...because blogging is cheaper than therapy...

Moving Day

2010-07-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

I've made the switch to Wordpress. I am in love. So head on over and visit us. I've imported all my post from Blogger. Our new site is called ThirtyplusThree. The web address is www.ourcfcarousel.com. I'm looking forward to working on the site. Please be patient as I try to customize and stylize our new home.

Ch-Ch-Changes...

2010-07-08T14:11:00.000-04:00

Making the move to a new (to me) blogging platform! Time to graduate from Blogger to the real deal. Hopefully, with Madison's cooperation, I'll be able to get this done tonight. Can't wait!

Times Like These

2010-07-02T01:05:00.000-04:00

John's laying on the floor using his chest percussor. He's already done his right side and coughed up a whole lot of BLECH. Now he's working on his left side. He has a chest therapy vest to use too, it just doesn't do the same job. For the most part, day to day, his CF just blends into our lives. Digestive Enzymes here, breathing treatment there. When he gets sick, it sticks out like a sore thumb. A sinus infection to him is like the flu to anyone else. A simple sinus infection. It's times like these I snap back to the reality of our life and living with Cystic Fibrosis. As he nears the median age of survival with CF, I can't help but wonder what our future holds. That's 37 by the way. He's 32. I know it stresses him out worrying about what will happen to his family when something happens to him. It's harder for him to put out of his mind since he is the one living with it every day. Each time he has a coughing spell or his asthma is bothering him. Each time he takes a pill or breathing treatment. How could it not be on your mind?

Shelby and John on Father's Day.

John using his chest percussor

We love him very much. We've been more lucky than most. I hope we continue to be lucky.

Generations

2010-05-13T01:37:00.001-04:00

My girls. Cindy Lou Who will always have someone to turn to. Someone to look up to. She will have her big sister. Being an only child, I appreciate what my girls will have as they grow older. There is a bond between sisters that is unexplainable. Almost like that of twins. Thing 1 has the best of both worlds. She has a brother who is by her side, going through this awkward stage in life as “tweens”. She has a sister, who in time, will be her best friend. I had never given thought to children before I had them. I didn’t know that I wanted them, how many, or when. Starting a family was not in my big picture. Now it’s my only picture.

Oldest

2010-05-09T22:11:00.003-04:00

Welcome Spring!

2010-03-27T22:34:00.000-04:00

Oh how I’m glad to see your warm return. We enjoyed a beautiful day at The Zoo and one of our local parks. Cindy Lou Who is starting to let me take the occasional picture where she actually smiles at me. I’m not a fan of posed pictures, but it would be nice to have a picture of her smiling. It takes some work, but she let me get a few today. Thing 1 and Thing 2 are complete hams at this point. I never have to worry about them not wanting to take a photo, just whether or not it will be goofy.

More pictures from our day can be viewed on my Flickr account. Just click here.

Staycation

2010-03-16T00:10:00.006-04:00

What was supposed to be a road trip with me and a friend ended up being a week with John and Cindy Lou Who instead. Our trip to Philly was rained out. Many of the activities that Amanda and I had planned were outdoors; the rain took care of that. We are in the process of rescheduling however. John had already put in the vacation days at work and couldn't take them back so we spent time together instead. He was going to be at home with Cindy Lou Who while I was away. Thursday and Friday were fairly uneventful days. He had homework to get done and 2 papers to write so we hung around the house and rented movies. Friday night, Thing 1 had a semi-formal birthday party to attend. It was so fun shopping for a dress and shoes. My little girl isn't so little anymore. I asked her when we arrived if she wanted me to walk her in or stay in the van. I'll let you guess which option she chose. I could see the other party-goers in the foyer of the facility. It was very refreshing to see middle school kids dressed like young men and ladies vs. what they wear to school on a daily basis. Believe me, with as much as I volunteer at school I mean daily basis!

Saturday, John and I took Cindy Lou Who to the Louisville Science Cent er. I had visited there a few weeks ago to see the Titanic Artifacts Exhibit. There is a Kids Space that Cindy Lou just LOVES! It is such a hands on area. No where in "Kids Space" will you hear someone say, "Don't touch that!" Her favorite part is the water play area. After our first visit, I learned what extras to pack in our bag to enjoy this part. They do provide rain jackets and dryers, but they don't provide dry socks/shoes/pants.... yeah, we got it under control now. There is so much to see and do it takes us between 4-5 hours.

We spent another fun-filled day together on Sunday. Bowling! It was Cindy Lou Who's first experience with bowling. She was 5 months old the first time she was in a bowling center. We had Thing 1 and Thing 2's birthday party at a bowling ally in 2008. So, now that she can walk, talk, and pick things up and throw them, we thought she might enjoy it. Boy oh boy did she ever! She was so excited to be able to push the ball down the lane every turn. One turn she got a little too excited and wanted to chase the ball. She got two steps onto the lane and ---- SPLAT! Right on her back. Lane oil and all, makes things slick. She tried to stand up on her own instead of waiting for John; who was trying to help her and --- SPLAT! She fell down again. From that point on, she didn't get close to the foul line again. Quick learner. We came home for a much needed nap and instead got unwanted playtime. We had dinner plans with some friends at one of our favorite places, Red Robin- Yummm! Cindy Lou was not going to make this a pleasant outing. We could already see that. Look to the sky! What's that? A bird? A plane? No! It's super GiGi coming to save the day! Literally we were preparing to walk out the door when my mom said she would keep her. Whew! We definitely dodge the bullet on that one. So, we headed off to dinner and had a great, adult only (except the baby in womb of our dear friends) time. Those are few and far between. The perfect end to a wonderful week spent together.

By the Grace of God

2010-03-10T20:13:00.003-05:00

In January I posted about a very real, very personal issue in my life. In order to grasp the gravity of this post, you can go back and read it here. After 4 court dates and lots of worry and stress later, my Dad had another hearing scheduled for today. I posted earlier on Facebook that I had some amazing news to blog about. I do. By the Grace of God, the arresting officer and my Dad's public defender were able to agree to amend his charges. He was still charged with possession of an illegal substance, but only a misdemeanor felony charge. The lab results found that he actually had enough to be charged with a First Class Felony that carried a charge of up to 15 years. I breathe a sigh of relief that this was reduced. The officer was pleased with the fact that my Dad took it upon himself to seek and stay in treatment. So the outcome of today is conditional release. He has to stay in treatment (have no lapse) and return to court in 6 months for the judge to view his progress. As of right now, he is almost 90 days clean. In the past 3 months (almost) I have spent more time with my Dad then I had in the past 4 years. This whole experience has been the best thing that has happened to my Dad. He is thinking more clearly, enjoying time with us, and enjoying his place in life. So, while this may not be a significant day to most, it is a great day for me. We celebrated with a great lunch at Hard Rock Cafe before I had to take him to his next AA meeting. I continue to pray for his recovery every day. I can now begin to work on my own knowing that at least he is safe from prison.

Down, But Not Out

2010-01-18T22:49:00.003-05:00

So that last post was a little heavy right? Yeah, but it made me feel better. I hadn't written about it or journaled in any way since it happened. So here we are in 2010. Mom had been having migraines without any kind of relief for a while. She lost vision for a little while in her left eye, like so blurry all she could do was lay down because she couldn't see to walk. So she decided that a doctor appointment was more than necessary to see what was going on. She had her first MRI on January 8. On January 11, the doctor called with the results. She had several areas of bleeding on her brain. On January 12, they called to schedule another MRI, this one with contrast to see if they could narrow down the cause of the bleeds. January 14 the new MRI was done and the results were promised by noon on Friday. At least we didn't have to go the weekend wondering. The doctor's office did call as promised, but the person with the chart had no idea how to read the chart and said they would have to get back to her. Wow. So why didn't someone qualified to read it make the first call? Anyway, someone with knowledge of what they were looking at did finally call. Multiple Sclerosis. It explains a lot of symptoms Mom has had over the past several years believe it or not. Not the best news, but not devastating either. I react to serious information like this (and like the situation with my Dad) by arming myself education on the topic. I have not had any kind of emotional reaction. I am not deep in despair, I am not crying my eyes out, I am not feeling sorry for her or for me, and I am not wallowing in any kind of variation of the above. I just don't do that. I don't know how to be any different. I guess it comes from marrying someone who has a terminal illness that changes your outlook on how you process serious information. When John and I started dating and he felt like things were getting more serious, he told me about his CF (Cystic Fibrosis). I went home and searched the Internet for more information. Funny thing about it, John did not make it out to be very serious at all. I don't know if he was trying to protect me or was afraid if I really knew how bad it could be (and that his brother had just recently passed from the same disease at age 25) I would walk away. So when I looked up the information for myself, I was scared to death! The median age for survival in 2001 was 35 I think. Now, take the fact you are contemplating spending the rest of your life with someone, you are 22 years old and you just found out they may or may not live past 35. That sent me into emotional overload. From that point forward I went to every doctor appointment he had, every annual visit which was more in depth, and kept up with his care daily. I was paranoid. It wasn't doing me any good, so I changed. I quit going to his regular check-ups. No need. I went to his annual visits if my work schedule (when I was working) permitted it. I no longer remind him to take this or that treatment. I am not in control. God is in control and I have to resign myself to that. So now I am a former freak out emotionally because that is a natural reaction person. I instead gather my thoughts, gather my information, process it all and react from there. I am getting knocked down a lot these past few months, but I am most certainly not out.

Skeletons

2010-01-18T21:18:00.003-05:00

If your family is without any skeletons in their closet, count yourself among the lucky. I never would have imagined that watching A&E's Intervention for entertainment would have turned into a playbook for my life. If you have never dealt with someone who has an addiction who is going through recovery, I can only liken the experience to raising a child. Seriously. I remember bits and pieces of my childhood. I don't have any memories of my Dad not being there. My parents were divorced yes, but I still saw him on a scheduled basis. Every other weekend. How's that for quality time. My Mom got to see me for 26 days out of each month (using 30 days) and my Dad for 4. Every other Friday I would sit in our bay window looking down the drive waiting on my Dad. This was well before cell phones were around-and YES we all survived- How about that?!? Anyway, I think Dad picked me up around 5:30 on those Friday's and I had to be home by Sunday at 6. There were some exceptions to this rule. Memorial Day weekend we ALWAYS went camping whether or not it fell on his weekend to have me or not. We would pack up Friday night, drive to where ever it was we had decided upon camping, set up camp (usually well after midnight) and spend through Monday. I loved to go camping with my Dad. I most certainly was not the compulsive mom who hates grassed stained, mud covered clothes that I am today. I was a kid and had great fun being a kid. Innocence. I oozed innocence. We went camping a few times in the winter, but that wasn't nearly as much fun as the summer. In the winter we spent our time bowling. My Dad used to be a great bowler. Age and addiction have probably changed that now, but he was great then. I've had my own bowling ball since I was 9 or 10. I still have the same bowling bag that my Dad gave me for Christmas one year with my first ball. I recently used it when we went with a group of friends. Needless to say, we were close. I looked forward to our weekends together. I trusted him, knew I could tell him anything without fear of lecture, and most of all felt loved. Our relationship changed a little when I obtained my driver's license. I was no longer "required" to visit every other weekend just as he no longer had to pick me up. I had a car and was free! I was at the age of wanting to hang with my friends and not at home. Typical teenage stuff. I still got to see my Dad often though because he was a volunteer with our marching band. We had a competition more or less every weekend and he was there. He was always on the sidelines helping out and cheering me on. It was enough for me to know he was there. Our relationship really took a turn when I turned 18. Legally he no longer had to pay my Mom child support and I no longer had "required" visitation. I was by law an adult and he was by law freed of his financial commitment. On my graduation day in June 1997, I had the biggest knot in my stomach. Not because we were graduating and "play-time" was over, but because my Mom had vowed to call the police if she saw him there. Funny thing was, she had no right to those type of threats anymore because I was 18. The things that were laid out in their divorce no longer applied. That didn't hit me until just now as I wrote it. However, at that time I did not think about that and was afraid for myself and my Dad if she followed through on her threat. Louisville Gardens is a big place. The fear that my mother instilled in me was bigger. I did manage to see my Dad for a few moments at graduation, but was uneasy and looking over my shoulder wondering if my mom was looking. That day was without incident, but my memories of it haunt me today. So fast forward to October of 1997. I found out I was pregnant on October 31, 1997. At that time I most certainly did not know it was with twins. Why wasn't I away at college like everyone else? Yeah, that is a whole other post. The title of my blog speaks for itself. My Mom and I have not had the type of relationship a mother/daughter should. Through many controlling maneuvers and fights, she held my college money. I wasn't able to go through the admissions process or anything. Like I said, whole other post. Dad was living his life and I was living mine. We no longer went on the camping trips like before and bowling on the weekends. I was about to become a mother and begin a family. I had no idea what path he had gone down. I couldn't wait for him to be a Grandpa. After the experiences I had growing up, I could not wait for those same experiences to be shared by my Dad. I just knew he would be great. He would spend time with them and teach them everything he had taught me. That was my expectation. I should have checked with him first before getting my hopes up. Time flew between 1997 and 2001. By the time 2001 rolled around and my Grandma Jane (my Dad's mom) was dying of cancer, I felt like I barely knew my Dad. We did not have frequent communication and when I did see him, he was always onto something new. A new job venture, a new spiritual path, a new insight to life. For me it was weird and unsettling because this was not what I had spent 20 years of my life getting to know. My Grandma Jane passed in November of 2001. My Dad was the executor of her estate. That was a long, grueling process. That is when in my mind he snapped. I don't think everything was good and settled until late 2002 or early 2003 so it took some time before he was gone. John and I got married in October of 2004 and my Dad was there to walk me down the aisle, my Mom biting her lip through the group pictures. That was that. From 2004 until now, I had not much contact with my Dad at all. It was in 2006 that I realized how the drugs had taken over and he was gone. John and I were headed out-of-town for a weekend and had asked him to doggy sit for us. I called to check in once we had arrived at our destination and our phone call was weird. We arrived home and things got even more weird. In our computer room there were notes and drawings randomly scribbled on some printer paper with a Sharpie. It was my Dad's handwriting and drawings and the notes were addressed to me. The upstairs of our house had a really, really, strange odor. I had never in my life smelled something so strange. It didn't mimic anything I had ever smelled before. As we investigated the upstairs, the strange smell was coming from the twins bathroom. We started looking around and trying to see if there were any cleaners that had been used or anything that would have cause such an odor. Nothing. As I was examining the bath tub, I started to see little speckles. I followed the trail of little speckles and they led me to larger speckles (which were actually large dots) of blood on the ceiling. How in the H*** did blood get on my ceiling?!? I tried to call my Dad several times with no answer. I was worried. When I finally did get in touch with him, the whopper of a story I got beat all. The kids could have come up with a better story than the one I got fed. At any rate, that was July of 2006. In February of 2007 was the last time my Dad was in my home. I at least got the real story of what happened that day. I was more infuriated than I had ever been in my life. He had brought along someone with him-to MY home-that was a known drug user, that got high in my children's bathroom. Now I know what Cocaine smells like. Thanks Dad for that. I don't think that is something I ever set out in my life wanting to know the smell of. I could not reach out to him at that point because he did not want to be helped. He was not ready to quit. He had not reached his bottom.Standing in my living room in February 2007, I made a vow to myself and my family that I would not let him back in our life until he had changed. I would not bring my children around that or let them be exposed to that lifestyle. That was his choice to make, not mine. John and I went through the In-vitro process in April of 2007 and had our daughter(who on my blog is known as Cindy Lou Who) in January 2008. I don't know if he even knew I was pregnant. In November 2008, the day after Thanksgiving he called me. He always would call out of the blue, except on my birthday. He has only ever missed calling me 1 time in 30 years on my birthday. He complained about not having any place to share Thanksgiving because no one wanted a drug user around. Well, what on Earth could you possibly expect? Living with my Mom it's not like I could invite him here. Not to mention, I didn't even know how to get a hold of him. I didn't have his address, I didn't have his sisters' cell phone number (which was who he lived with at the time), and I didn't have any of the above information of anyone who did. John and I took Cindy Lou Who to see her Grandpa for the first time since she had been born. She was 10 months old. We saw him a couple more times and then just like clock work, I didn't hear from him for a while. I think it was around August 2009 that we got in touch again and this time he was getting a job. I thought that things were at least starting to go in the right direction. I didn't want to count him down before he had fallen. I was really feeling like things were on the right track until December. He got arrested for possession and spent a night in jail. Believe it or not, his first time in jail at age 53. I heard from him when he called me from the rehab center he had checked himself into. I have spent almost every weekend with him since. He gets what I call Day Passes on Saturday and Sunday from 8-4. He is going to meetings for addiction and learning about recovery. This past week he reached a milestone that I don't think he ever had in the past. 30 days of sobriety. I have used what I learned from the interventionist on Intervention to know how an addicts' mind works. To know what they are dealing with. To know how I can help. Like I said, it is like raising a child. Teaching them social graces. Teaching them how to be accountable. Teaching them how to be responsible. He is getting better day by day. The first few weeks I saw him he was still rough around the edges. Now I'm starting to see glimmers of the Dad I knew and hope to one day know again. If you have made it all the way through this post, congratulations. Thank you for taking the time out of your life to learn more about mine. You may wonder why or how I could post something so personal? It's easy to be ashamed of something so dark and ugly in your life. If you don't take ownership of it and try to hide it, you'll never know who you are. Everything that my parents did in raising me made me who I am today. If you don't know anything about my past, how are you to know anything about my present?

Warmer Days

2010-01-01T22:48:00.001-05:00

Click on photo to enlarge

Ho Ho's Lap

2009-12-19T20:10:00.008-05:00

We didn't think last year was the right timing for Cindy Lou Who to see Santa. She was only 11 months old and still wasn't real sure of people other than her family. Let alone a big fat man in a red suit with a white beard. So passing up last year, we decided after a very successful trip to Disney and Halloween at The Zoo with all the characters she saw and loved there, this year was her year. She calls him Ho Ho. All the (45 minute usually takes 25) way to the mall she said, "Ho Ho's lap." Yes you are going to sit on Ho Ho's lap. She smiled. As if the 45 minute ride to the mall wasn't enough, how about the 45 minute wait to see Ho Ho? Oh the things we do for our kids. She waited ~~very~~ mostly patiently. When it was almost our turn, she did sit down on her knees and wait for the family in front of us to finish their visit with Santa. When it was finally her turn, she stood up, brushed herself off, and straightened her shirt. Gotta look good for the Big Man right? She walked right up to him, held up her arms to be picked up and just sat there. She looked at the other kids in line, looked ahead at the camera lady (but wasn't too thrilled with the jingle bells or squeaky duck used in a failed attempt to get her to smile), looked at Ho Ho and then decided it was time to get down. She didn't smile. Not once. So this picture is better than the one of myself at her age with Santa.

See. Told ya. It also looks like Santa's picked up a few pounds since 1980.

Okay, this post is two fold for me. I follow the McFamily over at www.mycharmingkids.net. Jennifer, the author of the blog takes wonderful photographs, edits them using Lightroom 2, and shares the finished product with all of us. She is also kind enough to share some of her editing tips/secrets so we too can get the "perfect" picture. As part of the holiday season she is giving away a copy of Lightroom 2 on her blog. So head on over, check out the McFamily, and see what she's all about!

Just Dance or Toot Your Own Horn

2009-11-12T08:07:00.009-05:00

(Click Photo to Enlarge)

Around here that is about all we seem to do anymore! Thing 1 is super busy with dance practices preparing for an upcoming competition. She also has her studio class that meets twice a week... on the same days as after school practice, plus one private practice to fine tune it all. I love it. This is what being a mom (not a mother) is all about. Mothering is the loving, nurturing, taking care of side of things. A mom is on the sidelines cheering you on, laughing along side you, and being a friend. My kids are far from grown, but this is a wonderful season of our lives where I can enjoy them more and watch them grow instead of helping them grow up. Thing 2 had his first band concert this week. For a group of 11 year old kids who have no prior experience other than the first 2.5 months of school they did great. Thing 2 plays the French Horn. He enjoys it because it was his choice. We did not steer him in any certain direction of what to play. He has music influences around the house and it was nice to see him make his own choice. I look forward to his progress throughout the year.

I enjoy watching performances that showcase all the hard work my kids have put in. It makes me smile and warms my heart. This is only the beginning.

First Pumpkin for our Little Pumpkin

2009-11-11T09:27:00.000-05:00

Vacation Highlights Vol. 1

2009-10-05T14:23:00.001-04:00

No help
Originally uploaded by rhondaburkhalter

We spent Monday of our vacation relaxing in the pool and catching our breath after a busy day of travel on Sunday. Tuesday we were beach bound! I personally do not enjoy the beach. The sand sticks to everything, the water is full of wildlife and salt, and there is no escaping the blazing sun. I did enjoy it as a child, but I guess that is before I realized what a mess it was. I was excited for Cindy Lou Who's first trip. I knew that she would enjoy it very much. She loves to be outdoors and explore new things. I would have much more enjoyed an early start instead of being in the heat of the day, but we made it work. I captured some great moments that we'll be able to share with her when she is older. For example, while digging in the sand with Daddy, she thought the sand looked yummy enough to eat. So she scooped up a big handful and shoved it in her mouth. The faces that I caught in pictures after that are priceless. A little while later she lost her balance at the shore line and a little wave knocked her down. Mmmmmm, salt water. So with a little grit of sand and some sting of salt Cindy Lou Who got her first taste of the beach.

Only 1

2009-09-29T21:05:00.002-04:00

Only one post for July? Really? None for August. Really? Wow. Sorry about that! The summer was super busy and I found it so difficult to sit down at the computer. A couple of other things contributed to my absence. Our computer ran out of memory, so I could not upload any of the pictures I had taken of our activities. Very frustrating. July 31st, 2009 was my official last day in the business world. My new business consist of breakfast, playtime, snack, more playtime, lunch, nap time, afternoon snack, and more playtime. I quit my job and now get to enjoy my daughter. It was a life change for our family that had to be done. I was growing more depressed every day about not being able to enjoy her and raise her. I was feeling guilty each morning as I dropped her off. So, it had to be done. I couldn't be happier. Staying at home with her (and watching a little boy to supplement John's income) does not leave any free time for blogging. At nap time I am busy picking up toys and sitting down to eat my lunch. Then the afternoon brings kids home from school, fixing dinner, homework, dance practices, baseball games, and bath/bedtimes. After all that, I fall onto the sofa and relax before dragging myself to bed to start all over again. I'm drained and haven't had the energy to think or blog. I am on my 3rd day of vacation and with Cindy Lou Who peacefully sleeping in the Pack-N-Play next to me, I blog. We are in Florida visiting John's Dad and Step-Mom (my in-laws would be the short version of that explanation). We left Louisville very early Sunday morning. Cindy Lou Who's first plane ride. She did extremely well on the flight from Louisville to Atlanta. The flight wasn't booked so we were able to use her car seat and all 3 of us sit together. She is under 2 years old and doesn't officially require a ticket, so we didn't buy her one. Which means we take the chance of having to hold her in our laps during the flight if there are no extra seats. Such was the case on our connecting flight from Atlanta to Orlando. This flight did not go so well. It was booked. Every seat taken. So we took a deep breath and crossed our fingers that she would do well. That deep breath was let out in several heavy sighs of frustration. #1, the flight crew was late getting off another flight which delayed us taking off. #2, because of their delay we had to be worked into the other departing flights taxiing. #3, we sat on the run way in "traffic" for a good 30 minutes while flight after flight departed ahead of us. #4, Madison was well past her nap time at this point and well past her tolerance of sitting still. She screamed towards the end of the flight for only a few minutes, but all the time before that she did not sit still one moment. She squirmed between John and I. Back and forth. None of the items we brought for her distraction she cared anything about. Not one thing worked. I don't "fly" well. I hate airplanes. Claustrophobic. Add to that some heavy turbulence on the way and a crazy baby in your lap. Not fun for me. After we arrived in Orlando, we had a 2.5 hour drive to the in-laws condo. Thank goodness his dad was driving. I was beat. Cindy Lou Who was too, so we slept. I'll do an entire vacation post and continue on with our experiences. I just wanted to update while I had the chance and was in the mood to do so. Oh! That pesky problem with our computer running out of memory because of all my pictures was solved with the purchase of an external hard drive. Once we arrive back home, I'll have pictures to add and update some more.

Daddy's Vest

2009-07-29T12:02:00.003-04:00

So this picture is from April. Yeah, I know its July, practically August. I was just sorting through my photos updating and uploading and came across this one. Cindy Lou Who was 15 months old here. Now she is *sigh* almost 19 months old. She has cut more teeth and is starting to say more words. She uses her signs for "please", "help", and "more" quite often. It is amazing watching her grow and learn new things. I have much more to update, but thought that I would show some sign of life!

Birthday Fun

2009-06-29T16:24:00.009-04:00

We love amusement parks. Actually, we love the Roller Coasters in amusement parks. So for Thing 1 and Thing 2's birthday this year, we thought a fun-filled day at Kings Island would do the trick. For Christmas I purchased season passes for our family of ~~five~~ four. Cindy Lou Who does not need one- she's Free. We did not take her however. This was a day for the people above 56" inches. I barely make it. She was not left out. She had her own party to attend. Miss J is turning 2 Friday and so the party was this past weekend. Kind of hard to compete with 4th of July.

Kings Island is very special to John and I. It was on our first trip there together that he slyly started the conversation about getting married. I don't remember how we got into the conversation about my back pack exactly, but that is the lead in that started it all. You see, my LL Bean back pack that I had for college has my initials monogrammed on it. At the time they were RMB. This was in July 2001. He made the mention that when (not if) we get married, I wouldn't have to worry about my initials being incorrect. His last name begins with a 'B' also, which is now my last name too.

Moving right along with our day! Our first priority was to ride the new coaster I'd been hearing about since summer 2008. When John and I were there last summer, we saw some construction being done near one of our favorite rides, but no signs indicating what was coming. When we got home from that trip, I signed up for the newsletter to be aware of upcoming events. Shortly after that, I received an e-mail with the news of what we had seen. A new roller coaster! Oooooh I was super excited! There was even a video of what it looked like and the course it would take. I really hate waiting for stuff. I am very impatient. April 2009 and here I am in September 2008. Well, at least I had something to look forward to. So off we went (and quickly) to the newest addition to the park.

PS. I ~~hate~~ cannot stand SNAKES (even on TV or pictures)

We had a wonderful, fun-filled day with Thing 1 and Thing 2. They are growing up faster than I can keep up and I enjoyed spending the day with my Big Kids. There are lots more pictures that you can see here of our great day! Our next trip will include Cindy Lou Who as we take on the water park. That is an entire day all by itself.

Hot Topic Tuesday

2009-06-23T14:27:00.008-04:00

Jon & Kate file for divorce. June 22, 2009. I never would have imagined this is where they would be when I started watching the show. In the beginning, things were different for them. Jon still had a day job & they weren't making $75,000 an episode. Kate was at home day and night with 8 kids with little or no breaks (same as us Ordinary People, right?). Ask any Stay At Home Mom who has 2 or 3 kids and I'm sure you'll find that her days are not all sunshine & play dates. It is a very demanding and endless job. In the looking back episodes of Jon & Kate before kids, they were different people. We are all different people when courting/dating and in the first few years of marriage. I don't think Jon changed as drastically as Kate, but they were different. He is a laid-back, fun loving, take things as they come type. Kate was focused on school and her career, but still knew how to have fun. Jon is only 2 years older than myself. Becoming a parent at any age is difficult, but even more so when you are younger. When it is multiples it becomes even more challenging. I speak from experience. My twins will turn 11 tomorrow. The carefree days of hanging out with friends until all hours were over. While people my age were experiencing the college years, I was experiencing 3am feeding and diaper changes. While I did "go" to college and earn my degree, it sure wasn't the way I had imagined my life to be (then). So Jon & Kate are young parents to twins. Not so bad, it does get easier. Not the way things turned out for them. Instead of one more child, they got 6. Could you imagine how you would feel if your doctor told you/spouse that you were expecting 6 babies? Take your current living arrangement. Take your current finances. What would you do? A reduction wasn't an option for them. Their faith led them to that decision. So now what? You have 6 babies on the way and 2 already. You live in a condo/apartment built for your current family lifestyle. I don't care who you are, that's some serious pressure. Until those kids were born, no one had ever heard the name Gosselin. Even then, the first documentary done had no promise of fame & fortune. It was to be a glimpse into the life of a mother of multiples and her daily routine with so many small children. Kate did not seem as demanding or direct then. Through the years Kate stepped up to the responsibility while Jon longed for his carefree days. Kate had to take charge or her home would have been a zoo. She had to manage the house cleaning, the grocery bills, the cooking... all the while having 8 kids at your feet. Remember the episode when all the kids were sick and throwing up? It was hard enough when just 1 kid was sick for us while trying to care for the other, let alone having 8 kids sick at one time. In last nights episode, Jon commented that he let Kate rule the roost and now he is standing on his own two feet and is proud of himself. Good for you Jon. You are proud of the fact that instead of communicating with your wife your feelings, you let it build until you just can't take it anymore. Great job. Way to show her. Ugh. To me, Jon was clueless about what it really took to keep things running smoothly. He is the type of person that needs direction rather than being able to see what needs to be done and just doing it. There were many times that Kate reacted before she thought of the way it might sound. We have all done that. She just happened to be filmed while doing it. Also, the editors of the show get paid to make ratings increase. There has to be a person who we love to hate. Kate got pegged as that person. I am guilty of this. Not judging Kate, but of reacting without thinking. My mind moved on to the next thought before I've had time to finish the previous thought. It makes me good at multi-tasking. It doesn't always make the way I communicate come up roses. Lots of times I could see myself in her shoes saying some of those things. I get frustrated when I have to explain something that appears very obvious to me. It makes me a difficult wife, mother, and employee sometimes. Not all of the things she said to him or the places she chose to say them I agree with. When you are in a store with 8 kids and a camera crew, tensions are bound to run high. There isn't always time for a "Please honey." or a "Thank you dear." Facts don't come with chirping birds and butterflies. The real world isn't Mary Poppins. Guilty as charged. The problem is at the end of the day, she may not have apologized and he may have sat silent. If she did not realize or know that she said offended him, she would have no reason to apologize. If he did not speak up and say something about how she made him feel, that is his fault. They had a very serious communication break-down. I wonder if they continued their church going once the show really took off? A break down in the marriage with no help recharging your spiritual batteries will end up with the result we have. They took the deal with TLC to provide for their family. Without it the kids would have suffered. It seems as though they started with their hearts, values, and morals in the right place. That all took a back seat when they forgot about each other. Kate may have been right when she said, without the show the path may have ended the same. Having a family that size with the stress we all deal with may have proved too much. Who knows. All I know is, a family has fallen apart and all the world wants to do is criticize them. They BOTH made some poor decisions. None of which, at least to me, seem so damaging that a little work couldn't fix. Getting a divorce is the selfish way out. They took the vow of marriage - renewed those vows- and now that the worse part has shown up, they quit. They took God out of the marriage and put self in. Jon just wants to live the days he lost being a young parent of 8. Did you notice the double ear piercing and the flashy car? He is clearly the one with the issues. He's not having a mid-life crisis, but he is having an identity crisis. He doesn't want to be tied down or viewed as a dad. He just wants to spend time with his kids, but get his "life" back. He has no idea what he is giving up. PRO 15:27 A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live.

Recital 2009

2009-05-24T14:36:00.001-04:00

I am a picture taker. I love to take pictures of my kids doing stuff. Last year at Thing 1's dance recital I was a Room Mom. Room Mom's help the younger dancers with costume changes, keep them entertained while waiting, and basically baby-sit. Not a bad job, I enjoyed being with Thing 1. She had 2 costume changes last year. That also meant 2 hair style changes. No biggie, Momma was there. This year I was in the recital. I enrolled in an Adult Tap class in December at the same studio. I thought it would be a fun way to get some much needed exercise and Thing 1 would enjoy watching me too. Not once did I think about not being a Room Mom. I'm super Mom, I can do it ALL! Ummm, wrong answer. Thing 1 was in 3 numbers this year. The time difference between her 2 & 3 numbers and my dance did not allow for me to be there for her. Her ballet dance was way before mine so I was able to help her change from the ballet to the other costume and get her hair taken care of. That made me feel a little better. Then I had to rush back to my side of the stage and await our turn. The recital itself went fine. Thing 1's ballet class had a little formation problem and I forgot a few steps, but other than that we did great. Thing 1 and I both didn't perform until the second act. During intermission I saw my family (briefly) and tried to figure out what we were doing for supper. I was hungry! Thing 2 oh the wit that he is, thought now would be a moment for humor. "So Bubba, (which is his home nickname since oh BIRTH) what sounds good for supper?" "I don't know. I can guess what you are gonna be having though." A puzzled look for sure upon my face. "What's that?" "Hospital food cause of the leg you're gonna break... Old Lady!" He then proceeded to cackle and laugh. Now, I know he meant no disrespect. He teases me about age ALL the time. He knows I'm not old. I know I'm not old. Dear God please don't let 30 be old. He also did it because he was out of my arms reach. I was in the balcony and they were below me. I could have jumped from the balcony and landed on him in an awesome WWE form, but that surely would have resulted in that broken leg. So, if you are still with me, this all started about my love of picture taking. Last year I was able to take several good pictures at the dress rehearsal and the recital itself (after it was over). PLEASE NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY DURING THE PERFORMANCE. IT MAY CAUSE INJURY TO THE DANCERS... I got news for ya, the flash from a little ol' digital camera ain't nothing compared to those bright, white, hot, steam your face off bulbs on the stage. Anyway, we follow the rules and no pictures were taken during the performance. This year, after it was over, no pictures. I was tired. I had a bag packed full of costumes and make-up. ~~and the kitchen sink.~~ Our blended family was waiting patiently for us. My husband, my ex-husband, his wife, and Thing 2. Cindy Lou Who was at home with the babysitter. I didn't leave her anywhere! By the time we all got together in the lobby... it was 7:30. 30 minutes back to the home town = late supper. We ran home and picked up Cindy Lou Who. The babysitter had other plans for later, it was after all a Saturday night. She had been at our house since 2:30. We had to be at the auditorium by 3:15, so it was a long day.

Who needs a book when you've got one of these!

2009-05-21T14:14:00.012-04:00

A relative who lives in another country and has amazing adventures! Meet my Aunt Vick.

(homemade treats in celebration of 1st of May. It's a holiday there.)

Vicki to some, Victoria at birth, and Visiona to others. She lives in Britzingen, Germany. In 1988, she packed up and headed across the sea to marry and continue her love for magic. Yup, I said magic. Growing up I remember Aunt Vick being Top Hat the Magic Clown. I will have to do some investigative work to find a picture of this! I liked to dress up in her old beauty pageant costumes and pretend to be her assistant. When she moved, I enjoyed writing her letters on my little blue typewriter. I even had a pen-pal in Germany thanks to her. I loved when the holidays would roll around. It always meant a special package from Aunt Vick filled with loads of German tasty treats! In 1993, when she got married, our family (The Lewis/Losson/Highfill Clan) all got to go over seas to Germany for 2 weeks! The first week was spent sight seeing and taking in all the beauty that Germany has to offer. The second week was spent on wedding preparations and the event itself. I wish I knew where those pictures were. I have a bad feeling that they are long gone, lost forever. Grandma Jane was the keeper of the pictures in our family. Every time we turned around there was a camera in our faces. "Ya'll get together right there." "Just one more, I wanna make sure." Had digital been around then we would have been in serious trouble! Little did I know then that I would long for those captured memories now. When Grandma passed in 2001, Papaw's & her farm were auctioned. All of her belongings distributed among her children... that's a whole story by itself.

"The years between 1989-1997 were filled with nothing but MAGIC. We lived above the magic business, spent most of our time in it, traveled the world to magic conventions and the only people we knew were either magicians or somehow related to magic. Besides Manfred’s annual magic convention that he hosted himself, he added new events to his magic calendar and hosted Magic Days and a Magic Auction." (taken from her own words & website)

She has her own website that details her journey from the United States to Germany and everything in between. She has a website for her current business of making magic silks. She has a website dedicated to her job of Visiona.

(Aunt Vick is a butterfly...really she's in there.)

Through out the years and all the traveling, she always keeps us up-to-date with wonderful stories and pictures. I love to get her e-mails and stories. Her writing is so descriptive that you can see everything taking place. The pictures are just a bonus. In addition to being a wonderful writer, she is very creative and crafty. She LOVES Halloween and has many American traditions that she's taken to Germany and shown them what it's all about. This Easter she created a paper mache Easter Bunny... life size. They even wrote an article in her local newspaper about it.

That's Chico laying next to the bunny. He is her dust mop baby! The most human like dog you'll ever meet. This is just a large example of her crafty ways. She does table settings, flower arrangements, and photography. I put a lot of links in this post so you could jump out and look at her websites if you like. For the most part they are in English. I received one of her storybook e-mails today and was inspired to dedicate a post to her. She really is a wonderful woman and it's a shame we live oceans apart. It is a great way to learn about another culture besides a history book. Go out and find yourself a pen-pal from another country. You might be suprised what you can learn (and teach).
Our goal for next year vacation is to go visit her (and my Uncle Manfred and human dog Chico). John has never been out of the country. I'm beginning to think he believes Florida is the only other state on the map in North America. It would be a wonderful experience for Madison too.

Wacky Wednesday

2009-05-20T15:53:00.008-04:00

I am crossing my fingers that I will have a chance to post some pictures tonight. I was playing with my camera last week and over the weekend and I'm dying to see the results. So what makes Wednesday so Wacky? Let me enlighten you. I have 3 children. Thing 1 and Thing 2 and Cindy Lou Who. Thing 1 takes dance lessons and has her (ahem OUR) recital coming up this Saturday. She is also ~~devastating her poor mother~~ going to be in Middle School this fall. Oh the joyous days of Middle School... I NEVER want to relive those days. High School, maybe. At any rate, with Middle School starts the "real" sports and teams. Elementary school goes by the, Give Every Kid A Chance philosophy. Which is good, don't get me wrong. It lets the kids see what they like and what they don't. I know that Thing 2 has changed his mind between: baseball, basketball, and football all several times. Thing 1 has been dancing for 4 years now and has the talent. God given talent. We all know these types and to most they make us sick. I am certainly not promoting her to my blog readers and puffing her up because I'm her mother. I do love her, but I do have the sense to tell my children if they are wasting their energy on something that may never be. I'm not advocating they give up on anything they dream to do... I'm just real with them. I'm 5'2" on a good day. I never aspired to be a model or play basketball. I live in reality. I know there are all sorts of people who are vertically challenged like me who do these things, but I'm not one of them. Okay, I've completely jumped track. I do that. Moving right along... Middle School Dance Team. She is trying out for the team. The preparation clinics were Monday and Tuesday. The try-out is TODAY. I am a nervous wreck. As I type this, she is there and dancing her heart out. Monday she had clinic, Thing 2 had a baseball game, Cindy Lou Who (16 months old) is being taken along for the ride. Tuesday... clinic until 5:30, dance class at 5:30 (obviously we were late), Thing 2 Boy Scouts, Thing 1 extra practice on dance team routine at fellow friend and try-outter until 9, Cindy Lou Who along for the ride. That brings us to Wednesday. Today. The culmination of talent and memory. She has 3 dances for Saturday stuck in her brain already and learned this one in 2 days! I ~~hope~~ know she can do it. Thursday will be our slowest day of the week. We have absolutely nothing going on. Friday is dress rehearsal at 5pm until 10pm. Ugh. I hate dress rehearsal night. The kids are all worn out by the time we do the solid run through and the parents and kids both are cranky & hungry. Then Saturday is our performance. This week would not normally be so crazy except that John's schedule got totally changed at work due to a remodel they are doing and he is working 11a-9p every day... I am not a SAHM (yet) and work from 9-5. So I am running around town like a crazy woman. Just pay no attention to the woman in the grey/silver (cause that's the only color it came in 2004) Honda van and just check to see if Cindy Lou Who is along for the ride.

Not Forgotten... Not Me! Monday

2009-05-18T14:41:00.013-04:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. But read mine first!

I have not forgotten about my blog. This is what happens when you have kids... they rule. By the time I sit down at my computer, nothing wants to come out of my brain worth blogging about. This weekend Madison woke-up at 4:20am Saturday morning SCREAMING. I would say crying, but that doesn't cover it. Having a fear that she had thrown up, I flipped on the light upon going into her room. I don't normally do that. Why would I have the feeling that she'd thrown up? I'm good like that. Actually, there was a stomach bug that took the school by storm and hit many of the teachers and kids. I was warned that 2 tots from her room went home early Friday with it. Turns out it was an airborne virus that spread very quickly. So as luck would have it, she got it. Poor thing was covered. I mean COVERED. Hair, pajamas, blankets, tag, sheet. Iceberg survived. So I ran the bath water and we got in. In the meantime, Daddy was taking care of the bed. He was startled from his sleep when a voice yelled into the baby monitor... "John! She's thrown up! Come help me!" It sits on his side of the bed. (Not Me!) Mean Mommy. He's in and out of the bathroom, where are the clean sheets? Where are more pajamas? Where are more blankets? You can tell who runs the house, right? Madi and I stayed in the tub long enough for Daddy to get everything changed out and back to normal. Fresh pajamas, fresh diaper, paci, and Iceberg. She laid back down no problem. As soon as I closed my eyes...more SCREAMING. Oh no. Not again. Time elapse, about 5 minutes. Repeat cycle. So at this point we stayed up with Madi. Well, we took shifts. We brought her out in the living room and put up her gate. I took my turn at sleeping on the couch while John entertained Madi. Once I woke-up, we switched. Eventually we brought her mattress from her bed to the living room floor. She crawled right up on it without prompting and fell asleep. No kidding. Once she woke-up she seemed to be feeling a little better. She went after the cracker box we had in the living room. Cheez-Its, White Cheddar. Mmmmmm Yummy. She had a few. Then about 30 minutes later, the Cheez-Its and the Pedilyte reappeared. This one required the carpet cleaner. That was at 1ish. My mom got home at 4 and brought Madi a banana from the kitchen. I just looked at her and said, "If she pukes it, you clean it." Who would think about talking to their mother that way! Certainly Not Me! I waited. And waited. Nothing. She kept it down. Then as if to tempt fate, mom brings in a bowl of yogurt. Seriously, yogurt? **sigh** Madi gobbles it down and again I wait. Much to my chagrin, nothing. Mind you I was not hoping my baby girl to throw it up and continue the cycle, more like Ha! I was right and you were wrong. Yeah, my best Not Me! moment of motherhood.

My Heart Goes Out...

2009-05-12T09:23:00.004-04:00

I stumbled across this blog several months back. To have 3 healthy children, I could not imagine the amount of faith it would take to get through the heartache of having a child who may never grow up. These parents lost their little girl after 11 months. There are no words. Tears just started streaming down my face the moment I saw the post title in my reader. I knew she had gone home to be with God. I am thankful that she is not feeling pain any longer. I am thankful that there is an almighty Father in heaven who was there to welcome her home and make her well again.

Mother's Day Part 1

2009-05-11T22:47:00.004-04:00

This is the present that John put together for me. I don't think I'll ever hear another sigh when the camera comes out. If not for my constant picture taking madness... he wouldn't have these pictures of his baby girl.

Week 4... (a little late in posting)

2009-05-11T12:56:00.004-04:00

(Taken 2 days into week 4)

Yup, that's right. I'm almost done with week 5 and just now getting around to posting Week 4 results. So without further ado, I lost another 2 lbs last Thursday. Woo Hoo! That puts me in double digits for weight loss. Awesome. For our group work-out (which we do on Thursday nights) our fearless leader decided we would do the Wii Fit. A video game for exercise! Yeah right. Like I'm gonna get anything out of this. Can I just go back to the Y? Let me be the first to tell you that I recant my previous statement! That was really a work-out and it was fun. Swiveled my hips for 6 minutes and 1,957 revolutions doing the hula-hoop exercise. You don't just stand there and pretend to hula-hoop. Nope. You've got Mii's throwing additional hula's at you that you have to lean and catch... and keep up with your original hoop! I must say that it was more challenging than I gave it credit for. It will be interesting to see what Denise comes up with this week. 2 weeks ago, she made an obstacle/relay course at our local park. That was fun! Pictures were taken, but not by me so I don't have them to post... yet.

I am not sure how this week will pan out. Friday was the Madi vs. Hair Spray Can incident (which I'll post about) so I ate emotionally for dinner. Not too bad, but not healthy either. Saturday was terrible! Well, not the entire day just dinner. I had an additional dance practice for recital in 2 weeks Saturday evening. John & Madi dropped me off, ran some errands and came back to get me. On the way home I said, "Wanna go to Sonic?" Dear hubby said, "Sounds great to me! I'm starving." Sonic, really? Does this sound like a healthy dinner to you? Nope. I did the best I could, after all it was my selection/suggestion. Good thing my lunch and breakfast weren't much... I had 930 cals and 35 g's of FAT! Wonderful. I won't even go into what we had for Mother's Day dinner... I don't even think there is a site for the cals/fat out there. Mother's Day post is also coming so you will see what I ate.

The good news in all of the bad food I ate over the weekend, is that it did not taste as yummy as it used to. The only meal that I ate in its entirety was dinner Saturday. I brought over half my dinner home last night (which I won't eat, but John will).

So, today is a new day and I'm back in the saddle so to speak. Work-out at the Y tonight per usual. Had my Special K for breakfast and my lean pocket for lunch. Just don't hold it against me if I break even or gain a pound this week.

Iceburg

2009-05-04T16:29:00.008-04:00

Meet Iceberg. Iceberg is Madison's penguin friend. Press his hand and he plays the tune "Jingle Bell Rock". Iceberg was lovingly stuffed at Build-A-Bear workshop by Mommy & Daddy for Madi as a Christmas present. On Christmas morning, Madison was more interested in playing with Iceberg's Igloo than she was her new friend. All in due time. She wasn't even a year old yet. Rewind if you will back to January 9, 2008. This is Madi's birthday. John was making frequent runs between home and the hospital to tend to our pets. At some point during our hospital stay (5 days!) he ventured into the gift shop. He bought Madi her first penguin. This is where it started. The penguin was not just a stuffed animal. Nope. He was a Star Registry animal. Madi has her very own star named after her out in the cosmos.

So with that a star, err, I mean a penguin was born. Moving right along... we kept with the penguin theme for Halloween. It just seemed so cute and all since her first Daddy purchase was the stuffed penguin, why not dress her up as a penguin too! As luck would have it, Gymboree had a penguin costume for 2008 and I caught it on clearance. Even better.

Now we're up to Christmas and you've already met Iceberg. The entire purpose of this post was centered around the pajama's. A friend and fellow blogger from high school has a daughter who is 8 months older than Madison. When catching up on some reading, I saw a post of her daughter in these pajama's. Since that post was at Christmas and her daughter is now 2, I thought, Hey! Wonder if she still has those and would she be willing to sell them to me? I forwarded her a copy of the picture from her blog and as luck would have it, she still had them. Before I could offer to pony up some dough, she was asking for my mailing address and was ready to ship them out. As you can see, they fit wonderfully and Iceberg thinks they're nifty too.

Thanks again Kristin & daughter... (didn't get permission to use baby's name so I'm not gonna post it here!)

Week 3...

2009-05-01T14:42:00.004-04:00

was a flop. When you don't put much into something, you can't expect a lot back in return. Well, I guess you could, but then you're just being delusional. This past week was rough. The first 2 weeks, the twins were at their dads so getting in my workouts and fixing dinner quick wasn't a problem. This was the first week of them being home. Friday, Shelby had her award banquet at school. Saturday I did manage to work out for an hour, though very unenthusiastic about it. Saturday afternoon was spent at the dance studio for pictures. 3 dances = 3 costumes + 3 individual pictures + 3 group pictures + 1 mommy in her costume & picture with daughter = long afternoon. Not to mention the dance bag fiasco. Sunday was much more laid back. Then the work/school week started and here we go! Picking up 3 kids from school (at different locations) going home trying to start supper right away was not happening. The twins wanted to play outside and with that Madi has to go too. I can't blame them! We had some beautiful days. So with no one to watch the baby outside, I go. Supper is not getting done this way. John gets home and takes over baby, but at that time it is already 6. No way am I getting out of the house at 6:30 when I haven't done anything regarding feeding my family. Tuesday is dance night for Shelby and I. So at least with that I get some cardio. Wednesday, just flat exhausted. Thursday morning is the weigh in. So I have learned a thing or two this past week in regards to making me time and just getting it done. Excuses are what got me here in the first place. I have this guilt of being away from my family and feeling selfish. I know deep down that I am improving my health which hopefully increases my chances of being around for my kids for a long time. Full-time job and Full-Time Mom need to find a balance. 1.4 lbs for the week was my number. Weight loss over 3 weeks... 9 lbs. I'm okay with this. It is a journey, not a race. My belt went down to the next notch and I tried on a pair of pants I haven't worn in 6 years. They fit. Week 4 will be better with regard to effort.

Family Fun

2009-04-27T11:13:00.020-04:00

This weekend was the first one in a long time that we have gotten to do something as a collective family! John is only off every 3rd weekend so we don't always have Shelby and Ian with us. Thanks to GOD and the beautiful day HE gave us on Sunday. Saturday was a hectic run here run there kind of day. I would have loved to take some pictures of Shelby in her recital outfits and getting ready and all the fun, but a little mishap with her dance bag threw us off our game. Her dance bag contained her shoes for all 3 classes...which was in my mom's car. Had I found this out earlier in the day, I could have gone to my mother's work and retrieved said bag. However, I had the fortunate experience of discovering this at the point we were getting ready to leave. Not enough time in schedule to permit extra stop out of way. So we made due. When we got to the studio and sorted this issue out it left no time for extra fun. I had to do her make-up and help her through 3 costume changes and also get myself ready for our picture together. Ian was at the ball field helping with a clean-up day and then his baseball pictures in the afternoon. We met for dinner at 6pm with John's mom at Olive Garden. I had a repeat of Easter Sunday lunch. Yummy! Afterwards we headed to Dairy Queen so the kids (and John) could get a Blizzard. Madi and I shared a Banana Split. So this was our Saturday. No pictures to show for it- sorry. :-(

On to Sunday. We all got up early. Well, early as in Madison got up at her normal time of 7:30 and the rest of us got up too. Sometimes we try and get her to sleep just a little bit longer so we too can take advantage of the weekend mornings. Up and on the go we had breakfast, then worked as a collective to clean a few rooms of the house. No need in going over board and cleaning the whole house... :-) Cleaning done, Madi down for nap, and time for a small break. Timing all worked out as we were able to enjoy the park and not in the heat of the day. The boys wanted to play basketball which left the girls to "hang-out" on the playground. I'm a terrible playground mom. I'm overly cautious of tripping, falling, scraping, scuffing, and germs. Parks are hard for me. Shelby was off on the merry-go-round and Madi and I stuck to the swings. After a while, Madison caught sight of the boys on the BB court and wanted to be with them. Shelby and I loaded up like pack mules and away we went across the park. Luckily the boys had already played one round and were just getting ready to start on the second when the girls invaded. We had set our cooler and snacks on a table under the shelter that was near the BB court. The kids kept wanting stuff from our stash, so I decided to move it. Madison went walking with Shelby and I once again to be the mules. Apparently there had been a cook-out or party or another family there before us.... Don't know-don't care, just know that if you have any trash... THROW IT AWAY! Before I could even blink, Madison had helped herself to a cup that was left on the seat of the picnic table. It was full of something (which I now know was Diet Coke) and when I shrieked, she spilled. She was already moving the cup toward her mouth before I could get to her. My shrieking just caused her to move a little faster. The substance went all down the front of her! **sigh** Shelby and I finished gathering our stuff and walked the now soaked Madi back to the BB court so I could change her. John scoffs at my over planning, but thanks to my obsession Madi had clean dry clothes and we had her wet ones in a plastic sack. HA. By some miracle, her shoes were not touched. Dry as the day they came out of the box. The rest of our afternoon was uneventful and I managed to take some pictures of them all enjoying the day.

Week 2... More Difficult Than Week 1

2009-04-24T11:26:00.003-04:00

I don't know why, I just know it was. It wasn't difficult to keep up with the work-outs. That actually makes me feel better. I enjoyed going to the Y and making the most of my hour. It was the FOOD. I was craving so many things that are not good for me and what got me here in the first place. So I must say that this week the struggle was sticking to my lifestyle change. It isn't a diet. A diet is what they have at the hospital for people with medical conditions. Low-Sodium Diet, Low-Sugar Diet, Liquid Diet. No, what I am doing is a lifestyle change and approach to food. If I look at it as a "diet", then what motivation do I have to keep it going? A diet is for a period of time. The awesome changes that I am seeing not only in myself are in my husband. I'm not quite sure if I have posted directly about John's CF (Cystic Fibrosis) before, but his calorie intake is quite a bit more than the rest of the family. His fat intake is more too. This makes for difficult meal planning. However, now that I have been fixing lower calorie (better calorie) foods, he has been digesting the fat a lot better and combined with his working out he is gaining weight. So, my weight loss journey is leading to his weight gain journey and we are both winning! I linked to the Cystic Fibrosis website so you can read a little more about that if you aren't already familiar. John's journey is another post all by itself. So are you ready to get down to the results? Last week I lost a dramatic 5 lbs. Okay, maybe not dramatic for you, but for me. This week was 2.9. Not a lot, but the right amount when you are doing it the healthy way. An average weight loss per week should be about 2 pounds. Was I jumping up and down over this? No. Am I happy that I am learning new things and gaining more stamina when exercising? Yes. So my overall loss at this point is 7 lbs.

Temptation

2009-04-21T11:59:00.005-04:00

3 days after starting my journey to healthy we had Easter. This is what I had to live with...

Anyone who knows me, knows that I live for Easter when the Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs make their appearance. For some strange reason it is better than a traditional Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I just know they taste dang good and I haven't had a single one! Matter of fact, my mom has been snatching one here and there. John has dipped into them too. I guess better them than me, but I have sunk so low as to ask John if I could just have one little lick before he dropped it into the blender with his protein mix. I was not allowed. Such a super bummer! Pre-Weight loss, I had been known to devour a six pack of Eggs in one sitting... yup, it's what I would like to call an addiction! The road to gaining weight was so much more enjoyable than the one I'm on now to losing weight. In the end it is all for the better. Maybe Easter next year I'll have learned enough self-control to eat at least just one.

Lost Now Found Easter 2008

2009-04-21T11:40:00.009-04:00

So on Easter Sunday 2009 when taking pictures is when I realized my babies had grown up. I was left wondering when it happened. Sounds silly, but really, I don't know how time went by so fast. As promised from **Sigh, I Guess I Blinked**, here are the lost but found Easter 2008 pictures.

Easter 2008 (above)

Easter 2009 (below)

Healthy Here I Come...Week 1 Done

2009-04-16T10:45:00.005-04:00

April 10, 2009 Start of Week 1... My "Before" photos.

I did it. One full week of changing my bad habits and starting some better ones. No fast food this week, though I sincerely miss my Chick-Fil-A breakfast & sweet tea. I have replaced my 760 calorie/33 g fat breakfast with a choice of fruit/yogurt/cereal (Kashi Go Lean) at under 300 calories and 3-4 g fat. BIG difference. Lunch has been a little more of a struggle. I am surrounded by fast food establishments. The thing I found helpful about eating at a restaurant is checking their nutrition facts online first before going. I can choose my meal before going and know how healthy it is. Easter Sunday our family tradition is Olive Garden before church. My usual Chicken Marsala, 770 Calories and 37 g Fat. Sautéed chicken breasts in a savory sauce of mushrooms, garlic and Marsala wine. Served with Tuscan potatoes and bell peppers. Super yummy. Instead I found a lighter fare, Venetian Apricot Chicken Grilled.

(Photo Courtsey of Olive Garden.com)

Chicken breasts in an apricot citrus sauce. Served with broccoli, asparagus and diced tomatoes. 280 Calories and 3 g Fat. Amazing. I gave it a try and I really enjoyed it. I did have the salad that was brought to the table, but tried to eat off the top because all the dressing is in the bottom of the bowl. I entitled myself to 1 bread stick. I am a breadaholic. A huge learning experience this week regarding nutrition. On Friday I started off with a bang. Got up, did my Biggest Loser DVD, made my yogurt Triple Berry smoothie and was feeling good. Saturday was so busy. We had a baseball game to be at then a birthday celebration in the park. I didn't exercise with the DVD. I did chase my little one up a very steep incline hill several times. My calf muscles were feeling it on Sunday. Sunday was Easter. I went to lunch at Olive Garden... came home and started preparing Easter Dinner. Ham, Green Beans, Loaded Potato Salad, Deviled Eggs and the appetizers for snacking. Other than tasting the Potato Salad to make sure I had the seasoning right, I did great. No snacking in between lunch and dinner, though the kids Easter candy was SCREAMING out my name. Not calling... screaming. Monday I had my first experience with the YMCA and an Elliptical machine. Thank goodness I was with my team, because I don't know if I would have kept going for 30 minutes without them by my side. I didn't want to seem a quitter so I pressed on. Tuesday is dance night. I look forward to my hour of tap class. I was highly disappointed this week in the fact we only danced for about 15 minutes! UGH. That's another post entirely. Wednesday. I was in touch with my team throughout the day. Yup, we're meeting around 7 at the Y. I got there just a little early to complete the membership stuff I started online. It was around 10 til I decided to go ahead and hit the Elliptical. I kept watching the door waiting for them to come strolling in. 40 minutes later I'm done with Cardio, still no team. No call. Whatever... moving on to weights. Finished workout, still no team and no contact. Oh well, this is for me- right. Tonight is water aerobics. Should be interesting. Nothing like putting a 5 ft tall person in 6ft water and seeing what happens. If you made it this far without falling asleep here are the weigh in results. 5 lbs lost for a total percentage of 3%. If you watch the Biggest Loser at all... you know 3% is pretty good. Go me!

Sigh I Guess I Blinked...

2009-04-14T11:06:00.010-04:00

Easter 2009

My babies are growing up. When did that happen? As I took these pictures on Easter, I didn't realize at the time how grown-up they looked. Upon downloading them and getting ready to post about Easter, I realized I had a whole new post. Thank you Shelby for your creative input and posing your brother in these pictures. That is what is amazing about them getting older. They are becoming their own persons. Shelby is very artistic and creative. We never know what she is going to come up with next. I love that. She is working on her own cartoon character that she developed. John is helping her think of story ideas. She is really into it. She also loves her family very much. Ian has gone from my sweet, little boy to a pre-teen pest. I love that too. He plays baseball and is involved in Boy Scouts. The proper outlets for him to behave like a boy. He has his "mommy" moments where he can still be sweet. I cherish those. My babies will turn 11 this June. They will start Middle School this fall. I'm here to tell all those new parents out there who may stumble across my blog, enjoy each and every moment because it really does go by in the blink of an eye.

Madison's Egg Hunt at "School"

2009-04-10T16:36:00.005-04:00

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NOAH'S ARK CHRISTIAN CHILDCARE CENTER

Tomorrow doesn't pose a problem now that she's had her practice round of egg hunting. I am so thankful that her teachers took pictures so we could see her gathering up the eggs. Apparently she did really well at catching on to the idea. I am looking forward to tomorrow for her "First Easter". Last year she was only 3 months old and obviously didn't have a clue. I would insert picture here, however, I just went searching for Easter 2008 and cannot seem to find it.... I know I took pictures, but maybe they are still sitting on the digital card :-(

At any rate, we are looking forward to tomorrow for it is the day the LORD has risen. The true meaning of Easter. God bless each and every family as they celebrate this joyous occasion.

Healthy Here I Come...

2009-04-09T13:14:00.010-04:00

30th Birthday March 2009

So 3 children and 12 years post high school, I weigh about 37 pounds more than I did then. Not too bad considering 2 C-Sections later. Anyway, my weight is not so much the issue as my fitness level (actually lack there of). Before I gave birth to Madison, I vowed no matter how much weight I gained during the pregnancy I would not keep it around after she was born. I at least, if nothing else would get back to pre-pregnancy weight. Accomplished. So what is the deal with dropping the pounds that came along with the twins? It has been the most difficult thing to do- period. I lost some weight in 2001 when going through my divorce. Attribute that to poor eating, stress, and anything else that comes along with a divorce! So now that I am happily re-married and my dear John loves me as is, I haven't had the motivation to get fit. John, sweet man, is one major factor in my relapse actually. Every time I tell him that I want to get healthy/lose weight etc. he lovingly brings me home sweet treats ALL the time. When I am not in one of my "weight loss modes" not one treat is brought. Hmmm, clearly sabotage. This just says to me, "I love you no matter what. Have another Reese Egg." So I am blessed that my husband does love me as is and isn't trying to change me. However, I want to change me for me! I'm 30 now. It doesn't get easier from here, only harder. Madison's School (aka day care) is hosting a "Biggest Loser" competition for parents and workers. I took this as my open door. My opportunity to have the support of people who want to lose weight and get fit too. Tonight is the official weigh in and team building. Tomorrow begins Day 1 of my desire to be fit. I did start taking an Adult Tap Class in December trying to build at least some exercise in my schedule. One hour a week isn't going to produce major results, but it gets me off the couch one night a week guaranteed. Our recital is about 6 weeks away. I want to be able to finish the dance without feeling completely out of breath and in need of immediate hydration. So here we go! Join me on my journey and offer any words of encouragement that you may have! Recipes are good too!

For Nana and Grandpa Steve

2009-04-06T22:30:00.002-04:00

This post is especially for John's Dad and Step-Mom who live in Florida and are missing Madison growing up. I put together a collage of recent pictures that I have taken so far this Spring. I hope this brightens their day and brings a smile to their face. We love you both and hope to see you soon!

Attempt #3 Ooops I Forgot to Dropshadow....

2009-04-05T12:11:00.002-04:00

Digi Scrapping... Attempt #2

2009-04-04T23:33:00.000-04:00

Digital Scrapbooking

2009-03-28T15:59:00.003-04:00

My first attempt at digital scrapbooking...

Look How Far You've Come

2009-03-24T21:52:00.001-04:00

So today was the big day... I turned 30! Wow. Since I've been old enough to know I should have pictures of my childhood, I had yet to find them. I started to wonder if I even had a childhood. Then when cleaning out a closet Sunday night, there was a box that had "Pictures" labeled on the side. It was a box my mom must have put together after my grandma passed away. So I opened it and started sorting through them all. There were lots of pictures of my childhood. Believe it or not, there was even one of my First Birthday. So this is where it all began...
Happy 30th Birthday to Me!

The Laughter of A Child...

2009-03-23T11:33:00.003-04:00

I absolutely love when Madison laughs. I love to hear any child laugh. It warms the heart and makes me smile. So turn up your sound and get ready to smile!

Madi and Daddy

2009-03-10T14:08:00.001-04:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Enjoying Signs of Spring

2009-03-08T14:46:00.010-04:00

My Girls

I love my camera...

A Day at the Spa... well sort of.

2009-03-06T22:40:00.005-05:00

Okay ladies, which one of you wouldn't love an afternoon of complete pampering and relaxation? Be honest... you know just 1 solid hour of "grown-up" time is bliss! Well, I'd love to say that I was the recipient of such treatment, but alas I was not. A well relaxed husband is a happy husband. John has been working really hard at work lately and putting in extra long hours. It has definitely taken a toll on him physically and mentally. So I decided to give him a chance to sit back and relax....
The main ingredient.

On loan from Madison.

John? Are you in there?

Ahhh. My dear sweet hubby relaxing in our tub.

Share and Share Alike

2009-03-05T22:58:00.001-05:00

No matter what time of day, no matter if she has just finished a meal, if you have food or drink Madison wants to have some too. John's weight gain shake was no exception. In an effort to maintain his calorie intake for the day, John drinks a high calorie, high vitamin milkshake. There isn't anything in it that would be harmful so who was Daddy to deny his little girl from a sip or two or twenty?

Having a seat...

I'm ready to share!

Maybe I should stand for this...

Mommy! Put the camera down!

Bitten Once Shame on You... Bitten 3 times Shame on Me!

2009-03-03T21:00:00.001-05:00

Well, as I have previously posted our little Madison was bitten at daycare back at the first of February. This past Thursday she was bitten again. Friday... she was bitten again. After her bite on Thursday John and I discussed finding a new place for her to go. Friday morning before he headed in to work he went to 2 more centers and checked things out. He called me with his report. He had found a place that we think would suit us much better. The security is A LOT better both inside and out. As you know if you've read along... car broken into back in February too. If you missed the big post, you can read it here. We moved Miss Madison to her new day care on Monday. I must say that I could not be happier! She is loving it. The teachers there are super nice, along with the directors. They have made every effort to see how she is adjusting and how we feel she is doing. The write the coolest notes home everyday. Its not the boring Xerox sheet that is distributed to each kid. It is a personal hand-written note from her teacher letting us know exactly what they did each day and how she is doing. We do get the basics too (what she ate/how long she napped/diapers...) but it is separate from her "notebook". Another awesome thing for us is the curriculum that is actually taught. Starting from the age group she is in now, they actually have a lesson plan for the week. It is also a Christian based child care center so she will get to learn about Jesus too!

Poor Madi the evening of the first bite. Her face is so grubby because she wouldn't let us hardly touch her to clean it.

These are the scratches that accompanied the bite. This is her right cheek, she has matching set on her left cheek as well. I was absolutely furious. A quick bite is one thing, but the child that did this was latched on pretty tight if they couldn't break the contact.

Arrow of Light

2009-03-03T15:23:00.020-05:00

I previously mentioned that I would update our Just Us post with pictures of Ian's ceremony. Instead I decided to devote a post to Ian and his accomplishment.

This excerpt was taken from Wikipedia regarding the Arrow of Light Ceremony:

The Arrow of Light award is the highest award available to Cub Scouts. In addition to the skill and activity requirements of the preceding ranks, the Arrow of Light requires Scouts to learn the Scout Promise and Scout Law, and visit one meeting and one activity of a Boy Scout troop, in preparation for advancing to the Boy Scouts. The Arrow of Light award is the only Cub Scout award[note 1] that can be worn on a Boy Scout uniform. Both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts wear the badge below the left pocket. Adults wear the square-knot version of the badge above the left pocket.

We are so proud of him. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

This is Ian crossing from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. Another part of the ceremony. The boys walk across the platform as to symbolize the true crossing from Cub Scouts (aka boys) to Boy Scouts (aka young men)

Below:

Table Decorations, Ian with his Grandparents Ed & Becky.

Above:

Ian at the head table for the boys receiving the Arrow of Light award.

Mommy and Ian. He actually let me take a picture with him while his friends were around!

Just Us

2009-02-20T16:07:00.006-05:00

I can thankfully say that I have nothing to report. As you have previously read, I think we are caught up on stuff happening for a little while. Ian has his Blue & Gold Banquet tonight for Scouts. He will be crossing over to a Boy Scout. He is supposed to have baseball try-outs tomorrow, but if we get this snow I don't see that taking place. John is off this weekend so we will get to spend some time together as a family. His work schedule doesn't give him many weekends off so we enjoy the ones we get.

I will post pictures from the banquet (eventually). I haven't had Internet access at home since the ice storm. Well, I had it for a few days and then no more. So I can't publish pictures with my stories until we get it back. So some of these post will be edited and pictures added.

We were supposed to be attending the annual Cystic Fibrosis Celebrity Dinner tonight. Ian's Blue/Gold Banquet is on the same night year to year so we try and alternate. This was supposed to be our CF year. However, due to lack of funds to purchase the tickets since my job loss in January, we are not going to be able to go. There is always next year! The next big fundraiser for our area is the Great Strides Walk in May. Once I figure out this blogger thing, I will publish the link to our team and all who want can sign up to be on our team and raise money. It will be held at Waterfront Park. Perfect for walking with a stroller and little ones! It is awesome because it is not a race. You walk completely at your own pace and the money raised benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Knock on wood... John has made it through this part of winter without any major illness or complications from his CF. He was down and out back in November, but that was it. So stay tuned and I'll update some of these bare post and add the links as promised!

Birthday Wishes from around the Globe!

2009-02-16T16:26:00.006-05:00

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY
Madison Brooke

Hope you have a birthday to be remembered for life.
Love, Aunt Vicki and Manfred

In posting about Madison's 1st birthday, I failed to add the wishes from her Great-Aunt Vick and Great-Uncle Manfred who live in Germany! I received the e-mail and let life take over and my brain shut off and forgot to include her wishes in my Madison Birthday post. Aunt Vick is very special to me and I would not want to leave her out of recognition due. She cares for our family and knows that Grandma Jane made all holidays and birthdays very special. She has tried very diligently to follow in those footsteps.

I hope that someday soon Madison will get to meet her Great Aunt and Uncle! It has been so many years since she has been to "home". Germany is her home now after living there since 1993.

We love you Aunt Vick and Manfred!

It's been a while...

2009-02-15T21:32:00.005-05:00

Well it's been a while since I've posted anything. There is a good reason behind that. Our lives went upside down shortly after my last post. This one is going to be a long one so grab a drink, maybe a bag of chips and have a seat. It began on January 14th 2009. I lost my job that day. Come home to your spouse and tell him/her that you lost your job in the middle of the worst economic crisis and see how that goes over. Not well as one could imagine. Thankfully with God's all knowing power and His timing I am yet again employed and start tomorrow morning.

Fast forward a couple of weeks to the Ice Storm of 2009. Thank you Mother Nature. As if the Windstorm of 2008 was not enough you had to unleash all your glory on us yet again. Our power went out Wednesday morning at 2am. It was restored around 8pm Saturday evening. We took up residence with Judy (aka John's mom) at her condo. Her sister and brother-in-law were also there due to their power being out. So let's count shall we? Judy, John, Rhonda, Mary, Brad, and Madison. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In a 2 bedroom condo... thankfully we did have 2 bathrooms and even though the space was limited we did not kill each other nor did we get in each others way. It was nice to have a sit down meal each night around the table. I did gain 5 pounds... but it went away when I went back to my normal eating habits.

Monday following the Ice Storm still several places without power we took Madison to her daycare which she hadn't been at for a week. It was her first day in her new toddler room. How exciting! No more high chairs to sit in. No more crib to take a nap in. No more little babies. Nope, now we are on to toddlers with teeth! Teeth that bite. On her first day I guess she was initiated into the room by the older kids (ages 1-2) and was severely bitten on her face and scratched. The worst feeling in the world is to pick up your child from a place they are supposed to be safe and to see this. Granted, biting will happen- but this was really bad.

Let's trek along to Thursday of this same week. Our movers were scheduled to complete our move from Mt.Washington to Crestwood. This move had actually been scheduled the week prior but kind of hard to do when you have 3-6 inches of ice compacted with snow and no power. So they arrive at our house in Mt.Washington and within an hour John called to let me know that they were heading my way to unload. Perfect! We are doing good on time and this shouldn't take long at all. We are paying by the hour so time is everything. I hear John pull in the drive way and before either one of us could do anything the driver of the moving truck tried to follow John up our drive way. This normally would not pose a problem. Today was not a normal circumstance though. The driveway was passable, you just couldn't see the edges due to the snow. Mr. Driver drove the rear-wheels off the side of the drive and got the truck stuck. This would not have been a terrible deal if for the fact the truck was a Rear-Wheel Drive vehicle! So 2 hours, a tow truck, and some arguing later the truck is out of our yard and on our street. No chance it is making it to the house. The movers then carry everything from the bottom of our drive to our garage. The young truck driver/mover made a poor decision when he drove off the drive, however, it wasn't his fault his boss was a jerk. I made the movers sandwiches with some chips and a drink on the side since this all took place during lunch time and they didn't get to eat before unloading us.

So on to Friday. Should have known this day was not going to be much better. I awoke to the sound of my cell phone alarm going off. This would not have been strange except for the fact that I had not set it the night previous. I had actually taken the time to reset our regular clock that had been blinking since the power outage. I turn off the alarm and go over to our alarm clock to inspect it and see why it did not go off. Here's a good reason- because it was DEAD. There was no electricity being provided to it. Hmmm. Are we without power again? I tried the lamp on the dresser that shares the same plug. Nothing. I look over to our electric blanket that is on a different wall and a different plug. It is off too. Okay so this is strange because the wall that has the computer on it is working. The power light on the monitor is orange which lets me know it is in "sleep" mode. I get up and get the kids ready for school. Thank goodness the alarm on my phone went off. We are a little late, but no big deal. I drop the kids off at school and proceed to Madison's day care. I go in and punch Madi in at 8:15. They use a time clock system so that the center knows when the kids arrive and when they leave. I am in Madison's room hanging up her jacket and backpack when the director comes to me and ask if I drive a blue Chrysler. I told her I did. Her next question was, "Was your back window already broken when you got here today?" Ummm, let me think about that for a minute... NO! What a question. Anyway, I race down the hallway and out the emergency door (because this is after all an emergency) to find that my car has been broken into. The passenger side window in the rear was smashed in. Glass is everywhere and my purse is gone. Another parent who logged in at 8:21 notified them that there was a car in the parking lot with glass broken out. 6 minutes. That's all it took. What's worse is that someone was watching us and knew how long I'd be and where in the building I was going. The car has privacy tinted glass. This person had to walk up to the window and press their nose against it to see anything inside. What a terrible feeling. I was hysterical.

Tuesday of the following week, took Madison to the doctor because she had been having some goopy eyes and a runny nose. Looked just the same as any other cold she's had before. Dr. Al walks in the exam room and within seconds diagnosis her with Pink Eye. She has no pink eye, she has no red eye. She has blue eyes with green goop coming from them. Apparently pink eye can take on many forms... Yippee. Along with the pink eye in BOTH eyes, she has a double ear infection. Mother of the year goes to.... she had been playful, no fever, great appetite, not tugging at ears- how are we supposed to know! Thanks to antibiotic she is much better now and doing lovely. Though the medicine causes other potty problems (YUCK) she is fine.

So with that, we have had an eventful 4 weeks that I will not soon forget. It is with God's wisdom that these obstacles were put in our path to test us. There is no easy road when your path is with the Lord. Satan will try everything to try and pull us away. We are blessed and continue to be blessed. My faith has grown from this trial and I know more than before where my heart lies.

John and the Deer

2009-01-09T16:50:00.003-05:00

John hurt Bambi. I'm sure by now it has probably died. On his way home from work 1/8/09, a family of deer jumped over a fence in front of him. He was unable to stop in time and ended up hitting the small deer as it jumped in his path. He hit the rear hip of the poor, defenseless little animal. I say this only to joke. John is upset about hitting the animal. I on the other hand am sad for the animal, but this is the way I look at it:

1) God created deer.
2) God did not give deer intelligence.
3) Deer jump in front of cars- on purpose!
4) Deers die.

We would never intentionally go out and kill a deer with our vehicles. If it were a person it would be vehicular manslaughter. However, now we have to pay our deductible to get the Honda fixed. Thanks Bambi! The good out of the bad is that John was not driving fast and was not hurt. That was all I cared about when he told me about the accident. The van can be fixed, deer will reproduce, but my husband is irreplaceable.

Happy 1st Birthday Madison

2009-01-09T12:56:00.017-05:00

While this is a bittersweet moment for your Daddy & me, we are so excited to be celebrating your 1st birthday! This was a moment we never expected. Watching you grow over the past year has been truly amazing. You quickly developed your own personality and made it very clear! You have been such a blessing in our lives. We thank GOD each and every day for you! It's bittersweet simply because we know that you are our first, last, and only child. For that we are thankful and grateful and are enjoying every moment. Your brother and sister love you very much! Your first birthday party was a success. The day could not have gone any better. Though your birthday was really on Friday, we celebrated on Sunday so everyone could be together. Thank you for all the cards from our family who were thinking about Madison on her special day. Grandpa Steve and Nana JoAnn for my new clothes! Grammy Theresa for my new horse scooter. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I'm working on it. Uncle Tom and Aunt Sue for my cell phone and car keys. I can talk and drive just like mommy now. Grandma Judy for my Sesame Street Phone so I can talk to Elmo and Cookie Monster. Aunt Mary and Uncle Brad for the $ so I can save for something in the future. Dalton for my very first Webkinz! My mommy will have to help me with that. And last but not least, Mommy thank you for my wonderful cake!

Of course that is what Madison would say to everyone if she was able to talk!

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-02T10:22:00.004-05:00

Not much to report here! We hope everyone had a wonderful start to the New Year. John had to work so Madison and I stayed at home and did nothing! Well, Madison did a little more than nothing. She kept me busy all day. She is really practicing to walk. I have some video to post once I get them in the right format. She spent the day pushing her shopping cart around the house. She is becoming more brave in the distances she will travel on her own without assistance. She also trust me enough to walk to me if I reach out my hands for her to come to. That was an exciting moment for me. She was at the couch and I was on the living room floor about 3 feet away. I said to her, "Come see momma Madi." She turned away from the couch, got her balance and started to walk toward me. She took each step very carefully and had her arms out to reach for me and for balance. Our little girl is growing up so fast. In 7 days she will be 1. Again **sigh**.

Madison's First Birthday-Preperation Begins!

2008-12-29T21:40:00.005-05:00

Ian's Cake 2005 (Shelby's didn't turn out the way I wanted so no picture will be posted)

Shelby's Cake 2006 (Ian's didn't turn out so well, so no picture will be posted)

Twins Cake 2007 (Pregnant and not able to stand for that long to decorate 2 cakes, they got 1)

Now that Christmas is over it is time to start planning Madison's 1st birthday party. I found a Blue's Clues cake pan on E-Bay a few months back that I won. I made Shelby and Ian's cakes until this year. Madison wouldn't allow for the 2-3 hours it takes to decorate 2 cakes! We are going to keep it nice and simple. Baby's first birthdays are really for the parents anyway. I don't know of any adult who remembers their first birthday. I know I don't. This day is to watch them stick their little hands into the cake and smear it all over while taking lots of pictures. I want it to be a day I remember and enjoy for her. When she grows up I want to be able to tell her about her day. I want her to be with the family she knows and loves and not be overwhelmed. In 2006 when we started our process trying to have a baby through IVF, we had only our prayers as a certainty. We had no idea if we would even have a first birthday to celebrate. We are grateful of our gift from GOD. Medical proceedures gave us the chance, our faith & prayers gave us Madison. In 2006 around July or August, John and I ate at the Hard Rock Cafe in Louisville. I purchased a onesie with a guitar on it, with hopes we would have a baby to put it on. From July to October we hoped and prayed for success. Our care team knew when to say "enough is enough" for this cycle. They didn't give us false hopes of a positive outcome. They gave us hope of trying a different medication plan when we were ready. 2006 would not be the year we got pregnant. We gave ourselves time to reflect and regroup before trying again. It is a long and emotional process. In March 2007, we decided it was time for a second try. We began my new treatment plan in April 2007. The rest as they say is history. May 3, 2007 I found out through a home pregnancy test. My official blood test was still a week away. I thin I took at test everyday for that week just to make sure! I remember the morning of my blood test very vividly. I'll never forget the phone call from my doctors office confirming the results. I loved every moment of being pregnant. I never thought 7 years ago when I met John and learned about Cystic Fibrosis that I would ever be pregnant again. So now that I have given a condensed version of how Madi came to be, I am back to planning her birthday. You can see why just being able to celebrate her 1st year of life is enough for us.

Calm after the holiday

2008-12-28T15:04:00.007-05:00

With the hustle and bustle of Christmas over for 2008, we are settling back into our daily lives. I officially took the tree down Friday night and packed it away for next year. I don't think I have ever taken a tree down so quickly after Christmas. I enjoyed it while it was up, but it was taking over Madison's play area in the living room. The once oblivious attitude toward the tree had changed and she had begun to pull ornaments off. I was afraid that with the hooks we were heading for disaster. This weekend at church was Victory Weekend. It is the last weekend of the year that everyone who was baptized into Christ or transferred their membership to Southeast is recognized (not individually of course!) Praise GOD we had 1,700 people to join Christ and the church this year. I am humbled to say that I was one of them. During the "ceremony" everyone at the service who had been baptized or transferred walked down the center aisle and sat on stage while Dave preached. I was sitting next to my mother-in-law who was also baptized this year. Her sister was too, however she sat in the sanctuary with her husband who is having knee trouble. John (aka my hubby) was also sitting in the sanctuary with his Aunt & Uncle. Not because he had already been baptized, not because he is a member... because he has not yet made that decision to be baptized into Christ. We went forward during the invitation back in March of this year. That was step 1. Step 2 was the baptism. I made my step in September. John is still working on his. I pray that for him each night before bed that he may find peace in his decision to follow Christ. It's not an easy decision to step out of what we want and follow in the path of Jesus. While I have no pictures of this event, you can visit our church website and listen & watch the sermon from this weekend. www.southeastchristian.org.

Christmas Eve 2008

2008-12-24T21:45:00.015-05:00

Madison Brooke Christmas Eve 2008

Trouble with the pants!

Madi & Daddy

Grandma Judy & Madison

Action News Live at 5

2008-12-23T22:07:00.006-05:00

Good things happen when bad things happen. Bad thing was the lovely ice we had this afternoon at 4:30 when it was time to leave work. I actually get off at 5 and at quarter of I was going to go out and defrost the car so it would be nice and toasty when it was time to leave. I was also going to move it closer to the building. This is completely safe in our parking lot because we can see our cars from the large drive-thru window we have. The building is an old bank and still has the drive-thru because we still use it. Kind of neat. Anway, I knew it was icy outside so I was going to walk extra cautious across the parking lot. I never made it. I took one step off the sidewalk and the next thing I know I'm staring at the side of our building laying on the ground. I fell pretty hard. Hard enough to cry, but I didn't. I laid there a minute to catch my breath and make sure I was okay. If the fall wasn't bad enough, our building faces the main road through town. 2 cars stopped to see if I was okay and one of them actually pulled in our lot to help me out. It was a very nice man and his 9 month pregnant wife. He helped me up, took my keys and pulled my car to the building for me and started it up. During this process his wife had rolled the window down and asked if I was alright and began telling me she was 9 months pregnant and had a doctor appointment today and her husband helped her along the way. So I went back inside after they parted and proceeded to check my self out. Pulled up my sleeve and was like WOW. I have a pretty nasty bruise and my elbow was bleeding a little. I thought for sure I would have a bruise on my hip which took a part of the fall, but nothing. So 5 o'clock rolls around and I head to the car. I called John (my hubby) to advise him of the dangerous conditions and tell him about my fall. He decides that he is going to meet me at Madison's daycare so that I don't have to worry about the icy parking lot there and carrying her across in the heels I already fell in. I got to her room and started packing her stuff up. I sat down in a rocking chair while she played on the floor. She stood up next to a toy bin, holding on the side and digging for a toy. Then it happened. She turned away from the tub and let go. She's been doing this bravery trick for a week or so. Nothing could have prepared me for what took place next. She took a step, then another, then another, and then one more! I was in tears of joy! My baby girl is starting to walk. Once she lost her balance and sat down I headed over to pick her up, but before I got to her she got plowed by a toddler and started screaming. Her nursery worker picked her up and calmed her down. Shortly after Daddy arrived and it was all better. So had I not fallen and decided to hang out at daycare waiting on John, I may not have seen my baby take her first steps. I can't believe how fast she is growing. **sigh**

Good Friends, Good Food, Good Time

2008-12-22T09:40:00.017-05:00

The Host & Hostess

The lovely food

Madison and her party dress

Marcie and Madison

Bill and Madison

Ericka and Suzanne

Suzanne and Bill

We had a wonderful evening yesterday. Our friends who had moved away Christmas last year to the windy city of Chicago moved back home. We missed them so much! Another blessing was having Bill home from Iraq. We hadn't seen him since last year and he had never met Madison. He was preparing to deploy when she was born. She had the best time playing with him. I know Suzanne is glad to have him home. They were married the day after Thanksgiving and he left just a few short weeks after that. Their first year as Newlyweds was spent apart. Madison did really well with all the new people she met and also with the decorations that were sitting on the tables in her reach! I dressed her in her Christmas Party dress. She looked lovely! We also enjoyed seeing our other friends who we don't get to see as often either because of John's schedule and having Miss Madi. We can't exactly take her out to a trendy restaurant at 8pm at night. That wouldn't go over so well. So it is nice when we get to spend time with them. We enjoyed a turkey and a cranberry sauce/jelly from Whole Food Market. Best Turkey I have ever eaten! Best Cranberry anything I have ever tasted! The rest of the food was brought by the party goers. Everything turned out wonderful! After dinner John took Madison home. It was getting to be both their bedtimes. John had worked all day and Madi goes to bed around 8 or so. After they packed up and headed home, the rest of us played Cranium. What fun! I didn't take any pictures of that- sorry. However, for the record I would like to say that our team pulled out the win. Suzanne, Bill, and myself were on a team. It came down to the last question, it was a close game.... but in the end there can only be one winner! I look forward to a rematch. It was a great start to our holiday season.

Snow and Foam

2008-12-20T14:59:00.007-05:00

Better than if a little boy would have written his name in the snow...
May I introduce you to Mrs.Snowman

I feel like I'm missing something...

Oh, there it is!

Notice how the center of the 'P' is missing...

A few weeks ago we had a dusting of snow. Though it was small, it was the perfect mix to make a snowman. Actually Shelby made a snow woman! She used pieces of a toy that has hair and shoes to stick in the snowperson she made. She also found a way to write her name in the driveway, which I was able to see from our security camera. The way our driveway comes to the house makes it hard to hear visitors, so when my grandma lived here she put a camera in to see people coming up the drive.

Now for the foam part of the story... Madison has a set of the foam letters you can put down for safety and for fun. She loves to play with them! She has more fun taking the smaller pieces out of some of the letters. Like the middle of the 'A' and the parts of the 'B'. She's been teething for what seems like FOREVER and is chewing on any and everything we'll let her have. These pieces are the perfect fit for her. The downfall is what happens when you get them wet... they get sticky!

Having Fun

2008-12-17T10:25:00.006-05:00

I'm glad that I let Shelby's dance teacher talk me into taking a class too. I am having so much fun and I look forward to my class on Tuesday nights. Our recital song is Matchbox 20, Look How Far We've Come. It is fast paced and high energy. Having not danced in many, many years (and never tap) this has been a learning experience. It's one hour a week that belongs all to me! As a working mother, I need some "me" time. The kids have their activities and I now have mine. Shelby has been dancing at this studio for 4 years. We love it there! She is going to be in 3 numbers this year. Last year was the first time she did 2. GOD has given her the talent of creativity. She can dance and create art work effortlessly. I don't want to feel like I am leaving Ian out here. He is very involved in his Scout troop. They do a lot more activities when the weather is warmer. Madison is still learning and growing each day. In the past few weeks, she has learned to clap. She has also learned to "love" her stuffed animals and us. We tell her "Love your bunny Madison" and she will pick it up and wrap both arms around it, squeeze it tight and swing side to side. If we tell her "Love your Ian" she will lean her head to touch his and reach out for him. Each day is amazing at what she can do!

Let your light shine

2008-12-14T16:59:00.000-05:00

Such a wonderful message this time of year. In our sermon at church today, Bob Russell spoke about the true meaning of Christmas. It's not about what you give, it's about what you do. Jesus was born to show us what it means to be selfless. Give your time to someone who does not have someone to share this season with. Give your money (if you have extra) to someone who needs it more than you do. Give your life to Christ and he will give you eternal life. Think about the many blessings the Lord has given you this year and years past. Be thankful and delight in those gifts. We are most thankful for the life he gave us in our children. What greater gift could we be blessed with. As you approach 2009 and are making resolutions, I encourage you to find time to fit the Lord into your life if you haven't already. He is our Savior and the reason for the season of Christmas. It is a celebration of his birth into this world that we are living in.