March 2009

March 18

I know...

It's been close to a month since I've written.  I blame the weather...well, and my laziness, and my annoyance at microsoft right not... BUT whatever...

So Grace is 10 months now.  She is chattering up a storm and says words clear as day and then never says them again, but ya know!  She is cruising around and getting into EVERYTHING!  She is just about night weaned.  We have been having trouble with her actually eating stuff and last night we got exasperated and just put the spoon on her tray with food in it... and there you have it.  She ate most of her dinner... sigh... her eczema is still pretty bad.  She ate something that made her break out and so we got some Benedryl and that has helped on the occasion that she breaks out so bad that she is up all night long tearing at her skin... poor kiddo.

Elijah is doing well.  He's loving his soccer class, as am I.  He is full of energy.  We have many trying days, but the really good days make it all worth it.  We have decided that we will put him in preschool for a year before he goes to kindergarten.  He's been climbing into bed with me at night.  He's very quiet and just slips in bed.  And I must say that I don't really know he's in bed until I wake up half way off the bed because Elijah thinks that he should he sleep sideways in the bed...ah well... he doesn't wake up when I move him.  He talks... A LOT, but it's fun and I love that he's curious and making up stories!

So, on to what we've been doing.  We have decided to make raised gardens this year and we finally have one up.  I'm hoping that I can get the dirt into it tomorrow.  We also want to build at least one more for this year. Jerry's master plan is to have the least amount of grass to mow.  It's a good plan!  We are hoping to build a deck (or have one built for us) fairly soon.  My folks are coming next week and bringing their truck, so we have to make a choice by then.  If we build it ourselves, we'll 1) need their help and 2) need their truck to pick up all the supplies.

We've been hanging out with friends and enjoying the super warm weather...which ended last Friday.  Sigh... but it's returning.  We went to beach and played in the park and outside.  I actually got sunburned at the beach.  So I have the sunscreen out now.  I got to go to the movies this last weekend.  I saw Race to Witch Mountain.  I never saw the original so there was nothing for me to compare it too.  I thought it was decent.  There were a lot of families there and it made me happy.  I think this summer we will take Elijah to his first movie in the theatre.   Our local theatre does one dollar kid movies in the mornings.  They aren't new releases, but who cares?  It's a buck!

My issues with microsoft are as follows: my hotmail account got hacked...again... sigh... and I'm really not digging this new format with the web pages... but alas.  I have started transferring all my posts to blogspot.  I mean this blog is pretty much a chronicle of my pregnancies and the kids' lives.  So I'm sticking with here for the time being... but we'll see...

Okay... I'll post some pics from this month.  I'll really try to be better.  I know more stuff happened... 

March 31

A week with the parents

So my folks came in last Monday and then left on Saturday morning.  It was not long enough!  The weather limited us a bit as well.  We also decided not to build a deck...at all.  We may do some of these over the existing concrete and possibly under a gazebo/canopy thingy.   We'll see.  We found a decent deal on them on an e-bay store.

Anyway, my folks... We went to the big ship that's docked downtown and then to soccer class on Tuesday:

On Wednesday we went to the spin-y park.  I really like this park.  There are lots of spinning toys, which make me a little sick to my stomach, but the kids like them.  There is also a good walking path around the water shed.  I will say that this park will be a late fall/winter/early spring park because the mosquitoes will be insane soon.  But it's still a good park.  Jerry took half a day and we wandered around Lowe's and Target ALONE....sans children... we had an actual conversation!

On Thursday we went to a local indoor play place.   Since the weather was starting to become rainy it's nice to go somewhere that's inside.  We don't go there often in the winter due to cold and flu season, but I really enjoy it in the spring and when it's 973249570 degrees outside.  (On a side note, there is a great Children's Museum here.  We hadn't gone until the had a free day there a few weeks back.  They charge for anyone (including parents) over the age of 1 and it's 8 bucks a pop.  So, it will be a special treat.  But we are thinking about getting a membership there.  I think it will be worth it once Grace is one...in 1 month!!!!  HOLY MONKEY!!!)  So anyway... Thursday...

Friday Jerry and I got to go on a date!!!  We went to see Duplicity.  I really liked it.  I thought the storyline moved and was fun.  It was, again, nice to get out without the kiddos!

Mom and dad brought my bike down so that I can ride with Elijah.  This weekend we got a seat for Grace and a helmet for her as well.  I haven't installed it yet, but once I do, I think it will be fun to throw the bikes on the back of the car and ride at a park.

Yesterday we went to the park with Kristie&co. and Katie&co.  Usually we have Wednesday Friendsday, but it's supposed to rain (AGAIN) tomorrow, so we played on Monday.  Today a couple friends came over for a tie dye play date.  After they left, I had some dye left over, so I dyed Grace's diaper covers.  Lately we haven't been using cloth because Grace's bottom breaks out when there is the slightest moisture.  I think that this has a lot to do with her eczema, which is flaring up from the stupid pollen that is EVERYWHERE... nevertheless, I'm hoping to give it another try in a couple weeks.  I hope the wraps turn out super cute!

On the topic of Grace:  She'll be 11 months tomorrow and I simply cannot believe it.  I have sent out the e-vites for her birthday party.  We're having a potluck in the back yard!  She is walking with her walker now.  She LOVES music and dances often (Jerry taught her the fist pump and it's pretty funny to watch her do it.)  She has four teeth.  She REFUSES to be fed and will NOT eat baby food.  She wants real food or nothing.  She loves broccoli, peas, corn, pasta, chicken, rice cakes, apples, and pizza crust.  She is drinking from a sippy cup and is mostly night weaned.  She starts out the night in her bed which is in the same room as Elijah.  He has adapted very well to this arrangement and sleeps through her waking.  She is fairly laid back and is quite chatty.

Tomorrow evening, I am getting to go out with the girls!  My friend Katie's husband is entering a local singing contest so we are going out to show our support!  WAHOO!

Okay... I think this is it for now. I leave you with my two favorite pics from the past week!

August 2007

August 02

Super Short

I posted some new pics and check out Jerry's blog.  He's added two new entries and both are very much worth reading.
That's all for now.  I'll write more later.

August 06

Monday Monday...lalalala

So while this weekend wasn't as productive as I would have liked, it was still a good one.  On Saturday we went to Jerry's folks house to see them.  They had the girls there so it was good to see them too.  Elijah is smitten with the youngest.  He kept trying to shove his sippy cup in her mouth and touching her face.  It was very cute.  As they get older they are going to be thick as thieves.  We went out and played in the pool.  It was REALLY hot!  The ground there is even drier than it is here.  It felt like walking on hot coals, even in the grass.  I know we need rain, but I am scared to wish for it in the middle of hurricane season.
Yesterday Elijah and I went to a baby shower for our friend Dana (due in a couple of weeks...our group likes to cut these things close...) while Jerry worked.  (FYI, someone asked why he was working so many hours,I think it was Claire...anyway, Jerry is the only programmer at his job and has been working his behind off writing a new program for a rather large client.  While he is supposed to be putting all this time in at work, he has other duties working on machines and processing data...so he's been programming like mad at home and working at work.)  It's been trying for him, but he still trucking away with us as well.)  ANYWAY, we came back from the shower and Elijah went down for his nap.  Then we went to Toys R Us and bought....wait for it... a Toddler Bed!!!  We are very excited about it and Elijah really likes that he can climb in and out of his own bed.  So i put him to sleep in his room (I had my head on his bed...that counts right?) and apparently he woke up once at about 10 and went back to sleep within a couple of minutes and then Jerry brought him to bed with him at 4:30!!!  That's great for our little guy!  I am not getting my hopes up that this will continue, but it's a step.  The bed is a good height.  We can cuddle him in it and rub his back without cutting the circulation off in our arms.  Also, we are making strides in the potty training.  He has gone pee in the pot once and loves to sit on his potty (would probably do it for hours on end...)  He  can take his pants off and put them on... so we are getting there slowly but surely.
Today I made a play house out of the boxes from the bed.  We are hosting playgroup this week, so I think I'll put it outside with some paints and let the kids go crazy.  i'm also going to set up the pool and sprinkler.
Tonight I am going out with some friends for dinner, drinks, and a movie.  tomorrow Jerry is going to Pass Your Plate to do this months dinners for us.  I am also starting to take small business classes at the local community college.  They are free and I think they will help with having an online business or any other business venture I might start in the future.  My first class (really a seminar) starts on Thursday evening.  So this week is fairly busy.  I need to mow the back yard before Thursday sometime... maybe Wednesday evening when it isn't too boiling hot...
Okay, the munchkin has only taken a half hour nap and is now grouchy...sigh... no reasoning with a one year old for sure... Maybe we'll start the playhouse painting today...
August 13

The weekend or why my husband ROCKS!!!!

SOOOO, last week sorta sucked.  I (and don't ask why it took so long for me to figure this one out) realized that I really need to register as a small business and get insurance and all that.  It occurred to me if someone misused the slings (despite my warnings and instructions) that we could get sued and I have no protection.  So I started taking small business classes at the local community college and withdrew my slings and doll slings from Carmen's shop (her website by the way will be up later this week!!!!) So I was feeling like crap and pretty down.  Not that I was making a whole lot of money, but I was making some and I wanted to continue.  But I did realize that all this doesn't have to happen immediately and we should be safe rather than sorry.  I also hosted playgroup last week.  That was quite fun, but the house was very crowded.  I closed off all the rooms except for the main living space and outside.  I also made ice pops out of juice and those were a big hit.  Our house is just so small and with 19 moms and kids in it, I (not to mention Elijah) was feeling a little overwhelmed.  But it was fine.  Hopefully the weather will cool down (SOMETIME SOON!!!) and we can go back to meeting at the park.
ANYWAY, with all that, I wanted to get out of town.  It was so freaking hot last week and I just felt down in the dumps.  So Friday I called Jerry to see when he was coming home for lunch and he said he needed to work through, but would be home by about 1:30 for the day and to pack the car because we were going to visit my folks!!!  So I packed the car and was ready to leave by the time he got home.  Elijah had taken a really early nap (11-12...odd, usually he sleeps from 1-3...but whatever...) and we hit the road by 2:30.  While it wasn't a whole lot cooler up there, there was a lot less humidity.  So we got there around 8.  Elijah went to sleep almost immediately and we hung out with my aunt and uncle and parents.  Saturday I went with my mom and aunt to the Sourwood Festival, but it was really hot, so we came home and took a nap.  In the afternoon we went to the playground and had a party for my little cousin (she turned 8) and played in the creek and whatnot.  Then we left yesterday morning and came home.  It was awesome.  We haven't done something like that in ages.  I was really worried about Elijah, but he was totally fine.  The only thing we forgot was the baby monitor, but we just put that baby gate by the door (he slept on a pallet on the floor) and opened windows and doors...but he didn't wake up, so it was fine regardless.  We had a stash of toys in the car and he really did great!!!
So last night and this morning I am catching up on the laundry and grocery shopping.  I feel refreshed.  But this trip really made me want to move back to the mountains even more.  We've been talking about it, but I think I really want to step up the job search and get a move on (no pun intended...)
Okay, I have a grouchy, hungry, babe...so I'm off.  I'll post pics later...
August 18

Some background and whatnot

With Megan's comment, I realized I haven't really put down any stats or background.  So here it goes:
I was born in the piedmont of NC and lived there until I finished 4th grade.  That summer my family moved to Warren Wilson College, where my dad accepted a teaching position.  We lived on the campus until I finished 7th grade and then moved to Black Mountain.  My parents still live there.  I finished high school and ended up attending WWC, where the fab-o Tracey convinced me to be her roommate, and we lived happily for two years, after which I became and RA.  I completed four years there, but didn't graduate.  I met Jerry at WWC and we were very good friends there, but never dated.  After I left WWC I worked for the YMCA as an after school counselor and site director.  Jerry did his community service there (at WWC students have to complete 100 hours of community service in order to graduate) and eventually was hired on as a counselor.  We started dating, but had to be hush hush about it since I was his immediate boss.  I quit smoking for a Valentine's Day present to Jerry (he's asthmatic) and on April 7th we got engaged (totally ruined his plan, but that's another story).  We rented an apartment at the end of school that year and  moved in together (yes, we were living in sin) which we both agree was the best thing we could have done for our relationship.  Jerry was still in school and working.  I had left the Y and was working as a lead teacher for a preschool.  We liked out VERY small apartment, but were asked to move into a REALLY nice house to help with an elderly couple in my church.  They had an apartment in the basement of their house.  It was on top of a mountain and absolutely beautiful... sigh... SO while we were there both of the people got sick (heart wise) and suddenly their children came out of the woodwork (where they were before, who can say?) and they asked us to leave (they gave us two weeks...moral of the story...ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS get a lease or written agreement...) SOOOO, we ended up moving in with my folks.  Jerry said that it was good because he got to really know my folks.  He had quit his job since I was making enough to pay for the super cheap rent in the house.  But he was going a bit crazy going to school only part time and hanging around my folks house.  So he worked with a couple of landscaping companies, but it was a harsh winter and not a whole lot of work.  Meanwhile we were planning away the wedding and I was also now leading the church youth group. (Obviously they didn't care so much that Jerry and I were living together unmarried.)  Jerry auditioned for and got a role in Hamlet and took an acting class (which made me really jealous, as that was what I wanted to do, but didn't have time/energy as I was working full time.)  Three days before he graduated we moved into an apartment, the day after he graduated we got married.  Jerry had gotten a job as a front desk worker at Best Western, but after graduating got a job in a local group home for boys.  I quit my job to stay at home...that didn't work so well, so I went through about three other jobs before finding a job as Mentor, which meant I went to school with a little first grader and made sure he stayed on task all day.  It was a very rewarding job and I felt like I made a difference in his life (hopefully.)  I wanted to go back to school and that's what brought us to the coast.  Jerry decided to go back to school as well.  So I finished my degree and started working at the library going around to preschools training teachers how to do effective story times.  It was an awesome job...I mean I got to read to kids for a living!  ANYWAY, after many years of having the stress of no money.  Jerry landed his current job, I quit my job and two weeks later found out I was pregnant!  The rest is in the previous blogs.
SO I really want to be back in the mountains.  The coast is nice, but for vacation.  I am a mountain girl at heart and I am aching to get back there...
Now for the whatnot:
Elijah's potty training is going GREAT!!!!  We aren't really stressing about it, I mean he's only 19 months, but he has pooped twice this week and peed numerous times.  I'm so proud of him.  I hope that I'm not jinxing anything by writing this, but I really thought it would be harder.  He loves sitting on his potty...to the point that I'm bored silly with it.  If he goes in the potty we dump it into the toilet and he LOVES that.  IF he doesn't go, he tries so hard to get to the toilet to flush it.  He's just growing so fast.  Jerry took Elijah to the aquarium for a Daddy and Me program there and I put him in a shirt his grandma got him.  It was a little big, but fit... it's a 3T!!!!  Holy Monkey Batman!!!!  He's really tall and I guess that's not going to stop anytime soon.
Okay, this is like a small book and half of it doesn't even really go... So I'm off.
August 20

The Engagement Story

On April 7th 1999 WWC was holding work day ( a day when classes are canceled and the entire student body works at one of several school betterment projects, ending in a big cookout and party.)  I was taking a day off from work and hanging out with Jerry (who was skipping workday.)  I feel asleep in his dorm room and he snuck out leaving me a note saying he was going for something to eat.  I woke up to the door closing and went running after him.  I caught up and he let me come with him.  In the car, I was all giddy (not having to have dealt with kids all afternoon and having play rehearsal that evening.)  I asked where we were going and Jerry said the mall.  This was an odd choice as there wasn't a food court there yet, but I went along... I LOVE THE ASHEVILLE MALL!!!  So we are walking around and I wander through the GAP.  Finally we get to center court and Jerry looks at me and tells me to sit down and that he'll be back in a minute.  I was confused, but whatever.  I sat down and started balancing my checkbook (of all things!)  A few minutes later, he comes up and in the middle of the mall gets down on one knee and asks, "Will you make me the happiest man ever and marry me?"  I was floored!!!  Obviously I said yes.  It was great.  We did go get something to eat.  And then met my dad going into choir practice and Jerry told him then.  My parents LOVE Jerry, they always have, so they were very happy.
Jerry's plan was:
To sneak out of the room and get the ring.  Go and ask my dad for my hand in marriage.  And then take me up on the parkway.  I totally ruined it, but I love that we got engaged in the mall.  There is now a trampoline jumpy thing in the spot where we got engaged, but I still love walking by there and remembering my special moment.
So there it is.  My engagement story.  I love it!   I wouldn't change it ever!!!
August 24

What is it with me and appliances?

SO our dryer started making weird (really annoying) noises earlier this summer.  No biggie as we have a clothes line and just hang them out and with the freaking drought and all, no worries about the rain.  However, we did have a HUGE storm on Tuesday night.  Jerry and I both got up at the same time to turn the computer off and unplug the TV, and to comfort the scared baby child.  While I was talking to Jerry I heard this odd noise, but didn't think anything about it.  The storm didn't last long and we went back to sleep, end of story...NOT!  We wake up and I keep hearing this clicking noise.  I walk around (obsessed) trying to find this noise.  Turns out it's our less than 2 year old fridge.  It keeps trying to come on and not being able too.  So I call, no we are not under warranty any longer... what do you meant he earliest you can come out is MONDAY???.... I finally find someone to come out on Thursday.  In the mean time Jerry goes and gets some ice.  I pull out all the stuff in our freezer (remember that we get the Pass You Plate stuff, so we have 1/2 a months worth of dinners in there) to finish thawing so I can spend the afternoon doing what?  cooking it all...sigh...  So I cook everything, thankfully most of it's cooked on 350, so I can put in several dinners at once.  And in reality it takes me about 2 hours.  However, I am so over handling food that I just want to go out for dinner and I don't want anything hot, because it's hot outside and now it's hot in our house.  So we go to Atlanta Bread Company and get sandwiches  (LOVE LOVE LOVE their veggie sandwich ..no onions please...)  I still haven't heard from the scheduler person about when someone will come to fix the fridge on Thursday, but I decide I will just call in the morning.  I go to sleep thinking everything will be fine...
hmmm... so Thursday morning.  I call...there is no record that anyone is supposed to show up...WHAT?...yes you may call me back...  I get my game face on, ready to pitch a fit... they call back...someone can be there between 2 and 5.  GREAT!!!  Jerry works through lunch and comes home for the day minutes before the repair guy shows up.  He comes in... the storm sent a power surge that burnt out the override switch (or something) apparently a common problem... why they makers can't solve it is beyond me... but at least we don't need a whole compressor.  Repair guy makes a call...probably Monday before the part comes in...but while on the phone finds out not Monday but THREE WEEKS...WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  He makes another call (apparently to his mentor...) finds out he has a part that will fit but made by Maytag (we have a Frigidaire) but will fix the problem... great bring it on!!!  After all that and almost a minor heart attack, the whole thing is fixed for under 150 (the labor costs more than the part...sigh...) but overall, am SOOOO happy to have my fridge back.  We did ask him about the dryer, though he didn't look at it because that would have been another 20 bucks.  Right now it's not a big deal and we sorta want a new one...though it would be cheaper to fix this one... oh well, we'll see.
So because of all this I missed playgroup, but that's okay, Elijah had a cough and sniffles earlier and I was planning on not going anyway.  It turns out that the AC was blowing right on his little face, so we have rearranged his room again.  Also, Rachel, Erin, and MR came over for dinner tonight so that was nice.  I caught up on all the goings on.  My friend Dana had her baby this morning!!!  She had a little boy via VBAC without drugs (two tears too man...DANG!)  They waited to find out the sex until he was born, so I'm happy to have another boy in out group.  It's going to be insane in the next couple of years.  There are 10 of us and I think about 7 of us are trying or already pregnant with number 2.  I really hope we can start meeting outside again soon...it's so crowded...though then you don't get to talk to the moms as much...sigh...we'll see.
My folks are coming on Monday!  I'm excited about that.  Jerry and I got a coupon for this really nice restaurant and I think we will splurge and go out there one night and then maybe go see the Bourne Ultimatum one night...  we also have some more yard work we want to finish.  The weather is supposed to be cooler (like 88 instead of 96) so that should be nicer...
Elijah's new favorite thing to eat is apples...whole.  I take a bite and then he chows down.  It's pretty funny.  I'll add the pics in a minute...
I guess that's it...

July 2007

July 02

FANTASIC MONDAY!!!

So far this Monday has ROCKED!!!  Jerry stayed home this morning and we went to Fit For Fun.  They open at 9 and we got there around 10 after and NO ONE else was there!  It was great.  Elijah can be really shy around other kids until he warms up, so it was great to have a place for him to play all by himself, then by the time other kids were coming in, he was all about playing with them.  This place is so cool and totally worth the 4 bucks they charge (only the kids...parents are free!!)  They have a big play area for the kids, a snack room (they provide snack!), a small toys  (like train table stuff) room, an outside play area, and an art room.  It's funny to watch kids come in, they run in and run around to all the stuff and then see something else and run to it...  Elijah really liked the ride in cars, so that's what he did most of the time.  Jerry really liked it and I think it will become a place that he may bring Elijah when they have a dad and me day.  I'll post pics at the bottom.  I think Jerry got pics of everything but the art room!
This weekend was good.  I spent Saturday sewing.  I made many slings and doll slings.  I am hoping to get a good stock to take to homecoming in October.  I am expecting another bolt of fabric this week and more rings for the slings as well.  I have about 10 hats knitted and I will bring a bunch of sunhats as well, though I think the knitted ones will sell better.  I finished ribboning 10 dream catchers (i'm going with a larger size this time.)  So Jerry kept Elijah all day Saturday.
Yesterday we just sorta hung out in the morning, then went to the playground, but it was soooo freaking humid that we went for ice cream.  We've had lots of discussions about where we want to be in a few years and Jerry says that's ice cream talk... I will never argue over ice cream.
I just found out that my friend Carmen had her baby this morning at 1:55.  Her water broke at 4 yesterday, she went to the hospital at 11 and had the baby at 1:55 (au natural).  Baby weighed in at 8 pounds 12 ounces and 20 inches long!!!  She beat Elijah in weight, but not in height!
Elijah's new favorite thing is sweet potato fries!  They are really yummy and (I chickened out and bought the store bought, frozen kind, instead of making my own...) they have no salt added...  He's also in love with sweet peas.  So he has the sweet peas and sweet potato fries with blueberries and milk on the side...crazy boy!!!
Speaking of... the man is done with lunch and is tuckered out from all the playing, so off to bed he goes!!!!







July 08

Sunday

So this week seemed really long.  I miss Rachel!!!
Monday was good.   I don't really remember what we did on Tuesday.  Wednesday, Jerry was supposed to take half a day off, but ended up working 10 hours straight...sigh... but then he took Thursday off.  This was fine, but we had play group in the morning, so we only got to spend the afternoon with him.  Friday I went out for a walk and was about to go in when my friend Carla came out, so I ended up walking about 4 miles.  That was fine, but it was REALLY hot and VERY humid.  So when I got in, I felt kinda gross the rest of the day.  I ended up with a horrid headache.  I was supposed to go to Pass Your Plate but just couldn't do it.  So Jerry rescheduled me for Saturday afternoon.  I haven't had a headache like that for ages.  Jerry took Elijah for the night and I went to bed at 9:30.  I didn't really sleep all that well, but I woke up feeling much better on Saturday.  So we really did nothing all weekend because the weather was rainy.   We had the oil changed in the car at the mall, but that's it.  I did go to PYP on Saturday and that was fun.  We got another 10 meals.  It's so nice to just open your freezer and decide what you want to eat the next couple of days and not have to really do any planning.  We get them split, so it's really like 20 meals, though each one lasts us a couple of days.  I grilled some flank steak yesterday and it was really yummy!  Today, we didn't really do anything either.  We need rain, but this sprinkling on and off is annoying.  We really need to cut the grass, it has this non harmful, but gross mold-y stuff on it and the only way to get rid of it is to mow and then sweep it off.  Every time we go to mow it rains...sigh...  hopefully tomorrow I can get it done in the afternoon.  We also need to hang the diapers out to dry... we are running low... super sigh...
My parents are back from Maine.  They drove some friends up and then rented a car to come home.  They are coming to visit in a week!!!!  Really excited!!!!  Jerry and I will go see Harry Potter when they arrive and have some dates without a baby present!!!  I hope that they stay for a bit.  Now that Elijah warms up to people a little faster it is definitely easier to leave him.  We left him with Rachel a few weeks ago and he did great!
So Carmen had her baby and I got to hold her (the baby, not Carmen) on thursday.  She weighed a few more ounces than Elijah did, and it was amazing to think that he was ever that small.  Man I am so jealous of all the pregnant women around me.  In our group there are three other women who are pregnant and then Jerry's coworker is pregnant with twins.  I forgot how difficult it was trying and being let down month after month.  Everyone says to just stop trying, but that's impossible for me... sigh... I know it will happen eventually, but I am an instant gratification kind of girl... I want it to happen when I want it!!!  I've prepared myself for the morning sickness and all the exhaustion...sigh...
Oh well....
Oh we went on a movie watching spree last week.  We watched Bridge To Terabithia...man that was a good movie...but quite sad...stupid Disney!!!  Then we watched Man of the Year with Robin Williams...eeehhh, it was okay, but seemed like a long political commentary.  Lastly, we watched Breech.  I thought it was a decent movie and well acted.
Tonight we are watching Shooter with Mark Walberg... I really like him (liked him as Marky Mark too...hehehehe) and hope that this will be a good movie.
Okay, Jerry needs to work, so I will give up the laptop and settle in with the movie, my knitting, and some Raisinettes!
July 10

My little man

He's growing up so fast.  On Friday he will be a year and half old...  sniff sniff...  Today we went to the baby story time and the toddler story time.  Then we went to get his hair cut.  His first hair cut.  Both Jerry and I have been putting it off.  He's just so darn cute with all that hair.  But it was getting a little out of hand.  So I took him into this place that cuts kid's hair.  He did pretty well.  He started out in a little car seat and ended up in my lap.  The place is really neat.  There is a doggy day spa next to the salon and there's a big window so you can see the dogs.  They have a ton of toys and lollipops (which my kid wouldn't even taste...oh well, more for mom!!)
After his hair cut he just looked so much older!  We went to see Jerry at work and now the munchkin's down for his nap.
I also forgot to tell you that last week for group I made a 4th of july cake with strawberries and blueberries... very Martha Stewart if I do say so myself...  So that's the random pic that I'll attach here.
Hope you are staying cool where you are...it's so hot here!!!



July 11

Daddy

So Elijah usually has showers now instead of baths.  Half the time I'm in the shower with him.  Tonight we were showering and when I'm in the shower, we call Jerry to come and get the wet baby when he's done.  Usually I tell Elijah to call daddy and then I do it.  Then for a bit Elijah would yell dada after I did it.  Tonight, I looked at Elijah and said, "Elijah you're all done, call daddy."  Elijah looked at me, stuck his head out of the shower and yelled, "DADDY!!!"  Jerry and I were floored.  He's only called Jerry dada or signed dad.  I was so clear...daddy... Jerry came in and answered him and then went back out and there it was again, "Daddy!!!"  It's funny, because he won't say it to his face...just when he wants Jerry.
Anyway, I just wanted to share.  Elijah really is growing up so fast.  I feel like I just blinked and BAM I have a little guy...  I was holding Carmen's baby last week and it was so hard to believe that Elijah was once that small and slept so peacefully in my arms...now I'm lucky to get him to sit in my lap for a minute to brush his hair... sigh... I guess he'll be going off to school before I know it...
Okay, this is making me sad... so Elijah said Daddy and that ROCKS!!!!!!
July 13

giggle

I love my husband.  I just finished reading his latest blog entry and it really is hilarious and quite accurate.  There are many times in parenthood that I have just wanted to sit down and cry, but then Jerry writes about it and I wonder why I don't spend the day laughing my butt off.  Anyway, check out his blog.  The entry before his current one is about Elijah as well and also very good...
Also he has a poll going and I'm curious if people agree with me on it... I know you are curious... go on click the link... you know you wanna!
July 14

18 months!!!

Holy Moly!!!  My kid is 18 months old!!!  Where did the time go?  I'm going to put a couple pics on this post of the last 15 month pics and start his new album.
Last night Rachel, Erin, and MR came over for dinner.  It's awesome that our kids play so well together.  There were spans of time that we didn't even see the munchkins.  They were just playing in Elijah's room.  After dinner they entertained us.  Elijah hid behind the curtain that covers the washer and then would pop out, MR would go crazy laughing and shouting.  It was very entertaining.  I know it's sad, but hey we don't get out much... and you would have laughed too!   I'm so freaking glad they are back in town I can barely contain myself.
My folks get here on Monday afternoon.  Jerry is taking off Thursday and Friday.  This should be perfect.  By then Elijah will have warmed up to my folks and Jerry and I can go out.  We'll go see Harry Potter one night and maybe do a dance class of some sort one evening... who knows... we'll see.  Tuesday I'll take my folks to story time with us and then maybe we'll swing by Fit For Fun.  Wednesday we'll probably hit the Beach and maybe the Farmer's Market (depending on how unbearably hot it is).  I'm REALLY excited for them to come.  I have no idea how long they are staying, but I would be fine with them staying a couple of weeks... we'll see.
Okay, I am finishing some laundry up... so here are the last 15 month pics...




July 19

YEA FOR PARENTS!!!

My parents came in on Monday evening.  They have been a GREAT help.  We sorta hung out on Tuesday, though I did have a dentist appointment.  We went to the beach yesterday, which is the only place that it's tolerable in this heat.  jerry took today and tomorrow off from work, so this morning he and my dad were outside mowing and weedwacking.  Then jerry and I went to see HARRY POTTER this evening!!!!  It was GREAT!  I mean there was definitely things left out of the movie, but overall it was really good.  Those kids are growing up...but I hope they continue until the end of the series.  Tomorrow mom and dad are taking Elijah to the aquarium and that's as far as we've gotten.  I was a little worried that Elijah would be cranky since he only took a half hour nap  but he did great.  He blew Jerry and me a kiss on our way out and went back to playing.  (side note: I went to church on Sunday and Jerry went to work, so I took Elijah with me and left him in the nursery for the first time... they give out pagers and I totally expected to get paged, but he made it through the whole service in the nursery!!!  My little man is growing up.)  I have no idea what we will do for the rest of the weekend and into next week, but I plan on getting out of the house at least once more with my hubby!
So I guess that's about it.  My folks are here and I'm really happy about that!!!!!!  I'll post some pics from the beach day...
July 25

Boo for parents leaving

SIGH... my folks left this morning.  It was so great having them here.  They did sooo much work.  They mowed our lawn (a rather large feat as the riding mower is broken and the electric mower can be tricky until you get the rhythm of dealing with the cord), weed wacked, watched Elijah (LOTS!!!) and all around were great to have around... I really wish we lived closer together...sigh... Also while they were here we got gutters installed!!!  I know that sounds dumb, but I'm really excited about it!  They are seamless gutters and I wondered how they did it, but it was really cool.  They have huge rolls of the material and they guide it through this machine and it comes out as gutters.  They just measure it and then hang it... They were done with our house in about 1 1/2 hours.  So my folks took elijah to story time and then to walk around downtown so he wouldn't be screaming to go outside while the guys were hanging the stuff.  I had 3 good hours of Harry Potter reading.  I finished the book last night.  Jerry stayed up until 2:30 in the morning finishing Sunday...crazy man!  It really liked the book, I thought that JK Rowlings did a very good job tying things up.  That's all I'll say on it.
So we are canceling our Vonage phone service.  There are many reasons, but mostly it's due to our Internet.  Our router, modem, and the phone thingy do not communicate very well, so our service was constantly going in and out.  We have changed our cell phone provider so we now get reception in the house, so we no longer need a phone.  Also there were no local numbers available so our number was based out of a town that's an hour and half from here... Anyway, Jerry has a cell phone now and that bumped our cell phone bill up, but it will still be cheaper than having a cell phone and Vonage when cancel...does that make sense?
Oh yeah!!!  We also bought edging.  It's made of 100% receycled materials.  Jerry dug the trench and we installed it the other day.  It looks really good.  I was sick of the stupid grass taking over our flower garden areas.  We need to lay some newspaper and mulch to get rid of some other grassy issues, but then I think we will finally be done with much of our outdoor garden areas.  Next will come tree removal (maybe) and planting of some different trees.  And then a fence.  I think we will be in this house when the next baby comes along (nope, not knocked up yet...) and I want to be able to allow Elijah to run around in the back yard without having to chase him around the house.  I mean now is fine doing that, but I can't imagine doing that with an infant attached to me...  so we are thinking about doing that this winter when it's not scorching hot (not that we would be installing it... but you know...)
I guess that's about it.  I'll post some pics from Oma and Opa's visit and then it's on to my next book (I'm now reading another series of books ...again young adult... )The Golden Compass is the first book and I HIGHLY recommend it.  There is a movie of the first one coming out sometime soon.  Be well!!!
July 29

Already the end of a weekend?

Sigh...
Friday was good.  I met our midwife and had my annual (not knocked up) and really liked meeting her.  She was really down to earth and talked to both Jerry and I and then after the examination I met with her in her office to talk to her.  She answered all my questions and was really really nice.  Turns out she knew a girl I went to college with.  Such a small world.
So while all this was well and good, it happened during Elijah's nap time.  So he didn't go down for a nap until 3 and didn't wake up until 5:30 (we decided to let him sleep.)  Okay...so we knew he would go to bed a bit later.  We really didn't think that would be a big deal.  So at 9:30 he finally fell asleep.  Good.  I brought him to bed with me around 1 (he wasn't really awake, but was wiggly and I really was just too sleepy to go back to come get him in 10 minutes... SO fine, we went back to sleep.  At 3 a.m. the crazy kid woke up SCREAMING... and he wouldn't stop.  So I got up and walked around with him.  This calmed him down, but he didn't go to sleep.  He was still crying, just not screaming.  I remembered that he's cutting his 2 year molars, so I went and got the IB and gave him a dose and went on and changed his diaper (not something we usually need to do, but he was really really wet.)  He let me sit down with him so I rocked him in the living room.  I thought he had fallen asleep, so I brought him back to bed...silly me... He started screaming again.  I was a little freaked out.  He kept trying to get off the bed, so I finally let him.  He was calmer for about 10 seconds and then started signing up and screaming again.  I kept signing what hurts? and he didn't respond, so I don't think he was in pain...  Eventually I turned on the TV, disabled the remote and gave him the remote.  That seemed to help a bit.  He eventually feel asleep at 5 a.m.  SHEESH... SO I thought surely he would sleep until 8 or 9...NOPE (idiot) he woke up at 6:30...(are you freaking kidding me?!?!?!)  This time I immediately turned on Sesame Street (the Spanish version) and let him watch that.  I went back to sleep (waking every once and a while to check on him.)  He feel back asleep around 7:30 and then slept until 8:20.  I was BEAT!
So Saturday we went to Home Depot with the purpose to buy the things that divert water from the gutter away from the house.  We ended up buying wasp spray, worm poop, and another roll of edging.  Yeah, we should have remembered the gutter things.  We got home in time for the bottom to fall our of the sky.  So we had a little trench the water made off of a couple of the downspouts...live and learn right?  Elijah went down for a nap and slept through most of the storm, but it got really close a couple of times and he woke up (right as I was falling asleep I might add...sigh)  Jerry worked for 4 hours yesterday, so I couldn't even hand the boy child off.  Oh well.  We did go out after the storm to buy a bed rail.  That was an adventure.  Many lights were blinking.  But it was kinda fun to try and figure out how to get home avoiding major intersections where the lights were out.  We did really well, I must say.
Today was our work day though.  We went and picked up 9 bags of mulch and the gutter things.  We thought that we would need 12 bags of mulch to do the front and side of the house (we only bought 9 b/c we thought that was all that would fit into the car...turns out we could've done 12, but we were ready to go home...)  So all 9 bags are now on the side only and we could easily put another 4 or 5 bags down over there.  So next weekend we will get more.  We put paper down first and then the mulch.  Hopefully that will help with the grass.  By the time we finished that, it was lunch time.  Elijah ate and went down for his nap.  Jerry went back to work again.  When EJ woke up, I went and installed the edging around an area off of the patio that we will fill in with mulch and then his sandbox will live there.  By the time I finished that Jerry was home so we went for ICE CREAM!!!!    Now we are home, jerry is putting Elijah to bed and I just finished watching the JK Rowling interview on Dateline!
now that you have read a play by play of my weekend...
I just can't believe this weekend is almost over.  I was so spoiled with Jerry home 4 days in a row last week and my parents being here.  Though Jerry's put in almost 30 hours of OT this week.  So he's banking it and taking some time off in the middle of the month so we can really work on Elijah's sleeping.  He's doing really well with it, but I don't have the energy to wake up in the middle of the night and get the kiddo back down in his bed (especially knowing I have to be up and be with it every morning.) It's just so much easier to bring him to bed, where (normally) he sleeps through the night.  He does sleep the majority of the night in his crib, so I am hopeful.  We'll see.  But it will be nice to have Jerry home and we can work on some more house projects.
Okay, enough rambling.  I must say that I am missing the three main blogs I read...  but I know they are all busy with moving and helping and visiting with parents...  just want them to know they are missed!

June 2007

June 03

feeling better

sorry about the big bummer of a blog... but thanks for the kind words.  sometimes it helps to write things down...even if they aren't what's totally bugging you...  anyway...this weekend has flown by and that makes me sigh... yesterday someone was supposed to come look at our futon, but bought another one before looking at ours...though it turns out that's a good thing.  someone coming forced us to clean the office, which forced us to clean some other rooms and we realized we really like the futon and want to keep it... so that was good and we had a productive day.  today i went to a baby shower in the morning and then we went to rachel and erin's for dinner.  so it was a good day, but i wish it were saturday instead of sunday...sigh...
one of the things we did was re-assemble elijah's crib.  he kept rolling off the bed and ended up sleeping almost upside down...so back into the crib...we'll see how it goes.
we finally got rain that we have so desperately needed this weekend thanks to barry...(tropical storm) so it's been nice to not have to worry about the garden for a few days...though we did need to hang up some clothes...
also we found out that the weed wacker isn't broken, it just flipped a reset button...ahhhh, the joy of electric, right?
so that's about it i guess....maybe more exciting things will happen this week!
June 08

who needs thumbs anyway?

so i started the car today to cool it down while i got elijah in his seat and as i turned around i closed the door on my thumbnail...i have shut my finger in a door before, but i forgot how freaking bad it hurts!!!!  my nail immediately started bruising underneath and the back of my thumb swelled up.  it still hurts quite bad.  even if it's broken though (i don't think it is) there is nothing anyone could really do.  anyway. that's all about that... stupid thumb... hmph!
last night i went out with some girlfriends to see waitress.  it's a GREAT movie and i highly recommend it.  it's not the best acting in the world, but the story is really good.  i love that the main character writes letters to her unborn baby... it's a great witty movie.  very chicky-flick...
i added some pics of elijah.  his new thing is running and playing hid and seek in the laundry that's out drying.   he can also pull off his diaper through his pants now, hence the diaper pin in the front of the wrap.  with his hair pulled up into a pony tail he looks a little like a baby sumo wrestler...
we went to the beach yesterday and it was absolutely perfect.  it is burning hot inland, but the beach was perfect weather and the water temp is actually cooling right now.  so that was good.
we have decided to move our playgroup from the beach to each other's houses.  this is fine except for the space issue at my house...but i think when it's at my house i'll set up our new screened in thing-y outside and fill up the pool and offer inside and outside play.  it wish we had a fence so the ditch wouldn't be an issue, but life will go on...
okay, elijah is stirring from his nap....
June 12

a new week

so my thumb is all better...well it doesn't hurt anymore, it still looks rather gross... sigh...
this weekend i mowed the lawn and then finished weedwacking the ditch.  we also got a potty seat for elijah and are starting the training...nothing too big, just getting him used to sitting on the pot...
last night i stayed up way too late working on hats to drop off at carmen's.  the web designer is taking longer than expected to get her site up, but hopefully it will be up within the week.  she's 38 weeks preggers and we would be surprised to see her at group on thursday...but you never know.  i have a new item.  i have made baby dreamcatchers.  they are small and they have an origami crane in the middle of them.  i made them all different colors.  i think they are quite cute personally.  i'll post a pic at the bottom of this...
i am hosting group this week.  we are making father's day art projects... it should be fun...and messy... but mostly fun.
jerry is going to pass your plate for our next round of food.  i really love this place.  they use really fresh ingredients and supply you with the nutritional info so you can choose things that are healthier for you.  since it's his turn to go, i'm in for a long day... sigh...
last night elijah had a sorta hard time.  at around 11 he woke up and had his fingers jammed into the back of his mouth...sure enough i can feel the bumps of his 2 year molars coming in... so we gave him some IB and jerry got him back to sleep.  he stayed in his crib until 4:30!!  i brought him to bed and then he slept until 5:50...yuck-o!  I made him stay in bed until 6:45, by then i was over fighting him, so we got up...sigh...  this wouldn't have been that bad if i hadn't stayed up so freaking late working on stuff...oh well...
we went to story time today and elijah did GREAT!  he sat in my lap the whole time and for the most part really listened to the story.  we went down to carmen's after that and i talked to a woman about slings for a bit...she had the cutest little girl...so pudgy still...  rachel was with me this morning so we went for smoothies and then came back here for lunch.   tomorrow is going to be all about cleaning.  i think that i will do some example ideas with elijah for thursday.  we're doing hand print art and i think it will be super cute, but trying... it's hard to control a child's hand, but it'll be okay...
okay, i have stuff uploading and need to work with it...here's the pic of the dreamcatcher...



June 14

the BEST husband in the WORLD

I have the best hubby... here is why...
He always answers the phone at work when I call.
He sends me flowers just because.
He kisses me three times every morning before leaving for work (one fore each word in the sentence I LOVE YOU!)
He likes my folks.
He likes my friends.
He watches chessy girlie movies with me and doesn't make too much fun of them.
He encourages me to go out and spend time with my friends.
He doesn't get mad at me for not cleaning the house or having dinner ready every night.
He keeps the baby every other night.
He reads bedtime stories like they are the most exciting books ever written.
He loves me and our son.
He works hard so that I can stay home.
He listens to me complain, even when he's had a horrible day.
He listens to what happened during my day, including the finger painting and EJ's poop stories.
He knows when to agree with me...even if he doesn't.
He knows how to talk me down from a rant.
There are so many other reasons, but these are just some off the top of my head...  I just love him so freaking much!!!!!
June 17

when 52 inches, isn't 52 inches and other weekend fun

sigh... my kid has been crying for almost 1.5 hours straight.  i gave him some IB about 20 minutes ago (have no idea why i waited that long) for his teeth, and jerry took over the rocking.   poor guy.  i have no clue what's going on.  he usually gets fussy right before bed, but not like this.  anyway, i think he may be finally asleep...an hour past bed time...  though he's been sorta off all day today.  i hope that tomorrow is better.  jerry went back to bed this morning and slept until 10:30!  he needed it!  we were going to go out for lunch, but elijah fell asleep in the car before we got anywhere near the restaurant.  so we did a drive through thing.  came home and elijah slept for about half hour more.  once he woke up we played outside for a bit in the sprinkler.  we decided to go out for dinner, we went to this place boodles, but it was closed for some mysterious reason, we wanted to go to smokey bone's, but it's been closed down... so we ended up at our old stand by, atlanta bread co.  it was fine, but it was weird that everywhere was shut down... oh well.  (elijah is sleeping now...thankfully!!!)
so the title of this blog's story:
on saturday we went to costco to get some things and decided to wander around.  we came across this closet organizer that would be perfect for elijah's room.  so we find the measurements (52 inches long by 18 inches deep by 72 inches high...) our biggest worry is the 52 inches.  we have really small closets in the four smaller rooms.  so we come home, and i measure, not once, but twice (i am a good this old house... measure twice cut once....type of girl) from base board to baseboard and it is EXACTLY 52 inches.  so after nap and snack we head back to costco to by the organizer.  we get back to the car only to find out the #$%^ thing won't fit in the trunk...SOOOOO after removing the car seat, putting down the back seats, moving the stroller, all the while trying to calm a grouchy baby that wants to get out of the cart so he can push it into the road... we decide that it will fit if we take it out of the box, and hey, why not since we've measured and everything...and oh, on the way  home we can stop by the recycling bin to get rid of the outer box so we don't have to bring it back out... GREAT!  so we get it in the car, get home, get it out of the car, and get everything out of elijah's closet, get elijah busy "sorting" books and start putting said organizer together.  everything is going great, it's going together really easily, lalalalalala...UNTIL!  we get to the final base bracket.  it won't fit without bending the poles in.... well, okay, so let's take the feet off the poles...everything is fairly even (except apparently the back wall of the closet) and surely that will give us enough space... SOO we move everything out, take off the feet, slide it all back in, AND........
IT STILL DOESN'T FIT!!!!  for some unGODly reason we don't have the air on and have a window fan going and now Elijah has decided that climbing on mom while in the small a$$ closet is fun.... so I am freakin' burning up and irritated and we can't return the darn thing because we threw the stupid box away because I FREAKING MEASURED TWICE....  so jerry says...."well, let's rip out the base boards."  okay.... so we rip them out, not prettily I must add, and start over AGAIN.  this time is works and everything fits in place...well, almost everything....  in the 18 inches wide they don't take into account that there are drawers and baskets that need to be pulled out and shouldn't be in front of a wall...SUPER SIGH....  so we decide to put the drawers in the middle and make it so we can just reach into the baskets.
all in all, i really like the end result and am giggling as i'm recounting the story, but man yesterday, i thought i might melt the thing down to drop on top of costco.  i still can't figure out why it didn't fit to begin with...but what's done is done... and the end result is pretty.  we have moved the dresser out of elijah's room and moved stuff around so that his room is also his playroom, instead of having stuff in two rooms.
on another note, the flowers jerry sent me last week are almost in full bloom and really very pretty!  they are purple irises and yellow lillies.  i'll have to take a picture....
happy dad's day to all the dad's out there!!!!






June 20

it's raining!!!! Finally!!!!

After a long hot beginning to summer it is finally raining.  We are 9 inches under where we should be and under water restrictions.  It is raining a good hard soaking rain and it's supposed to continue into the night.
Right now I am waiting for the last five minutes of our pecan chicken to finish so that I can call Elijah and Jerry in to eat... that's right, I'm watching them out the window run around in the rain!  It's awesome.  They are so freaking cute!  I love warm rain that you can play in.  I have towels waiting by the door, and then they'll change clothes and have nice warm food to fill their tummies!  How awesome is it that my husband comes home after a long day at work and wants to play in the rain?!?  I took pics of them, I'll post later tonight when I have more than 3 minutes to post.
I just wanted to celebrate the rain and the playing in the rain!!!
June 23

getting my kid to eat..er...drink his spinach

So for a while Elijah really liked spinach, now not so much... not a biggie.  He's a great eater, but now we have all this frozen spinach in the freezer.  Everyday for his snacks Elijah gets a tofu smoothie and a rice cake.  I know that the tofu smoothie probably doesn't sound appealing, but they are really good.  I'll post the recipe in a moment.  Anyway, the other day I was pulling out the frozen fruit and thought...hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I put spinach in this smoothie?  So I made only a single serving (usually I make two servings one for each snack).  Gave it to Elijah and he gulped it down.  I tasted it before I gave it to him.  It wasn't bad.  I really didn't taste the spinach...so problem solved!!!
Anyway, here's the recipe:
1/3 cup of silken tofu
1 banana
1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit (if you use fresh fruit you'll need to add 6 ice cubes)
1 cup of fruit juice
1 tsp of honey (optional...we like it for the allergy factor)
We double this and mix and match frozen and fresh fruit.  We also use V8 Fusion juice.  It has 100% juice plus you get a serving of fruit AND a serving of veggies per 8 ounces.  And now we throw some spinach in there... yum-o (LOVE LOVE LOVE Rachel Ray!!!!)
So this afternoon Jerry and I are going on a DATE!!!!!!  Rachel is going to watch Elijah while we go see Ocean's 13.  I could care less if the movie is good or not, WE ARE GOING OUT SANS CHILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Don't get me wrong, love the kid, but I'm about to go crazy having to interrupt conversations with my hubby to deal with Elijah.  My folks are coming in July sometime and you better believe they will probably not see very much of me.
Speaking of the little darling... he's learning so much.  He's starting to test boundaries and picks up almost a sign a day, which is AWESOME!!  He knows about 10 words and close to 30-35 signs.  It's very nice to be able to say to him "stop whining and sign what you want," and he responds with what he needs.  He's becoming more independent, but still likes to hang out with us when there is a crowd, until he's surer.  His memory is getting better.  This is also nice.  He plays independently very well.  He loves to make noise and any new noise he learns is sure to fill the house fro a few days!!  He's right on track developmentally and that is always reassuring!
Okay, we have some bread in the oven about ready to come out (bread is the newest sign... one day I'll get some of these on tape and post links to them)  so gotta run...have a great weekend!
June 27

stupid nature...

So our garden was looking GREAT!!!  I picked our first tomatoes last Saturday morning, at that time our green beans were producing, the okra had lots of little okras on them, there were two squash forming, and there were about 30-35 roma tomatoes and 25-30 better boy tomatoes (all green.)  I went out monday to check on some tomatoes that looked like they might be ripe and BAM the stupid deer had gotten into the garden and eaten EVERYTHING except for the bell peppers.  They even ate the sunflowers out of elijah's garden.  I was so upset I cried.  I mean they ate everything.  I looked today and I have 1.5 okra plants that might make it.  The squash is beyond help.  I have three or four tomatoes (total) that have formed since the eating... Man...
SO THEN... the stupid rain comes...  and while we really need it, I really needed diapers to dry more.  BUT NOOOOO, so I hung out the diapers to dry (our dryer is out of commission and that's fine, until we need diapers...) and it rained all afternoon....SIGH!!!!   So I left them up overnight...at least they are REALLY REALLY clean... I go out at lunch on Tuesday to bring them in b/c it looks like rain again (but does it rain? NOOOO!!!)  Then go back out to hang them BACK up after Elijah wakes up.  While we are out there I decide to clean out Elijah's kiddie pool.  Whilst doing that... I get stung by a wasp!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THE NATURE?!?!?!   SO having not been stung by anything since I was like 7, I freak out that I'm going to have some reaction.  I bribe Elijah inside with a smoothie and call Jerry because now I am feeling rather woozy.  I call my mom just to be on the phone with someone in case something happens before Jerry gets home...man stings HURT!!!  My mom tells me to make a paste out of baking soda (since we don't keep meat tenderizer or tobacco juice just lying around...) and put it on the sting to help take the pain away... it does help, but I still feel like I'm going to be sick.  Elijah keeps coming over and kissing my leg,, which was really cute (Jerry told me later that Elijah was walking around holding his leg like I was and signing "help" and Jerry would kiss the leg and he would go back and play and then start the whole thing over again...)  So after all that, I was fine...what a wuss I am, but I was a little freaked out...
Anyway, today was better.  We went to the beach after our walk this morning and it was perfect.  The weather wasn't too hot, the water was calm, and there was no nature out to get me.  We stopped by Rachel and Erin's on the way home to pick up their tiller and to say good-bye.  They are leaving for a couple weeks of vacation... I'm in total denial and hope that the time will fly...
I am excited because I have scheduled some appointments for next month.  One is for my annual, and while that's not exciting, we are meeting the midwife we will go with for our next pregnancy.  i've heard such great things about her and I'm really excited to meet her.  I really loved my OB but they are no longer doing OB stuff.  There isn't another all woman practice in town, so we decided that a midwife would be the way to go.  The only problem is that she lives in Myrtle Beach (about 1 hour away) so if she isn't in town when we go into the hospital...she could be cutting it close to make it here for the delivery...but I'm not worrying about that now as we aren't preggers and we'll have some time to figure it all out when the time comes...
Okay, I've got brownies in the oven for play group tomorrow...let's hope nature continues to be nice to me...

April 2007

April 04

Getting ready

Stupid weather... I thought spring had sprung now it's supposed to get rather cold.  Sigh...  depending on which weather channel you look at it may or may not freeze this weekend.  So our poor tomatoes and peppers may perish.  I think I might cover them...it depends on how annoying it will be to do that.  Rachel's going to come over and check the mail and stuff.  I think we are going to get a timer for the garden.  Sigh...
It's not going to be any warmer in the mountains either.  We just bought Elijah's summer wardrobe, so I'm going to have to dig out his winter stuff and hope there's something in there that's Easter like...
However, today is really nice.  I have cleaned the kitchen up and I need to start packing.  But that's it really.  Tomorrow I'll keep Elijah in disposables all day so that I can wash and pack all the diapers we'll need.  Everything else is ready to pack  I guess.
Elijah's sleeping right now.  He's doing really well as nap.  He goes down fairly easily and stays in his bed for an hour, gets up and walks to the door, I go get him and rock him back to sleep and put him back down for another hour.
We were putting him to bed at night awake, and that worked for a bit, but lately it's not.  I don't know what's going on.  He screams and cries and works himself up into a sweat.  So we end up rocking him to sleep and it takes soooo much longer.  So instead of getting him to sleep by 7:30-8 it's becoming much later...the problem is he doesn't sleep any later...  So we've gone back to just rocking him to sleep ad putting him down... it's just easier on everyone.  opps he's up....gotta run
April 08

Happy Bunny Day

Soooo...
We got here safe and sound on Friday.  It was cold then, but on Saturday morning we woke up to about a half inch of snow on the ground.  While this is nothing compared to Tracey's snow...sigh...I was not expecting this... oh well, it was fun. Elijah was introduced to snow and that was amusing.  We knew it was going to be cold, so we packed well enough.  When the friends and family arrived we just made it work inside instead of having the planned picnic. I think all in all we had about 20 adults and 6 kids inside.  It worked out well.  Elijah was overwhelmed and ended up taking a 2 hour nap in a room by himself.
This morning Jerry left and I am very sad about the whole thing.  But we'll see him again soon.  He landed in Boston just fine.  His hotel is apparently really nice...always a good thing.  He hired a car to take him to the hotel from the airport and he said that was good because there were no markings on the road and he would still be driving around...  The company where is training provides transit to and from the hotel during the week and the hotel has a bar and restaurant in it.  After saying bye to Jerry this morning we got ready and went to church.  I knew that Elijah wouldn't sit still through the service, so I decided to risk it and send him to the nursery...WHATEVER!   The nursery workers were AWESOME, but he still freaked out and I forgot to leave the diaper bag, so I was going to go back and sneak it in, but he was standing at he outside door pressed up against it screaming...I had already had enough almost tears this morning with Jerry leaving, I just couldn't do it, so I went and hung out in the nursery with Elijah during the service.  It was fine.  It took a bit to calm him down and even then he kept coming over to check in with me.  I think I will start attending a church at home that has a pager system.  Eventually he'll be fine, but so many people had already come up to him to see him and stuff that I think it was just a really overwhelming day.  My dad is giving me a hard time about it, but whatever.  I feel that the bonds of trust are built at a really early age and I want my kid to trust me .  It doesn't bother me at all.  He's been a cuddly baby since day one.  I also don't think he'll do this forever...
Rachel and I have been talking about giving each other a moms morning out sorta thing (I need it just to clean my house) for each other.  I think this is a grand idea!  So hopefully, we can start doing that soon.
This week is going to be packed with stuff to do.  I really wish we could find a way to move back here...even with the snow on FREAKING Easter.  Hopefully with all the stuff to do the week will go by quicker.
Okay, it's only 8, but I am rather tired, so I'm off to go read and lie down...maybe call Jerry one more time...
Happy Bunny Day!
April 12

Almost on the way home

This week has gone by rather quickly.  Part of me is sad to go, but the other part has missed my hubby terribly.  Elijah has really warmed up to my folks and I feel bad that I am taking him away from them.  But we'll see them in a month at the beach on vacation (yes we are one of those weird people that live at the beach and go to a different one for vacation...)
Today we hiked into town (about 2 miles) and met some of mom's friends for coffee and smoothies.  Then dad brought us home (2 miles with 26 pounds on my back in the mountains...not so much doing another 2 miles...) We treated ourselves to My Father's Pizza for lunch.  Took a nap and then mom and dad took Elijah to the park while I got my hair chopped off.  We came home and ate dinner and now I really need to finish the packing, but since we probably won't leave until Jerry's plane takes off tomorrow, I feel like I have some time.  We are going to hike down to a restaurant for breakfast in the morning (only 1 mile...but we have to walk back up...sigh) and then mom will do Meals on Wheels...so I figure I'll pack the car then.  I want Elijah to get some playtime in so he's tired and will sleep on the way to the airport.  After I pick Jerry up in Charlotte we'll head home...
I still can't believe it snowed.  I'll post pics when we get home... it was wild.
I am adding a video of Elijah playing in the creek with my folks this morning.  He went down there with them while I was showering and then I went down to meet them after.  It's really cute...he's so serious about the rock throwing...
Alright, I'm off to call Jerry...
April 17

just a quick post

We got back home safe and sound fairly late Friday night.  We didn't leave the house on Saturday except to go out for breakfast.  We did stuff around the house and on Sunday we met Rachel, Erin and MR at the Mellow Mushroom for dinner.  It was a good weekend.
Elijah has a cold.  I think it was from the cold to the not as cold weather and traveling for such a long trip cooped up in a car... Now I seem to have gotten something.  I think it's just exhaustion...but such is life.
I'm going to post some pics and eventually a new video.  I finally downloaded the pics from our trip...so those will get posted.
Okay...that's all for now.
April 20

The big 3-1

That's right they say it's my birthday....
So far it's been a pretty good one.  It was supposed to be all overcast and chilly today, but it's sunny and near 70!!!  Wahoo!!!  This morning I went to the fabric store and they were having a HUGE sale, so I got the stuff I needed to make some more slings and hats.  Then Rachel called and we talked for a bit...Then Jerry took me to Red Robin for lunch... YUMMY!!!!
I don't know what's planned for the rest of the day, but I'm sure it will be good.
Yesterday we went to Fit For Fun.  It's a little like gymboree ( i guess, I've never really been inside of one before...) but it was only 3.50 for the kid and free for me.  Elijah LOVED it!  It's really well run.  There is an arts area, a table toy area, and they provide snack.  The main room is filled with all kinds of toys to push and ride and climb on.  Then there is an outside playground that was really awesome too!
Later yesterday evening I went and prepared 11 meals at Pass Your Plate.  It's a place where you go and make your meals and then bring them home to freeze and cook later.  I got all 11 made in about an hour and a half.  It was a nice little break.  I had the store to myself (of course the workers were there...but that's it.)  We've already had 2 of the meals and they were YUMMY!!!  It's so nice to not have to worry about what we're eating for the next month-ish.
Yesterday I was chasing Elijah and slipped on our floors and fell  pretty hard.  My ankle twisted and this morning I woke up all sore and stuff...sigh...31..gettin' old I guess... Just kidding, though it was annoying.  Oh well...
Okay, that's it I guess.   Life is good...and the weather is really warming up!!!!  Even better!  So Happy My Birthday!!!!
April 24

Tuesday...

We had a great weekend.  This weather is FAB-O!!!!  We went to swim on Saturday where Elijah did a great job.  He went under water twice and did really well.  But he walks under the water in the shower on his own, so I wasn't too surprised.  Sunday we worked in the yard almost all day.   When we weren't in the yard, I worked on a design for a new hat to sell.  It's a reversible hat that has a tie.  I think I have it figured out and am excited to work on them.  They are actually fairly easy now that I have it all figured out.  I also have my mom's sewing machine which is SOOO much better than the 1940s machine I was working on.  (Thanks mom!!!)  I also am starting a new line of things....I'll keep you posted once I get all the materials and start on this endeavor.
Yesterday we hung out with Rachel and MR.  That was really nice.  I felt like I hadn't really seen Rachel in a while (one on one) so we had a good catch up yesterday.  Today we went to story time.  I'm sad that it's the last one until the summer cycle...by then Elijah will be old enough to go to Toddler Time...my big boy...
Speaking of big boy... Elijah can now have a bowl of food in front of him and he can scoop up the food and feed himself!  We don't put a lot of food in the bowl at a time, but it's a big step.  So between the possibility of beginning the potty training and the self feeding, my boy's growing up...sniff sniff...
ANYWAY, after story time we went to Carmen's to check out how things are going in the store.  Talked about the new stuff and then headed home.  This afternoon we went to a neighbor's house and showed her some fabric for a sling.  So business is at least good enough to break even...that's what's important.  Did I mention that I bought a whole bolt of fabric the other day?  I had this 50% of ONE item, so I found a full bolt of fabric I liked and bought the whole thing.  I think this may be the way I go from now on.  That way I'll have enough to make a bunch of slings and if someone wants that fabric then I'll have it.   Eventually we want to start an on-line business.
So I'm off to finish watching American Idol and work on some hats.
April 27

Thinning out

We had Elijah's 15 month check up today.  He weighs 25 pounds and is 32 inches tall.  I can't remember the head stuff.  But the head and height are in the 75% and the weight is in the 50%.  He's averaging out!  The doc gave him a clean bill of health and says he's doing great.  We don't go back until he's 2 now.  Elijah did well with his shots.  These are his last until he's 5...unless we change our mind about the chicken pox vaccine.  We decided against it and the doc was very cool about it all.  If we decide on public school he has to have it before entering, but as it's not close to 100% effective and very rarely really harmful...we'll see.  I know that as kids get older chicken pox gets worse...so again we'll see.  Anyway, the doc was pleased and we were too.  We had a sort lazy day after that.  He got really cranky around lunch time and wouldn't eat his pasta, but ate some oatmeal...go figure...  Then he slept for a nice long nap.  He's back to his old self now and that's good....the whiny baby can annoy me...
We have our last swim lesson tomorrow and then I really have to get sewing this weekend.  It's just so hard to make myself do when it's so freaking nice out...  Maybe I can get my butt in gear and do a bunch tonight...we'll see.
Have a great weekend!!!
April 30

Weather and politics

This weather is great, but it also makes me wonder how freaking hot it's going to be this summer.  I'm not looking forward to a summer of extreme heat.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be close to 90!!!  So we are hitting the beach in the morning and hopefully the little one will be worn out and sleep through the heat of the day.  I planted some more phlox this morning and watered the yard, but it was really almost too hot to be out.
Our garden is starting to look a bit better.  The squash, okra, green beans, and peas we replanted are coming up and the peppers and tomatoes are looking great!
So Jerry and I watched the democratic debate last Thursday.  I must say that I was not really impressed with Hilary or Barack.  But was thoroughly impressed with Kucinich.  He was articulate and had some great ideas about how to deal with global issues without dropping bombs on everyone.  Jerry has written a really good blog entry that puts thoughts into words quite well.  Check it out!
Our weekend was good, just too short.  I sewed some on Saturday and Sunday, but still have a ways to go to get caught up.  I am hoping to have everything I want done, finished by Wednesday or Thursday.  I get the stuff in the mail to start working on the new project tomorrow!!!  I will do that this weekend, so I really want to make sure the sewing end is all done.
That's it for now.  I think I might sit outside and read while the baby boy sleeps...we'll see....

January 2007

January 08

AHhhh a new year...

So far....well... I guess this years going okay.  I've ridden the bike twice, so that's good.  the last time I rode with weights, so I did my arms whilst I biked.  We are eating better.  And we're doing okay with the not eating out or spending money.  Jerry is enrolled to go back to school to learn computer programming.  He has to take a couple courses at the local community college and then he'll enroll at State to take on-line classes.  I think it will be really good for him.
I can't believe that Elijah is going to be one on Saturday.  It's just crazy!  However, he's driving us nuts right now.  For the past two nights he has awoken at midnight and we could not get him back to sleep until after 3 both nights.  IT's not that he wants to be up and play, that I could deal with.  He screams almost the whole time.  We have tried putting him down (I mean he's already crying right?) but that agitates him even more and he ends up throwing up.  We thought maybe it was his teeth or growing pains and gave him Tylenol, to no avail.  We rock him, sing to him, cuddle him, put him down...nothing.  We can't figure out what's wrong.  I looked up this stuff in our handy D.r Sear's book and he says it might be one of the following:
teething (though I would think that the Tylenol would help...but maybe not)  it would be his molars, so maybe they hurt more?
growing pains... apparently once they are walking these happen more and more at night when the muscles have a chance to relax.
GERD (a form of acid reflux...) he doesn't throw up unless he's been crying and screaming for an hour or so, but we are taking steps to see if this may be the problem.  We've gone back to mushing up his food...this kinda annoys him.  He really likes to feed himself chunks of food, but he seems to be okay if I give him Cheerios to play with.  We keep him calm for 30 minutes after eating.  We already have him quasi-propped up in bed....sigh....
I hope that it goes better tonight.  I can see where people get violent with their kids though.  I had to hand him off last night.  I was losing my patience.  I went back into my room and just cried.  It's hard to not feel like it's something you have done to make your kid act like this, especially at 3 in the morning when you haven't been asleep in MANY MANY hours.  So, here's to hoping it goes better....
A bit ago I said that there was big news.  Well, here it is, but don't get too excited....
Rachel and I were planning on opening a childcare center in her house.  We have since decided not too.  It was fun though planning and thinking about it.  But right now it's just too much.  Though we are both passionate about childcare and down the road we may look into investing in a house to be used only for a childcare facility.  I think we would make great business partners and after we are through with the baby thing...well we'll see.
However, a friend of mine, Carmen is opening up a store in a local retail place called the cotton exchange.  She is going to have a "made by moms" section in her shop, so I am knitting some hats and making some slings to sell there.  I think it will be a nice little pocket change.  The hats take me a couple of days a piece to make and the slings take about an hour to make, so I am hoping to have about 10 slings and 5-6 hats ready to go by her opening day.  Carmen is amazing!  She teaches natural birth classes, is a doula, and now is opening up this store.  She has so much energy!
Okay, I think we are going to watch Little Miss Sunshine.  I hear that it's pretty funny....we'll see....  Oh yeah, and Lisey's Story (I'm only about 125 pages in....) is freaking awesome!  Stephen King is just an incredible story teller....
I'm on Jerry's new laptop and I can't get to my pics, so I'll wait until Elijah's b-day to post new ones.  Be well and send good sleeping vibes to my kid!
January 10

Little Miss Sunshine and stuff

We watched Little Miss Sunshine last night.  I think this is a great movie!  The family the movie centers around is crazy and yet lovable.  The family consists of a heroine sniffing grandfather, a son who has taken a vow of silence, a husband who is failing at his "9 steps to success" program, a suicidal brother, and a little girl whose dream is to be Little Miss Sunshine (well, Miss America really, but who's counting?)  All parts are acted well.  You feel these characters pains and triumphs.  While the family is rather dysfunctional, you realize that they would do anything for each other and love each other unconditionally.  The ending is freaking hilarious, Jerry and I were laughing so hard we almost cried.  I highly recommend it. There is some strong language, so not so much a family movie....
On the note of sleeping, (or lack thereof) Elijah slept better last night.  It was Jerry's night and he brought Elijah to bed around 1-ish.  He stayed asleep (for the most part) until 4 and then I took him back to Jerry at 4:30.  I still woke up completely exhausted, but feeling better about the whole thing.  Mom sent us a thing about night terrors.  While the info was good, I don't think that's what was going on.  Four times yesterday and couple times today Elijah has pulled himself up and let go of whatever and walked on his own to some destination.  I really think this may be the cause...that and I believe a molar is trying to push through.  Thanks for all the sleep thoughts and the suggestions.  I forgot I had bought any Motrin a while back, Claire, thanks for reminding me.  If this night thing happens again, I will pull it out.
Jerry starts classes today so that's exciting.  I hope that this endeavor proves to be a positive thing in his life.  Okay, I need to scrounge for some food.
January 13

HAPPY ELIJAH'S BIRTHDAY!!!!

We had a fantastic party!  Elijah did really well and ate his first cupcake in record time.  He got lots of really cool loot and is currently evading a nap to play with it.  Oh well, he only turns one once right?
Okay, just wanted to announce his b-day!  I'll update after his 1 year check up on Tuesday!
January 16

1 year check up

So the man is now 23.8 pounds (he actually lost weight now that he's a walking fool) and is 31 inches long and has a head circ of 44 cm.  Over all he is the average size of a 15 month old (about 85%.)  He is healthy.  The doctor wants us to keep an eye on the food allergy thing and continue to treat his eczema with over the counter stuff.  He said that there are new studies linking food allergies and eczema to possible youth asthma.  He wants to make sure to catch it and treat it if that looks like that's where Elijah is heading, though he didn't seem too concerned about it right now.  Elijah was fine until the doctor made him lie down (even though I was holding him) and then, of course, didn't care for the finger prick or the shots, but was fine almost immediately after (didn't even comfort nurse.)
We're starting the process of weaning as well.  I'm just exhausted from the whole thing and his teeth are cutting into me (I'm starting to develop bruises...sigh...) I'm a bit sad as I wanted him to wean himself, but we made it a year and I'm happy about that.
Okay, the little guy's eating some chicken and apples, I had better pay attention before I get some thrown at me....
January 27

yawn

What a freaking long week.  Sigh... Last Thursday after group I come home and Elijah has...well let's just say gross poop.  Thinking this is a one time thing, I don't really think about it....yeah right...sigh.  He was sick all last weekend and most of this week.  You would never know to look at him, but man he smelled.  He never ran a fever higher than 99.6, so who can say.  I am thinking it may be his molars?  Anyway, he's  been fighting going to bed and doing the waking up thing this week.  I think on average I have gotten about 4 hours of sleep a night.  Last night was better, though still not great.  Right now Jerry's trying to fight him down for a nap.  It's not really working.
I spent this morning working on slings to sell at Carmen's store (which opens next Saturday.)  Jerry took Elijah out and they came back for lunch.  It was the first time Jerry's been OUT alone with Elijah.  Everything went well.  I still have lots to do but I thought I would take a moment to write and update some pics.
Let's see last Thursday was Jerry's b-day.  The big 3-1.  We were going to have a small party on Saturday, but Rachel was sick, so we had it on Wednesday evening instead.  I gave Jerry Boondocks Season 1 and a mug with a painting by Elijah in it.  He also got some N-64 games.  All in all a good birthday.  I've just been trying to keep Elijah's clothes clean.
okay, I'd better go help....
January 30

almost there

So as I mentioned before I am making slings and hats to sell in a friends shop.  I have started a Windows Live Page for reference for the consumer.  Eventually I would like to start a web site to sell everything from, but I don't have enough inventory and Carmen isn't pushing having a set amount of product.  So I'll create as the need comes.  I have to pay her a commission, which is fine (and expected) but it means I have to sell things for a little more.
Anyway, here's the site!  Let me know what you think.  Eventually I will have pics on how to use the slings... (by eventually I mean this weekend before the grand opening of the store.
Elijah is walking very well now and into freaking everything.  It's really cool, but he's a cheeky little twit sometimes.  He'll look at us and smile and then go do something he's not supposed to and then laugh when he gets caught.  CHEEKY!
The weaning is going okay I guess.  We are down to about two feedings in a 24 hour period.  That changes sometimes.  His nights are kinda rough, but I am hoping that once he's weaned he'll sleep a bit better...we'll see.  That may be wishful thinking.  Since he's weaning, I'm giving him snacks more often.  I have moved his little table out into the area between the two rooms and I buckle him in with a sling (see the new pics) and he has a snack of fruit twice a day.  He's really doing well with signing what he wants.  He can sign more and pear (which is what we have mostly right now.  He calls dried apples pears too...It's pretty funny.)  I went to the dollar tree and got a bunch of clear shoe box size boxes and have separated his toys into them.  This way the floor isn't covered with toys.  He has about 3 boxes out a time and I plan on switching them out every other week or so.  It was driving me crazy.  Now it's all organized.  Still a mess after everything is out, but much more manageable.
Okay, little cheeky guy is making me a present to change so I'm off to do that.....