Postage

...is currently $0.41 for a first class letter and $0.26 for a postcard....but that's not the kind of postage I'm talking about.

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. Work's been crazy, not only do I have lots to do, but I've also been going into the office once or twice a week (which usually completely blows the day) in addition to my normal Tuesday morning "play group" and our first MOPS meeting (with all the planning and additional work that adds). So dishes and laundry and work have all been piling up...and blog posts have been put off.

I've got three months' worth of pictures and videos that need posting...and they'll get done...eventually...along with everything else. Thanks for hanging in with us!

I Voted...

So my sticker didn't look exactly like that (and neither of those hands is mine...in fact, I got this picture from the Atlanta Young Democrat's website, so it's not even from my state or party affiliation)...but I got one yesterday. And I feel like I _REALLY_ earned it.

You see, occasionally I _do_ go into my office for meetings and such. AJ usually tags along with me since my team loves him and it's _way_ cheaper and easier than finding and paying a babysitter. Well, yesterday was also a very nice ice storm for our area, so just as soon as we could leave, we did.

At 4:30 our journey began. Around 5:10, we finally made it onto the Beltway. That portion of the trip usually takes at most 10-15 minutes at the worst of rush hour (5:30-ish). AJ woke from his afternoon nap very briefly at this point, but then thankfully went back to sleep. By about 6, I think we'd made it to the next exit on the Beltway (about three miles). After many discussions with VNB, it was determined that I might as well stay as try any other route since all of them were equally backed up, so we continured inching along. With each exit, the speed increased a fraction, until we were doing almost 40 mph (our top speed for the whole trip). Around 6:15, we made it to the exit for 95N...where traffic pretty much stopped again. By about 6:45, we made it six miles up 95 to the first Laurel exit where I bailed out like my life depended on it (AJ had been awake and crying for about 15 minutes by then). The trip through Laurel was slow, but I knew enough side streets to avoid even the worst of that. By 7, we were free and clear on the north side of Laurel and the back roads were open from there until we got home around 7:20 - TWO HOURS AND FIFTY MINUTES FROM WHEN WE'D LEFT!!!! Which had taken us about 35 minutes on our way _into_ work that day.

I quickly dropped AJ off with his daddy for the dinner he was ravenous for, and slid back out into the ice to go vote. By 7:22 I was at my polling place, and by 7:35, I was back out. It really helps when you've done your homework and know who you're going to vote for!

Ignore the Man Behind the Curtain

Just diddling around, trying things out. Don't mind me...

Template Update!

So last fall, I won a new blog design in the Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway carnival over at Bloggy Giveaways. After much discussion, Linda from RS Designs made me a lovely banner, background, and divider. Being my usual self, I have yet to install it. But today's the day! So apologies to both of my RSS feed readers if you get like five hundred "new posts" from me today and to anyone else to sees this while I'm trying to figure out how to make it work.

In the mean time, if you're bored, hop on over to the new giveaway carnival over at Bloggy Giveaways (this is now officially a quarterly thing) and spend an infinite amount of time signing up to win free stuff! Last time I walked away with a new blog design, a book, and a lavender-scented rice "heating" pad.

I have no plans at this point to host another giveaway of my own...but you never know what I might come up with before the week is out.

Getting Old, Quick

So yesterday, AJ added a new sign to his vocabulary - hungry. I was so excited when, after I'd helped him climb up next to me, he started rubbing his hands across his chest. Since that's pretty far from the actual sign (you trace your esophagus with one hand), I went out on a limb to ask if he was hungry. He responded with his affirmative "huh, huh," so it was off to the high chair for us.

He didn't really seem all that interested in any of the food I offered him except for his "crunchies" that he's been getting the last couple of days, but we tried valiantly and with great frustration all around.

After a while, we cleaned up (including him "helping" me wipe down his tray) and went back to play.

The same sequence was repeated roughly 52 times yesterday.

And so far it's been about four times today. It probably would have been more, but we went out for a while. Plus, he ate almost half of what he normally eats in a day during first and second breakfasts. One would hope that he'd be mostly full from that. He's also had most of a banana today in addition to lots of crunchies, steamed squash, steamed zucchini, freeze-dried apple bits, and his Os. Oh...and he had most of what he eats for lunch too.

So, either I've been starving my son (which could explain his off-the-charts low weight) and he's finally figured out how to get his stupid mom to feed him more, or he's in a growth spurt.

I'm hoping it's the growth spurt.

But seriously...while it's adorable to see him pounding his chest like Tarzan (which is what his sign for hungry looks like most often)...or doing the "hungry" sign on _my_ chest when I don't respond fast enough to him, it's really getting old, REALLY fast when he signs it every half hour or so.

Forget "wolf," my kid cries "hungry."

Nature Documentary

I feel like the Discovery channel should have had a camera crew in my living room over the past few minutes. One of AJ's many Christmas/Birthday presents from his Nana and Grandaddy (VNB's parents) was a box of alphabet flashcards. As they are on relatively thick card stock, we left the box of them out in the living room with his other board books.

Before now, he's occasionally chewed on the box a little. This morning, he found the box and was just playing with it while sitting amidst all of his other books. Next thing I knew, he'd managed to get the box open and had the letter "C" card out of the box. That's when I really started paying attention.

He then directed his efforts at getting another card out of the box, but they were too tightly packed in there. It was during this time that I decided to blog about this. I briefly toyed with the idea of trying to get video of it, but we all know that a) the camera distracts him from what he's doing causing him to stop the very thing I'm trying to get on video, and b) it'd take me three weeks to actually download the video and post it.

Well, in the time that it took for me to load the blogger page, he'd managed to pick up the "C" card, and one-handed, dump some of the other cards out of the box. Since then, he's reached into the box repeatedly and pulled more cards out, then played with them briefly before returning to the box for more (he just pulled out "W" and "X" which are on the same card for some reason).

I really wish I _could_ get this on video because you can just _see_ the wheels turning in his little mind as he figures out how to get things to do what he wants them to do. He doesn't just scatter the cards either (not to say that they don't end up scattered, but he doesn't just toss things all over the place). He sits and picks up each card individually and studies it - turning it over and over in his hands.

I seriously feel like Jacques Cousteau or someone should be narrating this for me.

For Breakfast: Cream of Cat Foot with Brown Sugar and Raisins

So I was in my normal position - reclined on the couch with my laptop propped up on my knees, writing an email to a friend when the cat decided that she just HAD to take that moment to jump up onto my chest (she's been doing that a lot lately. It's especially fun at night when I'm trying to go to sleep...and even more so when she decides to knead her little claws into every exposed piece of skin she can find).

Little did she know that I had protection today. Sitting on my chest already was my breakfast - instant cream of wheat with brown sugar and raisins.

In one mighty leap, she jumped from the floor to what would have been her favorite set of pillows...but instead was a bowl of warm mush. She instantly rebounded back to the floor, spraying me with cream of wheat in the process. Fortunately, the glob that found the laptop hit the one spot devoid of any moving parts (bottom, left corner, next to (but thankfully not on) the glidepoint), but there were plenty of other globs in my hair and on my clothes.

Now there are probably little kitty paw prints all over my house. And I, who had actually gotten a shower last night and was CLEAN! am clean no longer. Neither is my favorite hoodie that I had just put on.

Stupid cat.

She's already eyeing her spot again.

Our Little Man

So this time last year I was resting (uncomfortably) in a hospital bed with a wee little man by my side. I think VNB had just returned after going home for some sleep and a shower, and friends were stopping by after work.

It's hard to imagine how much our lives have changed since that day. I certainly haven't had a full night's sleep since then. I just feel so blessed when I sit here and look over to see AJ playing. He's so inquisitive and active and vibrant. He's got so much personality. His little grin can melt the coldest of hearts, and his _hugs_....there's nothing sweeter in the world than being hugged by him...except _maybe_ watching him hug his daddy...but that's mostly because of the look that VNB gets in his eyes when it happens - complete surrender to the love he has for our little man.

But to know the special privilege that I've been given. To be able to be home with him every day. To watch him grow and learn. To hear him talk and sing. To see him play. To have him feed me his gluten, nut, and soy-free Os (that taste like cardboard made with a touch of molasses) all afternoon.

And to recognize the intelligence that he has as he sits and plays with his little bead roller coaster, pushing the beads back and forth along the tracks...then turning the whole thing on its side and watching them all move on their own. To see him pick up objects and examine them in great detail (prior to putting them in his mouth for further "examination").

To hear him laugh and giggle. To watch him sleep. To see him toddle around with growing boldness.

And yes, even to consider four hours of uninterrupted sleep to be as close to Heaven as you can get on Earth...and to be constantly aware of every gas bubble and the color and consistency of every diaper. It's a joy and a blessing to get to suck the snot out of his little nose.

It's also an awesome responsibility. One that I love and wouldn't give up for anything.

So happy birthday, little man!

We're certainly not putting you back where we found you!

This Time Last Year

This time last year, I'd just received my epidural after spending about four hours screaming with every contraction and not dilating any. Around 11, I was able to get a much-needed hour of sleep. Just thought you'd want to know. Now I think I'll celebrate by going to sleep again - this time with no drugs, and no recently-breech baby unwillingly making his way into the world.

I do _not_ plan on commemorating the actual event of pushing him out of my body as that occurred at 4:58 in the morning. Hopefully _he_ will not wish to commemorate it either.

A Breastfeeding Miracle

So in January of 2000, I was sitting in my cubicle at work on a Friday afternoon. Most everyone else had gone home. As I was sitting there, I was attempting to massage some odd soreness out from under my right arm when I found something that would change my life - a lump. I was 23, and the only person on either side of my family who had ever had any kind of cancer was my grandmother who had a _TINY_ spot of lung cancer after living with my life-long smoker grandfather for 50 years, but I had a distinctive, can't-ignore-it lump in my right breast.

I called my doctor and they fit me in the next day. It was _probably_ a swollen lymph node, so he set me up with a course of antibiotics. When that did nothing, we tried an anti-viral next. When that didn't do anything, we tried an anti-parasitic with similar results (except that now I know exactly how foul Flaggyl or metronidazole tastes. Please believe me and avoid it at all costs). With each visit, my somewhat granola-crunchy doc also prescribed various vitamins. By the end, I was taking vitamins A (in a liquid suspension), B (B-50s to be particular), C, and E, in addition to some stuff for my thyroid and oil of evening primrose. He also sent me first for a mammogram, then for a CT scan. Also, with each passing day, the pain that the lump was causing increased. There were days when it was hard to breathe. It was next-to-impossible to do things like mow my lawn.

So in June or July of that year, my doc sent me to a surgeon whose primary response to me was "you're too young!" After another course of antibiotics, a sonogram, and the cessation of all things caffeinated (including chocolate), they finally scheduled me for surgery. The first time, on the day of the surgery, amazingly, the doc couldn't find the lump. So they rescheduled me and on Sept 10, 2000, they took out a "reactive follicular hyperplasia." Basically, an abnormal number of normal cells. Not cancer or even "pre-cancerous." Completely benign.

It was over. It took till January to get the full range of motion back in my arm and I expected to be caffeine-less (and taking a boat-load of vitamins daily) for the rest of my life, but it was over.

Until the next March when the pain came back. And I found another one. And it all started over. Again with the function-robbing pain and the rounds and rounds of doctors visits. And another surgery. This time it was a "fibrosis" - scar or connective tissue. Also completely benign.

And again, it was over. Recovery was much quicker and less painful that time too. Eventually I even stopped taking all of the vitamins (because I just got tired of feeling like I was a "sick" person who had to take tons of medicine daily), although I kept off the caffeine.

Until three years later. I'd been in Kuwait and/or Iraq for just over six months when, in January of 2004, I found another one. To be polite, I'd had to drink a whole lot of Iraqi tea and a small amount (thankfully) of Turkish coffee...which meant _FAR_ more caffeine than my body had seen in many years. So that March, when I was passing through Amman on my way to Cyprus for a vacation, I stopped in at a radiologist's office for another round of mammograms and sonograms. Since I had the history of benign lumps, had a reasonable explanation for this one (Iraqi tea), and wasn't in any pain this time, we decided to just keep an eye on it. The following September when we came out of Iraq for some training (and I unexpectedly never got to go back), I got it checked again. It hadn't grown any and I still wasn't in any pain, so we left it. The doc gave me assurances that it would be there for the rest of my life, but it was "probably" benign like the others.

It's been there ever since then - _PROBABLY_ benign - but with that little cloud of "what if" always floating behind the "probably." I made sure I was always aware of it, but mostly was too busy meeting VNB, finishing my MS, getting married, getting pregnant, and having a baby to worry too much about it.

About nine weeks after AJ was born, we were in for a check-up with the midwives when I brought it up again. She checked me out, felt what I was concerned about, and offered to write an order for a sonogram for me, but I turned it down. At that point, I think I was too worried that they'd find something serious to do what was probably the best thing. I didn't want anything to interfere with breastfeeding AJ. Granted, me dying from breast cancer "probably" would have interfered, but then again, it'd been there innocuously for years. A few more months wouldn't make a difference.

But I went to the gyn for something else, and I was getting kinda antsy about getting it checked out again, so, even though he couldn't find what I was talking about, he wrote me an order for a sonogram. Eventually I called and set up the appointment.

It was today.

And despite her best efforts, the sonogram tech couldn't find anything except normal breast tissue.

Nothing.

The lump...and the nagging fear that went with it...that was supposed to be with me for the rest of my life is gone.

I named my first lump "Bartholomew" because its meaning (little hill) was the closest I could find to "lump," and somehow talking about "Bart" was easier than talking about my breast lump. The second I named "Thaddeus Yair" (which means "Praise, God will teach") because I wanted each thought of my lump to refocus me on praising God and learning what I needed to be taught through the experience rather than worrying about the "what ifs."

This last one was named "Evan Hoai" which means "God is good, Always," partly because it reminded me of a song I love ("God is good all the time..."), and partly because it was what I felt I needed to be reminded of every time I thought of this lump.

Now, medically, this can potentially be explained by the fact that a woman's breasts don't fully develop until she's produced milk for a baby. It took a little while for it to work, but breastfeeding was not only the healthiest thing for my son, it also "fixed" me. It's "a breastfeeding miracle."

Or I can give the praise to the One who formed my breasts and who has taught me so much over the years through this. The One who is good - all the time.

Maybe it was a breastfeeding miracle. Or maybe it was "just" a miracle. All I know is that after eight years of the dark cloud hanging over my head, it's gone! Praise the Lord, it's gone!

Happy New Year

I apologize for the lack of posting this past month. I think NaBloPoMo broke me...but also, so much has been happening that it's been difficult sometimes just to process it. Taking the time to put words to all of it was beyond me. So here is an update covering the past month or so:

1. My car should be home today! The cost increased almost to the point of being totaled, but by then they'd already done so much work that it wasn't worth their effort to stop in the middle. So yay! But while GEICO (not our insurance, but that of the guy who hit VNB) did GREAT the time that our blazer was side-swiped, this time they weren't so great. Like at all. They haven't contacted us since the day after the accident. They didn't tell us that _we_ had to arrange to move the car, they didn't tell us the adjustor's findings, and most importantly, they didn't tell us that our car was ready last Friday before they turned off the rental car. Enterprise finally called on Monday morning to let us know. But we got it all straightened out and should have my almost new again car this evening. :)
2. AJ is officially among the "walkers" now. A few days shy of him being 11 months old, he took a couple of steps at his dad's office holiday party. A little over a week later (with _both_ of us present) he took a few more. Since then, he's been gradually getting bolder and bolder. Now, he's off to the races. His longest stretch unaided was probably 10 ft. across half of my parents' family room (carpet) and well into their kitchen (vinyl).
3. He has now said the following words (not necessarily in this order, but really, I'm not crazy - he says all of them): Dada, Mama, AJ, Fish, Star, Peek-a-boo, Cat/Kitty, Woof, Choo-choo, Hey/Hi, Bye, Juice. (Keep in mind that "advanced" 12-mo-olds usually say 1-2 words other than Mama and Dada.)
4. He understands the following signs: hungry, finished, thirsty/juice, more, sleepy
5. He "says" the following signs: finished, more, sleepy (well, that last one might be cheating since the sign for sleepy very much resembles rubbing your eyes)
6. He "drives" anything with wheels _on_ its wheels (and I do mean _anything_ - stuffed trains, books about cars that have wheels on them, not to mention actual vehicles). VNB claims that he knows to do this without having been taught because he's a boy. I think it's because he's been playing with his daddy's trains so much lately.
7. By the end of his first Christmas (which really hasn't ended yet as VNB's mom and dad are coming up with the Jones portion this weekend), he had mostly learned to unwrap gifts. He still liked playing with the paper more than anything else and screamed when we made him move on to the next thing, but he had at least learned to rip the paper off. I wonder if he'll feel cheated someday when he's older and he learns that he got a new car seat for his first Christmas/birthday (well, primarily...he got other stuff too, even from us...what can I say? We're suckers.).
8. He dances to music whenever possible.
9. He points to things that he wants...and also points out eyes, mouths, and noses on other people.
10. He hugs people (including the 10-mo-old daughter of some friends of ours...she wasn't so sure what to make of it all).
11. He "pets" the kitty rather than just pulling her hair (and by "pet" I mean pounds on her with an open hand).
12. He turns pages in board books.
13. He has five teeth, including his two (top) front teeth (but he still can't say "sister susie sitting on a thistle" or whatever it is that Nat sings about).
14. He still chews on anything and everything he can get into his mouth, but he's also starting to just play with things, so we're hoping we see the light at the end of _that_ tunnel.
15. He sleeps most nights from about 8 until about 3 or 4 (very occasionally 5), then can be put back to sleep most mornings for a couple of hours at a time with the final wake up usually occurring between 7 and 8. What that means is that I'm MUCH happier. :)
16. He can actually sit still without restraint in order to watch his daddy's trains.

And right now he's screaming as he tries to get my attention by pulling my arm away from the computer because he needs a clean diaper and a nap. Pictures of some of the above to come...you know...someday...

Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!! Giant Spider Attack!!!!

WAY too funny not to share. Click here for the full story. Make sure your sound is on.

SNOW!!!!!!!!

I saw a few flakes the other day and was so excited I almost had to pull over.

So when the news started mentioning snow for today, VNB almost had to tie me down. And when I heard 1-2," I was ecstatic!!!

Today I was fully prepared to wait until noon or after (like they were saying) for it to start. But then I looked up a few minutes ago and, even without my glasses on, I could tell it was coming down and FAST!!!!!

So I showed AJ and he got excited too (he _is_ my on, after all)!! So when I started this post, he was sitting at our sliding glass door waving at the snow, but then I took a picture which got his attention (and somehow reminded him that it's almost nap time), so now he's sitting in the crook of my left arm as I type one-handed while also preventing him from "helping" me type.

But the ground is already turning white!! So maybe Wednesday night stuff at church will get cancelled and VNB can come home instead of going to orchestra rehearsal and get to play with AJ in the snow!!

Oh look...a little yogurt came up with AJ's last burp...right onto the laptop's glidepad and left mouse button. Nice.

On _THAT_ note....

Ooo, look!!! It's SNOWING!!!!!!!

Carousel

So AJ took his first carousel ride today on the carousel in our local mall. Both AJ's Grandma and his Nana will be glad to know that he rode on the black horse on the outside.

I don't know how many more rides he's gonna take though, because it made his mama a little queasy.

Update on VNB and our car: VNB is fine. His back was a little tight for a few days, but he's got no permanent damage as far as we can tell. The car on the other hand. Well, it got towed from the scene on Friday night to the police impound lot. We were told that the Geico adjuster would visit the car on Saturday. Well, apparently the adjuster can't visit until the car is at the body shop. And _WE_ have to call the towing company to get the car moved. The worst part of all of this? We didn't find out this information until _today_ (Tuesday). So tomorrow, VNB will get the car towed to the body shop and the damage will finally be assessed. But he also managed to talk to the owner of our chosen body shop today...and by describing the damage, the owner's pretty sure the car is totalled. That would be bad news for us as we can't exactly buy a comparable car for the wrecked one's blue book value.

So that would be bad. I might have to deal with driving a sedan again. Dadgummit. I _LOVE_ that car!

Going Out With A Bang

So VNB decided to make November go out with a bang. Well...let me rephrase that, the person three or four cars in front of him who jammed on his brakes today, causing a three-car pile up with VNB and my car in the middle decided to make November go out with a bang for us.

Just so you know, he's fine. In fact, he's out with the guys from our Sunday School class right now. He's a little stiff and he was obviously shaken up afterwards, but really, he's fine. I'll break out the heating pad and Motrin tonight when he gets home.

But my poor car had to be towed away.

Really, it doesn't _look_ that bad. Granted, it was dark, but the front bumper didn't look too bad at all. It just has a hole in it under the passenger-side headlight from the trailer hitch of the truck in front. And the back doesn't look _too_ bad. I mean, the passenger-side tail light was already mostly gone from an incident between me and a parking garage pole (obviously the pole won). And there were already paint marks from...ahem...another parking garage pole (hey...I was pregnant...and that's the only excuse I have...) on the rear passenger-side quarter panel. But the back bumper is obviously mushed, and the other tail light is gone now too.

The biggest thing in my mind is that the door next to where AJ's car seat usually sits won't open now. The seat's not visibly squished at all, so he would have been fine probably...but still. The best thing though is the no part of his car seat was in there. We'd sent it to TN with my mom when she came up before T-day so that I'd have one less thing to carry through the airport after Christmas. So we won't have the hassle of replacing the car seat.

We may, however, have the hassle of replacing the car. That would suck. I love that car! But there's a good bit of damage...and Kelly's blue book says that she's only worth about $7800 now. And that's in "excellent" condition. Which she's not.

Arg....but still $7000 in cash could maybe buy a decent used car.

But to end my "30 Days of Thanks," I am thankful from the bottom of my heart that VNB is ok. It could have been a whole lot worse. The airbag of the guy in the car behind him went off and that guy's hand was swelling up pretty quickly afterward. He could have been more slow in his own braking and plowed into the car in front of him rather than being pushed (or in addition to being pushed). There are a million possibilities for what could have happened. Instead, he's ok and all we need is a fixed or new car.

It's a Wonderful Christmas!

So they were going to send out 150 of the CDs to bloggers. I figured there was no way I'd get one. But in the mail when we got home from NC on Monday was my VERY OWN MWS "It's a Wonderful Christmas" CD!!!! For FREE!!!!

We started listening to it almost immediately as I was keeping AJ occupied while VNB was unloading the car.

Now, before you watch the following videos, I'd like you to keep in mind that filming AJ is like filming wildlife. Usually once he notices the camera, the cute thing that he was doing stops...so this is by no means the best video of him doing these adorable things. Also, these were taken this morning. Everything was better the first time we listened to the CD.

This is AJ "dancing" to the music (he's a little shy at first):

This is AJ "singing" and "dancing" to the music:

Did you notice that the dancing changed (or restarted) with a change in the music? Yep...he's a budding musician too!

Anyway, not only did AJ love the CD, I did too! One of the (many) reasons I married VNB was that he had the MWS CD that I was missing (I'd carried it around so much that it'd gotten too damaged to play anymore). I'm a _BIG_ MWS fan. I know just about every word to every one of the songs he's got on a CD somewhere. And I can sing along with his instrumental album too!

So when I tell you that I know me some MWS music, please believe me (although, um...Santa? I don't have "Stand" yet). This is the third of his Christmas CDs and is far more similar to "Christmas" than it is to "Christmastime." In fact, I'd say that it's a good mix of "Christmas" and "Freedom" (the instrumental). There are more instrumental tracks than on "Christmas" and the vocal tracks are more choral and orchestral than pop like "Christmastime" was. Of course, the American Boys Choir plays a big role, as usual.

Well, let me take that back. I assume it's the American Boys Choir. There were only two disappointing things about this CD. 1) They _just_ sent the CD. Now we don't keep jewel cases, so I don't mind not getting that...but I _do_ like to read and keep the inserts. So I can't say for absolute sure that it's the American Boys Choir, but that's who it's been on the other two, so I'm assuming here. And 2) when it ended, AJ and I looked at each other in disappointment (I'm not kidding, he looked at me with this surprised look when the CD changer changed). Maybe it's because there's less to sing along to, but it just seemed _WAY_ too short.

But really, the youth at my church used to tease me about being an old fart because I listened to MWS and I just kept telling them what an awesome musician he is. As they got older and their tastes more discriminating, they understood what I meant. But with each CD, I'm more and more impressed with his music. Don't get me wrong - "Project" (his first CD) is and always will be one of my favorites, but he just keeps getting better and better!

So four thumbs up (including AJ's) on this CD!

Prodigious

This is my 10-month-old child prodigy (sorry it's sideways, but it's not really the video that's important):

Just in case you didn't understand, here's the dialogue:
Me: AJ, what does a doggy say?
AJ: Woof

That's my genius baby right there!

Thanks for the day: I'm thankful that this month is almost over. I mean, it didn't seem like it was going to be hard at all to post every day, especially if I had the "schtick" of 30 days of thanks...but man has it been hard to remember to do. But it also means that it's almost Christmas! And I can actually ENJOY Christmas this year! I'm not 8+months pregnant! And we're not wildly busy like we were last year! Yay! :)

Ok...now I'm just buying time until Blogger finishes processing the video so that I can post and go to bed. Hurry up, Blogger! Aaaaaaaany day now....

Doot de doot de doo...

So AJ took two good naps again today. The weird part was that the second nap came at 11:30 instead of 3...and the first one had only finished at 10...I was so caught off guard that I figured he just wanted a little "nip of mama" and stayed in the living room to give it to him instead of going into his room to our traditional pre-sleeping chair. Which meant that I hadn't taken down the baby gate for the hallway (which requires two hands). Which meant that when he actually went to sleep, I just put him on the couch. And it was a good thing that he woke up when he did because I was going to have serious trouble participating in my 1PM telecon with him someplace that he could fall off of (meaning that I couldn't leave the room, despite the array of pillows and chair blocking his fall)...but I couldn't exactly talk out loud without waking him...but he woke up right before it started and was pretty good the rest of the afternoon. He did have another "nip," but piano playing followed, not sleep.

Anyway....so Blogger's done now and I'm going to bed!

Dagnabbit

So I've got this backlog of video and pictures to post, but I keep forgetting to post until I can't keep my eyes open any longer.

So tomorrow...really...there will be new video of my precocious boy.

And what am I thankful for today? A day of long naps. They were glorious. This morning's nap was about an hour and this afternoon's was a blissful (and almost unheard of) hour and a half! Now...those were AJ's naps, not mine...but having that time to myself...it was glorious. No other word for it. Here's hoping it happens again tomorrow. Here's also hoping for a night of good sleep tonight. We're trying to cut down on night wakings by teaching him to lie back down on his own and just go back to sleep. Last night was the first night. We kept to the plan for the first three wakings after I'd gone to bed (there were two prior to me going to bed). Then I gave in and nursed him for the last two. But that's still progress. Here's to sleep!

VNB

So here's another mush alert for you...

Today is my "Very Nice Beloved's" 28th birthday. What nice things can I say about him? Well...lots... :)

I don't even know how to describe all the ways I just _enjoy_ him. He makes me laugh, he takes care of me, he is a great daddy to our little man, he loves me, he misses me every time we're apart (and tells me so). When AJ and I were so sick a few weeks ago, he surprised us by coming home early the day that I felt the worst and sent me to bed. And on the way home, he called all of my siblings and parents to ask what my comfort foods were so that he could make sure I had whatever would make me feel the best.

He makes me feel so safe! When I was single, I felt like no one had my back - like I was completely on my own. I mean, I have a great family, but they were far away, and I've got a great church, but I tended to fall through the cracks when I needed help. And I was single and on my own so long that I guess feeling that way began to seem normal. So now, every time he puts his arm around me or just lies next to me...I know there will always be someone there with me. And each time that happens, I am reminded of how grateful I am for him.

Like the day when AJ was being turned (in utero). I just remember being so scared and in such pain...but I looked up at him and could just relax.

I could go on and on...

The road hasn't always been smooth, but he's always been there with me as we bumped along...and we're slowly learning how to help each other avoid at least the worst of the bumps.

What can I say? I love the guy. And he's hot too. :)

(so if you haven't figured it out yet, today, I'm thankful for my sweet hubby.)

Coming Soon

So why didn't I post yesterday? Mostly because I remembered posting in the morning...unfortunately, it was _Friday_ morning that I posted, not yesterday. Whoops. Good thing I'd already ruined my NaBloPoMo, or I'd be upset. Well...probably not, but I'd like to think that I would be. :)

So, I haven't downloaded all the pics and video yet, but there should be some great ones coming soon. Some from the Carolina Hurricanes NHL game we went to (AJ too) Friday night, some from the park we went to yesterday.

So what was I thankful for yesterday? Um...certainly not for my bowling abilities...yesterday I was thankful that we got the video we got at the park. I can't wait for you to see and hear it. You won't believe it.

Today I was thankful for the great family photos we got outside my in-laws' house. We don't remember to take family photos often, so this was good. And I'll post them one of these days.

Braindead

So in addition to the folks I said the other day that we'd see yesterday, we actually added another bunch of VB's family to the list at the last minute. That was fine though because they fed us dinner. And cooed over how cute AJ was.

So when we finally got to Nana and Grandaddy's house last night, everyone was pooped. But despite nursing both sides after not having nursed all day, he wasn't asleep yet. So I stuck him in his pack 'n play with a pacifier and lay down on our bed (right next to him). After struggling for about 2.7 seconds to keep my own eyes open, I figured that I'd let my eyes rest for a bit while he screamed to get out. I'd open them every now and again to see what he was doing (standing there looking at either me or the door usually...and screaming)...but one time, he was sitting down. So I praised him and kept telling him to lie down. So he did...but the side of the pack 'n play got in the way (either that or he was trying not to do what I said even though he knew that was exactly what he wanted to do). So for a few minutes he sat there, face smashed into the mesh on the side of the pack 'n play as I kept telling him to put his head _all_ the way down...and tried not to laugh as he sank lower and lower. After just a few minutes of that, he got himself completely down...and was out within a few seconds.

He still woke up twice in the night and was restless in between the wakings and hard to put back down after the second one, but he slept until exactly 7 AM on the clock (that's when I give up on sleeping any more in the mornings)...and his daddy very graciously let a completely braindead mommy stay in bed for another hour while he and his parents and AJ played in the living room.

I was definitely not up for Black Friday AM sales, but AJ's Grandaddy just went to Babies 'R Us to buy him a doorway jumper (that's on sale today), and AJ's Nana and I will be going out in a few minutes to buy his food (probably not on sale). All while AJ and his daddy stay home. It's nice for AJ to have a daddy that likes to do that. :)

So what I was thankful for yesterday? A bed to sleep in at the end of a long day.

Today I'm thankful for a daddy for my baby who wants to be involved in most things (still working on getting him to change diapers though).

Oh My!

So I was catching up on the blogs that I read and I saw this post on Rocks in my Dryer. Michael W. Smith is one of my favorite artists ever and his Christmas stuff is some of my favorite stuff of everything he's done! So when I heard that I could possibly get his latest Christmas CD (I didn't even know he was making one!) for FREE!! Well, I can't tell you how fast I signed up! But they're limiting it to the first 150 and the site was obviously jammed (probably thanks to Shannon), so we'll see if I qualify.



In the meantime though, they've got samples of some of the songs on this site and I'm putting the banner on the side until they tell me for sure that I _haven't_ been sent a CD.



And if you've got a blog you can sign up too. But you'll have to act fast!

Oh Well...

Oh well...between no sleep, my mom visiting, errands to run, and extra work to do, I just completely forgot to post yesterday. Guess I'm not getting any of the NaBloPoMo prizes.

When AJ woke up at 3, I realized that I'd probably forgotten and instead of going back to bed to sit there and wonder and stew about it, I just went and checked...and sure enough, I'd forgotten. And even though I know how to back date a post on blogger...and could have even written it at 3 this morning and back dated it to 11:30 or so and no one would have been the wiser, I figured I'd be honest instead (stupid conscience) and just admit it.

Kinda takes the pressure off though since we'll be traveling to VNB's grandfather's house tomorrow (5-hr drive), then to his grandmother's house (same town), then to his parents' house (1-2 hr drive)...and posting either before it all begins (whenever AJ wakes up in the 4-6 AM time frame) or after it's all over (I'm guessing late evening), would have been difficult and/or tiresome.

Not that I'm completely quitting...I'm still gonna _try_ to post every day...I'm just not exactly going to beat myself up about it if I don't. Those of you reading who _are_ family will certainly understand and all three of you who _aren't_ family will probably understand too. And any other NoBloPoMo-ers out there will probably thank me because I've just increased their chances of winning a prize! :)

So what was I thankful for yesterday? Um...I'm thankful for grandparents who buy things for my kid. :) We went to Target and my mom bought AJ a bunch of winter clothes (which he was in dire need of, but I'd put off buying myself since there's Christmas in a month, then his birthday two weeks later). She also brought some stuff with her when she came. So now he's got more than two long-sleeved shirts! Woohoo! And some pants that will stay up AND are long enough! :)

Today I'm thankful that most everyone who took today off to visit family left last night, making the airport that I just dropped my mom off at not very crowded at all.

Snaggletooth, I Really Mean it This Time

So AJ's fourth tooth has broken the skin. It's not the other top front tooth, it's the little one next to the front tooth (the one between the canine tooth and the front tooth). If that one goes through visibly before the other front tooth does, he's _really_ gonna be a snaggletooth. I'll be sure to get more cute pictures for you.

So...thanks for today...who knew it could be so hard? I'm thankful for this laptop. Laptops just make the world go better.

Sunday Posting

"Day 28...great..."

Except that it's only day 18.

Yeah...I'm in trouble.

You'd think that with the cutest baby in the world, I'd be able to come up with some cute anecdote for the day.

Let's see...what did AJ do today? Well, he "only" woke up three times last night - I'm not really sure when each time was. Nights get a "little" fuzzy sometimes. The first waking was either at 11:30 or 12:30...as usual, roughly 30-45 minutes after I'd gone to sleep. Then next one was around 2, the next around 5. Or was there more? I don't remember. It seems like there was a 1:30 waking. So maybe there were four last night. 11:30, 1:30, 3, and 5. That sounds more right. But what do I really know? I'm asleep most of the time. He woke up late - around 7:30.

Then the three of us played on the bed for a few minutes (our tradition whenever Daddy's home when AJ wakes up), then we all got ready for church. Then we went to church. AJ walked in (holding Mama and Daddy's hands) for the first time and everyone thought it was incredibly cute (because it was).

Then I tried to get him down for his nap, but the nursery ladies were unusually intrusive today and every time he was JUST ABOUT to go to sleep, one of them would check on something in the nursing room. I knew sleeping would be a battle anyway since he'd woken up late, so after three interruptions and 45 minutes, we gave up and he went to Sunday School.

Yeah...the day doesn't really get much more interesting, so I'll stop there. He's cute. Trust me.

So what am I thankful for today? Let's see. I'm thankful for a husband that I can disagree and even fight with...but then he kisses me, makes sure we're ok, we get on the same page, and it's over. Yeah...he's a keeper. :) I'm still in "deep smit" with him. He's awful cute too. But this isn't his official "thankfulness" day, so I'm _JUST_ thankful today that we can communicate, even through my feistiness.

National Treasure

So we've been watching the movie "National Treasure" the past few nights on USA. Which is silly since we have the DVD, but that's another story.

Anyway...so last night I heard a line for the first time. As Nicolas Cage is helping everyone into the scary staircase from the tunnel through the crypt, he grabs the girl and kisses her. Then "Thug #2" (or whatever his name is) says, "Why doesn't that ever happen to me?"

So I want to know what the thug is really asking. Is he asking why he's never in the situation where the pretty girl and he fall for each other during trying circumstances? Or is he asking why Nicolas Cage never grabs and kisses him?

I think it's the latter.






So anyway...on to my thankfulness for the day. I'm thankful for pomegranates. Just for their very existence to begin with...but also for the day I was introduced to them in Iraq. I remember it clearly. "My" family there laughing at me as I took a single kernel and tentatively put it in my mouth. Or the day I learned how to pick a "good" one (of the red Iraqi variety, that would be one with the most white on the skin). Or the day that they finally came into season here in the States after my return and I got to taste something at least very similar to what I'd come to love over there. It's not the same (as with most things, the American version is sweeter), but it's similar enough to do until I get a "real" one again. :) What I love even more though is that my supermarket sells "still good, but not for long" produce for reduced prices. And since most Americans have no idea what to do with a pomegranate, lots of them end up over there...and I get to eat them for cheap! Woohoo!

And yes, I had one tonight and it was scrumdiddlyumptious.

And Nicolas Cage, et al, just found the treasure...again....

Anticipation

So today, once school is over, my mom will be hopping on a plane and flying up here. (Although, if she actually _hops_, well...I want video....) Around the time that AJ goes to bed, VNB will be heading to the airport to pick her up. Then she'll get to stay with us until next Wednesday morning!

Thursday, AJ, VNB, and I will get up whenever AJ has his early morning waking and pile into the car to drive down to see his family for a long T-day weekend (including VNB's 28th birthday! I'd make "old man" jokes, but I'm almost three years older than him, so I really just can't get away with those).

Then, the day after Christmas, AJ and I will fly to TN to hang out with my family (including AJ's aunt and uncles Turner). The Friday after that, VNB will join us for a long New Year's Day weekend!

Traveling anywhere is always exciting to me. It's always an adventure, even if it's someplace I've been a hundred times before. Just thinking about going all those places and seeing all of our families and letting AJ get to know them even more (and them him)...well, I can hardly wait!!

I mean, sure...it's a pain to be in a car for 5+ hours with a 10-month-old...and to fly alone with one is the definition of the word "tiring"...but it's still exciting to be _going_ someplace. I don't know why. It's just the way I am.

So in that vein, today I am thankful that we're going to get to see both of our families this holiday season without breaking the bank! That's so important right now when AJ's so young and changes so much between visits. The last time my brothers saw him, he was 3 months old! He was still just a jiggly little lump! Now he talks ("fish," "star," "cat," and "Mama," and "Dada" if you want to stretch the truth a little), he walks (well, with help), he understands ("hungry," "sleepy," "finished," "juice"), he claps and waves, and occasionally he communicates by doing more than just saying "Ah" and pulling my hair ("mostly with "finished").

Last Christmas, I was very, very pregnant, so we didn't go anywhere. While my parents and sister came up to see us, my brothers weren't able to come...and we were all so stressed that it just didn't seem that Christmas-y. I'm not sure I can express how nice it'll be to see all of my family for Christmas! And VNB gets to be with all of his for T-day AND his birthday! Yay!

I can't wait!

Betcha Think I Forgot

Because I pretty much did. Until I didn't. And I actually got up out of bed to come out here and post.

So, today I am thankful for the sippy cup that AJ finally will actually _drink_ from _WITH_ the valve in (because otherwise when he flips it over to chew on the bottom - no I don't understand either - the juice all spills out).

And now I'm going back to bed.

Works-For-Me Wedensday: 30 Days of Thankfulness

So I was trying to come up with something for today's WFMW post...and nothing was coming to mind. And I was trying to come up with something for today's NaBloPoMo post...and nothing was coming to mind. Then I remembered the "30 Days of Thanks" that I'd seen referenced on someone else's blog. Since counting my blessings is one of my very favorite things to do, the 30 days seemed like a fun thing to participate in. Plus, it's an easy way to have a post every day for NaBlo! :)

But starting on the 14th of November? How can that count for 30 days? Well, I figured that I'd use today to catch up by posting 14 things I'm thankful for, rather than just one.

And by the way, being thankful works for me! It helps me to keep my perspective on the "bad" things in life, if I remember how much I've been given. If you'd like to see other tips, go here.

1. A happy, healthy son
2. Enough food to eat
3. A heater that works
4. Air conditioning in the summer
5. Not one, but two working cars, neither of which is on its last leg
6. A job that I love
7. Being able to work from home!!!!!
8. The world's most confused cat (named Monkey, who thinks that either she's a person or I'm a cat)
9. A laptop!!
10. My "little" brother 'Link' who was 22(!!!) on the 10th
11. My little sister 'Elianna' who wasn't born in November
12. My older brother 'JediTagger' who wasn't born in November either
13. In-laws whose company I enjoy
14. My parents who, after 38 years of marriage still like each other.

Ok...so that's my catch-up post. From now on it's one per day (probably with more explanation). And for those of you who are wondering why my VNB isn't on this list. Well, he _was_ born in November...so guess which day will be devoted to being thankful for him? :)

Look, Ma! No Hands!

This is actually from a few weeks ago, but not much has changed since it was taken. Basically, if you manage to get him to let go of your fingers while he's standing in a semi-balanced fashion, he can continue standing for a few seconds prior to a controlled sit. He _IS_ starting to get bolder though in going from one piece of furniture to another, in terms of when he lets the first go prior to grabbing the second. He'll also take a couple of steps when he's only holding on to _one_ of Mama or Dada's hands. And if you give him two hands, he takes off!

It's only a matter of time!