Old New Hobby...

So I am getting excited about getting back into scrapbooking. Now, I began scrapping (or at least buying the stuff for it) when my sista in MI started selling it (before my first son was born). I did a total of 6 pages before it got stuffed
in a box with all the best intentions but no time made...

Shortly after my first son was born, I DID get it out once to make a small 5x7 scrapbook for my grandmother when they moved her to the Alzheimer's wing of an assisted living center. Because I didn't live near my grandmother and she rarely got to see her newest great-grandbaby, I made a scrapbook of just him and gave it to her, knowing that as her memory faded, the photos would be the only link she had to us.

Then, my mother gave me set of stuff that she had bought and it too made its way to the box with more good intentions.

Then, I met my new friends who are BIG TIME SCRAPPERS! Amy, Shonna, Rebekkah and others have great ideas and no shortage of materials. Let me tell you how intimidated I felt when I came in with only ONE box of materials to work with. Everyone there had two or three big rolling special scrapbooking bags and more embellishments, stickers, foamies, tools, markers, scissors, papers and other materials than I have seen in most scrapbooking stores! Now, granted, they have been doing this much longer than I have, but still...I was humbled. So now I have been re-inspired. I went to the monthly scrapbooking meeting at our church for the first time last Friday and completed two pages. I was so excited...and I found lots of new toys. I desperately want a CRICUT!!! I fell in love with that. And now I have printed some photos (all mine are digital) so I can do a few layouts and then will print some more when those are completed. I have so much to learn...my first 6 pages that I did years ago are awful...but they serve a purpose. There was also much less available for scrapping that many years ago...now even the dollar store has stuff...

So...let's see if this works out as well as my blogging...seems I have been keeping up with that so far... :) (Dangit...I said that outloud...now I have jinxed it!)

Rough Days

We've (I've) had a few rough days...and I have taken it out on a few people that I didn't intend to...I know we've all been there, but it doesn't make it any easier or any more right.

Jack's not feeling great right now...I have a feeling its because he's cutting some molars. At least I hope that's what the issue is. I certainly don't want it to be anything more serious. But he's been grumpy, clingy, and uninterested in much food.

On the other hand, I have somehow been able to make dinner every night this week without too many issues...and in most cases, that's after dishes have been done, floors have been swept, toys have been put away (though they are taken right back out again in another room), surfaces have been wiped, trash has been taken out and dessert is already waiting on the counter for everything to be finished...most days, I am suprised dessert makes it to the end of the meal. I am mostly tempted to eat it long before dinner is even finished cooking.

I do enjoy being home and I enjoy the freedom that I have with that...but I am still working on some kind of a routine and the process is difficult...

Now, if I could just finish getting this stuff ready for some semblance of a yard sale...I am thinking about just moving it all to eBay. Less setting up to do...but more of looking at it in disarray in my living room, which hasn't seen much living in the last two months.

Here's a few pictures from the past few days.


Jack waking up after nap...doesn't he look chipper?


Jack sharing his chipperness with Bubby. Caleb fell asleep with his headphones on...


Jack's first day with his new shoes...every time I write the words "new shoes" I think of my friend, Tina, and her great song by the same title. It's Caleb's favorite song. I'll write about that sometime...


Even though Jack doesn't feel great, he looks fabulous! He tore apart my centerpiece and tried on my pearls...


And finally...this was Caleb's character for Rogersville Festival this year: Powder Monkey Nemo! (He picked the pose himself)

Weekend

Well, we had a good weekend...little to do and glad of it! Seems we have been running constantly.

Jack had a bit of fun this weekend:

Jack likes DocMartens!


And Daddy's hat that Papa gave him...


We tried eating with our own spoon this weekend too...that was messy!


Then we got a hair cut (and Mommy realized we need to get some new PJs for me).


Lastly, off to bed with our ducky and milk!

Caleb had some fun reading to his little brother too:


Corduroy Goes to the Doctor

And then we played a little hide-n-seek:


And hammed it up for the camera:

Found it!

Found the cable for my camera! Yay! So, here's the photos of this week's VBS Power Lab Adventure!

My Crew:

That's Sarah, Rebecca, Me, Brett, Dani, Delany, Syd, and Shelby! They were awesome!

Here's Mr. Allen as Flask the Android (I don't know about you, but we are inclined to believe that's his own personal uniform):


Here's my son on Wacky Tacky day...we had a little fun with the hair:


I'll have more to share later...gotta get up early tomorrow for Praise Team at church...5:30 is going to come quickly!

Inspired

Well, my sister-in-law has inspired me to use my blog to keep everyone updated, as I should be doing. I really don't know Jaime very well, but I would love to. I have enjoyed the times I have spent with her, but there is so much left to learn...oh the hazards of living so far away from one's family.

But in an effort to get to know her better and keep her and the rest of the family up to date (as she so appropriately said in a recent email), I shall actually attempt to write in my blog more often. I know I have had several people say something to me about not updating more often...and now that I have officially join the ranks of stay-at-home-momdom, I don't have any more restrictions on computer use and therefore don't have that excuse anymore...the only excuse I can claim anymore is laundry, crying children, mysteriously quiet children or the occasional errand that takes me out of the house! I am sure I can come up with more creative excuses (and will) later on, but for now, let's not set the bar too low that I can't at least alligator crawl underneath it.

So...a brief posting:

This week, Caleb and I are participating in VBS at church. I am a Crew Leader for 4th and 5th graders and he is in a Kindergarten crew. There are 700 some-odd students there...it is crazy! I have 7 crew members...6 girls and 1 brave boy! Today, we had Wacky Tacky day...and let me tell you...there are pictures roaming all over my church right now that show just how wacky and tacky I can be. Caleb wore a "Sanjia" style mohawk...I'll post pictures when I can find the cable to my camera...hopefully tomorrow during naptime!

Off to bed for this evening...ready to start even earlier tomorrow! Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast tomorrow. Good thing its Pajama day tomorrow...just roll out of bed and go to VBS for free grub...can't get much better than that!

Toodle-loo!

Cracker Jack's Story

On January 6, 2007, I went see my family doctor for neck and shoulder pain that radiated down my arm. Upon inspection, he sent me directly to a neurologist for an MRI due to the fact that I couldn’t have an x-ray because I was pregnant (31 weeks). I went to the neurologist the following Monday morning (Jan. 9, 2007) but made a call to my OB to let her know that my family doctor said my blood pressure was high. I left a message with the nurse and waited.

Upon arriving at the neurologist, he recommended an MRI, but because I was pregnant, he wanted to run it by my OB. He called her and she said I had already called about high blood pressure and wanted him to check it before anything else. The neurologist did and it came back 190/110. That is INCREDIBLY high for those of you that aren’t familiar with normal numbers (it should have been 120/80). My OB told the neurologist to send me directly to the hospital and forget the MRI for now.

Well, there was no going directly to the hospital…I had to get to my husband and have him drive me. So I met my husband at home and he drove me to the emergency room.

When I got into triage in the OB department, they tried to hydrate me with IV fluids, but I was so dehydrated they couldn’t find a vein. My husband, lovely creature that he is, doesn’t deal well with needles. After they had stuck me seven times and I was moaning in discomfort, he passed out. That left me freaking out on the bed and 4 nurses trying to revive my husband (at some point, one of the nurses said, “I can’t find a pulse,” referring to my husband. Of course, that was beneficial to my blood pressure…

Eventually they revived him and got me into a room and got IV fluids in me. They ran tests for 36 hours and eventually told me I could go home, but had to be on bed rest (no more than 10 minutes out of bed every hour). For those of you that know me, you will understand how hard that little task was…

The only reason I was allowed to leave the house was to go to twice weekly appointments to see my doctor. On the second visit (Jan. 19), my blood pressure had shot back up and it was time to admit me to the hospital and run more tests. With 36 more hours of tests, it was confirmed that I had pre-eclampsia and I would have to deliver the baby at 33 weeks. The ultrasound showed that little Cracker Jack was four pounds and head down…ready to go!

I was very insistent upon natural delivery, and my doctor humored me for 20 hours. I was on pitossin and magnesium (anti-seizure meds) and nothing was happening…so the doctor decided to break my water to get things moving. However, before doing that, she would do another ultrasound to make sure Cracker Jack was hunky-dory. He was fine, but now in my rib cage. Needless to say, you can’t deliver a child the natural way when he is swimming in the region of your sternum, so it was off to surgery.

I remember being scared out of my mind about the epidural and the surgery and the health and safety of the baby. I remember being wheeled into the operating room and being told to lift myself onto the operating table (which is only about 18 inches wide, I am convinced). I had already been given the epidural and the anesthesiologist said, “Your legs should be starting to feel heavy.” My response was, “I don’t know about my legs, but my butt feels quite heavy, though that’s normal.” There was an OR tech in the corner that laughed and said, “At least you still have your sense of humor,” to which I responded, “I am in naked in a room full of people I don’t know…the ONLY thing I have left is my sense of humor.”

Then Cracker Jack made his debut…at 3 pounds, 11 ounces on January 21, 2007.

I had had a friend tell me that her dad was one of the doctors in the NICU, but I had no idea what his name was. It all happened so fast. But here’s the cool thing. That friend’s dad happened to be the NICU doctor that was in the operating room with me. God is great! He knew I would be comforted by the fact that I knew someone there (kinda).

I spent one week in the hospital and Jack was there for another week, which was the hardest week of my life, I think. I was still recovering and on so many medications and trying to keep my blood pressure down that making the 25 mile trek to the hospital every day was not feasible. I got up there several times, but I didn’t want to leave, knowing that if I did, I likely wouldn’t be able to come back the next day.

But the staff at the NICU were amazing. And in no time, Jack came home.

He is now a healthy and happy 22-pound 15 month old child.

I write this for two reasons. One, to keep this story for my own memories and the accurate telling of this story for years to come. And two, to let others know what I have gone through and to give you some idea of why the March of Dimes and the families of premature babies have a special place in my heart. I can never relate to you the fear and anxiety and burden that I and my family carried for those 10 days before Jack was born and the months afterward, just worrying about how Jack would be affected by his early arrival. But I can identify with those going through it…and so that is where God has called me to be an instrument of His Grace to others.

March for Babies

Some of you know, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the families of premature babies; this, because I have one of my own...I was one of the lucky moms that got to bring my baby home...my perfect and precious Jack.

But there are many that don't get to bring that baby home for months, if at all...and I have been called to work with these families...those who are success stories, and those who are not. If you do not have children, or have not had a child prematurely, it is hard to imagine the anxiety, fear and burden that having one puts on your heart, home and family.

As part of my calling, I will be walking in the March of Dimes March for Babies on April 27th in Murfreesboro. If you can walk with me, please JOIN MY TEAM! If you can't walk with me and my family, please consider supporting me in my efforts.

The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Help me support them in that effort by making a donation today.