Monday, June 30, 2008
Just letting you know
I am going to be using our family webpage for my blog from now on... go to www.guilfoyles.org to check it all out... there are a few posts on there already.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Bad Storms
Well, I am about 2 weeks after the fact, but hey, better late than never right?
2 weeks ago, I got a much better appreciation of what I had and how much I need to treasure it. I have a home with all of the walls still attached, and a roof over my head to keep me dry. It keeps me warm in the winter; it keeps me cool in the summer. It provides a place for friends and family to gather and enjoy each others company. My house is a mess, but that means that I have been blessed enough to be able to afford toys for my daughter to play with and comfy furniture to sit on.
I have a family. Some of my family is much further away than I would like, but I still have them. I have the ability to talk to them so much more often than families could communicate when far away 30 years ago. Every morning, I get to wake to a hug and kiss as my husband goes to work and then later I get to hear “momma, nap… you mommin” Which translates into mommy, I napped, are you coming”. This is Cailin’s way of telling me that she is up and ready to go for the day. I am always greeted with a hug, a kiss and lately a lick on my cheek as she thinks she is a puppy!
The face that I am overweight, and even now pregnant, tells me that I have plenty of food in the house to keep us healthy.
Why am I going through all of these things that I am so thankful for? Well, on May 10th, the day before Mother’s day, it started like any normal day. We woke and picked up the house and played around together as a family. We had a mascara race on in the background mostly for noise. We noticed on the bottom, there was a tornado warning for our area. Actually, we kind of chuckled because the exact words they used were, “From the national weather service, a tornado warning has been issued for the following counties: Our entire viewing area. This warning will expire at 7:00pm tonight.” Normally they will list ALL of the counties no matter how many there are to list. It was the first time they have shortened it this much. Around 5pm, 2 families came over and we were having a meeting about starting our own soccer league. All was going well. Around 5:45, dinner was ready. Aimee and I were pulling out plates as we noticed the sky was getting darker. By 5:55, it was raining. It was raining hard. Then at 6:00, we heard some loud knocks on the ceiling. It was like baseballs were hitting the roof. We look out the back door onto the deck, and we see exactly that… baseball sized hail coming down. We knew there had been a tornado that touched down in Oklahoma shortly before, so we each grabbed a part of dinner… either a bowl of food, or a handful of dishes and took it down stairs. The kids, all 5 of them, ate in the craft room as that is the safest room in the house. The adults were on the couch right next to the doorway ready to run in if we needed. After 10 or 15 minutes of this, the sky was super bright, and sunny. The rain and then thunking on the roof stopped. While it was storming though, John had the brilliant idea to run outside and grab a piece of the hail to bring inside to show us. By 6:30, we learned that 3 tornados had touched down in the area. One was an EF-3, on was an EF3-4, and the other, I can’t remember. (We learned the ratings later, but we did know that 3 touched down). John, jerry and their families all lived in Neosho. They couldn’t go home via Lime Kiln because the road was closed due to damage. They couldn’t go home via hwy 60 because the road was closed. On HWY 60 near Gramby, there was the remnants of a trailer truck… the cab, and the wheels of the trailer were there, but the rest of the poor trucker’s load was long gone. Lime Kiln had oodles of trees down crossing the road. One of the tornados touched down in Seneca and headed across Iris road. Iris road comes near our house, but we are at least 15 miles from Seneca. There was damage on Iris road from this tornado about 6 miles from our home. It was devastating! There were at least 3-5 houses where all you could see were the cinderblocks that were used for a foundation. They were never more than 2 tall. The rest of the house was gone. It looked as if someone had taken a bulldozer to the houses, but that hadn’t happened yet. It will though. There were trees mangled. There were trees that had huge sheets of metal that used to be trunks of cars, or metal garages, or satellite dishes intertwined in them. There were pieces of clothing everywhere. I didn’t see any of this until Monday. I cried. I cried because I can not imagine how these people are feeling. They just lost EVERYHITNG. Not just their homes and their clothes, but what about pictures. Memories that is irreplaceable. When I had my camcorder stolen, that was the only thought that went through my mind… I had pictures of Cailin when we came home from the hospital that we couldn’t get back. Luckily, that memory card had been swapped earlier that day, so we still had them. These people, the only thing they had left was their family. Some didn’t even have that. In my county alone, there were 13 people that died. One person, a 17 year old girl who I believe was supposed to graduate in a week was home alone when a tree fell through their house. She didn’t survive. I later found this girl was the daughter of a friends’ boss. In a little town you always find a connection to a person. There was a 21 or 22 year old young man who passed away in what I feel is this most honorable way. He was a volunteer firefighter. He DOES NOT get paid for what he does. He was sent to warn people that this tornado was coming. At least 3 or 4 families did not loose a loved one because of this young man. He is engaged to get married. He has a 2 year old daughter and a baby on the way. I cried for his family as well. His fire chief has said he will get full firefighter honors for his acts of braveness.
There was a town just across the Oklahoma border which was completely leveled. This may be a blessing in disguise. Pitcher is a town of only a few hundred people. They government was trying to offer buy-outs and evacuate this old lead mining town for health reasons for the people. The houses are gone. The town is gone. The families will still get whatever insurance $ is due to them, but they will not get the option to rebuild where they currently reside.
Here are some of the pictures that I have of the areas…
2 weeks ago, I got a much better appreciation of what I had and how much I need to treasure it. I have a home with all of the walls still attached, and a roof over my head to keep me dry. It keeps me warm in the winter; it keeps me cool in the summer. It provides a place for friends and family to gather and enjoy each others company. My house is a mess, but that means that I have been blessed enough to be able to afford toys for my daughter to play with and comfy furniture to sit on.
I have a family. Some of my family is much further away than I would like, but I still have them. I have the ability to talk to them so much more often than families could communicate when far away 30 years ago. Every morning, I get to wake to a hug and kiss as my husband goes to work and then later I get to hear “momma, nap… you mommin” Which translates into mommy, I napped, are you coming”. This is Cailin’s way of telling me that she is up and ready to go for the day. I am always greeted with a hug, a kiss and lately a lick on my cheek as she thinks she is a puppy!
The face that I am overweight, and even now pregnant, tells me that I have plenty of food in the house to keep us healthy.
Why am I going through all of these things that I am so thankful for? Well, on May 10th, the day before Mother’s day, it started like any normal day. We woke and picked up the house and played around together as a family. We had a mascara race on in the background mostly for noise. We noticed on the bottom, there was a tornado warning for our area. Actually, we kind of chuckled because the exact words they used were, “From the national weather service, a tornado warning has been issued for the following counties: Our entire viewing area. This warning will expire at 7:00pm tonight.” Normally they will list ALL of the counties no matter how many there are to list. It was the first time they have shortened it this much. Around 5pm, 2 families came over and we were having a meeting about starting our own soccer league. All was going well. Around 5:45, dinner was ready. Aimee and I were pulling out plates as we noticed the sky was getting darker. By 5:55, it was raining. It was raining hard. Then at 6:00, we heard some loud knocks on the ceiling. It was like baseballs were hitting the roof. We look out the back door onto the deck, and we see exactly that… baseball sized hail coming down. We knew there had been a tornado that touched down in Oklahoma shortly before, so we each grabbed a part of dinner… either a bowl of food, or a handful of dishes and took it down stairs. The kids, all 5 of them, ate in the craft room as that is the safest room in the house. The adults were on the couch right next to the doorway ready to run in if we needed. After 10 or 15 minutes of this, the sky was super bright, and sunny. The rain and then thunking on the roof stopped. While it was storming though, John had the brilliant idea to run outside and grab a piece of the hail to bring inside to show us. By 6:30, we learned that 3 tornados had touched down in the area. One was an EF-3, on was an EF3-4, and the other, I can’t remember. (We learned the ratings later, but we did know that 3 touched down). John, jerry and their families all lived in Neosho. They couldn’t go home via Lime Kiln because the road was closed due to damage. They couldn’t go home via hwy 60 because the road was closed. On HWY 60 near Gramby, there was the remnants of a trailer truck… the cab, and the wheels of the trailer were there, but the rest of the poor trucker’s load was long gone. Lime Kiln had oodles of trees down crossing the road. One of the tornados touched down in Seneca and headed across Iris road. Iris road comes near our house, but we are at least 15 miles from Seneca. There was damage on Iris road from this tornado about 6 miles from our home. It was devastating! There were at least 3-5 houses where all you could see were the cinderblocks that were used for a foundation. They were never more than 2 tall. The rest of the house was gone. It looked as if someone had taken a bulldozer to the houses, but that hadn’t happened yet. It will though. There were trees mangled. There were trees that had huge sheets of metal that used to be trunks of cars, or metal garages, or satellite dishes intertwined in them. There were pieces of clothing everywhere. I didn’t see any of this until Monday. I cried. I cried because I can not imagine how these people are feeling. They just lost EVERYHITNG. Not just their homes and their clothes, but what about pictures. Memories that is irreplaceable. When I had my camcorder stolen, that was the only thought that went through my mind… I had pictures of Cailin when we came home from the hospital that we couldn’t get back. Luckily, that memory card had been swapped earlier that day, so we still had them. These people, the only thing they had left was their family. Some didn’t even have that. In my county alone, there were 13 people that died. One person, a 17 year old girl who I believe was supposed to graduate in a week was home alone when a tree fell through their house. She didn’t survive. I later found this girl was the daughter of a friends’ boss. In a little town you always find a connection to a person. There was a 21 or 22 year old young man who passed away in what I feel is this most honorable way. He was a volunteer firefighter. He DOES NOT get paid for what he does. He was sent to warn people that this tornado was coming. At least 3 or 4 families did not loose a loved one because of this young man. He is engaged to get married. He has a 2 year old daughter and a baby on the way. I cried for his family as well. His fire chief has said he will get full firefighter honors for his acts of braveness.
There was a town just across the Oklahoma border which was completely leveled. This may be a blessing in disguise. Pitcher is a town of only a few hundred people. They government was trying to offer buy-outs and evacuate this old lead mining town for health reasons for the people. The houses are gone. The town is gone. The families will still get whatever insurance $ is due to them, but they will not get the option to rebuild where they currently reside.
Here are some of the pictures that I have of the areas…
Friday, May 16, 2008
Stop the Music
Every night before bed, and even before nap time, I will stretch out on cailin's bed next to her and sing a few songs before I leave the room for her to sleep. I am not a great singer, but i am not completely tone deaf either. Lately when I start to sing to her, she puts her hand to my mouth and says "juss tuddle momma, juss tuddle" (Just cuddle). Apparently she thinks my singing isn't the greatest!
On another note though, she is ALWAYS singing to her babies as she carries them around the house!!
On another note though, she is ALWAYS singing to her babies as she carries them around the house!!
Customer service
I decided what watch I wanted to get. I decided on the two toned watch. Of course it was the most expensive... sigh. If you look at the citizen web site, it is a $375 watch. OIY! I think the most expensive watch I have owned was my mickey watch which cost $65. It was hard to think about spending this much for a watch, but I know it will last, and it is a great quality watch. I searched and searched and found a web site that offered it for UNDER $200!! Someone told me that some sites you have to be careful because they might be refurbished or whatever, so then i went from excited to skeptical. Why are they offereing it so cheap? This was even way cheaper than I could find on ebay (about $70-80 cheaper). I told Chris I would feel better if we could get it from somewhere local so if we did need to take it for service we could and we wouldn't need to worry about warranty and shipping it and all that good stuff. I went to the mall and asked some of the stores if they priced matched. The only store that offered to price match was Zales. Alex their manager was the one who helped me and he was incredibly nice and helpful. He told me that if i could find a better price on line, print a copy and bring it to him. I did. he was shocked at the cost, but didn't hesitate. They didn't have the watch i wanted in their store. He started calling other Zales stores. Apparently this is a watch that Zales does not carry on a regular basis. Instead of stopping there and just saying they couldn't get it for me, he calls his contact at Citizen. He told me that if I wanted it, i would have to pay for the watch, and then they would special order it directly from citizen. It will then take 3-6 weeks for the watch to come in, but this way it is direct from citizen. I made my payment yesterday and now i have to wait.
Kudo's to Alex for such great customer service. He definately went over and above what I expected!!!!!!!
Kudo's to Alex for such great customer service. He definately went over and above what I expected!!!!!!!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
I am worried
I know this will sound small and petty, but I have one major concern about my pregnancy. I am 27 weeks right now. I am the same size that i was when I was at 30-32 weeks along with Cailin. I am growing significantly faster. I am not eating any more than I did with Cailin. The things that I am eating are healthy. Those of you who have had more than one child, is this normal? Was it this dreastic for you?
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Conversations with Cailin
Yesterday, we were leaving the soccer fields from visiting with Daddy before he went to a meeting back in Joplin. Chris buckled Cailin’s car seat while I ran to the potty. The piece that hooks across Cailin’s chest, he tends to hook it kind of low, so one day I told him that it needs to be up at her boobs. Now EVERY TIME Chris buckles her up, she always tells him “Hook at boobs daddy, at boobs”. She reminded him of this yesterday as well. Once we were driving, we had a funny conversation
Daddy buckled me.
He did?
Yeah
Daddy did a good job
At boobs too!
You have such a good daddy.
Gettin’ better mom.
I had to ask her why she said ‘getting better’ because Chris is a great daddy for her. She gave me the response to get out of everything… “I non’t know”.
Later that evening, we were in Wal-Mart and I stopped to look at the nursing bras because I really need some new ones. I got to have the following conversation with Cailin:
What’s that momma?
It’s a bra.
A bra?
Yeah, a bra.
Cover’s boobs?
Yes, it covers up boobs.
Covers MY boobs?
No, you have a little bit more growing before it covers your boobs.
I died! I had tears in my eyes when she asked if they covered boobs. I didn’t think she grasped that much yet, but I guess she does.
Daddy buckled me.
He did?
Yeah
Daddy did a good job
At boobs too!
You have such a good daddy.
Gettin’ better mom.
I had to ask her why she said ‘getting better’ because Chris is a great daddy for her. She gave me the response to get out of everything… “I non’t know”.
Later that evening, we were in Wal-Mart and I stopped to look at the nursing bras because I really need some new ones. I got to have the following conversation with Cailin:
What’s that momma?
It’s a bra.
A bra?
Yeah, a bra.
Cover’s boobs?
Yes, it covers up boobs.
Covers MY boobs?
No, you have a little bit more growing before it covers your boobs.
I died! I had tears in my eyes when she asked if they covered boobs. I didn’t think she grasped that much yet, but I guess she does.
Monday, May 5, 2008
My chatterbox!
Cailin has been doing wonderfully. Chattering up a storm. Things that she tells us lately has Chris and I just laughing. “Bye home, see you later”, “Close windows, it’s windy outside”, “watch for cars, it’s busy”. She definitely has opinions and shares so many thoughts that she is coming up with on her own instead of repeating everything you say.
What interests me is this. We were told that the chronic ear infections she was having from January till April had no affect on her hearing or her speech. Chris and I really didn’t believe that. We could hear the pronunciation of her words going the wrong way.
It has been almost a month since she had her surgery. I have to tell you, her vocabulary has maybe more than tripled in this past month. She is talking oodles, and pronunciation is a lot better. Chris has noticed that he doesn’t need me to translate some of the things she says.
It was a long recovery, but now that she is back to normal, it was well worth it to have the tubes put into her ears to help ease the pain and help with her pronunciation and language development. I can’t believe the change just in the past month!
What interests me is this. We were told that the chronic ear infections she was having from January till April had no affect on her hearing or her speech. Chris and I really didn’t believe that. We could hear the pronunciation of her words going the wrong way.
It has been almost a month since she had her surgery. I have to tell you, her vocabulary has maybe more than tripled in this past month. She is talking oodles, and pronunciation is a lot better. Chris has noticed that he doesn’t need me to translate some of the things she says.
It was a long recovery, but now that she is back to normal, it was well worth it to have the tubes put into her ears to help ease the pain and help with her pronunciation and language development. I can’t believe the change just in the past month!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
You know you are tired when
You are sitting on Daddy's lap helping him cut the grass on a riding lawn mower and you fall asleep!!!
(unfortunately, I only have an awake picture. When I saw her sleeping, I ran to get camera, but when I got back out, chris had turned off the mower and was carrying her back into the house).
(unfortunately, I only have an awake picture. When I saw her sleeping, I ran to get camera, but when I got back out, chris had turned off the mower and was carrying her back into the house).
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Recovery is almost worse than surgery
This week has been tough on Cailin. For the most part though, she is handling it like a trooper. Rarely complaining and mostly taking her medicine like we need to. We have hit the 5-7 days post op which are the hardest and the hospital was right, they are hard. Sunday night/Monday morning, Cailin woke around 4:30. She woke up hurting and screaming. It took both of us to get her to take some Motrin and that was a battle. Afterwards, she kept saying “rock daddy chair – mommy nurn”, over and over. Chris tried to cuddle with her and give her hugs and loving to sooth her, but she kept pushing him away. She didn’t want anything to do with Chris. I kind of felt bad for him. It took me a good hour and a half to get her calmed down and back into bed. She wasn’t all the way asleep when I went back to my bed, but she was significantly more comfortable and settled.
While I am somewhat flattered that she wanted me over daddy at night, by the time yesterday afternoon rolled around, I told Chris it was his turn and I needed a break. I was pooped. Between her being tired from the night before as well as her just being a two year old, I was going bonkers!!!! It shouldn’t take 5 attempts to get her to take some medicine that she normally likes. After she stands in the tub, slips and hits her lip on the side of the tub, she should understand why mom is telling her to sit down. I shouldn’t have to ask if she needs me to smack her bottom and she tells me yes. And then as soon as that happens, give me another attitude thing that she knows isn’t acceptable and instantly covers her mouth so she doesn’t get in trouble for that as well. She shouldn’t need a shower 10 minutes after she takes a bath because she is sticky from spitting medicine everywhere in a fit. It shouldn’t be a battle to get dressed. There are all of these “shouldn’t’s that happened yesterday. It was exhausting.
It is 1130 not and she is still sleeping. She went to bed at 930, woke at 2 hurting bad, we got her a dose of motrin and got her back to sleep (took about 40 minutes). She is still asleep now though. I am hoping with this much sleep that we will have a much better day today. I pray that the healing will be speedy and she will be back to normal soon!!
While I am somewhat flattered that she wanted me over daddy at night, by the time yesterday afternoon rolled around, I told Chris it was his turn and I needed a break. I was pooped. Between her being tired from the night before as well as her just being a two year old, I was going bonkers!!!! It shouldn’t take 5 attempts to get her to take some medicine that she normally likes. After she stands in the tub, slips and hits her lip on the side of the tub, she should understand why mom is telling her to sit down. I shouldn’t have to ask if she needs me to smack her bottom and she tells me yes. And then as soon as that happens, give me another attitude thing that she knows isn’t acceptable and instantly covers her mouth so she doesn’t get in trouble for that as well. She shouldn’t need a shower 10 minutes after she takes a bath because she is sticky from spitting medicine everywhere in a fit. It shouldn’t be a battle to get dressed. There are all of these “shouldn’t’s that happened yesterday. It was exhausting.
It is 1130 not and she is still sleeping. She went to bed at 930, woke at 2 hurting bad, we got her a dose of motrin and got her back to sleep (took about 40 minutes). She is still asleep now though. I am hoping with this much sleep that we will have a much better day today. I pray that the healing will be speedy and she will be back to normal soon!!
half helpers
Half helping doesn’t help me out much. My husband, whom I love dearly half helps a lot of times and doesn’t get it when I get frazzled with his half helping. Here is an example of half helping.
Cailin has been feeling rotten while recovering from surgery. I understand that she hurts and she doesn’t know exactly how to express it. I had 2 loads of laundry to run that day. I got the second load into the washer and the first into the dryer and that was about it. When I do my laundry, I like to take things out of the washer and into the dryer, then out of the dryer a few items at a time and fold them or hang them up as I go. I try to get the dryer as soon as it finishes so things don’t get wrinkled. When I fold things, I fold them and separate into piles on top of the washer and dryer and move to appropriate rooms when they are all folded. This particular day, Chris came home from work. He half helped by taking the clothes out of the dryer, throwing them in a pile on top the washer and dryer and putting the stuff from the washer into the dryer. That was it. He didn’t offer to help fold the stuff on the washer. 2 days later, I get a break to finish laundry. I find the stuff that is piled on the washer waiting to be folded is mostly Chris’s work clothes, and a few of Cailin’s things. Since he half helped and took them out and threw them in a big pile, my options were to lug out my iron and ironing board and press all of his work clothes so they look nice for him to wear to work, or just throw them back in the washer and start the whole process over again. I opted for the 2nd because I hate ironing. There were some stuff that I could fold, however, I had no where to put everything as I folded them because the top of the washer and dryer were covered with all the clothes.
While I appreciate his ‘helping’, it would be better if he didn’t half help. Things would get done faster, things wouldn’t be laying around. The same is when he will take dishes to the sink, and not rinse them off, or not put them in the empty dishwasher. Cheese sauce is a pain in the arse to scrub off a plate or bowl once it has dried. So is French onion dip. I am not a fan of using my fingernails to scrub dried on food off dishes because someone can’t rinse them off. While I am on the topic of dishes, seriously, what is the deal with putting your dirty dishes on the counter on TOP of the dishwasher instead of in the dish washer. You are already right there, open the door and put them in!!! It isn’t that hard.
I now face the dilemma of Do I say gee honey, thanks for helping with laundry since he did take stuff out of the dryer and move more into the dryer? Do I tell him that his helping isn’t helping and risk that he doesn’t do a single thing any more? Do I put clothes that he puts on the dryer on hangers and let him wear it wrinkled and not say a word and let him figure it out? What’s a girl to do?
Do you have ‘half helpers’ in your house?
Cailin has been feeling rotten while recovering from surgery. I understand that she hurts and she doesn’t know exactly how to express it. I had 2 loads of laundry to run that day. I got the second load into the washer and the first into the dryer and that was about it. When I do my laundry, I like to take things out of the washer and into the dryer, then out of the dryer a few items at a time and fold them or hang them up as I go. I try to get the dryer as soon as it finishes so things don’t get wrinkled. When I fold things, I fold them and separate into piles on top of the washer and dryer and move to appropriate rooms when they are all folded. This particular day, Chris came home from work. He half helped by taking the clothes out of the dryer, throwing them in a pile on top the washer and dryer and putting the stuff from the washer into the dryer. That was it. He didn’t offer to help fold the stuff on the washer. 2 days later, I get a break to finish laundry. I find the stuff that is piled on the washer waiting to be folded is mostly Chris’s work clothes, and a few of Cailin’s things. Since he half helped and took them out and threw them in a big pile, my options were to lug out my iron and ironing board and press all of his work clothes so they look nice for him to wear to work, or just throw them back in the washer and start the whole process over again. I opted for the 2nd because I hate ironing. There were some stuff that I could fold, however, I had no where to put everything as I folded them because the top of the washer and dryer were covered with all the clothes.
While I appreciate his ‘helping’, it would be better if he didn’t half help. Things would get done faster, things wouldn’t be laying around. The same is when he will take dishes to the sink, and not rinse them off, or not put them in the empty dishwasher. Cheese sauce is a pain in the arse to scrub off a plate or bowl once it has dried. So is French onion dip. I am not a fan of using my fingernails to scrub dried on food off dishes because someone can’t rinse them off. While I am on the topic of dishes, seriously, what is the deal with putting your dirty dishes on the counter on TOP of the dishwasher instead of in the dish washer. You are already right there, open the door and put them in!!! It isn’t that hard.
I now face the dilemma of Do I say gee honey, thanks for helping with laundry since he did take stuff out of the dryer and move more into the dryer? Do I tell him that his helping isn’t helping and risk that he doesn’t do a single thing any more? Do I put clothes that he puts on the dryer on hangers and let him wear it wrinkled and not say a word and let him figure it out? What’s a girl to do?
Do you have ‘half helpers’ in your house?
Friday, April 11, 2008
messed up
Ahh, it's that time of year again! The treas are starting to bud out, the frogs are chirping at night, a warm breeze blows through the house and the birds are chirping at your window... AT THE CRACK OF DAWN!!! Not just chirping, but pecking, trying to get the attention of the bird in the window who they are too dumb to figure out is themselves. Birds need to learn about reflections! For the last week, the sun is at an angle in the morning and evenings that there is apparently a life-like reflection on the outside of the glass. We have 3-4 birds at the livingroom windows pecting the windows almost non-stop all morning long. This starts as soon as the sun comes up!!
Don't get me wrong, I love nature, however, I also enjoy sleeping... especially when I am up all night long. I can't wait for the sun's angle to change just a touch more so the birds will find a real bird to peck on instead of my windows in the morning!!
Don't get me wrong, I love nature, however, I also enjoy sleeping... especially when I am up all night long. I can't wait for the sun's angle to change just a touch more so the birds will find a real bird to peck on instead of my windows in the morning!!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Cailin’s Surgery
I tried to get my cleaning done on Tuesday because I knew this week would be hectic. Cailin’s surgery was Wednesday. I went to bed around midnight but I didn’t sleep well. Seriously, how many moms sleep well the night before their child has surgery?
Well before the crack of dawn (5am), the alarm clock began to ring. I was already awake unfortunately. I stumbled down the steps and got my clothes. They were still down on the dryer from being folded last night. I let the dogs out to potty, and went back upstairs to get dressed. By the time 5:30 rolled around, I was dressed, and ready to go. Chris has his shower and was moving the car seat from the truck to the car. I didn’t want to wake up my sleeping girl by turning on the light in her room, so I turned on the bathroom lights and opened her door. Of course she was sleeping so soundly… against the wall. I moved her to the end of the bed and planned to change her without waking her too much. As soon as I touched her though, she was up. She needed to potty. She pottied and when I told her we needed to get dressed, she said she was “poop-nin”. I gave her a few minutes to go, but she didn’t. When I tried to get her up, she again told me she was “poop-nin”. I got her dressed and hair combed while she sat on the potty… and did nothing.
Cailin wanted to hold my hand while we were in the car. Once we got to the hospital, Chris dropped me of at the door and I took the bags and the paperwork in to check in while Chris parked the car and brought in Cailin. I should have waited with Chris. They didn’t do any check in at the desk. They took us into a room right away. There were two waiting room chairs and then a big huge recliner. After about 2 minutes, someone came in to do all of our paperwork. Cailin sat on daddy’s lap while I sat in a regular chair and signed everything.
Before I go any further, I have to tell you, this is NOT a children’s hospital. With that in mind, with the area where we were, you would have thought that it was. They were FABULOUS! KUDO’s to everyone working there. Not only did the work hard to make Cailin feel at ease, they made mom and dad much more comfortable too.
The lady that was doing all of our paperwork had an ID bracelet for Cailin to go on her ankle. We all made such a big fuss that she got a special bracelet. She loved it. This hospital worker left and in came a RN. She introduced herself to Chris and I and then she stooped down to Cailin’s level and greeted her as well. She let Chris and I know what to expect for the day, and she told Cailin what was going to happen… however, it was a much more vague description for Cailin. Instead of saying surgery, she told Cailin she was going to visit Dr. Walker. That kind of thing. When ever we had to do something with Cailin, such as checking height, weight, oxygen saturation, and such, the nurse always started with Daddy trying it, then it was mommy’s turn, then it was Cailin’s turn. This was she wasn’t afraid by the time it was her turn. Cailin thought it was great that she could make the SpO2 meter beep with her thumb and the nurse let her push the buttons on it. Next came in the anesthesiologist. He asked Cailin if he could listen to her chest to hear her heart. She sat so still for him! He told us she would get a sedative while she was sitting with us, then we would move to a kind of holding area. From there, when she was significantly calmer, they would take her to the surgery suite, play with the masks and after 2-3 breaths of the bubblegum flavored gas, she would be asleep enough to start an IV and get her intubated and ready for the surgery itself. Dr. Walker is known for being one of the best doctors in the area for her field. She is also one of the fastest. The anesthesiologist told us that it would take about 30 minutes from the time they separated Cailin from us to the time she comes off anesthesia. It would take just a few minutes to wake up, and then most kids normally fall back asleep. They stay in a highly monitored area for this part. When she wakes again, then she will be moved to a recovery room and we will be taken to her.
A nurse came in next with the sedative. She told us that some kids fall asleep, some get giggly, and some get glassy-eyed. It depends child to child. Cailin opted for #3. She was soo spaced out. They moved us to the holding room. There was a window to the nurses’ station so they could monitor everyone. They had mats and bean bags on the floor for bigger kids that might want to get all stretched out. Cailin started slurring her words so much. She sounded like she had a few too many drinks! She watched the Disney channel and tried to talk to daddy, but we didn’t understand much. Finally (5-10 minutes later), it was Cailin’s turn. They have wagons with blankets and pillows in them for the kids to ride in back to the surgery area. Cailin loved the wagon ride. We get to the end of the hall and they have hugs and kisses corner. We gave our lovin and told Cailin we would see her soon. The nurse told us that she could take one of her animals that we brought with us back to surgery with her so she wouldn’t be so frightened.
As soon as she went through the doors, another nurse greeted us and took us to the family waiting area. We asked if we could go eat. We were in the cafeteria for about 15 minutes, and then waited maybe 10 more minutes. Our names were called. They told us that Cailin was out of surgery and to go around the corner to wait for Dr. Walker to come out and talk to us. Dr. Walker came out with an elephant beanie baby. She said that everything went really well with surgery. In the state between coming out of anesthesia and falling back asleep, she got to pick out a beanie baby and she chose the elephant. She was a trooper. We sat back down in the waiting area and waited for Cailin to wake before she was moved to a recovery room.
We were told that for her to go home today, she needed to be drinking on her own and have at least one wet diaper, or successful trip to the potty. After waiting 20 more minutes from talking to the doctor, they sent us on the way to Cailin’s room. She was in a chair on a nurse’s lap sobbing slightly and hugging her wolf in one hand and a sippy cup of apple juice and ice in the other hand. I climbed up onto the bed and Cailin was placed in my lap. She cried. She cried hard. It broke my heart. I knew she was hurting and there was nothing that I could do about it. In between sobs, she was drinking her apple juice though. I didn’t expect that so early!!! A nurse brought in some Motrin for her and she gobbled that down and calmed down a little bit. It took her a good hour to calm down significantly. She fell asleep. She woke close to lunch time and told us she needed to potty. We unplugged her IV pump from the wall and she went to potty in the bathroom. We went back in the room and she didn’t want to sit on the bed any more. For lunch, she had chocolate pudding, chocolate ice cream, macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. She finished a 2nd cup of juice. This was at 12:30. She still wanted to wander in the room, and then tried to go out in the hallway. We had the door closed, but she learned how to open them pretty fast. The IV pump began to beep low battery, but we couldn’t plug it in and keep her still enough. I had to talk to the nurse about this.
She told me that the IV had to stay in as long as we were in the hospital. I told her what was going on. She said she would be in shortly. About 2-3 minutes later, she came in, took the IV out of Cailin’s hand, and then told us we were set and could go home. That was good news. I wanted out of there as soon as possible.
On the way out the door, Cailin noticed cookies on the lunch tray and asked for them. She ate those in the car on the way home and didn’t complain about it hurting one bit.
We got home and she played for about 40 minutes then got a bit fussy. Cailin and I lay down and took a nap for an hour. She woke up crying because she hurt. It was 30 minutes away from a dose of Motrin, but I gave it to her anyway. 10 minutes later, she was showing me how she could jump, and build with blocks, and color, and play play dough. She drank more of her apple juice.
At one point, she found the other apple juice container and asked for it. I told her that is what was in her cup already. “No momma, this one. This one… mate brooat allll betteeerrrrr”. She sure knows how to work the system. She is still talking like she is drunk, but I know her throat is pretty messed up right now.
I am hoping she will get a good night’s rest, and so will Chris and I. She had last dose of meds at 7:30, and went to bed at 8:30. It is 9:30 now and I am going to join Chris in a nice snooze in our bed. I don’t know if Cailin will wake in the night needing more medicine or not. I hope she feels okay enough to get the rest that she needs. Dr. Walker told us the hardest part of this surgery is going to be once we get home. Wish us luck.
I am so thankful that so far, things have gone as well as they have. I am so thankful that the staff at the hospital work so hard to keep the kids and the parents at ease. I am so thankful that we get to sleep in our own bed tonight!!! God is good to us!!!
Well before the crack of dawn (5am), the alarm clock began to ring. I was already awake unfortunately. I stumbled down the steps and got my clothes. They were still down on the dryer from being folded last night. I let the dogs out to potty, and went back upstairs to get dressed. By the time 5:30 rolled around, I was dressed, and ready to go. Chris has his shower and was moving the car seat from the truck to the car. I didn’t want to wake up my sleeping girl by turning on the light in her room, so I turned on the bathroom lights and opened her door. Of course she was sleeping so soundly… against the wall. I moved her to the end of the bed and planned to change her without waking her too much. As soon as I touched her though, she was up. She needed to potty. She pottied and when I told her we needed to get dressed, she said she was “poop-nin”. I gave her a few minutes to go, but she didn’t. When I tried to get her up, she again told me she was “poop-nin”. I got her dressed and hair combed while she sat on the potty… and did nothing.
Cailin wanted to hold my hand while we were in the car. Once we got to the hospital, Chris dropped me of at the door and I took the bags and the paperwork in to check in while Chris parked the car and brought in Cailin. I should have waited with Chris. They didn’t do any check in at the desk. They took us into a room right away. There were two waiting room chairs and then a big huge recliner. After about 2 minutes, someone came in to do all of our paperwork. Cailin sat on daddy’s lap while I sat in a regular chair and signed everything.
Before I go any further, I have to tell you, this is NOT a children’s hospital. With that in mind, with the area where we were, you would have thought that it was. They were FABULOUS! KUDO’s to everyone working there. Not only did the work hard to make Cailin feel at ease, they made mom and dad much more comfortable too.
The lady that was doing all of our paperwork had an ID bracelet for Cailin to go on her ankle. We all made such a big fuss that she got a special bracelet. She loved it. This hospital worker left and in came a RN. She introduced herself to Chris and I and then she stooped down to Cailin’s level and greeted her as well. She let Chris and I know what to expect for the day, and she told Cailin what was going to happen… however, it was a much more vague description for Cailin. Instead of saying surgery, she told Cailin she was going to visit Dr. Walker. That kind of thing. When ever we had to do something with Cailin, such as checking height, weight, oxygen saturation, and such, the nurse always started with Daddy trying it, then it was mommy’s turn, then it was Cailin’s turn. This was she wasn’t afraid by the time it was her turn. Cailin thought it was great that she could make the SpO2 meter beep with her thumb and the nurse let her push the buttons on it. Next came in the anesthesiologist. He asked Cailin if he could listen to her chest to hear her heart. She sat so still for him! He told us she would get a sedative while she was sitting with us, then we would move to a kind of holding area. From there, when she was significantly calmer, they would take her to the surgery suite, play with the masks and after 2-3 breaths of the bubblegum flavored gas, she would be asleep enough to start an IV and get her intubated and ready for the surgery itself. Dr. Walker is known for being one of the best doctors in the area for her field. She is also one of the fastest. The anesthesiologist told us that it would take about 30 minutes from the time they separated Cailin from us to the time she comes off anesthesia. It would take just a few minutes to wake up, and then most kids normally fall back asleep. They stay in a highly monitored area for this part. When she wakes again, then she will be moved to a recovery room and we will be taken to her.
A nurse came in next with the sedative. She told us that some kids fall asleep, some get giggly, and some get glassy-eyed. It depends child to child. Cailin opted for #3. She was soo spaced out. They moved us to the holding room. There was a window to the nurses’ station so they could monitor everyone. They had mats and bean bags on the floor for bigger kids that might want to get all stretched out. Cailin started slurring her words so much. She sounded like she had a few too many drinks! She watched the Disney channel and tried to talk to daddy, but we didn’t understand much. Finally (5-10 minutes later), it was Cailin’s turn. They have wagons with blankets and pillows in them for the kids to ride in back to the surgery area. Cailin loved the wagon ride. We get to the end of the hall and they have hugs and kisses corner. We gave our lovin and told Cailin we would see her soon. The nurse told us that she could take one of her animals that we brought with us back to surgery with her so she wouldn’t be so frightened.
As soon as she went through the doors, another nurse greeted us and took us to the family waiting area. We asked if we could go eat. We were in the cafeteria for about 15 minutes, and then waited maybe 10 more minutes. Our names were called. They told us that Cailin was out of surgery and to go around the corner to wait for Dr. Walker to come out and talk to us. Dr. Walker came out with an elephant beanie baby. She said that everything went really well with surgery. In the state between coming out of anesthesia and falling back asleep, she got to pick out a beanie baby and she chose the elephant. She was a trooper. We sat back down in the waiting area and waited for Cailin to wake before she was moved to a recovery room.
We were told that for her to go home today, she needed to be drinking on her own and have at least one wet diaper, or successful trip to the potty. After waiting 20 more minutes from talking to the doctor, they sent us on the way to Cailin’s room. She was in a chair on a nurse’s lap sobbing slightly and hugging her wolf in one hand and a sippy cup of apple juice and ice in the other hand. I climbed up onto the bed and Cailin was placed in my lap. She cried. She cried hard. It broke my heart. I knew she was hurting and there was nothing that I could do about it. In between sobs, she was drinking her apple juice though. I didn’t expect that so early!!! A nurse brought in some Motrin for her and she gobbled that down and calmed down a little bit. It took her a good hour to calm down significantly. She fell asleep. She woke close to lunch time and told us she needed to potty. We unplugged her IV pump from the wall and she went to potty in the bathroom. We went back in the room and she didn’t want to sit on the bed any more. For lunch, she had chocolate pudding, chocolate ice cream, macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. She finished a 2nd cup of juice. This was at 12:30. She still wanted to wander in the room, and then tried to go out in the hallway. We had the door closed, but she learned how to open them pretty fast. The IV pump began to beep low battery, but we couldn’t plug it in and keep her still enough. I had to talk to the nurse about this.
She told me that the IV had to stay in as long as we were in the hospital. I told her what was going on. She said she would be in shortly. About 2-3 minutes later, she came in, took the IV out of Cailin’s hand, and then told us we were set and could go home. That was good news. I wanted out of there as soon as possible.
On the way out the door, Cailin noticed cookies on the lunch tray and asked for them. She ate those in the car on the way home and didn’t complain about it hurting one bit.
We got home and she played for about 40 minutes then got a bit fussy. Cailin and I lay down and took a nap for an hour. She woke up crying because she hurt. It was 30 minutes away from a dose of Motrin, but I gave it to her anyway. 10 minutes later, she was showing me how she could jump, and build with blocks, and color, and play play dough. She drank more of her apple juice.
At one point, she found the other apple juice container and asked for it. I told her that is what was in her cup already. “No momma, this one. This one… mate brooat allll betteeerrrrr”. She sure knows how to work the system. She is still talking like she is drunk, but I know her throat is pretty messed up right now.
I am hoping she will get a good night’s rest, and so will Chris and I. She had last dose of meds at 7:30, and went to bed at 8:30. It is 9:30 now and I am going to join Chris in a nice snooze in our bed. I don’t know if Cailin will wake in the night needing more medicine or not. I hope she feels okay enough to get the rest that she needs. Dr. Walker told us the hardest part of this surgery is going to be once we get home. Wish us luck.
I am so thankful that so far, things have gone as well as they have. I am so thankful that the staff at the hospital work so hard to keep the kids and the parents at ease. I am so thankful that we get to sleep in our own bed tonight!!! God is good to us!!!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Watches again
I need opinions... I want something that I can wear for every day, as well as something that I can dress up... I like the Eco-drive by citizen. Here are 3 that I like... I am well aware of exactly how similar these three watches are, but please tell me your opinion on which you like best...
Watch #1.
Watch #2.
Watch #3.
Watch #1.
Watch #2.
Watch #3.
Biting
Cailin has a new habit of biting. I don't like it. To try to curb this habit, i smack her mouth when she does it... I don't do it hard, but enough to make her stop. She normally cries because i damaged her pride. I DO think her biting is related to her cutting her last two molars... Anyway, Friday, she bit my shoulder, my arm, my wrist, my finger and told me she wanted to nurse which I veto'd so fast for 2 reasons...
1. I didn't want her to bite my boob
2. She is done nursing.
Anyway, Friday night, I must have had "IDIOT" tatooed on my forehead. Cailin comes to me and gives me her finger. She tried to shove it into my mouth. I asked her what she was doing. Her reply...
Mommy bite finger, I mack yo mout... as she makes a smacking motion...
I don't think so!!!! At least she knows what the consequences will be.
1. I didn't want her to bite my boob
2. She is done nursing.
Anyway, Friday night, I must have had "IDIOT" tatooed on my forehead. Cailin comes to me and gives me her finger. She tried to shove it into my mouth. I asked her what she was doing. Her reply...
Mommy bite finger, I mack yo mout... as she makes a smacking motion...
I don't think so!!!! At least she knows what the consequences will be.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Mini-me
Last night, Cailin got what I affectionately call a snot-sucker out of the bathroom. She had me sit down and put a hand on my forehead. "Dit Still momma". Okay, I'll sit still... she got the snot sucker and jabbed it up my nose. I asked what she was doing. "Dit buuugers momma, dit Buuugers". Glad to see she watches everything!!!
She grabbed Chris's hand one day and she used her fingers to pretend they were nail clippers. She holds chris's hand and kept saying 'snip, snip' and with each snip, she would wipe her hand on her pants like i would wipe her clippers on my lap.
She grabbed Chris's hand one day and she used her fingers to pretend they were nail clippers. She holds chris's hand and kept saying 'snip, snip' and with each snip, she would wipe her hand on her pants like i would wipe her clippers on my lap.
Silly Mom
A few days ago, Cailin had a small box of goldfish. She also had a small stuffed puppy. She kept putting the puppie's nose into the box. The following conversation is what followed:
Mom: Mmmm Cailin, It looks like that puppy likes the goldfish.
Cailin: Yeah Momma!!
Mom: He says "MMM, I love goldfish".
Cailin: No momma, he says woosh woosh (our f's come out like an sh).
Silly me for thinking a puppy could talk!!!
Mom: Mmmm Cailin, It looks like that puppy likes the goldfish.
Cailin: Yeah Momma!!
Mom: He says "MMM, I love goldfish".
Cailin: No momma, he says woosh woosh (our f's come out like an sh).
Silly me for thinking a puppy could talk!!!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Cailin Pictures
These are some random pictures that I have taken lately... they are in no particular order.
First, we got a new car. It's a jetta and I LOVE it!!! I told chris that is we could afford it, i would love to get a second one. That way, he can have one to drive to and from work, I can have one to drive around when I need to drive, and we could just use the truck when we need to haul something, or when we need the 4WD. It makes sense... the car gets 35-38 miles per gallon and the truck gets about 14-16. Not to mention it is soo much easier to get in and out of... especially with Cailin... I am dreading using the truck with 2 kids...
Anyway, Here is Cailin helping Daddy put the front lisence plate on our new car.
While I was at the dealership to get the wipers fixed, Cailin decided to test drive an Audi TT Convertable.
Seatbelts Please!
Speaking of driving, Cailin LOVES to drive!!
This is the bed that we are looking at for Cailin.
Easter Pictures
Putting colors on the eggs was fun!! We only cracked ONE egg as we threw it into the cups of colors!!!
She spilled some juice in the car before we were able to take pictures and was changed out of her dress before a nap, so her Easter shots show a sleepy, messy little girl…
Mommy’s helper LOVES to do laundry!!!
Twist ups write on people and paper... so much for keep it on the paper.
Cailin LOVES the cat and always wants him on her lap.
Bath Time! We like to swim in the tub!!
Finger painting is FUN!!! I strip down naked and paint!! Even though the paint is washable, this is safer!
The flooding that we had right before Easter. This is a road with campground on wither side of it as well as Big Spring park… what a mess!!
This is a camp ground believe it or not
First, we got a new car. It's a jetta and I LOVE it!!! I told chris that is we could afford it, i would love to get a second one. That way, he can have one to drive to and from work, I can have one to drive around when I need to drive, and we could just use the truck when we need to haul something, or when we need the 4WD. It makes sense... the car gets 35-38 miles per gallon and the truck gets about 14-16. Not to mention it is soo much easier to get in and out of... especially with Cailin... I am dreading using the truck with 2 kids...
Anyway, Here is Cailin helping Daddy put the front lisence plate on our new car.
While I was at the dealership to get the wipers fixed, Cailin decided to test drive an Audi TT Convertable.
Seatbelts Please!
Speaking of driving, Cailin LOVES to drive!!
This is the bed that we are looking at for Cailin.
Easter Pictures
Putting colors on the eggs was fun!! We only cracked ONE egg as we threw it into the cups of colors!!!
She spilled some juice in the car before we were able to take pictures and was changed out of her dress before a nap, so her Easter shots show a sleepy, messy little girl…
Mommy’s helper LOVES to do laundry!!!
Twist ups write on people and paper... so much for keep it on the paper.
Cailin LOVES the cat and always wants him on her lap.
Bath Time! We like to swim in the tub!!
Finger painting is FUN!!! I strip down naked and paint!! Even though the paint is washable, this is safer!
The flooding that we had right before Easter. This is a road with campground on wither side of it as well as Big Spring park… what a mess!!
This is a camp ground believe it or not
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
My Ray of Sunshine through the clouds!
Oh the weather outside is frightful…
Yesterday we had over a dozen ‘super cell ’ thunderstorms come through our4-state area. It was horrible. We had severe thunderstorms all day long. Twice Joplin had tornado sirens going off and they had to see shelter. Chris said he spent over an hour of his day in a storm shelter at work. His storm shelter was the stairwell. Cailin and I stayed home and didn’t go anywhere till the storms cleared. We started with some cabin fever and ran to the store real quick. Cailin looked SOOO stinkin cute in her little rain coat and froggy umbrella. Here are some shots of her showing off... a pretty smile, and a "Big Girl Smile".
Yesterday we had over a dozen ‘super cell ’ thunderstorms come through our4-state area. It was horrible. We had severe thunderstorms all day long. Twice Joplin had tornado sirens going off and they had to see shelter. Chris said he spent over an hour of his day in a storm shelter at work. His storm shelter was the stairwell. Cailin and I stayed home and didn’t go anywhere till the storms cleared. We started with some cabin fever and ran to the store real quick. Cailin looked SOOO stinkin cute in her little rain coat and froggy umbrella. Here are some shots of her showing off... a pretty smile, and a "Big Girl Smile".
Sunday, March 30, 2008
There Ba-ack...
We have a pond. I love the pond. It is a relaxing place to just go and sit. The people we bought the house from cut down two trees and used the stumps for legs and the trunk of one of the trees to make a bench to sit on at the pond. It is a great seat. When you are there, the only thing you can see is the pond, and the trees behind it. No houses, no fences, nothing. It is so peaceful. Cailin is already learning to love sitting on the bench and listening and looking for God's creatures, or a pretty flower.
The peacefulness has left... at least for a few months. Last week, we could sit by the pond and enjoy the tranquility. Today, you can sit by the pond and get a biology lesson. One that is too complex for kids. When you crack a window, or even the door to let the dogs out to potty, there is a high-pitched humm along with some chirping sounds for a lack of better descriptive term. Cailin's frogs haven't failed her. They have come back, just like Chris and I told her in September. In the evening at the pond, there are a ba-zillion frogs... some are who-knows what kind of frog, some are tree frogs. Last year, Cailin was particularly fond of the tree frogs that would scale the living room windows and we could see their bellies from the living room. She thought that was a hoot. Every night we had to go outside and say goodnight to the "bibbits". They are all out by the pond breeding in full force. I have no doubt in my mind they will soon be finding my windows to climb looking for bugs who are attracted to my lights.
With the exception of the daffodils blooming, and the fact that Easter has already been here, This would be one of the First signs of spring! Bring on the good weather!!!!!
The peacefulness has left... at least for a few months. Last week, we could sit by the pond and enjoy the tranquility. Today, you can sit by the pond and get a biology lesson. One that is too complex for kids. When you crack a window, or even the door to let the dogs out to potty, there is a high-pitched humm along with some chirping sounds for a lack of better descriptive term. Cailin's frogs haven't failed her. They have come back, just like Chris and I told her in September. In the evening at the pond, there are a ba-zillion frogs... some are who-knows what kind of frog, some are tree frogs. Last year, Cailin was particularly fond of the tree frogs that would scale the living room windows and we could see their bellies from the living room. She thought that was a hoot. Every night we had to go outside and say goodnight to the "bibbits". They are all out by the pond breeding in full force. I have no doubt in my mind they will soon be finding my windows to climb looking for bugs who are attracted to my lights.
With the exception of the daffodils blooming, and the fact that Easter has already been here, This would be one of the First signs of spring! Bring on the good weather!!!!!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Cailin Can Count!!
Cailin can Count!!!!! I was so excited, and proud this morning. She was coming down steps from my room and said "momma, dount steps... un, doo, bree, dix, debin, eeeight, nine, ten YAY NA-NIN!!" It was very cute!!
ps, it still counts as counting if we skip 4 and 5 right? That isn't too bad for just turning 25 months old today right?
ps, it still counts as counting if we skip 4 and 5 right? That isn't too bad for just turning 25 months old today right?
Monday, March 24, 2008
New Homes
Frankie has a new home!!! Thursday I took him to the Vet. Bea with a rescue group said if I took him to her vet, she would cover the bill. She called the vet while i was there and asked if i would be able to contribute anything to his bill... I paid for some. He got tested, vaccinated and neutered in about 20 minutes. Bea came in with another cat while I was there. She introduced herself, told me she had an extra carrier. Frankie has a foster home set up, so he went home with her instead of me!!!
I am glad he gets to be inside where he is safe!!
On a side note, the white kitty with a brown face has a new home too!!!
I am glad he gets to be inside where he is safe!!
On a side note, the white kitty with a brown face has a new home too!!!
Growing up!
Not Cailin this time... It's me. I have a watch. I wear my watch ALL time time. I love my watch. I feel naked if I leave the house without my watch. My watch is nothing fancy. To be honest, it is quite the opposite. I think I spent a grand total of $14.99 on it 3-4 years ago. It is a black plastic band on a waterproof Timex watch. It has a light on it, it has a stopwatch or timer, an alarm, It can beep every hour if I want and i can keep 2 different time zones on it which is handy when traveling back to the east coast... My watch band it cracking. The little loopy thing that holds the extra band down against your wrist has fallen off, or broken off... I don't remember. Now I use a 1cm in diameter hair tie to keep it down. It adds a bit of color to it! My watch has definitely seen better days!!!
I have decided that i really ought to look into one that is a little more girlie, something that I could wear to church or to go out and play, and one that looks a little more grown up. My 2 main requirements for a new watch was that it couldn't have that elasticized metal band. I don't like my arm hairs being pulled out when ever I move my arm. And the other is that I would like for it to display not only the date of the month, but also the day of the week. My current watch has this and I rely on it SOOO much.
Chris has a Citizen Eco-Drive watch. It doesn't have a battery. I am not sure exactly how it works, but the basic gist is that it will take in sunlight or artificial light through the face and charge itself up. A full charge on his watch will last about 2 months. He hasn't worn his watch for several years and it stopped. All we had to do was put it under a 60 watt light for about 6-10 hours and it was good.
I was killing some time on Saturday while a friend took Cailin to get her picture taken with the Bunny. She wasn't happy. It was better without me there. She wasn't looking for me for security. Instead, I was hiding in the closest jewelry store watching from there. I thought that it would be an ideal time to check out watches. I found some that I really liked. One had a pearlized look to the face. It was pretty. Definitely would pass as a dress watch. There were a few inset diamonds around the face that decorated the face up a bit too. I learned the pearlized part was mother of pearl. The band was stainless steel... there was one with and one without gold accents. Check the price... OUCH. it was over $200. I was later told that most of these watches were in this price range, but they are good watches and would last a long time. One plus, there were at least a few that had my day/date requirement and NONE of them were stretchy elastic anymore.
I think I am going to grow up and finally buy an adult watch!!
I have decided that i really ought to look into one that is a little more girlie, something that I could wear to church or to go out and play, and one that looks a little more grown up. My 2 main requirements for a new watch was that it couldn't have that elasticized metal band. I don't like my arm hairs being pulled out when ever I move my arm. And the other is that I would like for it to display not only the date of the month, but also the day of the week. My current watch has this and I rely on it SOOO much.
Chris has a Citizen Eco-Drive watch. It doesn't have a battery. I am not sure exactly how it works, but the basic gist is that it will take in sunlight or artificial light through the face and charge itself up. A full charge on his watch will last about 2 months. He hasn't worn his watch for several years and it stopped. All we had to do was put it under a 60 watt light for about 6-10 hours and it was good.
I was killing some time on Saturday while a friend took Cailin to get her picture taken with the Bunny. She wasn't happy. It was better without me there. She wasn't looking for me for security. Instead, I was hiding in the closest jewelry store watching from there. I thought that it would be an ideal time to check out watches. I found some that I really liked. One had a pearlized look to the face. It was pretty. Definitely would pass as a dress watch. There were a few inset diamonds around the face that decorated the face up a bit too. I learned the pearlized part was mother of pearl. The band was stainless steel... there was one with and one without gold accents. Check the price... OUCH. it was over $200. I was later told that most of these watches were in this price range, but they are good watches and would last a long time. One plus, there were at least a few that had my day/date requirement and NONE of them were stretchy elastic anymore.
I think I am going to grow up and finally buy an adult watch!!
My Pet Peeve
Everyone has them... they show up at different times in our lives. Those little things that just get under your skin and there is nothing you can do except rant to no one in particular about it. Aren't pet peeves wonderful?
I have a few... clothes on the floor around the hamper instead of IN the hamper; dishes on the counter ABOVE the dishwasher instead of IN the dishwasher are a few of my housekeeping ones. As far as my child is concerned... when she was newborn and even now, when people would use that high pitched baby talk with words that weren't pronounced properly and not making any sense... You know that commercial where there is a small toddler in a stroller and the mom stoops down and says "mommy has a french fry, yes she does, oh yeas I do... I have a French fry" and the girl reaches out and whacks the mom on the head and the headline comes up "should have had a V8". I feel like that girl! I just want to whack those people over the head. Talking to kids/babies that was does nothing for them. It doesn’t help them to build a vocabulary. For my daughter at least, it didn't catch her attention any more than when I would talk to her like I would talk to any other normal person. I want to record those people and tell them they sound like a babbling bafoon and an idiot. I bite my tongue, but really, is it necessary?
My latest pet peeve, I have been rather vocal about because it really bugs me and to be honest, it down right pisses me off more than anything. We had our ultrasound a week ago on Monday. We have had oodles of people ask if we know what we are having. The answer is No. We are waiting till the birth day to find out. I tell them we don’t know if it is a girl or a boy. They ALWAYS respond with “Well, as long as it’s healthy”. SERIOUSLY…. Are you kidding me? So if it isn’t healthy, do you think I am not going to love the child as much? If it is a sick child, are you not going to think it is as great of a being as a healthy child? Don’t you think that would make God a little upset if you tell him that one of his miracles that he has created isn’t as perfect as you would like? To be honest, I think if I had a child who was sick, they would probably end up being loved a little more… they would require more attention and have more needs and you would be tending to them more. Why do people say “as long as they are healthy”?
Cailin isn’t healthy… mostly she is. I know she could be a lot sicker… but we have had our share of battles with health. She is getting surgery in 2 weeks to hopefully fix the problems we have been having. Do I want to trade her in for a better model? NO WAY!!!! I would not trade the “ning gain mommy” I get at night when it is bed time and she wants another song. I wouldn’t trade the “my dit it”s when she wants to do something on her own. I wouldn’t trade anything for when she is having a hard day and just wants to sit on my lap and cuddle for a while. Maybe other children do the same thing, but this is MY child.. the one that God picked out just for me. I wouldn’t trade that for a million bucks or anything else in this world.
Please if you are around me, don’t say “as long as it’s a healthy child”. I just might have to give you an ear full….
I have a few... clothes on the floor around the hamper instead of IN the hamper; dishes on the counter ABOVE the dishwasher instead of IN the dishwasher are a few of my housekeeping ones. As far as my child is concerned... when she was newborn and even now, when people would use that high pitched baby talk with words that weren't pronounced properly and not making any sense... You know that commercial where there is a small toddler in a stroller and the mom stoops down and says "mommy has a french fry, yes she does, oh yeas I do... I have a French fry" and the girl reaches out and whacks the mom on the head and the headline comes up "should have had a V8". I feel like that girl! I just want to whack those people over the head. Talking to kids/babies that was does nothing for them. It doesn’t help them to build a vocabulary. For my daughter at least, it didn't catch her attention any more than when I would talk to her like I would talk to any other normal person. I want to record those people and tell them they sound like a babbling bafoon and an idiot. I bite my tongue, but really, is it necessary?
My latest pet peeve, I have been rather vocal about because it really bugs me and to be honest, it down right pisses me off more than anything. We had our ultrasound a week ago on Monday. We have had oodles of people ask if we know what we are having. The answer is No. We are waiting till the birth day to find out. I tell them we don’t know if it is a girl or a boy. They ALWAYS respond with “Well, as long as it’s healthy”. SERIOUSLY…. Are you kidding me? So if it isn’t healthy, do you think I am not going to love the child as much? If it is a sick child, are you not going to think it is as great of a being as a healthy child? Don’t you think that would make God a little upset if you tell him that one of his miracles that he has created isn’t as perfect as you would like? To be honest, I think if I had a child who was sick, they would probably end up being loved a little more… they would require more attention and have more needs and you would be tending to them more. Why do people say “as long as they are healthy”?
Cailin isn’t healthy… mostly she is. I know she could be a lot sicker… but we have had our share of battles with health. She is getting surgery in 2 weeks to hopefully fix the problems we have been having. Do I want to trade her in for a better model? NO WAY!!!! I would not trade the “ning gain mommy” I get at night when it is bed time and she wants another song. I wouldn’t trade the “my dit it”s when she wants to do something on her own. I wouldn’t trade anything for when she is having a hard day and just wants to sit on my lap and cuddle for a while. Maybe other children do the same thing, but this is MY child.. the one that God picked out just for me. I wouldn’t trade that for a million bucks or anything else in this world.
Please if you are around me, don’t say “as long as it’s a healthy child”. I just might have to give you an ear full….
Monday, March 17, 2008
New Room
Cailin is getting a new room. It is easier to move her room to the guest room and keep her room as a nursery. We are telling her that she gets to have a BIG GIRL ROOM and a BIG GIRL BED. She loves it. There are still 'grown up sheets' on the bed. The bed is shoved into a corner of the room. There is no headboard or footboard on the bed. I made it sideways so that the blankets/sheets pull down from what is really the side of the bed instead of the headboard area. The comforter is pulled down from the headboard side just a touch to cover what would be the footboard area. To hide this, it was simple, all we had to do was put her stuffed animals on that area of the bed. NOT ALL of her animals covered over 3 foot by 2 foot area of the mattress.
She LOVES sleeping in her 'big girl bed'. Who cares if it needs some kid touches. Here are some shots of this 'big girl room'!!!!!!
These first 3 are of the beginning of the cleaning/rearranging process.
Here are some of the After shots as well as Cailin Modeling her ner bed.
Here is her after her first full night in her new bed.
She LOVES sleeping in her 'big girl bed'. Who cares if it needs some kid touches. Here are some shots of this 'big girl room'!!!!!!
These first 3 are of the beginning of the cleaning/rearranging process.
Here are some of the After shots as well as Cailin Modeling her ner bed.
Here is her after her first full night in her new bed.
hurting yourself
The white cat with a brown face is still outside. It is raining. He is staring in the windows of the livingroom meowing over and over sounding kind of pathetic. My BRILLIANT cat is on the inside of the window letting out a low grumble.
Chris walks by and says "It's okay bud. He won't hurt you". As Chris says this to the cat, Jesse lunges to the window and smashes into the window in an attempt to get to this stray kitty. Chris quickly adds "You might hurt yourself, but the other cat can't hurt you".
Who says cats are smarter than dogs. Rebel at least waits for the door to open before racing around in a way that might get him splinters in his pads of his feet!!
Chris walks by and says "It's okay bud. He won't hurt you". As Chris says this to the cat, Jesse lunges to the window and smashes into the window in an attempt to get to this stray kitty. Chris quickly adds "You might hurt yourself, but the other cat can't hurt you".
Who says cats are smarter than dogs. Rebel at least waits for the door to open before racing around in a way that might get him splinters in his pads of his feet!!
Halfway there
I am 20 weeks done in my pregnancy which means I am halfway done. This morning, we woke during a booming thunderstorm and got ready for our doctor’s appointment. We had to be there at 8:15. Cailin normally gets up at 9:30 in the morning, so we had to wake her up early. THIS WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!! She was not happy. Once we were dressed and on the way to the appointment, she was much better.
****DISCLAIMER**** From here until the baby is born, I will most likelly refer to the baby as HE. We do not know the baby gender, but it sounds significantly better than referring to the baby as IT!!!!!****
We went in and got to see our little baby today. I haven’t felt any movement until today. I had to laugh. The baby had hands by his ears, and then elbows out to the side. His legs were crossed at the ankles. The ultrasound technician said that all he needed to be comfortable was a remote control. We all laughed. Cailin kept saying “jeddy beddy” (this translates to jelly on belly). Anyway, The baby had his face up against the placenta so we couldn’t see the face. The ultrasound technician poked my gut rather hard and made the baby move. He didn’t like that. We saw both legs start kicking as well as both arms start flailing. That was the first time I could actually FEEL the baby move! It was neat to see the movement while I was feeling it!!!! Here are some pictures that we got.
****DISCLAIMER**** From here until the baby is born, I will most likelly refer to the baby as HE. We do not know the baby gender, but it sounds significantly better than referring to the baby as IT!!!!!****
We went in and got to see our little baby today. I haven’t felt any movement until today. I had to laugh. The baby had hands by his ears, and then elbows out to the side. His legs were crossed at the ankles. The ultrasound technician said that all he needed to be comfortable was a remote control. We all laughed. Cailin kept saying “jeddy beddy” (this translates to jelly on belly). Anyway, The baby had his face up against the placenta so we couldn’t see the face. The ultrasound technician poked my gut rather hard and made the baby move. He didn’t like that. We saw both legs start kicking as well as both arms start flailing. That was the first time I could actually FEEL the baby move! It was neat to see the movement while I was feeling it!!!! Here are some pictures that we got.
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