Stomach Virus

I had what I thought was bad morning sickness yesterday morning. Somewhere along the line I figured out that it was a stomach virus. I laid on the couch all day yesterday between throwing up. I was basically an absentee mom because Tyler just came and went as he pleased (in the house). He was making all kinds of messes (so would I if I were a toddler who was given free reign). The TV was on PBS all morning and he would 'check in with me' every so often. I kept thinking, "It's almost nap time for him. It's almost nap time for him" He went to sleep at 2pm and I was able to get some good sleep. He woke up at 4:30pm which was coincidentally when I started to get worse and worse. I was throwing up and felt so badly for him because he was screaming. He gets scared when I throw up.

Rick was supposed to come home at 6pm but I knew I needed him sooner. I called and said, "Rick, I'm sorry but I need you to come home right now." He did. He took Tyler out of the house for about 2 hours. I was glad because Tyler had been home bound all day. I couldn't keep any fluids down and was hoping that I wouldn't get dehydrated. I took an Ambien at 8pm, was able to keep it down, and slept until midnight. I woke up hungry. I ate an apple as was thrilled to keep it down. I slept more until 8am. I am over the virus but am totally drained. We're home bound again today. Poor Tyler.

Thanks to Rick for being so helpful, as usual. :-)

Glad It's Over!

This is what I have to say about Christmas.....we will not be going out of town next year or for many years to come! At least not by airplane. Now I finally understand why most of my mommy friends have mini-vans, pack their kids and bags in it, and drive to where they need to go! Tyler was very well behaved on our plane ride to and from NY but the poor kid threw up mid-flight! We got back into Charlotte at 12:30am this morning, struggled with all of the luggage, and when when we got to our car the battery was dead. Luckily there was a staff member working in long term parking who have us a jump start. We made it home at 2am. I'll spare you all of the other details of our interesting Christmas!

Fetus, Sweet Fetus

I'm 11 1/2 weeks along now and had an ultrasound today. The fetus was really active and it was fun to watch. The ultrasound took a LONG time because the tech was trying to get certain specific measurements. I will start progesterone shots in five weeks and will have them every week until I give birth. Are you jealous? hee hee. The shots will help to prevent preterm labor like I had with Tyler. I feel comfortable at this point telling all family and friends about the pregnancy. I still have quite a bit of nausea in the late afternoon/early evening. The midwife said that I need to make sure I have a tiny snack a few hours after lunch to help prevent the nausea. Here are the name we have picked out:
boy - Kevin Joshua
girl - Shaylee Jordan (the same name we would have used if Tyler would have been a girl)

If you will please say a prayer that the little fetus continues to thrive, I would appreciate it. :-)

The Past Few Days

Photos will be posted ASAP but here is what we've been doing over the past two days. Rick, Tyler and I drove uptown to see the Bearstein Bears at Founders Hall. Rick and I thought it was lame and Tyler seemed indifferent. However, we did see several kids who seemed to love it. We walked around uptown and then drove around. It was kind of a mini-adventure.

That evening we went to the Billy Graham Library for their Celebration of Christmas. I HIGHLY recommend this. The lights were beautiful and there were free old fashioned horse drawn carriage rides. We walked around the inside of the Graham home that was once on Park Rd but was recently relocated to the Library grounds. There is a prayer garden on the property but I couldn't get a good look at it since it was dark. The thing that touched my heart the most was the live Nativity Scene, complete with one donkey, goats, and a camel who just rested on the grass as if he were waiting for the 3 wise men. This scene of pure hope and beauty made tears flow from my eyes. I felt like I was back in time like a fly on a wall witnessing something I cannot find the words to describe them with. Maybe I'm sensitive because I'm pregnant but that Nativity Scene was so incredibly meaningfully for me. Even though Christmas is over a week away, being near that nativity scene was my Christmas moment of clarity. I think anyone reading this blog would love going to that event. I think it's going on until the 23rd and is from 6-9pm.

Today Rick and I took Ty to Monkey Joe's. We met my friend Joni there with her little boy, Jacob. Rick was so nice. He played with Tyler a lot (I think Rick enjoys bouncing as much as Tyler does. Jacob would join Rick and Ty sometimes and they all had fun. Joni and I got some good chunks of time to talk and catch up.

My dad arrives from Ohio tomorrow so I have to kick it in gear and clean, shop, and so forth so that everything is ready when he gets here at 3pm. Leave it to me to leave all of this to the last minute!

Boat Parade on Lake Wylie

We went to the Boat Light Parade on Lake Wylie last night. It was so cool. I could kick myself for not bringing my camera! Ugggg! We will go again for sure next year. We walked around the boats before they left for the parade while we were waiting for our table at T-Bones. We got an AWESOME view from our booth at T-Bones right near the boats and we watched them leave for the parade. Santa was at the parade but Tyler didn't care for him! What a nice evening. :-)

Preschool Update

I have more details regarding Tyler's preschool. The school is called Amay James and is about 11 miles away from our house. Rick will be able to take him in the morning sometimes as it is only slightly out of his way to work. The school hours are 9:15am-3:15pm and I'm happy about that. The other choice at a different school is 7:30am-1:45pm. As most of you know, Tyler is not an early bird. He will receive a free snack and lunch each day. I'm assuming it's at least semi-healthy food?

I plan on being quite involved in his schooling. I will offer to volunteer in the classroom. I'd like many opportunities to observe him and the other kiddos. He'll start school in January. The only thing I don't know yet is which days of the week he'll attend. I know I said I was excited to have a lot of time to clean and organize but I think it will be hard to be away from my baby for such an extended period of time on his school days.

Great News

I received some news yesterday that has been making me jump for joy! Tyler qualifies for free preschool through CMS. Let me first say that our first preference would be that Tyler does not need any special needs services. But since this isn't the case, I am grateful that he will be receiving help.

He's been getting services ever since he came home from the NICU. He's had PT, OT, Speech, and other things. He has come a long way however, there are things we need to continue to work on. I didn't know how this would all pan out once Tyler turned 3
because his service provider switched from the Early Intervention Program to CMS. Fewer kiddos qualify for services through CMS. I knew that there were some delays in Ty's development but I didn't know if CMS felt that they were 'significant enough'.

He qualifies for Speech therapy and free preschool. He'll get Speech during the school day. On the positive side, Tyler has some significant strengths and he is quite intelligent. CMS feels that he needs to be in their preschool to foster his social skills, transitioning skills, so on and so on.

I became teary-eyed when I got all of this news. On the one hand, I am sad that Tyler needs any of this help. On the other hand, I am grateful that these services are available to him. I am choosing to focus on the positive as opposed to the negative.

He qualifies for preschool until he reaches Kindergarten! He will be in a program called Bright Beginnings which is a 5 day a week preschool when he's 4 years old. Now, he'll start off going 2 days a week with an option to increase the days if needed.

This is the part that was extra icing on the cake......the school day is 6 hours. I will get about 5 hours to myself on those 2 days a week. I CANNOT GET OVER THAT! I have visions of totally organizing EVERYTHING in my house and I may even get a part-time job. I can go to the doctor without bugging one of my friends to watch Tyler.

I sure do feel blessed.

Breathing is Good

Hello, my name is Jen and I'm addicted to OTC nasal spray. But not for long.

I guess it doesn't take much to make me ecstatic. I just got back from Dr. Clyne, the ENT Dr. because I was concerned about my sinuses. I've been using OTC nasal spray several times a day for over four weeks! (The bottle says not to use it for more than 3 days in a row.)I have received conflicting information regarding the safety of OTC nasal spray during pregnancy. The OB says it's okay in moderation. I've read online that it is totally not okay to use it. Therefore, I was worried about my fetus and my sinuses. I cannot tell you how guilty I've felt using it. But what is a person supposed to do? I have tried the alternatives: saline spray, Vicks, saline washes, so forth.

Then ENT gave me great news. While he said that it is important for me to not keep using the nasal spray, my sinuses have suffered no damage except for being a bit inflamed. More importantly, my fetus was/is in no danger from the spray. He's starting me on Nasonex and I'm even allowed to keep using the OTC nasal spray (very sparingly) until the Nasonex fully kicks in (5-7 days). While it is a category C medication, he feels very comfortable putting pregnant women on it.

I AM SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS!

First Sentences

Tyler said three sentences in a row just a little while ago. He's never said a full sentence, let alone three. Tyler was sitting in bed with me and the cat. Rick was also there as he has today off. Anyway, Tyler said, "It's a big cat. It's a fat cat. It's a black cat." (For the record, the cat isn't fat, he's pretty skinny but has a ton of poofy fur.)

Ty's speech has been rather delayed but it seems that in the past few months he's saying more and more. His favorite word is "no" which I'm sure you can imagine Rick and I are estatic about. Not!

Pregnancy Question

I would love feedback from anyone who's been pregnant. Did you ever experience a sudden stop of pregnancy symptoms but you were still pregnant? I've read that this is normal but I still don't feel good about it and would like to hear what friends have to say. My symptoms totally stopped for a few days but luckily they have reappeared. Uggg, I'm driving myself crazy. Thanks for your help.

Damned if I do, damned if I don't

Well, posting the pregnancy news on this blog has blown up in my face. We had not told our parents or other family members about the pregnancy; we wanted to wait until the end of the first trimester since I'm prone to miscarriages. We don't want to worry our family members like we did last time. I told my mother in law about the pregnancy this time last year. She worried about me and was sad when we miscarried. Why put that on her again? Our plan was to tell family members when we felt we were pretty safe to, at the end of the first trimester.

The only people who read my blog on a regular basis are my local friends and a few Phoenix friends. I honestly didn't think I was letting the cat out of the bag to family. A lot of our family members don't use the internet I use my blog not only as a tool to post photos of Ty and tell everyone about the cute things he does but I also use it as a way to write about my feelings.

So today my MIL calls and is quite upset with us that we had not told her. (Someone read the blog and told her.)My husband answered the phone and got an ear-full from her. The ironic thing is that we wanted to tell family members as soon as we found out but there was something inside of me telling me is would be prudent to wait. My great news has turned out to hurt my MIL's feelings. Mom, I know you don't read my blog but us not telling was with good intentions, not bad.

So Far, So Good

Had my ultrasound this morning and we saw a heartbeat! It was a beat of 143 which I was told is great. I'm not out of the woods yet but this is really good news. I have another ultrasound in 4 weeks. :-) The due date is 7/8/09. Wouldn't that be a cool birthday?

We Shall Wait and See

I hesitated to write about this but I think it would be therapeutic for me. I am almost 7 weeks pregnant. I have an ultrasound on Wednesday. The big question looms over me will there be a heartbeat? (I've had 3 miscarriages.)I truly trust God, that whatever is best will happen. But I keep worrying and then I feel guilty about worrying. I know that God knows what is best for me. He may or may not want me to have a second child. It will all work out exactly how it is supposed to. My brain believes that but my heart wants what it wants - a sibling for Tyler.

I was joking with my hubby this evening that I am surely showing signs of pregnancy because I cried after a team was eliminated from The Amazing Race. Talk about being hyper-emotional. Also, my sense of smell is quite heightened and my boobs are tender. I keep taking pregnancy tests to make sure the positive line isn't getting any fainter. Thank you cheap dollar store pregnancy tests. I've taken about 20 of them in the past 3 weeks!

Tyler and Lemieux

We have a black can named Lemieux (named after the hockey player Mario Lemieux). Each and every day Tyler and Lemieux have the same interaction which has been going on for about 2 years. I will describe it in the form of a script:
The cat sits quietly alone pondering life.
Tyler enters and lunges toward the cat like a bull in a china shop.
Lemieux looks at Jen as if to say, "Are you joking? The kid again! Do we have to do this today?"
Jen watches to see what happens.
Tyler says, "Oh, kitty!" and thinks if he will only let me love on him.
Tyler lays his head on cat.
Cat is ticked off but still sits there.
Tyler offers kitty a book but cat gives him a look like whatever.
Tyler persists and tries to love on kitty again.
Cat gives Tyler a warning meow look kid, that's enough.
Tyler giggles and says "oh, kitty"
Cat gives Tyler a warning swipe with his paw.
Tyler chases cat around furniture.
Cat looks at Jen as if to say, "Seriously, this is getting old."
Tyler gives up after about 5 minutes and then goes to love on the dog.
Dog looks at Jen as if to say, "Here we go again."
Tyler loves and loves and loves on dog while cat goes upstairs to hide.

Sicky Sickerson

People, I am about at the end of my rope and I know you can relate. We've been sick at the Burns' house for about 3 weeks with only a day or two of respite in between outbreaks. Poor Tyler has been the most sick. Rick has managed to stay well (knock on wood) and I've had a nasty head cold. Let me be honest with you, I am the biggest baby when I have a head cold. I HATE having a stuffy nose and I use nasal spray more than I'm supposed to which makes it worse. I'm like a drug addict who needs her next fix. Seriously. At least nasal spray is only $5 a bottle. Just kidding. I have sick sense of humor sometimes.

Thank goodness my husband takes complete care of Tyler once he gets home from work when I'm sick. Last night I went to bed at 6:30pm. Thanks, Rick. :-)

Staying home so much is DEPRESSING.

Cancelled Cruise

Ugggg. We decided to cancel the cruise that were going to take to the Bahamas Dec. 13-20th. There are a few reasons with the main one being the cost was going to be quite a bit more than we anticipated. Do you know that we'd have to pay $15 a day to park at the port parking lot in Charleston? Plus, when I made the reservation I specifically asked if the stated cost included gratuities. I was told yes but later I found out I was given incorrect information. We've talked to several customer service reps. and managers and they are not willing to compensate us for the misinformation (give us credit for the money we'd spend on gratuities - which is actually fairly expensive).

I made the reservation before the economy took a nose-dive. We are going to lose our deposit money, which makes us sick, but when we crunched the numbers it made sense to cancel. I think it will cost $350 to cancel. Uggg, can you see my heart sink? But we figured it would be better to lose the $350 than to go through with it. Finally, I don't feel good about being on the water in my condition. I can't tell you what that is right now but I hope to soon.

I'm in Love

Rick asked me what I want for my birthday. I didn't want anything except for a Starbucks gift card. That was until I saw this week's Target ad....there it was....so pretty.....the Dyson Ball. He could see the eyes widen as I looked at the picture. There was no way I was going to ask for a vacuum with a hefty price tag like that. Well, Rick and Tyler surprised me with it. I am in love....with the Dyson Ball. It works really well and is light. As Rick put it together tonight Tyler played in the box. Here are two pics.

Cast Your Ballot

What was your voting experience like? I was concerned that I'd have to wait in line for a long, long time based on what I saw during 'early voting' and the line today at Lake Wylie Elementary School. Well, I went arrived at 6:50pm and guess how long I waited? Zero, zip, nada! Oh, I felt so lucky! Laura Ziel (former MOMS Club member) was there working the polls and she told me they were super busy from opening until 1pm but then it was slow the rest of the day. Laura, you ROCK for working there....5am until midnight....I'm not a devout citizen as you are!

Halloween, 2008

Side view of Tyler's elephant costume.

"Holy cow! What have I gotten myself into?"

Daddy and Ty trick-or-treating

Greensboro a Bust

So I drive up to Greensboro yesterday morning for what was supposed to be a day and a half of alone time for me (even a night alone in a hotel). I was supposed to attend the Women of Faith Conference. I was going to the pre-session and then the regular session. Usually large groups of women go to this or you go with at least a couple of friends. I was totally okay going alone when I made the reservation in July.

I got there yesterday around 10:40am to get a general admission seat. It stated at 10am so I was late. I am not someone who has an issue with doing things by herself. I've even vacationed overseas by myself twice and was perfectly fine. I am happy to go to the movies by myself. Heck, I even drove from AZ to NC by myself. But as I sat there by myself, it really sucked.

There was no one to look at/relate to when something really funny was said. There was no one with whom I could share the experience with. I looked around and I swear I was the only person by herself. I ate lunch by myself outside (meal included)and was kind of hoping I could chat with someone. Everyone was engaged in conversation with the other women they came with. I probably could have tried to make an effort to talk to someone but I didn't. Not like me.

After lunch I went back into the arena and was confident that I'd be able to shake my feeling of being isolated. That lasted for about 2 minutes and I got up, walked to my car, and drove all the way back home to Charlotte. Yes, I had paid for the entire conference. No, the money isn't refundable. I didn't have to pay for my hotel, though. The odd thing is that I'm totally okay with my decision to leave. I don't regret it except for missing out on listening to the speakers.

Now I'm home and I was able to go trick-or-treating with Rick and Tyler. I am still off the clock until 7pm when I would have been home had I stayed at the conference. By the way, my leaving early has no reflection on the conference itself. I truly enjoyed listening to the speakers but it's just not the kind of thing I wanted to be alone at. I went with a friend in 2005 and truly loved it. I plan on going next year with at least one friend. Wanna go?

Excess Baggage

Can you relate to this? Do you get overwhelmed by things, by material stuff? I was just looking around my house for a specific photo album. It was not with the other photo albums and that intrigued me. I wander from room to room with the focus quickly changing from the photo album to simply feeling overwhelmed. So much stuff is unorganized.

Let me give you a bit of background on my quirky personality so you'll understand why I'm troubled. When I was a teen and in my 20's before I got married I used to be super organized: the Cd's, Videos, and DVDs were in alphabetical order. My clothes were categorized and then color-coordinated. Those are just to name a few; I could go on and on. My friend Suzanne used to mess with me by moving things around. I made Monica from Friends look easy-going. I was very happy this way. I knew that my ways were a bit unusual but it was not a problem for me so I didn't feel like changing.

Then came a house, dog, cat, two desert tortoises, husband, and a child. With all of those things come a lot of stuff (not so much the dog and cat). Please understand that I'd rather have all of those things than be super organized but I get stressed out by my lack of organization. I've also become more lazy over the years so that doesn't help. I used to stay up late organizing things; now I choose sleep.

When my mom passed away I took on all of her stuff that didn't sell in the estate sale or go to Good Will. Things that are sentimental and the like. Again, more stuff. I'm not a minimalist by any means but I have a strong belief that material things tie us down by taking up space physically and emotionally.

A normal person would take the situation step by step and organize a little bit at a time realizing that Rome wasn't built in a day. Me, on the other hand, I look at all of it and don't even want to deal with it unless I can do a marathon organizational stretch. This is all a part of my quirky-perfectionist personality type.If things can't be done the way I want them to be I don't want to even try. Wow, now all of you probably think I'm more crazy than you originally thought!

PS-The reason the CD's, videos, and DVD's are not in alphabedical order is because Tyler has a lot of fun playing with the cases. I was actually able to let go of the desire to keep alphabedizing them! That was an accomplishment for me.

Naps No More

I have been out of sorts this week. Tyler has been weening himself off the afternoon nap for a couple of weeks and this week he is totally done. His sleep schedule used to be that he'd get up at 7am, nap between 2-5:30pm, and go to bed at 10pm. A lot of people commented that his bedtime was quite late but that is what works for our family. I loved that schedule because I got a break in the afternoon, Rick got to spend lots of time with Ty in the evening, and I didn't have to get up very early in the morning. Actually, Rick hangs out with Ty first thing in the morning; I don't get up until 8am. I know, I'm spoiled. At least I appreciate it.

This week Ty has been sick for most of the week and still isn't taking naps. He still fights going to bed until 10pm. It's strange. Something's gotta give. May I sound selfish for a moment? Taking care of a sick child who isn't sleeping much has not been fun. We've been home bound. I make it a point to get out of the house a lot for my own sanity, for Tyler's well-being, and as a way to prevent Ty from watching/listening to the TV. His expectation is that the TV should be on if he's home. This is not to say that I necessarily give in to his expectation. He doesn't veg out and watch it but he likes knowing it's on. I only allow him to watch or listen to educational shows but still.....it's a huge bone of contention with me. I've been working on it. Okay, time to stop feeling guilty.

I guess I'll need to make it a point to put him to bed by 8pm since he's not napping anymore. He will totally hate it at first but he'll get used to it. No more afternoon break for me. Can you hear me whining like a baby?!

New Zealand

Rick and I were watching The Amazing Race last night and it brought back such wonderful memories. The competitors were on the North Island of New Zealand and were in Auckland most of the time. We visited almost all of the places that they featured on the show! It was so cool! I thought I'd post a few photos of our three week trip there four years ago. We hope to make it to the South Island someday.

Auckland, NZ


Me and our friend Kylie at Mount Eden


View from the Sky Tower (it's the TALL, pointy building in the first photo)


Rick took one of the Lord of the Rings tours.


Someone took his photo from inside a doorway of a Hobbit Hole within Hobbiton.


Napier, NZ - Rick at a memorial right by the Tasman Sea.

Potty Training Update

I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that Tyler urinated on the potty this evening. He drank about 7 oz. of milk with dinner and I knew he'd have to go potty shortly after that. He sat there for about 5 minutes or so, which I was pretty impressed with, and when he got up there was pee-pee! We praised him like crazy. I showed him that we take the pee-pee, dump it into the toilet, and so on.

The bad news is that I remembered something: Tyler has rather loose stools. He has what is called a short gut which is a result of having part of his large intestine removed. He had a horrible condition called Necrotizing Entrocolitis (NEC) when he was a newborn. Anyway, a lasting effect of NEC can be loose stools. How do I train him to go to the potty with so many loose stools? I brought this to Rick's attention and he said that he doesn't think that a lot of Tyler's stools are loose. I hope that Rick is right.

I'm sorry if I'm not being too graphic in the posting.

Big Boy Underpants

I bought Tyler several pair of big boy underpants today. I tried a pair on him and he looked so darn cute! I decided to do the "cold turkey" method of potty training with him. We'll probably need to stay home for a couple days straight. He'll wear the underpants and I'll probably be cleaning up a lot of urine and bowel movements. Good thing we have a steam cleaner for the carpet. I've been introducing the idea of the potty chair and he's sat on it a few times. He totally knows what it is for but he doesn't want to use it.

I bought a boy baby doll that takes a bottle and urinates. I tried to show Ty that the baby can use the potty instead of going in it's diapers. The problem is that the baby doll urinates within about a second of taking the bottle so it doesn't make a lot of sense. Tyler figured out it was the exact water coming out of the baby doll that was going in. There is no delay, like the way it works with people. I have a pretty good feeling about this whole thing. I'm just going to make sure we do it over a weekend so Rick can help me clean up and encourage Tyler. I do not like being homebound, though, so that part will be rough. Wish me luck because we're going to dive in this weekend or next.

Tyler: Tricycle and Filling Some Big Shoes

This is Tyler learning how to ride a tricycle with his Physical Therapist, Jennifer.


Two days ago Tyler discovered the fun of wearing Daddy's shoes. I remember walking around in my Mom's shoes when I was 3 or 4!

To Market, To Market

I am no longer worried about the stock market. In fact, I now have the opposite feeling toward it. Almost everything is on clearance, and since that is one of my favorite words, Rick and I have decided to peruse the clearance rack to see if we're interested in any bargains! 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% off...hmmmmm.....

But are all sales final? What if I have my receipt?

Chicken Little, The Sky is Falling

Now, I am really worried. The Dow fell below 9,000 points today. That is bad. Really bad. I don't dare log-on to look at our brokerage account, our retirement accounts, and Tyler's college fund.

I knew that the economy was bad. Yet I was trying to heed the consolation that I used to give my clients when I was a Registered Representative, "If you're in the market as a long term investor try not to let dips in the market dissuade you. Over time, the market will correct itself and it is likely (not guaranteed) that the value of your account will recoup itself and even go up." I drank that Cool-aid. Those were the days when the market would go down a bit here and there. The occasional 200 point dip still wasn't that bad. Remember, there was a lot of optimism in that Cool-aid. Heck, the market even recovered (kind of) from 9/11.

My heart wants to sell everything and go solely into money market. This is the true test of Cool-aid. Will I believe what I used to tell my clients? We have not seen times like these. These times are unique.

Or do I do the opposite and invest more into the market?! That's really what I should do but I simply don't have the nerve. I'm not a big risk taker! I truly think that everything will be okay with our economy but it will take several years.

Little Old Lady

I know that I'll sound like a little old lady saying this but back in the day groceries were not so expensive. Lately, prices have been crazy, nuts, big! I went to Harris Teeter today and was taken aback! I don't usually shop there.

When we moved here almost 2 years ago, I was surprised at the price of groceries in Charlotte. Grocery prices in Phoenix are noticeably cheaper. But I had faith in myself with my method of shopping by buying things on sale with coupons that get doubled and buying meat mark-downs (usually on meats that were already on sale. Well, I still had a much lower grocery bill in Phoenix but what are you going to do? The house I have here would have cost almost twice as much in Phoenix so perhaps things even out.

To my Phoenix friends, I miss Sprouts the most!

Now I have plenty of room for my groceries but they are too expensive to buy. Just kidding. I do realize that groceries and almost everything else is quite reasonable compared to other countries. :-)

Baby? Maybe. Maybe Not.

As you know, I have been focused on having another baby. I think about it each and every day. I pray quite a bit and try not to obsess about it because stress does not help the process of getting pregnant! The two miscarriages over the past 9 months have added to the complicity of the situation. However, I can honestly say that I feel blessed in the sense that those miscarriages could have been A LOT worse than what they were.

I have been feeling like the clock is ticking because I'm 36. Today I was looking at my day planner. For several years I have kept careful track of my cycle. I would especially note when I would most likely ovulate. I'm not doing that this month or over the next few months at minimum. I need a break. Poor Rick would probably like a break, too.

The way I figure it, Tyler needs me to focus more on him anyway. I shall focus on what I have as opposed to what I don't have. Whatever happens, I will focus on the positives and not the negatives regarding the size of my family. Besides, I grew up as an only child and look how kick-butt I am! (just kidding)

I feel rather relieved.

This Kid is Cute

Tyler cracks me up. He has recently discovered that is body will move in certain ways. For example, he did a Michael Jackson-type dance move from the video Beat It yesterday. (No, he doesn't watch things like that.) It was so funny. He also runs around the house when his favorite show, Sid the Science Kid is on. He squeals with delight. I wish I got that excited about stuff. :-)

Gas Tank is Full

Rick and I both have gas tanks that are full and happy! (Gas tanks become quite sad when they are on empty.) Our friend Frank called to tell us that the Exxon by Bi-Lo had gas. We only waited in line for a few moments! We're not stuck at home. YEAH!

Where is it?

I cannot find gasoline anywhere. I keep calling local gas stations. The one I forgot to call on my list until a few minutes ago said, "We just ran out of gas." Darn, what are the odds? Rick has so little gas that his buddy is picking him up for work tomorrow. Thank goodness for that. I think I'm going to stay up all night to periodically call because I'm too wound up anyway. (Most of you probably know that I have sleeping problems anyway.) It's 12:20 am now. I just watched the movie No Country for Old Men which was quite good by the way. I'll update once I get some gas! Looks like it will be an large Starbucks coffee for me in the morning!

State of the Economy

I listened to President Bush's speech tonight regarding the state of the economy. I knew that things were bad, you'd have to live under a rock to not know that, but hearing the speech just drove the point home harder. I am not a Bush fan whatsoever but I thought that the speech was quite good. He, or should I say his speech writers (which is what I wanted to be at one point - a political speech writer), did an excellent job of explaining what is going on and how all of this happened.

I am angry that our country is in such a poor economical state. I'm angry that our taxes will almost certainly be raised so that the government will bail out financial institutions that participate in imprudent business practices. My favorite one is mortgage lending. Financial institutions lent billions of dollars to people for mortgages who couldn't afford them in the first place. This is not to say that that individual people who took out the loans are not responsible, too. I think the responsibility is 50/50.

The price of gasoline/oil is another crux of the problem with the economy. No one will ever be able to convince me that the high price of gas/oil is justified. I love the excuses that are used...the war, the hurricane, blah, blah, blah. Pretty soon it will be, "Oh, the sun is shining too brightly so let's raise the price of gas!"
What really makes me nuts is that oil companies' profits have been super huge lately. Hmmmm, so oil executives are getting profanely, disgustingly rich off of us using by using lame excuses. Where are the checks and balances?

Why should this surprise me? The oil executives, financial institution executives, and the government are all in bed together. I can see it now, there is a round table of these people laughing their butts off at us. In theory, our government is great. It reality, it stinks! The poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer and the middle class is being squeezed out. I truly am thankful for all that I have; I just don't appreciate that my family's livelihood is threatened because of the greed of a few people. It makes me sick, actually. Then again, that is the way the world works and it shouldn't surprise me. I'm so incredibly grateful that I believe God because without Him this world would make little sense to me!

Wow, I don't usually go off like this.

Week in NY

We just got back from a week in NY to visit Rick's family. They live on Long Island and Rick and I made our yearly jaunt into Manhattan. We walked around a lot. There are no photos of this but we walked through Chelsea, NoHo (north of SoHo), and Grenwich Village. We went to Magnolia Bakery (Carrie and Miranda from Sex and the City went there in one episode) for a cupcake. If you'd like some amusement, read the entry I wrote yesterday. We also went out on the ocean on a boat with Rick's sister and her family. Here are some photos of our trip.


This is me at Riverhead Aquarium feeding rays. I touched them a lot and got a big kick out of it!



Rick and Ty at Riverhead Aquarium




Wall Street was on edge this day as AIG was expected to announce bankruptcy and the market closed almost 500 points down the day before! Rick was so glad to be off work that week!




NYC's Chinatown. I've been to Chinatown in San Francisco and LA but had never been to the one in NYC. It was like stepping into China!




Little Italy has been almost swallowed by neighboring Chinatown but here is the NYC Little Italy Feast of San Gennaro.




Tyler is in a tree. Seaford, NY




Rick, Tyler and cousins Brooke(age 7) and Jillian(age 11)




Rick's close childhood friend, Peter and 6 month old Jamie, who he has not seen in many years. Thanks Facebook!




This large pond is right near Rick's parents' house. Tyler kept saying, "Come on kwe-aks (meaning 'quacks')! It was so funny!



Tyler with our friends' children, Sara (age 4) and Dean (age 2).

Within a Few Moments of Landing in NY...

Rick, Ty, and I went to NY for a week to visit Rick's family. I have interesting experiences when I go to NY but this most recent visit provided an extra interesting one within just a few moments after getting off the plane! Rick's dad met us at La Guardia Airport. He greeted us, took Ty's car seat to install in his car, and was going to pick us up right outside of baggage claim. But he set the car seat in the car but didn't install it. You know how it is at the curb, you're supposed to move quickly. I can appreciate this and thought "Oh crap, this should have already been installed." Rick worked fevereshly to install it when I hear this rent-a-cop chick YELL at us like we were totally stupid, "What are you doing? You should have already done that!" For those of you who do not know me well, it's not what you say to me, it's how you say it. She was 100% correct in what she said but her tone was unnecessary.

I looked directly at her and said, "Ma'am, you are right, we should have installed this before we got to the curb. We made a mistake and we're sorry BUT you don't have to be so snotty about it." Here is where things get interesting....

I don't even know exactly what was said but she and I exchanged words back and forth but no swearing. She made it a point to tell me over and over how stupid we were. I kept telling her that she didn't need to be so rude about it. She told me she was going to give us a ticket. I said, "Okay, what are you going to give me a ticket for? For standing up for myself? Let me help you write that ticket" I WAS SO ANGRY! There were dozens of people there waiting at the curb so this all must have been entertaining for them. Oh, my goodness!

Finally the car seat was installed and we all got into the car. Rick said, "Jen, I thought you were going to punch that lady!" I said, "I wouldn't have done that, but I do not allow people to treat me that way." Rick said, "Jen, she doesn't even realize she did anything. That is just how people talk to each other here. But good for you for standing up for yourself. She looked shocked that you said anything to her."

It is good to be home in Charlotte!

Small World

Ty and I were out this morning running an errand and I had to do a double-take. For about a second I thought I was back in Phoenix. We were in a parking lot when I saw a Honda Element SUV with an Arizona license plate with a plate cover frame that said "Midway" (the car dealership) and "I-17 and Bell Rd.". Phoenix is a LARGE place but that dealership is only 6 miles away from the house that we sold before we moved to Charlotte!

I pulled into the parking space next to this SUV in hopes that the driver would soon return. I just had to say "hi"! (Doesn't this sound like something I'd do?) After all, the vehicle looked friendly because it 3 decals of sea turtles on the back windshield and everyone knows that sea turtles are a symbol of friendliness. I figured that the driver might be, too. Well, the driver didn't come back after 5 minutes and I had a lot of stuff to do so we left. What a small world.

Out to Prove Me Wrong

This is a tad ironic. I called Tyler's case coordinator yesterday to express my concerns about his verbal development. (She wasn't there so I left a message.) I also e.mailed Kat to seek her opinion about it since her son is just 5 weeks younger than Tyler. As if he was out to prove me wrong, these are the things that came out of Tyler's mouth yesterday afternoon at his Physical Therapy session at Plaza Fiesta:
"It's steep. I need help."
"It's so orange!"
"It's high. I need help."
"Let's slide."

Hmmmm.

Baby Shower - Mission Accomplished

I hosted Karen's shower today. I think it went pretty well. I owe my husband a huge thank you for taking care of Tyler practically the whole weekend so I could prepare for it. THANK YOU, RICK!! It seemed like people had a nice time and I think Karen got some nice gifts. Thank you to everyone for coming and thank you, Nicola, for all of your help. :-) The photo is of Tyler playing with the balloons left from the baby shower later that day. He had a blast with those balloons!

Throw it Away

Do any of your kids throw their toys away, toys they love? Or is my kiddo unique in this respect? He will get mad at me or Rick (or both of us) and he'll put one of his toys in the trash. Then he gets upset with us because he can't reach it. It's an odd yet funny trait he has. I have told him several times, "Tyler, it doesn't hurt Mommy when you throw your things away. You only hurt yourself." Of course, this logic does not register in the mind of a two year old but I try.

Tyler & Lauren and First Time at Monkey Joe's

Here is Tyler with his future wife, Lauren. They are playing inside of her box house. See, they already have a place to live!


I can't believe it took us a year and 8 months of living in Charlotte before going to Monkey Joe's! Tyler had a blast! I had a huge smile on my face as I watched him.

A Cart of His Own

We went to the Big Lots in Rock Hill yesterday. I love Big Lots. Tyler was sitting in the shopping cart, or as y'all say in the South, the buggy, and I could tell he was getting bored. I saw child-sized plastic shopping carts with play food boxes in them. I thought that Tyler could push one of those carts while I pushed mine; we could shop together. In theory, this was a good idea. Does anyone know where I'm going with this? I put him down, showed him the cart, and said, "You can push your cart while Mommy pushes hers." He started to push his cart and then began to run down the aisles while squeeling with delight. I chased after him with my cart. It was actually really funny and I was laughing in between saying, "pardon us," to the other shoppers as cut them off! Every shopper was understanding and smiled except for one old man. Sometimes he ran with his shopping cart behind him dragging on it's side. (I imagined how it would look if I did the same thing but opted to keep my cart in the traditionad position.) Oh, I wish there had been a video camera on us. Oh wait, I suppose the security camera was on. Should I call to get a copy of the tape?!(j/k) Let's just say that I didn't get much shopping done but we had a ball! Guess I should go back to Big Lots alone. hee hee.

1st Time Cruisers

We finally did it! We've wanted to do this for about 7 years and we'll get to do it this coming December....take a cruise! It will leave from Charleston and is a 7 night cruise to the Bahamas. The biggest appeal for us is that we don't have to fly; we'll just drive down to Charleston. We just hope Tyler does okay on it....unless someone will let us leave him at their house for a week. HA! :-)

Address Labels and a Laundry Basket

Tyler says, "Adults see these as address labels but I see them a colorful roll of FUN! Oh, so that's what my address is! Who knew?!"




"Last night I read a book in the laundry basket. You don't need this, do you, Mommy?"

Unusual Place to Eat

Some people enjoy having a meal at the table, some on the sofa. I enjoy having a meal under my Mommy's desk! Come on, Mom! You caught me eating with my mouth open.

10 Years of Addictions

It all starts off innocently. My addictions started 10 years ago. First is was Beanie Babies and then Collectible Barbie Dolls. For a long time it was Beanies and Barbies at the same time. This was when I was working full time, had few expenses, no children, and had a lot of time to go shopping. I was still frugal but I indulged in these items. Oh, it was fun. I remember the rush I felt searching for new Beanies that had just been released. After about six years, after 500+ Beanie Babies and 50+ Collectible Barbies, I decided that I needed to stop. What was I supposed to do with all that stuff, anyway. I ran out of room to display all of these treasures anyway!

Like most bad habits, I replaced one with another. I love, love, love buying children's books! This started about six years ago when I did my post-bac in elementary education and when I was an assistant teacher for 3 year olds. I had access to the cheap book-club books. I was going to teach the early primary grades and knew that I needed to build a library for my classroom. I was advised to have at least 100 books. Between hand-me-down books, the book club books, and garage sale books, it was easy to reach 100.

I went all through the post-bac program, student teaching and everything, only to decide that I didn't want to have my own classroom. (I love subbing, though.) My love for books did not subside. It got even worse when I had a child who loves, loves, loves books!

I was outside of to Books-a-Million tonight and wanted to go in to look at the children's book clearance rack. I thought, "I shouldn't go in. He has enought books already....well, I'll just go in to look." I only spent $19.50 and got some great books so I can't complain. I'm picky about what books I get; they have to have educational value. There was some sort of book about a farting dog...give me a break.

The next phase of my addiction will be going to old, used bookstores to buy children's books of yester-year. I have a reference book that lists bunches of books that have a ton of historical value. They are kind of expensive but I figure that I can sell them on ebay once we've outgrown them.

Anyway, I suppose that this is a good addiction because Tyler reaps the benefits!

The Politics of Parenting

I can honestly say that I felt prepared to have a baby before Tyler was born. Minus the fact that he was so ill for 10 week as a newborn, I thought that raising an infant was not all that difficult. I think it was because I was older (33 when he was born) and had matured over the years, I had examples of what a good mother is (especially my best friend Kris), Tyler was an 'easy' baby, and I prayed a lot. However, I had not experienced any of the politics of parenting with the exception of receiving tons of advice from a variety of people. Sometimes I received advice that was good and sometimes not. I was not afraid to say, "Thanks for sharing your experience but I don't think that will work for us."

Having a toddler has been political. Most parents that I have encountered have been caring, sincere, and have my (and Tyler's) best interests at heart if Tyler behaves in a negative fashion. Tyler's verbal skills are underdeveloped and he cannot express himself in an appropriate manner sometimes. He can bite, push or pinch. I was terribly worried about this at first. My friends helped to put my mind at ease. Some people said that his behavior was quite common and normal. I pray about this on a regular basis and I consult with a Behavioral Specialist, not because I think Tyler is a tyrant, but because I simply didn't know what is normal toddler behavior and what is not. (It's a free service comes along with Tyler's other services so I'd be ignorant not to take advantage of it.)

The politics of it all are this: some parents are laid back when Tyler mistreats their kids (I'm on top of the situation to correct it) that they tell me, "Why are you so worried? That is normal." On the other end of the spectrum there are parents who make a BIG deal out of it. They will say things to me that are hurtful and inappropriate. Nonetheless, what is normal behavior? It depends on who you ask.

The conclusion I came to is that Tyler does display normal toddler behavior almost all of the time. There are times in which he treats kids in a manner that is not appropriate and it is my job and my husband's job to show Tyler constructive ways to display his anger, frustration, and confusion. I truly think that the negative behaviors will lessen or disappear once his verbal skills are more proficient. Still, we work with him a lot. He does not have the right to hurt another child. Just like no child has the right to hurt him.

I don't think that the politics of parenting will go away. I think that the politics chance phases just as the phases of parenting change. The one advantage of having the aforementioned challenges is that I have become more humble and less judgemental. I am more understanding of different parenting styles. Some lessons we learn in life are free and some we pay a high price for. This has been a rather costly one but the lessons have been priceless.

He Counts, Who Knew?

Tyler's PT (physical therapist) came over today for a session. I think he tries to impress her because each week he'll do or say something new just for her! She was working on something with him and counted "1, 2, 3," and then she paused. He continues with"4, 5, 6, 7". I looked at her and she looked at me. She could tell by the look on my face that the counting thing is brand new. So we start to 'test' him to see how much he knows. He can count from 1-10. I have joked with the PT that we should hang out with her all the time because Tyler seems to do more for her than for anyone else. Maybe he has a crush on her!

First Time at Charlotte at Play

Tyler and I went to Charlotte at Play for the first time today. I thought it was such a great place and Tyler did also. I think his favorite stations were the painting station (although he refused to wear the smock so paint got all over his clothes and shoes) and the car station. It's cute that the car station is set up like a mini race track. This is a place we will surely go back to. I like that it is in the Pineville area as opposed to going Uptown.

BounceU

BounceU, located in North Charlotte had their grand opening today. Thanks to Megan for telling the club about it. This place is FUN! I highly recommend it. I played camera girl while Rick went into the inflatables with Tyler. I don't know who had more fun, Rick or Tyler. My favorite photo is the one of Tyler's derriere! The admission was free and there was even free pizza and soda!

Tyler and his ABC's

Tyler likes anything that has to do with letters of the alphabet and knows all 26 letters. He also knows colors and shapes. He's known the alphabet for quite a while and some colors. More recently, he's been able to recognize most colors and shapes. This is him reciting the ABC's while looking and pointing at his alphabet place mat. He also enjoys repeating "purple" or "orange" over and over.

Yogurt: Food or Hair Conditioner?

I turn my back for one moment and this is what happened. Click on photo to see the full effect. hee hee.

A Special Moment in the Cheese Aisle

Tyler and I went to the store this morning. He was sitting in the cart and we were going down the cheese aisle. I sneezed and he said, "Bless you." It made me smile because that was the first time he said that; it caught me off guard. It made my heart warm. :-) One of the best parts of being a mom is getting a total surprise of glee when you're doing something as ordinary as grocery shopping.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

"Don't sweat the small stuff" is easier said than done sometimes. When a bunch of small stuff happens over a short period of time, it adds up to a big ache in my st0mach. Over the past two days my patience has been tested because my time has been wasted by other people. This is probably my biggest pet peeve...people wasting my time when there is nothing I can do about it. I truly don't want to turn this blog entry into a @#$%^ session; I just need to vent a little. Don't worry, I'll spare you most of the details.

My time was really wasted at the OB's office today. I went in for a consultation about what the next step is in trying to prevent miscarriages. The doctor was running a whole hour behind but when I signed in and specifically asked, "Is the doctor running on time or is there time for me to run an errand that will take 15 minutes?" I was told, "He should be running on time."This is what gets me, I anticipated that the doctor may be running late and I tried to make the most of my time, which is VERY precious to me, by asking if I could sign in and come back if I was going to wait anyway! I waited an hour. I was angry. All I wanted to do was drop off the backpacks for the Service Project at a location that was only a short distance away.

On top of that, the doctor didn't tell me anything that I didn't know already and could have been told over the phone (it would have taken less than 5 minutes). Megan, if you're reading this, you explained what the next steps would be better than the doctor did so I think I should give you my co-pay of $25!

The icing on the cake is that the doctor said that I had been pregnant with a boy when I miscarried back in November. (He would have been due on July 4th.) They know this because they did a chromosomal test. I know that the doctor didn't do anything wrong per se' but I just really was not prepared to hear that, the way he rattled it off, like it was my blood type or something. I really try to give doctors the benefit of the doubt, try to look at things from their perspective, but that is starting to fade.

Thanks to Karen R. for watching Tyler while I went to the doctor and dropped off the backpacks.

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes

This morning Tyler and I were up in his room so that he could play. I started going through his clothes to weed out what is getting too small and incorporated clothes that will soon fit. I love going through the clothes. I have fond memories of "playing" with his clothes before he was born. I was, and still am, like a little girl playing with her doll's clothes. Can you relate to this? This reminds me that he is getting bigger and bigger. It is bittersweet. My baby boy is almost 3. The good thing about him being petite is that I get to enjoy the 'smallness' a little longer; some babies and toddlers grow so quickly. I like having a little peanut. Besides, we get more use out of the clothes. hee hee.

Delivery Tomorrow!

I am excited because Tyler's play ground arrives tomorrow via UPS. Rick may not be as excited because he will have to put all of it together! Uggg. Luckily, I like putting things together so I can be his assistant. Now we need some shade trees, a patio, and some rose bushes and we'll have our backyard completed. It is currently sad, lonely, and empty.

Little Things Ty Does That Make Me Smile & Laugh

I know that anyone who has children will be able to relate to this completely. There are things my child does that are so darn cute and he isn't even trying to make me laugh most of the time. He's just funny. On the flip side of that, there are some funny and odd things I've said to him. My favorite is, "Tyler, will you stop mushing sausage in your hair?" He likes to put sticky/foody fingers in his ears and behind the ears. I have also said, "Tyler please do not bite the couch or please don't stare at me while I'm trying to use the bathroom (toilet)." I can think of so many other ways in which his personality is just way too adorable. There have been times in which I would love to be a fly on the wall and just observe him for a couple of hours. Granted, I do observe him but it can be easily interrupted by life: doing dishes, laundry, blogging (I am observing and blogging right now. Tyler just ran into the TV and Rick asked him if he's okay. Tyler said, "Yeah, I'm fine." He had never said anything like that before. Anyway, I think I will post more of the everyday funny things. Rick and I think Tyler is hilarious but I suppose all parents think that....but trust me....Tyler is hilarious!

Trying Not to Jump to Conclusions

A lot of the time I am able to talk myself out of being sad that we might not be able to have another child. It is just a strange feeling that I have, that Tyler will be an only child. I try to be positive about it and tell myself that it is so AWESOME that I was blessed to give birth to a child. Perhaps I have an extra speck of the miracle of a child being born because Tyler was so very ill all of those weeks in the NICU. We came close to losing him two or three times. Sometimes I feel selfish that I want another one; I should be happy with what I have. I am happy but I still want another one. I don't want him to be an only child. I'm an only child so Tyler will have so few family members. Rick only has one sibling so there are not a lot of family members on his side either. I didn't have anyone to grow up with, to relate to. As an adult, I still wish that I had a sibling or two or three to relate to, especially since my mom has passed on. Like I said, I can usually talk myself out of having a pity party but tonight I am sad. It is pretty late and I must be tired because I wouldn't normally put something so mushy on my blog. Tomorrow I will wake up and I will make myself be fine again. :-)

EdVenture Visit

Rick and I took Tyler to EdVenture today. We've never been there before and loved it. We will go back for sure. Tyler ran around the place with his legs moving so quickly the rest of his body could hardly keep up. He screamed with delight but apparently he was too loud for himself because he would put his fingers in his ears! It was funny.

My Moral Dilema & Wal-Mart

I have a love/hate relationship with Wal-Mart. I'll bet you can relate. I love their low prices and plentiful selection. I dislike their customer service and clientele. (Tega Cay is not so bad but the one on S. Tryon....oh, my). Today I went there for few items with Tyler. We went to the one on S. Tryon because it was on the way home. I had a coupon for a free tube of Rembrandt toothpaste. Coupons are particularly confusing to Wal-Mart cashiers. They look at them like they are written in Chinese. Anticipating this, I told the cashier that it is a coupon for a free item and that I wrote the price on it, which was $6.34. Then it began, she stared at it and stared at it. She said, "I hate coupons like this." After what seemed like 10 minutes she deducted the price of the toothpaste and I was on my way or so I thought......

Somehow she took the $6.34 off twice. Hmmm, what to do? The debate began in my mind:
1 I am frustrated with Wal-Mart almost every time I leave.
2 I'll have to wait in line in Customer Service and that may take a while.
3 They're the ones who made the mistake.
4 Who cares, they suck anyway.
5 It was an honest mistake on their part and I should give the money back.

I made my decision. I would walk over to Customer Service and tell then I needed to pay for an item (but only if there was not a long line). Hey, I wanted to be honest but Tyler may have been off to college by the time I got through a long line. There was no one in line so I told the worker I owed them some money. I did not do the right thing so that I would be thanked but the thing that annoyed me was that the lady kind of acted like I was bothering her.

I still think that Wal-Mart sucks but the frugal side of me will still go back.

Dog Food, Cat Food, and Tyler

Yesterday Ty and I went to pick up the cat who was being groomed. It was actually $70 and not $65 like I originally thought. Anyway, Tyler is sitting in the cart while I'm talking to the groomer. He reaches over to the counter where a bowl of complimentary large dog biscuits was. He picks it up and proceed to munch on it. The groomer looked at me as if to say, "Lady, your kid is eating a dog biscuit!" All I said was, "That is pretty normal for him." I will come back to this topic in a few moments. (I know my long-time Phoenix friends who are reading this are thinking, "Jen let Tyler eat a big dog biscuit and it didn't phase her?!) I had a reputation of being very qwirky and anal retentative about even the smallest things. I have chilled out a lot.

I'm not sure how my MOMS Club friends view me in that regard but trust me, I'm more laid back. I don't even alphabatize my CDs or DVDs anymore! It sucks because I honestly love putting things in order or sorting things into catagories and sub-catagories. I would have made a good Librarian.

A few moments later we're back in the car. Lemieux (cat) was not happy being in his cat carrier and the way expressed this was to give a pathetic, drawn out, desperate "MEOW" every couple of seconds. Then I start to mimic him and then Tyler laughs at me mimicking the cat. There was about 10 minutes of this and it was really funny. I wish Rick could have been there. On top of it all, Tyler totally laughed at the Lemieux once he saw the cat's haircut. I don't think the cat thought it was funny.

This leads us back to the topic of Tyler and dog biscuits. Oh, this will make great blackmail material when Tyler is a teenager! This kid loves both dog food and cat food. Gross, I know, but it doesn't even phase me because it's been going on for so long. Honestly, we keep the pet foods in the least available places for Tyler to get to them. The kid is too darn smart and manages to get to the food anyway. At least Tyler reciprocates. At each meal we find Ty gently giving Strider and Lemieux some of his food. As long as everyone, especially Ty, is getting enough calories and nutrition then I will not turn into an issue with Ty.

My Ambien is kicking in so I don't even know it this post makes sense. Gotta love Ambien. Ambien is a sleeping aid in case you've not heard of it.

Golden Scissors?

What kind of world do we live in which a cat's haircut cost four times what a person's haircut cost? I am pretty frugal and go to Great Clips for my haircuts. I've had expensive haircuts in the past and have discovered that no matter how much I spend, my hair is simply uncooperative. Why spend a lot when I get the same results as I do when I spend about $15? My cat, on the other hand, gets the treatment royale'. His haircuts cost $65 (including tip)! Now before you jump to a conclusion and think I'm one of those freaky cat lovin' people, let me explain. This is the going rate for a cat's cut. Trust me, I have priced it. I have been told it is because cats are difficult to do, which I believe. At least this includes a bath, blow dry, and a nail clipping. I should also hope that the scissors are made of gold at that price. We get his haircut because he is a disheveled mess otherwise. He sheds enough to make a second cat. The truly ironic part is that we have his fur trimmed so short that he looks totally ridiculous. Seriously, I'll post a photo. We like to get our money's worth!

HSG Results & Being Sorry

I had the HSG procedure today in which dye was injected into my uterus and fallopian tubes. This was loads of fun as I'm sure you can imagine. Everything was completely fine. Have to talk to the doctor to see what is next. In the meantime, I'm allowed to keep trying to get pregnant.

On a separate note, Rick was taking care of Tyler on Saturday night. Tyler proceeded to take his meal and cup of water and made a huge mess on his tray. He likes to 'paint' with his food and drinks. Rick came over to Ty and said, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Rick felt badly that he raised his voice and said, "I'm sorry, Tyler. I shouldn't have been loud." Tyer retorted, "You're sorry? I'm sorry!"

4th and 5th of July

We went over to the Jagers' house for the 4th of July to watch Jeff set off fireworks off of the dock. Tyler did not like it. The sound really bothered him! We put Tyler inside; Rick and I took turns staying inside with him. I felt badly for Tyler but it was pretty cool watching the fireworks being set off from the dock over the lake.

The next night we went to Showmars with the Holmes'. Rick and I are used to Tyler taking food off our plates but the funniest thing happened. As soon as we all received our meals, Tyler pulled Dave's plate toward him and took food off it. I had to do a double take because I had never seen him do that to anyone else's plate before. Dave and Joni have a 3 year old so they are rather understanding of toddler community property.

Socks as Toys

Tyler was cracking me up tonight when we were all in his room; he was playing with toys. I keep all of his socks rolled up in pairs in a Rubbermade type container. He got it out, opened it up, and poured socks all over himself. He also tried to balance the sock balls on his head. Someone should have told me, don't buy him toys, buy him lots of socks. I guess you had to be there but it was funny to us.

Baby Loves Disco

I took Tyler to Baby Loves Disco on Saturday. It was so much fun. There was dancing, a cool play room, healthy snacks, face painting, and colored hairspray. See the photo of Tyler's blue streak! There was a bubble machine, rattles, sheer scarves for them to dance with, and hula-hoops. He wasn't into the dancing as much as I was but he had a huge grin on his face when I would hold him and dance. I highly recommend this as an event to take your young child to!