What nearly a year can do to you....

Eli Immanuel - Born 22 Feb, 2012, Ash Wednesday 

 Eli and Sean - Christmas Day

Hot Blooded

It is so hot here in the heart of Iowa, the HX is well over 115! I'm glad I don't have to work outside in this weather! Just being out the short time to let my brothers dogs use the potty makes me want to get sick.
With the weather as crappy as it it ( I thought I saw a guy outside dressed in red with a pointy tail and a pitchfork) I just want to remind y'all of how dangerous this weather can be.

1. DRINK WATER!! Not iced tea, not soda, water. Your body looses a lot in weather like this and dehydration is not just not fun, but deadly! Give it to your pets, kids and the elderly.
2. CHECK ON ELDERLY FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS - As one get's older, the body keeps less water in it's cells, has a harder time maintaining body temperature and has a hard time recognizing thirst. The elderly are at a far higher risk of heat related illness or death than others. Make sure they have air conditioning, if they don't get them somewhere that does, and OFFER WATER! Every time you enter or leave a room, offer them a drink. This was law at the nursing home I worked at.
3. KEEP PETS INDOORS - Dogs and cats can develop heat related illness in as little as 10 minutes. Keep your fur babies inside with plenty of water.
   
4. NEVER NEVER NEVER LEAVE A CHILD IN A CAR!!!!!!! - I cannot stress this one enough. I know that all it takes is one sleeping baby and one sleep deprived parent for an accident to happen, but please be hyper vigilant. A inside of a car is much hotter than the temperature outside and will get that hot in a matter of minutes. Babies and small children cannot regulate their body temperature as well as adults and will get very sick or die in a short time.

If you do see a child in a car without the motor running,

• GET THEN OUT! If you have to break a window, do so, this child's life is far more important than the insurance clam you might have to file.
  
• CALL 911! Explain what you found and what you did and request an ambulance and police right away.
• GET THE CHILD SOMEWHERE COOL! Get the baby/child into the building and strip the down to their undergarments, then apply cool (not cold) damp cloths to the skin.When inside, have someone to find the parent/guardian.
  
• RESUSCITATE IF NEEDED!!! If the child is not breathing or does not have a pulse, begin mouth-to-mouth and/or CPR. If you do not know how to do these, have someone who does administer. Child CPR is different than adult, so please educate yourself in both.
• STAY WITH THE CHILD UNTIL HELP COMES!!! Even if the child's parent get's there, stay with them until the police arrive, they may need to take your statement.

I hope that none of you ever have to do any of these steeps, but it is better to know what to do and never use it then being in the situation and not knowing what to do.
Just to show how dangorus it is to leave a child in a car in this heat, the local weather crew here actually baked cookies in a car! SERIOUSLY! That's like leaving your baby in the oven!

Please keep safe everyone! Stay cool!

I'm not fat!

One of my favorite lines to tell people when my weight comes up is "I'm not fat! I'm fluffy!" (thanks Miss Lime). But the truth is, I do need to loose some pounds. And I've been trying. My health is relitivly good, need to work on the trigs, but other than that, docotrs arn't too worried about it. But I have been trying.
My plan was, before the babino, to go on a bike ride on the trail by our hous after work at Cookies. That got blown out of the water.
I'm also having a hard time movin' and shakin' it recently because I'm just so tired! I was like this with Sean, where all the energy I have is just sucked out by the growing baby. That's how he got his nick-name.
Does anyone have ay advice on how do get some exercise in when I'm tired and preggo? Help?

It's been a while.

Hello everybody! Sorry for the hiatus. Just a point in my life where blogging wasn't part of it. But I'm back and with big news.

I'm going to be a mommy again! We just found out!
Just like with Sean, Nate and I are both excited and scared, but mostly excited. I'm a little scared because I'll be doing my hospital clinicals 6 months along (where you can walk up to three miles in one day). Fun.
The approximate due date is March 6, 2012 and I'm about 4 weeks along.
YAY!

LOOK OUT!

This blog is going through an over hall!
After who knows how long, I'm finally redesigning my blog. So sorry for the mess and check back soon!

Open Letter to Sean

Dear Sean,
Hello, it's Mommy. I just wanted to take this time to asked you to please stop growing so fast.
I am very proud of you for for learning how to unzip and take off your footie jammies and then take them to your gate and through them out for the laundry; that helps Mommy out a little by letting her rest an extra five minutes so her back will feel well enough to get up. But I miss those little fuzzy sleepy sacks that your noodle legs would kick in and we would snuggle.
You amazed us the other day at lunch, when Granddad leaned across the table at Chicago Speekeasy and asked how old you were. You looked down at your little hand, heaqld up two fingers and exclamed "dwo!" All I can ask is "When did you learn how to talk, let alone figure out how old you are?" Wasn't it yesterday you just found you hands?
You and Daddy have played "So Big" forever, but when did you start saying "Soooo big!" with Daddy?
So I guess what I'm saying is; while I'm very happy and proud of you for learning how to count to five, sing, dance, color, get un-dresses, put your shirt on partway by yourself, and God only knows all the other things that I don't have the time to post here in your two years of life, would you please slow down? I don't think that I can keep up with you and I am missing my baby boy. However, I am having such a good time being your Mommy right now, as this very moment.
Please keep all of these points in mind as you continue to grow.

Love and kisses,
Mommy

Ugh! The Sicks!!!

Lovely day today. (can you hear how thick the sarcasm is in that line?) Strep has been going around the city and lil' Sean’s daycare, only he's not the one who caught it. That's right. Me.
I just had strep real bad back in January (that required an overnight stay at hospital) and this case is pretty bad, too, but was caught in time. Doc says that one more case and he's pulling my tonsils.
The worst part is not being able to really function. With the fever and soar, swollen through and dizziness from the fever and not being able to swallow (so lower blood sugar) I just feel like a blob. Sean at least had a real good day with his great-Grammy and then with Daddy tonight. I just wish I could have done more when Nate's gone (had a little get-together) and Sean woke up and was mad. I don't want him exposed anymore than he already had been, and I don't feel safe holding him with the light-headedness. And boy was he mad!

At least he and I had a good time last night. We went to the mall to drop off some books (our library is temporally located during their renovations). We had a good talk with or three librarian friends and then went to play in the kiddy area. (I'm going to have to management about that they need to enforce the age limit rule. Honor system isn't working and kids are getting hurt)
But the best part was very unusual. There is a wild life educational center that opened up a couple months ago, so Sean and I checked it out. They had real live wolves and a baby cougar there! Don't worry, they were use to people and born in captivity, plus in their fence area, so we were safe.
They had all sorts of cool things, like fossil and skeletal remains that were found in Iowa. Sean really liked the Saber Tooth Tiger skull and holding the Mammoth tusk replica. They had lots of pelts that had been donated of native species that you could touch and feel; Sean grabbed everyone I showed him and gave it a big kiss!! It was the cutest thing in the world! He especially liked the mink and otter pelts.
His highlight of that visit was he got to pet a real live skunk! De-smelled of course, but still a real skunk! He thought that was super cool. And boy, was this skunk a big fella'! The last thing we did before leaving was pet a black ferret. Sean has been around ferrets before, so I know he likes them, but it was real close to bed time and he was getting tired and tried to grab this lil gal’s face. We left, and he didn't have a fit or anything, so I think he had a real good time. We're going to go back there with Daddy soon, once I'm done with this crud.

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

PRESENT!

Sorry folks, it has been a while. There's no regular internet access at my house, and since Nate decided to break our garden faucet (it was an accident) and have no water to the house for a while, I'm at my folks.

But really, I wanted to be at home. I've started picking up more hours between my two jobs, so I've pretty much gone form a stay-at-home mom to a working mother. Sean is fine adjusting to it. He goes to Great-Grammys three days and to day care one day a week (and he loves it!) and is just happy as a clam. It's me who has been having a hard time.

First, there's the guilt of leaving Sean with someone else, feeling like I abandoned him, even when he's perfectly happy and loved by a family member looking after him. I know he is okay, but I feel like it's my job to stay home with him. Even back when I wasn't working so much, we talked about one day at day care so he could be around kids his age, but this is just a little more than I had ever thought. Maybe it's a mother thing. Sean is okay and will be okay and it won’t last forever. I just need to hug him more when I am home.

Next is, the house is a mess and I was hoping to tidy it up a bit. The clutter is a two fold issue: 1) I have a two year old, 2) I have ADD as a result of other illnesses that I fight, so that makes the cleaning part harder. "Okay lets vacuum. I'll just plug in the -OHHH! Shiny!!" So, what I tell people is this: Keeping a house clean when children are growing is like shoveling snow when it's still snowing." It's not filthy or unsafe; it's just harder to find cretin things. I'll live. So, that's okay that I didn't get to to that.

But still, at the end of the day, when I'm tired and my feet hurt, and I come home to my cluttered, falling apart house and see my lil' man snuggling his daddy with a puppy at their feet.... and I am happy.

OT: Just now, Sean came to find me. He was in the kitchen having a little snace and he came to find me in the office, and fed me a Wheat Check! I feel so loved!

Wordless Wednesday

JELL-O!!

Oh, my gosh! That's a lot of Jell-O! Why so much you ask? Well, I only have two good reasons

1. It was on sale, and
   
2. I'm Lutheran

Now all I have to do is convince the LWML (Lutheran Women Mission League, if any of you were wondering) to endorse the 1978 publication of The New Joys of Jell-O.

Wordless Wednesday

Tosty Varn... hopfully.

Isn't it an odd feeling when you are so use to having lights off and noise turned down so that your little one can sleep undisturbed while you're still up - and then have a night where he's not there?

Sean is at Grandma and Granddad's tonight, along with Tobey. Tomorrow, were having insulation blown into our attic and walls (Praise GOD!) and the only thing that scares Sean is the latter that leads to the attic. I don't know what it is, but he looses it every time it comes down and will scream until it goes back up.
So were saving some heartache and split eardrums. Plus, Grandma had a wonderful time playing with (and spoiling!) him.
She took care of him today, to while I waited to go to the doctor. I got a really bad sinus infection (thanks Nate), so they gave me some super heavy duty meds... so heavy duty that they had to make sure I wasn't pregnant first. Already after my first douse, I'm feeling some better.

But hopefully this insulation will help with the frigid temperatures inside. Then maybe all of us will stop getting sick.

But I'm going to keep it short. Got to get to sleep so I can get up early for the isolation guy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"I thank God for this day,
For the sun in the sky,
For my mom and my dad,
For my piece of apple pie!

For our home on the ground,
For His love that's all around,
That's why I say thanks every day!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!
I'm glad for what I have,
That's an easy way to start!

For the love that He shares,
'Cause He listens to my prayers,
That's why I say thanks every day!"
~Veggie Tails



What are you thankful for?

Wordless Wednesday

The Trouble with Teeth

Mark Twain said "Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principle one was that they escaped teething. " And at this moment, who I wish that Sean could too.
Let's go through the list off teething symptoms and see which Sean has:

Irritability - Yep. Cranky all morning. Drives a knife through my gut knowing there's nothing I can do to make him feel better.
Drooling - How do you turn it off?!?!
Cold like symptoms (runny nose, etc.) - I just want to stick a wad of tissue up his nose to keep the snot from coming out.
Coughing - Yes, unfortunately. Combined with the previously mentioned, people think I'm bringing a sick child everywhere.
Chin rash - not yet....
Biting & gnawing - Oh my gosh! Everything! Seriously, nothing is safe, not even my arm.
Cheek rubbing and ear pulling - Not really; he'll stick his finger way back in his mouth and chew on it where the molars are coming in, though.
Diarrhea - Funny thing, Sean actually gets plugged up with teething. Always has.
Low-grade fever - Off and on.
Not sleeping well - Oh, of course! And that means that Mommy is not sleeping well, too.

So, here it is, quarter after midnight, I'm up just waiting for Sean to screech out in pain/discomfort/low grade/whatever, knowing full well that I have to get up at seven (I'm trying to get up at the same time) and work tomorrow afternoon. Not only is teething messing with his sleep routine, it's messing with my (newly established) routine, too. Gotta' love motherhood at night....

Goodnight world.

Instruction Manual on Second Birthdays

What can a mother do when she sits down, reflects, and suddenly realizes that in ten days her little boy will be two? Nothing, that's what.

What should she do? Well, I'm glad you asked!

First, her hands should go cold and sweaty when it finally hits her that her baby's a little boy. Next, start hyperventilating, realizing that two means that potty training is coming faster than a Tobey Dog running for a treat. And potty training scares her.
When it finally sinks in that there are only ten days, her heart should start to race from the lack of 'party' planing she has done, and then be crushed with tremendous guilt that she has to work three weeks strait (and I mean strait, with no days off) - her sons birthday being too close to that stretch. To add to this guilt, she suddenly realizes that his birthday falls on his second day of daycare ever (At least he only is going once a week).
After her son bites her and she loosed her temper a bit, she will morn the baby days where there were snuggles and coos galore. And when that little boy comes running up to her when she gets home and plants a big kiss on her, she'll wish that this stage will never end.
After she has time to digest all of this emotional intake, she should finally takes a deep breath, decides to just roll with the punches and deal with the changes when one day at a time, blog about it, then go to bed.
She should repeat daily until one day after her sons birthday.

Work

What is work? Most people will say it's your job, so if that's true, I have at least six job titles.

• Sales and Assembly - Cookies by Design, my 1st part time job.
• Bakery associate - the grocery store where my 2nd part time job is.

Now for the fun ones:

• Professional chef
• Nurse
• Psychologist
• Personal shopper
  
• Clothing designer
• Doctor
• Dragon slayer
• Veterinarian
• Pop star
• Author
• CEO
• Gardener
• Laundress
• Seamstress
• Waste management expert (whichever 'waste' you decide to go with, I'm both)
• Cleaning professional
• Banker
• Spiritual guide

But my favorite job title is the sweetest sounding of all:
Momma

11:00 on a Sunday night

Hi,
I'm sure that the few of you who check this out are wondering "where is that crazy woman?"
Well, here I am. Right here, right now. I know it has been quite a while since the last post, and I'm sorry. It can be a little tricky when you don't have web access at your place and you usually only use the web one day a week. But the important thing is I'm here now.

So.... Sean is getting so tall! I'm 5'8" (173 cm) and he's too my hip! It seems everyday he sprouts up more, and not just height. He is becoming a little chatter box. Just yesterday he used his 'first' word combination. "No more." He's known the signs for "more" and "all done" for quite a while and has been saying 'more' and sometimes using the sign with it, but this was the first time he vocally said that he was all done. I think he's close to 10-12 words total. Wow!

Nate is.... well, Nate is not to happy whit work right now. 1) the work is not their 2) his employer has but a freeze on all raises. So now, even when the companies that he audits sends harder and more time consuming work, there is no plus for all the hard work. We've had some real low paychecks recently because of that and were hurting.

Me... well I had surgery about two weeks ago. Long story, but to sum it up: I had a screw in my right knee form a past surgery and it was wiggling loose, so doctors took it out. Needless to say, I've been out of work for it.
-rant-
As horrible as this sounds, I'm kind of hoping that one of the ladies that is also in the bakery (the one that causes drama) gets canned. I know! I'm terrible! But, she's schedualed to work 'till 1pm. I get there a little before noon and she tells me she's going on her last break. Fifteen minutes later, she comes back to tell me she's leaving. She refused to work weekends, refuses to close up for the evening and refuses to pick up any of my hours while I've been out. When our superious have talked to her about her needing to fill in with my med. leave, she's thrown a fit (but that's just what I've heard form the other gal. Wouldn't surprise me, thought). If she is let go, that means that I can pick up some more hours, and that might help.
-end rant-

What will really help is when I go back to school and am able to get into a hospital. Yes, this mother is planning on going to school for phlebotomy. Just because a lot of people have already asked "hu?" a phlebotomist is the person who draws blood. Only thing is I'll have to wait until spring, at the earliest. A full time phelbotomist can make up to $34,000, and even though I'm hoping to find something part time-ish, that would still help out tremendously.

Oh, I almost forgot to brag. Nate and I have a new niece. Elizabeth Ann W. was born on June 28 at 4:30am PDT after a 54 hour labor. She is so pretty! I'm just sorry that they all live so far away.

It's been my half hour, and I should be getting to bed. Sean is, and always has been, a morning person.... and I am not.
Good night and God bless!

Oh, Dear GOD!

I almost lost Sean today.
We were at story time at the library (temporarily located in the mall) and Sean was just having fun digging through the balls they brought out for all the kidlets to play with. I could see him and kept one eye on him while I asked a first time mom about the necklace she was waring.
Five seconds. FIVE! That's how long I must have talked to here before I looked over and saw Sean wasn't at the ball bucket... He wasn't in the room either. I was standing by the frickin' entryway! How could he get out?
I fun to the corridor to see if he's there, as a tight panic gripped my chest. He's not there either. I look back quick to make suer he wasn't hiding in a corner, which he wasn't, and ran into the main library, screaming his name with two other moms following suite. All the while, the panic grips tighter.
As I got close to the front desk, I could see one of the libarieans at the entrance, blocking the exit of a little boy dressed in brown, walking away from her. Sean just looked up at me and smiled as if to say "Hi Mommy! Look how far I walked!" At that point I was too relieved to be mad.
I did tell him how naughty that was and how scared he made Mommy and "just wait 'till your father hears about this!"

The day got better after that. My friend, Danni (a.k.a. Danni the Nanny) and Sean's triplet friends, Audry, Katherine, and Maison, went to lunch at the Old Chicago. Thanks again Danni!
It was so nice to be able to talk to someone your own age and knows the ins-and-outs of kids (she doesn't have any that belong to her, but she's always around them!) - to just shoot the breeze and not have to worry about what they will think if Sean starts smearing applesauce in his hair (he didn't, thank God).
I really do like Danni; she's a good egg and when she has the three kids, I know that she appreciates it when I got her back to chase a baby or two. I know she's got mine and Sean's. Besides, sometimes the nanny needs a nanny! :) Love 'ya, Danni!

So now here at my folks. Sean was put in his crib around one and just now is starting to quiet down -not asleep, but not as talkative- and not talking to his 'pet tiger', Ty. I didn't go get him out of the crib, he's resting at least. And I'd rather him take rest then nothing.
We converted his crib at home to the toddler bed (just getting too tall!) and he hasn't been sleeping as well. So rest is rest at the moment.

All of you, take care and give all the people you love a hug!

They broke the mold - YEAH RIGHT!

I've been feeling just kind of punk lately and not quite sure why. And let me tell you that if you're feeling ill and trying to keep up your house (even if it doesn't look like you are, you really are) cook and care for a toddler, you can get a little crabby (well, I do at least).
The ill feeling is probably allergies. When the weather is damp and with the amount of mold in our house (behind walls, mind you), my allergies just rum me down - sinus trouble, nausea, headache and stiff neck... how fun. So, I'm spending the day at my folks today after Sean spent the night. Nate and I saw South Pacific last, which was wonderful. Thanks Mom!
Anyway, back to my dilemma: I just feel that no matter how hard I work at it, I just can't do things right. I feel like a burden to my folks that I'm here.
Plus, Nate went on a mens retreat with the church this weekend and I'm also a little sad because.... I don't have many friends. There! I said it! I really don't. I have a lot of acquaintances and 'pals', but not a lot of friends whom you can call out of the blue for tea or just to come over and talk. I feel so lonely sometimes that I just hate to be left alone. That's why I wanted to come over to my parents. Someone is around.
I know that my mother has never understood that. 'Wouldn't you rather be at your own house?' she's asks more than once. Truthfully; no. 1)It makes me sick and 2)I'm there alone (well, Sean and Tobey, but they can't really talk to me) most days of the week. I have never done well alone.

Sorry for the mundane entry; it's been cloudy and wet the past few days and lack-of-sunlight and I don't get along.... plus the whole allergy thing. But I'm sure it'll get better, given the fact that the next three days are soppose to be dry and frickin' beautiful!