It Snows in Utah

Snow is COLD.

I live where it is warm most of the year and very HOT the rest. This whole snow and ice thing was a shock to my poor body. But it was worth it.

Friday was Jaime’s 30th (I mean, 29 again) birthday. As a surprise, I flew to Utah to help her celebrate. It was fun. We went to Park City for some shopping at the outlets (by the way—the outlets are outside…and it was snowing!). We kept Jaime busy until 5:00 when she could go home for her surprise party. Two surprise in one day! And I managed to keep both a secret!

It was so good to visit with her and see her boys—including her husband who was so good and shopped with us yesterday and made us breakfast this morning. Despite the cold, seeing a good friend who lives far away warmed my heart.

Add to that the fact that my little brother through his connections managed to get me a first class seat on the flight out there and I was totally happy. There is nothing wrong with a cocktail at 9:00am is there?


Hope everyone’s Christmas was good. We had a great day. Cade still has a few presents under the tree. Apparently unwrapping presents is only fun if you are not supposed to be doing it?! He will get to them eventually!

Ornaments on Our Tree

Our tree is currently being held captive.

Well, it is behind a baby playard fence. I prefer to think of our tree being protected instead of jailed. But, as I said in a previous post, even with the baby gate, Cade can reach the tree. I think at this point the fence is mainly protecting the presents that are beneath the branches of the tree from being attacked by Cade. I am sure that the lure of the shiny paper would be just to much for Cade to ignore.

Of course, Cade probably won't want to open any presents on Christmas...just when he is not supposed to. Ahhhh...the inner workings of the mind of a one-year-old.

Cade loves to look at the tree. Early in the morning when we go downstairs for breakfast, the only lights on are the Christmas tree lights. We walk over to the tree and point to the different ornaments. Cade will point to the Santa ornament and say, "Ho Ho Ho!". He will point to the penguin ornament and tilt his head to the side because I like the baby penguin ornament and apparently say, "Awwww" and tilt my head to the side. Cade will find the Elmo ornament and smile big. But, his favorite is the hippo ornament. Every time we see that one I sing, "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". Cade will point to the ornament and bob his head back and forth to tell me to sing. Enjoy this website and sing along! I Want a Hippopotamus

Tomorrow will be a busy day...so I probably will not be back to post until after Christmas. I would like to wish everyone a blessed Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Silent Night...

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon Virgin Mother and Child

Holy Infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight

Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!

Christ, the Saviour is born

Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night

Son of God, love's pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Silent Night is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Really makes the meaning of Christmas shine for me. I love to sing it at church on Christmas Eve when the only light surrounding us is candles. Brings tears to my eyes every year.

Last year at Christmastime Cade had a shirt that said, "Never a Silent Night With Me". I thought it was funny--and at just four months old it was somewhat true. We have come along way in the last year and Cade usually will sleep through the night without fussing for at least 11 hours. It is wonderful. I owe a lot of his good sleep habits to Dr. M. Weissbluth and his book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and to my friend, Amy, who gave me that book when Cade was born. I am very spoiled by Cade's sleeping habits and in this last week I have learned not to take them for granted. With Cade being sick he was having a hard time sleeping. The medication he was on was keeping him up--as well as his difficulty breathing. Add to that the fact that we are quickly transitioning from two naps to one and it has been a rough week.

BUT, last night, we returned to our regular sleep patterns. Which means Cade got a really good night sleep--and so did his Mama. We both really needed it. So, in addition to loving the song Silent Night, I have learned to really appreciate a truly silent night.

Where Do You Read Your Paper?

I have a sick child. And a sick husband.

Therefore, I have not had a lot of time to blog. Besides that, unless you want to hear me complain about having a sick child (and a sick husband) I don't really have a lot to say. So, here are some pictures to keep you entertained since I won't have the usual story full of my humor and wit. (See, that was funny!)


Because Kim demanded it, here are pictures of my "Hope" tree:






Then, to explain the title of the post, here are pictures of Cade sitting in the front yard "reading" the paper. We had just gone outside. He picked up the paper, walked around for a little bit, found a good spot in the middle of the grass and opened the paper. It was funny!

Over the river and through the woods....

And back to the doctor we go.

(And by the way, we live in the desert, therefore, there are no rivers and no woods...just dirt and cactus--and warm weather!)

The last few days Cade has been getting progressively more and more sick. Started with runny nose...and moved right into his chest. Ughhh... so after being at the doctor like two weeks ago for the croup, we went back today. Luckily, Cade did not have to get another shot, but did get a breathing treatment and an oral dose of steroids. Poor baby. The shot probably would've been preferred. The breathing treatments takes at least 5 minutes--and he hated it whereas a shot is over pretty quickly. But, he needed the breathing treatment--and it helped. So, we have to continue to do them at home (boy, won't that be fun!) and give Cade prednisolone for the next 5 days.

And, Jim is sick. Apparently he has whatever Cade has. Yuck.

On a happier note, I received a gift from Santa yesterday. He was a little early, but I think he wanted me to enjoy it before Christmas. Out by my front door, I found a little three-foot Christmas tree. On this tree were ornaments--all of them saying HOPE. Hope is my middle name, so this little tree is very special to me. Thank you, Santa!

Who Let the Dogs Out?

On Wednesday, Cade went down for a nap in the afternoon.

It was a little later than usual, but he was sound asleep around 3:00pm. I was sitting downstairs watching Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, on TV. I am sure I had 100 other things that I should've been doing, but I needed some time to sit and do nothing while Cade slept.

I started to hear dogs barking. Loudly. Then other dogs joined in. It was coming from the back of the house--and also coming across Cade's baby monitor. It sounded like dogs were attacking something or someone. I went out the back door and saw two younger girls walking a medium size dog on the green belt. The dog they were walking was barking at two other dogs behind a fence across the way. All three dogs that I could see were barking and growling at each other--setting off a stream of barking dogs down the street. It was crazy. The girls pulled the dog away, laughing, and would let the dog go back up to the fence and stir up the other dogs again. I watched for minute, contemplating whether I should say anything, but then they finally walked away.

About twenty minutes later, I hear the dogs again. I swore they were going to wake Cade up they were so loud. I walk out the back door again, irritated that these girls were not smart enough to walk a different way home to keep their dog from getting riled up...and see the girls practically leading their dog up to the fence. They apparently thought making the dogs crazy was fun. I was not happy. And I spoke up. I am normally non-confrontational. I am the peace keeper. But, if you threaten my child's nap, I will threaten you. So I yelled to the girls, "I have a baby that is trying to sleep...could you keep your dog away from the other ones?" One girl screamed back that she was sorry but that the dog was too strong...which I kind of believed, but then between the two of them they could manage the dog. And I had watched them pull the dog away, and then practically take the dog back up to the fence. Amazingly enough, as soon I finished glaring at them with my best "Mom" look, they left. Peace and quiet at last.

Cade slept until after 4, so apparently the dogs barking didn't bother him at all.

What a Difference a Year Makes...

I remember last year this time.

Cade was just four months old. On Christmas day he rolled over by himself for the first time. We were so excited that he had managed to move by himself. This year we will me lucky if Cade manages to sit still for five minutes.



Last year Cade's Christmas dinner was a bottle. This year he will join us for ham and all the fixings that go with it.



Last year Cade didn't want to go to anyone but me. He cried whenever anyone else tried to hold him. This year, especially with his cousins here, he will probably go to everyone BUT me.



Last year Cade spent most of Christmas in his swing--napping or observing. This year, he is WAY to big for the baby swing and he will prefer to be in the middle of things...



Sometimes I miss Cade being a baby. The way he would fall asleep in your arms...and smile in his sleep. But in the last year he has gotten so big and developed such a personality, it has been a joy to see him grow! Just wait until next Christmas when I report that he won't stop talking!

A Plane Ride to Bethlehem

Away in a manger, no crib for His bed

The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head

The stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay

The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay

The cattle are lowing, the poor Baby wakes

But little Lord Jesus no crying He makes

I love Thee, Lord Jesus look down from the sky

And stay by my side,'til morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay

Close by me forever and love me I pray

Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care

And take us to heaven to live with Thee there

Last year for Christmas, Cade got a Fisher Price Nativity set. He was obviously too little to play with it last year, but it is perfect for him right now. It is soooo cute. It has the animals and the Wise Men/women and Mary and Joseph, and of course, baby Jesus in the hay. I have been trying to teach Cade that baby Jesus is the one in the manger, but he likes the angel better. When you push the angel down, it lights up the star on the stable and plays, "Away in a Manger".

Apparently there are several more pieces to this set--and I have heard a rumor that his great-grandfather might be giving Cade another piece this year since he was the one who gave him the nativity set last year. What a great way to incorporate play with the true reason and meaning for the Christmas season.

Now I just have to explain to Cade that Mary did NOT ride in an airplane to get to Bethlehem (she sat in his toy plane for several days) and that baby Jesus should NOT be used for a teething toy. Oh dear...

Monkey See, Monkey Do

In the last week, Cade has become a little copy cat.

He will do--or attempt to do--anything we do. Here are a few examples:

• I was exasperated the other day and said, "Aiy yi yi" and Cade smiled and said, 'Yi yi".
• I was whistling for the birds the other day, so Cade puckered his lips and started blowing.
• I pointed to a bunny in a book and said, bunny and scrunched up my nose. Cade did too.
• If we hear a dog bark, Cade will say "woof" back to the dog.

He is just too darn cute.

And for a little bit of fun, follow this link to watch us morph into an elf family!

Elf_Dance

Proof that it Rains in Arizona

There are several reasons why I haven't posted lately.

I could list them for you, but I would probably bore you and you probably wouldn't think they were all that valid of excuses anyway. But, I promise to make it up to you. For those who are possibly going through Cade withdrawal since I haven't really posted much about him lately, I promise this week will be full of him.


Last week it rained. It rained HARD for a long time. I know...rain in most areas is not a novelty, but when you live in the desert, it is. Cade thought the rain was the coolest thing. And he wanted to be outside in it. Not just looking at it, but walking through it, standing in it, sitting in it. Cade also thought sweeping the rain was fun, too. (Sweeping? Yes...he carried the broom around and swept the rain...go figure?! Maybe he thought he might need it for a paddle if it kept raining!) He thought it was the best thing in the whole world. The problem was he was just getting over the croup and I didn't want him wet and outside for too long. Well, reasoning with a one-year old is pretty impossible. So, we let him play until he was completely soaked and then brought him in--kicking and screaming for a warm bath. He was so mad! Here are a few pictures--and be sure to check out the new video on the side bar!

Mmmm...Pink Grapefruit

I love Jelly Belly jelly beans.

Well, most of them. While shopping for Christmas presents for others, I managed to find this large bag of Jelly_Belly's on sale for myself. The bag said it had 49 flavors. However, right next to this bag was a box that had 50 flavors. The bag was a much better deal, but I didn't like the fact that I was being gypped out of a flavor. I made my girlfriend compare the flavors on the back of both to see which one was not in the bag. Turns out that the 50th flavor is jalapeno. I decided I could live without that flavor.

Speaking of Jelly Belly's, when I was doing my residency I worked out of an office. I shared the office with my residency director. We always had a jar of candy on the desk. Some how our candy disappeared quickly. We decided to put some Bertie Bott's Jelly Belly's in our candy dish. Bertie Bott's are from Harry Potter. They have regular flavors in the pack, but then they also have grass, pepper, pickles, and sausage flavor jelly beans. The plan worked. Whoever was constantly raiding our candy jar stopped. They must have gotten a horrible tasting one!

Cade is still a little young for jelly beans. In fact, other than a few M&Ms here and there, he hasn't had any candy. But someday, I will get to share with him the wonder and deliciousness of Jelly Belly's. Ohhh...and I can't wait to give him Pop Rocks for the first time! The joys of childhood.

No More Denying It

Okay. I admit it. I am sick.

I survived the weekend...but today has been the worst day. Hopefully this means I have now hit rock bottom and will start recovering tomorrow? One can hope...



Since I am sick and tired, and therefore, uncreative tonight, I will post some pictures from Advent by Candlelight so you can see the beautiful tables that were set up.

I would also like to share an email that I received about my friend Noelle's baby, Brielle. She was the one born with Trisomy 18, but has so far been beating the odds that are against her. Apparently she is currently fighting an infection, but seems to be holding her own. A friend sent an email reminding us to take time in this busy holiday season to pray.



"Through the holiday season it is so easy for all of us to become distracted with our busy lives. I am definitely guilty of this. Noelle has said to me before that she truly believes her daughter is here and is doing so well due to the overwhelming POWER OF PRAYER. She is truly a miracle baby. Their family is so full of Faith it takes my breathe away. The strength that exudes from their home is so amazing and encouraging. I am sure I speak for everyone when I say this. A prayer of mine now at this time is for all of us to come together again in full force with continued prayers of healing for this precious little girl."

Advent by Candlelight

It has been a busy weekend.

Not only did I have to work this weekend, but on Saturday night was the event at my church called, Advent by Candlelight. We first heard about this event from my SIL in Wisconsin. Her church has such a great response to it that they have to hold the event over two nights to accommodate all that want to attend.

The event is beautiful. It is a gathering of women to mark the start of the Advent season. A time to focus on the true reason for the season of Christmas. This year it was held in the fellowship hall of our church. There were ten tables...and each table had a pair of hostesses. The hostesses were in charge of providing the dishes and centerpieces for their tables, as well as dessert. There was to be no artificial light...the room was to be lit by candles only.

I was a table hostess along with my friend, Amy. We used her fine china plates and coffee cups for serving our dessert and coffee. Our table was decorated with my Christmas table runner which depicts the nativity scene. We had tons of candles. It looked absolutely beautiful. Since all of the tables had different hostesses, all of the tables were different--and it created a stunning effect. The room was bathed in candlelight. We opened with prayer, had dessert, listened to an inspiring devotion given by my Mom, heard quotes from famous women about their thoughts on Christmas, did a choral reading of "Mary, Did you know", and closed with a final song and prayer. I think all of the guests had a wonderful time.

Advent by Candlelight reminds us that Christmas is truly the celebration of the birth of Jesus. It makes us pause...focus, rejoice. It was a great night. I will share pictures as soon as I see some.

Thanks to Kim for telling us about this wonderful event. Thanks Mom for the planning and hard work. You gave a beautiful devotion and had a very successful evening. Thanks Amy for being a great hostess. I enjoyed working with you on this!

Happy start of Advent!

I Am NOT Sick!

It is the mantra I keep repeating in my head.

I am not sick. I can't be sick. I have to work all weekend and Cade is finally starting to feel better. So, I am not sick. I can't be sick. I don't want to be sick. Therefore, I am not sick. This pressure in my ears, the pain in my throat, congestion in my head...all a figment of my imagination. I am fine.

Today was a crazy day at work. Flu shots...stupid coupons for a $30 gift card with a new or transferred prescription. The greatest tech in the world on vacation. And just plain busy. Glad it is over.

Tomorrow I am going to get 6 free boxes of Cheese Nips. Isn't that great? Gotta love Coupon Sense. What? You want to know what I will do with them? You mean not everyone has six boxes of Cheese Nips in their pantry? Hmmmm... Don't worry. I will donate them to food bank. I will keep one for personal enjoyment.

Have a good day!

A Little Comic Relief

It has been a long day.

Cade is still obviously not feeling himself. Nor is he acting like himself. Apparently a long nights sleep did not cure his croup or his orneriness. But, we all made it through the day. The doctor said the first four days are the worst, so we must be passing that by now. Let's hope so!

I got online tonight and went to read Dooce's new post. I totally didn't get the blog post with the poster in it. But, after following Dooce's blog for a while, I have realized that I might not understand everything she says and that is okay. So I scrolled down a little to read the post entitled, "Keep_it_to_the_knees_please". I was immediately fascinated by the thought that a college would have posters around campus regarding grooming and modesty. Seriously? In college? I know there are dress codes in elementary school...and high school...but college? To reduce the risk of offending anyone, I will stop my commentary here. But you really need to check out some of these posters. Totally unbelievable!

The Cruddy Croup

It feels like it has been forever since I have posted.

Okay.

Maybe it has been a few days.

But I have a good excuse.

Cade has the croup. As I am typing this he is coughing in his sleep. It started a few days ago, but it has gotten progressively worse the last two days. We went to see the doctor today. Cade kind of started to panic as the nurse was checking his vitals--I am assuming he was remembering that only last week he got four shots as part of his 15 month check-up. So, I held him and promised him that today the doctor was just going to look at him. No shots today, I promised.

You should never make a promise to your child about something that is really not in your control. He ended up getting a steroid shot that will help reduce the inflammation in his throat and chest. It was exactly what he needed, but unfortunately it was in an injectable form. Here I had promised my baby that he wouldn't have to get a shot, and then he ended up getting one anyway. Poor Cade. He survived the shot...and we survived the resulting ornery boy.

After his appointment and lunch, Cade had a two hour afternoon nap--you would think that would make him feel better, but he woke up from the nap as irritable as could be. NOTHING would make him happy. Believe me, we tried everything. It was not fun, but at least we knew that his attitude was because of the shot and the fact that he really doesn't feel well. Makes you appreciate what a happy pleasant child he is most of the time.

Hopefully he will feel much better in the morning!

The Christmas Season Begins!

It is only November 24 and I already have 95% of my Christmas shopping done.

Are you impressed? I mean, it is barely past Thanksgiving. I still have leftover turkey in my fridge! I seriously have maybe 5 more presents to buy. AND, that covers all of my present buying for December and January birthdays as well...which there are a TON! I mean, my Halloween candy isn't even gone yet and I only have 5 more presents to buy! To make things even better, I already picked out and ordered my photo Christmas cards. And they are ready to be picked up! Our Christmas tree is up and all that is left as far as decorating goes is hanging our outside lights. Sometimes I amaze myself.

As we hung the decorations on the tree, we smartly put the breakable ornaments up higher and the unbreakable ones on the bottom. We also put a Superyard XT Play Yard around the tree. Jim and I decided we didn't want to be telling Cade, "No! Don't touch the tree" for the next month or so. This just makes everything a little safer. However, we both apparently underestimated Cade's height. This morning Cade reached over the play yard and touched the ornaments. Then this evening he pulled one off the tree and brought it to Jim to show him. I guess we need to move some ornaments a few more branches up!

Thanks Mom and Dad for helping us get our decorations up! Couldn't have done it without you! And Mom and Angel thanks for being my shopping partners!

The Magnet

They have a toddler size shirt at Walgreen's that says "Babe Magnet".

I should totally get it for Cade. He somehow in his quiet, adorable, chubby cheeked way attracts everyone--not just women to him. It is amazing. At my parents party, I was sitting next to him outside while he was in his highchair enjoying dinner. Eating dinner that night took him probably 30-45 minutes because he was interrupted so many times by people stopping by to talk to him, pinch his cheeks, rub his arms, pretend to eat the little plastic Pilgrim Duck he had gotten from Nana. Since he was the only one there under like the age of twenty he had the attention of everyone. Even when it was way past his bedtime, he didn't want to leave. He was having too much fun being the center of attention.

Not that Cade is really a party animal. He is much more of an observer. He will stare down every new person that talks to him. He really loves to watch people and things going on around him...and participate only once he is comfortable. He will put up with strangers touching him, but will generally not respond with a smile or a giggle. But, even with his initial aloof behavior, he is still a people magnet.

On a side note, I was not going to post until tomorrow night. But, today my sister-in-law informed me that she reads this blog everyday (Hi Alisha!) I just didn't want to disappoint her and not have a new post up. Now I must go finish my shopping list and prepare for Black Friday! Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Turkey Day

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

Albert Schweitzer

Today is only Tuesday. I know Thanksgiving isn't until Thursday, but let's be honest...I have so much to do between now and then that I won't have time to blog to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow Cade has his 15 month check-up. Another round of shots. Wish us luck. He usually does just fine and they are over so quick the nurse is usually done before he realizes it hurt a little and he should cry. So, he barely cries at all. A little Tylenol after that and we should be golden.

Tomorrow night my parents are having their annual Thanksgiving Eve Party. I asked my mom if I could help, so I am making one of the appetizers. She apparently gave me the gross one to make. Not that the appetizer is gross, just the making of it. And I am not saying which one I am making because if someone who goes to the party reads this, I don't want them to know which one I made and have them not like it. I am crazy, I know.

Then of course, I have to have time to organize Black Friday shopping. I have to go through what I have already purchased for friends and family and decide what else I need. Then we have to go through the ads and make our plan of attack for shopping. I think we will totally skip Kohl's this year since the last two years the lines there have been hours long--and they have been out of what we were looking for anyway.

But, I don't want to ignore the true purpose of Thanksgiving. It is a time to give thanks. So I am going to make a list of the top five things I am thankful for. I encourage anyone who reads this to do the same...and if you can, post it in my comments so others can see it, too. Happy Thanksgiving!

Top Five Things I am Thankful For:

1. My Family and Friends and everyone that has ever lit the flame within me.

2. Being employed (not that I love to work, but I am grateful for the fact that Jim and I are both able to work and have jobs)

3. Having Bills to pay (not that I love to pay the bills, but it means that I have a home to pay for)

4. Having laundry to do (not that I love to do laundry, but it means that I have people I care about living with me and that they have clothes to wear)

5. Having dishes to wash (not that I love to do dishes, but that means we have food to eat)

6. Having to change dirty diapers (not that I love to do that, but that means I have a healthy, beautiful baby)

Okay...so I got to six. Please remember to post your comments.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What Should I Be Worried About?

Yesterday was our anniversary.

Jim and I have been married for seven years. To celebrate, we went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. We absolutely love the food there, but due to the price, we reserve our visits there for special occasions. We have gone to Ruth's Chris every anniversary. Sometimes I wonder if that is why Jim stays married to me...so he gets at least one meal there a year?! Hmmm...

My mother and father-in-law were kind enough to baby-sit Cade so we could enjoy a nice dinner together. We ordered the "Meal for Two" which comes with everything from the salad to the dessert. Jim and I both ordered Caesar salads. However, apparently they ran out of Caesar salads after we ordered. Our waiter discovered this after we waited for our salads for 10-15 minutes. I wasn't really paying attention. I was enjoying my martini and the bread. We really were not overly concerned. When our waiter told us, we picked a different salad--no big deal. Our waiter apologized, the manager came and apologized... They ended up comping us my martini and giving us a free dessert. Well, a dessert came with our meal, and they gave us another free dessert since it was our anniversary. We got THREE desserts. We ate one there and took two cheesecakes home with us. We gave one to Jim's Mom to enjoy as a thank you for baby-sitting.

On the way home from Ruth's Chris (I was driving since Jim is technically still under doctor orders for no driving--which unfortunately slightly limited the amount I could drink at dinner since Jim is usually my DD) Jim said kind of randomly that I could have the aisle seat on the way to Hawaii since Cade will be in the middle and not take up a lot of room. I was kind of shocked. This is what he was thinking about? This was our conversation:

Me: "That is what you are worried about? Where we will sit on the plane on our way to Hawaii in FOUR months?!"

Him: "Well, what should I be worried about?"

In my head I run through a list about a mile long of things I think about and worry about but I am too dumbfounded to say anything to him. So, I say nothing...

Don't get me wrong, I am totally excited about the trip to Hawaii. Now that we have bought our airline tickets, it feels even more real. However, there is A LOT going on between now and then and thinking about the logistics of that trip with have to wait!

See the Resemblance?

Jim and I watched Shrek the Third tonight.

It was the first time we had seen it, however Cade has been in love with the Shrek babies since we found them in Build-a-Bear. Now every time we see anything Shrek, Cade points and says "Uh Uh Uh" to get your attention because if he sees it, everyone else has to see it. It is kind of cute...in a slightly exasperating, "Yes, Caden, there is another Shrek" kind of way.

So, at the end of the movie you finally get to see the Shrek Babies. I smile at Jim and remark about how cute they are and I jokingly say that I want an ogre baby. They just have these cute cheeks. Then, I look a little closer at the TV and realize that Cade has the same exact cheeks. Maybe he is an ogre baby in disguise. What do you think?

I totally think he could be an ogre baby. Here is a cute picture of Cade asleep in the car with one of his Shrek Babies!

Welcome to My Life...

I was advised to check out this post.

http://swistle.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html

Check out the November 11, 2007 post entitled "Sunday Timeline".

A good friend said it I would enjoy it--and totally get it. Boy did I ever. Now, I only have one child and this woman in the blog has five. But, the situations are relatively the same. Mine just tend to be on a smaller scale with fewer kids to take care of. But, I could see myself in a few years with a few more kids having the same exact interations with Jim as she does with her husband. (Or doesn't have depending on how you look at it.) All the way down to the retail therapy at Target at the end of the post.

Now don't take what I am saying in the wrong way. I love my husband and he is a great father. But, he is a man. And that is all that needs to be said for Swistle says it all...

Today It Was Bird Poop

I figured the title of this post would get your attention if nothing else.

The other day I mentioned that Cade had eaten some fertilizer (a.k.a. manure) out of the grass that had been recently over seeded. Well, since the grass has been over seeded we have had a LOT of birds in our yard. The birds apparently feast in our grass then walk onto our patio to poop before they leave.

Cade and I went out back to play this morning after breakfast. I noticed that there was a lot of bird poop on our patio, so ran in to grab the broom to sweep it away. I contemplated bring Cade inside with me, but I knew he was physically safe where he was--especially since finding the broom would only take a matter of seconds. I knew if I pulled him inside, he would scream and cry and his sleeping, recovering from surgery Daddy would not be too happy. So I left him for like two seconds.

Have you ever seen the public service announcements about drowning? The ones that say "It Only Takes a Second!" Don't worry. Cade didn't drown or even get anywhere near water to drown in. I told you I knew he was physically safe when I left him for the one millionth of the second that I did. But, when I came back, I noticed that he was chewing and swallowing something and that there was brown drool on his face. I am pretty sure he picked up some bird poop off of the patio and ate it. I was so grossed out. For some reason, in my mind, eating bird poop is much worse than eating fertilizer which is in essence cow poop.

BOYS! They are soooo gross!

As an update on Jim, he is recovering very well. Especially since I hunted down Guitar Hero III for him to play. It only took 8 phone calls and trips to three different stores. YIKES!

The Road Ahead

Jim had his surgery today.

Everything went really well. The surgery only took like 20 minutes. We were home about 2 hours after the surgery began. No surprises in the operating room, which is as good as it can get. I am keeping Jim loaded up on pain meds and pushing the "clear liquid" diet he has been restricted to for today. But no matter how hungry you are, there is a limit to the amount of soup broth and jello you can eat. Tomorrow he can resume his regular diet. That should improve his mood a little!

When Jim first went for his consultation with the surgeon, Dr. M. totally played down the surgery and led Jim to believe that recovery time was 2-3 days. We thought that was great. No big deal...a few days off from work and back to normal by this upcoming Monday. What he really meant was no driving or lifting anything over 5 pounds for TWO WEEKS. Ummm...so since we didn't find that out until after the surgery, our schedules for the next two weeks do not currently cater to those instructions. For example, Jim goes back to work on Monday. I can drive him, but I can't stand eight hours for him at work--especially since I have my own shift to work that day. Also, in case you couldn't tell from his pictures, Cade weighs a little over 5 pounds. Like 22 pounds over. So, that means for the next two weeks Jim can't lift Cade. Apparently that means that the two of them can't be home alone together. Cade is now able to walk, but still requires to be lifted in and out of his crib, highchair, and changing table.

Don't get me wrong. The surgery was relatively simple...and Jim is recovering very well so far. And that is really all that matters. It will just be a tougher next two weeks than I thought it would be! Keep us in your prayers!

My Son ate Manure and Other Things that Happened Today

We had a busy day today. And strange things happened!

Busy Day:

• Wake up
• Eat Breakfast
• Dishes
• Laundry
• Play Outside
• Nap
• Lunch at Olive Garden
• Deliver Baby Present #1 to expecting Mom #1
• Nap
• Snack
• Deliver Baby Present #2 and meet new baby Brielle
• Dinner with girlfriends
• Coupon Sense Shopping with another girlfriend

Strange Things

• While we played outside, Cade ate manure from our recently over seeded and fertilized grass. GROSS!
• As we drove up to the Olive Garden, we saw a lady laying on the ground. As we parked an ambulance and fire truck pulled in to help!
• I gave 2 baby presents out in one day! You would think it was spring time or something! I also mailed another one last week!
• I met baby Brielle. She is not strange...she is an absolutely beautiful teeny, tiny baby girl. However, she is the one I posted about earlier with the Trisomy 18 chromosomal disorder. But, at just a week old, she is defying odds and breathing and eating all on her own!
• I took a friend Coupon Sense shopping. At one store she got: (3) Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes, (3) boxes Betty Crocker Potatoes, (1) can of Betty Crocker Frosting, (3) boxes of Farmland Sausage, (1) can of Grands Biscuits, and (2) 3-pack Dial Soap Bars. After coupons, her total was $0.40. Yes. FORTY CENTS! My friend was afraid to leave the store. I think she was afraid she was stealing...

Well, that was my day in a nutshell. Hope you had a good day, too! Happy Veteran's Day!

By the way...Jim is having his hernia surgery tomorrow. Please send happy thoughts and prayers!

Anyone Missing Their Insoles?

I work in a pharmacy.

To deal with any patient confidential information, you must be HIPAA trained. That means we understand that we can't go blabbing any patient's personal information. DUH! But, of course some stupid person somewhere screwed up and made the government have to make a law... Anyway. That is not the point of my story.

I work in a grocery store. It is convenient for a lot of people to get their prescriptions filled while they shop. However, that means some people either forget to come back and pick up their prescription, or they somehow leave it in their cart. When they leave it in their cart, the prescription comes back to the pharmacy so we, who are HIPAA trained, can call the patient and hold it until they come back for it. Doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen.

On Saturday, a bagger that works up front brought me a bag and said that he was told to give it to me. It was a prescription bag. But, there was no label on it...or a receipt. I asked the bagger what was in it and he said he was told not to look in the bag. I took the bag. Just feeling through the bag I could tell that there were not prescriptions in there. I opened the bag and found...

INSOLES.

You know the kind of plastic/gel inserts you can put in your shoes?! And these were not new insoles in a package. It was like someone bought new ones, took the old ones out and put them in a pharmacy bag. How these disgusting, used, smelly insoles ended up in a pharmacy bag I don't know. But I do know that HIPAA trained or not, you could tell that there was most definitely NOT a prescription in the bag or any personal health information at risk.

So what did I do with them? I left them in their bag...on the counter...for my partner to find in the morning. It is a little funny!

Didn't know?!

There are some things that I have learned recently that I didn't previously know...or really even ever contemplate.

For example:

There is a correct way to put the toilet paper roll on the rod.

I didn't know there was a right or wrong way. I have NEVER paid attention to which way it rolls. Up or down. I don't care as long as it isn't all gone when I need it.

There is a correct way to put lunch meat--specifically turkey--on a sandwich.

It should not just be laid flat. It should be "scrunched".

I didn't know that meat could be scrunched. And flat or not, you still eat it...and it tastes the same.

There are more verses to the song "I'm a Little Teapot".

Who knew? Who wanted to know?
The extra verses are:

I'm a tube of toothpaste on the shelf
I get so lonely all by myself
When it comes to night time, hear me shout,
Flip my lid and squeeze me out

AND

I'm a little robot short and square
I've got no teeth , I've got no hair
But if you need an answer to a sum,
Just press my nose and out it comes

As you can tell, not much is going on here. Hence this post. Enjoy anyway!

A Moment of Silence

Confession.

There is a part in our church service for confession. The pastor gives us a moment of silence in which we are supposed to confess our sins to God. I had a girlfriend tell me the other day that she doesn't always have anything to confess in that moment of silence. I looked at her in awe. NOTHING to pray or confess about? I have always thought that the time we are given to confess is way to short! My list of sins are so lengthy, I need more like an hour of silence for confession instead of the minute I get.

So what is the difference between us? This friend is a sweet, loving, generous person who would do ANYTHING you needed her to. But it is her faith and love for God that makes her so wonderfully different. She is a true believer--and a true example of a Christian living a Christian life. She says she tries very hard to live her life so that people will see her and want to have the same relationship with God that she has. She never wants to do anything that would make her a hypocrite or turn someone away from God based on her actions.

She is amazing to me. I have a difficult time sharing with people what I believe. I have a harder time living what I believe. Oh, I can do the actions. I can "talk the talk". But I have a much harder time when it comes down to "walking the walk". In a way I am almost jealous of my friend and her ability to let go and let God. She is so calm and so at peace. It is something to be in awe of. But jealousy is a sin. Great...add it to my list for Sunday!

Teething is the Pits

Poor Cade has molars coming in.

Teething is pretty horrible to begin with. Add to that the fact that he has FOUR molars coming in (one in each quadrant of the mouth) at the same time and you have one unhappy toddler. Add to that the fact that he also has a cold and you have a miserable toddler and a miserable Mommy. Add to that the fact that Daddy is sick, too, and you have an unhappy family. It has been a rough past couple of weeks.

The good news is three of the four teeth have pretty much come in. And judging by the screaming we had this morning, I am pretty sure the fourth one is pushing its way through. At least that is what I am assuming the crying fit was about. It is so hard at this age. When he cries, I am not sure why he is crying (unless I just told him no about something). Makes it so hard to know if you are doing the right things for your child or not.

Everyone has said it is hard being a parent. But, boy, is it hard being a parent!

Thanks for Being My Lean-To's

“The journey of the human spirit has tiring searches, long stretches of grief and letting go, dark-hearted things that steal the energy from our spirits. At these times we need lean-tos. Our lean-tos can be anyone or anything that brings us a sense of hope, a pause from pain, a bit of strength to sustain us, a little vision for guidance, a touch of happiness.

We have a wonderful lean-to in God whose heart always welcomes us and provides refuge for us. We often have people who stand by us and offer warmth, support and refuge. Little comforts and glimmers of hope that we do not notice when we are strong become very significant for us when we are weak: a smile, a song, a sunrise, a bird’s chirp, a phone call or a letter. In all these we rest our woes and our weariness and draw strength for our recovery.”

-Author Unknown

This was in an email from the Bishop of our church. He has recently undergone major surgery and by the grace of God is well on his way to full recovery. In this email, he was thanking his friends and family for being his support system. For being his "lean-to's".

It is in time of need when we most clearly see who our true supporters are. And it is usually in the time of need when we make most of our requests for support to God. However, God, our family, and our friends are always there whether or not there is a "need". So at this point--when I am happy to report that we currently have no "needs"-- I want to thank God, my family, and my friends for being my lean-to's...Thanks for always being my support system. You are the best!

Happy Halloween!

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate;
The first one said, "Oh my it's getting late."

The second one said, "There are witches in the air."
The third one said, "But I don't care."
The fourth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"
The fifth one said, "Let's run and run and run."
"Wooooooo" went the wind,
And out went the lights.
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Cade loves that Halloween song!

We have a busy day today! We are getting a new water softener at noon. Our other one is apparently not working. We discovered that when it overflowed all over the garage. The next day, the water was gone, but the salt remained. That was fun cleaning that up. My Dad very generously tried to trouble shoot it, but we get an Error 1 message. That is a bad message. So, today we are getting a new one. A great way to spend $1,000 if you ask me...not really, but what can you do?

Then between 3 and 5pm (let's hope) someone is coming to look at the ice maker in our freezer. The fridge is just over a year old and it only works when it wants to. Pretty irritating when you want an "adult" beverage and there is NO ice! Frustrating. Hopefully that will get fixed today, too!

Then, Cade and I are "trick or treating" at Grandma and Grandpa's house and a family friend's house. They just want to see how cute he is in his monkey costume! Can't blame them! After that, I have to try to get Cade into bed while possibly handing out the massive amounts of candy I got for dirt cheap (thanks to Coupon Sense!). Should be interesting since Jim has to work tonight! Wish us luck!

Happy Halloween!

Just Too Darn Cute!

I know I am biased when it comes to Cade.

I don't know any parent that doesn't think their child is the cutest, smartest, funniest. But Cade cracks me up and constantly amazes me with his "tricks". Here are just a few of Cade's newest accomplishments.

• When you sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" Cade tries to do the motions.
• Cade now waves hello and goodbye to everything and everybody. (For example, when my parents were baby-sitting last week when I got my hair cut, I went to pick Cade up and as soon as I walked through the door, Cade started waving bye bye to my parents. He knew that I was there and we were leaving! He also waves to my ladybug collection on the shelves outside his room every time we pass them!)
• When Cade woke up from his afternoon nap today, he made the sign (kind of) for cookie. He knows he gets his cookies for a snack after his nap!
• Before naps and before bed, we sit in the rocker in his room and read books. Cade now is picky about the books. I will show him the different books. He will push them away until he finds the one he wants and then will lay back in my lap and wait for me to read it. Too cute!
• Cade will put blocks in his pot and stir them and pretend to eat it. Well, he will actually put the blocks in his mouth. I pretend.
• Cade can turn the music on and off on some of his toys. When he turns it off, he turns his hands from palms up to palms out to the side. It is his way of saying all gone. We tried to teach him to turn his palms UP to show all gone, but he does it his own way!
• When you tell Cade that we have to put his shoes on, he repeats "SHHHHs"
• Cade thinks it is funny to lick my face. I will laugh and scream and tell him, "Don't lick me," but he giggles and keeps trying to get me!

I know there are 100 other things, but this list is good for now!

The Baptismversary

One year ago today, Cade was baptized.

It might be strange to some to think that it is something that you remember or acknowledge. However, our church encourages the recognition of the baptism and what it means. They want you to pull out pictures and light the candle that was lit on their baptism day.

Cade's baptisms was special. I am sure most parents feel that way and I am no different. Cade was baptized on October 29, 2006. It was exactly 28 years to the day that I was baptized. He was wearing the same outfit his daddy wore for his baptism. He was also baptized with water from the river Jordan which is where Jesus was baptized. He was lucky enough to have his Uncle Josh and his Aunt Kim stand up and be Godparents for him. Friends and family surrounded him. It was truly a special day--even though Cade cried through church and slept through his party!

So today, on Cade's one year Baptismversary (thanks for the new word, Kim!) we will light his candle and remember his wonderful baptism day.

Cade's First Ice Cream Cone

The one day I forget to bring a bib.

Mom and I have found a new place we like to go for lunch. Jason's Deli. Good, fast deli type food. But the best part is that they have FREE ice cream. Who care's if there is no such thing as a free lunch if you can get a FREE dessert? Priorities! Because of the free ice cream, Cade also loves to go there. He also likes the highchairs which are on wheels. He discovered that if he pushes with his feet off the leg of the table--or the leg of his mommy, he will move. He thinks it is soooo funny.

So, Mom, Cade, and I went to Jason's Deli on Wednesday. I forgot to put Cade's bib back in his diaper bag after rinsing it off. So, we got to lunch and I realized I might have one messy child when we were done. Oh well. He is a boy. He would live. He actually did really well with his lunch. Besides a stray piece of chicken or cheese, he was actually pretty clean. Then came the ice cream cone.


Why we decided that day (without a bib) was a good day to introduce ice cream cones, I don't know. But boy was it fun to watch! We ended up putting Cade's cloth diaper (his blankie--I had a spare in the diaper bag) around his neck to somewhat protect his clothes. He was in heaven. It was so funny to watch him eat the top of the cone while the ice cream and bottom the cone covered his chin. His poor baby chin was red from being pressed into the ice cream for so long. I tried to help him adjust the cone, but he just grunted at me and pushed the cone further in his mouth. Apparently he didn't want help. He ate the entire thing!









As you can see from the pictures, he enjoyed himself...and was quite a mess at the end. Of course, once I pulled the cloth diaper off Cade's neck, he realized it was one of his blankies and wanted to snuggle with it. He cried until I hid the gross one and handed him the clean one. Boys!

Family Recipes

Poor Jim (yeah, right!)

I always ask him to call his Mom and get recipes for me. She is an excellent cook and makes things that I have never had before and discover I REALLY like.

These are things that I think I can make too. However, according to my darling husband, they are always "good" but "different". They aren't bad, but just not the same as his Mom's. I have given up. Whatever I make will never be as good as hers, but it will work. Here is my latest request for a recipe from her. (Hope I am not putting up any "secret" family recipes!)

Calabacitas Rellenas

• 2 Yellow Squash
• 4 Green Squash
• 1 Whole Onion sliced
• 1 Small Tomato cubed
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• Pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup of water

Place all ingredients in a covered pot and cook on low on stove. When done (vegetables tender) place in serving dish and sprinkle with cheese.

Doesn't that sound yummy? Trust me it is and what a great mix of veggies. Enjoy!

I have to ask if the salsa recipe is really a secret. If not, I will put that up too!

Fun in the ER

Don't worry. It wasn't Cade that required the trip to the emergency room.

Jim has an umbilical hernia. He has been to see the doctor--was referred to a surgeon and has a surgery date for next month. Simple procedure--done outpatient and just a few short days needed for recovery. Luckily, the hernia is generally not painful. Until this morning. Jim was in agony and of course had to work. Being a pharmacist, it really is very difficult to call in sick to work...especially when the two other pharmacists that work there are also out on medical leave. So, Jim survived until 2:00 when the next pharmacist came in to work for the evening. We then went to the ER like our doctor advised. Just to get Jim checked out and make sure that nothing was becoming too serious.

We went to the ER. And, as expected waited. For a very long time. But, there really is no better place to people watch (except maybe the airport) than in the ER. Strange, strange, strange people. Luckily we went in the afternoon. As we were leaving (many, many hours later) it was dark--and I think the scarier people wait until it is dark to come out. I don't know if I am getting older--or more conservative or what, but wow. The guys with the holes in their heads and their baggy pants with the shirts with skulls on them. They were talking very loudly to each other about "banging" some girl. Lovely. Then the girl who kept missing her call to go back to be checked out because she kept disappearing. Smoke break? Who knows where she kept going. Then a girl came in with food from Mimi's asking to change the channel on the TV and to turn it up. I think she thought the waiting room was her living room. It was bizarre!

We were gone for over 5 hours. We saw a PA for about 6 minutes. That was all the medical care Jim needed and all he received. But, I guess the entertainment in the waiting room was worth the $100 co-pay.

By the way, Jim is fine and surgery still scheduled for next month!

Baby Steps

We are walking!

It is official. Cade is walking on his own. Now, he isn't that steady on his feet yet, but he will walk quite a distance before stumbling. It is amazing. I think back to this time last year when Cade was 2 months old. We were so excited when he could hold his head up. Now my little man is walking.

The only problem with Cade's instability when walking is he gets so frustrated when he falls down. Usually he is not hurt at all, but screams like he broke his leg. He doesn't understand that you have to learn to walk before you run! Baby steps! There is a short video clip of Cade walking under the Caden Videos on the left. I apologize for the quality of it...I have a digital camera, not a video camera. But, it does the job well enough! Enjoy!

Thank Goodness It's Sunday!

T.G.I.S?

I know. Most people can't wait until it is Friday. But those are the people who don't work retail. I am excited because now I am off until Thursday! My weekend is just beginning. And, for being "part time" I have worked 42 hours in the last 6 days. I am used to 20 hours a week, so this was pretty brutal for me. I know. Suck it up and quit complaining.

Since I had to work this weekend, Jim took Cade to his parents to hang out for the day. I got a report when I got home that Cade walked all by himself from their kitchen to the front door which is about 15 to 20 feet. Of course he did it today. When I was at work. Now he has walked a few steps from me to Jim or my mom, but never like that. The only good thing is my in-laws always have their video camera on when Cade is over (first grandchild) and they got it on video. I do feel a little better knowing that I have seen his true "first steps" and that if he really takes off on the walking thing that it will be over the next few days that I am off! My life will change forever when he gains that independence!

Transitions

Well, Cade had his last bottle on Tuesday night.

We had stopped giving Cade a bottle during the day almost 2 months ago. He transitioned pretty well when we did that. But, I was afraid to eliminate his bed time bottle. I was afraid he wouldn't go to sleep as easily, or sleep as long. But, I also knew that eventually the bedtime bottle would have to go. So, last night I warmed up some milk and right before bed offered it to him in a sippy cup. He took a couple of sips, but then pushed it away. We read some books and he went to sleep. He slept as long as he usually does. So I guess this transition was harder for me than it was for him. No more baby bottles or snuggling while he would drink he bottle. Now it is books and bed. My little boy is getting bigger every day!

Cade doesn't do that well with transition between activities, though. He hates to change what he was doing--unless of course, it was his idea. If he is in his swing outside, and he is done, he will definitely let you know it. However, I feel like it is time to go inside, and try to take him out, he screams bloody murder. Or if we walk (we are still not walking independently, but Cade loves to hold hands and walk) to the car and I have to put him in the car to leave, he screams. He screams and cries and arches his back and makes it nearly impossible to do anything with him. The situation is frustrating for both of us. I am sure his temper tantrums will only get louder as he gets older!

The News

So yesterday we went to Kiddie Kandids. Cade did pretty well. Considering the other screaming children in there, I think he did really well. Here are a couple shots:

I worked all day today. We were super busy. Finally at 7:25 I had a chance to get on-line and catch up on the news. I only ever read the news if I have time at work. I know. I should be aware of what is going on in the world around me. I know. Ignorance is not always bliss. But here are a few of the stories on the news page I was on:

Six_year_old_girl_killed_while_sleeping

Man_Commits_Suicide_at_gun_range

Teacher Pleads Guilty to Student Sex Case

Seriously? The news is so depressing. And these were just the local stories. Doesn't even begin to cover what is going on in the rest of the world. Makes me scared for Cade. Makes me wonder why we have kids and bring them into this world. Makes me wonder if having another child (someday) is a good idea. Do we have kids for selfish reasons? To fulfill some deep need to be a parent? But as a good parent, how can you knowingly bring a child into the world where they can be abused, hurt, killed?! How do you protect your kids from these things?

I think I will boycott the news for a few days.

To Catch You Up (Since I am a slacker...)

I am a slacker.

It has been a while since I posted. However, I am blaming ummm...hold on. I am thinking who I can blame. Fine. Me.

So, what is new? Not a whole lot. I suppose in the grand scheme of things that is good. That means we are boring, but it also equates to no drama or problems. But, here is the recap of our "boring" lives.

Thursday:

• I worked 12 hours.
• Gave 28 flu shots and 1 tetanus shot.
• One shot was to my Mom, one to hubby, and one to a girlfriend.
• Only one complaining about a sore arm was hubby!
• Cade spent the day with Nana and Granddad and got to see the puppies at the mall.

Friday:

• Coupon Sense shopping with mom. Got some great deals!
• Hit Toys_"R"_Us and bought Cade the Discovery_Dome
• Mom and Dad came for pizza (Jim at work) and Dad put the Discover Dome together.
• Discovered that the Discovery Dome was missing half of the pieces. UGH!
• Enjoyed pizza and martinis and decorating my house for Halloween.

Saturday:

• Six loads of laundry. Yuck. But, clean sheets, towels, clothes...
• Back to Toys R Us to get the missing pieces for the Discovery Dome. (Hope they don't put the box that they gave me the pieces out of back on the shelf!)
• Ran to Kinkos to print my very first digital scrapbook pages. They are sooo cool. But does anyone know where I can get 12x12 pages printed on photo paper for less than $10/page? Kinkos did a good job, but just plain paper--photos are kind of grainy.
• Had Mom and Dad over for a quick happy hour drink.
• Dinner with Jim. Mmmmm Carambas.

Sunday:

• Church
• Brunch with friends and family.
• Took Cade for his second ever hair cut. Still doesn't like it. AT ALL!
• Ran to the mall with my little bro--shared yummy soft pretzels!
• Happy hour at my parents' house.
• Quiche baking in the oven for dinner tonight.
• Plans to take Cade to Kiddie_Kandids for Halloween pics tomorrow! Wish me luck!

That is it. Hope all is well with everyone. Okay. I hope all is well with the one person who reads this blog!

We Are Normal???

Chances are your toddler's negativism — saying "no" all the time, running away, throwing things — has probably been surging lately. He's actively testing his limits, putting his newfound mobility and ability to control his environment to use. It's your job to create and enforce those limits — and to remember that this behavior is a normal part of his development, not a plot to drive you crazy.

Normal. Good to know we are normal. And I should change that sentence about negativism to grunting, crawling away, throwing things (including himself on the floor). That is more descriptive of my little boy.

To illustrate his ability to “test” me, let me tell you a story. Cade crawled into the front room of our house. Crawled right over to the wall and turned to make sure I was watching him. As soon as he was sure he had my undivided attention, he reached up and put his hand on the outlet. Now, the outlets are covered and he is in no real danger, BUT he knows he is not allowed to touch them. I said, “Caden, no!” in a stern voice. He looked me straight in the eye and kept his hand there. I repeated, “Caden, NO!” He stared me down and left his hand there with what I swear was a rebellious smirk on his face. I walked over and took his hand off the outlet and put it in his lap and said, “NO. You know you can’t touch those.” I stepped back. He looked up at me and his lower lip trembled and he broke into tears. Heart wrenching tears that made it sound like I broke his heart. I picked him up and hugged him and said that I wasn’t mad, but he cannot touch the outlets. We snuggled for a minute as he calmed down. The End. I love the little brat!

Gap is having a Casting Call where parents can submit photos of their baby for a chance to win a photo shoot for Gap and Gap clothes. Well, I know I am biased, but since I think my baby is adorable, I am going to enter him in! Have to go pick some pictures that show his true personality. Or maybe I shouldn’t… Ha ha ha! You can put 5 pictures of your child up for the Gap Casting Call. Here are the three I have put up so far:

How to Make Your Head Ache

I love to scrapbook.

I love preserving memories in a creative way—even if no one looks at the albums but me. I had so much fun putting together Cade’s scrapbook of his first year. It is really his baby book with all of his milestones and pictures of each month. I love to look at it. It will remain very special to me—and I hope someday when he has kids of his own, he will enjoy looking back to his infancy and appreciate the work I put into it.

I have a whole room devoted to scrapbook supplies. Paper, tools, stamps, ink, ribbons, buttons, and a whole plethora of other doodads. However, it seems like I am ALWAYS behind in my scrapbooking. So, looking for a way to make things faster and more accessible, I have started investigating digital scrapbooking. I bought a book (unfortunately for me the store only had Digital Scrapbooking 2—guess I don’t get the first lessons) and downloaded my 30-day free trial of Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0.

All I can say is that this is totally awesome. There is a very steep learning curve, and it will take me a very long time to become comfortable using the software. But with the help of my book, I was able to make the letters NYC out of my picture of the Statue of Liberty from our trip this summer and create my own background “paper” by creating my own pattern. How cool is that? I can change the background anytime I feel like it and move pictures and re-crop them…really good for the perfectionist type—not that I am! In all honesty, doing those two things took several hours and left me with a nasty headache. But, now I know how to do it!

So, between my new camera and my new desire to scrapbook digitally, I think I have opened up a whole new world of memory preservation! Poor Cade—he just wishes I would stop bothering him by taking so many pictures!

Mommy Amnesia

I was gone only for three days.

That’s it. I met a girlfriend at Mall of America in Minneapolis for a short weekend spree of shopping, gambling, and drinking. What a great time!

I came home to glowing reports about how good Cade is and what a pleasure he was to have for the weekend. My mom told me that the only time Cade ever cried was when his ice cream was all gone, he had to get out of his swing, or when he had to stop playing for a few minutes for a diaper change. What an angel!

Apparently, while I was gone, I contracted mommy-amnesia. I had forgotten how frustrating it can be to deal with a one-year-old who can’t communicate and is demanding. I think I lost something when I actually traveled with no stroller or car seat, diaper bag, sippy cups, baby toys. I brought on the plane with me headphones, make-up, and a book. A book that I was able to read cover to cover between my two flights. It was liberating.

Don’t get me wrong. I missed Cade more than you would believe. I admit that I called my parents who were baby-sitting numerous times each day I was gone just to check on him even though I knew he was completely fine. On Sunday, I was not ready for my trip to end, but I was so ready to see Cade that I knew it was time to come home. I was so excited to see him…

We picked Cade up late Sunday night. So this morning (Monday) was the true reunion. I had forgotten in those three short days that :
Cade gets up early.
He wants things when he wants them.
He doesn’t like the word no.
He will cry and scream when you tell him no.
Teething is no fun.
When he is tired, he is no fun.

What I remembered—and was reassured of today is that:
Cade gives great big sloppy kisses that are wonderful.
He snuggles.
He is sooooo adorable.
Reading books with Cade is one of the best things in the world.
He really is an angel.

I guess I just didn’t transition fast enough back into Mom mode. Tomorrow will be back to normal!

The Thrill of the Hunt

I am a dork. I openly admit that.

I am a member of Coupon_Sense. What is Coupon Sense? Well, basically as a subscriber you have access to an on-line database of current sales and coupons compiled from the newspaper. It is a super easy way to match up coupons that you get in the Sunday papers with what is on ad each week. There is a monthly cost to Coupon Sense, but what I pay for Coupon Sense is saved with my first shopping trip of the month. I usually save at least 50-75% on my grocery bills. So it is kind of dorky, however, I save money on groceries so I can spend it elsewhere. Just smart shopping if you ask me!

I went shopping today. Here is my amazing shopping trip.

At Albertson’s I got:

• 5 boxes Quaker Oat Breakfast Bars
• 2 boxes Quaker Granola bars
• 2 boxes Quaker Sweet and Salty Bars
• 4 boxes Quaker Instant Oatmeal
• 2 boxes Life cereal
• 2 boxes Quaker Granola Bites
• 4 boxes Quaker Multi grain Oatmeal
  
  ALL FOR $5.29 (Saved 81.09)

At Bashas I got:

• 4 Blue Bunny Personal Ice Cream
• 4 boxes Eggo Waffles
• 4 bags Pictsweet Veggie Steamers

ALL FOR $3.21 (Saved 26.68)

To make the deal even better at Bashas, I got a coupon for $5.00 off my next order. So, technically, I earned money shopping there. $5.00(coupon) - $3.21 (out of pocket) = +$1.79

I know the math is pretty simple, but let me put this out there for you to see...

I spent exactly $8.50 out of pocket for all 32 items. I still have $5 to spend at Bashas, so if you take that into consideration, I spent $3.50. Even if you don't take that coupon into account, I still saved $107.77. That works out to a savings of 93%. WONDERFUL! The best thing is that I will donate at least a third of the non-perishable stuff to the food bank though church. So I got a great deal and will be able to share food with those who don't have any. Perfect combination!

I must say a big THANK YOU to my Coupon Sense instructor, Amy, who very kindly went above and beyond to provide me (and all of her subscribers) with the information I used for this successful shopping trip. Love ya, Amy! You're the best!

A Free Trip for Two

So I am a sucker...

Two weekends we went to the Babies and Kids Expo. We paid $20 to get in and sadly it was pretty much a waste of money and time. We expected there to be a ton of vendors selling everything from baby blankets to backyard swing sets. In fact, I told Jim I didn’t want to go because when it comes to Cade I truly lack any monetary self-restraint. I was afraid that I would see something that he “had to have” that would cost us a small—or large—fortune. In reality there were about 18 vendors. Most of the booths consisted of private photographers, time-share companies, or people selling cosmetics. (Kids Expo????) There was one booth selling toys—and nothing Cade had to have. It was disappointing to say the least. We spent approximately 8.2 minutes walking past the booths (not stopping at any) to find we had covered the entire “expo”. On the way to the exit, I stopped at a booth where they were having a drawing to win a gift card to Home Depot. I figured I would put our name in there. The booth was cleverly disguised—it was for a time-share. They were very anxious to sign us up for a tour so that we could get a free trip for two to several choice destinations. I am not a fan of listening to these presentations, but I decided that if we got nothing else out of this expo, we could get a free trip. So, I signed us up.

We went this past Friday for our time-share presentation. Our representative (used car salesman) was actually very nice and low pressure considering his line of work. He only kept us 25 minutes over our promised “90 minute presentation”. The resort was beautiful. The amenities cool. And since we live close to the resort, we would be able to use those amenities as often as we would want. Things like a beautiful pool with massive water slides and horseback riding and lessons for kids. And then, since we probably wouldn’t vacation 10 minutes from our home, we would be able to trade our week there to any one of the other resorts associated with this time-share company. This trading power would even include the Palm_Tree_Court_&_Spa for only $158 for the week. Sounds great doesn’t it? We were hooked. In their catalog (which they leave you to look at for several minutes so you can plan your dream vacation) we decided that we wanted to go stay in a castle in Ireland. How cool would that be?! We must have looked interested. The “closers” came in to offer us our very own vacation-ownership package. With today-only specials, of course. You too could own a week in a resort for a mere $21,000. I choked. We didn’t have that kind of money! Not even close. Needless to say, even though they got the last offer down to $7,000, we had to pass. (Especially since I calculated it to be actually $19,000 when all was said and done after the 120-month loan.) But, we got a “free” trip to Napa Valley Wine country including two free admissions for a Winery Tour. Doesn’t include airfare, but worth our 114 minutes, I think. I will let you know after we take the trip!

A Romantic Way to Perish

Candy Update

We are down to four candy bars. I am happy to report, that I am still only responsible for the disappearance of one of them. Apparently since I had one, Jim thought it was then okay to have one, too. So, out of the six candy bars I bought for my trip, we have four remaining. Hopefully those four will remain until the trip on Friday. (If you have no clue what I am talking about, read the previous post!)

In Remembrance

I met a girlfriend for dinner tonight. As I was leaving, I got in the car in the garage. I thought it smelled a little like trash in our garage. Rotting trash. When I came home after dinner, I thought the same thing. I wondered if maybe a poopy diaper made it as far as the garage, but not out into the trash can on the side of the house. I parked the car and came inside and complained to Jim. Trash hunting is definitely a "husband" job.

So I came into the office to check email. Jim went out to the garage. He came in like 10 minutes later. I asked him if he had located the source of the problem and he said yes. I asked what it was and I was told I didn't want to know. But I did. Or I thought I did. I am sure you don't want to know. But I am going to tell you anyway.

Jim and I had gone out to eat last week...and had left the cups of soda in his car. He handed them to me the next time we got in his car and told me to dump the soda in the rocks and throw the cups away. I told him I didn't want to pour soda on the rocks and attract ants. So I put the cups with some soda in them on his work bench in the garage thinking that I would pour them out in the sink when we got home. I forgot.

Apparently, at some point during the week that the cups sat on the workbench, a mouse got into our garage, chewed its way into the top of the cup, fell in and drowned in Dr. Pepper. So the rotting smell was not a poopy diaper...but a dead mouse in a moldy soda cup. Jim has disposed of the poor mouse. He now has plans to clean up his workbench area tomorrow to make sure there are no more undiscovered mouse "traps".

I suppose in the end it was a romantic way to perish--for a mouse.

My Lack of Will Power

If I have it, I will eat it.

I have very little self-restraint when it comes to food. Which is why even though the candy was on sale last week, I knew I shouldn’t buy it yet for my upcoming trip. At my grocery store, it was buy three candy bars, get three free. Great deal, right? Basically buy one, get one, but this way you have to buy three. So, since they were on sale, I thought I would put them away for my trip that is this weekend. Two girls getting together—we would need chocolate, especially after a long, hard day shopping. Well, I bought the candy this past Friday. A week before my trip. Who was I kidding? I actually held out until Sunday night. It is a good thing that I got three candy bars free. I am hoping that three of the original 6 candy bars will make it to Friday when I leave…but I am not guaranteeing that that will make it all the way to my destination. Aren’t Kit Kats the breakfast of champions? Perfect for an early plane ride! Sorry, Kim. My intentions were good!

Josh, that is why we will not be buying the chips for you until Thursday night. And they will go right into a suitcase. Last time we came to visit you, I had bought two to bring you…but as you well know, you only got one! They were good!

The Fortune Cookie

You have a keen sense of humor & bring out the best in others.
11 15 21 27 32 36

That was what my fortune cookie told me. But lately I feel like I have no sense of humor—and that as hard as I try to please everyone, I end up pleasing no one including myself.

In an effort to reconnect with certain people, I feel like I have made others feel alienated. Not intentionally. The situation is definitely one of just “not including” instead of actually “excluding”. There is a difference. But apparently, the ones who feel left out don’t see it that way.

There is a lot of strain in the family lately. Family dynamics are changing and it definitely affects more than just the people who are changing it. It is hardest on them, but not easy for the rest of us either. We are all in new territory.

I am a middle child. It is in my nature to be a mediator…a peacekeeper. I despise conflict. And there seems to be a plethora of that these days. Not knock-down-drag-out fights, but emotional turmoil, hurt feelings, and misunderstandings. “The middle child is internally compelled to find peace within the family and may have trouble finding a place.” I am having a hard time finding a place. I need shopping therapy.