All of my Christmas presents are ready. I take that back, I have two more to finish. BUT all of the big stuff is out of the way! All I have left is to sew the playhouse walls and roof together and cut out the door! It looks so unbelievably awesome!! I will be posting pictures soon! I also have to get Grandma's pictures together, but that is not that big of a deal. It is just some scrappin' that needs to be done.
The In-Laws are going to be spending the night tonight. It will be our first Christmas morning at home since we got married. We usually go to Mom's house and help her be Santa. This year, because everyone has little ones, we thought it would be better to spend Christmas in our own houses and then come together for the afternoon / evening. I am looking forward to the change, but missing the excitement of the morning filled with kids. I am sure I will be filled to the hilt with kid Christmas joy by the end of the day though!
Mom is going to have a full house. The kids are: Kaine, Lilly, Landon, Jordan and Grace. Adults are: Grandma, Neil (?), George, Mom, Matt, Loren (that's me! :) ), Kristen, Brent, Lee and Allana. When I write it down like that it doesn't look that bad. But the count is: 15! That is a lot!
Merry Christmas to all of my family that are not with us. To my friends that live too far away to see.
I am still trying to finish all of my Christmas gifts. I hope I will have time to do it. I still have 3 small cross stitches to do. Then I have to finish Kaine's Felt Playhouse. I am hoping he is going to like it. He has been hiding under his high chair and saying "Hey! Boo!" which is giving me a lot of hope that he is going to love it! I think he is getting to the age when little houses and caves that he can make his own are going to be really fun.
We went to the Winter Wonderland 2009 in St. Augustine and they made an elf village and there were about 15 little houses and Kaine and Jordan went and they were playing in all of the houses. Kaine and Jordan were having a blast. I am hoping he feels the same way about his fun new dinosaur cave! Hopefully I will have pictures up soon. I am going to try and see if I can take pictures of the whole process. It is actually kinda easy, it is just time consuming because it is so big.
I will try and post pictures of the things I have made for this Christmas too. I will probably post them after Christmas because some of the people that I have made them for read this.
Update on Dad: He is doing well. Talked to him this morning. He will be home for Christmas. At Aunt Deb's at least. I am hoping to get up there the day after Christmas and will probably stay for a week or so. I have not heard anything else about Grandpa Joe, so I am assuming that everything is still the same. We are not getting updated to well from that side.
Hey guys. SO, I have received some not-great news! My dad went in for surgery today on his right upper lung. He had a spot on it. They thought it was not cancerous in the previous test. WELL, it turns out that they went in like they planned. Came out like they didn't.
He was suppose to go in threw the ribs and take out the tumor (?) or whatever it was. The surgeon and pathologist were looking at it when they opened him up. The pathologist thought it looked cancerous so they took out the entire upper right lobe. They should know by Friday if it truly is cancerous. So, we do not yet know for sure. They did say that it did not spread anywhere outside of the upper lobe. They are positive that they caught it in time. I will be updating this more as soon as I know more.
As of right now, he is awake and on a morphine drip and, of course, asking for sweet tea! They did not sound too worried. But, of course, they are and have not yet let it out themselves. I hope they are really coping okay and are able to handle what comes next.
I am putting together Christmas presents still. Not having any money to do so. I am still making most or all of them. I did end up going to the dollar store and looking around for some stuff. It ended up with me buying all of the kids some sort of toy because they had name brand toys (Name Brand!) for $5 dollars. I don't care what you say, living in the boonies has it's rewards!
I hope I get everything done in time. I am almost finished with my sister's stuff. I will be moving on to the rest. So far this is who I have left:
Grandma, Neil, Patty, Douglas, Lee, Brent and his kids.
Most of the gifts I already have figured out. Oh yeah! I still have to finish Kaine's "Santa" gift also. The felt playhouse. I just have not been motivated to get it together. I do have most of the pieces ready, it's the sewing part that I am stalling on. Plus, Matt still needs to make the house frame, or should I say cave? It IS going to be awesome when it is done. I think I just need to get all of these other little projects done before I move on to the Grand Finale. Plus, I work MUCH better under pressure. Yes, that makes me a procrastinator! But, in my defense, I am doing other things. Not just putting this thing off, kinda. HeeHee!
Short tonight, just wanted to update anyone who follows this. Leave me a comment if you do follow this.
SO, my stupid camera has decided to stop working again. I might actually have to take it in to get it fixed...boo!
But that is not what I wanted to talk about. Kaine, this is what I want to talk about. What has he been up to? Well, we put up some Christmas stuff (by we, I mean me). I have a Nutcracker count-down-to-Christmas thing. What does he do? He comes up to it, after I showed him how it worked, touches the mouth (making it move up and down) and says, "Ha, ha, ha!". SO UNBELIEVIBLY FUNNY!
Next. I bought him a potty. I read somewhere that it was a good idea to get one before you would need one, to let them get used to it. Now he takes it and says, "Potty?". Then goes to back up to sit on it. Sits for a minute, smiles and says, "Potty". Then gets up. Takes the blue squishy ring out of it and places it on his head like a hat. Then closes the lid. It really is TOO cute.
We too him to see Santa at the mall today. I was sure, SURE I tell you (!), that I wasn't going to do this this year. I did NOT want to tourture him. So, what happens? We find ourselves standing by the Santa place. No one is in line. Santa comes over and says, "Hi big boy!". I look at Matt and say, "He (Kaine) is smiling! Maybe we should just try it and see?" So we do, after deciding what package to buy and making sure Kaine was presentable. This is what happens: We go in. Take Kaine out of the stroller. Let him walk around. He gets close to Santa. He cries. Santa suggests that we put Kaine on his lap and then snap a quick picture before he gets all worked up. Sounds good to me. No luck. Then Santa has a brilliant idea! He grabs the coloring books that they are giving away and hands it to Kaine. Kaine, if you do not know, is a book worm! This calms him for a moment. Then he starts to cry. Santa then says, "Mom, why don't you come over here and hold him? Or Dad?" Ok, so we ended up having a family Santa picture this year. But I have to say that it went WAY better than it did in my head! I also have to say that the Santa at the Oaks Mall is the best Santa ever! He was so friendly and helpful. He is nothing, NOTHING like the Santa at the Orange Park Mall that is not right for the job. He is not friendly and you can tell he does not like what he is doing. I just don't like him! I am glad that we found a new one!
This is what I am thinking about doing for Christmas this year for wrapping my presents, they are just SO cute!
Here are the links, you must check them out! :
These are just SO cute, I can't stand it. Plus all I would have to buy are bags and maybe some jewel like items! So great and fun! Hope this inspires you!
Okay, so I decided to make everyone a Christmas gift this year. At first I thought, "This will be good. I will save some money and won't be driving myself crazy going from store to store in search of the perfect thing!" Can you imagine? Kaine in tow the whole way too? I don't think so! So, what better way to give a gift of love, make it yourself. Give something with meaning this year, that's my moto. SO....what is going on you ask?
It is actually going pretty well. Today I realized, in a bit of a panic, that today in December 1st and I only have 25 days to Christmas! How will I get everything done??? Well, I will tell you. I have grounded myself, sort of. Exept for going to the grocery and watching my shows on Thursday night, I am going to be putting the petal to the metal (literally, you know what I mean if you sew!). So, I have been working on the following:
1 & 2. Two Cross Stitched pictures for my sisters.
3. Kaine's felt Playhouse (although, this is fun, the machine doesn't like it!)
4. Birthday present for Matt's mom (not actually started yet, not sure what to do!)
5. Made Mom's present at the 1st of November (toughest person off my list! No offense. I am elated!)
6. Will be making pie crusts to fill and give away
7. Make Grandma something
8. Patty something
9. Possibly the boys, not sure though
10. Books for Lilly, Kaine, Landon, Grace and Jordan
11. Other things I have not gotten to get to yet
I need to be getting to work. Send me some positive thoughts and shoot the Big Man upstairs a shout for me to get it all done and to love every minute of it!!! Love and Merry days to you!
I am looking for a job. I would like something that has benefits and pays well. It can be part or full time. I have applied for 2 merchandising jobs, one for 7-up / Snapple Corporation and the other for Kellog's Corporation. Hopefully I will be able to hear something back from these places soon. One is a part time position from 10-2 in the day the other in an evening/night/weekend position. But we need money and I am willing to make it work. Plus either one of these times would work out with our schedules. Although, I may have to hire someone to watch Kaine during the daytime one. Not sure yet. Plus, one is in Gainesville (a plus) the other didn't say where it was, it looked like they were just trying to hire people. Maybe I have a shot? Hopefully I do. Well, just wanted to give you an update on what we have been up to!
Link to the picture above: http://positiverealestateprofessionals.com/ara/files/2009/11/wild_turkeyTOM.jpg via: "The Arkansas Realtor"
I have mixed feelings about this holiday. I love all of the food. I love to be with family (most of them, anyway). I hate having to choose between which family I spend it with, however. The plan, as it has worked out, this year is:
Cook our own Thanksgiving, for the day Go to Matt's parent's house in the evening
This means that my family does not get any attention this year. For this, I am bothered. I love spending time with my family, all of the traditions and such. I hate having to choose who to spend the day with!
Why have we come to such a compromise this year? Well, that is the question to ask! This year my grandmother is hosting Thanksgiving at her house. She lives in Fernandina, FL. The last time that I drove out there for the day, it took me 3 hours to get there. One way! This is how it would be if we went:
Get up at 7 am Get in car by 8am Drive 3 hours to arrive at 11am Eat Thanksgiving lunch with my family
Leave at 1pm Drive 4 hours to get to Ocala Arrive at 5pm Eat Thanksgiving dinner with Matt's family Go home exhausted
This is not feasible! We would have to be in the car for a total of almost 8 hours of this day (we would have a 40 minute drive back home from Ocala). I could drive to Atlanta for the day! So this is the new plan:
Stay home Get up whenever we want (the baby and Matt anyway!) Cook some Thanksgiving food Give Kaine a nap Go to Matt's parents house when Kaine wakes up 40 minute drive Eat and hang out 40 minute drive back Not being exhausted from the day
This is a total of 80 minutes or 1 hour and 20 minutes of driving. This, as you can clearly see, is WAY better!
But I did say I was having mixed feeling, didn't I? Well, part of me feels bad for having to choose and the other part of me is saying, "This could be good!". I may be able to set my own traditions and spend time with my little family and be truly thankful for what I have. So, I have decided to focus on this last part. We are not doing something all that extravagant for our meal. This is what we will be having:
Citrus-Stuffed Herb roasted Turkey Roasted Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and broccoli with Toasted Hazelnuts Holiday Waldorf Salad Cranberry Orange Relish Sweet potato Pie
Not the typical, but better for you! This is all from the cook book: "The Healthiest Meals on Earth" by Jonny Bowden, Ph.D, C.N.S.
Either way, should be good and looking forward to it!! Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, don't forget to think on what you are truly thankful for!!
I would seriously like to be taking and posting pictures agian! I miss it. Why am I not, you ask? My camera has decided to crap-out on me. I have no idea what is wrong with it. I did leave it in the car during a heat wave, though. Could this be the problem? I am assured it is not. This does remind me of the times that I kept telling Matt that the car CD player in my trunk needed to go into the car before "heat damage" set in. Not realizing what I had said and being answered with laughter. Matt would then explain, "If it is already in your trunk and it is hot outside, then why would it matter if it is installed or not?". Then I would realize what just happened. This is a classic Loren move. But seriously, what is wrong with my camera?
Lately I feel as if I am missing something. I can't put my finger on it. I feel as if there might be some unresolved issue inside of me. But every time that I get close to what it might be, it runs away again. I do believe that it has something to do with Kaine's birth and how breastfeeding went with him. How I am longing to experience it all over again. Longing being the exact right word! I feel as if I want to correct my mistakes yet, am terrified (again, the exact right word) that my mistakes will happen again, continuing to haunt me. Maybe that is exactly it, I am being haunted by a failed experience. One that I felt was rightfully mine to have. Talking about it helps and even though I do not believe anyone reads this, hopefully God sees it and knows my heart.
The camping adventure was a success! It was much needed for Matt and I. We spend so little time together as a couple that we are going to have to do this more often. It is good that we both enjoy camping so much, after all it is technically how we met. The only annoying this was that the people we were with decided to bring a giant TV with them. They said it was for the Gator game, but ended up watching it the WHOLE time! Really annoying. Matt and I on Saturday night went over to our camp spot, just next to theirs and started a fire and laid on one of our sleeping bags and talked and played cards. It was so nice to just sit and be together, without distractions. We didn't have to worry about anything and didn't have to be anywhere. SO NICE! If you don't like camping you should try to go to a hotel and not use any of the electronic devices and just spend time with each other, guaranteed to improve your relationship!!! On the down side, my mother-in-law hired a cleaning lady to clean my house (which is the silver lining in this story!). Then she stayed to watch Kaine here while we were gone and proceeded to rearrange my house! SERIOSLY!!! I was like, "what are you thinking!?". I could not find a darn thing when I got home and am really quiet annoyed with this whole thing. I would not go over to someones house and rearrange their cabinets and put things where I think they should go!!! (I must say too, logically, she has NO idea how to rearrange or even arrange a kitchen anyway, so why in the world she tried to "fix" mine, I will never know!) This may sound harsh, but seriosly, who puts coffee cups in with plates when you have a cabinet full of coffee cups (over the coffee pot, I might add) that is just for this specific use!? UGH ! >(
OK, seriously, have you ever cleaned your house because a cleaning lady was coming to help you? This sounds rediculous to me, yet that is exactly what I did today! Plus, it doesn't help that my in-laws will be taking care of Kaine in my house this weekend while Matt and I go camping. So, clean, clean, clean....that is what I did today!
We are going camping at Goldhead State Park, which is nice. I have been there with Kaine and Jordan over the summer. If any of you remember the twisting ankle post, this is where it happened. Hopefully, that won't be this case this trip. I also hope that my cold does not rear it's ugly head again, I should probably wait to go camping until it is completely clear, but they have already paid for the spot. What is a girl to do? I am hoping that it will be a nice getaway for Matt and I, one with very little distraction! Either way, it should be an adventure!
I have replaced the bottles with a sippy cup. I thought I was going to be able to get rid of all of the night feedings by taking the bottle away but, that has not happened. I have been giving him milk in a cup at bedtime and then last night, probably because I wasn't feeling really well, I gave in and gave him some more in a cup. He only took enough for a few swallows but, it sent him to sleep. I was afraid that if I didn't give him anything, we would both be up at 4:30! He was in there talking to himself and acting like he wanted to play! So, tonight I will hopefully be able to get on without any use of a cup.
Matt and I are finally communicating again. I finally had enough and after talking to one of my girlfriends about the situation I was given a lot of good advice. I think I needed to talk it over with an outside party before we would have been able to solve our problems. It has only been a day or so and I know the begining always improves things, hopefully it will last. I have faith that we are on the mend and will be back to (or better than) our old selves.
The positive thoughts are working, keep sending them to me!! :)
Last night was the first night of NO bottle. It actually didn't go that bad. In fact, if I knew it would have been as easy as it was, I would have done this a LONG time ago. Kaine doesn't really take well to change. I guess because he is so used to drinking out of a cup all day anyway, he made the adjustment. He took milk in a sippy cup at bedtime (to big of a chicken to go completely cold turkey). Then he woke around 3am and I just decided (because we have tried to comfort him--this makes him REALLY angry!) to just let him put himself back to sleep. Since he wasn't crying and just doing the little noise, grunting thing, I just let him go about it. It took him about 2 hours to go completely back to sleep. I knew he was fine and just fighting it. I kept an ear out and made sure there was nothing major going on. Every once in a while he would yell out and then grunt his way back to sleep. All-in-all it went pretty well. I was exhausted this morning, but I think most of that was emotional and I was REALLY not feeling well, I had to keep getting up to spray my throat with Vick's numbing spray! I am hoping for a better night for both of us. Keep sending me positive thoughts!
I have decided it is time to get rid of the bottles. Not that I have any problem with them, we love them. The problem is that my 17 month old son still wakes up to 3 times a night wanting one. This is NOT GOOD. I would love to get 8 hours of sleep 7 days a week. So, I have tried to dilute the bottles with water, which works for the first few times. Then he throws a fit until we give in because we have no other idea what to do. We have tried to reduce the amount that is in the bottle gradually down to nothing. Guess what? Not happening. So, I have finally decided to just jump all in. Hoping that if it is not introduced at all, then he won't remember that he is missing it. I did this one day on a hunch for naps (just decided to see if he would go down without it) he never even noticed and has not gotten a bottle for nap since. He is already use to this so I will not be doing naps and bedtime at the same time (which I think is a good thing). This is also how we got him to sleep in his crib, gradually doing it for naps, he got used to it then started to do it for bedtime. Now goes down wide awake with no problem (besides the bottle, obviously!).
This is going to be such a hard week. Not sure what to do yet for the middle of the night screaming fits that are going to come. Everyone says, get the attached to a comfort item. I'm like, "like the blanket he won't go to sleep without, way ahead of you!". Like everything else, we will have to figure out what works for Kaine. I think he has broken the mold for baby raising. What seems to work for most, does not work for Kaine. Most of the time I have to combine many different methods to get it to work. This is as hard as it sounds. Lots of trial by error. But I have faith that this too shall pass and nothing worth having is done easily. I am willing to put in the work for the good of all. Send me positive thoughts and pray that Kaine will take to this easily without much trauma!
Wish our trip was as cozy as this one! FROM: http://www.iain.co.uk/gif/CAMPERS.GIF "Peak Activities, Ltd."
Nov. 6, 2009. This was our Boy Scout Campout day. So, what happened you ask? We got out there, set up a tent in the dark. Cooked dinner in the dark. That is, after someone let us borrow their stove because are stove was arcaic and did not take the fuel that I bought. Ate our dinner and then watched kids run around and play. Now here comes the fun part. We went to bed or, at least, tried to. Matt had Kaine in the car for 2 hours trying to get him to go to sleep. Trying everything. They finally called lights out (I was reading to Jordan in our tent, trying to get him to sleep). I went to get Matt, thinking that Kaine would sleep if we were all in the tent and it was quiet outside. WELL, we were all in the tent, at least. Here is the problem:
The tent next to us had a lantern in the tree that they would not turn off. TOO MUCH LIGHT.
4 or 5 guys (much older, therefore, should know better) decided to stay up and talk beside the fire. TALKED AS IF EVERYONE WAS STILL AWAKE. Therefore, every time Kaine would start to look as if he MIGHT fall asleep, he was awakened with loud talk or laughter.
Matt had to pee and would not sit still
Jordan could not get comfortable and his sleeping bag kept rustling around (not his fault, of course!)
It was cold (but this wasn't a factor until later, he had layers on and 4 blankets
Kaine picked up a cold in the middle of the night and could not breathe (biggest factor!)
SO, what happened next? Kaine did finally pass out, yes, I do mean pass out! He was talking one second and then he was dead asleep. The guys finally decided to call it a night and the lantern next door was actually turned off. Matt got up to pee and sleep in the car because his back was bothering him. Jordan fell asleep quickly and only woke once to throw the cover over his head (he will make a fine camper!!). It did continue to get colder. I fell asleep for an hour, at least. Kaine was really restless in his sleep so it kept me awake becasue I wanted to make sure that he was covered. This is how this went down:
Kaine would move
I would wake
Cover Kaine up
Try to fall back asleep
Kaine would lose binky and fuss
I would find it and he would sleep
Repeat steps 5 and 6
Would move Kaine to get him more comfortable
Tried to put a hat on him
Kaine woke up because his nose was too stuffed and he couldn't breathe with a binky
Kaine finally gave up on sleeping
I was not sleeping
Motherly instinct kicked in
Got Kaine
Opened Tent
Went to car by moonlight
Woke Matt
Matt wrote directions home
Matt woke Den Leader for gate code
Matt took food from car
We left
Matt went to the tent with Jodan
We drove home at 1:30 am
Got home at 3 am
Laid Kaine down
Put dog in workshop
Turned heater on for him
Stepped on rusty nail
Gave Kaine a bottle
Went to bed!
Woke at 10 am, hoping Jordan was not traumatized!
So, I thought it would be fun to take a 17 month old on a camping trip. It was, until everything fell apart at night. More planning needs to happen I think. More comfortable bed, space heater for camping (do they sell those?), White noise and an extra tarp to cover the tent in the event that someone nameless keeps a lantern on when babies are trying to sleep!
Other than that the camping was fun. Dinner that we made was great! We had fun running around. Amazingly, even after all of this, I have not given up. I just have to find what works! Crazy, I think that is in the eye of the beholder!
Life is getting hard again. I have no job, I am alone almost 14 hours a day (by alone I mean no adult interaction). I want to do things that I have no money for. I am generally unsatisfied. Freedom for me has become taking a 10 minute shower on Saturday when Matt is with Kaine. I LOVE Kaine, that should be evident. But, I have lost me. Not the "mom" me. She is alive and well. The individual me. The one who broods and likes to be alone and likes to read for hours, days on end. I don't know how to mesh all of the "me's" together. The Mother, the Wife, the Girl, the Woman, the Thinker, the Kid....How do we live together in this cramped, small mind?
During all of this, I think I am losing Matt. I can't find me, therefore there is no we. I am not the girl he met and I can't seem to find her. I have no more spark to give. He has no more time to give. What do we do? We can not keep going this way. We are two people who live seperate lives that meet for a few hours at the end of each day. Do we want different things? Are we growing in seperate ways?
We can not seem to hold a conversation without arguing about something. Honestly, I just want to ignore him sometimes. Pretend he is not here. Pretend I live like a single mom and am able to make my own choices. I do, for the most part anyway, make all of the choices. Maybe this is the problem. When he is around I feel like he is stepping on my territory. I am the one doing the day-in day-out duties. He seems to come in and criticize (or so I imagine) what my day has produced. If everything is in order: dishes done; floor clean; diner served; baby washed, diapered and sleeping, check, check, check! All is well. If everything is off, then so are we. Nevermind that I may have had a terrible day. Nothing seemed to have worked out. Kaine was clingy and things just plain didn't get done. He comes in and cleans in a huff, no doubt telling me (by not telling me) that it is my job and "what have you done all day anyway?!".
I feel torn. Freedom and self expression pulling me one way. Domestic life and the need for people who know, truely know you the other way. What does one do when the one you turn to is the one you can't turn to? Is this the begining of something I do not even have the courage to type? Will we ever find our way back to each other in time?
Hello bloggers!
We are going to Oleno State Park this weekend. We are going with the Boy Scouts. I have been doing research all week about what to bring and what types of food to bring to make. We are going to be taking Kaine. So, we will see how it goes. I think it will be an adventure, to say the least. I will be posting about the adventure when it is over.
Finding a Voice in the darkness is scary. Trying to find your own footing alongside of those you love. How do you have your own person without detaching from the ones that got you to this place? Or the ones that are still here helping you to climb your rock wall? Do you move on and leaves people behind or just find another position for you and them to play at?
Everyone will think I am crazy, until they know what I am about. I have already started to prepare for Christmas. I know. I know! But I am making crafts for Christmas. I have always loved the personal touch. The only thing about that is YOU MUST PREPARE. Handmade = Time. But I do think it is fun and people appreciate it. Or, at least, I hope they do.
I think it is a shame that no-one either has the time or takes the time to put the personal touches into their gifts. Anyone can go and buy something at a store. I am sure it will be loved (and for little ones, I have to add, this is still the way to go). I just feel, for people who know better [;)], that personal stuff shows that you love them. You were not just thinking about them for 1 day or maybe two, you were thinking about them for weeks at a time. Wishing and hoping and putting your love into an object for them to admire and love themselves. In a way, you are giving a piece of yourself to your family and friends to hang on their walls, put in a book, cover up with, what ever it may be! AND, if you have the ability, WHY NOT?
So, here my journey starts. Hopefully things will come out as beautiful as I want them to. Love to everyone!
I have to say that I am SO looking forward to this Halloween. I have always enjoyed this holiday. Jessica always seems to come to my mind too! (Not that she is ever that far away in the first place! We had such fun.)
Last year was fun. Kaine was still too young to really enjoy or even know what was happening. People thought I was crazy for taking a five month old door-to-door. I really wanted to have the experience though!Shamed, I then ended up pawing his bag off on Jordan, who diligiantly told everyone (on his own accord, mind you!) that it was for his cousin and could he please have a little extra! Sweet boy!
This year, I am hoping is going to be great fun! Kaine can walk. He sort of says Trick or Treat! He more mimics the sounds made by the words that I say, kind of like the melody of a songthat you didn't quite catch the words to. The boy is so musically inclined!
Anyway, I am hoping that he will have just as much fun as I intend to have. We are going to carve our pumking tonight and roast the seeds...one of my favorite things to do. Kaine, I am assumming will be eating his pumpkin guts raw again this year. Especialy after the protest we got from him last year when we tried to take it away! New pics to soon follow!
On a different note: I will be changing this blog page soon. Going to be incorporating new things on the sides and in the text. Many more pics and am going to try to figure out how to create an album for all to parrooze (if that is even a real word!).
For some reason, sleep has decided to not come to me as easy lately. Once I do fall asleep, Kaine is waking up or Matt's 4:30 alarm is going off. This, of course, restarts the whole cycle. Then, today (or last night before bed) I decided to get up to take Kaine to O2B Kids baby play group. Here I am blogging, waiting for him to wake up. I should be sleeping, but something tells me that if I turn this computer off and climb back into bed, the second I start to nod off, a little voice will come over the baby monitor beckoning me to him.
Alas, this is life. So I soldier on another day. Half awake.
SO, I have been putting off starting dieting because it never seems to work. I wanted to be able to see results and NOT weeks down the line. SO, finally took hubbies advice and decided to do it his way....
What I have gained (or lost?):
Rediscovered how nice it is to walk around the house in my undies (that actually fit).
My pants are starting to sag.
Starting to like the pain, the day after, a workout. Showing me that I did something that will help to propel me to my future self.
Starting to look forward to the nasty protein shakes, because I know that they work.
DaVinci Syrups aren't really that bad, when you have to use them to drink protein.
I have also discovered all of the yummy sugar free foods that are out there (that are actually good).
I have to say that my energy is much better too. I don't know how much I have lost. But I was walking with Kaine into the grocery store and discovered that I wasn't dying to put him down into the cart when I got inside the door. I actually felt lighter! It was a great feeling! Going to keep soldering on....will hopefully find the courage to step into the gym and "pump" some weights. Don't worry Matt, I won't do curls in the squat rack!
So my new things to read are "Blogs of note". It makes me want to stop writing mine. It Seriously puts mine to shame! If you have not already, check them out. They will make you yern to be a better writter or more interesting person. I think I have to invent a new life....
More to come when my phone gets done charging. This took forever to upload. It was a lot of fun. Jordan and Grace and even Kaine enjoyed it. I was surprised that it was as big as it was. A lot of information in a tiny place but it was very enteresting.
The Caboose at the Train Museum in Green Cove Springs
All Aboard! We are going up the steps to get on the Caboose!
Showing us how the breaks work.
Freight Car Locks.
Weighing the "cargo".
High School Mascot. It was in the Museum with all of the photos about Clay High School. Blue Devils!
Clay High School Class of 1939.
Baby Clothes from a resident in Clay County.
Dresses from local Resident.
Note Says: "Medical bag of Dr. L.C. Fisher
Green Cove Springs" Can't make out the date!
Medical bag.
American Flag. (Didn't see what this was used for, but thought it was really nice!)
Grace on the Caboose!
Inmate in the hall of jail.
Jordan waiting for tour to start! So excited!
Jordan, sad because he is in jail. With the cook.
"I don't want to be in jail!"
Escaping from jail.
House built by historical society.
Jordan and Grace looking at the back of the doll house.
Here is the website to the jewlery that I bought at the fall festival.Site: www.mutoart.com Email: mutoart@gmail.com Future art show and Festival they will be at:
10/24 MacClenny Starbucks 9am-3pm
10/25 Avenues Mall Noon-6pm *In front of Dillards or Sears, inside mall
10/31 Riverside Arts Market *Booth 404
11/4 Art Walk Downtown Jax 3pm-9pm *Hemming Plaza, Rain or Shine
11/14-15 Midtown Festival Family Art Fest & Salute to the Troops
*3947 Boulevard Center Drive, 32207
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday Noon-6pm
If you want to check them out, please do. Should be fun to attend these events either way!
Just got our family pictures done! If anyone wants to know of an awesome place to get pics done go to the oaks mall in gainesville. The girls were so great! Kaine was so tired but we still managed to get some wonderful pictures. Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
Yesterday we went to a church carnival with Allana, Lee, Lilly and Landon. It was fun. Kaine wanted to walk around so we made sure he had his shoes on. (It only took about 6 pairs to find out what size he wore!). He walked around the whole church carnival. We didn't even have to get the stroller. The only bad thing was that he didn't want to stop! :)
There was not much to do at the church carnival and the lines were REALLY long for everything. I don't think it was that organized and (surprisingly) the people weren't very nice at the food booths. The helpers at the bouncy houses were great though! We got the kids into the castle bouncy house. Kaine really wanted to do it, until he was inside that is! Ladon had fun jumping around. Lilly did too. Lilly was having trouble climbing the boucy house slide however. So, we decided to go ahead and leave.
We went to the Orange Park Town Hall Fall Festival. It was nice. It was a little chilly, the wind was blowing. They had a TON of vendors and food people. It was really nice. They even made it wrap around the playground so the kids would have something to do. However, it was REALLY crowded so we didn't play. You could even take pictures with this guy that was dressed up in a scarecrow/pumpkin head costume. To me, it was creepy but, most didn't seem to care. I can't imagine trying to put Kaine with that guy! Yikes!
I bought a necklace charm. I will have to post the website in my next post. I don't have the card with me. They are an artists paintings that she turned into jewlery. (It was all of her own art). Lilly and Landon both got new babies. Lilly got a doll with a brown ponytail and a pink, butterfly tu-tu style dress with a headband that had butterflies on the top and "big girl panties". Landon got a yellow striped kitty cat animal with a tee shirt and shorts, looked kind of like beach wear. I asked him what his kitty cats name was and he said: "Kitty cat". It was really funny!
We then went to moms house on the way home. We ended up staying for dinner. It was really good. Jordan looked like he was doing much better after his bout in the hospital for his foot. Grace was worn out. She was ready for bed and was very loving! Kaine decided to show off all of his walking skills and pull out every toy he could get his hands on, haha! He even walked from the living room to the florida room to the other side of the kitchen then into the kitchen, until he fell right in front of the oven. We couldn't believe it! He is getting so good at walking! Now I am really looking forward to Halloween. He will be able to walk up to the doors and we are also working on him saying "Trick or Treat!". Which, by the way, he kind of said last night when I was saying it to him!
This week I will be at moms house, being busy with the kids. Lots of plans. Tuesday brings a Cub Scout tour of the train museum and jail in green cove springs. Wed brings art class for Jordan. Thursday we are going to go to the Loomis Brothers Circus at the Clay County Fair Grounds. Friday we are going to spend the night at my house. Saturday we are going to go to the Coon Family Farm Maze (really looking forward to this!). I will post more on each of these as they happen! Talk to you soon!
I am looking forward to October. Or I should say, the rest of it. Tomorrow start the adventure of the fall season. We are going to a church fall festival with Allana and the kids. She has also found out about another one, but I am not sure if we will be able to make it or not. With little ones you are never sure what your schedule really will be like.
Kaine can be pretty predictable, most of the time. I just hate not giving him naps, it makes his nighttime one of tossing and turning. Lilly and Landon, of course, are still napping too. Who knows maybe he will nap on the car ride there, I know he will on the way back. Here is to crossing our fingers that it doesn't mess him up too bad for bedtime! Will be posting pics as soon as I can. (If my camera doesn't decided to crap out on me again!).
In other news, walked outside to get my cell out of the car. Besides the bugs that were buzzing around the light at the front door annoying me, I was pleasantly surprised to feel the coolness of the night air. I was happy to know that, at least tonight, there is no humidity in the air. I hope this is a sign of things to come.
It has been a while since I posted anything. I have to say I got really carried away with Kaine's first Birthday party. But it was a lot of fun and we needed to mark the occasion. I have been going to many birthday parties for little ones and Matt graduated. Now all we need is for him to find a good job so he can be home for dinner. I so want to be able to have a husband that I can spend evenings with.
As far as the supplement things are going, they seem to be working. I am not taking the cholesterol drug my doc gave me. It made me feel really gross. I felt like all I wanted to do was sleep and that is NOT an option while trying to run a house and chase after a happy toddler. But the big thing that seems to be helping is the sertraline and the vitamin D. Matt and I can both tell when I miss taking the vitamin D. I do not see any change in my mood or energy levels with the Vitamin B-12 shots I have to have every month. I think I may need to talk to my doc about getting them every 2 weeks or go back to getting them every week. I felt like they were working then. Although, they do make my stomach have this really weird feeling. Not sure how to explain it. It is almost like there is this cooling type of sensation. Not painful, just weird. That is the update on all of that.
As for me, I want to go back to school and become a medical transciptionist. I figure it is a job that I can be proud of, something that will hold my interest, be challenging (which is a plus in my case) and allow me the freedom to stay at home and be the mom that I want to be. The only problem is, I have to find a way to pay for it. I am hoping for a little assistance, but we shall see in time.
We are getting a puppy, as well. For fathers day I chose to buy Matt a dog that he wanted for a long while. We are getting a male Weimeraner. We have picked out the name Sampson. It was born on the fourth of July. The only weird thing about this is that I had a dream the night before that this was going to happen. How odd is that? I guess it was meant to be!
Well, can't really think of much else to update on. Plus, Kaine is crying.
I just stumbled onto a website that sells flushable diapers. You can either flush them, compost them or toss them out. They biodegrade in 50-150 days! Days! Not 500 years like the ones that I am currently using! I'm kinda bummed that I didn't find these sooner. I was against the whole clothe diaper thing, just because we didn't have a washer and dryer at the time and it would have cost a lot more (because I would have had to buy more in order to get through a week, due to not having a washer). It just seemed like a bigger hassle. Even though I was contributing to the pollution of our planet. But sometimes there just isn't a working solution that works out for both you and the earth. So we went for disposables. But now, there is a new solution. One that I am at least willing to try. I am going to see if it is worth it. Plus, since he has started eating more solid foods he has been getting a lot of diaper rash. Clothe diapers are suppose to help this. These are not clothe but they do not have any plastic in them, making them breathable. They are, however, built and used just like clothe diapers. They have liners (this is the flush-able part) and they you cover them with the diaper covers that come with them. I am going to buy the starter pack and see if it is worth buying any of the others. I am then going to make my own diaper covers. 1. because I have a bigger-than-normal baby and 2. because it will be much cheaper 3. and I can get a better fit on my rollie-pollie! 4. I can also afford to have more of them, especially since the website sells them for $18.99 or more. I can make at least 5 for that price! But I will keep posting to let you know if it is worth anything! Thanks for reading.
I am in the first day of not washing my hair in the "normal" way. Last night I scritched my scalp and did a baking soda wash, rinsed it off, then did a apple cider vinegar rinse and half way rinsed it out. Immediately I saw that my hair was REALLY shiny. I thought it was going to be a pain in the butt to get all of the tangles out, but to my surprise I had NO problem AT ALL!! I couldn't believe it. And, trust me, conditioner was something I have been obsessed with especially since I already have really dry hair and shampoo dries it out even more. But this method made it look AND feel better than it has in years, YEARS I tell you! I will keep posting on this topic and let you know how it is going. I am not completely sold on it yet, but I am getting there. I have to first see how days of no shampoo affects my hair.
I am still getting things together for the babies party too. I have ordered the cutest invitations and can't wait to get them in the mail so I can see them and send them out to everyone! I am SO very excited about celebrating his first birthday. I am going to try to do everything I can to make it a memorable day! I hope everyone can make it, you won't be sorry, I can assure you that!
Okay, I know I haven't been on here in a while. First I will give you updates, if you are still interested.
I bought a car. It is a Jeep Commander, I love it! It has a ton of room and is just what we need. We still have not decided what to do with the other car yet. I think matt wants to fix it and try to sell it. I just want to drown it at the bottom of the lake. But hey, that's just me!
The baby is doing well. He started to pull up, but we don't have many surfaces where he can grab so he will usually just do it on me when I sit near him on the floor. It is to cute! He is such a good baby!
I have decided to stop shampooing my hair! I know that some of you will probably be shocked by this and others will not. I know you will think, "Here she goes again!". I have been doing a lot of research on this topic, there is a lot on the internet and a lot of people who actually have not washed their hair in years. Basically, you buy a 100% natural boar brush and brush your hair morning and night. Then you use a baking soda paste and apply it to your scalp and rinse it out with apple cider vinegar and water (read more about this online, google it: no-pooing, no shampoo method, water only method). The point is to let your natural oils soften and help strengthen your hair, as God intended. Brushing helps remove dirt and gets the oil to the ends of your hair. You will eventually, once your scalp stops overproducing oil (about 2-6 weeks depending on hair and how you used to wash it) you will be able to just brush and rinse once or twice a week with water only! I am intrigued by this and can't wait to start. I do, however, have the worry that my hair is going to get REALLY gross and I will throw the towel in! I will keep you posted and let you know how the progress is! Feel free to ask me any questions. Here are some websites if you are curious: Mothering.com, longhairs.com, http://riverrest.net/2008/07/25/the-no-poo-movement/comment-page-1/#comment-394. Mostly I just googled and read whatever came up. There is more than enough info out there!
Well, what else? I am planning the babies birthday party and hopefully in the next 2 weeks that is ALL I will be doing. I want to throw myself into it so it will be the best darn party anyone has ever had. I am REALLY looking forward to it, it is going to be SO fun. I just hope that it is not 120 degrees outside on the day that we are planning to do it. That would be a BIG bummer.
Okay here is the info. I like all of these and have test driven them. Matt really likes the calibur because of the price and we won't have to pay that much per month. I, of course, like the most expensive one! But it is also cheaper through insurance and our interest rate on the car loan will go down because it is a new car.
Here compare this information and leave me comments:
2008 DODGE CALIBER SXT 1B3HB48B68D673679
SEDAN 4 DR 2.0L L4 DOHC 16V FRONT WHEEL DRIVE 5 speed automatic
Mileage: 20, 900
Price: 10
Insurance: -52.93 lower a month and new premium of 850.90 / 6 months
Insurance Payments: 141. 82 for both per month
Current asking price: 14,000-23,350
Safety: Motortrend-still testing, none reported
NHTSA- out of five
Frontal Driver Rating
Frontal Passenger Rating
Side Driver Rating
Side Rear Passenger Rating
Rollover 2 Wheel Drive Rating
Rollover 4 Wheel Drive Rating
5
5
5
5
4
Not tested
2009 DODGE JOURNEY SXT 3D4GG57V29T159419
4 DR. WAGON/SPORT UTILITY 3.5L V6 MPI SOHC 24V FRONT WHEEL DRIVE
19" ALLOY WHEELS, POWER SEAT, 6CD CHANGER/MP3 PLAYER, AUX INPUT, SIRIUS RADIO, POWER LOCKS/WINDOWS, CRUISE, SIDE AIRBAGS, STILL UNDER BUMPER TO BUMPER FACTORY WARRANTY, FINANCING AVAILABLE, TRADES ACCEPTED, CARFAX CERTIFIED, NO DEALER FEES 6 Speed automatic
Mileage: 7,056
Price: 15, 990
Insurance: -87.14 every six months for new premium of 816.68 for 6 months
Insurance Payments: 136.12 for both per month
Current asking price: 23,000-25,755
Safety: Motortrend-being tested, none reported
NHTSA- out of five
Frontal Driver Rating
Frontal Passenger Rating
Side Driver Rating
Side Rear Passenger Rating
Rollover 2 Wheel Drive Rating
Rollover 4 Wheel Drive Rating
5
5
5
5
4
4
2008 JEEP COMPASS SPORT 1J8FT47WX8D720048 4 DR. WAGON/SPORT UTILITY 2.4L I4 SFI DOHC REAR WHEEL DRIVE Sunroof5 Speed automatic 17" ALLOY WHEELS, AUTOSTICK, 6CD CHANGER/MP3, POWER LOCKS/WINDOWS, CRUISE, SUNROOF, SIDE AIRBAGS, STILL UNDER BUMPER TO BUMPER FACTORY WARRANTY, FINANCING AVAILABLE, TRADES ACCEPTED, CARFAX CERTIFIED, NO DEALER FEES
Mileage: 7,399
Price: 14, 990
Insurance: -81.06 lower with a new 6 month premium of 822.76
