Gifts

Okay, so I try not to focus too much on gifts for Christmas but rather take time to appreciate the One true gift for which we celebrate. However, with that said, I love giving gifts. It's so much fun.

I was very spoiled this year, as I usually am. Ryan got me a practical gift but I'm perfectly happy with my new item... when it arrives. He also got me new headphones for my ipod which was another perfect gift. Mom made me a beautiful Christmas tree skirt which took plenty of her time, talent and money. She and Ralph also got me a few other little things - candy and a new shirt. Dad came to visit which is a wonderful gift as he'd not yet met Bethany. And be brought me freshly picked oranges. Yum, yum! My inlaws gave me a little wall hanging that she made. its really cute. So, not tons of crap that I'll never use but enough for me to appreciate. I'm thankful.

And now, I'm really curious. What did you get for Christmas?

Merry Christmas

More thoughts from my "break"

Not as exciting but just now as I was taking my "break", I looked down to notice that my very cute brown pants with the stylish brown button is attached with khaki colored string. OldNavy, you dissapointed me today. And how come I've worn these pants a million times and never noticed it before?

Opening Doors

Last week I was in the bathroom pumping during my work day. As usual, I locked the door, closed it and started in with my "break". As usual, someone comes down the hall towards the bathroom and as usual, I get nervous and look over to double check that I did lock the door. Once again I was safe. Only, this time, when the person grabbed the door handle, the door began to open. Within seconds, they walked away. Yes, God abstained from humiliating me at that very moment. Whoever it was almost got a view of my milkers and my gut! How sickening! I still don't know why the door never opened all the way, maybe they heard my pump making its wierd noise. You bet I stepped right over to the door and pushed it all the way shut, making sure it clicked shut.

As I type this, it takes me back to my senior year of high school. One of my brothers buddies was a class mate of mine. He practically lived at our house. Well, you can imagine how the rest of the story goes but I'll tell it anyway. I had just gotten out of the shower, went in my room and shut the door. Put on under garments and then sat on my bed to read my mail. Outside in the hallway, my brother and his buddy were screwing around, as usual. My brother shoved Albert right into my doorway. Yes, I'd made sure my door was closed and locked. Only, it appeared to be closed but hadn't clicked shut. Here comes Albert tripping over himself, in more way than one, as he looks up to see me sitting in my bra and panties on my bed.

Ah, the joys of being humbled!

Playing the #'s game

If you were to stare at your gut for half an hour each day, do you think it would motivate you to lose weight, eat healthier, excercise, etc? When I pump twice a day at work, the only location that works is right in front of the bathroom mirror. Not so exciting, but it is motivating. Last week, I had a random thought (which is very normal for me). I thought that I'd like to get back down to my pre-scott weight. Ideally, I'd like to be pre-marriage weight but I wanted to be realistic with myself. Check out these numbers:

Pre-marriage: 118-122
Pre-Scott: 125
9 mos pregnant: 167
pre-Bethany: 130, I think
9 mos pregnant: 153
just the other day: 125

Yee, flippin' haw! I was so excited. I've not been on the scale in a while and never expected to weigh that. However, I have noticed that my gut is smaller than pre-bethany and I can fit into slacks that were pre-scott again. Woo hoo! Maybe pre-marriage isn't unrealistic after all!

* the numbers above may be a little off here and there but they're my best guess according to what I started at and what I gained with each kid.

Scott, I am your mommy!

I think my son has basically lived at my mom's this week. Sunday night he stayed with her. Monday night we got home at 7pm and played a little together while putting up the Christmas tree. Tuesday night I met Ryan, the kids and his parents for supper and then they came home with us to decorate the tree. Scott played with his grandpa for the most part. Wednesday I came home late and he stayed at his grammy's. Saw him for a few minutes before work and a few minutes after work. I went to bible study and he stayed at his Grammy's. Tonight he will go home with his dad but I have a Christmas party to attend so I won't see him then. I'm really looking forward to being home Saturday with him. Sunday is a full day and after church my inlaws will watch the kids so I won't see him then either. I promise though. I am Scott's mommy and do love to have time with my son!

Shopping

The car got "fixed" and $204 later, I took it home. Only now it makes a funny buzzing noise when the fan is on.

I did finally go shopping. Tuesday all day to Rochester with one of my partners in crime. The weather was nasty but we headed north and had clean roads, spent lots of money, had a good time, bought ourselves gifts too, enjoyed the "butt warmers" (aka heated seats) and got a little Christmas shopping done too.

Wednesday I was working near the city and got done a little early. So, I headed over to the city to finish my shopping. It didn't quite get done but that's okay. I hate not being done, I'm usually done in October. Anyway, after a few hours and another fun purchase for myself, I met up with my girls. We shopped for our own version of Operation Christmas Child. We went to 7 stores. When Target was closing at 11pm, I decided to head home. I'd been walking around for 7 hours and my feet and hips hurt. So, I headed home. The girls finished shopping there and headed to another store. I got home at 1230 and was in bed by 1am. The rest of my girls however got home at 330am. They're crazy! Although, I don't know that I was much different on sleep time. I'd had a caramel frapp and don't usually drink coffee so I was pretty wired and didn't sleep.

The good thing is that we're almost done shopping. The bad thing is I got charged for the wrong ornament and paid $5 more than the price. The other bad thing was that Sam's no longer had the item I wanted to get for my brother in law for his gift! Oh well.

So much for shopping

Who in the world would want to drive 85 miles on half decent roads to shop in a super busy mayhem? ME. And who in the world would decide to go at noon when kids had yet to be fed, would need to be dropped off, etc? Me again. And what kind of sucker husband would agree to go? Yes, mine. Of course, he was just supporting his wife and is not at all really a sucker husband.

A quick changed of clothes and brief stop at moms to drop off the kids and we were on off to the city we go. Its now 1pm and we've not eaten. So we get to the nearest town with a BK and stop for a quick bite to eat at 2pm. Wait a second, let me back up a step... this was the same town that gave me hope for BK being open on Thanksgiving only to find out they were closed. Anyway, so we pull into BK drivethrough and I flip off the defrost/heater. As we leave, Ryan flips it back on. This is a necessary part of our trip since the hour drive down was freezing rain. With just our luck (I really don't believe in luck but couldn't think of another word), the fan wouldn't turn back on. Ryan continues driving towards the highway and I'm thinking this could be a problem. So, we pull over at the big blue store next the highway. After lots of phone calls to my dad, messing with fuses and relay switches and freezing our butts off, it still didn't work. We even went into the store to buy new fuses (and warm up a little) but that didn't help either. We spent an hour in all trying to figure out the problem before giving up and driving back home.

We never made it to the city to do the shopping. Instead we drove an hour in a toasty warm car to go through the BK drive through, buy new fuses at wally world, then drive the hour back home with no heat except what came off the running engine in 12 degree weather. Fortunately, we didn't hit freezing rain at all on the way home.

Eventually I'll do my Christmas shopping :) Until then, I might be using Christmas budget money to pay for my car to get fixed - for the 2nd time this week.

Andrew

For the past 25 days many of us having been praying for little Andrew. He was born with some heart complications. After two successful major heart surgeries, we continued to pray for healing. It was this morning at 955 that the little guy passed. He was 25 days old. My heart aches for Andrew's family. I couldn't imagine walking out of the hospital without my child. Multiple times this morning, I've found myself crying while grieving their loss. And now as I prepare to eat my lunch, there is a newborn in the lobby crying and I'm crying again.

I'm so glad we can home in an everlasting life with our risen Lord and Savior. What a gift, and a free gift at that!

My Life This Week

- I moved back in with my parents. Okay, not quite like that. But I did stay the last two nights there as I'm not able to traverse my own driveway. Ryan has 4wd and was able to go home, heat up the house and get me some clothes.
- Having one 4wd vehicle that fits 3 people sucks! We are a 4 person family and with our driveway, we need another 4wd. Although my husband would disagree, if I can't get down my driveway, something is wrong with that picture.
- Scott doesn't like the "pokey" Christmas tree and would only help his grammy decorate it after I put his gloves on him. What a goober!
- This was my weekend to clean and get ready for bible study at my house on Thursday. Yeah, I didn't get squat done since I left the house Saturday morning and haven't been back.
- Busy week ahead (as if we ever have a slow week). I have to work lots but also have to pick my kids up on time this week and will have a crappy drive to work this morning and will get started late. Not sure how I'm gonna make anyone, let alone everyone happy this week.
- My inlaws didn't make it here yet

What a View

While I was busy staring at this:

I almost missed this:

Fortunately, as I was preparing to leave the office I looked out my office window and caught it just in time. Just 5 minutes later when I did leave, there's only a slight hint of color left.

Allergic Reaction

Okay, so for a while now, I have this occasional allergic reaction. Not sure what the deal is or what causes it. In a matter of about 5 minutes a civil war goes on inside my gut and then all my food finds its way through my intestines. And on top of that, my throat swells to make breathing a little more work, my ears itch and my nose gets stuffy for a while. This goes on for about 45 minutes and then my sinuses drain and my throat goes back to normal. I've tried to pay attention to the food I consume right before hand but nothing makes sense. This happened yesterday as we were walking out of the house for Thanksgiving. Our two hour drive took 3 hours and included several potty stops in between. The only things I had to eat were a slimfast and granola bar which is what I eat every morning. I didn't change my skin care products at all either so who knows.

This morning I'm feeling refreshed and ready for a busy weekend. Tomorrow morning we're serving the college basketball team brunch, then going to their game. Later that evening is LivingStone which is usually followed by an activity with our junior high kids. I told Ryan that I was too tired for the youth activity this time. I imagine some of the junior high and high school girls will come home with me Sunday for a few hours between church and our financial peace class. I think I'll be ready for Monday to come along - being swamped at work sounds like less work than our weekend plans.

Giving Thanks

I'm thankful for:
1. My husbands driving skills on slushy, windy roads
2. Each breath
3. Diaper rash cream
4. Walmart being open when I needed a potty break
5. Family
6. Mom's open door policy
7. Sleeping kids

There is truly so much to be thankful for. I'm thankful for the Pilgrims who were willing to cross the Atlantic to the new world. When all odds were against them, God sustained them and provided exactly what they needed. I'm thankful that the Indians were able to see how God worked to provide for them when they called on his name.

p.s. I'm thankful for those stores who were closed on Thanksgiving and allowed their employees to spend time with their families. At the same time, I was really hungry on the way home from Iowa City and nothing was open except a buffet in Big City with an airport. Who needs a buffet after a Thanksgiving meal. I was so excited when I got to Gotham City (home of Fantastagirl) and the BurgerKing sign read "OPEN THANKSGIVING". And then the dissapointment came as we drove through the intersection and saw the bottom of the sign which read (8-noon). Dangit.

Snow

We're getting our first snow and its beautiful big flakes!

chile rellenos

I love mexican food. Maybe that's because I'm half Mexican. Anyway, last night Ryan and I were in the check out line (aka "swipe" out line) at the grocery store. In front of me was a younger woman with lots of groceries. Only I couldn't help but notice that she had what I'd consider mexican foods: chorizo, tortillas, chiles, limes, etc. And I specifically noticed what are commonly called anaheim chiles which my family uses for chile rellenos. I was dying to ask her about them. And finally, the quiet person that I'm NOT, I walked up to her and asked if she would be making chile rellenos. She smiled real big and said yes. I told my husband I'd be going home with her so I could eat some real food as I've been homesick anyway. Ryan said I was stalking her. In any case that woman is about to fix some good food in the near future and I'd love to be eating at her table!

makeover

I was thinking yesterday that I could use a total make over but then again, maybe not. Maybe I just need to take the time to blow dry my hair and put on make up. For now, I'd rather spend that time playing with my kiddos, snuggling with Ryan or staying in bed till he gets the fire started and I have a warm house!

On another make-over note, my blog needs a facelift. I want more space on it for the text and less for the sidebars. I need to redo the whole thing but honestly don't have the time to mess with it!

Sassy Senorita

It was a typical shopping trip to the city with the usual stop at the kids clothing store that I prefer. We found the cutest shirt ever. Since this shopping trip occurred last March-ish, we didn't know yet that we'd be having a girl. The shirt was so cute, I just could pass it up. Tuesday, Bethany wore the shirt and it was adorable on her:

Make note that her shirt reads "Sassy Senorita". The reason I find this so cute is that my children are 1/4 mexican and therefore the "senorita" is fitting. I wonder what she would be referred to in the Dutch language. Anyway, my little girl is absolutely precious and we love her dearly... even when she screams for the 5 minutes it takes for me to pump before I can feed her! Last night she wore black tights, a jean skirt and a black shirt that said "milk addict". It was cute but I didn't get a picture. She is adorable. For those of you who've not met her or been around her for a while, I think you're going to fall in love with our smiling, grinning little girl who's just starting to say "dada".

Thanksgiving Kids Craft

Okay, I'm looking for a simple kid craft for Scott (28 months old) to do for Thanksgiving. I've seen a few things online but now I'm hoping you can share a great idea or link with me. I want him to have a little something to do and at the same time remember that Thanksgiving is more than turkey, its about the Europeans who sailed over on a boat for religious freedoms.

Please, please share any ideas you might have.

the non-creative mommy
T

IOWA

I grew up in California, didn't know any better and loved it. I grew up in a great community with a wonderful family and survived through my college years. California has so much to offer - the coast, the mountains, the redwoods, fresh clam chowder, not-too-cold weather, year round sports, year round farming, etc. What an amazingly diverse state.

While in college, I got a taste of Iowa. It is not flat. The potatoes grown here are in gardens. Rural life is a blessing. We do have "cities". There is more to life here than football. Its wonderful. Although I miss the amenities of my home state, I love Iowa. Its a well kept secret and I kinda like to keep it that way (unless you're a buddy or family member then I'd like for you to come out here).

Anyway, there's a new magazine out. It's fun! Upbeat! And different from any magazine you've ever seen! Our Iowa, the magazine that celebrates all that's great about living in Iowa. You can order a subscription for a very reasonable price or head on over to IowaGeek to sign up to win a free subscription for her monthly bribing contest.

What a Weekend

I was so looking forward to my three day weekend but things quickly changed. It was a typical Saturday morning with Ryan at gone. Ryan headed to town to fix the Ford. This was after he thought that I could take him to get the Ford which was out in the timber. I quickly reminded him that with two kids, we’d have to take the car and the car might not make it through the corn field. Jerry and kids came over and gave Ryan a ride to the Ford. Ally stayed at the house and played with Scott. Scott got his usual breakfast – a nutri grain bar, which he didn’t even finish. I just figured it was because Ally was there to play. After about half an hour, Ally went home. I changed his diaper and put big boy underwear on him. Every ten minutes after that we stopped for a potty break. I even tried the cheerio trick but he wanted to fish the cheerios out and eat them instead of pee on them. The next thing I remember is lunch time. I was desperately trying to get my house clean (which is hard to do when you go potty every ten minutes) on Saturday so I could enjoy the remainder of my long weekend. Trying to make the best of my time, I put Scott in his high chair in the living room to allow him to eat lunch and watch a movie while I folded clothes. He is the SLOWEST eater and don’t pay much attention as I’m in no hurry and his slow eating is buying time and entertaining him. However, after some time, I see that he’s finished a full cup of juice and not touched his burrito. The kid is engaged in Veggie Tales and nothing else, almost like a trance. So, I remind him several times that he needs to eat and he continues the trance until I pause the movie. This gets his attention and he begins to whine. After about half the burrito is eaten, he stops eating and continues whining – which goes over real well when I’m not appreciative of a whiny child. So, I treat him like a baby and begin feeding him. And after about the second tiny bite he took, he puked! Yes, my child puked. Kinda gross but I’ve seen a lot worse. It was mostly [hope you like details] watery and it was contained on the tray of his high chair. Fortunately his burrito was in my hand and it was saved. I figured he’d just overdone the running around like a crazy boy earlier in the morning and it was no big deal. He does this occasionally and was acting normal. He took two more tiny bites and then wouldn’t finish it. I’m such a good mom – who in the world forces their kid to eat right after they puke?

Fast forward a few hours. Scott has peed through his underwear and I’m a bit frustrated but he’s two. There was just a little bit of urine so I decide that he can just wait a few minutes and feel the wetness. I’m finally having lunch. All of a sudden I notice that Scott has peed AGAIN. Yes, we’d just discussed this issue and the importance of telling me when he has to pee. This time it has soaked through the underwear and sweats and he’s trying to clean it up with a broom. Okay, I saw him cleaning with the broom a few minutes before as I scarfed my food but he likes to clean so I thought nothing of it. But when he came in the kitchen and announced that he was cleaning his mess, I had to investigate. There was a puddle in the lving room on the wood floor that he’s kindly swept up and spread everywhere. Now that I’m finishing up dishes, Scott is forced to stay in the kitchen with me where he can’t cause a bigger mess. Ryan comes home. [Thanks to Chris and $60 later the Ford is fixed. Bethany is such an easy going kid and I’m so thankful for that, especially on a day like this one.] Ryan wants to go back to the timber to load wood. I actually enjoy that on occasion and volunteer to go help. We head upstairs for a quick bath for Scott and to get the kids dressed for the unseasonably warm weather. As I pull off his wet underwear, I notice something. Did I mention that I smelled something earlier but didn’t feel anything when I patted him down? There’s some brown in the chones. Yipee, not only has my child puked, peed through his clothes, smeared it all over the floor, now he’s also pooped in his underwear. As I pull his clothes off, I see that the mess is larger than I realize. Slightly disgusted, I let the bath water out of the tub as this one will require a shower, not just a bath. He’d not only pooped in his underwear but the poop had managed to slide down his leg, smear all over and hang out at the cuff of his sweats. Thank the good Lord for an elastic gathered cuff!!! I shower off the colorful stuff and then give him a quick bath. After dressing Scott, I begin hand washing poopy clothes. Okay, its one thing to wash poopy clothes for Bethany that are typically very liquidy, but for Scott, it was gross! Sparing some of the details, I’ll just say that I got the clothes clean and headed to my own room.

I’m in the room changing quick while Ryan and Scott play airplane on the computer. As I walk into the room with the boys, Scott, bored, starts to slide off Ryan’s lap. And then begins round 2 of the puking. This time all over the wood floor. The poor kid has no clue what’s going on or how to stop it. He managed to cover about 30 square feet of floor, himself and a bit of my shoes. To the bath we go AGAIN and Ryan begins to clean. So much for loading wood! Now I know he’s sick and am not going to ask him to eat anything. I ask Ryan to stay home as I’m not feeling the greatest anymore either – probably a result of washing pooped in clothes and cleaning up puke several times. Ryan heads to the store for Sprite as we cover the bed for puke protection, turn a movie on and lounge. The remainder of the afternoon includes intermittent drinks of sprite and eventually a few crackers which he puked up. Starting over with the liquid and eventually we move to a little apple sauce since the child was begging for food. Again, he gave us reason to launder our bedding. All in all, I think he puked five times usually within 40 minutes of eating a solid food. We put Scott to bed in his new Cars pajamas which he was excited about and finally made it to bed ourselves, with clean sheets and less than normal blankets. About 20 minutes later, we hear a rustling over the monitor as Scott crawled out of bed. He’s the cutest thing in the world when he walks in the room with his blanket in tow saying “mommy, I’m awake. Snuggle in your bed?” And again, it was cute, even though he’s done in multiple times now. Only this time, I notice the top of his new pajamas look like there’s something around the shoulders – either lint or puke. And yes, it was a little bit of the remainder of apple sauce that was still in his stomach. It apparently didn’t bother him at all, nor was it a big deal because we didn’t hear it over the monitor. However, at this point, I decided that Scott would camp out on our floor for the night. Ryan layered blankets on the floor and we covered him up and finished watching our movie.

One story, I must include occurred during the middle of the night. He would occasionally make random comments in his sleep which I quickly picked up on and began ignoring. Only this one time, he called out to me and I heard a thud. Again, he said “mommy” followed by a thud. And hardly awake, I about laughed. I sat right up and answered him back. This continued two more times before I was in the floor pulling him out from under our bed. The kid is a wiggle worm and had managed to get his upper body under our bed while asleep. He must have woke up, not known where he was, tried to move and found himself hitting his head on the under side of our bed. It was hilarious. I moved him back onto the pile of blankets, covered him up and he fell right to sleep as I crawled back into my own bed.

I know this is getting lengthy and detailed but part of me wants to record the details so that I can embarrass my son with the memories later on in life.

Sunday morning I made a pad on the couch for Scott to lay on and watch TV. I’m not a fan of the TV babysitter idea but the child was feeling miserable and it was a good way to entertain him and keep his mind busy on something besides food. Ryan was thoughtful and offered to stay home with Scott so I could get out of the house for a bit and go to church. I rushed to shower and carry Bethany out the door with me. It was a much needed break. That afternoon, we slowly introduced a liquid diet. He slept a lot and never really moved off the couch. I don’t think he took twenty steps all day. In the late afternoon, we had one puking episode. That night, like the good mom I am, we took him to town (it was a slow drive over the hilly and windy gravel) and dropped him off at my mom’s so we could attend our financial peace class. Needless to say, he didn’t not want to go nor did he want to be without his mommy. At mom’s he managed to keep down about six crackers. After the class, we picked him up and took him home to put him in bed. I was so glad to know that he was finally over it and holding down food. My three day weekend would end up with a nice day after all, even if that meant finally get the house clean.

Monday morning bright and early Ryan headed to work. I fed Bethany in bed and we snuggled under the warm blankets until Scott woke up. He came in the room and crawled in bed with us girls. Before too long, he started to cough and gag a little. I assured him that he was fine and that it was just a cough now that he knows what puking is. He told me he was fine and pushed me away. But sure enough, it started to come up. It was really gassy sounding and I thought maybe it was nothing but I was wrong. I couldn’t get around to the other side of the bed fast enough. It was nasty, green and all liquid. It went everywhere. His shirt was soaked as was Ryan’s pillow, blanket and sheets. Fortunately he’d not got much on himself that couldn’t be cleaned with a wet wipe. After cleaning him up and changing him, we headed downstairs to the bed on the couch. Only, on the way down the stairs, he puked again. This time, as I was carrying him and so it ran down my shoulder before puddling on the stairs. We improved from the slimy green to just slimy. And I share those details to say that I thought maybe it was just an upset tummy from drainage and that we were done with it. My nice quiet day turned to more laundry, more small short drinks of sprite, more begging for food from Scott and still more puking. One incident soaked him all over, soaked the blanket on the couch, soaked my leather couch and went everywhere. That one required a bath which was not appreciated by the little man. Anyway, the day progressed, he stayed on the couch for the most part. I was able to take care of Bethany, keep watch over the sick kid and get my house cleaned. Halelujah! Throughout the day he chugged juice while I was preoccupied (that little stinker), ate numerous crackers, begged to eat a box cake and came back alive. He even helped me fix a cake but was quite the brat when I wouldn’t let him lick the spoon. He scarfed down soup for supper although I was nervous that he would begin puking in front of our dinner guest. And then, as promised, I let him have a small piece of very rich cake. For the remainder of the night he was his normal stubborn self and begged for food. I’m so glad the weekend is over.

This morning I woke up, glad that both kids slept through the night, no puking, nothing eventful. And I was thrilled to have a morning to sleep in and go to work. Several minutes later Ryan woke me up saying “babe it’s 637” and the realization came to me that my long weekend was over and I did indeed have to go to work!

Fun Fall Day

Doctor's Office

Bethany's newest stats are:
25 inches long
16 lb 9 oz.

The nurse that assisted with shots today was my nurse from last Friday. She had just called me with the results. They came back CLEAR. Amen!

Life at a Glance

I feel like I'm running in fast forward - constantly. Here's life in fast-forward:
1. I'm swamped at work which wears me out!
2. Ryan says milk production also takes a lot of energy which might explain why I'm so tired.
3. Saturday was our first night at home alone as a family in 5 weeks. It was lovely!
3.5 I didn't know what to do and was tempted once to invite friends over. Seriously.
4. Had a b@@b biopsy on Friday. Couldn't feel a thing. Pain later. Nasty bruising.
4.5 [For my ADXers and Cori] I think I'd now be chair of the NBTC now rather than the IBTC.
5. Bethany had her first food on Saturday. She kept spitting it out. Totally not like her brother who was a little bird when we fed him.
6. Played in the leaves on Saturday. Lots of fun. Super cute pictures. Only bad thing - no Bethany, she was napping in the house.
7. Keller (the deaf and partially blind mini aussie) is gone. Came home last night and Ryan asked me if I noticed anything different. After a quick look around I embarrassingly (is that a word) said no. Ryan told me the people we planned to give Keller too finally took him.
7.5 I didn't get to say good-bye to the pup, not that he would have heard me anyway :)
8. Bethany is 17 pounds now. She gets shots in the morning.
9. I have a follow up appt for the biopsy on Friday. Hopefully they have the results back by then.
10. I'm swamped at work and am missing two half days this week. Does that make sense?
10.5 Monday is a federal holiday. Woo hoo! I might work though to get through some of the stuff on my desk.

Oops, Must leave now. Thought I had 15 more minutes, but that 15 minutes includes a 30 minute drive and picking up my kids :)

Happy Halloween

Our town moved Halloween since tonight is a church night...

Happy Halloween!

By the way, I'm in no way endorsing Halloween, in fact, I don't even like it one bit. But, now that I have kids, I use every excuse to dress them up and show them off :)

Dads - DON'T READ

Dear Cori,
Hello sunshine. Just a reply to your comment...
- yes, my IBT's have doubled in size - its called breastfeeding. This is my second leave of absence from the IBTC. I fully expect to be back within a year :)
- Ryan would have loved to check for mastitis only I don't really let him anywhere near those things. They have become a source of food, not a source of fun!

A few Thoughts

1. I just looked back at previous posts and one title said "lying still gets me in a predicament". By that I meant to say that after many years, I still can't get away with lying. I did not mean anything about lying down anywhere.
2. I was checking my blog to see if I'd previously mentioned the lump in my breast. I didn't. However, I just wanna update that he doctor thinks that everything is just fine. However, after just hearing that a local lady just found out she has stage 4 breast cancer after being told the last 8 months that it was just mastitis (she was breastfeeding), I'm going to make sure. So, a biopsy will be done next week on that.
3. Why do doctors think that the world revolves around them and their schedule? Seriously, I can't make my appointments wait at work nor do I think its appropriate to do so. Yesterday I waited for 30 minutes in the lobby while I watched 3 others that arrived after me get called to the back. After 30 minutes, I went back to the desk and questioned the waiting. Some minutes later I was called back. And in the end the doctor didn't have time to do the biopsy that I was told would be done. Grr!!! Now to give him some credit as I do really like the guy, my referral from my doctor said "consult" and didn't spell out the biopsy details. However, he is the specialist and should have thought right away to have enough time to get that done. Grr.
4. One day each week for 3 weeks I'll be taking off a half day to do something at the doctor's office. This is ridiculous!

Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day yesterday. A tad bit windy and a few bugs but otherwise perfect. We played outside for quite a bit yesterday. Even when I went inside to feed Bethany, the boys stayed outside. At one point, I looked out the window and the boys were sitting next to each other and Ryan was telling his son a story. It was the cutest thing ever and I would have taken video of it if my camera wasn't charging at that very moment!

Junior High Girls Night Out

I work with the junior high awana program. So, we recently had a girls night out. The plan was to hang out and watch chick flicks. It was fun, we ate lots of food, saw a few new faces and some stayed up way too late (6am). But the reason behind my post is this:

One of the girls picked out a few movies to choose from. One was the movie dodgeball. We immediately told the girls that they couldn't watch that one because of the content (in fact I'm embarrassed that we own it and don't think we even watched the whole movie). If you're not familiar with this movie, check out Plugged In's movie review. Anyway, when I was cleaning up after the girls yesterday, I saw that the movie case was out of the cabinet and the DVD was in the player. It appears as though they watched it after all the adults went to bed (3am) even though they'd been told they couldn't. Needless to say I'm quite dissapointed in them. I'm not sure how to discuss it with them. Do I simply tell them that I'm dissapointed? I told Ryan about the situation and he shared that this week we start the "peer pressure" cd for teaching time and we could possibly tie it in with that. I guess I just don't want this to be completely ignored nor do I want to come across as super mean. We're trying to build relationships with these girls. Regardless of how raunchy the movie is, the fact is that they had it in the DVD player after they were told not to.

Thoughts?

WT moment at our Hous

White trash moment at our house on sunday... Ryan was clipping his toenails. And I look over at him to see that he's clipping his toenails through the holes in his socks. Yes, it was bad. But then I did a double-take to see that not only was he doing it through the whole in his socks but he was doing it with the scissors on his pocket knife. Crazy! I had recently begun throwing away the wholy socks. They get wholy so fast with his steel toed boots. But I knew it was time to get rid of the socks; I get embarrassed when others see his nasty socks. So the day before I had thought that I needed to put socks on my shopping list. And after our WT moment, I went right to my list and added socks!!! How's that for a good laugh?

He beats my child

Last night I put Scott to bed early and went downstairs to the youth group. Over the monitor I hear him greet the barking dog. Sure he was out of bed, I went back upstairs to find my child sitting up in his bed and now greeting me with "I'm awake mommy". I coaxed him to lay back down and promised to check on him in a few minutes. Usually he falls right to sleep and I check on him before I go to bed. This time, he stayed awake and began to cry when I didn't come back soon enough. Ryan rescued him from his bed and brought him down to youth group. Okay, my kid really needed the sleep after being up super late at Erin's birthday party (which he was the star of). But, what can you do?

Ryan brought him downstairs as youth group was ending. Well, my husband starting screwing around with another leader. He picked up a shoe and was pretending to hit the other leader. Ryan raised his hand as if to threaten Ben with the shoe, only he was holding Scott. As he raised his fist, he nailed Scott in the face with it. The edge of the shoe caught Scott on the bridge of the nose and in the eye. He screamed. For awhile. So much for getting the kid to bed. Ryan felt horrible and we stayed up for another few hours watching Veggie Tales and snuggling all the while his eye was swelling and he wouldn't even use a cold cloth on it.

This morning I stayed home to let the kid get some sleep. Poor baby. It gave me some time to clean up from the party since I didn't get to do it last night as Scott wanted my full attention.

Partied Out

For the last 3 weeks, we've had something going on each night of the week. I'm tired and ready to hang out on my couch with my family and my blanket and maybe even a movie or a book.

Lying Still Gets Me in a Predicament

Erin's birthday is today. Another girl and I planned a surprise birthday party for her at my house. To help with the surprise, I was taking Erin out to supper and then back to my house for the party. Sunday I spoke briefly with Erin, enough to know that we were still on for Tuesday night. Monday and Tuesday I called several times to finalize times, locations, etc since we had to be back at my house by 7pm. Erin isn't the best at returning phone calls and I felt like I was stalking her. I even sent her a text message which is so not my thing. I was getting a little nervous when Tuesday rolled around and I'd still not heard back from Erin. The cake was made, food at my house, decorations up and friends planning to come over. The following occurred:
mid morning - sent a text message to Erin
1143am - text message from Erin asking to reschedule since she now had to work that night
1144am - I freak out a bit and google Kristen's work phone #
1144am - call Kristen and chat about options
1150am - text message Erin asking if we can reschedule to 7pm (I thought she would work till 9pm but wanted to make sure)
noon - googled Erin's work # and called her supervisor for help. Opted not to leave a voice mail
after lunch - called her several times and impatiently waited
130pm - tried calling her supervisor again
215ish - sent text message to Erin saying "I need to talk to you ASAP, call me"
230pm - text from Erin saying she'd call at 245
3pm - picked up the phone to call her again, she was calling at the same time

The poor girl thought that something was seriously wrong with me or the kids since I'd called so many times. I assured her that I was fine but that I couldn't reschedule. She, of course, was confused since I'm not a high maintenance person. So, I finally told her the truth, that she was about to ruin her surprise birthday party if she worked. Simple enough. Things work so much easier when you tell the truth. Erin was able to reschedule her work which caused a written warning and made it to supper and her surprise birthday party.

Amazes Me

I remember my first trip to Iowa. It was the middle of the summer and foggy. I was quite surprised by those conditions as it is only foggy in the central valley of CA during the dead of winter. I have since become accustomed to the summer fog although I still think its a bit odd. It was a beautiful morning to sleep in - dark outside, a light fog covering the crop land. This morning I was again amazed by the "different" weather. As I drove to work, it was raining and slightly foggy. Now how does it rain and still be foggy outside?

Hmm, foggy weather makes me think of Christmas time and fresh oranges. Oh how I'd love to click my heels and be back to the town I grew up in for a few days!

My kids are so adorable!

We had a nice, and for the most part, quiet weekend. Hubby was home, I was home and we had fun with our kiddos. I asked Ryan not to go cut wood, go mow his folk’s lawn, etc. I just wanted to be home with my family. We did a whole lot of piddling around. My house didn’t get super clean, in fact I didn’t even vacuum. But, I had a great time with my husband and kiddos. We even slept in both days! But, the noteworthy things from this weekend are about my growing little girl and her adorable big brother.

Saturday we played with Bethany. I was tickling her and she laughed out loud several times. Ryan could hear her from the other room and came in to watch her laugh. She didn’t laugh too much but it was cute to see. Another fun moment happened after Scott and Ryan had been gone taking recycles and other errands. Scott came home and usually makes a big deal of his sister. Curious of what his reaction would be, I said “scott, Bethany really missed you while you were gone”. His response was priceless. He ran over to her, practically lay on her and started talking to her. He kissed on her and told her “Bethany, I love you, I missed you”, etc. And then last night in the car he told her “Bethany, you’re so beautiful”. Now maybe he’s repeating things he’s heard us say before but its so stinkin’ cute!

Pike's Peak

We headed to Pike's Peak on Saturday. It's a beautiful place set along the Mississippi River just a few miles off the main highway. There are walkways and waterfall and even a few indian burial grounds in the shape of animals. The mosquitos were taking a break (thank the good Lord) but the "no-see-ems" were out in the sunshine. As long as we kept moving, we were fine. Just wanted to share a few pictures from my adventure with two kids and Sarah.

* for some reason my pictures won't load, I'll try again later

"Yep"

We've had several people move into town from Kentucky. I joke that the South is taking over. But each of these individuals are wonderful and we're glad to call them friends. The other day Chris was pointing out all the words we say differently around here. And he commented that the others from Kentucky had really noticed how much people say "yep". As we chatted, he had his own Texas-ism (he's originally from Texas) and we all got a good laugh. This week I've really paid attention to how often I say "yep". I say it A LOT!

Yesterday I was on the phone with Sarah (from KY) and in the conversation said "yep". Immediately I clenched my teeth as if I shouldn't have said it. So I laughed and explained to her that I knew she noticed how much it was said and had been watching how often I say it. She really didn't care but thought it was sort of entertaining. As we got off the phone, the following was said:
me: okay, I'll talk to you later
S: yep
And then lots of laughter as it has rubbed off on her too!

Nine Days

Nine days since I've posted, wow. Here's a quick glimpse into my past week:

- Bethany held her own bottle the other day. Its not a regular thing but we caught a picture of it.

- Bethany also really enjoys standing now and is pretty good about putting weight on her legs for a short while.

- Scott has learned parts of two new songs in the last two days. He can now sing ABC's, count to 19, sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Jesus Loves Me and the Vegies Tales theme song.

- My cousin Sarah came to visit last Friday and left Thursday morning. I was a bit unsure of how the visit would go since we've not seen each other in a while but it was a great time. I love my cousin and was bummed to see her go. We visited Pike's Peak State Park, shopped in Decorah, hung out with my friends, ate a lot of good food and chit-chatted a bunch. Good times.

- My evenings have been cram-packed with activities. Last Tuesday I had a work meeting. Wednesday is youth group, Thursday is bible study. Friday-Tues morning I had my cousin and last night we went to a friend's house. I'm tired today! Tonight is youth group and tomorrow is bible study. I can't wait until Friday

- I have a doc appointment today. My c-section incision is not normal. I originally thought it was just irritated from my jeans rubbing and my belt pressing against it when I sit. But, its getting worse. So Dr. Ryan will check that out and we're also going to discuss my tailbone issue. Its been painful since February and I'm so sick of it.

- I've been out in the field for work a few times lately. That's been nice to get a break from my desk. I'll be out tomorrow and Friday so I'm hoping it warms up a tad here.

Hard working Hubby = Tired Family

Another weekend when my husband was hard at work helping out our check book. Because of how we choose to prioritize our finances, we try to watch how we spend our money and make sure we're not being wasteful. One way Ryan does that is by cutting wood to burn during the winter. For a while it seemed like every free hour was spent out in the timber when it was hot and muggy. But he's been able to cut wood for free and save us some serious cash by being able to use the wood burner in the evenings.

This weekend he had another idea. While up mowing his parents lawn on Friday, he stopped at the neighbors apple orchard and gathered about a 55 gallon barrel's worth of apples. Saturday, after cutting wood all morning, he started in on the apples. He spent 5 hours making apple sauce. All the while, I was in the house cleaning and preparing for our company next weekend. He did all his work outside which limited the mess. Scott stayed outside all afternoon and had a blast playing in the water and helping his dad. Sunday afternoon was much of the same. He made quite a bit of apple sauce but its a long and laborious process for the amount of apple sauce you get.

The good thing, we have lots of organic apple sauce in the freezer that didn't cost us anything. The bad thing, I would have loved to pay for the apple sauce and have Ryan at home working on my honey-do-list.

Both nights we had company for supper. And each night things got a little crazy around 630. Saturday wasn't bad but we were hungry and had to prepare a different meal as I was missing an important ingredient. Instead of Chinese food, we had grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli and something else. Sunday afternoon at 430 I decided we should have company again since our house was still clean. I called a few friends, made a run to the nearby grocery store and made it home just before it started to rain. I was inside trying to make grape salad, do dishes and pump before our guests came when it began to pour down rain outside (where Ryan was working). Thankfully our company arrived and was able to help Ryan. Ali, who'd been over all afternoon helping, was a great help with dishes and the grape salad while I did other things. In the end, we had 7 adults, 1 HS kid, 1 Jhi kid and 5 little ones eating grilled brats, chips and salad. The 3 younger boys picnic'd on the living room floor. I was thankful that I put down a blanket for them as all 3 spilled their drinks and chips and one managed to get ketchup everywhere. After the meal the guys headed to the living room to play xbox and us ladies sat around and visited.

It was late when everyone left and I was more than ready for bed. We finished up the apple sauce labels quick and I took the kids upstairs while Ryan took apple sauce to the freezer. Gave Scott a quick bath, fed Bethany and headed to bed. It was just after 11pm. The alarm was set for 5am - I knew I'd be tired. During the night I woke up twice with Scott (Ryan got up with him the first time while I layed there) and 3 times with Bethany. Fortunately, they seemed to coordinated their awake times pretty close to each other. Today, I'm tired.

Excerpt from Email

I just emailed my buddy, Cori, a few minutes ago. ANd because I don't have the time to blog, I'm posting an excerpt of the email I sent to her:

Bethany turned 3 months old yesterday. I was too busy to take any pictures of her but hopefully this weekend we can do that. She's making lots of noise and smiling lots. Its a blast. Now last night when she wanted to scream during bible study, that wasn't so much fun. Ryan took her for a few minutes and then gave her back saying she was "broke". I had her quiet until it was over and the snacks were on the counter. Then I pawned her off on Ben who snuggled her up to him and went right to sleep. He was so cute with her.

Had a random dream last night. You and Ben were both in it. Kinda odd. Woke up at 7am, an hour late. The sleep was necessary but I'm feeling like I really need a shower right about now. I only had time to pump, change clothes and get the kids out the door. I didn't even feed Bethany or change her. She went from her crib to her carseat and never really woke up. Poor baby!

Fall is well on its way here. The tree colors are starting to change into the brilliant colors. The air is crisp in the morning and I even wore a sweater. I love it like this. It's hot chocolate and cider weather.

We have new neighbors. Yes, they bought the 40 acres against the highway as you come down our lane. That's all fine and dandy. They brought over their 2 horses yesterday. I'm excited to see horses again as I walk out my front door. And even more excited that I won't have to chore for them. The lady plans on building a small ranch house on the property, real close to us. Not sure why you'd buy in the country to have neighbors so close. I'm praying that she'll be a blessing to us and we'll be a blessing to her.

Priceless

It was wonderful.
Left the kiddos with their grandparents Saturday morning and headed to Cedar Rapids. We flew, without problem (even though we went through O'Harre), to Kansas City where we were picked up in a town car (some call it a Limo) and taken to the downtown Westin. Our room was average but the bed was beautiful! One problem, no fridge/freezer.

Wait, that reminds me, we did have two minor problems at the airport.
1. They took my toothpaste - it was 1 oz. too big for their allowance.
2. Breastmilk can be allowed in larger quantities IF you have the child with you. Now, let's think about this for just a minute... the reason I'll have so much breastmilk is that I don't have my child with me to drink it. Duh. The kind TSA woman explained their rules to me and although I could understand their rules, my reasoning was far more comprehendable.
3. BTW, I think I made such a big deal about the other little things that they didn't notice my 10 oz bottle of Bathnbody lotion that is brand new! Whew!

Anyway, back to my story, we had an hour before meeting in the lobby for supper. So, while I pumped, I had Ryan call the front desk and deal with needing to freeze breast milk. And because I was so hungry I was shaking, Ryan also ordered me room service. Yes, we were meeting in an hour for supper and it would take 30 minutes to get our room service but I was HUNGRY! Fortunately, it took a little longer for the food because I needed that time to press shirts and slacks for dinner. Yes, I was afraid the place would have a dress code so I packed my husband some slacks that he didn't plan on wearing and an undershirt since he grabbed one of my tshirts and not an undershirt. Sure is a good thing that I'm anal and double checked what he packed. I scarfed a few nachos before heading down for supper. Us and one other veterinarian plus her guest were the only one invited for the weekend. We felt truly greatful.

Benton's was located on the 20th floor of our hotel. It was fantastic, but not perfect. The music was a little loud and I was so cold that I'm sure I looked grumpy as I had my arms crossed in front of me. I had filet minon with salmon with a side of fresh asparagus for supper. Before I was freezing, I ordered a virgin daquiri to drink. After the meal, I topped it off with a Twix Turtle cheesecake that was wonderful. I tried to figure out the price of my meal and we guessed it to be $53. Yup, I've never spent that much money on one meal. Well, I didn't on this one either; thanks Bayer!

Sunday morning we had room service. It was your average foods but had a fancy appearance. Our room service bill was $65 for breakfast. I about died. The fees and taxes they add on for room service is crazy! But, it was a good omelet, decent fresh berries and a great muffin that I ate.

After breakfast we met for the game. And, I was a little weary of going. We received a nice travel back pack filled with goodies the night before. One of the items inside was a football jersery. And to our complete surprise, it was a Vikings jersey. Because our sales rep lives in MN, and we live close to the border, it was assumed that we're Vikings fans, hence the jersey. I didn't wear mine to the game. I could really care less about either team but am more likely to wear red than purple (thanks to vanity in my life). The game was a blast. We sat in the end zone, inside an air conditioned suite filled with food and drinks. It was cold inside so I enjoyed a majority of the game in the shade, outside.

After the game, we had another short time before we met up for supper. We did some quick shopping and bought Scott a new pop-up dinosaur book which he absolutely adores. Went to the milk parlor and dealt with that before taking a nice nap. For supper we went to a local BBQ place. The ribs were the favorite. I was the only one who didn't order ribs and thank goodness I didn't because my shrimp was great and Ryan said the ribs were less than desirable. After supper, we made a quick stop at the gift shop for a drink and an ice-cream and put it on our room bill again.

Monday morning we rushed around to get out of the hotel on time, have the home-brewed milk frozen, wrapped and bagged properly so we could get a quick bite to eat. Our quick turned into real quick and we stopped at the dinky little coffee shop that brags about serving St*rbucks coffee. They served me a horrible hot chocolate and I think the bran muffin was banana nut and not bran like I asked for. But we had no time to spare and headed back to the airport.

We arrived in Cedar Rapids, excited to be home and eager to see our kids. I ran outside to get the car while Ryan waited inside for the luggage. I got to the car only to find a completely flat tire. Why does this happen every other time I go to the airport? So, I got out a little air compressor from my trunk (don't know how it got there) and started airing up the tire. Fortunately it held air. I called Ryan and let him know what was taking me so long. My car is getting new tires today (~$200).

We stopped at a few places in town only to be dissapointed. Old N*vy had a horrible supply of children's clothes. I much prefer the one I usually go to. Targ*t only had thin little jackets for boys (and the sign was labeled as a girls coat in the girls section but they were obviously boy coats). It's tradition for us to get a caramel frapp with extra caramel when we leave Targ*t. I had thee worst caramel frapp ever yesterday. It was full of chunky ice that, the rest was watery and it royally sucked. I was so dissapointed.

Anyway, we headed home. I made the quick detour to get my mom a cat (see post from earlier today) and eventually made it to mom's to pick up the kids. Scott didn't care too much that I was there and rather read his farm book. A few minutes later when his dad walked in the door, he crawled off the couch and ran like a crazy thing over to his dad. It was priceless.

A financial recap of our weekend and why we're thankful to Bayer Animal Health:
2 airline tickets $610
VIP ride to the Westin $40
Supper at Benton's $106
2 nights at the Westin $???
Room Service for breakfast $65
2 tickets to the Chiefs game $192
Gate's BBQ supper & Taxi $34
Misc charges to the room $32
Parking at the airport $12.50
2 crappy caramel frapp's $10
2 new Tires on the car $200
Being back home with our kids: PRICELESS

Flat Kaleb

My nephew recently read a cool book in school about a guy who was flattened and could slip under doors, etc. So, the teacher had them color their own flat person and then sent it on in sort of a chain letter fashion. Mom got flat Kaleb in the mail and she's supposed to take a picture on his travels or get a postcard and send him on. Ryan and I took flat Kaleb with us to Kansas City and it was fun to take pictures with him. I won't post all the pictures but we took them of Flat Kaleb going to sleep in an awesome bed, eating room service, going to the football game, eating BBQ, etc. I put together one-pager about Flat Kaleb's adventure to Kansas City. It was fun.

Kitty = Crying Girl

A while back my mom came home from a quilt store in a nearby town. The store is located on the farm and there were farm kitties running around. Mom really wants a kitty and asked about them. The lady said her college aged daugther had brought home seven of them (there were 18 to choose from). Mom asked the lady if she'd give one away. They said no. So, yesterday as I'm driving home from the airport, I make my husband stop. It was just a mile off the main road and I ventured on into the store. I explained who my mom was, that she wanted a kitty, etc. The owner had her ~8 year old daughter go look for the kitty I described, now named "gandolf". The daughter came back and the mom asked if she wanted to give it away. The girl said no and began to cry. I felt horrible, although I did selfishly want her to hand over the kitty. I told the young girl that it was okay, that I was just going to give it a good home if she was wanting to get rid of it. Poor kid. She has 13 kitties, why not give away just one?
So, we get home and I tell my mom the story. Good thing she didn't hand over the kitty, it would have been the wrong one. Mom wanted the one that looked like a cross between a gray tiger-stripe and a calico. I only remembered her talking about the gray tiger-strip and would've brought home "gandolf" which would have been the wrong one. Whew!

Adoption

I posted this past week about adoption and missions and wanting to combine the two things together. I had not shared this information with Ryan at all. We were chatting when he came home from Kansas City about his week. While he was gone, he got to meet up with several people he knows from Christian Veterinary Mission. Ryan has spent time in Mongolia on two seperate occasions with CVM. Curious if talking to those folks peaked his interests, I asked him if he was ready to go on another trip. I would love to go (although while breastfeeding could be fun) and expected him to agree. Instead, Ryan replied with a "not really". He said that it did make him think that we really need to pursue adoption. If that's what we feel God is leading us to do, than we need to be obedient, step and out do it. I was so surprised at his response and so excited that God has us on the same page at the same time. How wonderful that God has been seperately putting adoption on both of our hearts!

Extreme Week

This week has been a bit extreme for me. It started Sunday after church. And each morning I've been up early to spend time focusing on simplicity and fasting; although I've not fasted from food because I'm breastfeeding. I've learned a few things this week:
- A lot of things get in the way of me spending time reading my bible at home, none of which really seem like extra things to me.
- I do spend a decent amount of time reading other blogs but that is done during my break or lunch so I could cut that out.
- I don't do a great job of taking God and making Him a part of the little things throughout my day (does that make sense?).
- I do love to serve others

It's been a good week of learning for me and I wish I would have spent more time focusing on the activities for it.

Shots

Thanks to Ryan for taking both kids to get their shots on Wednesday. It was nice to stay at work and get a few things done while he took care of his kids. Bethany is growing like a weed. Ryan couldn't remember the exact details (I'll have to call the nurse and get them for her baby book) but she was something like 25" and 14.5 lbs. Scott was just under 36" and 31 pounds. Shots went well. Scott screamed and even before the shots wouldn't let the doctor near him. Not sure what that was all about. He did like the nurse, which can be expected, she's my favorite too.

Yay, hubby is on his way home

Ryan has been in Kansas City for 5 days getting continuing ed for his veterinarian license. I've been so busy with kids, football games and food that I've hardly had a chance to miss him. Regardless, I'm thrilled that he's on his way home. I miss my honey!

Unfortunately he's not coming home to a clean house. I was up till 11pm last night piddling in Bethany's room (from the dresser painting project that still isn't quite done). I still need to take the trash out, do a few dishes and put laundry away but I just wasn't motivated enough to get up when my alarm went off at 5am! Hopefully I can at least get home and have time to shower and freshen up, maybe even get the red out of my bloodshot eyes, before he walks in the door.

Yipee!

Go CYCLONES!

Get-Away

It's been a really rough week in many ways. I'm sure most of it is just raw emotion for me mixed with a lack of sleep. But, I've had multiple times this week when I just wanted to cry. Here's just one story:
Kids had shots yesterday. The appt was originally schedule for Monday but had to be changed because my doc wanted one more day of vacation. So yesterday, I get off work at noon [note: I have zero time off yet since I just started back last week and the pay period ends today meaning I've not acrued any leave till after today], take a half day off to take the kiddos to the doctor. Because they're not in their normal routine, it takes a while to be ready to leave. I rush to D-town, speeding all the way (which I usually don't do) and almost rolled my car into the ditch on a gravel road. Anyway, we arrive safely at the clinic with no time to spare. And the girl at the desk isn't my normal girl which was a bummer in itself. She can't find the appointment and as she searches, the following discussion ensues:
G: Umm, I can't find an appointment for your son, can you spell your name
Me: [spell the name for her], our appointment was originally scheduled for Monday and I had to have it moved to today...
G: Oh, yes, got it. Scott had an appointment at 10:15am, not 2pm.
Me: what?
G: yeah, it shows for 10:15am.
Me: Did I write it down wrong?
G: Well, Dr. R is gone for the day and the other doctor just left to deliver a baby
Me: But, I... I got the time wrong? I just drove 45 minutes to get here, have no time off work...
G: Sorry. I bet if Dr. R was here she'd fit you in...
[note: now the wheels are really turning and my brain is starting to connect the dots]
Me: well I guess I need to reschedule.
G: One of our doctors is gone on maternity leave so everyone is swamped. It will be into October before we can get you back in for both appointments the same day.
Me: [really frustrated and ready to cry now] Okay, fine give me whatever works.

So, it was a rough day. Scott didn't want to leave. He wanted to see Dr. R and cried when he couldn't see her. We got right back in the car which sucked. So, I stopped at the local vet clinic (Ryan is buddies with the owner) to at least show off my kiddos and make the trip worthwhile. Dr. Merill was gone for the day! Go figure. So, I showed Dr. Merrill's new puppy to my son, walked back out the door, got in the car and drove back home. For nothing. Of course on the way home, we got stuck waiting for a super slow train. That wasn't too bad though, I rolled the windows down and my son was taken in by the train and its noises. Unfortunately for the next five minutes after that he whined because he wanted to see the train again. Ugg.

Passionate

Everybody has a passion for something right? As a teen, I caused a lot of gray hairs for my family, got in a lot of trouble for minor things, was very independent and had my mom scared that I would turn into a drug addict. Fortunately, mom was wrong and I've turned out fairly decent. And I'm not about to write an autobiography, although I'd love to someday, but I do want to mention a passion or two that I have.

In high school, I went on my first missions trip. It was amazing. Now I had just turned 16 and so my reasoning for going was different than why I'd go today but I still went. And it was amazing to see a 3rd world country right before my eyes. I was so impressed and had such a heart for the people there that I went back - in fact I think I went 7 times. I have tons and tons of memories from those trips but several stick out in my mind. One little boy became my buddy. Jesus (think spanish: hay-zues) was from a large family and his little sister was very quiet and shy and that same year attached herself to my brother. Each year that I went back, I revisited that original church plant location and found my little buddy. He was 13 the last time I saw him and working at the corner store. Many times, I went prior to the rest of the Team to help entertain children while several men worked construction for several days prior to the start of the psuedo vacation bible school that we provided.

In those years, I developed a love of sharing with others in need. That doesn't necessarily mean people in 3rd world countries as we have lots of folks in need within a few miles of where most of us lay our head at night. My heart aches for those in need, those who don't know where their next meal will come from, those who seemingly have no hope. My first year out of college and living in Iowa, I felt this need to do another trip. And at that time, I didn't want to wait for the annual Easter week trip to Mexicali plus I was no longer living in CA. So, I looked around, prayed a lot and eventually found the perfect opportunity. I spent almost 2 weeks (if I remember right) in Nicaragua learning how to teach people to compost and garden. It went very well with my degree in Ag Education and plant science, my career in conservation and my heart for helping others. And since the day I returned from Nicaragua, I've been ready to go again.

Now, I also have a heart for adoption. And I'm not sure where it comes from but I can think of one specific story that might have played a role in the way I think today. One year in Mexicali my little buddy was a sweet little girl. You could tell that her mother worked diligently every morning to bathe and nurture her child before she sent her out for the day. I assume she also wore her best clothes which were quite possibly her only pair of pants. It was warm, in the 80's, and this precious little girl wore bright pink snow bibs every day that week. Anyway as we were preparing for an evening event, this little girl's mom came up to me (I was maybe 21 that year) and asked me to take her daughter home with me and give her a better life. She was sincere and serious as it gets and it broke my heart that a mother would give up her daughter to give her a better life. And that thought brings me to adoption. What a beautiful opportunity to love someone, to give them a future and something to hope for. Its a perfect, real example of how God loves us. I've had a passion for loving others who need some extra love for a long time and I can think of nothing better than to adopt children.

The most amazing thing is that I can put those two passions into one. I could spend time in an orphanage in Africa, Thailand, Korea, Mongolia or wherever else loving those little kids and then ultimately bring one of them into my own family. I think about this all the time. And this week as I've been listening to some podcasts from Cornerstone Church, it has lit a fire under me. Just yesterday I heard a message from a guy who just returned from Zambia. And what amazing things he learned there. I so want to go. So why haven't I? International adoptions cost anywhere from $30k to $50k these days. I don't have that kind of money. Rather than stepping out in faith and taking on that kind of debt load when we have an unknown debt load on the clinic (been waiting 2 years for those numbers), I've opted to let insurance pay for the birth of two children. Grr, I really want to adopt. Why do I write all this? I really don't know. just wanted to share....

Mocha #2

Last night Ryan told me that Sue, the breeder, is bringing in new puppies for him to vaccinate and remove dew claws. I asked if I was getting another puppy. His response "if you can make another deal with her". Obviously he hasn't learned. I asked him to take pictures of the puppies so I can pick out the one I want. Maybe I'll stop by her place after the kids' doctor appointments tomorrow. I might try to make a deal to pay outright for a new puppy if she still thinks that we don't need to pay for her Mocha. Hmm, I get all giddy thinking about a new puppy. I know, I know I'm a glutton for punishment but I really want one!

Chocolate Gravy

People around here think its odd, but I love chocolate gravy. Most people haven't heard of it and the best explanation that I came up with is that its similar to a warm chocolate pudding but not as thick. You actually make it like gravy but instead of mixing in plain milk, you mix in a extra chocolatey chocolate milk. Some eat it with a spoon but we've always eaten it with buttered toast. Then when the toast is gone, we finish it off with a spoon. Its a wonderful treat. I've been taught how to make it but I don't do it. Instead, I leave it to Grandma to make as a special meal. And this morning as I arrived late to my mom's to drop of the kids, my grandma was in the kitchen making me chocolate gravy. Umm, umm, good

Gifts

And did I mention, my aunt gave the kids gifts when she came. Scott finally got his quilt that has been in the making for two years. Its pretty special and even has a picture of him and me on it from when he was born. And Bethany, she got a hand made doll that is precious. Very cool gifts from Aunt Ugly, as I call her.

Home-sick

I'm feeling homesick today. I know, I know, this is home now but home is also where I grew up, made friends, got in trouble, went to school, etc. And today, I'm missing that place. I can think of several things that might justify that homesick feeling:
1. My Grandma and Aunt are here and we've reminisced on events and people.
2. I miss my family
3. I missed my aunts funeral last week
4. I remember exactly where I was, what I was doing and the events that followed in my own life after 9/11. Selfishly, they affected me too.
5. I just read Amy's blog about church music and it made me miss the church that raised me when I was needy and needed a second and possibly third set of parents.

I would love to head back to CA for a week and see friends and family; eat a bowl of Chowder in Pismo, smell the fresh fruit on the trees, stare at the monstrous trees in the forest and sip a coffee with Nicole and Paul. Oh, how I'd love to do those things again. But, I'm married to a wondeful man and we share two amazing children. And instead of waiting in line at an airport to sit on a crowded flight and wait for lost luggage, I'll be driving to Dtown with my family to join up with my parents, gma and aunt for a lovely mexican meal. I am so truly blessed!

Milk Snake

A while back my cousin, his wife and son came to visit. It was Duston's first trip to Iowa from the west coast. Right away Duston asked if we had snakes around. I told him I saw a snake 4 years ago and never again but that they were probably around. Within 5 minutes this conversation occurred:

D: Dad, Dad, come look!

Me: What in the world is he calling you for

D's Dad: He probably has a snake

Me: No he doesn't

D's Dad: yes, he probably does

We get up and walk to the front door to see this:

Yes, the kid was holding a snake and not just a little snake. Nor was it a common garter snake. I content inside the house at first. My son, however, was dying to go outside and hold the "worm". He proceeded to inform Duston that you catch fish with those worms. Anyway, I made Duston take it back down in the pasture where he found it. Of course, he returns a little later, and I wish I would have got a picture of it, with my son sitting on one shoulder and a snake in the opposite hand. This time, a little smaller snake and a common garter snake. He let that loose up by the driveway and later showed me where he found them. Snake boy!

I had no clue what kind of snake it was. It looked similar in pattern to the bermese python my uncle had when I was young. When I met Jody at the Science Center, we saw snakes in the "outdoors" section. I, of course, grabbed out my camera, told her the story and tried to find a matching snake. None matched. I was still thinking of the possibility that someone lost a python and it bred with another lost python in my pasture. The next week, Ryan was weed trimming outside and hit a snake. Okay, at this point I decided no more playing outside bare foot!

It wasn't until I came back to work that I found out what it really was. At the desk next to me is a DNR wildlife person and she got out her Iowa snake book and then we googled what we thought it was. That 3 foot long snake in my pasture is a milk snake. It eats rodents and such so I guess he's not so bad.

Picture Update

Some things I may have already mentioned but because my life is chaotic busy, I can't remember and don't want to take the time to look back. So, here's a quick update in pictures (and video if I can figure that out)

Ryan and I took the kids on a quick trip to Des Moines. Ryan was in class for continuing ed and we ventured out a bit. The first afternoon I took the kids over to see their great grandparents:

That night, the company that hosted the meeting had a suite at the I Cubs game.

The next morning, I was able to met fellow blogger, Jody, at the Science Center. It was fun to meet Jody although we didn't visit much and Bethany was super fussy with a bottle. The science center was a neat place though and I caught a few pictures.

One night recently I kept my friends' kiddos so they could have a date night. Her two boys are sweet kids but high energy. We spent a fair amount of time playing outside. The neighbor boy came over with his dad. The dad offerred to take one of the boys on the little bike for a ride, it was cute. They played outside so well that we didn't make it inside in enough time to make cookies. B is still waiting to come over and make cookies with me.

Mocha aka Girl pup

Ryan took this picture of Mocha when she was at the clinic last getting her shots updated. She was a cutie. My son now says "mocha died. got hit by a car." Ah, I want another one. Keller, my gorgeous mini-aussie, might be going to another home. We saved him from being put down two years ago. And now, someone is interested in having him. Yes, I've been ready to give him away but now that Mocha is gone, I'm a bit bummed to get rid of both dogs. Hey, at this rate, maybe we'll get rid of the goat too :)

Curtains for Puppet Stage

I finally started the curtains on Saturday. Only I didn't have enough fabric. A bit frustrated with the lady at Walmart since I got a yard extra from what she told me I'd need. Anyway, I made a quick trip back to walmart (its a 45 minute drive) to try to find the same discounted fabric. No such luck. I bought all new fabric, bought plenty of it headed home. Yesterday I got quite a bit accomplished although it was much more work than I'd planned when I volunteered. I spent time yesterday priming PVC and glueing velcro to it all the while mosquitos were trying to feast on me. The bottom half is done and looks great. The top half has the velcro sewed on and needs the sides and bottom hemmed. Between breastfeeding breaks, my own snack breaks and other issues, I think I did well. I plan to get it finished tonight.

It's been a frustrating and expensive but fun project... I so need to spend time at home folding laundry, mopping, and finish painting Bethany's dresser so she can sleep back in her crib. She's quickly growing out of her bassinet. The kid is 10.5 weeks old and is fitting perfectly into 3-6 month clothes. She's a big girl and although she's not fat, she's putting some meat on those solid bones! On Thursday she has her 2 month check up and shots. Scott has his 2 year well baby and chicken pox vaccination since he missed those at 18 months when I was pregnant and didn't show for immunity to chicken pox (even though I've had them).

to "ME"

Okay, "me", I have tried to read your blog several times while I was on maternity leave. But I'm not invited to read and can't check out how things are going with you, the hubby and your cute dogs. I'm glad you refreshed and commented. I'm posting now to let you know that I've missed reading your blog.

Payment for Mocha

So my husband got a call back from the breeder. I was a bit nervous to hear the details of the call. I grit my teeth as I listened to Ryan share what he talked to the breeder about. As we assumed, the breeder was sad to hear of the death of our puppy. She was eager to get a puppy since Mocha’s mom (her breeding female) died two weeks ago. I’m sure there was still some raw emotion about Belle when she heard about Mocha. Ryan mentioned paying her for Mocha in his message and when it was brought up on the phone call, the breeder said we didn’t need to pay her anything. Praise God! How awesome is that?!?! But then my husband told her that we’d pay $400 or $500 (I can’t remember the price) for her because he only thought it was fair. WHAT??? Okay, wait a second here, the reason I made a deal with the breeder to give her a pup is because we don’t have the money to pay! And even if I paid cash, I’m pretty sure that she would’ve given me a sweet deal because the puppy needed to go and because she likes her vet. So, I said to Ryan, “honey, why did you offer to pay her cash we don’t have after she said you didn’t owe her anything? She said that because she likes you.” His reply was “And I want her to continue liking me”. Yes, my husband is amazing – he’s fair and square, but this was a moment when I wish he would have thanked her for her generosity, given condolences on Belle and hung up the phone. But no, we’ll be paying for Mocha. Whew! Fortunately she said we can make payments (like she cares how/when we pay her if she didn’t even want us to pay her) but still. I’d rather have my puppy back!

Bethany Slept

Thursday morning Ryan was thinking of getting Bethany to sleep through the night. Let me just say that she’s not bad about sleeping, she just doesn’t sleep as well as Scott did at this age. Anyway, Ryan suggested putting a little cereal in her bottle to sustain her a little longer. Although it sounds like a good idea, I’m not ready to try that. Sure she seems to be going through a growth spurt and wants to eat constantly but as a mom who wants to raise/grow children the best way, I’m not ready to give her cereal. Doctors discourage that and will even say to not feed them cereal until they’re 6 months.

My sleep deprivation had caught up with me yesterday. My eyes were bloodshot for the second day and by time we got to bible study I felt like a zombie. We socialized a bit after bible study (and I ate incredibly unhealthy but delicious snacks) and then headed to moms. It was late and Scott was already asleep in his bed. My grandma and aunt were there but grandma had long been asleep. So, we visited for a while with my folks and my aunt who was snuggling Bethany. By time we left, it was almost 11pm and I was in desperate need of heading to the “milking parlor”.

On our way home Bethany fell back asleep in her car seat. Arriving home Ryan asked if I wanted her put to bed. But because I still had to pump and get ready for bed, I asked him to leave her in her car seat and let her sleep. By time I got upstairs, I figured we might as well leave Bethany in her car seat and let her sleep while she’d sleep knowing full well that she’d wake up multiple times during the night. That was at 11pm. And at 6am, Bethany stirred and I woke up. We both had 7 straight hours of sleep and it was glorious. She went right back to sleep and stayed snuggled under the blanket until the very last possible minute.

After my kid slept all night, it was a major rush to get ready this morning and I was so thankful to have some more sleep.

My Kind of Day

I went to bed 2.5 hours earlier than usual last night. It was wonderful knowing the clock read 938pm. How fantastic. I was finally going to catch up on some much needed sleep. Well, it wasn't so fantastic after all. Bethany, who was sleeping in our room (long story) fussed until 11pm when I finally agreed to feed her again. And to set the record straight, she'd just finished eating when I put her down. Still not too bad, I was going to be asleep before the routine midnight. And I was, I think. Only Scott was awake 3 times during the night. He'd wake up crying and I'd go into his room and get him calmed down. Bethany also decided to wake for her normal 4am feeding, only I put her pacifier in and told her to go back to sleep since it'd only been 5 hours. Needless to say, I wasn't refreshed when the alarm clock buzzed this morning. I didn't eagerly spring out of bed either which meant that I didn't get my dishes done this morning that I was too tired to do last night and didn't have time to put make up on either. Whew!

Yesterday I received an email from the area boss letting me know that I'd served my term on the state civil rights committee and was done. Woo hoo! And in reply, I let him know that I'd also fulfilled my term on a quality steering team as of October 1st. But this morning, he called to let me know that he thought I had one more year of civil rights (4 year term, not 3) and that he'd like me to stay on the QST since I've been running it the past 2 years anyway. I like both but a break would have been okay too.

Got an email from hubby today. Our credit card is already sky high this month. He asked me to be extremely thrifty - no eating out, no shopping sprees (good thing I got a new pair of Keen's last Sunday) and no other unnecessary spending. Bummer dude! He'd also called the breeder that Mocha came from to ask what we owe her since she won't be getting the pick of the litter like we agreed to. We haven't heard back from her but we're hoping we can do a payment plan!

The kiddos are growing. I really need to add some pictures and also take some to the office to put on my computer. The next 7 days may be a bit crazy as my gma and aunt are here visiting.

More quick updates

- We're trying the potty training thing. Scott doesn't care much for it. He pee'd all in my floor last week and I've yet to put him back in underwear.
- My husband was recently asked by an aquaintence to talk to her husband about internet porn. So, while I took her shopping and questioned her faith to see if she knew what she says she believes, Ryan had a friend come over to help facilitate the discussion. It was akward for both of our situations.
- Our small group bible study that started with 6 two years ago is up to 21 and we're splitting up.
- Ryan got me an ipod last month. I have been loving it. It's been my little buddy when I'm washing dishes and folding the laundry when the kiddos are in bed. I'm tempted to buy an armband thingy for it (and a new pair of tennies) and then make myself go running.
- My Grandma and Aunt are coming out on Thursday to visit. They had to blow the surprise to my mom because she was trying to get airline tickets for my other aunt's funeral. I'm super excited to see them.
- I'm bummed that I don't have many pictures of Mocha. You can never take too many pictures, especially with digital cameras.

I'm back!

I'm a bit tired and emotional today. No, not because of my kiddo keeping me awake either. Lots going on around here so I try a brief update:
- Found Mocha dead on the shared driveway last night at 930pm. Someone had hit her and either didn't know it (she's small) or didn't bother to say anything. We haven't "paid" for her yet so I'm a little nervous about calling the breeder to see what kind of cash we can expect to pay. These dogs run an easy $600 which we don't have.
- I cried when I walked up the walk towards my veterinarian husband with MY dead dog.
- My Aunt Mary past away last week. In a matter of 4 days she found out she had cancer, went on life support and was gone. My heart aches for her kids. I wish I could go to CA for the funeral but I don't any time off at this point.
- I just started back to work today.
- Bethany is on bottle #4 and hasn't liked any of them but will finally take one without screaming. I had to drive to a big city to buy them and paid $20 for 4 bottles.
- Scott has been fishing several times lately with Grammy and Papa. He's caught fish both times and has skunked the old folks!
- Junior high youth group starts on Wednesday. I'm excited to be involved with them. We'll be going through a cd series called preparing for adolescence.
- I'm hungry and need to pump.
- I was awake much of the night and up early this morning. I actually have make-up on which has rarely happened this summer.

Better get to work.