A Sigh of Relief

My doctor's appointment went well today. I seem to be having a little bit of a hormone imbalance issue, but it is nothing serious. So she prescribed me some hormone pills and hopefully that will kick start my system to start working correctly again. She also did some blood work to see if we can pinpoint the problem so I let you know if and when they can give me some more answers. I can't thank all of you enough for your thoughts and prayers. I really felt so at peace with the situation as I was sitting there wearing only my little paper sheet waiting to be seen. They sure do give you a lot of time to just sit there and think don't they? I had come to terms with the fact that whatever was meant to be was meant to be. So, I guess in return for my trust in God I was able to walk out of there breathing a sigh of relief.

To Share or Not to Share? That is the Question!

Contrary to popular belief, I do not divulge every detail of my life on this here little blog. Yes, Not Me! Mondays force me to share some of the little insignificant embarrassing things, but then we all have a laugh at ourselves and feel better. It is the bigger things in life that are harder to share. It is difficult to put some things out there for the whole world to know. I debated back and forth over writing this post tonight. I try to keep it light and funny here and I usually only talk about my kids. Finally, I decided that it was worth the risk in sharing. Last month I went to my high risk ob because I hadn't had a period in 3 months. I was terrified I was pregnant, even though he had tied my tubes when Jack was born. Lucky for me, I wasn't. My doctor prescribed me some hormones and poof, it came. I didn't really think anything of it, but lately I have been having some really sharp pains in my left breast. The combination of these two things got me thinking. So I did a self exam, and I think I found a lump... it is about the size of a marble. I called the local ob/gyn today and they want to see me TOMORROW! That kind of freaked me out, because usually doctors can't just fit people in so soon. It kind of hit home with me that this might actually be something serious. I have spent my whole life despising my big boobs. To me they have always been nothing but a back breaking curse. I even had a breast reduction @ 14 and they still continued to grow, like they were taunting me. Yet, however much I may have complained about them over the years, I am still kinda attached to them. As I sat here tonight thinking about all of my wonderful new bloggy friends asking myself whether to share or not to share, I realized that the only thing holding me back was the idea that if I wrote it down, it might be real. But you know what, no matter what I do it is going to be real. I can kid myself all I want, but at some point I have to face the "reality" of the situation. So here it is people - I am going to the doctor tomorrow @ 1:00 and would rather go in there knowing that I have the power of prayer on my side. So if you feel so moved, say a little prayer tomorrow for me and my peace of mind. I thank you in advance! Now, I'm off to take a nice long bath and shave my armpits. I sure wouldn't want the doctor to think that just because it has been cold here lately, that I was trying to grow a winter coat under there!

Not Me! Monday

Okay so technically it is Sunday night still, but I wanted to get a jump start on my Not Me! Monday post. I must say that I think I probably get more enjoyment out of doing these than any of you who are reading. There is something so freeing about honesty. Plus, I guess it makes me feel a little better to know I'm not the only mom out there who isn't "perfect". Here are some of the things I did not do the past week...

I did not put Jack to bed wearing a pair of Kennedy's old Ariel jammies. I would never dress him in girly clothes, even if it was only to sleep in. I wouldn't want him to grow up with a complex or anything!

I did not not realize that Kennedy had peed her pants @ the McDonald's playplace. I certainly was not so wrapped up in my conversation that I forgot to ask her if she needed to go potty. I would never have let her keep playing only to notice her wet pants as I was buckling her into her car seat.

I would never make cookie dough from scratch without intending to make cookies. I certainly would not just eat said cookie dough because that would be gross and unhealthy! Further more, I would not justify eating it by telling my kids that they couldn't have it because it was yucky diet food and they wouldn't like it. I wouldn't have wanted them to get salmonella poisoning right?

Finally, I did not simply turn on the TV when Reagan came to my room in the middle of the night saying she had a nightmare. I did not just go back to sleep and let her stay awake by herself watching Noggin for 2 hours. What kind of horrible mother would do that? I did not then let her sleep until noon the next day because I knew she needed to catch up on her sleep.

Does any one else out there want to join in the fun and free yourself from the burden of the things you did or did not do recently? Seriously people, I am saving thousands of dollars in therapy here, I wonder if I can say the same for my kids?

Fun in the Pumpkin Patch

It must be that time of year again, because it seems like every blog I've visited this weekend included cute pictures of smiling children in a pumpkin patch. Well this one is no different people. Yesterday was a gorgeous day here! It was 80 degrees, and that is really warm for October in Indiana. My MIL had the wonderful idea to go west, and take all of the kids to the pumpkin patch! I must admit that this is not a trip I would have ventured to take on my own! It was exhausting! However with help it was a really fun day. We all piled into my van (Nini, me, my kiddos, my SIL Rachael, and my nephew Austin) and took the 40 min drive. I do believe it was worth it though! They had pumpkins, hayrides, face painting, balloon animals, we even ended the day with an apple dumpling! Reagan had a butterfly painted on her face, and Jack was supposed to be a pirate. Dee Dee didn't want her face painted so we convinced her to let them paint some pumpkins on her arm. Austin wanted Spiderman and everywhere we went, people said "oh look at the Spiderman!" He though he was pretty cool stuff! We took the hayride out to the pumpkin patch and each of us got to pick our own pumpkin, the kids loved that. You should have seen them, agonizing over which one was the right one. To steal a word from Rebecca, I was a mamarazzi. I took so many pictures even I couldn't keep up. It isn't any wonder why at the end of the day, when I really wanted that perfect group shot of my kiddos that it took six or seven shots to get it! Thank you so much Nini for a wonderful day that I'm sure I will be hearing about until at least Christmas! Anyway, enjoy my little video of our day at the pumpkin patch, that last shot was worth it all!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My Love Affair w/ Murphy's Oil Soap

Okay people, I have decided that I must share my new found passion for Murphy's Oil Soap. I realize that this probably sounds really silly but it was just too good not to pass on. As many of you probably know, both of my girls are in pre-school this year. This means art projects and that means stains on their clothes. Now at the beginning of the year the teachers always tell you not to send your child to school in any clothes that you don't want ruined. This is impossible. For one thing Reagan is the oldest, which means all of her clothes are new, or at least fairly new. Either way, I spent my husband's hard earned money on them and I want them to last an entire season. I would also like to be able to pass them onto Kennedy, so yes I mind if they get ruined. A simple solution to this would be to send her to school in garage sale or other hand me down clothes. This bothers me too though, since I want her to look nice at school. It may be vain but I feel like how she looks reflects on me and also on her Nini (grandma), who happens to be her teacher. Thus, this my internal conflict every day of what to have her wear to school. I do have a point and I am getting to it. A couple of weeks ago, Reagan was drawing with a dry erase marker and she got some on a pair of brand new pants! As in she purposefully drew a line down the middle of her pant leg. I freaked out, I was so upset about it and decided to google it. I came across a suggestion to pre-spot and scrub the area with Murphy's Oil soap. For some reason, I always have Murphy's in my house so I decided to try it. And it worked! The marker was out in less than a minute and I was amazed. Since then I have had a few other marker, paint, ink pen related incidents both at home and from school and so far the Murphy's has worked every time! I am so happy that I have found this miracle solution that I had to share it. Now, I don't have to stress as much about what I dress the girls in for school, because if it comes home stained I can fix it. And if I can't then I guess it isn't really a big deal. They are just clothes after all.

A Quieter Time...

Okay, so Kameron over @ A Wrinkle in Time blogged about this photo contest they are having @ 5minutesformom. They are giving away a entire toddler size bedroom furniture set! I couldn't resist entering, I absolutely love watching my kiddos sleep. They seem so peaceful, so "angelic". This is a photo from the not-so-distant past. It was a quieter time, when my baby fell asleep on the bed @ my in-law's house. After last week I really needed this memory! I love this picture, and when I read about this contest it was the first one that came to my mind. Who doesn't love a picture of a sleeping baby? And for that matter who couldn't use new bedroom furniture?!

The Antics of a Nearly Two Year Old Boy

I have officially discovered that raising a little boy is very much different from raising a little girl. Yes, I had been told this by numerous people, but it never really seemed all that different until recently. Jack ,is in a word a handful. Lately he has been such a little pistol and I can hardly stand it! Some days I want to scream, some days I want to cry, and then there are the days that he just makes me laugh. He climbs EVERYTHING! He opens the refrigerator, the microwave, the dresser doors and pulls out (or puts in) whatever he can get his grubby little fingers on. He hardly says anything... I know that his speech is not delayed, but it sure seems that way sometimes. He just doesn't talk near as much as the girls did at his age and it is frustrating for me to not be able to communicate with him. He has no interest in learning the parts of his body, shapes or colors. But he does seem to have interest in how the toilet works. Most of his antics seem to occur in the kitchen as this is the heart of our home. I almost feel the need to "baby proof" but at this point that seems so overwhelming. So, I decided instead to try to document it. I figured if I wrote it down that maybe someday I would be able to look back and laugh. Here are some of my favorites from the past week.

This is Jack in the dog kennel at my mom and dad's. He went in and didn't want to come out.

Climbing the kitchen cabinets to get some cereal. This climb happens about 20 times a day. Oh yeah, and he never wants to wear a diaper anymore, what is with that?

I honestly couldn't tell you what this is that he got into... I know it was chocolate. Pudding maybe?

Filling the microwave with stuff...

What he put in the microwave: 2 XBox controllers, a pencil, my keys, a toy, a toothbrush, a can of hairspray, and a spider Halloween decoration. And that was just on that day.

Yes, that is my lacy red bra that he pulled out of the drawer and put on his head. How embarrassing! Yet, still funny!




Getting the milk out of the refrigerator to let me know he wants milk. If he'd just say "milk" I could just get it out for him!




Hope you enjoyed my little bundle of energy! He may be a handful but I wouldn't trade him for any other nearly two year old boy in the world!

Tagged!

I was tagged by Chris' cousin Jen and his other cousin Angie. This one is actually kind of fun. Here are the rules...



Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog.



10 Years Ago I...(1998):

1. I was just starting my Senior Year of High school

2. I was a theater junkie and I had my favorite part ever in the school play. I was M'Lynn(Sally Field) in Steel Magnolias. I wore and wig and got to do that awesome monologue, it Rocked!

3. I finally got my driver's license @ 17 and 3 months, and I drove a shiny red Mercury Cougar. Still to this day it is the coolest car I ever had.

4. I was feeling free from my boyfriend of two years... He was a freshman in college and I was an independent "woman".

5. I was obsessed with all things "Dawson's Creek" I never missed and episode! Looking back that just seems pathetic.





5 Things on Today's "To Do List":

1. Pick up my house cuz my parents are coming over for dinner.

2. Look for new work pants for Chris online, his other ones are getting pretty dingy.

3. Find time to peruse other blogs and read "Not Me! Monday" posts.

4. Put the kids in bed in time to watch Heroes on TV.

5. Laundry, always lots and lots of laundry.





5 Places I have lived:

1. I was born in raised in Warsaw, IN

2. North Manchester, IN (once for college and once again after Chris and I moved there and bought a bar/restaurant

3. Leesburg, IN... where Chris and I bought our first house and lived after we got married.

4. Back to Warsaw... where we live now. I know it hasn't been very exciting.





5 Jobs I have had:

1. My first job was working for my parents @ "the big hat"(Arby's Roast Beef)
2. I worked @ a tanning salon called Maxx Tan my Senior year in high school.
3. I also worked at the gas station Chris and I owned for a little while, but I was also trying to finish college @ the time.
4. I did my college internship in the costume department of Wagon Wheel Theatre, which is in my hometown. I actually got paid $250 a week which was a lot more than most interns get paid.
5. As always my life has always involved brief stints back @ Arby's in between jobs. Everyone always comes back to Arby's.

Now I'm tagging:
1. Kam
2. Toni
3. Shawn
4. Kameron
5. Leah

Not Me! Monday

Ahhh another Not Me! Monday has rolled around. I must say I struggled with it this week, I didn't really bother keeping track of all of the things I "didn't" do and so I considered not even writing this post. However, I feel bound to MckMama and I am so hoping she interrupts her blogging break for Not Me! Monday. Plus I must say I enjoy all of the extra comments that Mondays bring. Oh, come on you know all of you do too! So with out further ado, here are the things I did not do this week.

1. I did not cave in and finally break into the Halloween candy I bought. That would be ridiculous and oh so naughty. Why must they put it on the store shelves so early!!?

2. I did not run back into the house to get my camera before taking my daughter to the emergency room. I did not also shamelessly take pictures of her while waiting in said emergency room simply so I would have something to blog about. As a parent I am much more concerned for the safety and well being of my child than to be thinking about my blog in an emergency!

3. I did not spend an entire day reading "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story" over on the Pioneer Woman.com. I have followed her cooking blog for awhile now and surely I already knew she had other blogs. I am not that oblivious! And I would not find a blog I like and then spend hours catching up on it's older posts. I have never ever done that before! :)

4. I did not forget my SIL's birthday present on the kitchen counter as we were rushing out the door to meet them for dinner. I would never forget someone's present on the evening we were going out specificaly to celebrate their birthday!

5. Lastly, I did not spend an hour with an ice pack on my face yesterday because I touched my mouth without washing my hands after de-seeding peppers for chili. That would have been really stupid and it would have hurt really, really bad!!!

Looking forward to reading what everyone else did not do last week!

Yearbook Pictures

Okay so I have seen these on other blogs and I thought they were hilarious but I had no idea how fun it would be to try it for myself though! Let me just say that I spent a little over two hours "yearbooking myself" last night and I had a blast! I love my computer... it is my lifeline to the outside world and provides me with hours upon hours of entertainment and social connection. Even though these photos are completely pointless they are still very fun. Here are my favorites:

Here is what I would look like had I been in high school circa 1966

1960

1964

This one which is suppossed to be 1990, looks so much like my cousin Francie it is scary!

Last, but not least... the year 2000, which very much resembles the way I actually looked back when I graduated from high school in 1999

Happy Birthday Rachael!

Today is my sister-in-law's birthday. We went out for dinner with them last night to celebrate. It was nice to sit and have a meal together, just the four of us with no kids. I love my SIL, she is definitely one of my best friends. Considering that our husbands are brothers I certainly think we won the "in law" lotto. When I married Chris, Miah wasn't even dating anyone, so it was kind of a crap shoot as to who my future sister-in-law might be. Once they started dating I was so excited! We got along really well right from the start. I remember telling Miah that if she wasn't "the one" I wanted to know, because I don't think I could've taken it if they had broken up. I'm so glad they didn't! Happy Birthday Rach! We may be family by chance, but we are friends by choice, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Just for Kicks...

My brother Shawn and Kevin went on a little road trip this week to Florida. They went for a wedding but apparently they are also "taking in the sights." Shawn posted this pic on his flickr account and I laughed out loud when I saw it. Even funnier is that when Reagan saw it she said, "Oh mom, I want to ride that firetruck like Uncle Kevin is!" I didn't even try to respond...

Not Again!!!

Just when I thought we had had all the excitement we could handle for the week, another "accident" fell into my lap. In my defense though, this one was definitely not my fault and it definitely didn't happen on my watch! Tonight before bed, Chris was rough housing with the kids as he tends to do sometimes. He was chasing them around and everyone was screaming and having a good time until... wham!!! Apparently Reagan decided that Dee Dee was "winning" and she shoved her out of her way. She went smack into the double glass doors that lead to our back porch. As soon as I heard her hit, I knew it was bad. The blood came immediately, Dee Dee's forehead had split open from the impact. There was blood on Chris, on me, on Dee's jammies. I started putting pressure on it along with an icepack and as soon as the bleeding slowed down enough I headed out to the ER. Does any of this sound familiar? Did I not go through almost this exact same sequence of events yesterday with a different child? How happy am I that I didn't end up at the ER yesterday? Because if I had shown up there two days in a row they probably would have called CPS on me! Alas, I was surely meant to spend 3 hours of my time this week waiting in the emergency room. Like I didn't have anything better to do! I have said before that Kennedy is my accident prone child. Remember this post anyone? Or this one? Dee Dee always takes it in stride and she actually seemed happy to be there. She got to spend a little one on one time with mommy and Grandma Vicki! They cleaned her up and glued her forehead shut. I think she screamed more about how the glue stung than she did about being hurt in the first place! Seriously though, did the ER ever wind her up! I got home around 11 and it took another 2 1/2 hours to get her to relax enough to go to sleep. And I have to wake her up every four hours to check for a concussion! So even though I would like to be sleeping myself right now, I can't. I have to wait on the clothes in the washing machine to get done so I can put them in the dryer. Otherwise my husband won't have clean pants to wear to work tomorrow!

In the car on the way to the hospital

In the waiting room, happy as can be!

Showing off her hospital bracelet, "one for me, and one for mommy!"

In the car on the way home... a little surigical glue and she's good as new!

It's All Fun and Games...

Until somebody gets poked in the eye with a pencil! Yes, this did actually happen at our house tonight. God must be smiling on me because we are so lucky that no serious damage was done! Let me back up a bit. Tonight Chris was working and so I was on my own in the parenting department. I had just feed the kids dinner and I was standing at the sink cleaning up the usual mess. That was when I heard Jack scream. I turned around just in time to see Dee Dee running the opposite way with a pencil in her hand. When I looked at Jack there was blood gushing out of his eye. I panicked, I'll admit it. I screamed at Dee and I immediately got a wet paper towel and ice pack for the eye. Jack wasn't screaming too bad, so I was hoping for the best. I popped Dee Dee on the poto(Spanish for bottom) and set her in the corner. I took a breath and called my mom. Isn't that what we moms always do? I was thinking emergency room and my mom reminded me that our eye doctor is a friend of Chris' family and lives two houses down from his parents. So I called Dr. Thallemer and he said to come on over. I dropped the girls @ Nini's(Chris' mom) and then went to his house. He looked at it and luckily none of his actual eye was affected. He did have a little gash in his eyelid, but it's nothing that can't be healed with Neosporin. After the adrenaline rush I am just trying to wind down a bit! The kids are finally in bed, and Chris won't be home until 12. I guess I'll spend some time on the computer catching up on blogs or maybe go watch one of my many shows that the DVR recorded this week! What a wonderful device! Hope you all enjoy your evening/morning whatever the case may be.

Sorry the picture isn't great,it is fuzzy and I waited too long to take it. But, you can tell his eye really does look fine. It did look worse earlier, however it would have been truly cruel of me to take a picture while blood was still pouring out of his eye!

Here is a better shot from this morning, see is eye is only a little red. Please excuse the snotty nose we are all battling a cold around here!