I'm just me: wife to Mike for 9 years, mom to three great kids I can hug and kiss every day and one babe I can't wait to hold in my arms again one day soon. I'm always looking to improve my faith life and be a better wife and mother.
Well, that was a quick one. We left Friday afternoon before Thanksgiving and got home last night. 1200 miles each way...my butt and legs are tired! No cruise control :(
I'm happy we went when we did as my Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, Cousin's hubby and Cousin's son were there too. Micheal took almost all of his things (that he wants for now...we're storing the rest) and is working on getting settled in and becoming a Texas resident. Woo hoo!
I'm tired. School tomorrow...hopefully most of the snow melted!
Things are going well, we're pretty well settled into the new house and spend our "time off" and weekends doing things like unclogging drains and reorganizing the garage. Fun stuff! I still need to do something with my office, it's a huge mess! But right now more important things are going on...like my family visiting!
Father's Day was nice, we got to see Mike's Dad for a while both days of that weekend. I'd like to plan a trip to see them next year for one of Mike's vacation weeks. Micheal turned 20 and then the next day my Mom, Sister and 2 nieces arrived. I love having my family here and the house, while at times is full, is plenty big enough for everyone. I just need a couple more pull out beds or air mattresses or something! But everyone is happy and we're all having a great visit.
Can you believe Zachary will be TWO YEARS OLD???? In 17 very short days my baby is a 2 year old. I'm working on weaning, more for me than him. He has cut down again so that is good. I keep saying by his birthday but that's not set in stone. I just don't see me going much beyond 2 years. This past week or so he has grown up so much! He's a huge train fan now too...which I LOVE, and am so grateful that my Mom let us have my Dad's trains when we were there last December. Those aren't the ones he's playing with yet, but I bet in the next 2 or 3 years he will be. He's really careful and loves to lay down and watch the wheels go round and round. We got him a trike with a long handle so we can push him or flip it upside down and he can rock on it, or take it off and he can ride by himself. I'm so not ready for him to spread his wings and fly though. He is my baby, right??? Sure don't see much of it these days.
It is currently raining a TON. I should take a picture of the lake that is/was our cement patio right outside my office. We have a LOT of landscaping and yard work to do this summer. Yikes!!!
That is how Zachary says his name! And he can tell you that Zachary, when he sees it written down, is Dah - dar - ree's name.
I love this stage of development...he's starting to make sense of the world around him and things are starting to come out of his mouth that aren't screams! :)
I started a family blog not too long ago, to share pictures and fun facts with Grandparents...or anyone else that is completely bored and wants to read!
I can't remember and am too lazy to go back and look...did I tell you we put an offer in on a house last week? Did I even say we're house hunting? LOL
Anyway, first house offer we made was rejected. The seller received our offer and at least one other, so we're totally ok with being rejected!
We have seen this house twice now:
Tomorrow our offer will be presented to the seller. I'm praying that this house, while not perfect and beautiful, is our house soon. It has the basics of what we need in a house and has so much potential. It's the "cheapest house in the best neighborhood" type house. It can be SO beautiful...but right now it's so not. The back yard is nothing but dirt and weeds. There are a few small holes in a couple of walls, there is a LOT of dirt (the walls need scrubbed and then painted something other than builder white), the carpet needs shampooed if not replaced. But it's the right size for us, has the parts we need in a house. And best of all, both Mike and I, and the kids, can all see our family in this house.
Today we saw about 10 houses. Probably too many, but I'm an organizational freak so I wasn't feeling too overwhelmed. Plus I pawned off Zachary to Daddy, brother and sister! :P
Out of ten houses, we liked 2. A lot. Mike loved one way more than I do...ditto for me and the other house way more than Mike. This is going to be "fun".
We have a list of 31 houses left to see. Sellers hate this market (we sure did last year) but as a buyer...I think it's great I have so much to chose from and can afford to be super picky. We both know what we definitely want/need in a house and yard and we are, for the most part, on the same page. He wants silly things like the ability to drive into the back yard (why???) and I want something big enough for the family now but not too big when the teenagers are gone. We both want a certain area but I'm more willing to go a bit outside of said area to get the house that is right for our family. He's stubborn. I'm stubborn. Who will win??? Hopefully the entire family will.
Here's a list of people that share birthdays (and our anniversary) with my little family!
Famous March Birthdays (Matthew) March 10, 1928- James Earl Ray, assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. March 10, 1940 Chuck Norris, martial arts, "Walker" in Tv series "Walker, Texas Ranger" March 10, 1957- Osama BIn Laden, Al Queda terrorist leader March 10, 1958- Sharon Stone, actress, "Basic Instinct" March 10, 1983- Carrie Underwood, American Idol Winner
Famous June Birthdays (Micheal) June 23, 1929- June Carter Cash, country singer June 23, 1948- Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court justice
Famous July Birthdays (Kerry *18th*) (Zachary *19th*) (Mike and Kerry *24th*) July 18, 1918- Nelson Mandela, South Africa anti-apartheid activist, President July 18, 1921- John Glenn, astronaut, Ohio Senator July 18, 1927- Kurt Masur, conductor July 18, 1940- James Brolin, actor (Los Angeles, CA) July 18, 1943- Calvin Peete, golfer July 18, 1947- Malcolm "Steve" Forbes Jr., publisher, presidential candidate July 18, 1957- Nick Faldo, golfer July 18, 1961- Elizabeth McGovern, actress
July 19, 1860- Lizzie Borden, accused ax murderer July 19, 1898- Herbert Marcuse, political philosopher July 19, 1922- George McGovern, presidential candidate, South Dakota Senator July 19, 1924- Pat Hingle, actor July 19, 1941- Vikki Carr, singer July 19, 1946- Ilie Nastase, tennis player July 19, 1962- Anthony Edwards, "Dr. Greene" on TV series "ER"
July 24, 1897- Amelia Earhart, pioneer aviator July 24, 1921- Billy Taylor, jazz pianist July 24, 1936- Ruth Buzzi, actress, comedian July 24, 1947- Robert Hays, actor July 24, 1951- Lynda Carter, actress, "Wonder Wonam" July 24, 1963- Karl Malone, NBA basketball player July 24, 1964- Barry Bonds, baseball player July 24, 1970- Jennifer Lopez, actress, singer, "J-Lo"
Famous October Birthdays (Haley) October 28, 1914- Jonas Salk, physician, developed polio vaccine October 28, 1936 -Charlie Daniels, singer, songwriter, musician October 28, 1939- Jane Alexander, actress October 28, 1944- Dennis Franz, actor, "NYPD Blue" October 28, 1949- Bruce Jenner, Olympic decathlon champion October 28, 1955- Bill Gates, Microsoft executive, multi-multi billionaire October 28, 1967- Julia Roberts, actress, "Pretty Woman", "My Best Friends' Wedding", many more
Famous December Birthdays (Mike) December 15, 1832- Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, engineer, designed the Eiffel Tower December 15, 1892- J. Paul Getty, oil billionaire, philanthropist December 15, 1916- Maurice H. Wilkins, biophysicist, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA December 15, 1933- Tim Conway, actor, comedian, "McHales's Navy, "The Carol Burnett Show" December 15, 1942- Dave Clark, musician, leader of the "Dave Clark Five" December 15, 1949- Don Johnson, actor, "Miami Vice" December 15, 1968- Garrett Wang, actor
I am so not ready for this...and yet it's been doing it all day long. Yesterday is was nearly 80 degrees...today we're in the 30's and it's windy and COLD and snowing. I hate snow.
I totally missed a photo op today at lunch/dinner. Zachary has been trying to "wash" his hair lately in the tub, very cute. Today while we're eating spaghetti, he's pretty well covered face, neck, chest (smart Daddy took off his white shirt first!)...and smart mouth Mama says, looks like you missed a spot on your hair...you better get it. So...Zachary "washes" his hair...with spaghetti. Too cute! Of course I'll be regretting this soon enough, he'll do it in daycare or out to eat or something less appropriate I'm sure. But for now, at home, when he's 15 months old, it's totally adorable. And I was too lazy to get up and find the camera. Figures.
I have snow pictures from this morning. Have to document the first day of snow ya know. I don't feel like going to find the camera and uploading the pictures so you'll have to just live in suspense without the Colorado snow pictures. Poor you.
So Saturday came and went...and it was a nice day, but it really had a few bumps I didn't quite plan on!
Zachary ended up pretty sick on Friday night, after eating dinner and having his bath. I had to run to another board members house to get a check for after the Walk and had Mike and Zachary go with me. About 5 minutes into our 15 minute drive, Zachary starts throwing up ALL over the car seat, himself, everywhere. Poor bug! We pulled over and cleaned him up with napkins the best we could, but I HAD to get that check! Had to stop a total of 2 times on the way there to clean him up, and Mike rode in the back seat with him the rest of the way there and back. Got him home and he "seemed" fine. He wanted to nurse and did. And within 5 minutes was throwing that up all over our feet (TMI: I was sitting on the potty and he was standing in front of me). What a mess! I got him cleaned up and partially redressed (diaper and jammie pants only) and we settled in for a long night. I didn't sleep more than maybe 5 minutes all night. Zachary kept moaning and then he'd either dry heave or throw up every 20 minutes! I had called the Ped's on call service around 9:30 PM and the nurse said if he went more than 8 hours of no peeing and still vomiting to take him to the ER, in case he's dehydrated. So...at 3:30 AM, off we go to the ER. They didn't really do anything for him...I guess they got busy with a cardiac patient, which is totally fine...but what a waste of time for us. Zachary threw up all over the bed, floor, himself and me twice. I couldn't wait to get home! We finally got to leave around 7:30 AM. Yep, Saturday morning, the day of the Walk, and I wanted to be to the event location to set up at 8 AM. Not gonna happen!
We got home after stopping to get his Zofran prescription filled (what a joke, ONE pill, generic at that, was $15.37. Thank GOD for insurance!) at 8 AM. I showered while Mike loaded the car for me. The plan was for us to take 2 cars, so that's what we did. I took all the Walk stuff with me and Haley...Mike took Micheal and Zachary. Not 3 minutes into the drive Micheal calls me...Zachary just threw up all over Mike's car...the carseat...himself...again. I said fine...go home. I'll call you later! I made a few other calls to make sure I had some helpers coming (one person called me during all this and said she couldn't come due to not feeling well herself!) Anyway...I decided everything would just work out the way it was supposed to work out and it would be FINE. I wish I could say that I took a deep breath and said a prayer...but I did not. Ugh.
So the Walk was very nice. We had about 25 people there, 2 brand new to SHARE families. All day long we were way ahead of schedule and I never once felt rushed. So that was all good! We had lovely weather and other than a few load motorcycle groups, being downtown was really nice. LOTS of people reading our sign and watching us during the balloon release. A couple of cars even honked at us (in a supportive way!) as we were walking back. Very nice to be so out in the public eye! Everyone was satisfied with their experiences and had a nice day.
The rest of the day was spent resting and doing a zillion loads of laundry! I tend to do 2 or maybe 3 loads of laundry on the weekends...I swear by Sunday afternoon I must have been on load number 9. I am sick of the washer and dryer right now! LOL Anyway...we laid pretty low and let Zachary do whatever he felt up to doing. Time got away from me and before I knew it he was headed to bed at 9 PM! That's about 2 hours later than his normal bedtime. But he had slept a lot during the day...and he was just getting sleepy then. AND he slept ALL night long. Didn't wake up until 5:30 AM. What was that about? He had a very empty belly! LOL When he woke up, he nursed a bit and talked a bit and fell asleep until 8 AM. What a great nights sleep that we all needed!
Sunday was more laundry and church. He did great during church too. Strange boy. Today he wasn't himself at all so I kept him home from daycare to go to the doctor. His stomach virus is working it's way out (poor bottom!) but he's got Strep. Ugh. Got a shot of antibiotics instead of oral so as to keep the belly from re-erupting! Boy was he mad about that shot. I think for a brief moment he had a flashback of the ER experience I refuse to think about ever again. I just kept hugging him and kissing him and telling him it was just a shot...just one poke and he was almost done. Poor bug.
Anyway...it's just after 8 PM now and he's in bed. My silly boy loves to wear his slippers to bed! He is outgrowing the Winnie the Pooh ones so I found him the next size bigger (which look like clown shoes on him right now) in Elmo. He is LOVING Elmo. Today he brought out his Blue's Clues movie to watch twice. And his Praise Baby. And amazingly enough he WATCHED quite a bit of it. He hasn't really gotten into TV at this point. He'll listen to the music and dance around but not really stare at it like there's no better drug around. That changed today. He sat in his highchair for dinner FACING the TV. I'm quite sure his Daddy would not approve...but he ate and was happy!
Here's hoping he's feeling better tomorrow! I could possibly be called into work as early as tomorrow!!!!!
We had a very fun day yesterday with our very best friends - Stacy, Sammy and Katie, along with several other good friends! We spent the majority of the day up at the beautiful Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
Some pictures:
Now I have never claimed to be any sort of a photographer...I just take pictures to remember our lives. But I need a better camera! I currently use a Kodak DX3600 2.2 megapixel with a crappy zoom lens. I don't want a big fancy camera...I want an easy to use point and shoot with a decent zoom that doesn't cost $300. I also need a new color printer to print said pictures for scrapbooking. And so the baby can walk around carrying 15gazillion pictures to make him leave my frames alone! LOL
I had a job interview today! Considering I have not worked one day in the last 3 years (basically since the day we found out Matthew had died) and for not working for anyone other than my husband for the past, what, 9 years???, I think it went pretty well! I'll find out later this week if I'm hired, and then maybe I'll spill the details here too.
I am pretty excited about the thought of this job. It's a job I found myself, I thought about getting myself. Mike has been supportive of me, he's really not sure if me working is a good thing for our family or not. I don't have to work, but I'm personally tired of making the family just get by and maybe once a month doing something fun. Selfishly I want a new car and I know we won't ever get it if I don't help earn it. And bonus, it's within walking distance and Zachy would be there with me every day!
Today was so fun...little boy had a great day. He refused his morning nap so was up until nearly 3 PM. He took a THREE hour nap afterward! I am currently uploading pictures to my Flickr account but for now I have a silly little camera video:
Zachary just last night decided to use the leg of a folding card table to stand up, immediately let go of it and WALK on his own all the way around it!!!! He did all kinds of walking without holding on last night! He's very impressed with himself. And, his fourth tooth popped through last night! I tell you, he's growing way to fast for this mama!
Mathochist, how's your MIL? Thanks for the prayers for my Dad. We'll just hold each other up during these trials! Not much else we can do, but we sure can pray. Hope you're having a good trip...Mike asked me again when I was coming home and then implied he wanted me to stay through one more weekend. I might do that...I might stay until the 16th, but I'm not sure exactly what all is going on that week at home that I might need to be home before Tuesday.
I'll try and keep my blog updated and read others daily to keep in touch!
Some days I really wish I could just be an irresponsible child...get everything I want and have it all go my way. I was supposed to leave town tomorrow to go spend two weeks with my parents...but my freaking CAR decided it needed to have all my trip money, and then some, put into it. Naughty car. But it will be nice to be able to drive around town with the air conditioner going and not freak out about the engine overheating all the time. And having four brand new tires will be nice so as not to worry about having a 10 year old tire blow out on the hot highway in the middle of nowhere Texas alone with three kids. So there are some perks to being responsible.
But still! I really wanted to go!!! My Dad had surgery last week and I wanted to be there for his next FOUR doctor appointments. The neurologist, the back surgeon, the bladder surgeon and the latest CT scan to continue to make sure he does NOT have lung cancer! Selfishly I want to be there for ME...I want to hear that he is going to be ok for a while longer in person. I'm ok hearing the news over the phone, my sister is really good about passing all the info along. But I would like to be more involved in his daily care and helping my mom out by cooking and laundry and things like that she isn't able to do so well herself. I worry about my parents getting older and my sister not being able to drop everything and go attend to their needs.
Don't get me wrong, Kelly is awesome at being there for everything my parents need. In fact she is so good with my Dad I know I can't do a tenth of what she does and have the patience she's got. That is one thing she was blessed with whether she knows it or not! But, the child in me screams all the louder as one more thing gets dropped in their laps from yet another medical specialist...They're My Parent's Too! I should be there to help every day too.
My Daddy has a birthday in 5 more days. My oldest son turned 19 yesterday. I love that they have birthdays so close together. This was one year I was hoping to celebrate them both together as it's been many years since we have done that.
Oh well...I'll suck it up and be the grown up right now. I know there will be another chance to go visit again and will just keep hoping it's sooner rather than later.
I never post anymore. I'm having way too much fun in our new house with our growing way too fast for Mama big boy!
Picture entry, ok?
Zachary testing his new skills on stairs!
And here he is in the rocking chair my mom had made for "all" her grandkids (but has solely lived in my house and therefore is my kids' rocking chair! LOL
This next set of pictures is from today...in about 3.2 seconds time. He's found his mobility and there is pretty much no stopping him now. I still can't believe he will be 10 months old tomorrow!
I am really enjoying our new house...it's very comfortable and very homey. We'll stay here for a year, maybe 2 at the most, before we buy another house of our very own...which we are both very excited about already. I do know that the part of town we are living in right now is the part of town we'll buy a house in...it's the perfect part of town for everything we do. About 3 miles gets us to Mike's job, Haley's current school and about 2 miles gets us to church. Even closer is all kinds of shopping and restaurants and everything our little hearts desire! LOL I really love it here.
Micheal is driving home from his very first work trip. He had a LAN managers meeting with most of the entire company and was way too excited for his own good! LOL He got to rent a car, drive to NM, stay in a hotel, and hang out with 10 of his newest "real life" friends! I talked to him this morning as he was headed out of town for home, he's really had a great time. I hope he learned a lot, made some great friendships and is ready to start his life as an "adult". As his mom I'm not sure I'm ready for that!
Haley gets out of school in 3 more (school) days. Thank GOD. She's doing pretty good academically, but she's got a PE teacher from HELL. I can not wait to get her out of that woman's class! Then to get Haley in Physical Therapy for her pelvic issues (she's tilted!) and get the PT to document exactly what Haley can and can not do in PE next year. Whew. Her other fun thing, it's the last 3 weeks before the ballet recital...she's got practice 4 days next week, 5 days the week after that and then all 6 days the week of the recital. I'm going to be exhausted! LOL
Mike is still trotting along at UPS. I love how dedicated he is to our family to put up with so much at work. He works a minimum of 50 hours a week, and it's not the "busy" time yet. Ugh. UPS should be getting a few seasonal drivers hired on soon, so maybe Mike can work less than 60 hours all summer. We'll see. We would love to do a few fun family things this summer on the weekends...just to play and have a good time is so good for us all. Mike needs it, he's a workaholic by birth. Zachary has become such a daddy's boy, he even gets up an hour earlier than he used to just to spend time in the mornings with his Daddy. I'm going to be taking advantage of that daddy love soon, I need another pedicure! LOL
I guess I should be going, I need a shower if we're going to meet up with Daddy for lunch!
We just got home from our Spring break visit to the family...had a good time! We flew down, a first for both Haley and Zachary. Everyone did well on the plane ride...we were worried about some motion sickness issues Zachary has so the doc recommended Benedryl before take off. Little boy slept the entire first plane trip and was awake the entire second trip! He seemed to like it ok, other than he was getting too hot from being held constantly. Glad the flights were short!
TX was nice, hotter than CO for sure so poor Zachary had a real hard time adjusting his body temperature. Another way that he's just like his Daddy. LOL I love visiting my parents and sister but there's one thing, besides my husband, that I miss. My home. My bed, my recliner, just having my own place to live in and not having to live out of suitcases and bags. I always feel guilty for making a huge mess in my parents house and then having to load it up to take it to my sisters and spend time there too. Having my own "vacation" home would make the trips there perfect. Well, having the 1200 mile drive be shorter would be perfect! Anyway...we drove home, I am buying my mom's car and so far I am loving every second of it. We haven't done a family trip in it yet, that will be the true test of how much I love it. That alone is the reason we got it too...all five of us couldn't fit comfortably in our other car.
Zachary got his first tooth right before we left for TX and he's trying to get 2 more right now. He's also so close to scooting or crawling too. He wants to go go go all the time! Right now, amazingly enough, he's in the big bed taking a very much needed nap. Hopefully it will last for another 15 minutes, making it a whole half hour nap.
Better go do some more laundry while he's napping, teething has made him even more clingy that the separation phase he's in!
Last Wednesday morning we received an offer on our house...and we accepted it. Closing date was set for 13 days later...so we started packing quickly. Well, other things were also very close to happening and I started to freak out just a little that if we waited until the weekend before closing to actually move all the big stuff that something would happen and we'd be, well, screwed. LOL So...we decided to go ahead and do the big move three days after accepting the offer! We're in the other house, trying to get settled in and put things away...yet we still have a few things at the other house. Today though, Mike is determined to get that all emptied out. I'll go over this weekend for a final walk through and we'll do some cleaning as well. Closing is Tuesday!!!
So the other thing that was very close to happening, finally happened. I got a call the Tuesday after we had accepted the offer on our house...Mike is finafreakingly hired on permanently! It's been a long 5 year mission, and now it's come to fruition. He won't start back until the middle of next week, which once again shows us that we're walking God's plan for our lives. If he had to go back before, he wouldn't be able to get to closing. :)
Zachary is 6 months old now. How on earth did that happen? I had planned to do a whole "you're six months old" type entry last week and even do a collage of birth to 6 months pictures but we had no Internet because of this:
that is our new back yard, and in the first picture, under roughly 6 feet of snow, was our cable/Internet box thingy that they needed to get us hooked up! Mike dug it out a few days after we were here so we could have a home phone again! LOL
So anyway..things are good but very busy. I'm hoping that once we're closed on the other house and Mike is back to full time work that my life can settle into a new pattern. That's what I'm shooting for anyway!
I am BORED. Recovering from surgery is really not fun. Luckily for me the baby is adjusting well to having someone other than Mommy hold him and carry him around 24/7. I can hold him all I want, as long as I'm sitting down and he's not kicking my poor bruised and sore belly.
My daddy had surgery on Tuesday and he's not bouncing back as quickly as I am...but then again he had an 8 hour back surgery whereas I had a 30 minute gall bladder surgery. Big difference! He was on the breathing tube for 4 days but is off now. He's still groggy and sleepy so it's hard to tell how the anesthesia has affected the Alzheimer's. I'm still very worried about him, but hopefully my sister is not leading me to a false hope...understandalbe why, I would love nothing more than to jump in the car and drive down to TX, but realistically I can't do it. I can't lift more than 10 pounds still and I do still need my heavy drugs during the day and at bedtime...so I'm in no shape to make the 1200 mile drive right now. But damn...I want to be with my parents right now.
I'm so bored. I want some company! My kids are being very helpful with Zachary, but as far as playing games with the Mom they'd really rather not. I guess I'll snuggle the sleepy boy and see if I can get him to nap!
We had a good trip, not a vacation by any means. I am very glad I was there to help my Mom and be there with my Dad. We have a week long wait ahead of us to see if the PET scan Dad had yesterday comes back with any cancer. I do wish I had all the money in the world or at the very least a jet to get my butt back there next Monday for the results. All I can do is pray...and wait.
Zachary is doing really well. He's huge, trying to do all kinds of fun things. I remembered to get a picture of him in the same rocking chair from when I was little...I have a picture of Micheal in it as well but not Haley which is odd.
I need to scan Micheal's picture as well as get the one of me from Mom.
I really have nothing to say...just that I'm home again.
I'm borrowing a computer, so forgive the typo's I miss.
I am not at home right now, I'm in a whole other state! LOL My dad wasn't doing real great at one point last week so the kids and I took a road trip. Zachary did really well on the 1200 mile trek, thank goodness. I'm really not looking forward to the drive home, and will definitely not make day one as long this time.
We got some interesting news today at my dad's follow up appt, and it's too soon to say anything. Just keep us in your thoughts, OK?
I'm tired, we are getting up early again tomorrow and the baby wants to nurse...so I'm out of here!
