I know the who. Natalie. I know the what. Her third birthday. I know the where. Anywhere she is! ;-)What I'm not so sure about is the why – or the how. OK, yeah, I get the why, biologically speaking. But still, who said she could "grow up" so damn quickly? I know, God (which is what Abby would tell me), but still. I don't like it one bit! Why is the baby phase over before we know it? Why is it that we blink and it's gone? (The logical, not-so-sentimental side says that it's because if that phase was super long, we'd never have more than one child – or we'd die much younger than we do ... ;-) Clearly, it's not the logical side writing right now ...)And, HOW? HOW is it possible that she was born THREE YEARS ago? Talk about time flying by! I still remember much of my pregnancy with her quite vividly, as well as her birth and her as a newborn. Don't get me wrong, I am not a huge fan of the newborn phase. I love them small and snuggly, but I hate the helpless feeling when you just can't figure out what's bothering them ... Anyway, clearly, it's the cute, cuddly stuff I'm waxing poetic right now! ;-) I just cannot wrap my mind around the fact that my precious, sweet (SUPER surprise) baby girl is THREE YEARS OLD! Knock me over with a feather!
Yes, I said surprised. Nothing about my final pregnancy was planned. I was still nursing Grant when I found out I was pregnant again. He was 13 months old. From sometime during his first year I knew instinctively (mother's intuition – or divine advanced warning – you decide) that our next baby was going to be born in October. I did not realize it meant the October after his first birthday ... Still, the pregnancy was a complete surprise – especially to Mr. Ham. On a very, very deep level, I knew I was pregnant before it was possible to get a positive pregnancy test. So, when I did get one, I wasn't all that surprised. And I definitely wasn't shocked – but he was. I was excited by the time I broke the news to him, because I had had some time to absorb the idea. I don't know when he got excited, but let's just say that it's all good now. We both love her to pieces. She is the absolute best surprise ever. God has been so good to us.
Still, it's hard to believe that was three years ago – or three years and nine months, if we're counting the pregnancy. Man, these kids grow up fast! (I don't currently have good Natalie pics on my computer, but I'll try to get one up soon.)
Well, it is late and I am EXHAUSTED! I was hoping to write more, but this will have to be it.
Showing posts with label Natalie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natalie. Show all posts
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The End of an Era
It came as a slight surprise to me when Saturday morning Mr. Ham said "let's do the switch today."
The what?
The switch. The bedroom switch. Tear down the crib, set up Grant's new bed in the room the crib had been in, and start having Natalie sleep on the bottom bunk in Abby's room.
Ooooh. That switch.
This is something we had been talking about for several weeks now. We originally had discussed doing so around Memorial Day weekend. I'm not sure why we didn't. Maybe part of it was denial? I dunno. What I do know is that Mr. Ham tore down that crib, then we disassembled the changing tower. Then assembled the hutch to make it a dresser/hutch instead of a changing tower. Then it was time for the bed. I made it with Grant's new Thomas bedding, and his room was ready. And he was THRILLED! I'm not sure if it's the having his own space, the Thomas bedding, the blue walls, or something else. But he was THRILLED. Still is. It's pretty cute, actually! (Click the thumbnails to see the pictures their actual size.)
Once Grant's room was ready, we prepped the girls' room. Changed the sheets for Natalie, brought her favorite blankets (for snuggling) into the room, and let her check out her new pad. She was excited, too. And the next morning, she came into our room (way too early) with Abby, and she had a HUGE grin on her face! She, too, is still excited.
It's bittersweet for me. Because it's the end of an era. For almost 7 years we have had that crib up and (mostly) in use. When Abby was a couple of months old, we moved her into it. She stayed in her crib until she was almost 2.5 – a few months before we needed it for Grant. He used it until he was a few months shy of 2, because Natalie was coming. And she has used it since she was a couple of weeks old. (Funny how that works – first child gets a couple of months in our room. Last child, a couple of weeks. But, I digress ...)
We knew when I was pregnant with Natalie that she was the last. It was confirmed for me shortly (we're talking moments) after her birth. I knew I was D.O.N.E. DONE! While I occasionally get a tiny smidgen of baby lust, it's very fleeting! I just remind myself how nice it is to be done with the newborn craziness. Natalie's got a routine, we're all settling into a nice family routine. I'm happy to NOT upset it now! ;-)
But, still, it is the end of an era. The Baby Era is over in the Ham household. Over and done. (Mr. Ham is fixed, so there's no question about it!) And I'm 99.9% happy with that. But, part of me will miss my cuddly, sweet babies. (Especially when the older one mouths off and rolls her eyes ...) The Baby Era is over. I'm not sure what to call it now. We have one in school, one in preschool, and the other's technically a toddler still. The first of many Transitional eras, perhaps? Maybe I'll call this Transition Era, the First. That will give way to The School Era, when all three are in school. Back to Transition, etc.
Yikes! I had better stop thinking about that! It'll make me sad.
Time to enjoy these sweet babies – er, I mean children – of mine before they want nothing to do with me!
The what?
The switch. The bedroom switch. Tear down the crib, set up Grant's new bed in the room the crib had been in, and start having Natalie sleep on the bottom bunk in Abby's room.
Ooooh. That switch.
 |
| Grant tries out his new bed for the first time. |
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| Grant reads to his puppy in his new bed. |
Once Grant's room was ready, we prepped the girls' room. Changed the sheets for Natalie, brought her favorite blankets (for snuggling) into the room, and let her check out her new pad. She was excited, too. And the next morning, she came into our room (way too early) with Abby, and she had a HUGE grin on her face! She, too, is still excited.
 |
| Grant shows off his Thomas bed. |
We knew when I was pregnant with Natalie that she was the last. It was confirmed for me shortly (we're talking moments) after her birth. I knew I was D.O.N.E. DONE! While I occasionally get a tiny smidgen of baby lust, it's very fleeting! I just remind myself how nice it is to be done with the newborn craziness. Natalie's got a routine, we're all settling into a nice family routine. I'm happy to NOT upset it now! ;-)
But, still, it is the end of an era. The Baby Era is over in the Ham household. Over and done. (Mr. Ham is fixed, so there's no question about it!) And I'm 99.9% happy with that. But, part of me will miss my cuddly, sweet babies. (Especially when the older one mouths off and rolls her eyes ...) The Baby Era is over. I'm not sure what to call it now. We have one in school, one in preschool, and the other's technically a toddler still. The first of many Transitional eras, perhaps? Maybe I'll call this Transition Era, the First. That will give way to The School Era, when all three are in school. Back to Transition, etc.
Yikes! I had better stop thinking about that! It'll make me sad.
Time to enjoy these sweet babies – er, I mean children – of mine before they want nothing to do with me!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Things That Shouldn't Surprise Me
... but somehow they do!
- My son, Grant, is a very picky eater. Given that I am a picky eater ... Ironically, my girls are better eaters than my boy is. Go figure! LOL
- Speaking of my girls, Abby is a nonstop talker. Talk, talk, talk. She even says that she LOVES talking! Why shouldn't this surprise me? I'm so glad you asked! As a newborn, this girl cried and cried and cried. All. the. time. Unless she was eating or sleeping, of course. No, no colic – doctor said so, and i know so. Just crying for no apparent reason. My mom, who has TONS of experience with babies and kids, even found her challenging – and I quote "she's the hardest baby I've ever seen!" Thankfully, she waited until Abby got a little less difficult before saying that! Anyway, now I think she was just TALKING. As a newborn, the only way she knew to do that was to CRY! So, when I look at it that way, I realize that I shouldn't be so surprised that the girl neverstopstalking! ;-)
- Natalie is – well, how do I say it ... challenging – and in a way that's completely different from her older sister. She's go, go, go all the time. She's constantly testing boundaries. She's into EVERYTHING. She was more active than the other two as an infant – started getting into aforementioned EVERYTHING much earlier. Why should this be anything but surprising? For one, she was the MOST active before she was born. This girl moved more regularly, AND with much more oomph behind her movements, than her siblings! MUCH more. MUCH, MUCH more. Add to that, hers was my most difficult pregnancy, and most uncomfortable.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Dear God: Please No More
At the end of it all, I found myself thinking "Please, Lord, let this be the end of it! I can't do this again!"
What is "it all"? Just the whole ordeal I hinted at in yesterday's post. Before I start, let me just say that I barely have the energy to think about it, let alone write it all out. So, if this is disjointed or otherwise confusing, please forgive me. I think, in the interest of my OWN sanity, I'm going to give you some background info, then the details, followed by me living up to this blog's name: rambling. I'm just going to post what's on my mind – whatever it might be. Should be fun! (Oh, and this is taking me HOURS to write the whole thing, because of how drained I am.)
Background: Natalie has had a rough winter. She's been sick a LOT – and some of it was pretty bad. From ear infection to pneumonia back to ear infection (times 5, I think) back to pneumonia – again. She has been on a few different meds, but more often than not over the past few months, she's been on Omnicef. It has done its job – the ear infections have gone away as expected. We've just had either more ear infections settle in or something else take their place.
And here begins our tale: Thursday night was AWFUL. But, she was still on the Omnicef, so we didn't even consider anything wrong with her ears. In fact, I remember thinking that it must be viral because she was on the meds. But, I also remember wondering if she was having trouble with her lungs. The issues she was having reminded me of when she had pneumonia. I brought her in to see the doctor that morning. He looked her over and said it was "impossible" that she had strep because of the meds she was on. He ordered a blood test and let me know that, while in the normal range, her white blood cell count was high. Apparently it was indicative of bacteria somewhere. He said to bring her back on Saturday (he was in, praise God) if we had another rough night on Friday.
Friday night was AWFUL, too. So, back to the doctor we went Saturday morning. He took another blood test, but her fingers were ice cold and it was very hard for the nurse to get a sample. We were sent to the lab, where they took blood from her arm. Back at home, she finally was napping when the doctor called. He said her WBC was up from 16,000 to 18,000. He wanted to make sure there wasn't bacteria hiding in her blood, bladder, or lungs, so we were sent to the hospital (the peds department, not emergency or anything) for some tests.
This was the worst part. The worst thing I've ever been through. The time I almost broke down and wept with my child. Almost. But, I didn't, because I felt like I needed to be strong for her.
The hospital was OK. First the chest X-ray, which she didn't like but she cooperated OK. Next, was the urine collection – via catheter. Poor baby, this was the part I was almost crying through. My poor sweet baby clearly didn't like it – and I can't say I blame her. She cried and cried and screamed in a way I'd never heard before.
But it didn't stop there.
Next (as in almost immediately) they went ahead and gave her the shots of antibiotics – yes, two. This was immediately followed by another blood draw. Again, I almost broke down. This was when I found myself thinking "Please, Lord, let this be the end of it!"
We were sent back to our temporary room (to make sure she didn't react to the meds), where she was hysterical. VERY hysterical. She was screaming and crying like I hope to never hear again! She wanted to go home – REALLY wanted to go home. NOTHING would calm her – NOTHING!
I finally decided to take her for a walk in the hallway, hoping to distract her. Praise God, that worked! They have an ocean-themed mural with fish (and bubbles, which she pointed out), whales, etc. That caught her attention, calmed her, and helped restore her to the usual happy, easy-going, cooperative Natalie I'm used to!
The doctor was on the phone while I was in the hallway, so they just had me talk to him there. Basically, the urine culture was negative, but the chest X-ray resembled what he'd expect from a VIRAL infection – not bacterial. With the blood work, he was still concerned that there was some bacteria somewhere, so he set up an appointment for us to see another doctor in the practice this morning. I was told to take Natalie home, treat the symptoms, and let the other doctor know how things are in the morning.
Trying not to think about my worst fears – what else (and far more serious) could cause the white blood cell count to be up – we headed home. On the way, I again found myself thinking, praying, BEGGING, "Please, Lord, let this be the end of it! I can't do this again!"
It really is OVER: Last night was possibly the worst one yet. And she had another fever. We went to the doctor at the appointed time. They took her temp, which was close to normal. They also took more blood, which she HATED. (I can't say I blame her, of course!) But, the test went in our favor. Her WBC was DOWN, PRAISE GOD!
The doctor said he is confident in calling it a viral infection, and that we should just treat the symptoms and report back to our usual doctor tomorrow. Apparently, at the beginning of a viral infection it's common for the WBC to spike before returning to normal. Makes sense to me – the body's initial immune response before knowing exactly how it needs to respond.
Words cannot express just how relieved I was – I still am! I had allowed myself to consider my fears – to research what I was worried the doctors were thinking. I refuse to name it, but I'm guessing you might be able to figure it out. (Hint: It begins with the letter L.) I refuse to name it, not because of fear, but because I refuse to give it any sort of hold in my family at all. It is NOT welcome here, so I think just ignoring it is the way to go. (Please, if you do figure it out, don't post it in the comments. I truly don't want it here on my blog.)
God is so good. I praise Him and thank Him for watching over us – over my baby girl. I feel so much lighter – and have since leaving the doctor's office. Now I just pray this sweet angel of mine STAYS HEALTHY!
What is "it all"? Just the whole ordeal I hinted at in yesterday's post. Before I start, let me just say that I barely have the energy to think about it, let alone write it all out. So, if this is disjointed or otherwise confusing, please forgive me. I think, in the interest of my OWN sanity, I'm going to give you some background info, then the details, followed by me living up to this blog's name: rambling. I'm just going to post what's on my mind – whatever it might be. Should be fun! (Oh, and this is taking me HOURS to write the whole thing, because of how drained I am.)
Background: Natalie has had a rough winter. She's been sick a LOT – and some of it was pretty bad. From ear infection to pneumonia back to ear infection (times 5, I think) back to pneumonia – again. She has been on a few different meds, but more often than not over the past few months, she's been on Omnicef. It has done its job – the ear infections have gone away as expected. We've just had either more ear infections settle in or something else take their place.
And here begins our tale: Thursday night was AWFUL. But, she was still on the Omnicef, so we didn't even consider anything wrong with her ears. In fact, I remember thinking that it must be viral because she was on the meds. But, I also remember wondering if she was having trouble with her lungs. The issues she was having reminded me of when she had pneumonia. I brought her in to see the doctor that morning. He looked her over and said it was "impossible" that she had strep because of the meds she was on. He ordered a blood test and let me know that, while in the normal range, her white blood cell count was high. Apparently it was indicative of bacteria somewhere. He said to bring her back on Saturday (he was in, praise God) if we had another rough night on Friday.
Friday night was AWFUL, too. So, back to the doctor we went Saturday morning. He took another blood test, but her fingers were ice cold and it was very hard for the nurse to get a sample. We were sent to the lab, where they took blood from her arm. Back at home, she finally was napping when the doctor called. He said her WBC was up from 16,000 to 18,000. He wanted to make sure there wasn't bacteria hiding in her blood, bladder, or lungs, so we were sent to the hospital (the peds department, not emergency or anything) for some tests.
This was the worst part. The worst thing I've ever been through. The time I almost broke down and wept with my child. Almost. But, I didn't, because I felt like I needed to be strong for her.
The hospital was OK. First the chest X-ray, which she didn't like but she cooperated OK. Next, was the urine collection – via catheter. Poor baby, this was the part I was almost crying through. My poor sweet baby clearly didn't like it – and I can't say I blame her. She cried and cried and screamed in a way I'd never heard before.
But it didn't stop there.
Next (as in almost immediately) they went ahead and gave her the shots of antibiotics – yes, two. This was immediately followed by another blood draw. Again, I almost broke down. This was when I found myself thinking "Please, Lord, let this be the end of it!"
We were sent back to our temporary room (to make sure she didn't react to the meds), where she was hysterical. VERY hysterical. She was screaming and crying like I hope to never hear again! She wanted to go home – REALLY wanted to go home. NOTHING would calm her – NOTHING!
I finally decided to take her for a walk in the hallway, hoping to distract her. Praise God, that worked! They have an ocean-themed mural with fish (and bubbles, which she pointed out), whales, etc. That caught her attention, calmed her, and helped restore her to the usual happy, easy-going, cooperative Natalie I'm used to!
The doctor was on the phone while I was in the hallway, so they just had me talk to him there. Basically, the urine culture was negative, but the chest X-ray resembled what he'd expect from a VIRAL infection – not bacterial. With the blood work, he was still concerned that there was some bacteria somewhere, so he set up an appointment for us to see another doctor in the practice this morning. I was told to take Natalie home, treat the symptoms, and let the other doctor know how things are in the morning.
Trying not to think about my worst fears – what else (and far more serious) could cause the white blood cell count to be up – we headed home. On the way, I again found myself thinking, praying, BEGGING, "Please, Lord, let this be the end of it! I can't do this again!"
It really is OVER: Last night was possibly the worst one yet. And she had another fever. We went to the doctor at the appointed time. They took her temp, which was close to normal. They also took more blood, which she HATED. (I can't say I blame her, of course!) But, the test went in our favor. Her WBC was DOWN, PRAISE GOD!
The doctor said he is confident in calling it a viral infection, and that we should just treat the symptoms and report back to our usual doctor tomorrow. Apparently, at the beginning of a viral infection it's common for the WBC to spike before returning to normal. Makes sense to me – the body's initial immune response before knowing exactly how it needs to respond.
Words cannot express just how relieved I was – I still am! I had allowed myself to consider my fears – to research what I was worried the doctors were thinking. I refuse to name it, but I'm guessing you might be able to figure it out. (Hint: It begins with the letter L.) I refuse to name it, not because of fear, but because I refuse to give it any sort of hold in my family at all. It is NOT welcome here, so I think just ignoring it is the way to go. (Please, if you do figure it out, don't post it in the comments. I truly don't want it here on my blog.)
God is so good. I praise Him and thank Him for watching over us – over my baby girl. I feel so much lighter – and have since leaving the doctor's office. Now I just pray this sweet angel of mine STAYS HEALTHY!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Week in Review & Looking Ahead
INTRODUCTION <<< Well, isn't that embarrassing? Today has been the day from hell, and I'm blaming it on that! I hope you all had a better week than I did!
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Looking back, here are the highlights (and lowlights, I suppose) of my week.
- Sunday: I posted my first Getting to Know You post. Personally, it was unusually calm. I finally got all caught up on balancing our checkbooks, savings account registers, etc. Note to self: NEVER put it off for several months EVER again!
- Monday: It was a fun Friend Makin' Monday. :-) Off the blog, it was a busy day. The main thing was I had PT in the morning. Laura, my physical therapist, worked me hard - and left me sore all week!
- Tuesday: Week 2 of Tune-In Tuesday. I had one participant. Just ONE! But, it's more than the ZERO I had the previous week! ;-) I'm trying to see the bright side here. I'm also considering trying to find a way to post just the songs, rather than the videos. More to come on that ... On a personal note, Grant had an event at his school in the evening. Ronald McDonald came and did a
horribleprogram about anti-bullying. Grant seemed to like it, so that should be enough, right? - Wednesday: I announced the winner of my latest giveaway. Congrats, Denise! Personally, I took my younger kids to Monkey Joe's - which they LOVED! (Grant had the day off.) We went straight from there to pick up Abby, when I decided sitting in front of her school for half the afternoon would be fun. Translation: I drained the Odyssey's battery letting Grant and Natalie watch a DVD with the engine turned off! Fortunately, the hubby was available to help – praise God!
- Thursday: Real life and my blog crashed when I posted a rare tidbit about life with my kids. Seems my oldest has taken up lying as her newest skill to hone. You can read all about it – and give me advice you might have - HERE. Aside from that, we had conferences, which went well – both kids are doing great in school.
- Friday: I again chose to opt out of Friday Follow, but did a Five Question Friday post. Those are a LOT of fun, so I'll likely keep it up! :-) Personally, I ended up canceling my physical therapy appointment because Natalie was sick. Quite sick. Took her to the doctor instead of me going to PT. Otherwise, it was a nice day.
- Saturday: No post other than this one – and this one almost didn't get done. Natalie is really sick. In order to keep this post from getting too long, I'll post about it separately. I did finish the book I'm editing - the first read of it.
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As for the coming week:
- Sunday: No blog post planned. Given how things were today, I don't plan much of anything. I do have to speed-read through a book for a blog tour – to be posted by Friday. Personally, we take Natalie back to the doctor in the morning. Our pediatrician has the day off (the NERVE!), so we'll be seeing someone else. But, he's the head of the practice, and I know he's good, so I'm not worried.
- Monday: I plan to participate in Friend Makin' Monday. Off-blog, I'm supposed to have more physical therapy in the morning. Abby has Girl Scouts in the afternoon, and I just remembered the last bit of money for cookies is due then! (Ahh, a personal benefit for this weekly post!)
- Tuesday: Time for more Tune-In Tuesday! :-) Personally, the calendar is blank, so that makes me happy, but I'm sure it'll change.
- Wednesday: I plan to participate in Whatcha Reading Wednesday! I am REALLY excited about this one! (Yes, I truly AM a book nerd! LMAO) No plans off-blog.
- Thursday: No plans - on blog or off. Although, I'm hoping to reschedule Friday's PT appointment for Thursday so I can have a sitter.
- Friday: Five Question Friday, of course! I also will have posted about this week's blog tour book - PLUS a GIVEAWAY! :-) Hopefully, though, it'll be up earlier in the week! Otherwise, just physical therapy, but you know that I'm hoping it's NOT happening on Friday!
- Saturday: Just the week review/preview post, blogwise. No plans otherwise - YET. Lord knows that'll change! ;-)
Friday, February 26, 2010
Just pitiful
We tried hard with all three kids to avoid the Linus syndrome - you know, having a blanket that must go EVERYWHERE with them! Abby and Grant went along with it, choosing something smaller (and more portable) to cling to. Natalie, however, did not cooperate.
Yesterday Natalie decided that she simply couldn't do anything without her precious blanket. While my husband makes her leave it in the crib every morning, I let her bring it downstairs. Sometimes - like yesterday - she tries to carry it with her everywhere. I say "tries" because I don't let her leave the house with it. And sometimes - again, like yesterday - she protests. Usually she just throws a fit and cries for about 5 minutes or so. Not yesterday. She threw a fit in the kitchen and refused to cooperate as I was trying to get everyone into the car. So, I forced her through the door (gently of course), after which point she relented and walked to the car without more fussing. This was in the morning, when dropping Abby off at school.
About 30 minutes later it was time to bring Grant to school. Natalie again attempted to bring the blanket. There was another fit. Again she refused to leave the house willingly. As I'm (again, gently) dragging her out the door, I asked "Do we really need to do this again?" Her response: "Yes" in the most pitiful voice I've ever heard! LMAO I couldn't help but crack up. And, yes, this occurred one more time when it was time to pick Grant up - complete with the pitiful "Yes" when asked if we really had to do that again! LOL
Natalie is such a character. All three of my kiddos are. But, I wouldn't change them - or my life with them - for anything. God has blessed me beyond my greatest hopes!
Yesterday Natalie decided that she simply couldn't do anything without her precious blanket. While my husband makes her leave it in the crib every morning, I let her bring it downstairs. Sometimes - like yesterday - she tries to carry it with her everywhere. I say "tries" because I don't let her leave the house with it. And sometimes - again, like yesterday - she protests. Usually she just throws a fit and cries for about 5 minutes or so. Not yesterday. She threw a fit in the kitchen and refused to cooperate as I was trying to get everyone into the car. So, I forced her through the door (gently of course), after which point she relented and walked to the car without more fussing. This was in the morning, when dropping Abby off at school.
About 30 minutes later it was time to bring Grant to school. Natalie again attempted to bring the blanket. There was another fit. Again she refused to leave the house willingly. As I'm (again, gently) dragging her out the door, I asked "Do we really need to do this again?" Her response: "Yes" in the most pitiful voice I've ever heard! LMAO I couldn't help but crack up. And, yes, this occurred one more time when it was time to pick Grant up - complete with the pitiful "Yes" when asked if we really had to do that again! LOL
Natalie is such a character. All three of my kiddos are. But, I wouldn't change them - or my life with them - for anything. God has blessed me beyond my greatest hopes!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Not a Morning Person
I hate when it's time to get one child somewhere and one of the others is still sleeping. I hate having to wake the peaceful child. But, sometimes it's gotta be done.
This morning was one such morning. It was getting close to time to take Grant to school, and Natalie was still sound asleep. It was clear we'd have to wake her. Grant and I headed to her room, where it was clear she was still OUT. She didn't even move when we turned on the light. While I was getting her clothes out, she finally became aware of our presence. I heard a squeaky, whiny "I don't want to" come from the crib. I smiled as I got everything – clothes, diaper, etc. – ready for her. I approach the crib to get her up, and am greeted with another "I don't want to!" LOL Her eyes were still closed tightly and she hadn't moved except to speak! I gently told her it's time to take Grant to school, and again heard "I don't want to!" LOL This went on for a few minutes before I lifted her out of the crib to get her ready.
Once she was out of the crib, the protests changed to "Noooooo!" and all-out screaming/crying. Poor thing. While I was getting her PJs off, I looked away for a minute to grab her blanket. When I turned back, she had put her foot back into her PJs! LOL As I pulled it back out, I hear, "No! No! No! No!" Poor thing - I know it's cold! Still it cracked me up. Little stinker! I think we're going to be in trouble when she hits the teen years!
This morning was one such morning. It was getting close to time to take Grant to school, and Natalie was still sound asleep. It was clear we'd have to wake her. Grant and I headed to her room, where it was clear she was still OUT. She didn't even move when we turned on the light. While I was getting her clothes out, she finally became aware of our presence. I heard a squeaky, whiny "I don't want to" come from the crib. I smiled as I got everything – clothes, diaper, etc. – ready for her. I approach the crib to get her up, and am greeted with another "I don't want to!" LOL Her eyes were still closed tightly and she hadn't moved except to speak! I gently told her it's time to take Grant to school, and again heard "I don't want to!" LOL This went on for a few minutes before I lifted her out of the crib to get her ready.
Once she was out of the crib, the protests changed to "Noooooo!" and all-out screaming/crying. Poor thing. While I was getting her PJs off, I looked away for a minute to grab her blanket. When I turned back, she had put her foot back into her PJs! LOL As I pulled it back out, I hear, "No! No! No! No!" Poor thing - I know it's cold! Still it cracked me up. Little stinker! I think we're going to be in trouble when she hits the teen years!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
My nerves got the best of me
Today was my son's first day of preschool. I was a nervous wreck. Generally speaking, he doesn't separate from me very easily, so I was dreading a tear-filled good-bye. Apparently, that's not what I should've been worried about.
I have to get Grant there at about 8:30. I was very nervous - heart palpating, breathing shallow, slight shake. (There's a lot more to this than me just being worried about preschool. He has a speech delay, and was evaluated in June for Autism. Praise God, no Autism, but I get the feeling the school's not 100% convinced, hence my nerves!) It was very lightly raining - kind of a drizzle or sprinkle. You know, one of those times you'd wish it'd just rain and get on with things!
Anyway, we pull up, and parking is hard to find within a couple of blocks of the school. That displeases me, as we're running a tiny bit late and I have to lug my 22-month-old around, too. I spot a pretty long spot right in front of the school, where only parallel parking is available. (You can see where I'm going with this, can't you? If not, let's just say I don't normally do parallel parking ...) Having no other real options, I attempt to take the spot.
Bear in mind that this is a narrow street, and there's a full-sized school bus on my left. The spot I want is the second car in, so I have to maneuver with very little room around another car. That did not go well. As I'm pulling in, I hear the alarm go off on the car in the spot behind mine, followed by a scraping sound.
I muttered an F-bomb under my breath as I realized what that meant. (And, I must say, I'm quite proud of myself for keeping it so the kiddos couldn't hear it!)
First things first, I gotta drop the boy off. So, I get out and get the boy out of his seat, then proceed to the other side of the van - the side with the damage - and check it out briefly. Surprisingly, no dent or major damage - just scratches! Praise God, as it could've been MUCH worse! So, I get Natalie out and we head inside.
Grant shows me just how ready he is for preschool by dropping my hand the moment we enter the building. I was surprised - but happy. It must mean he's at least comfortable in the building! (He attended speech therapy there last spring, and we were there last night for the open house.) We go to the cafeteria, and he's fine. He was a little reluctant to let Natalie and me go, but his teacher held him and showed him the HUGE indoor playset they were going to be using in a few minutes. While he remained reluctant to let us go, no tears were shed!
Back outside go Natalie and I. The car I scraped is still there. I go look, and it's really not bad. Just the front driver-side fender, really. Unfortunately, though, both vehicles have scratches. Definite scratches. So, I wait with Natalie in the car, hoping the owner of that car comes out soon. (Natalie was a little upset by leaving "Dude" - her pet name for her brother - behind.) When they finally do come out, they get in the car and don't even notice anything. I feel EXTRA bad, because she is in tears - apparently her child didn't have as easy a drop-off.
After looking things over, I give them my insurance info. Come to find out, we have the same agent - hopefully that somehow works in our favor. (Thankfully, we did avoid involving the cops.) I apologize profusely, fighting back tears. We finally go on our merry - er, not-so-merry - way and I freak over how my husband will handle it. Our renewal is coming up in a couple of months - how will this affect our rates? He's gonna kill me!
You'd think that after being married to the man for 11 years I'd know him well enough to know I didn't have to be so worried. He was fine and understanding. Just told me to call insurance and get it settled. He closed with "Just don't make it a habit, OK?" LOL He made me laugh - I should've known he'd do that. That's his thing - breaking stress by making me laugh.
Pick-up time was at 11, and I decided to leave early in hopes that we get a better parking spot - with less trouble. It worked out. When picking Grant up, he was doing just fine. Didn't seem upset or anything - slightly concerned (probably wondering where they're going now), but not upset. I had to call his name a few times before he heard me. He was all smiles when he saw me. On the way back to our car, we ran into his teacher, who said he did great. When asked, he says he had fun, and when we ask what he did, he says "Play with friends." That makes me smile. Perhaps he most enjoyed playing with his peers, rather than his older and younger sisters - must be a nice change of pace.
As for the car, I took it in for an estimate - which was just shy of $1,800! Shocked me, especially since I was told the other car only had about $300 of damage. Thankfully, we have a low deductible - only $100. I also learned it'll take THREE DAYS! Fortunately, we also have rental-car costs covered. Praise God for insurance!
Now, I just pray our rate doesn't increase too much. This is our first accident of any sort in 11 years. Hopefully they take that into account!
So, I've learned a few things today:
I have to get Grant there at about 8:30. I was very nervous - heart palpating, breathing shallow, slight shake. (There's a lot more to this than me just being worried about preschool. He has a speech delay, and was evaluated in June for Autism. Praise God, no Autism, but I get the feeling the school's not 100% convinced, hence my nerves!) It was very lightly raining - kind of a drizzle or sprinkle. You know, one of those times you'd wish it'd just rain and get on with things!
Anyway, we pull up, and parking is hard to find within a couple of blocks of the school. That displeases me, as we're running a tiny bit late and I have to lug my 22-month-old around, too. I spot a pretty long spot right in front of the school, where only parallel parking is available. (You can see where I'm going with this, can't you? If not, let's just say I don't normally do parallel parking ...) Having no other real options, I attempt to take the spot.
Bear in mind that this is a narrow street, and there's a full-sized school bus on my left. The spot I want is the second car in, so I have to maneuver with very little room around another car. That did not go well. As I'm pulling in, I hear the alarm go off on the car in the spot behind mine, followed by a scraping sound.
I muttered an F-bomb under my breath as I realized what that meant. (And, I must say, I'm quite proud of myself for keeping it so the kiddos couldn't hear it!)
First things first, I gotta drop the boy off. So, I get out and get the boy out of his seat, then proceed to the other side of the van - the side with the damage - and check it out briefly. Surprisingly, no dent or major damage - just scratches! Praise God, as it could've been MUCH worse! So, I get Natalie out and we head inside.
Grant shows me just how ready he is for preschool by dropping my hand the moment we enter the building. I was surprised - but happy. It must mean he's at least comfortable in the building! (He attended speech therapy there last spring, and we were there last night for the open house.) We go to the cafeteria, and he's fine. He was a little reluctant to let Natalie and me go, but his teacher held him and showed him the HUGE indoor playset they were going to be using in a few minutes. While he remained reluctant to let us go, no tears were shed!
Back outside go Natalie and I. The car I scraped is still there. I go look, and it's really not bad. Just the front driver-side fender, really. Unfortunately, though, both vehicles have scratches. Definite scratches. So, I wait with Natalie in the car, hoping the owner of that car comes out soon. (Natalie was a little upset by leaving "Dude" - her pet name for her brother - behind.) When they finally do come out, they get in the car and don't even notice anything. I feel EXTRA bad, because she is in tears - apparently her child didn't have as easy a drop-off.
After looking things over, I give them my insurance info. Come to find out, we have the same agent - hopefully that somehow works in our favor. (Thankfully, we did avoid involving the cops.) I apologize profusely, fighting back tears. We finally go on our merry - er, not-so-merry - way and I freak over how my husband will handle it. Our renewal is coming up in a couple of months - how will this affect our rates? He's gonna kill me!
You'd think that after being married to the man for 11 years I'd know him well enough to know I didn't have to be so worried. He was fine and understanding. Just told me to call insurance and get it settled. He closed with "Just don't make it a habit, OK?" LOL He made me laugh - I should've known he'd do that. That's his thing - breaking stress by making me laugh.
Pick-up time was at 11, and I decided to leave early in hopes that we get a better parking spot - with less trouble. It worked out. When picking Grant up, he was doing just fine. Didn't seem upset or anything - slightly concerned (probably wondering where they're going now), but not upset. I had to call his name a few times before he heard me. He was all smiles when he saw me. On the way back to our car, we ran into his teacher, who said he did great. When asked, he says he had fun, and when we ask what he did, he says "Play with friends." That makes me smile. Perhaps he most enjoyed playing with his peers, rather than his older and younger sisters - must be a nice change of pace.
As for the car, I took it in for an estimate - which was just shy of $1,800! Shocked me, especially since I was told the other car only had about $300 of damage. Thankfully, we have a low deductible - only $100. I also learned it'll take THREE DAYS! Fortunately, we also have rental-car costs covered. Praise God for insurance!
Now, I just pray our rate doesn't increase too much. This is our first accident of any sort in 11 years. Hopefully they take that into account!
So, I've learned a few things today:
- Yes, my son will be OK without me.
- There's a reason I generally don't do parallel parking.
- While expensive, car insurance is DEFINITELY worth it!
- I have an amazingly awesome, caring, understanding, and sweet husband. (Well, I already knew that - just needed a reminder.)
- There's a reason I generally don't do parallel parking. (Yeah, I know, I already said that - but it's worth mentioning one more time!)
Saturday, August 1, 2009
What's with the Guilt?
Mommy Guilt. If you're a mom, you know what I'm talking about. I just wanna know: What's up with that? I mean, why do we feel guilty for everything and nothing all at once? Why is it that being a mom seems to make one a guilt magnet?
Example: I have three kids and I worry about equal treatment - as much as is possible, as perfectly equal is not. Individuals can't be treated exactly the same simply because they aren't the same. That said, I still find myself feeling guilty over just about anything. The latest is pictures, of all things! When Abby was born, I was diligent about having pictures taken at regular intervals. I started at 6 weeks (figuring her hospital pics were good enough for newborn), then 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and annually after that. When school started, we just started relying on those for her annual individual shots. For Grant, I was pretty good about sticking to that schedule. There might have been some slight variation - like 19 months instead of 18 months - but I still did a pretty good job. Poor sweet Natalie, however, is getting the short end of the annual-pictures stick! Long story short: I missed her 18-month pictures! My husband was gone to Fargo for 30 days when she hit that milestone, and I just never got around to it. And now, she's 21 months - three months from her 24-month pictures. I feel bad - and I am sure this will be a source of regret at times in the future. We do take pictures of her at home, but not nearly as much as we did Abby - or Grant. Poor kid is getting the classic third-born treatment!
Why do I feel so friggin' guilty about this? I mean, seriously! It's not like it's a life-or-death thing! And it's not like she hasn't gotten treatment the others missed out on! For one, we take lots of videos of her - something we didn't do with Abby very much at all, simply for lack of the requisite equipment. Same for Grant. Plus, I worked full time, so I missed a lot of what I've taken video of with Natalie. And then Grant got more ultrasounds (prior to birth) than the girls. Poor Abby didn't get any - our insurance wouldn't pay for it! Natalie got the standard mid-point ultrasound. Grant, however, got two in-depth sonograms. Poor Abby, when we showed her Natalie's pictures, asked about hers from when she was still "in Mommy's tummy." The disappointment on her face brought on major Mommy Guilt! I found myself wishing we'd gotten one - but that would've cost us $300 or more! We didn't really have that to spare.
All of this to illustrate the things over which I tend to struggle with feeling guilty over. There are many more that come and go, depending on what we're dealing with and how I'm feeling, but those are the major ones right now. It's annoying, to say the least. There are times I get down on myself because of this stuff, but then I remind myself that these aren't major issues. Overall, we do a good job (I think) with our kids. We love them; we take good care of them; and we do our very best to make sure we do right by them. Still, there's always something that brings on the guilt. Why is that?
How about you? Do you suffer from Mommy Guilt? If so, what brings it on for you? If not, how do you manage to keep it away?
Example: I have three kids and I worry about equal treatment - as much as is possible, as perfectly equal is not. Individuals can't be treated exactly the same simply because they aren't the same. That said, I still find myself feeling guilty over just about anything. The latest is pictures, of all things! When Abby was born, I was diligent about having pictures taken at regular intervals. I started at 6 weeks (figuring her hospital pics were good enough for newborn), then 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and annually after that. When school started, we just started relying on those for her annual individual shots. For Grant, I was pretty good about sticking to that schedule. There might have been some slight variation - like 19 months instead of 18 months - but I still did a pretty good job. Poor sweet Natalie, however, is getting the short end of the annual-pictures stick! Long story short: I missed her 18-month pictures! My husband was gone to Fargo for 30 days when she hit that milestone, and I just never got around to it. And now, she's 21 months - three months from her 24-month pictures. I feel bad - and I am sure this will be a source of regret at times in the future. We do take pictures of her at home, but not nearly as much as we did Abby - or Grant. Poor kid is getting the classic third-born treatment!
Why do I feel so friggin' guilty about this? I mean, seriously! It's not like it's a life-or-death thing! And it's not like she hasn't gotten treatment the others missed out on! For one, we take lots of videos of her - something we didn't do with Abby very much at all, simply for lack of the requisite equipment. Same for Grant. Plus, I worked full time, so I missed a lot of what I've taken video of with Natalie. And then Grant got more ultrasounds (prior to birth) than the girls. Poor Abby didn't get any - our insurance wouldn't pay for it! Natalie got the standard mid-point ultrasound. Grant, however, got two in-depth sonograms. Poor Abby, when we showed her Natalie's pictures, asked about hers from when she was still "in Mommy's tummy." The disappointment on her face brought on major Mommy Guilt! I found myself wishing we'd gotten one - but that would've cost us $300 or more! We didn't really have that to spare.
All of this to illustrate the things over which I tend to struggle with feeling guilty over. There are many more that come and go, depending on what we're dealing with and how I'm feeling, but those are the major ones right now. It's annoying, to say the least. There are times I get down on myself because of this stuff, but then I remind myself that these aren't major issues. Overall, we do a good job (I think) with our kids. We love them; we take good care of them; and we do our very best to make sure we do right by them. Still, there's always something that brings on the guilt. Why is that?
How about you? Do you suffer from Mommy Guilt? If so, what brings it on for you? If not, how do you manage to keep it away?
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The End is Near
No, I'm not getting cryptic or preachy! LOL I'm just excited. We're in the home stretch - the last week of DH's time away! Saturday cannot come soon enough, let me tell you! I'm exhausted. Worn out to the bone - of course, Natalie not sleeping well last night doesn't help any. I am so ready for someone else to entertain the kids. So ready for some help around the house. And, most importantly, so ready to have HIM home again! Lord, make this week FLY by, PLEASE! Of course, I'd like to get the house cleaned up - a LOT before his return - and the kids are grumbling about that. Did I expect anything different? No, not really! LOL
I'm hoping that once he's back, I'll be able to get back into the blog-improvement challenge, of which I'd spoken before. I'm also hoping to get some much-needed rest. But, he'll be tired, too. So, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. C'mon Saturday! Get here FAST!
I'm hoping that once he's back, I'll be able to get back into the blog-improvement challenge, of which I'd spoken before. I'm also hoping to get some much-needed rest. But, he'll be tired, too. So, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. C'mon Saturday! Get here FAST!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Top 10 Kids' Shows
As I sit here, Abby is watching one of her favorite kids' shows. And that served as inspiration. I thought I'd share with you what shows my kids watch that I don't mind having on the TV. These are in no particular order.
Now it's your turn. Please share a list of your favorite kids' shows, and post a comment with a link to your post so I can come see! :-)
- Martha Speaks ~ This PBS Kids show is great. I have no idea how long it's been on air, but we discovered it in the fall. Abby immediately took a liking to it. While the concept is kinda goofy, it's very educational. I have noticed a significant increase in her vocabulary since we've started watching this show. Plus, it's hilarious. There are times they put little witty comments in there that my husband and I both find ourselves laughing at. It's a great, educational, and witty show!
- Word Girl ~ Another PBS Kids show that we just love. Like Martha Speaks, it is funny, educational, and another great show. This, too, helps Abby's vocabulary. In fact, when I hear her use a big word, I often ask her where she learned that word - and nine times out of 10, she'll say one of the two shows. Pretty cool, if you ask me! While I don't find it quite as amusing as Martha Speaks, it still cracks me up on occasion.
- Little Bear ~ This one's a Noggin fave in our house. The kids love it. I like it, too. I'm not sure why - it's definitely not the most educational show. But, it is cute.
- Jack's Big Music Show ~ Another Noggin fave here, JBMS is a music-centered show. The kids love it - the puppets are attention grabbers, and the music is a hit. My kids are especially fond of Laurie Berkner. I like this because it actually teaches them about music and even exposes them to different genres of music. As a music fan, I find that a HUGE plus!
- Little Einsteins ~ Another music-centered show, Disney's Little Einsteins is another big hit in my house. My favorite thing about this one is they use classical music. I don't always like the lyrics they add - and sometimes I wish the kids were better singers - but the exposure to classical music makes me very happy. Plus, they teach kids all sorts of musical terms.
- Sid the Science Kid ~ While this one tends to be annoying at times, I appreciate the fact that this new PBS show goes beyond the typical teaching of the alphabet and numbers to teach youngsters science. I have been very impressed by the stuff it covers - from irreversible change to caring for your teeth to why some people need glasses. It's pretty neat - and my son just loves this show.
- Word World ~ I love this PBS show because not only does it teach letters and words, but it teaches phonics, too. It helps children learn to sound out words - my 3-year-old son can read three- and four-letter words and I'm sure it's partially thanks to this show.
- Curious George ~ Yes, this is another PBS show. (We do not have cable/satellite TV.) It's based on the popular series of books, and it's a highly entertaining show. It was one of the first shows we discovered after we canceled our DirecTV service almost two years ago. It's quite funny at times, and it still finds a way to teach kids subtle lessons. We like it, though, purely for its entertainment value!
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ~ Another Disney hit, MMC is a favorite in our house. Grant, especially, loves it. It teaches everything from counting and shapes to colors and numbers. The kids find it highly entertaining, and that's always good.
- Super WHY! ~ I don't know why, but PBS is big on reading. And that's a good thing - I am NOT complaining! This is a cute show that takes common - and not-so-common - fairy tales and childhood stories and uses them to help kids learn some reading skills and letter recognition. Sometimes I get annoyed by the retelling of some of the fairy tales, but that's just the purist literature lover in me! ;-) This show is another one that's helping my kids learn to love reading. I'm not gonna complain.
Now it's your turn. Please share a list of your favorite kids' shows, and post a comment with a link to your post so I can come see! :-)
Friday, April 3, 2009
What a Day
I think I've used this title before! LOL But, man, has it been one heck of a day. For starters, my husband left today for a 30-day civilian deployment. He works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and has "volunteered" to go to Fargo, North Dakota, to help because of the flooding up there. "Volunteered" is a tricky word. It means he elected to go - not that he's a volunteer. He's getting paid - and there's lots of extra money, which is why he goes. I "let" him go, because I know these deployments are extremely helpful in allowing me to SAH with the kiddos. Anyway, he originally was supposed to take off around 11:30 this morning. But, there was an administrative mix-up (that's putting it nicely), and he had to go on a later flight. He took off around 2:30 instead. So, there was madness and craziness with that.
I took Abby to get a haircut at 10:30. I take her to a place for kids called Cookie Cutters.We love this place, and our stylist. They are totally focused on kids. They even have a slide inside for kids who are waiting! It's great. Well, usually, anyway. I had to take all three kids because of DH's issues with the travel orders. He had to go into the office to straighten it all out. When we got there, all three kids started playing on the slide. It's kinda high, but all three have been on it before, so I kinda let my guard down a little. While getting Abby situated for her haircut, Natalie must've fallen off the stairs to the slide. The very top is a few feet off the ground. I don't think she fell off the top - I think it was lower down. But, she fell nonetheless. I didn't see it, and felt horrible about that. She had a red mark on her forehead. I got her a sucker to help settle her down, and she snuggled with me and ate her sucker. She tried to run around with it, but I wouldn't let her, of course.
When we got home, she still had her sucker. I put her in her booster seat at the table so she wouldn't try to take off with the sucker. After about 10 minutes, she starts screaming. I gave her some water, she calmed down. I start making lunch, and she starts screaming again. I figured she was hungry, so I went ahead and fed the kids. She took a couple of bites of her food, and then cried and cried. It was really not like her, so I talked to DH and we decided that I needed to call the pediatrician just to be safe. I put her down for a nap first, as she was nearly falling asleep in my arms.
After leaving a message, I started to put Grant down for his nap. During that, DH came in with Natalie in his arms. He said I need to take her to the ER. He spoke with our pediatrician, who gave him a list of things to look for. After they hung up, Natalie started vomiting - and that was one of the red flags. So, we called the ped's office again, and they said just to go to the ER. So, to the ER we went.
At the ER we talked to a few people - triage nurse, other nurse, physician's assistant, doctor, etc. During our talk with the PA, Natalie threw up again - this time all over me, of course. So, they gave her some Zofran to stop the vomiting and some Tylenol with Codene to help make her feel better and make her drowsy for the CT scan. She did very well for that, and really all three kids did wonderfully the whole time. Finally, we got the results - everything is perfect! PHEW! What a relief!
The PA said that sometimes if the brain gets jostled enough all of those symptoms show up even though there's no major damage or anything. She also said that it's possible that Natalie had a very mild concussion that doesn't show anything on the scan. Natalie is fine, can eat and play however she wants, and we have nothing to be worried about. She does have a prescription for the Zofran, so I gave her some before bed. I'm praying she sleeps well tonight - that all of us do!
We spent a total of about 3 hours at the ER. Thankfully, I was able to find a vending machine so I could give my hungry babies a snack, and they had the TV tuned to PBS Kids.
During this time, DH headed off to Fargo. It sucks - we didn't really get to say good-bye. None of us really did! :-( He was very worried - and concerned that maybe he should have stayed home. I told him that he did the right thing. I called him when we got home. (I will say that this made me wish I still had a cell phone. So, I might be rethinking this no-cell thing soon!)
I took Abby to get a haircut at 10:30. I take her to a place for kids called Cookie Cutters.We love this place, and our stylist. They are totally focused on kids. They even have a slide inside for kids who are waiting! It's great. Well, usually, anyway. I had to take all three kids because of DH's issues with the travel orders. He had to go into the office to straighten it all out. When we got there, all three kids started playing on the slide. It's kinda high, but all three have been on it before, so I kinda let my guard down a little. While getting Abby situated for her haircut, Natalie must've fallen off the stairs to the slide. The very top is a few feet off the ground. I don't think she fell off the top - I think it was lower down. But, she fell nonetheless. I didn't see it, and felt horrible about that. She had a red mark on her forehead. I got her a sucker to help settle her down, and she snuggled with me and ate her sucker. She tried to run around with it, but I wouldn't let her, of course.
When we got home, she still had her sucker. I put her in her booster seat at the table so she wouldn't try to take off with the sucker. After about 10 minutes, she starts screaming. I gave her some water, she calmed down. I start making lunch, and she starts screaming again. I figured she was hungry, so I went ahead and fed the kids. She took a couple of bites of her food, and then cried and cried. It was really not like her, so I talked to DH and we decided that I needed to call the pediatrician just to be safe. I put her down for a nap first, as she was nearly falling asleep in my arms.
After leaving a message, I started to put Grant down for his nap. During that, DH came in with Natalie in his arms. He said I need to take her to the ER. He spoke with our pediatrician, who gave him a list of things to look for. After they hung up, Natalie started vomiting - and that was one of the red flags. So, we called the ped's office again, and they said just to go to the ER. So, to the ER we went.
At the ER we talked to a few people - triage nurse, other nurse, physician's assistant, doctor, etc. During our talk with the PA, Natalie threw up again - this time all over me, of course. So, they gave her some Zofran to stop the vomiting and some Tylenol with Codene to help make her feel better and make her drowsy for the CT scan. She did very well for that, and really all three kids did wonderfully the whole time. Finally, we got the results - everything is perfect! PHEW! What a relief!
The PA said that sometimes if the brain gets jostled enough all of those symptoms show up even though there's no major damage or anything. She also said that it's possible that Natalie had a very mild concussion that doesn't show anything on the scan. Natalie is fine, can eat and play however she wants, and we have nothing to be worried about. She does have a prescription for the Zofran, so I gave her some before bed. I'm praying she sleeps well tonight - that all of us do!
We spent a total of about 3 hours at the ER. Thankfully, I was able to find a vending machine so I could give my hungry babies a snack, and they had the TV tuned to PBS Kids.
During this time, DH headed off to Fargo. It sucks - we didn't really get to say good-bye. None of us really did! :-( He was very worried - and concerned that maybe he should have stayed home. I told him that he did the right thing. I called him when we got home. (I will say that this made me wish I still had a cell phone. So, I might be rethinking this no-cell thing soon!)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Now I Remember
Not that I really forgot, but now I really remember why I HATE Walmart. HATE it. My husband is out of town for a couple of days, so it's me and the kiddos. We're doing fine, but last night I found out we have hardly any cat food, as in what I fed them last night was it. No more. My wonderful husband usually feeds them, so I don't generally know when we need food unless I'm told. See where I'm going?
While DH is gone, I have to drop Abby off at school. That's fine, we've got a good routine down now. Yesterday we needed groceries, so we just went straight to Jewel before heading home after dropping Abby off. I wanted to go to Target, b/c I generally prefer it over Walmart, but they didn't open for another 15 minutes. It takes about 5 minutes to get there from Abby's school. I didn't want to sit in the parking lot for 10 minutes. So, I headed to our 24-hour Walmart. Dumb move. Really dumb move.
Firstly, it's like a black hole of time. I never, ever can get in and out of there quickly. For one, it takes me forever to find what I need - they keep moving the damn store around. And, well, there often are things I wanna check while I'm there. I go there so rarely that there's almost always a good-size list of what I want to check out there. That part, I'll admit, is not Walmart's fault - well, at least not my having a list! ;-)
Secondly - and finally - they never, ever, ever have enough checkout lanes open. NEVER. Today was the worst I've ever experienced. Some stupid buyer three people ahead of me was causing all sorts of trouble. I waited in that line for half an hour - that's THIRTY MINUTES, folks - before finally getting checked out! If I was at Target, the second I lined up (three deep), they would've opened a new lane and taken me right away. But, it wasn't. So, the kids (minus Abby) and I sat - er, I guess stood. And stood. And stood. They did remarkably well, although Natalie got tired of being strapped in the cart after about 10 minutes. Poor kid.
So, this just reaffirms my hatred of that stupid store called Walmart. Ironically, I probably would've gotten in and out of Target faster - and home earlier, despite the fact that they weren't open yet! Teach me to make that choice again!
While DH is gone, I have to drop Abby off at school. That's fine, we've got a good routine down now. Yesterday we needed groceries, so we just went straight to Jewel before heading home after dropping Abby off. I wanted to go to Target, b/c I generally prefer it over Walmart, but they didn't open for another 15 minutes. It takes about 5 minutes to get there from Abby's school. I didn't want to sit in the parking lot for 10 minutes. So, I headed to our 24-hour Walmart. Dumb move. Really dumb move.
Firstly, it's like a black hole of time. I never, ever can get in and out of there quickly. For one, it takes me forever to find what I need - they keep moving the damn store around. And, well, there often are things I wanna check while I'm there. I go there so rarely that there's almost always a good-size list of what I want to check out there. That part, I'll admit, is not Walmart's fault - well, at least not my having a list! ;-)
Secondly - and finally - they never, ever, ever have enough checkout lanes open. NEVER. Today was the worst I've ever experienced. Some stupid buyer three people ahead of me was causing all sorts of trouble. I waited in that line for half an hour - that's THIRTY MINUTES, folks - before finally getting checked out! If I was at Target, the second I lined up (three deep), they would've opened a new lane and taken me right away. But, it wasn't. So, the kids (minus Abby) and I sat - er, I guess stood. And stood. And stood. They did remarkably well, although Natalie got tired of being strapped in the cart after about 10 minutes. Poor kid.
So, this just reaffirms my hatred of that stupid store called Walmart. Ironically, I probably would've gotten in and out of Target faster - and home earlier, despite the fact that they weren't open yet! Teach me to make that choice again!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Politics in The Lion King
I have to take Grant and Natalie with me to pick Abby up at school every afternoon. On cold and/or wet days, we wait in the car for her to come to us. (On warmer/dry days, we meet her at the door.) Regardless of which we have, it is imperative that we arrive at the school as early as possible so that we can park nearby - and in a legal parking spot. I have gotten there as much as 25-ish minutes prior to school's release, and there are ALWAYS at least 4 cars there - with people inside! I don't get it - do these people have nothing better to do than sit by the school waiting for class to get out? Anyway, the waiting can be difficult with two little ones in the back seat. They get bored - and who can blame them? It took me more than half of the school year to figure a good way to handle that. (Why it took me so long, I'm not quite sure. I have a couple of theories, but I'll spare you. Suffice it to say, I wish I'd figured this out at the beginning of winter, rather than the end of winter.) We have a factory-installed DVD player in the van, so now I play a movie while we wait. It keeps Natalie and Grant occupied, and my sanity in check! Added benefit: I can read while we wait for Abby. The current movie is - you guessed it - Disney's The Lion King. And, finally, I get to the point of this post! LOL
Today's "segment" (we generally get through about 30-45 minutes most days) started just after Mufasa rescues the lion cubs from the elephant graveyard. I don't know when it ended, but the beginning was shortly before Scar sings "Be Prepared." DH and I have always noted the dripping references to the USSR (man, haven't seen those letters together in who knows how long) and even Nazi Germany in this part of the movie. But, well, today, it hit closer to home for me.
It's no surprise to anyone who knows me that I'm a strong Republican. While I generally avoid too much talk of politics - simply because I'm not a fan of the conflict - the current state of our country worries me, to say the least. The USA is a republic - not a democracy, not a socialist nation. At least not at its birth. I hate seeing where we're headed. I hate seeing the big government we have headed our way. I hate seeing the class warfare that is being brought into our country. I hate that there's so much negative press about the corrupt, GREEDY people who make loads of cash. For every one of those, there are several hard-working Americans who also make loads of cash, but no one hears their stories. We'd rather hear about the CEOs who abuse their position for personal gain. I think it's criminal that those who make more pay a majority of the income tax in this country. Income tax should be flat and fair. Why should people be punished for making more than some "magic" amount of money? Just not right. Talk about killing productivity and discouraging those who would otherwise be driven. But, alas, I'm on a tangent. Sorry.
That said, there's a part of the aforementioned song, "Be Prepared," in which Scar and the hyenas are speaking between verses. And it goes like this:
That last line is what struck me as so ... America right now! Sorry, but I hate Obama. I know I shouldn't, but I do. For many, many reasons. But, that's not my purpose in writing right now. It just sounds to me like what he's saying between the lines of his speeches: "I'm king of America. Stick with me - back me up - and you'll never go hungry again. We'll take what we want from the Haves and give it to the Have-nots ..." Yes, this is me simplifying my thoughts on this - and what I think Obama is doing. (It's getting late; I'm exhausted; and we have an early morning tomorrow.) People totally miss the point. The Declaration of Independence says everyone has the right to the pursuit of happiness. To me, that means we have the right to do what we can to make the most of our lives - but that does (or at least so far as I'm concerned, SHOULD) NOT include taking what belongs to someone else, even if that someone else has plenty to spare.
"But, you're a Christian. Doesn't God say to give, give, give. Not to hold onto your money and things?" Well, yes. But, God gives us free will. He tells us what we should do, but we can choose our own actions. If we choose to do as He says, He will reward us. If not, well, we're on our own. But, they key here is free will, something that doesn't apply to taxes and other ways of taking what belongs to the Haves. Christian or not, these people aren't given a choice - their hard-earned (in most cases) cash is taken out from under them, without their consent. Like it or not, you have to pay taxes based on your income. As a Christian, I'm happy to give - so long as I'm able to choose if, when, how, and to whom I give.
OK, wow, this is one long rant about something I'm not very qualified to argue. Sorry. These are my thoughts and feelings on this subject. No, I don't have all of the facts. But, know this: I am not in the class of the Haves, so I am not arguing this as one who wants to keep what is hers. I'm arguing this as one who sees big-time unfairness. Yes, people argue about it being unfair that these people have what they have when there are others starving to death or barely able to make ends meet. But, if these people are honestly working hard for what they have, how is it unfair for them to have it? You're not entitled to it simply for being American - and even in some cases merely for being in America, whether legally or not. (And that is a whole other ball of wax I'm just going to avoid, as I have even stronger feelings about that.) Let's not forget that these Haves are also the people with the money to employ others. When we tax the hell out of these people, there's less for them to share with others - whether it's by gifting, hiring, or something else! I'm sorry, but Reagan was right. Trickle-down economics does work. It did work. It would work again, if we went back to it. Alas, Obama is going the opposite way. Except, it's not going to work.
Finally, has anyone else thought how ridiculous these stimulus plans are? Wanna get the country back on its feet? Spend, spend, spend! You don't have the money? Borrow, then spend. Nevermind that's what's got us into this mess in the first place: spending money we DON'T have! And printing more money. REALLY? Do you really think that'll help? I did HORRIBLY in my economics class in college, but even I know that'll just cause recession. That means higher prices for everything. More money floating around means it is worth less than it was before the newly printed money was released. That means it'll take more money to buy EVERYTHING! How do people not see this? *sigh*
This totally ended up being something I never intended it to be. But, since this is my place to share my mind, here you go.
Today's "segment" (we generally get through about 30-45 minutes most days) started just after Mufasa rescues the lion cubs from the elephant graveyard. I don't know when it ended, but the beginning was shortly before Scar sings "Be Prepared." DH and I have always noted the dripping references to the USSR (man, haven't seen those letters together in who knows how long) and even Nazi Germany in this part of the movie. But, well, today, it hit closer to home for me.
It's no surprise to anyone who knows me that I'm a strong Republican. While I generally avoid too much talk of politics - simply because I'm not a fan of the conflict - the current state of our country worries me, to say the least. The USA is a republic - not a democracy, not a socialist nation. At least not at its birth. I hate seeing where we're headed. I hate seeing the big government we have headed our way. I hate seeing the class warfare that is being brought into our country. I hate that there's so much negative press about the corrupt, GREEDY people who make loads of cash. For every one of those, there are several hard-working Americans who also make loads of cash, but no one hears their stories. We'd rather hear about the CEOs who abuse their position for personal gain. I think it's criminal that those who make more pay a majority of the income tax in this country. Income tax should be flat and fair. Why should people be punished for making more than some "magic" amount of money? Just not right. Talk about killing productivity and discouraging those who would otherwise be driven. But, alas, I'm on a tangent. Sorry.
That said, there's a part of the aforementioned song, "Be Prepared," in which Scar and the hyenas are speaking between verses. And it goes like this:
Scar: Be prepared!
Hyena: Yeah! Be prepared. We'll be prepared! For what?
Scar: For the death of the king
Hyena: Is he sick?
Scar: No, fool! We're going to kill him. And Simba, too
Hyenas: Great idea! Who needs a king? No king, no king! La la la la la!
Scar: Idiots! There will be a king!
Hyena: But you said...
Scar: I will be king! Stick with me and you'll never go hungry again!
That last line is what struck me as so ... America right now! Sorry, but I hate Obama. I know I shouldn't, but I do. For many, many reasons. But, that's not my purpose in writing right now. It just sounds to me like what he's saying between the lines of his speeches: "I'm king of America. Stick with me - back me up - and you'll never go hungry again. We'll take what we want from the Haves and give it to the Have-nots ..." Yes, this is me simplifying my thoughts on this - and what I think Obama is doing. (It's getting late; I'm exhausted; and we have an early morning tomorrow.) People totally miss the point. The Declaration of Independence says everyone has the right to the pursuit of happiness. To me, that means we have the right to do what we can to make the most of our lives - but that does (or at least so far as I'm concerned, SHOULD) NOT include taking what belongs to someone else, even if that someone else has plenty to spare.
"But, you're a Christian. Doesn't God say to give, give, give. Not to hold onto your money and things?" Well, yes. But, God gives us free will. He tells us what we should do, but we can choose our own actions. If we choose to do as He says, He will reward us. If not, well, we're on our own. But, they key here is free will, something that doesn't apply to taxes and other ways of taking what belongs to the Haves. Christian or not, these people aren't given a choice - their hard-earned (in most cases) cash is taken out from under them, without their consent. Like it or not, you have to pay taxes based on your income. As a Christian, I'm happy to give - so long as I'm able to choose if, when, how, and to whom I give.
OK, wow, this is one long rant about something I'm not very qualified to argue. Sorry. These are my thoughts and feelings on this subject. No, I don't have all of the facts. But, know this: I am not in the class of the Haves, so I am not arguing this as one who wants to keep what is hers. I'm arguing this as one who sees big-time unfairness. Yes, people argue about it being unfair that these people have what they have when there are others starving to death or barely able to make ends meet. But, if these people are honestly working hard for what they have, how is it unfair for them to have it? You're not entitled to it simply for being American - and even in some cases merely for being in America, whether legally or not. (And that is a whole other ball of wax I'm just going to avoid, as I have even stronger feelings about that.) Let's not forget that these Haves are also the people with the money to employ others. When we tax the hell out of these people, there's less for them to share with others - whether it's by gifting, hiring, or something else! I'm sorry, but Reagan was right. Trickle-down economics does work. It did work. It would work again, if we went back to it. Alas, Obama is going the opposite way. Except, it's not going to work.
Finally, has anyone else thought how ridiculous these stimulus plans are? Wanna get the country back on its feet? Spend, spend, spend! You don't have the money? Borrow, then spend. Nevermind that's what's got us into this mess in the first place: spending money we DON'T have! And printing more money. REALLY? Do you really think that'll help? I did HORRIBLY in my economics class in college, but even I know that'll just cause recession. That means higher prices for everything. More money floating around means it is worth less than it was before the newly printed money was released. That means it'll take more money to buy EVERYTHING! How do people not see this? *sigh*
This totally ended up being something I never intended it to be. But, since this is my place to share my mind, here you go.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Never Saw It Coming
It's amazing how having babies changes your life - or at least how it changed my life. I'm not talking about the stuff like years of being sleep-deprived, suddenly loving driving a mini-van, having leftover baby fat, or other typical - and somewhat expected - changes. I'm talking other things. Things I never in a million years saw coming.
Seven years ago (I say seven because six years ago I was pregnant with Abby and the changes were under way), I was so different it's amazing. Well, not just me - my life. My husband and I had some close friends with whom we'd stay up into the wee hours of the morning playing games and just hanging out. (We still have those friends, but they moved to another state and we don't see or hear from them much.) Oh, yeah, and I worked second shift as a copy editor - a job I generally hated. I hated reading all those boring news stories, then having to write headlines. I think I've mentioned before that I'm not very good at that - and knowing that made it all the worse, especially when TPTB like puns. I hate punny headlines - so overused - and I could never write them. Well, not never, per say, just VERY rarely!
Seven years ago we had a nice house (we still live in it) with new carpeting and a dinky garage we were hoping to replace in the near future. That garage was so small that one of my sisters thought it was a shed the first time she saw it! LOL Pathetic - and, really, that's all it was worth. We could barely fit a Dodge NEON in it, let alone anything else! In that house, we had one cat and were planning to get another one - we ended up with two more. The first cat, Shadow, was our "first baby" - as I'd referred to her many times. She was a sweet cat, and was my pet before DH and I were married. So, naturally, she was part of the package - marry me, marry my cat. And I was one of those people who doted on her cat. I bought her birthday and Christmas presents (and presents from her for DH) and loved her to pieces. All that despite the fact that she was literbox-challenged to the worst degree. She would NOT pee in a litterbox to save her life. She had had a couple of UTIs, but even healthy she flat out REFUSED to pee in the litterbox. Thankfully, she did at least poop in there, but the pee's almost worse. The smell - and the fact that it's next to impossible to get out! Let's just say I wish we'd gotten rid of her long before we did. It was heartbreaking to do so - she's such a people kitty and really was my furbaby. We gave her to my ILs, who were planning to keep her outside. She's disappeared. :-( I feel guilty - a tiny bit - but less so than I did a couple of years ago. Anyway, what compelled me to get rid of her was - you guessed it - the kids. I was pregnant with Grant when finally I'd had it. I was ready to let her go. By that point, we already had Zeus and Huckleberry - angels compared to Shadow. Well, unless Huckleberry's antics were bothersome - he'd attack the toilet paper, shredding an entire brand-new role when we weren't looking. He'd done plenty of other things, but that's the one that most sticks out in my mind. I think what Dh and I referred to as "the voices" would tell him to do it. Either that or the toilet paper was taunting him! We'll never know, but - thankfully - he has out grown that. My point is I was one of those people who doted on her pets. Loved them and even referred to them as her babies. Until I had babies. Poor cats were forced to take a back seat when Abby was born. I still tried to give them attention and whatnot, but they definitely became second-class citizens. That's something I'd NEVER thought would happen.
Between Grant and Natalie we got a puppy. I don't know WHAT possessed me, as it was my idea. And, yes, I'm still kicking myself for that one! Grant was 6 months old when Sawyer was born - on Abby's third birthday. He was about 8 months when we brought Sawyer home. The cute thing is they are like buddies. They're growing up together, sorta. It's neat to see their bond. Anyway, Sawyer is a PITA. Now, I grew up with cats. So, perhaps part of the problem is this dog is much needier than any cat I'd ever had. I'm sure I'd have enjoyed him more if we'd gotten him before kids. Now, he's just extra work - an extra kid, if you will. But not an extra kid - they trump him. ALWAYS. I found myself thinking of him today as just a dog, and all of the pets in this house as "just animals." GASP! That's what prompted this post. It made me realize just how much kids change things you never see coming!
I had more on my mind, but it's gone. Maybe having to write between feeding the kids, letting the dog out, and other things is to blame! LOL Yeah, that's it! ;-)
Seven years ago (I say seven because six years ago I was pregnant with Abby and the changes were under way), I was so different it's amazing. Well, not just me - my life. My husband and I had some close friends with whom we'd stay up into the wee hours of the morning playing games and just hanging out. (We still have those friends, but they moved to another state and we don't see or hear from them much.) Oh, yeah, and I worked second shift as a copy editor - a job I generally hated. I hated reading all those boring news stories, then having to write headlines. I think I've mentioned before that I'm not very good at that - and knowing that made it all the worse, especially when TPTB like puns. I hate punny headlines - so overused - and I could never write them. Well, not never, per say, just VERY rarely!
Seven years ago we had a nice house (we still live in it) with new carpeting and a dinky garage we were hoping to replace in the near future. That garage was so small that one of my sisters thought it was a shed the first time she saw it! LOL Pathetic - and, really, that's all it was worth. We could barely fit a Dodge NEON in it, let alone anything else! In that house, we had one cat and were planning to get another one - we ended up with two more. The first cat, Shadow, was our "first baby" - as I'd referred to her many times. She was a sweet cat, and was my pet before DH and I were married. So, naturally, she was part of the package - marry me, marry my cat. And I was one of those people who doted on her cat. I bought her birthday and Christmas presents (and presents from her for DH) and loved her to pieces. All that despite the fact that she was literbox-challenged to the worst degree. She would NOT pee in a litterbox to save her life. She had had a couple of UTIs, but even healthy she flat out REFUSED to pee in the litterbox. Thankfully, she did at least poop in there, but the pee's almost worse. The smell - and the fact that it's next to impossible to get out! Let's just say I wish we'd gotten rid of her long before we did. It was heartbreaking to do so - she's such a people kitty and really was my furbaby. We gave her to my ILs, who were planning to keep her outside. She's disappeared. :-( I feel guilty - a tiny bit - but less so than I did a couple of years ago. Anyway, what compelled me to get rid of her was - you guessed it - the kids. I was pregnant with Grant when finally I'd had it. I was ready to let her go. By that point, we already had Zeus and Huckleberry - angels compared to Shadow. Well, unless Huckleberry's antics were bothersome - he'd attack the toilet paper, shredding an entire brand-new role when we weren't looking. He'd done plenty of other things, but that's the one that most sticks out in my mind. I think what Dh and I referred to as "the voices" would tell him to do it. Either that or the toilet paper was taunting him! We'll never know, but - thankfully - he has out grown that. My point is I was one of those people who doted on her pets. Loved them and even referred to them as her babies. Until I had babies. Poor cats were forced to take a back seat when Abby was born. I still tried to give them attention and whatnot, but they definitely became second-class citizens. That's something I'd NEVER thought would happen.
Between Grant and Natalie we got a puppy. I don't know WHAT possessed me, as it was my idea. And, yes, I'm still kicking myself for that one! Grant was 6 months old when Sawyer was born - on Abby's third birthday. He was about 8 months when we brought Sawyer home. The cute thing is they are like buddies. They're growing up together, sorta. It's neat to see their bond. Anyway, Sawyer is a PITA. Now, I grew up with cats. So, perhaps part of the problem is this dog is much needier than any cat I'd ever had. I'm sure I'd have enjoyed him more if we'd gotten him before kids. Now, he's just extra work - an extra kid, if you will. But not an extra kid - they trump him. ALWAYS. I found myself thinking of him today as just a dog, and all of the pets in this house as "just animals." GASP! That's what prompted this post. It made me realize just how much kids change things you never see coming!
I had more on my mind, but it's gone. Maybe having to write between feeding the kids, letting the dog out, and other things is to blame! LOL Yeah, that's it! ;-)
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Year in Review
A follow-up to my New Year's post, if you will. My friend Lisa posted this on her blog and I had to follow suit! You go back through your blog and copy the opening sentence from a post (or two) for each month. I began this blog in March, so I will start there - obviously! LOL
Below is the opening sentence from a post from each month. (Any italicized text is a comment I'm writing NOW.) To read the whole post, click on the date/month name:
March: I had a bunch of stuff that I wanted to write. (Is that the story of my blog or what? LMAO)
April: I saw my allergist yesterday, and he said it doesn't sound like an allergy to food!
May: I've never been good at titles - or writing headlines, for that matter.
June:
That sums it up perfectly!
June 25: My precious baby girl was born.
July: Around 9:30 p.m. our power was restored!
August: A few months ago, once my daughter got into the wonderful world of Webkinz, I bought her a couple I knew she'd LOVE off eBay.
September: I was just starting up a Baby Einstein DVD for Grant.
October: At this point exactly 12 months ago I was getting to know my sweet new baby girl, Natalie.
November: There is so much going on in my mind right now.
December: DH got home yesterday!
In looking this over, I have to say a couple of things. One, I need to blog more. And two, I need to be more creative in my first lines of my posts! It was hard finding something interesting. No more first sentences being one-word sentences! LOL So far as blogging goes, for 2009 I resolve to write more and better! Wish me luck!
Below is the opening sentence from a post from each month. (Any italicized text is a comment I'm writing NOW.) To read the whole post, click on the date/month name:
March: I had a bunch of stuff that I wanted to write. (Is that the story of my blog or what? LMAO)
April: I saw my allergist yesterday, and he said it doesn't sound like an allergy to food!
May: I've never been good at titles - or writing headlines, for that matter.
June:
That sums it up perfectly!June 25: My precious baby girl was born.
July: Around 9:30 p.m. our power was restored!
August: A few months ago, once my daughter got into the wonderful world of Webkinz, I bought her a couple I knew she'd LOVE off eBay.
September: I was just starting up a Baby Einstein DVD for Grant.
October: At this point exactly 12 months ago I was getting to know my sweet new baby girl, Natalie.
November: There is so much going on in my mind right now.
December: DH got home yesterday!
In looking this over, I have to say a couple of things. One, I need to blog more. And two, I need to be more creative in my first lines of my posts! It was hard finding something interesting. No more first sentences being one-word sentences! LOL So far as blogging goes, for 2009 I resolve to write more and better! Wish me luck!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
I cannot believe that 2008 is now a mere memory and 2009 is upon us! Wow, that happened fast! A year ago I had a 2-month-old baby and was just beginning my stint as a stay-at-home mom. Abby was in her last year of preschool before starting Kindergarten in August. Grant has grown from a 2-year-old toddler to a talking, running, reasoning 3-year old. Natalie, well, she's gone from newborn to full-fledged toddler - they go through so many changes that first year or so that it's impossible to catalog it all! Me? I dunno - I've continued to slowly lose the baby weight. Slowly. I weaned Natalie about a month ago, so hopefully more weight will come of quickly! DH - well, he's working. He spent 30 days in Austin, TX, for work - working with FEMA in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. It was all about the money - that's a lot of OT and extra cash. And we desperately needed it. In fact, I suspect he'll be doing it somewhat regularly (not necessarily Austin - wherever there's need) to help make it possible for me to continue to SAH. Oh, and he had his vasectomy - no more surprise babies for us! ;-)
So, what are my hopes for this year? That's a very good question.
- Lose weight - at the very least get to my pre-Natalie weight. That's a start. I eventually want to get to my pre-Abby weight, but that's 60 lbs away, so I'm not kidding myself that it'll happen this year!
- Get off the Zoloft - I've been on it for three years in February. I didn't get to wean off after weaning Grant like I'd wanted b/c I got knocked up. Now that there's no chance of that, I wanna get off it. Natalie's weaned, so the only thing working against me is possible PMS issues. But, I don't wanna be on the Zoloft forever!
- Be a better housekeeper
- Stop spending and help us get out of debt. Don't know how yet, but stopping spending is a first BIG step! ;-)
- Get back in the habit of attending church regularly.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
We made it!
DH got home yesterday! :-) His flight ended up delayed by about a total of an hour - not too bad, especially not when flying out of ORD (more commonly known as O'Hare). The kids and I picked him up at the airport. We got there as his plane was landing, and could see it taxiing to the gate. By the time we got settled in the waiting area just outside the security checkpoint, DH was coming down the hallway. I saw him and asked Abby who that was. She took off running "Daddy" - and Grant followed suit. Natalie had to be brought over to him - she was too distracted by the new surroundings to notice people! LOL When she first saw him, she hesitated a little. But once he spoke to her, she came running! It was so sweet! She clearly missed him much more than I'd realized. She was big-time clingy with him last night, and still some today. She's more animated and just doing better overall. It's amazing the difference. She hadn't acted all that different during his absence, so I really thought she was somewhat indifferent.
Me? I must've been running on adrenaline while he was gone - once he was home, I just got DEAD tired! I couldn't believe it! LOL I had to take a nap this afternoon, too. I have been just so very tired. Must be the adrenaline crash! He's super tired, too - falling asleep on the couch since about 7:30! LOL But, he worked almost constantly, so it's not unexpected.
Well, in my super-tired state, I'm feeling not too eloquent right now. So, I'm gonna jet - maybe go to bed early. Night, night (to quote Natalie)!
Me? I must've been running on adrenaline while he was gone - once he was home, I just got DEAD tired! I couldn't believe it! LOL I had to take a nap this afternoon, too. I have been just so very tired. Must be the adrenaline crash! He's super tired, too - falling asleep on the couch since about 7:30! LOL But, he worked almost constantly, so it's not unexpected.
Well, in my super-tired state, I'm feeling not too eloquent right now. So, I'm gonna jet - maybe go to bed early. Night, night (to quote Natalie)!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
The Home Stretch!
That's right. We're about to enter the FINAL week of DH's deployment! :-D A week from this very moment, he will be HOME. I cannot wait! I pray this last week flies by, as I am so ready for him to be home. He said today he's finally getting tired of living out of a suitcase and not being home. Saturday, December 6, cannot come fast enough! I had to get groceries today, and I picked up some things that he typically uses and I don't so that we have them when he comes. (I'm hoping that was my last trip while he's away. I also hope I have enough diapers for this week - I'm pretty sure I do.) He gets home about 2:30-ish in the afternoon, so the kids and I will pick him up at the airport. I'm so excited about that. I remember when he went on his first deployment - a little over three years ago. Abby and I picked him up, and were walking from the baggage claim area to the waiting area. He turned round the corner into the hallway, and Abby was so excited! She screamed "Daddy" and took off running to him. It was so sweet (and a little funny, as she had been eating some fruit snacks and left a little trail behind her LOL)! It's definitely a memory I'll cherish. I can't remember if we picked him up last time - I think we did, but clearly it wasn't quite as sweet! LOL I'm hoping this time he'll have all three of 'em running to him. We've talked using Gmail's video chat, and they just LOVE getting to see him while talking! Even Natalie - who shies away from the phone - loved it. She was blowing him kisses - very sweet. Anyway, we're entering the home stretch of being without DH. C'mon, Saturday - GET HERE ALREADY! ;-)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
For Crying Out Loud ~ Day 6
I woke this morning to find dog puke in two places in the kitchen. Nice. Good morning to me! At first I thought it was puke in one spot and shit in another, but cleaning up set me straight. It smelled like vomit. That's quite the interesting pile of doggy vomit, that's for sure. And it's enough to kill the breakfast appetite! That is for sure! Yuck. Now Scooba is running, and so far not getting the worse of the two puke spots. Of course! Scooba just might have to do double duty today.
Aside from that, the morning actually went pretty well. I got Abby to school on time for the first bell, which is a first for me I think! LOL Then I took the other two shopping for groceries. It went pretty well - Grant is definitely a morning person. There's no doubt about that. I've never had him so well-behaved in a store before! (Note to self: Always go as early in the morning as possible if Grant's coming!) There's the added bonus of not many people being there yet - that always helps expedite the trip. Plus, shelves were almost fully stocked throughout the store. Nice. Of course, I forgot to grab a frozen pizza, but oh, well. I remembered all of the milk I needed to get - and with three different kinds to get (skim for me, 2% for the kids, whole for the baby) that's quite a feat! ;-)
Well, Scooba needs some attention. So, I'm gonna get going. Plus, Abby gets off school in 30 minutes. Time to start changing diapers in preparation!
Aside from that, the morning actually went pretty well. I got Abby to school on time for the first bell, which is a first for me I think! LOL Then I took the other two shopping for groceries. It went pretty well - Grant is definitely a morning person. There's no doubt about that. I've never had him so well-behaved in a store before! (Note to self: Always go as early in the morning as possible if Grant's coming!) There's the added bonus of not many people being there yet - that always helps expedite the trip. Plus, shelves were almost fully stocked throughout the store. Nice. Of course, I forgot to grab a frozen pizza, but oh, well. I remembered all of the milk I needed to get - and with three different kinds to get (skim for me, 2% for the kids, whole for the baby) that's quite a feat! ;-)
Well, Scooba needs some attention. So, I'm gonna get going. Plus, Abby gets off school in 30 minutes. Time to start changing diapers in preparation!
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