Precious Memories

I fell in love all over again with my boys today. I pulled down a box of pictures, that need to be scrabooked, with the job of pulling out C's. (I have to start on his baby book...he's already 4 and we have nothing to show him on his birthday...and he ALWAYS asks!) Well, I started flying through pictures and found some of a vacation, some of another vacation, and some of family. Then I found the envelope that contained the boys. I put all of B's back and pulled out C's, knowing they would contain several shots of B as well.

I saw some of him as a baby. I saw some of him crawling. Then I found the pack that I had taken (as I did with B) at 6 months...in Black and White. I practically cried! They were so precious and there is so much more visibility with Black and White photo's. Then I moved on to the pack that had the delivery and hospital photos. I cried all over again remembering the emotions that were swirling through me that morning.

The boys walked in at that point and asked what I was looking at. So I invited them over by me and showed the all the photos and explained what was what and who was where in each one. It was so precious to hear their squeals of delight when they saw themselves as babies, or laughing when they saw themselves doing something silly (like eating birthday cake and having it ALL OVER!).

My boys are so precious to me. I may get mad at them and they may drive me crazy, but I love them dearly. Flipping through these pictures simply reminded me how much. I'm so thankful for the chance to put these memories in a permanant form and be able to look at them from time to time.

All is well

We got C's blood work results and all levels are well within normal. We (of course) were particularly interested in the iron levels and he is on the high side of normal with that. So Praise GOD! :)

We just need to work on more sleep and a daily vitamin (which I confess, I haven't been diligent in giving them. I'm sure there are minerals and things they're not getting that they need....so now they will get them!)

Thanks for the thoughts!

Use your own band-aids!

Oh my goodness.... :( What a bad and emotional day yesterday was. About 430, C comes to me asking me to take his band-aids off...they were annoying him. But I looked at them and could tell they were practically glued to the skin, so I told him we'd wait till after dinner to do them. Well, I hadn't counted on what happened during the evening and us not getting to eat until 8 PM. But that is what happened. We did some schoolroom rearranging and that took a couple hours...so eating dinner came late.

So after dinner, I go back to work on the schoolroom and Terry works on C's band aids. All I hear was screaming and crying from that room. :( Terry was using a wet rag to moisten the area and try to ease them off. But they were literally pulling his skin. After 45 minutes he finally got the first one off. Then he had to start the other arm, which seemed to be stuck worse. There was actually a welt on his skin from where the band aid had been. We used aloe vera gel to help get it all smushy, but that didn't work. I don't have any baby oil, and Terry didn't want to mess with butter or canola oil. So, we just kept working on C's arms. After about an hour and a half, we were able to just get them off. C was so exhausted from crying and exhausted from the day yesterday that he conked out soon after.

SO! Lesson learned: WE NEED TO TAKE OUR OWN BAND-AIDS FROM NOW ON! The ones I have just fall off in a couple hours. I just don't understand why they don't use a 'nicer' band-aid on kids. Plus, with C (who hates any type of picking-contact like trimming nails, hair cuts, etc) this just made his whole day that much worse. For most of us that would be a 1 or a 2, for C it is a 9 or 10. He is just ultra sensitive to that sort of thing.

But he hadn't been down long (maybe a couple hours) and he woke up last night in a night terror. It didn't last long, (we've learned how to help him through them) and I was able to get them back to bed.

We still haven't heard from the lab about the results. I hope we hear soon. I'm so impatient! LOL

Blood work

Over the past few weeks, we've been noticing that C has been really tired all the time. He's been falling asleep in the early evening and just gets tired really easy. We have tried getting him more sleep and rest, but it still seems to be an issue. We thought maybe we'd have him tested again for anemia. I knew it would be an issue with him so we didn't tell him until this morning. What a tense morning! He fretted all morning about it, especially cuz I kept telling him to go drink water (to help hydrate his veins and make it easier). Well, we got there (terry was with us) and B and I waited in the waiting room. C and Terry went in to the lab area. As soon as they started, I could hear C screaming and crying. I was so upset. I tried to get in the door and they had it locked!!! So I waited by the door until he calmed down a bit and then knocked on the door. The tech that let me in told me the flow stopped and they'd have to go again on the other arm to get it all.

Well, before we had gotten there this morning, C told me he didn't want to lay down on their bed so I told him we'd see if he could sit up. Well, for the first part they did it sitting up. But for the second stick they were gonna have to have him lay down. His little face was so pitiful....he just cried the entire time we pushed him to a laying-down position on the bed. He screamed bloody-murder the moment they put the rubber tourniquet on his arm. And then screamed more when they actually stuck him. They were able to get the blood they needed, but by then I was crying too. C was practically hysterical and actually told the lady he didn't like her! LOL (I know, not nice, but can you blame him??)

After that, we went and ate lunch and C got to pick the place (Chinese, of course!). While there, I asked Terry if it bothered him as much as it did me? and he said, yes. He's just able to hide it better than me. I can handle the blood, the needle, and all that. I just can't handle the helpless feeling I get when I can't help my baby. I have to make him stay there and practically be tortured by those needles. I know it is for his own health and good, but it still breaks me every time we have to do this. :( I told Terry that if the results of these tests require more tests, I will ask them to give us a sedative or relaxer or something to help calm C's nerves before hand. There is no reason to have to put a child through that. (He's even a hard enough stick that the girls at Children's hospital in St. Louis had a hard time getting blood from him 2 years ago.)

Hopefully we'll get the results in a day or so. One of the tests had to be sent off, so it could take a couple days. I hate the waiting! :)

The Dark Room

The Dark Room by Minette Walters
Amazon.com
ISBN: 978-0-307-27709-1
Review for Armchair Interviews
4 Stars out of 5

Jinx Kingsley wakes up in a strange room only to be told that she’s been in a head-on collision (with a concrete pole, no less) and is now in a hospital. Apparently, they say, she tried to commit suicide. But Jinx doesn’t believe this. She doesn’t remember anything, but simply can’t make herself believe that she is the type to kill herself. Even though her best friend and her fiancé just ran off together is no reason to off herself. She was happy about it! Wasn’t she??

But then the police come to question her and she finds out that her two friends are now dead…and the police suspect her or someone in her family. How can Jinx clear her name when she can’t remember anything? All she knows is this sense of panic and fear. Who could have done this? Who would want to set her up? Can she figure it out before it’s too late? Dr. Alan Protheroe is at the clinic with Jinx and works to help her regain her memory. But in the process, an attempt is made on his life as well and he realizes just how serious this situation is. Can he protect Jinx? He knows she didn’t do it, but can he figure out who did? There has to be more to this than meets the eye.

Minette Walters does a great job of twisting the tale to keep the reader from figuring out the real killer.

Little Earthquakes

Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
Amazon.com
ISBN: 978-1-4165-2863-0

Jennifer Weiner has done it again with another great novel! Four women are bonded together by their pregnancies and birthing experiences, and continue their friendship during the hard months after. Ayinde deals with a cheating husband while Kelly's husband lost his job and refuses to get another one. Becky has a mother-in-law that just won't quit and a husband who won't stand up to his mother. Through all of this, there is Lia. A woman from Hollywood who follows Becky around, Lia eventually learns to deal with the death of her 10-week old son, Caleb.

Can these women be true friends? Can they get through their problems? Follow them all as they discover their own indivual crises that present themselves as Little Earthquakes.

@ Home for the Holidays

@ Home for the Holidays
by Meredith Efken
Amazon.com
ISBN: 978-0-373-78570-4

Rosalyn finally gets her due in this second installment of an email-based book. Dulcie, Zelia, Jocelyn, Rosalyn, and Veronica all deal with family, husbands, the holidays, and much more. Their connection is an email group called SAHM I Am. A few of the ladies have a subgroup called Green Eggs and Ham where they go to vent about Rosalyn. But Rosalyn's life isn't all she makes it out to be...her house isn't always perfect and her children need therapy. What's so wrong with admitting the truth? Well, with Veronica's (her sister) help, she does. She is able to humble herself and ask for prayers.

A wonderful and easy read by Efken! :)

The White Cascade

The White Cascade by Gary Krist
Amazon.com
ISBN: 978-0805077056
Reviewed for Armchair Interviews
Rating 3 Stars out of 5


Long before cell phones, before airplanes, or before cars were the common mode of transportation, even before Titanic, there was the great avalanche of 1910 in Wellington, Washington.

Gary Krist takes you on an incredible historical journey of the facts leading up to the avalanche: the weather involved, the men who made the decisions, and the passengers on the train. Each area is crucial to the ending of this tragic event in our American history. Krist is able to tell the story truthfully while being able to make it read like a storybook. The characters come to life on the page and their struggles and feelings are felt by the reader.

The weather had a great deal to do with the deaths of nearly 100 people that day, but certainly responsibility also falls on the superintendent of the Wellington area, James O'Neil. Although all court decisions deemed him free of any wrongdoing, it becomes very clear that O'Neil ignored the passengers on the train that was hovering over a 1,000- foot drop. Granted he was working to clear the tracks and never rested for days at a time, but he failed to meet the basic need of his charges: reassurance.

However, it was very clear by the end of the lawsuits that the railroad had learned its lesson about building track on or around mountains. They found new ways to rebuild the track with less risk to passengers, and also built structures as a means for shelter for the trains during snow season.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. It's not one that I would typically pick up and read but I'm glad I had the opportunity to learn about this point in history. Gary Krist pulled me in and held my attention the entire time. I especially enjoyed reading his personal notes from his research, which are included at the end of The White Cascade.

Armchair Interviews says: Kudos to Gary Krist on a job well done!

Author's Web site: http://home.att.net/~gkrist

WOW! It's spring!

Well, I have been stuck in the house for over a week now....10 days to be exact! I hadn't realized how long it had been since I'd been out of the house or had driven a car until today when I had to go get some medicine. We've had sickness here (from fevers to coughing and back) and we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But when I went out today...Oh, WOW! It is SPRING! The grass was so beautifully green, there were flowers everywhere and the dogwoods are in full bloom! The temperature was about 76 degrees, there was a gentle breeze, and the sun was shining. Absolutely beautiful!

It was so nice to be reminded of God's handiwork and to know that the world changes constantly, with or without me! ;)

Here's to spring, good weather, and playing outside!

How does Kellie Pickler use her money?

Some may have seen the American Idol show last week when Kellie Pickler made a guest appearance and sang her song. Ryan Seacrest asked her what she'd been spending her money on and she said, "Mostly shoes." Then the camera panned down to her shoes. WELL! It was clearly obvious that she spent her money on MORE than shoes....she had some sort of 'surgery' to enhance her physical appearance...if YKWIM.


I made the mistake of commenting on this in front of my kids (we were all sitting around watching AI) and B asked "What did she spend her money on mom?" I hemmed and hawed for a second and said, "Well, just a surgery to make herself more pretty to some people." Terry said, "Your momma doesn't need that does she...she's got us, right?" And B replied, "Yeah she already had her 2 surgeries to get us!" He was speaking of my C-sections, but it works for me!

My Baby is growing up!

Friday night while eating, B bit his tongue. Well, I thought he did. He came to me crying and holding his mouth and since he bites his tonue all the time, I assumed that is what happened. Well....I calmed him down and told him to swallow his food so he wouldn't choke. Then I told him to sit up so I could look at his tongue. He said, "It wasn't my tongue."

When I asked him what it was, he kinda wiggled his mouth around and said, "This," and spits out a tooth! LOL

It was his first tooth and we didn't even know it was loose. He must have just bit down the right way (or wrong way!) and out it popped. He was a bit scared at first and then I told him about the tooth fairy bringing money for the tooth. That certainly brightened his evening!

But then he asked me, "Mom, is the tooth fairy really real, or do the Mom's and Dad's just do it?"

Love this Cartoon

Thanks to a friend who thought I would enjoy this!

Mentos and Diet Coke

I know we've all seen this, but my family just loves it! :) We goof with this throughout the summer and try to not to get sticky in the process. I'm sure Mentos sales went UP after this, cuz before we couldn't find them anywhere and now they are all over the place! :)

Here are two great video clips:

Extreme Diet Coke Mentos

Ellen Mentos

Enjoy!

The Stork Reality

The Stork Reality by Melena Lott
ISBN: 0-8439-5725-5
Amazon

Malena Lott does a really good job of describing what really happens during pregnancy. It was very true to life and it caused me to remember my days of being pregnant...I was thinking, "Oh, yeah, I remember that!" throughout the entire book. Taylor is constantly battling within herself the idea of staying home after the birth or going back to work. It really proves interesting how Lott handles this very hot topic with many people...she finds a very happy medium that would satisfy most people. And, Taylor goes through labor the 'natural' way....no drugs! I thought it was really interesting that she chose to use this idea for the book...most women would opt for the medication. :) A nice change of pace!

Painting with Oils

We began the process of painting last week. I decided to go ahead and use oils for a couple reasons. One, that is what I use so I'm familiar with it. But most importantly, two, oils stay wet and allow you to blend and mix for a bit which I thought would be helpful. We LOVE Bob Ross and watch his show every week. That is actually where the inspiration to paint on canvas started with B. Well, before we actually started painting we reviewed by watching one of the Joy of Painting shows and focusing on technique. Here are some snapshots of them working and the final works of art.

Ransomed Dreams

Ransomed Dreams by Amy Wallace
CBD.com (Released 4-19-07, pre-order now!)
ISBN: 978-1-59052-747-4
Reviewed for Armchair Interviews
Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Ransomed Dreams immediately throws us into a tragic scene of death – I had tears just reading the prologue! But quickly, Amy Wallace created a guide-book of sorts to moving on with life. Gracie is moving on after the death of her entire family at the hands of a drunk driver; Steven is moving on after the ‘death’ of his marriage when Angela walked out 5 years ago. Each of them have to deal with the lies they have told themselves all these years – the lies that held them ransomed and kept them from moving on and truly living their lives. Slowly they move towards each other during this process. While they are trying to work through their issues, Steven and Gracie are faced with the twisted minds of two criminals who are also figuring out how to move on with their own lives.

Wallace does a fantastic job of keeping it real. While this book is a fiction and romance book, bad things happen in this book, just as in the real world. The characters offer great examples of how you can wrestle with your beliefs and question why bad things happen without letting it consume you. And the friends/family of these people show how being the gentle voice of reason and a constant spiritual support can bring comfort and help to those who are struggling in their faith. My favorite part was when Gracie is thinking of her parents’ home, she equates the feeling of peace and comfort she receives from this place with chocolate. She calls it: “Heart-chocolate. …what her parents provided without even trying. A safe place. Kind words. Gentle hugs. Happy memories. Hope. The kind of chocolate nourishment that didn’t line her hips and thighs.”

An excellent book and an easy read! I’m ready to read the next in this series about Clint and Sara!

Armchair Interviews says: An excellent book and an easy read.
Author's Web site: http://www.amywallace.com

More Pox!

Well, B now has the chicken Pox! :) He woke up with these 'bumps' on his forehead and asked me to look at them. I did and realized what they were and so I checked his trunk area. Sure enough.....POX! LOL Oh well, at least now we have them out of the way for both boys.

But, it messed up our Valentine's Party for our homeschool group. :( That's a bummer, but we'll survive!

Petticoat Ranch

Petticoat Ranch by Mary Connealy
CBD.com
ISBN: 9781597896474

I absolutely loved this book! Mary Connealy is a very gifted writer both in her use of words and her understanding of human nature...men and women! I laughed, I cried, I was scared...all at different times and sometimes within the same page!

Sophie has basically been living on her own her entire married life. When her husband, Cliff, went to war she took care of herself and her girls. Then when he came back from the war, he was a different person and again, she had to care for her family. She did the 'womans' work and the 'mans' work. Then Cliff was unlawfully hung and she was truly alone with her girls.

Then Clay comes along and she feels she must help him...and then he 'tricks' her into marrying him. Sophie and Clay learn what it's like to mesh to stubborn heads and learn quickly what true give and take is all about.

One thing I truly love about this book, is about the time when you think most people would end the story, Mary continues and tells us even more. What a treat! We get more story and more laughter.

The Break-Up

The Break-Up
Starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn

This movie was rated PG-13, and I personally would have rated it R, simply for use of language. Vaughn's character had a horrible potty mouth and used profanity constantly where it was not needed. (But let's face it...when is profanity really needed?) The story was wonderful and truly funny at times, but it made me mad at the end....no true love, romantic ending here! Only break-up and moving on. How unromantic! LOL I know they have to make movies in Hollywood where the story doesn't come out nicely, but the majority of us in life see enough sadness and heartache that we want the movie to have a happily-ever-after ending.

I like Jennifer Aniston, but I wouldn't watch this movie again.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars out of 5

The Illusionist

The Illusionist
starring Edward Norton and Jessica Biel

WOW! This was an awesome movie. And not one I would probably have picked for myself to watch! (A good friend brought movies over.) It started out a bit slow and took a while to get going. And although we did figure out the ending before we actually got to the end, it was still a fascinating story. And the good guys win in the end, which makes it even better! LOL

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars