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).