This song is just a good reminder! Enjoy!

Family

2009-05-13T17:13:00.004-05:00

Je suis un enfant unique. I am an only child. In the French translation, I am 'unique' not just 'only' (which is too close to 'lonely').

I took 5 years of French in high school and college. I love the language, but too many years away from school and no opportunity to speak it means I've lost much of that skill and vocabulary, but I always remember Je suis un enfant unique.

Having a sibling is something I always wanted. Both my parents have siblings and I saw what a special bond they each had. It wasn't lost on me either, even as a young child/adult, that as my parents grew older and were dealing with their ailing parents that they had their siblings with which they could rely, grieve and remember.

Years ago when I was going through my country music phase, I purchased a CD by Kathy Mattea. The very last song on that CD (forgive me as I can't recall the name of the CD) was a song that touched my heart. It clearly was written by 'un enfant unique' and messaged the thoughts I'd had over the years. Sure, I have cousins that I was close to growing up and friends that were a part of my life, but really, who is going to know, but me, the in's and out's of daily living with my parents. Who is going to know, but me, the special times, the lasting impressions, those inside jokes, those key phrases they say, etc.

A few years into our marriage, we came to the realization that Dallas just wasn't where we wanted our long-term home to be. We made a personal decision to move to Houston where we could be closer to family. I was blessed to have a manager willing to work with me on a flexible work arrangement where I could live in Houston but still keep my Dallas job.

We had just decided that if we were ever going to move, it needed to be then. I felt strongly, and still do, that I needed to be close to my parents. Wayne loved my hometown area and was fully supportive of moving. Besides, we needed a fresh start. Yeah, we were only 4 hrs away in Dallas, but I only saw my parents once a month or so. Knowing that ultimately the responsibility of caring for my parents rested solely on my shoulders, I was very supportive of moving back to my hometown.

Too often we focus on the next big thing, be it job, home, etc. We lose sight of what's important and the time we've been given. We sacrifice that time so easily when we lose sight of priorities. I'm sure you are familiar with that saying about being on your deathbed, where no one ever wishes they'd spent more time at the office. By telling you all this, I'm not suggesting you pick up and move, nor am I judging you for not living close to your family or if you don't have a good family relationship. I'm just sharing my heart and what was, at least what I felt, a conviction on my heart.

Having witnessed sickness and loss early in life, time with family and loved ones is very important to me. My grandmothers died when I was 10 and 15. I never knew one grandfather as he died when my dad was 18, my other grandfather died when I was 21, my dad had a mild stroke and my uncle died when I was 24.

You can't choose your family, but you can choose to love, accept, appreciate and spend time with them. You won't regret it. My family is who loves me unconditionally, accepts me wholeheartedly, loves me in spite of my wrongs and is there for me to support and care for me. Friends will come and go, but it's your family that will always be connected to you.

While I am an only child, I certainly am not alone. I have wonderful parents and have a close relationship with them, probably more so because of being the only child. I am grateful to my mom for being such a diligent photographer and documenting our life in pictures. I may not have a sibling to talk about "remember when," but I have dozens of albums to share with my boys when Mom and Dad are no longer with me. Thankfully my boys get to have their grandparents be an active part of their life, not just knowing them through pictures and visits throughout the year. I am so thankful to God for allowing my boys to have each other. I am going to tell them over and over that they need to protect, honor and cherish each other. Hopefully they will see the example shown and importance of having family around them so that when they are older they will want the same.

Reflections

2009-05-12T21:19:00.008-05:00

Isn't it funny how certain things trigger thoughts, memories, reflections of days gone by? A couple of things happened to me this week in particular. A few days ago I was grocery shopping and caught myself singing along to the music playing on the store speakers. Now I don't normally sing as I shop, unless it's to keep myself sane from wanting to yell at Joseph as he yells for cookies at the top of his lungs. Can I really blame him? It used to be that EVERY time we walked by the bakery there were free cookies, but I guess along with so many things being cut for cost savings, the cookies had to go. I digress...

Anyway, I found myself singing to various songs, be-bopping down the aisle, moving my head with the beat, totally catching me off guard. At some point I stopped and listened to the song. Was I really hearing Def Leppard's Photograph or Bon Jovi's Have a Nice Day? Too funny! Not songs I'd expect to hear at the local Kroger's, but enjoying it none the less. Maybe they are trying to target a particular demographic! It completely threw me back to my younger days!

Then, yesterday I was driving through a neighborhood seeing many signs posted on a long stretch of the road, wishing someone a Happy 40th birthday. I started thinking about how in 3 short years I'll be turning the big 4-0. Then it hit me. I fully recall my mother turning 40. We moved to TX in summer 1983. I turned 11 shortly after we arrived and then my mom turned 40 that December. I remember someone posting a sign in our yard, her receiving black roses and someone putting a sticker on the Oldsmobile.

What really struck me though as I was driving and reflecting on this was that I remember, truly remember when my mom was basically my age (three years from now). This thought pattern was enlightening, comforting and sad. My mom's mother died that summer.

Then I got to thinking. Remember how when you are young, your parents give you that line "I was your age once" and you're all like "yeah, right, you just don't understand"? Well, I can visualize it because I saw it and I remember. I remember her now at my age. I don't know why I'm just now thinking this. I mean, duh, she had me shortly before she turned 29. I had my first child at 34. I remember certain things about her as a mom when I was younger, but until now, I never compared her age and what she was doing with who I am now and what I'm doing in life. She too was a young thirtysomething with a young child. I guess since I couldn't remember and didn't really know her, it just wasn't something to compare.

I was becoming a young adult when we moved to TX, just turning 11, starting middle school, then the fun of high school and leaving for college. I can much more easily compare my age now and her (from what I remember) at my age. It's a comforting but strange realization. I like the thought of being able to look at her in a different light - not just seeing her as strictly my mother, but also as a woman, wife and friend.

Let me leave you with this. I should've posted this prior to Mother's Day, but having just seen it today, I thought how nicely it fit with my realization.

The Images of Mother
4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.
16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!
35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would think about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

5 months

2009-05-11T14:25:00.002-05:00

It's been such a joy watching you grow this month. You are much more social (not that you ever weren't) in that you smile and laugh a lot more now! Your hands are quite active now, grabbing at everything in your reach. You especially seem to like your feet!

You turned over at 18 wks from your stomach to your back. You were so proud of yourself. I went in to get you up after your morning nap and there you were, looking right up at me with a big grin! Where is my camera when I need it?

A couple weeks later, you found your thumb. As quick as you found it, you just as quickly lost it! Meaning, you still haven't shown any interest in sucking your thumb. Instead you prefer your pacifier.

You worked really hard on getting from your back to your stomach, which you accomplished by week 21.

Your big brother continues to be someone you admire. I love to watch you look at him. You seem so enamored by him and his funny ways! I know Joseph is anxious to have you be a bigger part of his life.

You have also had a few tastes of oatmeal cereal. All things considered, you did really well with allowing the spoon in your mouth and keeping the food in your mouth. Some of your reactions were funny, but you still ate it! I'll be introducing you to cereal again soon as well as adding in some yummy carrots and sweet potatoes!

Oh Happy Day!

2009-05-09T12:59:00.004-05:00

What a difference a year makes! On Mother's Day weekend last year, I was taking a pregnancy test and finding out that I was pregnant with Kenneth. What a nice surprise! I had no indication that I was pregnant, but knew it'd been about 3 months since my last cycle. You may be thinking, "hello, there's your sign", but you'd have to understand my menstrual history. I don't have regular cycles and going 3 months (and then some) is normal. Thus the issue about not being able to get pregnant easily. If you only menstrate every 3 months, how do you time ovulation? What a conundrum!

It was a memorable and special weekend to find out we were expecting and what fun in surprising my Mother on Mother's Day about becoming a grandmother again!

We are taking it easy this weekend. Wayne's playing golf right now. I've done my exercising and cleaning. The boys are taking a nap and I'm thinking I'd like to head toward a nap shortly! Of course, as soon as I lay down, Wayne is going to get home and Joseph will get up and then the day will move on. Oh well. I have some errands I want to run so guess naptime may have to wait another day!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Not that we have anything planned. But, I just like the day. I like saying it. I like appreciating it. Mother's Day. My day. God's gift day. I get to stand up at church and make that statement day. I may get a card. I may not. I may get a gift. Or not. I may get taken out to lunch. Or not. I don't care. Either way I'm going to wake up in the morning - unless God has other plans - and hold my precious boys and celebrate them as my gift.

Oh Happy Day! I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!

I Would Die For That

2009-05-05T09:15:00.005-05:00

I'm so thankful I did not know about this song when I was struggling with trying to have a child. I would've been a blubbering mess if I had heard it back then. What a bittersweet memory as I hear the words to this song.

As you watch this video, Pray for the women that are:
~desperate to have children
~struggling to provide for their children
~pregnant but don't want to be
~feeling regret for a decision made
~giving their child up for adoption
~dealing with a loss through miscarriage
~grieving from the death of a child
~dealing with another month of disappointment
~pregnant

Remember and pray.

It Won't Be Like This for Long

2009-05-04T12:01:00.002-05:00

I was watching TV a week or so ago and ran across a segment talking about Darius Rucker, lead singer of Hootie and The Blowfish. Anyone remember them? I enjoyed their music back in the early '90s. He's since gone solo and switched over to country. My cable connection went on the fritz just as he was getting into the song so I only got to hear the first part of the song. I ran across the official video on his website (link here). Go to the bottom of the main page and see the featured video.

How often have you caught yourself saying or thinking this thought or one similar. I've done it so much I can't count. "This too shall pass." "It's just a phase." "It won't be like this forever."

Just like in the song, the truth is, I don't really mind the heartaches and the frustration that motherhood can sometimes bring. I waited far too long to have those emotions and I do not want to wish them away. Plus, on the other side of those emotions are the joys and love that comes with motherhood. As I write this, I have 2 years of visions running through my head. I can only hope I never lose those memories and never take for granted the time I've been given with my children.

Celebrate this week before Mother's Day by remembering the blessings your children are and remembering how quick time goes by and really, how little time we have with our children in the grand scheme of life.

Few Words Wednesday

2009-04-29T20:33:00.007-05:00

No, we're not in time out together, although I'm sure there are times Wayne would like to put us both in time-out!

Just enjoying some momma and son playtime!

Copycat

2009-04-20T15:25:00.010-05:00

Wayne asked my Dad to help him put together two tables and chair set we purchased for our back patio. When Dad came over Sunday afternoon to help, Wayne and Joseph were already in the backyard uncrating the table and chairs. Joseph was determined to help.

First thing to take care of was for Wayne to find Joseph's hat. Joseph would not have it any other way. He had to have his hat because "Pops" had on a hat. Once that was settled, the work began.

With Joseph around you never have enough tools. He always wants the tool with which you are working. So to make it work with him, Pops gave him a screwdriver too small to do the job and a wrench too big to do the job. That way he would not booger up any screws or nuts with which they were working. He was perfectly content to just try to use the over/under size tools and he thought he was really doing a good job.

Joseph wants to copy anything Pops does. If Pops kneels down on one knee to do something, he will kneel down on one knee. If Pops stands tall and puts hands in his pockets, Joseph will stand beside Pops and put his hands in his pockets. This day was no different. Pops and Wayne put the table together with the top laying on the ground. After it was together, Pops turned it over and slid under the table to tighten the screws and make sure the legs were in proper alignment. No sooner than Pops slid underneath the table then here comes Joseph sliding under the table with his over/under sized tools. Pops would tap a leg with the base of a hammer handle to get the leg into alignment then Joseph was taping the other legs of the table with the hammer Pops just laid down. Pops would tighten a screw and Joseph would use his under sized screwdriver and attempt to tighten the same screw. Because the screwdriver was too small it would just turn and turn inside the screw but he thought he was doing a good job. Of course, everyone kept telling him what a good job he was doing.

Pops would say to Joseph, "this is hard work" and would utter a grunt when finished tightening a screw. Just a small grunt and say "this is hard work." Well, you got it, as Joseph started trying to adjust a screw with an undersized tool, when he pretended the screw was tight he began to utter a grunt. Hard not to laugh at that!

Oh yes, Joseph even learned to copy Pops in sliding in and out from under the table. Pops would push with his feet when sliding under the table and pull with the heels of his shoes when sliding out from under the table. Joseph learned to do it the same way.

The screws and bolts had small protective covers to keep a person from scratching their legs. Joseph learned to put the protective covers on all by himself. All Pops had to do was give him the part and he would put it on.

When the job was finished, Pops asked Joseph to help pickup the trash and put it in the garbage can. Joseph knew where the trash can was located and he picked up some of the smaller trash and dropped it in the vicinity of the can. In his haste to help he sometimes missed the can. But who cares.

Last but not least, Wayne got a bottle of water for Pops and himself and gave Joseph his sippy cup. Joseph would not use his sippy cup. He wanted to drink from a bottle, Pops' bottle. Of course he got water all over himself. He would take a drink from Pops bottle and then wipe his mouth and face with the back of his hand just like he saw Pops doing. He finally got the handle of drinking from a bottle.

With all the on the job training it took 2 hours to do a 30 minute job. But what a fun 2 hour job! In all honesty, Joseph should be pretty good with tools. He is quick to catch on and seems to have very good motor skills using his hands.

What was brought to light for all, was that we must be careful, very careful, in what we do or say since Joseph (any child) is very quick to copy.

What's for lunch?

2009-04-17T15:10:00.002-05:00

I received a call from Joseph's school today. I was sure it was about another injury he no doubt had just sustained, but alas, it was to tell me my child was hungry. Yes, I guess I need to start putting more food in his lunch. I guess 2 hot dogs, mac & cheese, yogurt, applesauce, strawberry cereal bar and cheez-it's weren't enough. Granted some of that is for snack time.

Apparently the last couple days he's been asking for "more, more" after his lunch, walking around saying "more, more" and going so far as to make his point by jumping on his lunch bag. The visual alone is enough to make me laugh! They ended up giving him some food another child didn't eat. Thank you for feeding my child. My ~~dramatic~~ starving child.

I always struggle with what to give him for lunch. About the only sandwich I make for him is an almond butter and jelly sandwich. I've learned that with other types of sandwiches, he only wants to eat the bread, so I just did away with the bread so he'd eat the "meat." He's not much into veggies either. Looks like I am going to have to start doing some more experimenting on different things to give him that are relatively healthy. His standard lunch bag (for lunch and snack time) includes cheez-it's/crackers, cereal bar, yogurt and applesauce. For the "main course," I alternate among hot dogs, vienna sausages, mac & cheese, tuna salad, chicken salad, almond butter/jelly sandwich and spaghetti.

I need more ideas. Anyone? Hello? Can you hear me? My child is starving! Monetary donations are appreciated! :-)

Bunnies, Ponies and Eggs! Oh My!

2009-04-13T20:55:00.013-05:00

Saturday

EGGcellent family fun was had by all as we attended the neighborhood eggstravaganza (how many times will I use 'egg' in this post?)! There was a petting zoo with sheep, goats, a tortoise, rooster and rabbit, pony rides, crafts, an appearance by Mr. Rabbit himself and an egg hunt with 1400 eggs! Joseph was a little overstimulated to say the least, but had a great time!

Sunday

While the weatherman was calling for severe thunderstorms, God had another plan for the weather. We were blessed to get in and out of church and partake in wonderful music, drama and message before major rain started and even got to eat out without too much drama with the weather. After a hefty rain, we enjoyed a beautiful restful afternoon even though we should have been outside in the sun and warmth! It was a good day!

No! Stop! Don't!

2009-04-10T14:39:00.005-05:00

I stole a stop sign. (shock, gasp, awe)

In high school that is.

One night, 2 of my girlfriends and I wanted to play a practical joke on another friend we ran around with. She was always getting too involved with boys, if you get my drift. We thought a visual reminder would help her with the boys so we stole a stop sign and spray painted the word "No" above "Stop" and "Don't" below. I remember we took it to her home late at night and I think we wrapped her car and then left the sign by her car. I can't remember exactly. Anyway, she knew it was us and we had fun with that phrase (and variations she made of that phrase) for years to come.

Over the years, that phrase has jumped into my thoughts on numerous occassions and in numerous situations, but none more so than today.

In preparation for looking good on Easter, I decided Joseph needed a haircut. Afterall, it's been almost 2 months. So, baby, Joseph and I trot off to the kid-friendly salon (if I should even call it a salon, since it's just for kids). He sits still for Kash, our favorite hairdresser, gets his hair shaped up and we pay and get ready to leave. As I'm opening the door with my right arm (baby carrier on left), I say to Joseph, "you'll need to hold my hand since we are going outside to the parking lot." No sooner than I'd said that, the child bolts out the door, running straight into the parking lot driving area of a very busy lot.

No time to think.
Run after him (carrying baby carrier).
Yell "NO! STOP! DON'T!"
Grab the life out of his shoulder.
Yank his arm.
Drag/walk him to car.
Get in his face and verbally let loose.
Put child in car, buckle him in. Get other child in car. Get in myself.
Sit still.
Praise God for protection. Then tears. Mine, that is.

Hours later, I still have trouble getting that visual and the other worse possible visual of what could have possibly been the worst day of my life out of my mind. Tears well as I even write that.

Joseph does not stop when I say stop and does not come when I say come. Any suggestions? I've done the counting and I've done the dragging. I can't quite figure what the best method is for him. I am seriously looking at buying one of those wrist leashes for times I do not have him strapped into a stroller. I used to be seriously opposed to those things as they seem vile and cruel. I'd rather that than have to live with regrets later.

Something to consider

2009-04-09T10:12:00.005-05:00

I saw Suze Orman on Oprah the other day. I'm pretty hard-core about Dave Ramsey, but Suze Orman seems to have a similar thought process as Dave does, at least the couple times I've seen/heard her talk. Anyway, she threw out a challenge at the beginning of the show that stuck with me. She challenged everyone to start living on half of their income, whether they are a two or one income family. Specifically stating that with the uncertainty of today's economy that it's better to get used to living with less when you have the chance than to have to learn it when you have no money coming in. Good point. Plus, couldn't we all agree that we really don't need a lot of what we have and spend money on now?

She also mentioned how you should now have an emergency savings fund of 8 months expenses, not just the 3-6 months that Dave Ramsey recommends. Dave might have changed his thoughts on this over the last few months of job losses. That's what prompted Suze's change to 8 months and not less. I remember hearing years ago that for every $10,000 you earn, it will take you 1 month to find a job, so if you make $100,000 it will likely take you 10 months to find a new job at that level. I tend to agree with them and that's in a good economy.

The challenge to each of us is to think about what are absolute needs? The basics are shelter and food. In a dire situation, all else is moot.

How willing are you to make a sacrifice now, instead of later?

What can you do with the savings? Help yourself save for a rainy day. Help others in need.

Additional resources:

http://www.daveramsey.com/

http://www.suzeorman.com/

Get Your Motor Running Walking

2009-04-08T09:29:00.006-05:00

Head out ~~on the highway~~ to go walking!

Did you know that today is National Start Walking Day? Check out the American Heart Association website for more details. How convenient that I started my walking regime this morning and didn't even know it was on such a special day! 20 mins to be exact. I'll do more later today.

Now, why don't you join me?!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-08T08:24:00.001-05:00

Heart Healthy

2009-04-07T14:53:00.006-05:00

My ticker is a-tockin and doing well from what the doctor can see on the echocardiogram and treadmill stress [you out] test. That test alone is enough to make you die. I couldn't make it into the final stage of the test. My little legs and heart had gone about as fast as they could on that treadmill.

Since there wasn't much to discuss regarding the echo and stress test as they were normal, we dove right into discussing the results of the Berkeley Heart Lab. Here's a summary of the full breakdown in case you are interested.
Total Cholesterol: 210 (moderate category)
LDL (bad cholesterol): 141 (at-risk category)
HDL (good cholesterol): 44 (at-risk category)
Insulin: 20 (at-risk category)

What's nice about the Berkeley test is that it breaks down the LDL and HDL into various componenets and identifies your genetic predisposition to heart disease. My LDL breaks down to indicate that I have a high percentage of my total LDL being specific to the small particles that become plaque build-up. My HDL is just too low. Doctor said that exercise will elevate this, but it needs to definitely come up. Regarding the insulin level, it should be below 10. While I'm not labeled a diabetic, what my insulin level is saying to Doctor is that I'm excreting the maximum amount of insulin just to regulate my blood sugar levels, which further supports the insulin resistance issue I've struggled with for years (and thus partially affected my ability to conceive). Weight loss can help with the insulin levels.

As I indicated in a prior post, there is a personalized diet and exercise approach provided with the Berkeley test results. These suggestions are based on my specific blood test results, meaning you should not read this and think this is something you need to do for yourself! I should be consuming around 1600-1800 calories per day. I won't bore you with the breakdown by cateogory like grains, dairy, protein, etc., but suffice it to say it's very similar to the Weight Watchers point program as they allocate you points for the day, but Berkeley goes one step further by allocating points within each category. Surprisingly, I get to eat about 35% fat, but not necessarily the fat I want! With my insulin issues, sugar is a big no-no. I am really going to try to work on that [in another life]. Seriously I am. In any event, I think I can incorporate this nicely into what I'm already doing on the Weight Watchers program.

Exercise, schmexercise. I need to get my tush into a good exercise program. I should be doing anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour (and then some) of exercise each day. Exercise is cumulative, as long as it's done in the same 24 hr period. Meaning I could walk on the treadmill 4 times through the day at 15 mins each or do housework (ha!), yard work (ha! Ha!) and treadmill to where it totals the same amount. Of course you need to consider the intensity of those activities. For those of you who like the pedometer approach, I should be taking 11,000 steps per day. That's a lot of steps now isn't it? Even the Doctor thought the exercise recommendations were on the high end. Let's just say I'm going to start slow and build up. Something is better than nothing.

So, at least I have a plan. This is for the long haul. I'm going to screw it up on some days and really do well on others, but such is the ebb and flow of life. I gotta be real about it. I will have follow-up blood work in 6 months and then we'll repeat the Berkeley test in one year.

Much ado about nothing

2009-04-06T20:07:00.005-05:00

I have decided what my dream job is (read paying job outside of motherhood). It is to be paid to sit on the computer all day. Oh wait, I guess I already do that, hence the 12,462 emails I have from the last 12 months and I don't enjoy it so much. Scratch the 'all day' part. I told Wayne the other day I would love to be paid to enjoy my computer time spent writing my life on a blog, reading other blogs and just playing on the computer with my photos and videos.

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Please help me understand why, after having started preparing my son for what is to come next, he feels the need to have a complete meltdown with kicking and screaming when the time comes to move on? He's in the shower with Daddy and my, oh my, how he LOVES shower time with Daddy. Daddy gets out, drys off, begins telling Joseph that in just a minute he'll need to get out, dry off, put pjs on and brush teeth. "Ok," says Joseph. Daddy keeps repeating it with same response. Turn water off... meltdown.

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Who seconds my opinion on feeling like a cow at times? I'm not talking about the time you look at yourself in the mirror and aren't happy with the reflection or the fact that your belly is busting over the top of your pants. I'm referring to breast pumping. For the last 3 months I've been renting a Medela Symphony pump from the hospital... $64.95 p/mth. Yes, I know, I could just buy one for that. In the meantime, I also bought the pump I borrowed (for 5 months) from a friend when Joseph was a baby. It's an Avent ISIS IQ Duo pump. Between the two, I seem to give more output with the Medela. While the Avent works directly with my bottles, the Medela is quieter, has stronger suction, easy adjustments, external parts not easily broken, and easily washed. I decided to return the Medela since I own the Avent now, but am missing it, however, I think it might be for the best as my job is going to be picking up steam here in a bit and continuing to pump might be more difficult to continue in the next couple months. I was beginning to notice a decrease already, but seems in the few days since I returned the Medela and starting using the Avent, that it's decreased more. I think it's the pump's fault.

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How fun is it to just be silly? Michael's had these cute felt hats on sale a few weeks ago. They are so cute. They have tigers, elephants, lady bugs, pigs, monkeys, frogs and some others I can't recall. I bought the tiger and elephant hat for playtime. We had us a roaring good time with the hats and some leftover valentine stickers. Joseph enjoyed the stickers so much he wore them for almost 2 hours... through playtime, at the grocery store, on the way home and then he took them off after we were home. Too funny!

Mommy's big helper

2009-04-03T12:27:00.002-05:00

It's never too early to start teaching a child to clean and I guess it's true that children will follow your example (good or bad)! Case in point...usually when I vacuum, Joseph will follow me around with his popper toy, imitating me as I vacuum. This day, after I finished vacuuming and went to dump the container, I caught Joseph mimicking me with the actual vacuum. It wasn't turned on, but he just pushed it back and forth. This is the first time he's done this. I was only able to capture a photo of him using the vacuum, but then ran to grab the video camera to tape him wanting to help put the vacuum away. Again, this was the first time he's done this and wasn't prompted by me to do it. Normally if I have the camera or video cam, he's wanting to be on my side of the camera to watch the screen of what is being recorded. He was very intent on his actions with the vacuum so I was able to get the whole scene! Such a big helper!

Weight

2009-04-02T22:00:00.001-05:00

Today is the end of my third week on Weight Watchers. I've lost 10.8 lbs, hopefully to never find them again! Seems that I've struggled with my weight for the last decade, literally. Is marriage to blame? Not necessarily, although I think the comfort of acceptance had something to do with it, but I can honestly say I've struggled with self-confidence issues my whole life, especially as it relates to my body. TMI?

Truthfully, the only time I've loved and accepted my body was when I was pregnant. I remember loving how my body was changing and since I was eating really healthy with my 1st pregnancy, I ended up losing weight from below my starting weight after delivery. I gained about 10 lbs before my next pregnancy, then gained another 30 lbs during my 2nd pregnancy. I'm now a couple pounds shy of where I was at my 2nd pregnancy starting weight.

Anyway, I kinda decided that this year I was going to make some changes. Remember my New Year's post? If so, you remember that I don't make New Year resolutions. That being said, I had the desire, but not necessarily the resolve to make a change.

For a long time, I've wanted to have my cholesterol tested. The hospital offered a free health screening so I went for the blood test back in February. Afterwards, I decided to visit a cardiologist for some additional baseline tests, like stress test and echocardiogram and to discuss my blood test results and family history. Since heart disease runs in my family on both sides I just felt very compelled to obtain these baseline tests. Over the years, I've used an element of fear to keep me from being on a consistent exercise program. You see, my Uncle died of a massive coronary while running at Meyer Park. His weight over the years had been up and down. This time, he had lost a good bit of weight, taken up running and was looking and feeling really good. His unexpected and very untimely death was a hard blow to us all. I've always kinda held that image and concern in my mind when getting into exercise. So, finally, I decided it's high time that I avail my concerns once and for all, and get confirmation that all is well with my heart function and get my body (weight, diet, etc) on the right track, healthwise.

My cardiologist recommended doing an indepth cardiovascular testing done by Berkeley Heart lab in California. While my cholesterol wasn't completely horrible, my HDL/LDL are somewhat askew. Given the family history and my desire to make some changes, she felt the personalized approach offered from this indepth testing would be good for me. I go back next week to discuss the results from the tests and to have the stress test. I'm very excited to get all the results!

Back to the beginning... so, I've lost 10.8 lbs so far. From a body image perspective, I'd like to lose 30-35 lbs, but aside from looking at old pictures, I have a hard time visually recalling what I looked like at that weight since it's been so long. It's funny how with each pound I add to my body and keep it on, I adjust what I become comfortable/familiar with, even if it is really just complacency and not good for my body or health. Earlier this week I was walking by my bathroom mirror as I was taking my shirt off and thought to myself "I don't look bad at all." But it's not really about how I look is it? I just want (and need) to get heart-healthy. But, like I said to Wayne the other night, the heart-healthy part is that "intangible" factor, while the visual reminder is most often what helps keep a person on track when they are trying to lose weight. Me? I just can't remember. I have pictures to remind me though. I'm thinking of getting a couple blown up to put in my bathroom to help with the visual reminder and encouragement.

Overall though, I just need to remind myself each day that it's not what I look like that's important, it's that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit that lives in me and I should treat it as such. The weight loss will just be the icing on the cake (even if it is a rice cake)!

16 weeks

2009-04-01T11:47:00.011-05:00

Dear Kenneth,
You are 16 weeks old now or should I just go with 4 months old? Technically you won't be 4 months until next week though. You'll learn soon how I can be "technical" about lots of things. ;-)
I started back to work yesterday after getting a nice long maternity leave with you! I had close to 7,000 emails received during my time off. I am so grateful for the job I have because I'm able to work from home and keep you home with me until Dad is off for the summer months, just 2 more months of school left! I am considering options for you for the next school year as you'll be moving around too much for me to watch you closely and allow me to work to help provide for our family.

You are growing so much! We had your 4 month well-child visit this week and you are right on track. You now weigh in at 15 lbs. What a big boy you are! You are such a happy baby! I love your smiles and your singing (see video). You are constantly talking and singing to anyone who will listen to you and are always good for giving a smile when we need to see it!

As far as reaching specific age-appropriate milestones, you are close to rolling over... you can get to your side, but you just can't seem to make it all the way over. You will imitate mommy when I talk to you, meaning you will sometimes move your mouth as if you are trying to talk to me! You have really strengthened the muscles in your neck. You now are able to hold up your head and chest as you support yourself on your elbows. Good boy! You are almost able to grab at the toys that you try to reach for!

You eat 4 times a day and take a 7-7.5 oz bottle of breastmilk. The doctor said we could try to start giving you some oatmeal cereal this month. It's always fun to taste new foods (something you need to remember)! Your typical schedule is waking up around 7:30 am, bottle between 7:30 and 8:00 am, go down for nap between 9:30 and 10:00 am, sleep until sometime between 11:30 and Noon. I feed you when you wake up and you'll go back down around 1:30/1:45 pm. You wake around 3:30/3:45 and take another bottle. This time, you stay awake until 6'ish, take a quickie nap (if at all) and then we get you bathed, changed and fed around 7:30/7:45 pm. You are now sleeping through the night (thank you dear child!)!

Your brother, Joseph, is so sweet to you. He'll give you kisses, pat your belly (sometimes a little too hard), give you hugs, try to pick you up, bring your pacifier when you cry, pat your head and randomly pokes you in the eye! He is a good big brother! He is anxious for you to be old enough to play with.

In your waketime, you play in the bouncy seat and play on your floor mat. You also spend some good quality time in my arms!

We are so in love with you and so blessed to have you in our lives! Happy 16 wks/4 mths!

Love,

Momma

Happy Anniversary

2009-03-15T14:23:00.007-05:00

While the story of us really began when we met the Sunday before Thanksgiving 1996, our lives together began on March 14, 1998. Eleven years ago we married on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Richardson, Texas in front of 100+ friends and family.

We met at First Baptist Church Carrollton's Thanksgiving dinner where I offered an extra Cowboys vs Redskins ticket to Wayne. My parents were coming up from Houston to have Thanksgiving in my new apartment and go to the football game. My parents immediately liked Wayne and we pretty much started dating right away!

Fast forwarding 8 months to July 1997, a group of 13 friends from church went on a week-long trip to Maui. We left July 19, flew to Honolulu and then took a hopper to Maui. We had 3 convertible Chrysler Sebrings for the lot of us to get around! What fun we had in store for us! Unbeknownst to me, but to a handful of my friends, Wayne had intended to ask me to marry him the next morning after we arrived. Our itinerary was for us to go to the top of Mount Haleakala, Maui's 10,023 foot high dormant volcano, to watch the sunrise and have a sunrise devotional as we had two of our church's associate pastors with us. The drive to the top takes about 2 hrs to ascend to nearly two miles in elevation so we left the condo around 3 am. We had been warned to bring warm clothes as it's "chilly" at the top. We all took that to mean long sleeves and jeans. I mean, who packs sweatshirts and heavy jackets with bikini's for the Maui beaches?! Needless to say, we arrive and see others in ski attire, all bundled up nice and warm. It was dark, windy and freezing, close to 30 degrees or less. We all tried to huddle up to stay warm! Crazy! Anyway, Wayne decided it was just too cold to do a proper proposal, especially when we decided to nix the sunrise service idea! We just wanted to see the sun come up, take a nap and get down to the beaches and warm up! We spent the day relaxing and having fun in Lahaina.

To make up for the lack of the sunrise service, we opted for a sunset devotional on the beachfront area in front of our condo, Maalea Village at Maalea Bay. At the end of the devotional, we all stood in a circle and had an opportunity to pray out loud. When it was Wayne's turn, in his prayer he asked me to marry him. Catching me off guard, I open my eyes and see him on one knee asking me to be his wife. Half our friends knew, while the other half were screaming in surprise! What a special moment! Eight months later we married!

Eleven years seems to have gone by so fast. I feel like I've known him forever. We've shared so many moments, some really great ones and some that would tear apart others, but that have truly brought us closer together (not without a lot of prayer though)! It's neat to reflect on the past years of our life together, feel the blessings of where we are now and how we got to this point and be excited for the future.

Here's to many more years together!

Laughter Lives Tuesday

2009-02-24T13:26:00.009-06:00

This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.

Last night we had a farewell dinner at my parents house since my Aunt is flying back to South Carolina today. My dad had to eat early since he had church orchestra rehearsal. When Joseph saw Pops eating dinner, he gave him a sheepish look and next thing you know, Joseph is gobbling up most of Pops' dinner, probably more than what Dad even got to eat! No way would Dad have passed up this opportunity though!

******
When all else fails, just use what the good Lord gave ya!

100 Things

2009-02-24T09:30:00.006-06:00

I've seen this on some blogs and thought I'd make my own list as well! Everything in BOLD are things I've done. Feel free to copy this list to your blog and do the same.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagra Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

Looks like I need to do a lot more things!

Singing in the Rain

2009-02-23T17:25:00.000-06:00

Can you just feel the sheer exhiliration?

First time feeling rain come down

What makes you squeal for delight? Can you even remember?

Not Me! Monday

2009-02-23T10:24:00.006-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

My mom's friend, Merilyn, visited us the other day to meet Kenneth and brought gifts for the boys and me. My gift was a bag of dark chocolate M&M's. Yum, yum! I do not have a serious weakness for anything M&M's! and did not find myself sneaking a handful throughout the day, every day. One day, towards the end of my supply, Joseph saw me pouring something in my hand.

Side note: I was stashing them at the back of the counter, under the cabinet we keep our medicine's in, so Joseph is used to me standing there getting Tylenol, taking vitamins, etc.

Back to the story: He started asking/pointing for what I was getting. As I'm not one to readily or quickly be open to sharing my sweets, I did not have the immediate thought of saying to him, "no honey, Mommy's taking her medicine." Because I did not feel bad about having that thought, I did not cave and give him a cookie instead.

******
There is no way that I let my 11 wk old baby be a play toy prop for my 2 yr old. Really. How entertaining could it be for a 2 yr old to repeatedly put a bowl on top of a baby's head?

******
I had my first ever cholesterol test a couple weeks back (such a grown-up thing to do)! I have not been needing to lose some weight after 2 yrs of pregnancies and bouts of nursing and have not been curious as to what the results would show. So when I opened the mail on Saturday to find my test results, I did not want to cry at the prospect of needing to get my tush in action on exercising and eating right! This is most certainly not the push I needed (hmmph!). AND, I most certainly have not gone overboard on eating this weekend as my last hoorah before getting really focused!

What were your Not ME! moments this past week?

Family, Food, Fun and Fellowship

2009-02-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

My favorite Aunt from South Carolina is visiting my parents this week. Since I'm on maternity leave, I get to spend a lot of time with them! Kenneth is enjoying the extra hands to hold him! So far, we've eaten a lot, shopped a lot and talked a lot! She arrived late Tuesday night and her time here is already halfway over. Bummer. I'm so grateful for the time I've gotten to spend with her. I truly think of her as a second mom. I wish I had a cool Aunt for Joseph and Kenneth. I have such great memories of my time with my Aunt and cousins, it makes me sad that Joseph and Kenneth won't get to experience the same. Guess that's why I always thought it would be great to have a lot of kids.

******
Do you struggle with purpose? I read a friend's blog the other night and she's struggling with feeling useless and feeling like she's not making any impact on the world around her. She wants it to change, but isn't sure how. That got me to thinking. I think everyone struggles with this to some extent. I know I have said it numerous times in my life, even in the last few years. I know I thought about it a lot with respect to having children - thinking they would at least give me purpose. I guess I'm just reminded that God wants us to search him for our purpose and to build a closer relationship with him so that He can reveal our purpose or at least direct us in purposeful way. We aren't going to be able to find our purpose in earthly things, even in our children. Wayne and I had a healthy conversation about this topic last night at dinner. I'm interested in how many others struggle with this very topic.

******
We attended a parenting seminar in January where the speaker had his children memorize the book of James before they could get their driver's license. Ever since then I've been thinking about memorizing the book of James as well. If a teenager can do it, I should certainly be able to do it, plus I really need to be reading my bible a lot more and truly committing the Word to memory. So, I felt like that would be a good challenge and have positive benefits either way! I've only gotten about 8-10 verses down. I'm excited about continuing! I appreciate your prayers for support to continue!

Happy Birthday Joseph!

2009-02-16T13:09:00.005-06:00

Dear Joseph,

You are two years old today!
Has it really been two years and nine months since I met you and two years since I held you as a newborn? I still get emotional when I remember finding out I was pregnant, seeing you in my womb for the first time, finding out you were a boy and giving you the name I held special just for you. In the Hebrew language, Joseph means 'God shall add.' How I clung to this in my desire to have a child. I know God blessed us with a boy so that you could be a demonstration of God's blessing of adding to our life. Not only was the meaning of your name perfect, but you were also to be named after your Pops. He is quite enamored by you and so proud to be your Pops.

What a joy and light you have brought into our life. Smiles, hugs, kisses and hearing you speak new words are a few ways you bring joy. You aren't much for cuddling as you are super active and are constantly on the go, but over the last few months you have become much more affectionate and I treasure those moments intensely. Seeing your face light up when I come pick you up at school or church, having you run to me (sometimes), holding you in my arms, feeling your little arms wrap around my neck and getting a kiss from you is sheer heaven. Your affection is genuine and a choice, meaning you aren't using it to get something from us.

You love the mornings with us. When possible, both Dad and I will come in your room in the morning and crawl in bed with you for a few minutes just to hug and love on you for a bit. If not both of us, it's always one of us. While you have been testing us in the evenings with getting out of bed a few times before you finally stay and go to sleep, you hardly ever get out of bed on your own in the mornings. Instead, you lay there calling for me or Daddy. How we love those words!

We get you up, change your diaper, dress you and put your shoes on. You are funny about your shoes in that you HAVE to have them on. You are wearing 2T clothing now, although we've been known to put you in some of your 18 mth clothing in a pinch or if I'm behind on cleaning! They fit, but the pants are a little too short and the shirts are a little short also. Sorry!

Breakfast usually consists of a variety of foods. You are now sitting in a booster chair at the table, using a spoon and starting to master the fork. Most times you are a good eater, eating eggs, cheerios, waffles, pancakes, toast and grape jelly, bananas, blueberries and oatmeal with brown sugar. After breakfast you are on a routine of getting your teeth brushed, hair fixed and face washed. You love to brush your teeth, although I'd say you chew on the toothbrush more than actually brushing them, but we are working on that! You love to comb your hair with our brushes. We constantly have to chase you down to get our tools back so we can get ready ourselves!

Most days you are going to preschool, which you seem to love. You always yell "yeah" when we say "we're going to school today." You grab your lunch bag and run to the back door. I usually take that as a good sign! When we get to school, you rush in, take your lunch bag to your cubby hole and promptly start playing with toys and the other children. You don't even look back at me or Dad. Sometimes you'll turn to us, wave and say "bye-bye." You are precious. Your teacher is Ms. Nikki and you are quite fond of her. You always want to sit in her lap at storytime and follow her around the classroom. You aren't without your need for discipline though and time-out is the discipline of choice at school and home. At times, your strengths can be a weakness that must be corrected. You are strong-willed, spirited and independent. All traits that indicate you can be successful in life; we just need to channel them appropriately. I love these traits in you as they are traits that I have also!

Activities you enjoy are looking at books and pictures, putting together puzzles, playing music, dancing, stacking cups, throwing your balls (which we've had to ban to outside only), playing with your cars and trucks, going to the park and playing on the playground, riding your scooters, playing outside, going on walks, playing outside, playing outside and oh, did I mention playing outside?!

Some of your favorite toys are your stacking rings, things-that-go sound puzzle, laptop computer (you prefer the home computer, but you have a Fisher-Price Little People play laptop that we distract you with!, but you really do love it as it plays music and talks. You always get it out when we are on the laptop working), cars, trucks and balls

You generally haven't been much for sitting and watching television or movies, but I've noticed that change over the last couple months. I've now seen you sit for a spell watching cartoons so we've invested in a few DVD's to encourage a little more quiet time for you when needed! I don't want to encourage the television as a babysitter, but I think there are times that it would be a special treat for you (and me, who am I kidding?!) to watch a few shows that I've seen you enjoy.

Sleeping is a learned behavior, one that you have successfully mastered! After lunch, you usually take about a 2 hr nap, sometimes 2-3 hrs. After Kenneth was born, we adjusted your bedtime to between 7:30 and 8:00 pm. Once asleep, you sleep for about 11-12 hours. You must be like me as I enjoy my sleep too!

Speaking of lunch, you tend to be a little more picky for lunch and dinner, but overall are really good at eating. Favorites seem to be chicken nuggets, spaghetti, yogurt, applesauce, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, hot dogs, vienna sausage weiners, tuna, almond butter & jelly sandwiches and macaroni & cheese. You do surprise us from time to time when you refuse to eat something that you gobbled up previously or when you eat something we are sure you won't, such as Taco Bell's chicken quesadillas - they are rather spicy. You definitely require some coaxing and bribing to try a new food. Sometimes you just downright refuse. We are working on table manners with you as you tend to use your fork as a drawing instrument on the table. Also, it's important for you to learn to say "please" and "thank you" and not push away from the table without permission. I know these skills will serve you well in the future! ;-)

After dinner, you love your bath, but you really love it when you get to take a shower with Daddy or get in our big bathtub with Daddy! You are so cute when you repeatedly say "bath?" when you see Daddy getting in the shower after work so he can rinse off before dinner or when we are getting into the shower in the mornings. You start to pull up your shirt to indicate you want us to take off your clothes.

We end the day with you by reading to you and just getting some downtime to hold you for a few minutes before we take you to bed and pray with you.

Joseph, my first born, my prayer answered, my heart, my love, my "baby big boy"... I love you and am so proud to have been chosen as your momma. You are so loved.

Happy Birthday son. I am so blessed to be able to call you son and to even have the opportunity to say Happy Birthday son.

With all my heart and love,
Momma

Not Me! Monday

2009-02-16T09:03:00.010-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Just another Monday of celebrating some not so proud moments that I caught myself in this past couple of weeks!

Wayne's Mom and Aunt came to visit us for the first time in a few years, mostly with the intent of meeting Kenneth. We see them every summer, but have really been pressing them to come visit. I think they are finally understanding that it's much harder on us to pack up and come to them than the other way around. Of course, to prepare for their arrival, I went on a cleaning spree so that everything would be in tip-top shape! About 4 hrs after having cleaned and mopped the kitchen, I caught Joseph eating cheerios off the floor. My first reaction was to scold him and make him move to the table, but quickly rationalized that 1) I still had a lot more cleaning to do and didn't want to stop to deal with him if he decided to throw a fit and 2) thought my floor was probably a lot cleaner than the floor at school and it couldn't have gotten that dirty since I cleaned it. So, all that to say I did not ignore him eating off the floor.

In a similar twist, we went to Sam's Club this past weekend after eating lunch at James Coney Island. Wayne brought his soda into Sam's club, having me "own" it since I had the stroller with cup holder. We just recently bought a stroller that allows both kids to ride. Joseph is able to sit or stand in the back. That being said, he was desperate for some of Wayne's drink. We certainly never allow him to have soft drinks. Ok, so maybe we do, but in my defense, I've never allowed him his own drink, but he's had several sips of soda from Wayne or I so it is always a treat for him if we allow him to have it. As we stood in the checkout line, Joseph started getting restless - you know those lines are always long - so I gave him the rest of Wayne's drink. The next thing I know, I see Joseph completely bent over in his seat, with drink upside down (thank goodness the lid was still on) and he's feeling around on the floor for something. I see the straw and quickly assess the situation and what would happen if I opted to take the drink away from him since I didn't have a replacement straw. After assessing said situation, I did not decide to make do with the straw on the floor by cleaning it with the diaper wipes I brought. Talk about a "NOT ME" momement. I was surrounded by people all in the checkout line and surely all eyes were on me. Ok, maybe not, but still, I stood there saying to Wayne, "I cannot believe I'm doing this." We pick our battles don't we?

Happy Not Me! Monday!

Laughter Lives Tuesday

2009-01-20T10:28:00.005-06:00

This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.

Monkey See, Monkey Do...
Joseph is in the "monkey see, monkey do" mimicking stage and while it's very endearing, it also makes me stay more aware of things I do and say. Anyway, this past weekend, we were in the bathroom getting ready to run errands. Wayne was putting some gel or mousse in his hair and Joseph kept pointing and whining for something on Wayne's side of the bathroom counter. Side note: Joseph loves when I give him a tad bit of lotion to use while I slather him with lotion after bathtime. Seeing as the lotion was in the general direction of what he was pointing towards, I figured that's what he wanted. Here's where it'll be helpful when he is able to articulate what he wants or needs! I gave him a tiny squirt of lotion (so he wouldn't get it all over his clothes), turned away for a second and when I turned back, I couldn't help but laugh. He was mimicking the way Daddy was running the hair product through his own hair, but obviously using the lotion I just gave him. I was impressed with the coordination of how he was effectively getting all parts of his hair to fix it just like Daddy! He was quite proud of himself as well!

Who? Me?
I'm telling on myself here. Wayne doesn't blog, but if he did, he might tell about how I made him laugh last night. I made brownies and, per his request, added chocolate frosting. Let me set the stage by saying we are serious about desserts and making sure we get an equal portion. Since I was doing the hard work of baking the brownies and spreading chocolate frosting, I thought I was due an extra brownie and of course, a generous helping of frosting. What I forgot was that the spatula I was licking the frosting from was larger than my mouth, so when I went upstairs and Wayne asked me what took so long (prior to me rounding the corner of the couch), he then looked at me and started laughing saying "having a little extra frosting were ya?" Uh, who? me? Guess next time I need to check the mirror or at least wipe my mouth!

Not Me! Monday

2009-01-19T21:54:00.007-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday, where we can be brutally honest with each other, and live to tell about it, while we hide the severity of our statements by pretending we so did not really do them! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Earlier this week, I did not pray to win the lottery (of which I most certainly do not partake). Nor did I pray that my dog would run away. Ok, I love(d) him until he decided Joseph was more of a threat than my foot. Just kidding. Seriously though, I would be grateful for a nice home for a great dog that is good with other children that aren't mine (guess he's not threatened by other people's kids). I'm constantly torn between being concerned for the dog's safety and that of my child. Who is going to be hurt today?

Moving on... I did not briefly gloat when my dear hubby apologized for being crabby to me. He's not felt well and we've had nightly bedtime struggles with Joseph. I did not get upset with my hubby after he made the comment that he is stressed by his students all acting out... leading up to wanting Joseph to not be stressing him out when he gets home. Um, hello, he's 2 years old. He's gonna stress you out so you better start praying for a good attitude on your way home from work! ;-) Not to mention that I'm sure this level of stress is nothing compared to a few years from now.

We have applied for life insurance since our previous term policy just ended. The medical exam was this past weekend. I did not feel a twinge of guilt for not providing all details they asked for information on, but geez, is it really necessary to provide 10 yrs of visits to the doctor for allergies and what prescriptions I taken, how often and the name/address of the doctors I've seen for said ailment? Do they really check this out? Did I gain 15 lbs in a year? Uh, yeah, it's called a baby. No, I did not get frustrated when filling out the application.

Today, I certainly did not consider a 3rd child after talking with my ob/gyn at my 6 wk appt as he was discussing birth control options. With me it seems that once I can't have something, I want it. So, to use birth control means I can't have another so that means I now want one. Ha! How's that for ya? Plus, when you had to wait 9 yrs to have your 1st child, the thought that you may not have another almost makes you desperate to have as many as you can (or maybe it's me or NOT me in this posting)!

Happy Not Me! to you!

2009-01-14T08:42:00.004-06:00

I'm loving this cool/cold weather (cool if you are from the north, cold for us southern folk)! Such a nice change. Seeing as we get far more hot weather than cold, even if it were seriously cold here right now, I would love it. My son, who loves to be outside as much as possible, is appearing to be more warm-blooded like his father. All week, I've given him the opportunity to play outside after school, but yesterday after about 10 mins outside, he decided he wanted to play inside. It was cool, but a brisk breeze made it a little colder for him.

Joseph seems to have accepted Kenneth wholeheartedly. Aside from the daily eye-poking, he kisses and hugs Kenneth frequently. So sweet to watch. I really hope the boys will be close and appreciate their relationship. Growing up, I went through periods of wanting a sibling to appreciating the solitary-ness of not having siblings. There are definite pros and cons to both, but as an adult, I see more pros to having a sibling than anything. I'm sure there will be times the boys will despise each other, but I hope they will learn to appreciate the true blessing they have with each other.

Joseph is starting to challenge us at nights when we put him to bed. He's been in his 'big boy' bed since October and has always gone to bed without any problem. Now, once we put him to bed, after about 5 mins, he gets up and comes outside his room. Not that I get all my parental guidance from TV, however, I do think that Super Nanny offers some very good practical advice. We've been following her advice on getting kids to sleep in their own bed... where when they get up, you don't speak or show emotion, etc and pick them up and put them right back in bed. To further support her, I read the same technique in the American Academy of Pediatrics book I have. Regardless, I wonder if this is really the right technique for Joseph. The whole routine of us putting him to bed, him getting up and us putting him back in bed lasts about 30 mins. On average, he gets up about 4 times, usually within 5-10 mins of the previous attempt. He doesn't cry at all, but has this mischevious grin and look in his eye. I want to laugh sometimes, right after I want to dangle him from his toes! ;-) It seems that all of Super Nanny's situation are where the kids were not already sleeping in their own beds or didn't have a set schedule bedtime routine. Any advice anyone can offer?

Kenneth is 5 wks and doing well. He seems to be transitioning to a 3.5-4 hr feeding schedule. I'm strictly bottle-feeding (pumping and supplementing formula) so I can continue to monitor the amount he's taking. The last couple of nights, he's taken his last feeding around 10 pm and not waking again until 5 am or 6 am. I pump after his last feeding and then go to bed, so I'm getting a decent nights sleep. I've been excited to see his smile and have seen glimpses of it! He's such a laid back baby that I'm interested in seeing how that shapes into his personality as a toddler, little boy and man. We made it to church this past Sunday. It was our first time to church since Kenneth was born. Joseph went to the nursery and Kenneth stayed with us in church. He slept through the whole service! I was very glad! I'll probably put him in the nursery in the next few weeks.

Wayne is about to wrap up his basketball season (yeah) and will have about a month break before tennis starts back. Please pray for him (us) as he is considering something that requires a big decision to be made by the end of January.

My goal this month is to get started (and maybe complete) Joseph's baby book and start Kenenth's. I have got to get caught up before the years fly by!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T09:23:00.002-06:00

Joseph had a dr. appt on Friday, Jan 2 so we took Kenneth along in order to weigh him again. In 3 days, he gained 3 oz, so he's definitely proving to be on track now since having gained that remarkable 9 oz earlier this week. I still continue to pump exclusively and supplement bottles with formula since I still only get about 1.5 oz each time I pump. Oh well. Some is better than nothing!

What are your resolutions for this year? I can't tell you the last time I set any resolutions. I decided at some point in my life that why set a resolution that ends up going by the wayside only a few weeks or months into the year? I beat myself up about far too many things as it is so why add the additional stress? That doesn't mean I don't set goals periodically, but I just don't feel the need to focus it all as of Jan 1. So, no hard and fast resolution to share with you at this time! Instead I have a list of things that I want to accomplish around the house, but to me that's normal. I'll add to that list soon for more personal things (like getting back in pre-baby shape).

So, cheers to all of you that have set resolutions and best wishes to you in accomplishing your goals! Here's to a great 2009!

Two steps forward!

2008-12-31T13:09:00.005-06:00

We had a follow-up pediatrician appt this morning after seeing the weight from yesterday. After feeding Kenneth 3-4 oz each feeding, about every 2.5-3 hrs, we saw a 9 oz weight increase in one day! Pretty dramatic considering he's almost caught up to the 11 oz's he didn't gain over the last 11 days! For the next week, I'll continue to pump (not nurse), bottle feed/supplement with formula and track when he's eating and how much he's getting. I'm going to weigh him again next Wed and then move forward with getting him on a more structured feed/wake/nap cycle. All in all, I'm very happy that we chunked him up in one day! Now to focus on sustaining the weight gain.

3 wks old

One step forward, two steps back

2008-12-30T21:11:00.003-06:00

Is it wrong to say that I am glad Christmas is over this year? Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, time with family and appreciating the birth of our Savior. But, with all the hustling about in getting ready for Kenneth's arrival and then the lack of preparation for family Christmas gifts causing me to hustle to buy gifts last minute (yeah, I could've prepared a long time ago, but didn't) I just was glad when the day came and went. I think next year will be better in that Joseph will have a better understanding of the meaning of Christmas and we can actually do some focused activities to incorporate Christ's birth and have him have some understanding. He's not quite two yet and hasn't even gotten the gist of opening a present, until now. He did fairly good with opening presents but just wanted to go straight to playing with what he just opened. He had lots of presents (mostly clothes from grandmothers) and at one point he just showed us "enough is enough" by ignoring any more gifts that came his way. Next year, we'll limit the wrapped gifts to being something he'll enjoy (not that kids don't enjoy clothes, but not something a toddler/child really cares about). All in all, it was a nice Christmas and was topped off by a yummy Christmas dinner with friends and family.

Aside from Christmas, the past couple of weeks have been busy. Wayne has been on break since 12/19 and has had a few doctor appointments with the Neurologist and testing (MRI and EEG) to hopefully get more direction on his dizziness. In short, no answer is available and we've basically run into a dead-end. There appears to be no cure and no real diagnosis. He's done a lot of research on the internet and we even ran across an episode of Mystery Diagnosis (TLC channel) talking about a lady living with dizziness for 6+ years (please Lord, no). Wayne finds all his symptoms only to then become dismayed when everything he reads or hears says there is no cure. However, the Neurologist has had some success using water pills with other patients like Wayne with much more severe symptoms so he has suggested trying 1 month of water pills to assess if there is any improvement. So, we will try this course of treatment and see how it goes and of course, continue praying for healing.

Kenneth's 1 wk and 2 wk appointments showed improvement with his jaundice and weight gain, but mind you, the two appointments were 4 days apart due to the holidays. Out of curiosity, today, we took him to the pediatrician's office to see what he weighs now. It's been 11 days since his last weigh-in, meaning he should have gained around 11 oz (1 oz a day is standard for his current age). 11 days ago, he weighed 8 lbs 8 oz. Today, he weighed 8 lbs 4 oz. Yep. No typo. 8 lbs 4 oz. I've been exclusively breastfeeding and have felt like there was success. Even though it takes me about 45 mins to nurse, he's been consistent about making it to the next feeding in 2.5-3 hrs, which in my book means "success." Even at night, he's sleeping fairly long stints, sometimes up to 7 hours. I've struggled with the night time sleeping (as great as it is) wondering if I should let him sleep till he wakes up or make him wake up if he hasn't done so within 5 hrs of his last feeding (recommended in Babywise). Clearly, while I've been thinking we've been successful over the last week and half, I was proven wrong today. So, we were put on orders to feed him every 2 hrs and come back in the morning to see what his weight gain was in one day. How do you force a baby to eat every two hours if he flat out refuses to wake up. I've noticed that he does much better on a 2.5 hr cycle. I decided, for today, to not nurse at all, but to pump and see how much I can get first and then supplement with formula. I've only been able to pump about 1.5 oz each time though. Discouraging. So, does this mean he was only getting that much? I hope not. Surely he would've let me know he was hungry before 2.5 hrs went by if he was only getting 1.5 oz. I'm concerned about my milk supply. Will exclusively pumping encourage the supply to increase? I'm more concerned about monitoring the amount of fluid intake than I am about having him nurse directly from me. So, to pump each time doesn't bother me. I'd rather that than to nurse 45 mins, then pump 15-20 mins and then supplement 1 oz on top of having just nursed. Maybe my milk supply is not repairable. Guess we'll see what comes about in the next day or two.

Joseph is definitely entering into the "trying two's" and our family all has a lot to learn. School follows a time-out (TO) discipline technique and books I've read encourage this as well. So, we are jumping on this bandwagon and reserving spankings for offenses we feel warrant the need. I'm always interested in what others do and how successful they feel those choices have been. Joseph is a very strong willed child and I'd like to learn how to channel that energy and not break that spirit. For now, we've used TO for whining at the dinner table, swatting at us, throwing toys or something in his grasp (usually in response to not getting his way), and "backtalking" (even though he can't truly speak it, you know the tone means it). I know we'll need to fine-tune as we go through each day as it's evident that we have to assess each situation we come to with him. We are still in the initial phases and are trying to learn ourselves on how to address situations with him. Childrearing is certainly not for the light-hearted. Incredible to think how God handles this on such a large scale and tailor-fits how he teaches us individually. Wow.

Okay, so this has been a long post, I know, but it is my journal after-all and I had a lot to download off my mind! G'night.

Week 1

2008-12-17T14:22:00.012-06:00

Welcome home baby Kenneth! You were released from the hospital Thursday afternoon and got to meet your big brother that evening. Joseph was quite enamored with you. He kept pointing to you and saying "baby" and wanted to poke on you. You took it all in stride which seems to be what you are about right now - taking it all in stride!

In fact, you seem so relaxed and laid back, I stayed concerned the first day or so of being home that you were sleeping way too much and not eating near enough. Let me tell you that we are a family that likes to eat and I would think you would be the same! Friday made me worry more about you because you weren't eating well so that by Friday night I was trying to feed you formula from a bottle. From Friday night to Saturday morning, you only had 5 oz of formula. Not enough to make a baby grow!

We went to the ER to have you evaluated as you had also become quite jaundiced. They said your billirubin level was 16 and would normally admit a baby to the hospital at 18, but since you were so lethargic and mildly dehydrated, they wanted to go ahead and keep you overnight and put you under the UV lights to bring down your billirubin levels. Mommy stayed with you overnight and made Daddy go home to be with Joseph. He wanted so badly to stay with us, but I knew Joseph would need him more than you at the time. It was hard to see the ER nurses poke you to get an IV in you. Your veins were flattened some because of the dehydration so after 2 pokes in each arm, 1 poke in each hand, they opted to use your head vein for the IV. It looks worse than it was.

You had to sleep in the bassinet under the UV lights and could only be out from the lights for 30 mins every 3 hours for your feeding and diaper changes. You were ok the first 3 hrs, but after that I had to do a lot of consoling you by patting your belly or giving you a pacifier. You didn't like wearing the eye shield and after a while it would slide down and I kept having to pull it back up. At one point you reached up and pulled on your head IV so that the tape tugged on your hair and hurt you a lot. We had to tape it back down again. That IV was a pain for both of us!

At one of your feedings, when I had you laying on the bed, you reached up to put your hand on your head as if to say "oh brother, enough of this." I had to get a picture of that. I agreed with you wholeheartedly. It was a long night for both of us. You spent a total of 18 hrs under the UV lights before we were released to go home. Your levels dropped to 10.4.

Sunday night and Monday found you being much more alert and aware, although still a sleepy baby. At least you were eating better!

Tuesday, you were 1 week old - what a busy week to say the least! You had your 1st pediatric visit. You weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and were measured at 20 inches long.

Here you are at 1 week old! Such a beautiful baby!

Welcome Kenneth James!

2008-12-10T18:52:00.005-06:00

At my Monday doctor appointment, my doctor told me he was leaving for a conference Friday through next Friday and wanted to see if he could go ahead and induce me so that he could be sure to be the one to deliver me. We were able to get on the waiting list for 12/9 (our actual due date). We arrived to the hospital around 9:00 am, taken to our room and settled in for what we hoped would be a quick labor! They started the IV and drip and then dr. broke my water around 10:45 a.m. It was a slow go at dilation. By 4:30 pm I decided I was ready for my epidural. It wasn't until 9:35 pm that we were ready to start pushing. At 10:04 p.m. Kenneth James made his arrival weighing 8 lbs, 7 oz - a whole 2 lbs bigger than Joseph. As he was crowning, the dr. commented that he thought this baby was going to be about 9 lbs based on his head size. I thought he must be kidding! I really was surprised he weighed as much as he did and was glad at that point that we decided to not let him wait to come on his own as he would've only gotten much bigger!

We are so excited to introduce him to family and friends! Joseph hasn't met his little brother yet, but will do so tomorrow after we leave the hospital. We are anxious to see his reaction! Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers as we adjust to having our new addition! Here are a few pictures. Be sure to check out our website for Kenneth and Joseph. You can toggle between the two children and check out all their baby albums. http://www.babysites.com/sites/ellenberg/?seq=2

Profiling

2008-12-06T20:21:00.004-06:00

Let me ask this, do you profile others? Do you see a child looking kinda sloppy and then look at the parent and then profile that family? Do clothes make the person? Does attitude make the impression? Do you see someone and assume money or no money? Do you look at how a parent is talking to their child and assume what type of parent that person is? Do you ever consider circumstances that might be swaying the behavior or the clothes or the situation that person is dealing with?

I ask all this because Joseph had an accident at school on Thursday where he fell off the slide in the toddler playground. He landed so that he scraped the right side of his eye socket, thereby bruising pretty badly to where he now has his first "shiner." It's a pretty shade of blue and pink on the eyelid and under the eye. It looks like he got punched right in the eye or to the side of it. The eye itself is fine, just the bruising of the skin is what looks so bad. While I hate that he's hurt, I really became concerned about others reactions being that we are such a litigous society and basically anyone can call CPS on you with any sort of probable cause. I asked the school if they document accidents such as this in the unlikely event we have to defend ourselves that we did not cause physical harm to our child. You may think I am being overly sensitive, but let me share a little story with you that may make you think differently and help answer the questions I raised earlier.

My cousin has 4 children, his first two being twin boys. When the twins were 2, my cousin was at work and his wife was home with the kids (stay-at-home mom). She was having a day of cleaning (inside and outside) and you know you don't get all dolled up to clean. The boys were in play clothes and we all know that means old/stained/torn/whatever clothes. One of the boys had climbed up and jumped off something that I can't recall right now and mom wasn't right there to admonish the child for climbing up in the first place. You know how you just step out of the room or out of sight and then "boom" something happens. Well, of course, how the boy landed was that he broke his wrist and bruised is face. Mom rushed the kids to the ER, looking just as I described. After a long wait, screaming/crying child, they get tended to only to be questioned relentlessly and then have the hospital call CPS on her and do a home follow-up. My Aunt was a pediatric nurse at the time (at a different hospital) and basically confirmed that given the situation of how Mom and the boys looked the hospital "profiled" based on probable cause and had CPS get involved.

So, knowing this, I made sure the school documented that Joseph was hurt at school in case I run into any situation where someone feels probable cause is warranted. Isn't that sad? Wayne and I went to the mall today (day 3 of the bruising so you know it's a little more bluer than before) and had 1 elderly couple comment on his "black-eye" and one twenty-something comment on his "shiner." How many others looked and didn't say anything? What if there had been an officer around that may have "innocently" questioned his shiner like the others did? If you watch all the Law & Order, 48 Hours, Dateline shows like I do, you know you can basically create a story out of anything, so you never really know if you can be believed, even if you are telling the truth.

Anyway, long post I know, but word to the wise, maybe what your mom always told you about making a good first impression is more important than you think. If you didn't know me and I went to the mall today with my unwashed hair twirled up on my head, no make-up, sweats (as they are the most comfortable articles of clothing being 9+ mths pregnant), had my black-eyed son in "play" clothes and my husband in his outside work wear, you not knowing that we were only there to just pick up a quick something or other, what would be your thought of us?

Sickness

2008-12-04T09:21:00.003-06:00

Well if you read my last post, you know that I had been scheduled for induction (and subsequently cancelled it) for 12/2 and wouldn't you know it, what a great decision that was on my part!

I woke up Tues morning not feeling super great, my tummy was a little bit upset. By 10:00 a.m. I had started what was to be a "fun" day of many moments of running to the bathroom. Not to get to graphic, but let's just say I was really, really sick - about every 2 hrs to be exact. After the doctor called in some phenigren (spelling?) and my mom picked up some Immodium AD, I was on the slow road to recovery. I slept in between bouts of running to the bathroom, but by night time and having been stuffed full of drugs, I was getting more control over the situation and slept through the night (for the most part).

Then on Wednesday, I think my body just went into recovery mode. I slept all day Wed - well at least a solid 6 hours and then went to bed early. This morning I feel like a new person - completely rested and well. Funny how your body just knows what to do to heal itself. Sleep is a wonderful healing balm. Seeing as I've slept for almost 2 full days, I guess I should feel quite rested and recovered. I really can't imagine how horrible things would've been if I'd gone through the induction process early on Tuesday morning only to then have this start happening in the late morning. Thank you Lord for the lack of peace about the decision to induce on Tues. Whew. Glad this is over.

Final Countdown 4...3...2...1

2008-12-01T14:39:00.003-06:00

One week to go till the official due date, but I've already been praying that God would work out the delivery timing to coincide with my family and husband's busy schedules. It's become quite clear (jestfully I'm sure) that everyone is too busy to take time for me to have this baby! ;-) Mom has some important doctor appt on the 4th, so after 1pm would be best. Dad is playing in the Kingwood Pops Symphony on the 5th & 6th and he's the one that's supposed to watch Joseph if I go into labor which allows mom to be in delivery with us (with video camera). Wayne would prefer me to have the baby on a Thursday or Friday so he wouldn't have to miss work too many days since he's used up what he's accrued for personal days so far. Also, he apparently may have to scout a football game in Dallas on the 6th and has a basketball game on the 8th and then a tournament on the 12th and 13th. Hmmm. Funny how this baby's been planning to make a December arrival for 9+ months now and all of a sudden everyone is schedule conscience? I know there is only so much control I have over the situation, but I am feeling a little slighted by all the talk, jestful as it may be. Being the consummate planner that I am, hearing all the discussion about everyone's schedule has put me in a position of feeling like I have to schedule when this baby can arrive. It's just not up to me and I have been praying that God will take that stress off me. He's going to take care of all of it.

My weekly doctor visit didn't prove there was any change to my cervix either. Bummer. I was hoping that God would confirm a little something for me to ease my mind and show me a potential answer to prayer for this week. In any case, I did ask the doctor if there was any chance of being induced this week and he said he'd have the nurse check. When the nurse came back to the room and told me I was scheduled for TOMORROW, I had to fight back an immediate flood of tears that welled up. Induction is not what I wanted, but I had done as my husband asked which was to find out what the possibility was for this week. Clearly my reaction (or semi panic-attack) confirmed to me that God is telling me to chill out and just trust that he'll work it out and that this baby will arrive when he's supposed to arrive and that all schedules will jive accordingly. Just trust. Ok. Will do (or try). So, my dear prayer warriors, keep us on your list for this week and next. In all honesty, from my viewpoint, this week really would be ideal, but I'd like it to happen on natural terms, not forcing it tomorrow (so I've already called and cancelled tomorrow). Regardless, there are some scheduling hurdles to overcome for this week so please just pray that if this week or next (or whenever) that all will go smoothly with everyone's schedules and of course, with my laboring and delivering process!

P.S. It's not that I'm opposed to induction... mind you we induced with Joseph, it's just that the pressure from being concerned about everyone else's schedule is not what I want to be the driving factor with forcing delivery. I did induction last time because 1) I had passed my due date; 2) my doctor was going out of town the following week; 3) being a first time mom I really, really wanted my doctor to be there for me and 4) there was tremendous peace about the decision, unlike today.

Giving Thanks

2008-11-25T08:51:00.008-06:00

As I was driving back from the doctor's office yesterday and starting thinking about what I would put in my blog this week, I was noticing the beautiful colors on the trees near my doctor's office, which is really what prompted me to write about all that I'm thankful for, not just at this time of year, but all blessings I've received and that we continue to receive.

My husband.
My son and soon-to-be here son.
My parents and the hours they spend helping me with countless things (watching Joseph, helping with projects around the house, shopping with or for me, offering advice, praying for us, the list is never ending really).
The expressions and sounds from Joseph as he tries to mimick me when I read Dr. Seuss and make the noises from the book "Mr. Brown Can MOO! Can You?"
Joseph's expressions in general.
Our home.
The summer months when Wayne is off school and I get to spend so much time with him and Joseph.
Our church.
My job with all the flexibilities it allows me (which most times compensates for the frustrations I deal with).
My friends, both near and far, new and old.
Prayer.
The opportunity to help others.
Health.
More to come...

Final Countdown 4...3...2... & Giving Thanks!

2008-11-24T10:47:00.005-06:00

No news to report on the baby front. Activity is good, heart rate strong, belly still big! :-) I am 38 wks and officially full term. I am measuring at almost 39 weeks. Doctor says that doesn't mean I'll be delivering early. I am hoping for it though!

Thanksgiving is a special time of year for me and Wayne. I met Wayne the Sunday before Thanksgiving in 1996. The month prior my family endured a tragic loss when my Uncle died running at Meyer Park. Hours after he died and had been taken to the county morgue, police showed up at my parents home at night asking if he lived at this address. Having just driven in from Dallas and my parents were out for the evening, I had to go downtown to identify his body. Awful.

At his funeral, Gail Gaye (friend of my parents from church) told me about the church, First Baptist Carrollton, her daughter, Angela, was attending. I'd only been living in Dallas since July and had not had any luck finding a church home after months of searching. After the funeral and going back to Dallas, that following Sunday, I visited First Baptist Carrollton and found my church home. I hate to think that my Uncle's death brought me to this church, but without that having happened, I don't think I would've found FBC on my own as it was a smaller church in a more residential area of Dallas than other churches I'd been looking at. The girls I met that first Sunday became my life-long friends and I'm so grateful for having been sent to FBC that Sunday. Three weeks later, Wayne visited the singles class I was attending. That night, we met at FBC's annual cornbread and beans Thanksgivng supper. The rest is history.

I'm not grateful for the loss of my Uncle, but what came of it was life-changing for me. I met a wonderful man who had gone through his share of struggles only to be brought through those at the right time for both him and me. Having gone through my own set of struggles that prior year, I believe God placed Gail at the funeral for the sole purpose of suggesting I visit FBC. No other explanation can be given. So many positives in my life came from that church and I still hold a very soft spot in my heart for FBC.

So, all that to say, I love Thanksgiving and reflecting on what blessings I've been given and for what it meant to have met Wayne during such a special time.

This week, I'm focusing each post on what I am most thankful for. I love you Wayne. Thank you for 12 years of your friendship, almost 11 years of marriage, but most importantly the love and support you have always given me. While we didn't understand why we weren't able to have children during those first 9 years of marriage, what a blessing that God gave us to be together for so long and develop such a strong love and relationship during that time. I appreciate our time together so much more than I think I would've had we had children really early in our marriage. Of course, others might disagree, but this is what was good for us. I love you for everything you were, are and will be. You are my best friend.

Final countdown...4...3 wks

2008-11-17T11:52:00.002-06:00

No news is good news, right? Maybe. My weekly follow-up indicated nothing has changed. I'm still dialated 1-2 cm and 50% effaced. I could've sworn I would be more this week since I'm convinced I'll have this baby before the due date, or is this just my wishful thinking!?? I am staying as active as I possibly can given the limited ability to move!

We had our class social this past Friday night so I was active throughout the week cleaning house, making chili and cornbread and buying the winner's gift. Then, Saturday, I was gone all day to Gospel Lakes (www.gospellakes.org) to volunteer. I wasn't quite as active as normal since I didn't bring Joseph with me and I stayed in the kitchen making PB&J's and cutting oranges (which looked more like lemons than anything). Afterwards, I ventured outside to the craft area, where I normally volunteer. After being outside for about 15 mins, I started rethinking my decision to go to crafts for the rest of the day! It was mighty windy and chilly, especially under the covered pavilion where crafts are done. I stood out in the sun as much as I could!

I'm feeling the last bit of pressure on getting things ready for the baby. Wayne asked that I make him a list of what I need (I guess he's tired of me saying "we need to do X, X and X"). I guess that's fine - I'll just keep adding to the list and as long as I see some being marked off, I won't say anything more! ;-)

Wayne made a difficult decision to quit teaching our young married adult sunday school class. He's not been feeling well for the last month or so and has had a lot of stresses with work and then just with the baby coming and everything, felt he wasn't committing the required time to the class and giving it the attention needed. He had also been approached over the summer about going into the youth group and is thinking that may be a direction he wants to pursue, but needs to take a break before going that route and wants to spend more time in prayer about it. I think youth fits him well, especially given his profession and desire to make more of a difference in that area. So, in the interim before the baby arrives, we aren't attending class and I'm missing seeing friends. On the plus side, I would've been out for a few weeks with the baby anyway. I know it'll all work out eventually. I anticipate a fresh start for the new year though!

Final countdown...4 wks

2008-11-10T12:15:00.003-06:00

My weekly visits to the doctor started this morning. We had an ultrasound to determine baby's position as he's been breech. He has now flipped and is head down! Thank you Lord! So we don't have to struggle with deciding whether or not to do a c-section. We'll just let nature take it's course. Doctor tested my cervix to see if I am dialated any. He said I am at 1-2 cm and about 50% effaced (thinned out). He said the baby is sitting very low in the birth canal and I wholeheartedly concurred with him when he said that. He's so low, he's doing handstands on my thighs when I'm sitting! I know, TMI, but that's what it feels like! :-) Since baby is low in the canal, doctor said that should make for a shorter labor. Woo hoo! Also makes me nervous about getting to hospital in plenty of time. I had a friend that when she went into labor and drove to hospital, she was delivering as she was being wheeled in. I really would prefer for that to not happen!

Joseph had a 3 mth post-op appt last week with his ENT regarding his tubes. Seems that they are now extruding, meaning they are starting to come out. UGH! He's only had this second set since 7/25. Pretty early for these to be coming out. Please pray they stay where they are. We will watch him over the next 3 mths and hope that they stay in.

The bathroom walls are now textured. I need to get the paint color finalized and the counters ordered. I'm the world's biggest procrastinator when I can't make a decision. I bought new light fixtures and towel rods over the weekend. Still need new faucets. Roof will be replaced next week since it's raining this week. Almost done! I need to pick up the pace a little though!

Comings and Goings

2008-11-06T11:01:00.005-06:00

We (read "I") are redoing the upstairs bathroom. Stupid? 5 wks from due date? Nesting? Now that Joseph is in his big boy bedroom, I felt the seashells wallpaper and 26 year old counter and scratched-beyond-repair sinks weren't going to cut it. So, off I go to remove 2 layers of wall paper. I started in August (note the date today). Anyway, wallpaper is gone as of Monday night and my mom graciously offered her time and energy to texture the walls for me. Now I have to get the counters/sink and finalize paint color. Unfortunately, one little glitch has occurred. We had some roof leakage in an alcove of the bathroom that I'm just now seeing so that ceiling is going to need repair/replacement. Not too major, but just really pushes the need for us to get the roof repaired. I keep telling Wayne I could have a baby any moment!! I think he hears me now. ;-)

I am counting down weeks now to the due date. 5 wks (or less) to go! Can't recall if I mentioned before, but baby is breech. I'm praying for him to turn. We'll have another ultrasound next week just to peek at the position. I know he can turn at anytime, but at least we'll know he's still in breech position and likely may stay there. Everything is good with the pregnancy, except that with him being breech, he is rather uncomfortable to carry so movement can become quite difficult.

Wayne had his last football game on Monday night. The team did much better this season. Won 3, lost 2, tied 1. He was most irritated with the tie though as it should've been a win. Still, much better than last year! He hasn't been feeling well for the last few weeks so we've been going to a variety of doctors to try and get some answers. Long story shortened, but on 10/14, he had an episode at work, where before 1st period, he pretty much fainted. He never officially lost consciousness, but said he "felt like he was dying and could feel his body shutting down." His heart rate was low but then came back as he started to recover. I picked him up and took him to the doctor and they started running tests as this isn't something really common for a 'young' otherwise healthy male. One test indicated he is hypoglycemic, but that doesn't really fit with testing we've done since and given that he had eaten 45 mins before it seems strange that this would've been all about low blood sugar. Anyway, we've seen a cardiologist and they dont' seem to concerned but will do an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) and stress test on 11/21. We saw an ENT (ear, nose, throat) specialist yesterday since he still has the constant light-headed feeling. Could be an inner ear imbalance so next week they are doing what they call their standard dizziness testing - a hearing / audio test and ENG. Should take about 3 hrs. We are hoping to get some more answers or at least more to rule out. So, if you think about it, please lift Wayne up in your prayers.

Last thing I wanted to discuss...

I'm so glad the election is over, not because I'm happy about the outcome, but now my phone will quit rinigng off the hook! I find it so interesting that for all the hoopla during the campaign about this not being about race, that is now all that the media is talking about. Yes, Barak is the first african-american male to be president, but have there not been other afr-amr men to gain significant power? Colin Powell for example? Condoleesa Rice (woman of race, none the less)! How about all the successful NBA and NFL players? There are Senators and Representatives that are afr-amr, so why does the media continue to focus on the race issue? I hate that race has to be an issue about whether one feels they can succeed in life. I believe that we all have the opportunity to prove ourselves. Some people are more determined than others. I look at my husband for example and the difference he made for himself in comparison to his siblings. His mother had no more to give him than anyone else, but he had a desire and a drive to be something more. He was raised in a very economically disadvantaged family situation. I'm more concerned with the position the candidates took, regardless of race. Why can't others be the same? Unfortunately, I think that race was a driving factor for many that did vote - no concern whatsoever as to what the man stands for. In any event, I have faith in God and know that He reigns victoriously and that in the end, we win. Now, for the trials we have to deal with until that time, that's another story, but God is still sitting on that throne. He will never leave us or forsake us. I read a devotional this morning which fit a few situations for me this week and thought I'd post it. This comes from God's Daily Word Ministries (Subscribe by email to closerwalk@gdwm.org)

In the book of Job, we read of a man who came under severe attack by Satan. Within a short amount of time, Job went from a man of wealth, health, and large family, to a man who lost all his possessions, was near death, and childless.
In the early stage of his trials, Job demonstrated a deep commitment to God's sovereignty; "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised" (Job 1:20-21). Then when his wife told him to curse God and die, Job responded with: "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:10).

Job seemed to have a deep understanding of the verse we often quote in times of trial; "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him" (Romans 8:28). But at the same time, Job struggled with understanding why God would allow these things to happen. Yes, God is in control...but why!? When Job couldn't find an answer he began to feel terribly alone and abandoned.

Job 23:3-5

"If only I knew where to find Him; if only I could go to His dwelling! I would state my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out what He would answer me, and consider what He would say."

Our trials often cause similar concerns. We find ourselves asking where God has gone and why He is allowing such hardship. Even though we may believe God is "working all things for our good," we often search in vain to find something positive in our situation. And when we fail to see any possible good, we become frustrated and assume God has forgotten us, abandoned us in our time of need.

Finally, God responded to Job's cry for answers: "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!" (Job 38:4-5). God's response continued for almost four chapters: "Who has a claim against Me that I must repay? Everything under heaven belongs to Me" (Job 41:11). The Creator of the Universe - the One who formed every intricate detail of what we see and cannot see - the One who lifted us out of the slimy pit and set our feet on solid ground, spoke to Job and simply said, "I'm God!"

Our Heavenly Father loves us so very much! He truly desires for us to know Him better and walk by His side with complete trust. But there are times when our trust must take comfort in accepting a difficult answer. Often, in the middle of our trials, we must continue to simply believe His Word is true. Though we may not understand, we must desperately cling to His promises and KNOW He will never leave us nor forsake us! Let's be at total peace and restore our hope by always remembering that He is God.

Preconceived notion

2008-10-27T21:16:00.004-05:00

Have you ever had a preconceived idea of who or what a person is about based on the people they hang out with or how you perceive them to act/behave? In my high school, as is in most high schools, there were groups of people... jocks, band geeks, popular kids, druggies, academic kids, etc. I didn't know this person personally (but everyone knew who this person was). I had a preconceived idea of who and what this person was about based on activities this person was involved in and who this person ran with. I may have been wrong. But who knows? I just ran across this person's blog and was completely blown away by the life being lived in serving others and living a life of ministry. I almost feel obligated to apologize to this person that I've never spoken to because of how wrong I was in my high school thoughts of what I thought this person was about. Maybe this person was always a Christian or become one later, but given the "roles" we play or put ourselves in within our little groups, I never had the opportunity or tried to get to know this person. I clearly missed out. Based on my readings of this person's blog about the family, ministry, life being lived, this person seems like a really witty, funny, life and Jesus-loving person that I would enjoy having as a friend.

9 wks to go!

2008-10-08T20:37:00.002-05:00

We went to the doctor this morning for my 31 wk appt. Doctor did an ultrasound to see position of baby, make sure growth was on target and to get an idea of potential birthweight. As of now, the baby is about 4 lbs (in the 75th percentile) and is in breech position. Potential birthweight could be 8 lbs (scary - since Joseph only weighed 6 lbs 7 oz at birth). He will do another ultrasound at 36 weeks to see if baby has changed position. Dr. said 92% of all babies will turn on their own, but that after 36 wks, there's not much room for baby to turn so they will likely stay in the position they are in from then on. So, we have 5 wks to pray for baby to turn head down, otherwise, we'll be needing to make some decisions on how to proceed. Everything else looked good!

September

2008-10-03T14:27:00.006-05:00

I guess I'm not such a blogger after all if it takes me over a month to write something! It's been a rather busy month, so let me try to capture what's happened since my last blog entry.

End of August
School started on 8/25, throwing me back into a tizzy with the immediate reminder of how busy Wayne's schedule is with football practices afterschool and having to leave early in the mornings. I sure appreciate his being home over the summer, especially when school starts and now that I was almost 7 mths pregnant, it's just harder to get everything done with Joseph before he goes to school and then picking him up and making dinner, starting the bedtime routine by myself, etc. On 8/29, I turned 36 years young. I have to say that I'm young since I'm having a baby, otherwise it's too depressing to think of the age that I'm having a baby! :-)

Early September
I had to go to Chicago for business on 9/10-11. Yes, had to fly home on 9/11. Not that I'm superstitous or anything, but there is just something sacred about 9/11 and flying makes it even more sacred. Plus, given the fact that Hurricane Ike was swirling it's devasting path towards Galveston & Houston and not knowing what was ahead for us upon my return. School had started off so busy for Wayne that neither he or I took much consideration as to the approaching Hurricane, so by the time it became serious (9/11), I was praying that I could get home before the flights were all cancelled on 9/12 and that on 9/12 we'd be able to do a decent stab of getting supplies for the Hurricane. We heard about potentially being without power for 2-4 wks, but who really believes that anyway? Ha!

Hurricane Ike
Ike arrived in the wee hours of the morning on Sat, 9/13. Our power went out around 3 am so I went upstairs to sleep so I could hear Joseph. While Wayne slept peacefully downstairs, tucked away from all the swirling trees above my head, I barely slept and spent a lot of time praying that night. I am a heavy sleeper by nature, but for some reason, I just wasn't at peace about sleeping and couldn't get settled. It was so loud sleeping in the upstairs bedroom with the trees swirling and the wind howling and gushing. I just felt this continuous need to pray for protection over us and our home. I remember hearing a soft/semi-loud thud on the roof above me and just thought it was a branch that fell on the house.

Around 6 am, Joseph woke up in a panic. It was pitch dark upstairs so he was scared when he woke up, so our day started early. After getting him up and changed, we managed to eat breakfast while watching the rain, wind and trees. When we looked out the back window, we both made some comment about why the oak tree branch was so close to the ground. Upon further inspection (we stood outside the backdoor, leaving Joseph inside), we realized that branch was supporting a pine tree that fell on our house. With that pine tree having fallen, it pulled up another one that was also caught by the oak tree. Later, we would soon realize how helpful that oak tree had been. It basically cushioned the blow that the one pine tree made on the house and wouldn't you know it, it's what landed on the roof above where I was sleeping. Basically, if that oak tree hadn't cushioned or limited the fall from the pine tree, we would've had serious damage. Where it landed would've cut off the stairwell and would've cut me off from Joseph and could've done serious damage to where I was sleeping. God's protection completely. While standing outside our back door, we heard a snap and then saw the tree right outside my bedroom window snap, separate completely and fall right on top of our neighbor's roof. Again, God's protection. We ran back inside, needless to say!

When it got a little clearer, we were able to walk around to survey damage. We lost one side of our fence, 4 large trees (basically all our decent trees) and had some minor roof damage to the house and garage. Lots to clean up!

We spent most of the day just figuring out what to do with no electricity and a 19 mth old and 7 mth pregnant lady and no a/c! By Sunday, we had to move food down to my parent's house as they had a generator. We started spending time at their house since we could have a fan blowing on us (or should I say ME!). We found out on Sunday that school was going to be closed until Wed, so we decided to head to Dallas. I had a training class that was scheduled months ago so already had hotel. I wasn't going to attend and leave Wayne and Joseph to fend for themselves so when we found out school was cancelled, it made perfect sense for us all to go together! We headed out late afternoon. It was surprising to me how far north the electricity outage (Centerville) and gas shortage (Buffalo) was. We ended up staying in Dallas until Friday and headed back home Friday night.

We were still without power upon our return. Not fun. Spent days with my parents, nights at our home, except for the one night I had a meltdown so we stayed with some friends that had power and a/c. Then I was able to work from my friends house for the next couple of days since Joseph's school set up emergency daycare for folks who had to get back to work. They brought in a generator and big portable a/c unit. Wayne's school was out until that next Wed (total of 8 days). We finally got power back on 9/24, my parents got power on 9/26 and Joseph's school got power on 9/28. Long time with no power and too much Texas heat!

We are almost back to normal. Had the trees removed, sprinklers repaired, sod laid and now are waiting on a roofer to come check us out!

Joseph
Our son is growing up so much! Hard to believe he is 19.5 mths. He's starting to say a lot more words. He's saying bye-bye, no, bees (please), mo (more), mama, dada and you can tell he trys to repeat other words we say, like banana, back (he hears us telling the dog to get back), out and many others. It's so fun to watch and hear him learning new things! He is pretty big for his size, or so I think. He looks older than he is because he's tall and he's losing the baby look to his face. I can still "eat him up" though!

Baby update

2008-08-21T12:54:00.002-05:00

We had our 24 wk appt today. Since our 20 wk ultrasound was somewhat inconclusive on the gender (but leaning towards being a boy), dr. said he would do another ultrasound at today's appt just to determine gender. He is 100% sure it is a boy! I'm glad we have that confirmed. Now I need to start doing some planning with Joseph moving into a bigger bedroom and getting him into a real bed so we can use his crib for the baby. We've been throwing around some names and aren't 100% of what we are wanting. Joseph is named after my dad and Wayne so will this baby feel slighted if we don't do a close family name for him also? Just have some thinking & praying to do on the name front! I also had my glucose testing done today so am waiting on those results. Since I had gestational diabetes with Joseph, my risk is 10% higher to have a recurrence with this pregnancy, but dr. said that many times the 2nd pregnancy doesn't have it, so we'll wait and see!

Random Ramblings

2008-08-12T21:32:00.000-05:00

Seems like so much has happened in the last few weeks. I'll try to summarize it. I need to get better about being consistent with my journaling and sharing my thoughts on stuff.

Joseph's ear tubes
Friday, July 25, Joseph had his 2nd set of ear tubes put in. Poor baby! He also had his adnoids removed so this time they had to put him completely under. He doesn't come out of recovery very happy. Screaming at the top of his lungs and completely inconsolable. It makes me sad for him! Once we got home and got him calmed down, he slept for a couple hours and was almost back to his good 'ole self. We were supposed to keep him calm and non-energetic throughout the day. Of course, that is hard to do with Joseph being as active and energetic as he is in a normal day. Later in the day, once he was back to being himself, he was playing in front of the fireplace, kinda dancing around. He lost his balance and fell on the fire place with the left side of his face and his left ear. Great. A bruise/welp immediately appeared as a line from his ear across his cheek - about 2-3 inches. So, he had a rough day that day. Surgery and then banging his head/ear. I just hope the ear tubes didn't dislodge. He really banged his head pretty hard. Poor baby! We go back to the doctor tomorrow for his post-op follow-up. I'm just hoping his tubes are still in tack. Do I tell the doctor about his little accident if they aren't? Hmm...

House updates
Wayne was so busy this summer playing contractor for getting a lot of things done around the house. We had toyed with the idea of buying a newer used home earlier this year and decided we'd be better off staying put, doing some updates on the house and then focusing on paying our home off early. We had granite countertops and tile backsplash installed, half of the roof replaced, siding and rotten boards replaced, gutters installed, the house painted and the laundry room closet reorganized with Container Store Elfa system. The house really looks good now. Now we just need to get our savings caught up again!

Alabama visit
Aug 1-7, we went to Alabama to vacation and visit with Wayne's family. We stayed in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach. Wayne's mom, brother, Aunt, 2nd cousin and sister all came to visit and/or stay with us a few nights. This was our first time to Gulf Shores. The water wasn't as pretty as it usually is down at Ft. Walton Beach where we normally go. Maybe Tropical Storm Eduard had something to do with it as it was making it's way across the Gulf towards Houston. We spent most of our time at the pool. We took Joseph down to the beach one day for about 15 mins to see how he would react. He was mesmerized by how his foot would sink in the sand as the water would wash up to him. He wasn't so keen on playing in the sand so we just headed back up to the safety of the pool! He was so typical of a toddler - everything that wasn't his, he wanted. Other moms were good and understanding, but try to get him to understand he can't play with everyone's toys wasn't so easy. Overall though, he did pretty good in the pool. We would go down once in the morning and again in the afternoon. The sun would wear him out pretty quickly though - we would generally be down there for 30 mins to 1 hr at a time. All in all, it was a nice visit, however with baby #2 coming, these visits are going to be much more difficult just with all the stuff we have to take to stay in a condo. We will keep trying to get his mom to come out here.

Mamma Mia!
When we got back from our Alabama visit, we had a date night since we didn't really get to spend much one-on-one time together. Wayne graciously accepted us going to see Mamma Mia!. I say "graciously" as if he has ever been a stick in the mud about a true girly movie, but come on, it really was more for the girls. Just the mere fact that there were only about 5 guys in the entire packed theatre is a clue. Anyway, he enjoyed it. I know I did. What great music! It's crazy though, I actually got emotional during the "You can Dance, You can Jive" part of the movie where Donna's friends are trying to get her motivated. Do you ever just miss being young and carefree like that? Or how about having those friends that you can just be silly and crazy with? Made me think about my high school girlfriends and the stuff we would do and how easy it was to just 'be'. Do you know what I mean? Even Wayne had some of that same thought. We had an intellectual conversation about it afterwards. What do we do for fun? What do we do as a couple that just makes us laugh and be carefree? How can we "lighten our load"?

Ice cream
I'm an ice cream connosieur (sp?). I love ice cream. Love it. For store bought, my new favorite from Blue Bell is Candy Jar. My goodness! When it comes to speciality ice cream stores, I think Coldstone is becoming the favorite. Used to be Bruester's, but I decided I've had enough of them. Why can't chocolate chip be a regular instead of the mint chocolate chip? And if it can't be a regular, how are we supposed to know when it's being offered that week? Who eats mint chocolate chip anyway?! They have undoubtedly the best chocolate chip ice cream. It's truely chips (or even chunks), not just the Nestle Chocolate Chips in a bag. Anyway, my mom just had an issue with them that kinda made me decide "no more Bruesters." She had ordered a cup of ice cream and upon pulling up to the window, watched them weigh her cup and then remove some ice cream. Come on now. Take it away? She asked how they weigh waffle cones (because everyone knows how much more ice cream you get in a waffle cone than a cup). Bruester's gal said they didn't, they just 'eyeballed' it. If you are going to remove ice cream from someone's cup, do it before they see you. That's just kinda cheap if you ask me. Now, on to Baskin Robbins. Did you know that when you buy an ice cream sundae at Baskin Robbins, they use a junior scoop (ie for kids)? When you order a scoop (not a sundae), they use the regular adult scooper. Why? They say that because the regular scoop of ice cream doesn't fit in the Sundae cup with all the other toppings. Please. Make bigger cups then. They also alluded to it being that you get all these other toppings so they justify a smaller scoop. Please. That's why I pay more for a Sundae. I should be able to get an adult scoop in Sundae cup with the regular toppings since I do pay more than just a regular scoop, no toppings. Next time you are in BR, ask for a Sundae not using the junior scoop and see what they say. Of course, you could be lucky, like me one time, and get some inexperienced girl that says "who told you we use a junior scoop. I never knew that." Wayne goes tonight to get us some and this girl was clearly more experienced and gave the speech of the regular scoop doesn't fit, blah, blah, blah.

Baby #2 update

2008-07-24T11:58:00.003-05:00

We had our 20 wk ultrasound today and the baby is on track developmentally. The doctor was pleased with what he saw. When the doctor started trying to see the gender, our wee child became shy (or uncooperative). Either way, it was really hard to get a good read on what we are going to have. The doctor tried a variety of angles, tried waiting and going back to see if he could get confirmation. Based on the angles he viewed, he's leaning towards it being a boy. He said he would do another ultrasound on our next visit (8/21) if it was really that important for us to know. Of course I said it was - I have planning to do!! Mostly I need to know whether Joseph is staying in his room (if it's a girl) or if we are moving him to the bigger room (if it's a boy). I really want to get him out of the crib, into a bed and settled into a new room before the baby comes. If we get confirmation next month, that still gives me time, but I sure hate to push it past that point. I really want to minimze the disruption to Joseph as much as possible, so if I can get him moved and settled a few months before the baby comes, we'll all be much happier I think.

Christmas in July

2008-07-15T12:20:00.003-05:00

Well, not exactly... yesterday, I got the cleaning bug and went on a terror of cleaning the bathrooms and dusting. While dusting is a fairly easy task and one I don't think twice about, we recently had granite counters and tile backsplash installed, which created a fine particle layer of dust in every nook & cranny conceivable. Everywhere. While I was cleaning the upstairs bathroom, I realized that the cabinents were incredibly dusty (I'll just blame it solely on the dust from the granite). In any event, I had taken my cleaning bucket and set it on the couch. Mind you my son is into everything. I didn't think twice about him and the bucket because he was hanging with me in the bathroom, or so I thought. It dawned on me that he wasn't with me and so I poked my head out to see my son, who now is looking like Santa Claus with furniture polish foam all over his chin, lips and in his mouth. He's smiling at me, mouth open and he's raking his fingers on his tongue, which is what he does when he doesn't like what's in his mouth. Until now, it's always been food he's trying to rake out.

Imagine my surprise as I look at him in about a 2 second thought of how did he get that foam beard only to then realize in sheer horror that it's furniture polish. As I'm screaming for Wayne, I grab Joseph, run to the bathroom to wipe it off his face and attempt to pour water in his mouth and then turn him over to get it out of his mouth. Maybe not the best solution, but it was what I came up with at that time.

Thankfully, he wasn't coughing or crying, except from me pouring water in his mouth, so I didn't think he had actually swallowed the furniture polish before I reached him. He appeared ok, but none the less, I headed to the phone not sure where to call and realized I don't have a number for Poison Control. I remember my mom having a little green sticker on the phone when I was growing up that had the number. Guess I'll be making myself one now! Anyway, I call information and they give me a number for some Pest Control company. Hello?! So, I call 911 and they are not answering due to high call volume. So, now I'm starting to get both angry and emotional. We could all be dead by now, right?! I hang up and call the Pediatrician to then be interrupted by 911 calling back. How nice is that! I wonder if I hadn't answered would they have sent a police officer or ambulance to the house? Anyway, the 911 operator connects me to Poison Control and my new best friend assures me that based on the information I gave him and the brand of furniture polish, that it appears Joseph was going to be fine. What a relief. So, while my little Santa Claus is tucked away in remote memories, it was a sure gift to know he was good to go get into trouble with something else!

So, please jot this number down and tape it to your phones and refrigerator!
POISON CONTROL: 1-800-222-1222

Mid-year musings

2008-07-10T19:39:00.004-05:00

Ok, so some musings, but mostly updates. The other day, maybe week - time moves so fast now, Wayne had a thought and asked me when we had committed to the Impact campaign our church had for building purposes. The question was in relation to some things he wanted to share on Sunday before the lesson. Anyway, I hadn't put 1 and 1 together until that moment and I had to immediately stop, think and thank God for the realization that shortly after the campaign we became pregnant. I think, no, know, that God blessed us for being faithful to Him and His direction.

July is turning into a busy month for us, in fact seems like the whole summer is going by really fast without having much to say about it! A few days before the 4th holiday, we received a notice from Joseph's school saying they were closing in 60 days. Um - could you have given any more notice than that? Of course, by the time (next day) I got to my choice school to have him attend, I was already #7 on the waiting list. Oh well. I think we've found a place that I feel good about so we are going to register Joseph tomorrow. I just hate for him to have to go to a new school. I loved the school he was at. Do you know how hard it is to find a part-time school program? Joseph goes 3 days a week now and he will end up moving to 4 days (at least I'll pay for 4 days whether or not he ends up going 4 days or not)! I am praying for God to prepare the teacher's hearts for the school year and for the new kids.

This week Wayne had his out-patient procedure to remove some skin cancer on his back. The doctor cut about 2 inches wide and 1 inch deep. There are 3 internal stitches and about 10-12 external stitches. He goes back in 2 wks to have the stitches removed. The doctor acted a little more grave this time while being pleased that he felt he had gotten it all and that we were prompt in taking action on the growth. He indicated it was a rather large cancer and that "your wife saved your life." We couldn't quite tell if there was some jest in that comment or what. In any event, I don't take any kinda of cancer lightly. We'll be praying for healing and protection on Wayne's body from future cancers.

Also, this week, Joseph had a follow-up appt on his ears. His tubes fell out a couple months ago and we've been praying for the fluid in his ears to drain on their own, but his eustachian tubes just aren't up to par yet. So, the doctor recommended that we go ahead and put another set of tubes in and also look at removing his adnoids if they are enlarged as they could be blocking the eustachian tubes. All this means that Joseph will have to be "put out" again - the surgery date is set for July 25.

On the plus side, we will be having our 20 wk ultrasound on July 24 to see our little one growing! We are anxious to find out what we are having!

That next week, Wayne has to go to coach's school in San Antonio and then I think we'll be heading to Mobile to see his mom that following week. Then, right after that, he'll be getting back into the school routine with inservice days, etc. WOW - where did the time go? Our new baby will be here before we know it! Nervous!