7 Quick Takes

It is Friday again and time for 7 Quick Takes. I love doing these. So let the fun begin!! To see more quick takes, visit Conversion Diary

1. Why am I posting my pregnancy stories? I vividly remember being pregnant and terrified that something awful would happen. In those times, God put someone in my path who had been in a similar situation and things had turned out ok. It is my hope and prayer that I might do the same for someone else.

2. After bedtime, Junior came into the living room visibly upset. He said he had pulled the whiskers off of Daisy's plaster/plastic/not-alive rabbit. He said he deserved a spanking. Looking at his face, I could tell he was punishing himself enough.

Instead I explained grace.

It is such a privilege to watch this little boy grow up and see him grow into a godly young man.

3. Daisy came in to tell us that Junior was complaining of a stomach ache and wouldn't stop crying and apologizing. She was worried about her brother who had just broken something special of hers.

I just have to say, my kids are awesome.

4. Daisy thinks maybe her tooth fairy died. I think maybe its the flu that is going through the tooth fairy town. (I am not sure if she still believes or is just playing along). So Tamara Tooth Fairy really needs to visit tonight.

If she doesn't forget again.

5. I am the new Scholastic coordinator for our homeschool group. This is something I am really excited about and am really going to enjoy.

I just wonder about those questionable books. There are some books that cause some contraversy (like the Golden Compass books) and I don't want to censor. I just wonder if someone orders a book that I have heard some debate on, if I should let the person ordering know.

There is a book out now called Conversations with God that is being pushed by Oprah and other things. Apparently this book is not Biblically based even though you might think it was. So if you ordered this for your teen, would you want me to call and let you know about the contraversy (not wanting to censor, just to let people know they may want to pre-read)? What do you think?

6. I am still working on the youth fair recipe posts. I will hopefully get them up sometime on friday.

7. I rented The Princess Bride and My Fair Lady for Daisy and me. Junior enjoyed Princess Bride even though he didn't want to. He hates My Fair Lady. Daisy is enjoying both of them although she thinks they sing too much in My Fair Lady. She also thought that about The King and I and any other musical we have watched.

Maybe it is because her mom is prone to breaking out in song for no apparent reason.

Her mom is also prone to making up songs like "I know something you don't know" sung to the tune of Camptown Races.

I did it !

Well I finally was able to walk/jog the entire 20 minutes(plus walking for 5 min as a warm up). So the total distance was about 2 miles.

It is probably pretty funny watching me on my walk/jog. I have my dogs following me, and the neighbor dogs running along too. So I can have 5 or 6 dogs going back and forth with me. Then today my kids went along too on their bicycles. I just need a marching band to go with me.

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We took Daisy to the eye dr about her contacts - with the littles, they like to follow up in 2 weeks to see how they are doing. They were very impressed with how well she has done. The first day on taking them out she needed some help, she wasn't sure if they were out or in and she didn't have a close up mirror yet. Other than that, she has needed no help.

And she has worn them everyday except when she was at camp (she didn't want them falling in the mud.)

Honestly she does better than I do.

I made a 1 year prescription last 5 years. To be fair, I didn't wear contacts most of those five years (they are the disposable ones).

How our family grew to a family of three -- part III

Tonight at church we were discussing when we felt closest to God. What time was it when we clung to Him.

While I would love to say that my walk with Him is wonderful and close every day, I have to confess that it's not. I would love for it to be true, especially if that meant I didn't have to go through trying times.

My pregnancies remain the longest time I clung to God with every fiber of my being. I had no choice. Clinging to Him was what kept me sane and somewhat at peace.

If you missed the previous installments here they are Part I and Part II

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I suppose I should confess, I really wanted to kick those women who would smile and serenely say "I just loved being pregnant." The urge is gone now, and I truly am glad for them. I just really didn't want to hear it when I was pregnant.

After my surgery, I thought I could go back to work. First day on the job though, I started cramping so that was it. I was home for the rest of the pregnancy.

I still had to take it easy, but wasn't on bedrest. We would go out to our favorite restaurant where someone delighted in telling people I was pregnant with twins.

Until I threatened her.

Then she stopped.

I was overweight before I got pregnant. Then on bedrest, there was little to do besides eat and read. So I gained more than I wanted to know. Plus, I am one of those that carries big so I did look like I could be carrying twins, or more. sigh

I never had any braxton-hicks contractions. I wanted to, I was curious. But I got the real thing. I don't remember exactly when they started but sometime around the beginning of the 3rd trimester I was having problems with preterm labor.

Contractions would start, not painful but noticeable. I would go to the hospital, be hooked up to the monitors. Then I would get an injection to stop labor, and when things calmed down, would go home. As a side note, Daisy had hiccups alot and it was cute to hear those on the monitor.

I would be given terbutaline to stop the contractions. That stuff makes coffee look like a sedative! We went for breakfast after one of the hospital trips and I was too jittery to finish my breakfast. That's bad when a pregnant woman is too jittery to eat.

After about 3 trips to the hospital, I was put on terbutaline pills to stop the contractions. I had to take it every 3 hours. Even at night. But it was worth it, I got used to it, and it seemed to get better again.

Things mostly calmed down for a bit.

Oh, except we moved.

Isn't that exactly what you want to do when you are 7 months pregnant?

Luckily, my family drove up to help and got us moved in one weekend. I would unpack a box then go and rest. Then unpack another.

And so it went until things were unpacked. Things were uneventful until the few days before I was to give birth.

to be continued Part IV

pheww!!!

Do you remember this post where I stated that I was going to post on whether or not I worked out, because embarrassment would make me work out?

Or how about this one where I promised I would get back to working out on Monday, January 26?

Oops.

With all that has been going on, and me being a stress eater, I have added a few pounds. Only about 4 and I caught myself which is progress for me.

So I started working out again, not using the Wii yet (because it's gonna fuss at me, both programs). But I've started the Couch to 5K program.

Sort of.

Since I am sooooooooooo out of shape, I am modifying the first week or so. Day 1 I walked for 25 minutes, day 2 I walked for 5 and then did the walk/jog like they recommend but only for 10 minutes, and did that again today.

It is only supposed to be 3 days a week, but since I haven't done a full day yet . . . .

I just finished a workout. So right now, I am contemplating death.

I watch the Biggest Loser, and there is the one girl Tara who will slow down her workouts to throw up and then go back to it.

I can't push myself that hard. I get queasy and slow down.

But we have a family trip to the beach this summer.

Which means a swimsuit.

sigh

So I have got to push myself harder.

bigger sigh

In case you are wondering, I am a bookworm

This is something I saw floating around Facebook so I thought I would look at it. Its official. I am a bookworm.

Apparently the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. That's disturbing.
Instructions:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read, italicize those you want to read.
2) Tally your total at the bottom.


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare -- I've read parts but not all
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding I tried so hard to read this one, it is one of the few I hated
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tart
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Well, I have read 34 of them. According to the BBC figures, I have read almost as much as 6 people.

I may just add some of these to my 9/9/9 challenge. Any that you really loved that I haven't read yet?

how differences can work for us

After the first day of competition we went to a late breakfast at Ihop and Daisy wanted to try something new, so she got the cheese omelet. She really liked it, but was interested in trying one of the fancier omelets (specifically the spinach and mushroom with hollandaise sauce, yep my kids eat weird).

I told her that her dad makes awesome omelets. So while he was telling her how (cuz she asked), I started thinking about our drastically different cooking styles.

Hubby excels at stuff like omelets, chicken fried steak, one pot "throw togethers," hamburgers and stuff like that.

My omelets look like scrambled egg, I am doing better at the throw togethers but its not my comfort zone.

But I made my first loaf of yeast white bread at 13 (Mom was out of town and Dad had no idea what a mess it would make). Baking is still one of my favorite ways to cook.

Until recently a good portion of the meals I cooked used pasta in some way (hubby didn't really like pasta that much in the beginning).

I do stuff with the odd tools in the kitchen, I do canning, pressure cooking, and alot of stuff in the crock-pot.

I love experimenting with new recipes. Hubby will look up a few versions of a recipe and then go in the kitchen and make something up.

These drastically different cooking styles are great when looking at our kids. Hubby can teach them how to flip stuff in the pan (he says he can teach me too) and I can teach them how to bake, not just following the recipe but if it looks right.

I can teach them how to make an amazing homemade gravy (hubby uses a mix) but he can teach them how to do the chicken fried steak.

By the time we have taught our kids what we each know, they will be amazing in the kitchen and will hopefully be fearless.

And that is one way differences can work for us and not against us. What about you?

I messed up the feed

Ok, I am feeling a little uncomfortable about having to post this. I am just picturing people saying "but why on earth would anyone want to subscribe to her feed." But I know there are some others who have subscribed and they aren't getting the updates because I am a dork. (that dates me doesn't it).

I thought I would try using feed burner because I found it may have some features that I thought was cool.

Now I can't remember what they were, but I seem to be stuck with feedburner for now. Despite my computer geek tendencies, this is something that I don't understand.

What I didn't realize was that everyone who had subscribed to my blog would no longer get updates.

Ok, I don't know what I was thinking.

Clearly it was stupid.

And very aggravating.

So I am going to send this through the old feed (I hope) and then if you don't see an update in a couple of days, try going to my blog.

So if you have subscribed to my feed and it has been saying that I haven't updated in like 5 weeks (until today), that's why. Apparently that also applies to the blog roll things and such through blogger.

The only way I can figure out to fix the problem is if you re-subscribe to my feed. sigh I am sorry, if I could fix this on my own, I would.

I will put the settings back on feedburner tonight or tomorrow or Feedburner may fix itself again.

SIGH

How our family grew to a family of three - part II

My baby girl is gone to church camp for the first time and we are missing her dreadfully. In honor of that, I thought I would do the next installment (don't worry there aren't that many on how we grew to a family of 3. I don't think there will be anyway.

In case you missed it and want to read it here is part I.

-----------------------------------

So I went back to work, thrilled and sure it would be an easy pregnancy. We told the granparents-to-be who were all delighted, although my father kept saying he was too young to be a grandfather.

Then one morning there was spotting.

I immediately panicked and called the Dr. and insisted that I thought I was miscarrying and I needed to be seen.

That was another terrifying drive to his office. Another ultrasound and the baby is fine. It must just be some of the first-trimester spotting that sometimes happen. But then I got an exam.

The doctor found an incompetent cervix which means when the baby got big enough, there would be a miscarriage. The baby essentially starts to fall out. Normally it is only found after one or two miscarriages and I am not sure why I was blessed enough to have it found before I lost a baby.

There is a procedure called a cerclage, where the cervix is sewn shut but it can't be done until 12 weeks and I was around 8. So I was put on strict bedrest. I was allowed to go to the dr weekly, I cheated and went by the church library afterwards and would check out a stack of books and I was allowed to go to the bathroom.

Bedrest sounds lovely . . . until you have it.

And being alone with your thoughts when you know that there is a good chance that the baby that you love won't make it . . . was hard.

I am so grateful to God though. I had . . . wandered away from Him after high school and in the year or two before this He had been wooing me back to Him. In this time I clung to Him and my faith grew so much deeper. When fear would rise, which happened often, I would quote Jeremiah 29:11 and the assurance that somehow HE would make it alright in the end even if my baby died.

New Years Eve 1998 I had my surgery that, I thought, would make the pregnancy go perfectly. The surgery went well, no complications, not a whole lot of discomfort.

I really thought that I would have a smooth pregnancy after it.

Silly me.

To be continued Part III

7 Quick Takes Friday

I Enjoy 7 Quick Takes especially when I am tired and my brain isn't functioning as well. Which means I am even flakier than usual.

1. We did County Youth Fair this week, it was something I had never done or seen before so it was a learning experience for all of us. I am glad that it went as well as it did, but glad its over. I am not going to procrastinate until the last minute again this year.

Stop laughing!

2. Daisy placed 3rd in Desserts category with Pineapple Bread Pudding. This stuff is good and has no raisins. We also found out that she could have entered more than one category. Since she had to make a loaf of french bread anyway, she could have entered that into the yeast bread category. Oh well. I will post a recipe with directions and pictures later.

3. Junior is absolutely thrilled with his blue ribbon for his applesauce bread. I was able to observe his interview and could see him describe using the microplane to grate nutmeg. He didn't know what the spice was or the tool, but he did the movements like he was grating it and I heard him say "and it smells really strong!" They don't give placement to the peewees, but there was only 2 peewees with bread anyway.

Yep, this is the same recipe that Daisy won 1st place at her first 4-H Food and Nutrition contest. It's one of my great-grandmother's recipes and she was an amazing cook. She would be thrilled to see her great-great-grandkids cooking from her recipes. I will post the recipe with pictures later. I just don't feel like getting my camera.

4. Daisy is on her first ever camp without a parent. (We went girl scout camping but I went along for that). She is so extremely excited. She left today and comes back Sunday after church. It is going to be a long weekend for Junior and I (Hubby will be working most of the weekend.) As we drove way from the church where we dropped her off Junior sighed and said "I am going to miss Sissy."

5. With her being gone for the weekend, I thought Junior and I could do some fun stuff, BUT he woke up this morning with his eyes glued shut so he should probably stay home. So I may spend the weekend playing the Wii.

6. We did rabbit show this morning. Ugh. We had to be there at 6:45. We don't do mornings like that. But we made it, we were the 2nd ones there. Nearly froze, but we were there. I want a nap though.

7. There were 21 kids competing with the rabbits, the top 12 went to sale. Daisy's pen was ranked 14. The shape and all were good, they were just seriously undersized. They needed about 1 more pound on them - they need to be as close to 5 pounds as possible, so one pound off is a huge deal. Daisy is fine with her results, she didn't want them to go to auction because of her church trip which starts before the auction. All in all we are pleased with how the rabbits did, apparently we have good genetics.

Mistaken identity

I just found Missy blog "It's Almost Naptime." She has the funniest post RIGHT HERE.

It got me to thinking about a case of mistaken identity that happened several years ago here. Daisy was about 3 and she wanted some lotion on her feet. So she carried a tube in to her daddy. He assumed that she knew what it was, and so just applied it to her feet.

A few minutes later she came to me, horrified, because the skin was peeling off her feet.

It didn't hurt, but she was sure that it wasn't supposed to happen that way.

Daisy, being 3, couldn't read and thought it was lotion. Her daddy didn't bother to read it but probably wouldn't have known what a "peel off mask" was anyway.

I don't think they teach that in auto mechanics.

Because I need some funny

I need to giggle and I don't want my blog to have people running for their antidepressants.

So I thought I know, I will post one of my most embarrassing moments.

Sometimes God has a sense of humor and puts opposites together, for example I have never seen hubby embarrassed. I still blush easily.

Before we had kids, we had gone to the store to get some things. I had been on antibiotics for a sinus infections and had gotten one of those lovely followup infections.

I have to get a few things in the basket before I get that little box (which is way bigger than it needs to be) and put it, face down, under some of the other items.

So we then finish our shopping and go to check out.

Hubby is one of those math people that likes to keep a running total in their head and then giving what the total is before the checkout person. He used to be able to add the tax in his head too but now he just gives and estimate that is usually fairly accurate.

This time his estimate was off, by about $13. He puzzled over it and then he remembered the box.

"OH, it was your yeast infection medication! How much is yeast infection medication?"

Loudly.

Very loudly.

All I could do is hiss "Will you shut up!"

I lived.

He never did that again.

I knew February would be a crazy month

I just didn't realize what a difficult month it would be.

And it's only half over.

I have had the usual minor problems. Stupid and inconvenient things like burning my hand (nearly better by the way, except for the peeling). Hassles like illnesses and immunizations.

Then there has been the stuff that has me on my knees, a friends dad's fight with cancer, a friend's husband's diagnosis of cancer, a mentor's cancer returning.

Today I found out that someone that I have been friends with for a long time, our parents are friends, suddenly passed away. She left behind 2 small children (about the ages of mine) and her parents are in failing health. She was 36.

She had sent me an email - one of those forwards - and I was going to send her an email back, after . . . the wedding or youth fair or when I had a chance to think.

I always think there is more time later.

Whats your favorite letter?

Junior and I were going over the letters of the alphabet. On a whim I asked what was his favorite letter. I thought maybe "j" because its the first letter of his name or "s" because its a fun sound and looks like a snake.

"A" is what Junior picked. Ok, first letter of the alphabet, I can see that.

Except it is because "'a' makes everyone jump."

Huh?

"On Leggo Batman and Leggo Starwars, 'a' makes them jump. 'B' make them get their light saber out. And fight."

On the Wii.

sigh

I don't know if any other letters have any value now.

Metaphor Monday

Jenni over at One Thing has started Metaphor Monday, and since I actually have one (Yay me!) I thought I would play.


I am not a very patient person behind the wheel. I have been know to drive a fair distance out of my way to avoid waiting.

The other night I was coming home and my route was to go over train tracks. As I got close to the tracks, the bar came down and a train beat me to it. (I wasn't tempted to outrun the train. I am a giant chicken).

I mulled over the idea of going some other way, some detour so I wouldn't have to wait on the train. sigh Any effort of getting around the train would end up taking much longer than just waiting.

Then I got to thinking, how often do I do that with God.

How often do I get tired of waiting for Him to do something and want to take over. How often to I try to detour around His path for me and end up delaying something that I want/need/ask for.

Why is it so hard sometimes to "Be still and know He is God."

Homeschool Freebies -- not just for homeschoolers

There is a great resource that is for homeschoolers but those who don't homeschool might find some interesting things. Each day there is a link to a new freebie and the old link doesn't work. You really ought to check it out. Here is what they are doing this coming week.

Monday, Feb 16th:
Great President's Day Resource Links! (links)

Want to make the most of President's Day? Check out these
Lesson Plans, virtual tours, poetry & the actual papers
of presidents Washington & Lincoln!


Tuesday, Feb 17th:
A Chinese Wonder Book (PDF ebook)

This fascinating collection of Chinese stories and legends,
edited by Maggie Hogan of Bright Ideas Press, is a great
literature-based introduction to the rich history and
culture of China. Includes a read-aloud guide.


Wednesday, Feb 18th:
"Harriet Tubman & the Railway to Freedom" (MP3 audio)

A classic old time radio dramatization of the story of
Harriet Tubman and the activities of
the "underground railroad" during slave years.


Thursday, Feb 19th:
Blessed Is The Man: High School Unit Study Sampler (PDF ebook)

"Blessed is the Man" is a wonderful High School Unit Study
geared to Christian young men, and based on Psalm 1.
Today's resource is this extensive 74 page preview
of the complete four year curriculum - normally $10 on the
publisher's website - but yours to download today!
If you have growing boys in your household, DON'T MISS THIS!


Friday, Feb 20th:
Creatively Simple: How to Make Butter in the Blender (PDF ebook)

Learning to make butter is something everyone should do at least once.
This simple ebook by Penny Raine can teach you how, using items you
probably already have in your kitchen. Detailed instructions and lots of
pictures.

You can get all of these on their respective days at

www.HomeschoolFreebieOfTheDay.com

How our family grew to a family of three

As far as I am concerned every single baby is a miracle. Even if the pregnancy is perfect, and the birth is perfect and no complications whatsoever -- the baby is a miracle.

Sometimes though, you realize what a miracle it is that the baby is alive. I nearly lost both of my babies.

In the fall of '98 we had been trying to conceive for 1 1/2 years. One of the agonies of infertility is that each month you feel hopeful and think you are noticing pregnancy symptoms and then you take a test.

And it is negative.

Again.

And you feel like crying.

I had another negative test and then was waiting for my period so we could try again. A few days later, still waiting, I took progesterone to start things up and . . . still no period.

Then I started cramping.

But somehow it was different.

So for some reason, I took another pregnancy test. This time it was positive. The elation of finally having a positive was countered by the fear that I may have killed my baby.

I called my gyno and was told to come in immediately. Because of the progesterone I had taken, I needed to continue taking progesterone in order to keep the pregnancy. I had a sonogram and everything looked fine, but there wasn't anyway to tell if there had been damage done yet so I was given another appointment in a week.

At the time, I didn't realize how much the doctor was worried for me.

At the next appointment, I saw a former co-worker there with her husband. They were there to have a follow-up ultrasound to check their pregnancy, there hadn't been a heartbeat the week before but maybe the baby was too young. I saw them as they left and could tell from the look on their faces the news was bad. This made it harder for me to be optomistic, especially since I tend to be a glass-half-empty type.

When I was finally called back for my appointment, there was a beautiful, strong heartbeat on the ultrasound.

So I thought I would have an easy pregnancy after that. But I was wrong.

to be continued Part II

The coolest part of getting a blog award

What do you think the coolest part of getting an award would be?

Well, yes, it's great that you know at least one person thinks you deserve it (while part of you is wondering how many people think their drunken cat writes better.)

Ok, maybe its just me that feels that way.

To me, the coolest part is seeing who it gets passed on to.

I am eagerly anticipating to see who is the next generation of awardees (if that makes sense).

Some of them have passed on the award and I have found new blogs to follow (which I probably don't need).

The thing is, some may think that blogging is silly, and a waste of time, etc.

I don't think it is. I think it is the modern version of a quilting bee or some other gathering.

Women used to gather together and be be able to discuss things like what to do with a colicky baby or the best recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Now we are in such a mobile society, that we don't have those bonds. Blogging can create some of those bonds.

Blogging can allow us to be unwitting ministers.

Back to what I was saying, I was eagerly anticipating who all the award would be passed on to. The first one that posted their list, I had to check them all out. One of the blogs had a post that moved me to comment (and for a shy person that's saying alot). She emailed me back with a response to the comment and a little more info. I kept writing a reply in my head, so I finally typed it up and sent it, including some fairly personal stuff that A. I hadn't thought of in years and B. was afraid I would sound crazy for mentioning it.

In fact, I said "I don't really know why I told you all this. I suppose there was some reason I mentioned something I haven't thought about in 5 years."

There was. She had been asking her husband and best friend a question that my email answered. My crazy email. The email that I though might get me labeled as a really weird freak.

So the best part of getting a blog award is the friends that you make.

She can see clearly now . . .

Just as a note, I probably shouldn't write posts while I have a headache. I now realize that I was rambling a bit on that last post.

Just be glad I didn't write one last night.

after taking 1/2 a vicodan

which is more than enough to make my head float.

Anyway

I took Daisy to get some contacts today.

We actually tried to do it last year but I made the mistake of allowing hubby along who never thinks that too much information is a bad thing.

We were waiting for the Dr to come in when he says "You know Daisy, if the contact solution stings, we can mix up something that won't sting. When I first got contacts the solution hurt my eyes, but we were able to get something that wouldn't burn."

I was screaming telepathically "SHUT UP!!!" which by the way doesn't really work.

All Daisy heard was "It will feel like your eyeballs are on fire."

Needless to say, she didn't get contacts last year.

This year, I had her put some of my saline solution on her finger and put it in her eye a few times. Then I explained that sometimes you get a little scratch on your eye and it might sting for a few seconds, like a cut in the shower.

So when we went today she was a little nervous but not too badly.

They had her put in her right contact first and it only took 30-40 tries. Then the left contact took about 20 tries.

Then they said "Now we need to show you how to take them out." She found that aggravating, but it only took about 10 tries.

Then they told her to put it back in.

She nearly refused but it only took 2 or 3 tries to get it in.

She now loves them. She hated the lines around the glasses and no longer has that. She had a bit of trouble getting one of them out tonight (she couldn't tell if it was in or out), but was finally able to get it.

Junior found the whole process tortuous, informed me that he "can see just fine." Then said "I can't watch" when she was putting the contacts in. I really do prayerfully every day thank God that he doesn't have to wear glasses. I am pretty sure he would break a pair every month. or more often.

Then he was standing by the door and saw himself in the magnification mirror and said "Mommy, is my head on upside down?"

Which then led to a facination at the distortion done by the mirror.

Boys are just different.

I could be a brilliant blogger

If you had any idea of some of the posts I write in my head . . . you would be in awe. Some of the best stuff I have come up with doesn't make it to my blog. I have some severe difficulties to overcome such as my laptop doesn't work in the shower; my hubby doesn't like the glare of the screen in bed (not to mention its hard to type lying down); and I don't think it's safe to write while driving. If I could overcome these challenges . . . .

I really think I come up with my best stuff in the shower, driving or when I am trying not to go to sleep.

Then there is the stuff that I would love to write because it is so funny, but part of it would absolutely humiliate someone. It's one thing to make myself sound like an idiot (which I frequently am, ask how I burned my hand) but it is another to do it to someone else.

I also think that the kind of blogs a person reads, says alot about them. I am kind of picky about which blogs I read. Some of them challenge me, some make me laugh, some tug at my heart. Most of them are people I would like to be friends with IRL although some do intimidate me (I am easily intimidated).

So with all that in mind, I received the Lovely Award from Crystal, a friend that I made in marketing class. She is an amazing lady with an awesome ministry (click on her name to go to her blog and find out more about her ministry). She gave me this award:

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

So my challenge was to narrow down my list to only 8 blogs.

That is so hard to do! I really needed to be able to award 10, but I stuck to the rules and chose eight. The odd thing is some of these people have no idea I have been stalking following them. I am horribly shy and so typically just lurk listen.

These bloggers are people I want to be friends with because they sound like girls I would love to sit and have coffee with. So in no particular order . . . the award goes to:

Lifting my Eyes

Oh Be Careful!

Enjoying the Story

The Picket Fence

From the Desk of a Princess

Write Stuff

Smockity Frocks

Hanging out the Wash

Please go check out their blogs.

I hate cancer

I know February is heart disease month, and I hate heart disease too. It has affected both my and my hubby's family.

Right now though, I really hate cancer.

Cancer took one friend's father, another friend's dad is fighting it. Cancer took my grandfather and my dad has been fighting it.

And a friend's husband has just been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He has 5 children and the youngest two are only a year older than my kids.

I just wanted to say, life is short go hug your kids, your spouse, your dog or your cat. Go hug someone and tell them you love them.

Not the goldfish though. They really don't like hugs.

7 quick takes

For something a little different (and because I am tired) I thought I would try the 7 quick takes for Friday.

Its still Friday in Colorado where my parents sort of live.

And its still friday in California . . . but I don't know anyone in California.

So it totally counts.

Anyway, so here goes

1. My new black shoes are very comfortable when I am not wearing hose. With hose, they are instruments of torture.

2. Silly putty changes consistancy when it gets wet. It makes it more sticky or something, so that it sticks to skin.

3. I realized the other day, that no matter how much better I think I am doing, I am still an idiot. I was making some hot tea yesterday and for some stupid reason held the cup in my hand while I poured the boiling water. Now my left hand has a nasty looking burn on the top/back/not the palm that covers about half of my hand. Fortunatly it isn't hurting anymore.

Much.

4. I am so thankful I don't have to drive in Houston any big city traffic. In the small town we live, we had a "traffic jam" that lasted for further than I have ever seen it. I think it was about 6 blocks.

5. My feet are still killing me from the shoes I wore tonight.

6. My sister is getting married tomorrow and we are so excited.

7. I won my first blog award yesterday! I will tell you more about it later and pass the award on to other bloggers.

Ok, since my family has now gone to sleep, and I am having to type this in a dark hotel room (my typing is better than I thought), I am going to stop now and go to sleep myself.

If there is anything that is spelled wrong, its because of the dark and I am about to doze off.

Sorry.

Because I am a mean horrible mommy

I took my kids today to get their immunizations.

And because I am not stupid, I didn't tell them why we were there. When we got out of the car, Junior said "I am not sick" and I said "nope, I am."

They were kind of puzzled that their names were called and not mine but it wasn't until right before the injection that they had the slightest idea. Although since I promised Marble Slab for after we were done, that should have been a hint that it wasn't going to be a fun stop.

Daisy did say that it was the better way to do it, otherwise they would have been upset for the hour we waited before the shot. I don't think I will be able to get away with it again though.

So tonight, Junior is looking at his 2 bandaids on the leg and asks which one is the "pawster."

I have no idea so I ask him to repeat it. "Which one is the pawster?"

"Uh, J-man what I am hearing is 'pawster' "

"That's right."

I look at Daisy and she looks as confused as I am. She says "What is a 'pawster'?"

Deep breath, "You know when there is a good guy and he is a good guy and there is a bad guy who looks like the good guy but he is a bad guy and he takes the good guy and petends to be the good guy but he is a bad guy."

"Oh! An imposter!"

"Uh huh. I'm looking for the impawster. This one has a hole but this one has blood."

"Um, Sweetie, they both were shots." He turns and looks at me, horrified.

"I got two shots on this leg?!?!?"

"Yes."

"It hurts so much worser!"

We get by with a little help from our friends

I don't know why I have that song running through my head. At least it isn't "wake me up before you go-go" which has been in my head for 3 days. Its one of the more annoying songs.

Yesterday Junior was sitting in my lap muttering something I didn't understand. So I asked him to repeat it.

He said he wasn't talking to me.

"I was talking to my imaginary friend."

Oh.

So I asked what his name was, Junior muttered something, and then said "he is gone now."

So whats his name? "I don't know, I haven't named him yet."

As long as he is not as much trouble as IDunno and Waddn'tMe I am happy to have him here.

I'm not dead yet! I'm feeling better.

If you don't recognize the title, it may because you aren't hearing the British accent.

If you still don't recognize it, I am so sorry. That's just sad. Depending on how you look at it, either I had a mispent youth, or you are deprived. Go rent Monty Python's Meaning of Life Holy Grail and see what I am talking about. (A friend pointed out the wrong title. However both Meaning of Life and Holy Grail are brilliant).

I have decided I am fighting some sort of bug, but I don't know what kind. My only symptom seems to be narcolepsy.

I did better yesterday, I only took a 4 hour nap. For the record, I almost never nap. I take maybe 6 naps a year, and I have used half of those already.

I have got the best husband in the world, he fed and entertained the kids for the 3rd night in a row.

Prickly

When I read Four Square's post about this and then this post, I didn't get it.

I haven't felt "touched out" since I was nursing.

I did yesterday.

And this morning.

So I had no caffeine today.

Then I got a migraine.

When I stopped flinching at every heart beat, I drank some strong tea and got rid of 95% of my headache.

I still don't know what's wrong. I just don't feel well.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband and he did everything the past 2 evenings while I was in bed.

Ya'll, I was in bed 25 hours out of 48. That is not like me.

And now, I think I am going to go back to bed.