I have finally returned and have almost survived the summer! It has been an emotional roller coaster. Let's play catch up...
In May, JJ took his karate test and passed to yellow belt! His test was the 14th, also Hubs' first day of work. Yay for a job!!! It was also the first day I had to be completely alone since February. It was a tough day. Kasey cat spent the day yowling and sounding like a baby which in turn caused my heart to clench. The 15th was our 8th wedding anniversary. We went to dinner as a family and enjoyed time together. I love my boys! I was also able to watch my oldest godbaby graduate from high school. Oh the wonders of technology! Being able to sit in MY living room at 11pm and watch his graduation in Alaska on the laptop. I totally cried! I am so proud of the amazing young man he continues to be. I spent the last week of May volunteering all day for JJ's class while they were camping. It did wonders for my heart to be surrounded by little ones. Memorial Day weekend we spent with my parents. Hubs had to work so JJ and I went early. Saturday we woke up and decided to go to the zoo. All JJ talked about was getting to see the elephants. We had a good day. It was hot, but it was good to be busy!
In June, JJ completed First Grade. We had a surprise birthday party for JJ at my mom's house. My bestie had just moved back to NC after living in Alaska for the past six years. Her kids and niece and nephew came over to swim with JJ. It was a complete success! My youngest god baby (9 at the time) sat in my lap and let me cuddle with her! Father's Day, we surprised Hubs with his own kindle. It was a good day! The next week was busy. We had dr appointments, JJ's actual birthday, and more appointments. My blood pressure was about the same; my platelets were 112k! My blood pressure meds were doubled. My dr and I discussed my cycles and how I had yet to have one since February (but in all fairness, I had been bleeding from February through May.). She did an internal exam, all was well, so we discussed options for next visit in six weeks. If I haven't had a cycle, she will give me some meds that will force bleeding. I was given a prescription for metphormin and told that it would help for pcos (which she still suspects me of having) and it couldn't hurt with my hemoglobin being elevated. (Earlier she had done blood work and called to let me know that I was pre-diabetic).
The week following, JJ and I drove to SC to spend several days in the mountains. We had such a great time for the most part. Except that our first full day, JJ fell down a mountain. He was pretty pitiful, but the girls were at his beck and call. We swam in a lake, went on boat rides, played in waterfalls, went to a fish hatchery and learned about the life cycle of rainbow trout. T even colored her face with a sharpie so that people would stare at her instead of JJ's tore up face. We threatened to have N and T kick people in the kneecaps if they said anything. C was able to spend the last few days, and I was super content: I had all of my babies with me! We learned that starting a new med and not going to bed on time cam make you a bit crazy...and hum henry the VIII...My week was over entirely too fast. :)
JJ and I left the cabin and headed to Georgia to pick up Molly. She spent the next ten days with us. We went to the aquarium and Golfin'Dolphin. We spent time with the sweet Landrum family. And then it was time for her to go home.
Then we had JJ's pediatric appointment. They are concerned about his weight, so we have to see a dietician.
We have a trip to Cocoa, Florida, so JJ and I spend the next week getting ready. We head to Fayetteville on the 24th of July. I am just feeling worn out. We have spent so much time staying busy to avoid thinking about the loss, and then here it is, whether I am ready or not. We leave with Momma and Anabel on the 25th.
My heart is heavy. Momma does her best to keep me busy-talking, alphabet game, talking...but in the back of my head my thoughts are swarming. Daughtry's song Gone Too Soon plays on repeat in my head.
"Today could've been the day
That you blow out your candles
Make a wish as you close your eyes
Today could've been the day
Everybody was laughing'
Instead I just sit here and cry.
Who would you be?
What would you look like
When you looked at me for the very first time?
Today could've been the next day of the rest of your life."
YouTube the video with lyrics. It is amazing. Tear jerking but amazing.
There were certain people we shared with first (our parents and siblings), but we shared the name. Part of the reason for taking so long was that I hadn't heard from everyone if they had gotten the news. I had wanted to share in the blog following the wedding, but we were unable to talk with Hubs parents like we had thought. Then the longer I put it off, the harder it was to write about. The next thing I knew, the whole summer was gone...
:sigh:
I still don't know if I am ready, but I need to do this...
Our Sweet Angel was a little boy. JJ was absolutely right that he had a brother on the way that he could share the secrets of life with. His name is Jeremiah Scott. We haven't told JJ the name OR the sex...we don't know how. Maybe we are afraid that Jeremiah will become one of his imaginary brothers. I am not ready for that. When the time is right, we will know,and that will be another hurdle that my sweet boys and I will cross together.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Roller Skates, Mother's Day, And A Bucket Of Frog Eggs
We spent Friday getting ready to head to Momma's house. We had decided that we were going to leave straight from school and come home sometime on Sunday. I don't remember what we had run to walmart for, but as we were getting ready to check out, it hit me...Sunday was Mother's day. In all the keeping busy, healing, moving on, whatever...I guess I had blocked the day in my mind and hadn't really planned to celebrate this year. But we were going to be with Momma and Grandmutter, so I thought that was the best way for me.
We got in on Friday and went to Brickoven for dinner. JJ was wide open. He was flirting with our waitress and everything. Hubs, Momma, and I were cracking up laughing at him. We spent a while just talking while we were eating our dinner...it was nice to visit and not be rushed or anything.
We had decided to take JJ to slow rollers at Round-A-Bout skating rink on Saturday. You have never seen anyone so excited. JJ woke up early on Saturday and was ready to go. It was only 7am!!! We finally got some breakfast in him, got him showered and dressed, and FINALLY...it was time to go. Hubs and I were taking him, and Momma and Grandmutter were going to meet us for a late lunch.
Hubs and I get JJ in his skates, and he stands up. As soon as he tries to move, he is all over the place. Now, I haven't roller skated on a boot skate since probably 8th grade. I haven't roller bladed since my first year of college, well over 10 years ago. I was nervous about trying to skate and keep JJ from falling down. Hubs and I helped him get a quarter of the way around the rink before he was ready to go sit down...and try skating on the carpet. Hubs kept skating while JJ and I skated on the carpet. I ended up taking my skates off because I couldn't balance myself AND keep JJ balanced. I was able to go around with him twice on the rink. It took forever, LOL. We kept having to stop for him to rest. Poor baby was wore out from just trying to stand up!!! We ended up leaving earlier than we had planned because JJ was ready to go. For his first time skating though, I was proud that he tried for at least an hour before wanting to take his skates off. He did tell me that he wanted to try again sometime, just not that day. We met Momma and Grandmutter for lunch at the Hibachi Grill. JJ was pooped. Hubs and I were pretty wore out as well. My arms were sore from holding JJ up. After lunch, we headed back to Grandmutter's to visit for a while, then headed back to Momma's.
On Sunday, Momma had decided to take Grandmutter to breakfast at Golden Corral, so off we went :) We had a nice time visiting together, then we were back at Momma's house. I don't know why, but we ended up around the pool and noticed that there were frog eggs all over the place. You may remember my facebook postings about JJ and the tadpoles. JJ decided he wanted to try to raise the frogs all the way from birth. He had just read one of his library books about the life cycle of the frogs, and he kept saying "look at all the frog spawn!!!" So of course, I ask Momma for a bucket so we can try to grow some frogs....and she gets me one. We scoop up several clusters of eggs and get a lid (with holes) on the bucket.
Sadly, the eggs did not survive the drive home, but we kept a bucket of water by our front door for several days so that JJ could make sure that the tadpoles were not going to hatch. When he realized we were just growing mosquitoes, he let me dump the water out.
JJ had a present for me when we got home...he had planted something for me at school. He hands it to me in a Mason jar and says "Happy Mother's Day! It's a sunflower!" So I'm looking at the plant thinking "this is NOT a sunflower" when JJ says "Or maybe it's a carrot! I don't know what it is!" And I just couldn't stop laughing. I still don't know what type of plant is growing, but there are 2 of them. One is a leafy plant that has little white fuzz on the leaves, and the other are flowers that haven't matured yet, so I don't know what type of flowers they are going to be.
Even though it wasn't on the top of my list of favorite holidays this year, I survived Mother's day. I was able to spend the day with Momma and Grandmutter, Hubs, and JJ...and JJ as always, kept me smiling.
I was sore from the roller skating (that I didn't really do, LOL), and I now have my roller blades at home
with me. My new goal is to rebuild my confidence so that I can use my roller blades again and to help JJ learn how to skate! Coming up: First day alone and karate test!
We got in on Friday and went to Brickoven for dinner. JJ was wide open. He was flirting with our waitress and everything. Hubs, Momma, and I were cracking up laughing at him. We spent a while just talking while we were eating our dinner...it was nice to visit and not be rushed or anything.
We had decided to take JJ to slow rollers at Round-A-Bout skating rink on Saturday. You have never seen anyone so excited. JJ woke up early on Saturday and was ready to go. It was only 7am!!! We finally got some breakfast in him, got him showered and dressed, and FINALLY...it was time to go. Hubs and I were taking him, and Momma and Grandmutter were going to meet us for a late lunch.
Hubs and I get JJ in his skates, and he stands up. As soon as he tries to move, he is all over the place. Now, I haven't roller skated on a boot skate since probably 8th grade. I haven't roller bladed since my first year of college, well over 10 years ago. I was nervous about trying to skate and keep JJ from falling down. Hubs and I helped him get a quarter of the way around the rink before he was ready to go sit down...and try skating on the carpet. Hubs kept skating while JJ and I skated on the carpet. I ended up taking my skates off because I couldn't balance myself AND keep JJ balanced. I was able to go around with him twice on the rink. It took forever, LOL. We kept having to stop for him to rest. Poor baby was wore out from just trying to stand up!!! We ended up leaving earlier than we had planned because JJ was ready to go. For his first time skating though, I was proud that he tried for at least an hour before wanting to take his skates off. He did tell me that he wanted to try again sometime, just not that day. We met Momma and Grandmutter for lunch at the Hibachi Grill. JJ was pooped. Hubs and I were pretty wore out as well. My arms were sore from holding JJ up. After lunch, we headed back to Grandmutter's to visit for a while, then headed back to Momma's.
On Sunday, Momma had decided to take Grandmutter to breakfast at Golden Corral, so off we went :) We had a nice time visiting together, then we were back at Momma's house. I don't know why, but we ended up around the pool and noticed that there were frog eggs all over the place. You may remember my facebook postings about JJ and the tadpoles. JJ decided he wanted to try to raise the frogs all the way from birth. He had just read one of his library books about the life cycle of the frogs, and he kept saying "look at all the frog spawn!!!" So of course, I ask Momma for a bucket so we can try to grow some frogs....and she gets me one. We scoop up several clusters of eggs and get a lid (with holes) on the bucket.
Sadly, the eggs did not survive the drive home, but we kept a bucket of water by our front door for several days so that JJ could make sure that the tadpoles were not going to hatch. When he realized we were just growing mosquitoes, he let me dump the water out.
JJ had a present for me when we got home...he had planted something for me at school. He hands it to me in a Mason jar and says "Happy Mother's Day! It's a sunflower!" So I'm looking at the plant thinking "this is NOT a sunflower" when JJ says "Or maybe it's a carrot! I don't know what it is!" And I just couldn't stop laughing. I still don't know what type of plant is growing, but there are 2 of them. One is a leafy plant that has little white fuzz on the leaves, and the other are flowers that haven't matured yet, so I don't know what type of flowers they are going to be.
Even though it wasn't on the top of my list of favorite holidays this year, I survived Mother's day. I was able to spend the day with Momma and Grandmutter, Hubs, and JJ...and JJ as always, kept me smiling.
I was sore from the roller skating (that I didn't really do, LOL), and I now have my roller blades at home
with me. My new goal is to rebuild my confidence so that I can use my roller blades again and to help JJ learn how to skate! Coming up: First day alone and karate test!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Field Day, Pirates, and Full Moon
The two weeks following the wedding were busy as usual. That first week, Hubs and I were just plain wore out. We are not as young as we used to be. Staying up until after 1 for three nights in a row...and having to wake JJ up for school on Monday morning = exhausting. We went to karate on Monday April 30. This class and one more before his test on May 14th. We are excited about karate. We finally got to visit with JJ's friend at Subway. We had been missing each other the last few Mondays. We went to bed fairly early for us. I think Hubs and I were in bed by 9:30pm.
Tuesday, I napped on and off most of the day. I was worried I would end up not sleeping because of how much I had slept. We all went to bed early again.
Wednesday through Thursday, Hubs and I talked about a variety of things. Behavior, grieving, adoption. We talked about real estate, schooling, and jobs. So much going on in our lives.
Friday, nasty weather was headed our way. We were hoping it would pass quickly and we could see the moonrise because it was supposed to be the Super Moon. No. It was too nasty. Then, when the rain stopped, it was too cloudy to even see the moon. We were up late. We went to bed after midnight, and when we turned the lights out, I could see the moon shining. So I got back up and went out to look at the huge moon. It was super bright, but it didn't look any bigger. I was bummed yet again that I had missed the rise.
Saturday, we had decided to take JJ to a Pirate Festival in the next town over. We ate a big breakfast and then headed over. Our (mine and Hubs) idea of a festival and what we actually went to...were not the same thing, LOL. What we THOUGHT we were going to was something that had a ton of vendors, booths, games, and whatnot, all pirate themed. What we went to was the Information center that had a band playing, a bounce house, a Liberty Tax booth, and a Marine Patrol Boat. They had a balloon animal/face painting station. And there was a group from Raleigh that did a "pirate" performance. Overall, **I** was disappointed, but JJ had fun. It got us out of the house for the day. We arrived about 10:45 or so and left about 1:45pm. We left there and went in search of something to eat for lunch. We found a Michaelangelo's Pizza. It was super yummy. They had pizza slices bigger than JJ's head. Hubs got a picture...I will have to post that later. We got home, cooled off...I really can't tell you what filled those hours before dinner and movie time. I probably played DrawSomething on the kindle fire. (Have I mentioned how much I like that game??) I really can't even tell you what we ate for dinner. What I CAN tell you is that we watched Eclipse. When it finished, JJ asked "When do we get the next movie so we can see Bella and Edward get married???" He's such a Twilight junkie. It makes me smile! Saturday evening was full moon, and I was able to grab a picture.
Sunday I know we were bums inside because it rained all day long.
Monday and Tuesday were a blur. I only know that Monday was karate, and JJ's last class before he takes his yellow belt test!!!
Wednesday was field day. Such a fun day!!! Hubs was able to go this year, and I think he may have been more excited than JJ about field day. I only took pictures the first half of the day. After lunch, it was drizzly, and they were doing water activities, so I left my camera in the car.
He is NOT the world's best hula-hooper. He IS the world's cutest tryer :)
Concentrating really hard to get the beanbag all the way to Daddy
Rest time was their SECOND activity.
Sharks and Minnows. JJ was a minnow.
Parachute...I'm not exactly sure what he's doing here...but he was having fun. That's all that matters, right?
FREEZE! Doing the freeze dance during the dance station. They also performed the Chicken Dance and the ChaCha slide. :)
After this, we broke for lunch. Hubs and I headed to Subway. While there, it started raining. The sun came back out, we left,...and walked right into the rain. We hadn't realized it was still raining, and I exclaim "Wow, the devil must be beatin' his wife today!" Hubs looks at me over his shoulder and grins. The sayings we grew up with, LOL...We get back to the school, and the kids are at their first station already. We walk around with them, help them with their relays, and have a lot of fun. At the final station, where the kids were blowing bubbles, the kids thought it would be A.W.E.S.O.M.E. to give Jonathan's Daddy a bubble bath. They proceeded to use their bubble wands full of suds to rub up and down his arms and legs and cover him in bubbles. Hubs would randomly proclaim "OH. Thanks for my bubble bath." Which would lead the kids into a chorus of giggles. He's such a kid :wink: and overall, he was a hit with the class! We checked JJ out and headed home. We get inside, and JJ says "I'm so tired. Can I just put on my jammies and then do my homework? I don't even want to go outside to play today!!!" And that's exactly what he did. He got his jammies on, I got my jammies on, and we sat on the couch and got him homework done. We were all wore out! The sun, exercise, sun, bubbles, sun...it was just tiring.
Thursday we got JJ off to school, and then Hubs and I ran some errands. We dropped his car off at the mechanic; his ABS light had turned on, and then his check engine light came back on. We had just had that fixed, so they were going to check that for us and check the brake system. We had a few things to pick up before the weekend. We also wanted to check on the bikes. (JJ busted his tire right after Spring Break, so he has been without a bike.) Off we head to walmart. We found the size bike we needed, so we went ahead and picked it up. It's an early birthday present because we didn't want him to wait over a month for a new bike when he had only been practicing without his training wheels for two weeks. We got home, put it in the garage to surprise JJ, and waited around for the phone call for Hubs car. I went to pick JJ up, and when I got home, Hubs had called to check on his car, and it was "next"...next??? BOOO. We dropped his car off at 10:45,and it was after 3 at this point. Our bad for waiting so long. We do homework, JJ gets his hour of game time, and Hubs phone rings. Turns out that "something" (we are assuming squirrel because we have a lot around here) chewed through his wiring and led his car to believe the ABS was out...which in turn led to the check engine light coming on. They replaced the wiring, we had a good laugh, and it was time to let JJ know about the bike. Hubs asked JJ if he wanted to go ride bikes together, and JJ got all sad and said "My bike is tore up, remember? I busted out my tire by going too fast." (it was so stinkin' cute!) Hubs asked "Are you sure? Let's look in the garage." He opens the door, JJ pushes his way through, and there sits his awesome new bike. He comes tearing back into the house hollering. "YAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY" and starts running in circles. So.Funny. He and Hubs ride their bikes for a while. JJ exclaims that he will never play video games again because he will always want to ride his bike outside!!!!
While they were riding, I talked to Mommy to verify our plans for the weekend. Hubs and I had decided to spend the last "job-free" weekend with Momma and Grandmutter. Plus we were going to take JJ roller skating for the first time....
Tuesday, I napped on and off most of the day. I was worried I would end up not sleeping because of how much I had slept. We all went to bed early again.
Wednesday through Thursday, Hubs and I talked about a variety of things. Behavior, grieving, adoption. We talked about real estate, schooling, and jobs. So much going on in our lives.
Friday, nasty weather was headed our way. We were hoping it would pass quickly and we could see the moonrise because it was supposed to be the Super Moon. No. It was too nasty. Then, when the rain stopped, it was too cloudy to even see the moon. We were up late. We went to bed after midnight, and when we turned the lights out, I could see the moon shining. So I got back up and went out to look at the huge moon. It was super bright, but it didn't look any bigger. I was bummed yet again that I had missed the rise.
Saturday, we had decided to take JJ to a Pirate Festival in the next town over. We ate a big breakfast and then headed over. Our (mine and Hubs) idea of a festival and what we actually went to...were not the same thing, LOL. What we THOUGHT we were going to was something that had a ton of vendors, booths, games, and whatnot, all pirate themed. What we went to was the Information center that had a band playing, a bounce house, a Liberty Tax booth, and a Marine Patrol Boat. They had a balloon animal/face painting station. And there was a group from Raleigh that did a "pirate" performance. Overall, **I** was disappointed, but JJ had fun. It got us out of the house for the day. We arrived about 10:45 or so and left about 1:45pm. We left there and went in search of something to eat for lunch. We found a Michaelangelo's Pizza. It was super yummy. They had pizza slices bigger than JJ's head. Hubs got a picture...I will have to post that later. We got home, cooled off...I really can't tell you what filled those hours before dinner and movie time. I probably played DrawSomething on the kindle fire. (Have I mentioned how much I like that game??) I really can't even tell you what we ate for dinner. What I CAN tell you is that we watched Eclipse. When it finished, JJ asked "When do we get the next movie so we can see Bella and Edward get married???" He's such a Twilight junkie. It makes me smile! Saturday evening was full moon, and I was able to grab a picture.
Sunday I know we were bums inside because it rained all day long.
Monday and Tuesday were a blur. I only know that Monday was karate, and JJ's last class before he takes his yellow belt test!!!
Wednesday was field day. Such a fun day!!! Hubs was able to go this year, and I think he may have been more excited than JJ about field day. I only took pictures the first half of the day. After lunch, it was drizzly, and they were doing water activities, so I left my camera in the car.
After this, we broke for lunch. Hubs and I headed to Subway. While there, it started raining. The sun came back out, we left,...and walked right into the rain. We hadn't realized it was still raining, and I exclaim "Wow, the devil must be beatin' his wife today!" Hubs looks at me over his shoulder and grins. The sayings we grew up with, LOL...We get back to the school, and the kids are at their first station already. We walk around with them, help them with their relays, and have a lot of fun. At the final station, where the kids were blowing bubbles, the kids thought it would be A.W.E.S.O.M.E. to give Jonathan's Daddy a bubble bath. They proceeded to use their bubble wands full of suds to rub up and down his arms and legs and cover him in bubbles. Hubs would randomly proclaim "OH. Thanks for my bubble bath." Which would lead the kids into a chorus of giggles. He's such a kid :wink: and overall, he was a hit with the class! We checked JJ out and headed home. We get inside, and JJ says "I'm so tired. Can I just put on my jammies and then do my homework? I don't even want to go outside to play today!!!" And that's exactly what he did. He got his jammies on, I got my jammies on, and we sat on the couch and got him homework done. We were all wore out! The sun, exercise, sun, bubbles, sun...it was just tiring.
Thursday we got JJ off to school, and then Hubs and I ran some errands. We dropped his car off at the mechanic; his ABS light had turned on, and then his check engine light came back on. We had just had that fixed, so they were going to check that for us and check the brake system. We had a few things to pick up before the weekend. We also wanted to check on the bikes. (JJ busted his tire right after Spring Break, so he has been without a bike.) Off we head to walmart. We found the size bike we needed, so we went ahead and picked it up. It's an early birthday present because we didn't want him to wait over a month for a new bike when he had only been practicing without his training wheels for two weeks. We got home, put it in the garage to surprise JJ, and waited around for the phone call for Hubs car. I went to pick JJ up, and when I got home, Hubs had called to check on his car, and it was "next"...next??? BOOO. We dropped his car off at 10:45,and it was after 3 at this point. Our bad for waiting so long. We do homework, JJ gets his hour of game time, and Hubs phone rings. Turns out that "something" (we are assuming squirrel because we have a lot around here) chewed through his wiring and led his car to believe the ABS was out...which in turn led to the check engine light coming on. They replaced the wiring, we had a good laugh, and it was time to let JJ know about the bike. Hubs asked JJ if he wanted to go ride bikes together, and JJ got all sad and said "My bike is tore up, remember? I busted out my tire by going too fast." (it was so stinkin' cute!) Hubs asked "Are you sure? Let's look in the garage." He opens the door, JJ pushes his way through, and there sits his awesome new bike. He comes tearing back into the house hollering. "YAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY" and starts running in circles. So.Funny. He and Hubs ride their bikes for a while. JJ exclaims that he will never play video games again because he will always want to ride his bike outside!!!!
While they were riding, I talked to Mommy to verify our plans for the weekend. Hubs and I had decided to spend the last "job-free" weekend with Momma and Grandmutter. Plus we were going to take JJ roller skating for the first time....
Bloody Noses, Clemson, and A Wedding
Friday morning, April 27, we woke up super early. We had packed the car the night before except for the hygiene stuff (toothbrushes, deodorant, etc), my camera, the computer...so we didn't have to rush around. Hubs and I got showers and got dressed, and we waited as long as possible to wake JJ. We had already decided that we were going to let him ride in his pj's to Richlands, and then we would let him get changed. We all piled in the car, JJ turned on his DS, and we were off by 7:10am. We hit a little bit of traffic on the way because of people going to work, but otherwise, had a fairly uneventful trip. We made it to the Hardees (Grandpoppy's Hardees) in Richlands by about 7:45am. We were meeting there to pick up Lydia, get JJ dressed, and have a quick breakfast. We hoped to be back on the road by 8:30am.
We ordered breakfast and wouldn't you know, they told us to have a seat, they would bring our food to us. We get our drinks and find a table for the four of us to sit. We waited for what felt like forever, then they called out from the front counter our order. Hubs went to pick it up, and we chuckled at them "bringing it out to us." We eat, the kids played the staring game...the blinking game...the quiet game...we finish and get loaded in the car about 8:45am. Hubs and I had made sure that everyone had gone to the potty, so we were hopeful to make it to the SC welcome center before we made our first stop.
JJ and Lydia both had their DS's, so they were set. They were sharing games, showing shortcuts and secrets, even playing against each other. Hubs and I talked, listened to the radio, and talked some more. We made it to the welcome center with no other stops. Everyone got out, made a trip to the bathroom, and stretched their legs. Lydia had accidentally thrown her drink away at Hardees instead of getting a refill, so we got her a drink at the snack area. And we piled back into the car. Truthfully, the trip was uneventful. We had planned to pick up lunch and eat lunch with Hubs' parents. We had talked with them the night before to let them know, and when I called to give an update, I let them know our estimated arrival time "We should get there about 1:00pm, so we can pick lunch up with ya'll if you want." "ok, that sounds good!" We drive through Myrtle Beach and on down to Charleston. I call to let them know we are there, and if they want us to bring them lunch...they had already eaten...so, off we go to find something for the kids to bring back to the church. We finally find a Chick-Fil-A, go through the drive-thru, then turn back around to get to the church (where they are decorating for the Tailgate themed Rehearsal dinner, Clemson vs. Ohio State). :)
We set the kids up to the side so they can eat, and Hubs and I eat quickly. I ask what I can do to help. There were a few last minute decorating things...and getting napkins and plates out. I got what I could set up while Momma Aleman got the pictures placed where she wanted. Before we know it, it's time to head back over the Cooper River Bridge to the hotel. We still had to check in. We finally get checked in (after only a MINOR fiasco where they COULDN'T FIND MY RESERVATION!!!) But after a few minutes and some searching, they found it. It was reserved under another name, with a note that I would be the one checking in. (I guess it made sense to the person who took my reservation two weeks earlier.) We get our stuff in, get the kids changed (Lydia wanted to dress up, and JJ needed to get his Clemson orange on!) Then Hub and I got in our Clemson colors, and it was time to go. His younger brother's family were staying down the way from our room, so we all left at the same time: Their 3, our 4, and Hubs parents. We get downstairs and start loading in the car. JJ and Hubs go off to one side; Lydia and I go to the other side. I make sure Lydia is in, I open my door, and I hear something hit the ground, and JJ start crying.
I run over to the driver's side of the car to find JJ on his knees holding his nose, and the passenger door of Hubs parent's van open. I couldn't understand how the door was opened and hit him because they would have SEEN him. I get JJ up, Hubs picks up the DS that had gone flying, and I tell JJ to move his hands. Blood.All.Over. So I holler "Does someone have a Kleenex? His nose is bleeding!" Momma Aleman hands me a Kleenex and keeps saying "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" I get JJ's face wiped up, and we get him in the car. He's in the backseat whimpering, his nose is all red, and still bleeding. I keep looking back to see if his nose looked crooked. I end up handing him a napkin, and he says in a pitiful voice "Can I still play my DS?" So I open my window and let Hubs brother know that JJ is fine, he still wants to play his DS. On the way back to the church, I ask, "What happened? Did Nana open the door and accidently hit you?" He said "No! I tripped over the hump and went to catch myself and hit my face on the door because it was still open. It was an accident!!" (The concrete hump thing at the front of the parking space. When he stepped off of the sidewalk, somehow his foot landed between the sidewalk and the hump, and he tripped.)
We get to the church. I take JJ to the bathroom and get a wet paper towel to wash his face off. I was trying to get all the dried blood from around his nose. Thankfully none fell on his clothes!!! I check his nose again, and it's not crooked, but he has a bruise forming on one side. Poor kid. Hubs takes JJ and Lydia off to the sanctuary for the rehearsal. I stay in the activities building because I am not needed at the rehearsal, so Momma Aleman wanted me to get a few of the things ready that didn't need to sit out for very long.
Hubs parents arrive, I tell them how JJ hit his nose, and get a list from Momma Aleman. It had notes on the last few things that needed to be put out. Off they go to the rehearsal, and I am alone in the big room, ready to put my decorating skills to use. I look at the list, get what I need, and start arranging. I set up a snack table, I decorated a table where the pizza would be, and basically just made sure that everything looked fun :) I had some free time before the rehearsal finished, so I was able to take camera and get pictures of lots of stuff :)
Cornhole prizes. Notice that we have a Clemson Team and an Ohio State team. The Nutcracker is one of Momma Aleman's to add to the decorations. (Many of the decorations came from Momma Aleman's Tiger Den or from their own tailgating supplies. They are very proud Tiger fans!)
Groom's cake. Groom is a Clemson graduate and was part of the Tiger Band.
Cornhole, anyone?
Cornhole winners. A good-lookin' bunch of Aleman males.
The rehearsal dinner was a success. We ate pizza and wings and had plenty of snacks. We had a cornhole game, and the prizes were awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd on each team. JJ and Hubs were both 2nd place, one for each side. We got back to the hotel super late, got the kids ready for bed, and it was after 1 when Hubs and I finally got in the bed.
Saturday, we got up, got ready, and went to the Huddle house for breakfast. We went as a large group: us, Hubs younger brother's family, and his parents. It was hectic. We finally all ate and headed back to the room to hang out a bit. I had already showered and dressed, so I needed to get Lydia in the shower. She finished, I dried her hair, and we packed a bag. We were heading to the church early because she was getting her hair and makeup done. I had to bring both of our dresses, makeup, and comfy clothes to change into afterwards for the reception.
The wedding was beautiful. I cried. I had a front row seat along with the three flower girls and their Mommies.
Hubs escorting his Momma. He cleans up well, doncha' think?
Handsome Aleman males :) This is the first time I've seen JJ since Lydia and I got to church. I think my tears started here...
Beautiful Lydia walking down the aisle...she was a jr. bridesmaid.
Beautiful bride and her Daddy.
After the Bride walked down the aisle, I put my camera down so that I could watch the wedding and cry. (I had remembered to pack Kleenex in my purse!) Afterwards, we hung around for group photos. We ended up back at the hotel before the reception because the boys forgot their change of clothes. It worked out because we were all able to use the bathroom. Then we got the kids changed and left their wedding clothes in the hotel room, and Hubs and I packed our change of clothes back in the bag. Off we head to the reception at Folly Beach.
The beach house was beautiful. The decorations were elegant. The food was awesome! We sat on the deck and enjoyed eating. The kids wanted to head down the beach, so Auntie K and I took the three kids down to the beach.
The cousins :) Lydia-10, JJ-6 1/2, LilyAnn-3 1/2
Bride and her Boys :)
Hubs, Momma Aleman, Groom(Uncle C), Younger Brother (Uncle P)
I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. We didn't stay til the end of the reception. We had to leave early because I don't give rewards for attitude. Once back at the hotel room, things were fine. The kids snuggled up together, and Lydia read to JJ from the book we had given her.
The next day (Sunday), we headed back out to the beach house for a brunch. Again, the food was awesome. We were able to visit a while. We even had a complete family picture made.
Our growing family!!! Thanks to Auntie M's Momma for this picture!!!
We visited a bit longer; I had a wonderful time getting to know Auntie M's Momma. We said our good-byes and headed up the street to visit Uncle Jack and Aunt Doris. We only visited a few minutes. Uncle Jack was tired. He looked tired. But we were thankful for the visit because it had been a while since Hubs had been able to see them.
We loaded up in the car and drove for a bit before stopping to order some lunch to go. We ate in the car. The kids did awesome. We stopped for gas and bathrooms. We got the kids a snack. We drove the rest of the way in. Now, we didn't leave Folly Beach until almost 4. We didn't drop Lydia off in Richlands until 8:45pm, and we didn't get home until 9:15pm.
It was a rush to get everything in, get JJ some dinner, and then ready for bed. He didn't fuss at all. He went right to bed and was asleep in a few minutes.
It was a super busy weekend. Stress in some parts, but mostly a fun time. Hubs and I never got an alone minute with his parents, so I was kinda bummed about that....but only because we had brought the memory box and wanted to share that...along with the baby's name. I had told Hubs that I had wanted to share the sex and name in the coming weeks on the blog...
We ordered breakfast and wouldn't you know, they told us to have a seat, they would bring our food to us. We get our drinks and find a table for the four of us to sit. We waited for what felt like forever, then they called out from the front counter our order. Hubs went to pick it up, and we chuckled at them "bringing it out to us." We eat, the kids played the staring game...the blinking game...the quiet game...we finish and get loaded in the car about 8:45am. Hubs and I had made sure that everyone had gone to the potty, so we were hopeful to make it to the SC welcome center before we made our first stop.
JJ and Lydia both had their DS's, so they were set. They were sharing games, showing shortcuts and secrets, even playing against each other. Hubs and I talked, listened to the radio, and talked some more. We made it to the welcome center with no other stops. Everyone got out, made a trip to the bathroom, and stretched their legs. Lydia had accidentally thrown her drink away at Hardees instead of getting a refill, so we got her a drink at the snack area. And we piled back into the car. Truthfully, the trip was uneventful. We had planned to pick up lunch and eat lunch with Hubs' parents. We had talked with them the night before to let them know, and when I called to give an update, I let them know our estimated arrival time "We should get there about 1:00pm, so we can pick lunch up with ya'll if you want." "ok, that sounds good!" We drive through Myrtle Beach and on down to Charleston. I call to let them know we are there, and if they want us to bring them lunch...they had already eaten...so, off we go to find something for the kids to bring back to the church. We finally find a Chick-Fil-A, go through the drive-thru, then turn back around to get to the church (where they are decorating for the Tailgate themed Rehearsal dinner, Clemson vs. Ohio State). :)
We set the kids up to the side so they can eat, and Hubs and I eat quickly. I ask what I can do to help. There were a few last minute decorating things...and getting napkins and plates out. I got what I could set up while Momma Aleman got the pictures placed where she wanted. Before we know it, it's time to head back over the Cooper River Bridge to the hotel. We still had to check in. We finally get checked in (after only a MINOR fiasco where they COULDN'T FIND MY RESERVATION!!!) But after a few minutes and some searching, they found it. It was reserved under another name, with a note that I would be the one checking in. (I guess it made sense to the person who took my reservation two weeks earlier.) We get our stuff in, get the kids changed (Lydia wanted to dress up, and JJ needed to get his Clemson orange on!) Then Hub and I got in our Clemson colors, and it was time to go. His younger brother's family were staying down the way from our room, so we all left at the same time: Their 3, our 4, and Hubs parents. We get downstairs and start loading in the car. JJ and Hubs go off to one side; Lydia and I go to the other side. I make sure Lydia is in, I open my door, and I hear something hit the ground, and JJ start crying.
I run over to the driver's side of the car to find JJ on his knees holding his nose, and the passenger door of Hubs parent's van open. I couldn't understand how the door was opened and hit him because they would have SEEN him. I get JJ up, Hubs picks up the DS that had gone flying, and I tell JJ to move his hands. Blood.All.Over. So I holler "Does someone have a Kleenex? His nose is bleeding!" Momma Aleman hands me a Kleenex and keeps saying "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" I get JJ's face wiped up, and we get him in the car. He's in the backseat whimpering, his nose is all red, and still bleeding. I keep looking back to see if his nose looked crooked. I end up handing him a napkin, and he says in a pitiful voice "Can I still play my DS?" So I open my window and let Hubs brother know that JJ is fine, he still wants to play his DS. On the way back to the church, I ask, "What happened? Did Nana open the door and accidently hit you?" He said "No! I tripped over the hump and went to catch myself and hit my face on the door because it was still open. It was an accident!!" (The concrete hump thing at the front of the parking space. When he stepped off of the sidewalk, somehow his foot landed between the sidewalk and the hump, and he tripped.)
We get to the church. I take JJ to the bathroom and get a wet paper towel to wash his face off. I was trying to get all the dried blood from around his nose. Thankfully none fell on his clothes!!! I check his nose again, and it's not crooked, but he has a bruise forming on one side. Poor kid. Hubs takes JJ and Lydia off to the sanctuary for the rehearsal. I stay in the activities building because I am not needed at the rehearsal, so Momma Aleman wanted me to get a few of the things ready that didn't need to sit out for very long.
Hubs parents arrive, I tell them how JJ hit his nose, and get a list from Momma Aleman. It had notes on the last few things that needed to be put out. Off they go to the rehearsal, and I am alone in the big room, ready to put my decorating skills to use. I look at the list, get what I need, and start arranging. I set up a snack table, I decorated a table where the pizza would be, and basically just made sure that everything looked fun :) I had some free time before the rehearsal finished, so I was able to take camera and get pictures of lots of stuff :)
The rehearsal dinner was a success. We ate pizza and wings and had plenty of snacks. We had a cornhole game, and the prizes were awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd on each team. JJ and Hubs were both 2nd place, one for each side. We got back to the hotel super late, got the kids ready for bed, and it was after 1 when Hubs and I finally got in the bed.
Saturday, we got up, got ready, and went to the Huddle house for breakfast. We went as a large group: us, Hubs younger brother's family, and his parents. It was hectic. We finally all ate and headed back to the room to hang out a bit. I had already showered and dressed, so I needed to get Lydia in the shower. She finished, I dried her hair, and we packed a bag. We were heading to the church early because she was getting her hair and makeup done. I had to bring both of our dresses, makeup, and comfy clothes to change into afterwards for the reception.
The wedding was beautiful. I cried. I had a front row seat along with the three flower girls and their Mommies.
After the Bride walked down the aisle, I put my camera down so that I could watch the wedding and cry. (I had remembered to pack Kleenex in my purse!) Afterwards, we hung around for group photos. We ended up back at the hotel before the reception because the boys forgot their change of clothes. It worked out because we were all able to use the bathroom. Then we got the kids changed and left their wedding clothes in the hotel room, and Hubs and I packed our change of clothes back in the bag. Off we head to the reception at Folly Beach.
The beach house was beautiful. The decorations were elegant. The food was awesome! We sat on the deck and enjoyed eating. The kids wanted to head down the beach, so Auntie K and I took the three kids down to the beach.
I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. We didn't stay til the end of the reception. We had to leave early because I don't give rewards for attitude. Once back at the hotel room, things were fine. The kids snuggled up together, and Lydia read to JJ from the book we had given her.
The next day (Sunday), we headed back out to the beach house for a brunch. Again, the food was awesome. We were able to visit a while. We even had a complete family picture made.
We visited a bit longer; I had a wonderful time getting to know Auntie M's Momma. We said our good-byes and headed up the street to visit Uncle Jack and Aunt Doris. We only visited a few minutes. Uncle Jack was tired. He looked tired. But we were thankful for the visit because it had been a while since Hubs had been able to see them.
We loaded up in the car and drove for a bit before stopping to order some lunch to go. We ate in the car. The kids did awesome. We stopped for gas and bathrooms. We got the kids a snack. We drove the rest of the way in. Now, we didn't leave Folly Beach until almost 4. We didn't drop Lydia off in Richlands until 8:45pm, and we didn't get home until 9:15pm.
It was a rush to get everything in, get JJ some dinner, and then ready for bed. He didn't fuss at all. He went right to bed and was asleep in a few minutes.
It was a super busy weekend. Stress in some parts, but mostly a fun time. Hubs and I never got an alone minute with his parents, so I was kinda bummed about that....but only because we had brought the memory box and wanted to share that...along with the baby's name. I had told Hubs that I had wanted to share the sex and name in the coming weeks on the blog...
Friday, May 4, 2012
Emotional Breakdown
What a busy time we have had. As you know, or maybe not, I've been dealing with emotions that I thought were under control. I didn't realize the emotions weren't under control until we received the news during Spring Break, and then I just started having a hard time "dealing." I started feeling major anxiety about the coming weekend (Hubs oldest brother got married in Charleston on the 28th). We would be seeing a TON of family all at once, and I was having a hard time processing all of that. I was getting touchy. I felt like Hubs and I were fighting over s.t.u.p.i.d. things. I just wanted to spend a day curled in bed, so I could mope, cry...whatever...get it out of my system before I saw everyone.
Hubs had a meeting on Monday the 23rd during karate time, so JJ and I went to Subway and Karate alone. (I couldn't spend the day being a bum because I had to be dressed and showered to take JJ.) Karate was at a different school, so we got there, and only a handful of kids were there. We were a bit early, and Monday was a COLD evening....mid 30's overnight. It was already getting cold, and smart Mom that I am, I didn't bring a jacket for myself. The people who take the weekly payments weren't there, so I went on in with JJ and decided to just stay in until the people arrived. Karate starts at 6pm. The Marine helper came in about 10 til and started the class. I haven't been able to watch class since the first month because parents aren't supposed to stay and watch. The kids were cute doing all of their warm ups, especially the push ups. I couldn't stop giggling. Then they were reviewing. They have been learning about Stranger Danger and what to do is a stranger tries to snatch them. They kick the person as hard as they can in the knees, yank their arms in a circular motion, and yell STRANGER. So, the Marine helper goes around to each child and has them practice the move to show that they DO know what must be done (without really kicking him, of course.)...and while I am standing there watching these kids, my eyes start to feel with tears, and I feel like I am about to break down watching them do Stranger Danger....Really? I go back to the hallway, and thankfully someone has come in with the cash box, and they get a paper started for signing in, and a line forms. I get in line, sign JJ in, pay, and go outside (where the breeze is pretty cold) and stand a few minutes. It's about 6:20 by this point, and karate ends at 6:45. I decided to go on to the car and text Momma. I end up calling her, and we talk a few minutes...I tell her that I just needed to talk a few minutes because watching the kids and my hormones were not mixing well that night. Monday finishes with no more excitement. I tell Hubs about my hormones, and we talk about JJ's appointment the next day with his allergist.
Tuesday the 24th was a day I was partially dreading. Three weeks prior, JJ had been to the allergist, saw Mr. Main Guy and was told not to have any milk, cheese, or school lunches. We had been following that for 3 weeks. I wasn't comfortable giving him the calcium supplement instead of his multivitamin, but we decided we would do that for the three weeks, and then go back to the multivitamin. We also bought JJ soy milk so that he could have cereal in the mornings (multi grain cheerios or shredded wheat)...I don't keep sugary cereals. I packed his lunch. We had increased his inhaler for those few days. There was definitely a noticeable difference in the congestion. JJ and I go to the appointment; Hubs had another interview in Greenville. We were called back pretty quickly. His appointment was at 8:15, and we were the first people there. They do height and weight, but nothing is said. The nurse asks me if anything has changed in the three weeks, and I tell her that we had followed a strict no milk/cheese diet. She asks why, and I tell her that Mr. Main Guy had told us to. She was all "oh." We go back to the dr. We see Mr. Nice Guy, the dr that we usually deal with. He listens to JJ's chest/lungs and tells him that he sounds awesome. He checks his ears, and JJ has some fluid behind one of his eardrums, but it was not infected. Mr. Nice Guy goes over how to spray the flonase and the Ocean spray because doing those wrong can cause fluid build up. We also have to make sure that JJ does the yawning motion several times a day. Nothing was mentioned about his weight or his diet. I guess Mr. Main Guy neglected to let everyone else know his orders. We go back in six months, end of October. From there, I took JJ to McDonald's to get a quick breakfast, and then I took him on to school.
I had already decided that since Hubs would be out of town for most of the day, I would go get my hair cut, colored, and eyebrows done. After dropping JJ off, I headed to walmart. I first went to the pharmacy to put in refills for his emergency inhaler, and then I went to the hair salon. There was no one in there, so they took me right back. The girl who took care of me had such an awesome personality. We talked about everything...I do mean everything. Hubs getting out of the military, looking for a job...being pregnant...losing the baby...anxiety over the coming weekend...We used several kleenexes while talking. But I felt better just getting it out to someone who wasn't involved (if that makes any sense)...She did an all over color in my natural brown to cover the grey, then she put in neutral caramel highlights that would look more natural as my hair grew out. She yanked out my eyebrows; thankfully I had warned her about how red my face would get. She trimmed the ends of my hair and added some layers. I am still trying to grow my hair out, but it needed some sort of shape. When all was said and done, I had spent about four hours in the hair salon! I was hooked up with all sorts of free samples and sent on my merry way. I headed to the pharmacy to pick up the inhaler, then I headed home. I decided to put on some makeup since my hair was all cute, then it was time to head to pick up JJ.
Got home with JJ and started on his homework. I heard Hubs pull in the driveway, and I told JJ that Daddy was home. We both rushed outside to welcome him back in :) Hubs was like "what's going on?" JJ was all "We missed you so much, Daddy!!" :) Love that kid!
(insert a GRRRR here. I had typed a WHOLE STUPID LONG ENTRY and it didn't save.) So, I am going to attempt to re-write, but I am super upset. It was emotionally draining the first time around :sigh: I am only going to write up to Thursday, and then I will write about the wedding in another entry. :sigh: Yes. Hormones are not making me very happy right now.
Wednesday, I ended up having an emotional breakdown. It didn't start out as such, but when Hubs and I finally talked, everything just came out. I was angry that the news had been shared, I was angry with my reaction to the news. I had thought I was doing much better, but then I felt like I was back at square one. I hate crying because it doesn't make me feel any better, and if it did, I would take a week, hole up and do nothing but cry to get it over with...but I feel worse after crying. My head hurts, my eyes are swollen and scratchy. Just a mess. I was feeling anxious about seeing our family during the weekend.
Thursday, I had a dr appointment. We took JJ to school and then headed to the dr. My OB is awesome, and we talked about my blood pressure that was elevated. I told her about my emotional breakdown the day before, my anxiety about seeing the family, the news that had been shared. I cried. She gave me a kleenex and told me that my responses were completely normal. She told me that unfortunately my journey would not be straight up hill and full of only highs...that I would hit some bumps and there would be lows as well. She told me that she had seen me 2 weeks after our loss and that she was amazed at the strength I had shown and that at only 9 weeks post partum, I was doing amazing. She knew that I would put one foot in front of the other this weekend and do what needed to be done to move forward.
**I am going to post now. I am so disgusted that my entry was lost in cyber space. The only part that saved was before the GRRR...I had been writing for about 2 hours to get everything caught up, and my details for Wednesday and Thursday were MUCH longer....but again, it was emotionally draining to write the first time, talking about my hurt, my confusion...the anger, and the pain...:sigh: I just couldn't do it again, but I hope with what I wrote, you are able to understand. I still hurt. I still cry. I'm human.
Hubs had a meeting on Monday the 23rd during karate time, so JJ and I went to Subway and Karate alone. (I couldn't spend the day being a bum because I had to be dressed and showered to take JJ.) Karate was at a different school, so we got there, and only a handful of kids were there. We were a bit early, and Monday was a COLD evening....mid 30's overnight. It was already getting cold, and smart Mom that I am, I didn't bring a jacket for myself. The people who take the weekly payments weren't there, so I went on in with JJ and decided to just stay in until the people arrived. Karate starts at 6pm. The Marine helper came in about 10 til and started the class. I haven't been able to watch class since the first month because parents aren't supposed to stay and watch. The kids were cute doing all of their warm ups, especially the push ups. I couldn't stop giggling. Then they were reviewing. They have been learning about Stranger Danger and what to do is a stranger tries to snatch them. They kick the person as hard as they can in the knees, yank their arms in a circular motion, and yell STRANGER. So, the Marine helper goes around to each child and has them practice the move to show that they DO know what must be done (without really kicking him, of course.)...and while I am standing there watching these kids, my eyes start to feel with tears, and I feel like I am about to break down watching them do Stranger Danger....Really? I go back to the hallway, and thankfully someone has come in with the cash box, and they get a paper started for signing in, and a line forms. I get in line, sign JJ in, pay, and go outside (where the breeze is pretty cold) and stand a few minutes. It's about 6:20 by this point, and karate ends at 6:45. I decided to go on to the car and text Momma. I end up calling her, and we talk a few minutes...I tell her that I just needed to talk a few minutes because watching the kids and my hormones were not mixing well that night. Monday finishes with no more excitement. I tell Hubs about my hormones, and we talk about JJ's appointment the next day with his allergist.
Tuesday the 24th was a day I was partially dreading. Three weeks prior, JJ had been to the allergist, saw Mr. Main Guy and was told not to have any milk, cheese, or school lunches. We had been following that for 3 weeks. I wasn't comfortable giving him the calcium supplement instead of his multivitamin, but we decided we would do that for the three weeks, and then go back to the multivitamin. We also bought JJ soy milk so that he could have cereal in the mornings (multi grain cheerios or shredded wheat)...I don't keep sugary cereals. I packed his lunch. We had increased his inhaler for those few days. There was definitely a noticeable difference in the congestion. JJ and I go to the appointment; Hubs had another interview in Greenville. We were called back pretty quickly. His appointment was at 8:15, and we were the first people there. They do height and weight, but nothing is said. The nurse asks me if anything has changed in the three weeks, and I tell her that we had followed a strict no milk/cheese diet. She asks why, and I tell her that Mr. Main Guy had told us to. She was all "oh." We go back to the dr. We see Mr. Nice Guy, the dr that we usually deal with. He listens to JJ's chest/lungs and tells him that he sounds awesome. He checks his ears, and JJ has some fluid behind one of his eardrums, but it was not infected. Mr. Nice Guy goes over how to spray the flonase and the Ocean spray because doing those wrong can cause fluid build up. We also have to make sure that JJ does the yawning motion several times a day. Nothing was mentioned about his weight or his diet. I guess Mr. Main Guy neglected to let everyone else know his orders. We go back in six months, end of October. From there, I took JJ to McDonald's to get a quick breakfast, and then I took him on to school.
I had already decided that since Hubs would be out of town for most of the day, I would go get my hair cut, colored, and eyebrows done. After dropping JJ off, I headed to walmart. I first went to the pharmacy to put in refills for his emergency inhaler, and then I went to the hair salon. There was no one in there, so they took me right back. The girl who took care of me had such an awesome personality. We talked about everything...I do mean everything. Hubs getting out of the military, looking for a job...being pregnant...losing the baby...anxiety over the coming weekend...We used several kleenexes while talking. But I felt better just getting it out to someone who wasn't involved (if that makes any sense)...She did an all over color in my natural brown to cover the grey, then she put in neutral caramel highlights that would look more natural as my hair grew out. She yanked out my eyebrows; thankfully I had warned her about how red my face would get. She trimmed the ends of my hair and added some layers. I am still trying to grow my hair out, but it needed some sort of shape. When all was said and done, I had spent about four hours in the hair salon! I was hooked up with all sorts of free samples and sent on my merry way. I headed to the pharmacy to pick up the inhaler, then I headed home. I decided to put on some makeup since my hair was all cute, then it was time to head to pick up JJ.
(insert a GRRRR here. I had typed a WHOLE STUPID LONG ENTRY and it didn't save.) So, I am going to attempt to re-write, but I am super upset. It was emotionally draining the first time around :sigh: I am only going to write up to Thursday, and then I will write about the wedding in another entry. :sigh: Yes. Hormones are not making me very happy right now.
Wednesday, I ended up having an emotional breakdown. It didn't start out as such, but when Hubs and I finally talked, everything just came out. I was angry that the news had been shared, I was angry with my reaction to the news. I had thought I was doing much better, but then I felt like I was back at square one. I hate crying because it doesn't make me feel any better, and if it did, I would take a week, hole up and do nothing but cry to get it over with...but I feel worse after crying. My head hurts, my eyes are swollen and scratchy. Just a mess. I was feeling anxious about seeing our family during the weekend.
Thursday, I had a dr appointment. We took JJ to school and then headed to the dr. My OB is awesome, and we talked about my blood pressure that was elevated. I told her about my emotional breakdown the day before, my anxiety about seeing the family, the news that had been shared. I cried. She gave me a kleenex and told me that my responses were completely normal. She told me that unfortunately my journey would not be straight up hill and full of only highs...that I would hit some bumps and there would be lows as well. She told me that she had seen me 2 weeks after our loss and that she was amazed at the strength I had shown and that at only 9 weeks post partum, I was doing amazing. She knew that I would put one foot in front of the other this weekend and do what needed to be done to move forward.
**I am going to post now. I am so disgusted that my entry was lost in cyber space. The only part that saved was before the GRRR...I had been writing for about 2 hours to get everything caught up, and my details for Wednesday and Thursday were MUCH longer....but again, it was emotionally draining to write the first time, talking about my hurt, my confusion...the anger, and the pain...:sigh: I just couldn't do it again, but I hope with what I wrote, you are able to understand. I still hurt. I still cry. I'm human.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Spring Break and The Crud
Boo. First off, I apologize once again that real life has gotten in the way. Every day I think "I really need to sit down and write on the blog" and then the day goes by and once again, I'm a little further behind. I last wrote on April 3, mad at JJ's dr. Well, on Tuesday he goes back to the dr, so we will see how his three weeks without milk and cheese has helped him (or not).
We finished the rest of that week with nothing extraordinary happening. I was still cleaning, going through boxes, shredding stuff, and throwing stuff out. JJ was out of school on April 6 (Good Friday), and it was a rainy day. We spent the day inside, hanging out, watching movies. Friday evening, I started feeling a bit achey, but I thought it was the weather, raw emotions, and having not done anything that day. Saturday, we woke up and decided to head to Golden Corral for breakfast. I was still semi-achey but had no fever. We got home, and I progressively felt worse. I put back on my pajamas and a sweatshirt, and pretty much vegged out the rest of the morning. Hubs and JJ decided to go outside to work on JJ riding his bike. He had only worked once before with Hubs and Grammie, and JJ still wasn't sure he wanted to be riding without training wheels at this point (I think it was in December.) Well, Saturday, April 7th, JJ was ready. They weren't outside very long at all before Hubs hollered for me to come out. So, I walk out as fast as my achey body will let me. And there is JJ riding around and around in our circle. He still needed help getting started, but even the few minutes while I was out there, JJ "got it" and started by himself as well. It totally helped that he was a bit too tall for the bike and could just put his feet down if he felt unsure at all. It helped give him the confidence because he wasn't falling over in the beginning. He and Daddy rode their bikes up and down the street most of the day.
I started running a fever and was pretty useless for anything. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought I was getting the flu, but I had gotten my flu shot in January. But I definitely had aches, fever, chills, hot flashes...and plain just being miserable. I was trying to drink lots of cold water to regulate my temperature because I just didn't know what I could take for a fever with my high blood pressure and the medication I am taking. I got through the weekend feeling awful. I tried to stay away from the boys because I wanted to get over my sickness and keep them from feeling as bad as I was feeling. My temp got as high as 102.4...I finally called Momma and asked her what I could take to help the fever. She told me the name of the medicine, and Monday morning, we all packed up and headed to walmart to find the medicine that I needed plus get cough drops. I couldn't find the medication I was looking for, so I went up to the pharmacy and noticed that it was behind the counter. I bought the medicine for flu and cold because it helped with aches, headaches, and fever. I kept taking the meds in the morning and in the evening. I believe it was Tuesday evening, I finally broke the fever. It was gross. I was all hot and sweaty, but my fever was only 99. I kept drinking the fluids and taking the meds. By Thursday, my temp was normal, but Hubs was now sick. I still had this awful cough; my chest hurt, my throat hurt...it was awful. Hubs and I pretty much grunted and groaned at each other all week. Thank goodness we knew what the other was trying to say. JJ was so confused.
I hated that we were sick all Spring Break. Thankfully, JJ never got sick. And he was able to go out and ride his bike on his own. Because Hubs and I were good for nothing parents.
So, between cleaning the week before and then being sick all spring break, I just stayed away from the blog. I didn't feel up to sitting in front of the laptop for any extended amount of time.
The end of spring break, Hubs and I received some news. It was good news, but the timing for us to receive this news wasn't good. It upset us both, and our emotions are raw anyway, so we have spent some time trying to not be so raw about the news. It's not our news to share, so I won't share :) (in other words, don't ask, LOL.) So, in dealing with my raw emotions, I took another week away from writing. I was afraid I would write something and feelings would get hurt, and I was truly of the mindset "Who cares if feelings are hurt? This is MY blog, and it's how I deal with stuff." It doesn't mean that I don't WANT to be happy for the news. But you just have to understand. You have to.
Hubs and I didn't get to make the trip over spring break, which turned out to be a blessing since we were both so sick. But in not making the trip, we were unable to see his family and have time to grieve with his parents. We had wanted to make the trip and have the time to properly grieve because I don't think everyone will be "over" the grieving part until this can be done. We had the chance to grieve with my Momma and Grandmutter and JJ because they were here the day we got the news. Then my parents came back up the next day. Hubs has talked to his parents over the phone, but a phone call isn't the same. Sometimes you just need to feel your Momma's arms around you and have a good cry. I am fully aware of this. We didn't want the first time we saw his parents to be the weekend that his brother gets married. I wanted that weekend to be a happy weekend. Even if it would be hard to put on a happy face, everyone deserves their own special day to be all about them. We are hoping to get to town early on Friday and send the kids to play so that we can have a few moments with his parents to grieve. We want to be able to spend the rest of the weekend surrounded in the happiness and love of adding a new Aleman to the family.
We got 2 more boxes off to goodwill this week. I have one more box almost full. We've moved JJ's bed back to his original room. We weren't able to make the trip to get the bed from SC. We bought a new vacuum cleaner the week before spring break, and during spring break, we vacuumed the living room. It was nasty. Hubs vacuums once a week, and the amount of stuff that our old cleaner wasn't picking up was just plain gross. Just from the living room, he had to empty the catch twice. Then he did the furniture and had to empty all of the cat hair. I am hoping we continue to notice a difference in JJ's breathing now that we have a vacuum that is REALLY picking up the dust and cat hair. We did JJ's room today, and again, gross. I wish we didn't have carpet. It would be so much easier to keep the dust and cat hair under control. One day....one day...
Hubs finally did hear from the job. He had to get a physical and a shot, and then had to wait for an appointment for a psych evaluation. Hoping that all goes well with that on Tuesday, he should hear back with a start date. Please pray that the results come back quickly so that he can start work soon.
I am still cleaning. :sigh: Not sure it will ever be done. But I feel good about what we've accomplished. We haven't done our Friday pizza/movie night in a few weeks because of sickness and being out of town. Today we are having our pizza and movie night. We will be watching New Moon. Girls, I know you are jealous that you don't have boys as awesome as I have. :)
Plus, when I am sick, they take such good care of me. Monday, I had an appointment to check my platelet count. They were up to 112k from 53k the previous visit!! I was very happy, as was Donald the lab guy. I saw the dr on Wednesday morning, and she was all "your counts are finally over 100...still not great, but better than they have been." Well, boo to your Ms. Blood dr. Donald and I were VERY happy with my numbers! So there. But on Wednesday afternoon, around the time that Hubs went to pick up JJ, I could feel a headache coming on. I got off of the computer, stayed away from the kindle, and tried to head the pain off before it became unbearable. (I am no stranger to migraines which I have unfortunately had since my pregnancy with JJ.) The migraine came on pretty quickly along with the getting sick because it was so bad. I was pretty much bedridden the rest of the afternoon except for running to the bathroom. I kept trying to come back to the living room to be with my boys, but I would run right back to the bathroom. Awful. I truly thought I might be dying. So, I prayed that I would feel better and no longer be in pain. and that I would be alive. I felt the need to add in that last part because you never know when God will give you exactly what you ask for but not what you were expecting. I sent the boys to dinner, and I went to sleep. The next think I knew, JJ was giving me hugs and kisses good night. I had been asleep from about 4:30 to 8:00pm. He brushed his teeth and then gave me more hugs and kisses because "Your head is broken, Momma and you have a migraine. I know you don't feel good, so I gave you extra hugs and kisses so that you will feel better!" And he proceeded to kiss me all over my face. I love my kid. Off to bed he went. I checked my alarm; it was set for 0645, and I went back to sleep. I ended up waking up about 1am, but really are you surprised? I had been sleeping since 4:30 in the afternoon!! I felt so much better, but boy was I thirsty. So, what do I do? I drink my diet mountain dew sitting on my dresser that I had poured earlier to try to keep the headache away. Because I thought it might be from not having any caffeine that day. I drank the whole glass. Then I drank a bottle of water and tried to go back to sleep. Nope. I tossed and turned until sometime after 4. And I lay there thinking "Why did I drink that mountain dew? I KNEW better than that!" Next thing I knew, I was waking up because Hubs alarm was going off. My alarm never went off. I sat up looking at my phone, feeling delirious. I was SURE that I had checked it and that it was set. I even pulled the alarm back up and it showed that 0645 was the time it would go off. At least I knew I wasn't completely crazy. Hubs got JJ ready for school, and I finally got out of bed. Hubs got us breakfast on the way home from taking JJ to school. I was so hungry! I lost 3 pounds the day before. I mean, I know I need to lose more weight, but that is NOT how I want to lose it! Later, I mentioned to Hubs about my alarm, and how I thought I was going crazy, and he told me he had turned it off before he went to bed. He wanted me to have a chance to sleep in, and he had planned to get up with JJ and get him showered, dressed, and ready for school. Have I mentioned I love my boys? They might make me think I am going crazy sometimes, but they always have the best of intentions :)
We had gotten a note home before spring break that awards day would be April 20th (today). JJ came home from school one day the week before his break, all excited because #1. his teacher told him he was above his AR goal and #2. his teacher told him that he had raised the most money in his class for the jump rope for heart, and he would be receiving an award and a gold medal. He.was.so.PUMPED. It's all he kept talking about. How he would get an AR (accelerated reading) award this awards day because he was above his goal (and he was...he was 174% of his goal for last nine weeks) and he would get to go to the AR party....and he would get an award and a medal for his jump rope for heart stuff. This week, we kept waiting to get a note letting us know what time the awards were being held, and we never received anything. But JJ kept talking about how he was getting an award because "Mrs. M told me." So this morning I went in to the office to ask, and it was at 8:30. I went back to the car to get Hubs, we signed in, and off we went to the cultural arts center. I told Hubs that JJ should be getting 2 awards, possibly only one because the prizes may not have come in yet for the jump rope....but that he had DEFINITELY reached the goal for the AR award. No. JJ didn't receive a single award. At least now we know why we were never told a time. Only the parents who have a child receiving an award are told what time to be there. But why would you make it a point to tell my child that he is ABOVE his goal if he is not going to receive the award. Now, I could care less about the piece of paper. I KNOW I have an awesome kid, and I know how well he is reading. But my awesome kid? That piece of paper means a lot to him. He wanted that affirmation that he was doing a good job with his reading, that he had met his goal, and he wanted his friends to know how well he was doing. I just wish the teacher wouldn't preach to the kids about reaching the goal and getting an award on awards day...because even if there was a mistake...it won't mean as much to JJ because he didn't get to go up in front of everyone and get the award. :sigh: End Rant.
We finished the rest of that week with nothing extraordinary happening. I was still cleaning, going through boxes, shredding stuff, and throwing stuff out. JJ was out of school on April 6 (Good Friday), and it was a rainy day. We spent the day inside, hanging out, watching movies. Friday evening, I started feeling a bit achey, but I thought it was the weather, raw emotions, and having not done anything that day. Saturday, we woke up and decided to head to Golden Corral for breakfast. I was still semi-achey but had no fever. We got home, and I progressively felt worse. I put back on my pajamas and a sweatshirt, and pretty much vegged out the rest of the morning. Hubs and JJ decided to go outside to work on JJ riding his bike. He had only worked once before with Hubs and Grammie, and JJ still wasn't sure he wanted to be riding without training wheels at this point (I think it was in December.) Well, Saturday, April 7th, JJ was ready. They weren't outside very long at all before Hubs hollered for me to come out. So, I walk out as fast as my achey body will let me. And there is JJ riding around and around in our circle. He still needed help getting started, but even the few minutes while I was out there, JJ "got it" and started by himself as well. It totally helped that he was a bit too tall for the bike and could just put his feet down if he felt unsure at all. It helped give him the confidence because he wasn't falling over in the beginning. He and Daddy rode their bikes up and down the street most of the day.
I started running a fever and was pretty useless for anything. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought I was getting the flu, but I had gotten my flu shot in January. But I definitely had aches, fever, chills, hot flashes...and plain just being miserable. I was trying to drink lots of cold water to regulate my temperature because I just didn't know what I could take for a fever with my high blood pressure and the medication I am taking. I got through the weekend feeling awful. I tried to stay away from the boys because I wanted to get over my sickness and keep them from feeling as bad as I was feeling. My temp got as high as 102.4...I finally called Momma and asked her what I could take to help the fever. She told me the name of the medicine, and Monday morning, we all packed up and headed to walmart to find the medicine that I needed plus get cough drops. I couldn't find the medication I was looking for, so I went up to the pharmacy and noticed that it was behind the counter. I bought the medicine for flu and cold because it helped with aches, headaches, and fever. I kept taking the meds in the morning and in the evening. I believe it was Tuesday evening, I finally broke the fever. It was gross. I was all hot and sweaty, but my fever was only 99. I kept drinking the fluids and taking the meds. By Thursday, my temp was normal, but Hubs was now sick. I still had this awful cough; my chest hurt, my throat hurt...it was awful. Hubs and I pretty much grunted and groaned at each other all week. Thank goodness we knew what the other was trying to say. JJ was so confused.
I hated that we were sick all Spring Break. Thankfully, JJ never got sick. And he was able to go out and ride his bike on his own. Because Hubs and I were good for nothing parents.
So, between cleaning the week before and then being sick all spring break, I just stayed away from the blog. I didn't feel up to sitting in front of the laptop for any extended amount of time.
The end of spring break, Hubs and I received some news. It was good news, but the timing for us to receive this news wasn't good. It upset us both, and our emotions are raw anyway, so we have spent some time trying to not be so raw about the news. It's not our news to share, so I won't share :) (in other words, don't ask, LOL.) So, in dealing with my raw emotions, I took another week away from writing. I was afraid I would write something and feelings would get hurt, and I was truly of the mindset "Who cares if feelings are hurt? This is MY blog, and it's how I deal with stuff." It doesn't mean that I don't WANT to be happy for the news. But you just have to understand. You have to.
Hubs and I didn't get to make the trip over spring break, which turned out to be a blessing since we were both so sick. But in not making the trip, we were unable to see his family and have time to grieve with his parents. We had wanted to make the trip and have the time to properly grieve because I don't think everyone will be "over" the grieving part until this can be done. We had the chance to grieve with my Momma and Grandmutter and JJ because they were here the day we got the news. Then my parents came back up the next day. Hubs has talked to his parents over the phone, but a phone call isn't the same. Sometimes you just need to feel your Momma's arms around you and have a good cry. I am fully aware of this. We didn't want the first time we saw his parents to be the weekend that his brother gets married. I wanted that weekend to be a happy weekend. Even if it would be hard to put on a happy face, everyone deserves their own special day to be all about them. We are hoping to get to town early on Friday and send the kids to play so that we can have a few moments with his parents to grieve. We want to be able to spend the rest of the weekend surrounded in the happiness and love of adding a new Aleman to the family.
We got 2 more boxes off to goodwill this week. I have one more box almost full. We've moved JJ's bed back to his original room. We weren't able to make the trip to get the bed from SC. We bought a new vacuum cleaner the week before spring break, and during spring break, we vacuumed the living room. It was nasty. Hubs vacuums once a week, and the amount of stuff that our old cleaner wasn't picking up was just plain gross. Just from the living room, he had to empty the catch twice. Then he did the furniture and had to empty all of the cat hair. I am hoping we continue to notice a difference in JJ's breathing now that we have a vacuum that is REALLY picking up the dust and cat hair. We did JJ's room today, and again, gross. I wish we didn't have carpet. It would be so much easier to keep the dust and cat hair under control. One day....one day...
Hubs finally did hear from the job. He had to get a physical and a shot, and then had to wait for an appointment for a psych evaluation. Hoping that all goes well with that on Tuesday, he should hear back with a start date. Please pray that the results come back quickly so that he can start work soon.
I am still cleaning. :sigh: Not sure it will ever be done. But I feel good about what we've accomplished. We haven't done our Friday pizza/movie night in a few weeks because of sickness and being out of town. Today we are having our pizza and movie night. We will be watching New Moon. Girls, I know you are jealous that you don't have boys as awesome as I have. :)
Plus, when I am sick, they take such good care of me. Monday, I had an appointment to check my platelet count. They were up to 112k from 53k the previous visit!! I was very happy, as was Donald the lab guy. I saw the dr on Wednesday morning, and she was all "your counts are finally over 100...still not great, but better than they have been." Well, boo to your Ms. Blood dr. Donald and I were VERY happy with my numbers! So there. But on Wednesday afternoon, around the time that Hubs went to pick up JJ, I could feel a headache coming on. I got off of the computer, stayed away from the kindle, and tried to head the pain off before it became unbearable. (I am no stranger to migraines which I have unfortunately had since my pregnancy with JJ.) The migraine came on pretty quickly along with the getting sick because it was so bad. I was pretty much bedridden the rest of the afternoon except for running to the bathroom. I kept trying to come back to the living room to be with my boys, but I would run right back to the bathroom. Awful. I truly thought I might be dying. So, I prayed that I would feel better and no longer be in pain. and that I would be alive. I felt the need to add in that last part because you never know when God will give you exactly what you ask for but not what you were expecting. I sent the boys to dinner, and I went to sleep. The next think I knew, JJ was giving me hugs and kisses good night. I had been asleep from about 4:30 to 8:00pm. He brushed his teeth and then gave me more hugs and kisses because "Your head is broken, Momma and you have a migraine. I know you don't feel good, so I gave you extra hugs and kisses so that you will feel better!" And he proceeded to kiss me all over my face. I love my kid. Off to bed he went. I checked my alarm; it was set for 0645, and I went back to sleep. I ended up waking up about 1am, but really are you surprised? I had been sleeping since 4:30 in the afternoon!! I felt so much better, but boy was I thirsty. So, what do I do? I drink my diet mountain dew sitting on my dresser that I had poured earlier to try to keep the headache away. Because I thought it might be from not having any caffeine that day. I drank the whole glass. Then I drank a bottle of water and tried to go back to sleep. Nope. I tossed and turned until sometime after 4. And I lay there thinking "Why did I drink that mountain dew? I KNEW better than that!" Next thing I knew, I was waking up because Hubs alarm was going off. My alarm never went off. I sat up looking at my phone, feeling delirious. I was SURE that I had checked it and that it was set. I even pulled the alarm back up and it showed that 0645 was the time it would go off. At least I knew I wasn't completely crazy. Hubs got JJ ready for school, and I finally got out of bed. Hubs got us breakfast on the way home from taking JJ to school. I was so hungry! I lost 3 pounds the day before. I mean, I know I need to lose more weight, but that is NOT how I want to lose it! Later, I mentioned to Hubs about my alarm, and how I thought I was going crazy, and he told me he had turned it off before he went to bed. He wanted me to have a chance to sleep in, and he had planned to get up with JJ and get him showered, dressed, and ready for school. Have I mentioned I love my boys? They might make me think I am going crazy sometimes, but they always have the best of intentions :)
We had gotten a note home before spring break that awards day would be April 20th (today). JJ came home from school one day the week before his break, all excited because #1. his teacher told him he was above his AR goal and #2. his teacher told him that he had raised the most money in his class for the jump rope for heart, and he would be receiving an award and a gold medal. He.was.so.PUMPED. It's all he kept talking about. How he would get an AR (accelerated reading) award this awards day because he was above his goal (and he was...he was 174% of his goal for last nine weeks) and he would get to go to the AR party....and he would get an award and a medal for his jump rope for heart stuff. This week, we kept waiting to get a note letting us know what time the awards were being held, and we never received anything. But JJ kept talking about how he was getting an award because "Mrs. M told me." So this morning I went in to the office to ask, and it was at 8:30. I went back to the car to get Hubs, we signed in, and off we went to the cultural arts center. I told Hubs that JJ should be getting 2 awards, possibly only one because the prizes may not have come in yet for the jump rope....but that he had DEFINITELY reached the goal for the AR award. No. JJ didn't receive a single award. At least now we know why we were never told a time. Only the parents who have a child receiving an award are told what time to be there. But why would you make it a point to tell my child that he is ABOVE his goal if he is not going to receive the award. Now, I could care less about the piece of paper. I KNOW I have an awesome kid, and I know how well he is reading. But my awesome kid? That piece of paper means a lot to him. He wanted that affirmation that he was doing a good job with his reading, that he had met his goal, and he wanted his friends to know how well he was doing. I just wish the teacher wouldn't preach to the kids about reaching the goal and getting an award on awards day...because even if there was a mistake...it won't mean as much to JJ because he didn't get to go up in front of everyone and get the award. :sigh: End Rant.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Great Things Are Coming Up
Things have just been N.U.T.S. around the Aleman household. On top of interviews for Hubs, we've had dr. appointments, car servicing, and cleaning. Oh.The.Cleaning. We have been talking about getting our garage organized for a while now. It had been something in the plans to "be done by July." Then, with everything, we found ourselves putting it off. Well, Friday, we started on the garage. I feel so accomplished! All three shelving units are put together, and the pile that once was everywhere is now only in the very middle and is very small.
The trash went out last night, so that was awesome. Our trashcan was overflowing. And we had stuff beside the can. I'm anxious for the recycling to go out. That would be Thursday night though. Our bin is full, and we have a box full of broken down boxes, plus 5 huge boxes from the shelves and some of the boxes we have emptied. And I have two boxes in the living room that are going out with the recycling. One may go out the next week because I am using it to empty my shred stuff in as well. Needless to say-I am so pumped about the progress that we have made. We have a goodwill box started again, so I can start going through our clothes. I took picture of the train wreck that was our garage, and once we get it completely organized, I will take pictures again to share.
There was yarn hidden all over the garage. Not purposely hidden. Like, I didn't buy it, and then go and stash it somewhere so Hubs wouldn't know. No. It was in "project" bags, and when we had cleared out our guest room earlier in the year when we had company, it all got shoved where it would fit...and then was covered and got forgotten. Poor, poor yarn. LOL. I promise. I won't need to buy yarn for a good long time.
I found pictures everywhere. My plan is to get all of my candid shots scanned into the computer and saved on disks, and then use the original copies to make scrapbooks. (No worries-I have most of the supplies already. I'll just have to buy the actual scrapbook with each one that I do. And since it will probably be a long term project, I can buy one, work on it until it is finished, and then work on the next one. Then I won't have a bin with only pictures in it. Yes, that person is me. Anyone that scrapbooks wanna come and show me how? I've only done one, but I feel like I need someone to show me how to scrapbook to get the full use of my supplies.)
I also found a ton of wallet sized pictures of different family members and friends. I plan to do some sort of project to get them framed and hung on the wall. We are finally getting pictures hung, and that makes me very happy!
When the garage is finished, the next room I plan to tackle is JJ's. I need to pull everything out and dust from top to bottom...go through the toys and clothes (which is a never ending process!) Mostly, I just make sure that the toys are not broken...if they are, into the garbage they go. If the clothes don't fit, out of his room they go. I was getting him ready for school yesterday, and he told me his underwear were too tight. I was telling Hubs that we needed to buy him new underwear, and he asked if they were the right size. I didn't realize we had kept some of his old underwear when we bought his new underwear at the beginning of the school year. I promptly went through his underwear, got out THREE pairs that were too small, and made JJ put on a pair that fit. Then the small undies went into the garbage. That was easy.
I know we have a long way to go to be completely clutter-free and organized, but we are definitely on our way. And it helps that we are both on board. And we set our shredder up next to the desk instead of in a back bedroom or a corner that we never see. Now we can shred every day and empty it when needed instead of having a pile of shred stuff that we rarely take the time to sit down and shred. One less thing to take over our lives. And it is such a small thing-you would think we would have done this years ago instead of letting things pile up. Well, it's been started now :)
I will most likely take before and after pictures of each section (except the dining room since I didn't take before pictures before we put the shelves up.)
We are waiting on a phone call for Hubs (sometime this week) about a job; as of right now, we don't know how that will change our spring break plans. We still have to make a trip to SC to pick up the bed we are getting for JJ, so it may be just a super quick trip for that. We will see.
Yesterday was six weeks postpartum. It was a sad day, just because. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. It was just hard not to think about. Hubs and I had several talks throughout the day, and we made it through. Thank you for the continued prayers. Thank you for the kind words. Thank you for the offers to talk. Ya'll are wonderful. I am doing better. I do still cry sometimes when Hubs and I talk. I do wish things had been different. I do wish that people would sometimes think before they open their mouth, but I would wish that even if this hadn't happened.
Today, JJ had an appointment with his asthma/allergy specialist. We usually see the partner, but this time, we saw the main dr. We didn't care for him very much. First, at each appointment (and with his pediatrician), we have asked if we needed to worry about his weight. He is tall and obviously weighs more than most kids his age. We were told that as long as he was still getting taller, not to be concerned about his weight because his height and weight were proportional. If we started having weight gain and no height change, then we needed to monitor diet and exercise. In six months, JJ has gained about four pounds and has grown approximately three inches. With the allergy season coming earlier and being a little heavier this year, we have been battling congestion majorly and coughing...oh the coughing. Well, this dr (Mr. Main Guy) looked and listened and told us that we were not doing everything we should be doing to keep his symptoms under control. He said before he prescribed more medicine, we were to increase the daily inhaler from two times a day to four times a day. So I told him "The other dr only prescribed him to take two puffs once daily, in the morning because he takes the Singulair at night." Mr. Main Guy looked skyward (can't decide if he was asking for patience or rolling his eyes, either way he was exasperated) and then basically told us that it was no wonder that JJ was sick and congested because we weren't even giving him the right doseage of medication. He repeated his instructions of 4 puffs, 4 times a day for 4 days...and then after that, we were to begin the correct dose of 2 puffs 2 times a day (in the morning and in the evening.) Then he said "Now, we've taken care of that. On to the next thing that concerns me. This." And he doesn't point. No, he takes both hands and grabs JJ's belly and jiggles it. Now, I don't know how many of you have seen JJ lately. He is by no means a fat kid. Mr. Main Guy then proceeded to blast Hubs and I and tell us that were to COMPLETELY cut out milk and cheese from JJ's diet and give him a citrical vitamin daily. "Because he will then get all of the calcium and cut the calories. And don't let him buy school lunch. Pack his lunch every day. If you let him get lunch from school, you are only half helping him." So we finish the appointment (we're to go back in three weeks so the dr can monitor his weight and see how his congestion is), we take JJ to school, and then I blow up. First, I understand the weight is an issue. That is NOT what upset me. What upset me is the completely unprofessional way that Mr. Main Guy went about telling us. You don't grab a kid's belly and jiggle it around, and then say "Your son is 6 years old and weighs XX." You then do NOT lecture us on the eating habits of Americans in general. I don't care about the rest of America and their eating habits. I care about my husband and my kid. How is cutting milk from your diet completely help a growing kid? I understand cutting back or cutting out cheese. But completely cutting out milk and telling me to give him a medication that is usually taken by women who are in danger of osteoporosis? He takes a multivitamin every day. I checked at walmart. It doesn't contain any calcium, but it does contain the vitamin d needed to process the calcium. (Because kids usually drink milk, eat cheese and yogurt, so they don't need extra calcium.) I looked at the citrical (and every other calcium supplement), and ALL of them contain calcium and vitamin D, but no other vitamin or mineral. So up to the pharmacy I go to question the pharmacist if it is ok to give him both. She tells me no because while the multivitamin that he takes has no calcium, it has 400 mg of vitamin D...and the citrical has 500mg of vitamin D, and it is a vitamin that your body stores, and it can be toxic if given too much. For three weeks, we are going to do as the dr asked. No cheese or milk. Citrical. (And no multivitamin). Once we have that appointment at the end of the month, we will most likely eliminate the citrical and go back to the daily multivitamin and give JJ a glass of milk in the morning and at night. I do agree that school lunches are NOT the most nutritious and do not aid in keeping a child in their correct weight range, but I do not think he should skip the milk. I can cut back on the cheese. Heck, **I** need to cut back on the cheese. But he should get his dairy from foods, not from a supplement (unless he had a food allergy, which he doesn't!) Parents get blasted because they watch what their kids eat and get upset when they gain weight. "This is how eating disorders are started." But it's ok for the dr to grab a belly and jiggle it? I.Don't.Think.So.
We are now hanging out. JJ spent most of the afternoon/early evening outside playing with his friend across the street. He broke his shoe (and it snaps back together, but one of the pieces came off, and he couldn't find it)...he was very sad about that. I don't know if I can fix it without the piece, and JJ won't make a stink about it. He's funny that way. He KNOWS the piece is missing, so he will say "but my shoe is still broken" even if it's back together. OCD much? Yes, yes he is. But this is the JJ that I love with all of my heart.
Oh. And Julie? JJ is eating some feet chips (leftover from his Subway friend yesterday.) Let me tell you how spoiled this kid is. We go to Subway every Monday because of karate, and the last few weeks he has asked for spicy nacho Doritos, which they do not carry. He gets nacho cheese instead. Well, last week, his Subway friend (the one that writes him notes on napkins) told him she would have a surprise for him this week. He forgot all about it until we got there, and another guy (his friend wasn't there) told him that his friend left him something. He went and brought him a bag of chips.
He was excited :) Even left him a message to have a nice day. Then after we had ordered and were about to sit down, the phone rang, and the guy answered...and then he laughed and said "JJ, the phone is for you!" HAHA....we were at Subway, and JJ is getting phone calls! He was able to talk to his friend after all. They are so funny! Fun stuff. Fun stuff.
The trash went out last night, so that was awesome. Our trashcan was overflowing. And we had stuff beside the can. I'm anxious for the recycling to go out. That would be Thursday night though. Our bin is full, and we have a box full of broken down boxes, plus 5 huge boxes from the shelves and some of the boxes we have emptied. And I have two boxes in the living room that are going out with the recycling. One may go out the next week because I am using it to empty my shred stuff in as well. Needless to say-I am so pumped about the progress that we have made. We have a goodwill box started again, so I can start going through our clothes. I took picture of the train wreck that was our garage, and once we get it completely organized, I will take pictures again to share.
There was yarn hidden all over the garage. Not purposely hidden. Like, I didn't buy it, and then go and stash it somewhere so Hubs wouldn't know. No. It was in "project" bags, and when we had cleared out our guest room earlier in the year when we had company, it all got shoved where it would fit...and then was covered and got forgotten. Poor, poor yarn. LOL. I promise. I won't need to buy yarn for a good long time.
I found pictures everywhere. My plan is to get all of my candid shots scanned into the computer and saved on disks, and then use the original copies to make scrapbooks. (No worries-I have most of the supplies already. I'll just have to buy the actual scrapbook with each one that I do. And since it will probably be a long term project, I can buy one, work on it until it is finished, and then work on the next one. Then I won't have a bin with only pictures in it. Yes, that person is me. Anyone that scrapbooks wanna come and show me how? I've only done one, but I feel like I need someone to show me how to scrapbook to get the full use of my supplies.)
I also found a ton of wallet sized pictures of different family members and friends. I plan to do some sort of project to get them framed and hung on the wall. We are finally getting pictures hung, and that makes me very happy!
When the garage is finished, the next room I plan to tackle is JJ's. I need to pull everything out and dust from top to bottom...go through the toys and clothes (which is a never ending process!) Mostly, I just make sure that the toys are not broken...if they are, into the garbage they go. If the clothes don't fit, out of his room they go. I was getting him ready for school yesterday, and he told me his underwear were too tight. I was telling Hubs that we needed to buy him new underwear, and he asked if they were the right size. I didn't realize we had kept some of his old underwear when we bought his new underwear at the beginning of the school year. I promptly went through his underwear, got out THREE pairs that were too small, and made JJ put on a pair that fit. Then the small undies went into the garbage. That was easy.
I know we have a long way to go to be completely clutter-free and organized, but we are definitely on our way. And it helps that we are both on board. And we set our shredder up next to the desk instead of in a back bedroom or a corner that we never see. Now we can shred every day and empty it when needed instead of having a pile of shred stuff that we rarely take the time to sit down and shred. One less thing to take over our lives. And it is such a small thing-you would think we would have done this years ago instead of letting things pile up. Well, it's been started now :)
I will most likely take before and after pictures of each section (except the dining room since I didn't take before pictures before we put the shelves up.)
We are waiting on a phone call for Hubs (sometime this week) about a job; as of right now, we don't know how that will change our spring break plans. We still have to make a trip to SC to pick up the bed we are getting for JJ, so it may be just a super quick trip for that. We will see.
Yesterday was six weeks postpartum. It was a sad day, just because. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. It was just hard not to think about. Hubs and I had several talks throughout the day, and we made it through. Thank you for the continued prayers. Thank you for the kind words. Thank you for the offers to talk. Ya'll are wonderful. I am doing better. I do still cry sometimes when Hubs and I talk. I do wish things had been different. I do wish that people would sometimes think before they open their mouth, but I would wish that even if this hadn't happened.
Today, JJ had an appointment with his asthma/allergy specialist. We usually see the partner, but this time, we saw the main dr. We didn't care for him very much. First, at each appointment (and with his pediatrician), we have asked if we needed to worry about his weight. He is tall and obviously weighs more than most kids his age. We were told that as long as he was still getting taller, not to be concerned about his weight because his height and weight were proportional. If we started having weight gain and no height change, then we needed to monitor diet and exercise. In six months, JJ has gained about four pounds and has grown approximately three inches. With the allergy season coming earlier and being a little heavier this year, we have been battling congestion majorly and coughing...oh the coughing. Well, this dr (Mr. Main Guy) looked and listened and told us that we were not doing everything we should be doing to keep his symptoms under control. He said before he prescribed more medicine, we were to increase the daily inhaler from two times a day to four times a day. So I told him "The other dr only prescribed him to take two puffs once daily, in the morning because he takes the Singulair at night." Mr. Main Guy looked skyward (can't decide if he was asking for patience or rolling his eyes, either way he was exasperated) and then basically told us that it was no wonder that JJ was sick and congested because we weren't even giving him the right doseage of medication. He repeated his instructions of 4 puffs, 4 times a day for 4 days...and then after that, we were to begin the correct dose of 2 puffs 2 times a day (in the morning and in the evening.) Then he said "Now, we've taken care of that. On to the next thing that concerns me. This." And he doesn't point. No, he takes both hands and grabs JJ's belly and jiggles it. Now, I don't know how many of you have seen JJ lately. He is by no means a fat kid. Mr. Main Guy then proceeded to blast Hubs and I and tell us that were to COMPLETELY cut out milk and cheese from JJ's diet and give him a citrical vitamin daily. "Because he will then get all of the calcium and cut the calories. And don't let him buy school lunch. Pack his lunch every day. If you let him get lunch from school, you are only half helping him." So we finish the appointment (we're to go back in three weeks so the dr can monitor his weight and see how his congestion is), we take JJ to school, and then I blow up. First, I understand the weight is an issue. That is NOT what upset me. What upset me is the completely unprofessional way that Mr. Main Guy went about telling us. You don't grab a kid's belly and jiggle it around, and then say "Your son is 6 years old and weighs XX." You then do NOT lecture us on the eating habits of Americans in general. I don't care about the rest of America and their eating habits. I care about my husband and my kid. How is cutting milk from your diet completely help a growing kid? I understand cutting back or cutting out cheese. But completely cutting out milk and telling me to give him a medication that is usually taken by women who are in danger of osteoporosis? He takes a multivitamin every day. I checked at walmart. It doesn't contain any calcium, but it does contain the vitamin d needed to process the calcium. (Because kids usually drink milk, eat cheese and yogurt, so they don't need extra calcium.) I looked at the citrical (and every other calcium supplement), and ALL of them contain calcium and vitamin D, but no other vitamin or mineral. So up to the pharmacy I go to question the pharmacist if it is ok to give him both. She tells me no because while the multivitamin that he takes has no calcium, it has 400 mg of vitamin D...and the citrical has 500mg of vitamin D, and it is a vitamin that your body stores, and it can be toxic if given too much. For three weeks, we are going to do as the dr asked. No cheese or milk. Citrical. (And no multivitamin). Once we have that appointment at the end of the month, we will most likely eliminate the citrical and go back to the daily multivitamin and give JJ a glass of milk in the morning and at night. I do agree that school lunches are NOT the most nutritious and do not aid in keeping a child in their correct weight range, but I do not think he should skip the milk. I can cut back on the cheese. Heck, **I** need to cut back on the cheese. But he should get his dairy from foods, not from a supplement (unless he had a food allergy, which he doesn't!) Parents get blasted because they watch what their kids eat and get upset when they gain weight. "This is how eating disorders are started." But it's ok for the dr to grab a belly and jiggle it? I.Don't.Think.So.
We are now hanging out. JJ spent most of the afternoon/early evening outside playing with his friend across the street. He broke his shoe (and it snaps back together, but one of the pieces came off, and he couldn't find it)...he was very sad about that. I don't know if I can fix it without the piece, and JJ won't make a stink about it. He's funny that way. He KNOWS the piece is missing, so he will say "but my shoe is still broken" even if it's back together. OCD much? Yes, yes he is. But this is the JJ that I love with all of my heart.
Oh. And Julie? JJ is eating some feet chips (leftover from his Subway friend yesterday.) Let me tell you how spoiled this kid is. We go to Subway every Monday because of karate, and the last few weeks he has asked for spicy nacho Doritos, which they do not carry. He gets nacho cheese instead. Well, last week, his Subway friend (the one that writes him notes on napkins) told him she would have a surprise for him this week. He forgot all about it until we got there, and another guy (his friend wasn't there) told him that his friend left him something. He went and brought him a bag of chips.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Spring Cleaning, Allergies, And My Boys
Wow. It has been so long. I didn't mean to abandon this. Do ya'll remember me?? LOL.
Friday was such a big day. For me. For Hubs. First, I got my maternity clothes packed away. All except one shirt, but as soon as I come across it, it too will get packed. I may have to recheck the bin to make sure I didn't get it in there absentmindedly. I washed the ones that needed washing, and they were packed in the bin. Not as many clothes as it seemed, but enough that they were everywhere, and now they are away. Getting those put away and finally looking at the pictures were the two biggest steps that I needed to take...or at least I think they were. I guess I'll find out, huh?
Hubs interview went awesome! He started out with brownie points because he even bothered to show up for the interview. The two people scheduled before him never bothered to show up or call to reschedule or anything. In fact, his interview went so well, that he was able to have a second interview before he left. It was for a seasonal job, but Hubs wants to do something until the call comes in for the job he really WANTS.
The positive interview really brightened his spirits. Today's economy really bites, and even the "not-forever-job" kind of jobs are hard to get. We decided to get some lunch, and on the way, I started pointing out cloud shapes. Hubs and I were giggling like little kids as I pointed out things...I saw a lobster with his pincers in the ready position. I saw a whale with water spouting out. I saw an alligator with his mouth wide open. I saw the Snuggle bear hugging a pile of laundry. I saw Perry the Platypus standing on a rock. I wish I had my camera with me so that I could share the clouds. I kept looking for more and more shapes. (Friday was the day to cloud hunt. It was before the rain, and there were clouds EVERYWHERE!) I even saw a cloud that looked like JJ when he lies on his back with his arms crossed and one leg crossed over. Like I said. Hubs and I were cracking up. Once we got to where we were having lunch, Hubs just bubbled over, telling me about his interview. He could barely eat for talking. He was sending a text to arrange a time to get Lydia on Saturday, and a call started coming through. He picked up without meaning too because he didn't recognize the number; and thank goodness he did! It was from the job he WANTED, scheduling an interview. :whew: And I thought he was bubbling over BEFORE that phone call.
After lunch, we headed to Target to pick up some more shelves (like the ones I used for my yarn) to go in the garage. I am super serious about this spring cleaning stuff this year. We are determined to get control of our clutter, reclaim our garage, our closets, our space. The shelves are on sale, and there was only one set out. We had an associate help us, and he went and got two more sets out of the back. While we were standing in line, Hubs said that we were spring cleaning/organizing our garage, and the guy looked at him and said "Are ya'll hoarders or something?" [Uhh...no...if we were hoarders, we wouldn't be able to organize. It's a serious sickness that people have. It made me think of a friend because we had recently talked about not being able to watch and entire episode of the TLC show Hoarders because it truly grosses us out. ] So, I tell him, no, we just have a lot of stuff that's never been unpacked, and it's taking over our garage (because that is the truth.) And now that Hubs is no longer in the military, we can't use the excuse of "well, we'll just leave it in the box because we will move again in a year." While we will definitely be making at LEAST one more move in our lives (when we buy a house), we don't think we'll be making that move for about a year. :) Now is the perfect time for the TRUE spring cleaning...purging...organizing. Pinterest will definitely be of use to me as I look for inexpensive ways to organize and "create" more space. (Don't be surprised if I steal some of your organizational ideas!)
We left Target and headed to the school to pick up JJ. JJ had such a good day at school, but he was so congested. Pollen is our enemy. Everything we love about spring is his enemy. Poor kid is allergic to outside. Trees, grass, pollen, weeds, ragweed...plus dust, cats, and dogs. :sigh: He loves to play outside, now that he has a friend across the street. We are dealing with the congestion. He sounds so miserable though. I have been to walmart several times for sudafed, but they never have any. And of course, because it's a control substance thanks to all the meth users, I have to go to the pharmacy to ask about it. And of course, the same little old man is there working the register every.single.time.I ask about them having sudafed. And he always tells me that they only get about 10 total boxes in on their shipments, and they are gone that day. :sigh: A lot of good that does JJ, right?
So we've been able to turn the heat off and leave our front door open and the back sliding glass door open. But only in our living room so that the pollen doesn't infest JJ's bedroom. We are sitting around before dinner, and it is so hot. Our house was 85*!!!! JJ's been coughing a deep, rattly, asthmatic type of cough, so we shut the doors and flip on the AC to cool off the house. We really have to watch his cough and his allergies or it causes his asthma to flare up.
The house finally cooled, and we watched Stuart Little 2. Great family bonding time. No pizza because we had gone to Cici's the night before. Hubs grilled burgers and dogs, and I made a potato salad. Yum. That is all.
Hubs went out to close the grill and ended up walking around the house instead of coming back in the sliding glass door. He called me to the front door to see something, and there was this brilliant bright green tree frog hanging out on the siding. Be still my heart!
Of course, my camera does NOT do this little guy justice, but he was amazing. For those that don't know, I love frogs. All things frogs. I collect frogs and frog stuffs. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! I told Hubs I was going to catch him and keep him. I got the "you're so crazy" look. Then Mr. Tree Frog hopped to the corner and started catching the nasty skeeters. I decided he was perfectly fine right where he was, eating all the bugs he wanted!
OH I forgot to mention. When we got home from picking JJ up from school, there was a letter for Hubs in the mailbox. It was another place requesting an interview!!! (For the same job we got a call about at lunch, just a different location. He was able to put in for three different locations and has heard back from two. FINALLY. In the same day.) Did I mention that Friday was a really good day?
Saturday was a mostly busy day. Hubs and JJ went to pick up Lydia and brought her back to the house. She was able to open her Christmas presents from Hubs' family. She seemed to like everything. Especially the huge pack of lip gloss. We had to open so that she could put one on :) Then we got everything packed in a bag and got loaded in the car. We headed for the mall because that is where the dress that Maggie had liked best was...I had been roaming stores looking at the Easter stuff, sending her random pictures of different dresses...or dress stuff for JJ, trying to figure out what to get them for Easter and the wedding. We found this amazing dress, and I didn't know what size to get...and I wanted Lydia to try it on because department store clothes fit differently. We find the dress. In the smaller sizes, they had 6, 8, and a 12. Then they started at size 14 and went up from there. I knew she wasn't an 8, but she also wasn't a 14. I was thinking more of a 10. I grabbed the 12, and off we head to the dressing room. There is only ONE dressing room open. With 2 stalls. And 2 girls with out 30 different Easter dresses each. And for every ONE that they try on, their mom brings in another 3. :sigh: So, Lydia and I get in line, and I send Hubs off in search of another dressing room. He finally finds an associate who opens another dressing room. We try the dress on...SCORE. It was a little big, but I could tie the bow in the back tighter, and it gave plenty of room for growing in the next month. I will share a picture after the wedding :) Don't want to ruin any surprises! I told Lydia that all we needed now was a pair of white shoes to go with the dress. She said she was wearing a size 3, and they fit her and felt good, so we didn't need to measure her foot. I told her we would probably measure anyway, just to be sure. Off we head for lunch at Red Robin. We had a very enjoyable time all together. After lunch, we head to the shoe store. We have Lydia's foot measured, and it comes in at a size 4; the associate tells us to get a 4 1/2 so she has room to grow. We try on several different styles in 4 1/2, but they are all way too big. I can put 2 fingers in the shoe behind her heel. I know her foot won't grow THAT much before the wedding, and I don't want her feeling like her shoe is going to fall off! We tried on a size 4 shoe, and it fit very well. Not too tight, but not slipping off when she walked either. I was sad because I had found a style that was SO.PRETTY in the size 4 1/2, and they didn't have the same style in the smaller size. We ended up getting the shoe we tried on, which was a similar style to the one I really liked. It was pretty also, but I reeeaaallllly liked the bigger shoe.
From the shoe store, we head to Target to do a little shopping. We had decided as our Christmas present for Lydia, we would buy her several outfits for the wedding weekend. I think overall, she was very excited with the clothes that she tried on. She can't wait for the wedding so that she can wear all of her new stuff :) While I was checking out, I sent Hubs and both kids to Pet Smart. It started drizzling while we were inside. When we left Pet Smart, they wanted to go into Gamestop, but I wanted to go to the car. So, I sent Hubs and the kids in while I went to the car. I was just tired. It had been a busy day. It was muggy outside because of the thunderstorms looming in the sky. It started raining pretty hard, and then Hubs and the kids were running towards the car. Lydia's mom picked her up, and we headed home.
I really can't tell you what we did for the rest of the day. I think we just hung out. Hubs finished reading The Hunger Games. I played games on the kindle after that. We didn't stay up too late because we had to drive to Wilmington so that Hubs could get fitted for his tux for the wedding.
I woke up pretty early on Sunday and started reading Catching Fire. The boys woke up, and we all got ready to head out. We had decided to get breakfast out so that we had a good meal before travelling. (JJ sometimes gets car sick, so we do what we can to make sure that he doesn't get sick...full belly, sprite or some sort of drink...and don't let him get too hot!) I had talked with Hubs a bit about feeling anxious going to Wilmington. It's our first time back since leaving the hospital. While it may not seem like a huge thing, for me, it FELT like a ginormous thing. The drive was fairly uneventful. I did some reading, and JJ played his DS. Then I let him play Angry Birds. Around the point that I gave up the kindle, we passed the Hardees where Hubs and I stopped to get ourselves together before heading home that day. I reached out and held Hubs hand for a long time. I could feel the tears trying to come, but they never did. We made it to the tux place. While Hubs was getting fitted, JJ played Angry Birds, and I looked at the shirts and ties. We got done and walked over to the bookstore. JJ and I went to the kid section so that I could read him a couple of books, and then we decided it was time for lunch. We drove to Zaxbys. The food is great, but I forget how long it takes for your order to be ready. And they were packed. Boo. The drive home, I read a couple chapters, and then I let JJ play Angry Birds again. The kindle died right about the time we hit town. I plugged it in once we got home, and then we all got in our comfy clothes. The rain had started right before we got home...and it was NUTS. It wasn't so bad once we were home though. Only while we were driving, LOL...I finished Catching Fire and went straight into Mockingjay.
Monday, Hubs had an appointment, and I decided to leave right after he did and get some prescriptions filled for myself and JJ. It didn't take as long as I had thought it would, so I had plenty of time to go sit at the school and read. I got home and helped JJ with his homework, and then he got ready for karate. Hubs was finishing up some schoolwork. We went to Subway, talked with JJ's friend, and then headed out. We got to the school, only to find a note taped to the door that they were having karate at a different location. So, we look it up on the GPS, and off we go to find this other elementary school. We get there just in time (we weren't late, the instructor pulled in behind us!). Hubs gets JJ checked in, and then we head to get gas. I go to read my book, and my story would not load. It kept telling me it needed wi-fi (which it shouldn't need because the book is loaded, it's not a game.) I ended up letting Hubs play Angry Birds, and I worked on a baby hat. I had gotten a tiny loom to make hats for people who have situations like ours...where they have to deliver and are given a memory box with photos. Our memory box includes a hat that the baby wore when presented to Hubs. The hat didn't take long at all to finish. For my first try at this size, I thought it was cute. I will definitely have to work several before I figure out the correct number of rows needed.
I picked one of JJ's smaller toys as a model, then used the Flintstones glass to give you an idea of how small the hat is. Today, I just did not feel motivated to get going at all! I somehow got JJ ready for school, and Hubs got him there early to take his AR test. He scored a 5/5!!! We were being bums at home though. Hanging out, just not motivated for anything. I finished Mockingjay. SUCH a great series! We can't wait to watch the movie. Hubs decided he was going to play video games. I went to finally get dressed. And the power goes out. There is an outage in a fairly large area, so we hang out for a few minutes before leaving to pick JJ up from school. The lights are out, the shopping center is out...Nuts. People don't know how to drive around here anyway....The police were directing traffic. We get on Piney Green and see a sign that says local traffic only. We keep going because we are local and heading to pick JJ up from school. No. What the sign should have said is "Mandatory detour ahead. Road closed." We follow traffic, but we have no idea where we are headed. The road goes on forever. We finally end up on Old 30, and I say "OH! We will come up by the guy with the hot dog stand." It takes forever, but that is exactly where we come out. We go to turn, and the policeman tells us that the road is only open to Hunter's Creek...which is where we needed to go. We get to the school about 3:10, and there are no kids out anywhere. They decided to keep all of the kids in their classes working on homework or whatever since the traffic was so backed up that the buses hadn't even arrived yet at the school. Parents were going in to check out their kids, and it was a crazy process. Hubs went in, and was gone forever it seemed. Finally, it comes over the intercom to please take the car riders to their designated areas....this was about 3:20pm. JJ and Hubs finally make it to the car, and off we go...the long way home. Traffic was so ridiculous. But there was no sense in getting crabby about it. It wasn't going to change anything. We tell JJ that the power is out, so once his homework is done, he should go out and play. We notice that the shopping center has lights and the stop lights are working again. We get home and still have no power. But when I had called, the recording for outages said that the power should be back up between 5:30 and 6pm. JJ got his homework done, and off he went to play outside.
I grabbed some bags and a stack of papers and sat down to go through them.. I had four piles: shred, recycle, keep and trash. Most everything went into the shred or recycle (all of the shred ended up in the recycle); only the staples, or plastic parts of the envelopes went into the trash. We had schoolwork from kindergarten, stuff from first grade....we even had our lease from the apartment we had in Georgia. The box was almost completely gone through. Hubs went through and got the trash stuff out. There is only small stuff in the bottom now. Tomorrow after my appointment, we are going to re look at what is in the bottom and find new homes for everything. One box down!!! I never know where to start and end up starting everywhere and nowhere looks "done." We've mostly done the dining room now, so I think I will finish in there and then tackle the garage. I think once that is gone through, then the stuff from the other rooms that needs to go out in the garage will have a home, not just thrown on top of the current stuff residing all over. I will definitely take before and after pictures. I have no clue how long this will take. We have boxes that have been following us around since we were first married that I'm not sure have ever been completely unpacked. The good news for today is that one box is 99% completed, the shredding is 100% completed, and everything that can be, is in the recycling bin. I know this week and probably next week our recycling is going to be over flowing. But for tonight...our house is breathing a little easier....
Friday was such a big day. For me. For Hubs. First, I got my maternity clothes packed away. All except one shirt, but as soon as I come across it, it too will get packed. I may have to recheck the bin to make sure I didn't get it in there absentmindedly. I washed the ones that needed washing, and they were packed in the bin. Not as many clothes as it seemed, but enough that they were everywhere, and now they are away. Getting those put away and finally looking at the pictures were the two biggest steps that I needed to take...or at least I think they were. I guess I'll find out, huh?
Hubs interview went awesome! He started out with brownie points because he even bothered to show up for the interview. The two people scheduled before him never bothered to show up or call to reschedule or anything. In fact, his interview went so well, that he was able to have a second interview before he left. It was for a seasonal job, but Hubs wants to do something until the call comes in for the job he really WANTS.
The positive interview really brightened his spirits. Today's economy really bites, and even the "not-forever-job" kind of jobs are hard to get. We decided to get some lunch, and on the way, I started pointing out cloud shapes. Hubs and I were giggling like little kids as I pointed out things...I saw a lobster with his pincers in the ready position. I saw a whale with water spouting out. I saw an alligator with his mouth wide open. I saw the Snuggle bear hugging a pile of laundry. I saw Perry the Platypus standing on a rock. I wish I had my camera with me so that I could share the clouds. I kept looking for more and more shapes. (Friday was the day to cloud hunt. It was before the rain, and there were clouds EVERYWHERE!) I even saw a cloud that looked like JJ when he lies on his back with his arms crossed and one leg crossed over. Like I said. Hubs and I were cracking up. Once we got to where we were having lunch, Hubs just bubbled over, telling me about his interview. He could barely eat for talking. He was sending a text to arrange a time to get Lydia on Saturday, and a call started coming through. He picked up without meaning too because he didn't recognize the number; and thank goodness he did! It was from the job he WANTED, scheduling an interview. :whew: And I thought he was bubbling over BEFORE that phone call.
After lunch, we headed to Target to pick up some more shelves (like the ones I used for my yarn) to go in the garage. I am super serious about this spring cleaning stuff this year. We are determined to get control of our clutter, reclaim our garage, our closets, our space. The shelves are on sale, and there was only one set out. We had an associate help us, and he went and got two more sets out of the back. While we were standing in line, Hubs said that we were spring cleaning/organizing our garage, and the guy looked at him and said "Are ya'll hoarders or something?" [Uhh...no...if we were hoarders, we wouldn't be able to organize. It's a serious sickness that people have. It made me think of a friend because we had recently talked about not being able to watch and entire episode of the TLC show Hoarders because it truly grosses us out. ] So, I tell him, no, we just have a lot of stuff that's never been unpacked, and it's taking over our garage (because that is the truth.) And now that Hubs is no longer in the military, we can't use the excuse of "well, we'll just leave it in the box because we will move again in a year." While we will definitely be making at LEAST one more move in our lives (when we buy a house), we don't think we'll be making that move for about a year. :) Now is the perfect time for the TRUE spring cleaning...purging...organizing. Pinterest will definitely be of use to me as I look for inexpensive ways to organize and "create" more space. (Don't be surprised if I steal some of your organizational ideas!)
We left Target and headed to the school to pick up JJ. JJ had such a good day at school, but he was so congested. Pollen is our enemy. Everything we love about spring is his enemy. Poor kid is allergic to outside. Trees, grass, pollen, weeds, ragweed...plus dust, cats, and dogs. :sigh: He loves to play outside, now that he has a friend across the street. We are dealing with the congestion. He sounds so miserable though. I have been to walmart several times for sudafed, but they never have any. And of course, because it's a control substance thanks to all the meth users, I have to go to the pharmacy to ask about it. And of course, the same little old man is there working the register every.single.time.I ask about them having sudafed. And he always tells me that they only get about 10 total boxes in on their shipments, and they are gone that day. :sigh: A lot of good that does JJ, right?
So we've been able to turn the heat off and leave our front door open and the back sliding glass door open. But only in our living room so that the pollen doesn't infest JJ's bedroom. We are sitting around before dinner, and it is so hot. Our house was 85*!!!! JJ's been coughing a deep, rattly, asthmatic type of cough, so we shut the doors and flip on the AC to cool off the house. We really have to watch his cough and his allergies or it causes his asthma to flare up.
The house finally cooled, and we watched Stuart Little 2. Great family bonding time. No pizza because we had gone to Cici's the night before. Hubs grilled burgers and dogs, and I made a potato salad. Yum. That is all.
Hubs went out to close the grill and ended up walking around the house instead of coming back in the sliding glass door. He called me to the front door to see something, and there was this brilliant bright green tree frog hanging out on the siding. Be still my heart!
OH I forgot to mention. When we got home from picking JJ up from school, there was a letter for Hubs in the mailbox. It was another place requesting an interview!!! (For the same job we got a call about at lunch, just a different location. He was able to put in for three different locations and has heard back from two. FINALLY. In the same day.) Did I mention that Friday was a really good day?
Saturday was a mostly busy day. Hubs and JJ went to pick up Lydia and brought her back to the house. She was able to open her Christmas presents from Hubs' family. She seemed to like everything. Especially the huge pack of lip gloss. We had to open so that she could put one on :) Then we got everything packed in a bag and got loaded in the car. We headed for the mall because that is where the dress that Maggie had liked best was...I had been roaming stores looking at the Easter stuff, sending her random pictures of different dresses...or dress stuff for JJ, trying to figure out what to get them for Easter and the wedding. We found this amazing dress, and I didn't know what size to get...and I wanted Lydia to try it on because department store clothes fit differently. We find the dress. In the smaller sizes, they had 6, 8, and a 12. Then they started at size 14 and went up from there. I knew she wasn't an 8, but she also wasn't a 14. I was thinking more of a 10. I grabbed the 12, and off we head to the dressing room. There is only ONE dressing room open. With 2 stalls. And 2 girls with out 30 different Easter dresses each. And for every ONE that they try on, their mom brings in another 3. :sigh: So, Lydia and I get in line, and I send Hubs off in search of another dressing room. He finally finds an associate who opens another dressing room. We try the dress on...SCORE. It was a little big, but I could tie the bow in the back tighter, and it gave plenty of room for growing in the next month. I will share a picture after the wedding :) Don't want to ruin any surprises! I told Lydia that all we needed now was a pair of white shoes to go with the dress. She said she was wearing a size 3, and they fit her and felt good, so we didn't need to measure her foot. I told her we would probably measure anyway, just to be sure. Off we head for lunch at Red Robin. We had a very enjoyable time all together. After lunch, we head to the shoe store. We have Lydia's foot measured, and it comes in at a size 4; the associate tells us to get a 4 1/2 so she has room to grow. We try on several different styles in 4 1/2, but they are all way too big. I can put 2 fingers in the shoe behind her heel. I know her foot won't grow THAT much before the wedding, and I don't want her feeling like her shoe is going to fall off! We tried on a size 4 shoe, and it fit very well. Not too tight, but not slipping off when she walked either. I was sad because I had found a style that was SO.PRETTY in the size 4 1/2, and they didn't have the same style in the smaller size. We ended up getting the shoe we tried on, which was a similar style to the one I really liked. It was pretty also, but I reeeaaallllly liked the bigger shoe.
From the shoe store, we head to Target to do a little shopping. We had decided as our Christmas present for Lydia, we would buy her several outfits for the wedding weekend. I think overall, she was very excited with the clothes that she tried on. She can't wait for the wedding so that she can wear all of her new stuff :) While I was checking out, I sent Hubs and both kids to Pet Smart. It started drizzling while we were inside. When we left Pet Smart, they wanted to go into Gamestop, but I wanted to go to the car. So, I sent Hubs and the kids in while I went to the car. I was just tired. It had been a busy day. It was muggy outside because of the thunderstorms looming in the sky. It started raining pretty hard, and then Hubs and the kids were running towards the car. Lydia's mom picked her up, and we headed home.
I really can't tell you what we did for the rest of the day. I think we just hung out. Hubs finished reading The Hunger Games. I played games on the kindle after that. We didn't stay up too late because we had to drive to Wilmington so that Hubs could get fitted for his tux for the wedding.
I woke up pretty early on Sunday and started reading Catching Fire. The boys woke up, and we all got ready to head out. We had decided to get breakfast out so that we had a good meal before travelling. (JJ sometimes gets car sick, so we do what we can to make sure that he doesn't get sick...full belly, sprite or some sort of drink...and don't let him get too hot!) I had talked with Hubs a bit about feeling anxious going to Wilmington. It's our first time back since leaving the hospital. While it may not seem like a huge thing, for me, it FELT like a ginormous thing. The drive was fairly uneventful. I did some reading, and JJ played his DS. Then I let him play Angry Birds. Around the point that I gave up the kindle, we passed the Hardees where Hubs and I stopped to get ourselves together before heading home that day. I reached out and held Hubs hand for a long time. I could feel the tears trying to come, but they never did. We made it to the tux place. While Hubs was getting fitted, JJ played Angry Birds, and I looked at the shirts and ties. We got done and walked over to the bookstore. JJ and I went to the kid section so that I could read him a couple of books, and then we decided it was time for lunch. We drove to Zaxbys. The food is great, but I forget how long it takes for your order to be ready. And they were packed. Boo. The drive home, I read a couple chapters, and then I let JJ play Angry Birds again. The kindle died right about the time we hit town. I plugged it in once we got home, and then we all got in our comfy clothes. The rain had started right before we got home...and it was NUTS. It wasn't so bad once we were home though. Only while we were driving, LOL...I finished Catching Fire and went straight into Mockingjay.
Monday, Hubs had an appointment, and I decided to leave right after he did and get some prescriptions filled for myself and JJ. It didn't take as long as I had thought it would, so I had plenty of time to go sit at the school and read. I got home and helped JJ with his homework, and then he got ready for karate. Hubs was finishing up some schoolwork. We went to Subway, talked with JJ's friend, and then headed out. We got to the school, only to find a note taped to the door that they were having karate at a different location. So, we look it up on the GPS, and off we go to find this other elementary school. We get there just in time (we weren't late, the instructor pulled in behind us!). Hubs gets JJ checked in, and then we head to get gas. I go to read my book, and my story would not load. It kept telling me it needed wi-fi (which it shouldn't need because the book is loaded, it's not a game.) I ended up letting Hubs play Angry Birds, and I worked on a baby hat. I had gotten a tiny loom to make hats for people who have situations like ours...where they have to deliver and are given a memory box with photos. Our memory box includes a hat that the baby wore when presented to Hubs. The hat didn't take long at all to finish. For my first try at this size, I thought it was cute. I will definitely have to work several before I figure out the correct number of rows needed.
I grabbed some bags and a stack of papers and sat down to go through them.. I had four piles: shred, recycle, keep and trash. Most everything went into the shred or recycle (all of the shred ended up in the recycle); only the staples, or plastic parts of the envelopes went into the trash. We had schoolwork from kindergarten, stuff from first grade....we even had our lease from the apartment we had in Georgia. The box was almost completely gone through. Hubs went through and got the trash stuff out. There is only small stuff in the bottom now. Tomorrow after my appointment, we are going to re look at what is in the bottom and find new homes for everything. One box down!!! I never know where to start and end up starting everywhere and nowhere looks "done." We've mostly done the dining room now, so I think I will finish in there and then tackle the garage. I think once that is gone through, then the stuff from the other rooms that needs to go out in the garage will have a home, not just thrown on top of the current stuff residing all over. I will definitely take before and after pictures. I have no clue how long this will take. We have boxes that have been following us around since we were first married that I'm not sure have ever been completely unpacked. The good news for today is that one box is 99% completed, the shredding is 100% completed, and everything that can be, is in the recycling bin. I know this week and probably next week our recycling is going to be over flowing. But for tonight...our house is breathing a little easier....
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