The best laid plans

Should that be "layed"??? Anyways... I woke up this morning thinking of the day's to do list as I usually do. My list was longer today than most days, so I lay there trying to figure out how to get it all done and not fall over from exhaustion. I prayed that God would allow me to get done the things that were necessary and allow me to let go of the things that were not.

Here is what my list looked like as I lay in bed at 8:30 this morning. (yes, I know, I am blessed with a late sleeper)

• Shower
• Run to store to pick up one item
• Make muffins for baby shower to take to church tonight since I won't be able to make the shower on Saturday. (note: my original plan was to make scones. Made scones last night. Came out badly. New plan: muffins)
• Work 5 hours
• Entertain child
• Church by 5:30 to eat and feed child so that I am ready to begin WOL (youth program) at 6:10
• Youth Program from 6:10 until 8:10
• meet with Paster at 8:30
• Come home and fall into bed

As I got up, I realized a couple of things that needed to be added to the list. Like change the sheets that haven't been changed in.... Nevermind. In order to change the sheets, I had to a) dump clothes out of basket onto stripped bed to fold at a later time b) take clothes out of dryer and put into now emptied basket c) treat pair of shorts from yesterday that Boo Bear got Squash all over.

With that done, we resumed the breakfast ritual. What to give Boo Bear for breakfast. We started with Pear and some milk while I figured out the next step also while trying to calm my stomach and figure out what the Bellybean might like to eat this morning. Try some pear.

Hear crash. Boo Bear has figured out accidently how to remove her tray from her high chair resulting in milk all over floor.

• Add to list, impromptu mopping of floor.

Lest anyone confuse me with a housekeeper, note I only cleaned the area with spilled milk. What? I'm on a tight schedule.

Give Boo Bear some yogurt, let her feed herself. I feed myself some mandarin oranges and some pear, wash down with OJ. Return to scene of the yogurt massacre to dig remnants out of bottom of container and wash down child.

Log on to network and check email for work. Return to kitchen to clean up remaining dishes from breakfast and try to find something else to eat for myself. Cough once. Run to bathroom and relieve myself of all earlier food while having Boo Bear look over my shoulder and bang me on the back.

• Impromptu throwing up. Check!

Return to kitchen where Boo Bear climbs back into her high chair and says "eat!" Feed her some more fruit. Look for something new to put in my stomach. Sit down to work for an hour or so.

Change diaper. Pee Yew stinky! Bonus.

Walk Boo Bear across street to see neighbor's dog. Not there. Walk back. Check mail from yesterday. Load Boo Bear in car to head to store. Decide to stop by MIL's to see if she has the item I need. Thank you God for small favors. No trip to store.

Return home. High Chair. "Eat!" Attempt to feed leftover chicken nuggets from dinner last night. Child eats four bites. "dooooone!" Great. Make muffins. Mess up recipe as usual. Still works. Get muffins in oven.

Make sandwhich for self. Boo Bear insists on eating it with me. So much for "dooooone!" Work. Work. Work. Work.

Take muffins out of oven to cool. Feed Boo Bear again. Change diaper.

Work.

Put Boo Bear down for nap. Work. Work. Work.

Put finishing touches on muffins.

Find something else to eat. Work. Work. Work.

Pack muffins up and try to keep them airtight so that they will last until Saturday for Shower. Know glass container of cinammon over in the process.

• Impromtu sweeping of floor and vacumming of floor to get glass and large amounts of cinnammon off of white tile floor and out of the cracks between tile. Bonus.

Return to work.

Type this post. As of posting this it is 3:18 CST and I have to shower and finish my day. My kitchen is a wreck and I'm exhausted already. So much for my to do list. Hope your list is going better than mine.

The Car

The Damage: $4600
The Pain: Bad

The Title

I tried to come up with a title, but since this is once again an update of what is happening, there really isn't much to describe it other than everyday life. I love reading other people's blogs and I know that my life has interesting moments, but at the end of the day, when I try and think of something to write, all I can think is, "It's all so normal." And I'm not a good enough writer to turn nothing into something. Hence my lack of posting lately.

That and I'm just plum tired all the dang time. With the first baby, I had to work full time, and I don't know how I did that, but at least I could come home and go to sleep for a little bit and I only had to worry about feeding myself and hubby if he was lucky. With this second baby though, boy golly is it different. I work part time from home in a "career job" and full time at home as a mom and wife. Needless to say, my full time job is suffering a little bit. Don't worry, Boo Bear isn't starving or anything, but hubby might be a little bit. I nap when Boo Bear naps, which does put some strain on my working hours as I usually get most of my work done while she naps. But I'm so dang tired!

Also with this second pregnancy I am noticing side effects that I didn't have with Boo Bear. Things like the, TMI, constipation and my mouth feeling dirty all the time. I am not by habit a very good brusher, sometimes forgetting to brush before bed, but lately I have been brushing all the time because it feels like bacteria ick is growing in my mouth at an alarming rate. My back is also killing me. I guess carrying around a 25 pound child doesn't help that. The doc said to cut back on carrying her around. At least she realizes that not picking her up at all is really not an option. It drives me crazy when doctors tell you to do things that just aren't possible. I am so blessed with my OB. She really is a good, people doctore and I would refer anyone to her.

In other fun news, we spent every night since Wednesday at the Church for a conference, learning about the One Anothers, how to treat those we come in contact with. As a baby Christian, I am constanstly convicted by what I hear at Church. Where as before I couldn't stand to go to Church, now I can't get enough of being around likeminded people and hearing God's Word.

With that said, I have to be thankful for all that we do have as my hubby had to take my car in today. Looks like it may be something transmission related which means something that will break our checking account or put us further into debt. But, alas, at least we have a car and at least we have the means to get it fixed.

Boo Bear is growing like a weed, both physically and intellectually. She has so many tricks that her father and I exploit, it really is kind of sad. She has gotten so that she will do them all in a row now if we ask her to do one. She will show us her muscles, which is a the flexing of her arms with an accompanying grunt. She will then do Serious Face, which involves looking down while frowning and rolling her eyes up in her head. And now her new one is Cookie Monster. Daddy asked her one day what Cookie Monster says while watching Sesame Street and she says in a gruff voice, argh, argh, argh, argh. It is too funny and I will try and capture them on film so that I can share the cuteness with you (You being my two readers that are left. I thank you for checking in).

Well, that's about all I can update right now. May your life be filled with normal things like mine, but humor, fun and laughter as well.

The Interview

Becky was interviewed by Becky and then offered to interview readers of her site, so here is my interview with the fabulous Becky.

She has got some great questions that one!

1. The Leap of Faith: This may be way to involved to go into here, but why the leap of faith? Was this is a slow journey or was this an "aha moment"?

Well, I guess this will be the short version of my testimony. This is still going to be quite long though, but I would love to share my journey and thank you Becky for asking.

Growing up I had very little religion in my life until I moved to live with my Dad and Stepmom in 5th grade. They are both Jewish and so it only made sense that I would attend Hebrew School. I got Bat Mitzvah'd when I was 13 and continued attending Hebrew School until I graduated from high school. Although I was going to religious school every week, I did not have a relationship with God. Through out most of high school and college, I considered myself agnostic or an atheist, flipping back and forth between the two, which ever one sounded good at the time.

One day in college, I was walking through campus on my way to find out if I had passed a class. I stopped on the East Mall by the Tower and looked up and said to myself, “Please, God, just let me pass this class.” Nothing too profound there, but in that instant it became clear to me for the first time in my life that I believed there was a God. Why else would I be talking to him?

Now that I knew that I believed in God, I did little to pursue what that meant or to further my relationship with Him. I went along living my life the way I thought was best, with little regard to what place God had in my life. During these years, I would argue with Christians about the Bible and its validity. I argued that it was just a history book. That Jesus was just a really great man, but not the Messiah. I mistakenly thought that the Old Testament was the Torah and the New Testament was the Bible. I didn’t know that the Old Testament was actually more than just Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. I didn’t know that the Bible included the Old Testament and the New Testament, I thought it was just the New Testament. I argued against all that the Bible stood for, without knowing anything at all about it. I was naïve and stupid to argue against something I knew nothing about, I just never argued it to anyone who really knew much about it either, so I was never really challenged about my beliefs. A lawyer doesn’t go into court without studying all the facts, yet for years I had been walking into court blind so to speak without having ever read the Bible, yet arguing against it.

When I first met my husband, I did not know anything about his religious beliefs until one day he told me that he was finding his faith again. He was not a Christian when I met him although that was his background, but it didn’t mean anything to him at that time. As we dated, he grew in his faith and was led to start reading the Bible more often. When we got married, we knew that our religious differences would be a difficult part of our marriage. We thought love would be enough to get us through those difficult times. In the past three years we have argued more over religion than anything else. When I got pregnant with Boo Bear our arguments increased because I grew worried about how we would raise our child (as did he). I worried about the view point of Christians and how we would separate his viewpoint and mine.

During my pregnancy, my friend Tami lost her baby at 38 weeks and for the first time in my life the only thing I knew to do was to pray. I relied on God to help me with this difficult time and somehow I made it through my pregnancy without worrying more than any other mother that something horrible would happen to my baby. The death of Ethan caused me to rely on God like I never had before. Because Tami was a Christian and I wanted to help her grieve, I asked for Bible verses and Biblical advice that might help her in regards to what she was going through. Watching Tami go through such a horrible experience and come out the other side still loving and glorifying God and thanking Him for this experience in her life was a huge testament to the power of her faith.

From that point forward, I prayed more often and consciously tried to quit swearing, mainly because I know it isn't Godly and partly because I don't want my children ever saying those words. I had a relationship with God, but still felt it wasn't as complete as it needed to be.

To keep this story short, over the last two years, I have tried doing Bible Study, I have attended Church on occasion, I have tried reading the Bible with my husband and on my own. I went through periods where I did nothing to further my faith. I went through periods where I wanted nothing to do with the Bible and nothing to do with religion, when I though I had a good relationship with God.

For about 6 months to a year now I have been praying for God to show me the truth in regards to my beliefs, whatever the truth was. If that meant that I would become a Christian, then so be it. I put it in God’s hands and trusted Him enough to lead me where He wanted me to be. As I mentioned above, I did Bible Study for a little while, answering the questions “correctly”, but not really getting the whole truth out of what I was reading. When I truly let go and let God take over, that is when reading the Bible changed for me. I all of a sudden saw things clearly. Things that I had read before, but gotten nothing out of, now impacted me greatly.

About 3 months ago I decided to go to Church with hubby one week. I don’t know why this week was any different than any other week, but I felt led to go. At Church they mentioned a ladies Bible Study that was coming up for the summer. I later mentioned to hubby that I thought I might like to go. These things came out of my mouth without me thinking about them really or realizing what I was doing.

I started ladies Bible Study at the beginning of June and have gone every Friday but one since then. We are reading a book called Idols of the Heart that helps us to see the idols that we make for ourselves and the things we worship other than God. It has been a great way for me to connect with other women who struggle with the same things I struggle with.

At the same time, I started going to Church every Wednesday evening with hubby. Where as before, the Pastor would rub me the wrong way with his preaching, now I was learning from it. It was touching my heart and teaching me things. I was then asked to volunteer at Vacation Bible School. This was a wonderful opportunity for me to learn along with the kids the story of Jonah and the whale. I learned more than the kids I think.

Then I decided I would start going on Sunday mornings as well as Wednesdays. So now I was going to Church Wednesday nights, Friday mornings for Bible Study and Sundays. Before, I never wanted to go to Church because it took up my free time. Before, the words sinner, unbeliever, and saved made my skin crawl. All of a sudden, my heart had been changed and it can only be attributed to the Holy Spirit working in my heart to show me the truth. I know that sounds far fetched, but it is the only way I can explain it. All of those decisions regarding going to Church were made without thought, without intent, without hubby pushing or encouraging me. Nothing in my life had changed, yet everything in my life had changed.

Before I became a believer, I had many misconceptions about Christianity. I thought that Christians were zealots, overly strict, stifled by the rules of some “book.” What I have found about being a Christian is that it is the most freeing experience I have ever had. I have had such peace in my life since June 20th when I became a believer. I know that my life will not always be easy, but I can always be thankful for what happens because I know that God has a plan for me and that His plan is good.

This journey essentially has taken me my whole life and I think will continue through out the rest of my life. If anyone is interested in reading my whole testimony (20 pages), I would be happy to share it with you. Email me at shootersstation (at) gmail (dot) com. You know the drill.

2. Motherhood x 2: Planned? What is your initial thinking (boy vs girl)? Is this the beginnings of your own football team or will this complete the family?
Yes, this second pregnancy was planned, as much as one can plan these things. It took a small leap of faith on my part as some days I barely make it through the day with one, but I knew I wanted another child. TMI ahead... I had trouble regulating after breastfeeding and so instead of switching from one pill to another and then getting off altogether in a couple of months, we just decided to stay off and let God decide when our next child would come.

Boy vs. girl? Well, we are of the camp that doesn't find out what is in the womb until the birth day. With Savannah, we were sure we were having a boy and you see that got us a girl. I would love a little boy, but will be happy with whatever God blesses us with. Hubby wants as many kids as we can have, but I think that 3 is probably my limit. I tell hubby that if he can figure out a way to carry and have the kids, we can have as many as he wants. 4 is a possibility, but I just can't see how we would afford that many children. We will have to see where the Lord leads us.

3. Getting away: Mountains, lake, ocean, desert....heat or cold.... where do you prefer to go when you want to get away?
I'm a beach girl. I like warm weather, tropical settings preferred. Although I generally hate being hot, when I'm on vacation, it's a whole different ball game. We honeymooned in Costa Rica and I would love to return there as well as visit Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, any of the islands in the Caribbean. Who am I kidding? I would love to go anywhere. We haven't had a real vacation since I was 7 months pregnant with Boo Bear and before that it was our honeymoon.

4. All about you: What would the title of your autobiography be? When will it be written (now vs. when you are retired)? Will you talk about the adventures of your youth, the discoveries of your adult life, all of the above?
That's a tough one. Despite writing on this here blog for the whole world to see, I don't know if I could write a coherent book about my life. I think it would definitely have to wait until I retire so that I could really focus on the book. I would include my entire life, the adventures of childhood, the craziness of college, the growing as a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend. I have been told I have lived a pretty interesting life, sometimes hard, sometimes wonderful, but always mine. In fact, that sounds like a good title for an autobiography, Life: Always Mine.

5. Looking glass: You seem to have a passion for photography. When did this start? Do you see something as beautiful and want to capture it or do you see it differently through a lens?

I don't know when my passion for photography started. I have always enjoyed taking pictures, but didn't really show an aptitude for it until about 5 or 6 years ago. I would love to learn more about photography, maybe even go to school and become a professional photographer. But alas, my job right now is to raise my children. Maybe someday.

I usually see something with my naked eye and want to shoot it. My skills are not such that I can make the photo fully reflect what it is I am seeing in my eye. But I try. One of the main things I have learned is that lighting is the number one thing (for me, because I don't know enough or have enough control of aperture and shutter speed) for me to take into consideration when shooting. If I have good light, I can shoot good pictures. I shoot still, inanimate objects better than moving objects or people due to the fact again that I have such a long shutter lag on my point and shoot. Someday I hope to get a digital SLR, but now can't justify the cost.

Now that was fun!!!! And it gave me something to post on this here blog that I have neglected so terribly lately. If you are interested in me interviewing you, leave me a comment to that affect and I will do my best to make you think as much as Becky has made me think.

What has been really going on...

Well, my last couple of posts have been vague and kind of filler because I have had some major changes going on in my life, but had to share it with family and friends before I could share it with the blog world.

The first thing has changed my life beyond anything that has ever happened in my life. On June 20th I committed my life to Christ and became a Christian. This has been a long journey. My husband became a Christian about 2 years into our marriage. He was not a Christian per se when we met, started dating or got married. I was raised for the most part Jewish, so needless to say, this has been a major change. Someday soon, I will share my full testimony, but at this time, there is so much to share and it is such a long story that I have to pare it down to share on here.

In other news...

So, what's new with you?

Pet Peeve of the Day

I had to make a trip to the mall today to buy some makeup and some other things. Our particular mall has 3 major escalators and 2 elevators, not to mention escalators within the department stores. As I pull up to the elevator with Boo Bear in the stroller, more and more people begin to pile up around the elevator. They crowd in front of the door. This drives me crazy anywhere because, duh, people have to get off when those doors open. But the part that drives me the most crazy is that over 75% of the people that get on the elevator with me are people who look to me like they can a) walk just fine b)are capable of using an escalator and c) are not in a position where they are forced to use the elevator(i.e. no wheelchair or stroller). I would happily use the escalator; it's faster, even if you have to walk a little bit farther, but you see, I CAN'T! I have this toddler in a stroller that as much as I might enjoy teetering along on the escalator, them escalator peoples frown on doing that. It's not safe, so you see I have to use the elevator.

So do me a favor, if you must use the elevator, you lazy bum, please stand back, allow the current occupants off in a polite fashion -- don't worry we will all get on, unless of course you are a jerk and take up all the room, so that mothers with strollers cannot get on. And politely holding the door so that a mother who, although she wishes she had 4 arms, doesn't, so it's easiest if someone helps hold the door so that it doesn't close on her. Thank you.

What gets your blood pressure up?

Under Construction

Page under construction, please pardon our lack of ability in blog design.

Because I lack anything profound to say...

Before I get to the good stuff, if anyone knows how to fix this here blog, let me know. The design was done by a company that is no longer in business and I can't get a hold of the designer. The images are stored who knows where. Any ideas?

Now to what you really want to see. I took Boo Bear to get pictures done for Father's Day. Here are some of the shots. Don't ever go to Picture People, that's all I'm gonna say about that.

My little cell phone hog.

Look at all those teeth!

Hanging at the Grill.

Patriotic

There you go, a little update with pictures. Boo Bear turns 1.5 this Sunday. Where has the time gone?

Where in the world have I been?

Apparently one person misses me! Thanks Leah for wondering!!!!

Where have I been? I have been living a very busy life lately, some of it very exciting, some of it draining, and some of it life-changing. (No, I am not pregnant.)

In as short form as I can, here are some bullet points from the last month. Wow, over a month since I last posted.

• Work, work, work and work.
• Helping to take care of my grandmother in NM.
• MIL two ruptured discs in neck. Very bad. No babysitter, also.
• Broken toilet, flooded bathroom, hallway and my closet. Still not fixed.
• Volunteered at Vacation Bible School. 4&5 year olds helped to teach me patience.
• Swim lessons with Boo Bear.
• July 4th, duh!

That is the basics. Of course there is more than just that, but life has been ticking along at a great pace and I am blessed every day.

Next week Boo Bear will turn a year and a half. Where does the time go? She is really starting to talk more and her vocabulary consists of saying everything twice. Bubbles, Bye-bye, cold, car, go, diaper, tada, baby, Mama, Dada, Pop, and a couple more I can't remember. She of course babbles along in her own little language.

The last couple of days we have been struggling to get her to eat anything other than bread or grapes or bananas. I realized that she was living off of carbs and fruit. So we are working on protein/meat and vegetables. Let's just say, it is a lesson once again in patience.

Boo Bear 4 Mom 1

Anyways, there is always more to write and more to do. I will try and write more often for you Leah and who ever else might still read this here blog.

It's been one of these days...

One of those days that leaves you spent. Leaves you longing for the life before... before kids... before marriage, when all you had to worry about was yourself. Feeding yourself, listening to yourself, doing what you wanted, when you wanted. I just thought I knew what multi-tasking was back then. Now multi-tasking has a whole new meaning. Like a circus freak of multi-tasking, I take on too much and let the side show take over.

When I am like this, Boo Bear feeds off it and then I feed off of her. She is almost a year and a half and still isn't talking much which leaves her major form of communication whining. I hate whining. She is also really beginning to test boundaries, although she has really been doing this since she could crawl and reach for things.

I am tired of saying no and no and no and don't and no and no again. I am tired of having to take things away and pull her down from places and I am tired of the screaming and the crying and the whining and rinse repeat all over again. I am tired of having to try and juggle working from home and keeping her occupied and moving her focus every 2 minutes while answering the phone and trying to cook dinner and keep a clean house and find time for work and faith and my husband and not to mention myself. Time for myself? What's that?

I wish I had more patience with my daughter because I know that the less patience I have, the more I yell and the more she screams and I hate being like this. My husband is so patient and good with her and she minds him completely different than she does me and I know that I am a large reason for this and I want to change, but not sure how to even begin other than praying, which I guess is a start.

Tell me I'm not the only one. Please!

ah, ah, ahhhhh CHOO!!!

It's been one of those weeks. Those letters strung together in the title sum it up. I have been recovering from a sinus infection, Boo Bear has had an ear infection, followed closely by a cold. And to put the cherry on the proverbial sundae of life, I have had two trips to the allergist this week to determine if I am, in fact, allergic to shellfish.

Monday at the allergist they tested me for environmentally allergies. If you have never had allergy testing, I don't recommend it. The test involves the undressing of the upper portion of your body. You lay down on the table and a nurse comes in with a tray full of little needles that have been marinating in allergens. She then proceeds to stab you in the back 50 or so times, give or take 5 or 6. Then you lay there for twenty minutes to see what kind of reaction you have. I immediatly started itching and when they checked me about halfway through the twenty minute time period, the nurse called out in the hall, "There are too many for me to memorize." Fabulous.

Wednesday I went back and not only did they retest me for everything that I was negative for on Monday, 46 or so, they tested me for the food allergies. Another 50 or so pokes. This time the retest for the environmental allergies wasn't quite as non-intrusive. This time, they stick that little marinated needle under your skin and scratch. Fun stuff. Like 50 little bitty shots. In your back. Once again, I reacted almost immediately and the nurse actually had to put Hydrocortisone cream on me midway, some of my spots were so bad. She comes back into check me at the end and is marking down on a scale how bad my reactions are. We had a couple, of negatives, not many though. We had a couple of, "As big as they can get," and a couple of "Not so bads." At one point the nurse said, "Well, at least you aren't allergic to chocolate." I responded, "I would rather have shellfish than chocolate." She thought I was crazy as I am sure many of you will. My family is big on seafood. Every celebration, birthday's, graduations, etc are always at a seafood restaurant. I have been eating shellfish my entire life. But no more. I am officially allergic to shrimp, lobster and crab. I didn't react to oysters or scallops or clams, but the doc warned me to be careful and the thought of having to stab myself in the leg with an Epi-Pen, well, it just isn't worth it.

When the nurse came in and handed me the list of all the things they tested me for with the things I am allergic to checked, I just sat there and laughed. It's all I could do. I am a walking allergy. Take a look. Behold the list of things I am allergic to:

Click it to big it.

Pretty funny isn't it? It's amazing that I don't get sick more often. He wants to put me on some daily meds as well as allergy shots. I am not sure what I want to do. I don't generally like taking medication on an ongoing basis and I certainly am not wild about shots. Anyone have any experience in this domain. Any alternative treatments you might recommend?

Dear Internet

It's been way too long since my last confession, I mean post. Life has been a little hectic, but isn't that always the case.

The past two weeks have been a roller coaster ride of mass proportions. The kind of ride that leaves you feeling spent and not quite sure you enjoyed it at all. The week before Mother's Day I got a call on Wednesday that my grandmother had fallen again. She was okay, didn't break anything, thanks to God, but her mental state was not good. She is still in a lot of pain from her hip replacement in October and the move to NM was hard on her. My sister said she was telling people good-bye, so Boo Bear and I hopped on a plane that day and went to see her. My grandmother has always been a major influence in my life, whether I realized it or not. As a child, I would visit her and my grandfather at their lake house in Austin. I loved that house. I felt safe and comfortable in that house. We would swim in the lake and go out on the boat and jump of the docks and fish. Grandpa and I would go dig in the garden for worms and then head down the 100 steps to the dock. I would bait my hook and drop it in the water and when I caught the fish, grandpa would take it off the hook for me. I didn't like touching the fish, so grandpa always had to do that part, but I could bait that hook!

As I got older, I would take trips with them to Ghost Ranch. This was the closest I ever got to going to sleep away camp. I had my first major crush here. He was the son of the owners and everyone knew him. His name was Josh and boy was he cute. The two or three summers I went with my grandparents and once or twice with my Mom, were some of the best summer memories I have. I got hit in the nose with a soft ball here. I discovered pizza with pineapple on it here. I drank my first beer here. Good times.

Grandpa passed away my senior year in high school and I still cry every time I think about him. I learned to eat my eggs with ketchup from my grandpa and of course how to bait a hook. I miss him terribly still and I wish he could have met his great grandkids. The would have loved him.

If it wasn't for Grandma, I probably would have never finished college. At times I worked 3 jobs and went to school full time. I lived with Grandma a couple of times throughout my 6 year tenure at UT and didn't visit nearly enough when I wasn't living there. But it was the monthly allowance she started giving me so that I didn't have to work so much that saved me. When she fell in October, I went to care for her for a week. This was very difficult for me, seeing her bedridden. Harder still was moving her to NM, packing up her house and closing the doors for the last time. Hubby and I were the last people to in our family to be in that house and I cried and cried as we left. Never again to be in that house with my grandparents was very hard.

Seeing her last week was hard. She doesn't want to live anymore, but she is healthy as a horse so it looks like she is going to stick around for awhile longer, God willing. It was very hard to say good-bye not knowing if it would be the last time I saw her, but I'm so thankful that I was able to go when I did and at least know that if she goes soon, I saw her one last time.

We got back home at 9:30 PM on Mother's Day, not exactly a stellar day. Boo Bear did great on the flights and I am so glad that I had understanding people next to me both trips. We both came home sick, her with an ear infection and me with a sinus infection. So throw in trips to two doctors, a bad reaction to the medicine they gave me, on top of catching up at work and last week was a bundle of fun. Definitely the part of the roller coaster where your stomach drops.

Other updates in the form of one long run on sentence basically.

Boo Bear turned 16 months last week. My baby really isn't a baby anymore, but a little girl. This week her Nana B is here visiting so once again, we are busy with family, which is wonderful. Hubby I think has finally found a reliable manager which means that he actually gets two days off a week, one of which we actually get to spend together as a family.

With that long post, I will leave you with this.

A Girl and Her Gorilla. Yes, that is an eyeball in the background.

The End

No, not of me or this blog, although with my lack of posting you might think so. And fairly enough. I am currently watching the Series finale of Gilmore Girls. Bummer, deep down, sad bummer.

Much has been going on, very busy with life. Will post something real soon. When I stop blowing my nose to death.

Things I never thought I would do...

In my early twenties I was cool. Or at least I thought I was. I thought I would never give up the all nighters. I would never ease up on my lead foot, I would never do this or that or the other...

There are always things we think we will never do.

Things like...

I never thought I would like watching the Food Network, until I became a Mom and started cooking every night. Okay, almost every night.
Speaking of...I never thought I would cook dinner every night.
I never thought my husband would call me a good cook. (Or anyone call me a good cook for that matter.)
I never thought I would ever think a child leash would be a good idea, until I had a baby who never stops moving and refuses to hold my hand.
I never thought I would use a pacifier, until I had a sucker of a baby.
I never thought that playing with my daughter would be better than a night on the town.
I never thought that I would drive below the speed limit, just to be safe. (Okay, maybe not below the speed limit, but at the speed limit is pretty good. )
I never thought that being able to go grocery shopping by myself would be considered a break from the grind.
I never thought that a gir's night out might be more trouble than just staying home with my family.
I never thought that I would share my thoughts, ideas and everything else with the world.

What did you never think you would do when you were young?

ModMommy Giveaways

ModMom is sharing the linky love with all the blogger moms out there for mother's day as well as giving away some fun stuff. So if you want to take part, check out her site for more information. If you want linky love you will need to create a banner or button that represents your blog and send it to her with the link to your blog. Let me know if you need help with that part. I am no design diva, but I dabble. And take part in all her giveaways, there's some neat stuff.

MIA... the ongoing edition

I started this post two weeks ago. Sorry I'm such a schlump.

Man, it has been awhile since I was here. Last week (beginning of April) brought trips to Shreveport and Las Vegas and this week brings trips to Corpus Christi and back and 24 hours. I'm beat. Throw in normal everyday life, work and homeowners board duties and I'm plum worn out. We of course had Easter, Boo Bear's first Easter as an active participant. She probably would have been happy with one egg as she carried that one, first found egg around most of the day and was really more happy taking eggs out of her basket rather than putting them in. We had fun though.

See:

Yesterday, (two weeks ago now)we took Boo Bear for her first hair cut. I was a little worried about the whole thing. Not so much about how she would do, but more about how I would do and how I felt about the whole cutting of the hair. My baby's hair. As my step mom said, it's so hard, because we love every single little bitty hair on their heads. And we grew that hair. I did okay, she did wonderfully and we had our first haircut done in under 10 minutes. She did not fuss or squirm a bit. I think she looks much older now and is really no longer my little baby, more my little girl. She also looks more like her father again. Almost just like him at this same age, except he didn't have the pigtails.

Sorry that is all I have for now, but I am still catching up from last week and have a play date today, so off for now. Hope you are all doing well and I hope to catch up soon!

Update on the completely lame update: Just been busy here with normal, everyday life. Projects and such, but hopefully soon I can return to blogging on a normal basis.

I should really post something already

Yeah, I should, but I ain't got nothing good to say and you know how the saying goes...

Been busy with work and some play and homeowners board duties and The Sick. Yes, The Sick came to visit us a month ago and seems to like it around here. It started with Boo Bear's ear infection and then I got strep throat and now she has Roseola in full force, complete with fever and rash, oh goodness the rash. She is covered from head to toe now with these little red dots and I thank God that they do not itch and they don't bother her. The fever isn't so bad although it worries me. Am I the only one who thinks that only treating a fever over 101 and only being concerned if the fever is over 104 is CRAZY!!!! My child rarely runs fever unless she is teething (which is what she was doing until The Rash showed up) so a fever over 100 concerns me. I know I'm a first time parent and all and I probably won't be such a worrier with the next one, but I hate calling the doctor's office and having them tell me to just give her Tylenol if her fever is over 101.

This Rowdy Roseola Rash is thankfully not bothering Boo Bear at all, but is putting a major kink in my very busy schedule this week. I had to cancel a work meeting today due to the lovely Ms. Rash. We are supposed to go out of town this weekend for my grandmother's 89th birthday, but if Boo Bear still has rash, it's a no go. Nana won't be around forever and I don't get to see her that often so I really wanted to go. I also have a work trip to Vegas next Wednesday that I will be pretty stuck if she isn't better by then. The doc says because it's viral, who knows how long it could take to go away. That's helpful. So I will sit here and pray that the Rowdy Rash goes down the drain soon.

See, told you I should have kept it all to myself.

So, what's new with you?

She's just like her father...

I brought the dust buster out yesterday to clean up the dirt that went everywhere when Boo Bear picked up the rug that sits in front of the kitchen sink to wear as a hat. I proceeded to have to play keep away from her to get the mess cleaned up and then I gave her the dust buster to play with, after I turned it off. I walked into the living to check in on work email and was sitting there responding to an email when Boo Bear walks in and hands me the filter for the dust buster. She had the filter in one hand and a handful of dirt and dust in the other. She had taken the thing apart. Just like her father.

Month 14

Dear Boo Bear:

You turned 14 months old today and are growing and learning so many new things everyday. First off, I still call you Boo Bear here most of the time, but in reality we call you Boo Ba mostly. I don't know how, but it stuck. Sorry kid, at least it isn't Shooter like your father calls me or Bean which is what my parents called me.

We have been having a rough couple of weeks. You got your first ear infections (both ears) last week. I knew you were sick because you let me hold you all day which you will normally only tolerate for about 30 seconds unless its really your choice, like when I'm in the middle of cooking dinner. You have handled being sick so well and I am so blessed with your temperment. I have also been blessed this week with my first bout of strep throat since about 1995. Fun stuff. Needless to say, our patience levels on both sides have been waning.

You are never without something in both of your hands. You like to walk around with say a toy in one hand and my deoderant in the other. Or my bra in one hand and myy underwear in the other. (No comments about my unders laying around)You are in constant motion, always from one place to the next, stopping only to pick something up or put something down.

You have started saying some "words" lately. Your favorite of course corresponding with your favorite food, bananas. You will sit under the counter where we keep the bananas and say "na, na" or will hold out while you are eating something else, hoping that if you don't eat what is set before you, I will give you a banana. I had to withhold them for a couple of days because you were getting so no matter what I fed you, you would refuse to eat it and sit your high chair saying, "na" over and over.

You have finally started saying bye bye, but only after the person has already left the room or your site. It's more close to "ba ba", but none the less, it's a farewell. You have continued to use "Gah" for all things animal, especially cats, but also for all other animals. You have started saying "baa" for bird though, I think. You have also started stringing the sound "ca" together over and over, "cacacacacaca". That's a lot of caca.

My favorite thing you say right now though has got to be when I ask you what the cow says and you say, "maaooo."

Melts my heart that right there. Of course, that is also what the cat says and the dog says and the pig and so on, but that's okay, it's so darn cute.

You are great at playing by yourself most of the time and will pull toys out of your toybox and bring them to me to show me. You love to open up books, put something inside them and then close the book on whatever it is you have shoved in there.

You have a newfound love for closing doors as well, along with cabinets and drawers. I encourage this most of the time, except for when you go into the dark laundry room and close me out. That big iron coat rack would hurt if it fell on you. You don't seem to mind the dark or the aloneness though and will promplty run to the other side of the room after you close the door.

You are really beginning to understand more lately. Yesterday I told you to go get your cup off the chair in the kitchen and you walked right over there and did it. I just kind of sat there with my mouth hanging open. I know you understand more than you let on too, you little stinker.

Lately one of my biggest patience drainers has been this scream you like to do. It's to get my attention it seems like, but you do it a lot when I am changing your diaper. It's a short, very loud, agh and you do it repeatedly, wearing me out completely. I have tried telling you "no" in a stern voice. I have tried telling you quiet voice while showing you what a quiet voice is. I have tried giving you a little pop on your butt and even (no so proud of this one) squeezing your cheeks. I have also tried the ignore it approach and in the car, the turn up the radio really loud approach. Nothing works. I know consistency is key, so I am really working on the quiet voice approach, but girl you are killing me with the screaming, especially right now with my aching head and 100 degree fever. I try to realize that you are having trouble communicating your needs and wants right now, but let's work on something else, please.

You are growing so fast and I can't believe we've come so far so fast. To think a year and a half ago, you were just a bump in my belly, an imagined dream and now you are so real. Your smile, with your 7-8 teeth is so cute, cashiers everywhere comment on it. At least now I know I'm not totally biased. Your laugh is the best sound in the world and I wish I could hear it more. You love to watch your daddy kick things around the room. This never fails to get a laugh out of you. You also love to jump around on the bed and will wear yourself out going from one side of our bed to the other, climbing over pillows and plopping yourself down face first.

I am so torn between work and being a mom and a wife and I feel like I don't always give you the best that I can. I'm sorry baby, I will always try to do better. Please forgive me for the times that I'm a bad mommy. Know that I love you very much and will do anything for you.

Love,
Mama

Announcing...Announce The Bump

The project? The super secret, but not really, project. It's ready to be revealed. I have started a new Cafepress store called announce the bump that features products for announcing that you are expecting. There are sections for Moms To Be, Duds for Dad, Kids Korner and Fabulous Family. I have also started a blog to share announcement stories, announce the bump blog. So go on over and check them out. Both are linked over on the side bar there, go on, you know you want to, and check it out. I would love to hear your feedback and thoughts on the store and the blog. Send me an email at shootersstation (@) gmail (dot) com (you know the drill, no parentheses, no spaces) with your thoughts on the two new sites. If you want to share your announcement story and pictures, send those to me at announcethebump (@) gmail (dot) com.

There, the secret is out. I am very excited about this new shop and I even sold something before I started promoting it anywhere. Please share with friends and family who might be interested and thanks for your support!