Lots of information

[congrats to jake]
It’s so fun to see a childhood friend playing pro baseball. I’m so proud of my buddy Jake and it’s not just because of his baseball career. Two things I want to congratulate Jake about:
1. He and his wife, M, are expecting a baby in October. So, congrats on the upcoming birth of your first child. I can’t wait to know if it’s a boy or girl so I can buy a little something for him/her.
2. Jake also seems to be doing well in the world of MLB. He got his first save on Saturday against his old team, the Angels. According to the article I read, Jake took the mound in the 5th inning to restore some order to the game. (click here to read the full article). Way to go buddy!

We’re headed to MN for Memorial Day weekend. While there we plan to catch all 3 Mariner v. Twins games. I’m excited to see Jake again. I’m also hopeful that M can join him on the trip so that we can get to know her better. Much has changed since I saw him last… no wait, I saw him in January when Scott was 6 months old. Prior to that, I saw him Memorial Day 2005 when I was massively pregnant.

[small fry]
Things are rapidly changing for this little guy. In the past week, he:
- Has another tooth that pushed through the skin (pic #3)
- Raises his hands in the air after you ask him how big he is and follow up with “SO BIG” (pic #1)
- also has two front teeth that look like they’re going to push through any day now
- continues to eat like a horse. Mom fed him at 4:30 yesterday and when I got there at 5:45, he took another full feeding.
- ate wild rice soup Sunday night. This was an hour after he had a bottle and was acting like he was starving so I ground up some of my soup and fed it to him. I couldn’t shovel fast enough and he LOVED it.

[stress and allergies]
Allergy season is in full swing here. This tends to be a miserable time for me when I get all the symptoms. I’m also feeling a bit stressed out at home. I feel like I never have time for my husband, my child or my maid duties. Yesterday I got an email from a friend that was a bit of a reality check for me. She informed me that my attitude sucks and that I’ve been really negative. I’m definitely feeling the stress and could name a million excuses but the reality of it is that I haven’t had my quiet time and that GREATLY affects my attitude. So, I know how to fix, or at least, improve my attitude. I was so glad to have the reality check. Baker used to be that person for me at home and I’ve really missed that. So, it was really good to have someone else be realistic with me. Thanks!

[Theology of the Gospel]
We just started a “class” at church called Theology of the Gospel. I’m super excited about that. I know that I have been out of practice on sharing and learning and memorizing and all those things which means I fell inadequate when I do need to share. I’ve been working with a guy on a streambank project. He found out in April that he has 30 days to live. Today is day 42 for him. I have really felt the urgency of sharing with him. If you had 30 days to live, what would you be thinking? So, you die, what’s next? Because we have sinned, we fall short and don’t deserve to go to heaven. But, the cool thing is that Christ died on a cross for my sins and for yours. He then rose again. And because he intervened to pay the price for our sins, if we call on His name, we can be saved and receive the “get out of jail hell free card”. So, I’m praying that God sustains Rick mentally, physically and emotionally so that I can tell him the Good News! This theology of the Gospel class is supposed to help better prepare me for that.

Big City, the bet and camping

Another quick trip to the big city, the state capitol this time. Another 400+ miles on my car. I love how the government pays me to drive 7 hours for a 4 hour meeting plus they pay me mileage, food and hotel. I opted to save you some tax money and stayed with Ryan's grandparents. Got in at 940pm after having to stop at Old Navy for a little break.
On my way back home, I had to stop for another little break. Not only had I drank a liter of water and REALLY had to go, but I wanted to do some quick shopping again. So, what did I purchase at the lovely Target:
1. Two toys for Scott.
2. A hammock for Ryan since his bday present was supposed to be a Cardinals game and that isn't going to happen now.
3. Some clothes for me (shhh, I haven't told my hubby yet).

[the bet]
The night before at Old Navy I was in search of some maternity clothes. Nope, not for me, but for my friend M. Yes, the friend I made the bet with. Okay, so back to the bet real quick. We had this bet - she bet I was pregnant. And she asks me lots if I am pregnant. Well Wednesday morning when I was home playing with my new palm pilot instead of working out, she shared that they heard the heartbeat for the first time - she's 12 weeks pregnant. It was quite planned but they're excited and I'm giddy! I had to stop and find M some cute maternity clothes. I found a white camisole with some cute and simple embroidery on it. I loved my white camisoles when I was pregnant. So, yeah, M kept asking me if I was pregnant cause she wanted me to be pregnant with her but was waiting to say she's pregnant. I'm so excited for them!

[camping]
We're headed out to camp this weekend. And I must mention that it has been overcast, cold and spotty rain for the past few days. At least we'll be in a motorhome but I don't think we'll ever make it outside. Its May here people. And where I come from, May = WARM weather. It's in the 40's here. Brrr!

Weekend

[mike on R&R with the army]
Mike was the best man in our wedding and a vet school buddy of hubby. He’s now a veterinarian in the army. Shortly after transferring to Germany, his unit was deployed to Iraq, where he’s been for the last 6 months. Recently, Mike emailed hubby letting him know that he’d be back in Iowa and having an open house type of party similar to when he left. I wasn’t eager about driving two hours to see him in a room with 100 others who also wanted his attention but he’s hubby’s buddy so I just needed to be supportive. Last week came and we still hadn’t heard any details from Mike but we knew when and where for the most part. Then mid week hubby decided that maybe it was Sunday instead of Saturday. Friday came and went and still nothing from Mike. Hubby had emailed him and left a message on his Kansas home phone. Hubby did figure out it was a Sunday thing. So, we made plans for Saturday night with some friends and planned to drive the 2 hours Sunday and also do some shopping too. Saturday hubby even went to his clinic to check his email there and see if Mike emailed him. Still nothing. By Saturday afternoon, we figured we’d just go shopping instead.
Satruday at 430 as we were getting ready to head out with some friends, Mike called. No party but he was going to be in Pella (a 4 hour drive from home) with some folks. Ryan really wanted to see his friend but that is a LONG drive to spend a few minutes with him. Mike assured Ryan that it would be a small group of people. I was supportive and said we should go when asked my opinion.

[trip to pella]
Sunday morning came way to early after being out with friends the night before. We were out of the house by 7:00am and stopped at mom’s to pick up our kiddo. First he needed a bath and needed fed. We got a bit behind schedule with having to feed him. Initially we thought we were driving 2 hours which would give us plenty of time to shop in the big city. Intead we were driving 4 and would be pushed for time. We stopped and I shopped at Target while hubby ran to Borders Books to save time. Only my purse was in the car so I had to wait for him to get back before I could check out. This gave me a little extra time to shop but I couldn’t try on any cute clothes with my kiddo (okay, I could’ve but I didn’t want to try). A hour later we were back on the road. Arrived in Pella about an hour later than planned. Had lunch with Jason and Andrea at the Chinese Buffet place (same thing we did 3 weeks ago). They have this peanut butter chicken which is pretty good. Went from Chinese to Mike’s cousins and arrived about 45 minutes later than planned.

[mike’s family]
Several families were there hanging out. Mike’s family was nice. Although I like Mike, I have a really hard time with his wife. We just don’t click. She doesn’t communicate with me unless I probe her with questions. I could write a whole page about that but it doesn’t matter. We hung out there for several hours when they started supper. I reminded hubby that we get up at 515am and we still had a 4 hour drive home. We agreed to leave at 6pm.

[headed home]
We were out the door pretty close to that time but we stopped in town at Dairy Queen so I could feed and change my kiddo. Of course while we were there, I fed my kid a little too much ice-cream and he spit up all over. It soaked through his jeans and two layers of onesies. We finished our ice-cream and jumped back in the car. It wasn’t too far down the road and I was out. I tried to stay awake but just couldn’t mange. We stopped in the big city to get gas. I quickly fed my kiddo some pears to quiet him down. Got back on the road and the poor thing was so tired he wouldn’t go to sleep. Arrived home at 11pm and headed to bed.

[long weekend]
It was a long and tiring weekend. Once again I didn’t get my house clean. But I can cross some more things off my list:
- finished soil test for septic system
- shaved my mini-australian shepherd dog, Keller
- treated Keller for ticks
I was also able to make Chinese food for supper Friday night and went to see Mission Impossible Saturday night with some friends. I think that’s about it.

Oh, and, I couldn't load the picture of Scott on Friday. I even tried this morning and it was jacked up. Sorry. I'll try again later.

Another view on Cinco de Mayo

Greg heard a different story on the origin of Cinco de Mayo. He was told:

Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New
York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.
The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.
The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5 and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Where I come from (the central valley in California), Cinco De Mayo (5th of May in English) is widely celebrated. Lots of festivities that include great food, dancing, mariachi music and brilliant colors. Unfortunately, many people think that Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican Independence Day when in fact it's not. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the defeat of the French army by the Mexicans at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. With this defeat, Mexico demonstrated to the world that they would defend themselves of foreign intervention. Their independence is celebrated in October. Never-the-less, it has always provided a good reason to celebrate.
Now that I'm in the midwest, it's not near as popular. Last year at my office, I held a potluck and used a few minutes of our lunch time to provide a basic history lesson. It was lots of fun as everyone in the building made their attempt at bringing some sort of "mexican" dish. And this year, several of the women have greeted me with a "happy cinco de mayo".

*** The above picture is my little guy's celebration. No, he does not appear to be mexican but he is one-fourth. And becuase he's also half Dutch, I refer to him often times as my little Dutch burrito. Man, he's a cutie. Feliz Cinco de Mayo everyone!

Gotta love the Tulips

My little yellow M&M wasn't scared of the grass this time. That's my boy!

I Thank God For...

This morning on the radio, they spent some time taking calls for people to share what they are thankful to God for. I'm not the type to call in to the radio station for games or things like that but I always participate. I thought this would be a good opportunity to list a few things that I'm thankful for.

I thank God for:
~ Breath. God created man and breathed air into his lungs.
~ Life. I'm especially thankful for life as I work with a man who's been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and has been given 30 days to live.
~ Ryan. For a husband who loves me even when I'm not so loveable.
~ Mom and Papa. For their willingness to care for my child while I work. AND for keeping him late most nights without complaining when I'm late picking him up. AND for opening their home to us and feeding us when we drop in.
~ Children. Especially my own. It's so precious to see them express emotion.
~ Flowers. I love to see the fresh growth and brilliant colors.
~ Freedom. For those who have served in the past and those currently volunteering to protect that freedom.
~ My job. I know I complain that I would love to be home playing with my kid, cleaning my house and fixing meals during the day instead of working but I do appreciate my job. I'm especially thankful that I've been here for almost four years even though I'm expected to move around.

There is so much more I'm thankful for. But here's a short quick list. Now, I should get my butt otuside to work on my soil tests for the septic tank!

Mission Organization

I finally ordered a new palm. This is the first one I've actually ordered myself. I do have a decent one for work that is pretty nice but I needed a personal one that I can mess with. I've been looking at the Palm Tungsten E2 for a while through the Franklin Covey website. I really loved my FC planner and want one for a palm. But, I know that I can't afford to buy both. But yesterday I found my palm on sale. Sticker price is $249. Most places will give it to you for $199. Got that plus free shipping. But the good deal is that I get a 128MB expansion card for FREE. Plus, when I showed it to Ryan, he noticed the $100 savings with the 12 month audible subscription. Now, I didn't pay attention to that because I didn't need anything extra. But my husband is a bright guy. He figured since we already buy audio books for the car (~$20/each), this really was a good deal. For $180 spread out over 12 months (remember I just saved $100 on the palm so it really is only an additional $80), I can get 12 books. We think it's a pretty sweet deal for us. If you listen to audio books (we do in the car for long trips), check out this deal.

Hopefully now I'll be able to keep better track of what's going on in my crazy life instead of having it all on my work computer that stays at work. Busy season, here we come! And maybe for Christmas I can get the Franklin Covey planner.

Out of commission

[Sick, sick and more sick]
I finally ended up with Ryan’s flu (plus whatever else). The symptoms started Tuesday and I did pretty good at keeping myself hydrated, fed, etc. Wednesday was a short day at work for me. I knew that I needed some rest if I was going to keep from getting totally sick. Thursday was another short day at the office but that was because I spent an hour at the dentist getting my teeth cleaned (a separate drama in itself when you’re used to having Dr. Paloutzian or your father-in-law clean your teeth). Thursday nights are bible study nights and we scheduled a BBQ in the park and invited other young couples in the community instead of bible study. I was excited about that except I wasn’t feeling so energetic. Seemed like everytime I ate, I had an upset stomach. I went ahead and made my awesome broccoli salad for the group with a little help from my honey. We had some new folks which was fun and of course the smoked chops were awesome. Before heading to bed that night, I called my work-out buddy and said I wouldn’t make it in the morning. Friday morning was not fun! Let’s just say I visited the toilet a lot and I wasn’t puking. Stayed home from work and lay in bed all day. Meals for the day included sugar free popsicles, club crackers, sprite and water. Saturday morning I was feeling better but had no energy. Scott stayed home with me and he zapped all the energy I had. I did manage to shower and head to the bakery with my parents for awesome pecan rolls. Except, the sweet food didn’t sound good and didn’t taste good either. I went home and was wiped out. That evening I tried once again to build my energy levels back up. We went to the Grand March for Valley Prom. [Okay west coast buddies, I so didn’t have a clue what Grand March was. The community all comes out to support this event. Each couple is introduced and walks in to the Prom. It was neat that the kids could show off their outfits and smile for everyone. But, how humiliating for those who went stag to walk in solo.] Small fry, with a little help from his momma, made a sign for Lauren for the grand march. It read: “Lauren, why didn’t you choose me? Love, scotch”. It was so cute, she had to take a picture with him. Went home and was once again wiped out! Sunday was back to normal for my energy levels and today I haven’t noticed my tummy aching at all! In fact, tonight we're planning a girls night out. I definitely need some girl time.

[bet with M]
I have a bet with one of the girls. We bet a penny. I’m hoping to find out who won shortly. I typically won’t bet unless I’m sure that I’ll win. This time I don’t know so I’m quite curious to see who wins this bet. More on this later.

Pictures from Easter weekend

Scott and his great grandpa B.










Playing on Miranda's fun toy.

Our little Easter bunny

ER, company & too much fun for the weekend!

I tried to do the strike out font like fantastagirl does but it didn't work for me. Basically I showed the list of things that I did and didn't get accomplished over the weekend. Below is the reasons why:

Between the time I made this list on got home, I had 20 more things on it. I received a call that my cousin was coming to town. I knew that he was coming but it just hadn’t clicked before. All of a sudden it hit me, MY COUSIN IS COMING and MY HOUSE IS A PIT! So, I took Thursday off to get my house picked up. It was Dr. Honey’s half day at work so I had plans for him to do the boy chores. Dr. Honey came home feeling sick. He was hoping a nap would make things all better. Three hours later he informed me that he wouldn’t be going to supper, to bible study or anywhere else. The poor thing stayed in bed the rest of the evening. I went over to my folks to have supper and visit for a little while. Went back home to find a sick hubby. He was up during the night every hour visiting the porcelain king. Each time I was awake with him and our small fry. At 4am, he was not happy. Small fry was also awake and crying. Got the little guy calmed down and back to sleep and went back to bed. Chatted with Ryan for a few minutes before deciding to head to the ER. With child in hand (and a few diapers), we headed to the big town down the road. From 530 to 815 we sat in the ER. They ran lots of tests on Ryan, gave him some fluids, played with my kiddo and eventually sent us home. I stopped at the grocery store and got him some juice, soup and popscicles. I ended up staying home with him for the day. I piddled around the house (doing his boy chores) while he tried to rest and maintain hydration.
That night my cousin was coming to town for the weekend (which is a big deal when you’re 2,200 miles from where you were raised). Just before jumping in the shower, I checked on Ryan again. He wasn’t feeling good. And now he had the chills, was light headed, not holding down his liquids and feeling horrible. Called the doctor like we were advised to do in that situation and they thought he should come back in. I headed for a quick shower. Before I could even get the towel off my hair, Ryan said “let’s go”. I picked up the kid, his diaper bag, brushed out my hair and headed back to the big town. This meant that I wouldn’t be hanging out with my cousin at my mom’s house later on. So, I called my mom and let her know that we were headed back to the hospital and I wouldn’t be there for supper. We arrived at the ER for the 2nd time and once again my honey was dehydrated. After poking him a few more times, they left him alone for a while and he fell asleep. My small fry was in a good mood and making lots of noise so I went out to the waiting room. Next thing I knew they were wheeling my hubby past me to admit him to the hospital and take him upstairs. He got to have a pajama party with the nursing staff. Not too long after we got upstairs my folks met us there with my cousin to pick up Scott and take him so that I could attend to my honey without getting my kid sick. It was nice to visit with my cousin AND to eat some awesome enchilada casserole that my mom brought. It was now almost 9pm, I think, and I was super hungry. At 10pm, I went home and crawled in my own bed for some shut-eye.
The next morning, the doctor let him have some liquids. After keeping those down, he discharged Ryan at 11am. We headed home. In the mean time, my mom, Ralph and cousin were enjoying my kid and running around checking out the local sites like Pike’s Peak and visiting the big stores like Cabelas. Ryan was starting to feel a bit better by now and was even getting sassy with me. I was having a hard time encouraging and very stubborn and independent person to drink plenty of fluids. Saturday afternoon my family came over. I made shrimp scampi for supper while attending to a sick hubby upstairs. He still was feeling bad, running to the toilet and didn’t have any energy. Finally though he ate some food – he requested blueberry muffins.
Sunday was much the same although he was moving around a little. I left him home and went to church. After church I hung out with my family at mom’s house. Then I went home very briefly to check on hubby before heading back out the door to go fishing. We headed to a nice little stream to do some trout fishing. It was feeding time for the fish and we were catching trout every time we put the line out. It was really fun. They were all small fish so we through them back each time. Mom had a nice one though. Jimmy says it was 14” but it got off the hook at the surface of the water. We had bent the barb back on the hook to make it easier to get the fish off which made it easier for the big ones to escape as well. Three hours and two dozen worms later we headed back to town.

So, long story short, I didn’t have the weekend to get to my list of things. I had company and a sick husband instead. Maybe this week. I really need to get on the ball though. In other news… one of my buddies and his wife are expecting a baby in October. I won’t name names till it is super public information but until then a big congrats to THEM. And yesterday one of my co-workers (whose daughter works with my husband and he is there vet and we live in the same community) went into a diabetic coma. Good thing that the kids had a short day at school and Matthew was home early to find her. That could have been a super scary deal. That’s it for now. Still hoping to get some Easter pics up. I want to remove the red-eye first.

Pictures

I have downloaded my camera from Easter BUT my honey snagged it this morning. I hope to have it tomorrow to load some pictures. For now, here are a few non-Easter pictures of my small fry:




This is one from a while back that I was having fun playing with the contrast of colors. I wish I would have left his bright blue eyes but I thought about it too late.







I haven't quite finished playing with the color contrast on this one. It's cute though. We bought small fry his first soccer ball for Easter. We also bought him a toy TV remote. So, he got a gift that represents his mom and one that represents his dad and we didn't even plan it that way.

Things to Do

1. Put away clean dishes
2. Sweep and mop filthly floor in kitchen
2.5 Clean out refrigerator
3. Laundry (this one is kept up)
4. Remove wax from table cloth from Valentine's
5. Dust, Sweep and Vacuum living rooms
6. Run on treadmill or outside
7. Clean off desk
8. Vacuum stairs
9. Clean wood floors in upstairs bedrooms
10. Clean asian beetles out of window sills
11. Nag husband to clean his bathroom
12. Condition leather coat
13. Take hand-me-downs to Shepard's
14. Clean closet
15. Spray pasture to kill grass
16. Till killed grass for new garden spot
17. Buy garden plants
18. Do soil test for septic system
19. Get permit from county for septic system
20. Call one-call for septic system
21. Get loan from bank for septic system
22. Finish potting shed
23. Pot plants
24. Fix the goats zip lines
25. Bathe and trim Keller
26. Get baby bath out of attick for mom
27. Get other baby stuff out for Tera

This is why I need some time off. And these are the things I can come up with off the top of my head! I need some sanity days. And I just asked my boss this morning for 2 days off next week. Take a guess at what I'll get accomplished this weekend and 2 days next week.

Life

It's been a rough week which is why I haven't written. I love to write when things are going well but I don't like to share the bad things and nag on people. So, I've been pretty quiet about things. But, today I'm thinking I'll write some things down:

Last weekend I spent Saturday with Michelle and my kiddo shopping in Waterloo. It was a good day, even though I spent major bucks. We had a good time together and it was nice to chat. We shopped for a friend who we through a pantry shower for. It was hard to buy groceries when we weren't sure what they liked. But, it was fun to be able to do for others. Wednesday night after work, I took all the pantry items over to the house, gave her a home-made card with some extra cash in it and visited. I was so excited to see her appreciation - for her to know that her church family loves and missed her.

Tuesday was also a hard day at the office. I've been in this mood where I hate work. I do enjoy my job, but I hate that it takes away from me being at home to be the full-time wife and mom that I need to be. Anyway, so Tuesday morning I come in late. And there was a client on the phone for me. Which was an ongoing thing from Monday. I expressed my irritation with the client not following the protocol that I gave him. And so, in a very irritated manner, I told my boss that he could give the information if he wanted to. That I wasn't willing to lose my job over it being it's against the law. Well, that was the first time in almost 4 years that I've seen my boss mad. Following the phone call, I chatted with my boss and we were in disagreement on how we could provide information to farm operators. He made a call to his supervisor who agreed with my boss. I couldn't believe it, I know what the law says. I've trained my area on this very subject and yet no one seems to remember, or care, about it. So, it wasn't good that I didn't respect my boss in an appropriate manner.

My honey was gone Tuesday and most of Wednesday. Usually we have one night together at home which is Tuesday. So, I was missing my honey this week.

Bad mood mom. I sat in my house and and felt completely overwhelmed - my house is filthy (according to my standards), I haven't read the mail in over a month (honey has paid the bills), I haven't completed the soil tests for my new septic system, blah, blah, blah. I figured out that I'm home 2.5 hours a night before I go to bed. In that short time, I'm supposed to be a full time wife, mom and maid. It just isn't working and I'm stressed to the max. I know my husband loves me but I begin to question that a little. I know that I don't get to sit and relax or do the things I want because I don't have the time. And it bothers me so much that he takes the time to sit, relax and watch tv when trash needs to be taken out, recycles need to be dealt with, etc. My mind wonders why he doesn't do those things to help me out when he KNOWS that a clean house equals sanity for me. So, that's been adding to the stress.

Last night was another fun night though. See, I'm having a good time being out and doing things for others which means I have no time for myself or my "to do list" at home. Anyway, last night we visited Hugo and Gladys. Hugo spoke in our wedding and is such a neat guy. His wife is adorable and I love to give her hugs. Six of us from our small group went over there and visited, listened to Hugo sing, shared stories, sang hymns together and ate cake. H&G are 92 years old and both have walkers now. They don't get to church hardly ever and so it was a blessing for us and for them to visit with them.

Today we head to PC for the weekend. We hope to hang out with some of Ryan's childhood friends and then spend Easter with Ryan's grandparents. I'm looking forward to a weekend off even though it will be a busy one. Next week we get our new help at the office and after he's here, I'm hoping to take a few days off to get things in order at home.

Christ died a brutal death on a cross for you and me, that's why we call it Good Friday. Three days later he rose from the dead, we celebrate Easter that Sunday. I hope you appreciate that Christ died for your sins, that He paid the price for you, as you celebrate Easter.

Story of the Day - not a fun one either!

Got pretty scared last night. Scott, the middle of the night, was fussing. Most the time, I'll let him fuss for a while to see if he'll go back to sleep. Last night I checked on him right away for some reason. Walked into his room and it was smoke-filled. Thought I was seeing things in my half-awake state. Nope, it was smoke in his room. He has a vaporizer for his cold/congestion. Water must have caused a short or something because there was smoke in there. I unplugged it, left the door open and took my kid to my room. I had Ryan go in to make sure I wasn't imagining things and yep, it was smoky. Not full of smoke like a fire, but enough to scare me. We close his door to keep the humidity in his room so the smoke wasn't able to escape either. If I would have waited, he could have very well passed out and I may have just thought he fell asleep. It was scary. Praise God for the prompting to check on him right away last night!!! Scott-R, I love you son!

Story of the Day

[from monday]
On my way home, just a few miles up the road, I noticed something abnormal. In a newly terraced field of Kevin's (my office did the work), I saw heifers. Now, this field doesn't have fences so it didn't make sense for animals to be out there. Sometimes, people put up a single strand of hot wire for short term. I slowed down to look for that knowing that animals shouldn't be grazing in new terraces. My immediate thought was that they belonged to Dean. [I wouldn't typically know any of these people, but I did the cost share paperwork for Kevin's terraces and Dean is a neighbor to some of my friends]. I tried calling my friend to have them alert Dean. But there was no answer, so I turned down the gravel road to Dean's house. At this point the cattle appeared to have just crossed the gravel into the open field. As I drove, I noticed the top wire was down on Dean's fence. But, sometimes those fences are 30 years old and the top wire has been down for 20 of those years. I knocked at the door and was greeted by a confused Joanne. I aked her if they were grazing cattle in the field up the road and she confirmed that. I alerted her that the cattle were in Kevin's new terraced field and got back in my car. As I headed back towards the blacktop, I drove slow enough to assure that I didn't hit a cow or heifer in the road. By this time (less than 5 minutes later), the dairy animals had headed quite a way down the field. In this one big field, there is one long strip of grass. The cattle were biting on the tiny bit of green grass that is there. I imagine that Dean had quite the time getting his cattle rounded up and back into his own farm. I would've offerred some help except my mom was sick and was eager for me to pick up my child since I had already stayed 45 minutes late at work. Anyway, it was quite the entertaining story of the day - for me at least.

[little guy's attitude]
It has been bad this week. He goes from angel to heathen real quick. He's been throwing quite the little fits. I thought it was because he was sick but they're still happening. Maybe it's because he's teething and wants his mommy to hold him. I'm trying to teach him that bad behavior will not be accepted and that he won't get away with those little fits at our house. I don't like disciplining him but he needs it.

Great Photo Op

I just had to share a photo of the Buitenwerf siblings: Alise, Roy and Reva. They live spread out in the US but managed to get together recently in AZ. This picture is a treasure!
Pictured below would be our little guy's: Great, Great Aunt Alise, Great Grandpa & Great Grandma and Great, Great Aunt Reva

Pictures

RJ - my little niece. She's so cute here and I love her smile so I wanted to share it.

Have I added this picture before? It was a while back. Scott was playing with Ryan's [wrapped] cigar.

Scott sporting his ISU jersey while taking a break from his favorite toy.

Scott eating prunes. He seems to like anything he can get in his mouth with the exception of peaches so far.

Our small fry. Caught this cute picture yesterday when Scott was relaxing on the couch with his dad. He is growing so fast.

Is it 5pm yet?

I was so thankful that I woke up this morning and it was Friday. It has been a long week. I was home one night this week and used that time to make a cake for one of our JV helpers. Good cake - it was the Earthquake Cake. Oh, yeah, for those who want the secret recipe, here it is:
Bottom
1/2 bag of coconut - spread it on the bottom of the 9x13 glass pan to start.

Cake
1 moist chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 1/4 c. milk
1 stick soft butter
Mix the cake mix with the above ingredients (not how the box says to do it). Pour over the coconut.

Topping
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar
1 stick melted butter
Mix the above ingredients for the topping. Spoon over the top of the cake mix (it doesn't pour).

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. The topping will end up at the bottom of your cake. It tastes great warm. If you serve it immediately after pulling it out of the oven, the topping will be runny and messy. Let it cool for 10 minutes or so before serving. It's so good! But for those of us trying to watch our figures, don't eat the whole cake (unless of course you have a pass for your Weight Watcher meeting).

So anyway, that was my Wednesday evening. After JV was over, I did actually have a few minutes to visit with my hubby before heading to bed.

Did I mention that I'm glad for Friday to be here? I have had a good week at work, home and in my quiet time. But, I'm really looking forward to the retreat I'm going to this weekend. I'm a little apprehensive about taking a sick-but-feeling-better baby. I know I won't have to hold him much since there will be plenty of volunteers but I'm hoping that he doesn't sneeze the green snot all over them like he does to me. And I don't like packing to be gone. I have to have so much of everything in case Scott spits up, explodes his diaper, etc. But, I know that my time there will be good. If the weather is nice spring weather, I know my son will love to be outdoors and look at all the new things.

[story of the day]
Yesterday morning shortly after waking up, we heard a cat's meow. We were confused because our cats were outside. In no time, Rum, our tabby, was in bed with us. I figured he snuck in when the JVers left. But Ryan said he through him out after that. Some time later Ryan left for work and checked the cellar doors to make sure that wasn't how the cat got in. The inside door was closed, so Ryan closed the cellar doors and headed to work. Last night when we got home from bible study, Ryan went into the basement to see if any water made its way in during the rainstorm an hour earlier. Upon opening the basement door, he found quite a mess. Keller, my deaf dog, must have gotten in along side Rum earlier that morning and then was locked in when Ryan left for work. Keller hasn't been an inside dog for 8 months. He had quite the mess downstairs (our JV room). He had the trash spread EVERYWHERE. Lots of little candy wrappers and cake plates. And because he'd been down there for 14 hours, he had to pottie. Unfortunately he'd pooped on the couch - several times! I felt bad when I got home and saw the mess since Keller is my dog. Fortunately, Dr. Honey cleaned up the poop while I took little guy upstairs to put him in bed. How's that for a surprise?!?!

quick update

[Dr. Honey]
out on calvings every night this week. poor guy, not getting a good night of sleep.

[me]
3 nights so far with a fussy baby and not much sleep. Was up again much of the night with him. Ryan was good to help both when he came home from calving calls and when he was asleep. Tonight is girls night out, I hope my energy keeps up so I can have a good time tonight.

[little guy]
has double ear infections = automatic antibiotics. Didn't even bother him about his throat since he was going to get meds anyway. No surprise there, he's been itching at them. Is constantly on a decongestant and tylenol to keep the fever down. last night at 11, he finally ended the streak of constipation. It was a fun mess to clean up. He will miss his mommy tonight - good thing he likes his dad!

[frustration]
good day. crazy busy but I haven't want to tell anyone how stupid I think they are! Yay me!

a much needed entry

[thank God]
I’m so glad for what I recently learned about finding joy and appreciating my situation instead of being grumpy. Yesterday in church, I was able to Worship rather than being irritated with someone. It was such a relief. I’m also thankful for Jamie and Steven for being in the nursery so I could leave my child in there during church.

[My small fry]
It’s been a blessing that my kid doesn’t poop all the time cause that means I don’t have to change stinky diapers. But there is a point where it gets to be a bad thing. He gets constipated. And I’ve learned recently that prunes/prune juice don’t seem to help. So, we’ve tried the dark karo syrup. Most people have it in their cupboard for baking pecan pies, I have it to help loosen up my kiddo! We recently dealt with the constipation thing and then he went once and decided not to poop again. So, back to the syrup added to breastmilk in a bottle. It was no fun to see him strain to poop and get no results. This started Thursday night. Sunday morning we woke up and it was worse. On top of being constipated, the poor kid has a cough, is super congested and sounds like kroup again. Yesterday, Scott didn’t want to eat, was real puny looking and fussy unless you snuggled him. No fun. He did take a lengthy nap with me which we both needed after being up much of Satruday night. I desperately needed groceries so I dragged him with me to the store. He’s such a good baby! Got home last night and his temperature was 100.1. I felt so bad for taking him out but we needed food. We put him to bed and did some reading before lights out. Of course, it was another sleepless night. Between Ryan getting called out for a calving and Scott being up coughing and crying, I didn’t get a night of rest. But, praise God, he did poop finally. So, that alone had to make him feel better. This morning, I asked mom to come to the house instead of dragging him out. He had the sweetest smile on his face when he saw her. And when he heard his Papa’s voice, I was instantly ignored. He’s too cute.

[sleep]
Did I say that I need sleep? Yeah, well it’s not happening. We had a full weekend and this week is just as busy. Tuesday night is girls night out. I’ve not had one of these since living here so I’m excited. I’m really looking forward to getting to know the girls here better. I’m eager to be 10 years down the road and feeling like I belong here instead of being the outsider. I also want to visit Paul. He’s one of our older (about 91 years) friends. He was a few hours away in the hospital for a while and now they moved him to a home nearby. It will be good to visit with him even though he’s hard of hearing and doesn’t remember a ton anymore. Paul let me get ready in his home the day of the wedding since he lives across from the church. He’s a sweet guy who loves the Lord dearly. I have the usual mid week activities (JV kids and then bible study). Friday night I’m going to camp. Yup, camp. I’m really excited to hear what Diane will be teaching us for the weekend. She’s a wonderful teacher (and also happens to be the wife of my pastor). That will be a full weekend and I’m taking my attachment – Scott – along with me.

[work]
I think I move my frustrations from one place to another. This week might be work. We’re super busy and it gets tiring. I love helping people and teaching them new things when they’re eager to learn. But, I don’t like helping and then going back and having to re-do the work anyway. That gets frustrating real quick. But, the sign-up will be over on Friday and things will begin to slow down after that. It’s never slow in our office, but it will at least be less stressful I hope. I like work and when I get to the point that I don’t want to come in, I’m usually beyond tired or stressed.

[Mongolia missions]
We were invited to go to Mongolia from the folks who Dr. Honey has worked with twice before. This news came the day after I had randomly mentioned to Ryan that we should go. That was cool that it happened the way it did. I would consider going IF we could make different arrangements for food for me. I have a sensitive stomach and just can’t imagine eating boiled goat head or drinking fermented mare’s milk and staying healthy. I’d have to carry along my PB&J, crackers, ramen noodles etc. I know that we don’t have the money to pay for a trip like this but I also trust that God will provide if it’s in His will for us to go. And so far, it won’t be provided via our tax return!!!!

[40 days]
I’m continuing to learn much from this book. I look forward to being done but I hope that I’ll take the time to go back through it. I know there have been several nights where I’ve fallen asleep while Ryan reads the last two pages. I have it on CD, so I’m thinking I might listen to it on my drive to work.

Needing a nap...

[good reminder]
Honesty is the best policy, right? Okay, so I’ve struggled lately with spending time with God – like praying and reading and being quiet. And that has affected my attitude so much. Yeah, I’m thankful for my life, the roof over my head, my family, etc but I’ve had a crappy attitude and it’s wearing on me. Specifically, one decision/issue affects so many facets of my life that it keeps me stressed out most of the time. But, I had a good reminder last week. I need to find joy in every situation. Many people think they’re day is successful if they learn something new, encourage a friend, make a dollar. I’m trying to judge my successful days on whether or not I’ve honored God. And one of those ways (there are many) is finding joy in my current situations. So, it hit me last week and since then, the stress is there, no doubt, but its not driving me crazy. My anger towards the person involved has subsided – some. Yeah, I’m still working on this whole process but it was such a great reminder. I appreciate the situation I’m in – this week – and hope that my better-attitude remains.

[purpose driven]
I’m on day 22 of 40 in the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. The book has some great thought provoking comments, bible verses and questions. Really, what on earth am I here for? I know what I’m here for but sometimes I get caught up in my wants and forget the big picture. This book has been encouraging for me to read. A chapter each day is easy. And some chapters, I should read every day for a week to really let the information sink in. I’m not much for doing what is popular – what everyone else is doing. And this book has been very popular but it’s been good and I’d encourage others to read it.

[Dr. Hottie’s birthday]
It was a success, a milestone, a fun day to make my honey feel the most special. Last year I made him curtains that didn’t work out. This year, I bought a gift to make sure he got something he liked. So, I had this great idea to buy him tickets to the new Cardinals stadium this summer. I was going to purchase the tickets and give them to him for his birthday. With his on call schedule, I had to share part of the scheme. Then we invited a few friends. So it got more difficult to plan. Knowing that I might not have the tickets in hand, I bought him a little Cardinals baseball player figuring thing. Just to have something to open. He saw that on my work desk and ruined that surprise (my fault). The tickets went on sale 2 weeks ago and already we can’t get the tickets we want. Grr. There goes another great idea. So, I went to the back up plan, I went to Eskimo Joe’s online and bought him some stuff. EJ’s is a bar/grille place in Stillwater that Dr. Hottie loved as an undergrad. I bought him a new tshirt (the old one is super worn and thin and has “air conditioning” in the armpits). I also bought him some new plastic cups since his old ones are slowly disappearing. And I bought him a nice glass so he could have his own special cup (since I have my own special glass). It arrived in just two days – the day before his birthday. That was a hit. And because he was there when the package arrived and it had the EJ logo on it, I gave it to him a day early. There’s more – yes I’m an awesome wife – I made him a cake. Not the typical box cake that you mix up real quick and toss in the oven. I made an earthquake cake. And while it was baking, I was watching and the topping wasn’t going to the bottom like it was supposed to. So, it’s done baking, I take it out of the oven and apologize to my honey for another failed project on his birthday. But, five minutes later when it had cooled just a bit, the stuff on top had been sucked down to the bottom like it was supposed to do. Yay!!!! The cake was a little dry so I will leave it up to mom to make the next time but I made an effort! So, happy birthday to Dr. Hottie, my wonderful 30 year old husband!

St. Patrick's Day

Wow, I'm so thankful that Friday is here. I'm so tired and un-motivated this week. I've picked up around the house a little but I'm definitely behind on laundry and cleaning. This weekend is my honey's birthday! He said that he just wants to work around the house and complete some of our un-finished projects. I have to finish the second coat of paint on a tiny wall in the dinning room. I need to put another coat of clear on my cupboards that I started back in November. And I need to do touch up work from when Ryan painted our bedroom. I'm pretty sure that I won't get it all accomplished like Ryan hopes. I also have laundry and basic cleaning to do, I need groceries and want to get my car cleaned out. Plus, it's Living Stone weekend so that shoots Saturday afternoon and Saturday night.

The past weeks have been busy and I'm exhausted by time I get home at night. A few things have added to an already stressful environment. There is a member in our church that I have a problem with and according to the bible, I should approach him. But the situation isn't my business, although it affects me on a daily basis. I see him in church and he steals my attitude of worship every time. So, that's been hard and frustrating. BUT, I learned - no, wait, I was reminded last night that I need to find joy in every situation and be thankful. So that has been good so far. Just focusing on what I have and be thankful for that has improved my attitude some. Another thing is this rash. I visited the Doc yesterday. He seems to think that it's just dry skin (that time of year here). But I've never had it quite this bad before and it gets really bad. Of course, it was hardly noticeable when I was at the doctor's office. He did recognize that it's likely hormone related and potentially a sensitivity to my birth control. I wish he would have pursued it farther and not just tried to cover up the issue. But, if this cream works, then I'll be happy and possibly a little more sane.

This past week, my little guy has been a blast. Scott has learned a few new things. He thinks he's a little bird - when someone holding him is chewing food, he opens his mouth wide and leans right in towards your mouth. The kid loves to eat! He's also learned to make little indian noises. As kids, we'd pat our hand over our lips while making a constant noise and the sound would fluctuate. Anyway, Scott will make the noise and let you pat his mouth. And when you stop, he makes quite a loud noise to let you know that he wants to keep playing. I've watched him push my hand away twice when he was done playing. He's growing so fast. His hair is coming in thick and is a sandy blonde color with his pretty blue eyes. Earlier this week, I woke him from an evening nap. He wasn't happy and would have slept all night except I needed to feed and change him. Anyway, he snuggled right up against Ryan and went to sleep. It was adorable. I was so busy watching them that I didn't think to take a picture until he woke back up. This morning wasn't all smiles. As I was buckling him into his carseat, he spit up everything he'd just eaten. I unbuckled and took him back in the house and changed him. Meanwhile Ryan is headed down the driveway and wondering why I'm not right behind him. When I got back out of the house and up the drive, he was at the top waiting for me. He wanted to make sure that I made it up since we got an inch or so of snow yesterday and the driveway was slick. I have an absolutely wonderful husband who loves me. I so appreciate that.

Yes, I said snow. It was less than expected, but enough to keep me home a few hours from work. We got sleet first and I was concerned that I wouldn't get up the drive. But, before I left, the snow was coming down good and I figured the driveway was safe. I made it to mom's before deciding that I didn't want to play with the weather. They were expecting lots more snow and wind which causes problems. And since I live on back roads, they're not a priority to get plowed. I didn't want to have a hard time getting home so I stayed at mom's and played with my son. It was a blast, I had him laughing up a storm. Finally at 11am, I decided to try the roads since the snow had slowed. The roads were slushy which meant slow driving but I made it to work by noon. Got to work late and left early for a doctor's appointment. Gotta love my benefits and flexibility in my job!

You know you live in the sticks when...

1. It's National FFA week so the local farm kids think it would be fun to drive their tractors to school instead of their cars! Yes, Loren (she works with Ryan and I work with her mom) is a senior girl at Valley and drove her dad's tractor 8 miles to school. Her brother drove a tractor also and the kids and their tractors backed up traffic for quite a while. She even had to rev up the engine to get the cloud of black smoke in the parking lot.
2. And that's not all of it. You know you live in the sticks when you drive a newer tractor with some modifications. There was a problem with the exhaust pipe and the new one has been ordered but hasn't arrived. So, good 'ol Loren's Dad took a piece of rain gutter and used it as the exhaust pipe. Loren got a free malt for driving the tractor to school and when her teacher saw the rain gutter, he rewarded her with another malt ticket.
Yes, I do live in the sticks. But, I must say that Loren's dad was pretty inventive to think to use the rain gutter piece to get the job done!

[dad's visitor]

It's has been raining every other day back "home" where I grew up. There was quite a storm last week that woke Dad. His roomie went to his room because he heard something "hitting the house". They went in to the spare bedroom and could hear a sweeping noise. They looked up at the ceiling to see the branch protruding through with the branch sweeping across the cars on the shelf. The picture shows it after Dad cut the branch and cleaned his collector cars off the shelf. The picture on the right shows the branch on the house. There is a huge pine tree in the front yard. The branch fell from the top of the tree and eventually fell on the house poking 5 holes in the roof, one of which poked a hole through the ceiling. I sure wouldn't want his visitor!

[twins and kids]

Becky and I go way back (I think I've written about her before). We were buds in junior high and high school before we went our seperate ways. People thought we were twins and we confused the two of us. In the last few years, we've been able to keep in contact with each other a couple times a year. When I went "home" for my brother's wedding in January, Becky and I got together for lunch and a few pictures. The first is of Becky, Ryan (her son) and me. The second is of the two boys after lunch. They're cute and were very curious about each other. It is so fun to see how things change over the years. I would have never imagine the two of us having kids later on in life and getting together with them. It was such a blessing to see her and meet her little guy!

[ryan's birthday]
I planned on taking Ryan to St. Louis for his birthday so he can see the new Cardinals stadium and catch a few games. But that won't be till this summer and his birthday is this month. So, I found these realistic looking action figure baseball player guys and bought him one - Scott Rolen of the Cardinals. It's been sitting on my desk for a month now. Well, my sweet husband comes to have lunch today. But I was super busy so we had a quick bite at the office. He has a few minutes so he comes back to my desk and the first thing he sees is that darn action figure. Totally spoiled his birthday gift idea. Now I have to think of something else! And the tickets I wanted to buy are selling out fast. I better get that done!

[wonderful husband]
He really is wonderful but sometimes he likes to make me think otherwise. Saturday was awesome, we had a good day together in La Crosse, WI. (yeah, we were in 3 different states two different times that day.) My honey bought me a cute new pair of shoes to wear with my slacks. That same afternoon, he managed to cause a large soda from BK to fall over and spill all over my shoes. Accidents happen, I understand that but I thought he was having a bit too much fun driving. And, I was mad becuase when I reached down to grab the cup and stop the spillage, my seatbelt locked up (remember - fun driving) and I couldn't lean forward and just had to watch the liquid pour out all over the place.

[lady at Sam's]
That same day we had been in Sam's Club. Numerous people kept walking right in front of me and cutting me off while I was carrying my kid. One couple did it a bunch of times. Grr. My attitude already needed help but it was getting worse quickly. We left the store and were sitting in the car while I fed and changed Scott. This lady pushes her cart up next to us and 7 kids all get into the van. I watched and was so sad that none of these little kids were put in carseats, etc. It was a mini-van that holds 7 passengers so 7 kids and one ignorant adult = too many bodies. The kids were jumping around and never put on seatbelts. They were cute kids and even were saying "bye" to Ryan. Then then woman lights a cigarette and is puffing on it in the van. My heart was breaking! Right after that, child #8 comes to the van and gets in. At least she was big enough to not need a restraint system. And if all that wasn't bad enough, Ryan happened to see via the side mirror that that woman left her cart right behind our car. Okay, this lady wasn't scoring points on my standard of living and my attitude was getting worse. We know she saw us since her two kids in the front seat were waving and talking to Ryan. Yet, she left her cart. I get out of the car to put Scott in the back, in his car seat and walk around to the back of the car to the cart. The lady is finally pulling out. With as much attitude as I have, walking in the middle of the lane, with a kid on my hip, I slowly moved the cart to the where the carts should be stored while she had to wait behind me. Yes, I'm a jerk too and I was so mad!!! I was thinking lots of bad thoughts and waiting for her to give me the opportunity to vocalize them. Good thing God intervened and only let me get by with giving her a nasty look. I couldn't believe she did that!

[sunday morning]
Saturday night I went to bed with laundry in the washer. I wanted to stay up to change it over but it was already 11pm. Sunday morning at 5am, I was wide awake thinking about that darn laundry. I woke up so many times during the night and should have just taken care of it. So at 5am, Scott made a little noise and I went and picked him up, fed him and let him go back to sleep. I got up and went downstairs. Took care of the laundry (wanted to wear some of my new clothes to church), fixed bran muffins, read my bible, fixed an egg breakfast for Ryan and made Oreo Salad for potluck all before 730 when I jumped in the shower and got ready for church.

[sunday church]
bethany came this morning. I can't remember if I mentioned her before. She was my favorite OB nurse when Scott was born. On my bday, I called her and invited her to participate in the 40 days of purpose and ended up inviting her to church. She was looking to come anyway and was appreciative that someone called and invited with a warm welcome. Well, she came and her husband, who doesn't otherwise go with her to church, came along too. It was such a treat to see them there.

[fresh snow]
I woke to snow and throughout church the snow continued. I had thought maybe we should take the 4WD truck but by that time we were already in the car. Coming home from church was an adventure, and not a fun one! The road hadn't been plowed and we were in my little car pushing through the snow. Only Ryan was driving again. And I reminded him that he wasn't in his big, heavy, 4WD truck. He was driving 40mph, I thought he should be driving 25mph. Then we started sliding and although Ryan kept us on the road, I was MAD that we went back and forth 5 times when it wasn't necessary. Not even a minute later, he was driving 40 again. I finally voiced my unhappy opinion and let him know that we were in no hurry to get home, etc. He didn't accept my criticism well. A short bit down the road we lost control again, this time on the bridge. I wasn't sure which was worse - a fairly steep drop off or a concrete bridge. Again, Ryan did fine. And although I was happy to be alive and warm, I was ticked. He just seemed to be so careless in my view of things. And I didn't want to crawl out of a car in wet snow, be cold and have to carry a baby down the road. Ryan looks at as me not trusting him. I look at it as pure carelessness. We got to the highway and the road was fine. Got up the hill and couldn't even tell that our driveway existed - there was so much snow on the ground. I would've turned around and went back to town to mom's or a friend's house. But no, my husband is a man, a strong, not-cautious guy. We started down the driveway. I braced myself and he got upset but what was I supposed to do? I was scared! Fortunately we made it down the driveway just fine. And by time we got to the house, I was just as mad at my neighbor for not keeping up with his responsibility for maintaining our driveway!

[renessa]
my buddy is home from SD. We had plans to hang out last night. But with the weather, I knew she wouldn't venture out with the little ones. After church, I took a nap and didn't do much. Renessa called at 4ish and was getting ready to come. My house was a mess, nothing had been picked up from our shopping frenzy the day before. But she came and we visited for a while and played with babies. The Jensen's also came over to see her and the kids. It was a house full but we were all in one room.

Fortunately it's Monday and I hope the adventures are over for a few days at least.

Bestest Husband

[ryan, but not my ryan]
And the bestest husband award goes to Beth's Ryan. Unfortunately, my husband is no competition today! It's frustrating and I'm not going to share details but I really wish that I had more help from my husband. I do love him and he is helpful - most the time. But, I think he forgets that I need a house that is at least picked up to keep my sanity. That means I need help doing that since I don't get home till 6:30 at night. Anyway, that's that.

[the itchy and scratchy show]
I'm tired of itching. I have not quite figured it out yet but it's either related to using Scott's detergent or my body temperature going up, or my monthly hormones. I randomly get rashes that come and go on my belly, back, neck, arms. Eventually, I'll go see a doctor.

[to do list]
As if I'm not going crazy with LOTS on my plate at work, I'm also going crazy at home. I have yet to start several things:
- Taxes. Hubby says he'll help. We'll see.
- Septic system. I figure I can do the percolation test for it since I do work with soils on a daily basis.
- Birthday cards. I used to send them to everyone in church plus friends and family. Haven't done that since Scott was born.
Things I have accomplished:
- Deep clean my bathroom & change the shower curtain in there.
- Snuggled with my kid. I'm still breast feeding him.

[this weekend]
it could be good or bad or really, really long. I'm frustrated, super frustrated with my honey right now. I'd tell him first except I haven't had any time with him since Tuesday and tonight we have a committment already.

Better go get my kid!

More pictures

I have pictures to be loaded. I also have new video but that is still not ready to load yet.

L: my two best buds from college, Katie and Cori, with Scott.
M: Scott smiles while sitting with his Great Gram Wallace
R: Scott and his Abuelo hanging out


L: Scott and his buddy, Ben. Ben was happy to be putting something non-ISU on Ryan's kid.
M: Scott's first cigar. He'll put anything in his mouth and we thought it would make a cute picture since it was wrapped and his dad was heading outside to smoke a cigar with Gary.
R: Thank you Kristine and Andy! Scott loves his Fresno State football jersey that you bought him. The hat no longer fits his big head but he got some good use out of it too.

L: Scott's first experience with rice cereal. We couldn't shovel it in fast enough so he decided to feed himself.
M: Ryan feeding Scott
R: Another pose in his cute Fresno State jersey.

L: Aunt Janie (ie: Aunt Ugly) holding Scott at DJ's wedding.
M: Scott all dressed up in his outfit that Papa bought him for Uncle DJ and Aunt Sarah's wedding.
R: A close up of Scott and his mom

For those requesting pictures

1. me and scott in front of the stain glass at church. 2. mom and scott at the church. 3. family photo on the loveseat at our house.

4. The 4 generation picture on Christmas Day. 5. Scott and his Uncle Eric play with Scott's new dinosaur toy. 6. Scott having a great time with his Oma Buitenwerf.

7. Scott hanging out with his Abuelo. 8. Auntie Jen showing off her nephew (I forgot to take remove the bib to show off his Cardinals outfit). 9. My Scott-R bugs.

Another Buitenwerf Baby

There's another addition coming to the Buitenwerf family. Cousin, Tera is 4 months pregnant in this picture. Scott was the first baby born since Tera or Ryan (I can't remember who's older). And now, there's another one coming. I'm so excited, I can't wait to meet the little one. Congrats to Tera and Kevin on the upcoming baby Washpun!

Kaleb working for his next meal

Here's my little nephew, Kaleb, earning his keep at home. Looks like he's not the only one - I think that's my sister in the background scrubbing the tub. Atta boy Kaleb, keep up the good work.

green beans and weight loss

[green beans]
My poor child gets so excited when we eat in front of him. He acts like he needs to eat what we're eating. Last night we were having cake and ice cream and Scott was sitting next to me with his mouth wide open and rocking back in forth making noises. He wanted food. Just this weekend, I bought him some baby food (even though I hope to make my own and save a few pennies). Just to see his reaction, I opened some green beans and put a taste in his mouth. I totally thought he'd spit it out but he didn't. Instead, Scott gave me a curious look and then opened his mouth wide again. Ryan finished feeding him so I could eat my cake. And the kid ate almost the entire thing. AND, he'd just been breast fed. He's a healthy looking kid :) Last night was his first experience with real food (more than that crap they call rice cereal).

[working out]
As I've mentioned before, I've been working out several days a week. Here's the update. Michelle, personal trainer buddy, has us doing strength training 3 days a week and running/walking 3 days a week. I've been on this schedule for about a month now. I don't get the running in very often since I'm too lazy/tired to get up early and too busy at night. But I did run once last week for 20 minutes and my hips hurt so bad afterwards. The point is... you have to take pictures. Michelle hasn't lost weight but she takes pictures once a month and can see the difference. I've only been doing this for a month and I can see the difference. I haven't taken pictures yet but I do have to see myself in the mirror when I pump several days a week. And my post-prego belly is shrinking. It doesn't hang over my low cut jeans anymore. Now, it still isn't stick-thin little me but I'm so encouraged to see the progress. My legs, especially my calves are looking toned again. Oh, its so good to work out. So, for those of you who are trying to be healthier, keep your head up. I'm working out and breastfeeding a kid and eating like a horse (seriously) and I'm still toning up a little. A huge part of being healthier is portion size but another big part is exercise. And with the mild weather this week, even those of us in the midwest can get out and walk!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Okay, so I officially feel old! I know, I'm not really old according to my co-workers who are double my age. But, I feel like adult-ish or something. I told my honey and he laughed and told me that I am an adult - married, kid, career. But I still like to have my hair played with and like playing in the snow, etc. And that's okay I guess. My life isn't solely focused on being just one of those things. We still spend time with the "kids" and play xbox with them, cut down trees and fun stuff like that.

[special day]
thanks to those who made my day special. For those who called with warm wishes and for Cori who sang to me. But mostly for my hubby who took the day off to focus on me. Our plans to go ice skating didn't work out since we're all fighting colds and our baby sitter had a snow day to make up at school. But we did have fun. We worked out in the morning as usual but it was nice to ride together and then go back home. We sat at the table and had breakfast together (never happens). And then we piddled around the house, played with Scott, snuggled in bed, played xbox, watched a movie, did a little laundry, played with Scott some more. Then last night, Ryan made me a cake (without frosting by my request) and chinese food.

[chinese food]
I made chinese food with our friends once. Got a semi-recipe. And we made it a few weeks back. It is so good. Chicken cut up and fried in batter, onions and bell peppers. Potatoes, shredded, rinse of the starch and then cooked with vinegar and bell pepper. This is usually over a bed of rice but we don't do the rice. The potatoes may not sound good at all but with the chicken, it's delcious!

Pictures

I just want to show off a new baby. Eli Allen was born to Lori and Allen Hetteen on February 13th. Eli has twin sisters that are two years old. I haven't talked to Lori yet but from what I know she had a short and bearable labor. But after all the drama with the twins two years ago, Lori deserved to have it easy. The twins had Twin to Twin Deficiency Syndrome and were born at 28 weeks gestation. Meantime while that drama was happening, Allen was serving in the gulf and wasn't able to be there. Thinking of all that, I'm so glad to see a picture with the whole family and several healthy babies! Congrats to the Hetteens!


This is my friend Becky with her man, Greg and their little guy, Ryan. Becky and I go way back. Lots of my childhood memories include her. Things like setting the ranch on fire, driving other people's cars when we were way too young, eating lots of pizza, etc. We lived down the street from each other and were inseperable. People thought we were twins and we were often confused for each other. Later in high school we went our seperate ways. I think I talked to her once during my college years. In those years, Becky really struggled with life. And I spent hours upon hours (but not enough) praying for her. A few years back I was in CA for work and took a few days off to go home. I caught up with Becky and she shared her story. I was home again in Dec/Jan for my brother's wedding and we got together again. Only this time we both had kids. And when we walked into Salazar's to eat, the waitress asked us if we were sisters. It was a blast from the past. Anyway, Becky was a dear friend for much of my growing up years. I do love her like a sister. And I'm so glad she has her life back on track!

From the man I love

Okay, so it was a rough day yesterday. I left before my Valentine's Gift arrived at the office. But, it made for a great start to my morning. My sweet, loving and incredibly thoughtful husband got me a Vermont Bear. The card says: "What do you get the girl who has everything, especially when you painted the living room for her last year? Why, a cute redneck of course! One to go with the one you have at home. Your redneck, Ryan"

I am alive

[wow]
Life is good. Crazy but good. I’ve been swamped at the office which means that I’m mentally and physically exhausted by time I get home. Some people that I deal with at the counter and on the phone distract me from my work to assist them with theirs. I enjoy helping others but sometimes they could answer their own simple questions with a little thought. I’m no genius but they sometimes make me feel that way. Then my farmers at the counter can be such jerks, but entertaining jerks! I always get a good laugh that people get their chones in a bunch when they don’t get the answer they want. They forget that we are a customer service, government regulated, agency. It won’t always go according to their perfect plan. And although they may be receiving thousands of dollars in assistance for “farming”, they don’t seem to appreciate it at all. It’s fun though – seriously I get a good laugh out of their selfish attitudes most the time. So, anyway, by time I leave the office, my head and eyes hurt from straining my eyes on the computer and I’m whipped. Of course I have to stop and pick up my most precious little guy on the way home. I usually stay for a while to chat with mom&Ralph, watch a little news, feed Scott and steal a few cookies before I head home.

[will you be our valentine?]
I invited 11 ladies from church from church to be our valentine. Mom and I are making spaghetti & meatballs, an awesome green salad, french bread and a couple of desserts. Not a fancy meal but I wanted something basic that everyone will eat. I found out yesterday morning that one of the ladies can't have the sauce. Grr. Nine of the ladies are coming - 2 have never married, one is divorced and the rest are widows. I remember very well the year that I was solo after my relationship was over with "road pizza" and how lonely I felt. I don't want these ladies to feel lonely this year. SO, I planned my night for them. Last night, I set up the dining room for the meal. I have the table leaves in and my linen table cloth on. I set out the china, folded my linen napkins all fancy and put crystal candle sticks as centerpieces. The table is so long that I have 3 small groupings. I also put together little goodie bags for the ladies with chocolate, conversation hearts, etc for them to take home. The baggies are sitting on the dinner plates and add some bright color to the china. I’m super excited for tonight although I’m bummed about Julie. Julie is a young widow, her husband had a heart attack and died ~5 years ago. She’s not coming and says she just can handle holidays like this, it just hurts too much. So, be thinking of people like Julie and other lonely singles this Valentine’s Day.

[UPS man]
I’m hoping the UPS man comes to the office super early today. He usually shows up between 330 and 4pm and I’m leaving around 2pm today. Ryan said something is arriving UPS today for me and I so don’t want to miss it.

[weight for a weenie]
So, I’ve been working out for 3 weeks or more. And last Friday was the first day I was able to put weight on the bar during bench press. I feel like such a weenie but Ryan reminds me that I’ve never worked out before. So, I’m finally beyond the 45lb. bar and have added a whole 5 lbs. Yesterday we worked our legs. And I was such a weenie with squats. They really bother my hips. I asked the doc about it and he said that it takes 18-24 months for a woman’s hips to go back into place after having a baby. He encouraged me to go lightly on the squats. I’m frustrated with that though because I’d love to be competitive with Michelle for lifting weights and I can’t even begin to try with squats.

[scott]
Happy 7 month birthday to my little guy. Happy Valentine’s too!



[scott redfern]
Last week I mentioned my buddy Scott who died when we were young pups. There is so much to that story that I didn't share. And when I get a chance, I want to write some more down. But for today, I just wanna share pictures that my dad sent me of his memorial plaque at Immanuel High School. They just moved the plaque and dad took the pictures before the glue dried, here they are:
(click for a larger image)

Mi Vida Loca!

Last night was another entertaining night at the Buitenwerf Home. I got home late, as usual after leaving my office late, stopping to pick up Scott, feeding him before we could leave, figuring out how to use his “big boy” car seat, going back in the house for a pacifier, leaving, turning around to pick up my book that I left on my car and had fallen on the ground and finally getting home. Arriving at home, I carried in my son all covered up (I’m used to carrying in the infant car seat with a blanket over it not a wiggly kid). Went back outside to get the rest of my stuff out of the car, feed my dogs and water the goat in the dark. Came back in and put my “stuff” away. All of this in less than 2 hours. Ryan was sick and stayed home so I offered to make supper so he could rest. I handed off the kid, requested a diaper change and headed for the kitchen. It was an easy meal – chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks and hash browns al in the deep fat fryer (how’s that for healthy?).

[Stinky boy]
Was back in the living room a short while later holding my adorable son while trying to eat off a plate that was kept out of Scott’s reach. My kid was stinky but what’s new, he likes to toot, a lot! I even questioned if Ryan had changed his diaper. He had. A minute later, the smell still lingered. Scott was falling asleep in my arms (he desperately needed a nap) and I decided to wait a few minutes before I disturbed him. He fell asleep and I left the stinky boy alone. A while later when he awoke, I checked the diaper. It was dirty. I pawned him off on Ryan to change again. But before I handed him off, I checked to see if it was a simple diaper change or if we needed a shower.

[To the shower we go]
We tag teamed Scott for the shower. After undressing him and trying to keep the mess from smearing, the shower was warm and I pulled the diaper off and tried to wipe some poop off. It didn’t wipe well and was quite thick. So, we put him in the shower and Ryan is trying to spray his butt off. Only nothing is coming off. So, I wiped to help move the poop. It still didn’t come clean. I was rubbing and it was sticking in place. Finally I had to scrape, yes scrape, the poop off his little butt. It was seriously the consistency, texture and thickness of clay. It was all under my nails and in the shower. Then I had to carefully clean it out of his crack. Of course I didn’t want to stain his cute white wash cloth so I opted to scrub with my hands. It was bad, really yucky. Meanwhile, my child is entertained with the shower head and pulling on the hose like the little Tarzan he thinks he is. Finally the poop was off and I finished bathing him while Ryan got his clothes and diaper ready. It was definitely a memorable experience. Thanks to rice cereal, I think it will be a common occurrence in our house now.

[Scrambled egg with sausage, zucchini and pepper jack cheese burritos]
My mom is so awesome. Lately she’s made us breakfast the mornings we work out. I love it! Scott thinks that he too needs to eat with us. After last night, I think the rice cereal does enough damage that we’ll stay away from zucchini and other veggies for a bit!

10 years ago

[in memory of Scott Redfern]

It was 10 years ago today that Scott died. The day before he'd been working away (with a smile on his face I'm sure) on a lathe in woodshop class. His tool got stuck, broke apart the table leg and hit him in the face. He was air lifted out of the school where he remained without brain activity until the doctors harvested his organs for use in other people.

I can still remember it like yesterday. And 10 years later, it still brings tears to my eyes. He was such a wonderful person. Scott shared with me what it meant to have a personal relationship with Christ. His influence in my life didn't end when he died. It's amazing how that works - how the death of a friend can be so devastating yet so encouraging. I miss my buddy and my heart aches for his parents and his sister.

10 years, my how time passes.

Busy

I've taken a vacation from responsibilities at home the last few nights. Monday night was my night to snuggle on the couch with my child and a blanket. Last night was much of the same. I was so tired and relaxed that I fell asleep while watching our President address the state of our union. I saw the beginning and the end but missed the middle - the stuff I wanted to hear him talk about. Made it through about 5 minutes of the treadmill last night before my legs hurt really bad. I'm still sore from working out Monday. I jumped off the treadmill and stretched before parking my butt on the couch. Tonight is crunch time. I have to get my house picked up, dishes done, etc before bible study on tomorrow night. No time tomorrow to get that done since I have to leave the office by 7am for a meeting about an hour away and won't be back till after 5pm. It's crunch time and I better get to it!

Did I mention how wonderful my husband is and how cute my kid is? They're awesome!