Bummer Dude

Remember this post? I was so excited to submit a poster knowing that I had a good idea and the extra cash would be helpful in buying the new scrapping toy I want. Unfortunately, I got word today that I didn't win. Bummer dude! I gathered from the email that the winner has quite the artistic side. I'm curious to see what her poster looks like. I might have to compare the two and let you guys decide who should have won... that is unless hers is amazing.

Bethany follows in Scott's foot steps

Yesterday, there was some excitement at my mom's house involving Bethany. Yesterday around 5pm, following a full day of whining, not feeling good and constant fever, Bethany had a seizure. Thankfully mom knew how to handle the situation because we learned what to do in case of a seizure following Scott's seizure a year and a half ago. The ambulance was called and and arrived but Bethany, being an infant, was referred on to a larger transport company to care for her needs. She was taken to the ER at the local hospital where they ran blood tests and watched her until her fever came down. We think it spiked somewhere around 104.4 but dropped in a matter of 90 minutes or so. Just before 8pm, Bethany was back to her normal self and was hungry and laughing at Scott.

The febrile seizure was caused by the temperature. The temperature was likely caused by the ear infection. And the ear infection was likely caused by her teething issues. All seem to be related. In the next few days she will likely be on fever reducer medicine as her body fights off the ear infection and after that she should be just fine.

Praise God that mom knew what to do with her, that the ambulance company took good care of her, that she received excellent care at the ER and that she seems to be fine. And on top of that, I specifically thank God that I had left my office and met the ambulance at the hospital and that Ryan was on his way home from Kansas City rather than being on his way there.

The kids were playing nicely in Scott's room this morning and the ambulance toy was one of many that got pulled out of the toy chest. I couldn't resist a picture of her with her little bandage thingies and the ambulance toy

Kids

Ryan has been gone since early Friday morning. In the mean time I've been flying solo with the kiddos. Ryan is helpful with the kids so its no surprise that things just haven't been the same the last few days. There are lots of little stories but only a few do I have time to share.

Friday night, kids are fed and I'm in the kitchen fixing enchiladas for Saturday lunch. At the same time I was cooking some mac&cheese for me to eat for supper. While all of this was going on, I'd been in constant discussion with Scott that if he pooped in his undies, he would be in trouble. All of a sudden when I should be mixing cheese, milk and noodles and while I have hamburger starting to cook, Scott decides that he has to poop. I'd sat him on the toilet several times with no result. So, I rushed to the bathroom and sat him on the toilet again. Being in the middle of cooking, I told him I'd be back in a minute and went back to the stove. Bethany headed his direction which would likely keep him entertained and at least sitting on the toilet. Over a period of about two minutes, I heard occassional giggles from both kids and was glad that they were entertaining each other. When I went around the corner to check on them, I was surprised at what their laughter was about. Fortunately he hadn't pee'd all over (did that the other night while sitting on the toilet, although I think he was trying to aim down; and had already pee'd in his undies and my floor just a few hours before). There was toilet paper all over the floor and Scott was grinning from ear to ear. Bethany was sitting in front of the cabinet that I tell her all the time to stay out of and was playing with mouse, hair spray and deoderant. Those little turds!

Funny Conversation

Ryan and I had a funny email conversation the other day that I want to share but I must preface it first: with each child that we've had, a few weeks prior to the birth of our baby, we've gotten a new puppy. Crazy, I know, but that's how it happened.

me: Ryan, I really want to raise a puppy for a guide dog. Here's a link:
ryan: no comment

That night I asked him if he read the email. He hadn't.

The next morning:
me: Ryan, my salary has increased to X amount. Do you think the difference is enough to pay for an adoption? [this email was sent full of sarcasm as my salary had increased by about $1,000 at the most and it costs about $40,000 to adopt]
ryan several hours later: if we adopt a puppy does that mean we need to adopt a child?

Okay, you might not find the humor in it but I did. I want to do both things and his reply perfectly fit both emails and how things seemingly work for us: puppy = a baby at our house.

Happy Friday!

WOO HOO!

I'm so stinkin' excited. We just purchased our airline tickets to California. We're going home for a full two weeks!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!

Arriving in CA: September 16th
Leaving CA: September 30th

Now the plans begin... Hume Lake, Friends, the coast, family.... woo hoo!!!!

Did you know?

Did you know that since 1884 Iowa has had a statute that makes it a crime to discriminate in public accomodations? Do you know what that means? Long before Martin Luther King Jr., this 29th state had laws on the books to treat people equally. I recently read a short piece on Edna Griffin who has been referred to as the Rosa Parks of Iowa. She and several others had a situation where they were refused service by a local drug store who was known for discriminating even though the law required all people to be served. Edna's efforts led to picketing and civil law suits against the store owner who'd previously been aquited multiple times. Eventually the store owner was found in violation and Edna was rewarded $1. After several other run ins, the store owner finally agreed to stop discriminating.

What I find totally cool about this story is two things:

1. that Ms. Griffin was bold enough to stand up for what she believed to be important. Her husband was a prominent doctor in the community and they risked his prominency for what they believed was important.
2. That the state of Iowa has a long standing history of treating people equally.

Places to go, people to see

I'm excited to go home but I know this trip will be a little different than previous ones. The last time I was home was almost 3 years ago. Scott was 6 months old and I flew out for my brother's wedding and Ryan stayed home. I had a little one to take care of so I wasn't out as late or as often but Scott went everywhere with me and slept in his car seat a lot. This time, we'll be going as a family but there are still places to go and people to see. Here are a few things on my wish list:

• Seeing family: It's been 8 months since I've seen my dad. Last time I saw my brother he was getting married. By now, I have an adorable nephew I've never met. I also really want to see my grandma who has had two heart surgeries recently and my heart aches that I haven't seen her in almost three years. I also want to see some other official and unofficial family members that I miss.
• coffee with Nicole and Paul. They were my church/missionary buddies
• snuggling on the couch with Kristine. She is my forever friend and we have lots of fun memories together.
• Hume Lake and Buck Rock Lookout, maybe even a memorial bike ride. Hume is where I went to summer camp. And the ride from Buck Rock to the lake is rough (yes Tony, I would likely puke as usual) but in memory of a precious friend of mine who taught me a lot in his life and in his death.
• the class reunion of course. 10 years has passed, which doesn't seem like a lot when you're a mom to 2 kids.
• hanging out with Becky. A junior high and high school buddy that took a different path in life and we didn't talk for 6 years probably. Two of those years I prayed often for her and it was so good to get back in contact with her after she cleaned her life up.
• Riding wave runners on the lower river and/or heading up to the lake.
• Will there still be fresh fruit?
• Checking out the Fresno State campus, buying a new tshirt and visiting with Dr. Nef who I've kept in touch with over the years.
• Katie, Cori, where are you? Will you be in the area so we can get together while I'm home?

I'm sure there's more but my lunch is about over so I better head back to my office!

Trip to Californ-i-a

I started thinking more about the trip to California. Lots of stuff that I don't want to think about but I have to:

Airline tickets $475 x 3 persons (thank you God that Bethany is under 2) = $1425
Rental Car for 10 days (picking it up at 7pm, drop off at 9am counts as 2 full days) = $300
Mailing out clothes ahead of time (because you can't check squat for luggage anymore) = $50

We're looking at spending over $2000 easy and that won't even cover everything. We'll have food, fuel, and hopefully some fun packed in there to pay for. For trips like this, its too bad that we don't agree with debt. It would be so much more fun to plan if we could do everything the way we want and not worry about the price.

I'm glad that we won't have to pay for hotels or that would just add to the agony. Between family and friends, we should be good on space.

I can't wait to go home and see family and friends and check out a few places that I miss.

Week in Review

Here are a few pictures from recent weeks.

• I survived VBS, or better yet, they survived me.
• By time the week was over both of my children had colds and weren't taking naps.
• I managed to get my back out of place on Saturday somehow and could hardly move.

With that said, I had a great week and a wonderful weekend. My little ones were such a joy to play with. To see their faces light up, watch them dance to the music and play in the canoe was refreshing. The last night Scott joined the bigger kid class since that class was missing a few kids. He loved it and was perfect for Tracy. At the Friday night program Scott was in a mini-skit with Tracy's class and watching him act as a "Levite" in the good Samaritan story made me forget that the role of the Levite wasn't an encouraging one. My kid was so cute, I forgot about the story all together!

Our weekend was good too. Ryan was off for the weekend and though he was gone till early afternoon, I was glad to have some time with him. I spent the day trying to balance cleaning with kid time and enjoyed accomplishing both. Saturday night we spent time as a family which was exactly what I needed. Nothing super extravagant but good quality fun time. We took a picnic to a nearby park and after eating our leftovers from lunch, we played on the toys with the kids. It was fun and it was free (except for the $2 burger we ordered for Scott since we knew he wouldn't eat crab wraps). Sunday afternoon we spent helping some friends move into their new apartment, a week after getting married. That was fun to feel helpful.

Tonight, I'm looking forward to a night of snuggling and watching a movie with the kids and planning our family trip to CA... there are lots of details to work out.

Update from the land of Oz:

Okay, I'm not really in the land of Oz, but it sounded like fun. I'm actually kinda sorta at home. I'm actually working in a nearby office this week helping them with some contract paperwork, planning and reporting. It's an hour drive from my house but fortunately I get to stop at our area office (about 7 miles from my house), get one of their vehicles and head to the flat lands. My miles and time driving are all on the government dime. Here are a few highlights from this office experience:

• I already know the staff here. I made plain to the boss here that I didn't appreciate feeling like I was expected to answer the phone when the secretary was out. HELLO, I'm NOT the secretary and I don't even work here.
• Planning is so much easier when working in the flat lands.
• Being able to work [almost] interrupted allows me to get a lot more done.
• This office is much smaller and I'm working about 3' from the next guy compared to having my own corner to hide in at my regular office.
• The boss here is receptive to change and makes a point to ask me if I need anything. I appreciate a little feedback from him.
• People here cuss like sailors... maybe worse. Lots of swearing and using God's name in vain, which I don't appreciate.
• Woo hoo, I might be saving a few dollars on gas this week.

I'm starting my day early and ending late (which is normal for me) to give me more time here. I get back to town just in time to pick up Scott and head to Vacation Bible School. Here are a few highlights from my week with the 3-Pre-k kiddos:

• I quickly learned that God has not gifted me to teach 12 preschool kids!!!
• I had one little boy pee his pants twice last night... and he's potty trained.
• The creators of this material must not have realized that 3 and 4 year olds can't read.
• It is way cool to hear Scott rattle off the different verses for each day.

With the hours I'm working followed by VBS with preschoolers, it shouldn't surprise you that I'm whipped each night when I get home. Last night was the first night this week that I was able to stay awake while Ryan and I prayed together before bed!

Front Page of the Paper

A few days ago I received an email from a friend who saw Scott on the front page of the paper. I saw Meghan take a picture of him at Sweet Corn Days and gave her his name and age but was so busy that night that I forgot all about it. The news from Vanessa was exciting and I was eager to see the paper myself.

This morning a friend who works in the building and lives near the same town as I dropped by my office. The following conversation occurred:

D: [with a proud tone in her voice] do you know who made the front page of the paper?

me: [with an equally proud voice] MY son did

D: [with a confused tone to her voice] your son?!?!, no MY son did

me: [realizing that her son must have made the paper] cool, I'd heard Scott made the front page but maybe it's not on the front page.

We walked to the break room together where she proudly had the paper folded in half displaying Matthew with his grand champion beef cow. Debbie flipped the paper in full view and sure enough, there was my little cutie pie on the front page of the paper, just below the newspaper banner. How cool is that?

I took the paper and scanned it for Scott's scrapbook but also so I could show him off here. After a few minutes I decided against sharing the scanned newspaper. Most of you know who I am and where I live but for the rest of you, I'll just keep quiet on the location we call home. Really wanting to share the picture of my cute kid, I called up the paper (gotta love small towns) and asked Meghan to send me the photo. Thanks to Meghan for sharing the photo of my kiddo so I can share it with all of you.

yes, my son was eating watermelon at Sweet Corn Days. I think he ate 4 or 5 pieces that size.

6:40am Phone Call

I answered the phone this morning prepared to hear my mom ask me to bring milk for Bethany (yes, we still have frozen breast milk stored up). It wasn't my mom. It was Debbie, a friend who I work in the same building with. She was asking for my husband. I was confused. Ryan is their veterinarian but why would she call him rather than call the clinic and let it transfer? I heard a few bits of the conversation but what I found worth of sharing was when he said "find the cat, kill the cat, cut its head off, bring it to the clinic and we'll send it in". Having been around him long enough and familiar with different veterinary issues, I knew that meant an issue of rabies.

My poor friend was asleep at 4am when she heard glass crashing to the floor and her son screaming. She thought someone was in the house. No, it was a farm cat that managed to get inside. In the process it attacked Matthew and bit him multiple times drawing quite a bit of blood. Debbie wrapped up his wounds and sent him off to work. My guess is that some time today Matthew showed up at the clinic with the head of a dead cat!

How's that for a fun story from the the countryside?

Potty Training

We're finally getting the #2 issue down. That kid of mine knows that he needs to do his business on the toilet but will ask for underwear so he can poop in them. It's obvious he has to go but will LIE and say that he doesn't. It has been my prayer for a while that my children will be honest and trustworthy people. I best keep praying for that! In the mean time, he's at least learned to potty on the "little" toilet at my mom's. Still has to be dumped into the "big" toilet but better than the alternative.

Fun at Work

Thoughts from today's outting:

• When a client introduces you to his wife and says "this is who I call up at the office all the time for assistance", don't expect her to be thrilled. Maybe she expected me to be 60 or extremely homely looking. As it was, I was dressed for the field and not to go out!
• Just because the track hoe made a path through the field, doesn't mean you should follow it. There may be partial logs that you get hung up on.
• When you get hung up on the above mentioned log, it might push the engine up which affects the fan and makes a horrible noise.
• Thank God client was home and heading out to the site.
• Skid loaders come in handy for "towing" type of needs.
• Contractors can be liars and (what's the word I'm looking for here) . No, he's not the cheapest contractor around. No, he can not buy us lunch, even if he is just trying to be nice.
• 5 hours in the sun = red face
• Bug spray helps with the sweat bees. Those darn things were about to make me crazy!

5k walk/jog

I did a 5k on Saturday with my friend, Renessa. I haven't ran in several years for the most part and didn't run that day either. We speed walked though and it was rough on my lazy legs. We jogged part too. It felt so good to exercise and to have some time with my friend. She lives 2 hours away and when I do see her, we're busy chasing kiddos. It was good to catch up. Maybe next time I ask her to walk with me, I'll be prepared to keep up with her!

*Yesterday my legs/hips hurt so bad I could hardly walk. I was dreading a day in the field today. Thank you Lord for bringing rain that brought me back to the office. It's not too often that I prefer to sit on my rear!

* A big thanks to Ryan for entertaining our kiddos all morning while I walked and piddled around in town!

I love my mother-in-law but I'm sure some of the wise-cracks I say to her don't speak love at all. I entered this contest to win the "Daughter In Law Rules" book. Cross your fingers...

Dead Phone

I've been wanting a new cell phone. The one I have is 6 years old. The car charger died and can't get a new one. The phone doesn't stay charged the best. But, because it still works, there's no point in spending money on a new one. Until Friday. I plugged it in at work, charged it till the charge was completed. Took it off the cradle and it was turned off. That's screwy but not a total surprise. I turned the phone back on and it instantly said that I needed to change the battery and died. I could not get it to turn back on. So, I mentioned it to hubby. He chuckled and said "maybe for Christmas you can get a new one". I think he was half kidding and half serious. Our budget is tight all the time but super tight this month. Like $50 in our account to last us 10 days - tight. What's the point of paying for a cell phone service when you don't have a cell phone? Might as well cancel the service, right? Only, I want a cell phone so I can feel safe driving 25 miles to work. One of the guys was at our house and said that you can buy them off the internet and get it hooked up. Well maybe that will work now but when I brought my cute little phone otu here from CA six years ago, they wouldn't do that and I had to buy a new one. Times have changed I guess. I'll have to save up some money to get a new phone unless someone has an old one they want to donate to me.