I am moving my blog. A friend of mine uses Wordpess and loves it so I did some looking around and decided to give it a try. Come visit me there and please update your bookmarks, links, etc...
http://kidsandcrittersinwyoming.wordpress.com/
I have a couple of posts in draft but after reading Slacker Mom's posts regarding parenting lately, this one seemed the most appropriate...
Joey is such a sweet, kind, generous kid... In fact he's me, he's TOO generous, TOO trusting, TOO kind. At only 7 he's being taken advantage of by some boys he's made friends with. Don't get me wrong, he can be a brat like every other kid so I don't always jump to take his side in things. The only reason this is becoming a problem is because his dad and I are seeing it. He doesn't see it, he's too young, it's beyond his 7-year-old comprehension.
So, what's going on? Over the Summer he made friends with two boys in the neighborhood. They're both 9 so a little older. I was THRILLED!! There are NO kid in our neighborhood, so for him to have someone to play with was just awesome!! The problem is the one seems to be really manipulative. I think he sees Joey as being younger and an easy target. He spent two nights here and we saw a lot of things going on that were rather concerning.
First of all, they got Joey hooked on Pokemon cards. Both boys were nice enough to give him a few starter cards, and he was so appreciative. The next thing we know we hear conversations about money changing hands for cards. One of the boys figured out Joey was clueless so he started bargaining with him. He'd give him "very rare cards" worth "$45" for $5 a card! I have to admit I'm clueless, but I put the kabosh on that. It really felt like Joey was getting ripped off so we told him he could buy his own cards with his own money from the store or get them for his birthday.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, Joey has saved up his chore money to buy his own cards. Next thing you know the other boy is wanting to "trade" cards or "battle" for cards to get Joey's cards. I know that's the point of the cards, but what got me is the day Joey got his first cards the other boy says "wow, you really don't have any powerful cards in here, they're all just standard cards". Well, if that's the case why do you want so badly to trade him??
So we told Joey to hold on to his cards and try to learn a bit more about them. Joe even found him a book telling which cards were truly the better cards.
Next thing we know while the other boy is spending the night Joey says "my mom said I shouldn't trade cards" so the other boy gets mad and wants the original cards he gave Joey back. They asked me to mediate and I said if he wanted them back Joey would give them back but that wasn't very nice since he gave them to him.
At that point I had a semi conversation with the other boy about taking advantage of Joey. I just said "Joey's a little new to this so maybe rather than trading cards you can tell him why his cards are good or bad and teach him something".
So we fast forward about a month. We went to Arizona to visit my dying grandfather and be with my family. While we were there Joey was the only kid for the first few days and my grandpa is really ill. His hospital bed is in the living room behind a partition my uncle built, it won't fit in the bedroom. So Joey has to be really quiet and he's doing an exceptional job of it. So I had to run to Wal-Mart in Page, AZ for my mom and while I was there I picked up a couple of new packets of cards for Joey to keep him busy. Two days later the rest of the kids got there and my cousin's kids had Nintendo DS machines. Joey has wanted one for just EVER and he's been saving his money for one. He and my nephew had been so awesome, they were quiet and respectful, etc... So my mom decided to buy them each a DS to play the remainder of the time after my cousin's kids left, and to play on the 18 hour drive home. Joey didn't stop playing with that thing for 2 days. HE LOVES IT!! On the drive home after a few hours we had to make him shut it off to take a break. It went that way the whole way home!
So we get home and the boys show up. They are excited to see Joey and he's excited to show them his new cards, etc... The first thing we hear I kid you not is, "hey let's trade". I said no and as soon as they left I told Joey if they want to trade they must be good cards and he should wait for his book to get here before he trades or battles.
Yesterday Joe goes to make lunch for Elizabeth and he moves Joey's DS case and the DS isn't in it. Joey's in BIG trouble, he snuck it to school. Well, that's bad enough but when he gets home we say "have anything to tell us?" Guess what he says?? "I gave my DS to XXX for the day". WOW!!! Of course he was sent to get it immediately and got it taken away. So Joe and I are thinking, WHAT could make Joey part with that game machine??? He swears it's nothing and we know better but we figure it will come out. Today Joey gets off the bus visibly upset and I finally get him to tell me his friend XXX is mad at him because he gave him 3 Pokemon cards for the DS for the day and Joey didn't hold up his end of the bargain!! We made him take the cards down to him and give them back.
So, my opinion here is this kid is taking advantage of Joey right and left and Joey's both too young and too generous to see it. My question for you is...
Do I step in and speak to both boys? Do I let them work it out?
There are a few other things here as well of course, the biggest being the other boy wrote out some note saying "I hate Joey" so we found that note and one Joey wrote saying "I hate XXX" in his room He says it was a joke. I don't know that it was and I despise the word "hate" and obviously it's not something friends say to each other.
I am really torn here. I used to loathe my dad picking my friends, he was horrible at it and for years if he didn't like someone I would not be their friend. Then one day I stopped living for him and started picking friends I knew he'd disapprove of to "stick it to him". Obviously I went way to the other end of the spectrum and I'm still friends with a lot of those people today, but I can see now that he was trying to protect me.
I don't want to "pick his friends" but I don't want him to be treated poorly and taken advantage of like I was either. What do I do??
I don't usually blog about things like this, but this just has me irked...
Joey is a HUGE fan of both High School Musicals. He's eagerly anticipating the finalization of the contract negotiations an waiting for news of a release date.
I am just irritated they are making such a big deal out of this. I obviously went immediately to my parental controls and blocked her name from the search engines so my curious 7-year-old wouldn't stumble on to her photos, but come on people!!
She's an 18-year-old girl who took a photo for her boyfriend. How was she supposed to know it was going to get out? I'm sure one of their friends hers or his, made a bundle off of those photos. Those are the people who should be ashamed.
I am livid at the statement Disney released today. Here's a clip from it I read on Us Weekly Online:
"Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."
Now there are of course rumors they'll boot her from HSM3. I personally will be disgusted if they do. Why am I taking this stance?
1. This is the same channel that aired "The Princess Diaries" and "The Princess Diaries 2" AND "Ella Enchanted" about 19 times in the last month. Did they not see Anne Hathaway's performance in "Brokeback Mountain"?? HELLO PEOPLE!! Her role in that movie was WAY worse than a silly nude camera phone photo. I guess it's different because she got paid for it??
2. What lesson should she learn exactly? That's it's not OK for her to have a private life? That her friends or someone else she trusted will sell her out?
3. She stood up, admitted the photos were her, and apologized. That's more than a lot of stars have done in similar situations.
4. Disney isn't all "Original Disney Movies" and cartoons people. They own other broadcasting companies. They own ABC. The same station that kept Rosie O'Donnell on the air and kept Isaiah Washington on staff. He only got fired because other cast members were threatening to leave. It's also the same station that airs all kinds of shows that really push the limits of what's acceptable on cable TV and the same station that airs soaps like "General Hospital" that just had "The Girls Next Door" on during an episode.
My thoughts I guess are, Disney isn't exactly in the position to be acting as a moral compass and if they decide to stop contract negotiations with Vanessa and ruins HSM3 because she took a private photo for her boyfriend, I will just be ticked. First of all, it will break my son's heart as he LOVES those movies and the cast and has NO clue what she's done or why anyone would care, and 2nd it would just be so dang hypocritical.
I don't know why it bothers me. Usually I ignore these kinds of things. I of course have an opinion when I read stories in magazines or on the tabloid blogs, but usually they don't bother me. This one has.
So, what are your thoughts?
I know it's been FOREVER since I've posted, but I just didn't have the time...
So, a quick summary of what I've been up to before we get back down to real blogging business...
1. Thank you ALL for voting for Lizzie! She didn't win, but she did get one of the 5th place prizes. I think lots of kids did, but we're not complaining. :) She got a gift card to snapfish for free prints, a gift card to HP, and a certificate.
2. My niece was here for a month visiting her dad so she was over here during the day most days. Most days I had her and my older nephew. It was really crazy around here. You don't realize how it can wear you out to have extra kids, and they're old enough they keep themselves occupied, but just them running in and out and moderating them wore me out!!
My niece is getting SO grown up. She's almost 12 now. She LOVED the babies, Lizzie loved her so much, it was a ton of fun.
3. My niece spilled a cup of coffee on my lap top and fried it. That stunk!! You don't realize how dependant on them you become until you have to revert to the desk top!! With 4 kids in and out all day I didn't have any time to blog or anything else!! So, my new lap top got here last week, thank goodness!!
4. Joe broke his foot on the 5th of July. He got home from his rotation in the Gulf on the 4th and broke his foot on the 5th. That STUNK!! He had surgery the following Monday and I had an extra kid in him!
5. My baby girl turned one year old on August 11th. I am just blown away by how the time is flying by. It feels like she's always been here. That's another post in itself! I have pictures from the Summer to post but they're still on the zip drive from the other lap top so I'll get them pulled off ASAP.
6. School's back in session. WHEW! My niece went home, my older nephew started kindergarten, and the neighborhood boys are here only 3 hours a day instead of 8-10! Not to mention it's SO quiet around here during the day!! Lizzie and I are having a good time during the day. She's trying to walk, she's walking around furniture and standing on her own. I think she'll be walking any day now. She's eating toddler meals and table food and only having formula right before bed. She's in to everything, learning new words every day, and just amazing to watch. She's so much fun right now!! She's starting to test her limites and boundaries and has her own little brand of temper now. :o)
7. This last week and a half has been a tough one. My mom's step dad has alcohol induced hepatitis and a severely damaged liver, he had to give up liquor completely, one more drink will kill him, he's what you would call a "functional alcoholic". He doesn't drink until he's drunk and he's been drinking for YEARS, but he drinks enough it's killing him. So far he's doing very well, the doctors sufficiently scared him and he doesn't want to die that way, so he hasn't so much as thought about having a drink in two full weeks. The damage is done and it may be too late, but he can buy himself time by not ever having another drink. We are holding our breath and praying he can really stick with his lifestyle change. He's an ornery old man but he's ours and we don't want to lose him. My mom's step mom has been really sick as well, nothing life threatening, she had gall stones and as a diabetic didn't handle the surgery well. And as if that wasn't enough, we found out today that my great grandfather is dying. He's in congestive heart failure. His aorta is not functioning, he needs open heart surgery but he can't survive it. So they said his time is short. I am devastated about this. I know I am so lucky to have great grandparents still alive. They have been a HUGE part of my life, until about 7 years ago they traveled every year and stopped in here for a week or two. I have a really close, really large family on both sides. I have 3 sets of grandparents living and the one set of great grandparents. Every 3 years we have reunions on my maternal grandmother's side of the family. We haven't had one since I was pregnant with Joey. My great grandparents just haven't been able to make the trips any more. It appears that one will have been the last and we didn't even know it. We haven't seen my great grandparents since my brother's wedding. Joey was a baby, my nephew wasn't born yet, and we didn't have Elizabeth. I am really struggling with the thought my grandpa will die before he gets to know my daughter. I am struggling with the fact my kids don't know them, that they missed out on having this two amazingly loving people in their lives as much as we did. They have been married 60 + years. My grandma will not live much longer than my grandpa. They're one of those couples who live for each other, so we all know and are prepared for that fact. Being prepared for it, knowing it's coming, knowing he's (they) are ready doesn't make it any less painful for me. At this point I can't take my kids down there. School aside, my grandparents are just not up to company in the form of small children.
And, finally, so as not to end this on a depressing note...
A few really great things have happened in the past few weeks.
Joey is doing well at school. I think the Summer enrichment program helped him a lot. It kept him in that "I must sit still and control my boredom" mind set and so far he's doing very well. He went to a birthday party tonight for a little girl in his class. He was the ONLY boy there. ;o) He's a little ladies man. Apparently one of the girls has a crush on him.
Joe took a new job yesterday. He will be a "principal technical instructor". He will be traveling only about 10 days out of every 45, working out of the house when he's not out teaching actual courses, and it's a large jump in pay. He'll be out of the field and behind a desk which really makes me happy. He'll be instructing the guys who have been working for Halliburton for a while, he'll be teaching them how to figure out how much and what kind of cement to pump in to holes so they can also move up the ladder. His best friend had this job but he moved up to teaching the next level of classes and asked Joe to take over his job. It's a really good job and a really good opportunity so we're excited. It means he'll be home A TON more which might drive me nuts, but it's a big step up the ladder.
And last but not least, one of my dear friends brought her son home from Vietnam this week!! I am SO excited for her!! She's been waiting a long time to become a mommy and there's no one I can think of who will be better at it!! He's an amazingly beautiful baby and I am just SO happy for them!! So, congrats to them and lots of love!!
I promise to get back in to the swing of my blogging now and not take such a long break again! :o)
I entered one of Elizabeth's photos in an HP photo contest. It's a photo I've LOVED for the longest time so it was fun to enter! If it's not too much trouble would you vote for her? You can vote by going: HERE Or you can just click the picture below
You'll have to vote by clicking the stars, it doesn't light up for you or anything so it is hard to tell you voted, it should put a little box around the star you choose, then it will ask you to type in the letters in the pop up box to verify you're a person and not a bot. If you'd vote for her we'd so appreciate it and we'll totally return the favor!! :o)
The picture I entered is below...
Again this week I didn't gain or lose a thing. I think it's safe to say I've hit a plateau. It's frustrating but I will get around it. We have Relay for Life this weekend and I usually end up walking a lot, if the weather is nice maybe I'll get a boost from that!
I got tagged for "8 random things about me"
I stole the rules from Terra cuz I'm too lazy to type them out...
The object of the game is to blog “8 Random Facts About Myself”. Here are the rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
I'm not sure who I have to tag since the blogs I read are busy blogs but I'll try!
Anyhow, on to the random facts about boring old me...
1. I am OCD I hate clutter and disorder but I'm also a chronic depressive so when things get out of order I pull the covers up over my head and ignore it. Not a good combination!!
2. I like yard work, my hubby and I fight over who will mow the yard because we both enjoy it. This year I haven't spent much time outside yet because it's been raining and icky, but I am itching to get out there. I could do without pooper scooper duty but I like yard work.
3. I like to draw wild life to my yard. I have about 10 bird feeders and have lots of cool birds in my yard, Robins, all colors of Finch including yellow, blue, and red, Turtle Doves, Sparrows, etc... I also have two squirrel feeders on my fence and I love to have my coffee on the back deck in the Summer and watch the squirrels and birds. Lately we have bunnies all over the place so my neighbor and I are both putting some hay out for them and they're eating our hedges that we hate so it works out well!
4. I live in sweats and t-shirts. I only put on real clothes if I'm going out and then I change as soon as I get home. I would rather be comfy than stylish.
5. I like to read People and US Magazine. I read the online versions every day.
6. I am an avid fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (the TV shows) I never missed an episode of either and have all episodes and all seasons on DVD. When I'm folding laundry I like to break them out and watch my favorites or start all over from the beginning. I'm not ashamed to admit it. David Boreanaz is my dream man, he's just amazingly hunky!
7. I love our weather this time of year which probably qualifies me for the looney bin. Today we had 8 tornadoes touch down in various areas, all on the outskirts of town but it was intense. Rarely do we get anything major in town but we do get wicked thunderstorms with hail, lightening, and wind. I just LOVE to watch them, not so keen on the damage they can cause but I love to watch the clouds and weather move in. Mother Nature at its best, it's just amazing. We'll have severe afternoon thunderstorms from now until August so it's an every day thing and we have had a couple really damaging storms move through, but for the most part they're just amazing forces of nature.
8. I will be 30 in less than a month. I used to think 30 was older than dirt, now 50 looks very young!
I tag anyone who wants to participate. I truly don't think I read 8 blogs that would have time to participate so if you want to do this, please consider yourself tagged!
I didn't gain or lose anything this week thank goodness!! We had family in town from everywhere for my cousin's graduation this weekend, they all started getting here on Wednesday and I paid VERY little attention to my diet all week. I figured I'd gain and I was OK with that since I haven't had even a little slip in months, I am happy that I didn't gain or lose! YAY ME!
Oh, and I am ALIVE, my DSL router went kablooey so my time online is very touch and go! Right now I am only on because one of my neighbors apparently has an unprotected wireless connection that my lap top picked up!
I'm a little late for my weigh-in this week because it's been a long week, but I lost 7 lbs. last week. That's more than I expected to lose and more than is probably healthy at this point but I was still trying to kick my pneumonia and still didn't have much of an appetite. I expect my loss to be less this week.
How did everyone else do?
Janice and Susan are having contests every day from now until Mother's Day and let me tell you, if the first contest is any indication, the loot rocks!! Stop on over there and get yourself entered!! :o) Just click the button below!! I'm leaving this post as a sticky until the 13th so scroll down for current posts!
I can't get the button to work in my sidebar for some reason so for now it's in this post!
I am a couple of days late with my post because I can't shake this pneumonia, but I really wanted to get it up today!
I am joining the "May Day Weight Loss Challenge" over at Tales from the Scales. I've been dieting and doing Weight Watchers for a while now. I've lost a total of 18 lbs. with another 40 to go to reach my ultimate goal weight. I would really like to be close to my goal by Christmas.
The May Day Weight Loss Challenge ends on September 18 and by then I should be really close to my goal weight.
How am I losing the weight? What are my goals?
1. Portion control - that's a big one for me and something I've been doing very well at
2. Cut out soda - I am not a sweets person but I drink a few sodas so I've cut that way down to maybe one a week.
3. Weight Watchers - I can't say enough here, the points system works people!!!
4. Healthy Snacking - Again I don't do sweets but I am making healthier choices in my snacks
5. Higher activity level - Elizabeth and I have been walking almost every day and if I can't get outside to walk (our weather has been horribly odd) I make sure to do a workout DVD or even just run the vacuum or clean cages.
Why do I want to lose the weight? That's simple, I've been battling my weight since I was 12 and I am tired of it. I want to be healthier, I want to be around when my kids are adults, I want to have the energy to keep up with my kids and eventually my grandkids. I don't want to have diabetes, back pain, asthma, heart disease, or any of the other million weight related health problems!!! Another of my main goals is to pass on healthy eating habits to my kids so they don't have to struggle like I did. This has been a household wide change in our lifestyle and we are all happier for it!!
So, there you have it... I have an ultimate goal of 44 lbs my original goal was 62 lbs and let me tell you, losing 18 lbs is an amazing motivator!!
Good luck to the rest of you involved in the challenge!!!
Snappy titles are not coming to me so it's a quiz! :o) I stole it from my friend Nicole cuz I love to do these things!
1. Where were you 3 hours ago?
Soccer fields
2. Who are you in love with?
My husband and my kids
3. Have you ever eaten a crayon?
Not that I know of
4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?
Elizabeth's quilt and her bunny from Easter at a glance, there are probably a couple more pink toys in her basket
5. When was the last time you went to the mall?
February, we don't have one here so we went to Billings, MT
6. Are you wearing socks right now?
Yup, pink Nike socks cuz we had soccer tonight and it's a hike from the parking lot to the car, gotta wear tennie runners for that
7. Do you have a car worth over $2,000?
Yes
8. When was the last time you drove out of town?
I think the hockey tournament in February
9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?
No, I haven't been in ages but apparently we MUST go Friday to see Spider Man 3 or Joey's head might explode
10. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Water
11. What are you wearing right now?
Sweats and a Wheel-A-Thon t-shirt (it's a hedgehog thing)
12. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it?
I usually do the drive through car wash where the machines wash it and some kids do a crappy dry job on it, if the weather's nice I wash it myself
13. Last food that you ate?
A grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough bread and a side salad at Village Inn
14. Where were you last week at this time?
Probably right here in my recliner with my lap top
15. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
No, I haven't bought any for myself in over a year
16. When is the last time you flossed?
This morning
17. What's the last television show you watched?
The Unit
18. What is your favorite animal?
Domestic - cats/Wild - tigers
20. What is your dream vacation?
Tiger island at the Queensland Zoo in Queensland Australia
21. Last person's home you were in?
My neighbor's when I took her a roast
22. Worst injury you ever had?
I cut my wrist on a chicken coop window when I was 12 and it cut all of the nerves and tendons and some of the bone, I missed the artery somehow but that's about all I missed. It took 5 hours worth of surgery in Denver to repair and I've had 4 more surgeries on it since then.
23. Do you miss anyone right now?
I miss my friend Nicole, my friend Cory, my friend Peggy, my friend Terra, and my grandma, e-mails and phone calls are not enough!
24. Last play you saw?
Absolutely no clue, it's been a long while since I've seen a play, we live in BFE
25. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?
I have no clue??!! My charming personality?
26. What are your plans for tonight?
I had a doctor's appointment followed by soccer followed by a quick dinner at Village Inn with my mom and MIL followed by Joey's homework and his bedtime battle and now finally peace and quiet in my recliner with Joey's cat on my chest and my dog on my feet.
27. Next trip you are going to take?
I have to go to Rapid City, SD to ship hedgehogs on Sunday so we're making a fun day out of it and my mom and MIL are coming along and we're going to the mall to shop for some clothes for Elizabeth and Summer clothes for Joey
28. Ever go to camp?
Yup, church camp
29. Were you an honor roll student in school?
Yes my sophomore year, after that I slacked off big time
30. What do you want to know about the future?
I don't really know, I think to know my future might be a bit scary, I don't want to know what's going to happen I don't think. If there was one thing it would probably be: will I get to have another baby? I would really love one more baby.
31. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne?
Neither
32. Are you due sometime soon for a doctor's visit?
I had one today
33. Where is your mother?
She lives here in Gillette, she's at home right now with an ice pack on her hip probably watching Law and Order
34. Do you have a tan?
Not yet
35. What are you listening to right now?
My son's cat yowl because she's in heat and we didn't get her spayed fast enough and the other cat purring in my ear since she's laying on my chest.
36. Do you collect anything?
Yup, I collect hedgehog goodies and Mary's Moo Moo's and I sometimes pick up stuffed bears, I like some of the Boyd's collections and I love to make bears at Build-A-Bear, the last one I made was a Cat In the Hat for their special thing for his birthday.
37. Who is the biggest liar you know?
I don't know, right this second probably my son, he's in to the "story telling" phase
38. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over?
When I was 18
39. What is a weird exotic food that you like?
I'm not very adventurous when it comes to food so I can't really think of one that would shock anyone.
40. Do you like hot sauce?
Sometimes
41. Last time you took a shower?
This morning
42. Sesame Street character you most identify with?
I don't know, I never really watched Sesame Street nor did Joey
43. Do you need to do laundry?
Always, I loathe laundry so it's always piled up in some way or another
44. What is your heritage?
I don't really know, German is about all I've ever heard mentioned
45. Are you rich?
Not in a monetary sense, no
So my lump is a benign lypoma (sp?) just as suspected. I am really relieved to hear that, just the thought of a possibly malignant growth had me a little freaked out. It's in the fatty layer but deep enough it requires an actual surgeon to remove it. Thankfully it's not in the muscle or attached to the rib as was suspected, it's just deep in to the fatty layer. It's 6 cm by 8 cm and I guess that's fairly large as far as tumors go the radiologist didn't tell me the depth he just said "it's really pretty deep". I can't decide if I should remove it or leave it so I'm still debating that fact. Apparently it can get bigger but so far it's the same size it was a month ago when we found it. It's not painful unless it's touched so it's really just something I can ignore and the thought of surgery for something not necessarily requiring removal isn't something I'm big on. So... I'm still thinking on it. Any suggestions??
I'm not dead, I've been a little swamped, I have hedgie babies going to new homes both in town and out. Two are flying out this weekend, one to Boston and one to Seattle. I don't know for sure but I think Boston might be the farthest we've had one go so far. One went to Charlotte, NC and I'm geographically challenged so I'm not real sure which is further. :o)
Joey's in soccer and the season has been quick and busy, 3 games a week for 4 weeks now, three we had to cancel for weather so we're making them up this week and then we're done. WHEW!! I enjoy the games and being outside in the Spring weather (when it's nice) but 3 games in a week is tough when they are right at dinner time, it throws everything off, as of right now Joey's still up and his bed time is 8 PM, 33 minutes late and counting and let me tell you, he needs to be in bed because he's tired!!
Elizabeth is cutting more teeth I think, she's uncharacteristically fussy and has been for about 4 days, hopefully they'll finish breaking through VERY soon!! It's so miserable for her! She's such a sweet, loving, happy baby all of the time but these teeth have really turned her world upside down, one bottom tooth is through and I think the 2nd will be through in the next day or two. She has her 9 month checkup on the 15th and I think she'll weigh in at over 20 lbs. She's moving up in to 18 month clothes this weekend as the 12 month are getting snug. She's so tall! I'm excited to see what her height and weight are. Joey was always too short for clothes as a baby and now he has to wear slims because he's so dang tall and skinny. I'm not used to a baby who can wear actual baby sized clothes and actually fits them!! I'm also not used to a baby who grows so dang fast!! I can't wait to see how much she's grown since her last appointment!
I was working on Spring cleaning but a nasty cold knocked me on my butt last week, I felt lousy for 4 days so made an appointment with the doctor but the day of the appointment I woke up feeling better so I canceled it. I feel 100% better but I have this dang lingering cough and fatigue I can't get over. At my lump re-check today I mentioned it and guess what? I apparently have walking pneumonia! I swear I don't feel bad enough to have pneumonia! I thought it was just a lingering cough! It's nice to have a reason for the cough and fatigue but I really don't have time to be sick!
Joe's supposed to leave on Friday but he's been supposed to leave for two weeks so we'll see. They keep pushing him back because the rig's not ready, hopefully it will be ready this time and he can leave on Friday, he's been home 6 full weeks and the overseas bonus money he makes goes a long way toward paying off the last of the lawyer bills so as much as we miss him and love having him home, he took the position for the bonuses he gets overseas to give us a nest egg.
So... that's a quick update on what's been going on here! Lucas is doing awesome, growing like a bad weed, Logan's settling in to his role as big brother very well but is struggling some with his parents being so tired and having to share them so he's been playing over here a lot which Joey and Logan both love. Joey's doing well, playing soccer and enjoying the amazing weather we've been having, on the weekend I think he came in to eat and sleep and that's about it!
I don't do well at funerals. I don't do well with death. In my heart I know death is a Christian's greatest joy, to go home to God, but I don't like to say goodbye, I don't like to let go. I am selfish and I want those I love to stay with me. So, for that reason I don't do well at funerals. Today we celebrated the life of my dear friend. He died on Thursday. I said a while back he wasn't ready to go, I wasn't ready for him to go, his family wasn't ready for him to go. Last Wednesday he decided he was ready to go, he said he'd suffered enough and was ready to go home to God. So, on Thursday he did just that. I haven't been able to blog about it until now. I wanted to, but the words wouldn't come. This is a man I was closer to than I am my own grandfathers. He was an every day part of my life for 10 years, I love him dearly. My head knows he suffered greatly and was ready to go, my heart is taking longer to catch up.
A poem printed in the funeral program says it so much better than I can, I was shocked at how it represented my feelings. I don't know who wrote it, no credit was given so if you know who wrote it please let me know, I tried to Google it and it's used in quite a few memorial sites but so far I can't find a credit to the author...
God saw he was getting tired
And a cure was not to be
So He put His arms around him
And whispered "Come with Me"
With tearful eyes we watched him
Suffer and saw him fade away
Although we couldn't bear to lose him
We could not bid him stay
A golden heart stopped beating
Hard working hands laid to rest
God broke our hearts to prove to us
He only takes the best.
I have a mass on my right top ribs or at least in the same area. Most likely a benign tumor but it's apparently possibly attached to my rib. It's visible with the naked eye, that's how I noticed it, I was putting my jammies on and happened to glance in the mirror. I noticed my side felt a little odd but gave it little consideration because I noticed it when I was lifting Elizabeth or doing something that caused me to stretch.
It tends to feel like something's being tugged on that side when I stretch or bend to the left. It doesn't ache or hurt and isn't bothersome in any other way unless someone pushes on it, if they push on it I feel it in my rib and it's uncomfortable.
Apparently it's fairly deep so will require surgical removal and it's 6 cm wide by 8 cm long. I don't know if that's large or not as far as masses go.
My doctor isn't overly concerned, he thinks it's a Lypoma (sp?) which are almost always just benign fatty tumors but I have a chest X-Ray and ultrasound in the morning. Apparently malignant tissue or even suspect tissue should look different in those two tests so if it looks suspicious I'll have to have it removed immediately (if it's operable in the first place).
I am not sure it's not been there for a while and I just never noticed it, it's hard to say, but my recent weight loss (12 lbs. and counting) may be the reason I noticed it in the first place.
I'm really not all that worried about it based on what the doctor and my mom (she's an RN) have told me, but I will feel better after the tests and even better once it's out of there!
After my tests I have to go help my dad, with Rob and Amy both being gone he's running the car store all by himself and he's of course been super busy the past 3 days. Joe helped him get cars to various places they needed to go today and is helping him get some he bought from Casper home on Saturday so tomorrow I am going in to clean up what I'm sure is a mess of paperwork.
Today was my mom's 48th birthday! Happy Birthday Mom!! We went to dinner and my crazy sister-in-law insisted on coming. We had a nice dinner out and then went to my mom's to visit and have cake and presents. My dad got her an awesome bouqet of flowers that I can't even begin to describe, they are just amazing, very different and exotic. She also got a new car, it's an Acura RL and it's super cool. It has push button start! You don't need a key for anything, you have a little key fob and when you're within so many feet of the car with the fob you can open the doors without unlocking them and you can start it with a button, it also has a back up camera and bluetooth. It's very cool!
After dinner I got to snuggle with Lucas a lot so that was nice. It's so hard to snuggle with them in the hospital! He slept the WHOLE time! Elizabeth entertained everyone with her waving, trying to crawl, and just her general outgoing personality. It was a nice evening!
Now I'm off to bed to try to sleep since I have to be up in the morning for my tests and then go do paperwork!
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