Christmas Day

Thought I'd share some pics from our Christmas Day. Santa came while Ryan was sleeping (heehee). Here you see the excitement on his face...he wanted to open them right away. We had to wake daddy up first. LOL

Here he is opening the big gift that "santa" brought him. It's a dinosaur robot...called a roborapter. He wanted a robot and loves dinosaurs so we thought this would be perfect for him. Go figure though...he only liked it the first day. Now he seems afraid of it. *sigh*

The surprise hit this Christmas? A little laptop he got from me. It comes complete with a mouse. It has lots of learning activities on it, such as learning the difference from captial letters and lowercase, phonics, numbers, spelling, and some fun learning games. I got it thinking how much he loves daddy's laptop, so possibly this might be good. I really didn't think he'd like it that much. Surprise!! It's become one of his current favs. Go figure.

Daddy got socks and a Good Eats DVD, and I got socks and Grey's Anatomy Season 1 DVD. I have pics, but figured you didn't want to see us still in our jammies. LOL

It was a very nice Christmas. Poor Ryan had so much stuff, he kept going back and forth, from toy to toy, not knowing what to play with. Like a friend of mine (thanks Sam!) said, it looks like a toy store threw up in my living room! I'm still trying to put stuff away.

A good Christmas!

We had a wonderful, yet busy Christmas! Not many pictures were taken during our Christmas Eve celebration with my family since we took video, but there are a few shots. Every year we take a family photo in front of my mom's Christmas tree. This year Ryan was playing "shy" and didn't want his pic taken. Highly unusual for him since he LOVES to have his pic taken..he's a ham. I think he was tired since he didn't take a nap that day. And me...I know I don't look 32 weeks pg there. LOL You can't tell from the front. LOL But that is a maternity dress! Got a good deal on it from Motherhood. Oh...and don't mind the pagers that daddy is wearing. He was on call during Christmas. Luckily he didn't get any pages!

You can also see in the background all the presents there. As usual, every year there are TONS of presents. It's a running joke in our family--every year my mom says she's cutting back on gifts, and every year there seems to be more instead of less! LOL But you have to figure, there are 8 of us, so that would equal a lot of gifts.

Here's Ryan anxiously awaiting to open the gifts. My mom usually has a big spread of food beforehand...mainly snacks and appetizers, so we usually eat first and then open. We try to do it as early as we can since it makes it for a long night for Ryan...it takes us about 3 hours to open gifts, then we clean up and head off to my parent's friend's house for their Christmas party.

Here is Ryan and Uncle Darrell (my brother) goofing around. It was Darrell's turn this year to hand out the gifts, so Ryan was a big help in handing them out.

Here is Ryan and daddy. He is helping daddy videotape the events. After a while Ryan became overstimulated and rather unruly, so to try to calm him down we had him "help" daddy with the video camera. It worked for a while!

It was a wonderful Christmas. Ryan's favorite gift from grandma and grandpa was an Imaginext Castle. Mine was a gold cross necklace. And daddy's I think was a ladder.

Everything turned out nicely and it was another good Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Hard to believe it's that time of year already. It sure has gone fast this year.

We are doing the typical, traditional Christmas thing this year. Going to my parents after Ryan (hopefully) takes a nap, opening gifts there (which takes aobut 3-4 hours!), then going to a friend's house for their annual Christmas party. It will be a long day for Ryan so I'm hoping he naps!!

Tomorrow we will open gifts here, head to church, then nap for Ryan, then back to my parents house for dinner.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

Rejoice! Our Savior is Born! :)

pictures from the snow

These are late I know. Here are the pics I promised. Ryan playing in the 14 inches of snow we got a while back.

Here is Ryan on the deck....to show how deep the snow was, he could barely walk through it! Here is the snowman Ryan and daddy made together. It had already lost part of it's mouth by the time I took the picture! It was Ryan's very first snowman and he was so proud of it!

And now, 2 weeks later, this is all that's left of our 14 inches of snow! All that's left in the wake of the snowman is the stick arms and the coal. It's really sad. And the pile of snow you see here is left from the huge mountain of snow daddy made for Ryan so he could climb and slide down it. If daddy hadn't done that, we wouldn't have any snow left at all. So much for a white Christmas this year!

Christmas GTKY

1. Eggnog or Hot chocolate?currently, hot chocolate, but normally eggnog!
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? wrap presents
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
colored
]4. Do you hang mistletoe? no
5. When do you decorate for Christmas? Day after Thanksgiving
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? (Excluding desserts!) shrimp, bacon-wrapped water chestnuts
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child. going for a drive on Christmas Eve after dark to look at the Christmas lights on the houses in the neighborhood.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I really don’t remember.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? YES! My family opens ALL their gifts on Christmas Eve. It’s our tradition. We have our Christmas on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day.
10. Do you bake cookies every year? no. Some years I do, some years I don’t. My mom does most of the cooking/baking.
11. Snow? Love it or dread it? snow only until Christmas! After the New Year I wouldn’t mind it melting!
12. Can you ice skate? yes but haven’t gone in years.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?. I loved the Cabbage Patch kids I got when they were “in” back in the 80’s.
14. What's your favorite thing about the holidays? What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?. spending time with family, spending time in glorifying Christ.
15. Favorite holiday dessert? cookies, Angel food candy
16. What is your favorite Holiday tradition? opening gifts on Christmas eve with my family
17. What is your tree topper like? an angel
18. Do you like to give or receive? I love to give!
19. What is your favorite Christmas carol? Carol of the Bells
20. Candy canes? Yuck or Yum? yuck. I don’t like peppermint.
21. What was the one gift you always wanted for Christmas but never got? I have no idea.
22. Do you buy a gift for yourself when shopping? Usually. I have to open something on Christmas too.
23. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story; How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated version)
24. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? with lights and ornaments.
25. What do you do on Christmas morning? open gifts with dh and Ryan after Santa has arrived. Go to Christmas service at church.

I'm here I swear!!!!

I need to apologize to my whole 7 readers (haha).....it seems I haven't updated in ages. I mean to just about everyday...I think about it. But I never get a chance to or I find something else that needs my attention.
Especially recently with the holidays. Between my Bible study I'm working on (which takes up a lot of time), various social things (MOPS for one), taking Ryan to Awana, Christmas parties, Christmas shopping (which I'm only about half done and haven't wrapped anything), and trying to spend time with family (mainly dh and Ryan) and friends...it's been difficult to find time to breath much less write my blog!!

Coming up.....I will post some pics of Ryan playing in the 14 inches of snow we got. I also came home from the store today to see a big snowman in our backyard! Dh and Ryan were out this afternoon (since it actually warmed up a bit...40 degrees!!) and they made a snowman. It's so cute.

Anyway, I do have plans to update more often...I swear!!!! I used to update just about every day....lately though it's just been hard as I haven't had the time or the energy. Check back often though as I might surprise you!! LOL

The Christmas Story

By Cherri Fisher


'Twas the time of the census, and all through the land
The folks mounted their donkeys and traversed the sand.

Mary and Joseph of this law did obey;
Mary rode the donkey, Joe led the way.

A baby was due to arrive very soon -
On and on they marched by the light of the moon.

Joseph worried about the health of poor Mary;
They had to make time for they mustn't tarry.

At last they arrived in the populous city;
The folks they encountered gave nothing but pity.

Where could they go? Who would give them a room?
She was feeling the stirrings inside of her womb.

"Please," cried Joseph, "can we stay in your inn?'
The innkeeper said, "No." with a face of chagrin.

"Everywhere you go, every room has been taken."
Their faith ever strong, they would not be forsaken.

An innkeeper offered the use of his stable.
"So sorry," said he, "It's all I am able."

"We're happy to have a roof over our head,
We'll be comfy and cozy," was all Joseph said.

They'd no more than settled themselves down for a rest
When a baby was borne and the world was now blessed.

Mary laid the sweet babe in a little manger.
She and Joseph just smiled at their tiny stranger.

Their world was now different, everything had been changed;
According to God's plan it had all be arranged.

They named him Jesus, just as God had directed.
They would keep him warm, nurtured, safe and protected.

The sheep crowded in close, the cattle did too.
This child was God's gift, even the animals knew.

To the shepherds in their fields the angels came;
"A wondrous King has been borne, this we proclaim."

"Go now to Bethlehem and worship this child."
The angels now gone, the shepherds trekked through the wild.

A star they relied on to lead the way;
It shone on the baby asleep in the hay.

The wise men were told of this miraculous birth;
Gifts were packed on their camels - gold, frankincense, myrrh.

He was given by God to all of mankind
To save us from sin which we all are inclined.

So shout from the rooftops and trumpet your horn;
Merry Christmas to all, Jesus Christ has been born.

How California are you?

I got this from Shawna, who lives in CA. Just thought this was interesting to see how Californian I am, considering I've never been there!! haha They were dead on too..made me laugh!

You're totally like 18% California!

Keep saving up your pocket change and someday maybe you'll be able to fly out and visit. Until then, go shovel the snow off the driveway.

How California are You?

Winter Wonderland

Look what I found when I woke up this morning?


Yes, a winter wonderland. National Weather Service is calling it a full blown blizzard, even telling people NOT to leave the house. That if they go out driving they are risking their lives. First time NWS has ever stated that for this area!

Ryan of course is loving this. He was so excited when he saw the snow this morning (it's the first snow fall of the season). He wanted to go out right away, but I told him to wait until it stops snowing at least!




Here we have about 5 inches already, and we are expecting about 10 inches total today. Our Christmas decorations have blown down--hopefully it's not broken as we just replaced it from our incident the other day!



More pictures to come as we play outside! Welcome to winter!

new blog!

Here is a new blog you need to check out! I've known her for quite some time; we met at simplymoms. I just recently heard about her blog. Check it out! :)

Christmas decorations

This weekend we put up our Christmas decorations. On Saturday we did the inside of the house (the tree and other decorations). Yesterday we did the outside of the house.

Here's my pet peeve.

We worked hard to make the yard look nice. We don't go overboard, but we have some nice things: a neon Christmas tree, lit candy canes, a wreath on the door, a lit wreath on the deck, and garland around the deck. Nothing too fancy, but still nice.

So why does someone have to come and wreck it? It really irks me.

Last year we had a nice lit reindeer that moved it's head up and down and it's feet so it had an appearance like it was flying. Some vandals knocked it over and destroyed it.

Now our lit tree was only up for LESS than 24 hours and this morning we found it laying on the ground, broken.

It really irks me that other people feel that have to destroy other's property just to get a kick out of things. I know we live on a corner, but still, what's wrong with the world today that people can't leave other's things alone?

So anyway, I'm going to the store to see if I can find something else to put up. If that gets destroyed, we'll just have to end putting up nice things for now. How sad is that.

Ah well, Christmas shall still live on...with our without our outside decorations!

After Thanksgiving Sales

Yes, I was one of the crazy ones that got up early and ran out to the stores at 6am to get the good deals!
I don't always go. I didn't go last year. But this year there were some good deals I couldn't pass up, so I got up at 5am and was out the door by 6am. My first stop was Linens and Things, and amazingly got in and out of there in ten minutes!! They really weren't that busy, and what I was looking for was not something they normally sell, so not an in demand item.
My second stop on the list was Kohl's. That one took longer. I was going mainly for clothes (they had maternity clothes 50% off!). There's something hiliarous though about seeing the checkout line backed up all the way to the back of the store, yet going in to an empty dressing room to try clothes on. It was rather amusing. Anyway, got some good deals there too. It took 45 minutes of standing in line to check out, but that doesn't bother me.
I was planning on stopping at more places, but by that time I was getting tired, hungry, and just needed to sit down for a few minutes. I stopped back at home for breakfast.
After an hour break, I roped dh and son out too! We stopped at a few stores where it wasn't quite as busy since it was a bit later on.

All in all it was a good shopping experience and I got some good deals! Yay Black Friday!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is coming up in a few days. It's the time of year where we reflect on all our blessings and give thanks to the One who made it all possible. Though praise shouldn't be limited to just one day a year, but rather everyday all year round.

I'm am so so thankful to my Lord for all my blessings. I have my health, my husband, my son, a nice house, family, all the things I have. I'm thankful that I live in the USA and have food, clothing, shelter, etc. I'm also incredibly grateful for the new life I am carrying. I am truly blessed beyond my wildest imagination. It's all because of my Lord! Praise His holy name!

Here is the lyrics to one of my favorite praise songs. Make sure you reflect this Thanksgiving on all the blessings that Jesus has given to you. Even if your life seems bleak, there is always something to be thankful for. Jesus loves us, and all praise and glory go to Him!

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Artist - Don Moen
Album - Various Songs
Lyrics - Thank You Lord

I come before you today
And there's just one thing that I want to say
Thank you lord
Thank you lord
For all you've given to me
For all the blessings that I cannot see
Thank you lord
Thank you lord

**With a grateful heart
With a song of praise
With an outstretch arm
I will bless your name
Thank you lord
I just wanna thank you lord
Thank you lord
I just wanna thank you lord
Thank you lord

For all you've done in my life
You took my darkness and gave me your light
Thank you lord
Thank you lord
You took my sin and my shame
You took my sickness and healed all my pain
Thank you lord
Thank you lord

Bible study

I have been meaning to write about this and I just haven't gotten around to it.

My Thursday Bible study has started up again. We are doing another of Beth Moore's studies, this one titled "Believing God".

Beth Moore has incredible studies, and this one is no exception. A very in depth study on how not just to believe in God, but to BELIEVE HIM. To believe He is who he says he is, and what he says he can do. I have been enjoying it immensely. Her DVD lectures are amazing as always. She has a way of not just capturing an audience and preaching, but greatly inspiring. And the workbook and homework, though at times overwhelming since it's a lot of work (5 days of homework each week) but is very rewarding.

I've done a few of her studies in the past (studies on John, David, and the Patriarchs), but this one so far has proved to be the best I think. Not just learning the history of our Lord and diving into the Word, but this one really makes us look into ourselves and how and why we do or do not believe God. It gives us ways to increase our faith and belief and use it in everyday life. We are only on week 3, but it has been amazing so far. I can't wait to continue this journey!

If you are not involved in a Bible study, I suggest finding one and delving into the Word of God. I also highly recommend a Beth Moore study. I think you would admire her love for our Lord as much as I do.

Go Packers!

This weekend was the Viking/Packer game. Oh what a game it was! The two have always been big rivals, being the state next door. I was a little worried at first, since the Pack hasn't been doing well this season and we were playing at the Superdome...which is known for it's extreme loudness.
But they didn't let me down! It looked like my old Packer team again! They were awesome! Favre was playing almost at his best, and Driver made an incredible 82 yard run for a touchdown! What a game!

Green Bay Packers- 23
Minnesota Vikings- 17

Now if only we can play like that every week! :)

Has it really been this long?

Wow....Has it really been that long since I last posted?

Sorry for ignoring my blog!! I just haven't been in a writing mood lately. It's getting harder to come up with stuff lately. I just feel that sometimes I don't have anything worth reading to say!

Not a whole lot going on here. I will try to come up with something soon so I can keep this thing going! :)

I'm back!

It was an absolutely wonderful weekend....besides missing dh and Ryan!

Thursday we drove, and drove, and drove! Being women and taking many stops, we dragged out a 6 hour drive in to 11 hours! LOL But we stopped several times for potty breaks, stopped for lunch, stopped at Devil's Lake, WI for 2 hours, stopped for dinner, and finally made it to the hotel by 10:30pm! Unfortunately we ran into a problem there. They gave away our rooms! I don't know the details on it...but we ended up having to go to a different hotel about 15 minutes away! At least we got rooms.

Friday was a busy day of shopping! We went to the Mall of America! What an amazing place...so huge! I ended up buying some stuff too! I got a nice maternity dress for the holidays (I have nothing for Thanksgiving or Christmas!), some postcards for my best friend, some legos from the really cool Lego store for Ryan. I wanted to get dh something too but I couldn't find anything at a decent price that he would like. Then we stopped at Bubba Gumps Shrimp Co for lunch/dinner. It was good, but I was slightly disappointed. Everyone was really talking it up and I expected more than what I got. Ah well. It was fun anyway!
Then we headed off to the conference. It was 7-10pm that night. It was pretty interesting. They introduced all the speakers that would be speaking, they had a comedian (who is hilarious btw), and of course praise and worship songs. We all got a packet of brochures and things.

Saturday we were at the conference all day, 9-5. It was incredible! Absolutely amazing! I'd have to say the best experience I've had! Praise and worhsip songs (the worship team is incredible), speakers who moved me, it was all incredible. It's something about worshipping and praising our Lord with 18,000 other women! Truly incredible! I took so much knowledge and God's power and strength with me!
After the conference we went out to eat at Applebee's. Good food, good fun. After coming back, I called dh and talked with him for a bit. That's when it really hit me how much I missed my family. He talked all about what him and Ryan did that day and I felt like I really missed out. I wanted to go back home.

Sunday was the long drive home, though it didn't take nearly as long this time since we only stopped for potty breaks and lunch. We did run into some horrible traffic but we managed to get through it ok. I got home by 6pm.

When I got home, Dh had flowers waiting for me, some candy, dinner on the table. It was the sweetest thing! Ryan made me a card. And they even videotaped Ryan and daddy carving the pumpkin so I could see! So sweet!

It was a great trip and so glad I did it. It was just so hard being away from my family though. But I feel so much closer to God now. God is good all the time; all the time He is good!

Women of Faith

This Thursday I am leaving to go to St. Paul MN to attend the Women of Faith conference! I'm so excited about this! It will be my first time attending and I just can't wait!

I'm going with a group of women from church. We are taking two vans and driving up there, stopping at Devil's Lake, WI on the way there. On Friday we will be shopping at Mall of America (yay!), eating at Bubba Gumps, (which I watched Forrest Gump on Sunday to freshen up on that) then the conference starts Friday evening. Back to the hotel to relax a bit, then attend the conference all day Sat. Sunday we head home.

I have been truly blessed to be able to go. All my expenses have been paid for by a scholorship at church! All I have to pay for is my meals and anything extra I want to buy. Plus my pg is going so well I have been cleared by my dr to go!

I'm really looking forward to this. I need some time away and some time to just renew my faith and love for Christ.

The only thing that worries me is I have never been away from Ryan for longer than 24 hours! I think by the end of the 4 days I will go crazy! Daddy will be watching him, though I'm trying to convince him to let grandma and grandpa watch him for a day. We shall see. Hubby can be kinda stubborn sometimes!

I will post all about it when I get back!

Ryan's birthday

So Ryan's birthday was last week (yikes, I'm far behind on blogging). He had a blast! We gave him a present in the morning, and then spent all morning playing with it! It is his prized possession.....a play chainsaw! yep, that's right. He wanted it because he sees daddy using his to cut down branches from our millions of trees in our yard. My brothers (as lovely as they are *said sarcastically*) has made several references to "Texas Chainsaw Masacre" and thinks Ryan should see it. yeah. Great uncles.

In the afternoon I gave him another present...since he took a nap like a good little boy! LOL I told him if he took a nap he could have another present. Yes, I'm bad. So when he got up (after he actually did sleep!) he opened his next present, which was a book. He didn't seem too thrilled at the time...put it away. But we have read it every night since. It's a book about having a new baby in the house. He also got a card in the mail from Toys R Us, since he's in the birthday club. It came with a gift certificate to get something "special" from the store, along with a $3 gift card. So he wanted to go to the toy store. So off we went!

When we got there he handed in the gift certificate and he got a birthday crown he got to wear, a helium balloon he got to carry around the store (technically mommy got to carry the balloon around) and a cart that says Happy Birthday on it. So off shopping we went. We let him pick a few things out he liked around the store (he only picked 3 things! This child doesn't usually ask for much). At the end we told him he could pick one thing out of the three that he wanted and we would buy it for him. He picked a big tub of legos, which made daddy happy because that's one of daddy's favorite toys. (but guess who gets to play it with him since daddy is usually at work!!)

Afterwards we went out for dinner to Qdoba (yum!) and for dessert to the "ice cream store", or Cold Stone. (mind you, I would much prefer Kopp's, the best frozen custard EVER, but that's a half hour drive to Milwaukee for it, so we just went to the next best thing). After we got home I gave him a bath, got ready for bed, and let him stay up a half hour past bedtime to watch the beginning of the Packer game.

I'd say he had a great time....and sure was spoiled!! But hey, it was his birthday. He really enjoyed it. At the end of the day when I was tucking him into bed, he said to me "Mommy, thank you for the great birthday and for singing the birthday song to me." How sweet! From no prodding from me! :)

I'm glad he had a great time. I can't believe my baby is 4!

Crazy week!

Well, it's just been a crazy week. Ryan's birthday was Monday so we spent the day as a family doing whatever Ryan wanted. More on that later.
Tuesday was my advanced u/s with a perinatologist (check my pg blog for details on that).
Wed was Awana night.
Thursday was Ryan's dr appt....he is a very healthy 4 yr old! Will post more on that later too.
Today I have spent all day cleaning and preparing as we have Ryan's birthday party tomorrow. I'm exhausted and wondering why I'm doing all this!! LOL

I will post updates hopefully when things settle down a bit. Hopefully Sunday or Monday. I should have pics too of Ryan's birthday.

My baby's birthday!!

I'm posting a bit early, but I will be busy tomorrow. Oct 2 (tomorrow) is Ryan's birthday! He is 4!! Hard to believe. He's growing up so fast.

I remember when he was born like it was yesterday. Yet here he is, 4 years later, running, counting, talking up a storm (can you say NEVER is quiet?). He has come so far from that tiny little peemie he was when he was born. A time when we thought he wasn't going to ever get big. Grant it, he's still smaller than most kids his age, but he sure has come a long way!

He is really excited about his birthday. I sure hope he sleeps tonight. Not sure exactly what we are doing tomorrow....but dh took the day off and we will spend it together as a family. His party is this coming Sat (Oct 7) where he will be getting most of his presents, but he will certainly get one tomorrow. There is a play chainsaw (made by Home Depot) that he has been asking for about a zillion times a day! So he will be getting that tomorrow. The kid is spoiled. :)

So I'm taking a moment to celebrate the life and my love for my precious little sweet pea.

Happy Birthday Ryan!! Mommy loves you! :)

Busy

I haven't blogged much this week due to several reasons. First, I have a lot going on due to almost constant dr appts! (u/s on Monday, dr appt on Wed, and now next week another u/s on Tuesday).
And I'm also battling a cold. Not fun when pregnant. But hey, it's what I have to deal with for a healthy baby!

There hasn't been a whole lot to update on. I'm still attempting to write my book. I wrote 5 pages this past weekend....about half a scene since it's a long scene.

Next week is going to be busy. Monday is Ryan's birthday....can you believe he will be 4?? Doesn't seem possible. Tuesday is my advanced u/s at Froedtert Hospital, Wed is Awana, Thursday is Ryan's dr appt, Sat is professional pictures and Ryan's party. I'm tired just thinking about it all!

Yay!! We won!!

So the Pack finally won a game!!! woo hoo!!!

We played the Detroit Lions today....both teams were 0-2. Some one actually had to break their losing streak. Considering both teams are in the same division....we obviously wanted the Pack to win.

And they did! Finally! Very exciting game too...right down to the last few seconds. We won by a touchdown, but the Lions had the ball the last minute of the game, and came awfully close to tying the game. Lucky for us they didn't!

Packers- 34
Lions- 27

Glad to see we finally won a game!! Go Pack Go!

Thursday night tv!

Last night was the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy. You bet I watched! In fact, dh hates the show, so I ended up watching it in the cold basement by myself (you'd think he would be nice and let the pg woman have the comfy couch upstairs, but that's a whole other topic). Either way it was still good! It feels so good to watch it again! It wasn't as exciting as the season finale last year of course, but still good. Very realistic portrayal of Izzy overcome with grief, and what's up with Meredith not choosing at all? I say she should go for the vet....I like him. McDreamy is getting annoying....like him and all, but really, I think he should be with Addison.

I was really upset with the storyline though about the newborn. Not really upset that they did the storyline...as it happens all the time...but stories like that always hit a nerve with me. After dealing with infertility for 2+ years, it really hurts to see some teenage girl hiding her pg and then dumping her child in a trashcan. I shiver thinking about it. It makes me so angry....since there are so many women that want children so badly and can't. I was happy though that they did mention the New Haven law....where a mother can take her newborn to any fire dept, police dept, or hospital (and some churches) within the first 72 hours and not be charged.

Anyway, it was a good episode. I'm looking forward to next week!

Also watched a show called 6 Degrees. That was also a really good show! A definite must see this season! I loved how the 6 characters has never met before and how their lives become intertwined. Very interesting, and kept my attention. I'm liking it.

So Thursday night tv is a hit! Check them out if you haven't already!

Packer game last week

I forgot to blog about the game last week. Not much to write about though. We lost.....again. Big surprise there huh? At least we were IN the game this time....we scored a few touchdowns...and the game was tied for quite a while. But in the end the New Orleans Saints won. *sigh*

One of these days we'll win!! LOL

AWANA

Ryan has started AWANA this year. For those not in the know, it's a Christian based program that teaches the Bible and includes verse memorization and fun! Ryan is a "Cubbie", in the 3 and 4 yr old program. They have a short coloring time, then work in the workbook and scripture memorization, then have a small snack, storytime, sing some songs, and finally games and puzzles. It's an awesome program for kids to learn about Jesus in their lives. It's also a great way to get parents involved, as during the rest of the week us parents must go through the assigned part of the workbook and help them memorize the scripture. (great way for me to learn too!).
Ryan absolutely LOVES it! He already loves Sunday School at church (technically since he's still 3, he's actually still in the nursery, but one more week of that and he will graduate to Sunday School class and Children's Church), so on the way there the first week he was very excited to be going. Once there he was very excited to have his own book, and then when he went inside the room, he saw his friends there from nursery, and he just RAN to them! LOL So very cute. He would do great in school if only he was old enough to go!! (and completely potty trained).
After the first night, the whole 15 minute car ride home he was non stop talking all about the things he did! It was adorable! It was hard to get him to sleep that night though....he was so excited. AWANA doesn't get out until 8pm...a half hour after his bedtime. So he gets to bed late on Wed nights.
This past week he got his uniform (a little blue vest), which is was so THRILLED about. As soon as he saw it he screamed "MY UNIFORM!!! I GOT MY UNIFORM!" LOL

I've been working with him on the scripture..and he's been doing great. For the Cubbies they simplify the verses a bit so it's easier for them to learn. He's so smart...he's been memorizing the verse after just 15 minutes of working with him on it. He's got the memory of an elephant...though he is showing signs of a typical male....selective memory, as he doesn't seem to remember the things he's NOT supposed to do that I tell him EVERYDAY. ah well, guess we can't have it all. LOL

Anyway, he's loving it. And I'm loving him loving it. I just love helping him learn about Jesus, watching his eyes light up when he says "Jesus loves me!", the Cubbie motto, or when he gets a sticker, called a "Bear hug" when he successfully memorizes a verse. It just warms my heart.

It's a great program for kids. I just hope he continues to enjoy it as much as he does now.

Neglecting again

Yes I know. I have been neglecting my blog...yet again. Sometimes it's hard to find time, other times I just don't feel like writing. Nothing too interesting to write about lately, unless you really care to hear about my potty training woes. (he's initially potty trained...just having issues with #2).

I really need to find time and motivation to keep up though!! I know many are daily readers....so I suppose I should find something to write about for you!

You can always kick me in the butt if you need to.....if I happen to go too long without any new posts!!

First Packer game....

Did NOT go very well. auhg. I hope this is not how the whole season is going to go. And we played against the BEARS of all teams. Of all teams to lose against, and not just lose, but lose BADLY, it had to be them.

Chicago Bears- 26
Green Bay Packers- 0

Not a single point. augh. It was awful..they creamed us. Pretty sad too when your own 3 year old starts cheering for the other team. (even though he was wearing a Packer jersey).

Maybe we'll get 'em next time. I hope. (by the way....very sad when your punter throws the ball better than your QB!!). I think Favre just had an off day. I hope we can do better next time! I still stand by my "Go Pack Go!". :) They may stink but I still like them.

Our Anniversary

On a happy note, today is my wedding anniversary! 7 years today! woo hooo!!

No big celebrating though today. He is working all day and then when he gets home we will have just enough time to talk for a few minutes and then I'm out the door! I have my first MOPS meeting tonight. So much for a romantic anniversary!! haha
That's ok though. We celebrated this weekend. Didn't do anything really special, but did have some nice time together.

Happy Anniversary!! :)

5 years...never forget

Just wanted to mention that we should keep the victims families and all those affected by the terrorist attacks in our prayers today. Hard to believe it's been 5 years. It will be one of those events that our children will come up to us and ask us "What were you doing when you heard the news?" As time goes on, sometimes we have a tendancy to forget what happened or feel it's not as important since so much time has passed. But we should never forget what happened. No need to dwell on it all day or anything, just take a moment to say a prayer today.

A new do

I got my hair cut yesterday...first time in quite a while. With a baby coming and all, not only did I want a change, but I wanted a shorter do so baby doesn't get a hold of it. (I remember that from Ryan all too well and got it cut shortly afterwards!) I love the shorter look. Not the best pic of me, but you get the point anyway.

My Labor Day

Here's what we did on Labor Day....actual labor. Destruction! woo hoo!!

We finally got around to starting the renovation of the room that will become the nursery. It had really ugly panaling in it on 2 of the walls (btw- why just 2 walls? The people that lived here before us were a little weird), so dh ripped the panaling off...which, wouldn't you know it, was glued on. Here is what it looked like after the panaling was off.



So we had to rip out the dry wall since there was no way we could save that. So we did actual labor on labor day.

Here is dh ripping it out and Ryan helping.



Ryan's trying to figure out if he should play with them or put them in the garbage.



And he finally decided to put it in the garbage. LOL



Halfway through he decided he didn't want to help anymore, so I ended up doing some grunt work. Don't worry though...all I did was put the pieces in the garbage, while Ryan supervised. He learns quick. LOL

And of course, after the work is all done, the cat MUST check it out.

ahh, the memories

Today I took Ryan over to my parents house and I went out with my very good friend for a girls day out. A and I have been friends since we were about 4 years old. We used to be inseparable. If we couldn't see each other, we'd be on the phone with each other for hours. She is not only a good friend (back in childhood days she was my BEST friend), but she's like my sister. But as we got older, got boyfriends, went to college, settled down, etc, we still have kept in touch but don't see each other as often anymore. We try to get together at least once every few months. She works two jobs and I have a child, and we live about 20 minutes away (not that that's really far, but not as close as a block away like we used to).

So anyway, we got together today. We went out for lunch and did a little shopping, then just hung out, drank tea and chatted. Had tons of fun talking about old times. So nice to think back to how much we have been through, and it all seems like it was yesterday, yet so long ago. If that makes any sense. We've come a long way since we were kids playing barbies. We went from little girls playing with barbies, to teens trying to sneak out at night (hehe), to young adults dealing with boyfriend issues, to my wedding, my move to Nebraska, her college, my move back, her new live-in boyfriend, my pregnancy/baby, my new pregnancy, and now her engagement (FINALLY!). And of course all the in-betweens. So MANY in-betweens. Things we laughed about, cried about, got angry about, hate each about, made up about, and loved each other about. Ah, so many memories.

Anyway, it was fun. And I got to see her ring...as she is finally engaged. (took forever I tell ya). It will be fun going through the next chapter with her in her life.

New haunts

I added two blogs to my list of daily haunts...they are listed on the side under Favorite blogs.

You need to check them out!

Her blog is great...I met her through her, and they are both awesome!

Also her blog has great insight and thoughtfulness. Check it out!

What the?

I'm very confused. What happened to the incredible Packer team we had last week? How can a team go from winning so incredibly well to losing so horribly in just one week? Did they leave their brains and talent back at Lambeau?

3 pre-season games, 2 of them away from home, 2 losses. It was horrible and disappointing.

Cincinnati Bengals: 48
Green Bay Packers: 17

Sad. truly sad.

Makes me wonder if there is any hope at all this year. If they lose every away game, we don't have much of a chance!

I ended up going to bed at the end of the 3rd quarter. Not only was Favre out by that point anyway, but I was getting tired. Not as exciting when you are losing by 30 points!

The Pack plays again on Friday against Tennessee Titans. It's the last pre-season game, so we'll see how it goes.

Come on Pack!

Have another beer!

This week it has come to my attention that I live in what is now considered the "drunkest city in America." Of course, any time Milwaukee is mentioned on any list, the news here must cover it. And of course, you get the good reaction, and the bad reaction.

What gets me is that some people are actually upset by this. My big question: Why? To me, it comes as no surprise that Milwaukee ranks #1 as the drunkest city in America. Duh! Well, let's look at the facts here people. Milwaukee is known for the BEER....Miller. Heck, our baseball team is called the Brewers for pete's sake. Our baseball field...oh yeah, you guessed it...called Miller Park. We are one of the few cities that have a bar or pub on every corner. Yes, literally every corner. In other cities people go out for a nice dinner after work. Here, people go to the bar after work. We are known for tail gating before sports events...which always includes beer. We have other breweries here also: Sprecher, Pabst (though I think they are in a different city now), among a few others I believe.

The survey also doesn't take into account though the amount of time it takes for people to drink their drinks. The survey most likely asks how many drinks you drink in a night. Many people here go to a bar after work, spend several hours there, so of course they drink several drinks. It doesn't take into account that many people don't actually get drunk at the bars.

At any rate, thought you might be interested in it. So grab a beer, let's toast to my lovely city being named as the drunkest city in America! Cheers!

Mindset list

The new Beloit College Mindset List is out for this year! It's a list put out by Beloit College in Wisconsin that shows the mindset of the students entering college this year, graduting in 2010. These students this year were born in 1988.

Reading this list made me feel pretty darn old!! LOL But always so fun to read. Check it out! You'll be amazed at what the generation of today's college students know/think! #43 really made me feel old. LOL

Word verification

Sorry to the whole 2 people that actually post comments, but I had to put on the word verification for comments. My sites have been getting spammed quite a lot, so I had to do some prevention.

You can still leave comments. All you have to do now is just type in the letters you see in the box. Easy! Don't let it stop you from making comments! Just no spam allowed! (food or otherwise haha).

The Pack is Back!

Last night's preseason game was incredible! The Packers finally played like the awesome team I know they are. They played on their own turf and the magic of Lambeau definitely showed.
Favre was in his element, looking comfortable both on and off the field. He played for the whole first half and made several touchdowns. An incredible game!

Green Bay Packers: 38
Atlanta Falcons: 10

It was interesting watching the Falcons. I used to work with a guy (back in the days when I actually worked outside the home) who was a huge Falcons fan. We used to spar back and forth about who was the better QB, Favre or Vick. And even bigger debate on who was the better football team. Brings me a huge smile that GB pulled through with flying colors last night. Way to go GB!

The Pack is Back! Now hopefully they'll play like this during the season too.

On Writing

I am still writing my book. It's a slower process now...as I'm not writing as frequently as I had been previously. I used to get several chapters (scenes) done in a week. Now I'm down to about a chapter (scene) every 1-2 weeks! But I'm still plugging away at it. I'm bound and determined to finish the first draft by the time the baby arrives, knowing there's no way I'm going to get anything done afterwards!
I'm doing well with it though...I'm about 3/4 done with the first draft. Not bad!

What does get me motivated is watching tv shows that deal with the subject I write about. Such as Rock Star: Supernova. I always seem to be motivated to write on Tues and Wed. And at the end of Aug a new show on Fox will be starting with celebrities learning how to sing. Should be interesting.

Anyway, just a small update about my book. It's getting there. :) I have not abandoned it!

Off to a bad start..

The first preseason Packer game was last night..9pm. Figures it had to be on that late. I managed to stay awake for the first half, but once I realized I was dozing on the couch, I had to go to bed!! I can't stay awake that long anymore!

Though I'm thinking I should have gone to sleep earlier...as it was a bad, bad game. I hope this is not an indictation of what we can expect this season. Favre seemed to have an off night....in the first 9 plays he was sacked 3 times! So not good. Though he still looks good doing it :) Our offense was horrible, and our defense even worse! *sigh* well, at least it's just preseason. I didn't even stay awake long enough to see the rookies play. Maybe next week when they actually play at a decent time.

In the end the score was San Diego Chargers 17, Green Bay Packers 3. ick. But it was nice to see Favre. :) After all, it's not whether you win or lose, it's watching the cute players! hehe

Hope to have some better news next week. I'm still rooting for you Pack!

Are you ready for some football?!

It's August already, and you know what that means? FOOTBALL!!! It's time for some football!! I can't wait!
The actual season doesn't start until next month, but this weekend starts the beginning of the preseason games, which, believe it or not, are just as exciting. (Maybe even more so since they don't count).

I'm sure you all know who my favorite team is.....Green Bay, the only team you are pretty much allowed to cheer for when living in Wisconsin. Go Packers Go! (yes, I'm a bonafied cheesehead...and gosh darn it, I'm PROUD of it!). I'm so so so happy that Brett Favre decided to play another season..not only is he good, but he's so darn cute too. :) I'm a little worried this may be his last season....it will be such a sad day when he retires. *sigh*. Though I'm kinda hoping the new rookie QB Brian Wrobel is good..maybe he can someday replace Favre. Not that anyone can actually replace him, but Wrobel is a Wisconsin native (from La Crosse) and he's cute! That's important in a QB you know. :)

Anyway, as the season goes on you can bet I will be blogging about it. Football is pretty close to the only sport I'll actually watch. (and I actually understand most of it..thanks to my cheerleading days and a hubby who explains things well).

And to get you started...here's a good blinkie!

So I'm ready to kick back, grab a Miller (well, for me water), and watch some football!

So are you ready?

Wisconsin State Fair

We went to the Wisconsin State Fair this past Friday. We had lots of fun! It was a bit warm, but we brought our own water jugs and just refilled them every time we saw a bubbler (for those that aren't accustomed to Wisconsinese, it's a drinking fountain). We saved a lot of money on water that way.

It was Jelly Belly day and we got to see a bunch of jelly belly cars, and got a free sample of some of the jelly bellies. Go figure, we live 15 minutes away from the jelly belly factory, yet we've never been there.



We had tons to eat. Wisconsin famous Baked potato, fries, ice cream, milk, roasted corn (which I had been craving), and the infamous cream puff. You can't go to the WI state fair and not get a cream puff! YUM! Here are some food facts about the fair too.

Ryan loved the animals. He got to pet a cow, a rabbit, and a horse. We also saw the famous racing pigs, and he learned how to milk a cow!




Here he is with a hat we received in the pig barn.



By the end of the day we were all tired...I think Ryan actually outlasted me..but not by much! I was so tired that I actually didn't do anything the whole next day. It wore me out. But it was fun! Definitely worth it!

various pictures

Time for more pics. Ryan just recently learned to ride his tricycle! He finally got over that hump of pushing with his feet to actually pedaling. Here is a pic of him riding. I have a video too...but I have no idea how to blog a video.



Here is Ryan helping daddy make fiber bars for mommy. He is such the little helper! (and he likes the bars too!)

Sorry!

Sorry I haven't updated in quite sometime....time seems to slip away sometimes. Not to mention I have gotten out of the writing thing lately, and I haven't felt like anything I write lately is really worth any importance. Haven't been doing much, haven't been writing much...just been kinda....living.
I will try to update more frequently though...since I know there's quite a few readers out there. :)
More to come..I promise!!

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

We are in the middle of a heat wave!! It has been incredibly warm for about a week now. The past 2 days were so hot that I wouldn't even let Ryan play in the pool. It actually hurts to breathe when outside. I know I said I wanted warm weather, but this is ridiculous!
We are supposed to get some storms tomorrow evening, bringing with it a cool front. So hopefully by Thursday it will be cool enough to at least step outside again!

Writers Wednesday 7/26

Finally, another writers Wed! Sorry it's been so long. Here is a poem I wrote.

When I Gave You My Heart

When I gave you my heart
I didn't expect you to give it back,
bleeding internally,
crushed by your inhumane abuse.

My heart was strong,
made of arms of steel.
But it could not compete
with your heart of rage.

Your angry fists pound me
like an earthquake beating the earth.
The sharp words you speak
lash me in the face, as if

a train passed through my heart.
Our vows are lies,
a thunderstorm of brutality
wiping out my last defense.

Ryan and the baby

I've been talking about the baby here and there with Ryan...but I know he doesn't quite get the concept yet. I think it might be a rude awakening when we actually come home with one. LOL
But anyway, every once in a while he'll ask "Is mommy having a baby?" and I'll say yes, mommy is having a baby and it's in mommy's belly. then he's satisified and lets it go.

Well, today we were outside with Bob and Ryan and Bob were wrestling around, and Ryan went flying right into my belly. It hurt...but it wasn't anything too bad (like I don't have to go to the dr from the hit). But it did hurt and I said oww, that hurt. Bob asked where and I said he hit the baby. Ryan immediately ran over to me, put his hand on my shoulder, said "I'm sorry mommy" in a sad little voice, and the bent down and kissed my belly and said "baby is ok." It was just so sweet....and the first time that he really showed he understood what I was talking about and seemed ok with it.

In Oct when we get our family pics taken and Ryan's birthday pics taken, I want to get a pic of Ryan hugging and/or kissing my belly (baby). I think that would be so sweet!

*sigh* I love my little boy.

Haven't posted in ages

Sorry I've been neglecting my blog. There just hasn't been much to update on...and I just haven't been motivated to really write much or do much! We've been busy spending a lot of time outside when the weather is nice.
I guess I don't have anything too interesting too say! Hope to be back to posting on a regular basis soon.

Cat bath= drowned rat

DH gave Cally a bath yesterday. (I wish I had gotten pictures, but I was outside with Ryan in the pool so I couldn't grab the camera). I always call her a drowned rat...she looks so hiliarous when she's wet. Poor thing hates baths too. I always make dh do it because I can't hold her as she fights it.
But now our white cat is white again. And she smells good too. I keep picking her up and smelling her!! LOL

And what does she do after she's been bathed and is still semi wet?



Of course, this picture is actually from last week...but you get the idea. She decided to sleep in our bed..underneath the covers while she's still wet. Silly kitty.

Sprinker fun

It's been a very hot weekend, so we brought out the sprinkler for Ryan. It was his first experience with the sprinkler. At first he just stood in one spot and let it come to him. I had to run through it with him to get him to go through it. He still won't go through it on his own, but now he at least goes up to it and puts his hands on it! haha We got him a new pool too and he swam in that this weekend, but I didn't get pictures yet.



Ryan and I running through. I can't fit into my swim suit anymore so I had to wear regular clothes!

The zoo

Friday night we went to the zoo with some friends. My friend has a zoo membership and can get us in free. It happened to be open to zoo members Friday evening, so we decided to go. Ryan liked it, but was disappointed because one of the main reasons we wanted to go was to see the new dinosaur exhibit. Unfortunately, because we only have a short amount of time there (6pm-9pm), after eating and waiting over an hour for the train, we didn't make it to the dinosaurs. He was rather upset, but I told him we'd go back some other day.
We felt rather rushed and didn't really get a chance to look at anything. I don't think we'll go back at night again since it's just too much of a hassle and too rushed. But made for a decent night out. Hopefully we'll make it back there again this summer.

Supergroup

While still on the rock star theme....I had been also watching a show on VH1 called Supergroup. The last episode was last week, but it was an excellent show. The concept was taking 5 super stars (including Sebastian Bach, Ted Nugent, and Scott Ian), having them live in a house together for 12 days, and they had to come up with an original song and come up with and be ready for a concert on the 12th day. It was really interesting to see how the guys related to each other and how they got along not only with each other (and the PR team, etc) but how they related to the manager.
It was awesome to watch...and I got a much better perspective as to who Sebastian and Ted really are.
It was very helpful research for my book too....to see the different personalities of rock stars and managers, and to see how it all works. Great show.

Rock Star

I've been watching a new show that started last week. Rock Star: Supernova. It's the second season...the first season was with INXS. I fell in love with this show last season. JD Fortune won last year, though my personal favorite was Marty Casey. This year instead of an already existing band, they have started a whole new "superband" with Tommy Lee. The show still has the same format, and I'm still loving it. I don't have a favorite as of yet, but there are still 14 finalists left, so I'm sure I'll find someone I really like. The winner fronts the band Supernova, making a record and going on tour with them.

Anyway, great show!!

Smores!

Yesterday FINALLY was a nice day (no rain for a change) so we were finally able to grill! We had ribs and chicken on the grill. YUM!

But then we had a very special treat....we mades smores! It was Ryan's first time roasting marshmellows, and eating smores. He loved it! He asked to do it every time daddy grills! haha Not sure about that.

Here he is having a blast roasting the marshmellows on the grill.



Ryan and I roasting marshmellows. It just isn't the same without a campfire though.



The finished product. Don't they look yummy?



And of course, Ryan enjoying them! He had 1 and a half! He loved them!

4th of July

We had a good Independance day. I decided to take Ryan to a parade. There weren't any around us (of course) but there was one in the town next to my parents. So we drove to my parents house and ate lunch, then they took Ryan and I to the parade. I wasn't too sure how well Ryan would sit, but he loved every second of it! He sat in his little lawnchair the whole hour long parade! He loved the firetrucks, the marching bands, and of course, all the candy they throw out for the kids!
He had a great time and really enjoyed it.

Here is grandpa, grandma, and Ryan just before the parade.

No more rocking!

Tonight I tried something completely new. I stopped rocking Ryan before bed for the first time tonight. (yes, I'm one of those mothers that rocks their kids to sleep).

I used to rock him to sleep, then after a while, he didn't need it to fall asleep, but just as a means to calm down before bedtime, then it became more of a bonding thing.....more like a way for me to hold on to his "baby"-ness. A few months ago I toned down the rocking to just about 3 minutes...just enough to keep him and myself happy to get him to go to bed.

But the last few weeks he has been too resless during it...talking, fidgety...and I realized he's just way too big for this. Not to mention a new little one will be coming along....I will be too big to rock him soon, and with a new baby next year it just won't be possible. I sucked it up and decided tonight we would try something new.

We read books like normal, changed into jammies and brushed teeth like normal, then I told him to go to his room and I tucked him in. He understood when I told him he's too big for rocking. He didn't cry, but I did have to go in his room 3 times. He seems fine though. Ahhh, onto a new phase.

I'm so proud of him....and myself for letting go. :) It was hard to do, but it was time.

2 years

I didn't have a chance to post this yesterday, but yesterday marks the 2 year anniversary of when I received Christ as my Savior. I have now been saved and became a born again Christian for 2 years! It doesn't seem like it's been that long! I have learned so much but yet have so much further to go. Christ has carried me through so much in the last 2 years. I am so blessed. Praise God!!

Great movie!

One of my favorite movies is on tonight (well, of my millions of favorite movies LOL). How to Lose a Guy in 10 days. Great movie. Love Kate Hudson...she's so cute in this movie, and Matthew McConaughey is really cute. I love the chemistry. Dh doesn't care much for it because it's a "chick flick", but I love it. But then, I have always loved the romantic chick flick comedys.

Writers Wednedsay 6/28/06

Here is an excerpt from the book I'm currently working on. I decided to scrap this scene and rewrite it....so this portion will not be in the book. But you get a feel for what I've been working on lately.


“Want some coke?” Mark offered a share of his drugs. “It’s a good distraction. You can get that pop princess out of your head.” Mark tried to convince him as a scantily clad brunette wandered over to Michael. She cooed in his ear how she was a fan and wanted to buy him a drink. What the hell he thought and agreed. She made herself comfortable in his arm. He shook his head at Mark, letting him know he didn’t want to get high, and raised his eyebrows as he motioned toward the chick in his arm. Mark tipped his beer up in response, narrowly spilling it and proceeding to laugh hysterically.
“Hey Michael, this is Bambi. She wanted to say hi, if you know what I mean.” Grayson strolled over with a blonde on his right arm and a brunette on his other arm. Bambi sauntered into Michael’s arm, batting her eyelashes, flipping her blonde hair back, and bouncing her boobs in her low-cut shirt.
Michael took another swig of his beer and chastised himself for thinking of her again. He made sure to pay better attention to the chicks at hand. He was really hoping to go home with one to keep his mind distracted.
Just as he was about to offer his services for the night to Bambi, a movement ahead caught his attention. He turned his head to look and saw the unmistakable red hair flowing. Becca was here? When the hell did she show up? She was walking briskly to the door. Michael stepped forward, calling out her name. The groupies were still attached to him arms, so he didn’t get very far. He didn’t think she saw him, but she sure seemed to be in a hurry to get out of there.
His heart beat rapidly. He hadn’t expected to see her until the recording on Monday. He didn’t think her “man” was into night clubs, and never expected her to show up at the Factory.
“Wasn’t that Becky?” Grayson stood next to Michael, his eyes glazed over from weed, the chick on his arm kissing his dimpled cheek.
“Yeah, that was.” Michael’s voice was lost among the music and noise, the girls pulled him back to the bar and bought him another drink.
“Forget her Mike. She ain’t worth it. Here, have some on me.” Mark slurred his words as he slipped some coke in Michael’s hand.
“Man, no thanks. You know I don’t do that stuff anymore.” Michael was getting tired of telling Mark no frequently. He was always pushing stuff onto him, and frankly, Michael was getting worried, as Mark was starting to go overboard with it.
“Tiff and I are leaving, heading back to my place.” Grayson announced, raising his eyebrows, a sly smile on his face. Normally that was Michael’s cue to leave with a chick on his arm too. But tonight he just couldn’t; he just was to preoccupied and didn’t feel right about bagging a chick when all he could think about was Becca. Why did she run out of there like that? What was he doing by not talking to her anymore? He was more confused than ever, and sex was not going to make things better for him, as difficult a concept that was for him to manage.
“I’m going to get going too.” Michael pushed the ladies off his arms gently, letting them know he was going to go home alone tonight. He noticed the way Grayson and Mark looked at each other, the worried looks on their faces, but he didn’t care. His heart just wasn’t into it tonight.
“You ok Michael?” Grayson put his hand on his shoulder, his eyes genuinely concerned. Michael’s answer to that of course was no, he wasn’t ok. He didn’t want to be stuck at some night club, looking for meaningless sex and drugs. He wanted to be with Becca. It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. This was not the way he had imagined the time Becca was here to be. But it was too late to do anything now.
“Yeah man, I’m fine. I got a long week coming up.” He lowered his eyes. Michael felt bad; he rarely turned down the groupies, but he just didn’t want to explain his situation to the guys and didn’t want the girls to think he was not as cool as he used to be. At this point he was ready to say just about anything to get out of there. He felt so out of control, and he hated that. He was looking forward to the end of the week when everything would be back to normal. Becca would be out of his life again, and he would be back to his usual lifestyle. He just wasn’t sure that was exactly what was best, or what he wanted. His heart ached as he realized it would never be over; he would never be over her, no matter what he did. His only hope was to ignore the flutter in his heart, the nagging in his mind. He just hoped he could live like that for the rest of his life.

Opinions!!

Alright...I know many people READ my blog...but not many seem to REPLY. Here's a chance to make your voice (or type) heard (or read)!

I will continue to do Writer's Wed (I know I slacked off last week...with the whole pg news I just was too excited to think of anything else)...but I would like opinions on what you would like to read.

Would you like more poetry? A short story? More Dynasty 2? Another excerpt from my current book? An excerpt from a previous novel? A character profile? Any requests?

Let me know what YOU would like to read!

New blog!

I have a new blog! It's all about my pregnancy and miracle baby! I don't want this blog to be nothing but pg....so I made a whole new blog. Check it out!! Come share in my joy with me.

slacking

I know I know! I've been slacking on the blog again! There hasn't been much to update on unless you care to hear all about the symptoms of my pg. (do you really want to hear about the fatigue and frequent urination?)

Not much has been going on. It's actually been a quiet week around here. Other than telling various people, no real excitement.
I babysat my neighbor's kids on Monday afternoon. I got a taste of what it will be like with 2 kids. Not bad. For the one day anyway. haha

This weekend is Father's Day. I will be telling the rest of my family. I'm looking forward to that!

Hope to find something exciting to update you all on soon. I feel like a pretty boring person right now! haha

PIctures

Here is the picture of the cake and strawberries for dh. For some reason blogger wouldn't let me put it on the last post.



Here is Ryan in his I'm the Big Brother t-shirt. He looks so proud!!

How I told....

Here is how I told dh. The last two pregnancies I was so excited over it that I just rushed into telling him. (With Ryan I POAS during breakfast and was so excited I ran out to tell him and showed him the stick over eggs, with the m/c the line was so faint I couldn't tell if it was a BFP or not so I showed him). So this time I wanted to do something different.

I'm due on Valentines day (how AMAZING is that?!!) so I thought I'd get a cake with red flowers on it and write on it Miracle Baby due 2-14-07. Then I got some strawberries (I craved strawberries like you wouldn't believe when I was pg with Ryan) in a bowl. I was originally going to do this all Wed night when I found out....but it would figure his work would not cooperate with me. It was the ONE night he had to work at night!!! He didn't get home until 2am. So I did it in the morning...cake for breakfast!! LOL
I put the cake and the strawberries on the table and he came in the room and smiled. I tried to get Ryan to say "I'm going to be a big brother" but the silly 3.5 yr old that he is refused to say it. (I don't want to say that mommy). So I ended up saying it and dh was laughing. He didn't have teh emotional response I was hoping for, but I know he's happy.
He's probably happy mainly because we don't need to time sex anymore!!! hahaha

I told my parents on Friday. I got a t-shirt for Ryan that says "I'm the Big Brother" and had him wear it to their house on Friday. My mom was the first to see him. She didn't get the concept at first....wondered who gave him the shirt and why he was wearing a t-shirt on a cold day. She kept saying it over and over until finally it clicked! She looked at me with wide eyes "YOU'RE PREGNANT?!" When I nodded she didn't believe me! (of course, I wouldn't have believed it either...after 2 yrs you tend to doubt). It was priceless and I wish I had the video camera.

My dad was at work at the time, so we went to go see him. It took him even longer to figure out the shirt. We practically had to spell it out to him. LOL But once he got it he started crying! I started crying then!! LOL He couldn't stop staying how happy he was! (he's been asking for another grandchild for a while now). It was just so special.

I still have so many more people to tell. I will tell the rest of my family on Father's Day. Then there's the people at church tomorrow and other various friends. The more people I tell the more real it feels. This really is happening!!

Finally....a BFP!!!!

I can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!! After 26 loooong months.....just over 2 years of ttc/infertility.....I finally got a BFP!!!!!!!!! I'm in complete and utter shock!

I have been feeling symptoms since 6 DPO....sore boobs, af like cramps, fatigue. I even had an aversion to veggie dip for a day. I KNEW something was up, but I took a test on 9 DPO and it was neg. Figured I was imagining the symptoms. I had been spotting for about 5 days, so I figured af was on her way. On 11 DPO my temp went up....which it NEVER does that far into my lp (I normally don't even have an lp that long) so I tested using Dollar Tree. Got a faint line. Tried FRER and got a definite BFP!!!! Woo hooo!!!! I called my OB and she had me come in for a blood test...my hcg level on 11 DPO was 30!!! Very good so far!!! And just to be sure I'm not day dreaming...I took another Dollar Tree test today (14 DPO) and got a VERY definite BFP!!!!! I'm still in such shock!!! I never thought it would happen. I was just getting used to the idea of Ryan being the only child. Miracles really do happen.

I think God was just waiting for me to give it all up to Him. After clomid failed, I couldn't deal with it anymore. I gave up my journey to Him. I started to trust in Him fully and learn to live and be happy with my situation. I think God said "FINALLY!". Amazing things do happen when you believe!!! :D

I'm feeling good right now. Tired. I get worn out pretty quickly. I still have af like cramps...they come and go. They get worse when I'm active. Boobs aren't quite as sore.

My OB has put me on progesterone supplements due to previous m/c, and my LPD. I started those today. I won't even go into the issues I had with that. (well, maybe later).

I still can't believe it!! I'm so excited I could burst!!! I have been wanting this for so long.
26 months of ttc
20 months of charting
numerous dr appts
a Lap and HSG 3 months vitamin B6 numerous months of drinking green tea preseed OPK's
3 months of clomid
1 month clomid and progesterone
2 months of Vitex

Been a very long road. It all seems so surreal.

Please pray this baby sticks.

And go figure...it was a birthday conception, and a Valentine's baby!! I'm due on Valentine's Day! God's timing really is perfect!

Thanks to everyone who has stuck by me and supported me through this whole ordeal! I appreciate it!!!

Just to let you know....

I haven't forgotten about the blog!!! It's been a crazy week and I will update very soon...hopefully tonight. Just wanted to post a message so that you all don't think I've deserted my blog!!!

New posts to come very soon!! Keep checking back!

What do you speak?

I got this from Cindy. This was fun. The only problem I had was they didn't have my choice for what you drink out of. We don't use water fountains or drinking fountians here. It's a bubbler. But I guess then it would say I'm 100% Milwaukean!

Your Linguistic Profile::

70% General American English

20% Upper Midwestern

5% Yankee

0% Dixie

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Song of the Day

Song of the day today is Hysteria by Def Leppard. One of my favorites.

It reminds me of my high school days. I'm not sure why exactly (or I don't really remember) but it always reminds me of my fantasy love back in the day. My fantasy love is a guy I liked in high school but it was a one way thing. We were friends, shared a kiss or two, but remained "just friends".

The song itself is a beautiful song. Very well written and the music in incredible. :) And well, it's Def Leppard so it's cool.

That's my review for the day :)

Flashback Friday

Here is a picture of Ryan when he was first born. This was taken when he was about 3 days old. If you notice, even the yellow knit hat that they give you at the hospital was too big on him. To this day he still sleeps like this. It's hard to believe he was once that small. He is wrapped in probably too many blankets (LOL) and is in a wedge that we purchased to allow him to sleep on his side. I'm not quite sure why we needed that, but I was told that he should sleep on his side. His crib and room was done in Baby Snoopy. His current room still is too. :)

Writers Wednesday 5/31/06

Here is another Dynasty 2 scene. I figure I'm on a roll with these. Here is the cast used or talked about in this scene. It's a little rough, but you get the idea.

Keith Summers- owns and CEO of SC Johnson Wax, one of the main characters of the soap.
Becky Summers- Keith's ex-wife, now lives in Seattle, pregnant with Keith's best friend's baby.
Sarah Jordan Keith's current wife
Mandy Summers- Keith and Becky's teenage daughter, offering to give her heart (literally) to boyfriend Jesse.
Jesse- Mandy's boyfriend, needs a heart transplant
Bryon Summers- Mandy's baby boy
Miranda Summers- Keith and Sarah's baby girl

The hospital. Jesse is in one room, Mandy in another, Keith, Becky, and Bryon in a waiting room. The doctors are just about ready to perform the heart transplant from Mandy to Jesse when....two doctors pushing a man on a stretcher burst through the hospital door.

Doctor 1: Out of the way! Emegency!
Doctor 2: What happened?
Doctor 1: Fatal explosion at the construction site. A huge boulder fell on him. He's bleeding internally.
Doctor 2: Let's get him in ER stat!
They quickly wheel the stretcher through another door.
Becky: I hate hospitals.
Keith: you'll be here soon you know.
Becky: well, in a different part of the hospital. A more cheerful part.
Keith: Becky, are you sure you won't reconsider my offer and move in? I've got that whole house to myself.
Becky: It's not exactly to yourself. You've got Miranda, Bryon, and about a million servants. And besides, I don't think Sarah would appreciate that idea too much.
Keith: Sarah will deal with it. What do you say?
Becky: I'm sorry Keith but I....
the doctor comes out of ER.
Becky: Doctor! What's happening? Is everything alright?
Keith: Is our daughter alive?

TTC vent (again)

I could just scream!! AUGH!!

Have I mentioned before how much I hate my cycle? Because I do.

I made the effort this month to have "perfect" timing.....I actually O'd on a weekend (finally!!) and Dh was actually willing (most likely because I didn't tell him I was Oing...works better when he thinks I actually want to do it). So we had perfect timing...actually got a high reading on FF....one of the few months that happens.

So what happens now?

I'm only 4 DPO and I have spotting....ALREADY!!!! WTH???

I'm also irritable, tired, have slight cramping, and my bbs are sensitve. Mind you...it may sound like positive things....like *air quote* "good signs", but it's not. I feel this way most of the time before af arrives. Lovely PMS. I could just scream or throw something...or both!!

I just don't get it. How did my body get so....broken?? I'm just so frustrated with all this.

I think I may call my OB next week and ask if I can go on clomid again....just clomid. I can't afford to do the progesterone test and pro. supplement, but if it's just clomid I can since that isn't too bad...and I've got birthday money to use.

Making a baby is NOT supposed to be this friggin hard.

My birthday party

I had a small party to celebrate mine and Bob's birthdays this past Sat. It was a lot of work but turned out well. It was a beautiful day out so we spent the majority of the day outside. Some of us played cards and Uncle Darrell kept Ryan busy! Bob grilled burgers and brats and we had tons of sides, of course, the cake! I didn't receive anything from my birthday wish list, but still received some nice things anyway. Bob and I were exhausted by the end of the day!

Uncle Darrell and Ryan



My mom, dad, brother Don, and I playing Texas Hold'em poker. I ended up winning!



Me getting ready to open cards and gifts.



My mom, dad, and best friend Julie.



Last but not least, the ice cream cake!

Finished product

The flowers after they have been planted, watered, and put in their spots.
These are on the deck in a sunny spot.



These are on the front of the deck between the deck furniture and the grill.



These are my hanging plants on the deck against the house.



These are in the front yard by the door.



These are in the front yard by the sidewalk.



I have more but didn't take pictures of all of them.