Me, My Girls & My Boy

Birth Story

2009-09-28T12:15:00.006-04:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this. Having a newborn and a three year old takes up quite a bit of my time, not to mention my brain function required for writing. So, here's a quick recap of how my little guy came into this world.

A few months into my pregnancy, my iron level started to drop. I had been treated for anemia in the past, so I wasn't really all that surprised. But even with eating more iron-rich foods and taking iron supplements, my iron level kept dropping. Eventually, my anemia got so bad that I was sent to L&D triage for IV iron infusions twice a week for two weeks. On the day of my last scheduled infusion (8/13), while I was getting my non-stress test and iron IV, my blood pressure was a bit high, so the nurse told my OB, and he ordered urine and blood tests to check for pre-eclampsia (since I had it last time). Well, my urine came back clean, but my blood showed that my potassium level was "critically low." It also showed that the iron infusions had done absolutely nothing to improve my iron levels.

So, I was admitted to the Antepartum unit so I could be given potassium in my IV. Let me tell you that if you've never had that done, the potassium burns like hell going into your veins. While I was getting that done, my OB ordered a 24-hour urine collection to test for pre-eclampsia since a single urine sample may not show that there really is protein being thrown out. The potassium didn't increase my levels like the docs wanted, so they had to keep giving me more and more of it (and I pigged out on bananas the whole time, too).

Eventually, my 24-hour urine results came back and showed that I did indeed have pre-eclampsia, though it was not nearly as severe as it had been when I was pregnant with Katie, so my doc decided that they would induce my labor when I reached 37 weeks on Tuesday, the 18th. My potassium level did eventually get back to normal, and my BP didn't go completely crazy, so everything looked like it would be smooth sailing when the time came.

We were all completely WRONG about that! Apparently, my body just did not want to cooperate with anything. Even though I delivered my last two babies within two hours of my water breaking, this time, my cervix just didn't want to cooperate at all. And my epidurals (that's right - plural because I had more than one) did absolutely nothing to relieve the excruciating pain I was in. I had never felt pain like that in my entire life, and I was literally begging for death. That is, when I wasn't passed out and not breathing - scary, I know.

Anyhow, the pain was so horrible that I was vomiting, or really mostly dry-heaving, from it with just about every contraction. When I finally got fully dilated, the nurses told me not to push because we had to wait for the OB to get there. (The one who was supposed to be delivering was stuck in a c-section, so they had to call another one from the office down the block.) But, once they got me turned onto my back so I could get into position to push, I started vomiting uncontrollably. And the force of my vomiting pushed my baby's head right on out. Since he was already half way out, I had to go ahead and push him the rest of the way out before the doc ever got there, and thankfully, it only took one actually push to do that.

As soon as he was out, the pain was almost 100% gone. I was amazed at the difference it made. I instantly felt human again. I was thoroughly exhausted and quite a bit in shock from the whole experience, but felt so much better than I had been feeling.

David Christopher was born, thus relieving my misery, at 1:39 pm on Tuesday, August 18th, and is perfect in every way.

Oh, and my iron level was back to normal before we left the hospital the next day, thus confirming my theory that the baby was actually sucking the life out of me.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, I give you the official hospital photos of my gorgeous baby boy.

The Wait is Over

2009-09-08T16:31:00.004-04:00

I'm sure you've all been holding your breath, just waiting for an update to my blog.

What's that? You haven't been sitting at your computers waiting on little ole me? You've actually moved on with your lives? Well, um, okay then.

I guess I can forgive you. But will you forgive me? For holding out on you like this? Yeah, I've been a total slacker. I had my baby three weeks ago, and I'm just now getting around to updating my blog.

And honestly, I'm too tired right now (and my house is currently in total chaos) to do a proper update, so I'm just going to give you the basic info and a few pics from the first days.

David Christopher was born on Tuesday, August 18, 2009, at 1:39 in the afternoon. He weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces, and measured 20 inches long.

Stay tuned for the exciting story of Davie's birth...

Dead End

2009-05-26T08:21:00.004-04:00

I think it's time to call it quits with this whole blogging thing. I used to love it, but now it seems like just another neglected chore. I am so incredibly busy right now. You would think that being busy would provide me with some nice blog fodder, but instead, it has just kept me from having the time to actually blog.

Maybe I will return someday, when my life has slowed down a bit. With a new baby on the way, though, I doubt that will happen anytime soon. Thanks to the ability to type out quick little updates every now and then, I will be sticking with Facebook, though I can't guarantee a daily status update. If you're on Facebook, and would like to be my "friend," please let me know how to find you there. If you are one of my regular readers, and I feel there is no threat that you will stalk me, I'll add you to my friends list, and you can keep up with me there.

Where Did the Time Go?

2009-05-12T11:27:00.009-04:00

I can't believe that it's been two weeks since I last updated this blog! I guess I've just been really busy doing completely boring stuff. What was I doing?

Well, I had a garage sale, for one. The turnout wasn't great, but I did make a little more than $200. Of course, between dinner out and shopping for new clothes for Katie, there wasn't much leftover. And, we still have so much stuff to get rid of. I'm going to go through all of the clothes again, and figure out what to just donate and what to list on eBay.

My garage sale completely wore me out, and I was still too exhausted to attempt to fight the crowds for the Grand Opening of the new IKEA in town on Wednesday. I had been looking forward to being there on opening day ever since I heard they were building one here. I still haven't been yet, but since it's not opening day anymore, there's really no point in going until Phil gets his bonus check and I have money to spend.

Thursday, Emily came home from school complaining of pain in her appendix area, and she also had a bit of a fever (only 99.6). Since she didn't have any of the other symptoms of appendicitis, I decided to wait until the morning to see how she was feeling. Friday morning came, and she said the pain was worse, though her fever was completely gone.

So, I took her to the pediatrician just to be sure that I wasn't just ignoring a case of appendicitis. The pediatrician sent Emily for a CT scan, which took forever to get done because she had to drink this nasty contrast drink over an hour before they could scan her. After waiting impatiently all afternoon, we finally found out that she did not have appendicitis, but she does have ovarian cysts, with the one on her right side being much larger than the one on the left.

Saturday was spent trying to convince Katie to take a nap before the birthday party she was to attend in the afternoon, shopping for a gift for the birthday boy, and then actually attending the party. Katie had a great time at the party, and I had a good time, too. They rented a bouncy house, and now Katie is intent on having a bouncy house for her party, too.

After the party, I had to take Sarah shopping for her 8th grade dance dress. I attempted to do this on Friday night, but she was extremely uncooperative, so I just took her home. She had changed her tune by Saturday morning, so I decided to give her one more chance after the party. She wasn't extremely helpful in picking out a dress for herself, but we eventually found a couple of dresses for her - one for the dance and one for her confirmation that's coming up in June. Thank GOD I don't have to take her dress shopping again now!

I had a pretty decent Mothers' Day on Sunday. It was nothing spectacular, but I wasn't at all stressed out and I was able to relax most of the day. That's really all I ever want anyway.

The chaos started back up first thing Monday morning, though. At 7:40am, Sarah informed me that I needed to drive her to school because she had to be there by 8:00am for an NJHS event. When I demanded to see the information from school that stated this, I also found out that the NJHS induction/awards ceremony was that very morning. So, I had to rush to get myself and Katie ready and drive Sarah to school. When we got there, I found out that the ceremony wasn't going to start until 9:30am, so Katie and I left to go have breakfast at Dunkin Donuts before going back to the school. Later that afternoon, I got a phone call from Sarah that she had left her money for her dance ticket on her bed, so I had to drive back to the school to take it to her since it was the last day to purchase tickets.

So, I'm exhausted from all of the running around, to say the least, and I really only have today to relax because the rest of my week is jam packed again.

ETA: I just got a call from Emily. She's feeling sick, so I have to go pick her back up from school. Oh, Joy!

Lost a Week

2009-04-29T20:18:00.005-04:00

I had another appointment with my OB this morning. Everything went well; the baby is fine, I'm fine, blah, blah, blah. This was my first OB appointment since my Level 2 ultrasound with the perinatologist, though, and my OB doesn't feel that my due date needs to be changed to what the perinatologist says it is. So, we're going back to September 8th as my due date. I don't like that idea one bit. I'm now back to only being 21 weeks 1 day pregnant.

My mother kept Katie for me this morning, so I thought I'd take advantage of her absence and hit the mall after my appointment. I first went to Children's Place to get some cute new duds for my little guy. I had picked a couple of outfits out on-line, one for a girl and one for a boy, and just hadn't had the chance (or money or energy) to go get the boy outfit yet.

After TCP, I hit Motherhood Maternity to look for pants. Up until this point, I had just been making my pre-pregnancy pants work by using a Bella Band. But that was getting tight, and I was getting sick of constantly adjusting it, so I knew I needed to give in and get some actual maternity pants. Take a look at what I got.

Both the capris and the shorts have the Secret Fit Bellys. This wasn't around when I was pregnant with Katie, and I am in love with it. It is so comfy and versatile. I don't have to worry about constantly pulling my pants back up when my belly pushes them down, and it's not as cumbersome as the old-fashioned full-belly panels because the belly material is super thin and comfortable.

I also picked up this super cute and comfy outfit.

Being able to finally get some cute and comfy maternity pants sort of balanced out my disappointment in my due date. I may have to be pregnant a week longer, but at least I'll have cute clothes to wear!

Progress?

2009-04-24T09:40:00.007-04:00

I am 21 weeks 4 days pregnant today. This morning, for the very first time during this pregnancy, the number on my scale was higher than it was when I got pregnant.

I've only exceeded my pre-pregnancy weight by .2 pounds, so the above chart really just looks like I'm only back up to where I started, but I am hoping to continue on an upward pattern. I figure that if I can gain between 3/4 and 1 pound per week for the rest of my pregnancy, I'll end up hitting my target weight gain (15 pounds). Wish me luck!

Neighbor News

2009-04-21T12:38:00.005-04:00

Do you remember the lovely house next door to mine? It's been vacant since those nasty people got foreclosed on. Well, the house finally sold, and we'll be getting new neighbors as soon as they finish renovating the house. (They are completely gutting the inside of the house and redoing everything.) This is both good news and bad news.

The bad news is that these neighbors do not have young children. Their children are all grown and out of the house. So, that means there will be no new little playmates for Katie.

The good news is that they don't have any punk-ass little teenagers who will want to break in to or vandalize my house. Also, since they are putting so much work and money into renovating the house, they'll probably take better care of the yard than the last people who lived there. Of course, it wouldn't take much effort to do a better job than before, would it?

Facebook v. Blogger

2009-04-21T07:24:00.002-04:00

I've been noticing something lately. Some of my favorite bloggers have not been posting very often lately. These same bloggers have been posting updates on Facebook quite a bit, though, so I know they have not disappeared from the face of the earth. So, it makes me wonder if Facebook will be the end of blogging for some people. What do you think?

Total Liquidation

2009-04-16T11:28:00.005-04:00

Due to my pregnancy and my upcoming re-entry into the world of babies, I have come to the realization that I just don't have the time required to devote to my Mary Kay business. Therefore, I am having a Going Out of Business Sale to try to recoup my losses on my current stock. EVERYTHING in stock is now 40% off regular price. I have lots of Miracle Sets, Microdermabrasion Sets, Color Products (lips, eyes, cheeks), and specialty items in stock. I can also still get any out-of-stock items for you, if you wish. Check out my website and call or email me today!

For those of you out-of-town readers, YES, I will ship your items (US addresses only) to you.

Oh, and please do not take this action as any indication that I don't love Mary Kay. I still LOVE my Mary Kay products and will continue to use them myself.

Easter

2009-04-14T19:07:00.006-04:00

Even though I prayed it wouldn't happen, I ended up pretty sick on Easter. I had actually felt almost good a few days before hand, so good that my asthma doctor said I didn't need to be seen again for three months. That was Tuesday. Wednesday, Katie and I braved the cold and wind for an Easter play date with my moms group. By Wednesday night, I started to get sick again, and it just went down hill from there.

We never made it to church on Sunday morning, which really upset Katie, but we did make it to my dad's house for a small family get-together. I pretty much rested on the love seat the entire time we were there because I felt so ill. And another side effect of my illness was the fact that I didn't take very many photos on Easter, but I'll share what I do have.

On Saturday night, Phil and Katie dyed eggs. I didn't get a pic of the dying process or of the finished products, but I did snap a pick of Katie eating one of the eggs they didn't dye.

This next pic is one of Katie and her Easter basket. The bunny is the only piece of candy it contained. She also got some Yo Gabba Gabba toys, gardening gloves, and gardening tools.

This final pic was taken at my dad's house while we were waiting for everyone to come back from the neighbor's house where their neighborhood Easter egg hunt was held. I found Katie's dress a month or so ago at Old Navy and fell in love with it. I usually go a bit fancier with Katie's Easter dresses, but I just couldn't resist the adorable sundress. As it turned out, the dress was the perfect choice because the pattern completely hid the Hawaiian Punch and blackberry-raspberry pie that Katie got on it that day.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter with your families!

Ultrasound #3

2009-04-06T17:34:00.006-04:00

This morning was my big appointment with the perinatal specialist at the hospital where I'll be delivering my baby. The first part of the appointment was genetic counseling, because I'm old. That was really fun, having to explain my mother's crazy family and their medical history as I know it. They also had my test results that I didn't get last week. When all was said and done, they gave me 1 in 5000 chance of having a baby with Downs Syndrome, which is much lower than my 1 in 330 chance based on my age.

Next up was the level 2 ultrasound. I was really excited about it, especially after finding out that my baby is most likely healthy. The ultrasound took a really long time because they check and measure every little thing on the baby. A little more than half-way through the ultrasound, my entire world was rocked. There was a penis on the screen, and I just wasn't prepared for it. I'll admit I cried. A lot.

Eventually, the ultrasound was finished, and the doctor came in to go over the results. He was really nice. He asked me how old I was, because he said I didn't look like I could possibly be over 29. He basically told us that my baby looks perfect, and that because they could find no signs of any chromosomal abnormalities, I could go ahead and cut my chances in half, to 1 in 10,000. He recommended against the amniocentesis because the chances of losing the pregnancy from that is much higher (1 in 300) than my baby having any issues.

The doc also mentioned that their ultrasound measurements gave them an EDD for me, so I asked him what they had gotten, since I had an idea that I might be a bit further along than the 17 weeks 6 days my current EDD (9/8) made me. According to my previous ultrasound results that my OB sent them, I was due 9/3, and according to the ultrasound this morning, I am now due 08/31. So, the fact that I got pregnant in the first place, and am having a boy, makes a lot more sense now, knowing that I ovulated a lot earlier than I should have.

So, now we are faced with the daunting task of coming up with a name for this little guy. You'd think that it would be a lot easier than picking a girl's name, since we have already used so many, but really, it's not. I already had a girl's name picked out. And I am completely clueless about boys' names. I can't seem to locate my baby names book, either.

Doctor Visit #4

2009-03-31T13:29:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my fourth OB appointment. It was really no big deal, just your standard pee-in-a-cup, have blood pressure and weight checked, and listen to baby's heart beat appointment.

As expected, my test results from last Tuesday were not in yet, so I didn't get any answers on that front. The OB said that they won't call me if the news wasn't bad, so to call on Friday if I haven't heard anything just to make sure the results are in before my appointment on Monday with the high-risk specialist.

I got all of my other questions answered, too.

Q: Will the ultrasound on Monday be my last, or will they give me the standard 20 weeker at the regular OB office?
A: If the high-risk specialist wants to do more ultrasounds, they'll schedule them there. If they don't want anymore and I want the standard 20 weeker, I can request it at the regular OB office and have it done there.

Q: What about the amnio? Will I have my test results back in time to have that done if I need to?
A: They can do the amnio up to 20 weeks, so I should definitely have my test results back in plenty of time to do it if I need it.

So, while I still don't have my test results, I do feel a lot better about having my other questions all answered.

Oh, and by the way, according to the OB's scales, I am still down four pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. Not that I want to gain a bunch of weight with this baby, but it would be nice to gain a little something. The doctors haven't said anything to me about it yet, but I'm sure if I don't start gaining soon, they will.

Picture Post

2009-03-28T07:17:00.005-04:00

I just realized that my posts recently have been severely lacking in the photo department. So, I thought I'd share with you a few photos of our recent trip to Sea World. Enjoy!

Time to Relay

2009-03-28T06:56:00.005-04:00

Today is the day! Phil just left to take Sarah to her friend's house to get ready for the ACS Relay for Life. The event doesn't actually begin until 1:00 this afternoon, but the team is meeting at one girl's house so they can get all of their equipment they've been storing there and get it to the event site to get set up.

It's not too late to make a tax-deductible donation, so if you'd like to, but just haven't gotten around to it yet, please click on the Relay for Life link over there >>> in my side bar.

Waiting Game

2009-03-25T10:42:00.004-04:00

Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I am not a patient person. Granted, I've mellowed out a bit since having children, but I'm still not the most patient person. That's why I'm so stressed out right now.

Yesterday, I had blood drawn for the second part of the Nuchal Translucency Test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities like Downs Syndrome. This is now standard protocol for geriatric maternity patients like myself. Anyhow, I asked the nurse if they would have my results back in time for my appointment next Monday, and she said, "Probably not."

WTH?! This is important information we're waiting on here. My OB already told me that my measurements from my ultrasound were "a little high" and that they were waiting for the second round of blood tests to make any determinations about my likelihood of having a baby with chromosomal abnormalities. I am already 16 weeks (and 1 day today) pregnant, and the window for an amniocentesis is supposed to be 16 to 18 weeks. I'll be one day shy of 17 weeks at my next appointment, so I really wanted to have my results and be able to discuss with my doctor whether or not I needed to have the amniocentesis.

I guess I'll at least have the results in time for my big appointment at the hospital on April 6th. If my test results show a high likelihood of chromosomal abnormalities, then they can take extra care to look for the signs on the ultrasound. Hopefully, everything will be just fine and the most information I'll receive at that appointment will be the gender of my baby.

Scary

2009-03-22T12:38:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, we took a drive up to Land O'Lakes to pick up my step-son. It's a long drive, usually about an hour each way, and we had already been in the Jeep for about an hour before we started the trip because we had to drop Sarah and Emily each off at friends' houses for sleepovers.

On the way there, I realized that I needed to use the bathroom, and there was no way that I'd be able to hold it until we made it all the way home. I knew that using the bathroom at the step-son's trailer would not be happening, because even if his psycho-bitch mother would let me in, I would probably die from breathing in all of the smoke.

I decided to stop at a McDonald's on the way there to use the bathroom. On my way back out to the Jeep, I lost my balance in the parking lot and fell straight forward to the ground. It all happened so quickly, but from the way I ended up laying on the ground in the parking lot, and from the looks of my injuries, I must have tried to protect my belly by turning sideways a bit.

After Phil helped me up from the ground and I made it back into the Jeep, I noticed that my lower belly felt tight and a little achy. I wasn't having any sharp pains, but it was still worrisome. When we finally made it home, I went to bed and called my OB. I really didn't want to go to the ER, so my OB told me to just take it easy and to go to the ER if I started having sharp pains or bleeding.

Thankfully, everything seems to be just fine now. I'm still a little achy in my lower belly, but that's it. Oh, and my right knee is pretty messed up, too. I'm pretty sure my baby is okay in there, too, because last night she was quite active. It was almost like she was trying to reassure me.

Finally!

2009-03-19T17:26:00.002-04:00

The people who live directly behind my house are FINALLY cleaning their swimming pool. It's been over two years since they've done so. I guess all of those calls to code enforcement and mosquito control are finally paying off. Now, maybe we'll be able to let Katie go out into the backyard to play without slathering her in insect repellant.

Job

2009-03-18T12:18:00.002-04:00

I have what feels like a full-time job now. No, I'm not talking about Katie, though she does take quite a bit of work. What I'm talking about is taking my medicine. Seriously, I feel like that's all I do anymore.

Obviously, I'm still sick. I went back to the doctor yesterday, and I am now taking an antibiotic in addition to everything I was already taking. And some of these pills I have to take are SO HUGE that I just can't take them all at the same time. Or on an empty stomach. So, I have to space them out and schedule them around my meals.

I'm also taking a couple of inhaled meds on top of all of the pills. It's such a pain! And, yes, I know I'm whining, but at this point, I think I've earned the right to whine.

Just a Reminder

2009-03-13T15:41:00.003-04:00

Sarah will be walking in the local American Cancer Society's Relay for Life in just two short weeks. If you haven't already donated to this wonderful cause, or if you'd like to donate more, please click on the link over in my side bar and do so.

Cancer is a bitch, and we need to kick its butt hard!

Crazy Katie

2009-03-10T18:06:00.007-04:00

Katie has needed a haircut for a while now. Her hair grows very fast, so I decided that I would just let her bangs grow out instead of getting then cut all of the time. The only problem with that is the fact that Katie refuses to keep any sort of hair clip or ponytail holder in her hair for any length of time.

This morning, since I had an hour to kill while waiting for my prescription to be filled, I decided to bite the bullet and get Katie's hair cut. Here's a lovely "before" picture.

Here's a picture that I took of her this afternoon before we left to take Katie to the doctor.

And just a little while ago, Katie decided to highlight her face.

And one more picture for your viewing pleasure. Katie decided to put on a pair of Sarah's socks and shoes a few days ago.

You may have noticed that Katie is only wearing clothes in one of those pictures. She has decided that wearing clothes is beneath her. Actually, the only reason that Katie has clothes on in the "after" picture is because we were about to leave for the pediatrician. Katie has her first ear infection, by the way.

Another Week Sick

2009-03-10T11:58:00.003-04:00

Here we are. It's been another week since I've posted anything, and I'm still sick. I think I may have had the flu last week, but I'm not 100% sure about that since since not everyone in my house got it. Whatever it was, though, it has left me with a lingering nasty cough.

So, I went back to the doctor this morning to get checked out. I saw my asthma doctor today, since my problems seem to be located in my lungs. First, they checked my lung function, and it was pretty low. Amazingly, though, my oxygen levels in my blood weren't that bad. They weren't great, but they could have been worse. After a breathing treatment, my lung function improved slightly, but it still wasn't good. Now, I get to get pumped up on steroids for the next ten days.

Backtracking a little bit now, I saw my OB last Monday morning for my regular monthly check-up. Because of my illness, I had lost two pounds at that point. But we listened to the baby's heartbeat on the Doppler, and it was nice and strong.

Then, I asked my OB about my test results. I figured that everything was okay since they hadn't already told me that there was a problem. However, after looking through my chart, I was told that the measurements from my ultrasound for my nuchal translucency test were "a little high." My doc said that he wasn't going to worry about it now, though, that they were going to wait until after they get the results from my second round of blood tests before they make any conclusions. I will be having my blood drawn for the second round of tests in two more weeks, so I have at least that long to keep worrying about this stuff.

I also got a phone call last week from my OB's office to let me know when my Level 2 ultrasound at the hospital was scheduled for. I will be having that done on April 6th, and I will be one day less than 18 weeks pregnant then, which means we should have confirmation on the sex of the baby then. Less than one more month to wait for that. I'm pretty excited about it.

In other news, I've been having a very difficult time with Sarah recently. One of the things that has been causing me (and Phil) a lot of headaches has been the fact that Sarah has been going around telling lies about me and our family. It's made for some very stressful times in my house, and I'm at my wit's end about what to do about it. I sent her to stay with her bio-dad last night to see if he could make any headway with her. I'm hoping that she'll come home from school today with a better attitude, but I know that it's not likely that she'll change her attitude overnight. Please pray for us.

Sickness

2009-03-03T13:19:00.002-05:00

I realize that it has been a while since I have posted anything new. I also went to the doctor yesterday and should probably update you all on how that went, too. But, I am just WAY to sick right now to blog about anything, so you're just going to have to wait a little while longer. Sorry.

Ultrasound #2

2009-02-20T19:05:00.005-05:00

Wow! What a difference a couple of weeks makes, huh? My little blob has turned into a baby! Okay, sure, she was a baby before, too, but you can really tell now.

So, obviously, I had another ultrasound this afternoon. This ultrasound was for my nuchal translucency test that looks for signs of chromosomal abnormalities like Downs Syndrome.

I made sure the ultrasound tech knew to look for that subchorionic bleed she found last time, and she said that she couldn't find any bleeds this time. She said that she could clearly see where it was last time, but that everything is cleared up now. That's great news for Phil, if you know what I mean.

We also got to hear the baby's heartbeat this time instead of just seeing it. The heart rate was a good 168 bpm, so we're still thinking she's a girl. Fingers crossed!

Illness Update

2009-02-20T18:20:00.000-05:00

They're all sick now. All of my girls are sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching - basically they are walking advertisements for Ny-Quil. Emily never returned to school this week, and Sarah decided to stay home today, too. I took them to my mother's house near Ocala so Phil and I could get a break and a little bit of rest ourselves this weekend. Hopefully, they'll all be feeling better when we get them back on Sunday.

Dedication

2009-02-18T08:42:00.004-05:00

Now that I am finally starting to feel better, it seems that all of my girls have come down with their own illnesses. For Katie, it's just a cold. I took Sarah to the doctor last Thursday, but even though she's been on antibiotics since then, she seems to be getting worse.

Then there's Emily. Emily started throwing up sometime Sunday evening, and it continued all day and night on Monday. And even though she was still feeling pretty miserable, she went to school yesterday anyway. Why would my child who felt so sick choose to go to school when I told her she didn't have to? Soccer.

You see, the middle school soccer teams around here have to have a minimum number of sixth graders on their teams or they can't play. Emily's team has the exact minimum number of sixth graders. Since Emily didn't want to be the cause of her team having to forfeit the game due to a lack of sixth graders, she forced herself to go to school so that she could play in the game last night. That's dedication!

By the way, she's home with me and Katie today. She really needs to rest for a while.

Back to Life

2009-02-15T16:36:00.012-05:00

My computer has been on life support for a few weeks now. That made life pretty difficult for me since I have come to rely on this particular piece of technology. But, she is back to normal now, and I am, for the time being, happy.

During my computer's down time, I was without my beloved MSN, which really screwed my daily life up. First of all, I didn't have access to my calendar that I have come to rely on so much. It's the only way that I can keep all of my girls' and my schedules coordinated.

I was also without my favorites. Which meant that I was unable to visit some of my daily blog reads. For some reason, there are some blogs that I visit that aren't listed on my blog roll and I'm also not following them. I should probably try to take care of that situation some time soon.

Anyhow, I got caught up on all of my blog reading today. I may not have left comments on all of them, though, since I was trying to cram a few weeks worth of reading into a couple of hours. I'm sorry if I neglected to leave you a comment during my catch-up reading.

So, there are a couple of things that I got from other blogs that I am going to share with my readers because I said I would. The first comes from Queenie Jeanie. It's a Purse Meme. Here are the rules:

1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house. No cheating!

2. I want to know how much it costs =). And this is not to judge. It is for entertainment purposes only. So, spill it. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.

3. Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you're showing everyone your bag.

Since my camera needs new batteries, I'm using a stock photo of my bag.

This is my Vera Bradley "Betsey" bag in "Java Blue." It retails for $63. This bag used to belong to my mother. She said that my stepfather didn't like it and asked me to put it on eBay for her. I told her that she should just give it to me instead, and so she did. (I also own this same bag in the "Mod Floral Pink" pattern.)

As for what's in my bag, well, surprisingly little, actually. I've only been carrying this bag for a couple of days, and the bulk of my "purse stuff" is still in my other bag. The current contents of this bag are as follows: cell phone, car keys, one check book (there are still two in the regular bag), business cards, one planner (yep, there's a second one still in my other bag), albuterol inhaler, hand sanitizer, one pen (I usually have several), my sunglasses, two Mary Kay compacts (one with eye shadow, blush, and a lipstick, and one with powder and a lipstick), my Vera Bradley wallet (that matches my other bag), two Mary Kay Look Books, and a half-empty container of Tic-Tacs.

This next item comes from Tattooed Minivan Mom. What kind of dog am I? Apparently, I'm a Pyrenean Shepherd. Go here to find out what kind of dog you are.

Nothing But Phelgm

2009-02-10T19:29:00.005-05:00

So, I'm still sick. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever get over this nasty sinus cold. I'm just glad that I don't have morning sickness on top of all of this.

Last Wednesday night was Emily's first school soccer game, and I had to miss it because I was so sick. It was also the coldest night of the year, so it was really a good thing that I didn't go out. Emily's team ended up winning the game 3-0, though I really feel that the other team should have had to forfeit the game since they showed up a half-hour late.

In other news, Katie is completely and totally potty-trained now. We've been putting her in pull-ups at night, but she has woken up completely dry every day for more than a week now, and has even gotten up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom on a couple of occasions. She is so proud of herself, and we are proud of her, too.

As for Sarah, there's not a whole lot of exciting news there. She's just working hard at school and getting great grades. She's been really enjoying her science class lately, as they have been working on lots of fun projects. A couple of weeks ago, she and a friend had to design and build a self-propelled car for class. Over this past weekend, Sarah had to build a container that would keep an egg from breaking after being dropped from the second story of the school. They dropped their eggs today, and Sarah's egg did not break.

That's pretty much all that's been going on in my household. I'll be going back to the OB office next Friday for my next ultrasound, which is part of my nuchal translucency testing. I can't wait to see my baby again!

Oh, and I dyed my hair today. No, I don't have any photos to show you what it looks like, but it is definitely more red than my last attempt.

Baby Pic

2009-02-04T22:32:00.007-05:00

So, here's the long awaited ultrasound pic.

Isn't she cute? Yes, we're calling the baby a "she," and until someone tells us otherwise, that's what we're going with.

Ultrasound

2009-02-03T15:34:00.001-05:00

I had my second OB visit this morning. Because I have been having some mild spotting, the doctor decided to do an ultrasound to check everything out. So, I got to see my baby this morning. The baby is right on schedule as far as size and development goes, so my due date will not be changed at this point. The ultrasound did show that I do have a small subchorionic bleed, so my doctor put me on pelvic rest and wants me to take it easy for a while. We're hoping that it will be reabsorbed into the placenta by the time I have my next ultrasound on the 20th of this month.

I did get a pic of the baby from the ultrasound, but until Phil gets all of my programs back on my computer, I can't scan it to upload it. I will make sure to post it as soon as I can.

Date Night

2009-01-31T23:28:00.003-05:00

Phil and I went out tonight! We caught a great show and still made it home by 10:30 pm. Here's a really cool video from the band that we saw tonight.

Procrastination

2009-01-30T12:31:00.002-05:00

I have a confession to make. I just sent away for Katie's birth certificate. She's almost two and a half years old.

I don't know why I've put this off for so long. I honestly intended to order the birth certificate within a few days of coming home from the hospital. But when we came home, I was still so sick, so I didn't want to deal with anything that wasn't absolutely urgent.

After that, there's never really been any urgency about ordering it. It's been in my "to do" pile on my desk for more than two years now, but there has always been something else that needed to be taken care of "right away" that took precedence.

So, now Katie is almost two and a half years old, and I still have no birth certificate for her. I'm thinking that I may need one if I decide to sign her up for preschool next year when she turns three. I will definitely need one for VPK (voluntary pre-kindergarten provided by the state) when she turns four.

Oh, well. At least it's finally taken care of.

Potty Talk

2009-01-22T11:33:00.008-05:00

I've been a bit hesitant to blog about this because I didn't want to jinx myself, but I'm pretty sure that Katie is completely daytime potty trained. Katie has worn panties every day since Tuesday, and hasn't had any accidents at all. She has even been taking her two-hour afternoon naps in her panties. We've been putting a pull-up on her at night, but that's it as far as diapers go.

I'm so happy about this! Now, I can use the money we won't be spending on diapers for Katie to start stocking up on diapers for the new baby. And since it will be months before the new baby is here, there shouldn't be any regressing for Katie because she'll be so far past the diaper stage.

Here's a pic I took of Katie last night dancing around in her panties and Daddy's boots. Sorry if it's a little blurry.

Happy New Hair

2009-01-18T22:11:00.002-05:00

Since I couldn't stand for that awful photo from my previous post to be at the top of my blog anymore, I thought I'd share with you a photo of Sarah's new hair cut. Phil took her to get it done yesterday, so I had absolutely no say in the matter. It was all her decision.

So, what do you think?

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

2009-01-18T11:00:00.001-05:00

Does this look like a person who can honestly state in court papers, under penalty of perjury, that he does not drink?

What if he also has the following listed on his Facebook profile:
"Activities: Fishing, Camping, Drinking, Relaxing
Interests: Football, Cigars, Beer, Politics, firearms, Cars"?

Yeah, I didn't think so either.

Oh, and to the blog-stalking child-bride: If you think you're going to send this to your attorney claiming that I've done something wrong, you're an idiot. All of the above information, as well as the photo, were taken from a public website that the deadbeat in question posted himself.

I Feel So Special

2009-01-17T19:29:00.008-05:00

The wonderful Queenie Jeannie has bestowed upon me another award. She is just too sweet for words.

There are no real "rules" that go along with this award. I can give it to as many or as few people as I want. So, if you don't see yourself on the list of awardees below, and you would like the award anyway, please go ahead and take it. Just let me know that you did so that I can check out your post about it and see who you are passing it along to.

Andrea - We have very similar senses of humor and I think that helps us to get along pretty well. Plus, one day we'll be family when our children wed. You can visit her blog to get a preview of what my grandchildren will look like.

Kelsey - She reminds me a lot of myself when I was her age. She's WAY mature beyond her years, but still likes to have fun like the teenager that she is.

Kaycee - She also reminds me of when I was younger, when I was a young mother of two little girls. She has no idea how much more "fun" she's in for in about ten years!

A Whole Lot of Nothing

2009-01-15T09:56:00.003-05:00

You may have noticed I've been MIA lately. There really hasn't been much going on around here. I've been sick, which has kept me from doing much. No, I'm not sick because of my pregnancy. I got a nasty cold shortly after finding out I was pregnant, and not being able to take any good OTC meds for it made it get out of control.

After a trip to see my asthma doctor - yes, I'm already having issues with that - I am now on some new meds and an antibiotic for my now infection. I'm starting to feel better, but I'm not 100% yet.

Katie is potty training off and on. We're not pushing her to train, so we just let her work on her own schedule. Yesterday was a great day on that front. Even though Katie wore a pull-up all day, she kept it dry all day. She even pooped in the potty at least two times. Maybe she's really ready for this now. As long as she's out of diapers by the time the new baby arrives, I'm cool with it.

Emily begins practice this afternoon for the school soccer team. She's been looking forward to this all year. I hope she enjoys it.

First OB Visit

2009-01-06T21:29:00.003-05:00

I had my first OB visit this afternoon. I know it may seem a little soon since I'm supposedly only five weeks along, but I have been freaking out about all sorts of things since finding out I am pregnant, so I really needed to get in right away.

One of the main things I have been worrying about is how far along I really am. Because if you go by my LMP*, I'm exactly five weeks today. But, I also should not have been ovulating early enough for me to have gotten pregnant in the first place, so who knows when I ovulated? When I talked to my OB about it today, she said that since I had just come off of the birth control pill, I could have ovulated just about anytime.

When she did my pelvic exam, she also checked the size of my uterus to see if I was about where I should be based on my current due date, and she said that I felt more like six to seven weeks instead of five weeks. Oy! She said it was possible that I ovulated earlier than I thought or that I had a fibroid. Either, or both, are possible. I was "bigger" than I should have been with Sarah, and it turned out that I was about six days further along AND I had a fibroid. I'm just glad she didn't mention the "T" word!

So, now I've got more stuff to worry about. If I ovulated earlier than I thought, my chances of having a boy increase. I am really hoping that this baby is not a boy. Sure, I would love a boy just as much as I love my girls, but logistically, a boy would be much more difficult for us. We are currently planning to have this child share Katie's room with her, and pretty much everything in there is pink. The crib bedding I have is pink. Most of Katie's toys are pink. And of course, hand-me-downs from Katie are a LOT less expensive than brand new boy clothes.

So, please say a little prayer for me and my baby, if you're the praying type. Pray that no matter what, this little one is healthy. Pray that I can get through this pregnancy without any complications like I've had in the past. And please pray that this baby is a girl. Please.

*last menstrual period

First Award of 2009

2009-01-01T18:44:00.008-05:00

I have just received my very first blog award of the new year. Woo-hoo! Feather K has just given me this very prestigious award.

This award is pretty self explanatory.. it is given to those whose blog is entertaining and fun to read... one you get excited about when you notice a new entry!

I hereby pass this lovely award on to the following blogs:

One Day My Pond Will Come
K... is Not Your Average Girl
The Scattered Mind of a Tattooed Minivan Mom
Where Are My Angels

I would have given this award to Queenie Jeannie, too, but someone else already beat me to it.

New Year, New Game Plan

2009-01-01T16:09:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year! I am looking forward to a lot of changes taking place this year.

The first change will involve this blog. No, I am not calling it quits, but I will not be blogging on a daily basis anymore. I started off 2008 by entering a blogging contest with some of my friends. After the contest was over, I decided to continue blogging daily for the rest of the year as a challenge for myself. Now that I have successfully completed that challenge, I have decided to cut back on my blogging because I have so much more going on in my life now.

The second change I am looking forward to is building up my Mary Kay business. I haven't gotten off to the greatest start, and I'm hoping to change that soon. I could really use a little extra income, especially considering change number three.

In case you don't already know about it, change number three is a pretty big deal. This upcoming change is something that took me completely by surprise, but it's absolutely wonderful. This summer, we are expecting a new addition to the family. That's right - I'm pregnant with baby number four.

So, yeah, lot's of changes to come this year. BIG changes!

Tax Deductions

2008-12-31T10:27:00.004-05:00

It's the last day of the year, and you know what that means.... It's the last day to make donations that you can deduct from your 2008 taxes!! I know that none of you want to think about taxes on a day when you are most likely preparing to PAR-TAY all night long, but this will only take you a few minutes.

Here is a short list on my personal recommendations of places to donate your money:

American Cancer Society (via Relay for Life) - help fight the big "C".

All Children's Hospital and/or Children's Miracle Network - help God's precious children in need of medical care.

USO - please support our men and women in uniform who are away from their loved ones.

Now, I know you may think that you can't spare a dime in this economy, but even the smallest donation makes a difference. And if you were the one who needed help from one of these wonderful organizations, wouldn't you want people to donate?

I hope you all have a wonderful end of the year and a bright new year in the morning!

Resolution Rewind

2008-12-30T17:03:00.004-05:00

At the beginning of the year, I, like many others, made a list of New Year's Resolutions. Twenty of them, in fact. My hope was that I could accomplish five to ten of them.

Let's see how I did. The ones in bold, I completed. The ones in italics, I attempted.

2008 New Year's Resolutions:

1. Get more organized. It's nearly impossible to get and stay organized when every single person in your house seems to be working against you.

2. Clean out closets. I totally did this. Not that you can tell now.

3. Get rid of unneeded stuff. I've been purging and purging like you wouldn't believe, but there is still just so much stuff that needs to go.

4. Win BAMs Blog contest. I did this one, too. Actually, it got down to two of us, and after a few months of waiting to see who would forget to blog, we decided to just call it a draw and split the winnings. Of course, no one ever paid up, so we haven't been able to split anything yet. (For what it's worth, I still haven't missed a day.)

5. Lose weight. Aim for 135. I tried. And I was doing pretty well for a couple of weeks, but then my new meds caught up to me and totally killed my metabolism.

6. Break Katie’s pacifier habit. The first attempt was unsuccessful, but the second attempt was surprisingly easy.

7. Drink more water. I'm still working on this one. Coke just tastes so darn good.

8. Try to clean more. I do clean more, actually. Just not a whole lot more. Especially since I get no recognition for what I do.

9. Don’t do crack. This one is always a piece of cake!

10. Remember to take iron pills more often. I tried, but at some point, they disappeared on me.

11. Organize recipes and get rid of bulky cookbooks. I did start this, but I'm still working on it. I need more help from Phil with this one.

12. Cook dinner more often. I was cooking dinner more often until Phil started working normal business hours and getting home in time to cook dinner for the family.

13. Get a family portrait taken. Sadly, though it has been talked about many, many times, there has been no progress made on this front. It's pretty much impossible to schedule an appointment when I never have a clue when my step-son is going to be around. His mother is VERY uncooperative and contantly changing our plans.

14. Take charge of recycling. Set up a recycling center. I started this; Phil destroyed it.

15. Organize refrigerator magnets. Just like the closets, I did this but you'd never guess it now.

16. Make “To Do” lists and try to stick to them. I did this for a while, but it didn't work out very well.

17. Stop buying stuff we don’t need just because it is “cute” or “neat.” This was surprisingly not that difficult.

18. Have children pick oranges and give them away to the needy. I tried this, but those darn kids and husband of mine don't like to share.

19. Get trees trimmed. I did quite a bit of this myself, but there is still a lot of work to do.

20. Take time for myself. Get out of the house by myself at least once a week. I wasn't doing very well with this one until I joined Mary Kay. Now, I get to leave my house all by myself at least once a week to attend a meeting. That counts, right? I do enjoy my meetings.

I think I did pretty well. I completed seven out of twenty, and attempted all but one of the rest. Plus, I did a lot of things that I am very proud of that weren't even on the list.

Already?

2008-12-29T23:24:00.003-05:00

The end of the year is almost here, and I can hardly believe it. It seems like it wasn't that long ago that I was making my 2008 resolutions. Then again, I can barely remember what they were, so it has to have been a while.

I'm really looking forward to the new year and all that it has in store for me and my family. There are definitely some changes to come for my family, and I am hoping that I will have a successful year business wise, too.

The past few days I've been preparing for the new year. Someone told me tonight that however you spend New Year's Day is how you'll spend the rest of the year. So, I need to have my house cleaned and organized by then (as much as is possible) so that it will stay that way in the new year. Hopefully, Phil will help me with this task.

By the way, if this post seems a bit "off," just blame it on my withdrawal suffering brain.

Withdrawal

2008-12-28T20:53:00.003-05:00

For a number of reasons, I have decided to go off of one of my medications. Not only am I uncertain as to whether or not I needed to be on the medication in the first place, but it has also caused me to gain weight - a LOT of weight. There are also other reasons that I need to stop this medication.

The problem with quitting this medication is that the withdrawal symptoms are horrible. I get a headache, numb, tingling fingers, and nausea just from going more than one day without it. I told my doctor about this, and he suggested that I just take one capsule every other day for about a week before completely stopping.

Currently, I'm on day three of this new plan. I hadn't taken my meds yet when I saw my doctor on Friday, so I went ahead and skipped that day. I took another one yesterday, and nothing today. I didn't really have any symptoms on Friday, but today I am feeling them. It's not as bad as it would be if I hadn't taken anything yesterday, but it's still noticeable.

So, now I'm wondering, if I'm going to have withdrawal symptoms either way, should I keep going this route, with mild symptoms stretched out for a couple of weeks? Or should I just quit "cold turkey" and let the withdrawal symptoms hit me hard and fast?

Daily Dose of Cuteness

2008-12-28T00:05:00.000-05:00

More Christmas

2008-12-27T22:35:00.004-05:00

Our Christmas celebrating continued yesterday when we drove across the bay to visit with Phil's bio-dad. They usually don't do a very good job of picking gifts for our children, and then there was last year.

This year was much better though. They gave each of the older children $40 cash so they can spend it however they like, and they gave Katie an awesome little pink percussion set. The percussion set consisted of a drum with drumsticks, a tambourine, a set of maracas, and a harmonica. Katie was thrilled.

Today, we drove up to my mother and step-dad's house near Ocala. We didn't exchange any gifts there because we did that before Christmas so the girls could open them up on Christmas morning. We did, however, leave all three of the girls there.

With no girls in the house, I'm hoping to get a lot of cleaning and organizing done in the next couple of days. I need to conquer Katie's room, which shouldn't be too difficult, though it is impossible when she's around.

I'm also going to try to do something with Emily's room. That child is a total pack-rat. It's impossible to find anything in her room. I doubt she'll even miss anything that I get rid of since she can't find anything she's looking for anyway.

Christmas Rewind

2008-12-26T20:47:00.007-05:00

My family had a rather nice Christmas. Much better than what I thought we'd have, too. My girls got lots of stuff that they just adore. Here are a few photos of the chaos that was Christmas morning.

Boy, was my living room trashed! Luckily, the girls helped me to get it all cleaned up pretty quickly.

Later in the day, we went to my cousin's house for our big Christmas get-together with my Dad's side of the family. The girls picked up a few more gifts there. I brought my camera with me, but I was too tired to remember to take anymore pictures while we were there.

On the way home, we drove through a neighborhood in town that is well known for their Christmas lights displays. Katie quite enjoyed that.

And, while Phil and I didn't exchange any gifts, we did give each other a little something special. (No, I don't mean that! Get your mind out of the gutter!)

All in all, it was a pleasant Christmas in my household. I hope you all had a very nice Christmas, too.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T09:55:00.005-05:00

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T22:47:00.003-05:00

Well, I came into a smidge of money, so I decided to go shopping for a couple of Christmas gifts for my girls today. To tell you the truth, I was a bit scared of what I might encounter when I headed out to the mall today. Amazingly, the mall was not at all crowded!

First, we found a great parking space right where we wanted to park. Then, the stores we went into were practically empty, and there was no line to wait for check-out. And, I only had to wait behind one person when we went to Chick-fil-A in the food court.

The funny thing about it was that even though the mall wasn't crowded, and there were plenty of parking spaces available in the lot, the traffic going in and out of the mall was still bad. Go figure!

So, here I am at nearly 11:00 at night, still wrapping Christmas presents. Ugh! If I wasn't such an OCD perfectionist, I could get Phil to help with the wrapping, or spend less time wrapping each gift myself. Either way, I'd save time. I'd go absolutely bat-shit crazy, but I'd save time!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Declutterring

2008-12-23T22:36:00.003-05:00

Why is it that any flat surface in my house seems to become a catch-all as soon as I turn my back? I know it wasn't all that long ago that I cleaned off my desk and organized everything on it, but it has recently become a total disaster area. I barely had room left on my desk for my mouse.

My dining table was the same way. I know it wasn't that long ago (okay, maybe since before Thanksgiving) that we ate there as a family, yet it was piled high with all sorts of stuff.

So, I spent the first half of the day cleaning off my desk, and the second half of the day cleaning off my dining table. Now, I have the room I need on my table to wrap the few Christmas gifts I need to wrap, and the room I need on my desk to conduct my daily business.

I'll just have to knock on wood that they stay this clean for at least a few weeks, if not longer. Luckily, since they are currently clean, I've got plenty of wood to knock on!

Naughty or Nice

2008-12-22T22:09:00.002-05:00

I've been really busy today, and I really need to get to bed soon, so I'm just going to leave you with this cute little video.

A Visit with Santa (Times Two!)

2008-12-21T18:25:00.006-05:00

This morning, my church had a little Christmas party for the children in the CCD classes. Toward the end of the party, the children were treated with a visit from Santa Claus. One of the elders of our church dresses up as Santa for the children every year. Since he knows most of the children, he calls them by name, which is really impressive to the innocent child.

Katie is still in her being shy around Santa phase. She was totally in awe of him, but timid about getting too close. She did eventually sit on his lap, but was very quiet about telling him what she wanted for Christmas.

After we left church, Phil had the great idea to go visit Santa and Mrs. Claus at the mall. I thought it was a bad idea because of it still being the weekend, but since Phil had agreed to be the one to stand in line while the rest of us went to get lunch, I agreed to do it.

Even though there was a very long line when we got there, it moved amazingly fast, and the girls and I just barely made it back to the line in time to see Santa. Once again, Katie was being a little shy, and was much more comfortable sitting on Mrs. Claus's lap. When Santa asked Katie what she wanted for Christmas, she replied, "Presents!"

Compare that to last year. Boy, has she grown!

Overwhelmed Underacheiver

2008-12-20T18:34:00.002-05:00

I had so many plans for today. Maybe that was the problem. So much to do, with so little time, I couldn't figure out what to do first. Plus, I was really feeling rather "blah" today. So, I got absolutely nothing done this morning.

I had hoped to accomplish something this afternoon. Then Katie refused to take her nap. So, we fought about it for more than an hour before I finally gave in and laid down with her, in my bed, where I fell asleep, for a couple of hours.

Now the sun is down, and it's dinner time, and I'm still in my pajamas. Oh, well. There's always tomorrow. "After all, tomorrow is another day."

It's Her

2008-12-19T14:25:00.004-05:00

Sadly, the remains found last week near the home of Caylee Anthony's grandparents were identified today as hers. This poor little girl had her young life taken from her most likely by her own mother.

My children have made me quite angry on many occasions, but I have never, ever wanted to hurt, much less kill, them. I just can't imagine what could drive a mother to do something so heinous to her own precious little girl.

Casey, I hope you get the death penalty and rot in Hell for what you've done!

Good Day

2008-12-18T22:08:00.007-05:00

I had a good day today. Absolutely nothing went wrong, Katie was as sweet as can be, and I ended up making some money. I certainly didn't plan to have a day like this when I woke up this morning, it just sort of happened.

When I got out of bed this morning, I decided to go ahead and wash my face before leaving my bedroom. When I started cleaning my face, I decided that while I was at it, I'd go ahead and do a little microdermabrasion, too. Then I figured that I should do a little Satin Lips treatment while I was applying my eye cream, day solution, and moisturizer.

I was going to stop there, since I had no plans to go out, but then I decided to take Katie to McDonald's for breakfast, so I went ahead and put on my makeup. I also decided to pack up some of my Mary Kay gift sets, just in case I happened to meet someone who was interested in making a purchase.

After breakfast, I took Katie to get her hair cut. I decided to stop growing out the portion of her bangs that we'd been letting grow and just have them all blended back together. I'm not entirely happy with the way her hair turned out, but it still looks pretty good.

Since I had been promising Katie a trip to Target's Dollar Spot for being a big girl and sleeping in her own bed, our next stop was at our local Super Target. I found a bunch of cute stuff for all three girls' stockings in the Dollar Spot, so that worked out great. I also found some cute little silver baskets for a dollar that I can use for making gift sets for my Mary Kay business.

I also found a cute little Christmas costume for Maggie while we were in Super Target. Isn't she cute?!

After we left Super Target, Katie and I met Phil for lunch at Chick-fil-A. It was nice being bale to sit down for lunch together and chat about our days. And, of course, Katie got to love on her Daddy at bit, too.

From Chick-fil-A, Katie and I headed over to Costco to get some more Pull-Ups for her. (I'm hoping that once spring rolls around Katie will be ready to start potty training.) I also picked up a couple of Christmas gifts for Phil and my mother and step-father while we were at Costco. I forgot to get Katie any more Dinosaur Nuggets or apple juice, so I'll have to go back to Costco tomorrow or Saturday.

While we were waiting in the checkout line at Costco, I got a phone call from a lady that works with my father. She wanted to order some Mary Kay products from me and asked me to call her back when I got home. Unfortunately, I didn't have what she wanted in stock, so I'll have to order it for her.

Also, upon checking my email at home, I found yet another order from a friend of mine. I do have all of her order in stock, so I'll be able to give it to her when she comes over this Sunday afternoon.

Then this evening, I had to take Emily to her Girl Scouts meeting. I decided once again to pack up my Mary Kay gift sets and take them with me. The recreation center where Emily's GS meetings are held is a pretty busy place, so I thought there might be a chance of making a sale there.

Amazingly, I was right. I sold three gift sets tonight. Yay, me! Granted, I sold them to people who work at the recreation center who already know and love me, but I still sold them. Now I just need to learn how to talk to strangers as easily as I do to people I know.

Big Girl

2008-12-17T13:19:00.005-05:00

Phil and I have been struggling with a little issue for a while. The issue was that Katie was sleeping in our bed with us every night. She absolutely refused to sleep in her own bed.

Occasionally, Phil would get Katie to fall asleep in our bed and then move her into her own bed once she was asleep. However, this never lasted all night. At some point, Katie would always get out of her bed and come get in bed with us.

Obviously, the blame for this problem of ours was totally on us. Even though there were many nights that we were very uncomfortable due to little feet, knees or elbows poking into our backs, sides, and even faces, we really didn't mind sharing our bed with Katie very much. She is such a sweet and loving child that we just loved curling up with her.

Of course, we realized that we really did need to get her out of our bed at some point. She's only getting bigger every day, and we definitely didn't want to share our bed with her forever. We tried to make her sleep in her own bed a few weeks ago, but that attempt failed miserably because Phil couldn't stand to hear Katie crying.

However, we decided to try again yesterday. We told Katie all day long that she was going to be sleeping in her own bed that night, just to get her used to the idea. She was not very happy about the idea; in fact, she told us flat out that she was NOT going to be sleeping in her bed.

But we knew we had to stick to the plan. If we let her have her way, she would only be more convinced that she was the one in charge around here, which is NOT what we want. So, when the time came, we put her down in her own bed.

That's when it started. The screaming and crying and getting out of bed went on for at least an hour. Eventually, she must have realized that we were serious about making her sleep in her own bed, because she promised me she would stay in bed and go to sleep. Then she rolled over and closed her eyes.

She did end up crying one more time after I got into bed, and Phil had to go calm her down. Then around 3:30 this morning, she got up and came into our room, but when Phil took her back to her bed, she went right back to sleep and stayed there for the rest of the night.

This morning, Phil and I made such a big deal about what a big girl Katie was to sleep in her own bed last night. We want her to be proud of herself so she wants to sleep there every night. When she asked for a piece of chocolate this morning, I made sure to tell her that I was giving her the chocolate because she had been a big girl and slept in her own bed last night.

When I told Katie that she was going to be taking her nap in her own bed today, she was a bit resistant to the idea. She told me that she didn't want to take a nap. So, I told her she could stay up a little later, but that when the time came, she would be napping in her own bed.

When I laid her down in her bed for her nap, she told me that she wanted me to lay down with her. I told her that I couldn't fit in her little bed (it's a toddler bed) with her, and she just said okay, then rolled over and went to sleep.

And that's where she is right now. Napping like a big girl in her own bed. I'm so proud of her and so happy for Phil and me.

Footprints

2008-12-16T16:00:00.005-05:00

Sunday afternoon, Phil and I left the girls at home so we could go to Home Depot to buy some fence supplies so we can finally put up a fence on the side of our house that isn't fenced in. This is what we found when we came home.

Katie's toes and fingers are still red in spots.

So is my kitchen floor.

Photo Meme

2008-12-15T15:01:00.003-05:00

My friend, Heather, tagged me with this little photo meme. Here are the rules: Post the fourth photo in the fourth file in your Pictures file, and tell the story of it.

This photo is from my "07-2006" photo file, and was taken at Sarah's 11th birthday party. In the photo, she's posing with the fifty dollar bill that my mother gave her for her birthday.

BTW, this photo was taken shortly before Sarah started wearing contact lenses.

Not Good

2008-12-14T19:23:00.003-05:00

My computer is having "issues." Somehow, some sort of virus has invaded my desk top computer, and I can't use it right now. I'm currently using Phil's lap top, but it's a pain in the butt because I don't have any of my favorites on it.

Hopefully, Phil will be able to get this virus off of my computer tonight, because I don't know what I'll do with no internet tomorrow while he's at work.

All Done

2008-12-13T22:27:00.005-05:00

I've been baking for the past few days. Those cookies took WAY longer to make than I had hoped. But I got all eight dozen of them finished, packaged, and ready to go in time for the big cookie exchange party at my friend Andrea's house tonight.

The party was a lot of fun. Andrea had this fun little food trivia game that we all played. And while I'm most definitely not a "foodie," I did get a few questions correct and I did have fun playing.

Of course, the best part of all was that we got to not only eat cookies at the party, but I came home with a dozen of each lady's cookies along with the recipes. With four kids in this house, though, the cookies will probably not last very long!

Reasons I Wish I Didn't Take So Many Meds

2008-12-12T18:35:00.005-05:00

1. My meds cost a LOT of money, even with insurance.

2. My meds are making me gain weight. I REALLY don't like gaining weight.

3. I probably wouldn't have to call Poison Control quite so often if I didn't have so much medicine in my house.

Yeah. I had to call Poison Control AGAIN today. Katie got a hold of my Effexor XR that I was about to take when I stepped into the kitchen to get my drink. Thankfully, she didn't have any adverse effects from the little bit of the drug she may have ingested. At least we didn't have to go to the ER this time.

I swear this kid is going to be the death of me.

Is It Her?

2008-12-11T13:44:00.005-05:00

Phil just called me to let me know about this. The skeletal remains of a small child were found this morning near the neighborhood of Caylee and Casey Anthony. Whether or not it is the body of little Caylee Anthony has not yet been determined. Casey is going on trial soon for Caylee's murder.

On one hand, I hope that it's not Caylee, because I wouldn't ever wish for someone to be dead. But on the other hand, I hope that it is Caylee, because it would make the murder case against Casey so much stronger. The crazy bitch might even finally confess to Caylee's murder once they have absolute proof that she really is dead.

I hope they figure out if it's Caylee's body soon. And I hope her murderer gets the death penalty.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-10T11:37:00.003-05:00

Christmas is Not About Presents

2008-12-10T10:02:00.005-05:00

I know that most of my bloggy friends know that Christmas is NOT about presents. Christmas is about celebrating the miracle of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We give gifts on Christmas to symbolize the gifts that were brought to the Christ child, and we give gifts to show our friends and family that we love them.

This year, due to my deadbeat ex, we are struggling financially. We cannot afford to buy any gifts this year. At first, I was upset about this fact, especially since Katie is so excited about Christmas this year.

But in the past few weeks, I have started to think of this hardship as a huge blessing. Without presents, we have been able to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. There is also no stress about what to buy for whom or keeping within our budget. I've actually been stress-free this Christmas season, and I love it.

Of course, I found out this morning that my brother is mad at me because I'm not buying presents for his children. You see, I sent an email out to the people whose children I usually buy gifts for to let them know about my situation. I wanted them to know ahead of time that I could not get presents for their children this year. Even though I know that Christmas is about giving, not receiving, I didn't want other people who may not be as into this concept to get mad at me for letting them buy gifts for my children when I couldn't do the same for theirs. I wanted them to be aware of the situation and let them make their own decision about whether or not to give to my girls.

Apparently, my brother has a problem with this. I have no idea why, either. Is he really mad that I can't afford to buy gifts for his children? If that's the case, why can't he simply take the money he was going to spend on my FOUR children, and buy more gifts for his TWO children?

What would you do in this situation? If you had a close relative come to you and say, "I'm really sorry, but I can't afford to buy any Christmas presents this year, and that includes your children," what would you do or say? Would you get mad at them? Or would you have another reaction?

Tagged

2008-12-09T21:04:00.006-05:00

I've been tagged by Joanne from Right on Q for this fun little meme.

The rules are simple.
1. Show the icon on your blog.

2. Tag seven people to partake in the fun times.

3. List 10 random things about yourself.

So, here we go:

1. I watch too much TV.
2. I have really long toes.
3. I wish I had a bigger kitchen so I could bake more often.
4. I always get told that I look younger than I am, but I feel so old.
5. I love office supplies.
6. I think my cat loves me more than my children do.
7. I love teaching CCD more than I ever thought I would.
8. I'm shy, but once I get to know you, I don't hold back.
9. I love to dress my girls up like they're my own personal dolls.
10. My favorite color is pink, and it's not because of Mary Kay.

Now it's your turn. Since I don't feel like choosing seven people to pass this along to, I'm tagging the first seven people who comment on this post.

Cold House

2008-12-09T17:09:00.003-05:00

I live in a cold house. My house in made of concrete blocks and is surrounded by trees, so it takes a very long time for it to warm up inside. While this is a great thing during the summer months, it drives me crazy during the winter months, which we haven't even technically gotten to yet.

While I was inside freezing my butt off today, it was a wonderful warmish day outside. When I took Katie and Maggie (the dog) outside for a walk a little while ago, it was 79 degrees outside. Do you want to know how warm it had gotten inside my house by that point? Only 74! And the only reason it was even that warm inside was because I had the heat set on my thermostat to not let it drop below that point.

I need a laptop computer so that I can go sit outside in the sun on warm days and still keep up with my online buddies.

What?

2008-12-08T15:46:00.003-05:00

So, I'm trying to catch up on some blogs that I read since I have a little down time right now. Every time I read something that makes me laugh, Katie says, "What? What mommy?" She wants to know what's so funny, but how do you explain these things to a two year old? Seriously, I don't like having to explain this stuff to Phil, much less a toddler.

Candy Cane Cookies

2008-12-08T09:48:00.011-05:00

Tracy P. over at The Journey is hosting a Cookie Exchange on her blog today. And since I've been busy baking (mostly preparing to bake) my favorite Christmas cookies lately, I decided to join her party.

If you read my post from yesterday, you already know a little bit about what is involved in my recipe. I don't know exactly where my recipe originates from, all I know is that I used to make these cookies with my grandmother when I was a little girl, and I always had fun doing so.

Here are the ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. red food coloring
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup finely crushed peppermint candies

Here's what you do with your ingredients:

1. Cream shortening and margarine until fluffy.
2. Add powdered sugar, egg, almond extract, vanilla extract, flour, and salt, and mix well.
3. Divide dough in half.
4. Add food coloring to one half and mix well.

After you've prepared your dough, it is best to chill it for a while in the fridge before continuing with the recipe. This is a great time to prepare your crushed peppermint if you need to.

5. On floured surface, roll a teaspoon of each dough into 4 1/2 in long ropes.
6. Twist ropes together and curve one end down (into cane shape).
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Mix sugar and crushed peppermint candies.
9. While cookies are warm, coat with candy/sugar mixture.

Please excuse the photo. It was the only one I had on my computer of the cookies. The cookies in the photo were made by Sarah and Emily when they were 9 and 7, and were made much larger than they were supposed to be.

I hope you enjoy my cookies. I think they are yummy and I hope you do, too.

Yesterday

2008-12-07T13:33:00.006-05:00

Some of you may be wondering just why I was so tired yesterday. Did I not get enough sleep? No, I actually got about 9-10 hours of sleep. Was I doing hard physical labor all day (like shopping)? No, not that either. What I did yesterday was bake. Well, not so much baking as preparing to bake and cleaning up the mess.

I went to my friend Michelle's parents' house yesterday with the intention of baking the eight dozen cookies I need for my play group's annual cookie exchange next Saturday. Michelle's parents have a HUGE kitchen with tons of counter space, which is why I wanted to bake over there. Unfortunately, it took me so long to get the dough ready to make the cookies, that I only ended up baking one dozen, which I ended up leaving there to thank Michelle's parents for letting me use their kitchen.

I think the thing that took up most of my time was crushing up the peppermint candies into a fine powder. I usually use a food processor to grind up the mints, but I couldn't find all of the pieces to mine, and I didn't think to ask if Michelle's mom had one to use. So, I ended up double bagging the candies and pounding the crap out of them with a meat tenderizer. And, boy, are my arms sore today!

After baking my one dozen cookies (and a batch of ready-to-bake sugar cookies), I realized that it was getting pretty late, so I decided to close up shop and start cleaning the kitchen. I had made a HUGE mess, and it took me some time to get it all back to perfect.

So, to sum it all up, I worked in the kitchen, on my feet, ALL DAY LONG, and really didn't have much to show for it. Unless you count my sore feet, my out-of-whack back, and my whiny toddler (because she missed her nap). Okay, so I DO have my cookie dough, which is currently chillin' in my freezer, and I DO have my peppermint and sugar mixture ready to go.

All I have to do now is roll out my dough and form my cookies, bake them, top them, and package them for the party. I figure that if I bake one or two dozen cookies per day, I should be able to get them all ready to go by next Saturday night. Wish me luck!

P.S.
Tracy P. is hosting a Cookie Exchange on her blog tomorrow, so I will be posting my recipe on my blog tomorrow for that. Just in case you were wondering what all of the crushed peppermint was for.

Dear Readers,

2008-12-06T20:07:00.001-05:00

I'm busy, and I'm tired, and I just don't have the time I need to be able to keep up with my own blog, let alone all of yours. I'm sorry. I promise to do better in the future. But it isn't going to happen tonight.

Break the Cycle

2008-12-05T12:03:00.003-05:00

Have you noticed that little button over there on my side bar? The one that says "Pink Changing Lives" and shows a picture of a bag with the phrase "Beauty that Counts" on it? Well, if you haven't already, you should click on it and learn all about how Mary Kay helps women's causes all over the world.

One of the causes that Mary Kay is involved in is Break the Cycle. It's an organization dedicated to preventing domestic violence. Break the Cycle is trying to get a law passed that will require domestic violence education in high schools. Currently, only two states have this requirement.

Please click here to sign the online petition. Let's all help Break the Cycle of domestic violence against women.

Square

2008-12-04T20:38:00.003-05:00

A strange thing happened to me tonight. While I was waiting outside of Emily's Girl Scout meeting, I was invited by a nice old lady to join her square dancing class. There was a man there whose partner was late, and he needed someone to fill in for her. I wanted to say, "No," but I really didn't have any reason to, so I went ahead and joined them.

I had no clue what I was doing, of course, and for a while there I felt a bit like a pin ball being bounced and twirled around without a clue where I would land. Thankfully, no one let me fall down. However, after about fifteen minutes of "dancing" with them, I actually started to get the hang of it. I even got some complicated little move down.

Here's the amazing part: Not only did I have fun doing it, but I got a pretty good workout during the process, too. If I didn't have other places to be on Thursday nights, I might have considered signing up for the class.

C-C-C-Cold

2008-12-03T20:37:00.004-05:00

It's been really cold around these parts today. I hate it when it gets cold like this because all I want to do is stay in my warm bed all day. I just can't get myself motivated to do anything when I'm shivering.

So, I obviously have nothing new to blog about today. Maybe it will warm up by the weekend. Hopefully.

Merry SITSmas!

2008-12-02T02:00:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas

May you all get that special gift you've been dreaming about.

And may I get that special Target gift card I've been dreaming about!

Make sure you head on over to SITS to check out their Merry SITSmas celebration.

SITSmas Preview

2008-12-01T23:47:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is the big Merry SITSmas celebration over at The Secret is in the Sauce, AKA SITS. All of the SITStas are going to post a holiday card on their blogs and then link the up over at SITS. And to top it all off, the SITS gals are going to be giving away one cool prize every hour!

But even better than that, is the HUGE Grand Prize that was just announced this afternoon. What is it? Only the best thing possible at this time of year... a $200 Target gift card! Oh, yeah!

So, make sure to check out the Merry SITSmas celebration tomorrow. You won't regret it.

Facebook Find

2008-12-01T22:00:00.003-05:00

So, I guess I should start off by stating that I FINALLY jumped on the Facebook band wagon. Due to some gentle prodding from some friends, and the seemingly constant barrage of articles about the site, I decided to sign up.

I'm not one of those people who tries to rack up as many friends as possible, but I was interested to see who from my past was on Facebook, so I decided to look at the list of my high school classmates. That's when I found him.

A long time ago, I was this tiny little girl who liked to hang out with enormous football players. I never dated them; we were all just friends. One day, I got a class ring from one of those guys to wear while I was working so that people would think that I had a boyfriend and would stop hitting on me.

Somehow, I lost touch with the guy before I was able to give him back his ring. I've held onto it all of these years so I could give it back to him if I ever saw him again. And now, I've found him on Facebook. I sent him a message letting him know that I still have his ring, and hopefully, we can get together soon so I can give it back to him.

NaBloPoMo

2008-12-01T17:25:00.000-05:00

Survivor

2008-11-30T20:54:00.001-05:00

Tonight, I consider myself to be a survivor. What did I survive? I survived the drive to and from my step-son's home an hour's drive away without getting into a car accident.

Ordinarily, this wouldn't be much of a feat, but the drive tonight was not an easy one, to put it mildly. I will never understand why it is that when the wet stuff starts to fall from the sky, the people around here seem to lose all ability to operate a motor vehicle properly.

On the trip to Colin's home, we passed no less than a DOZEN car accidents. At one point there was accident upon accident upon accident, and as I drove past them, I watched another one occur in my rear-view mirror. Apparently, there was one accident, and when the rubber-necking started, people stopped paying attention to the road and started getting into accidents. This is exactly what I watched happen behind me.

On our drive back home, the traffic from those accidents was backed up as far as we could see before we eventually had to exit the interstate to make our way home. I guess I'm not only lucky that I wasn't in an accident, but also that I didn't get stuck in that traffic. We might have been there for quite a while.

Readability

2008-11-30T11:11:00.001-05:00

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2008-11-29T21:32:00.004-05:00

We decided to skip all of the Black Friday chaos this year, partly because we didn't want to spend any money, and partly because there usually isn't anything that we want to buy that is a great bargain.

Then I got an email from Home Depot on Thanksgiving morning with their Black Friday deals. Lo and behold, there it was. The one Black Friday deal I couldn't pass up. A 7.5' LED pre-lit faux Christmas tree, which is regularly $199, on sale for $49. I had to have it.

Phil and I had been discussing getting a fake tree for a few years, but we just couldn't find one that was nice enough for our tastes and also cheap enough for our budget. I knew that the tree in the ad would fit the bill for us. So, I told Phil that he would have to be at Home Depot at 6am on Friday morning to get it for me.

When he got there he saw the crowd swarming the pallet of trees in front of him, only to find it completely empty when he got to it. My cousin's husband was also there, and he and Phil decided to go look at the rest of the fake trees there. Amazingly, they found two more of the trees buried in a pile of boxes of other trees. Yep, Phil got the very last tree they had.

And here it is:

It's not finished being decorated, but it doesn't look half bad, does it? And because it has the LED lights on it, we won't have to use as much electricity to light it this year. Way to go green, huh?

For Emily

2008-11-29T20:29:00.004-05:00

My good bloggy buddy, Queenie Jeannie, is having another cool give away, and the prize would make a great Christmas gift for Emily. They're really cute little coin pearl earrings, and Emily specifically asked for "dangly earrings" on her Christmas list. Let's all pray that I win these for her.

EDS Update

2008-11-28T12:11:00.002-05:00

I talked to my cousin at Thanksgiving dinner yesterday about her Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. While she didn't say exactly what type she has, from the list of the symptoms she told me she has, it seems that she has the Classical type of EDS. And though this is one of the types that includes the heart problems (mitral valve prolapse), my cousin said that she has not had any heart problems that are caused by the disorder (she did have a heart problem, but it was not related to her EDS).

Also, some of her symptoms that she showed me, I realized that I have, too, but never realized that they were symptoms of a disorder. Because of that, I am even more convinced that I have EDS, too. If Katie is diagnosed with it, I will be 100% sure about it. And I have also had my heart thoroughly checked out by a cardiologist (while I was in the hospital after delivering Katie), and have no problems at all with it.

So, the good news is that if Katie has EDS, it should be anything to worry about too much. We'll mostly just have to make sure she's extra careful if she participates in sports or gymnastics, since she'll be more at risk for joint injuries.

Giving Thanks

2008-11-27T11:02:00.002-05:00

On this Thanksgiving Day, I take time to reflect on the things in my life that I am thankful for.

For my husband, Phil, who has brought so much joy to my life;

For my beautiful daughters, Sarah, Emily, and Katie Grace, who give me such a great purpose in my life;

For my cat, Bella, who loves me and keeps my feet warm at night;

For the clothes on my back, the food in my belly, and the warm house I live in;

For my best friends, Ann and Michelle, who are the sisters my parents never gave me;

For my parents who are always there to help me out, and who believe in me;

For my church which gives me such a welcoming family to worship with;

For my good health, and the good health of my family;

For my friends, my family, and my good neighbors, who each enrich my life in their own special ways;

Thank you, Jesus, for all of these blessings, and for all of the wonderful blessings you still have in store for me. Amen.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

2008-11-26T13:59:00.003-05:00

I learned a couple of things today. First, it is highly likely that Katie does indeed have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Why do I think this? Because I found out this morning that my cousin was diagnosed with it while she was in the military a few years ago. The fact that it is an inherited genetic disorder, and I have a close blood relative who has already been diagnosed with it, means I probably passed it on to her.

Second, the method used to test my cousin for the disorder is not something I am looking forward to having done to Katie. How did they test her for it? With a skin biopsy. They'll most likely cut a small piece of Katie's skin off to look at under a microscope. They may also do a blood test.

Not that I want to, but now I'm wondering if I should have myself and the other girls all tested, too.

Katie

2008-11-25T19:45:00.004-05:00

I mentioned yesterday that we took Katie to the neurologist. The reason we took her was because I have been worrying that her hand muscles were weak and that she might need occupational therapy to strengthen them. Our pediatrician said that we needed to start with an evaluation from a neurologist, so off we went.

After giving Katie a very thorough examination, the neurologist was very impressed with how advanced she is mentally, but said he was unimpressed with her lack of hand strength. He said that if I wasn't worried about it, he wouldn't send her for occupational therapy, but he was going to, just in case I'm right. He also said that because she is so advanced in every other way, having this little thing "wrong" with her might be the one thing that allows her to "be normal" and "blend into society." LOL!

The neurologist did find one thing that he was concerned about though. He noticed that Katie seems to have very elastic skin on her hands and arms, and that I do, too, though not as significant. He said that elastic skin, as well as weak muscles, are symptoms of a genetic disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. He wants us to take her to the the USF Genetics Department to have her tested for it.

So, once we get through the Thanksgiving festivities this week, I'll be calling to schedule Katie for more appointments to get this all figured out. Wish us luck!

Who Can I Sue?

2008-11-24T17:25:00.003-05:00

This morning, Phil and I took Katie to see a neurologist about a developmental delay that she may have. I'll tell you more about that in another post, as I still have some research to do.

Anyhow, on our way to the neurologist's office, Phil spotted a billboard ad for a website that we found to be quite hilarious. The billboard pictured a man with a brief case in the middle of a fall (he was in the air and falling onto his back), with the name of the website scrawled across the bottom of the billboard. The name of this website? WhoCanISue.com. Seriously.

What is this world coming to when you have a website with a name like that and the billboard for it in a not-so-well-off neighborhood? It's like they're telling these people that there's no need to get a J-O-B; just find somebody to sue. That'll take care of all of your problems, won't it?

Power of Positive Thinking

2008-11-23T19:23:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, I attended a Mary Kay "boot camp". It was basically an all day training seminar that covered several different subjects. While I found the entire day's lessons to be very inspiring, the first subject, "Attitude", was the most inspiring to me.

In this training session, we were not only told about the power of positive thinking, but the destructiveness of negative thinking. We were taught about how the word "No" is not really negative. "No" means that nothing changes. For example, if you ask your neighbor for a cup of sugar, and they tell you, "Yes," you now have more than what you did before. However, if they say, "No," you still have exactly what you had before. Your neighbor didn't take anything from you, so you haven't lost anything.

The point here, is that you shouldn't be afraid to ask someone for something for fear that they will say, "No." If they say, "No," that only means that nothing changes. But what if they say, "Yes?" You have then gained something, right?

After meeting with my sales director, I decided that to achieve what I want from my Mary Kay business, I really need to have some sort of inventory in stock so that I can deliver to my customers on the spot, instead of making them wait for their order to be shipped. The problem with this idea was that I have absolutely ZERO funds and ZERO available credit with which to purchase my start-up inventory.

So, I started going through my list of who I normally go to for help when I need it. Mom? No, she already helped as much as she could. Aunt? No, she's having her own financial troubles right now. Father-in-Law? He's already paying for my attorney fees to deal with my dead-beat ex-husband.

Then I thought about my Dad. I don't know why, but I've always been afraid to ask my Dad for anything. I've never asked him for anything, because I've always been afraid that he would say, "No." But then I thought about the lesson I had just learned in my training session. What if I asked him and he said, "No?" I wouldn't be any worse off than I already was, would I? So, what did I have to lose?

I decided to wait until today to ask my Dad for the help I needed. It wasn't because I was still afraid to ask him, but because I wanted to wait until after church. I wanted to have the chance to pray about it, not only at home, but also in the house of God.

The more I prayed about it, and the more I thought about it, the more positive I became about it. By the time I left church this afternoon, I was no longer thinking about "if" I got my inventory, but "when" I got my inventory. It was no longer a possibility for me; It was DEFINITELY going to happen.

When I called my Dad this afternoon, there was no fear left in me. I was just going to lay it all out there for him and ask for what I wanted. If he said, "No," then I was just going to find another way to make it happen. I had nothing to lose, and only good to gain.

My Dad said, "Yes." I will get my start-up inventory. I will have a successful Mary Kay business. I will pay my Dad back in no time. I will not let fear hold me back.

Twilight Movie Review

2008-11-22T20:58:00.010-05:00

So, I was going to write a post about the Twilight movie. Of course, I decided to get caught up on reading some of the blogs I've been neglecting lately with my busy schedule first. That's when I came upon Queenie Jeannie's review of the movie. You can go here to read it. Go ahead, I'll wait for you to get back.

In case you didn't read the comments on her review, here's what I had to say:

"I totally agree with everything you said here! Jasper freaked me out! He reminded me of Edward Scissorhands. Robert Pattinson is NOT Edward at all! Period. And Rosalie is supposed to be incredibly beautiful and that girl who played her wasn't.even.close.

AND there were just some flat out CHEESY parts in the movie that made me want to vomit."

So, yeah, that about sums it up. I didn't expect it to be exactly like the book. I'm not that stupid. However, the movie, on its own merits, was just plain BAD. Buy, hey, don't let that stop you from seeing it if you were planning on it. If they make enough money, they'll make a sequel which will hopefully be much better than this atrocity.

Birthday Continued

2008-11-21T22:51:00.005-05:00

We ended up going to The Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch with my dad this afternoon. It had been several years since Phil and I had been there, and I remembered having liked the chicken alfredo I had the last time we went. Unfortunately, it just wasn't up to par today. I don't know if they were just having an off-day or if they've changed their recipe and it's just not as good any more. It's probably better that it wasn't delicious, because I might have overeaten if it was.

After lunch, we headed home so that Katie could take her nap and I could get some papers together to take to my attorney. While Katie napped, I ran my errands. I got home just after the older girls got home from school.

I knew that Twilight was going to sell out fast tonight, I had already purchased our tickets a couple of days ago. And after experiencing a long waiting line when we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean III, I knew we needed to get to the theater well ahead of the show time to make sure we got good seats. So, I gathered up the girls, who were out in the neighborhood with their friends, so they could get ready to leave for the theater.

Do you remember that awful cake from my mother's wedding? Well, in addition to getting a full refund from the Publix store manager, my mother got him to give us a cake for my birthday, too. She brought it over before I ran my errands, but I didn't have time to eat any of it until after I got home. So, before we left for the theater, we had vanilla cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream icing for dessert. YUM!

We ended up bringing Sarah's friend Eryn with us since I was able to purchase another ticket for our showing online before we left. We picked up my friend, Michelle, who actually bought my ticket for my birthday, on our way to the theater, so it was a total girls' night for the five of us.

When we got to the theater, there was already a small line for our showing, but it wasn't bad because there was only about seven or eight people ahead of us. We took turns going to the concessions stand and ended up eating hot dogs and popcorn for dinner while we waited in line for the theater to open up. When it finally did, we got great seats, so it was totally worth it.

I'm very tired now after my long day, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear my thoughts on the movie.

BTW, I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who wished me a happy birthday today. Also, I'm sorry if it seems like I've been ignoring your blogs over the past few days. I've just been incredibly busy and I have barely had the time to keep up with my own blog. I promise I'll get caught back up with you very soon. Thanks for sticking with me!

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-11-21T10:41:00.002-05:00

Well, I didn't wake up to an ice cold Coca-Cola like I had hoped, but that wasn't entirely Phil's fault. For some reason, I had trouble sleeping last night, and I was awake before he was. Maybe it was the thought of "35" looming over me that kept me from sleeping.

After Phil woke up, he promptly ran out and got my ice cold Coca-Cola and a box of Krispy Kreme donuts for me. Breakfast in bed was DELICIOUS!

After spending a little bit of time on the internet checking emails and blogs, I got to take a long, hot, bubble bath - a luxury that I rarely get since Katie is usually attached to me 24/7.

Now, I have to go get dressed for lunch with my dad. Hopefully, we won't be eating at McDonald's today. Of course, I really won't be too disappointed if we do since it's still McRib season.

P.S.

2008-11-20T20:54:00.003-05:00

It's OFFICIALLY official now. Yay me!

Long Day + No Caffeine = Headache

2008-11-20T20:18:00.004-05:00

I had to get up early this morning so I could take my mother to her dermatologist appointment at 8:45.

Then she dragged me shopping all over the mall where I learned that it is impossible to keep track of both my mother and Katie at the same time.

Because we were at the mall, Katie missed her nap and was exceptionally whiny for the rest of the day.

I had to go to the girls' school this evening to have conferences with a couple of Emily's teachers.

I met Emily's geography teacher tonight, and I don't like her.

I'm going to sleep now to try to get rid of this headache before my birthday tomorrow.

If Phil really loves me, he'll have an ice cold Coca-Cola waiting for me when I wake up.

It's (Almost) Official

2008-11-19T21:50:00.014-05:00

A few months ago, my friend, Julie, became a Mary Kay consultant and invited me to a party at her house. I was mildly interested in the products, but more interested in helping Julie start her business, so I scheduled at skin care class with her.

Julie told me that if I brought at least two guests with me to my skin care class, I would qualify for a great discount, and since I'm not one to pass up a great deal, I brought along my friend, Michelle, and my mother. At the skin care class, we all had a great time, and I was really impressed with the Mary Kay skin care products. I made a purchase that night and started using the products right away.

Michelle also bought some products that night and scheduled her own skin care class with Julie. I attended her skin care class about a week ago, and had a ton of fun again. At this point, I had been using the Mary Kay skin care products for about a month and a half, and I totally loved them. Every time I would talk up a product that I loved, Julie would point out to me that I could be doing that and earning money for myself.

That's when I decided to "bite the bullet" and join Mary Kay. I had been thinking about starting some sort of work-from-home-business in the future when Katie starts kindergarten, but I decided to stop waiting and just do it now. Besides, with the large commission percentage, even if I only buy stuff for myself and my girls, I'll be getting an amazing discount. And if people buy stuff from me? Even better.

My only obstacle was coming up with the money for the starter kit. Since we've been operating sans child support for the past several months, we've been struggling to just get by. And with Christmas on the horizon, there was just no possible way we could spare a dime to start my business venture, especially since I probably won't see any kind of profit for a couple of months at least.

Thankfully, my mother and step-father decided that they would give me the money I need for the starter kit for my birthday (and Christmas). Once I deposit it into the bank, I can officially sign on. By this time tomorrow, I will be an official Mary Kay Consultant. I'm so excited! I hope I do well. Please wish me luck!

Bright Spot in My Gray Day

2008-11-18T13:17:00.012-05:00

As the coughing and gagging continued today, I received a little something that brings a little happy to my day. I have been bestowed with another blog award by What A Card.

The award is written in Portuguese.

The Snazzy Blog Award

This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

I hereby pass this award along to:

1. Ashley.Unscripted

2. Jeanie's Happy World

3. K... Is Not Your Average Girl

4. Life as a Mom at 22

5. Lipstick at the Mailbox

6. The Scattered Mind of a Tattooed Minivan Mom

7. Tina Bug Time

8. Where Are My Angels?

Now go share the bloggy love!

Sick, Sick, Sick, Sick

2008-11-17T19:12:00.008-05:00

You may recall that I had to take Katie to the doctor on Thursday for her throat infection. Well, her cough kept getting worse over the weekend, and this morning she was so congested that she vomited up a bunch of phlegm that she had swallowed.

Then, Emily came to tell me that Sarah was sick and she didn't think she was going to school.

And did I mention that I haven't been feeling so hot myself?

So, I got on the phone and started making appointments for the three of us to see our doctors. My appointment was first.

I have an upper-respiratory infection. No surprise there - story of my life! I got some antibiotics and a decongestant.

After my appointment, I decided to call the girls' doctor back and see if they could get Emily in with Sarah and Katie. Emily has been complaining off and on about her throat hurting, so I figured that I might as well take her in, too, just in case.

After picking Emily up from school, we went to lunch at Chick-fil-A, and then headed to the pediatrician's office. Our regular doctor, Dr. Bob, is in Rome this week, so we saw one of the other doctors for the first time. We all really liked her a lot.

The verdict? They're all sick. (Duh!) Katie's throat infection has spread to her upper respiratory system, so she was given a different, stronger antibiotic. Emily has a nasty ear infection and a mild throat infection. Sarah was actually the least sick with nothing more than a mild throat infection.

The doctor left it up to me whether or not to give Sarah an antibiotic. Since the rest of us are taking them, I decided it would be best for Sarah to do so, as well. This way, we'll all be infection free at the same time and we won't keep passing this junk around to each other.

Hopefully, we'll all be feeling better by the weekend. Especially since my birthday is Friday AND Twilight comes to the theaters the same day.

Woo-Hoo!

2008-11-16T15:49:00.003-05:00

As I was driving home from church this morning, I scared the crap out of my daughters when I screamed, "Woo-hoo!" What could have possibly caused me to make such an exclamation? Only the one good thing to come out of this whole economic crisis.

That's right, people. Cheap gas has finally come to town!

Would You Rather

2008-11-15T08:20:00.002-05:00

C, AKA Tattooed Minivan Mom, is hosting a little game of Would You Rather over on her blog. She asked her readers to submit some Would You Rather questions to her, and she has posted them, along with her answers, so that we can all play along.

So, here we go:

1. Would you rather eat a cockroach or a bull nut?

I'd rather not eat either one, but if I had to choose, I'd go with the cockroach, since with my life long love of hot dogs, I've probably already eaten a few of them already.

2. Would you rather not shower for a month or not brush your teeth for a month?

I'd definitely rather not brush my teeth. I think I'd get rather stinky and my hair would be all nasty and oily if I didn't shower for a month.

3. Would you rather have to have sex everyday for a year straight or go six months without it? Knowing you HAVE to do it everyday VS. the anticipation of what is to cum in 6 months.

Tough choice. I think going six months without sex would be the easier thing for both me and the old man.

4. Would you rather find true love or 1 million dollars?

I've already found true love, so all I need now is the million dollars.

5. Would you rather always have to say everything on your mind or never speak again?

It would probably keep me out of trouble if I could never speak again. Plus, I could still blog as much as I wanted.

6. Would you rather know it all or have it all?
If I choose "have it all," does that mean that I have to give up what I already know and become ignorant? I rather like being a genius (yes, it's official people), and I would hate to lose that.

7. Would you rather have extremely bad tourettes or uncontrollable orgasms?
If I had Tourette's, it would give me a really good excuse to go around yelling, "MOTHERFUCKER!!!" as much as I wanted to.

8. Would you rather skip Christmas for a year or skip your birthday for a year?
If I skip my birthday, do I still get older? I'll have to skip my birthday so as not to deprive my children of the joy of Christmas.

9. Would you rather be followed by a cloud of dust or a cloud of gnats?

A cloud of dust. Gnats are SO annoying and make way more noise than dust clouds.

10. Would you rather eat a toenail omelet or a hair sandwich?

Toenail omelet. I think I'd choke on the hair sandwich. Plus, if the toenail was ground up really finely, I'd probably not even notice it.

11. Would you rather lick the discharge from a cats eye or lick the dried spit from the corner of a teachers mouth?

Oh, that's just disgusting! I guess I'd have to choose the cat, since I really, really love my cat, and I can't think of a single teacher that I've ever wanted to put my tongue on.

12. Would you rather have dinner with the Obamas or go on a date with George Clooney?

George Clooney, for sure. I can't imagine that I would have anything in common with the Obamas. I certainly don't agree with their politics, and what else would we have to talk about?

13. Would you rather be paralyzed or blind?

Paralyzed. I want to be able to see my girls grow up, and see how beautiful they look on their wedding days. And I want to see my beautiful grandchildren one day.

14. Would you rather blog or sleep?

I'd like to choose both, but if I could only choose one, I'd have to choose sleep.

15. Would you rather take a cheese grater to your sunburned back, or pour alcohol in a new hole in your toe?

Alcohol on my toe. I could take the temporary pain of the alcohol, plus it would help keep my toe from getting infected.

16. Would you rather use the woods or a port-o-potty?

Considering that I've never been able to go in the woods, I'd have to choose the port-o-potty. Besides, that's what Purell was invented for.

Now, if you'd like to play along, too, just copy and paste these questions onto your blog, and replace my answers with your own answers. Then, go back to C's blog, and post a link to your post on her Mr. Linky.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

2008-11-14T17:35:00.002-05:00

I WON! I WON! YAY, ME!

Some of you may recall my post from a week ago about a give away that Queenie Jeanie was having over at her blog for her very own cookbook. You know, that super convenient cookbook on CD?

Well, I just visited her blog, Jeannie's Happy World, to find out who the winners were (she picked three), and I won! She had her super-cute daughter, Bella, pull the three names from the bowl, and mine was the very first one she pulled out!

I'm NEVER this lucky. Maybe this means that my luck is finally changing. Maybe there will be a Christmas here after all. A girl can hope, can't she?

Katie Update

2008-11-13T15:40:00.005-05:00

A little while after I gave Katie the cough medicine this morning, Emily said that Katie felt warm to her. So, I decided to take Katie's temperature. Everything was normal there, but I decided to give her the once-over to make sure she wasn't any sicker than she appeared to be.

When I lifted Katie's chin up so that I could feel her glands, I realized that there was no need to do so. Why? Because Katie's right gland was so swollen, it looked like she had gotten one of those rubber bouncy balls stuck in her throat!

As soon as her doctor's office opened, I called to get Katie an appointment. Sure enough, her throat was infected. Thankfully, it wasn't Strep (or not enough Strep to get a positive result with the rapid Strep test).

So, now Katie's got an antibiotic to take, and she should be feeling much better very soon. We're planning to take her Busch Gardens to see Jack Hanna on Saturday, so I hope she's feeling well by then.

Dear NBC,

2008-11-13T06:33:00.007-05:00

YOU SUCK!!!

Just when I finally had Christian Slater back in my life on a regular basis, you go and rip him away from me. Why, oh, why must you torture me so?! Maybe if you didn't just cancel your shows all willy-nilly, they would have a chance to build a better following and your ratings would improve. Did you ever think of that, geniuses?!

I guess I'll be going to bed a little earlier on Monday nights now. I sure as hell am NOT going to be watching whatever craptacular show you put in that time slot.

Angrily Yours,
Melodie

Early Morning Funny

2008-11-13T06:21:00.004-05:00

It seems that Katie has a cold. She started coughing yesterday morning (so did I, for that matter), and it's only gotten worse. Her cough kept her up late and got her up early this morning, too.

So, when we got up this morning, I went to the medicine cabinet to see if we had anything for her cough. Luckily, we had some Pediasure cough medicine, and I gave her a dose of it. As I was putting the medicine away, Katie exclaimed, "I'm all better now!" LOL - If only it were truly that easy to make her feel better!