30 January 2006

weekend highlights - make sure to read to the bottom

[sunday afternoon]
Ryan and I had a stressful moment yesterday. I pawned my kid off on my mom so I could hurry home from church and pick up the house before the folks came over for lunch. My husband stayed at the church, or at least didn't come home. I was mad! We usually visit with friends after church so that was usual but we were having company. I wanted his help picking a few things up and needed him to put the steaks on the grill. By time he walked in the door 1.5 hours later, I was fuming. And he was all pissy too. He was being all short and loud with me. And I thought, who are you to be an ass, I'm the one who deserves to be mad. So he came in the kitchen and we both had attitude. He was totally ticked and being all pissy. Finally he said what was wrong. He and the Awana leader (our youth program) were having a heart to heart. And let's just say that it wasn't well received by Ryan. So, I got a bit pissy with him too and let him know that I understood he was upset but I would not be the object of his anger, that it wasn't fair to me so he better just stop. So he was telling me and finally he said "and this is one of those times you should be taking my side". I explained my reasoning. He put the steaks on the grill and went upstairs to change. I headed upstairs and sat on the bed and hugged him and assured him that he's doing a good job, and let him know that I would stand behind his decisions dealing with the JV kids. Good thing my parents were over an hour late getting to our house (Scott was napping at their house and they didn't want to wake him).

We had an awesome meal. Afterwards we played cards till after 4pm. I won, yay me!

[eating "real" food]
Scott experienced rice cereal last night. At first, he was a bit unsure of what to do although he knows to put the spoon in his mouth. It didn’t take long before he was eating well and actually attacking the spoon with his mouth. It’s hard to explain but he’ll attack and gnaw on fingers, noses, nini’s, whatever you put in his face. When he had a free hand, he’d grab the spoon and put it right to his mouth. It was fun for us to watch. Of course, I tried to be a good mom and got out the camera and camcorder.

[feeling yucky]
Worked out this morning. Didn't eat anything first. And I wasn't feeling good while we worked out. Showered and stopped at mom's to feed Scott. She fixed me scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese that I scarfed down quickly before going to work. As I was getting out of my car, I broke my eye glasses which I started using again while I'm on the computer. Not sure how I'll make it through the day without them. My eyes are already blurry and my stomach still feels yucky.

[what do nails and juice have in common?]
Oh and one more highlight from the weekend. We ate supper in the living room last night. Later, Ryan headed upstairs to put Scott to bed and I headed for the kitchen to do the dishes. I cleaned those up real quick, refilled my glass, grabbed some ice-cream and went back to the living room. Ryan came downstairs and noticed my re-filled glass:
Ryan: is that the same one as earlier?
Me: Duh, of course it is?
Ryan: Did you dump the nails out of it first.
Me: Umm no (as I look at the bottom of my now half-emtpy glass)
We laughed and laughed. Ryan had trimmed his fingernails and put the trimmings in my empty cup. I didn’t pay any attention to the cup, refilled it and drank half the glass. It was so gross yet so entertaining. Ah, the joys of marriage!

26 January 2006

good day

[smiling]
My day has been good. My honey was off at noon today so he picked up our son and came down for lunch. We met at the Keystone for lunch where I was able to feed my wild child. Ryan asked if I liked my plant from Scott. Okay, let me just say it was stupid moment #2 for today. I noticed the plant sitting there against the wall, wrapped in plastic (you have to do that in the midwest or the cold temperatures will kill it before you get it home) and thought nothing of it. Now, I should have known that no one would set out a decorative plant and leave it in the plastic but I didn't. So, I opened the plastic and reached for the card. It says "We love you. You are the best mom and the best wife. Love, Scott and Ryan". My guys gave me an awesome looking peace lilly to put in my office. My Ryan is so thoughtful sometimes!

[long lunch]
We had a nice lunch at the Keystone. I can't believe how fast the time went. Asked Ryan to bring Scott by the office so I could show him off. Spent a considerable amount of time showing my kid to the staff in the building. He's such a ham!

[Dr. appt]
Scott had his 6 month shots on Tuesday. It was entertaining. He was all smiles and flirting with the nurses before hand. They gave the shots, Scott cried for 20 seconds or so and snuggled right up to me. As I held him, he looked right over my shoulder at the ladies and gave them plenty of dirty looks. If I could read his mind, I'd bet he was thinking "and I trusted you!" Scott measured in at 27" (which means he gets to move into his new carseat) and weighed 18lbs, 3.5 oz. My child is growing so big and his hair is really starting to grow in now. Ah, parenting is such a blessing

25 January 2006

Thoughts taken from emails to friends today

[confession of the day]
I so didn't give much effort this morning when I was working out. I started out with squats and that was bothering my hip. I worked my calves and then went to lunges. I despise lunges and today I had a sharp pain in my left thigh. I thought I just needed to stretch so I did that and the pain was still there. So, I did a few other things and left. My thighs aren't even sore now and I walk fine except my hip is still bothering me. I'm so not going to improve if I don't push myself.

[mary kay]
Talked to my sister last night about Mary Kay (click here to buy from her since she has a deal for the next 3 days and help me discount a purchase of some lip stick, lip balm, etc). She did a quick interview thingy with me. All my answers pointed to staying at home and having some side income... MK. But, the final question she asked was if she could teach me how to provide for my wants/needs via MK, would I be interested in selling. I said "NO" because although I'd like to stay home and make the same income, I NEED my benefits. She replied "you can make enough to pay your benefits" to which I said "but there's something to be said for a consistent income". And doing the math, beauty consultants make a 50% profit. If I made a $24,000 salary (easy math), I'd have to sale $48k of product each year which is $4k per month which is A LOT of stuff and that doesn't include my benefits.

24 January 2006

Halelujah

[halelujah]
Scott slept through the night last night. He's been up a lot and cries until I feed him. I'm thinking that its a growth spurt but it has lasted for over 2 weeks now. He has been eating constantly though. But last night Ryan put him down close to 10pm and slept till 4am when he fussed some and put himself right back to sleep. I got out of bed and took 2 steps before turning around and getting back in bed. When the alarm went off at 5am, I felt so refreshed. It was so nice to get a full night of sleep.

[my oh, so attractive honey]
Sunday morning Ryan trimmed his goatee really short. I'd been nagging him for a while (which means he won't shave it to spite me). But Scott had been tugging on it for a while too. Finally it's trimmed and he looks so good. And the oh, so attractive continues... this morning Ryan got up and I thought he was in the shower. It wasn't too long before I could hear that he was downstairs on the treadmill. I got up to jump in the shower and my studly husband was running/walking on the treadmill. After my shower, we crossed paths in the kitchen and he looked great after working out but I wouldn't let him near me since he was all sweaty.

[more good looks]
here's my power trip for the day. I got up this morning and actually made the time to get myself ready. I've had the habit in the last 6 months to go to work with my "naturally nasty" hair dripping wet and no make-up. This morning, I did my hair, put on make-up and wore a cute outfit. I saw myself in the mirror and instantly felt better about myself because I look good today. Yay for me.

19 January 2006

Joy and Strength

[working out]
I worked out again yesterday. My arms are definitely sore but not as bad as my legs were. I can walk fairly normal today (only took 3 days). And although I'm sore, it feels so good to work out. I miss doing that. I remember when I used to be so active - running, riding bikes, playing sports. I'm eager to get some cardio exercise on the days I don't work out.

[narnia]
Such a good movie. And so easy to see the Christian influence in it. I'd reccomend it to anyone who likes to watch movies. It was a fun night out with my honey. We grabbed sandwiches at Subway and headed to the Royers. I ate half my sandwich, gave the other half to Ryan Royer and headed upstairs to deal with Scott's food supply. Got home a bit late and was up early to go work out. Thanks to mom and ralph for keeping Scott over night.

[thursday]
TGITh! I love when weekends come so quickly. I was off one day this week and in a meeting yesterday. That doesn't leave me at my desk too much which has been great.

[glasses]
It has been over a year since I've worn my reading glasses. My eyes actually bothered me more when I wore them (this was right after getting a new Rx that I thought was too strong). But, the past two weeks my eyes have bothered me again. So this morning, I dusted off my glasses and put them on. I guess I'll have to blame it on my fibromyalgia. Your eyes can change alot with it and my eyesight has definitely been affected. Being pregnant, I never had to deal with fibro issues which was such a blessing. Now, they may be back. Grr. All the more reason to work out and keep healthy.

[prayer]
I've heard of several sudden deaths recently. And earlier this week, a co-worker/boss had a mild heart attack. Death is so close. It could be tomorrow, it could be next year. It could be 5 minutes from now. Do you know where you'll spend eternity? You have two options - heaven or hell. You choose.

17 January 2006

3 day weekend

[awesome Ryan]
I do have a studly husband who did work on my doors Thursday night. He got one storm door on and it looks great. I’m almost going to miss the old screen door that had the screen tore out of the corner and the cats would perch there and look through the window at us. Saturday after Ryan got home from work, he put the other door on. Yay for my wonderful hubby.

[love/hate for Michelle]
The guys have been working out for quite some time now. I’ve been a bit jealous since I’d like to work out but don’t seem to have the time. I even tried making a deal with myself by telling myself that I could go tan each time I worked out. That never worked. The girls started working out too but it was mid-day and that doesn’t work with my schedule. Still jealous that they were getting to work out and getting that bonding time AND they weren’t working full time jobs. More recently the girls started working out from 6 to 7am. I decided that after the holidays I would join them. Then Scott wasn’t sleeping so I waited till he got his schedule back. Yesterday I worked out with the girls! I’m thankful that the Jensen’s are willing to open their basement for us to work out in. I’m thankful to Michelle being our personal training for free. I love both of those girls and I so appreciate their friendship. But, that Michelle really worked me over yesterday. Crunches, squats, leg lifts, throw downs and whatever else. My legs were shaking no doubt but it was the lunges that killed me. All day yesterday my thighs hurt. Today my legs still hurt and I can hardly walk. I’m sore but I’m ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll do arms and rest my poor little legs.

[lazy sunday afternoon]
We ended up with a house full. Ryan had 3 guys over to play xbox. I had three of the teenie-boppers over to play with Scott. We made taco salad for lunch, did a few dishes and watched a girly movie upstairs.

[MLK Jr. Day]
What change came from the efforts of one man’s determination and convictions. How often do I stand up for what I believe. There was a man in my office today that was using the GD phrase. And I was offended by it. The second time he said it, I thought about confronting him “next time” but he didn’t say it again.

[babysitter and cook]
I so appreciated my day off yesterday. At noon, Sona came and picked up Scott. My goal was to get my room clean. I did that, talked to Dad on the phone for a while, then showered and went to Walmart to pick up a diapers and sweatshirts for Scott. I came home with the whole store. Ryan and I were meeting in Postville to pick up Scott and then for Mexican food. Sona called and had meatloaf in the oven and corn. I love Sona’s home grown/frozen corn. Not only did she keep my kid all afternoon but she fed me supper too.

[christmas tree]
My Christmas tree is still up. I know it needs to come down but I'm lazy and didn't get much accomplished all weekend. Any one else still have their decorations up?

12 January 2006

I have THE cutest kid!



Grammy's little guy got his pictures taken today.

a beautiful day in my neighborhood

[bloodshot]
Scott is finally sleeping, praise God. I think it was night #5 or 6 that we got a decent sleep. My eyes are still bloodshot and I continue to try to catch up on my sleep. I was asleep by 930pm and woke up at 630am feeling like I needed another two hours of sleep.

[narnia dissapointment]
Last Saturday Ryan and I went on a date. It didn't go as planned but we had a good time. We planned to leave by 10am in time to get to Waterloo, grab some lunch and catch the matinee for Narnia. After Scott decided he wouldn't eat, I had to pump quick at mom's (thanks to m&r for keeping Scott) before we could head out. We left by 11 and arrived in at the theater in W'loo to find it under construction. We then headed next door to the mall where I went into Hallmark and found out where the nearest mall was. We drove 10 miles or so to Cedar Falls and found the theater. Ryan saw that Narnia played at 415pm but I wanted to catch the 1pm. Unfortunately it was already 115pm and we were too late. A bit frustrated we head to Texas Roadhouse for a nice steak lunch. While there I asked Ryan if he would be offended if we didn't go to the movie. He said "no, but I'll be dissapointed". I thought we better go but my organized little mind was working and I knew that a 4pm movie would get us out of the theater by 7pm, then we'd have to go to Menards and pick up our doors (the reason for going all the way to W'loo) which would take maybe an hour, then drive the 80 minutes to pick up Scott before getting home. That would put us home at 10pm and my kid is in desperate need of a schedule! Ryan suggested that mom could keep him over night, which they would, but I couldn't ask them to keep Scott knowing he wasn't sleeping worth beans. So, I dissapointed my honey and didn't see Narnia. Instead we piddled around Cedar Falls/W'loo at the mall, a camera store, Walmart, Menards and Target.

[new doors]
We finally have my new storm doors (my Christmas presents from G&G B and from Ryan). Now, if only we can get them up this weekend. Shoot, its beautiful weather out, maybe Ryan will work on them today when he gets home after lunch. *I wish, I wish, I wish*

[last night]
It was my first night back helping out with our JV youth group. Last night was the Christmas party that got pushed back caused by bad weather. It was fun to be with my kids again and add Scott to the whole mix. Because it was such a relaxed setting, Scott got passed around with several JVers and Ben (one of our college buddies that helps). Kyle (7th grade) was so cute when he snuggled Scott right up to his chest and patted him for a while. Ben stole him away and we got a cute picture of Scott wearing Ben's massive non-ISU hat. One kid still drives me crazy! He was one of the reasons I didn't help last semester and I know that I need to start praying for my attitude towards him.

[tonight, tonight]
I'm way excited for my bible study group tonight. It's been too long since I've seen my buddies. We're using tonight to plan for our 40 days of purpose adventure. I'm excited for the challenge to invite some folks to join us and I'm committing to praying for them and hoping they'll come.

[challenge]
I commented to a buddy about how her kids need to see her living out her faith 7 days/week. What a challenge to myself. I know my kid is young but he too needs to see that. I'm determined to do that, not so much for Scott but because I just need to do so. I was reading the bible in a year and got lazy at the end of my pregnancy. I need that committment back, that fire and desire.

[beautfiul day]
It's been beautiful out. Yesterday was supposed to get up to 45 degrees. I took a walk with one of my producers to check out his prescribed grazing plan that I wrote. It also happens that I love his family and used to go to church with them pre-marriage. The wind was cold and my ears ached for a few hours after we got in but it was so nice outside. Today looks to be much of the same. okay, enough from me for today. i love to write but it does get lengthy.

09 January 2006

NEED SLEEP

My kid has decided that he doesn't want to sleep at night anymore. Not a huge surprise since he didn't get his naps and was up till about 11pm most nights we were in CA. I had Ryan movie a single bed into Scott's room since Thursday and Friday were sleepless nights too. Here's a run down of our Saturday night:

9pm - watching a movie in bed. Scott was happy in his swing
1030 - movie is almost over. Scott gets fussy. He lays in bed with us. I feed him, he is HYPER.
11 - Take Scott to his room. Turn off the monitor so at least one of us can get sleep.
1130 ish - Scott falls asleep.
midnight - Scott is awake and crying. Has to have a pacifier in his mouth.
130 - Finally falls back asleep
330 - Scott is awake again
415 - I take him out of his crib, feed him and snuggle him in the not-so-comfy twin bed.
430 - Scott is asleep
530 - Scott is half asleep/awake and fussy
6 - Ryan gets up to go to the bathroom. I ask him to trade me places so I could sleep
6-9 - who knows what my kid did during that time. Too tired to remember what Ryan told me. I slept.
9 - Ryan wakes me like I asked him to do so we could get to church
901 - I'm out!
944 - I wake up, church starts at 930.

This is one of 4 nights lately. Last night was better but still not good. Ryan and I switched off. I went to bed at 8pm and Ryan dealt with him till midnight. Ryan went to bed and I dealt with Scott. At 4, I was able to put himself in bed and he eventually quit fussing and went to sleep. This was the first time he put himself to sleep in his own bed in the last 4 days. I'm hopeful that we're progressing. Schedules for babies are more important than I realized :)

06 January 2006

Going Home

Thursday the 5th
Up at 4am, at the airport by 530ish, our flight left at 7am. We landed in Des Moines at 340pm, headed back to the hotel for the Tahoe and started home. After a quick stop in Waterloo, I walked in the door at 830 and FINALLY got to see my Ryan. He was amazed at how Scott grew and changed in just 8 days (our son now has chubby cheeks, shakes his head “no” and makes more defined noises). I’m so glad to be home.

My girls

Wednesday the 4th
By now I’ve called my husband a million times to let him know that I miss him and to let him talk to Scott. This morning we got an earlier start to the morning. I though I’d have time to have breakfast with my Nanny but that didn’t happen after all. I met Nicole and surprised Paul at Starbucks. We saw several people while I was there and it was good to catch up with everyone again. It was fun to surprise Paul again, the same as I did 4 months ago. He played with Scott until we had to leave. Since my kid was having fun checking out his surroundings, he wouldn’t eat. I stopped at the house to pump, bottled it and headed for Fresno. I finally got to see my girls, together, at the same time. It was so good. We met for lunch at Red Robin and updated each other on our lives. Katie had to run back to work so Cori and I went on our way. We stopped at several places for some minor shopping. It was so good to see her again, it had been too long. I left Fresno before 3 and went to Dad’s house to hang out. Scott finally took a real nap!!!! That night I stayed home to pack. My cousin, Lynn, came by with her girls. We played with Scott and visited before they headed home. I finished packing, showered and hit the sack.
[grandma martinez is still in the hospital. She still has a blockage and now has an infection they think is all related. They’ve changed her antibiotic for that. Please keep praying for her.]

Lots of Visiting

Tuesday the 3rd
Scott and I visited a lot of people. We saw Judy and Tom Woods and visited for a while. Jake (my baseball buddy) and Michelle Woods stopped in to hang out and meet Scott. While there I got to see a family drama which made me feel at home – it was quite entertaining for almost everyone. As I was leaving Michelle shared a fun story about “seeing” me in Iowa before. She flew out to visit Jake and was in the car waiting for him after the game. He walked out of the locker room and hugged me and greeted my friends. Michelle was in the car upset thinking I was Jake’s girlfriend and I had my family with me. She wandered why he invited her out if he had a girlfriend. Poor thing, I can so imagine how my thoughts would continue the longer I sat in the car. Fortunately Jake was able to straighten things out and she’s not worried about Jake hugging me anymore.
I left the Woods’ house to visit my childhood friend, Becky. We took our little boys and went to lunch. As soon as we walked in the waitress asked if we were sisters. All through high school people thought we were sisters. I guess we look the same if we’re still getting asked. We had a good visit, compared child rearing stories and ate some taquitos. Back at the ranch, we took a few pictures and I got to see her dad for a few minutes. From the ranch I went to see the Fagundes’ family. We had a good visit catching up while my son was hyper, making lots of noise and moving all around. I left there and stopped by Truda and Ivo’s. Truda and I did some mission work together when I was in high school. My parents were out there for supper and I stopped by long enough to feed my son, chat for two minutes, give hugs and leave again.
I got to Tebbe’s a few minutes late but in perfect time for Tri-tip, green beans, cheesy potatoes and bread. The Johnston’s (Kristine, Andy & their 3 month old Drew along with John, Kristal & their 4 month old Luke), and I all ate supper together. Mom and Ralph stopped by to give me back my son and say hi to all the J’s. The rest of the night we hung out on the couch while the guys played video games and played with babies. We took a few pictures and chatted until we were all about to fall asleep.

My new nephews & the Whitakers

Monday the 2nd
I like to plan ahead and I did a decent job of doing so. I wrote things down on my calendar with phone numbers, times, etc. This day we were going to hang out with some family friends, the Whitakers. Only when I called the night before to arrange a time with Helen, her cell phone was turned off. The next morning I tried again with no luck. So, we (Dad, DJ’s new step-sons, Scott and I) hung out at the house. I tried to get their number out o the phone book, off the internet and had no luck. Finally Helen called Dad’s. After DJ came to get the boys, we headed to Sanger to visit our friends. We had a good time catching up and seeing the kids all grown up. I did good at harassing the oldest son, Will, for piercing his ears. We left there and went home to have beef quesadillas. Nicole came over shortly after we got home and so did Jen and the kids. We all visited for a while until Jen went home. Then Nicole and I chatted for a bit before she left. Once again I went to bed way too late and my child didn’t get the naps he so desperately needed.
[grandma martinez finally went to the doctor. Her sugar dropped to 30, she was throwing up, etc. Sugar below 30 is apparently a coma. So far we know that she has an obstructed bowel and her white blood count is super low which means her immune system isn’t working. Please be praying for my grandma, that she can bounce back, pass her blockage and go home. Thanks]

New Year’s Day – Wedding Day

Let me just sum it up by saying “DRAMA”. I started my day by arriving 10 minutes late to church. Didn’t get to visit with all my church buddies afterwards but did chat with the Johnston’s. The wedding didn’t go as planned but they’re married. They looked awesome together and they love each other. We took some fun pictures which I’ll add in later.

New Year’s Eve

It was a girl’s day out while Dad and Ralph went to Jeff’s to watch the Bulldogs lose their bowl game. Us girls (Nanny, Aunt Ugly, Mom, Jen and I) plus Scott went to Fresno. We had lunch at the Elephant Bar at River Park. While there, I saw an old school friend, Stephanie (Jacobson). After lunch we headed to Babies R Us and I did a little shopping with Scott and visited with Stephanie some more (she went there too). We piddled around there and I ran into Old Navy quick for the clearance sales for Scott. We left there and had quite the adventure to DJ’s. It was fun (a bunch of women in the car giving their opinion). I still think my way would have been faster, in fact, I know it would have been. Some time later and lots of u-turns, we finally made it to DJ and Sarah’s. Sarah wasn’t home and so we visited with DJ for a few minutes (I mostly just fed and changed Scott) before heading home.
That evening I picked my Grandma Martinez up and we (Dad, Jen and the kids, Gma, Scott and I) all went to Los Pepes for dinner. Grandma was not feeling well; she’s diabetic and was having some blood sugar issues. Dinner was good, the kids were fun, but Grandma didn’t seem to be doing well. We left dinner, dropped of Gma and headed to Stan and Lori’s (mom’s buddies). They wanted to meet Scott and had a gift for him. We visited with everyone for a while and left around 10pm (way past my “tired” time). Was in bed by 11pm and not concerned with bringing in the New Year. I figured it would come whether I stayed up or not.

Dad & ADX alum

Friday the 30th
During the day, I hung out with my dad and my sister during the day. That evening, a bunch of us ADX alumnus did a potluck supper at Shane and Leanna’s house. Of course everyone who had families brought them. I was so glad to see all the girls again AND meet some new babies.

Vacation here I come

Wednesday the 28th
I worked a half day and then headed home. Had a quick bite to eat with my honey, finished packing and then hit the road for Des Moines. Stopped along the way to feed Scott and give him a fresh diaper. Of course, as we got back on the road, he filled it! By time we got to the hotel, he had a bit of a mess that leaked on his car seat and required some hand washing of clothes.

Thursday the 29th
We flew out of Des Moines at 6am and landed in Fresno around 130pm. Pretty uneventful. Visited with my Aunt Ugly (Janie) who met us at the airport and then shoved 5 million suitcases into a little car and headed to Dad’s. I was hungry so I shoved my face full with a beerock and fresh oranges. That night we (Ralph and mom, Jen and kids, Nanny, Scott and me, Aimee and Frank) all went to Jeff and Jill’s for supper. It was fun to hang out with everyone. I hadn’t seen my step sister, Aimee, for quite a while so it was great to see her and Frank. I was so tired but I had a good time.