Time passes by

I sent a picture of my kids to my aunt and cousins for Christmas as I do each year.

When I was younger, I got to go to FL every year to see my Dad. This is also where my aunt and cousins live (other side of the family though), so I would visit them. I was about 10 when the oldest (a girl, J) was born, then there was a boy a couple years later (P), and another boy a few more years later (D). I got to spend time with them when they were small. At age 16, I no longer went to FL each summer. So the "kids" stayed that age in my mind (about 6, 4, and 2). Of course, they grew up when I wasn't looking. It still astounds me that 2 of them are in college already.

So, I sent this picture to them. P wrote me the other day and said he just couldn't believe how big my kids are getting, that he still expects the older (7 now) to be a baby, because that was when they saw him. lol. I told him that now he kinda knows how *I* feel. They've seen them one other time, when they were 3 and less than 1, but it wasn't for a long period of time. 12 hours is a long way to travel to see each other, but worth it. We need to make a trip. :)

Christmas

We've done the cantata and the play. We've done the family dinners. We've done the traveling. We've done the gifts, giving and receiving. God has blessed us tremendously, even in the midst of our own self-made chaos.

We've also ALL done the stomach virus, one way or the other (or both. lol. ugh)

We got oodles of things that we wanted. We got things we didn't even know we wanted until we got them. :)

We have one more Christmas tradition left to do. Dad is coming to visit. He lives in FL, so he only comes once a year, like Santa. And like Santa, he gives gifts. Actually, he usually takes us shopping so we can pick our own gifts. It's fun. The kids love spending time with Papaw. We all have a lovely visit.

Celebration of ME

WOW! I'm super excited about all the winning I've been doing lately!

(Disney video is a spoof, but LOTS of fun. You can make your own. :) )

The winners are....

I assigned numbers....

I used random.org to draw two....

and the winners are....

Patty and Denise!!

I will be contacting you for your mailing information soon!!

Mother's Bracelets

http://braceletstories.com/

As I was entering contests for the Holiday Giveaway, I came across these cute mother's bracelets!

Holiday Expo Giveaway at Internet Cafe Devotions

My friend Crystal (Bricck) is part of Internet Cafe Devotions and posted on her blog that she's giving something away. Went to the Cafe link (as above) and have spent at least 2 days entering other people's giveaways. And I've been thinking... could I give something away too? Well, I can't be as generous as some of the others, but I am offering some of my own creations! I use Sculpey clay to make these American Sign Language "I love you" hands, as well as other small sculptures. The light one has a magnet on the back, the dark one has a pin.

To enter to win one of these (I'm giving away two), just comment on this blog entry and tell me what is your favorite gift you've ever GIVEN. Mine was tickets to Phantom of the Opera to my sister, who LOVES the play. Be sure to leave your email address if you aren't part of Blogger (if you are, I will likely get your e-mail when you comment.) Due to cost, I will not be able to ship overseas, so US only, please. Random draw of names leaving appropriate comments on or about Dec 12.

Thanks for reading. I don't blog often, but always appreciate comments! :)

Surgical Procedure

Yeah, so I finally did it! On November 5th, I went from a size 38L bra to about a 38DD. The inset is the "new me". I'm not all healed, so probably still a bit swollen, etc.

I've had my ups and downs with this healing process. I had my mom here for the first week & a half, so I had to start doing a bit more after she left. Like taking C to school and picking him up. So I have to drive. Not to mention more childcare, food prep, etc. So I've been more sore this week. I have mostly been sore, or uncomfortable, not in pain. That's been very nice. I'm back on antibiotics, and am taking pain medication when I can (not driving, etc.), and tylenol when I can't.

I'm still getting used to how I look in the mirror. :) I have to learn to hold in my stomach. lol

Definitely Fall

You know it's Fall in middle TN, when they start "firing" tobacco. To my understanding: They do this by hanging the large tobacco leaves on a long stick, then hanging the stick inside a barn. Then they start kind of a smouldery fire in the bottom of the barn. This causes smoke to fill the barn, and leak out ALL over the place. There is definitely a particular smell to it, which folks that grew up here enjoy as a herald to Fall. (Makes me think of how my former pastor used to put down the windows when we came into Decatur to smell. I think soybean processing? It stunk to me, but it meant home to him.)

For some reason, my 4 year old decided "tobacco" was just too big of a word. So they've now been labeled "taco barns". I told her that "taco" means something else, but she's very stubborn and insists that "taco" should be an acceptable short version of "tobacco".

Oh, since this seems to be a location specific industry, I had never seen a tobacco barn before I moved here for college. Yes, I thought there was a fire when I saw smoke billowing out of a barn. Yes, hubby got a really good laugh out of my ignorance. To be honest, I sometimes startle a bit when I see barns smoking even now. It's not normal.

Gatlinburg 2008

We just returned from a family trip to Gatlinburg. Our family of 4 went, along with hubby's parents and brother. So 7 people all together. For some reason, my mother-in-law thought it would be sufficient to get a two bedroom, one bath "chalet", which turned out to be more of a basement apartment. It was somewhat challenging. On the plus side, we stayed out as much as we could. And when we were in, there were no exploded bladders from waiting for the bathroom (nor accidents). Between us, we went to Blackwood Breakfast Show, Dixie Stampede, Black Bear Jamboree Dinner Show, Tony Romas, Calhouns, the Old Mill, TGIFridays, Flapjacks Pancake House, Wonder Works, Ripley's Aquarium, Ripley's Mirror Maze, Lost Treasure Golf, go karts, and some outlet stores and souvenir shops. We also did a driving tour in the National Park (Roaring Fork). (I'm sure I missed something.) We were there from Saturday night through Wednesday morning. So, I need a t-shirt that says "I survived..." I'm still winding down, catching up, switching back over, and generally trying to get into the swing of things.

Potty trained!

The moms in my audience will appreciate this: At 4 years and 4+ months, my daughter is now potty trained. She wears pull-ups when she sleeps, but has not had an accident in weeks (and is usually dry overnight). We even went on vacation for a couple days with NO accidents!

As a reward for "dry days" (20 of them, not in a row), she got a trip to the "beauty parlor", where she got a nice little hair cut. It's sort of a bob, but her hair is so thin that it doesn't really look like much. Just more even at the bottom.

I am SO mean.

I was reading a friend's blog and it reminded me of an incident from a while back.

The kids and I were shopping at Wally World. Shane had asked me to pick up a For Sale sign for the lawnmower he had fixed up. We were nearly finished and I remembered, so I said "OH, I forgot to get a For Sale sign for your Dad." B says "You're going to sale Dad??" So of course I say, "Well, I've had him for a long time..." We went back and forth for a bit, when it finally came out from C "If we're going to sell someone, it should be YOU." Huh? "Daddy is teaching me to play chess, and he plays hide and seek with us." Oh, well, sure, that makes him indispensable.

Labor Day

In honor of Labor Day, some questions about MY labors. :)

How long were your labors?

C: 7 AM- 1:45 AM the following day. So... 18:45?

B: is a bit more subjective. I was IN LABOR for sure at about 3 AM, we got to the hospital about 4 AM, and she was born at 7:28 AM. But I was pretty sure she'd be coming that weekend at about noon the previous day. I just wasn't sure how quickly.

How did you know you were in labor?

C: They induced at 7AM, but I wouldn't say I "labored" until early afternoon, 2 PM or so? That's when it got bad enough that I needed an epidural.

B: See previous. We went to bed at midnight, after sending C to grandmother's house. I woke up at 3-ish with contractions that were about 5 minutes apart.

Where did you deliver?

Dr. Shali Scott delivered both of them at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. It was a great experience both times. The delivery nurses were superb, and the genuine caring for the patients was obvious in just about everyone. And I got an upgraded room with B, because they ran out of space in the regular rooms! (My doctor has since left practice, at least for now, to be a stay at home Mom. How cool is that?)

Drugs?

Yes, with both. C, I waited until it hurt too badly for me to do anything but cry. B, I had an epidural right away because we knew she was coming. They bumped a C-section anesthesia to get me first. :)

C-section?

Nope. They both had some heart rate dropping issues, that caused a C-section to be considered, but it was not necessary in either case.

Baby Weights?

C: 9lb 1/2 oz

B: 8lb even.

Cheap Birthday Fun!

The kids and I went to town today for C's birthday. He's 7. :) We went to Sonic (free wacky pack), Chuck E. Cheese (20 birthday tokens and buy 60 get 40 free coupon, also a free ice cream) to play, then Toys R Us (free birthday paper crown, we've gotten a free balloon, but got a sash today, since they were out of balloons. they announce his name & play a song on the intercom, and I had a $3 off card for his birthday), then O'Charley's (split an entree 3 ways, had a coupon for a dessert, and a birthday dessert). Overall, ended up spending under $30, and $5 of birthday money since he wanted a transformer that was $8.

Most of these things I got from being signed up with their online clubs. Also, I have a Coldstone Creamery free ice cream for C, but we didn't make it there.

Accomplishments

My son figured out how to snap, and whistle! Not to be left out, daughter figured out how to snap also. (but still isn't potty trained. grr)

I made a blanket! A friend has given me TONS of clothes from her son for C. So, I took 12 of the t-shirts, chopped them up, added some back and edging, and made them a blanket. In progress...
And finished product. Not bad for my first try at a blanket!!

Coupon Whiz

Yes, my friend Crystal has been blogging about coupons and savings at CVS, and I've been faithfully reading. (Haven't done anything beyond read...)

I got hit from another side. Another friend of mine (from HS) was interviewed on channel 3 about her couponing. Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFFvNbPNADw

Who knows, maybe I'll decide to clip a few. One of these days...

Gween

When my son has a good behavior day, he gets "green". There are other warning colors all the way to red. He usually gets green and will come to the car and spell it, so we know what he got. B knows when he says G-R-E-E-N, that it means green. So she said "You got gween!". He said "no, I got green." She says "that's what I said, Gween!" He says "Not gween. Grrrreen." She says "I didn't say gween. I said GWEEN." I told them to quit fighting. :)

I've been getting some green lately. No, not money, but reward for good EATING behavior! I have lost 8.6 pounds. It was only .6 last week, but I feel that as long as it's down, that's progress. Hubby even noticed a pair of my pants was a little loose Sunday. He's trying to lose some too, which is helpful.

Thanks for the comments!

Diet

So, I am trying to diet and exercise. It's not going so well. Not a New Year's resolution, there is a program going on in my town. One of the local Dr.'s offices is holding "Pleasant View's Biggest Loser". I have an official card and everything. They are having seminars and food specials at some of the local restaurants. I haven't dieted in a while, and am not doing wonderfully. I really LIKE to eat! So I went to the nutrition seminar the other day, and the speaker talked about the diabetic "carb counting" diet being really one of the best ways to eat. I'm trying. Mom came for my birthday this weekend and we went to Outback, so that was my "free meal" for the week, where I don't have to count. Then we had lunch at church yesterday, and my m-i-l came over with leftovers. Let's just say I had to count the whole day as "free". Oops. SO my main thing I'm doing is writing down all that I eat. It's tedious and hard to keep up with, but it makes me think about what I'm putting in my mouth. I haven't given up.

Thanks, Mom!

Today, I went to Walmart with some Christmas money. I hit the toy clearance aisle and got TONS of things. Well, not tons. I got 3 Cranium forts (at $10 ea), Operation, an Aqua Doodle with a car that runs on the road you draw, a doctor set, an explorer set, along with various needed items for the home (Pullups, toothpaste, a calendar, that sort of thing). So, my son is thrilled when he comes home from school to all the new stuff. As we go along, I moved downstairs to my computer and the kids were playing upstairs. All of a sudden, my son yells from the top of the stairs "WOW Mom! You got me new toothpaste! THANKS!!" Now, I'm not belittling any thanks I get from my children, but I am certainly going to remember the day I bought all those toys and got thanked for toothpaste. But perhaps that's how we treat God sometimes too. He gives me a wonderful husband, great kids, a home, our health, and we only thank Him for the food some days.

Thanksgiving Break-downs

A friend of mine suggested that perhaps there may be SOMETHING blog-worthy that had happened to me since my trip to Gatlinburg, and she was right. I just didn't post this one here, when I posted it elsewhere. I will write about Christmas... oh, in February? Nah, hopefully soon. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving), we left to go to IL (I-24 through KY). We were cruising along, when the car bucked and stopped running. Shane managed to coast off the interstate onto the handy offramp, which turned out to be a Parkway and not an Exit. Oops. So we sat alongside the busy pkwy, trying to solve the car problem. Nothing would get the car to start. So we called Shane's brother to come from TN (about 2 hours at this point) with a trailer to haul us and the car back. A police officer stopped to check, but there wasn't anything he could really help with. So, we were sitting in the car when a "Highway Assistance" truck pulled up behind us. They couldn't help with the car, but they did have enough room (barely) to take us to a nearby McDonald's with a play area. When my brother-in-law showed up, we all went back to the car to load it onto the trailer. The "boys" pushed it, while I got to steer onto the trailer. Happy happy joy joy. The biggest problem was that, once on the trailer, you can't open the door wide enough to get out. So I got to do a Dukes of Hazzard and go through the window! We got home safely along with the car. I put the kids to bed, and Shane rode to his parents' house with his brother to borrow their car.

Thursday, Thanksgiving, we set out again to go to IL. We stopped in Clarksville at IHOP for a yummy lunch, and a good start to our trip. We were cruising along through KY, passed exit 25 where we had broken down Wed. and cheered a bit. Not far down the road though, the car "dinged" and began to heat up quickly. Shane got off at Exit 11 (just 14 miles farther than Wed.) and realized that the steering was difficult. He fairly rapidly diagnosed a problem with the drive belt. (He thinks our car is the timing chain.) We called my parents in IL, and asked them to come pick us up. Several people stopped to ask if we needed help. Mom & Dad came with a trailer and we loaded up the car, this time Shane drove it onto the trailer as it was still running, but just couldn't drive it long distance. Shane was able to get the needed parts and fix the car on Friday.

We enjoyed the rest of our visit with my parents and had a safe and uneventful trip home. Although, the car did "ding" just before we got out of IL, and I about had a heart attack. It was a low fuel warning. :) I am truly thankful to God for our safe trip(s) to and from KY and IL this weekend. He is always in control, even when we think we would choose to have life go a different way. I don't know what was on down the road for us if our cars didn't break down, but God does. He cares for us, and surrounds us with people who care for us as well. Thanks to you, for caring enough to read. God blesses us every day.