Sunday, October 31, 2010

10 Spot

1.  I'm changing my '10 spot' to the way it was originally intended.  And I'll add another blog for "journal".

2.  My son woke with a small cold Friday.  He's had one before, but this one made him Cranky!  Thankfully he woke up in a much better mood Saturday.  I don't know if I could have taken one more day of his wining and crying.  I was going batty!  More than not being able to take it, I'm glad he's doing better.  I hate being sick, but I hate it more when my son is sick.

3.  I have a couple girlfriends who are pregnant.  So I have some things I was planning on selling that I'm now giving to them.  I much prefer passing on things to friends and family then selling them.  Although it is nice to get a little extra cash now and again.  But the feeling just isn't the same.

4.  I was going to work on potty training my son the other day.  But I had a dr's appt scheduled for the same day :(  Not a good thing.  On top of that, it's a LOT of energy to potty train your little one.  Energy is one thing I drastically lack these days.  My mom asked me how it was going and I told her my woes.  She offered to help one day we came over to visit :)  What a great mom!

5.  I love my son dearly and I wouldn't trade him for the world.  That said, I do need time to get my house organized and decluttered.  Having him around makes that job extremely difficult.  So my mom and Bob offered to watch Joseph for a few days.  I'm so excited!!!  A week from Monday will be my first day or organization and decluttering  : )

6.  We've been looking for a new church since April.  We're probably going to be going to either Bethany Bible or Pure Heart.  They both have a service at 9am and 11am.  The 9am works better for us but I believe our friends at both churches go to the 11am service.  So we'll probably by ourselves again.  Oh well :(

7.  I found a new blog I enjoy reading.  My Uncle Chuck definitely has an opinion and is not afraid to state it :)  The one's I've read and commented on I pretty much agree with.  I'd say he's a pretty smart fellow :)

8.  My son has a bite on his chin.  Let me at whatever bit him!  I can't find the culprit anywhere.

9.  We had an adjuster come out yesterday.  We should hear soon how much we'll be getting for all the damage.  Looks like we may have to get a new AC, possibly roof which was just replaced less than a year ago, window screen, and a new fence.

10.  Due to the electricity going out Friday and my son's cold, I rescheduled our Costume/Game Night for November 13.  That'll be after I get a few days to organize and declutter too :)

  

  


Saturday, October 30, 2010

Journal October

October 21


1.  My son is so smart :) He asked me for an apple tart. And he actually said both of those words. I don't know how he remembers the name of it. I haven't worked with him on saying the name. It's amazing how fast he learns.


2.  We went to the AZ State Fair yesterday. He did great the whole time we were there :) It was cute. Every time he heard music, he'd raise his arms and start dancing :)
  

3.  Joseph Jr learned a new trick in VT. He says, "Ready, Set, Go," when he or someone else is ready to drink. Then afterward he says, "Ahhh." He's too cute :)

4.  Joseph Jr and I had a fabulous time in VT. We were sad to go but happy to go home. I think that's the best way to be, loving it no matter where you are. I know we left some sad faces in VT. I hope we get to see everyone again soon. It'd be nice if we could make it out there every year. We shall see. We do miss you all!

5.  Joseph Jr slept until 5am yesterday and 6am today :) Maybe it'll be 7am tomorrow and there after :)
(No such luck on that.  It's been sporadic just like before)

6.  Our grass hasn't been greener all summer. It's amazing what a little rain will do :)

October 22

7.   Everyone is ok. We just had our first fire fighters, cops, and ambulance show at our house. I didn't know the number to poison control, so I called 911. Joseph Jr may have ingested CLR. If he did, it wasn't much. I was told to wash any parts of him that may have come in contact with the CLR and have him drink water. I did that before everyone showed up. Even before that, he was doing fine. No blistering or anything occurred :) But if I had the Poison Control number written down, I would have saved a lot of people concern and work. It is now in my phone! It's the same number everywhere in the US :)

October 23

8.  Joseph's first ride on a horse. Misty got to take him since I'm prego :)

October 24

9.  We went to the park yesterday. Joseph Jr went up to a kid that looked about 3 or 4 years old. He went to give him a hug. The boy didn't want any of that so he pushed Joseph's hands down. I figured that was an understandable reaction, so I waited. Joseph did not try to hug him again. But when the kid proceeded to push him down for no reason, I got right up went over there and calmly said to the kid, "You didn't need to push him. He wasn't doing anything to you. He just wanted to give you a hug." Then I helped Joseph to his feet and told him that the kid didn't want a hug and to stay away from him. Then about 30 min later, Joseph is playing on a tire when this boy walks up to him and shakes the tire roughly. Joseph just watched. I thought that was rude but I still stayed back until the boy reached through the tire and pushed him as hard as he could. Joseph fell backward, and I yelled at the kid not to push him as I started over to my son. As soon as I yelled, a girl went over to the boy and took him away. I figure she thought I might do something to the boy. Very sad. I got my son and decided it was time to leave. As we were leaving, there was a crowd of people walking toward us. The little boy happened to stop right in front of me. I stopped and waited patiently as the others took him around me. I wasn't so upset with what happened to my son. He was fine and acted as if nothing happened. What angered me was the lack of discipline toward the child. The child was not scolded, talked to, or anything, just protected from the mommy of the child he bullied. And we wonder how bullies get their start.

10.  I love watching my husband and son play and dance together :)

October 25

11.  My little man's first haircut :) My little man's eyes pop just like his daddy's when he has a buzzed head :) (Joseph first cut our son's hair.  But Jr has such thin hair, Joseph decided he needed to buzz it.  Jr at first was a bit afraid of the buzzer.  So Joseph put it on his arm first.  Then he calmed right down and was able to finish buzzing it.)

12.  Joseph Jr's favorite place in the house right now is in front of the stove. He loves looking at his reflection. I think he feels like there's another kid in the house :)

13.  I got my flu shot today. I am praying the same thing doesn't happen like when I was pregnant with my son. For two months I caught everyone else's sickness minus the flu. I'm a pretty healthy person, so I'm not used to being sick for more than a day or two once a year. Lord, please keep me, our family, and friends healthy these holiday seasons :)

14.  I went to my ob appointment and to my surprise was told that I'm doing well in the weight gaining area. Yeah!!! I was afraid I was gaining too much weight. I rarely drink juice now a days. Maybe that's what it is. Who knows?! I'm just glad I'm doing well :)

15.  Joseph Jr just had his 18 month check up. He is 27 lbs on the nose which puts him in the 71% range for weight. He is 34.75 in. tall which puts him in the 99% range for height.

October 18

16.  At Joseph Jr's check up the other day, the doc said that at 18 months toddlers should understand everything said to them. I would say Joseph does understand everything :) So we are starting potty training again today :) So far so good. One pee pee in the potty about 30 minutes ago and no accidents.  I think what I'll do is put him on the potty after he wakes up, eats, during a diaper change, before he takes a bath, and before naps/night night. Then at two we'll really hit it hard or just before the baby's born.

17.  When Joseph Jr was 0-3 months old, I wished he would take a pacifier but no luck :( Now I am so glad he doesn't need a pacifier. I hear it's hard to break them of that habit. But a momma's got to do what a momma's got to do. I've heard of moms clipping the ends of the pacifiers so it doesn't have the suction, throwing them away, or weaning them from it. I don't envy these parents but it's in their babies best interest. Pacifier sucking for prolonged periods of time can cause dental issues and speech impediments.

18.  I just cancelled my myspace account. I think I might check it once a year, maybe. Why keep it if I never check it? I should delete all of my email addresses but one too. Trying to clean up and make less clutter in my life. You gotta start some where :)

18b.  Just started sliding on his own. Climbed up by himself and went down without any help. My boy is growing up.

October 29

19.  My son has recently added two new words to his vocab.

The other day he was saying Grandpa and Aunt Bea. My mother than asked him if he liked Aunt Bea. He simply said, "Yes." She replied that Aunt Bea likes him. Then she asked the same about Grandpa. The response again was yes and the reply was that Grandpa likes him. Realize, his 'yes' has been verbalized with 'no'.
A couple days ago, he got mad and hit his grandma. I told him he is not allowed to hit her and had him say sorry. He has never said sorry before even if I told him to. But this time he repeated "sorry" and then proceeded to give her a hug. Then just a minute ago, he swatted at me because he did not get what he wanted. I sat him on my lap and told him he is not allowed to hit mommy. He looked at me with sincere eyes and said, "Sorry." This was the first time he did that without prompting.
My boy is growing up before my eyes. It's happening so quickly! I praise God and thank my husband for allowing me to be a stay-at-home mom. It is the most fulfilling position I could ever have. I am blessed :)


20.  Today was a CRAZY day. Ignoring that I'm 6 months pregnant and feel like I'm 8 months along, Joseph Jr woke up with a stuffy/runny nose and crying. My son doesn't usually cry unless he's hurt. So my concern was heightened especially when he began crying after 30 min into his nap. I gave him some Tylenol and he was able to sleep for about an hour. But during his nap around noon the electricity went out in the neighborhood. Everything I had planned on doing for the day was basically out the window. At 3pm we went to see a doctor. He was checked for many things, ear infection, lung congestion, strep throat (I guess it's going rampant right now), but it all turned up negative. Praise God! He just has a little stuffy/runny nose and he's not in his right state of mind. Listening to crying and wining most of the day can drive someone crazy. I thank God he did have periods of laughter and happiness. I think God made sure of that to keep me some what sane. I pray you and your family have healthy and sane holiday seasons :)

October 30

21.  Praise God! Joseph Jr woke up happy today :)

22.  As some of you know, I have been reading, To Train Up a Child, written by Michael & Debi Pearl for some time now. My first post about this book brought up a lot of controversy. Many people took the view of others or just read a snippet without reading the entire book for themselves. I stated that I couldn't give my full opinion about the book until I finished reading it. Well, that finally happened a couple days ago :) And I must say this book is a light in a dark world. As I suspected, there is no place in the book that promoted beating as many believe, actually quite the opposite. I ask that you read this book in its entirety before you make any judgments or accusations. The last few chapters hit home the most. That may be just because they are freshest in my mind, but they are powerful. If you don't agree with everything stated in the book after you are done reading it, that's ok. But I pray you take what you do agree with and use it wisely. There is a LOT of good information on raising a child. 


If you'd like to discuss any part of the book, please post a comment. I do love discussions :) Blessings to all.


23.  Ok. I finally decided I should take a pic of my belly. I'm 6 months or really close to it.

24.  Baby is kicking like crazy :) It's pretty exciting. I don't remember my son ever kicking like this. I am so blessed!

October 31

25.   I hate it when I finally get the energy and desire to clean and the thing I'm using to clean is broken. UGH!!!  

H2O Mop - loved it while it worked. Now it's broken. Not loving it so much any more :(



Friday, October 15, 2010

10+ list

1.  September 21
Yesterday I dusted the fans, which desperately needed it, and vacuumed. During the entire time, my son followed me around, found a spot to sit, and read a book. It was so darling :) I love that boy so much.

2.  September 23


My son is 17 mo. He is wearing 2T separates and 4T one pieces, ie. footed pajamas. What is up with that? I actually bought a bumble bee costume for him to wear that fits up to 36 mo old toddlers. It was too small. But I got a pic :)


3.  September 26


Yesterday was yard sale day! Made more money than I thought but not close to as much as I hoped. It was well worth it though. I got to spend all morning and early afternoon with two of my older cousins, two of my younger cousins, two of my second cousins, my son, my hubby, and my beautiful god mother :) So worth it :) Gave some left over stuff to Good Will. Giving baby stuff to a friend who's due in March :) And selling the rest on Craig's List.


4.  September 26


Yesterday Joseph Jr woke at 4:48am soaking wet! I cleaned him up, changed him, and laid him back down to sleep until 7am. Some of his cousins joined us around 6am when I finally decided to get him up; he was talking the whole time before that anyway. He had a blast with his cousins and was bummed when he woke from his 11am nap to no cousins. He was searching everywhere for them. Thanks everyone :)



4b.  Thursday, September 30 I had my big ultrasound.  We're waiting to find out our little one's gender.


5.  October 4


Joseph Jr is a hit in VT. He loves his grandpa, wants to be everywhere he is from the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes to sleep. He's having a blast with his Aunt Bea. They love dancing together. He fell in love with Olivia right away, wanted to sit on her lap and do whatever she was doing. He also had a blast at his Great Grandma, GG, and Great Grandpa's house. Joseph Jr's has something about him that you just can't help but love him :)



6.  October 4


Yesterday, my dad, Joseph Jr, and I went for a walk down the beautiful country road with the lake on one side and the mountains on the other side. Joseph kept stopping and picking up leaves of all different colors. On the way back, Joseph was too tired to walk so dad put him on his shoulders. He was loving one minute and sleeping on dad's head the next :) I wish I got a pic of him sleeping. It was too cute :)



7.  October 5

Joseph got to bed a bit late last night after spending the evening with Jan and her family. He had a blast but was conked out soon after hitting his car seat. He woke at 12:30am with a massively wet diaper. I changed him and put him back to bed. He stayed awake talking until about 4:30am. Then woke at 8am. I was caught up on sleep but not any more :( Oh well, at least he's enjoying his time here and taking a long nap now :)


8.  October 6


Joseph Jr made it past 12:30am last night. He slept all the way until 1:30am. Then decided to finally go back to sleep at 5am. Momma's dragging a bit today. I think I'll be taking a nap this afternoon when I put him down again :)


9.  October 7


Joseph woke just before 12am last night crying. I got up quickly and held him in my arms for a little while. After changing him and holding him a little while longer, he went back to his little tent. Not long after he started singing. What a joy that was to hear :) Within 15 min he was asleep. He woke periodically throughout the night but was asleep again within seconds. He finally rose about 8am. I got much more sleep then the past two nights. Thank God!


10.  Something I got on email that I thought was cute :)


From one pumpkin to another!!!!!!!A woman was asked by a coworker,'What is it like to be a Christian?'The coworker replied, 'It is like being a pumpkin.' God picks you from the patch, brings you in,and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face andputs His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.'This was passed on to me by another pumpkin. Now it's your turn to pass it to other pumpkins.





11.  October 14


I've been feeling the baby kick quite often now :) I think this one will be more mobile than his/her big brother :)


12.  Joseph Jr has been sleeping irregular hours at night.  I do love it when he sleeps through the night though :)  Last night he slept from 7pm-6:30am.  YEAH!!!!  It's just sad that it's a rarity these days.  

13.  Joseph went on his first hay ride Friday, October 8.  He loved the lights in the night sky, stars.  I don't know that he ever saw them before.  It turns out it was a haunted hay ride.  But he wasn't scared at all.  He was mesmerized with all the commotion.  He was on my dad's shoulders through the haunted parts.  As soon as he took him off, he fell fast asleep.  It was too precious :)


14.  Before the hayride, Joseph Jr and I helped set it up and then went to watch Jonna, my god daughter, play soccer.  She did really well.  And what a beautiful young lady.  She's got a good head on her shoulders too :)


15.  I helped at one of the stations for the haunted hay ride Saturday night.  I enjoyed spending time with everyone there.  I love that family.  They mean a whole lot to me :)  Such blessings.

16.  Yesterday, I got to see a good friend and her daughter.  Joseph Jr and I met them at the playground next to their house.  We caught up on each others lives while my son and Raven played together.  Raven sure is growing up to be a beautiful young lady.

17.  My dad's back is giving him major problems.  He's been laid up for two days now.  The previous days he was able to do things intermittently.  Please pray for a complete and quick recovery.




18.  Wednesday, October 13 my dad took Joseph Jr and I out on the boat for Joseph Jr's first boat ride.  He loved it :)


19.  Joseph Jr made a new friend, Bob :)  He loves to dance with Bob, tackle him, and tie his shoes :)

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Difficulties of Travel

We left for the airport Friday at 4:45am so we would be there in time for our 7am flight.  Once we arrived I looked at the tickets for the first time since booking the flight.  To my horror our flight was scheduled for 11:15am.  We found out we could switch it to the 6:50am flight but it would cost $50.  I am unsure if that was $50 for both Joseph Jr and me or just me.  I decided against it either way.  I figured it would be an adventure for the two of us.  I kept thinking, "At least we weren't late."

Joseph, my husband, walked us to security check in and waited until we were all the way through which took a long time.  Joseph Jr's sippy cup filled with water was tested and some of our bags were checked.  Then they saw a few small applesauce cups and a tupperware of cantelope.  I wasn't thinking about the applesauce being liquid and had no clue that the cantelope would be considered liquid either.  They said they can either test each of those things like they did with his water or I could get patted down and all of our bags checked more thoroughly.  I opted for the patting and checking since the applesauce would be ruined if opened and not eaten right away.  All turned out well.

Joseph Jr fell asleep before the flight to Cleveland.  And then again on the flight to Cleveland.  We met really nice people at the airport and on the flight.  There were many little ones flying that day.  There was one family that spoke very little English but we communicated well some how.  Very nice family.  When we got to Cleveland they were off to Buffalo.  So I met some more nice people as we waited for our flight to Albany.  It was posted on time until five minutes before our flight was scheduled to take off.  Then they posted it would leave ten minutes late.  We all knew better, but had no idea what was to come.

The next announcement was to inform us the flight was canceled and told us all to go to the service center for a flight change.  As we all stood in line with one person on the other side of the desk, they suggested we go to the ticketing booth or another service desk.  They pointed in one direction assuming we all knew where the ticketing booth was.  A father and son started for the other service desk so I followed them.  They were very kind in waiting for my son and me.  I soon picked up Joseph Jr and walked a bit quicker.  A man in a cart stopped to pick us all up.  Sadly he was only able to take us a short distance as we had to go up a level.  We continued on foot the rest of the way.  The line was long but there were three agents behind the desk.  I thought it would go quickly.  Boy was I wrong.  Everyone in line was so nice even with everything happening. As we got closer to the front of the line, our hopes of getting out that night dropped drastically as did getting our hotel room comped.

It was finally our turn.  My mother had already called and said they would pay for our room if the airline didn't.  Then my dad called and said the same thing.  Just before one of the passengers was on his way, he mentioned that he heard I only had a debit card and offered us some cash.  We really were blessed!  At some point during our time at the counter, tears fell and I had a difficult time of speaking.  Thankfully it didn't last too long.  After many phone calls and on line checks, the agent set us up with a 7:10am flight to Chicago Ohare and then a 9:30am flight to Burlington.  She also gave us two $6 food vouchers for that night or the next morning and a room for the night which had a shuttle to and from the airport.  I thanked the agent and we were on our way.

We picked up our checked bags as that's where his diapers and sleeping tent were.  Then out we went to catch the shuttle.  I was lost and confused with where to pick up the shuttle when some of the friendly passengers I met earlier flagged down the shuttle I needed and helped me bring my bags to where the shuttle was finally able to stop.  Once on the shuttle my son asked for some water.  To my dismay I had to tell him that he had to wait as he had already drank all of his water and I had none left :(  The driver than opened a cooler and said to take a couple waters.  The driver than informed me of the shuttle schedule for the next day to which I was grateful once again.  Once at the hotel, he told me to go inside and he'd bring me my bags.  He even found a cart that he loaded with my bags so I'd be able to get to my room easily.  He even made it so there was a spot for Joseph Jr to sit.

The lady at the front desk gave me my key without a credit card for incidentals.  She just blocked certain things and all was good.  We reached our room and had some snacks for dinner.  Then I got Joseph ready for bed and off he went in his tent.  I finished packing as much as possible and opted for more sleep rather than a shower.  I set three alarms so we would not be late for the plane, my phone, the alarm in the room, and a wake-up call.  My phone and the wake-up call went off within seconds of 4:30am but the clock alarm never sounded. I think the volume might have been off.  Oh well, I was up.  I got ready and then got Joseph up shortly thereafter.  We made it down for the 5am shuttle and all were nice again.

I got in line at Continental forgetting they put me on a flight through United.  So off we went to that line.  Then they told me about the check baggage cost.  I asked them to call Continental as I had already paid for my baggage.  They did but said I had to pay there and go to Continental to get reimbursed.  My tears started flowing all over again.  All I could say was that I didn't have a credit card.  The agent made it work.  So off we went to security.  We stopped short and finished our water.  The day/night before we ate all the cantaloupe and applesauces so we wouldn't have to go through the long security check again.  We got through without a hitch.  Then we went to get some breakfast using one voucher and then further for a smoothie using the other voucher.  We were satisfied and happy.  The flight to Chicago was without drama.  Actually Joseph slept the entire short flight.

Once at Chicago the helpfulness of others changed quite a bit.  There was one lady who stopped to offer assistance but she was going the opposite way.  We were told about a shuttle that would take us from one section of the airport to another section.  Some how I missed the shuttle entrance or whatever and Joseph Jr refused to walk.  So I carried him for about a mile through that airport stopping often from exhaustion.  I begged him to walk, but he would just sit down and then lay down.  I realized later he too was exhausted and just couldn't bring himself to walking.

We made it 30 min before we were to board the flight.  We found some great people which Joseph enjoyed throughly and they enjoyed him.  Then I smelled something that needed to be dealt with but I wasn't sure if we had time.  There was no one at the counter so I waited until I saw someone.  When I did, I went and explained the situation.  She was a bit defensive saying that she'd been there for a while and that she didn't think there was any place on the plane for me to change my son.  She informed me that they'd be boarding in about 5 min and stop boarding in less than 20 min and that the choice was up to me.  I was concerned about not being back in time but I chose to go quickly.  I had time if no one was in line for the changing table.  (the day before I had to wait about 10 min in line to use the changing table) We got in, out, and back just as they called the first group of passengers to board.

The flight to Burlington was sleepless.  Joseph didn't sleep a wink :(  That flight was very difficult on both of us!  But it ended and we found my dad waiting for us on the other side of security.  What a breath of fresh air :)  The rest is another story.

God is good and sent "angels" our way throughout the most difficult times.  Thank you, Lord.  And a special thank you to all of our "angels" out there.  May God bless you and your family with more happiness and peace than can be imagined.