Confessions:
I don't proofread my blog.
I have horrible grammar and spelling.
I often misuse the words: your and you're.
I don't wash my hair every day.
I often leave my dirty clothes on the floor.
I never put my vacuum away...I have come to see it as room "decor".
I yell at my kids...I've even told them to "shut up" on more than one occasion.
I spend too much time on the computer.
I'm a photographer...but I don't really know what I'm doing half the time.
I HATE unloading the dishwasher.
I despise when people sleep without pillowcases or sheets on their beds. I find it disgusting - but remember, I don't wash my hair every day, so...
I would home school my kids if my husband would allow it.
If I home schooled my children, they would NOT be smart.
I hardly ever cry.
I hate when people sing to their spouses at their weddings...or to me...it makes me laugh.
I am not romantic...at all.
Monday, August 29, 2011
11 Years
Matt and I just "celebrated" the 14th anniversary of our first date. 14 years together. Our first date, was a result of, me agreeing to do Matt's laundry. Yes, all my woman's lib fans, I agreed to do Matt's laundry, in exchange for dinner and a movie. 14 years later, and I'm still doing his laundry - and he's still buying me dinner and taking me to movies. I think it was the best load of laundry I ever did!
In June, we celebrated 11 years of marriage. I don't always feel old enough to have been married for 11 years...sometimes. When I stop to think that we both were 21 when we got married, I believe we really aren't quite old enough to be married that long! I can't even begin to think about my boys being married at 21!! I cringe at the thought, but, we were ready.
I love Matt, more today, then I ever thought I would. I love him with a love more true and deep than I thought possible. We still laugh at God's timing for our marriage.
Grew up at rival high schools. Lived less then 7 miles apart our whole lives. We met in Florida, while both on our senior trips. My grandma actually cut his picture out of the newspaper for me before I left for college. She pointed out how handsome he was and how we would maybe meet at college. I quickly pointed out to her, how I'd already met him and that he was a dork. I also informed her that with 3,000 freshmen, we'd never meet. Less then a week at school and there he is!! Almost 700 miles from home, and I meet the man I'm going to marry!!
In our 11 years of marriage we've had a lot of experiences...not all good...but all things that brought us closer to each other and to the Lord.
*A miscarriage
*A year of infertility
*Three sons
*A serious bout of post partum depression, aniexty, OCD and panic disorder
*Almost losing my father in law twice - once to an anerysism and once to a serious fall.
*The loss of a job
*Serious pay cut
*HUGE promotions
*Purchasing 2 homes
*Surgeries
*A son diagnosed with a chronic illness
And many more events in our life - both wonderful and trying. Through each one, we've clung to each other and our faith in Christ. Together, we've come out on the other side, strong and rejoicing in God's blessings on us and our marriage.
Just recently, Matt and I went on a date. We went to ship a package at UPS, Target for bread and dish soap, Kroger and out to dinner. In that time, we talked, laughed, high fived and had a great time. It dawned on us, later that evening, that we not only had a fantastic time, but that we had a fantastic time doing nothing, together!
I love our simple life!!
In June, we celebrated 11 years of marriage. I don't always feel old enough to have been married for 11 years...sometimes. When I stop to think that we both were 21 when we got married, I believe we really aren't quite old enough to be married that long! I can't even begin to think about my boys being married at 21!! I cringe at the thought, but, we were ready.
I love Matt, more today, then I ever thought I would. I love him with a love more true and deep than I thought possible. We still laugh at God's timing for our marriage.
Grew up at rival high schools. Lived less then 7 miles apart our whole lives. We met in Florida, while both on our senior trips. My grandma actually cut his picture out of the newspaper for me before I left for college. She pointed out how handsome he was and how we would maybe meet at college. I quickly pointed out to her, how I'd already met him and that he was a dork. I also informed her that with 3,000 freshmen, we'd never meet. Less then a week at school and there he is!! Almost 700 miles from home, and I meet the man I'm going to marry!!
In our 11 years of marriage we've had a lot of experiences...not all good...but all things that brought us closer to each other and to the Lord.
*A miscarriage
*A year of infertility
*Three sons
*A serious bout of post partum depression, aniexty, OCD and panic disorder
*Almost losing my father in law twice - once to an anerysism and once to a serious fall.
*The loss of a job
*Serious pay cut
*HUGE promotions
*Purchasing 2 homes
*Surgeries
*A son diagnosed with a chronic illness
And many more events in our life - both wonderful and trying. Through each one, we've clung to each other and our faith in Christ. Together, we've come out on the other side, strong and rejoicing in God's blessings on us and our marriage.
Just recently, Matt and I went on a date. We went to ship a package at UPS, Target for bread and dish soap, Kroger and out to dinner. In that time, we talked, laughed, high fived and had a great time. It dawned on us, later that evening, that we not only had a fantastic time, but that we had a fantastic time doing nothing, together!
I love our simple life!!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Life.
Life is going by far too quickly! I swear, I blink and another week goes by. Summer has breezed by. I feel like it's not been much of a summer for the boys, and I HATE feeling like that. I've had a busy summer with photoshoots and Matt's work schedule has been crazy too.
We've taken the boys camping and had a blast with friends. We went to Michigans Adventure while we were there and to the sand dunes at Lake Michigan! The kids had a blast at both places...I enjoyed the ease of the theme park to the difficult climb up and down those dunes. My fat butt did not appreciate the exercise! I would love to make that a yearly vacation spot. We did have a disaster with our tent the first night though. There was a thunderstorm and some heavy rains. Our brand new, "leak free" tent, was not at all leak free. In fact, as soon as the rain started, the windows started to leak. After the windows the doors started leaking. Before long, it was actually RAINING inside our tent. The rain fly proved useless. Needless, to say, that tent went right back - the day we got home in fact. We solved the rain issue, with a GIANT tarp we bought in town. Our tent was quite a sight for the rest of the trip! Thankfully, we only had one small rain after the big one, but better safe then sorry we figured!
We've had a few trips to the beach here and some park trips, but that about sums up life around here. Just a few small things here and there. We won't be able to take our yearly lake trip this year, which has proven to be a big disappointment all around.
O starts school with the boys this year. I'm sad. Bittersweet really. He's grown up so fast - yet he's still my baby. M is excited to be a 2nd grader and S, is officially a 4th grader. Upper El for him now! He has two years left in elementary and then he goes to Middle School....gasp!
Not sure what I'll do with all my new found freedom during the day. Maybe, my house will stay clean for more than an hour or I'll go to the gym. Perhaps, I'll just hang out at the schoool all day and hope for small glimpses of my children...that sounds more my speed!
We've taken the boys camping and had a blast with friends. We went to Michigans Adventure while we were there and to the sand dunes at Lake Michigan! The kids had a blast at both places...I enjoyed the ease of the theme park to the difficult climb up and down those dunes. My fat butt did not appreciate the exercise! I would love to make that a yearly vacation spot. We did have a disaster with our tent the first night though. There was a thunderstorm and some heavy rains. Our brand new, "leak free" tent, was not at all leak free. In fact, as soon as the rain started, the windows started to leak. After the windows the doors started leaking. Before long, it was actually RAINING inside our tent. The rain fly proved useless. Needless, to say, that tent went right back - the day we got home in fact. We solved the rain issue, with a GIANT tarp we bought in town. Our tent was quite a sight for the rest of the trip! Thankfully, we only had one small rain after the big one, but better safe then sorry we figured!
We've had a few trips to the beach here and some park trips, but that about sums up life around here. Just a few small things here and there. We won't be able to take our yearly lake trip this year, which has proven to be a big disappointment all around.
O starts school with the boys this year. I'm sad. Bittersweet really. He's grown up so fast - yet he's still my baby. M is excited to be a 2nd grader and S, is officially a 4th grader. Upper El for him now! He has two years left in elementary and then he goes to Middle School....gasp!
Not sure what I'll do with all my new found freedom during the day. Maybe, my house will stay clean for more than an hour or I'll go to the gym. Perhaps, I'll just hang out at the schoool all day and hope for small glimpses of my children...that sounds more my speed!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Summer is Here
Proof of summer:
Musty smelling swimsuits found on bedroom floors
Enough sand/dirt in my bathtub at the end of the day to build a small sandcastle
Lot of mosquito bites
The smell of bug spray, sunblock and bonfires
Bare feet
Frizzy hair
Boys with dirty finger nails
Momma with dirty finger nails - need to invest in some good gardening gloves!
Loads of extra laundry from dirty/wet boy who think they need to change several times a day
I've already found THREE pairs of socks laying in my lawn
Extra room in drawers and closets because clothing takes up less space
More room in shoe bins because the shoes are much less bulky
Freckles on three little faces...and two big ones!
Blackout curtains to make the bedrooms appear like it's much darker out than it really is - it's hard to go to bed at 8 (since the boys have another week of school) when it's still light out!
Thunderstorms and tornado sirens
All things I love that signal the start of summer...well, except for the whole tornado siren thing!
Musty smelling swimsuits found on bedroom floors
Enough sand/dirt in my bathtub at the end of the day to build a small sandcastle
Lot of mosquito bites
The smell of bug spray, sunblock and bonfires
Bare feet
Frizzy hair
Boys with dirty finger nails
Momma with dirty finger nails - need to invest in some good gardening gloves!
Loads of extra laundry from dirty/wet boy who think they need to change several times a day
I've already found THREE pairs of socks laying in my lawn
Extra room in drawers and closets because clothing takes up less space
More room in shoe bins because the shoes are much less bulky
Freckles on three little faces...and two big ones!
Blackout curtains to make the bedrooms appear like it's much darker out than it really is - it's hard to go to bed at 8 (since the boys have another week of school) when it's still light out!
Thunderstorms and tornado sirens
All things I love that signal the start of summer...well, except for the whole tornado siren thing!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Little Man is FIVE
My baby is FIVE. When did this happen?!?! Where on earth did the time go?!? I cringe when I see the Kindergarten registration packet that is sitting on my desk right now. I took it from the school office last week and got choked up. How am I going to do this?
O's my little buddy. It's been just he and I for the last two years. We do everything together. We take naps, eat lunch, go shopping, read books. He's my sidekick. He's extremely easy going about a lot of things, which has made my life a whole lot easier. O, has been known to sit with me, in a hospital room, while we visit with my grandma, for 6 hours and not get into any trouble. We took a backpack with snacks, books, a few toys and a coloring book. Add the hospital TV and he was all set. He chatted with great grandma, colored, picked out a sandwich in the cafeteria, etc. He just goes with the flow.
He's got a temper on him, I assure you. He's spoiled in many ways - but he just does, well, whatever. He's like me in that aspect. I think O, can have fun doing just about anything. He's ok with a large or small group. He doesn't need a whole lot of "stuff" to keep him occupied. He's much more social than the older boys were at this age.
He's a ham. He's super silly. He's always talking in a silly voice. He loves to play pretend or to dress up as his favorite character. I'm corrected a dozen or so times a day when I call his name. "Mom, I'm Darth Vader, not O" or "I'm Nightwing Batman"...it changes often, sometimes within minutes.
He jumps everywhere. He has no "walking feet". We try, but I think he may be physically unable to walk. If he's not running or jumping, he's sleeping.
Everything has sound effects. Everything makes a laser gun or light saber. He's all boy.
He's also, tough as nails. This child can fall, slip, hit his head, twist his ankle, and smash his finger. He may cry for a second and then is over it. He doesn't want to stop moving long enough to deal with it. That being said...he does have a certain love affair with bandaids that is starting to get pricey.
He's had stitches once, his head glued once, and a home repair job on a few cuts that probably should have been "professionally" done. His brothers have never had ANY of these moments...not because they aren't as brave or daring, but because...well, I'm not sure why. He's also had his share of black eyes, bumps and bruises.
O has little to no fear - still. He'll jump off his swingset without thinking. In fact, just yesterday, I looked out of the corner of my eye, into the living room. I was standing at the kitchen sink, when I saw what looked to be, a blue shirted "bird" fly from my window sill across my living room. It was no bird, only a certain little boy who thought he'd try to fly. I assure you, NONE of my other children have stood on my window sill and "flew" across the room. I always tell Matt, I think, O may shorten my life span a bit.
He does have a few odd "fears" I suppose. He's still afraid of helium balloons and not a huge fan of regular balloons either. Someone tried to give him a balloon for his birthday - he politely declined. What kid turns down a balloon...mine. Birds are also not a big favorite of his. Why??? Who knows. I think it has something to do with the flock of seagulls that once dive bombed us in the Walmart parking lot. I had parked in a spot where someone had dumped french fries and those birds WANTED those fries I tell ya!
O is just a cool kid. Matt and I say that all the time. He's so different than his older brothers. In many aspects, he's a lot like me. I think he has a lot of my personality. O was not planned and came a bit earlier than planned, but he has added such joy and depth to our lives. He was a great surprise!
O has added a new and fun dimesion to our family. He's outnumbered us. He tipped the scales in the kids favor. Matt and I our officialy outnumbered!
O's my little buddy. It's been just he and I for the last two years. We do everything together. We take naps, eat lunch, go shopping, read books. He's my sidekick. He's extremely easy going about a lot of things, which has made my life a whole lot easier. O, has been known to sit with me, in a hospital room, while we visit with my grandma, for 6 hours and not get into any trouble. We took a backpack with snacks, books, a few toys and a coloring book. Add the hospital TV and he was all set. He chatted with great grandma, colored, picked out a sandwich in the cafeteria, etc. He just goes with the flow.
He's got a temper on him, I assure you. He's spoiled in many ways - but he just does, well, whatever. He's like me in that aspect. I think O, can have fun doing just about anything. He's ok with a large or small group. He doesn't need a whole lot of "stuff" to keep him occupied. He's much more social than the older boys were at this age.
He's a ham. He's super silly. He's always talking in a silly voice. He loves to play pretend or to dress up as his favorite character. I'm corrected a dozen or so times a day when I call his name. "Mom, I'm Darth Vader, not O" or "I'm Nightwing Batman"...it changes often, sometimes within minutes.
He jumps everywhere. He has no "walking feet". We try, but I think he may be physically unable to walk. If he's not running or jumping, he's sleeping.
Everything has sound effects. Everything makes a laser gun or light saber. He's all boy.
He's also, tough as nails. This child can fall, slip, hit his head, twist his ankle, and smash his finger. He may cry for a second and then is over it. He doesn't want to stop moving long enough to deal with it. That being said...he does have a certain love affair with bandaids that is starting to get pricey.
He's had stitches once, his head glued once, and a home repair job on a few cuts that probably should have been "professionally" done. His brothers have never had ANY of these moments...not because they aren't as brave or daring, but because...well, I'm not sure why. He's also had his share of black eyes, bumps and bruises.
O has little to no fear - still. He'll jump off his swingset without thinking. In fact, just yesterday, I looked out of the corner of my eye, into the living room. I was standing at the kitchen sink, when I saw what looked to be, a blue shirted "bird" fly from my window sill across my living room. It was no bird, only a certain little boy who thought he'd try to fly. I assure you, NONE of my other children have stood on my window sill and "flew" across the room. I always tell Matt, I think, O may shorten my life span a bit.
He does have a few odd "fears" I suppose. He's still afraid of helium balloons and not a huge fan of regular balloons either. Someone tried to give him a balloon for his birthday - he politely declined. What kid turns down a balloon...mine. Birds are also not a big favorite of his. Why??? Who knows. I think it has something to do with the flock of seagulls that once dive bombed us in the Walmart parking lot. I had parked in a spot where someone had dumped french fries and those birds WANTED those fries I tell ya!
O is just a cool kid. Matt and I say that all the time. He's so different than his older brothers. In many aspects, he's a lot like me. I think he has a lot of my personality. O was not planned and came a bit earlier than planned, but he has added such joy and depth to our lives. He was a great surprise!
O has added a new and fun dimesion to our family. He's outnumbered us. He tipped the scales in the kids favor. Matt and I our officialy outnumbered!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Diabetes Stinks
Sometimes, being the parent of a child with a chronic illness stinks, BAD! Please, don't get me wrong. I am by no means complaining. I know that M's disease(s) are manageable and much better than other things we could face.
Is is annoying to nag your child to check his sugar, yes. Does it get old, changing wet sheets from sugars that run to high and cause accidents at night, sure does. Do I hate having to stop M from running to play because he has to be dosed right away, I sure do. Do I dislike having to stay up an hour longer than normal to recheck sugars that aren't right late in the evening, yeppers. Am I grateful that it's only diabetes - you bet!
It's not the inconvenience of his illness that's the most difficult - it's the mental pain for M that's the toughest.
He was so young at his initial diagnosis - just a few weeks after his 4th birthday - that I don't think the gravity of his illness was real to him. It was just something annoying he had to do. He had to take 4 shots every day and get his finger poked even more than that. He had to eat when he wasn't hungry and couldn't eat when he was. It was a pain in the butt for him - literally!
With his pump, things got easier for him and us. He can function more like a normal child. He can eat when other kids eat and what they eat. He doesn't have to have special food or treats and it takes him just a minute or two to check his sugar and dose.
As he gets older it's starting to bother him more. He knows he's different. You can only convince your child that their illness makes them "special" for so long. I think he's to the point where if diabetes is "special" he'd rather be regular. He doesn't like that instead of going right out to recess after lunch with the other kids, he has to stop and check his sugar and or dose himself. He doesn't appreciate that if he's in gym or computers when it's time to have his afternoon check, that he has to leave early to take care of it. It's annoying he says. We've told him - tough luck duck, that's life for you right now - and we move on. He seems to accept it.
We've had moments of heartbreak with M though. A few years ago, during a bad high sugar spell, M felt horrible. We couldn't get it down, he had ketones...it was a mess. He fell on the floor and cried.."why won't God just heal me now mommy". I hated that.
He's asked similar things since then to us and his grandparents. He doesn't understand why God won't make him better. Having a theology discussion with a 7 year old about how the Lord chooses to answer our prayers in different ways is tough, I assure you of that.
We hit an all time low last month when M started crying. He was sitting on his bed and the tears just started to flow. When I asked him what was wrong, I expected an answer like, S hit me or O took my book/toy. Nope - what I heard was: "Mom, I'm scared I'm going to die soon, before everyone else because of my diabetes"....rip mommas heart out right then.
I scooped him up right away and took him the living room to talk with us. We did our best to explain that as long as he took good care of himself and his diabetes that he could live a long and healthy life just like everyone else. I didn't bother to explain how we were told that people with Type 1 diabetes typically have a shortened life span of 10 years because, well, I don't like to think of it like that.
We talked to him about all the changes and advances the medical community is making and how many wonderful things are on the horizon. He seemed to accept that and wanted to be sure that everyone was still praying for him to get better. We told him they were.
I wasn't ready for it. M, is our laid back, fun loving kid. He doesn't worry much about anything. He lives in his imagination most days. He loves to play pretend and make up wild stories about super hero's and Star Wars. Reality almost seems too much for him...maybe it is. It's too much for me most days.
Is is annoying to nag your child to check his sugar, yes. Does it get old, changing wet sheets from sugars that run to high and cause accidents at night, sure does. Do I hate having to stop M from running to play because he has to be dosed right away, I sure do. Do I dislike having to stay up an hour longer than normal to recheck sugars that aren't right late in the evening, yeppers. Am I grateful that it's only diabetes - you bet!
It's not the inconvenience of his illness that's the most difficult - it's the mental pain for M that's the toughest.
He was so young at his initial diagnosis - just a few weeks after his 4th birthday - that I don't think the gravity of his illness was real to him. It was just something annoying he had to do. He had to take 4 shots every day and get his finger poked even more than that. He had to eat when he wasn't hungry and couldn't eat when he was. It was a pain in the butt for him - literally!
With his pump, things got easier for him and us. He can function more like a normal child. He can eat when other kids eat and what they eat. He doesn't have to have special food or treats and it takes him just a minute or two to check his sugar and dose.
As he gets older it's starting to bother him more. He knows he's different. You can only convince your child that their illness makes them "special" for so long. I think he's to the point where if diabetes is "special" he'd rather be regular. He doesn't like that instead of going right out to recess after lunch with the other kids, he has to stop and check his sugar and or dose himself. He doesn't appreciate that if he's in gym or computers when it's time to have his afternoon check, that he has to leave early to take care of it. It's annoying he says. We've told him - tough luck duck, that's life for you right now - and we move on. He seems to accept it.
We've had moments of heartbreak with M though. A few years ago, during a bad high sugar spell, M felt horrible. We couldn't get it down, he had ketones...it was a mess. He fell on the floor and cried.."why won't God just heal me now mommy". I hated that.
He's asked similar things since then to us and his grandparents. He doesn't understand why God won't make him better. Having a theology discussion with a 7 year old about how the Lord chooses to answer our prayers in different ways is tough, I assure you of that.
We hit an all time low last month when M started crying. He was sitting on his bed and the tears just started to flow. When I asked him what was wrong, I expected an answer like, S hit me or O took my book/toy. Nope - what I heard was: "Mom, I'm scared I'm going to die soon, before everyone else because of my diabetes"....rip mommas heart out right then.
I scooped him up right away and took him the living room to talk with us. We did our best to explain that as long as he took good care of himself and his diabetes that he could live a long and healthy life just like everyone else. I didn't bother to explain how we were told that people with Type 1 diabetes typically have a shortened life span of 10 years because, well, I don't like to think of it like that.
We talked to him about all the changes and advances the medical community is making and how many wonderful things are on the horizon. He seemed to accept that and wanted to be sure that everyone was still praying for him to get better. We told him they were.
I wasn't ready for it. M, is our laid back, fun loving kid. He doesn't worry much about anything. He lives in his imagination most days. He loves to play pretend and make up wild stories about super hero's and Star Wars. Reality almost seems too much for him...maybe it is. It's too much for me most days.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
One Day
One day I'll get disciplined and loose the weight I desperately need to loose.
One day I'll get motivation and paint the two rooms that NEED painted and the one room I want to paint...wonder which one will get done first?!?!
One day I won't yell at my children.
One day my children will obey the first time.
One day my house will be clean all the time. People will be able to stop by on a whim and I won't have to panic to grab any dirty socks, random toys or dishes while the people exit their vehicle and walk to my door.
One day I will know what is on TV during the day besides Nick Jr. and Disney shows.
One day I will grocery shop and not buy fruit snacks, Trix yogurt and Lunchables.
One day I won't have to hunt under boys beds and in their little covers for all the white socks and their mates.
One day I won't have to wonder how all the water, dirt, mud and rocks get in my house.
One day I won't trip over trains and matchbox cars or step on LEGO'S.
One day I won't have to buy toothpaste that cost almost $4 in order to get my children to brush their teeth.
One day I won't have to yell things like: let go of the cat, don't jump from the top bunk to the other bed and get your hands out of there!
One day I won't have to panic at 7am about how I'm going to sneak the "tooth fairy" money under the pillow of an already awake child who is searching frantically for it!
One day I won't grumble under my breath as I clean the bathroom and wonder how pee got THERE?!?!
Today, I will enjoy these things - because ONE DAY, I'll miss this!
One day I'll get motivation and paint the two rooms that NEED painted and the one room I want to paint...wonder which one will get done first?!?!
One day I won't yell at my children.
One day my children will obey the first time.
One day my house will be clean all the time. People will be able to stop by on a whim and I won't have to panic to grab any dirty socks, random toys or dishes while the people exit their vehicle and walk to my door.
One day I will know what is on TV during the day besides Nick Jr. and Disney shows.
One day I will grocery shop and not buy fruit snacks, Trix yogurt and Lunchables.
One day I won't have to hunt under boys beds and in their little covers for all the white socks and their mates.
One day I won't have to wonder how all the water, dirt, mud and rocks get in my house.
One day I won't trip over trains and matchbox cars or step on LEGO'S.
One day I won't have to buy toothpaste that cost almost $4 in order to get my children to brush their teeth.
One day I won't have to yell things like: let go of the cat, don't jump from the top bunk to the other bed and get your hands out of there!
One day I won't have to panic at 7am about how I'm going to sneak the "tooth fairy" money under the pillow of an already awake child who is searching frantically for it!
One day I won't grumble under my breath as I clean the bathroom and wonder how pee got THERE?!?!
Today, I will enjoy these things - because ONE DAY, I'll miss this!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
