Long Time, No See

It has been way too long to do a complete catch-up so I will try to hit the highlights (and include some pictures):

April

Maternity leave and sleep deprived.

May

I was still at home on maternity leave. Nothing much going on, just adjusting to lack of sleep and being the mom of two.

June

Dylan turned 4 and we had a party at an inflatable jump party place. He had a blast and had 8-10 of his friends from school and the neighborhood came.

I went back to work and Brady started daycare. Towards the end of the month, Brady started cereal and quickly moved onto baby food. That boy likes to eat.

July

Dylan and Jason went on a two week vacation. The first week was spent in the mountains with Jason's dad. The second week was spent at the beach with Jason's mom and her family.

Brady rolled over for the first time about 2 hours before Jason and Dylan got back from vacation.

August

Dylan started pre-kindergarten. We decided to send him to private pre-k instead of the state sponsored program. Most (but not all) of the children in the state sponsored program have not been in preschool and we were afraid Dylan would be bored and start getting into trouble. He adjusted well to the new class and new teachers.

Brady was growing by leaps and bounds. He is just the happiest baby.

September

Dylan has gone on two fieldtrips so far in his pre-k class. The first one was too this cool place:

http://www.inkfun.org/ He had a blast.

The second one was yesterday to the library. He told me that they taught him how to treat books. A very good lesson for a group of 4 year olds, I think.

Brady is still growing and still so happy. He is starting to sit up. He can't get into that position himself yet, but when you sit him down he can stay balanced for a couple of minutes at a time.

My brother reported for basic training for the Air Force on 9/11. We won't be able to talk to him until it is over, but we do have his address so I am going to try to write to him. He is one of the oldest people reporting for basic training (at 26 year old). I think that might make it easier on him in some ways and harder on him in others. But I know he will do great.

Well, that's about it for now, but hopefully I can get back into the habit of updating more often.

DUE DATE

Well, today was my due date and my baby is 2 and 1/2 weeks old.

I went to the doctor for my normal twice a week appointment on Thursday, March 29, 2007, and my blood pressure was elevated (even after lying on my left side for 15-20 minutes). Because of my previous history with severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome when Dylan was born (and the fact that I had already been on bedrest for 2 months) the doctor decided it was best to go ahead and deliver instead of waiting for me to get sick like last time.

So, around 4:00 in the afternoon, I walked, yes - walked, to the OR. My MIL had picked up Dylan from school, so he got to see me before I went in for the c-section. I think all of the tubs and needles scared him, but we did get one picture with his hand on my stomach before I went in for surgery. He and MIL waited in the waiting room for the baby to be born.

Jason got changed into scrubs and waited outside for me to receive the epideral. I had really been hoping for a VBAC, but I wasn't dialated at all and my doctors will not induce for a VBAC. The fact that I didn't get to VBAC wound up being a good thing. Apparently, the baby was so wedged up in my ribs that the doctor doubted I would have been able to get him out on my own. As it was, I had the doctor's assistant practically sitting on my chest pushing on my abdomen trying to get him out.

Well, all was well. We made it to 37 weeks, 3 days. Brady Alan Lane weighed 7 pounds and was 18 3/4 inches long. His APGARs were 8 and 9. He cried wonderfully after a little bit of time. He did not need to go to the NICU, which we had been warned could be needed. Except for the first night, when I had to stay alone and couldn't get out of bed, he roomed in with me the whole time in the hospital. I actually got to bring a baby home from the hospital on the same day I went home. This has been a whole new experience for me.

My c-section recovery has been amazing. I have had virtually no pain. I could actually stand up completely straight the first time I got out of bed (and those of you who have had a c-section know how amazing that is).

Things are going well at home. I am extremely tired, as I am breast feeding this time so Jason doesn't have to get up at night (and since he is working, I don't think he should since he can't really do anything to help me anyway). Breast feeding is going well, Brady was back up to birth weight before we hit the two week mark. I will find out at his one month how much more he has gained. His days and nights are a little mixed up right now, but hopefully that will begin to straighten out soon.

Still Here . . .

Well, it's pretty much been the same old, same old lately. Here are a couple of highlights over the past month . . .

• Jason and MIL painted our master bedroom. We picked a color that I actually really like, but I would have never imagined I would have a bedroom this color. The name of the color is “Tropical Nut”, which to me, looks like a dark rust, but to everyone else looks sort of reddish – but it looks great and really warms up the room!
• Spent quite a bit of money on new ivory, cream bedding and window dressings to go with the new wall color. The room looks great and very "grown-up". LOL!!
• Dylan is getting so big. He is going to be such a great big brother.
• We decided to put Dylan in private pre-k next year instead of the state sponsored pre-k program. Based on information from the director at his daycare, he has already met most, if not all, of the state sponsored pre-k program guidelines. He would most likely be bored in the program, so we are going to pay for private pre-k to keep him challenged instead of having him go to a free state program. In the long run, I think it will be a great headstart for his schooling. This will also give us a good idea about whether or not he is truly ready (especially socially) for kindergarten the next year.
• I am 37 weeks today and had another "measurement" ultrasound this morning. Brady is measuring 2 to 2 1/2 weeks ahead right now. He is estimated to weigh 8.3 pounds. Let's hope that it is a little overestimated.
• Got my cervix checked for the first time today. It actually wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. I am high, thick, and closed. So, who knows if I am going to be able to VBAC or not.
• Still working two jobs from home. I am already dreading having to go back to the office. I really enjoy the freedom this gives me. I can't wait until I can get to work full-time for my SIL and stay home (at least most days).

Well, I think that is about it. See, not much new going on. I will update more later and will try to update pretty quickly after Brady is born.

Still Here and Holding On

All is well, with both me and baby.

The nursery is ready, all we need to do is a little laundry and get some clothes back from my SIL. New crib was assembled this weekend (old crib was broken in move) and furniture is arranged. There are even some wall decorations and a clock on the wall.

Dylan's room has some cool new decorations. He is already such a great big brother. Whenever we would pick something out for his room, he wanted to know what we were getting Brady. We got wooden letters for each of their rooms (to spelll their names) and he wanted to paint Brady's first.

I almost cried when I dropped Dylan off at daycare this morning. On the wall, all of the kids have drawings of their families. The heads of each person is made from the child's fingerprint. Dylan had his teacher include Brady (by name and everything - I wonder if they thought he was making the name up - LOL). It was so sweet. I truly hope he is as excited once Brady is here because right now he can't wait to meet him and be his big brother.

Oh, well. I guess I better get some work done today. I mean, they are still paying me and everything.

Still Here

Well, I am still here on bedrest. BP is holding steady and Brady seems to be doing well. I have another u/s today (my second one this week), so I will have another reassuring dr appt later today. The dr scheduled my c-section for my due date (giving me as much time as she possibly can for me to go into labor on my own for my desired VBAC) since the hospital won't allow a scheduled c-section beyond the due date. So, here's hoping we can make it to mid-April, but that I get to go into labor on my own before April 16.

I am working from home, for both jobs. I am having a little trouble staying motivated, but I figure that getting a paycheck should be motivation enough.

There is just so much to do and I don't have the desire/energy/dr permission to do it all. I need to start washing baby clothes and bedding and blankets. (Especially since they haven't been used in 2 or 3 years, they might be a little dusty).

Wow, Has It Really Been That Long . . .

Well, I guess it has. Not that much going on, just busy, busy.

Work is still work. I am still trying to work some for my SIL and hoping I can turn that into a full-time work from home gig.

I went to the dr today for what should have been my normal 4 week appt. My BP was elevated the entire visit, so I am now on bedrest until at least Monday.

On Monday, I go back for a BP check and will also get some bloodwork results. Hopefully, everything will be okay. I also start BPPs on Monday twice a week until I deliver. So, essentially, I get an ultrasound twice a week until this little one is born.

Oh, yeah. Have I announced the name we have chosen for this little guy?

Brady Alan - Alan after Jason's beloved granddad who passed away a little over 10 years ago. And I picked Brady because I like it and it sounded good with Alan.

So, I talked to my boss today after I was put on bedrest. I told him that it is possible I will be able to come back, but not to count on it. We are attempting to figure out a way for me to "tap" into my office computer from home so I can continue to work even while out. This way I can also continue to get paid.

So, if you have any P&PT to spare send them my way. I am not all that concerned about being able to go back to work; I want to keep this little guy cooking for as long as possible. So, if I have to be on bedrest let's hope for a long, uneventful bedrest at home. Six weeks at a minimum - okay guys?!?!?

Weekend To Do

Okay, so here's a list of what I need to do this weekend:

1. Write at least one case study
2. Laundry
3. Fold over a week's worth of clean laundry
4. Put away laundry
5. Put away all Christmas decorations
6. Put away all Christmas gifts

And here's a list of what I will actually probably get done:

1. Write at least one case study
2. Take a bubble bath
3. Read
4. Relax
5. Some, but not all, laundry
6. Fold all clean laundry (with Jason's help once her gets home)
7. Put away some, but not all, Christmas decorations
8. Put away some, but not all, Christmas gifts

So, as you can see, while I am not going to do everything I need to do this weekend, I am actually going to do a lot. The most important of which is taking a bubble bath, reading, and relaxing.

Jason and Dylan are at MIL's house this weekend. I need to get some work done on case studies and this was the best way for him to help me get them done.

So, last night, I took a nice bath and read a book.

I slept late this morning and then got up and got some work done. Case study work and work around the house too. Then, I took another nice bath and read some more in a book. Sounds like a great weekend, right?

Hope you are enjoying your weekend as much as I am.

Busy, Busy, Busy

• Dad is still in hospital. He has had several set backs, but appears to finally be on the upswing. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but he will wind up needing chemo (which we originally thought could be avoided). One of the twenty-four lymph nodes they biopsied came back showing a trace amount of cancer. But, he will be able to do the chemo closer to home instead of up here (four hours from home).
• Why do the Christmas and New Year's holidays always fall on year-end for my company? And if by some wierd chance it isn't actually year-end, then it is always month end.
• I have started working part-time for my SIL doing child life histories for children that were taken into DFCS care. Most of these kids are on their way to be adopted or will be soon. I write up their past family, medical, school, etc. history. These serve two purposes. They allow the potential adoptive family to get an overview of the child and they allow the child (when they get older) to have potentially important information about parts of their childhood that they don't remember.
• Another formalwear company is in the process of purchasing my company and I have found out that it is more than likely that I (and my entire office building) will be laid off by the end of the year (2007). Surprising, I am not all that worried. The widely-believed rumor is that we will be getting a pretty nice severance package.
• I am hoping that I can turn the part time work for my SIL into a full-enough time stay-at-home gig to be able not to have to go "back to work". Hopefully, I will find out something for sure before I have to go out on maternity leave.
• We went to a nice, relaxing New Year's Eve party in our neighborhood. We got to meet some of our neighbors that we hadn't met yet and kids were invited. After only a few minutes of clinging to his daddy, Dylan started to play with the other kids. The kids had a great time in the family's second story bonus room and the adults mingled and ate yummy appetizers. We did go home early, but I was afraid we wouldn't make it to midnight (and if we did Dylan would be a monster the next day).
• I know there is more, but for the life of me I can't remember it. So,

HAPPY 2007, EVERYBODY!!!

Time Flies Update

• Dad’s surgery appears to have gone well. It started late, but that is to be expected in a large hospital, I guess. (Apparently the dr who was doing the second part of the surgery – reconnection of the esophagus and stomach – had been called to do a transplant at 3:30 in the morning and didn’t want to walk out of that surgery and straight into my dad’s. Reasonable and appreciated.) It appears that the cancer has not spread and that the surgery was a success. I talked to him on Saturday and he was tired but more upbeat than he has been since the cancer was discovered.
  
• My blood pressure was back to normal at my last appt. It has been in the normal range each time I have taken it at home also.
  
• Jason and his sister did some Christmas shopping over the weekend and we are now almost done. YEAH for combined gifts. He also purchased some additional gifts for Dylan from Santa – so much for toning it down this year. Oh well, I know he will love them and I think Jason enjoyed picking stuff out.
  
• I am starting to get excited about Christmas. We are doing Christmas dinner at our house this year. Usually we do a brunch with light finger food type stuff, but this year we are doing a full meal. However, no turkey. Honey Baked Ham, baby!!

Thank everyone for their prayers and positive thoughts. It means so much to me to know that there are so many good people out there who care.

How time flies . . .

even if you're not having all that much fun.

• We had a good Thanksgiving even though my dad decided it was more important to spend it with his new wife's family instead of ours. Whatever!!
• Jason, Dylan, and I had to come home on Friday after Thanksgiving, but the upside is that I got most of my house decorated for Christmas. Now, I'm not one to go all out with decorations, but I did get the tree up, the mantle decorated, and some garlands hung on the bannisters. This weekend, I finally finished with the outside decorations. Like I said, not a lot, but just enough change to put you in the spirit.
• Went to what was supposed to be my last specialist OB appt, but my blood pressure was high, so now I have to go back. I did purchase my own blood pressure machine and while it is a little high, it's not nearly as high as in the dr's office.
• Dad came to visit yesterday. He is having surgery (removing part of his esphogus due to cancer) on Thursday and is more freaked out that I think I have ever seen him. It was kind of scary. He is filling out a living will and has asked me to be his medical power of attorney. That paperwork is scary.
• Christmas is only 3 weekends away and I am not even close to being finished shopping. Oh well, maybe I won't spend as much this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Safe travels, nice family visits, and good eating to all.

Ugh, What a Month

• Lost a baby.
• Dad has cancer.
• My boss, who is the only reason I have been able to suffer through this job at this company so long, turned in his resignation.

Okay, so it isn't a whole lot number-wise, but these are three pretty traumatic events. And they all happened within the past month.

Please God, let next month be better. I don't think I can take a whole lot more without going insane (and I really don't want to find out either).

P&PT if you can spare them.

It's A Boy!!!

So, I was thinking that 15 weeks was too early to tell. Apparently, not.

The ultrasound tech at the specialists office did a very detailed scan. She looked for and saw all major organs, bones, etc. She said everything looked and measured normal.

Weekend In Review

• My mom came up to visit. This weekend was planned long before the emotional upheaval of last week, but the timing couldn't have been better. We had a nice relaxing weekend, but didn't really do much of anything.
• I got home Friday evening to find a message from a maternal-fetal specialist group (not my OB-GYN office) confirming an appointment that I hadn't made and that I knew nothing about. I freaked out - wouldn't you after what had happened?!? So, I call my doctor's answering service and have to convince the person who answers the phone that even though I am not bleeding and I am not in labor that this is an emergency. I told her what had happened earlier in the week and that I didn't think that my doctors would want me to be freaked out all weekend over something that a phone call could probably clear up. Her first answer was "just don't worry". I'm sorry, do you work with pg women very often? That doesn't fly. So, essentially I told the lady to page the doctor on call or I would be reporting her. I was concerned they had found something they hadn't told me about. I was concerned something was wrong with me or the baby that they had forgotten to mention with everything else that happened on my appointment. I would have driven myself insane if I didn't get to talk to someone. Well, the doctor calls back and the referral and appointment is just to assure the doctor's that they aren't missing anything. They still think everything is okay with the baby, but they want another set of eyes to look at it due to my history. That I understand and would have been cool with had they just talked to me before scheduling an appointment for me, without my knowledge. Ugh, just keep me in the loop - ya know!!
• Tried to take Dylan to a new (closer to our new house) kids hair cut place. It was a no-go. He pitched a fit. He was terrified. The lady there said that she couldn't cut his hair with scissors while he was moving so much, but she could use the clippers all over. Lady, I have clippers with guards at home. If that was what I wanted, I could do it myself for free. What kind of kids place can't cut the hair of a crying child. And, funny thing is that at the old hair cut place, they used cut his hair just fine with scissors when he was pitching a fit (quite a while ago).
• Called to get an appointment and took Dylan to the old hair cut place. He was still a little traumatized by the other place, but after we get him in the jeep (LOL!!), he calms down and does great.
• Looks like we will be driving a little further for Dylan's haircuts. It's just not worth the trauma/drama of changing places right now. And, quite honestly, I didn't like the attitude at the new place.
• Ate Chinese at the mall with Dylan and mom. This is bigger than it sounds. When I was growing up, Mom couldn't stand Chinese food. Over the past little while, she has slowly tried some new stuff and is finding she enjoys somethings she never did before.
• Went shopping for Jason's birthday present. Couldn't find what I wanted, so came home and ordered it. Too bad it won't make it in time for his birthday. Sorry, babe.
• Took a nap Saturday and Sunday with Dylan. It was great.

All in all, it was a pretty good - low key weekend. We need those every once in a while.

BTW, my OB-GYN office called on Monday around noon to let me know about the referral to the specialist. They already knew about my frantic call to the doctor on call on Friday and profusely apologized for the misunderstanding (i.e. referring me and setting up an appointment without telling me).

We found out Monday that one of the twins has stopped growing and has no heartbeat. Actually, it appears that growth stopped about 4 weeks ago, so it was probably within days of us actually finding out about the twins.

The other twin, however, appears to be doing fine. The measurements that were taken on Monday are right where they should be and there was a strong heartbeat at a rate of 167. Maternal risk, other than a higher risk of miscarriage, has dropped due to this now being considered a singleton pregnancy.

I took a couple of days off of work just to absorb the news and grieve the lost baby. Now, although I do still have many moments of sadness, I think that I have processed the information and am trying to focus on the surviving baby.

So, here is a list of positive (though some may seem cold-hearted and sarcastic) things that I can start to think about:

1. I can now attempt a VBAC. My doctors were pretty set on the fact that a VBAC with twins was too risky; however, assuming all other conditions are favorable, they will support an attempt with a single birth.
2. Though I am still considered high risk, I am not nearly as high risk with a single pregnancy as I was with a twin pregnancy.
3. Though my risk for miscarriage of the surviving baby is higher, the doctors believe that since I have made it to 13 weeks with the surviving baby still thriving that I have a good chance of continuing to have a healthy pregnancy.
4. I still get to have a lot of ultrasounds.
5. One of my internet mom friends has offered to loan me a doppler to reassure my mind in between office visits. People, even people you have never met, really do seem to come through in times like these.
6. Potential daycare costs are no longer more than my house payment.
7. I believe I can be a good mom to one infant and one child. I was really concerned about whether I could be a good mom to two infants and one child.
8. I believe that I will be able to breastfeed. I was concerned about my ability to breastfeed two babies. Don't get me wrong - I'm not one of those people who believe formula is bad and I'm not against supplementing. However, I didn't get the experience of breastfeeding Dylan due to his prematurity and time in the NICU. It's something I really want to do, for as long as it works for us.
9. I am not as worried about the effect on Dylan with one baby as I was with two.
10. I will be able to take Dylan and baby out by myself if I need to. I wasn't sure that I would be able to do that with Dylan and twins.

Now, please understand that I would have never wished for this to happen and that I was absolutely shaken and devastated on Monday. I have had a couple of days to think about things and accept that I will not be the mom to twins. And while I was worried about my ability to handle everything, I know that had both babies survived that I would have figured everything out and would have done a good job and would have loved it.

But now, that avenue is closed, so I am attempting to look at all of the positives (even some of the selfish ones) that can be taken from this sad experience. Back in December, I had a miscarriage. It was devastating and there was nothing positive that I could take from that experience. I grieved and cried and wondered if I could risk that hurt again. Well, obviously, I decided that I could. This loss, however, is so different. I can't completely give myself over to grief. I still have another little one who is counting on me to make good choices so that he/she can continue to thrive. I have allowed myself a time to grieve and wallow in my grief; however, I can not allow myself to be consumed by it.

My way of dealing with things is to figure out the details. If I can figure out the details of something, then I know I can handle it. I was in the process of figuring out the details of having/raising twins. I was getting there. Now, I have to figure out the details of not having twins. So, this is where I am right now.

We Are Now a TWO Minivan Family

Well, we bought our second minivan last night. It's a 2003 Honda Odessey with leather and DVD. This will definitely be the one that we take on trips. It's in really good shape and we got an awesome deal (both on our tradein and on the "new" van). I would definitely do business with this certain carlot again.

Here's a picture of the Odessey:

We Are Now a Minivan Family

Yesterday, after several hours of negotiation, Jason traded his recently "new to us" Jeep Grand Cherokee in for a "new to us" Mazda MPV. This is not our exact one, but it is the same year and color.


It is one of the smaller minivans out on the market and we really did get a great deal. Jason got them to put on a new set of tires and to perform a complete service. There are a couple of dings and scratches, but what can you expect from an almost 4 year old vehicle. A couple of the most noticible scratches will be fixed somehow by their "body guy" tomorrow.

With the twins coming, we originally thought that we could keep one of our "smallish" SUVs and get one minivan. We were wrong. While we can fit 3 car seats in each of the SUVs we have, the front seats have to be so far forward that it is not comfortable to drive. We were going to make do, but found a really great deal on this minivan.

In the next couple of months, we will be purchasing another minivan. Probably a "new to us" Honda Odyssey. This will be the newer (and nicer) of the two minvans and the one we will take on trips. Wish us luck.

Wow, It's Been 3 Months . . .

where did the time go?

Honestly, not too much has been going on all summer. Time just kept getting away from me and I couldn't find the time (or inspiration to blog).

Well, summer is over and I figured it was time to come back to blogland.

Quick summer recap:

• Dylan is completely daytime potty trained.
• Nighttime, not so much, but that will come with time.
• The house is coming together, slowly, but surely.
• Visited FIL and his girlfriend and had a pretty nice visit in the mountains of PA.
• My mom is dating for the first time since she and Dad got divorced. She seems really happy and I am happy for her. The guy seems really nice.
• My dad is married again for the second time since he and Mom got divorced. They only knew each other about 4 weeks before setting a date and only 8 weeks by the time they married. I don't really care for her, but WHATEVER.
• We bought a timeshare in partnership with Jason's dad and his girlfriend. Hope this turns out to be a good thing.
• We went to the beaches in North Carolina over Labor Day weekend. It was a nice, relaxing time with SIL and her family.
• And last, but certainly not least . . .I am pregnant . . .with twins.

I will try to be better about writing.

We're Baaaack!!

Well, we made it home safely from Vegas. We had a really good time, but we were gone a few days too long. We saw several shows (KA, Love, and Lance Burton) and only gambled a little. We did a little shopping and just had a relaxing week. Unfortunately, no little elves visited our new home and unpacked all of our boxes, so we are still living with chaos right now.

Dylan did great with my SIL, but he was ready for us to come home. He got a little homesick, but she was able to keep him distracted. He went to the lake, to the zoo, to the pool, and made a new friend. But as soon as we walked in the door to pick him up, he was ready to go home. He didn't want us to sit around and chat with SIL and BIL, he wanted to go. He gave them each 4 or 5 hugs just trying to prompt us to go home.

On Monday, when I took Dylan back to school, he refused to go to his old class. I had told him that he was going to start going to the "big boy" class (i.e. preschool) this week sometime and he decided that Monday was the right day. After pitching a fit that he didn't want to go to the "baby" class, he walked into that new class like he had always been there.

For those of you who don't my son well, you don't understand how big this is for him. Transition to new things (especially new classes at school) has been really, really hard for him in the past. The last transition took almost a month, but part of that was because there was a teacher change about that time too. So, we were foreseeing weeks of slowing moving him to the new class (which is actually how they move most kids - a couple of hours each day the first week and more and more time the next week until they are there all day). Nope, he walked in yesterday and he was done with the old class.

When I dropped him off today, he walked to the new class, hung his bookbag on his hook (no more cubby for him), and told me "Bye, Mom". HUH?? What happened here?? Don't get me wrong, I think it is awesome that he wants to go to this class (especially since he has to anyway). But he has never, in the almost 3 years he has been in daycare, just walked into class and told me see ya later. It's two days now. I hope this continues. My baby is growing up. I am so happy/sad.

We're Off to Vegas.

See you in about a week.

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a very busy couple of weeks.

We had Dylan's 3rd birthday party on May 27. He had a blast. There were water gun fights (by children and adults), four-wheeler riding, and just an all around good time. Dylan patiently waited as "Happy Birthday" was sung to him and then promptly blew out his candles - taking out a corner of the cake in the process. He got way too many toys (mostly from Jason and I). Everyone else was blessedly contained this year with the gift giving. It was the last party in our old house.

We moved to our new house on Friday, June 2. There were many twists and turns getting into the new house starting with the horrible experience of selling our house to the horrible experience with the moving company we used (btw - don't ever use "All My Sons" to move). But, the final result is that we are in our new house and we are getting settled.

This Friday, June 9, Jason and I leave for Vegas. We planned this trip even before we thought about selling out old house. I am hopeful that the house will be a little more put together before we leave. We both need the relaxation that comes from a vacation. This has been a very trying experience and I am truly glad that it is over.

To all who sent us P&PT, I truly appreciate it.

Good News / Bad News

Good News: Dylan pooped on the potty last night. This is ground breaking news in our house. He has been peeing consistently since March, but the pooping just eluded him. Well, we have been encouraging him to "toot-toot" (i.e. fart) when he is sitting on the potty and he loves to do it. Thinks it is the funniest thing ever. Well, last night Jason convinced him to "toot-toot" and POOP came out. He was so excited. He got two presents (I have been promising him for weeks that if he would poop on the potty, he could get two presents). Bribery really is a good thing.

Bad News: It looks like the loan for the people buying our house may be falling apart. The lender is trying to figure something out that will work for both parties. I am just going to hate it if we have to put off buying our new house and if we have to put our current house back on the market. P&PT if you have any to spare.

Band for a Lifetime:
Choose a band/artist and answer ONLY in titles of their songs.

1. Are you male or female? Something In The Way She Moves

2. Describe yourself. Night Owl

3. How do some people feel about you? Steamroller

4. How do you feel about yourself? Long Ago And Far Away

5. Describe your ex: Bitter Sweet

6. Describe your current significant other: Your Smiling Face

7. Describe where you want to be: Anywhere Like Heaven

8. Describe how you live: Traffic Jam

9. Describe how you love: Fire And Rain

10. What would you ask for if you had just one wish? Enough To Be On Your Way

11. Share a few words of wisdom: Shower the People

12. Now say goodbye: You Can Close Your Eyes

Deep Breaths

Okay, so it is really just hitting me that we have approximately 3 weeks to pack up our house. I know it can be done, but we still have to live here while we are packing up - you know.

So, the game plan so far is to pack up the garage first (because this is where everything will be stored in the meantime and we won't be able to get to anything if we don't do it first), then the nursery and the office. Then we can start packing up non-essential stuff from our and Dylan's rooms. We are hiring movers to help with the heavy stuff, so the majority of the furniture will stay in place until they move it down.

In the midst of all of this, we are having Dylan's b-day party. Luckily, we only planned for it to be a family party this year, so it won't be too stressful.

Oh, yeah, and we are leaving for a week vacation in Vegas 1 week after we move. Hopefully, things will be under control enough so that we can enjoy our vacation.

And, hooray for my SIL who offerred to keep Dylan this weekend so we can get a head start on the packing. She is also keeping Dylan the week we go to Vegas. I am thinking we will be getting her a pretty nice gift.

Crazy, crazy times . . .

So, we have a contract on our existing house. We were only on the market 8 days. CRAZY, I tell ya. We are set to close on June 2.

We have changed our minds about which house we want to purchase and will be signing a new contract tomorrow. The new house is right next door to the old one. LOL!! Here is the new house and the floorplan:

We Signed a Contract Today . . .

If all goes according to plan, this will be our new home in the next couple of months or so . . .

House Hunting

So, it looks like we are buying a new house.

We went on a Sunday drive last weekend and visited a nice, new neighborhood. We had been there before and thought we would love to live there. Well, it turns out that we can afford it.

So, since Sunday we have decided to sell our house and buy a new one. I don't know how long this process will take or anything, but I am scared and excited at the same time.

Please send us "easy home selling" vibes.

Splish Splash

Dylan has his first swimming lesson tomorrow. I actually convinced Jason that he should be the one in the pool with Dylan (I am one smart momma - LOL).

I will let you know how it goes. Dylan seems to be really excited about it, so I hope he doesn't freak out when we get to the pool.

This is where we are going for the lessons:

http://www.swimatlanta.com/

They actually have swim teams and compete at meets. Some of the swimmers they have trained have gone on to be part of the Olympic swim teams. That, however, is not my goal for Dylan. I just want him to be more comfortable in the water and get a little exposure to the pool.

More to follow (and pictures too). . .

I Have An Announcement To Make . . .

I am so freakin' tired.

That is all.

The Potty Dance

I just have to share that Dylan has been in underwear since last Tuesday. He has been wearing it to daycare and has had minimal accidents. I still put a pullup on him at night, but he has only woken up wet 2 nights since we started this process. It's like putting the underwear on him made it just click for him (and offering 2 jellybeans for a pee in the potty and 4 for a poop in the potty probably didn't hurt either). YEAH, DYLAN!!!

Last week was spring break here. Traditionally, a lot of kids don't go to daycare during spring break. On Monday, I asked Dylan's teacher if we could send him to school in underwear because he was doing well for us on the weekends. She said yes and we haven't looked back. The first couple of days he had one or two accidents a day. Toward the end of the week, he was really getting the hang of it. I even set up a "treasure box" with some cheap toys so he can pick one prize out for each accident free day at daycare (the first day he wore underwear to daycare he got a prize just for trying so hard). However, anytime we put him back in a pullup, he has no desire to potty. He knows the difference without a doubt.

He still won't poop on the potty, but when I put his nighttime pullup on him he goes almost immediately. I know that it will happen in time. And, since he's not pooping in his underwear, I really don't mind that much that he waits for a pullup. At least he's going and not getting constipated.

I know we will still probably have some accidents along the way (who doesn't??), but I am so proud of my little guy.

We Just Bought a New (to us) Car

We got a good deal on the Jeep (photo is not of our actual Jeep, but the year, model, and color are the same) and we got what we wanted on our trade in.

And, best of all, we pay it off in 2 years.



Last week, the "service engine soon" light in the Maxima came on. We had diagnostics run and it was going to cost over $1000 to fix. Add that to the new tires we needed and the service that would need to be performed in the next couple of months (approaching 90,000 miles), it just seemed like the perfect time to trade it in.

I haven't actually seen the Jeep yet. Jason and I discussed our options last night and he bought it today. I have to sign some papers tomorrow, but the deal is essentially final.

We Went to the Zoo

With all of the turmoil surrounding my nephew last week, I forgot to write about our trip to the zoo. We went on Saturday, March 18. Jason, Dylan, myself, FIL and FIL's girlfriend went. SIL, BIL, and nephew were supposed to go too, but that was the day nephew was admitted to the hospital. (BTW, SIL told us to go on to the zoo because it would be hours before we could see her or nephew - for those of you who might think we were heartless to continue on to the zoo with nephew in the hospital).

Dylan had a blast and I think we saw every animal that lives at the zoo. Here are a couple of pics from our trip.
















Dylan @ the petting zoo
















Dylan studying about the pandas















Dylan and a big lizard















Dylan and Poppy (Jason's dad)















Dylan and Gigi (Poppy's girlfriend)


Dylan loved the otters and pandas the best. The lions weren't very exciting because they were asleep. The gorillas weren't very active either; though they did have a couple of babies that were entertaining. He had a blast at the petting zoo. It amazes me sometimes how much my shy little guy is coming out of his shell. He wasn't thrilled with the snakes (or anything else in the reptile house). He rode the train (all 3 minutes of it) and he rode on the endangered species carousel. All in all, Dylan had a blast and we will definitely be going back. I am sure he will love showing his cousin around.

Update on Nephew

He is going home today. He was diagnosed with RSV (apparently it was something different last time he was in the hospital and MIL got mixed up when she passed the information on to me), in addition to several other respiratory conditions (SIL said that there are about 6 or 7 official diagnosises on the discharge papers). But he has been off of oxygen for 24 hours and doing great. The doctor still fully expects to see them back in the hospital in the next couple of months simply due to the compromised state of his lungs at this time.

My nephew (10 mo) is sick

Saturday he was taken in a helicopter to the hospital because he wasn't stable enough for an ambulance ride. His breathing was labored and he was becoming lethargic. He spent Saturday and most of Sunday in the ICU and has been in a regular room since Sunday night (but every time they take him off of oxygen, his oxygen levels drop). He has (in the past month or so) been diagnosed with RSV and was diagnosed with croup upon admission to the hospital. Now, the doctors are 98% sure he has Achalasia of the Esophagus and Bronchial Tubes and this is why he is so susceptible to all of the respiratory problems. He should outgrow this by 14-18 months, but the doctor said he fully expects at least one more hospital stay in that time.

So, any P&PT would be appreciated and if you know anything about this diagnosis, I would love to hear about it.

What I Need/Want To Do Tomorrow (On My Day Off)

• grocery shopping
• sign Dylan up for swimming lessons (and then I may have to take on the agonizing task of finding a new suit - I'm thinking boycut this year - LOL!!)
• laundry
• put away the 6 or 7 baskets of already clean, folded laundry
• put clean sheets on the futon (guest bed)
• declutter as much as possible
• get my hair thinned (and maybe trimmed)

Jason's dad and girlfriend are coming to visit this weekend. And, you know, nothing gets your house cleaned and straightened like guests.

I really am looking forward to my day tomorrow, even though it is going to be quite busy. This is the first time in I-don't-know-how-long that I am taking a day off without having to take care of a sick kid/hubby/self.

Saturday, we (Me, Jason, Dylan, FIL, FIL's GF, SIL, BIL, DN) are going to the zoo. Dylan is so excited. I am taking my camera, so I hope to have pictures to share next week. Have a good weekend.

You are Meredith Grey. You relate easily to people,

though you have a hard time letting people

in, and though are a an amazing person, you

have a hard time seeing that yourself


Which Grey's Anatomy Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Interesting . . .

American Cities That Best Fit You:

80% Austin

75% Atlanta

70% Miami

65% Denver

65% Las Vegas

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

Well, it's good to know that I live somewhere that "fits" me. Very interesting.

What I (We) Did This Weekend

• Touched up the ceiling and door frames in the guest bathroom (we painted it about a year ago, I never finished the ceiling)
• Touched up the ceiling and door frames in the office (same time frame as the guest bath)
• Hung curtains in Dylan's room
• Hung a stuffed animal cage in Dylan's room
• Hung curtains in the dining room
• Hung curtains in the family room
• Framed some photos
• Copied some photos
• Tried to hand above photos, but the screws supplied with the frames wouldn't work
• Weeded front flower beds
• Weeded one of the rear flower beds (This one bed probably took me an hour and a half. It was bad.)
• Dylan dug in his sandbox (and in the flower beds a little) and played on his slide (He played outside for over 3 hours yesterday, it is probably the longest stretch of independant play he has ever had. Of course, we were outside with him at all times. But he did his thing and we did ours.)
• Jason (and Dylan) went to SC to pick up a jet ski for FIL's girlfriend
• Jason pressure washed the entire house (or at least as far up as he could reach using our ladder).
• Jason cleaned up Dylan's pool (Yes, it was still up from last summer and was quite nasty. We just never got around to putting it away and were debating whether or not we should just toss it.)
• Jason painted some of the trim around the house
• Jason painted the mailbox and the mailbox post

All in all, a very busy and productive weekend.

Um . . . okay

Nothing Sucks Like A Lisa.

My Anti-Drug is Jason.

Dylan with the Less Fattening Centres.

Get your own slogan here: http://www.thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi?word=mary

50 Things About Me

1. Until I went to college, I had only lived in one house.
2. Since I went to college, I have lived in 2 dorm rooms, 2 apartments, 1 townhouse, and 1 house.
3. My first memory is my mom being pregnant with my little brother and feeling him kick.
4. Other than this memory, I have no recollection of being an only child.
5. My “little” brother is 3 years, 10 months, and 2 weeks younger than me and he is about 6 feet tall.
6. Growing up, I didn’t realize how little money my parents had.
7. Now, I really wonder how the heck they made it.
8. Now that I work and am a mom, I don’t understand how my mom had time to cook dinner every night.
9. I do, however, realize it was a necessity since we couldn’t just go out to pick up dinner (see # 4 and because we lived about 15-20 miles away from the closest fast food joint).
10. I went to a private school K – 3rd grade.
11. My grandmother was the school secretary at the school that I went to in 4th grade.
12. That might be the only reason I was able to survive the transition.
13. I learned how to shoot a gun when I was in 6th or 7th grade.
14. I killed a deer when I was in 7th grade.
15. I don’t think I ever went hunting again. I wasn’t traumatized or anything, I just hated getting up that early in the morning.
16. I still hate getting up early in the morning.
17. I hate surprises.
18. The most angry I have ever been at my dad (disregarding all things divorce related) was when he planned a surprise party for me for my 16th birthday. I didn’t speak to him for days.
19. I had 3 different cars before I graduated from high school: an Oldsmobile Cutlas Supreme (burned up in a garage fire), a Dodge Daytona (wrecked), and a Pontiac Le Mans (wrecked, but not until after graduation).
20. I was valedictorian of my graduating class (Class of 1995).
21. I hated high school and almost didn’t walk for graduation.
22. Someone convinced me that if I didn’t walk I would regret it (and I was supposed to give a speech).
23. I now know I wouldn’t have regretted not walking, but I don’t regret walking either. It’s just a non-issue.
24. I said as soon as I graduated that I wouldn’t go to any reunions.
25. I didn’t go to my 10year reunion.
26. I didn’t walk for my college graduations (B.B.A. or M.B.A.).
27. I don’t regret it.
28. If any of my children ever ask me if it’s okay if they don’t walk for any graduation, I will still probably try to convince them to do it.
29. The only friends that I have remained in contact with from middle school, high school, or college are guys or family.
30. When I graduated from college in May 1999 (B.B.A), I swore I would never go back to school.
31. I started my M.B.A. in January 2001, at night while working full-time.
32. I finished my M.B.A. in July 2002.
33. I enjoyed my M.B.A. classes 10x more than my B.B.A. classes.
34. I prefer to have a man as a boss. It’s just an added bonus if he has kids.
35. I hate to be micromanaged.
36. I have a messed-up self-image.
37. Growing up, I was always concerned about my weight. Looking back now, I shouldn’t have worried about it because (with the exception of my fashion choices) I looked pretty good most of the time. As a matter of fact, the times that I thought I was at my best weight, I actually looked like a skeleton (and I still thought it wouldn’t hurt to lose another 10 lbs.).
38. As sad as it is, I used to always wish I had to the will power to be anorexic to lose weight and then be able to stop.
39. I didn’t realize that it doesn’t work that way.
40. I am grateful now that I didn’t go down that road.
41. Since I have graduated from college, I have had 4 jobs.
42. I have never worked less than 1 year or more than 2 years at any of those jobs.
43. I have been at my current job for 2 years as of last week.
44. Because of this (among other things), I am wondering if it is time to look for a new job.
45. I didn’t realize how much I would love my children until Dylan was born.
46. When he was in the hospital after he was born (premature), I would get extremely pissed off when my MIL would freely admit she didn’t want to get attached to him in case something bad happened.
47. I never believed anything bad would happen. I knew he would come home and he would be fine (I just didn’t know when).
48. I worry about the transition from 1 child to 2 children, but I can’t wait to make it.
49. I don’t have an opinion on a lot of issues.
50. This bothers my husband.
    

Catching Up . . .

• Work is crazy.
• Dylan is sick. He has some kind of virus. It has made him pretty miserable and crazy tired. This (Thursday) is his first day back at school. We tried to go to school on Tuesday, but he wasn't quite up to it.
• Work is crazy.
• Daycare just called and Dylan has had diarreha twice in the past hour. He is on augmentin, so that is the reason and he can stay, but I hate getting calls that my baby doesn't feel good. And I hate that the teachers have to clean him up.
• Work is crazy.

But tomorrow is Friday and next week will be better. Right?!?! Right?!?!

Thirteen Things That Make Me Happy My son My husband Thinking about having more kids Fresh flowers in the house Making a list and checking off the things that I finish Reading and relaxing in a warm (almost hot) bubble bath Being relatively financially secure New clothes Clean laundry, folded, and put away (not that I actually do this that often) Organizing just about anything A clean, organized house (not that I actually do this that often, either) Someone else doing my hair The idea that I will be thin again (but maybe not until I am done having kids)

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Enlarged Glands

Not me, Dylan.

Several weeks ago, I mentioned that Dylan had swollen glands and strep throat. Well, 10 days of antibiotics and his glands were still swollen. I gave it another week or so and saw no improvement. So, back to the doctor we go.

DR: Yes, his glands are swollen. No, he doesn’t have strep throat. His tonsils are a little large, but he will probably “grow into them”.

ME: Um, okay.

DR: And, you don’t need to worry about cancer.

ME: Excuse me, CANCER?!?!?!

DR: You don’t need to worry about it. Some parents bring their kids in with swollen glands and are really worried about cancer. So, if you were worrying about it, I wanted you to know you didn’t need to.

ME (laughing, but not really finding it funny): Well, I wasn’t worried, but I probably will now. Thanks!!

So, I am off to do research about pediatric cancer of the glands and throat. Fun, fun.

Thirteen Things From My "Childhood" (Up To and Including College)

1. My earliest memory is my mom being pregnant with my brother. I remember feeling him kick. I was about 3 1/2.
2. I went to a private school K-3rd grade. The transition to public school in 4th grade was hard for me because I went from 10 kids in my entire grade (and class) to 30 kids in my class (and about 300 in my grade).
3. I remember being hurt when I realized my mom paid for my "Aunt" Vera to keep my brother and I. I know she loved/loves us, but for some reason it stung. I was very bratty to her after that realization.
4. I took piano lessons for 5 years (3rd - 8th grades).
5. When I was about 8 or 9, I overheard my dad telling someone that the only reason he was here was because of the kids. I forgot about this until years later and now wonder about the significance of the statement.
6. I started dating at 14 and have only gone very short periods of time without a boyfriend, but have only seriously dated 3 guys (and I married 1 of them).
7. In high school, I sang at Carnegie Hall with my school choir.
8. I was first runner-up in my county's "Junior Miss" contest.
9. I was in 4 musicals in high school (1 per year). My senior year I was the female lead.
10. I was the valedictorian of my graduating class.
11. In college, I drank like a fish. Now, I can't drink at all without breaking out into hives.
12. I tried to smoke in college (see #11). I wasn't very good at it and I hate to practice anything, so I didn't try again.
13. I pretty much quick drinking once I turned 21. I guess the thrill was gone.

This is so cool . . .

http://www.snapshirts.com/custom.php

Potty Training Update

Well, we decided to give potty training a serious go on Sunday. Dylan is showing lots of signs that he is ready, but I just don't think he is quite there yet.

10:00 AM - Put underwear on and asked if he needed to go potty. Negative

10:32 AM - Peed under the chair

10:34 AM - Put different underwear on

11:00 AM - Peed on potty

12:30 PM - Changed into pull-up for nap after going potty again.

3:00 PM - Woke up dry from nap and went potty. Put on underwear again.

4:00 PM - Peed next to loveseat after saying he didn't need to go potty.

4:05 PM - Put on different underwear

4:30 PM - Pooped in underwear (and tried to deny it)

4:32 PM - Put pull-up back on for the remainder of the day.

So, tally is - 2 pee accidents, 1 poop accident, and 2 pees on the potty.

Lesson is: He knows what to do, he just can't be bothered right now.

Plan of action: Try again in a couple of weeks.

One More Month

I just got back from my annual OB/GYN appt. I feel like I have seen these guys way too much lately.

Anyway, the doctor suggested that we wait one more month to start TTC again. His reasoning is that it took a little longer than he expected for my beta-HCG levels to drop to negative, so he wants to give my body a little more "time" at normal before we get pg again.

I'm okay with that. I really want everything to be just right, no chances for second guessing whether my body was ready or not.

Least Common Denominator

Do you remember way back in school when you learned about fractions and breaking those things down to the least common denominator? Well, I have been reminded of that phrase a lot lately, but in a different context.

Here at work, we have a lot of people who probably shouldn't be in the positions they are in or at least they shouldn't be responsible for the things that they are responsible for. I have been working for the past several weeks writing and re-writing financial reports. Most people with any sort of financial background (hell, with any sort of exposure to financial reports in their past lives) would be able to understand what is printed on the pages of the financial reports. But, not here. No, we have to take the financial reports and regroup and restate them 3 or 4 different ways. This, my friends, is why the phrase least common denominator has been bouncing around in my brain. We have taken the information, broken it down to it's simplest form, and then had to write a narrative explaining the information.

Not only are we presenting the information in the simplest way possible, we are doing in 3 or 4 different ways because so-and-so likes to read it and so-and-so likes to see it grouped this way and so-and-so likes the traditional presentation. God forbid these people actually take the information and manipulate the structure themselves. UGH!! I don't know how much longer I can take this!!

La La Land

Okay, so somewhere out there in La La Land, my last post has disappeared. This is really just a test post to see if comments work.

BTW - Thanks, Allison. I was wondering why the hell no one was commenting.

MeMe

RELATIONSHIP STATUS...
[single or taken] Taken.
[Shoe size] 6 ½ or 7
[Parents still together] My parents divorced about 6 years ago
[Siblings] 1 younger brother
[Pets] Yes, 1 dog (Boston Terrier)

FAVOURITES...
[Colors] green
[Number] 14
[Animal] I don’t have a favorite animal
[Drink] Coke
[Book] I don’t really have a favorite book
[Flower] Wildflowers

DO YOU...
[Color your hair?] No
[Twirl your hair?] Nol
[Have tattoos?] No
[Have Piercings?] Just my ears
[Cheat on tests/homework?] In the past, yes – if I knew I could get away with it. Recently, no
[Like roller coasters?] yes
[Wish you could live somewhere else?] Not really
[Like cleaning?] Um, no.
[Write in cursive or print?] Print, usually
[Own a cell phone?] Yes
[Ever get off the damn computer] Yes, I am not on much when I am at home.

HAVE YOU EVER...
[Been in a fist fight?] No
[Considered a life of crime?] Yes, but the fear of getting caught always stopped me
[Considered being a hooker?] No
[Lied to someone?] Yes
[Been in love?] Yes
[Made out with JUST a friend?] No
[Been in lust?] Yes
[Used someone] I'd like to think I haven't, but I probably have
[Been used?] I'd like to think I haven't, but I probably have
[Kicked someone in the nuts?] Yes, and it was on purpose
[Stolen anything?] Yes
[Held a gun] Yes

CURRENTS...
[Current clothing] Jeans n' a l/s t-shirt
[Current mood] Overwhelmed
[Current taste] ??
[What you currently smell like] My deodorant
[Current hair] Short and flippy out
[Thing I ought to be doing] Writing financial reports, verifying financial info, etc, etc, etc
[Current cd in stereo] None
[Last book you read] The Lovely Bones
[Last movie you saw] Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
[Last thing you ate] Shrimp and scallops with mashed potatoes
[Last person you talked to on the phone] Jason

DO YOU...
[Believe there is life on other planets?] No
[Remember your first love?] Yes
[Read the newspaper?] No
[Have any gay or lesbian friends?] Yes
[Believe in miracles?] Yes
[Do well in school?] Yes, I did
[Wear hats] No
[Hate yourself?] No
[Have an obsession?] No
[Collect anything?] Not really
[Have a best friend?] Yes
[Close friends?] Yes
[Like your handwriting?] Sometimes, yes
[Care about looks] Not really

LOVE...
[First crush] Lance
[Do you believe in love at first sight?] Yes
[Do you believe in "the one?"] Yes
[Are you a tease?] Not really
[Too shy to make the first move?] Yes

ARE YOU A...
[Daydreamer] No
[Bitch/Asshole] I can be
[Sarcastic] I can be
[Shy] Sometimes
[Talkative] Sometimes

And again . . .

Everyone at my home is recovering well.

However, we got a call last night from MIL. She told us that our nephew (9 mo) had been admitted to Scottish Rite with pneumonia. This just isn't our week.

Lightening Strikes Again . . .

Okay, so Jason is starting to get better. That's good.

However, last night I had to take Dylan to the ER. He has a scratch on his cornea (the reason for the ER visit) and STREP THROAT!!

Will write more later as I am crazy busy at work right now too. Why do these things happen when you don't have time for them. One week prior or later and everything would have not been so hectic. ARGH!!

Update on Jason's Illness

Jason called me at work today. He told me I needed to come home (he had not gone to work because he was sick). This actually scared me. So, I got him to the doctor and expected to hear that he had the flu. Nope, pneumonia!! Good news is, he isn’t contagious. Bad news is, if he isn’t getting better by Wednesday morning (when I take him back to the doctor) he may have to go into the hospital.

Weekend To Do and Ta Da Lists

To Do

· 8-10 loads of laundry
· reload closet (it was emptied due to being painted earlier in the week)
· reload the linen closet
· clean up the nursery (it was trashed when everything was thrown into it due to having our master bed and bath painted earlier in the week)
· grocery shopping
· hang curtain rods
· hang curtains
· pick out and purchase new comforter and shams for master bedroom (to go with new paint color)
· pick out and purchase new bathroom accessories (to go with new paint color)
· buy new towels (just because we need some and I do like to have one set that coordinates in each bathroom)
· touch up ceiling in guest/Dylan’s bathroom ( I got paint on the ceiling when I painted that bathroom almost a year ago. I think it’s about time to fix it)
· reload Dylan’s toys into his toy closet (the closet under the stairs – they were thrown into the dining room due to the closet being painted earlier in the week)


Ta Da

· 2 loads of laundry
· Jason reloaded his part of the closet, but we never got around to mine
· Minor grocery shopping (just enough to get by)
· Picked out, but did not purchase new comforter (couldn’t find shams and Dylan was “done” shopping, so we needed to leave before it got ugly)
· Picked out, but did not purchase new bathroom accessories (the master bath is a color called Camel by Behr [think traditional camel hair jacket], so we are doing the accessories in a chocolate brown color).
· Got Dylan’s hair cut (not on the list of to do’s, but he was overdue)
· Jason and I both got sick (with different things, so now it seems like we gave each other what the other one had), so far it looks like Dylan has been unphased.
· Due to illness, the remainder of the previous list will be delayed until further notice (at least two weeks anyway)

I just want to mention that in the midst of all the illness at our house this weekend (and yesterday was pretty bad), Dylan was a trooper. You know that he had to be bored out of his mind, especially since we didn’t leave the house at all yesterday. He played by himself much of the day, bringing over small toys to interact with us. He watched some movies and took a great nap (which meant I could get a nap also). He really picked up on the fact that we felt bad and took it easy on us (for the most part – I mean, he is only two).

English Genius You scored 92% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 93% Advanced, and 80% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go! Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

Strange Men in My House

There are two strange men in my house right now. They are there alone. Don't worry, though. They are painting my master bed and bath and closet, living room, kitchen, hall, pantry, laundry room, and a couple of smaller closets. I can't wait to see the finished product. I hope we like it.

We painted our foyer several months (maybe a year) ago. We love the color of the foyer now, but it didn't seem to flow with the living room and our bedroom. So, we knew at some point we would need to repaint. I hate to paint. So, we agreed that if we could get a good deal, we would hire someone to paint the rooms for us. So, we are getting almost half of our house painted. Scary, but exciting.

And, to top it all off, I get to buy new bedding and we are going to set up a sitting/reading area in our bedroom. I feel like we are on a spending spree. Luckily, we only do this once or twice a year.

Potty Training

Potty training is not going well. I thought we were on our way to the "great, big underwear adventure", but it doesn't seem like Dylan is all that interested right now. He never wants to go potty when I ask, but he wants out of the dirty pull-up almost immediately. His bladder control is pretty good, I think. He can go hours without peeing in his pull-up, but says he doesn't need to go potty. Then, 10 minutes later, he is complaining (and walking really funny) because he is wet or poopy, so maybe that is a step in the right direction.

He seems to do okay at daycare - he goes potty their at least 3 or 4 times a day. Problem is, they usually pull off a wet pull-up and then he goes potty again. So, he can do it, but he still prefers to go in his pull-up.

And as funny as it sounds, I'm not really looking forward to having to scout out the closest potty in each and every store we enter. Pull-ups are great for long trips, you don't have to stop the car every 30 minutes for a potty break. But, once we make the switch to underwear (daytime - naptime/nighttime wear will continue for a while, I'm sure), we will not go back to pull-ups for trips. I just think that would be too confusing. We will, however, invest in a waterproof pad for the carseat. LOL!!

Really, I'm not all that concerned. I know it will happen (and I'm not completely sure that he isn't just testing us - you know, 2 year old stuff) when it happens.

OMG, I am so tired . . .

I am just so tired lately. I'm not really doing anything more than usual, so I just don't get it. I thought I might have a UTI, but the doctor ruled that out on Tuesday. I have been sleeping in Dylan's room the past few nights, but I don't think that is the problem.

Actually, I think we all may sleeping a little better this way. Before I slept in Dylan's room, he would usually wind up in our bed by about 2:00 AM. This added up to 3 people in a queen size bed and 1 of those people (can you guess who?) likes to sleep sideways in the bed. Dylan sleeping with us just recently started disturbing my sleep. (Man, that kid is getting tall.) So, I thought the best solution when he came into our room in the middle of the night would be to take him back to his room and lie down with him until he fell back asleep. Problem is, by the time he falls back asleep, I am too far-gone to make it back to our room. So, I wind up sleeping the majority of the night with Dylan.

I don't remember ever getting a solid night of sleep on my own (without the aid of medication), so maybe that is finally catching up to me. Maybe I should go in for one of those sleep study things. You know, I hardly ever dream. And, no I don't mean that I don't remember my dreams (like so many people try to convince me - why can't they believe that I would know whether or not I dreamed). When I do dream, I remember that I dreamed - maybe not what I dreamed about, but definitely the fact that I did actually dream. But I dream very rarely. Does that mean that I am not getting to the deep, recuperative sleep state? Am I only ever getting to a light sleep? Is this why I wake up so often at night? Who knows, maybe one day I will go in for that sleep study and find out. Until then, yes, I am tired.

Bribery is a good thing, but threats work too . . .

• -We bribe Dylan with 2 jelly beans every night to get him to watch a movie in his room instead of ours when we are getting him ready for bed

-We bribe Dylan with stickers and tattoos to get him to behave in any given situation

-We bribe Dylan with the ability to wear cool underwear if he will pee and poop in the potty (speaking of which, I have to go out and find some Bob the Builder underwear as a reward if he pees in the potty all day at daycare today)

-We bribe Dylan with a treat (cheap toy or special candy) if he behaves in the store

-We threaten Dylan with timeout (and follow through when needed)

-We threaten Dylan that we aren't going to see whoever he wants to see if he doesn't behave (i.e. Nana, Papa, Grandma, Poppy, Aunt Mindi, Uncle Scott, Ty)

Now, he's two and I know that he eventually needs to learn how to behave without bribery and threats, but it's working for now. (And, don't we all still react to bribery and threats just in grander forms - raises, bonuses, termination, jail).

Once he's a little older I want to establish a rewards chart. This way, he can work toward a reward for consistent good behavior. He just doesn't grasp the concept right now. I guess the reward/bribe still needs to be immediate right now.

The Power of Four

Four Jobs You've Had
1. Grocery store cashier
2. Telemarketer
3. Parts associate and cashier at a Discount Auto Parts store
4. Accountant

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over
1. The Usual Suspects
2. Kiss the Girls
3. Along Came a Spider
4. Serendipity

Four Places You've Lived
1. With my parents in Meigs, GA
2. In the dorm and in an apartment at college in Valdosta, GA
3. In a townhouse and then an apartment in Augusta, GA
4. At my home now in Atlanta, GA

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch
1. Desperate Housewives
2. Law and Order (all of them)
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. NCIS

Four of Your Favorite Books
1. She's Come Undone
2. Harry Potter (all of them)
3. I Know This Much Is True
4. Angels and Demons and DaVinci Code

Four Places You've Been On Vacation
1. Bahamas
2. Switzerland
3. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
4. Las Vegas

Four Websites You Visit Daily
1. MSN
2. My Mommies Board
3. A whole bunch of blogs
4. My bank's site

Four of Your Favorite Foods
1. Pollo Rosa Maria
2. Cheese Tortellini w/ creamy pesto sauce
3. Steak and Twice Baked Potatoes
4. Sesame Chicken

Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now
1. At home
2. In bed
3. Under the covers
4. In dreamland

I think everyone I know has been tagged.

My Childhood Powers of Reasoning

1. I used to wish on a lot of stars.




Star light, Star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have this wish I’ve wished tonight.




However, my wishes never came true. So, I came to the perfectly logical conclusion that my wishes must not be specific enough and were getting granted for someone else. So, I started making really specific wishes. These wishes were usually made on a Sunday night on my way home from church (because what better chance do you think you could have to have a wish granted than when you were returning home from spending time at church). These wishes were always for a million dollars to be waiting for me on my bed at home (and then I recited the address – this is one area that I believed the first wishes had gone wrong) that night (and then I said the date – this is another area that the first wishes could have gone wrong) when I got home from church (looking back, maybe we were just going to the wrong church – maybe the stars didn’t accept my church as a legitimate place of worship).

2. I rationalized that the way that Santa Claus could visit all the children in the world on one night was because of the time zones. I mean, if he circled the globe in the right direction, he could gain an hour for each time zone he passed through.

3. I was always really annoyed (actually, I still get annoyed) when the president would preempt my regularly scheduled programming. I had heard about these Neilson people that knew how many people were watching each show at night (though I hadn’t figured out how they knew what I was watching). So each time the president would come on to make a speech, I would repeatedly turn my TV off and on for the entire speech. I believed that somehow these Neilson people would notice that hundreds, maybe even thousands, of TV sets were turning on and finding the president making a speech and immediately turning off. I thought, at some point, these Neilson people will have to realize that no one wants to watch/listen to the president talk about whatever he was talking about. Then, surely, they will tell the TV stations that they are losing viewers left and right and my TV show would come back on. My plan hinged on the fact that the Neilson people knew when TV sets were turning on and off, what they were watching, and the fact that they couldn’t trace it to the individual set (otherwise, I would have just looked like an idiot turning my TV on and off throughout the president’s speech).

How stupid is it . . .

that I am checking my blog to see if there is anything new. I mean, I know that I haven't added anything, but I still have this urge to check to see if anything has changed.

Itchy, Itchy Me . . .

• Stop complaining, fix it or accept it.
• I do not have to take my own advice. I love to complain and I am quite good at it, if I do say so myself.
• No one owes you anything. With the exception of most medical issues, the choices you have made in your life have brought you to where you are.
• Just because you are related to someone does not entitle you to his or her possessions.
• Take care of your own stuff before you ask to borrow someone else's. If you trash what you own, why would anyone want to lend you anything.
• Just because you think someone could do something, it doesn't mean they actually can. You don't know everything that goes on in their home/head; you don't know what they could actually do. And even if they could, it doesn't mean they should feel obligated to.
• If someone is ignoring you, maybe you have done something to cause you to be ignored. If not, maybe you have annoyed the person so that they can't be civil to you so they believe ignoring you is the most polite response.
• Ask, don't assume. The answer may still be "no", but the response may be phrased more gently.
• No one wants you to be unhappy (well, most people anyway), but you are responsible for your own happiness. Until you are happy with who you are, no one else could make you happy even if they wanted to.
• Stop finding fault with everyone. Most times, the problem lies in you.
• Unless you are paying someone for those services, do not assume that anyone is your maid/waitress/caregiver.

Stream of Consciousness

So, it only 9:45 PM on a Friday night and I am the only one awake in the house. It's a little odd, actually. I need to do laundry, but just don't want to. I need to do dishes, but I absolutely refuse to. I probably should go to sleep, but I'm not really tired. I stayed home sick from work today, so I go a little extra sleep and I'm not tired. I thought I had some sort of stomach virus, but now I wonder if I just wasn't a little run down from everything that has gone on in the last couple of weeks.

My dad is staying with us for a little while. He had a pre-op appointment (for a minor surgery, nothing serious) today and will be here through the weekend. I take him to the hospital early Monday morning for his surgery and he will probably be released from the hospital sometime Wednesday. He will be staying with us until he feels that he can make the drive home (4 hours). I love him, but it is difficult to have him here for any extended period of time. He is a pretty weak, needy person and plays the "victim" a lot. He needs to be taken care of on a good day, so I am not really looking forward to caring for him after this surgery. And, I feel absolutely awful for feeling that way.

His being here (especially if it is going to be for more than a week or so) puts a strain on my marriage because Jason is easily annoyed with my dad. So, I feel like I have to work extra hard to keep Jason happy and to make sure that my dad doesn't pick up on the tension.

I am doing relatively well dealing with our recent loss of pregnancy. I know that I am not completely "okay" because the kindness of someone asking how I am doing can quickly bring on the tears as I rush to assure whoever it is that I am fine. And, I really am (or as fine as I can be under the circumstances). I truly don't believe the full extent of my emotions will be revealed until we get pregnant again. Then, I am sure the worry will outweigh the happiness and hope until we see a heartbeat. Blood tests have confirmed (as much as anything can confirm) that this pregnancy stopped developing at around 4-5 weeks. There was never a baby, only an empty sac. I was pregnant for 2-3 weeks after the pregnancy stopped. I really thought something was wrong when I hit the 6 week mark and didn't have any sign of "morning" sickness. I tried to tell myself that each pregnancy was different, but it just didn't feel right. Then, my breasts stopped be tender. About a week later is when the spotting started. The day the spotting started, I called the doctor and she actually reopened the closed office to let me see the baby on ultrasound. Until we did the ultrasound, she was certain that we would find a heartbeat and that she could reassure me with the statistic that half of women have bleeding during their pregnancies. But, we didn't see a heartbeat. All we saw was a sac that she said looked like I was about 4-5 weeks pregnant. She said that the sac looked perfectly developed and that if I was starting to miscarry, she should be able to see some sort of deformaty. At that point, we talked about dates. She tried to convince me that I could be wrong and I tried to believe it, but I just couldn't buy it. I had a positive pregnancy test in early December. If I was only 4-5 weeks pregnant, there is no way I could have had a positive pregnancy test that early. She told me to take it easy and that we might want to hold off telling the family about the pregnancy until we could come back and have some more tests. I miscarried over that weekend. I can't decide if she knew what was happening and was just trying not to ruin our Christmas or if she really didn't know. I mean the human body is an amazing thing and who is to say that in the same set of circimstances, the next pregnancy won't go on to result in a perfect baby. I don't know. There are just so many unknowns and things that I will never know about what happened. I hate not knowing. I hate uncertainty. But, I will learn to live with it. I mean, what else can I do?

I think that daycare is getting ready to try to move Dylan up to the 3 year old room. They are asking about his potty training progress and they had him visit the class today. He is nowhere near being completely potty trained and I swear that I will delay doing it if it keeps him from moving to the next class for a while. He isn't ready and he is only 2 1/2. Why do they keep trying to move my child up before he is ready. He is taller than some of the other kids in his class, but he doesn't beat them up or anything. I really hope that they just forgot how old/young he is and they will hold off for a little while. This is one move that I will fight. I never have before. The only way I will agree to it is if they are moving all of his friends at the same time. The last time they moved him, they moved him by himself and he had a horrible transition. It was awful. I can't do it again and I won't. So, there!!

Jason is working hard on his thesis (for this PhD in Educational Leadership). It has been a long road and a lot of papers (that I had to edit for him). I can't wait until he is done, though that will probably mean we will have to sell our house and move so he can get a principal's job. He has pretty much decided that he doesn't want to work in the county that we live in now. We will probably wait until he gets a job before we make any decisions about moving, but just knowing that it could happen in the next year or two makes me very anxious. I Hate Moving!!

Okay, I think that is all that is running through my mind tonight. I think that's enough anyway.

Happy New Year!!!

Well, another year has come and gone. I can't really say they seem to be going any faster since I am an adult (most people seem to think the years are flying by), but there does seem to be less distinction from one year to the next. Growing up, it seems like so many new things were happening in each year. Now, not so much. So, here are a few of the things that stand out as the highlights and lowlights of 2005 (if they didn't make the list, I probably just don't remember them).

• Dylan is growing into an awesome little boy. He is no longer my baby, though he doesn't appear to notice it. I think I am okay with that for a while.
• Landscaped the backyard. It still looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.
• Became an aunt.
• Started trying to potty train Dylan. He's doing pretty good.
• Made out a Last Will & Testament and Legal Guardianship papers.
• Went to Vegas for the first time. We had a blast. We need to make arrangements to go back.
• Started TTC.
• Dylan built his first snowman over Thanksgiving.
• Had a lot of stupid fights, but nothing too serious.
• Conceived and miscarried.

Goals for 2006:

• Get Dylan to fall asleep on his own and sleep in his own bed for at least the majority of each night.
• Walk at least three times a week to get into better shape and maybe lose some weight.
• Get Dylan daytime potty trained (I'm not so concerned about nighttime training yet).
• Start scrapbooking again (paper and electronic).

To you and yours, I wish you a Happy New Year.

May this next year lead you to twice the good and half the bad as the last year.

Pregnancy Announcement and Update (Loss)

I found out I was pregnant on December 2, 2005. We planned to announce it to our families at Christmas by having Dylan wear his "I'm the Big Brother" tee-shirt.

I started spotting on Friday and my wonderful doctor actually opened up the office to get me in for an ultrasound. She thought we would be able to see a heartbeat and that would relieve all worries. We confirmed the pg, but it appeared to have stopped developing at about 4-5 weeks. She tried to be optimistic telling me I probably just had my dates wrong, but I couldn't see how. We still made the announcement to the families, we just tempered it with the fact that I was having some bleeding.

The bleeding continued over the weekend and my doctor confirmed the loss yesterday. I have to go back for testing later this week and early next week to confirm a complete miscarriage.

I think I am doing okay. I can't really talk about it without crying right now, but I think that is pretty normal. Once I started spotting on Friday, I resigned myself to the fact that this would probably be the result. It didn't make hearing it yesterday any easier, but I wasn't shocked.

To be honest with you, having Dylan is the best comfort I can imagine. I just look at him and know that I can get through anything. As I was putting him to bed last night, he was singing a song and he looked up at me with complete love and said, "I happy, Mommy". I just hugged him close and really thought about all the love and joy he has brought to us and told him I was happy too. And, in that moment, I truly was.

Christmas Chaos (not really)

We actually had a really great Christmas. Dylan got too many toys and a lot of really nice clothes. He really “got” Christmas this year. He tore into presents like a pro and helped his mommy and daddy with theirs also.

When he woke up Christmas morning, I don’t think that he remembered it was Christmas. As soon as I reminded him, you should have seen his face light up. It was all I could do to keep him upstairs until Jason got the video camera ready.

He loved everything he got, though the clothes didn’t thrill him as much as the toys. We opened presents at home with just Jason, Dylan, my mom, and me. It was a nice relaxed morning because we didn’t have to worry about anyone coming over. We left the house trashed when we left to go to SILs. She wanted to host Christmas dinner this year, and I quite enjoyed not having to clean or prepare anything other than a few appetizers. Dylan only got a 30 minute nap, but he behaved great. There was just so much going on that I don’t think he even had time to act up.

We did the present thing again when we got to SILs. By the end of the day, I don’t think Dylan knew which way was up. He had a blast and I really must clean out his toy closet to make room for all of his new toys. I think I will pack up some of the new ones to bring out in March or so, just to change things up. He won’t miss them as long as he doesn’t see them. There were a couple of gifts that are a little to “old” for him and those will definitely be put away for later.

All in all, a pretty good Christmas. Gifts highlights are:

Dylan – big teddy bear, bicycle, dump truck, bulldozer, blue truck, playdoh, many, many matchbox cars w/ carrying case and playmate, books, movies

Jason – watch display case, extra long fleece blanket, Georgia Bulldogs chair, new executive cotton dress shirts

Me – my perfume, digital camera, photo editing software, photo printer, new pjs, new shirts, chocolate

Now, I just have to get ready for my dad's visit in a week or so. He is having some minor surgery and will be staying with us for a couple of days while he recovers.

I've Been Tagged Again!!

1.Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Both, big things just sit out; little things get wrapped.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Sometime after Thanksgiving and before Christmas.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I love it all.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Opening gifts at my mammaw’s house on Christmas Eve and then getting to come home and openning our gifts from mom and dad before we went off to bed. We would wake up on Christmas morning and all of our gifts from Santa would be laid out. We each (my brother and I) would have one whole couch/loveseat dedicated to out Santa gifts. It was always so much fun to explore our couch.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Around 4th or 5th grade. After that I started helping mom by keeping my little brother distracted while she was shopping.
9. Do you open presents of Christmas morning or Christmas eve? One on Xmas Eve. The rest Christmas morning.
10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? I don’t know, this is the first year we will set out cookies.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love it because we rarely get it. If I lived where it snowed a lot, I’m not sure how I would feel about it.
12. Can you ice skate? NO
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? No, it seemed like every year just got/gets better. Though there was the Christmas after Dylan was born that I got a 3 stone ring and diamond stud earrings.
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? It’s just a fun time of year. This year we are doing Secret Santa at work, it brings back some of the majic for the adults. I also love the excitement that Dylan has this year.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I don’t know. I like so many.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Staying home or close to it instead of traveling.
17. What tops your tree? A bow
18. Which do you prefer Giving or Receiving? Giving. I love seeing the person’s reaction.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Angels We Have Heard On High (Gloria)
20. Do you have a wreath on your front door? Yes.
21. What do you want most for Christmas this year? There is this one type of perfume that everyone seems to remember that my SIL loves, but forgets that I had it first. So, I made a point to ask Jason for it this year. He is the one who found it for me in Paris to begin with.

Weekend in Review

Saturday

• Went over to SILs house. She had made an appointment with Picture People to have her son's pciture taken and wanted a couple pictures with Dylan too.
• We decided to go ahead and have a full photo shoot with Dylan also.
• Spent 6 hours in a mall. I hate malls.
• Tried to have Dylan's picture taken with Santa. We were not successful and I refused to buy another crying picture.
• Spent way too much money on way too few pictures, but they were so good.
• Went home and went to bed.

Sunday

• We were all so lazy.
• Dylan and I took a 2 and 1/2 hour nap.
• Went grocery shopping.
• That's it.

I have an appointment on Thursday to have our carpets cleaned and then I am going to put up the Christmas tree. I can't wait to get the house decorated for Christmas. I think Dylan is looking forward to it too. This should be a really fun Christmas.