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!
21 February 2006
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!
15 February 2006
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"
14 February 2006
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)
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)
08 February 2006
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!
[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!
06 February 2006
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.
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.
01 February 2006
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!
Did I mention how wonderful my husband is and how cute my kid is? They're awesome!
30 January 2006
weekend highlights - make sure to read to the bottom
[sunday afternoon]
Ryan and I had a stressful moment yesterday. I pawned my kid off on my mom so I could hurry home from church and pick up the house before the folks came over for lunch. My husband stayed at the church, or at least didn't come home. I was mad! We usually visit with friends after church so that was usual but we were having company. I wanted his help picking a few things up and needed him to put the steaks on the grill. By time he walked in the door 1.5 hours later, I was fuming. And he was all pissy too. He was being all short and loud with me. And I thought, who are you to be an ass, I'm the one who deserves to be mad. So he came in the kitchen and we both had attitude. He was totally ticked and being all pissy. Finally he said what was wrong. He and the Awana leader (our youth program) were having a heart to heart. And let's just say that it wasn't well received by Ryan. So, I got a bit pissy with him too and let him know that I understood he was upset but I would not be the object of his anger, that it wasn't fair to me so he better just stop. So he was telling me and finally he said "and this is one of those times you should be taking my side". I explained my reasoning. He put the steaks on the grill and went upstairs to change. I headed upstairs and sat on the bed and hugged him and assured him that he's doing a good job, and let him know that I would stand behind his decisions dealing with the JV kids. Good thing my parents were over an hour late getting to our house (Scott was napping at their house and they didn't want to wake him).
We had an awesome meal. Afterwards we played cards till after 4pm. I won, yay me!
[eating "real" food]
Scott experienced rice cereal last night. At first, he was a bit unsure of what to do although he knows to put the spoon in his mouth. It didn’t take long before he was eating well and actually attacking the spoon with his mouth. It’s hard to explain but he’ll attack and gnaw on fingers, noses, nini’s, whatever you put in his face. When he had a free hand, he’d grab the spoon and put it right to his mouth. It was fun for us to watch. Of course, I tried to be a good mom and got out the camera and camcorder.
[feeling yucky]
Worked out this morning. Didn't eat anything first. And I wasn't feeling good while we worked out. Showered and stopped at mom's to feed Scott. She fixed me scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese that I scarfed down quickly before going to work. As I was getting out of my car, I broke my eye glasses which I started using again while I'm on the computer. Not sure how I'll make it through the day without them. My eyes are already blurry and my stomach still feels yucky.
[what do nails and juice have in common?]
Oh and one more highlight from the weekend. We ate supper in the living room last night. Later, Ryan headed upstairs to put Scott to bed and I headed for the kitchen to do the dishes. I cleaned those up real quick, refilled my glass, grabbed some ice-cream and went back to the living room. Ryan came downstairs and noticed my re-filled glass:
Ryan: is that the same one as earlier?
Me: Duh, of course it is?
Ryan: Did you dump the nails out of it first.
Me: Umm no (as I look at the bottom of my now half-emtpy glass)
We laughed and laughed. Ryan had trimmed his fingernails and put the trimmings in my empty cup. I didn’t pay any attention to the cup, refilled it and drank half the glass. It was so gross yet so entertaining. Ah, the joys of marriage!
Ryan and I had a stressful moment yesterday. I pawned my kid off on my mom so I could hurry home from church and pick up the house before the folks came over for lunch. My husband stayed at the church, or at least didn't come home. I was mad! We usually visit with friends after church so that was usual but we were having company. I wanted his help picking a few things up and needed him to put the steaks on the grill. By time he walked in the door 1.5 hours later, I was fuming. And he was all pissy too. He was being all short and loud with me. And I thought, who are you to be an ass, I'm the one who deserves to be mad. So he came in the kitchen and we both had attitude. He was totally ticked and being all pissy. Finally he said what was wrong. He and the Awana leader (our youth program) were having a heart to heart. And let's just say that it wasn't well received by Ryan. So, I got a bit pissy with him too and let him know that I understood he was upset but I would not be the object of his anger, that it wasn't fair to me so he better just stop. So he was telling me and finally he said "and this is one of those times you should be taking my side". I explained my reasoning. He put the steaks on the grill and went upstairs to change. I headed upstairs and sat on the bed and hugged him and assured him that he's doing a good job, and let him know that I would stand behind his decisions dealing with the JV kids. Good thing my parents were over an hour late getting to our house (Scott was napping at their house and they didn't want to wake him).
We had an awesome meal. Afterwards we played cards till after 4pm. I won, yay me!
[eating "real" food]
Scott experienced rice cereal last night. At first, he was a bit unsure of what to do although he knows to put the spoon in his mouth. It didn’t take long before he was eating well and actually attacking the spoon with his mouth. It’s hard to explain but he’ll attack and gnaw on fingers, noses, nini’s, whatever you put in his face. When he had a free hand, he’d grab the spoon and put it right to his mouth. It was fun for us to watch. Of course, I tried to be a good mom and got out the camera and camcorder.
[feeling yucky]
Worked out this morning. Didn't eat anything first. And I wasn't feeling good while we worked out. Showered and stopped at mom's to feed Scott. She fixed me scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese that I scarfed down quickly before going to work. As I was getting out of my car, I broke my eye glasses which I started using again while I'm on the computer. Not sure how I'll make it through the day without them. My eyes are already blurry and my stomach still feels yucky.
[what do nails and juice have in common?]
Oh and one more highlight from the weekend. We ate supper in the living room last night. Later, Ryan headed upstairs to put Scott to bed and I headed for the kitchen to do the dishes. I cleaned those up real quick, refilled my glass, grabbed some ice-cream and went back to the living room. Ryan came downstairs and noticed my re-filled glass:
Ryan: is that the same one as earlier?
Me: Duh, of course it is?
Ryan: Did you dump the nails out of it first.
Me: Umm no (as I look at the bottom of my now half-emtpy glass)
We laughed and laughed. Ryan had trimmed his fingernails and put the trimmings in my empty cup. I didn’t pay any attention to the cup, refilled it and drank half the glass. It was so gross yet so entertaining. Ah, the joys of marriage!
26 January 2006
good day
[smiling]
My day has been good. My honey was off at noon today so he picked up our son and came down for lunch. We met at the Keystone for lunch where I was able to feed my wild child. Ryan asked if I liked my plant from Scott. Okay, let me just say it was stupid moment #2 for today. I noticed the plant sitting there against the wall, wrapped in plastic (you have to do that in the midwest or the cold temperatures will kill it before you get it home) and thought nothing of it. Now, I should have known that no one would set out a decorative plant and leave it in the plastic but I didn't. So, I opened the plastic and reached for the card. It says "We love you. You are the best mom and the best wife. Love, Scott and Ryan". My guys gave me an awesome looking peace lilly to put in my office. My Ryan is so thoughtful sometimes!
[long lunch]
We had a nice lunch at the Keystone. I can't believe how fast the time went. Asked Ryan to bring Scott by the office so I could show him off. Spent a considerable amount of time showing my kid to the staff in the building. He's such a ham!
[Dr. appt]
Scott had his 6 month shots on Tuesday. It was entertaining. He was all smiles and flirting with the nurses before hand. They gave the shots, Scott cried for 20 seconds or so and snuggled right up to me. As I held him, he looked right over my shoulder at the ladies and gave them plenty of dirty looks. If I could read his mind, I'd bet he was thinking "and I trusted you!" Scott measured in at 27" (which means he gets to move into his new carseat) and weighed 18lbs, 3.5 oz. My child is growing so big and his hair is really starting to grow in now. Ah, parenting is such a blessing
My day has been good. My honey was off at noon today so he picked up our son and came down for lunch. We met at the Keystone for lunch where I was able to feed my wild child. Ryan asked if I liked my plant from Scott. Okay, let me just say it was stupid moment #2 for today. I noticed the plant sitting there against the wall, wrapped in plastic (you have to do that in the midwest or the cold temperatures will kill it before you get it home) and thought nothing of it. Now, I should have known that no one would set out a decorative plant and leave it in the plastic but I didn't. So, I opened the plastic and reached for the card. It says "We love you. You are the best mom and the best wife. Love, Scott and Ryan". My guys gave me an awesome looking peace lilly to put in my office. My Ryan is so thoughtful sometimes!
[long lunch]
We had a nice lunch at the Keystone. I can't believe how fast the time went. Asked Ryan to bring Scott by the office so I could show him off. Spent a considerable amount of time showing my kid to the staff in the building. He's such a ham!
[Dr. appt]
Scott had his 6 month shots on Tuesday. It was entertaining. He was all smiles and flirting with the nurses before hand. They gave the shots, Scott cried for 20 seconds or so and snuggled right up to me. As I held him, he looked right over my shoulder at the ladies and gave them plenty of dirty looks. If I could read his mind, I'd bet he was thinking "and I trusted you!" Scott measured in at 27" (which means he gets to move into his new carseat) and weighed 18lbs, 3.5 oz. My child is growing so big and his hair is really starting to grow in now. Ah, parenting is such a blessing
25 January 2006
Thoughts taken from emails to friends today
[confession of the day]
I so didn't give much effort this morning when I was working out. I started out with squats and that was bothering my hip. I worked my calves and then went to lunges. I despise lunges and today I had a sharp pain in my left thigh. I thought I just needed to stretch so I did that and the pain was still there. So, I did a few other things and left. My thighs aren't even sore now and I walk fine except my hip is still bothering me. I'm so not going to improve if I don't push myself.
[mary kay]
Talked to my sister last night about Mary Kay (click here to buy from her since she has a deal for the next 3 days and help me discount a purchase of some lip stick, lip balm, etc). She did a quick interview thingy with me. All my answers pointed to staying at home and having some side income... MK. But, the final question she asked was if she could teach me how to provide for my wants/needs via MK, would I be interested in selling. I said "NO" because although I'd like to stay home and make the same income, I NEED my benefits. She replied "you can make enough to pay your benefits" to which I said "but there's something to be said for a consistent income". And doing the math, beauty consultants make a 50% profit. If I made a $24,000 salary (easy math), I'd have to sale $48k of product each year which is $4k per month which is A LOT of stuff and that doesn't include my benefits.
I so didn't give much effort this morning when I was working out. I started out with squats and that was bothering my hip. I worked my calves and then went to lunges. I despise lunges and today I had a sharp pain in my left thigh. I thought I just needed to stretch so I did that and the pain was still there. So, I did a few other things and left. My thighs aren't even sore now and I walk fine except my hip is still bothering me. I'm so not going to improve if I don't push myself.
[mary kay]
Talked to my sister last night about Mary Kay (click here to buy from her since she has a deal for the next 3 days and help me discount a purchase of some lip stick, lip balm, etc). She did a quick interview thingy with me. All my answers pointed to staying at home and having some side income... MK. But, the final question she asked was if she could teach me how to provide for my wants/needs via MK, would I be interested in selling. I said "NO" because although I'd like to stay home and make the same income, I NEED my benefits. She replied "you can make enough to pay your benefits" to which I said "but there's something to be said for a consistent income". And doing the math, beauty consultants make a 50% profit. If I made a $24,000 salary (easy math), I'd have to sale $48k of product each year which is $4k per month which is A LOT of stuff and that doesn't include my benefits.
24 January 2006
Halelujah
[halelujah]
Scott slept through the night last night. He's been up a lot and cries until I feed him. I'm thinking that its a growth spurt but it has lasted for over 2 weeks now. He has been eating constantly though. But last night Ryan put him down close to 10pm and slept till 4am when he fussed some and put himself right back to sleep. I got out of bed and took 2 steps before turning around and getting back in bed. When the alarm went off at 5am, I felt so refreshed. It was so nice to get a full night of sleep.
[my oh, so attractive honey]
Sunday morning Ryan trimmed his goatee really short. I'd been nagging him for a while (which means he won't shave it to spite me). But Scott had been tugging on it for a while too. Finally it's trimmed and he looks so good. And the oh, so attractive continues... this morning Ryan got up and I thought he was in the shower. It wasn't too long before I could hear that he was downstairs on the treadmill. I got up to jump in the shower and my studly husband was running/walking on the treadmill. After my shower, we crossed paths in the kitchen and he looked great after working out but I wouldn't let him near me since he was all sweaty.
[more good looks]
here's my power trip for the day. I got up this morning and actually made the time to get myself ready. I've had the habit in the last 6 months to go to work with my "naturally nasty" hair dripping wet and no make-up. This morning, I did my hair, put on make-up and wore a cute outfit. I saw myself in the mirror and instantly felt better about myself because I look good today. Yay for me.
Scott slept through the night last night. He's been up a lot and cries until I feed him. I'm thinking that its a growth spurt but it has lasted for over 2 weeks now. He has been eating constantly though. But last night Ryan put him down close to 10pm and slept till 4am when he fussed some and put himself right back to sleep. I got out of bed and took 2 steps before turning around and getting back in bed. When the alarm went off at 5am, I felt so refreshed. It was so nice to get a full night of sleep.
[my oh, so attractive honey]
Sunday morning Ryan trimmed his goatee really short. I'd been nagging him for a while (which means he won't shave it to spite me). But Scott had been tugging on it for a while too. Finally it's trimmed and he looks so good. And the oh, so attractive continues... this morning Ryan got up and I thought he was in the shower. It wasn't too long before I could hear that he was downstairs on the treadmill. I got up to jump in the shower and my studly husband was running/walking on the treadmill. After my shower, we crossed paths in the kitchen and he looked great after working out but I wouldn't let him near me since he was all sweaty.
[more good looks]
here's my power trip for the day. I got up this morning and actually made the time to get myself ready. I've had the habit in the last 6 months to go to work with my "naturally nasty" hair dripping wet and no make-up. This morning, I did my hair, put on make-up and wore a cute outfit. I saw myself in the mirror and instantly felt better about myself because I look good today. Yay for me.
19 January 2006
Joy and Strength
[working out]
I worked out again yesterday. My arms are definitely sore but not as bad as my legs were. I can walk fairly normal today (only took 3 days). And although I'm sore, it feels so good to work out. I miss doing that. I remember when I used to be so active - running, riding bikes, playing sports. I'm eager to get some cardio exercise on the days I don't work out.
[narnia]
Such a good movie. And so easy to see the Christian influence in it. I'd reccomend it to anyone who likes to watch movies. It was a fun night out with my honey. We grabbed sandwiches at Subway and headed to the Royers. I ate half my sandwich, gave the other half to Ryan Royer and headed upstairs to deal with Scott's food supply. Got home a bit late and was up early to go work out. Thanks to mom and ralph for keeping Scott over night.
[thursday]
TGITh! I love when weekends come so quickly. I was off one day this week and in a meeting yesterday. That doesn't leave me at my desk too much which has been great.
[glasses]
It has been over a year since I've worn my reading glasses. My eyes actually bothered me more when I wore them (this was right after getting a new Rx that I thought was too strong). But, the past two weeks my eyes have bothered me again. So this morning, I dusted off my glasses and put them on. I guess I'll have to blame it on my fibromyalgia. Your eyes can change alot with it and my eyesight has definitely been affected. Being pregnant, I never had to deal with fibro issues which was such a blessing. Now, they may be back. Grr. All the more reason to work out and keep healthy.
[prayer]
I've heard of several sudden deaths recently. And earlier this week, a co-worker/boss had a mild heart attack. Death is so close. It could be tomorrow, it could be next year. It could be 5 minutes from now. Do you know where you'll spend eternity? You have two options - heaven or hell. You choose.
I worked out again yesterday. My arms are definitely sore but not as bad as my legs were. I can walk fairly normal today (only took 3 days). And although I'm sore, it feels so good to work out. I miss doing that. I remember when I used to be so active - running, riding bikes, playing sports. I'm eager to get some cardio exercise on the days I don't work out.
[narnia]
Such a good movie. And so easy to see the Christian influence in it. I'd reccomend it to anyone who likes to watch movies. It was a fun night out with my honey. We grabbed sandwiches at Subway and headed to the Royers. I ate half my sandwich, gave the other half to Ryan Royer and headed upstairs to deal with Scott's food supply. Got home a bit late and was up early to go work out. Thanks to mom and ralph for keeping Scott over night.
[thursday]
TGITh! I love when weekends come so quickly. I was off one day this week and in a meeting yesterday. That doesn't leave me at my desk too much which has been great.
[glasses]
It has been over a year since I've worn my reading glasses. My eyes actually bothered me more when I wore them (this was right after getting a new Rx that I thought was too strong). But, the past two weeks my eyes have bothered me again. So this morning, I dusted off my glasses and put them on. I guess I'll have to blame it on my fibromyalgia. Your eyes can change alot with it and my eyesight has definitely been affected. Being pregnant, I never had to deal with fibro issues which was such a blessing. Now, they may be back. Grr. All the more reason to work out and keep healthy.
[prayer]
I've heard of several sudden deaths recently. And earlier this week, a co-worker/boss had a mild heart attack. Death is so close. It could be tomorrow, it could be next year. It could be 5 minutes from now. Do you know where you'll spend eternity? You have two options - heaven or hell. You choose.
17 January 2006
3 day weekend
[awesome Ryan]
I do have a studly husband who did work on my doors Thursday night. He got one storm door on and it looks great. I’m almost going to miss the old screen door that had the screen tore out of the corner and the cats would perch there and look through the window at us. Saturday after Ryan got home from work, he put the other door on. Yay for my wonderful hubby.
[love/hate for Michelle]
The guys have been working out for quite some time now. I’ve been a bit jealous since I’d like to work out but don’t seem to have the time. I even tried making a deal with myself by telling myself that I could go tan each time I worked out. That never worked. The girls started working out too but it was mid-day and that doesn’t work with my schedule. Still jealous that they were getting to work out and getting that bonding time AND they weren’t working full time jobs. More recently the girls started working out from 6 to 7am. I decided that after the holidays I would join them. Then Scott wasn’t sleeping so I waited till he got his schedule back. Yesterday I worked out with the girls! I’m thankful that the Jensen’s are willing to open their basement for us to work out in. I’m thankful to Michelle being our personal training for free. I love both of those girls and I so appreciate their friendship. But, that Michelle really worked me over yesterday. Crunches, squats, leg lifts, throw downs and whatever else. My legs were shaking no doubt but it was the lunges that killed me. All day yesterday my thighs hurt. Today my legs still hurt and I can hardly walk. I’m sore but I’m ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll do arms and rest my poor little legs.
[lazy sunday afternoon]
We ended up with a house full. Ryan had 3 guys over to play xbox. I had three of the teenie-boppers over to play with Scott. We made taco salad for lunch, did a few dishes and watched a girly movie upstairs.
[MLK Jr. Day]
What change came from the efforts of one man’s determination and convictions. How often do I stand up for what I believe. There was a man in my office today that was using the GD phrase. And I was offended by it. The second time he said it, I thought about confronting him “next time” but he didn’t say it again.
[babysitter and cook]
I so appreciated my day off yesterday. At noon, Sona came and picked up Scott. My goal was to get my room clean. I did that, talked to Dad on the phone for a while, then showered and went to Walmart to pick up a diapers and sweatshirts for Scott. I came home with the whole store. Ryan and I were meeting in Postville to pick up Scott and then for Mexican food. Sona called and had meatloaf in the oven and corn. I love Sona’s home grown/frozen corn. Not only did she keep my kid all afternoon but she fed me supper too.
[christmas tree]
My Christmas tree is still up. I know it needs to come down but I'm lazy and didn't get much accomplished all weekend. Any one else still have their decorations up?
I do have a studly husband who did work on my doors Thursday night. He got one storm door on and it looks great. I’m almost going to miss the old screen door that had the screen tore out of the corner and the cats would perch there and look through the window at us. Saturday after Ryan got home from work, he put the other door on. Yay for my wonderful hubby.
[love/hate for Michelle]
The guys have been working out for quite some time now. I’ve been a bit jealous since I’d like to work out but don’t seem to have the time. I even tried making a deal with myself by telling myself that I could go tan each time I worked out. That never worked. The girls started working out too but it was mid-day and that doesn’t work with my schedule. Still jealous that they were getting to work out and getting that bonding time AND they weren’t working full time jobs. More recently the girls started working out from 6 to 7am. I decided that after the holidays I would join them. Then Scott wasn’t sleeping so I waited till he got his schedule back. Yesterday I worked out with the girls! I’m thankful that the Jensen’s are willing to open their basement for us to work out in. I’m thankful to Michelle being our personal training for free. I love both of those girls and I so appreciate their friendship. But, that Michelle really worked me over yesterday. Crunches, squats, leg lifts, throw downs and whatever else. My legs were shaking no doubt but it was the lunges that killed me. All day yesterday my thighs hurt. Today my legs still hurt and I can hardly walk. I’m sore but I’m ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll do arms and rest my poor little legs.
[lazy sunday afternoon]
We ended up with a house full. Ryan had 3 guys over to play xbox. I had three of the teenie-boppers over to play with Scott. We made taco salad for lunch, did a few dishes and watched a girly movie upstairs.
[MLK Jr. Day]
What change came from the efforts of one man’s determination and convictions. How often do I stand up for what I believe. There was a man in my office today that was using the GD phrase. And I was offended by it. The second time he said it, I thought about confronting him “next time” but he didn’t say it again.
[babysitter and cook]
I so appreciated my day off yesterday. At noon, Sona came and picked up Scott. My goal was to get my room clean. I did that, talked to Dad on the phone for a while, then showered and went to Walmart to pick up a diapers and sweatshirts for Scott. I came home with the whole store. Ryan and I were meeting in Postville to pick up Scott and then for Mexican food. Sona called and had meatloaf in the oven and corn. I love Sona’s home grown/frozen corn. Not only did she keep my kid all afternoon but she fed me supper too.
[christmas tree]
My Christmas tree is still up. I know it needs to come down but I'm lazy and didn't get much accomplished all weekend. Any one else still have their decorations up?
12 January 2006
a beautiful day in my neighborhood
[bloodshot]
Scott is finally sleeping, praise God. I think it was night #5 or 6 that we got a decent sleep. My eyes are still bloodshot and I continue to try to catch up on my sleep. I was asleep by 930pm and woke up at 630am feeling like I needed another two hours of sleep.
[narnia dissapointment]
Last Saturday Ryan and I went on a date. It didn't go as planned but we had a good time. We planned to leave by 10am in time to get to Waterloo, grab some lunch and catch the matinee for Narnia. After Scott decided he wouldn't eat, I had to pump quick at mom's (thanks to m&r for keeping Scott) before we could head out. We left by 11 and arrived in at the theater in W'loo to find it under construction. We then headed next door to the mall where I went into Hallmark and found out where the nearest mall was. We drove 10 miles or so to Cedar Falls and found the theater. Ryan saw that Narnia played at 415pm but I wanted to catch the 1pm. Unfortunately it was already 115pm and we were too late. A bit frustrated we head to Texas Roadhouse for a nice steak lunch. While there I asked Ryan if he would be offended if we didn't go to the movie. He said "no, but I'll be dissapointed". I thought we better go but my organized little mind was working and I knew that a 4pm movie would get us out of the theater by 7pm, then we'd have to go to Menards and pick up our doors (the reason for going all the way to W'loo) which would take maybe an hour, then drive the 80 minutes to pick up Scott before getting home. That would put us home at 10pm and my kid is in desperate need of a schedule! Ryan suggested that mom could keep him over night, which they would, but I couldn't ask them to keep Scott knowing he wasn't sleeping worth beans. So, I dissapointed my honey and didn't see Narnia. Instead we piddled around Cedar Falls/W'loo at the mall, a camera store, Walmart, Menards and Target.
[new doors]
We finally have my new storm doors (my Christmas presents from G&G B and from Ryan). Now, if only we can get them up this weekend. Shoot, its beautiful weather out, maybe Ryan will work on them today when he gets home after lunch. *I wish, I wish, I wish*
[last night]
It was my first night back helping out with our JV youth group. Last night was the Christmas party that got pushed back caused by bad weather. It was fun to be with my kids again and add Scott to the whole mix. Because it was such a relaxed setting, Scott got passed around with several JVers and Ben (one of our college buddies that helps). Kyle (7th grade) was so cute when he snuggled Scott right up to his chest and patted him for a while. Ben stole him away and we got a cute picture of Scott wearing Ben's massive non-ISU hat. One kid still drives me crazy! He was one of the reasons I didn't help last semester and I know that I need to start praying for my attitude towards him.
[tonight, tonight]
I'm way excited for my bible study group tonight. It's been too long since I've seen my buddies. We're using tonight to plan for our 40 days of purpose adventure. I'm excited for the challenge to invite some folks to join us and I'm committing to praying for them and hoping they'll come.
[challenge]
I commented to a buddy about how her kids need to see her living out her faith 7 days/week. What a challenge to myself. I know my kid is young but he too needs to see that. I'm determined to do that, not so much for Scott but because I just need to do so. I was reading the bible in a year and got lazy at the end of my pregnancy. I need that committment back, that fire and desire.
[beautfiul day]
It's been beautiful out. Yesterday was supposed to get up to 45 degrees. I took a walk with one of my producers to check out his prescribed grazing plan that I wrote. It also happens that I love his family and used to go to church with them pre-marriage. The wind was cold and my ears ached for a few hours after we got in but it was so nice outside. Today looks to be much of the same. okay, enough from me for today. i love to write but it does get lengthy.
Scott is finally sleeping, praise God. I think it was night #5 or 6 that we got a decent sleep. My eyes are still bloodshot and I continue to try to catch up on my sleep. I was asleep by 930pm and woke up at 630am feeling like I needed another two hours of sleep.
[narnia dissapointment]
Last Saturday Ryan and I went on a date. It didn't go as planned but we had a good time. We planned to leave by 10am in time to get to Waterloo, grab some lunch and catch the matinee for Narnia. After Scott decided he wouldn't eat, I had to pump quick at mom's (thanks to m&r for keeping Scott) before we could head out. We left by 11 and arrived in at the theater in W'loo to find it under construction. We then headed next door to the mall where I went into Hallmark and found out where the nearest mall was. We drove 10 miles or so to Cedar Falls and found the theater. Ryan saw that Narnia played at 415pm but I wanted to catch the 1pm. Unfortunately it was already 115pm and we were too late. A bit frustrated we head to Texas Roadhouse for a nice steak lunch. While there I asked Ryan if he would be offended if we didn't go to the movie. He said "no, but I'll be dissapointed". I thought we better go but my organized little mind was working and I knew that a 4pm movie would get us out of the theater by 7pm, then we'd have to go to Menards and pick up our doors (the reason for going all the way to W'loo) which would take maybe an hour, then drive the 80 minutes to pick up Scott before getting home. That would put us home at 10pm and my kid is in desperate need of a schedule! Ryan suggested that mom could keep him over night, which they would, but I couldn't ask them to keep Scott knowing he wasn't sleeping worth beans. So, I dissapointed my honey and didn't see Narnia. Instead we piddled around Cedar Falls/W'loo at the mall, a camera store, Walmart, Menards and Target.
[new doors]
We finally have my new storm doors (my Christmas presents from G&G B and from Ryan). Now, if only we can get them up this weekend. Shoot, its beautiful weather out, maybe Ryan will work on them today when he gets home after lunch. *I wish, I wish, I wish*
[last night]
It was my first night back helping out with our JV youth group. Last night was the Christmas party that got pushed back caused by bad weather. It was fun to be with my kids again and add Scott to the whole mix. Because it was such a relaxed setting, Scott got passed around with several JVers and Ben (one of our college buddies that helps). Kyle (7th grade) was so cute when he snuggled Scott right up to his chest and patted him for a while. Ben stole him away and we got a cute picture of Scott wearing Ben's massive non-ISU hat. One kid still drives me crazy! He was one of the reasons I didn't help last semester and I know that I need to start praying for my attitude towards him.
[tonight, tonight]
I'm way excited for my bible study group tonight. It's been too long since I've seen my buddies. We're using tonight to plan for our 40 days of purpose adventure. I'm excited for the challenge to invite some folks to join us and I'm committing to praying for them and hoping they'll come.
[challenge]
I commented to a buddy about how her kids need to see her living out her faith 7 days/week. What a challenge to myself. I know my kid is young but he too needs to see that. I'm determined to do that, not so much for Scott but because I just need to do so. I was reading the bible in a year and got lazy at the end of my pregnancy. I need that committment back, that fire and desire.
[beautfiul day]
It's been beautiful out. Yesterday was supposed to get up to 45 degrees. I took a walk with one of my producers to check out his prescribed grazing plan that I wrote. It also happens that I love his family and used to go to church with them pre-marriage. The wind was cold and my ears ached for a few hours after we got in but it was so nice outside. Today looks to be much of the same. okay, enough from me for today. i love to write but it does get lengthy.
09 January 2006
NEED SLEEP
My kid has decided that he doesn't want to sleep at night anymore. Not a huge surprise since he didn't get his naps and was up till about 11pm most nights we were in CA. I had Ryan movie a single bed into Scott's room since Thursday and Friday were sleepless nights too. Here's a run down of our Saturday night:
9pm - watching a movie in bed. Scott was happy in his swing
1030 - movie is almost over. Scott gets fussy. He lays in bed with us. I feed him, he is HYPER.
11 - Take Scott to his room. Turn off the monitor so at least one of us can get sleep.
1130 ish - Scott falls asleep.
midnight - Scott is awake and crying. Has to have a pacifier in his mouth.
130 - Finally falls back asleep
330 - Scott is awake again
415 - I take him out of his crib, feed him and snuggle him in the not-so-comfy twin bed.
430 - Scott is asleep
530 - Scott is half asleep/awake and fussy
6 - Ryan gets up to go to the bathroom. I ask him to trade me places so I could sleep
6-9 - who knows what my kid did during that time. Too tired to remember what Ryan told me. I slept.
9 - Ryan wakes me like I asked him to do so we could get to church
901 - I'm out!
944 - I wake up, church starts at 930.
This is one of 4 nights lately. Last night was better but still not good. Ryan and I switched off. I went to bed at 8pm and Ryan dealt with him till midnight. Ryan went to bed and I dealt with Scott. At 4, I was able to put himself in bed and he eventually quit fussing and went to sleep. This was the first time he put himself to sleep in his own bed in the last 4 days. I'm hopeful that we're progressing. Schedules for babies are more important than I realized :)
9pm - watching a movie in bed. Scott was happy in his swing
1030 - movie is almost over. Scott gets fussy. He lays in bed with us. I feed him, he is HYPER.
11 - Take Scott to his room. Turn off the monitor so at least one of us can get sleep.
1130 ish - Scott falls asleep.
midnight - Scott is awake and crying. Has to have a pacifier in his mouth.
130 - Finally falls back asleep
330 - Scott is awake again
415 - I take him out of his crib, feed him and snuggle him in the not-so-comfy twin bed.
430 - Scott is asleep
530 - Scott is half asleep/awake and fussy
6 - Ryan gets up to go to the bathroom. I ask him to trade me places so I could sleep
6-9 - who knows what my kid did during that time. Too tired to remember what Ryan told me. I slept.
9 - Ryan wakes me like I asked him to do so we could get to church
901 - I'm out!
944 - I wake up, church starts at 930.
This is one of 4 nights lately. Last night was better but still not good. Ryan and I switched off. I went to bed at 8pm and Ryan dealt with him till midnight. Ryan went to bed and I dealt with Scott. At 4, I was able to put himself in bed and he eventually quit fussing and went to sleep. This was the first time he put himself to sleep in his own bed in the last 4 days. I'm hopeful that we're progressing. Schedules for babies are more important than I realized :)
06 January 2006
Going Home
Thursday the 5th
Up at 4am, at the airport by 530ish, our flight left at 7am. We landed in Des Moines at 340pm, headed back to the hotel for the Tahoe and started home. After a quick stop in Waterloo, I walked in the door at 830 and FINALLY got to see my Ryan. He was amazed at how Scott grew and changed in just 8 days (our son now has chubby cheeks, shakes his head “no” and makes more defined noises). I’m so glad to be home.
Up at 4am, at the airport by 530ish, our flight left at 7am. We landed in Des Moines at 340pm, headed back to the hotel for the Tahoe and started home. After a quick stop in Waterloo, I walked in the door at 830 and FINALLY got to see my Ryan. He was amazed at how Scott grew and changed in just 8 days (our son now has chubby cheeks, shakes his head “no” and makes more defined noises). I’m so glad to be home.
My girls
Wednesday the 4th
By now I’ve called my husband a million times to let him know that I miss him and to let him talk to Scott. This morning we got an earlier start to the morning. I though I’d have time to have breakfast with my Nanny but that didn’t happen after all. I met Nicole and surprised Paul at Starbucks. We saw several people while I was there and it was good to catch up with everyone again. It was fun to surprise Paul again, the same as I did 4 months ago. He played with Scott until we had to leave. Since my kid was having fun checking out his surroundings, he wouldn’t eat. I stopped at the house to pump, bottled it and headed for Fresno. I finally got to see my girls, together, at the same time. It was so good. We met for lunch at Red Robin and updated each other on our lives. Katie had to run back to work so Cori and I went on our way. We stopped at several places for some minor shopping. It was so good to see her again, it had been too long. I left Fresno before 3 and went to Dad’s house to hang out. Scott finally took a real nap!!!! That night I stayed home to pack. My cousin, Lynn, came by with her girls. We played with Scott and visited before they headed home. I finished packing, showered and hit the sack.
[grandma martinez is still in the hospital. She still has a blockage and now has an infection they think is all related. They’ve changed her antibiotic for that. Please keep praying for her.]
By now I’ve called my husband a million times to let him know that I miss him and to let him talk to Scott. This morning we got an earlier start to the morning. I though I’d have time to have breakfast with my Nanny but that didn’t happen after all. I met Nicole and surprised Paul at Starbucks. We saw several people while I was there and it was good to catch up with everyone again. It was fun to surprise Paul again, the same as I did 4 months ago. He played with Scott until we had to leave. Since my kid was having fun checking out his surroundings, he wouldn’t eat. I stopped at the house to pump, bottled it and headed for Fresno. I finally got to see my girls, together, at the same time. It was so good. We met for lunch at Red Robin and updated each other on our lives. Katie had to run back to work so Cori and I went on our way. We stopped at several places for some minor shopping. It was so good to see her again, it had been too long. I left Fresno before 3 and went to Dad’s house to hang out. Scott finally took a real nap!!!! That night I stayed home to pack. My cousin, Lynn, came by with her girls. We played with Scott and visited before they headed home. I finished packing, showered and hit the sack.
[grandma martinez is still in the hospital. She still has a blockage and now has an infection they think is all related. They’ve changed her antibiotic for that. Please keep praying for her.]
Lots of Visiting
Tuesday the 3rd
Scott and I visited a lot of people. We saw Judy and Tom Woods and visited for a while. Jake (my baseball buddy) and Michelle Woods stopped in to hang out and meet Scott. While there I got to see a family drama which made me feel at home – it was quite entertaining for almost everyone. As I was leaving Michelle shared a fun story about “seeing” me in Iowa before. She flew out to visit Jake and was in the car waiting for him after the game. He walked out of the locker room and hugged me and greeted my friends. Michelle was in the car upset thinking I was Jake’s girlfriend and I had my family with me. She wandered why he invited her out if he had a girlfriend. Poor thing, I can so imagine how my thoughts would continue the longer I sat in the car. Fortunately Jake was able to straighten things out and she’s not worried about Jake hugging me anymore.
I left the Woods’ house to visit my childhood friend, Becky. We took our little boys and went to lunch. As soon as we walked in the waitress asked if we were sisters. All through high school people thought we were sisters. I guess we look the same if we’re still getting asked. We had a good visit, compared child rearing stories and ate some taquitos. Back at the ranch, we took a few pictures and I got to see her dad for a few minutes. From the ranch I went to see the Fagundes’ family. We had a good visit catching up while my son was hyper, making lots of noise and moving all around. I left there and stopped by Truda and Ivo’s. Truda and I did some mission work together when I was in high school. My parents were out there for supper and I stopped by long enough to feed my son, chat for two minutes, give hugs and leave again.
I got to Tebbe’s a few minutes late but in perfect time for Tri-tip, green beans, cheesy potatoes and bread. The Johnston’s (Kristine, Andy & their 3 month old Drew along with John, Kristal & their 4 month old Luke), and I all ate supper together. Mom and Ralph stopped by to give me back my son and say hi to all the J’s. The rest of the night we hung out on the couch while the guys played video games and played with babies. We took a few pictures and chatted until we were all about to fall asleep.
Scott and I visited a lot of people. We saw Judy and Tom Woods and visited for a while. Jake (my baseball buddy) and Michelle Woods stopped in to hang out and meet Scott. While there I got to see a family drama which made me feel at home – it was quite entertaining for almost everyone. As I was leaving Michelle shared a fun story about “seeing” me in Iowa before. She flew out to visit Jake and was in the car waiting for him after the game. He walked out of the locker room and hugged me and greeted my friends. Michelle was in the car upset thinking I was Jake’s girlfriend and I had my family with me. She wandered why he invited her out if he had a girlfriend. Poor thing, I can so imagine how my thoughts would continue the longer I sat in the car. Fortunately Jake was able to straighten things out and she’s not worried about Jake hugging me anymore.
I left the Woods’ house to visit my childhood friend, Becky. We took our little boys and went to lunch. As soon as we walked in the waitress asked if we were sisters. All through high school people thought we were sisters. I guess we look the same if we’re still getting asked. We had a good visit, compared child rearing stories and ate some taquitos. Back at the ranch, we took a few pictures and I got to see her dad for a few minutes. From the ranch I went to see the Fagundes’ family. We had a good visit catching up while my son was hyper, making lots of noise and moving all around. I left there and stopped by Truda and Ivo’s. Truda and I did some mission work together when I was in high school. My parents were out there for supper and I stopped by long enough to feed my son, chat for two minutes, give hugs and leave again.
I got to Tebbe’s a few minutes late but in perfect time for Tri-tip, green beans, cheesy potatoes and bread. The Johnston’s (Kristine, Andy & their 3 month old Drew along with John, Kristal & their 4 month old Luke), and I all ate supper together. Mom and Ralph stopped by to give me back my son and say hi to all the J’s. The rest of the night we hung out on the couch while the guys played video games and played with babies. We took a few pictures and chatted until we were all about to fall asleep.
My new nephews & the Whitakers
Monday the 2nd
I like to plan ahead and I did a decent job of doing so. I wrote things down on my calendar with phone numbers, times, etc. This day we were going to hang out with some family friends, the Whitakers. Only when I called the night before to arrange a time with Helen, her cell phone was turned off. The next morning I tried again with no luck. So, we (Dad, DJ’s new step-sons, Scott and I) hung out at the house. I tried to get their number out o the phone book, off the internet and had no luck. Finally Helen called Dad’s. After DJ came to get the boys, we headed to Sanger to visit our friends. We had a good time catching up and seeing the kids all grown up. I did good at harassing the oldest son, Will, for piercing his ears. We left there and went home to have beef quesadillas. Nicole came over shortly after we got home and so did Jen and the kids. We all visited for a while until Jen went home. Then Nicole and I chatted for a bit before she left. Once again I went to bed way too late and my child didn’t get the naps he so desperately needed.
[grandma martinez finally went to the doctor. Her sugar dropped to 30, she was throwing up, etc. Sugar below 30 is apparently a coma. So far we know that she has an obstructed bowel and her white blood count is super low which means her immune system isn’t working. Please be praying for my grandma, that she can bounce back, pass her blockage and go home. Thanks]
I like to plan ahead and I did a decent job of doing so. I wrote things down on my calendar with phone numbers, times, etc. This day we were going to hang out with some family friends, the Whitakers. Only when I called the night before to arrange a time with Helen, her cell phone was turned off. The next morning I tried again with no luck. So, we (Dad, DJ’s new step-sons, Scott and I) hung out at the house. I tried to get their number out o the phone book, off the internet and had no luck. Finally Helen called Dad’s. After DJ came to get the boys, we headed to Sanger to visit our friends. We had a good time catching up and seeing the kids all grown up. I did good at harassing the oldest son, Will, for piercing his ears. We left there and went home to have beef quesadillas. Nicole came over shortly after we got home and so did Jen and the kids. We all visited for a while until Jen went home. Then Nicole and I chatted for a bit before she left. Once again I went to bed way too late and my child didn’t get the naps he so desperately needed.
[grandma martinez finally went to the doctor. Her sugar dropped to 30, she was throwing up, etc. Sugar below 30 is apparently a coma. So far we know that she has an obstructed bowel and her white blood count is super low which means her immune system isn’t working. Please be praying for my grandma, that she can bounce back, pass her blockage and go home. Thanks]
New Year’s Day – Wedding Day
Let me just sum it up by saying “DRAMA”. I started my day by arriving 10 minutes late to church. Didn’t get to visit with all my church buddies afterwards but did chat with the Johnston’s. The wedding didn’t go as planned but they’re married. They looked awesome together and they love each other. We took some fun pictures which I’ll add in later.
New Year’s Eve
It was a girl’s day out while Dad and Ralph went to Jeff’s to watch the Bulldogs lose their bowl game. Us girls (Nanny, Aunt Ugly, Mom, Jen and I) plus Scott went to Fresno. We had lunch at the Elephant Bar at River Park. While there, I saw an old school friend, Stephanie (Jacobson). After lunch we headed to Babies R Us and I did a little shopping with Scott and visited with Stephanie some more (she went there too). We piddled around there and I ran into Old Navy quick for the clearance sales for Scott. We left there and had quite the adventure to DJ’s. It was fun (a bunch of women in the car giving their opinion). I still think my way would have been faster, in fact, I know it would have been. Some time later and lots of u-turns, we finally made it to DJ and Sarah’s. Sarah wasn’t home and so we visited with DJ for a few minutes (I mostly just fed and changed Scott) before heading home.
That evening I picked my Grandma Martinez up and we (Dad, Jen and the kids, Gma, Scott and I) all went to Los Pepes for dinner. Grandma was not feeling well; she’s diabetic and was having some blood sugar issues. Dinner was good, the kids were fun, but Grandma didn’t seem to be doing well. We left dinner, dropped of Gma and headed to Stan and Lori’s (mom’s buddies). They wanted to meet Scott and had a gift for him. We visited with everyone for a while and left around 10pm (way past my “tired” time). Was in bed by 11pm and not concerned with bringing in the New Year. I figured it would come whether I stayed up or not.
That evening I picked my Grandma Martinez up and we (Dad, Jen and the kids, Gma, Scott and I) all went to Los Pepes for dinner. Grandma was not feeling well; she’s diabetic and was having some blood sugar issues. Dinner was good, the kids were fun, but Grandma didn’t seem to be doing well. We left dinner, dropped of Gma and headed to Stan and Lori’s (mom’s buddies). They wanted to meet Scott and had a gift for him. We visited with everyone for a while and left around 10pm (way past my “tired” time). Was in bed by 11pm and not concerned with bringing in the New Year. I figured it would come whether I stayed up or not.
Dad & ADX alum
Friday the 30th
During the day, I hung out with my dad and my sister during the day. That evening, a bunch of us ADX alumnus did a potluck supper at Shane and Leanna’s house. Of course everyone who had families brought them. I was so glad to see all the girls again AND meet some new babies.
During the day, I hung out with my dad and my sister during the day. That evening, a bunch of us ADX alumnus did a potluck supper at Shane and Leanna’s house. Of course everyone who had families brought them. I was so glad to see all the girls again AND meet some new babies.
Vacation here I come
Wednesday the 28th
I worked a half day and then headed home. Had a quick bite to eat with my honey, finished packing and then hit the road for Des Moines. Stopped along the way to feed Scott and give him a fresh diaper. Of course, as we got back on the road, he filled it! By time we got to the hotel, he had a bit of a mess that leaked on his car seat and required some hand washing of clothes.
Thursday the 29th
We flew out of Des Moines at 6am and landed in Fresno around 130pm. Pretty uneventful. Visited with my Aunt Ugly (Janie) who met us at the airport and then shoved 5 million suitcases into a little car and headed to Dad’s. I was hungry so I shoved my face full with a beerock and fresh oranges. That night we (Ralph and mom, Jen and kids, Nanny, Scott and me, Aimee and Frank) all went to Jeff and Jill’s for supper. It was fun to hang out with everyone. I hadn’t seen my step sister, Aimee, for quite a while so it was great to see her and Frank. I was so tired but I had a good time.
I worked a half day and then headed home. Had a quick bite to eat with my honey, finished packing and then hit the road for Des Moines. Stopped along the way to feed Scott and give him a fresh diaper. Of course, as we got back on the road, he filled it! By time we got to the hotel, he had a bit of a mess that leaked on his car seat and required some hand washing of clothes.
Thursday the 29th
We flew out of Des Moines at 6am and landed in Fresno around 130pm. Pretty uneventful. Visited with my Aunt Ugly (Janie) who met us at the airport and then shoved 5 million suitcases into a little car and headed to Dad’s. I was hungry so I shoved my face full with a beerock and fresh oranges. That night we (Ralph and mom, Jen and kids, Nanny, Scott and me, Aimee and Frank) all went to Jeff and Jill’s for supper. It was fun to hang out with everyone. I hadn’t seen my step sister, Aimee, for quite a while so it was great to see her and Frank. I was so tired but I had a good time.
27 December 2005
Happy reindeer
Scott-R just finished eating and was one happy little reindeer. As he patiently waited to open his stocking, I was prepared for the spit-up with his puppy bib and blanket to cover his outfit. He loves the camera, can you tell?
Dedicating Scott
On Christmas Day, we had Scott dedicated at church. We stood in front of the church and committed to bringing Scott up according to the Word of God. And because we know that we'll fail in areas, we had our church committ to assisting us in raising our child to love and fear God.
Scott did great. He didn't cry, make random noises or puke on anything. He was mesmerized by the people and the lights. When Pastor Lee talked to Scott, our little guy looked right at him as if to be listening intently. When Pastor held him (his hands were shaking), Scott was perfect and just looked around. It was a proud parent day for us and it will be an ongoing challenge to raise him right and set a good example.
Scott just chillin' after church waiting to go home. He wore this cute little shorts outfit (yes, it is winter here). It was the same outfit Ryan got baptized in so it was special for Scott to be able to wear it too.
The In-laws
Eunice and Mark. He's a dentist and she's the assistant. Caring for teeth is so important!
Eric. Like I said before, caring for your teeth is a priority in the Buitenwerf family.
Okay, they really are normal. Ryan found the nasty teeth toys at Walmart and used them as stocking stuffers. Let me find a normal picture...
I must need to download the camera. This was the only normal picture I could find at the moment. Here's Uncle Eric spoiling his little nephew. The two were playing with Scott's new dinosaur toy and Scott was wrapped up in the new blanket his GramB made him.
Christmas at the Elgin B's
Christmas has come and gone and I’m not sure if I really got to enjoy the holidays. We were so busy and it happened so fast with so many people.
Here’s how it went, according to my opinion: let me remind you that Friday I realized I forgot to finish up a few gifts. As if I wasn’t already stressed enough, I left the office with a massive headache and plans to go to Living Stone then work on the gifts. I got home an hour before LS was to start. Ryan’s folks wanted to order pizza which meant that Ryan didn’t let them know he wanted to go to LS (or he didn’t tell me that he wanted to stay home). Since I had a major headache and I was hungry AND I had gifts to work on, I agreed to stay home too. Thanks to Eunice, I didn’t have a mess to pick up at home – she was great at cleaning and folding laundry for me. It was probably a good thing.
Saturday was Christmas Eve and Ryan had to work till noon. I picked up around the house, finished my gifts, fed my child and CLEANED Scott’s room. I finished his closet cleaning project that I started the weekend before. Soon after I showered, family began arriving. G&G B came up early after all because of the weather. So we had a house full – my folks, Ryan’s folks, Eric and G&G B. Our plans for the day had to change a bit so we did what we could. Ryan and I fixed supper for everyone. We had salmon, salad and acorn squash. Mom brought a dessert salad. It was good and we were stuffed. We rushed to open presents before church. Ryan and I felt like Hitler trying to hurry everyone along so we could get to church in time. Of course, with 9 people opening gifts, it was never going to happen. So we left for church and I enjoyed a good service once we got there. Scott was so good until the benediction at which time he decided to be extremely vocal. We went back to the house and finished opening gifts. We were done at 11pm and I was so tired (my kid still isn’t sleeping well). I visited for a bit and headed to bed.
Christmas morning came too early and we were awake at 515 with our little guy. I was so excited to have Christmas fall on a Sunday but again I think we rushed through the morning. Ryan and I left the house at 730 to walk dogs at the clinic and do some chores there. We met at mom & ralph’s house for breakfast at 8am. She’s so awesome, she made biscuits and gravy for all of us Buitenwerfs. We opened stockings at her house before heading to church. During church, we had Scott dedicated and he behaved wonderfully. He even watched Pastor Lee intently as Pastor spoke to him. He was so cute in his little outfit, the same outfit Ryan wore when he got baptized as an infant. After church we hoped to take some family pictures but the B’s rushed out and so we did our regular “after church” hang out time and visited with friends as Scott got passed from one person to another. Then we headed home for lunch with the family. Ryan smoked a turkey, Eunice made dressing and mom brought crescent rolls and broccoli salad.
That evening I finally relaxed. Absolutely exhausted from the past few days, I was curled up on the couch. Ryan pulled out his new x-box and started playing some racing game. It was quite the fun. Everyone (m&e, eric, ryan and I) was having a good time (finally the stress was gone, momentarily). We even got Eunice to race against Ryan. It was fun and I was the racing queen!!! Scott took a great nap that afternoon but woke up with a nasty head cold. So he was crying, coughing like a goose, crying some more, had a runny nose and cried some more. Poor little guy, every time he coughed, you could tell that his throat hurt as he winced in pain. You could imagine how our night went. No sleep for us or Scott. A crying baby who was stuffed up and couldn’t nurse well and could sleep and cried and cried and cried.
Monday morning Ryan got up with Scott at 730 and went downstairs. He got him to sleep, passed Scott off to m&e and went to the clinic for chores. I went back to sleep and woke up at 1015. I would have gone back to sleep except I knew that it was time for Scott to eat so I got up. Monday was relaxing for the most part even though I wanted to get up and clean my house but opted to visit with m&e instead and tend to my small fry. Went to bed last night; Scott finally calmed down at midnight. Was up several times during the night but not as bad as the nights before.
I over slept this morning and got up in time to booger suck my kid’s nose several times, get dressed, brush my teeth and head for the door. Only Ryan had to leave on a call so I had to take Scott to mom’s (m&e are leaving today). Got to mom’s running a few minutes late and was walking out the door when mom asked about Scott’s feeding schedule. Duh, I wanted to feed him again right before I left, I totally forgot. So I took off my jacket and sat down with my son. Mom went to turn my car off and I called my office to let them know I’d be in late. What a start to the day. Just 2 more days and I’ll be in sunny Califon-i-a.
Here’s how it went, according to my opinion: let me remind you that Friday I realized I forgot to finish up a few gifts. As if I wasn’t already stressed enough, I left the office with a massive headache and plans to go to Living Stone then work on the gifts. I got home an hour before LS was to start. Ryan’s folks wanted to order pizza which meant that Ryan didn’t let them know he wanted to go to LS (or he didn’t tell me that he wanted to stay home). Since I had a major headache and I was hungry AND I had gifts to work on, I agreed to stay home too. Thanks to Eunice, I didn’t have a mess to pick up at home – she was great at cleaning and folding laundry for me. It was probably a good thing.
Saturday was Christmas Eve and Ryan had to work till noon. I picked up around the house, finished my gifts, fed my child and CLEANED Scott’s room. I finished his closet cleaning project that I started the weekend before. Soon after I showered, family began arriving. G&G B came up early after all because of the weather. So we had a house full – my folks, Ryan’s folks, Eric and G&G B. Our plans for the day had to change a bit so we did what we could. Ryan and I fixed supper for everyone. We had salmon, salad and acorn squash. Mom brought a dessert salad. It was good and we were stuffed. We rushed to open presents before church. Ryan and I felt like Hitler trying to hurry everyone along so we could get to church in time. Of course, with 9 people opening gifts, it was never going to happen. So we left for church and I enjoyed a good service once we got there. Scott was so good until the benediction at which time he decided to be extremely vocal. We went back to the house and finished opening gifts. We were done at 11pm and I was so tired (my kid still isn’t sleeping well). I visited for a bit and headed to bed.
Christmas morning came too early and we were awake at 515 with our little guy. I was so excited to have Christmas fall on a Sunday but again I think we rushed through the morning. Ryan and I left the house at 730 to walk dogs at the clinic and do some chores there. We met at mom & ralph’s house for breakfast at 8am. She’s so awesome, she made biscuits and gravy for all of us Buitenwerfs. We opened stockings at her house before heading to church. During church, we had Scott dedicated and he behaved wonderfully. He even watched Pastor Lee intently as Pastor spoke to him. He was so cute in his little outfit, the same outfit Ryan wore when he got baptized as an infant. After church we hoped to take some family pictures but the B’s rushed out and so we did our regular “after church” hang out time and visited with friends as Scott got passed from one person to another. Then we headed home for lunch with the family. Ryan smoked a turkey, Eunice made dressing and mom brought crescent rolls and broccoli salad.
That evening I finally relaxed. Absolutely exhausted from the past few days, I was curled up on the couch. Ryan pulled out his new x-box and started playing some racing game. It was quite the fun. Everyone (m&e, eric, ryan and I) was having a good time (finally the stress was gone, momentarily). We even got Eunice to race against Ryan. It was fun and I was the racing queen!!! Scott took a great nap that afternoon but woke up with a nasty head cold. So he was crying, coughing like a goose, crying some more, had a runny nose and cried some more. Poor little guy, every time he coughed, you could tell that his throat hurt as he winced in pain. You could imagine how our night went. No sleep for us or Scott. A crying baby who was stuffed up and couldn’t nurse well and could sleep and cried and cried and cried.
Monday morning Ryan got up with Scott at 730 and went downstairs. He got him to sleep, passed Scott off to m&e and went to the clinic for chores. I went back to sleep and woke up at 1015. I would have gone back to sleep except I knew that it was time for Scott to eat so I got up. Monday was relaxing for the most part even though I wanted to get up and clean my house but opted to visit with m&e instead and tend to my small fry. Went to bed last night; Scott finally calmed down at midnight. Was up several times during the night but not as bad as the nights before.
I over slept this morning and got up in time to booger suck my kid’s nose several times, get dressed, brush my teeth and head for the door. Only Ryan had to leave on a call so I had to take Scott to mom’s (m&e are leaving today). Got to mom’s running a few minutes late and was walking out the door when mom asked about Scott’s feeding schedule. Duh, I wanted to feed him again right before I left, I totally forgot. So I took off my jacket and sat down with my son. Mom went to turn my car off and I called my office to let them know I’d be in late. What a start to the day. Just 2 more days and I’ll be in sunny Califon-i-a.
23 December 2005
Thanks M&E
Thanks to Mark and Eunice, I got 7 hours of much needed sleep last night! Woo hoo! They took the baby monitor and got up with Scott during the night. I need another 10 hours of sleep and maybe I'll feel better. The drama days have continued. Yesterday I left part of my breast pump at home and couldn't deal with Scott's lunch. Seven hours later, I finally pumped and was home a few hours early from work. At the Shanti for supper, my kid exploded through his diaper which was fun to clean in the back of the Shanti (good thing they weren't packed). Today I'm needing some other things I don't have (TMI would give away your gift, Dad) and can't finish what I was working on. I feel like yuck - my head is killing me, my nose is stuffy and I'm either burning up or cold. Tonight is Living Stone and then finishing up some last minute gifts that I forgot about :)
Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday Jesus!!!
21 December 2005
Debate – Do I hate life or does life hate me?
It’s been one of those weeks of feeling overwhelmed, insane and not able to accomplish anything. It started Saturday. I had the bright idea to clean Scott’s closet and store the “stuff” elsewhere. I got most of it dragged out when I had to stop. I got Scott and myself ready and headed for the grocery store. Got back just in time to feed Scott while Ryan put away groceries and head to a friend’s house for supper. Only Ryan was tired and in a BAD mood and laid in the couch. We were already late when we got in the truck and had to run to town to walk dogs at the clinic. While there, Ryan got an emergency call so we went to that and sat in the truck. Unless I was singing to Scott, he was crying. Finally made it to see the Z’s and have supper. That night Scott pee’d through his diaper just as Ryan was walking over to change him. It soaked the thigh of my jeans.
Sunday was another adventure. I had cleaning to finish but wanted to take some pictures and run to Walmart for a few things. The pictures took WAY longer than they should have and headed to Wally world. Got back to town, dropped off my mom and took her tahoe to church for the children’s Christmas program. Went into the church and didn’t have the pacifier! Scott likes to be extremely vocal in the evenings so eventually Ryan had to take him out. Got home and fed Scott. He had a massively explosive diaper, so I spent the next half hour hand washing his outfit. Worked on the computer some and went to bed without cleaning a thing.
Monday, a wild day at work. Ryan’s folks were stuck in Kansas with car trouble, which gave me more time to get a few things picked up. But then that afternoon, I got a message from Ryan saying they’d be at our house that night. I was excited for them to come but expecting them on Tuesday instead. So I rushed home and picked things up around the house when I planned on finishing a cabinet, etc. M&E arrived in decent time and it was good to visit with them (which meant I still didn’t get to my stuff I had to do).
Tuesday was the true day that stole my Christmas cheer. I stayed home a few hours from work to finish up a federal resume which was part of my application due that afternoon by 4:30. Got that done, tossed it all on Ryan’s shoulders to get faxed to the state office and went to work. Things were crazy busy as usual. Because I came in late I didn’t take lunch, had 2 oreos instead. At 330ish, Ryan calls to say the 41 page fax finally went through (I have a great hubby). At about 4pm, Connie from HR in the state office calls. She confirms that they received the fax BUT it was due yesterday. I said no, it was due today, the 19th, to which she replied “today is the 20th, it was due yesterday.” I wanted to crawl in a hole in die. I didn’t know what to say. There are no exceptions to the deadline. I hurried off the phone so I wouldn’t cry. Sitting at my desk processing the whole moment, my eyes got a bit watery so I went back to work to ignore the whole drama.
Too late! Why me, right? Monday night as I was lying in bed I began praying about the situation. Sure, I’d like the job – increase pay without having to move. I already do the work. But I had mixed feelings about all the intricate government related details of the whole thing. I ended my prayer with asking for God’s will in the situation and that I would be content with the outcome. But then yesterday I began to wonder. Is this God’s way of saying that I don’t need that job? I had what I thought to be good motives – I am deserving of the pay and I was hoping for more money to help fund the adoption of a child. Then I wondered if God was trying to point out that I need to pay more attention to those details. Grr, So frustrating.
And the story continues. Had plans to meet the family in PDC for Chinese last night. I went straight from work so I could run to Cabela’s first. I was done and ready to meet them on time but the “shortly after 6:00” turned to 6:30. I was tired, frustrated, had a headache and hungry. Got done in PDC and headed home. At about 10pm we headed upstairs so I could feed Scott. I sat him on the bed sitting against a pillow. In the time that I picked up the laundry basket and set it on the floor, Scott managed to fall 3 feet off the bed and knocked his head on the wood floor. My poor baby! Now even more frustrated, tired, etc. I picked him up and snuggled him as he screamed and screamed. He at pretty well but he would stop every so often and scream for a while. Called the doctor who said to make sure and wake him up every few hours. Scott finished eating and I tried to snuggle him (which he usually loves) and he kicked and screamed. Finally I decided to take him downstairs and try to calm him down so Ryan could sleep. But, my all-star husband took Scott instead so I could try to rest. I was crying, Scott was crying, it was late, I needed sleep. At 12:30 I woke up and went downstairs. Scott was burrito-wrapped and asleep on his daddy’s chest. We took him upstairs and put him in bed with us.
It was the most horrible feeling. This morning I have a happy baby again. Today I’m not hating life but I am in need of and looking forward to a weekend and soon enough a vacation!
Sunday was another adventure. I had cleaning to finish but wanted to take some pictures and run to Walmart for a few things. The pictures took WAY longer than they should have and headed to Wally world. Got back to town, dropped off my mom and took her tahoe to church for the children’s Christmas program. Went into the church and didn’t have the pacifier! Scott likes to be extremely vocal in the evenings so eventually Ryan had to take him out. Got home and fed Scott. He had a massively explosive diaper, so I spent the next half hour hand washing his outfit. Worked on the computer some and went to bed without cleaning a thing.
Monday, a wild day at work. Ryan’s folks were stuck in Kansas with car trouble, which gave me more time to get a few things picked up. But then that afternoon, I got a message from Ryan saying they’d be at our house that night. I was excited for them to come but expecting them on Tuesday instead. So I rushed home and picked things up around the house when I planned on finishing a cabinet, etc. M&E arrived in decent time and it was good to visit with them (which meant I still didn’t get to my stuff I had to do).
Tuesday was the true day that stole my Christmas cheer. I stayed home a few hours from work to finish up a federal resume which was part of my application due that afternoon by 4:30. Got that done, tossed it all on Ryan’s shoulders to get faxed to the state office and went to work. Things were crazy busy as usual. Because I came in late I didn’t take lunch, had 2 oreos instead. At 330ish, Ryan calls to say the 41 page fax finally went through (I have a great hubby). At about 4pm, Connie from HR in the state office calls. She confirms that they received the fax BUT it was due yesterday. I said no, it was due today, the 19th, to which she replied “today is the 20th, it was due yesterday.” I wanted to crawl in a hole in die. I didn’t know what to say. There are no exceptions to the deadline. I hurried off the phone so I wouldn’t cry. Sitting at my desk processing the whole moment, my eyes got a bit watery so I went back to work to ignore the whole drama.
Too late! Why me, right? Monday night as I was lying in bed I began praying about the situation. Sure, I’d like the job – increase pay without having to move. I already do the work. But I had mixed feelings about all the intricate government related details of the whole thing. I ended my prayer with asking for God’s will in the situation and that I would be content with the outcome. But then yesterday I began to wonder. Is this God’s way of saying that I don’t need that job? I had what I thought to be good motives – I am deserving of the pay and I was hoping for more money to help fund the adoption of a child. Then I wondered if God was trying to point out that I need to pay more attention to those details. Grr, So frustrating.
And the story continues. Had plans to meet the family in PDC for Chinese last night. I went straight from work so I could run to Cabela’s first. I was done and ready to meet them on time but the “shortly after 6:00” turned to 6:30. I was tired, frustrated, had a headache and hungry. Got done in PDC and headed home. At about 10pm we headed upstairs so I could feed Scott. I sat him on the bed sitting against a pillow. In the time that I picked up the laundry basket and set it on the floor, Scott managed to fall 3 feet off the bed and knocked his head on the wood floor. My poor baby! Now even more frustrated, tired, etc. I picked him up and snuggled him as he screamed and screamed. He at pretty well but he would stop every so often and scream for a while. Called the doctor who said to make sure and wake him up every few hours. Scott finished eating and I tried to snuggle him (which he usually loves) and he kicked and screamed. Finally I decided to take him downstairs and try to calm him down so Ryan could sleep. But, my all-star husband took Scott instead so I could try to rest. I was crying, Scott was crying, it was late, I needed sleep. At 12:30 I woke up and went downstairs. Scott was burrito-wrapped and asleep on his daddy’s chest. We took him upstairs and put him in bed with us.
It was the most horrible feeling. This morning I have a happy baby again. Today I’m not hating life but I am in need of and looking forward to a weekend and soon enough a vacation!
16 December 2005
My whine session for the day
The ladies here at the building get together for a Christmas party every year. Well I missed it because I have bible study on Thurs. nights. Then at 630 (when bible study starts) Shane, the guy who leads, called a baled out. He got the flu the night before and didn’t bother to call me until 630. And another friend Amy was going to stay home with her kiddos since she didn't have a baby sitter. So Shane wanted to cancel. We had just spent an hour picking up the house, cooking se-sa-shi's (a dutch food that I obviously can't spell) and lighting candles, etc. So I was short with him and said that we'd do without him and basically hung up. Called Amy and told her to come and bring the kids and we'd just hang out. So very frustrating for me. Shane should have called during the day. And I could have at least cancelled then and gone to my work party! Grrr!! But, Rhett & Amy and kids came over and Kelly came over so we had a good time chatting.
15 December 2005
What Tampons, emails and hoaxes have in Common
I got an email yesterday regarding the use of tampons and some toxic items that are used in them. Scared of the possible reality of the article and unsure of its accuracy, I did a little research. I found in several places that this email is a hoax. So, if you get this email, please don’t send it to anyone else. You can however let it encourage you to become more aware of your choice of menstrual product choices affects on your overall health. The research I found led me to Menstruation.com and the FDA's website by searching for a name quoted in the article and the word tampon. Below is the beginning of the hoax email. If you’d like to read the whole thing, check the links:
If you are a woman and use pads, but especially if you use tampons, read this.
Check the labels of the sanitary pads or tampons that you are going to buy the next time and see whether you spot any of the familiar signs stated in this email. No wonder so many women in the world suffer from cervical cancer and womb tumors. Have you heard that tampon makers include asbestos in tampons?
If you are a woman and use pads, but especially if you use tampons, read this.
Check the labels of the sanitary pads or tampons that you are going to buy the next time and see whether you spot any of the familiar signs stated in this email. No wonder so many women in the world suffer from cervical cancer and womb tumors. Have you heard that tampon makers include asbestos in tampons?
12 December 2005
Spud
I received the following picture with a note attached this morning:
You can call me Spud, I'm a Junior couch potatoe,
I'm just chillen at Grammy's and watching Sesame Street. Can't wait to see you soon, Grammy helps me to pray for travel mercies for Grandma & Grandpa B on there trip out here. Be very careful and will see you soon
Love
Scott
09 December 2005
Heat wave
The temperature got into the the teens yesterday (I think it topped out at 16). It was so nice out that I didn't even zip up my coat. It snowed all day yesterday and it was so pretty. Seriously, better than I've ever seen it around here so far. This weekend is supposed to be "warm". The forcaster dude said above freezing all weekend but the numbers he was sharing were in the low 20's. Last I knew, above freezing meant 32 degrees or warmer. Not sure about the philosophy out here - maybe its a midwesterner thing.
Tonight is Ryan's work Christmas party. Off to that. It should be fun. Last night was a super late night (home at 11pm) and an early morning (in the shower at 515am) and I'm tired! It sure would be nice to get a nap in before the party but I'm sure I'll be playing with my cutie-pa-tootie son instead.
Tonight is Ryan's work Christmas party. Off to that. It should be fun. Last night was a super late night (home at 11pm) and an early morning (in the shower at 515am) and I'm tired! It sure would be nice to get a nap in before the party but I'm sure I'll be playing with my cutie-pa-tootie son instead.
07 December 2005
Brrr
The last few mornings when I've left for work at 7am, it's been 10 below outside. Yesterday afternoon I left work and it had gotten up to 8 degrees outside. But with the windchill, it was still 20 below. A bit chilly outside. I'm super thankful that Ryan has been feeding and watering my goat and watering the dogs.
We have this little kitty hanging out at our house. Having the neighbors cats living in our garage and pasture is nothing new. But this little female kitty is new. She's cute. A mutt for sure, her top is shorter hair and the rest of her is long haired. Her coloring is grays and black. Her tail isn't the normal length, but not a bob either. Ryan says she's at least 6 months old, I'm guessing she was one of the kittens that I saw at the neighbors just before Scott was born. I offerred her to mom. Maybe shouldn't be giving cats away that aren't mine but maybe they shouldn't be living at my house either! I brought inside the other night. She was super hungry and super thirsty and shivering. She slept in the kennel. This morning I let her share a little food from Wicket and Rum's bowl (I gave them extra on purpose) :)
We have this little kitty hanging out at our house. Having the neighbors cats living in our garage and pasture is nothing new. But this little female kitty is new. She's cute. A mutt for sure, her top is shorter hair and the rest of her is long haired. Her coloring is grays and black. Her tail isn't the normal length, but not a bob either. Ryan says she's at least 6 months old, I'm guessing she was one of the kittens that I saw at the neighbors just before Scott was born. I offerred her to mom. Maybe shouldn't be giving cats away that aren't mine but maybe they shouldn't be living at my house either! I brought inside the other night. She was super hungry and super thirsty and shivering. She slept in the kennel. This morning I let her share a little food from Wicket and Rum's bowl (I gave them extra on purpose) :)
05 December 2005
already monday...
What an awesome weekend. Not at all my typical cleaning weekend once again. Just a good weekend with my honey hanging out. After a long week of running around, Friday night we stayed home and ate chicken salad for supper and watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith. What a waste of a movie but fun to be home snuggled up in the chair. Scott didn't want to nap or go to sleep that night but eventually we put him to bed. It snowed some and looked pretty cool outside.
Saturday morning I spent a few hours at the church with my awesome mom decorating for the Tabitha supper. Got home and had a few hours to feed Scott, decorate some and clean up before going back to the church. It had been snowing all day when I left. The snow covered everything, including the roads. It was a gorgeous view but since it was still snowing the plows hadn't been on the road yet. Ryan came an hour later and scolded me for driving to church on such bad roads but I didn't have much of a choice. He didn't offer to take me and by time I got out to the highway, I really didn't want to go back down our lane to the house. So I drove 20-25mph the whole way to town and survived. Everything thing else around except our Tabitha supper was cancelled because of the winter weather advisory. But it wasn't that bad. In fact, we had a good time and a great meal.
Sunday after church, we met the Royer's in Postville at Sabor Latino. Shopped at the Wishing well with them and then headed to Montauk's for their winter open house. Montauk's was the home of Governor Larabee, the first Governor in Iowa (if I remember correctly). It's a beautiful old mansion that overlooks the valley area of Clermont. That was fun. The little guys (Scott and Daniel) had fun being carried around and stared at the different things. The rest of the afternoon we piddled around until Ryan had to go on emergency vet calls (his favorite, a horse). I had to go with him so I could get my car that I left at mom's on Saturday night. So, Scott and I hung out with the old folks for a little while. I left there in the middle of my new favorite show, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, to head home and prepare Ryan a hot meal. He had ended up with several more calls - when it rains it pours. My honey came home to a warm house (I stoked the fire, which I hate doing) and fixed him frozen pizza. Not a grand meal but I didn't have the time or motivation to thaw something and prepare it.
Got up this morning and was tempted to stay home and spend some time cleaning the house. But there's work to do, lots of it. I have guys to pay, program determinations to make, people to help with computer problems and a meeting to deal with. maybe another day but before I can blink, I think Christmas will be here.
Saturday morning I spent a few hours at the church with my awesome mom decorating for the Tabitha supper. Got home and had a few hours to feed Scott, decorate some and clean up before going back to the church. It had been snowing all day when I left. The snow covered everything, including the roads. It was a gorgeous view but since it was still snowing the plows hadn't been on the road yet. Ryan came an hour later and scolded me for driving to church on such bad roads but I didn't have much of a choice. He didn't offer to take me and by time I got out to the highway, I really didn't want to go back down our lane to the house. So I drove 20-25mph the whole way to town and survived. Everything thing else around except our Tabitha supper was cancelled because of the winter weather advisory. But it wasn't that bad. In fact, we had a good time and a great meal.
Sunday after church, we met the Royer's in Postville at Sabor Latino. Shopped at the Wishing well with them and then headed to Montauk's for their winter open house. Montauk's was the home of Governor Larabee, the first Governor in Iowa (if I remember correctly). It's a beautiful old mansion that overlooks the valley area of Clermont. That was fun. The little guys (Scott and Daniel) had fun being carried around and stared at the different things. The rest of the afternoon we piddled around until Ryan had to go on emergency vet calls (his favorite, a horse). I had to go with him so I could get my car that I left at mom's on Saturday night. So, Scott and I hung out with the old folks for a little while. I left there in the middle of my new favorite show, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, to head home and prepare Ryan a hot meal. He had ended up with several more calls - when it rains it pours. My honey came home to a warm house (I stoked the fire, which I hate doing) and fixed him frozen pizza. Not a grand meal but I didn't have the time or motivation to thaw something and prepare it.
Got up this morning and was tempted to stay home and spend some time cleaning the house. But there's work to do, lots of it. I have guys to pay, program determinations to make, people to help with computer problems and a meeting to deal with. maybe another day but before I can blink, I think Christmas will be here.
02 December 2005
TGIF for sure!
I woke up this morning and said "Lovey, is it Friday?" And when he answered yes, I was so happy! I have a splitting headache and really want to stay home but have lots to get done at the office today so I better get there.
Monday I bought the stuff to make Ryan's favorite salad. It's now Friday and I still haven't gotten to it. Tuesday night we went to a friend's house in Calmar. I forgot the diaper bag so we ended up in Decorah to buy diapers, wipes and bibs. I forget a lot but not the diaper bag but just as we were walking out the door, kid in hand, our neighbors delivered us 2 dozen eggs (I think it was their peace offerring from the septic drama). So we visited with them for a few minutes and left WITHOUT the necessary items to care for Scott. It was a good night though hanging out with the Crosslands, eating Chinese and shopping at Walmart.
Wednesday nights I usually hang out with the folks but I had other things I needed to get done this week. I was eager to get home and start laundry, make Ryan's salad, etc. Of course, they talked me into staying when she mentioned she was fixing shrimp for supper. I'm a sucker for seafood. This was right after Ralph told me that a pediatrician was on the news listing things nursing moms shouldn't eat. Some of those things include shell fish, milk, peanuts. That night I had two of those: shrimp and an ice cream sandwich. I did get home early enough to put my kid down for a nap that he never took and began putting the Christmas tree up.
Thursday night is bible study night. But, I missed my bible study buddies last night for a work meeting that I had. I planned it and it was quite the success so I'm thankful for that this morning.
TGIF. Tonight Ryan and I plan to watch a movie and hopefully get the rest of our bargain tree up. It might be a quieter night than I plan if I don't get rid of this headache ASAP. Tomorrow morning I'm setting up for the Tabitha Ladies supper for church that I've been co-planning.
Monday I bought the stuff to make Ryan's favorite salad. It's now Friday and I still haven't gotten to it. Tuesday night we went to a friend's house in Calmar. I forgot the diaper bag so we ended up in Decorah to buy diapers, wipes and bibs. I forget a lot but not the diaper bag but just as we were walking out the door, kid in hand, our neighbors delivered us 2 dozen eggs (I think it was their peace offerring from the septic drama). So we visited with them for a few minutes and left WITHOUT the necessary items to care for Scott. It was a good night though hanging out with the Crosslands, eating Chinese and shopping at Walmart.
Wednesday nights I usually hang out with the folks but I had other things I needed to get done this week. I was eager to get home and start laundry, make Ryan's salad, etc. Of course, they talked me into staying when she mentioned she was fixing shrimp for supper. I'm a sucker for seafood. This was right after Ralph told me that a pediatrician was on the news listing things nursing moms shouldn't eat. Some of those things include shell fish, milk, peanuts. That night I had two of those: shrimp and an ice cream sandwich. I did get home early enough to put my kid down for a nap that he never took and began putting the Christmas tree up.
Thursday night is bible study night. But, I missed my bible study buddies last night for a work meeting that I had. I planned it and it was quite the success so I'm thankful for that this morning.
TGIF. Tonight Ryan and I plan to watch a movie and hopefully get the rest of our bargain tree up. It might be a quieter night than I plan if I don't get rid of this headache ASAP. Tomorrow morning I'm setting up for the Tabitha Ladies supper for church that I've been co-planning.
30 November 2005
Broccoli Salad
By request, if my memory serves me right, here's the recipe courtesy of the Kingsburg First Baptist Church cookbook:
2 florets cut up into small pieces (approx 8-10 c.)
8-10 pieces of cooked bacon cut into small pieces
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1 c. mayo
2 tbs. vinegar
1/3 c. sugar
1 large Purple onion cut into small pieces
1 tsp black pepper
You can modify some ingredients to your taste. I only put 3/4 of the purple onion. And I used the whole package of bacon (minus the one piece I ate) in. It's best if you make it a few hours ahead of time and let it sit so the flavors can be absorbed throughout. Happy cooking
from THE mighty chef,
tb
2 florets cut up into small pieces (approx 8-10 c.)
8-10 pieces of cooked bacon cut into small pieces
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1 c. mayo
2 tbs. vinegar
1/3 c. sugar
1 large Purple onion cut into small pieces
1 tsp black pepper
You can modify some ingredients to your taste. I only put 3/4 of the purple onion. And I used the whole package of bacon (minus the one piece I ate) in. It's best if you make it a few hours ahead of time and let it sit so the flavors can be absorbed throughout. Happy cooking
from THE mighty chef,
tb
28 November 2005
veggies, turkey and work
Broccoli Salad
My husband and I have a new favorite salad at our house. Mom makes this awesome broccoli salad and she took it to G&G B’s for Thanksgiving. I think I had 3 servings of it on Thursday. Saturday night we had company for supper. Ryan made Salisbury steak and stuffing. I make a broccoli salad to go with it. Yesterday morning Ryan mentioned that I needed to buy the stuff and make him some more broccoli salad. It’s kinda healthy and if that gets him to eat veggies, I’ll be making it again.
Thanksgiving
We headed down to Prairie City Wednesday night and fought the wind. Thursday morning (after not so much sleep) I helped Grandma a little in the kitchen. We sat down for a great meal shared with some of the B’s and my parents. We had a good time visiting with everyone. Scott only managed to spit up on one person and was able to wear his ISU shirt for most of the day which is amazing! We left out Thursday night at 5pm and headed home. Stopped in Waterloo for lunch and only one place was open – a buffet. Like I needed a buffet after a Thanksgiving meal!
Black Friday
Did you go shopping? I didn’t! I worked at the office, what a quiet and awesome day. The phone only rang 4 times and we had no body come to the counter. It was good to get a few things done at my desk without all the distractions.
My husband and I have a new favorite salad at our house. Mom makes this awesome broccoli salad and she took it to G&G B’s for Thanksgiving. I think I had 3 servings of it on Thursday. Saturday night we had company for supper. Ryan made Salisbury steak and stuffing. I make a broccoli salad to go with it. Yesterday morning Ryan mentioned that I needed to buy the stuff and make him some more broccoli salad. It’s kinda healthy and if that gets him to eat veggies, I’ll be making it again.
Thanksgiving
We headed down to Prairie City Wednesday night and fought the wind. Thursday morning (after not so much sleep) I helped Grandma a little in the kitchen. We sat down for a great meal shared with some of the B’s and my parents. We had a good time visiting with everyone. Scott only managed to spit up on one person and was able to wear his ISU shirt for most of the day which is amazing! We left out Thursday night at 5pm and headed home. Stopped in Waterloo for lunch and only one place was open – a buffet. Like I needed a buffet after a Thanksgiving meal!
Black Friday
Did you go shopping? I didn’t! I worked at the office, what a quiet and awesome day. The phone only rang 4 times and we had no body come to the counter. It was good to get a few things done at my desk without all the distractions.
25 November 2005
My Growing Kid
This was the evening they induced me, just a few days before Scott was born!
Then Scott shortly after they pried him out into the world.
Scott-R still super thin at one month old.
This is his 2 month picture (gotta love the spit up on his outfit)
Now he's really starting to fill in a little and is stylishly sporting a Bulldogs cap.
Here he's hanging out with his great grandpa B early in November
Scott and his great grandma B in early November.
Okay, that's it for now. More bragging later
22 November 2005
Mean Dr. Miller
Scott received his 4 month shots yesterday. While there, the ladies all had to check him out and/or hold him. Sue is our nurse and she’s got such a good personality. Krista works at the front desk and her son is in our youth group. Those are our two buddies at the clinic. The other guy is Mean Dr. Miller. He really is a nice guy, I just don’t care for him as a physician. So, here’s my elaborate story in a condensed version:
Scott’s appointment for shots was scheduled for 4:30. Arrive a few minutes early and wait in the lobby. No big deal, we pass the time by playing and chatting with Krista. Nurse lady (not Sue) takes us to the back. Measures Scott (25 ¾”) and weighs him (15lbs 7 oz). Checks his heartbeat, etc and Sue comes in. She greets us and goes out to get some help for shots. He gets 3 separate shots and so they usually have 3 nurses so that he only feels the pain one time. PROBLEM #1: Sue didn’t want to give Scott a shot (babies learn real quick who causes them pain) and so there were only 2 nurses. This meant that Scott received 2 shots at the same time, followed by his third shot. Bad Sue. I don’t want my kid to feel pain. Scott cried for about 15 seconds and right after I picked him up he quit crying, was a little fussy but otherwise content. That was just before 5pm. PROBLEM #2: At 5:30, Dr. Miller still hadn’t come into the room to see Scott (he’s actually supposed to check Scott before hand to make sure he’s well). By now, we’d been waiting over half an hour and I was beyond mad! I got up and walked out. Sue must have been guarding the door so I shared my thoughts with her. She kindly took the blame – said she allowed too many call-in patients to get squeezed. While those folks were getting squeezed in, I was getting squeezed out. I had another commitment at 530 and should have been out in plenty of time to get back to Elgin. I even told Sue that if it weren’t for her as the nurse, I wouldn’t go to Dr. Miller. While we were in the hall talking, Dr. Miller came out. She warned him and he came into the room. He asked me what we could do to make things better next time and I said “don’t make me wait 35 minutes to come in the room”. PROBLEM #3: he proceeded to blame Sue. I attacked right back and mentioned that this happens EVERY single time we’re in. Last time we were there for 2 hours! He continued to try to justify and told me to call ahead next time to make sure he’s running on schedule. I don’t think so. He needs to either run on time or call his patients. Actually he needs to not let all the random people in for colds that they don’t do anything about anyway. It was 6pm by time I left the clinic. I was so mad!!!
Fifteen minutes later I got to my other commitment. The Zurbriggen’s are home from South Dakota for Thanksgiving and a bunch of us were getting together for pizza. The rest of the night was good considering I had a super fussy kid who had missed a much needed nap. There were 3 of us with babies. Two of them have other little ones. And there were a 4 other 6th and 7th graders with their families. It was fun to see a house full of young families all hanging out. That doesn’t happen much where we live. It was so good to see the Z’s and baby Micah.
Okay, so I missed a vital part of the story… I got to the Jensen’s and went to get Scott out of the car. It was then that I realized that Scott’s car seat wasn’t buckled in. Bad Mom! We always take his car seat out but I didn’t want to drag it around the clinic so I just took him right out of it. When we left the clinic and I was so furious, I assumed that his car seat was still buckled in. So, I strapped Scott into the car seat and headed down the road. Thank our good God for watching over us. On a country road (yes, they’re all country out here), I managed to drive for 15 minutes and see only one deer. And that little doe stayed on the shoulder so I never even had to hit my brakes. Thank you Jesus!
Scott’s appointment for shots was scheduled for 4:30. Arrive a few minutes early and wait in the lobby. No big deal, we pass the time by playing and chatting with Krista. Nurse lady (not Sue) takes us to the back. Measures Scott (25 ¾”) and weighs him (15lbs 7 oz). Checks his heartbeat, etc and Sue comes in. She greets us and goes out to get some help for shots. He gets 3 separate shots and so they usually have 3 nurses so that he only feels the pain one time. PROBLEM #1: Sue didn’t want to give Scott a shot (babies learn real quick who causes them pain) and so there were only 2 nurses. This meant that Scott received 2 shots at the same time, followed by his third shot. Bad Sue. I don’t want my kid to feel pain. Scott cried for about 15 seconds and right after I picked him up he quit crying, was a little fussy but otherwise content. That was just before 5pm. PROBLEM #2: At 5:30, Dr. Miller still hadn’t come into the room to see Scott (he’s actually supposed to check Scott before hand to make sure he’s well). By now, we’d been waiting over half an hour and I was beyond mad! I got up and walked out. Sue must have been guarding the door so I shared my thoughts with her. She kindly took the blame – said she allowed too many call-in patients to get squeezed. While those folks were getting squeezed in, I was getting squeezed out. I had another commitment at 530 and should have been out in plenty of time to get back to Elgin. I even told Sue that if it weren’t for her as the nurse, I wouldn’t go to Dr. Miller. While we were in the hall talking, Dr. Miller came out. She warned him and he came into the room. He asked me what we could do to make things better next time and I said “don’t make me wait 35 minutes to come in the room”. PROBLEM #3: he proceeded to blame Sue. I attacked right back and mentioned that this happens EVERY single time we’re in. Last time we were there for 2 hours! He continued to try to justify and told me to call ahead next time to make sure he’s running on schedule. I don’t think so. He needs to either run on time or call his patients. Actually he needs to not let all the random people in for colds that they don’t do anything about anyway. It was 6pm by time I left the clinic. I was so mad!!!
Fifteen minutes later I got to my other commitment. The Zurbriggen’s are home from South Dakota for Thanksgiving and a bunch of us were getting together for pizza. The rest of the night was good considering I had a super fussy kid who had missed a much needed nap. There were 3 of us with babies. Two of them have other little ones. And there were a 4 other 6th and 7th graders with their families. It was fun to see a house full of young families all hanging out. That doesn’t happen much where we live. It was so good to see the Z’s and baby Micah.
Okay, so I missed a vital part of the story… I got to the Jensen’s and went to get Scott out of the car. It was then that I realized that Scott’s car seat wasn’t buckled in. Bad Mom! We always take his car seat out but I didn’t want to drag it around the clinic so I just took him right out of it. When we left the clinic and I was so furious, I assumed that his car seat was still buckled in. So, I strapped Scott into the car seat and headed down the road. Thank our good God for watching over us. On a country road (yes, they’re all country out here), I managed to drive for 15 minutes and see only one deer. And that little doe stayed on the shoulder so I never even had to hit my brakes. Thank you Jesus!
18 November 2005
Scott's first snow
Here's my little guy and his first snow. Not quite the picture I was hoping for but his daddy didn't have time to get him in his snow suit and get a different picture. Thanks to Ryan for capturing Scott's first snow.
The snow is still on the ground. The sun is shining today and it is supposed to get up to 40. I hope it does so I can wash my car today. I left my car at the bottom of the driveway last night. Didn't want to venture out on the ice. Before we left for bible study, my neighbor came through and sanded the hill. So, if it doesn't melt off some today, I'll at least be safe to drive down our sanded driveway tonight. TGIF
GO Bulldogs!
Go Bulldogs! Saturday at 7:15 PST, the Bulldogs take on #1 USC. I'm hoping my #16 Bulldogs can upset the #1 USC
17 November 2005
Weather
I do love the weather, that is until it changes. Late this summer I was anxiously awaiting fall and winter. We instantly got winter weather this year. It was 60 degrees less than a week ago and this morning it was 5 degrees when I left for work with snow and ice on the ground. Our grass never even turned brown this year. We had a beautiful fall weather, perfect for laying out in the hammock (not that we did that this year, our hammock is falling apart). Do I miss the CA weather? Umm, not sure. Cold, damp, bone chilling winter, nope don't miss that. The cold here is different. Even though it was 5 degrees this morning, it wasn't bad. I even went outside and through the goat two apples and an avacado. Yesterday though was a different story when it was in the high 20's and windy. That was COLD! The wind makes all the difference out here. I do however miss the beautiful CA sunshine, playing on the river or lake and eating fresh fruit while getting a tan. I loved multi-tasking like that. It doesn't happen these days. And the two days I did go outside to tan this year, I looked like a beach whale laying out one day. The other day I sat on the riding mower and my belly hung over so much that you couldn't tell that I had bottoms on. I miss things about CA and definitely the people but I absolutely love where I live, the change in seasons, the friendly people here and more.
Brick House History
So, this is the house. According to our records it was built in 1912 or 1915 (I can't remember which). This view is of the South side of the house. I'm adding to a post from earlier in the week about the surprise visitors last Friday. Lois put me in contact with the granddaughter of one of the little girls who lived in the house when it was first built. The following is the email I received from her this morning:
I'm delighted that my friend Lois went to visit you! I've driven around out there but really didn't know where to look and since my mom wasn't with me at the time, I didn't have her help. She remembers the house very well, but hasn't been out there for many, many years. The last time I was there, I visited my great uncle, Rusty Larson and that was 1963.
The property was homesteaded by my great, great grandfather, Orm Larson (Norwegian) in the early 1850's. The first year they lived in a dugout in the side of the hill as I understand it, until the log cabin was built in the spring. His son, John, inherited the property and lived there until he and his wife, Amalia, passed away. My mom thinks my grandmother, Viola Larson Arness, was born in the cabin - and your house was built when she was very young. The basement was used for baking bread, canning & washing and since alot of people lived in the house, there was probably a lot happening down there daily. John and Amalia had 11 children - their son Russell (Rusty) took over the property and did some renovations in the late 50's / early 60's like opening the stairway and moving the kitchen. We aren't sure who or why the door was bricked up.
My grandmother had a ruptured appendix when she was about 9 or 10, and since they didn't have much in the way of hospitals in 1915, they called the local doctor. He was drunk when he arrived, but went ahead and cut her open on the kitchen table by lamplight - and she lived thru it! She had at least a 12" jagged scar across her abdomen - terrible. She died in 1992 at 86 years old.
And here's a tidbit that I always thought was funny. Orm Larson liked to drink and swore a lot. One day he was in the woods on the property, chopping wood ( had a nip or two), and was swearing to himself. All of a sudden he was surrounded by Brownies (little people) who gave him a very bad time for being drunk and foul mouthed - scared him so bad he never swore or drank again in his life. So, when you're out and about in the woods, you might run across something special!
And as for the daughter of the king - yes, there is that story. I'll have to ask my mom again, but she's told me about it. I'll let you know.
Now isn't that some cool stuff. More on the daughter of the king story when I get more information. It's a pretty neat story.
16 November 2005
Scott's 1st snow
Okay so it has been drizzling the past few days which has been both good and bad. Good to replenish our groundwater supply and hopefully keep our well functioning for another year. Bad for Ryan who's outside working cattle in the rain and wind. Yesterday we were in Guttenberg, a cute little town on the Miss...i River. On my way back to the office, the snow started turning to a sleet like substance. Just as we pulled into the office it turned to snow. About 45 minutes later as I headed home (further west), there was more snow falling. It was so gorgeous. BUT, because it was a nice gentle rain that turned to snow, it created a little bit of ugly in the midst of the beauty. The snow on the roads mixed with rain was a little slushly so I did slide around a bit on the way home. This morning, the water on the roads, sidewalks, driveways, etc had turned to ice. And becuase we had 25-40 mph winds, the ice was nice and polished. Before I left the house Ryan called to let me know that the snow drifted in the driveway and I'd have to get a good run at it. Plus the driveway was ice and I would need to be careful there. With my experiences last winter, his phone call made me a bit nervous. As I got outside and headed down the driveway, things weren't near as bad as I had imagined. As usual, the 20 mile stretch of county highway that I drive had yet to be plowed. I met the plow half way and he was plowing the other direction as usual. Most people leave early when the weather is bad to give themselves more time to get to work. I leave later in hopes that maybe some of the road just might be plowed or have sand on it. I did make it to work safely. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of Scott and his first snow. Its already dark tonight so I'll hope for some pictures tomorrow.
Already the week is crazy and I'm super tired. I've gone to bed at 9pm the last two nights. I must be getting old!
Already the week is crazy and I'm super tired. I've gone to bed at 9pm the last two nights. I must be getting old!
14 November 2005
Such a great weekend
Friday was quite the surprising day. It was early morning, Scott was playing in the floor and I was sanding on the cabinets when I heard a knock at the door. I thought that was odd since we live 3 miles outside of town. I got to the door and there were two women standing there. I immediately noticed that one women, Lois, was holding an old picture of my house with a family standing in front. I invited them in and we had a nice little visit. The picture belongs to Jan, a woman in Colorado who wanted to know if Lois could locate where the house was located. It was taken in 1916 and the people in the photo are her grandparents. Our house was built in 1912 or 1915 (can’t remember at the moment) so I was excited to see this picture. I contacted Jan this morning with an email and hope to hear back from her soon. Ryan and I are super excited to hear about the history of our home.
The remainder of the day, I cleaned house and finished sanding one of my cabinets. Other than that, I played with my little guy who is an absolute blast to play with. I’m excited for the time that he’s even more playful and is crawling around on us.
Saturday was the Valley Football game. They lost to North Mahaska and had more points scored on them during that game than they did all year combined! Congrats to the Valley Tigers in their 4th consecutive year to make playoffs and congrats on being 3rd in the state. After the disappointing loss, we headed to Waterloo for some shopping. I practically ran through Sam’s Club, fed Scott while the folks were in Home Depot, ran through Old Navy and shopped some in Sears. My arm is still sore this morning from carrying Scott in his car seat around the UNI Dome and through Sears. I had to feed Scott one more time before we drove home so I fed him and the folks ran into Walmart.
We got home right at 6:00pm. The ISU v. Colorado game was scheduled to start at 6:00 and Ryan was having some people over for the game. That morning he commented that I could get things cleaned up before hand and then realized that I would be gone all day. I thought he’d pick up a few things – we all know he’s not a cleaner. I was wrong. He hadn’t picked up anything and I was embarrassed and mad. The more time passed, as mom and I were in the kitchen making some artichoke dip for his friends, the more mad I got. I didn’t know if maybe he was out on calls all afternoon so I tried not to get too worked up about it. Then during a commercial he came in to show me that he worked on Scott’s Christmas gift. At that point I was so ticked off. He couldn’t even move the vacuum out of the living room but he could play/work in the basement. Grr. I had a headache, I was tired and my back hurt – all of which didn’t help matters at all. The remainder of the night, I was not a loving or respectful wife. Finally at 9pm, I took Scott upstairs to feed him and went to bed. Ryan had no clue that I was mad at him but I’m sure he noticed that I wasn’t being nice. Sorry honey!
Sunday morning started slow. I must have slept crappy – I guess that happens when you don’t deal with issues. Anyway, Ryan ended up staying home from church with some back problems. When I came home we discussed things and I reminded him of his role as leader in the home. I need him to take the responsibility seriously and be our spiritual leader like a husband should do. Things went awesome in the afternoon. Scott was fussy and hungry non-stop yesterday. Ryan and I had fun together hanging out on the couch. I also got a coat of Kilz on the cabinet and hope to start painting the red tonight.
Today is Scott’s 4 month birthday. Grow, I mean, GO Scott-r
The remainder of the day, I cleaned house and finished sanding one of my cabinets. Other than that, I played with my little guy who is an absolute blast to play with. I’m excited for the time that he’s even more playful and is crawling around on us.
Saturday was the Valley Football game. They lost to North Mahaska and had more points scored on them during that game than they did all year combined! Congrats to the Valley Tigers in their 4th consecutive year to make playoffs and congrats on being 3rd in the state. After the disappointing loss, we headed to Waterloo for some shopping. I practically ran through Sam’s Club, fed Scott while the folks were in Home Depot, ran through Old Navy and shopped some in Sears. My arm is still sore this morning from carrying Scott in his car seat around the UNI Dome and through Sears. I had to feed Scott one more time before we drove home so I fed him and the folks ran into Walmart.
We got home right at 6:00pm. The ISU v. Colorado game was scheduled to start at 6:00 and Ryan was having some people over for the game. That morning he commented that I could get things cleaned up before hand and then realized that I would be gone all day. I thought he’d pick up a few things – we all know he’s not a cleaner. I was wrong. He hadn’t picked up anything and I was embarrassed and mad. The more time passed, as mom and I were in the kitchen making some artichoke dip for his friends, the more mad I got. I didn’t know if maybe he was out on calls all afternoon so I tried not to get too worked up about it. Then during a commercial he came in to show me that he worked on Scott’s Christmas gift. At that point I was so ticked off. He couldn’t even move the vacuum out of the living room but he could play/work in the basement. Grr. I had a headache, I was tired and my back hurt – all of which didn’t help matters at all. The remainder of the night, I was not a loving or respectful wife. Finally at 9pm, I took Scott upstairs to feed him and went to bed. Ryan had no clue that I was mad at him but I’m sure he noticed that I wasn’t being nice. Sorry honey!
Sunday morning started slow. I must have slept crappy – I guess that happens when you don’t deal with issues. Anyway, Ryan ended up staying home from church with some back problems. When I came home we discussed things and I reminded him of his role as leader in the home. I need him to take the responsibility seriously and be our spiritual leader like a husband should do. Things went awesome in the afternoon. Scott was fussy and hungry non-stop yesterday. Ryan and I had fun together hanging out on the couch. I also got a coat of Kilz on the cabinet and hope to start painting the red tonight.
Today is Scott’s 4 month birthday. Grow, I mean, GO Scott-r
10 November 2005
a much needed update
I know it’s been a week since I’ve posted but that’s the way it goes. I’ve been running around quite a bit for work lately. Last week I spent a few days in Des Moines. This week I spent 2 days in Platteville, WI for meetings. Usually we’d stay the night but breastfeeding a baby sure makes the over night trips a bit difficult. So, we drove back and forth each day. I’d leave the house at about 6:30, drive 30 minutes to work and then drive 2 hours to Platteville. I’d get back home around 6:00. Not too bad, sure helped me add a few credit hours (that means vacation time) to my time sheet. Yesterday, my first day in the office, I was ancy to get outside so instead of mailing some documents to the O’s, I hand delivered them while Ryan just happened to be there working cattle :)
Back to last weekend. I do truly love my Fridays. Saturday was a good day to get some things done around the house. Scott was super cooperative and did awesome at going to sleep for naps. Every 3rd hour, I fed him and then put him down for a nap that lasted about an hour. Gave me some time to get things cleaned. I was able to clean both of our living rooms pretty well, I dusted the big stuff and ignored the stuff in the cabinets. It felt so good. I left the kitchen to Ryan although I did sweep and pick up a few things. Sunday after potluck, I cleaned the dining room and our bedroom before we headed to the Carlson’s for apple fritters. I had taken Brittney (5th grade daughter of our buddies) home with me so she could play with Scott. Their whole family adores Scott except their 18 year old son. Anyway, we got home from potluck and fed Scott. He was cranky and I put him down for his hour nap. That hour turned into 3 and I woke him up in time to feed him and head out the door. Poor Brittney didn’t even get to play with Scott. But she did lie in my bed and watch Elf on my portable DVD player while I cleaned my room. The apple fritter was a whole church thing and Scott was the star of the show. People who don’t typically gawk over him did just that. I was enjoying the fellowship but eventually snuck downstairs with the kids to catch the end of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Such a good show!
Like I said earlier, its been a super busy week. Monday I got home from work, fed Scott, played with him for a while, grabbed a quick bite to eat and snuggled up on the couch to listen to our Valley Tigers playoff football game. By the 3rd quarter I was out. Ryan woke me up when it was over to tell me they won :) Tuesday night was much the same, all the driving was tiring I guess. Last night I hung out at mom’s which is my typical Wednesday night. We ate supper and then I sewed for a li
ttle bit before heading home. Again, I’m excited for the weekend. But before that is our Thursday night bible study and I love that group of people that we meet with.
Its Friday for me, tomorrow is a federal holiday so I’ll be home. Big plans for my 3 day weekend. I hope to get my tulips planted and then start refinishing my cabinets mom made me for college graduation. I’m going to sand them a little and paint the inside a wine red so that my off white china will really stand out. The outside will be repainted off white which looks awesome against my olive green walls in the dining room. I’m super excited to get that started. We’ll see if it happens – if Scott cooperates.
Back to last weekend. I do truly love my Fridays. Saturday was a good day to get some things done around the house. Scott was super cooperative and did awesome at going to sleep for naps. Every 3rd hour, I fed him and then put him down for a nap that lasted about an hour. Gave me some time to get things cleaned. I was able to clean both of our living rooms pretty well, I dusted the big stuff and ignored the stuff in the cabinets. It felt so good. I left the kitchen to Ryan although I did sweep and pick up a few things. Sunday after potluck, I cleaned the dining room and our bedroom before we headed to the Carlson’s for apple fritters. I had taken Brittney (5th grade daughter of our buddies) home with me so she could play with Scott. Their whole family adores Scott except their 18 year old son. Anyway, we got home from potluck and fed Scott. He was cranky and I put him down for his hour nap. That hour turned into 3 and I woke him up in time to feed him and head out the door. Poor Brittney didn’t even get to play with Scott. But she did lie in my bed and watch Elf on my portable DVD player while I cleaned my room. The apple fritter was a whole church thing and Scott was the star of the show. People who don’t typically gawk over him did just that. I was enjoying the fellowship but eventually snuck downstairs with the kids to catch the end of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Such a good show!
Like I said earlier, its been a super busy week. Monday I got home from work, fed Scott, played with him for a while, grabbed a quick bite to eat and snuggled up on the couch to listen to our Valley Tigers playoff football game. By the 3rd quarter I was out. Ryan woke me up when it was over to tell me they won :) Tuesday night was much the same, all the driving was tiring I guess. Last night I hung out at mom’s which is my typical Wednesday night. We ate supper and then I sewed for a li
ttle bit before heading home. Again, I’m excited for the weekend. But before that is our Thursday night bible study and I love that group of people that we meet with.Its Friday for me, tomorrow is a federal holiday so I’ll be home. Big plans for my 3 day weekend. I hope to get my tulips planted and then start refinishing my cabinets mom made me for college graduation. I’m going to sand them a little and paint the inside a wine red so that my off white china will really stand out. The outside will be repainted off white which looks awesome against my olive green walls in the dining room. I’m super excited to get that started. We’ll see if it happens – if Scott cooperates.
04 November 2005
friday
I've really been looking forward to this day. I love Fridays. I love having a weekend off to spend time with my husband, get my house in some sort of order, spend Sunday morning learning and I certainly love playing with my little guy.
Scott continues to grow so fast. This week he's been trying to sit up in his bouncy chair. When I hold his hands to pull him in a sitting-up position, he stands up for a few seconds instead. He's really taking on more character traits each week. He's starting to be super fussy when he doesn't get naps during the day. Last night was one of those nights, and once again it was during bible study. I couldn't get him calmed down. And when I finally did calm him down, he would start crying again if I sat down. Eventually he was asleep and I sat down but couldn't lay him down or move him away from me without him waking up and crying again. We got home last night, I fed him and Ryan put him to bed at 10pm. Scott slept till 645 this morning - I think he was tired!
I'm tired too. It's been a long week and I haven't had much time at all with my honey. And I've been super moody this week and yesterday morning I took it out on Ryan. I hope this weekend gives us some together time - cleaning the house :)
Scott continues to grow so fast. This week he's been trying to sit up in his bouncy chair. When I hold his hands to pull him in a sitting-up position, he stands up for a few seconds instead. He's really taking on more character traits each week. He's starting to be super fussy when he doesn't get naps during the day. Last night was one of those nights, and once again it was during bible study. I couldn't get him calmed down. And when I finally did calm him down, he would start crying again if I sat down. Eventually he was asleep and I sat down but couldn't lay him down or move him away from me without him waking up and crying again. We got home last night, I fed him and Ryan put him to bed at 10pm. Scott slept till 645 this morning - I think he was tired!
I'm tired too. It's been a long week and I haven't had much time at all with my honey. And I've been super moody this week and yesterday morning I took it out on Ryan. I hope this weekend gives us some together time - cleaning the house :)
03 November 2005
pictures
Here are the pictures that I couldn't add the other day. He did wear his little outfit to the game last night, what a stud! I joked with Holly that if she would kiss him he would turn into her prince. [Holly is one of the post-college kids and we joke that Scott will take her to prom in HS - she'll be 40 then. Holly is Scott's adult girlfriend.]
01 November 2005
Make sure to check out the photos below
Weekend
what a nice weekend we had. mom kept scott friday night and saturday. of course i had to stop and see my kid after work. he has a cold and sounds like a goose. poor thing. he literally slept all day except when he was being fed. mom would wake him up to change his diaper. i was there and he slept through his feeding and i changed his diaper quick before i left. of course he woke up then and was so playful so i had to stay longer. Was there for about 90 minutes – so much for Friday night with my honey! saturday i made my honey breakfast in bed after i pumped. then we headed to waterloo for some shopping. hello transfer from the savings account! it was a fun day though, nice to just hang out with ryan and not worry about caring for our little guy. i love playing with and watching scott so it was nice to give ryan my full attention for a while. mom needed some rest so i took my kid home saturday night. he sounded pretty good but we kept him home Sunday from church. ryan went to church while i stayed home and then he came home and i went to the church to help some friends with their 25th anniv party. it was nice to have a slow non-rushed weekend.
Monday
It went well to begin with. Now that I’m feeding scott every morning at 530, the follow-up pumping doesn’t go so well. I think my boobs are confused about making milk vs. letting it down. Later that morning at work while pumping, I wasn’t giving my full attention. And to spare all of you the details (especially Cori), I’ll just say that I overflowed the bottle. I’m so an 18 lb. cow with awesome milk supply. Anyway, it ran down my right thigh. Fortunately scott’s diaper bag got left in my car so I got a baby wipe and tried to clean it up. It was a bigger mess at first but by time it dried, you could hardly tell what had spilled. Baby wipes are awesome!
Beggar’s Night
The phrase takes on more and more meaning every year. I’m not into Halloween and could care less about it. BUT, I fell into the temptation and bought Scott the cutest outfit from Old Navy. It’s all about the photo op and showing off my kid. So, we went to mom’s and had a massive bowl of candy. Not many visitors but the majority of kids that came SUCKED! They didn’t even say “trick-or-treat”. What the heck! And there were kids that weren’t dressed up at all! Last year since we were at a friend’s house, I told a few big kids they needed to get a costume before I would give them candy. This year we had the same thing (different town). One time it was 4 HS kids, 3 of them had dressed up. So I gave them crappy suckers. I figured they were too old and could buy their own candy. There were even little kids that were dressed in their regular clothes. One kid had a mask that didn’t even stay on his face. He’s from our church so I made sure to ask him (and loud enough for his mom to hear) where his costume was. One kid had some “swords” through his belt loop with normal clothes and said he was a knight. Come on parents, lets get a little more creative. I would be embarrassed to take me kid out begging for candy if he wasn’t in a costume. AND, I had Scott in his cute little costume and only got two compliments on it. One was a little guy dressed as a lion. He was a bit young to say “t-or-t” but he clearly said “baby”. My favorite was a family of 3 kids: one was darth vador, one was r2-d2 and the baby in the stroller was yoda. They were awesome! Before heading home I had to stop at Shane & Michelle’s (a couple from my bible study) and show them Scott. Here’s what they got to see: If you want to see him in person, come to the Valley play off game on Wednesday night. I’m dressing him up again for everyone to see :) Okay, off to a few meetings and an overnight trip to Des Moines.
what a nice weekend we had. mom kept scott friday night and saturday. of course i had to stop and see my kid after work. he has a cold and sounds like a goose. poor thing. he literally slept all day except when he was being fed. mom would wake him up to change his diaper. i was there and he slept through his feeding and i changed his diaper quick before i left. of course he woke up then and was so playful so i had to stay longer. Was there for about 90 minutes – so much for Friday night with my honey! saturday i made my honey breakfast in bed after i pumped. then we headed to waterloo for some shopping. hello transfer from the savings account! it was a fun day though, nice to just hang out with ryan and not worry about caring for our little guy. i love playing with and watching scott so it was nice to give ryan my full attention for a while. mom needed some rest so i took my kid home saturday night. he sounded pretty good but we kept him home Sunday from church. ryan went to church while i stayed home and then he came home and i went to the church to help some friends with their 25th anniv party. it was nice to have a slow non-rushed weekend.
Monday
It went well to begin with. Now that I’m feeding scott every morning at 530, the follow-up pumping doesn’t go so well. I think my boobs are confused about making milk vs. letting it down. Later that morning at work while pumping, I wasn’t giving my full attention. And to spare all of you the details (especially Cori), I’ll just say that I overflowed the bottle. I’m so an 18 lb. cow with awesome milk supply. Anyway, it ran down my right thigh. Fortunately scott’s diaper bag got left in my car so I got a baby wipe and tried to clean it up. It was a bigger mess at first but by time it dried, you could hardly tell what had spilled. Baby wipes are awesome!
Beggar’s Night
The phrase takes on more and more meaning every year. I’m not into Halloween and could care less about it. BUT, I fell into the temptation and bought Scott the cutest outfit from Old Navy. It’s all about the photo op and showing off my kid. So, we went to mom’s and had a massive bowl of candy. Not many visitors but the majority of kids that came SUCKED! They didn’t even say “trick-or-treat”. What the heck! And there were kids that weren’t dressed up at all! Last year since we were at a friend’s house, I told a few big kids they needed to get a costume before I would give them candy. This year we had the same thing (different town). One time it was 4 HS kids, 3 of them had dressed up. So I gave them crappy suckers. I figured they were too old and could buy their own candy. There were even little kids that were dressed in their regular clothes. One kid had a mask that didn’t even stay on his face. He’s from our church so I made sure to ask him (and loud enough for his mom to hear) where his costume was. One kid had some “swords” through his belt loop with normal clothes and said he was a knight. Come on parents, lets get a little more creative. I would be embarrassed to take me kid out begging for candy if he wasn’t in a costume. AND, I had Scott in his cute little costume and only got two compliments on it. One was a little guy dressed as a lion. He was a bit young to say “t-or-t” but he clearly said “baby”. My favorite was a family of 3 kids: one was darth vador, one was r2-d2 and the baby in the stroller was yoda. They were awesome! Before heading home I had to stop at Shane & Michelle’s (a couple from my bible study) and show them Scott. Here’s what they got to see: If you want to see him in person, come to the Valley play off game on Wednesday night. I’m dressing him up again for everyone to see :) Okay, off to a few meetings and an overnight trip to Des Moines.
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