midwest girl at heart

what makes it worth it...

2010-12-20T17:18:00.000-06:00

I'm exhausted. I don't remember the last time I slept more than 90 minutes in a row. My eyes burn constantly. I survive on chocolate and caffeine (since being released to a regular diet after Sammy's colic treatments). I'm irritable and not always nice. I'm dread the nights b/c I know that Sam will wake up constantly.

But you know what?

I know it's worth it (and I guess deep down I know it won't last forever). You know why? Because I have this awesome 2 1/2 year old who reminds me that the infant stage doesn't last forever (of course, it's followed by sometimes not fun times as a toddler).

He is at this wonderful stage where he freely gives me giant hugs and tells me many times a day that he loves me (as he's doing right this minute as I try to type). He climbs behind me in the chair and says he wants to rub my back because it hurts. He tells me thank you, you're welcome, I'm sorry I hurt you, Mommy, and he "shakes his booty."

And then today, on our way home from playing with friends (9 boys and 2 girls between 5 moms...and 3 kids were missing!), I turned around and told him how proud I was of him for behaving so well while we were at our friend's house. I told him thank you for obeying me and for being such a good boy. And do you know what he said?? He told me, "thank you mom for taking me to play with my friends."

Oh boy. Stick a fork in me. I'm done. My boy is the BOMB! Love you so much Little Major!

My New Baby

2010-12-11T21:13:00.001-06:00

So, I was (hopefully) at the bottom of the barrel when I wrote my last post. I was exhausted, frustrated, angry, and not feeling very loving or optimistic. But, we seemed to have turned a corner. Sam had a great 2 treatments at the end of the week, and he's been so much happier and not in pain. Praise the Lord!!

It's like we have a brand new baby in the house - one who doesn't cry constantly, isn't in pain, and smiles at us! Woo hoo! (Now, let's hope this keeps up!)

The doctor had told me that there would be ups and downs, but I never expected the "downs" to be so terrible. I'm praying that there will only be "ups" from now on - and thankfully the chiro thinks that is the case.

I went back to eating dairy, but I'm skipping the straight milk. We'll see if I can tell a difference. Sam has done so great the last 3 days that I'm not sure if it's the doctor, the milk, or both. But, I'm hoping that this is our last week of treaments. I'm SO ready to get our days back. This week we have doctor's appointments every.single.day. Four for Sam and one for me. Not fun!

It doesn't even feel like Christmas is coming b/c we've been so wrapped up in our craziness...but I'm ready to get into the spirit. Mom and I are going to try to get some baking done tomorrow.

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement! It helped me a lot! Keep 'em coming! =)

6 weeks

2010-12-09T09:28:00.000-06:00

Baby Sam is 6 weeks old today...and let me tell you, it's been a long 6 weeks! All my confidence that I talked about in my previous post?? Well, it's left the building.

Sam cries ALL THE TIME. At 3 weeks old, he was diagnosed w/ colic...a condition I'd thought was completely made up until now. At first with Major we were told he had colic, but he was later diagnosed w/ reflux, we got meds and life became pleasant. I thought colic was a term doctors used when they didn't know what else to call it.

But, we've been seeing a chiropractor (which is much against what I normally would do) who claims to be able to cure colic. We see the doctor 4 times a week for treatment - a treatment where he massages and puts pressure on Sam's belly in an effort to strengthen the valve between his small and large intestine. We saw improvement almost immediately...but after a week or so, we were right back to square one. Well, maybe not quite back to square one. We aren't seeing as much colic (wailing scream of pain, hard tummy, and kicking feet and flailing hands), we think, but we are seeing a ton of crying. Basically, Sam cries unless you're holding him. And if he was my first, I'd be able to hold him almost all of the time, but I cna't do that w/ a 2 year old to take care of. Not to mention that I don't want to miss a year of Major's life while I hold Sam.

I'm beginning to wonder if something else is going on w/ Sam. Our chiro says babies cry for 2 reasons - they're hungry or they're uncomfortable. So, if Sam is fed, changed, and not kicking w/ colic, what could possibly be wrong??

Another part of the colic treatment is a special (read: STUPID) diet for nursing moms. It's a low protein, high carb, no seasoning, no caffeine, no carbonation, no chocolate no red meat no fruits or veggeis COMPLETELY UNHEALTHY diet. I've been on it for almost 3 weeks, and I'm pretty much dying. All I can think about is coffee or diet coke, with a big fat cheeseburger as a close second. The theory is that this diet helps the baby heal from colic more quickly by producing less gas. Dairy is allowed - so my diet has been made up of cheese, milk, vanilla ice cream, bread, butter, and chicken. BUT, since we still have the crying bouts, my mom thought Sam might have an allergy to milk. So, as of yesterday, I've also cut out dairy. Oi. What is there to eat????

I know I'm whining here, and yes, I'm skeptical about this path we're going down, but we were ready to try anything. I've about decided that I just dont produce easy babies. At least this all confirms that we're done with 2!!

If you don't hear from me for a year, I'm holding a crying baby...but he is pretty cute!

It's a...

2010-11-10T16:31:00.001-06:00

BOY!!

Baby Sam is here! He made his appearance on his own time -- with no consideration for the plan Mommy had for him to be born on Nov. 5. Oh well, Mommy sure wasn't sad to not be pregnant anymore. He was born healthy and well 8 days before his scheduled arrival (I was 38 weeks exactly). After I spent all day cleaning like a mad woman, I went into labor on my own, but didn't realize that what I was feeling was contractions, so it was 8 hours later before we went to the hospital. Oops. Oh well, all worked out, and I have a healthy and beautiful baby boy!

I'm the mom to 2 boys!! Woo hoo! I'll forever be known as a Boy Mama. My sweet dog, Lucy, and I are now outnumbered in our house, but that's ok. I love all of my boys.

Big brother Major needed a few days to get used to the idea of baby brother being a real live human who came to live in our house. The first thing he said when we got home from the hospital was that he wanted Sam to go home. But, after 2 days, he was in love as much as the rest of us. He loves to hold and kiss him, and he always wants to pat his head or rub his leg. It was just a few days after we were home that Major said to me, unprovoked, "I love you, Mom," and he already says that to his baby brother, too. Melt my heart.

We have had a rough start at home though. Major got his second cold this month just a few days after we got home from the hospital. He's had a horrible cough and sore throat, and he's just felt pretty yucky. Add that to getting used to a newborn (who we def don't want to get sick) and trying to figure out nursing and sleeping and being a family of 4, and we've had some rough times.

Here's my sicky...

But, finally today, I think that Major is on the mend. We even ventured out on a family outing to the zoo. It was a little chilly, and we had to stop twice to nurse and we didn't last very long, but it was so fun to get out. The Colonel has been off work since the baby was born, and we are SO enjoying having him home. He heads back to work next week, and I'm already to sad (and a bit panicked!).

There are so many things that I forgot about having a newborn, but it's slowly coming back to me. I definitely feel more confident this time around, and little Sam has softened my heart to other things as well. Somehow, in all the chaos and sickness, I've been able to find more patience than I had before. I've been more sensitive and kind towards Major, and I absolutely appreciate what a great father The Colonel is. I seriously could not do any of this without him!

So, happy fall from the family of 4!

When it rains, it hails

2010-09-23T17:13:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday, Major and I were just minding our business waiting for Daddy to get home from work when it started pouring rain. Daddy made it home fine, and then 10 minutes later it started hailing. It started with small hail, and then gradually got bigger....until it was the size of a baseball!! I'm not exaggerating...see the pictures!

It started like this...

And then became this...

Our front yard...

Our backyard...

I ran in to get the camera (we were hanging out in the garage looking out at it) while my brave, stupid (who knows?) husband was running out to retrieve the stones (he DID have a board over his head and back to protect him) so I could take pictures of them. The hail lasted for about 20 minutes, I guess. It sounded like bombs were landing on our roof. When they hit the cement, they made the scariest sound and bounced toward us. I kept pushing Major further into the garage to keep him safe.

The boys were enjoying the show, thinking it was pretty cool...but I was almost in tears. All I saw were $$ signs.

My mom was out shopping right then, so Dad called her and told her not to come home. She drove over to our church and took cover under the awning there until it ended. Dad had to scramble to clear a spot in their garage for his truck - he's been working on the garage, so all their tools and stuff were piled up in the middle. We hurried and moved the lawnmower and trash cans so Mom could park in our 3rd bay when she finally made it home.

It was pretty scary...my Kansas born and bred husband had never in his life seen hail like this. We still have 3 stones in our freezer - between tennis ball and baseball size.

The insurance adjustors are SWAMPED, and so here we are a week later, and our adjustor was supposed to come today. But, this morning it was scary windy, so he called and postponed until this weekend.

So, you kow what's happening right now???

It's POURING outside and has been for the last 3 hours, at least. Great. Baseball size hail holes in my roof and it's pouring. And once the insurance and roofer agree on what needs to be done and price, then we can FINALLY schedule a new roof to be installed (all of our neighbors have already been told their roofs are totaled)...but who knows when they will be able to get to us. And in the meantime, a new baby will be entering our lives in 6 weeks. 6 WEEKS!! Please God, let this all be settled by then!

My Big Boy

2010-09-20T13:59:00.006-05:00

In two weeks, lil Major will be 2 1/2...30 months...I can't believe it. In some ways it feels like he's been part of our lives forever, but it's really only been 2 1/2 years. Of course, I can NOT imagine my life without him now.

He is so much fun and so frustrating...sometimes at the same time. He is smart and happy and loving and anything else a proud mama can say.

He amazes me every day with all that he knows and all that he remembers. We were driving by Lowe's the other day, and he points and says, "that's where the big green bug is up high and they have tractors like Daddy's and lawn mowers." Seriously, how does he remember all that??? He remembers people and names and who they belong to and what they have at their house.

He definitely knows right from wrong and how to push Mommy's buttons. He knows that if I mention "the spoon" that I'm really serious. He knows that Mommy has a baby in her belly, but if you ask him if he wants a little brother or sister, he usually says "no." =)

He says please and thank you. He loves baseball, basketball, golf and football, but nothing beats swinging in the backyard or at the park. He never tires of driving cars with Daddy or reading books or watching Cars.

He loves his bedtime/naptime routine, and he is a champ when it's time to go to sleep. He still loves to rock and sing with his Mommy, and he reminds me to pray if I forget. Before I walk out of the room, he always says, "see you when I wake up." Sometimes he tells us, "don't let the bed bugs bite."

He knows the ABC song, and he can recognize some of the numbers. He can count to 14 (on most days), and his favorite songs are: This is the Day the Lord has Made, the Patient song, and Jesus Loves the Little Children.

As we drive along, he calls out all the vehicles he sees: Hummer, cement truck, trash truck, mail truck, fire truck, Jeep, Motorcycle, police car, ambulance. He also knows where we get ice cream (Freddy's), tater tots (Sonic), french fries (McD's), Bob the Buffalo (Ted's Montana Grill), treats (Quik Trip) and gas (Dillons)...and he calls all those out as we go by. At least once a day, he asks to go to one of the "treats" places. It's so hard to say NO to the little guy.

He's wearing size 9 shoes, but he's well on his way to size 10. He's in 3T shirts and 2T pants, and he still has the most beautiful big blue eyes and super long lashes that melt me into a puddle when he looks at me. I can't help but smother him in hugs and kisses many many times each day.

He loves to give bear hugs (complete w/ a growl), kiss his Mama, "pound it," salute like Papa, and wave and blow kisses. When we leave Mema and Papa's house, we have to stand in the yard and do our goodbye routine for several minutes...as we run through all the ways to say goodbye.

As the time ticks by until baby #2 arrives, I'm finding myself feeling a little sad. I'm so excited to meet the new baby joining our family, and I'm SO ready to not be pregnant anymore, but I'm SOOOOO sad that my one-on-one time w/ Major is coming to an end. No matter what, I want Major to feel just as important and loved after the baby as he does right now. And I don't know how to do that, because there's no way I can give him as much attention post-baby as I do now.

I'm trying to remember all that as these days go by. I'm trying to close the laptop more and get down on the floor and drive cars or build blocks (as physically difficult as that is now) more often. I'm trying to completely absorb him right now. Our lives changed dramatically when he came into our family, and they're about to change again. I'm so excited and scared and nervous and sad....all at the same time.

Major - I love you so much more than you can know. You are my first born, my sweet sweet Major, and I will always remember how special these first few years with you have been. I'm so excited to see you become a big brother, and I know that you will do an awesome job! I love you, baby boy!

quick post

2010-09-12T22:21:00.007-05:00

Well, I really thought I would have posted about my big 27 month old by now, but I've been busy w/ other stuff.

The Colonel and I escaped for our very first trip away w/o the boy this weekend. We've both been on trips ourselves, but this is the first time we BOTH left him at the same time. Everyone involved did great!! Mema and Papa had a blast playing w/ him, he loved all the attention, and Mommy and Daddy had a very relaxing time in Oklahoma City.

I got a great deal on Groupon for our hotel (LOVE that site!), we saw a movie (although it was the WORST movie I've seen in a long time - don't waste your time on The American!), and ate lots of good food. Oh, and took naps, read, watched TV and we were able to carry all of our stuff into the hotel in one trip. Ha!

SO, an update of my boy is still coming. In the meantime, here's a pic of the happy couple (complete w/ 31 week belly).

UPDATE: Oh, and apparently, I've been out of the workforce for too long, because my engineer mind can't even add anymore. My boy is 29 MONTHS old, not 27. Oi.

coming soon...

2010-09-07T13:57:00.003-05:00

How did months and months go by w/o me even looking at my blog??? Well, my kiddo turned 27 months old this week, and it's high time I update about him. Unfortunately, I'm sitting in Panera with my new laptop (whee!), and I've got to get going to get to a doctor's appointment and then a haircut, so updating will have to wait. But, here's my promise. It will come SOON...and now that I've put it out there, I'll have to follow through, right?? Also coming is a belly shot....I can't believe I'm almost 31 weeks!! My ticker says 65 days....aahh!! It's really 59 days since I'll be having a scheduled c-section. Woah, better get busy!!

See ya soon!

Remembering the Good 'Ol Days

2010-06-28T21:27:00.004-05:00

Jody's super fun giveaway gave me a chance to remember my favorite vacation (so far). 4 years ago, before we moved to KS, before we even thought about Lil Major, before I started this blog, The Colonel and I took an amazing vacation to Ireland.

We spent a full week sightseeing, celebrating my BFF's wedding, and acting like locals in Ireland. It was the best vacation we've ever had. The Colonel golfed on the links, I sipped mimosas and ate fruit and cheese. We had tea in the afternoons. We slept in a castle. We drove on the "wrong" side of the road. And I'm so ready to go back!

Here's a picture of us at the Rock of Cashel. This was the first day that the sun came out...I think it was on day 3 or 4.

It's not my favorite picture of us on our trip, but it's a picture from my favorite trip. My camera broke right when we got to Ireland (figures!), so I had to rely on photos from others, and somehow I never kept digital copies of all of them. I DO have an amazing scrapbook from our trip that I will treasure always.

Can you give up your coffee for one day??

2010-06-05T21:27:00.002-05:00

I've posted about our friends who are working to adopt two little boys from Eastern Europe. These two sweet boys both have Down's Syndrome, and they're in danger of being transferred to a mental institution for the rest of their short lives if my friend doesn't get there first to bring them home.

At this point in their journey, they've submitted all their paperwork, and they're just waiting for the immigration services to tell them to travel and start the process in the boys' country. Of course, there are TONS of expenses associated w/ traveling so far away... and they may have to stay for as long as a month. Not to mention that they have 9 other children who will need cared for while they're gone.

If you can spare some change or give up your coffee for one day or skip that ice cream cone....it would be so awesome if you could donate just a bit to the Nance's. All the info about giving and praying and what comes next can be found here.

I'm so excited and can't wait to meet these little boys!

Mama Bird

2010-06-02T22:18:00.002-05:00

A Mama Bird showed up at my house today. I have no idea where she came from, but she sure got a lot done. Yep, it was me. For the first time in a REALLY long time I was productive...all...day...long.

I never had any nesting instincts when I was pregnant with Major. I wanted to be "ready" for his arrival, but I never had any sudden bursts of energy or major organizational urges. But, this time...wow...I feel the need to purge my house of all unnecessary CRAP (and there's a lot!) and clean things that have never been cleaned since we moved into this house.

So, either the nesting bug found me or my decision to get my booty out of bed at 6am and enjoy some ME time on the deck with the paper and my coffee and a gorgeous morning got me motivated for my day. I didn't even realize how much I got done until I started thinking about it. Here's what got accomplished today:

* coffee and paper on the deck
* two loads of laundry folded
* taught my class at the Y
* trip to the grocery store
* started organizing stuff for our garage sale
* went through all my scrapbooking stuff and pulled out a bunch to sell
* sorted through too small clothes in Major's room
* completely cleaned and dusted Major's room
* cooked dinner for my family
* vacuumed the main floor
* cleaned all the screens, windows and blinds in my family room (and if you've seen my house, you know it's ALL windows)
* worked an hour doing my internet job

Whew...that's a lot for this girl! So now I'm sitting on the couch enjoying some So You Think You Can Dance. Yeah baby.

My Sweet Boy

2010-05-15T20:07:00.002-05:00

Although I don't know if he exactly understands what it means, Major knows that there is a baby in Mommy's tummy. If you ask him where the baby is, he points to my tummy. And on more than on occasion I've had to remind my wild 2 year old that he has to be careful and not jump on Mommy or he'll hurt the baby. So, he knows that baby is in there.

The other night we were rocking before bed, and I told him that I loved him. And then, my super sweet kiddo, totally unprovoked, said, "I love you, Baby," and leaned down and kissed my tummy. mush...that's what I turned into. And then I smothered my #1 baby in kisses.

And then this morning we were watching 3 Men and a Baby on TV (it's been AGES since I've seen that movie), and Major was totally enthralled. He couldn't get enough of seeing the baby on TV. A little while later he turned to me, pointed at my belly, and said, "Baby, out!" Oh sweet boy. I had to tell him that baby needed to stay inside Mommy for a while longer.

I hope he's still this excited and interested when the baby does arrive this fall! =)

The big celebration

2010-04-20T07:46:00.009-05:00

Since I'm so late in posting about my son's second birthday, I will go ahead and honor my very first niece for turning 12 today, and I will post about Major's birthday on Miss Kaylee's birthday.

So, 15 days ago, Lil Major (who is not so little anymore), turned two. Because his birthday was the Monday after Easter, we partied ALL weekend long.

Saturday was a little cool, but spring had FINALLY arrived. We took full advantage.

It started w/ a small party w/ both sets of grandparents. We hunted for Easter eggs, ate yummy BBQ'd hamburgers, indulged in sugar cookies and cupcakes, and opened lots of presents. Poor Major had a terrible cold and wasn't feeling all that well, but we made the most of it. He got lots of snuggles from Mema and Grammy, so it was still a good day.

helping Papa put together his new bike...

My poor boy was too sick to go to church on Sunday, so Daddy and Major stayed home and rested while I went to church with Mema and Papa. But, he definitely wasn't too sick to open his Easter basket...

And after a good nap, we headed outside for some golf lessons with Daddy and to ride the new bike.

So, Monday was his actual birthday, and we were still partying! We met up with Aunt Jayme and the girls and with cousin Michele and her kiddos and her sister w/ her kiddos -- 4 moms, 9 kiddos, and 2 baking babies (more on that later) for some fun at the zoo. It was pretty windy, but we didn't let that stop us.

And it wouldn't be a birthday without a trip to Freddy's for burgers, fries and frozen custard. Yum yum!

My little bambino turned two! He's the most amazing kid, if I do say so myself. He learns something new every single minute, I swear! He is talking so much, making sentences and putting thoughts together. He loves to read and watch Cars and drive trucks and play trains. He told us "love you" for the first time recently, and he just melted my heart. He says thank you when you give him something, and if something is confusing or unexpected, he says, "oh dear." He waits excitedly for Daddy to come home each night, and he grabs your hand and says, "walk with me" when he wants to show you something.

Oh, he is such a joy, and we love him so much...and come this November 11, Veteran's Day, our 10th anniversary, he'll have a little brother or sister for us to love just as much!

Happy 2nd Birthday, big brother Major!

Helping Kids

2010-04-10T07:48:00.005-05:00

In the last several weeks, there have been 3 deaths in Wichita that have just devastated me. They were all children - all under the age of 19 months.

The boyfriends of the mom in two of the cases (men who are NOT the childrens' father) are accused of MURDERING them...abusing them, hurting them, and ultimately killing them. Both moms are 20 and have multiple children by different men. They left their precious charges in the "care" of monsters. One of the kids (19 months) was abused so severely that the medical team said they'd never seen anything like it. His fingernails were pulled out, his leg was broken and was deformed, he had sores in his mouth from being stabbed with a fork, his collar bone was broken -- there was not an inch on his body that hadn't been severely injured.

To make all of this worse, in both of these cases, neighbors and/or family members had reported to the authorities suspicion of abuse. In both cases, the authorities decided that no further action was required and the report didn't suggest abuse. Now, both kids are dead. The third case is still under investigation - the child was a newborn.

On one hand, I'm almost glad the children are safe and secure in our Father's arms...they can't be hurt anymore. But, seriously, why did this have to happen???

I have a good friend here in Wichita who is working feverishly to adopt two children from Eastern Europe. These two boys (Alec and Zhenya) are about to be transferred to a mental institution, and if Stephanie can't raise the money and finish the paperwork by then, it will be too late. These precious boys will spend the rest of their (short) lives strapped to a bed, with no stimulation or opportunities for learning or physical contact.

They deserve so much better than that!! See, the reason they'll be transferred from the orphanage to the institution is because they have Down's Syndrome. Most of them have living parents, but these parents chose not to keep them because of their disability. Stephanie loves these children so much! Her youngest son has DS, and it's given her a love and a heart for these kids. I'm amazed daily at her passion and strength! These two boys in Eastern Europe need her and her family! Here's another tidbit about Steph. She has 9 children of her own...yet, she still is willing to open up her heart and her home to bring these boys HOME. Amazing!!

Steph has a blog where she writes about their adoption journey. One of my favorite posts is this one where she writes about another family's adoption journey and the impact it had on her. And I can't find the link right now, but she has a friend who just came home from starting the process in Europe to adopt some children, and her report of the conditions was horrific. The children (4 and younger probably) were inside a large playpen where they were TIED to the walls, so they couldn't move. These kids who are 3 or 4 weigh 20-25 pounds, they can not walk, they can not speak, some of them can not even sit up. They need our help and love and rescue!

As you can imagine, an endeavor like this is very very costly, and it's also time sensitive (the boys will be transferred this summer, at the latest). Steph is hosting a giveaway for a quilt that she made if you donate to their adoption fund. You can donate on her blog here.

If you can spare a few dollars, please consider helping her out. I love that I can be a part of the amazing thing that her family is doing by adopting these kids -- just by giving and praying and supporting her. I'm so excited to get to know these boys and watch them interact with their brothers and sisters and learn about our God. I don't know if adoption will ever be what God has in mind for our family, but I'm absolutely sure that God wants me to support Steph in her journey to adoption. Can you help, too??

This Morning...

2010-04-08T19:16:00.002-05:00

This morning when I went in to get my TWO YEAR OLD (yes, he turned two while I've been absent from my blog...pics to come soon) up for the day, I saw the sweetest, cutest, melt-your-heart sight.

He was sitting up with his stuffed giraffe in his arms, and he was showering Giraffe with kisses. Then he picked up Bear and covered him in kisses. Then he told me, "blankie kisses," and he covered his favorite blankie (made by Marge) in kisses.

And mama swooned. My boy. So sweet. Adorable. And such a lover. Please, Major, stay like this forever.

March 1

2010-03-01T07:42:00.005-06:00

Who knew that time goes in warp speed after you have kids?? My boy is going to be 23 months old this week, and then in a month, he'll be 2. Wow! Actually, he already seems like he's two to me (we've even seen a couple temper tantrums already), and I've called him 2 a couple times.

He's still such a joy. He learns so quickly, and it's so fun to watch his little personality emerge. He loves cars and trucks and trains and airplanes (I think I see a transportation themed bday party in my near future), and he also loves ALL sports...but mostly ba-ket-ball. He can spot a basketball hoop from a mile away. He also loves to pray, and it just melts my heart every time I see it. He bows his little head, mumbles his prayer, and then pumps his fist in the air and shouts A-MEN!! (the prayer is at the end of the video...first he has to play w/ daddy's elbow)

We've been spending several hours each week at the YMCA, where he LOVES to play in the Kid Zone. I kept him out of there for a long time, but it was due to my own fears, not his. Now we both love it! Actually, I think we both NEED it! =)

I'm done w/ my one of my part time jobs - the one that was most stressful. Now, I just have 3 part time jobs that I'm doing. Ha! I'm doing some internet research (from home, in my jammies!), I'm still teaching classes at the Y, and I'm subbing in the schools. I had my first assignment last week. It went fairly well, although the 7th graders just about did me in...and I sent one of them to the office. I have two days of high school girls PE this week - pray for me!

Here are some of the activities that happen when Daddy plays hooky from work (not really, he took a vacation day so I could work)...we LOVE it when Daddy is home!

So MUCH

2010-01-31T22:29:00.006-06:00

Wow! Three posts in the same month (just barely!). When was the last time that happened??

So much is going on, so much has happened...I've had productive days and days that I just look at the pile on my dining room table and want to scream and pull my hair out. I've figured out that I'm one of those Type A personalities (that's not the surprise) who wants everything to be perfect, so I just keep putting things off b/c I don't have time to see them to completion RIGHT NOW. Thus, the mess on my dining room table, in my office, in my closet, in my bathroom cabinets. Grr. I hate this.

I AM determined to get organized, though. We are trying to do some rearranging in the basement, and this will require me to get rid of A LOT of stuff and organize A LOT of stuff. I started w/ a couple boxes of stuff that I've been toting around since elementary school and high school - no lie. I found notes I wrote in junior high, papers and cards I wrote to my grandma when I was a kid, pep rally Mums from high school, sheet music from marching band. Oh boy!

I went ahead and spent some time looking through all of it again, and decided it would be the LAST time I looked through it all b/c then I trashed it. There's just no reason to read AGAIN about who was mad at who in seventh grade.

I also organized all my scrapbooking stuff. I'm THIS close to selling all of it...but then...what if I want to pick it back up again? What if I want to start making cards? Well, at least it's organized for now.

My office if full of junk, and I want to turn it back into a storage room - it's intended purpose - and move the office out to the main room of the basement, where I'll be forced to keep it organized or be REALLY embarrassed.

So, with all of the reorganizing going on, I still have everything else. I've put in my notice at my super time-consuming, bothersome job, and I'm fully certified to sub teach in the schools. I was supposed to complete my first assignment on Friday, but we had a snow day. And I'm glad. I was exhausted.

Last week was made up of driving back and forth all over the state of Kansas (or so it seemed) taking my MIL to the hospital and back to visit my FIL (he's well and home now), and taking the boy to the babysitter, going to teach at the Y, driving across town for meetings, and trying to get all my errands done before the snow hit on Friday.

I also found time to take a meal to a friend who's on bed rest, make a thousand calls to my sister and mom to see how Sis was doing w/ some VERY early contractions, go to my Mom's group, attend a slumber party w/ our Mom's group leadership team, play in the snow w/ my son, and take our annual family outing to the train show. Whew. I'm glad it's all over.

Now it's time to start another week. Pray that I can be productive and not get sucked into FB and blogs and stinkin' bejeweled blitz. I need a week to get some other stuff done!!

And since you so patiently listened to my rant and complain, here are some pictures from around our house lately.

Mema's glasses...

Reading the paper w/ Daddy...

Heading out to play in the snow...

Mommy's helper...

His first snow angel, perhaps??

My sweet sweet sweet boy...

Not a Mama Post

2010-01-08T17:55:00.003-06:00

Wow, I think that this might be one of the first posts since Lil Major was born that is NOT about being a Mama...but then again, it kinda is in a way.

After I had my little bundle of joy in my arms, I knew there was no way I'd be able to leave him and go back to work full time. So, I found a part time job. It was the best arrangement I could have asked for. I worked 24 hours a week, 3 days a week, and my mom watched my kiddo. Great, right?? Yeah, it was, until the economy tanked and I lost my job.

Ok, move on. So, I did. I found another part time job. At first, this seemed like an even better deal (aside from the 65% cut in pay). It was only 10 hours/week (or so I was TOLD), I could work whenever I wanted, and some of it I could do from home.

What I DIDN'T know at the time was that I would NEVER work just 10 hours/week, my cell phone minutes (that I paid for, not the company) would shoot through the roof, and I would work 7 days/week. But, still, it was part time...averaging about 18 hours/week.

So, here's the rub. I didn't know how easy I had it working full time. I went to work for 40 hours each and every week. I played on the internet, I paid my bills, I made my doctor's appointments...all during my 40 hours. Which meant that when I got home in the evenings, I could do whatever I wanted to.

Working 3 days/week at my first part time job, I never once got on the internet, I paid no bills, I made no personal phone calls. I had work to do! Work that had to be done in just 24 hours/week! No biggie. I still had a couple other days of the week to myself.

At THIS job, I work harder than I've ever worked at any job. I get paid the least of any job I've ever had. I work more days/week than any other job I've ever worked. I do have a pretty decent boss who backs me up, but I also have a "dotted line" to corporate, which is not fun at all.

Let's sum it up: I make 65% less, I work 65% more, I have 65% more stress, and I get 0% of household stuff done while I work.

I get it though. I am paid by the hour, and I only have a few hours to be, physically, at my place of business, or on my computer at home, so I have to make the absolute most of the time I have. Which means no fooling around.

I don't have any idea why I thought I would work less by having a part time job. Aarrrgghhh!!

Don't worry -- plans are in motion for yet ANOTHER part time job which will require less headaches in some ways and WAY more in another way. I'm trying to substitute teach. No extended days. I can say YES or NO to an assignment. No taking work home with me. AND, I can make the same $$/month by working 6 days/month instead of every day/month!

I'll let you know how it goes.

21 months

2010-01-05T20:25:00.004-06:00

I can't believe it's been a whole month since I last posted. I guess it was a pretty busy month, but still. Time goes by so fast these days.

My boy is 21 months old today! He is amazing, he's the smartest kid out there (we all say that about our kids, right??). =) Well, at least his Mama is proud of him.

His vocabulary has grown and grown this month - he's starting to repeat words when we say them (uh oh - better watch out now!), and every day I hear something new from him. I can't even remember all the words, but here are some of them: wa-wa (water), bounce, choo choo (complete w/ the arm motion for the horn), tra truck (trash truck), shoe, sock, elbow, knee, lap, and NO. I'm not so crazy about that last one, but I guess it had to show up sometime. I still haven't heard YES out of him.

He has some favorite activities and most of them have to do with Christmas gifts. He got a train table and a basketball hoop that are very popular around here. I'm trying to push the boy towards b-ball rather than football -- just call it a paranoid mama. He still loves to read books, but now he comes to you with a book and asks to sit in your lap to read it.

He loves to put on his Daddy's shoes and belts. It's hilarious to watch him try to walk around the house w/ a big belt wrapped around him twice, and humongous shoes on his feet. I should just keep my camera attached to my body at all times to capture all of this. Here's my best try.

When we rock together at the end of the day, he puts his head on my shoulder, and I ask him for a kiss. That little booger lifts his head, puckers up, leans in towards Mom, and then turns his head really quickly and says NO in the cutest little voice you've ever heard. Then he turns his head back and puckers up so I can kiss him. Oh, it's one of my very favorite things.

He is getting taller...he can reach to the next highest drawer and further onto the kitchen counter and table. I have to be extra careful that breakable and dangerous things are FAR out of his reach.

My kiddo has been sick for the last 3 weeks. It started out as a runny nose and a cough when he woke up. It was just annoying at first...but then, the symptoms continued, and then his runny nose started producing green nastiness and then his cough got worse, and then he got a fever. Finally, I called the doctor, and they had us come in. They said he was starting to get a double ear infection and his sinuses were all messed up, so we left w/ a script for antibiotics. And while we were there, they gave him his 2nd H1N1 vaccine, and wouldn't you know it, but my tough boy didn't even CRY when he got poked?? He's way tougher than his dad and mom!

I'm praying for healing, because we're getting tired of being stuck in the house. Well, I've still had to leave to work, but he hasn't been out much in the last week, especially. Not that we want to go anywhere, it's supposed to be a high of 9 for the rest of the week!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas, filled with lots of food and laughter and games and gifts and family, and a little bit of snow. It was so fun to see Major's face as he walked out and saw his gifts and the lights...what a blessing to have him in our lives!

20 months!

2009-12-06T21:31:00.004-06:00

My boy turned 20 months old yesterday. Where does the time go?? It seems like just yesterday my mom was telling me that once he hit 4 months, he'd start sleeping better...and I thought, are you kidding me?? 4 months is forever away! And here we are...20 months!!

He's growing and learning and so fun and SOOOOO cute, if I do say so myself.

His vocabulary changes every day, and I'm convinced that it grew by leaps and bounds during the 5 days we spent w/ cousin Captain. Some of Major's latest words are: cracker, milk, water, marshmallow (do you see a trend here??), duck (it had been just the quack sound for duck, now it's very distinctly DUCK), goose, moon, balloon...and I'm pretty sure he said, "where go Mama?" the other day.

I'm so proud!

He smiles and giggles and laughs no less than a thousand times a day. He loves to snuggle w/ his mama, and when he's tired he grabs my arm, and he wraps himself all around me. When he wakes up, he grabs everything out of his crib to take with us to the living room. And then he has to make sure we turn everything off and shut all the doors we pass on the way out. He LOVES music and loves to dance. Any kind of music and this kid starts bouncing to the tempo. And when a song finishes, or a dance ends, he's the first to start clapping and shouting "Yay, Yay!"

Some of his favorite phrases that he says...that we encourage him to say over and over and over and over are, "Oh YEEAAAHHHHH!" and "Oh boy!"

Whenever anyone leaves, or Major leaves somewhere, he must POUND IT with everyone within a square mile, and we can't leave until he finishes. Thanks for that one, Captain!

Oh, how I love my boy. I love his sweet hugs and kisses. I love his voice as he calls out for Mama when he wakes up. I love his giggles and games and tickles. I love how he brings books to me and then turns around so he can back into my lap for reading time. I love how he puts his stuffed giraffe on his push car, so they can ride around together.

I love how excited he is about all the Christmas lights everywhere. If he walks into the room and the Christmas tree lights and the garland lights and the lights on the mantle aren't all turned on, he insists that I do it right away. When we ride around in the car, he points and oohs and aahhs over all the lights around town. And he TOTALLY gets unwrapping gifts...in fact, I don't know how he's missed the wrapped gifts that are under the tree -- must be the thousands of lights that are everywhere else in the house. =)

There are some things that aren't so much fun, but I guess it means he's learning -- I found 5 socks in his trash can today, I'd been wondering where they were...and he's learned to unlock and open the dishwasher, and how to take his tray off while he's sitting in his high chair (and throw it to the floor), and how to climb up into the chair in the living room and stand up, almost giving his Mama a heart attack as he just about topples over the arm, and he's FINALLY learned the fine art of a sippy cup, and man that kid can drink water and milk.

Life is full and busy and crazy and exhausting, but oh so much fun!

Here he is petting the dog we saw at the Night in Bethlehem at a local church. He was so cute all bundled up, and he just stood there petting the dog for as long as I'd let him. He loves animals!

And here are both my boys at Daddy's favorite restaurant, Jack Stack, in Overland Park.

To sleep or not to sleep?

2009-11-21T08:48:00.002-06:00

That is the question I ask myself every morning when The Colonel gets up for work. See, I like to have a little time to myself before Major wakes up, but that means I need to be up by 6:30am at the latest. And even then, that's sometimes too late to get up.

BUT, that means I have to get my booty out of bed that early. I always wake up when The Colonel gets up -- what I mean is, I open my eyes for a brief moment and glance at the clock. Then I lay there and think about getting up.

But my bed is so warm, and my puppy is usually snuggled next to me, and it's so COLD in the house.

But, if I don't get up, then the boy will wake up, and I will be forced to try to get ready while he turns my closet upside down...he pulls dirty clothes out of the hamper on to the floor, all of the Colonel's belts come off the rack, my makeup brushes are yanked out of the drawer...all while I'm trying to wash my face, brush my teeth and attempt to look presentable.

It's not that I'm still tired when the alarm goes off in the morning (well, sometimes I am), it's just that it's so cozy in bed and I'm not always ready to start the day. Of course, if I don't start the day on my terms, then my super busy toddler will start the day for me.

What a dilemma!

Since I became a mom...PART 2

2009-11-20T13:10:00.002-06:00

One of the things I forgot to mention the other day about SINCE I BECAME A MOM is that I have lost my short term memory...since I became a Mom.

If you tell me something, and I don't immediately write it down or put it on my calendar or add it to the very large and ugly stack of papers on my dining room table, then I will promptly forget it forever...or until I'm lying in bed or standing in the shower or in some equally inconvenient place.

Which is why I forgot the very thing that made me write the SINCE I BECAME A MOM post, the one thing that triggered my mind into thinking about all the things that have changed...it just flew right out of my head. And believe it or not, wine did not have anything to do with me forgetting...this time. =)

So anyway, here it is:

It's the holidays. The air is crisp, the leaves are falling, the skies are blue and beautiful, and most people are in good spirits. So, charities are out in full force (including my employer, but that's another story, altogether) asking for money. They tug at your heart strings and play you videos and show you pictures and ask for your donation to help their cause.

In years past, I had NO problem ignoring most of these pleas. I chose not to answer my phone or open my door. I scrolled quickly past the blog posts and deleted emails without reading them (sorry if some of them were from you). I read my bulletin during church instead of paying attention to the video. But then....but then, I had a child. And all of a sudden, everything changed.

Every time I hear a sad story about a child who is ill, I think about how it could be my child. Every time that I see a child go without medical care or food or love or shoes, or anything! my eyes well up, and I start thinking about adopting a little baby from India so they don't have to live on the streets. I come home from women's dinners and church activities and craft fairs, and I tell my husband that we NEED to give to this charity and this missionary and that cause. I tell him the stories that I heard, and just when he might be about to agree to give...I hear about ANOTHER cause that needs my help! Aaahhh!!

What do I do??

We are not made of money. In fact, we are SO not made of money. If only I wouldn't have wasted so much money years ago when we were young and single and had 2 amazing incomes....oh wait, that's another story, too.

Anyway, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to give to all the great things that I hear about, but we can't. So, I choose the few that we can help monetarily, and we decide to pray and cry for the others. And thank God every single day that we are SO blessed to have a healthy and beautiful child...a child who never goes hungry, who has lots of shoes and too many toys and is surrounded by friends and family who love him unconditionally.

Just another way that things have changed since I became a mom. If you are looking for somewhere to donate some of your love and finances to, these are some of the organizations that I have fallen in love with. Check them out if you get a chance:

World Vision - a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision provides hope and assistance to approximately 100 million people in nearly 100 countries. In communities around the world, we join with local people to find lasting ways to improve the lives of poor children and families.
- and a special story about World Vision here

Reese's Rainbow - International Down Syndrome Orphan Ministry -- Outside of the U.S. children born with Down Syndrome are viewed as outcasts with no ability to learn or be functional members of society. They languish in mental institutions, hidden away from the world in shame. Reese's Rainbow provides financial support to families trying to rescue and adopt these children.
- a personal story about plea for help for Reese's Rainbow

Samaritan's Purse - For over 35 years, Samaritan's Purse has done our utmost to follow Christ's command by going to the aid of the world's poor, sick, and suffering. We are an effective means of reaching hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. This, in turn, earns us a hearing for the Gospel, the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Our emergency relief programs provide desperately needed assistance to victims of natural disaster, war, disease, and famine. As we offer food, water, and temporary shelter, we meet critical needs and give people a chance to rebuild their lives.

The Luca John Foundation - this is a charity that was founded by my neighbor's daughter and son-in-law after they lost their little boy shortly after his birth. They provide support (both financially and emotionally) to families who lose infants. It's amazing to see the love that has come out of such a tragic thing.

If you're looking for a cause to support this holiday season, all of these are amazing. If you already have your favorite cause to give to, thank you so much for your giving spirit. Reading these stories makes me realize how blessed we are to live in the way that we do. We are so lucky....and there are so many others who need our help!

And to end on a light note...one more thing SINCE I BECAME A MOM...my jeans no longer fit, I run into doors and walls because my hips stick out more than before, and coffee has become a non-negotiable.

Since I became a mom...

2009-11-18T22:10:00.005-06:00

I get less done, I cook more, I snuggle and hug and kiss and love more...

...since I became a mom.

I notice cute kids "driving" the cart from the little car in front. I notice moms who are mean and impatient and rude to their kids in the store. I check out that super cute stroller on the bike path. I smile and tease the baby in the cart in front of me.

...since I became a mom.

I can no longer tolerate F bombs. I couldn't really tolerate it before, but now it just really grates on me. Now I'M the one muttering under my breath about those idiot kids.

...since I became a mom.

I can no longer watch movies about sad things unless it has a happy ending. And I especially can't want shows or movies where kids are hurt. (I bawled like a baby through Australia today and don't even get me started on Slumdog Millionaire.)

...since I became a mom.

I ABSOLUTELY can NOT understand what possesses someone to hurt or sell or torture or kill a child. I can understand the frustration and impatience you feel with a child, but they are depending on YOU to care for them. How in the world can a caregiver do so much damage to a child. (Little Shaniya's story in NC is eating me up!)

...since I became a mom.

I now understand what people meant when they said, "you'll feel differently when it's your own." Boy oh boy, do I get it now.

...since I became a mom.

BUT, I still don't get how all of that love is inside of me. Where did it come from?? How in the world did it just SHOW UP when my boy was handed to me? And where did the extra love (and patience and adoration and appreciation) for his daddy come from? God is amazing, that's all there is about it.

...since I became a mom.

Now, I can really appreciate the sacrifice and the AWESOME AWESOME gift that God gave to me when He allowed His Son to die, to SUFFER so immensely, on the cross, just so that I could live. Oh, what a sacrifice it was. I can't even fathom.

...since I became a mom.

nerve endings are closer to the surface, tears come more easily, laughter and smiles come more readily, chores go unfinished, priorities change...

...since I became a mom.

And I'm SO loving all of it!!

So Big

2009-10-16T09:28:00.002-05:00

My boy is getting SO big. He learns something new approximately every nanosecond that he is awake. I am just amazed!

I just watched him (purposely) drop his sippy cup of milk on the floor. Then he marched over to the oven and pulled off one of his washcloths. He took the washcloth to the spill and bent down to wipe it up. Apparently, one wash cloth wasn't enough because he went back for one more. Then he tried to throw the washcloth in the trash, but I'd locked him out of the pantry where the trash can is.

We hear a new word almost every day now, too. Last night he said "drink," which is how we refer to his cup and anything that he drinks. It was bedtime, but his cup was sitting on his dresser, and he wanted to finish it before bed, so he pointed and said, "drink!" He also just started saying "Off" as soon as he wakes up, because he wants me to turn OFF all the stuff in his room - fan, radio, humidifier. So sweet.

He picks up on EVERYTHING! Oh, how I love this boy. More and more every single day...even when he's pulling everything off of the counter or out of the drawers, or dumping his milk on the floor so he can fingerpaint in it, or when he's wriggling while I'm changing a poopy diaper or tugging on my pants screaming while I'm just trying to make lunch as fast as I can...I love him...

Who's Really In Charge

2009-10-11T22:17:00.003-05:00

It's obvious by these pictures who is REALLY in charge in our house...

Now that the boy can climb up into the chair like a big kid, and he knows exactly what to do with the remote, I think that we will have to watch Colby's Clubhouse nonstop from now on! I love this kid!!

I made some chocolate cookies today, and I think they were quite popular w/ the male species in my house...

The light of my life

2009-10-08T18:47:00.002-05:00

Since my blog is seriously lacking in the cute boy area (cute boy = my kiddo!), here's a video of the kid's latest antics. As much as his daddy is opposed to him becoming a soccer player, I think the boy has some skillz! =)

Fall is here!

2009-10-08T17:56:00.003-05:00

Life seems to be passing me by FAST! My last post was at the end of August, and now here it is October and the weather has turned cool and the leaves are changing, and I'm the mom of an 18 month old!! Wow!!

We've had a very busy week so far -- the boy had his 18-month check along with 3 shots, I had a check w/ my doctor that resulted in some medicine and a flu shot, and I also took my first trip to the dentist in 4 years. Luckily, my teeth still look great after all that time. I've taught 6 aerobics classes, driven all over to drop off and pick up my son, attempted to take the dogs to the vet (our walk-in clinic we love is closed for a couple weeks, but I didn't know that til I got to the office), and went to Fire Safety week at a local museum. And it's only Thursday!!

Tomorrow is Mom's Day Out, and it's my turn to be OUT! I'm meeting a friend for coffee, and then I'm debating about coming home to clean or hitting the mall to do a little shopping. What a decision, huh?

I know I've been absent from here lately, and I've been spending my blogging time on facebook, but I think I'm missing my blog. Maybe you'll see more of me in the near future!

In the meantime, here's a new recipe I tried today. It was SO yummy! I only made half the recipe because my butternut squash was small. And I may have calculated the curry powder incorrectly because my soup had quite a bit of spice. I liked it, but others may not like it that spicy. I paired it with hot Naan right out of the oven. Oooh boy! So good!

SLOW COOKER CURRIED SQUASH SOUP

INGREDIENTS
1 large butternut squash (about 4 lb), peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 10 cups)
1 large apple, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 3/4 cups)
1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
3 1/2 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
1/2 cup canned coconut milk (not cream of coconut)
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 small red apple, unpeeled, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup), if desired

DIRECTIONS
1. Spray 4- to 5- quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, toss squash, apple, onion, curry powder, salt and white pepper. Pour broth over vegetable mixture.
2. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.
3. Pour about 3 cups of the soup mixture into blender; add coconut milk and brown sugar. Cover and blend until smooth; return to cooker. Blend remaining soup mixture, in 2 more batches of 3 cups each, until smooth; return to cooker.
4. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 10 to 15 minutes longer or unto hot. Serve topped with chopped apple.

I got the recipe from the Pillsbury website -- here's the link: http://www.pillsbury.com/Recipes/ShowRecipe.aspx?rid=46164&WT.dcsvid=Mzg0Njc0OTg1OQS2&rvrin=DBBD7E49-9BFB-43A8-A8E2-10E93C187E70&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_PB_10_06_2009&rvrin=DBBD7E49-9BFB-43A8-A8E2-10E93C187E70

The Longest Week EVER

2009-08-28T04:42:00.003-05:00

Things have been pretty busy and chaotic around here lately...my "part time" job (have I posted about that yet?? it requires its OWN post) has taken over my life, I'm planning a surprise 40th birthday party for The Colonel next weekend, and we have friends and family coming into town - in fact, I'm awake and posting at 4:41 am because all the little things I need to accomplish were bouncing around in my head not letting me sleep. I got up to make a bunch of TO DO lists before I forget what I need TO DO, and now here I am - posting.

So, on top of all of this, we had a very unwelcome guest in our home this week. It showed up late on Sunday night - just after I'd closed my eyes to go to sleep. The Stomach Flu invaded our house. It started with Lil Major and went something like this:

Day 1 - puking (every 30 minutes for about 13 hours)
Day 2 - fever and rag doll syndrome (the boy would NOT move and when you picked him up, he was just limp)
Day 3 - appears to be getting better, little spurts of energy, and then...
Day 4 - Diarrhea AND Daddy gets the bug - bad!

I caught a hint of it on Wednesday evening - terrible headache, exhaustion, but maybe that was from not sleeping for 2 nights as I lay on the floor next to my son, with the puke bowl only inches away. Then on Wednesday as I drove from meeting to meeting, I started looking around my car wondering what I could puke in if I needed to. Luckily, I didn't need to. I came home from my meeting to find The Colonel had come home from work sick, I forced Lil Major to go to bed early, and we were all in bed by 7:30pm. I slept hard and long that night and woke up Thursday feeling almost normal.

Too bad The Colonel couldn't say the same. He's been moaning and groaning ever since. AND NOW, Mema has it, and it may have hit her the worst! So, it's kinda weird how it's affecting those of us who have been around the kid...the less time you spent w/ him, the worse it hits you. Makes no sense. And I feel so bad for Mema b/c she's miserable, and her TO DO list is as long as mine to get ready for next week. Bah!

Just to show you how bad it's been, I didn't even THINK to get out my camera and take a picture of my super cute but so pitiful limp noodle son as he lay on the floor (seriously, he NEVER just lays anywhere unless he's asleep in his crib!).

And we had to cancel Mom's Day Out this week (b/c it was my turn to work, and obviously, I couldn't take the sick kid w/ me). And my TO DO list is growing and nothing is being crossed off. And it's stinkin' 4 something in the morning, and I'm not sleeping.

And it's only Friday morning.

The LONGEST week EVER...

16 ½ Months

2009-08-21T14:33:00.005-05:00

It’s been WAY too long since I posted. I think about posting, I start to plan out posts in my mind, I think about which pictures to post…and then…life happens, or I read all of your blogs, and then I never post. But, I’ve read some of your posts about the new things that your kids are doing as they get bigger, and I decided I need to do that for Lil Major...especially since I haven’t added much to his baby book lately.

We've been busy this summer. We've been to Dallas, to Indianapolis, and to Oklahoma City. We've been to the zoo, Exploration Place, the park, and the pool. Time flew by, and I can't believe it's almost time for The Colonel and I to have birthdays. And our little bambino has been very busy, too.

So, here are some things that my sweet baby boy (who is growing up before my eyes!) has been up to lately:

You say: Hummer, Papa (which means Daddy and Papa), Up, cow, duck, and you just said drink for the first time.

You know where your body parts are: hair, ear, nose, hand, foot, knee, head, tongue, tummy

You know animal sounds: cow, duck, monkey, sheep

You know the signs for more and please. We’re working on: thank you, all done, and help

You are FAST – you can get into an unlocked cupboard or the pantry in record time! So, you keep Mommy hopping, that’s for sure! You also can open most of the doors in our house – sometimes it’s fun and keeps you occupied as you close yourself into your room or the closet and then open and close the door a hundred times…other times it’s scary, like when you open the door and try to get into the garage. Baby proofing has happened in our house this week, and Mommy is MUCH happier now.

You love the water. At the beginning of the summer, you were a little nervous in the pool, but ever since our trip to Dallas, you can’t get enough. You love the sprinklers, fountains, and hanging out in the pool w/ Mommy and Daddy.

You call every SUV a Hummer, much to Daddy’s dismay. You love to play with the trains and Daddy’s RC airplanes, and your favorite time of day is when daddy gets home from work and you play in the basement and on the stairs.

When we ask if you want to go outside, you get SO excited. You start kicking your legs and jumping around until we get outside.

You love to read, and you bring us books many times a day to read. You also love balls, any ball, all balls! Including the 6-pound medicine ball, which you carry around the basement like you’re a body builder.

You wear 12-18 month clothes, but most pants are too big around your waist. You wear a size 5 shoe, and you’re about 30” tall.

When we go out with the stroller, you would rather help us push the stroller than ride inside of it.

You’ve started to have a bit of separation anxiety, and sometimes you’re sad when we drop you off at the nursery at church or when we leave you with Mema and Papa. But, it only lasts for a few minutes, and then you get busy playing with your toys and having fun.

The night before you turned 15 months old, you decided that you were done nursing. You just stopped like that! Mommy was a little sad, but it was time.

Right after you turned 16 months, you stopped taking your afternoon nap. Mommy was ok with you having only one nap, but we wanted it to be an afternoon nap. So, we started finding fun things to do in the morning so that you wouldn’t get too sleepy, and now you just nap in the afternoon.

You are a pro at getting your diaper off, and you love to run around naked. But, after a freak peeing incident, we closely monitor your naked time. =)

My boy is so much fun. He loves his mama and daddy, and he's quite the cuddler. I love him so much, and as much as I welcome naptime and bed time, I also love watching him learn and discover when he's awake. Life is full and busy and stressful and fun and passing by way too quickly!

The Boy's Hobbies

2009-06-25T09:40:00.004-05:00

Well, I guess if the Colonel has a bunch of new hobbies, it's only fitting for the boy to have his own.

Here's a little bit of what my kiddo has been up to lately (besides developing his personality and adopting WAY too much of his mom's temper and impatience...oh boy!).

Sprinkler fun on those scorching Kansas summer days...

Learning how to fly the remote control helicopter (in the house!!)
The first official haircut! Kelly said he was the BEST first haircut she's ever done. I think it was b/c Daddy was holding him on his lap.

100 degree days caused us to break out the new sprinkle pool for the backyard. Thank goodness we have big shade trees to sit under!!

And his newest thing, closing himself in the pantry so he can watch the light go on and off. Apparently, he's not afraid of the dark!!

The Colonel's New Hobby

2009-06-10T23:11:00.006-05:00

I think my husband is going through a mid life crisis. He's given up golf (apparently, he's a horrible player now). He's given up his trains (he's done all he can w/ the space he has, or so he says). And he's on to something new...

Remote controlled airplanes! His first venture is a mini stealth bomber. But, he has his eye on several others, as well as an RC boat. Oh boy. We're in trouble.

Tonight we went out as a family to try out the plane. It's just made of foam so we have to make sure it's not windy. And, HELLO, we live in Kansas...it's very rarely ever NOT windy. But, tonight it was calm, so off to the park we went.

It was so fun to watch him fly the bomber around. Of course, Lil Major loved it, too, and when he wasn't picking dandelions and trying to eat them, he was watching his daddy intently.

So much

2009-06-05T10:05:00.005-05:00

Life has been pretty busy lately. I can't even imagine what it would be like if I was working full time. Well, I DID work full time for a couple weeks when I was doing Census work and my YMCA job. I've been neglecting my blog...big surprise. I'm still reading everyone else's blogs, I just don't comment as frequently and I, obviously, haven't been posting on mine.

So, what has kept me so busy?? Let's see...

I finished my work w/ the U.S. Census. Let's just say it was an experience. The pay was crap, but probably pretty good for these parts. I was supposed to knock on every single door and give a little spiel about why I was standing on their property. I got to the point where I knocked as softly as humanly possible so that I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. I did meet some nice and friendly people...including one lady who grew up in San Luis Obispo (I had my Cal Poly Engineering sweatshirt on)...we ended up talking for an hour and they showed me how they make wine and I even left with a bottle of wine. I was technically (as far as YOU know) off the clock when I accepted the bottle of wine. Ha! =)

We had a surprise 65th birthday party for my MIL, and we even got my SIL to fly in from TX for it...she had a terrible ride in, was diverted to another city, and got here 4 hours late...but she finally got here. And we had a BLAST at the party...MIL was VERY surprised!

I'm still working for the YMCA as a group exercise coordinator, and I finally taught my own class this week. I'm just subbing for one of my instructors who's busy for the summer. It was a lot of fun, even though I had to yell b/c I'm an idiot and couldn't figure out how to work the mic.

I met w/ 3 friends and our gaggle of boys (7 boys between the 4 of us + 2 girls) yesterday. We're making our own Mom's Day Out program for the fall. We'll pair up and watch ALL the kids (probably only 5 at a time) one day a week, so that every other week we have a day to ourselves. My mom gave me the idea, she did this with a friend when we were kids. I'm so excited! We'll start in August.

Mom and I are taking the boy and heading to Dallas next week. We'll stay with our next door neighbor from YEARS ago. I'm so excited to see her and her boys! It's been a couple years since I've hung out with her. And it will be so nice to get out of Dodge (er, Wichita) for a few days. When we get back then I only have a week and a half until we head south to OKC for our annual family reunion and a small family vacation. Again, woo hoo! Different scenery...even if OK isn't that different from KS.

AND, one more trip (so far) coming up this summer -- a very LONG drive to Indy to visit my sister and her family. That will be a longer trip and I'm looking forward to relaxing, seeing a new Buddy baby, and maybe seeing some other friends I haven't seen in way too long.

All that, and my boy is 14 months old today. So crazy! He is growing (size 5 shoes now!) and changing every day. He says Mama, car, uh oh, Dada, up, and a bunch of other stuff I can't understand. He climbs over and under stuff, tries to climb out of the bathtub, and practices getting on an off his car toy like it's a motorcycle. He goes crazy when his daddy comes home, and he LOVES to play with the RC Hummers w/ The Colonel. He is ALL boy, he never stops moving, but he still snuggles and gives his mama kisses. I love him more and more every day - and somehow that's possible. =) He loves to be outside and swinging in the park is a favorite. He finally started noticing the animals at the zoo. Oh, and I totally see his daddy's personality in him. He's wild and fun and animated when he's at home or with someone he loves and knows well. But he clams up and just watches when he's in a big group of kids. SO The Colonel!

We head to the pediatrician on Monday for his 14 month check and all of his shots. This is the round I'm nervous about...the one that some thing causes Autism. Pray for Lil Major and for Mama on Monday! No complications...no side effects...all is well...healthy baby boy!

Got Milk?

2009-05-25T06:27:00.002-05:00

My 13 Month Old!

2009-05-05T10:31:00.004-05:00

I'm pretty sure that my boy just turned ONE yesterday...so how is it possible that he's 13 months old today??? Time just flies!

Jenn posted super cute video of her daughter walking for the first time, and it made me realize that I'd never even taken any video of Lil Major walking. So, I had to fix that. He started taking steps at about 11 months, but he didn't really start walking more than crawling until a couple weeks ago. Now, he obviously prefers walking to crawling. My little boy is growing up...already!

Treats at my Door

2009-05-04T22:20:00.004-05:00

My good bloggy friend Jody made my day today!! I can't remember how Jody and I "met." It may have been through another blogger friend, who I also can't remember how we met. But, as we've gotten to know each other through facebook and reading each other's blogs, we've come to realize that we have a lot in common - politics, faith, and a love for Ireland which includes a love for Bulmers, aka Magners (a YUMMY Irish cider).

So, when Jody recently spent some time on the East coast where you can actually buy Magners, I licked my lips and thought how I would LOVE some of that for myself. And you know what she did??? She carted some all the way home to middle America, AND THEN she sent some to me!! What a friend! A friend who I've been longing to meet in person, but it just hasn't happened yet. Some day...some day!

Playing Catch Up

2009-04-21T20:45:00.006-05:00

Time just flies by. I can't keep up with what day it is or what I need to do. I totally spaced on Bible study last night, and didn't make it at all. And that was after I spent an hour crashing to finish my study that I hadn't kept up with all week.

Why am I so busy??

Well, because I went from being a stay at home mom to a mom with 2 part time jobs (where one is full time if I want it)...and I have a one year old running all over the place, too. And I want to go to the zoo and to the gym and out for coffee with the girls and I have a pair of pants in my car that need to be exchanged at the mall, but I can't seem to make it to the mall EVER. And my house is a disaster and my fully stocked pantry is starting to dwindle and it's GORGEOUS outside, but I haven't much noticed.

Oh, and the kicker?? My Bible study is all about how to make sure your priorities are right...guess I shouldn't have skipped out last night. =)

So, what are my jobs? I went through training recently to become an aerobics instructor, and at the end of that training, I heard about a job opening at the downtown YMCA as the group exercise coordinator. It's a position that I always thought sounded fun, but it came up at the perfect time. It requires organization and management and passion - all things that I definitely have. It pays crap, it's at the only branch in town that doesn't have child care, and it's a 20 minute drive from town, and it's definitely challenging...but I think it's going to be fun. It's supposed to be 10 hours/week, but with phone calls and emails from home, it's a lot more than that.

The second job is a top secret government agent. =) That's partly true, actually. I'm working for the census bureau to prepare for next year's census. Mom and I are both doing it. It's a temporary job for 8 weeks, and then we may be rehired for further assignments in a few months. You can work up to 40 hours/week, but they want you to work at least 30. I'm struggling to get in 20 hours. I'm wondering why I thought I could do both of these. Poor Lil Major is spending lots of time in his stroller walking around neighborhoods with me. He likes it for the most part b/c the weather has been so nice.

So, I'm working and working and working some more. I'm NOT getting to the zoo or to the swings at the park or to the mall to return my pants or to my bathroom to scrub the scum away. And the thought has passed through my mind that if I was still working as an engineer, I'd be working 40 hours/week and making about 4 times as much. Of course, my schedule is completely my own and I make it up as I go. I suppose it's only temporary.

As a reward for listening to me rant and rave, here are some pictures of my super cute boy. First up is Lil Major in his (or at least Mommy's) favorite shirt that his little friend gave him. Thanks Shell and Baby!!

We LOVE the "Cow" Poly socks!

This smile is for you, Baby!

We had a nice Easter, although it was freezing cold and raining. There were no egg hunts or big Easter baskets. Just some candy and strawberry shortcake. The Colonel bbq'd chicken for us in the cold and rain, and we just hung out. But, I did get some cute pictures of my boy...

My child has curly hair like his daddy. But it only shows up when his hair is wet, so i had to document...after I ruffled it up to stand straight up!

Now that spring is here (FINALLY!), The Colonel has been forced to break out the lawnmower again. So, the other day we introduced Lil Major to it...

After all that work, it was time for a relaxing swing...

We're enjoying any time we get to play, and I'm so enjoying watching my little man grow and change and learn. I'm so thankful for my time with him!

Celebrating Turning One

2009-04-10T19:47:00.008-05:00

Last Sunday, on Palm Sunday, Lil Major turned ONE whole year old. Somehow the last year has flown by. It's gone by so fast that I have to look at pictures to remind myself how little he used to be. In some ways, he still looks exactly like he did as a newborn, I think. Some of his facial expressions are the same, and there are a whole slew of new ones.

We had a small family party on Sunday afternoon. In all my good-mama-wisdom, I chose to have the party start at 3pm. I figured we'd get a good nap in before all the festivities. Well, when the boy didn't sleep well, and the in-laws were late...well, things didn't go exactly as planned.

We started out by watching the LONG video I made. I could watch it every day. It's so fun to see how much he's changed over the last year. Anyway, there's a link to it on my FB in one of my notes if you want to see it.

Then we let the boy have a go at his cake. My mom and I (well, mostly my mom) made a super cute giraffe cake for us to eat.

Rerun thought the cake was for him...don't worry, there were no more traces of dog drool by the time we were done...

See the picture of our inspiration cake? Mom did AWESOME!!

I tried out this girl I found on craigslist to make a small cake just for Lil Major. She sent me a bunch of really cute photos of cakes she'd made. I guess it turned out ok, but my perfectionist self thought it could have been a bit better for just a round cake. Oh well. It didn't turn out to matter much b/c the boy was starting to melt down by then (we hadn't even done presents yet!), and he didn't eat much of it. A little anti-climatic if you ask me!

We rushed on to presents while my mom cut the big cake to serve. The kiddo got some great stuff! Puzzles and a towel and toys and blocks and a mini bench and a zoo membership and SUPER COOL Cal Poly clothes (thanks Shell!!) and the cutest polo shirt ever (thanks Agnes!) and a huge stuffed alligator.

We had a fun day, although it didn't seem quite real to me. How is it possible that I have a one year old? A toddler? A little boy with a wonderful personality, whose eyes light up when Mommy or Daddy walk into the room...God is so good, and I'm so thankful for my little man. I'm so excited to see what this next year brings.

After all of the excitement, Lil Major decided it was time for night night and marched himself back to the bathroom for his bath and snuggle time with Mommy. night night!

One Year Later

2009-04-03T16:24:00.002-05:00

I've been a bad blogger. I didn't intend to, but most of my readers (except for you Jillian) are my FB friends now, and it just seems so much easier to update FB than my blog. Poor blog.

But, this week my blog deserves some updates. It was one year ago today that the journey to Lil Major's birth jumped into high gear. I'd been home from my trip to CA for about a week or so, and my body decided that it was DONE being pregnant. I headed to the hospital for a blood pressure check, and I didn't leave for FIVE WHOLE DAYS, and when I left, I had a HUGE part of my heart in my arms...in the form of my adorable son, Lil Major.

Wow! So much can happen in a year, and it goes by so fast. I've been working on a video of the boy's first year. When Jenn told me Julianne's video was 13 minutes, I was SURE that mine would be much shorter. I didn't have THAT much to show. Well, Jenn, I got ya beat...16 freakin' minutes!! And that was cutting it down!! I don't think I'll post it on my blog, but I'll put it on my FB (Jillian - I'll email you a link to it), and if you want to gush and goo over my cute boy for 16 minutes, have at it. I won't be (too) offended if you choose not to spend your 16 minutes that way. But, I can tell you...I'll be watching it over and over and over again from now to eternity!

I will be the mom of a one year old, an official toddler I guess, in just 2 more days. We've got the party planed (just some family), we'll make the cake tomorrow, I've got gifts to wrap. All that stuff is fine...but it hasn't hit me yet. That he's going be a whole year old. That he's walking around and talking and recognizing words and GROWING UP.

I never imagined I could love him so much, or that having him would make me love his Daddy more. People try to tell you about it, but you just don't get it until it's YOU going through it. Oh how my life is different, and I love (almost) every bit of the change. Ok, so getting woken up multiple times in the night isn't so fun, but I still love to cuddle with the monster.

Our weekend will be full, and I may shed a few tears, but I think I'll spend most of my time celebrating my little boy!

Provoking Question

2009-03-25T19:44:00.003-05:00

So, as I was driving to the vet this afternoon (the VERY long way since google maps was WAY wrong) with my two precious puppies in their crate in the back of my car, I started thinking. I thought about how horrible it would be if I was rear ended with the dogs back there. Would they be ok? Would their crate be demolished?

And then I wondered what I would do first after an accident like that. Would I jump out and check on the driver of the other car? Or would I climb into the backseat to check on my darlings...the dogs, that is.

And I can tell you FOR SURE that I would check on my dogs first. They're part of my family, I've loved them for 7 years, and I have no clue who the yay-hoo is in the car behind me who just messed everything up.

What would you do?

Cupcakes

2009-03-13T08:15:00.003-05:00

As if I need another distraction or bullet point on my TO DO list. But, I've found another obsession...besides deal shopping...in recent days. Do you guys read Pioneer Woman?? If you don't, you're SO missing out. I LOVE her blog! And recently she had a contest for people to come to her ranch (to the Lodge which has just been redone) in OK to watch another awesome blogger (who's I've just discovered), Bakerella, make cake pops and cupcakes. Do you know that OK is JUST DOWN THE ROAD from me??? I signed up immediately...but I didn't win. Luckily, there will be more contests coming soon, and I will definitely be signing up for those, too!

Anyway, Bakerella (who posted all about her trip to the Ranch here) makes these AMAZING cupcakes and cake pops...and maybe, just maybe, I could actually do it, too. And I do have a little boy with a birthday coming up, and birthdays every year...and I love to bake.

Of course, it's Lent, so I can't EAT anything that I bake right now. But, that's probably a good thing.

Yesterday, Mom and I were wandering around Sam's Club. I had 2 things on my list to buy. Which is bad, because I walked out with about 5 items. And one of them was this:

It is FULL of amazing looking cupcakes. They seem to be VERY time consuming, but totally doable by a normal average baker, like me. Check this out!!

Yes, they're all cupcakes. And I wish I could take some artistic looking picture of my book, but I'm not so talented in that area, either. What AM I talented in?? Oh, deal shopping. Ok, pity party over.

Here's a cupcake that looks EXACTLY like my dog. How cool is that??

And here's one that has ME written all over it. I will definitely be making this set.

I really had no idea you could do so much w/ cupcakes...but I'm going to be trying to learn in the coming months!

Is there a 12 step program for this???

2009-03-11T10:57:00.003-05:00

I'm totally addicted! Totally! I wait anxiously for the paper on Wednesday morning so I can scour the Dillon's ad for deals. And don't get me started on the Sunday paper. Do you know what gems are in there?? The Walgreen's ad is a diamond in the rough. Ok, enough with the stupid cliches. But, seriously, there are deals to be found out there.

I used to hate Walgreens. The selection seemed small, I could never find the advertised products, and it just seemed more expensive. I reserved my trips there for last minute items that I just had to have and it was the closest store around. AND THEN. I learned how to shop there. How to use the weekly ad as well as the Easy Saver book, rebates, manufacturer's coupons...and I started saving money, big time!!

Here's my latest find. All of the items in the picture below SHOULD have been purchased with NO out of pocket money. But, I screwed up (hey, I'm still learning, too) and whipped out my credit card to pay for one item before I remembered I had a WG gift card. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Check out the photo, and then I'll give you the rundown.

Ignore the half eaten Zone bar, I got hungry on the way home. =)

Ok, let me start off by telling you that I had a gift card to Walgreens with $26+ on it -- that gift card is from rebates at Walgreens using the Easy Saver booklet you can find in the store. If you redeem the rebates on a WG gift card instead of a check, you get a 10% bonus.

I purchased the above in 2 transactions. The reason for that is because I got Register Rewards (RR) on the first transaction, which is just like cash, that you can use on your very next transaction...and I wanted to use it before I forgot I had it.

Transaction #1:
Gillette Fusion Gamer Razor - on sale for $8.99 and I used a $4.00 off coupon from the paper, THEN I got a $4 RR to use on transaction #2. Note: this is where I screwed up and used my credit card for the $5.56 total - I SHOULD have used my gift card.

Transaction #2:
4 Zone Bars - on sale 2 for $3, so $6 total. I had a coupon for buy one get THREE free = $1.59 (seems like it should be $1.50, but it's the way the "2 for" deal rang up. Go get that coupon HERE!!

Huggies Natural Care Wipes (216 ct) - on sale for $6 and I used a $5 off coupon I found on coupons.com (not sure if it's still available, but go look anyway!) There's a special at WG this week that if you spend $25 on huggies products (BEFORE COUPONS), you get a $10 RR - I decided not to do it.

Crest Pro-Health toothpaste - on sale for $2.49 and I had a $1 off manufacturer coupon pluse I got a $1 RR, so the total was $0.49. (I should have done this in the first transaction so I could use the $1 RR on this trans)

Aquafresh toothpaste - on sale for $0.99 with a Walgreens coupon from the weekly ad PLUS I had a $0.75 off coupon. Total was $0.24.

Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste - regular price $3.49 and I used a $2.50 store coupon from Easy Saver book plus a $1.50 manufacturer's coupon from the March All You magazine. Total was a MONEY MAKER! That's right...I made $0.51 on this deal.

I also purchased those bra things, y'know, so your straps don't show. My mom wanted them. They were on sale for $9.99, and I had no coupons for them.

I used the $4 RR from my first transaction, so the total was $10.03. This time I remembered my gift card, so there was NO out of pocket. plus, I got the $1 RR from the Crest to use on my next visit to the store. If I wouldn't have bought the bra things, I would have had to throw something else in my basket (gum, candy, whatever) or else my total would have been negative! Crazy, eh??

AND (yes, there's more), while I was there, I transferred a prescription so when I pick it up this afternoon, I'll use this coupon and get a $25 gift card. Not bad, huh?

It's a little daunting and frustrated when you first start, but it's SO worth it. And of course, I have 3 different brands of toothpaste that we didn't always buy before, but they'll work just fine!

$12 Deal

2009-03-06T20:58:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite deal blogs tipped me off to some sales at Target that worked great with some online coupons.

I got 6 pounds of beef (steaks and roast) and 30 snack sized applesauce containers for $12. Not bad, eh?

Seriously??

2009-03-06T07:03:00.006-06:00

It's been a week since I last posted?? Seriously?? I really do make an effort to post more regularly than that. Of course, if you're on Facebook, you see much more of me these days.

Anyway, it has been a full week. Until yesterday afternoon, I was ready to pull my hair out. The boy is teething...again...and he's fussy...all the time...unless I hold him. It's not a full out scream, it's just some whining. I know I'm being paid back for how whiny I am...er, was.

But, yesterday, I saw the little culprit that has been causing us so much grief. Tooth #7 made an appearance on the bottom of Lil Major's mouth. And then it was 80 degrees yesterday (I'm afraid it's just a tease, I don't think spring is here to stay, yet!), so we bee-lined it to the zoo with Mema and Papa. And because I figured it was the first of many trips (Mema and Papa bought us a membership for Lil Major's upcoming birthday), I didn't take any photos.

It was so much fun to walk around and enjoy the sunshine and watch the people...I mean, animals. Although there were some interesting people out yesterday, too. I should have taken photos of them!

In addition to all of this, the boy turned 11 months old yesterday! I can NOT believe it. 11 months ago I was getting ready for my trip to CA, thinking that I had WEEKS until he would show up...when I really only had a few. So crazy! I'm working on a small family party for his big day - which happens to fall on Palm Sunday this year, and a video/slideshow (thanks to the help from Jenn) of his first year.

We've been seeing a lot of Daddy this week. He forgot his cell phone one day and then he forgot his mp3 player yesterday (he sits at a desk all day and NEEDS his talk radio/podcasts to get him through), so we've been taking his stuff to him in the morning. For the first time, I saw where he has worked for the last 2 years. He showed us around and showed off his "offspring," as he calls the boy. I think Daddy really enjoyed it, so I teased him last night about what he was going to forget today. =) I'm LOVING our family time together.

Our church had a STAGE night this week - it was a chance to show off your talents and hobbies. We thought it was a great idea and expected to see the auditorium packed with all kinds of stuff. Well, there was ONE great display. The Colonel took his portable train set. I've talked about his hobby a little before, but since the boy was born, The Colonel made another train display that can be taken apart and fit in the back of the Hummer. It was the hit of the night! A lot of our friends were there with their kids, and most of them had seen the train before, so they were excited to have another up close shot. Here are a few pictures. The first one didn't turn out well, but I'm posting it so you can see the signs that The Colonel made.

One more thing happened this week, something BIG. Something that we've been waiting for for a while. Something that I'm scared and excited and unsure about.

Lil Major started walking!!! Walking, I say. Unassisted, upright, walking on his own!

Now, he didn't just get up and run across the room like his cousin did, but he did take 4 steps to walk from me to Papa. And he's done that several times since. But, usually just if we encourage him. He knows that he can crawl MUCH faster than he can walk, so he usually drops down to his knees and crawls away. Here's my attempt to capture his mad new skills. I was a little too close, but I promise you, he took 3 steps from Daddy to me without our help. =) My boy is growing up!

Crazy Busy

2009-02-26T08:59:00.005-06:00

Things have been crazy busy around here lately. It's a good thing I'm not still working - how would I get it all done? Actually, I don't get it all done now! This post is my effort to document all the balls I'm trying to keep up in the air...oh, and I need to throw a few more up there, too. =)

It's consignment sale season around here now - one of my favorite ways to shop. I LOVE consignment sales. Oh, the deals to be found. This time I decided to consign a few things myself. I had 28 items, and I sold 24. Not bad for my first shot. I sold some baby clothes that I didn't really care for, Lil Major's swing and bouncer. No, that doesn't mean there won't be any more kids - I just would rather have a different bouncer and a different swing next time. We NEVER used the bouncy seat w/ the boy. I also bought some great things - clothes, toys, birthday gifts, shoes, swim suits. Woo hoo! Here's a sampling...

I ended up spending about $10 more than I made, so I'm only out the $10 and we're set for a while....at least til the next consignment sale. Ha!

I took a test last week to be a 2010 Census worker. It's a part time temp job to help with the national census that officially takes place next year. But, there is a lot of work to do to get ready for it - verify addresses, send out flyers and questionnaires. It won't make me rich, but it will give us a little extra if I get the job.

I'm also still working on my certification to be an aerobics instructor. 3 more weeks of class, a weekend of tests and certifications, and then 4 weeks of team teaching. Seems like a lot, but there's a lot more involved than I realized when I decided to do it. I have a much deeper respect for all those instructors now!!

Lil Major and I also go to our Mom's group at church twice a month. I get to eat some yummy food, hang out with the girls, do a devotion and have fun. And Lil Major gets to have fun in the nursery. And as if I needed any more to keep me busy, I'm considering a Monday night women's Bible Study. I've been meaning to get into one for a while, but I feel overwhelmed. Of course, when will I NOT feel that way?? So, I may need to just go for it.

We've had some good weather lately, so we've been heading to the park to swing. Lil Major loves the swing. We even went on Valentine's Day as a family, even though it was a little chilly.

When we can't get to the park for the good swing, we hang the swing we have in the tree in the backyard and go crazy. And recently, the boy has discovered the rocks in the flowerbed. Good thing he still doesn't put food or other small things into his mouth.

I've also introduced the boy to ice cream, custard, to be exact. He LOVES it. I think it will be a regular treat for us to hang out at Freddy's over the summer.

Mema is trying to teach him to stick out his tongue when she does.

As if all this isn't enough, I'm working on a slideshow for the boy's first birthday (it's only a few weeks away!!)...well, I 'm working on STARTING to work on the slideshow. I have a ton of pictures to organize and I still have to decide what program to use.

AND THIS IS WHERE I NEED YOUR HELP! I need some music suggestions. I'm so bad with that. I need some fun music to add in - songs about babies or families or just songs that have a fun beat or melody. Help me out!!

And on a final note, I've decided, for the first time, to give somethign up for Lent. We're not Catholic, so for the longest time I thought it didn't apply to me. But, the more I think about it, it doesn't matter that I'm not Catholic. Giving something up for Lent just means that I will spend the time between now and Easter focusing on the sacrifice that Christ and His Father made for me. It's such a small thing for me to sacrifice something for 40 days after the sacrifice that was made for me. Not that it will be easy though. I've decided to give up sweets, all sweets, for the next 40 days! And it will be tough for me. I love my sweets - cookies, chocolate, cake, ice cream. But, every time I'm tempted to indulge, I'll think about what Jesus did for ME - that his sacrifice allows me to live, and to live eternally.

If only I had this talent...

2009-02-21T15:52:00.009-06:00

Thanks for more great photos, Lor!

And here's a video clip of my giggling cutie.

FINALLY - the rest of our trip

2009-02-21T15:04:00.005-06:00

It wasn't my intention to keep you all in suspense about the end of our trip to CA - which was now over a month ago, but time has gotten away from me. Facebook has taken over all of my online time, and blogging has taken a back seat.

But, on to the rest of our trip - before I forget what we did. =) After our weekend in the mountains, we spent just over 40 hours in Bakersfield. It was such a short time that I didn't tell very many people I was coming. I knew there was NO way I could see everyone I wanted to, and I didn't want to stress out over trying to fit it all in (especially with a 9 month old who wasn't sleeping well away from home).

I ended up having enough time to visit with a few friends over wine and super yummy homemade tuxedo cheesecake after I got the boy to sleep in a pack and play for a bit. We also had time for breakfast with a good friend of mine and her daughter. Brooke LOVES Lil Major, and I'm so sad they don't live near us so she can be my babysitter. And of course we made time for a few photos with Lorie (I'll post the highlights in a separate post).

Brooke and Lil Major...

After too brief a time in Bako, we headed back up north on the train. It was a VERY LOONNNGG train ride. We were stopped for almost an hour in the middle of nowhere while they worked on a train that was blocking the track. Finally we got back up to my Aunt's house where we collapsed into bed. We spent our last day in CA (a day that was clear and gorgeous, I might add!) wandering around my Aunt and Uncle's cute little bayside town.

On our last night, we met up with my Grandma, my aunt and 2 of my cousins for dinner. I hadn't seen my cousins in a year since we'd been out for my Grandpa's funeral. We had fun catching up and telling stories.
You'd think all the fun part of our trip was over, since we just had to head right to the airport the next morning. And getting up at 4 am to catch the 5am train into the city to get to the airport on time was NOT the fun part (that's why I will ask you to ignore how I look in the photo below)...but FINALLY getting to meet our good friend's son WAS the fun part. They live in SF, and believe it or not, the airport is on their way to work (how lucky is she that her son's daycare is just a minute away from her work?!!). Little C is just a few weeks younger than Lil Major, and it was so fun to introduce the boys. It would have been more fun (for the boys) if we could have met in a park where they could crawl all around, but we enjoyed our time in the food court anyway. Thanks A for coming to see us!!

Our flights home went exactly as planned, and we were able to get our own row on the plane so we could spread out.

The Colonel and Papa met us when we got home, and we were SO glad to sleep in our own beds again. =)

Talking to Mommy

2009-02-07T07:32:00.002-06:00

Lil Major loves to "talk" to Mommy. And Mommy can't get enough of it. Check it out. (Please ignore the annoying stirring sounds at the beginning - The Colonel was making his yucky protein drink)

Trauma

2009-02-06T22:17:00.003-06:00

Although the trauma physically occurred to Lil Major, I think his Mama was just as affected...

This morning, at the EXACT time naptime should have begun, we trekked over to our friendly pediatrician's office for the 10 month check up. The lobby was empty when we got there, so I let the boy play with some of the germ laden toys setting around before we were called back to the way too hot exam rooms.

The 10 month check is supposed to be a breeze. No shots, and no blood, or so I thought. Our doctor is finishing up maternity leave, so we saw the doctor we met when Lil Major was brand new. She looked him over and announced him healthy! He's in the 12% for weight and 24% for height (perfect size, I think!), and he looks great (except for the orange nose that is from eating so many orange veggies...I'm serious!).

Whew! I thought we were done.

But Lil Major had to get his big toe poked for an anemia test. No biggie. Nurse comes in, pokes his foot, squeezes blood out - the boy just wriggles a bit on my lap. And while the nurse leaves to run the 30 second test on the blood, I get the kiddo dressed again.

NOW is when the trauma occurs.

SOMEHOW, while putting on his SOCK, I managed to lose my grip and jab my thumb nail right into the boy's face. I have no idea how it happened or how I missed poking him in the eye. He immediately starts screaming and blood starts to pool on his face. Great!

Right then, the nurse comes back in. I'm about to cry, the boy is hurting, the nurse has no freakin' clue what the idiot mother in room 2 has done, and all she wants to do is tell me he doesn't have anemia and then escape me.

I felt so bad. It took a good 5 minutes and an impromptu nursing session to calm the boy down. It took a lot longer for me to feel better, though. At least if I'd really done some damage we were already in the doctor's office.

Poke in the foot?? No problem...

Mom putting on socks??? Watch out!!!

Keeping a Secret - Part 2

2009-02-05T22:58:00.004-06:00

After 40 hours in NorCal, Lil Major and I boarded a train heading south. Agnes and I were about to set our plan in motion. The time had come for our annual Buddy trip, and I was going to be there!

Our last trip was a year and a half ago. I flew out for that one, too...just not as a surprise. But, I did have a surprise when I got there...I announced my pregnancy! And this year, I was going to surprise everyone by just being there! (Hmm...what should I do next year?? hee hee)

Agnes and I plotted and decided that she would pick me up from the train and we would head up to the mountains a day before the other girls would arrive. That would give us time to get settled with our 2 boys before the chaos and craziness and fun of the Buddies arrived. We made it up the hill fine (well, with a little pit stop for a sour tummy), got settled, took a walk (in the rain), ate a yummy dinner and woke up the next morning bursting with excitement. We just had to wait for them to get there!

And then we waited...and we waited...and we waited. See, mobilizing 6 girls is hard work. They were to arrive in 2 groups -- one mid afternoon, one late afternoon. But, the shops were calling one car load, and a baby slowed down another. And in the end, everyone was late, and Agnes and I were about to explode!

FINALLY, the first car arrived. Agnes met them in the garage holding a baby...but it wasn't HER baby. It was Lil Major! How long do you think it took them to realize what was up?

One girl said, "Oh, he got a haircut."

Agnes said, "No, he didn't."

One girl said, "Hmm...oh, he must look different with a pacifier?"

Agnes said, "He doesn't use a pacifier." (but this baby had one in his mouth!)

Agnes said, "And this isn't my baby!"

AND THEN, everyone was talking at once, they figured it out, and we were hugging and crying, and it was so fun! No one had a clue. We'd pulled it off! And 2 hours later...we repeated the SAME scene again. Same questions, same confusion, same screaming and hugging. Ahh. This was home. My Buddies.

We had a fabulous weekend. We ate too much food (we always do). We brought WAY more food than we would have needed for 20 girls (there were 8). We played games (games that got quite heated and competitive...I remember one SCREAMING match across the table over a round of Nertz...we all love each other still). We talked LATE into the night. We took pictures. We opened gifts. And the time went way too quickly.

Our friendships have withstood many many years, and there are many many more years to come!

part 3 still to come...

10 months!

2009-02-04T21:16:00.002-06:00

Part 2 of our trip is coming...sometime. In the meantime, my boy is going to be 10 months old tomorrow!! Crazy crazy!

He hasn't started walking yet, but it's close, I think. He's a speed crawler and pulls up on everything. He loves to push his walker toy thing around, and he's really interested in the dogs now. He talks to me (video coming soon, if I can figure it out) or babbles, I should say, and he growls more than ever. It's so cute! He still isn't interested in putting food in his mouth, which doesn't bother me b/c it means he doesn't pick stuff up off the floor and put it in his mouth either. We've started to have some whiny afternoons which grates on poor Mommy, but I think he's just growing and teething. And he gets more tired as the day goes on.

Regardless, I love him more and more every day. He's so precious and beautiful and fun and I don't know what I did before him.

And to give you a treat since you're being so patient about the rest of our trip...here are a couple shots the amazing Lorie took while we were in CA...

Keeping a Secret - Part 1

2009-02-02T21:19:00.002-06:00

I'm not very good at keeping secrets. It's not that I want to gossip and spill the beans, I just don't keep things to myself very well. Especially good things. I just HAVE to tell someone.

So, when The Colonel encouraged me to go on my annual Buddy Weekend this year (which I was thinking of skipping to save some money), my buddy Agnes and I cooked up a plan to surprise the rest of the girls. But before we get to that...

I ended up spending 9 days in California with my mom and Lil Major. And in those 9 days, we traveled A LOT of miles. I've been to CA many times since we moved here, but only one of those trips took me to northern California, and I've missed seeing some family and friends by staying down south. This time we flew into San Francisco so that Mom could spend the week with her mom and sister and I could visit with a couple friends from college before heading down south.

BUT before we could get to my aunt's to enjoy time with everyone, we had to GET to my aunt's. That involved flying into SFO, juggling all of our stuff (2 huge suitcases, the car seat, stroller, 2 backpacks, the diaper bag, and the three of us) to the shuttle, then the BART train, and riding to the East Bay with all of that junk at 5 o'clock rush hour on a very crowded train. We made it, somehow. I should have taken a picture of our entourage, but I was too busy balancing the car seat on top of my suitcase. Public transportation is pretty cool in some parts of our country.

I spent about 40 hours in northern California. It was just enough time for Lil Major to play with his Uncle D and the new trains...

enough time for Mom to make homemade chicken and noodles...

enough time for me to visit with two special friends from college, and their little ones. It was the first time I met the baby girls and I hadn't seen the cute boy since he was an infant! We spent several hours oohing and aahing over the kiddos, snapping an obscene amount of pictures, and trying frantically to catch up on the last several years. The last time all three of us were together was probably almost 3 years ago, and it was a quick visit then, too.

(Looks like it was even enough time for the girls to fight over Lil Major...hee hee)

and enough time for Lil Major to spend some time with his great grandma (his ONLY living great grandparent)...

That's a lot for 40 hours!

The next leg of our journey is still to come...

Look-alike Meter

2009-01-30T21:28:00.002-06:00

Everyone always says Lil Major looks exactly like The Colonel...but, this says he looks like his Mama, too!

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Family history

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

2009-01-30T14:33:00.003-06:00

That is one way to sum up my last 10 days. I took a surprise (not to me, but to my friends) trip to California, and in order not to blow the secret, I minimized my cyber time before I left. And then I was so busy having the time of my life - not to mention I had limited internet access - that I didn't post while I was gone.

Lil Major and I are home, safe and sound. And I promise to take you back through my journey just as soon as I can see over the pile of laundry and mail.

Happy Friday, in the meantime!

My New Hobby

2009-01-18T12:36:00.005-06:00

I have a new hobby. It's not that I NEED another thing to do, this just kinda happened. And it's good for our family, well, at least good for our budget.

Remember this story? The true one that The Colonel wrote about me almost 10 years ago now?? Well, I just thought I was frugal back then. I bought things on sale, I clipped a few coupons, I complained and got free stuff when service wasn't up to snuff.

But it was nothing like what I'm doing now. Back then, I never would have gotten all this...

for...only...$12.00!!!

Yes, I got 28 items (5 packages of TP, 3 pizzas, 10 2-liters of Coke products, bread, bananas, 2 packages of butterscotch chips, hummus, bacon, tomoatoes, croutons, pot roast seasoning, and mascara) all for TWELVE DOLLARS.

How did I do it? By watching the ads, clipping coupons (paper and online), taking advantage of store deals and brands...and by shopping smarter! All of these things are things I had to buy anyway - brands I always buy, but I just paid less, WAY less.

I don't know how it first happened. I was on a blog, and clicked on a link and clicked on another, and all of a sudden I found this whole other world. The world of coupons and freebies and discounts and spending LESS money! I've added at least 10 new blogs to my reader, all that have to do with being frugal.

Some of the things I've learned?

* Never pay for toothpaste, shampoo or toilet paper again - those 5 packages of Cottenelle I bought above? FREE - I didn't pay ONE penny for them. I had 5 $0.50 off one coupons, and my store (owned by Kroger) doubles coupons, so they were FREE! Now, I don't like using the drug store shampoo (makes my uber-expensive color fade too fast), so I'll have to suck it up and keep buying salon shampoo.

* Don't clip coupons out of the Sunday paper - save the whole insert! I used to clip coupons I thought I might use in the next few weeks, and then they'd expire before I used them. Now, I save the whole insert, watch the ads, and can buy things I might not have thought of before - but they're super cheap w/ the sale and a coupon.

*Take advantage of online coupons - you can either print out coupons online or there are a few websites where you can load coupons right to your grocery store card and the discounts come off automatically. Check out these websites for that: cellfire.com, shortcuts.com, P&G eSaver

There are tons more tips and deals and info on these blogs...which have become some of my favorites to check daily, if not more frequently.

BeCentsAble
Deal Seeking Mom
Mommy Snacks
Money Saving Mom
The Grocery Cart Challenge
It's Hip 2 Save
Stretching a Buck
The New Frugal Mom

Some of these women share ideas and post together or post very similar things (i.e. weekly store deals), but that doesn't bother me. Seeing it more than once helps it sink in or reminds me to check out a good deal.

In this economy, these ideas are really helping us save money without giving up things we're used to. And it's helping me learn how to stock up my pantry for those weeks when I don't want to spend very much at all at the store. This has made a big difference to us lately, so I thought I'd share w/ all of you. Happy Saving!!

mystery solved

2009-01-16T17:19:00.000-06:00

I've solved the mystery. The one about why women say so many more words in a day than men do.

It's because women have to repeat themselves so many times...because men don't listen, don't acknowledge, don't answer...and women have to make sure the men heard us.

Grr!!

Falling Apart

2009-01-16T07:22:00.002-06:00

Who said that thirty is the new twenty??? I agreed with that statement until recently...when I started falling apart.

I've taken care of my body (ok, so I've missed a few visits to the dentist, but he's SCARY!), I go to the gym, I eat veggies (to balance out the junk food), I get as much sleep as I can. I brush my teeth, go to the eye doctor, get my annual checks. So, why, please tell me, is my body giving up on me this year?

It's like turning 34 had something to do with it. Because since then? I'm a mess.

Ever since Lil Major was born, I've had problems with my back. And I'm finally getting that fixed. My twice weekly trips to the physical therapist have really helped. Yesterday she said that she could really tell a difference in my back. When I first went in, the whole area by my shoulder blade down to the middle of my back was "frozen". It wouldn't move when she rubbed on it, and it was full of knots. She's been able to massage most of those knots out, and I (almost) feel normal again. I still get weird tinglies when I work out or am tired, but the jabbing pain is gone. And the therapy? It's heaven! I start out by lying on my tummy in a dark room with a weighted hot water blanket on my back. Oh, it's my naptime, and it's heavenly! I only have 2 more sessions left, and I'm sad. I really need to step it up to find a massage therapist who my insurance approves.

Besides my back...I went to a new eye doctor last week for my annual check and to get new contacts. This time I went to an ophthalmologist. We switched insurance last year and my old doctor doesn't accept it (oh joy!), so off to the new one. She was really nice, and YOUNGER than me (see, I AM old!), and all went well in the office. My prescription hasn't changed (one good thing), she numbed my eyes for the glaucoma test and then she dilated them. I came home and went about my day. AND THEN, about 7 hours later, my eyes were on fire. I didn't think much of it, so I just went to bed. I woke up the next morning with gunk in my eyes and red in my eyes.

Oh no! I thought I had pink eye! Since it's made the rounds through my sister's house 4 times in the last couple months, I panicked. And if I had it, then I got it at the doctor's office. All of a sudden, I remembered that she hadn't washed her hands when she came in the room...and then she touched my eyes!!

After many phone calls back and forth to the office, another night of gunk in my eyes, and FINALLY a visit back to the doctor (which I'm sure I'll be charged for), we decided it was some sort of reaction to the numbing drops. A reaction that I never had BEFORE I turned 34! So, after a week of wearing my glasses and looking like a freak with red eyes, I think that's back to normal.

What's next you say? Oh yes, there is more. Lil Major got a killer cold as soon as we got back from Indiana. In fact, Captain, my mom, my dad, and ME all got the cold. Everyone is over it...except me! I haven't had a cold this bad in years. Congestion, sneezing, blowing my nose (bright yellow - have you ever seen that??), sore throat, coughing...generally, feeling like CRAP.

I'm convinced it has something to do with being 34!

Finally, I'm starting to feel better during the day. But, at night? My throat is still killing me, I cough like there's no tomorrow, and I get stuffed up. I finally called the nurse a couple days ago. After asking me a million questions, she decided that I just have a cold, and I have to wait it out. Grr!

And here's a funny thing. There was just an article in the paper about how if you get 8 hours of UNINTERRUPTED sleep, then you can usually fight off a cold more quickly or never get it in the first place. Huh. Well, then I will get every cold. I haven't had 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep in over a year!

There's more, but I won't even get into the fact that I'm still carrying baby weight - besides, that probably has more to do with my addiction to chocolate and junk food than anything. =)

If you think about it, pray for this old girl. I need it. And I NEED to get over this cold!

My Little Man

2009-01-12T09:05:00.000-06:00

My sweet baby boy is 9 months old (and one week...so this post is a little late)! He's turning into a little boy before my eyes. He babbles and talks to me. He laughs and giggles when we wrestle and tickle. He pulls up on absolutely everything. He still loves his stuffed giraffes (two of them) and for his mama to sing to him. He is still fascinated by cords and remotes and the TV, and his newest fascination is the diaper pail (gross!) and the drawers in the kitchen. He gets stronger and smarter and cuter (is that possible??) and more lovable every day. And for all the late night wake up calls, short naps, and mischief, I love him all the more!

Lil Major got some great gifts for his first Christmas. But he loves one of them especially (thanks Mema!)...and his Mama is a little nervous about it. See, it's super cute, and he loves to play with it...but it encourages him to walk, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet!

Ice Harvest

2009-01-07T15:08:00.007-06:00

Has anyone seen that movie? Or read the book? They're both really terrible - mobs, strippers, foul language...but it takes place in Wichita, and John Cusack acted in it. Which means, at the time, it was a MUST SEE. Then I saw the book in the library this week, and checked it out to see if it was as bad as the movie...it is.

Anyway, that's not the point of my post. It just reminds me of our fateful trip we took to South Bend while we were in Indiana over Christmas. But, before I get to the story, here are some Christmas highlights.

The cousins started the tradition of opening Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve. They had a little bit of a rough start, though, as they were unsure about opening the presents. Lil Major loved the paper, and Captain just wanted to push his present around the room. But, how stinkin' cute are they???

We opened gifts in the afternoon on Christmas Day, so that my brother and SIL had time to drive down from Wisconsin. Once they got there, we ate brunch, and then hit the gifts. My sis gave me this fork...so that I can steal food from The Colonel's plate w/o getting stabbed. =)

The Colonel got a hat to match his son's...

After an afternoon of playing Wii, eating some more, and playing with new toys, we went to bed with the goal of leaving for South Bend at 7am the next day. We were heading to visit some friends from WAY back. Our moms were pregnant with us together, and we've been friends ever since. We're scattered all over the country now, so this was a treat that we were all in the same place at the same time.

Over the years, we've spent countless hours playing with their family (3 kids about the same ages as us), causing trouble, camping, hiding out in each other's cars to see how far we could get before being discovered. And we even call each other's parents Aunt and Uncle. Still. To this day!

South Bend is 150 miles from where we were. Should take about 2 1/2 hours, maybe a little longer if you stop for the babies. Wanna guess how long it took us??? Over 7 hours!! Why, you ask?? Because we hit a massive ice storm. Did anyone hear about the terrible ice in Indiana the day after Christmas? Well, we were smack dab in the middle of it.

Now, we're not idiots, we checked the weather before we left. I mean, come on, my dad WAS leading this expedition, and he's Mr. Travel Safety (except when I had to remind him to put his seat belt on, but I digress). The weather report said there could be some freezing drizzle north of where we were going. No big deal.

But, about 90 miles into the trip, we started seeing that freezing drizzle. The roads were slick, but we slowed down and were doing ok. Then we started seeing cars in the ditches.

Then I started panicking in my very small space I had in the back seat of the Accord next to Lil Major's HUGE carseat. And then we came to a standstill. For 90 minutes!

Sister was in a different car, but looks like she felt the same way I did.

We thought we were waiting for an accident to clear, but we finally found out that the highway had been closed, 4 hours earlier!! Before we even left home! There was no news about it, no signs on the road, no nothing. We all just sat there, for a LONG time. Finally, the left lane started moving, and we realized that there was an intersection up ahead where people were turning. We followed and ended up in a small town where we ate lunch at Burger King and decided our next steps. I was completely outvoted for going home. Which, was probably a good thing, because we were only 22 miles from our destination and 130 miles from home.

We mapped some side roads (thank goodness for GPS!), and headed out again. 2 1/2 hours later...we finally got there. Besides driving 25 mph, we had to stop several times for the cops to pull people out of ditches. They shut down the whole road to do this.

Are we really almost there???

FINALLY! There's the house!

Our friends were amazed that we made it. They should be, after what we went through! =) We had a wonderful visit with them for a few hours. The house was full of people, kids, laughter, yelling, food, fun, oh, and don't forget the wine (which I very much needed after my day in the car)!

We debated about spending the night in a motel, but the boys in our group vetoed, and we headed home. It had warmed up to 50 degrees while we were there so all the ice had melted. BUT, do you know what happens when ice melts b/c it warmed up to 50??? FOG! Yes, we still had to drive home going no more than 40 mph because of the fog. Grr! At least the boy and I were able to nap on the way. It was worth it, but I think my life will be shorter because of the experience.

So, what started out as this...

turned into this...

and now we're this...minus the photographer, a few kiddos in bed and a grandma who's helping the kiddos...

Trying to Breathe

2009-01-06T19:54:00.002-06:00

Literally....I'm trying to breathe. I've caught the boy's cold. He still has it, but I think he's finally getting better (that doesn't mean the snot has stopped pouring out of his nose, but we're making progress), and now I've got it. And if he felt anything like I'm feeling, I don't care if I spoiled him when I let him sleep on my chest and cuddle as much as he wanted in the thick of it.

ANYWAY, I have a couple posts rolling around in my head that I've been wanting to get up for ages...and I just haven't done it. I'm off to take a very hot shower, and if that helps me feel better, maybe I'll start on them while I snuggle up in bed.

Don't give up on me...I will be back!

2008 - In Review

2008-12-31T17:14:00.004-06:00

So, I haven't told you about our Christmas celebration, but I'll post about that later. I have a doozie of a story for you from our trip. But, since it's the last day of the year, I thought I'd do an end of year post.

2008 has flown by. So much has changed, so much has happened. We have experienced times of absolute joy and awe and other times of terrible sadness and loss. There was a 12 month period in 1997 and 1998 that reminds me a lot of this last year. Kinda weird that it was 10 years ago.

I felt God's presence through so much of what happened this year, and the times that I didn't feel Him? Well, I know that He was there - prodding us along, carrying us through hard times, and making sure that we didn't have more than we could handle (although it didn't seem that way at the time).

We started off the year with anticipation for the birth of Lil Major and a quiet celebration at home. Little did we know what the year would hold for us. Before January ended, I made an impromptu trip to California for my step-grandfather's funeral. The sad time turned into a very enjoyable family get together as I saw family members I hadn't seen in years.

I was able to take a quick trip back to CA in March to visit friends and family before the arrival of Lil Major. It was so much fun to hang out with everyone, including my sister and nephew, and it was the last visit before my parents moved to Kansas.

April was a crazy, exciting, beautiful, happy, scary month. We weren't expecting Lil Major to arrive until the end of the month, but my body had other plans. Just 16 hours after my parents arrived in Wichita, I was sent to the hospital, and I didn't come home until I was holding a precious baby boy 5 days later.

Just a few weeks after Lil Major arrived, tragedy found our family. We lost The Colonel's brother and his wife in a tornado west of Wichita. We spent most of the summer in shock as we grieved the loss of two special people. We learned a lot through our experiences, and The Colonel and I drew closer to each other and our new little family.

When it was time to return to work after maternity leave, I chose to quit my job (that I hated anyway) and accept an offer for part time work with a local aircraft company. The best of both worlds! I got to spend 4 days a week with my son, and still make a decent living working 3 days a week.

It was hard to get "back to normal," if that's possible, but that's what I tried to do in August as I traveled back to CA again for a family wedding a longer visit with friends. The time went by quickly, but I had so much fun. And Lil Major turned into quite the traveler!

After thinking that I would be working 3 days a week for the long haul, the economy took a dive, and I found myself without a job. The sudden change caused me some anxiety, but I'm so thankful to be able to stay home with the boy. And I'm on the lookout for some work-from-home stuff that I can do.

Before we knew it, the holidays were here...and now they've almost passed us by. The year flew by! And I know that time is not going to slow down. Lil Major is growing so fast, and we are enjoying him so much.

Some things that happened in 2008 make me want to say that I can't wait to start over in 2009. But, I will never wish 2008 away -- it's the year that made me a mom, that brought my husband and I closer together, that saw my parents move closer to all 3 of us kids, that we lost loved ones - who we will see again one day. Who knows what 2009 holds for us...I guess we'll have to see where we are in 366 days.

The year is ending in just a few hours (at least in our neck of the woods), so I'm off to enjoy the final moments with my husband...if we can make it til midnight, that is! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-21T11:16:00.005-06:00

Every year, my super talented hubby writes our Christmas letter. This year, a newer member of the family took over the honors...with a little help from his Daddy. So, I bring you our family letter for 2008. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, People,

I arrived early – three weeks early, they tell me. There was a lot of hullabaloo and apple polishing in the hospital, but I found out later it wasn’t for me. It was for the Jayhawks who had just prevailed in a big game. It seems as though I interrupted what was a spirited second half of a basketball game. I was nothing more than a post-game footnote. To make matters worse, my folks were shoddily prepared for my arrival; no car seat, no diapers, no nothin’ – another stick in the eye. I had a bit of a wobbly start, if you ask me. But my Dad tells me, “Don’t fret, son. At least you were born in a red state.”

I am relaxing in my quarters now. As I compose this from my crib, I am gazing up at camouflage netting hanging from my ceiling, camouflage walls, camouflage blankets. My room is dimly lit. Dad tells me it is like a war bunker, whatever that means. All my stuff is brown and green. Even the garb I am wearing. This is really alarming...is everyone’s home like this?

Only six months old and I have traveled more than Bob Hope. SuperMom has lugged me around to seven states and one ocean. Dad usually stays at home. He is already secretly advising me, ala John Madden, about air travel. He says things like “Man was not meant to fly,” and “Watch out for those left coast loonies,” whatever that means.

Sunday afternoons at my house are jam-packed with cheap entertainment. I am learning about Chiefs football. I park myself between SuperMom and Dad and watch them hurl objects at the television while shouting things like “Tackle him! Tackle him!” and “Catch the ball, you loser!” The furry schnauzers run for cover. Outstanding! Dad usually stalks from the room before the game is over, but SuperMom and I sit ‘til the bitter end.

My birth certificate reads ‘xxxxxxx,’ but nobody calls me that. They call me ‘Little Major’ or ‘Major’ or ‘Little Buddy’ or ‘Buddy’. Dad sometimes refers to me as ‘Major Minor’ or ‘The Offspring.’ At this point I will answer to just about anything – I am one befuddled baby.

I have recently learned how to growl. Like a bear. SuperMom and Dad carry me around in the library where I randomly growl at people. Dad says I must have a sixth sense – I only growl at liberals.

Lest I forget what I look like, SuperMom and Dad have installed hundreds of photos of me throughout the house. I am photographed more than Brad Pitt. Snapshots everywhere! Oh well, it worked for the Ayatollah....

People tell me I look like my Dad. Fortunately, he is already warning me of my bleak future. “Get ready for a lifetime of mockery and harassment,” he says. But what does he know? Seven months old and I already have more of a mane than him. Besides, SuperMom is always telling me I am the cutest baby in the county.

Signing off now,

Lil Major

Free Travel!

2008-12-19T21:13:00.002-06:00

Check out Cheap O Air for more info! You've got until Dec 22 to sign up!

Christmas Feeling

2008-12-18T16:10:00.014-06:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here (is that cliche enough for all of you??). It's true! On Tuesday morning, we woke up to this beautiful sight...

And it's been so cold here all week that it's all still on the ground. I'm so thankful I haven't had to drive to work this week. There were a couple days where the roads were just terrible during the morning commute. Thankfully, The Colonel didn't have any problems. Since Lil Major has been sick, he hasn't been able to taste his first snow yet, but we've ventured out for some quick errands. This is as close as the poor boy has gotten to the snow so far...

Before the snow came, we kicked off our season by visiting our Botanical Gardens. They light up the gardens with luminaries and lots of other lights. Even though it hadn't snowed yet, it was pretty stinkin' cold, so we bundled up. Lil Major was bundled up so well, even his nose wasn't cold when I pulled him out of his stroller at the end!

Our house is all decorated for Christmas, and I have to confess that I haven't taken the time this year to just sit and admire it. I've been rushing around too much. But, as I type this, I'm listening to Christmas music, smelling the yummy cookies I just made, enjoying the lights and thanking God that my boy has been napping all afternoon. I need a hot drink, but I'm too comfy to get up.

My decorations look a lot like last year...with a few exceptions. Wish you could all stop by for some coffee and a cookie...guess this will have to do for now.

Welcome to my home! Here's what you see as you walk in the front door.

MIL's 100+ year old piano looks great in the dining-room-turned-sitting-room, and it makes the perfect place for my Nativity set.

The tree and mantle look pretty much the same as years past.

Almost all of my Christmas ornaments have special meaning to me - gifts from The Colonel from our dating days, mementos of past vacations, photos of loved ones, hand made ornaments from elementary school. There are some new ornaments this year, and they're just as special to us.

Front and center on the tree this year is this one...we miss you G&K!

And a couple other new ones...

I LOVE getting all the cards, letters and photos from family and friends. For the last few years, I've been trying to figure out a good way to display all of them. I think I finally figured it out, and my good buddy Marge was my inspiration. I got the idea from a sign she made for Lil Major at my shower.

The house is decorated, 2 batches of poor man's toffee have been made and given away, a new batch of cookies are cooling in the kitchen, and our church Christmas party is this weekend. All that remains to be done to complete our pre-Christmas traditions is to watch Christmas Vacation. If I only had a few more hours in the day...

How are your preparations coming??

The Best Prescription EVER

2008-12-18T08:47:00.002-06:00

For 8 1/2 months, ever since Lil Major came home from the hospital, I've been having problems with my back. I first noticed as I hunched over the pack and play to change the boy or to lay him down to sleep. I just figured I was compensating for a sore belly from the c-sect. At my 6 week check, I told my OB about the pain. She said it was just tired, and not to worry about it.

Well, all this time later, it still hurts...and it's SO much worse. I get numbness and tingling down the right side of my back. The only way I can sleep is flat on my back. It's much worse after a busy day of playing with the boy, picking up the house and doing countless dishes.

After complaining for months, I finally sucked it up and went to the doctor. I'd been putting off going for lots of reasons - I didn't have a regular doctor, I didn't figure they could do anything for me since I'm still nursing and can't take most meds, and I didn't want to seem like a whiny kid complaining about aches and pains.

The doc was awesome. And I'm only slightly freaked out that she's about my age (when did I get old enough to have a doctor MY age??? That's why I refuse to think about the fact that my friend's hubby is a cardiologist...and he's YOUNGER than me!). She thinks it's something muscular since it's off to the side of my back. She told me take Aleve regularly, she signed me up for some physical therapy (which will be new to me), AND she wrote me a prescription to have a massage every 2 weeks!!

Woo hoo! Can't go against doctor's orders, right? My insurance will even cover it, after a co-pay, if I can find a "preferred provider." Sounds good to me!

Mondays still suck

2008-12-15T18:50:00.004-06:00

I haven't worked (a paying job) on a Monday in several months. And now I'm not working (a paying job) at all anymore. But, my Monday still sucked.

It actually started last night. The boy went down easily about 7:30pm. He slept GREAT...for 3 hours. As I got up from working on our Christmas letters to head to bed, I heard him...awake...crying. It took me an hour to get him settled back down and asleep in his crib. He's got a cold and an ear infection, and he's more comfortable sleeping propped up on my chest than flat in his crib. Too bad I can't sleep that way.

After that, he was up every 90 minutes! All.Night.Long! Finally, I kicked The Colonel at 5:30am and made him get up with him - I didn't care that he was working this morning...I needed to sleep!

Finally, at 7;30, I gave in to the cries coming from the nursery and dragged my butt out of bed. The morning went pretty smoothly. We ate breakfast, started some laundry, the boy took a good nap, and then we got ready to go to lunch with my old co-workers and boss. We loaded up into the car, pulled out of the garage, and I hit the button to close the garage door. And then things got crazy. The double door shut, but the single door opened. What? I didn't push that button. After punching at buttons and yelling at nothing, I pulled back into the driveway and went to investigate. I still don't know why the single door opened, but the double door had a broken opener - the chain was hanging on the ground. Great!

By the time I got all the doors properly closed, I was late to lunch. No biggie. While we waited for our food to come, I fed Lil Major his lunch (squash, mango and sweet potato). Then I let him taste a little bit of my mashed potatoes. AND THEN, the boy started coughing...and he puked his entire lunch all over himself. In true mom fashion, I caught most of the puke in my hand. What was I trying to save? I'm not exactly sure.

All of my co-workers groaned and gagged, and I swept the boy up and into the bathroom. Luckily I had a change of clothes in the diaper bag. He spent the rest of lunch cuddling with my boss, and she LOVED every minute of it. I had planned on running some errands after lunch, but due to the puking incident, we just headed home. That means that I forgot to mail the Christmas letters and bills while we were out. nice.

We came home, the boy took another nap, my Dad came over to look at the garage door, and then we had to head back out into the -9 degree windchill so the kiddo could get his flu shot.

All that to say that I wasn't in the best mood when The Colonel got home, so I didn't think it was funny when he asked me what I did all day, and why couldn't I get anything done, and why should HE get up with the kid during the night. He has to WORK all day. I know he was joking, but it was so NOT funny today. And just for that, I'll be kicking his butt out of bed every 90 minutes tonight to comfort the sicky baby.

And for listening to me rant and rave, I bring you some pictures of my super cute kid.

Oh, and I am trying to find some time to take pics of my Christmas decorations and post them. You all should do the same!!

Mail Call

2008-12-12T18:58:00.002-06:00

I've been anxiously waiting for some things to arrive in the mail. Every day I check the box, check the front porch, but nothing is there. FINALLY, everything showed up TODAY. The UPS guy came to my house twice today. Not sure why they couldn't combine it into one trip, but whatever.

What was I waiting for? 3 different photo orders. I ordered a bunch of prints for our Christmas letter and of our family photo shoot. I ordered several photo gifts from Vista Print, and I've WAITING WAITING WAITING for my free Oprah book from Snapfish.

How exciting to get it all in one day. In a mess of cardboard, I ripped open all the boxes to check my goods out. Everything was there, and it all looked great. Of course, Snapfish screwed up and sent me double my order on the prints - but they only charged me once, so all is well.

But, something was weird in the Vista Print box. After I pulled all of my stuff out, there were still 7 calendars in the bottom of the box. And they weren't mine - it was some other family's stuff! I kinda freaked out b/c if it was my stuff that was sent to some random person and I never got it, and I didn't have it for Christmas...what would I do?

So, I called Vista Print (by the way, I've used them several times before and always been happy with their products) to tell them what happened. You'll never guess what this chick (who I think was answering the phone from the Philippines) said. She told me to THROW AWAY the calendars and that the customer would just call them in a few days when they didn't receive their order. Are you kidding me???

I said that I could tell her some info about the product and maybe she could figure out who's order it was so they could reprint and reship. She said NO, that's not our policy. We'll just wait til they call us.

I asked her if she'd rather hear from an irate customer or just fix the problem now. Again, she said, that's not their policy to try to fix it!

I asked for a supervisor. After 5 minutes, the supervisor came on and told me the same thing. I finally convinced her that it would be better to try to figure out who the order belonged to. She asked for the order # on the box. Duh! The order # is mine since it came to me! Oh, she said, well, I need a first and last name then.

Luckily, the family had their names on one of the calendars, so the supervisor was able to find the order, reprint it, and ship it out to them. I told her maybe they should re-examine their customer service policy for how to handle mis-shipments.

Can you believe companies operate like this??? I think it will all work out, and I will probably use them again (they DO have some great deals), but I'll be sure to keep an eye on my delivery dates and make sure I don't wait too long to call when I don't receive something.

What do you say?

2008-12-08T22:31:00.002-06:00

I look forward to getting the mail during the Christmas season. I love to see everyone's family photos and read about their year. But, a card we got today made me cry. And since I'm so anxious to read all the cards, I was driving to the gym when I opened this one...it wasn't my safest driving ever.

The card was from a friend who left her husband this year. The Colonel and I met this family (mom, dad, 2 kids) when we first moved to Texas right after we got married. We love them! We spent a lot of time with them over the years - holidays, vacations, backyard BBQs.

Over the summer, The Colonel got a call from the dad. He told us that he and the mom were getting a divorce. She had found someone else. Apparently, it had been going on for a while, but the parents (our friends) decided not to tell the kids until school let out for the summer. And the dad was giving the mom some time to come to her senses.

She never did. She moved out. Now, I only know half of the story, but the card we got today was from the mom. She said the kids are doing great and they have adjusted well to their "new situation." She also said the kids are "all fine."

How in the world can the kids be all fine?? She was so nonchalant about it. I don't know how to react. I don't want to abandon her, but I don't know how to react or what to say to her. I don't want the dad to think I'm siding with her, and I don't want things to be harder on their kids....what do I do??

Bargain Hunting

2008-12-02T22:46:00.003-06:00

5 days before Thanksgiving, the conversation when something like this...

MOM: Let's push this table into the corner so that there is more room to walk around.

ME: We can't, it's broken, it will fall apart if we move it.

MOM: Well, you need a new table then.

ME: Let's check craigslist.

Four hours later, there was a new (to me) solid maple table sitting in my breakfast nook.

I'm starting to think that The Colonel is right about his "billfold getting lighter every time mom is around." hee hee

My beloved, but broken, red ceramic pedestal table, which was also a steal as I bought the floor sample from Timeless Furnishings, has been chucked to the side...

to make room for my new, albeit smaller, table...bought at the bargain price of $30!

$500!

2008-12-02T15:05:00.003-06:00

Wow, the giveaways in bloggy land keep getting better. check out this one for $500 to Wal Mart. I could do a TON of christmas shopping and still have some left over...Hmm...maybe toward my D-SLR!! =)

Go check it out!

Fun with Daddy

2008-12-01T19:31:00.001-06:00

I don't know how The Colonel comes up with all these super fun things to do with Lil Major. Here is the latest...the kitchen has turned into a race track, and I love it!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-01T17:53:00.005-06:00

I can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone. Where in the world did this year go??

We had a nice peaceful family Thanksgiving this year. Just 9 of us around the huge table we set up in the family room -- The Colonel, Lil Major, me, my parents, the 'Rents, my brother, and a friend of hubby's from work. I wanted a sit down dinner instead of a buffet line because inevitably the first person through the line is finished eating before the last person sits down. We sat down, prayed, and passed the food. And then we told silly stories about our childhood, and The Colonel tried to make his mom pass out with all the crazy scary things he's done.

Our turkey was wonderful, and we have LOTS left over from the 17+ pound bird. I got so wrapped up in the preparations that I didn't take a picture of our table, but it looked GOOD. After dinner, we chatted some more, did the dishes, gorged ourselves on pie, and THEN we made homemade cinnamon rolls. That is a tradition that usually takes place the day AFTER Thanksgiving, but my punk little sister insisted we bring some to her in KC on Friday. Spoiled sis...she got what she wanted! =) (Love you, sis!)

Here are some photos I DID take of our celebration and the day after in KC.

Mema on the piano...

The grandpa's watching TV...

My bro and Lucy...

Grammy and Lil Major...

Grandpa and Lucy, who seems to think she's a cat...

The cinnamon rolls just coming out of the oven...

Papa and his boy in their matching hats...in Costco...my mom's very favorite store.

The cousins...who were not allowed to get any closer than this, as Captain had pink eye.

Whoa! There are 4 babies now!

$100!!

2008-11-29T11:43:00.003-06:00

Anyone out there think they could use a $100 gift card to Wal Mart?? I sure could1

Head on over to Deal Seeking Mom and sign up for her giveaway...someone has got to win!

Happy Shopping!

One Year

2008-11-26T07:11:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Where did the year go??? This time last year, I was only anxiously anticipating the arrival of Lil Major (we didn’t even know he was a boy yet!), and I was on my way to Indy to celebrate the brand new arrival of my nephew. Captain is now a year old! And my boy is almost 8 months old! Wow!

So, here we are a year later, and quite a bit has changed…

Instead of waking up to pee every hour, I’m waking up to soothe a crying baby who refuses to sleep unless you’re holding him (uh oh, I think we’ve spoiled him). My SuperDad hubby has taken to sleeping on the floor of the nursery with the boy until he’s ready to head back to his crib. We pray that this doesn’t continue forever, we’re hoping that it is just because he’s teething and fighting a cold. And hoping my dream from last night will soon come true – that those stubborn top teeth make an appearance and give ALL of us some relief.

Instead of spending hours on the phone with my mom, I can now walk three doors down and hang out with her at her house! And instead of wondering what my little brother is doing way up in Wisconsin, I only need to look down the street to mom and dad’s house. Yes, this is new news…my bro has moved to Wichita and is (for the time being) living with my parents and looking for work.

Instead of sitting around my sister’s house fighting for turns to hold HER baby, we’ll be driving to KC on Friday to steal Sis and her family away from her ILs for a short visit. And we’ll watch our uber-cute boys crawl around and pull up and stand up and hopefully snap some cute pictures along the way.

Wow! What a year! I’m so thankful for my healthy son, my loving husband, my supportive family, my amazing friends (real life AND blogosphere) and The God who knows the plans He has for me and loves me unconditionally. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Full Time

2008-11-23T20:12:00.002-06:00

I am about to become a full time stay-at-home-mom. 3 more days of work, and my employer will become my son...and my home.

This was not my decision, but I am excited about it...on one hand.

I've been working in the aircraft industry, and 3 of the larger aircraft companies here have announced layoffs due to the crappy economy. Over 1600 people are projected to lose their jobs in the next year. Probably more because contractors (like me) are not included in that number.

See, I was offered a full time position with my company, twice in the last year, but I only wanted to work part time. They were fine with that, but I had to go through a temp agency as a contract employee. No big deal to me. I didn't need benefits anyway.

Of course, this was all before the economy took a nose dive. When I hired on, my company was kicking butt, selling more planes than we could make, and everyone was happy. Fast forward 3 months. Orders are slowing down, some customers are canceling orders, and contractors are first on the list to go.

When we first heard about layoffs, I started thinking that I WANTED to get laid off. That way, the decision to work or not wasn't made by me, I would just go with the flow. And then my boss told me on Tuesday that my job was safe. They had ranked all the engineers in our department (over 65!), and I was nowhere near the bottom of the list. They had decided to lay off a couple full time employees and keep me. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be staying at home with the boy more, but also thankful that my salary would continue.

24 hours went by. I got a call from the temp agency confirming that my job was safe. Then my boss called me back into her office after lunch. Apparently, HR had yet been informed that contractors were staying while employees were being let go. Once HR was told, they vetoed...and said company employees got to stay first. I understand, in a way. They'll get more TIME out of a full-timer, but those engineers on the bottom of the list? They're probably not doing as much work as I'm doing in just 3 days.

The bad thing is that by the time my boss called me BACK in, I'd gotten used to the idea that I would keep working...only to be told that I'm out of a job. And I was just getting to the point where I felt like I was really contributing. Oh well.

The good news is that my boss loves me. And WHEN things turn around, I think she will call me to come back. And the GREAT news is that I get to spend so much more time with Lil Major. And maybe I'll even find time to do some of the projects I've been wanting to tackle. The scary news is that our income is dropping drastically. I've got some ideas on how to make our $$ go further, but I'll have to dig even deeper. And I'm looking into some other part-time, work from home, type things. That would be great!

So, 3 more days, and no more alarm clock, no more driving to work in the ice/snow, no more walking a mile in from the parking lot. My emotions are still a little wacky about all this, but I'm so excited to start this new chapter, too!

The Best Rolls EVER

2008-11-21T20:31:00.003-06:00

Ok, I'll give in and share my recipe with you. It originated with my mom's mom, but my uncle has been the primary baker at our holiday gatherings. My practice round went great, so good luck to all of you!

GRANDMA ANNE'S DINNER ROLLS

2 C warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
2 pkgs dry yeast
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C soft butter
1 egg
2 tsp salt
6 1/2 to 7 cups flour

Measure water into large warm mixing bowl. Sprinkle in yeast and stir until dissolved. Add sugar, butter, egg, salt and half the flour - beat until smooth. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle (I think I used just under 7 cups total). Place in greased bowl turning dough to grease top. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and let dough rise to at least double in size. Punch down dough. Form rolls into 2 egg shaped pieces, place in well-greased muffin cups, allow to raise in a warm, draft-free place until baking size (at least an hour). Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes (watch them carefully - every oven is different!).

If you want to make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate until you're ready to let it rise and bake, then cover it and put it in the fridge as soon you've mixed it and placed it in a greased bowl. I used butter to grease my pans and my bowl. Yum yum!

I hope this makes sense. Happy baking!

Rollin'

2008-11-19T20:57:00.002-06:00

Every Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember, My Uncle D has made the most yummy rolls for our dinner. It's actually my Grandma's recipe, but I can only remember Uncle D making them. He makes MANY batches because they're so yummy that you could eat a dozen, easily! And, we HAVE to have enough dough left over to make cinnamon rolls the next morning.

There have been a few years where we couldn't make it to our family Thanksgiving, and Uncle D made sure to try to tempt us with homemade rolls. We begged him to save us some, to overnight mail them to us...but he said no way! You must be present to partake!

And all along I've had the recipe in my family cookbook, but I haven't attempted it...until now.

Thanksgiving is at our house this year, and I decided to make the "Uncle D" rolls. So, my mom, in her infinite wisdom, suggested that we practice before the big day. What a concept! While our boys golfed on Sunday afternoon, Mom and I broke out the cookbook and made the rolls. And guess what? They were AMAZING! They're a bit of work, but SO worth it.

And if we have rolls, then my husband will bounce them on the floor (or at least appear to), and we will all squeal in delight.

Severe Pain

2008-11-19T05:51:00.004-06:00

I have severe pain right now. It's the holidays. I love family photos. I have a new(er) addition to my family. And this amazing girl is too far away to take our photos.

While I was in CA this summer, Lorie took pictures of Lil Major and me. And I LOVE them. See my header for one example. But, we don't have any good shots of us as a family, and I want some, NOW!

So, you Kansas readers (all 3 of you), do you have any suggestions for me? I love Lorie's style - she find the most amazing backdrops in just the most every day things. I don't want the Portrait Innov thing where you all sit in front of a blue backdrop. Oh, and I also don't want to have to choose 3 poses from 100. I want a CD of all the images. (I don't ask for much, do I?)

What do ya got for me??

My Kermit

2008-11-17T07:02:00.000-06:00

As I'm catching up on uploading all my pictures on the camera, I had to watch this one over and over again. Don't I have the CUTEST little boy???

Now that he's figured out the crawling thing, he's a speed demon all over the house.

I'd love for my boy to enjoy eating things that I don't care for. So, I offered the kiddo some avocado. I think it's pretty obvious that he feels the same way about avocados that his Mama does!

Doh!

2008-11-13T07:46:00.001-06:00

As I drove to work this morning, later than I’d planned, I realized that I left my cell phone at home. For a split second, I considered turning around and going back for it. But then I glanced at the clock and decided that I didn’t have time. My next thought was that I needed to call Mom to tell her I wouldn’t be answering my phone today. So, I reached for my cell phone...that I left at home...

What a great start to the day. At least it’s my Friday!

She cooked!

2008-11-10T21:26:00.002-06:00

I took FULL advantage of the super duper sales at Dillon's (Kroger) this weekend. My bill before my discounts and coupons was $230...after all the discounts?? $130! I saved $100!! And after looking at my receipt, I see that they jipped me out of one of the $5 rewards...but I still did pretty good.

Anyway, one of my purchases was a buy one get one slab of ribs. Ribs aren't my favorite, but they are The Colonel's favorite, and my dad won't turn them down either. So, I called mom from work this morning and asked her to throw them in the crock pot using a recipe I found on one of the MANY blogs I read these days. And come to find out, it was John McCain's recipe. We liked it, but I think I would change up the spices a bit the next time - it was kinda salty. And mom insisted on basting the ribs with BBQ sauce at the end of the cooking cycle. We cooked them for 10 hours on low, and they were falling off the bone. Yum yum!

We paired the ribs with the yummiest yummiest Gouda mashed potato casserole (Jody - thank you for that!!) The recipe calls for whole milk, which I didn't have, so I used skim milk and fat free half and half. GO MAKE THIS NOW!!

And in an effort to have something without any fat in it, we had green beans as well. I had hoped for a nice family dinner together, but The Colonel got stuck at work late, and my dad had to leave early for his flying class thing, so we ate in shifts. And in between bites, I attempted to heat up squash and sweet potatoes for the boy...too bad one batch ended up all over the counter, cupboard and floor, and I melted the bowl on the next batch. Meanwhile he was screaming bloody murder b/c his little tummy was STARVING! Poor kid. We finally all got to eat, including The Colonel. I guess that was the important thing.

The boy was extra fussy today as he's still trying to get those 2 top teeth in, so he went to bed early. And instead of conquering one of the many things on my to-do list, I sat my big butt in front of the TV and caught up on The Amazing Race. I have to say - I'm SOOOOO glad those chicks, the divorcees, got kicked off. They are complete idiots. How many times did they neglect to follow the directions and get screwed up? They deserved to be gone. I hope that Kenny and Tina win it - they're the most down to earth, help others, nice people on the show.

Now, it's off to bed for me. The Colonel and I are both off tomorrow to celebrate our 8th anniversary as well as Veteran's Day. The plan is to take in the movie Fireproof and have an early dinner, sans the boy. Let's hope for better weather than we had today!

Another Loss -- football, that is...

2008-11-05T20:41:00.009-06:00

Our annual trip to KC to watch our beloved (we've got to love 'em to stick with them through the last few years!) Chiefs was a little different this year. We had a little person tagging along.

The Colonel wanted to leave Lil Major at home, but I was intent on taking him with us. I didn't want him to feel left out. =) We only had to stop one time on our drive north, and besides me riding in the back of the car with him, there was nothing exciting in our drive. This was a MUCH better trip than our ride to Indiana back in June.

We spent Saturday eating BBQ, looking for train/hobby shops, walking and walking and walking around the Plaza, taking naps, and trying to keep a little boy from crawling on the NASTY hotel floor.

waiting for our BBQ...

playing at the fountain...

people watching...

Lil Major and I fell asleep early Sat night while The Colonel stayed up to watch Texas Tech surprise everyone. And we were hoping to be pleasantly surprised ourselves at the Chiefs game. We were hopeful for a while...and then it happened...what always happened...they threw it away, and we lost again.

We got to the stadium early and pretended to tailgate in the parking lot. I say pretended b/c we didn't have any food. We just got there early so we wouldn't sit in traffic on the freeway to get in. The boy crawled around the back of the car, and the big boy and I people watched.

The guy sitting next to us (in our totally AWESOME seats given to us by my sis's in-laws) said that Lil Major was helping the team play better. We should have listened to him b/c every time I left our seats to walk around with the boy, something bad happened -- kickoff return on the OTHER team, fumble, not good!

the view from our seats...

We still had a blast, though. Arrowhead is the best stadium to watch a game in, and the club level where we were sitting is the best place to sit. It was our second year being there near Veteran's Day (which also happens to be our anniversary), and they did great things to honor our Vets. There was a great flyby, like always, and a HUGE flag during half time (it was only half open here).

Not to mention that The Colonel and all the other Vets stood up to be recognized.

I had forgotten how loud it was, with the announcers and everything, but Lil Major still managed to get in a couple short naps. And he loved looking at everything around him. It was more work than I anticipated to have him with us, and it was frustrating that the only changing table in the stadium was in the first aid office which was a 10 minute walk away...but I'm glad we took him. Besides, he looked SO cute in his little jersey.

Since we were so tired, the boy offered to drive us home...

Halloween 2008

2008-11-05T20:30:00.002-06:00

So, this Halloween post is WAY late, but since I already posted pics of the boy in his costume, and since I've had such a crazy week...I didn't really rush it.

We had a pretty laid back Halloween. The plan was to hand out candy for a bit, trick or treat with our neighbors for a bit, and then come home to get ready for our trip to Kansas City.

We did all of those things...but the "bit" part turned out to be VERY short.

I think we gave out a handful of candy before we headed out with our neighbors. We made it almost around one block in our neighborhood before Lil Major, aka the best looking fireman EVER, started getting really tired and fussy. I mean, who can blame him - all he did was ride around in a stroller and get NO candy. I had to beg some chocolate from Macey, our neighbor's 9 year old. =)

We did enjoy the time with our friends, who will soon be moving away, and all the costumes of our neighbors. One of the parents out with their kids had the BEST stroom trooper costume. It was so cool!

Here are the cutest boys on the block...can you believe Seth is 2 months younger than Lil Major??

I had anticipated handing out more candy after we got home, but since the kiddo was so zonked, I put him down and turned out all the lights because I didn't want the doorbell and the dogs to wake him up. We had an early morning call to head out to KC...more on that shortly...

A Taste of Fall

2008-11-04T11:21:00.002-06:00

I have fallen in love with soups the last couple years, although I am a bit of a soup snob. I prefer bisques because everything is chopped up and smooth - I don't like chunky vegetable soups. I like chowders, but nothing with fish. I'm only KINDA a picky eater.

Anyway, I made a butternut squash bisque yesterday. There are tons of recipes out there, but I wanted something easy that I could make in my crockpot and that didn't take a ton of ingredients.

This is what I tried:

Ingredients
2 1/4 lbs butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon fresh ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
sour cream (to garnish)

Directions

1 Place squash cubes, garlic, nuts, and olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
2 Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until squash is soft (about 25 minutes).
3 Place garlic, nut, and squash in a blender or food processor pulsing until pureed.
4 Transfer mixture to crock pot and add the cream, chicken broth, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and pepper.
5 Stir to combine.
6 Cook on low heat 3-5 hours.
7 Garnish with sour cream and a few remaining nuts.

Now, here's what I did differently...
1. My squash was already cooked (I cut it in half, placed it cut side up in a pan with 1/2" water in the bottom, covered it in foil, and baked it for 45 minutes on 350), and I probably used about 2/3 of a very large squash. I have no idea how you know you have 2 1/4 pounds of squash, I just eyeballed it.

2. Since the squash was already cooked, I just sauteed the garlic and nuts in oil. If I were to do it again, I'd use less oil and throw in the ginger, too.

2. I pureed my butternut squash, nut/garlic/oil mixture and chicken stock in my blender, then poured it into my crock pot. (I used the chicken stock in the blender b/c it was too thick to blend otherwise).

3. It was REALLY thick, so I dumped in a second can of chicken stock.

4. It was really creamy on its own, but I felt like I NEEDED to use some cream...but I only added 1/3 cup. It really didn't need any.

The bottom line? It's good. It tastes better today than yesterday. It's not quite as sweet as I expected, but that's ok. I'd make it again, with my modifications.

I have one more squash to use, so send me your suggestions for how I could do it differently...or ideas on what else to make with my squash. Agnes...send me your recipe!

Stupid DVR

2008-11-03T21:12:00.002-06:00

You would think that my DVR (which I program to record a show, not for a certain time) would KNOW when the football game ran late and 60 minutes started late, and it would not start recording The Amazing Race until the show actually starts...so that I could watch the end of the show. But, NO! It's too stupid.

Thank goodness for full episodes on the internet, otherwise I wouldn't know that Kenny and Tina are still in the race. Whew!

Stay tuned for the rundown on Halloween and our exciting weekend in KC.

Life is fragile.

2008-10-30T11:47:00.002-05:00

I’ve always known that, but sometimes it hits harder than others. When The Colonel and I first got married and moved far away from everyone we knew and loved (besides each other, of course), we had to completely rely on each other for everything. It was a good way to start out a marriage – there was no running to mom or dad when we had a fight, we had to start our own holiday traditions, and we spent A LOT of time together. I clung to that time – sometimes in an unhealthy way. I had this crazy fear that I needed to spend as much time with him as possible because what if he didn’t come home one day, what if the world ended, what if??? And it went on and on. I turned down activities with new friends b/c I wanted to be at home with my new husband...even if we were fighting, even if we NEEDED time apart.

I just felt like if something bad were to happen, I wanted to know I’d spent as much time as I could with him, that I’d told him I loved him and that he KNEW I felt that way. As time passed, I relaxed and realized The Colonel DID know I loved him and that it was GOOD for us to spend time apart.

So, 7 ½ years later – enter Lil Major…and enter my fears again. But add to it that I can’t get enough of cuddling and kissing that cute little boy. AND, add to it that tragic things happen all around me. I KNOW God is in control, and that He has a plan, but I want to have the perfect little family where nothing bad happens to us. And maybe we will…only God knows. In the meantime, I will continue to fawn all over my boys – big and small, and I will continue to pray and praise God for giving them to me.

But, sad things are happening to others even though my little family is living in bliss right now.

My next door neighbor passed away this week. He was 62. He battled cancer for the last year or so, and he was finally relieved of his pain on Tuesday. He leaves behind a loving wife and 2 children and 2 grandchildren. We didn’t know him very well, but I’ve gotten to know his wife over the last couple months. She bought Lil Major a cute outfit a few months ago and called to say she was going to bring it over. Then things got hectic. She had to get hospice care for her husband, and Lil Major outgrew the outfit that he never got. So, she went out and bought him another outfit, and brought it over. She didn’t have to do that – she had enough to deal with. But, my son’s smile and giggles and hugs brought her a little joy in a scary time.

My dad is training to be a pilot. He used to fly when I was a kid, but he has to recertify since it’s been so long. What better place to do it than the air capital of the world, huh?? Anyway, he was scheduled to take a class a few weeks ago about an hour away from home, but it was postponed to last weekend in a different town about 70 miles away. But, he’s out of town visiting my sister, so he missed the class. He had been planning on riding up with the instructor. The instructor was killed in a car accident on the way to that class. My Dad could have been in that car...but he wasn’t. That gives me the chills.

A vibrant adorable sweet little boy died last week after his battle with cancer. He’s been an inspiration to many, but I can NOT imagine losing my little boy at such a young age.

I don’t know what my point is with this post, other than a reminder that LIFE IS FRAGILE. We can’t control it, we can just love others as we go through it, thank God for giving us each day, and rejoice when someone we love is called home...even though it makes us sad...for now.

In the latest Karen Kingsbury book that I'm reading right now, one of the characters was just reminded not to worry about anything, and to give everything to God. I think that God is reminding me about that right now...through this post, through things happening around me right now. Here's a passage of scripture that talks about that.

Phillipians 4:4-7
4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, Rejoice!

4:5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

4:6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

4:7 The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

Our Monday

2008-10-27T21:05:00.003-05:00

Whew! What a day! Lil Major and I sure accomplished a lot today. It feels good, but I'm exhausted!

Here's a rundown...we got a slow start, in part due to the fact that it stays dark til 7:30am (how weird is that??) and in part due to a teething almost 7-month old. So, it wasn't until after a short nap that we really got going. When I went in to check on the boy, I found this...him sleeping on TOP of his giraffe. Poor giraffe!

After naps, we got up, got dressed and headed out into the frigid morning (the news said wind chill was 24 this morning!!). We went to the post office and then to a discount grocery store where we ran into my hair stylist (of course, I hadn't done my hair - it was in a hat!) and a friend from church. Then we went back home for another nap...for the boy.

In between naps and giggling with my son, I made bread (in my breadmaker), made my lunch for tomorrow, cooked some chicken for salads, did some laundry and put the groceries away. By then, Lil Major needed a distraction from his sore gums, so we bundled up and went for a walk. Even though it was cool, it was gorgeous, and we had fun scaring the geese into the pond (we DID NOT have fun walking through their nasty poop!).

After Daddy got home tonight, we carved our pumpkins. Lil Major wasn't too excited about it, but he put up with us.

Before...

After...

Unfortunately, our masterpieces don't hold a candle to Terri's family. I'll plead small-child-getting-bored syndrome, so we rushed through it. All that matters is I have seeds that I can bake now. Oh, I also cooked a butternut squash during all of this -- some I'll use for Lil Major's food, and some I'll use for a butternut squash bisque. I'm still looking for a good recipe - anyone have any ideas??

My kitchen was quite the mess after all this, and I still had laundry to fold and the boy to put down. So, here I sit at 9:18pm with a clean kitchen, one more load to fold, clean hair and an exhausted body. I think it's time for bed!

Fireman of the Year

2008-10-26T20:36:00.004-05:00

The Colonel had big plans on Saturday - work and then golf (what's new?!), so Lil Major and I made plans of our own.

We headed to a craft fair first off, where the only thing we purchased was some yummy cookies. Lins was selling her wares, so we hung out with her for a while. Then we headed over to Jayme's town to see their new place and take the kids trick-or-treating...we hadn't seen them in 2 months!

When we got to Augusta, Lil Major changed into his costume in the back of the Pilot. Have I told you that I LOVE my car??? The back of it is perfect for changing diapers, nursing babies, or in this case - changing into a Halloween costume, er, I mean The Fireman of the Year!

It was a beautiful day - a little cool to start out, but it warmed up to a wonderful fall day. We met Jayme and the girls and wandered the streets of Augusta, KS, trick-or-treating at all of the shops.

Lil Major scored some candy even though I tried to abstain (I'm serious - those shop owners insisted!). He was the perfect angel in his stroller. He just sat back and took it all in - all the kids and costumes and craziness. I didn't hear a peep out of him for over an hour! And he was awake! As soon as I pulled him out of his stroller, he broke into a huge smile and gave me a hug.

We went to see Jayme's new place after we'd collected all the candy we could. The girls had a blast playing with their cousin, and Jayme and I got to catch up a little bit.

The day was exhausting for Lil Major, and he slept the whole way home in the car and for 12+ hours last night!

And now, we don't have to go out in the cold on Friday night. =) Well, maybe just for a little while.

College logic?

2008-10-24T19:46:00.004-05:00

I did it. Finally. My house is clean. BUT, I didn't clean it myself (heavens, no!). I hired someone. And I have never been so happy to hand over my money to someone else.

I love a clean house, and while I KNOW how to clean, and I'm pretty good at it, I hate to clean. I LOVE the results, but I hate the work to get there. Therefore, my house has not been properly COMPLETELY cleaned in 2008 (until now). Don't gross out - it's all been clean many times, just not the entire thing...all at once...at the same time.

So, use your college philosophy and deductive reasoning skills to draw the correct conclusion/solution to the above statements...

Of course, the only reasonable thing to do was to hire someone (thanks Heather for planting the seed!). So I did. And Tuesday after work, I walked into a clean house for the first time in a LONG time.

I've had help cleaning in years past, but not since we moved to Kansas. I was trying to save money, and especially since I'm only working part time, I didn't think I could justify it. But I just can't keep up. And I don't want to wish for Lil Major to sleep longer just so I can clean the bathroom - I want to enjoy all of his awake time. And I was tired of being stressed because I had a dirty house.

So, I rationally and practically put together my argument to present to The Colonel.

I told him that it would cost LESS for us to pay someone to come clean our house twice a month than for me to quit my job and stay home and clean.

It makes perfect sense, right? I think so...and now I have a clean house, too!

Swing low...sweet Chariot!

2008-10-19T21:02:00.004-05:00

We spent some time in our backyard this weekend, hanging up a swing for Lil Major. A friend of ours gave us their baby swing when their son outgrew it, and we've been meaning to get it hung for weeks.

Daddy, aka The Colonel, used his mad knot tying skills to hang the swing and make sure that the boy wouldn't hit the ground. After inspection by Mommy, we hung the swing and loaded up the kiddo.

I knew the boy would love it. He swung in a friend's swing when we were in CA, and he LOVES to be outside. And the weather was perfect. Cool, with a light breeze. Blue skies, green grass, big tree. It was gorgeous! We'll have to spend some time out there every day before it's too cold

On our way back into the house, I turned around, and all of a sudden I saw Gomer Pyle in my backyard. So weird!

Can you tell these two are related, or what??

The outfit Lil Major is wearing in the above picture is the outfit The Colonel bought for him last Christmas. He wore it for the first time to church today. And get this - it's a 3-6 month outfit, but it's the same size as the 12 month shirt the kid wore yesterday. I'm getting so frustrated with baby clothes and the wacky sizes!

Punkin Patch

2008-10-19T15:48:00.004-05:00

After much whining and crying - from the BIG boy in my life - I was finally able to drag my family to the pumpkin patch to start a fall tradition for us. There are lots of pumpkin patches around our area - a lot of them with petting zoos and slides and hay rides and corn mazes - most of which we didn't need this year.

We chose a family dairy in The Colonel's hometown. They have the petting zoo and hay ride, and they invite school-age kids out during the year to learn about the dairy world. They also grow pumpkins. We just went for the pumpkins...and a good photo opportunity.

It was close to closing time by the time we got there, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Before we picked out our pumpkins, we plopped the boy down in various places to shoot some pictures. How I wish I had a big fancy camera so I could get some REALLY good pictures.

I'll pay $5 for that one!! hee hee

And just to prove that we DO live in Kansas, and we were out near Small Town, USA...my boys standing in a milo field...

Another milestone!

2008-10-17T15:08:00.001-05:00

It seems as though Hudson taught Lil Major a bad habit while we were staying with him a couple months ago. And the boy practiced it this morning when he crawled for the first time!

Something to think about

2008-10-16T11:20:00.003-05:00

As the election draws near, and my mailbox is FULL of junk, er...I mean, propaganda, and TV is full of debates...I have managed to ignore most of it. I've made up my mind, so I see no reason to aggravate myself by listening to lies on TV. BUT, I'm also afraid for our nation's (and our world's) future, so when a friend passed on the below article, I read every word of it.

It's written from an interesting perspective and has a lot of information in it. I think most people have made up their minds (even though they probably feel they're choosing the lesser of 2 evils), but I really hope that the info below is not ignored when they go to vote in a few weeks.

And by the way, the article below was in fact written by Huntley Brown. I checked it out on snopes. There's an additional note at the bottom of the snopes article that offers even more insight.

One more thing - I can't leave this alone - how can ANYONE support partial birth abortion??? Read about it below, and then tell me how anyone can vote to elect an official who supports it! It absolutely outrages me!

This article is from Huntley Brown - he is a fabulous concert pianist, man of God and is a black man. I appreciate so much his reasoning for not voting for Obama. I would like to see this article published or spread out via Email to as many as possible.

Why I Can't Vote For Obama

By Huntley Brown

Dear Friends,

A few months ago I was asked for my perspective on Obama, I sent out an email with a few points. With the election just around the corner I decided to complete my perspective. Those of you on my e-list have seen some of this before but it's worth repeating...

First I must say whoever wins the election will have my prayer support. Obama needs to be commended for his accomplishments but I need to explain why I will not be voting for him.

Many of my friends process their identity through their blackness. I process my identity through Christ. Being a Christian (a Christ follower) means He leads I follow. I can't dictate the terms He does because He is the leader.

I can't vote black because I am black; I have to vote Christian because that's who I am. Christian first, black second. Neither should anyone from the other ethnic groups vote because of ethnicity. 200 years from now I won't be asked if I was black or white. I will be asked if I knew Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.

In an election there are many issues to consider but when a society gets abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning to name a few, wrong economic concerns will soon not matter.

We need to follow Martin Luther King's words, don't judge someone by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I don't know Obama so all I can go on is his voting record. His voting record earned him the title of the most liberal senator in the US Senate in 2007.

< http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/> NATIONAL JOURNAL: Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007 (01/31/2008)

To beat Ted Kennedy and Hilary Clinton as the most liberal senator, takes some doing. Obama accomplished this feat in 2 short years. I wonder what would happen to America if he had four years to work with.

There is a reason Planned Parenthood gives him a 100 % rating.
There is a reason the homosexual community supports him.
There is a reason Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, Hamas etc. love him.
There is a reason he said he would nominate liberal judges to the Supreme Court.
There is a reason he voted against the infanticide bill.
There is a reason he voted No on the constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.
There is a reason he voted No on banning partial birth abortion.
There is a reason he voted No on confirming Justices Roberts and Alito.
These two judges are conservatives and they have since overturned partial birth abortion. The same practice Obama wanted to continue.

Let's take a look at the practice he wanted to continue. The 5 Step Partial Birth Abortion procedures:

A. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's leg with forceps. (Remember this is a live baby)

B. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.

C. The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the head.

D. The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the hole.

E. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed.

There is a reason Obama opposed the parental notification law.

Think about this: You can't give a kid an aspirin without parental notification but that same kid can have an abortion without parental notification. This is insane.

There is a reason he went to Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years.

Obama tells us he has good judgment but he sat under Jeremiah Wright teaching for 20 years. Now he is condemning Wright's sermons. I wonder why now?

Obama said Jeremiah Wright led him to the Lord and discipled him. A disciple is one in training. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 - 20 "Go and make disciples of all nations." This means reproduce yourself. Teach people to think like you, walk like you; talk like you, believe what you believe etc. The question I have is what did Jeremiah Wright teach him?

Would you support a White President who went to a church which has tenets that said they have a

1. Commitment to the White Community

2. Commitment to the White Family

3. Adherence to the White Work Ethic

4. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available

to the White Community.

5. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for

Strengthening and Supporting White Institutions

6. Pledge allegiance to all White leadership who espouse and embrace the

White Value System

7. Personal commitment to embracement of the White Value System.

Would you support a President who went to a church like that?

Just change the word from white to black and you have the tenets of Obama's former church. If President Bush was a member of a church like this, he would be called a racist. Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton would have been marching outside.

This kind of church is a racist church. Obama did not wake up after 20 years and just discover he went to a racist church. The church can't be about race. Jesus did not come for any particular race. He came for the whole world.

A church can't have a value system based on race. The churches value system has to be based on biblical mandate. It does not matter if it's a white church or a black church it's still wrong. Anyone from either race that attends a church like this would never get my vote.

Obama's former Pastor Jeremiah Wright is a disciple of liberal theologian James Cone, author of the 1970 book A Black Theology of Liberation. Cone once wrote: "Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. "

Cone is the man Obama's mentor looks up to. Does Obama believe this?

So what does all this mean for the nation?

In the past when the Lord brought someone with the beliefs of Obama to lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment.

Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel asked for a king. First God says in 1 Samuel 1:9 "Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

Then God says

1 Samuel 1:18 " When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."

Here is what we know for sure.

God is not schizophrenic

He would not tell one person to vote for Obama and one to vote for McCain. As the scripture says, a city divided against itself cannot stand, so obviously many people are not hearing from God. Maybe I am the one not hearing but I know God does not change and Obama contradicts many things I read in scripture so I doubt it.

For all my friends who are voting for Obama can you really look God in the face and say; Father based on your word, I am voting for Obama even though I know he will continue the genocidal practice of partial birth abortion. He might have to nominate three or four Supreme Court justices, and I am sure he will be nominating liberal judges who will be making laws that are against you. I also know he will continue to push for homosexual rights, even though you destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for this. I know I can look the other way because of the economy.

I could not see Jesus agreeing with many of Obama's positions. Finally I have two questions for all my liberal friends.

Since we know someone's value system has to be placed on the nation,

1. Whose value system should be placed on the nation.

2. Who should determine that this is the right value system for the nation?

Blessings,

Huntley Brown

Who knew...

2008-10-16T04:54:00.000-05:00

that sweet potatoes and carrots could be so funny!

A New Blogger

2008-10-12T21:42:00.002-05:00

"Just a minute mom, I need to check my blog..."

$2.57

2008-10-12T21:34:00.002-05:00

That's how much I paid for a gallon of gas today. It seems so cheap! And it's so crazy that just 5 days ago I paid $2.93, and I was thrilled...it's dropped that much in 5 days!!! I can't believe that it's going to last, so I keep filling up once I get to half a tank. I've missed out on these "cheap" prices before...they won't get me again.

Of course, if I would have waited until I NEEDED gas, I wouldn't have bought it 5 days ago for $2.93, and I would have gotten a WHOLE tank for $2.57/gallon. I'll never learn!

Eliot

2008-10-09T18:16:00.002-05:00

One of the most amazing videos/stories I've seen in a long time. Makes me want to go wake up Lil Major from his nap and hold him and never let go.

Watch the whole thing...to the end...

My Gram

2008-10-09T11:45:00.001-05:00

Last year I wrote a post about my Gram. Today is her birthday, so I want to link back to that post again.

I'm so glad I have these memories of her! Happy Birthday, Gram!

It Figures!

2008-10-08T11:16:00.001-05:00

Not that I'm surprised that the donkeys would do this...but I am outraged by it. This can't be legal, can it???

Ohio Homeless Driven to Polls to Vote Obama

CLEVELAND — Volunteers supporting Barack Obama picked up hundreds of people at homeless shelters, soup kitchens and drug-rehab centers and drove them to a polling place yesterday on the last day that Ohioans could register and vote on the same day, almost no questions asked.

The huge effort by a pro-Obama group, Vote Today Ohio, takes advantage of a quirk in the state's elections laws that allows people to register and cast ballots at the same time without having to prove residency.

Republicans have argued that the window could lead to widespread voter fraud because officials wouldn't have an opportunity to verify registration information before ballots were cast.

Among the volunteers were Yori Stadlin and Vivian Lehrer of the Upper West Side, who got married last week and decided to spend their honeymoon shepherding voters to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

Early today, Stadlin's van picked up William Woods, 59, at the soup kitchen of the Bishop Cosgrove Center.

"I never voted before," Woods said, because of a felony conviction that previously barred him from the polls. "Without this service, I would have had no way to get here."