MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?!

Okay, after doing a little shopping around, I do believe I've found a new home. I figure a cross country move and blog move would be good to happen around the same time. I don't like changes spread out, so let's group it all together now! haha!! ;-) Totally kidding and that was a lame joke. But anyway.....

Seriously though, I've moved. Blogspot has been good to me, but I like the pad over at at Wordpress. I'll keep this up though, just in case anyone is lost. heehee ;-)

Here is the address: http://www.bransblahg.wordpress.com/

Refer to that from now on. Thanks!! Love you! Hope you follow! ;-)

Bran
p.s. If you have me on your blogroll, would you be so kind as to change it for me? Thanks love!

Opinion Wanted

Check me out HERE and see if you like it better. I'm still not sure. The verdict is still out. So let me know what the jury decides. ;-) DON'T FORGET MOUTHWATERING MONDAY BELOW EITHER!

Mouth Watering Monday (and a sweet potato allergy update)

So I am getting a jump on my mouth watering Monday here, but we just had this for dinner tonight and it was YUMMMM-AY. Plus I really don’t want to be on tomorrow very much.
My mother in law gave me a recipe several years ago for her chili. She made it when she came to visit us in Missouri and I later called her and asked for the recipe. I was slightly frustrated b/c her “recipe” was in her head and she tweaked it every time she made it. For a new “cook” like me, that was hard to do. But over the years I have learned to tweak it myself and I no longer use a referrence for it. It’s so simple and easy, and tweaking it to fit your cooking mood is fun! Enjoy!

1-2lbs of hamburger

packet of taco seasoning

two cans of petite diced tomatoes (sometimes I use the cans with onions and peppers in them)

one can of black beans

one can of kidney beans

one can of a white bean (garbanzo, navy, great northern…take your pic)

*sometimes I put in a can of corn or green chilies too, depends on my mood

two small cans of tomato sauce

one small diced onion

one tablespoon chopped garlic (or garlic seasoning, but real is better)

Seasonings: cumin, paprika, onion (if you don’t use real), garlic (if you don’t use real), cayenne pepper. Just season to taste. Jake likes spicy and so do I so if it’s just us I use a lot of cayenne. For parties I make two crocks, one mild, one hot.

In a skillet brown the hamburger meat, onions, and garlic. When thoroughly cooked, add in taco seasoning DRY (do not add water). Mix around and once fully cooked, add meat to crock pot. Add in beans and tomatoes and tomato sauce. If you want thicker chili, use tomato paste instead of sauce. Cook in crockpot on high for 3-4 hours. If you want it to simmer all day, just put it on low. Makes the house yummy smelly too!

To eat with dinner I either make cornbread or quesadillas. I know, totally opposite side dishes. With the cornbread I put the cornbread in a bowl and pour chili over it. With the quesadillas I put the chili in a bowl, top with sour cream and cheese, and dip quesadilla triangles in it. Soooo gooooooood.

Ya gotta try this dinner! It’s so yummy! And if you have more hamburger meat than you need for the chili, since it is already seasoned, you can save it for tacos another night. Let me know if you try it!

==========

So I said I would update about finding out about Owen’s allergy to sweet potatoes. Now mind you, a doctor didn’t tell me this. In fact, they weren’t too interested in the fact that I had JUST fed him sweet potatoes an hour before his episode. I googled “infant allergy to sweet potatoes” and came up with a lot of the same scenarios. Check them out for yourself. From now on, I am going to play it safe and NOT give Owen any sweet potatoes. Poor kid, won’t ever know of the yummy goodness of sweet potato pie! Here are the sites:

Click Here (scroll down a bit on this one)

and here

and here too

and don’t forget this one (more for allergy resource)

Okay that’s enough for now. If you google other combinations of “sweet potatoes, allergy, vomitting, infant” stuff like that, you get more sites. One site I found (I’ll have to find it again) showed a controlled study in a small group of infants that had a sweet potato allergy. So, I think we’ll go with “sweet potato allergy” just to be safe.

Now go make some chili!

Personal DNA

I'm an Attentive Curator.

Check out the results of my personality here. Some parts are earily right on.

God Laughs

My sister in law has this saying, "make plans and hear God laugh" and she is soooo right.

Kim emailed everyone from our link group asking for volunteers to host this weekend. I volunteered.

My sister in law is coming this tuesday to help me with stuff for moving. She is an organizational freak and I am lucky she is so willing to help me, considering she lives in Portland.

This morning, the boys woke up with green goo. GREEN GOO. Their noses look like they had green play doh shoved up there. Totally gross. Oh, and Owen is coughing a bit. Oh, AND he threw up last night. Projectile vomit across the couch. For about an hour or so afterwards I was in a complete panic waiting for "the other shoe to drop." It never did, thank God. Owen remained bubbly and happy and NOT passed out. ;-)

God is laughing at my plans I think. I had to cancel on link group :( and I emailed my sister in law telling her about the boys. If they are sick she can't come b/c she has a 3yo and my brother in law is self employed so he REALLY can't get sick.

I am really really hoping and praying they are not sick come Monday night/Tuesday morning.

I'm frustrated today.

I had a dream about moving last night. We moved into the most narrow house ever. It was a nice house, but it was narrow. Weird. Oh, and we made the drive in two days. That was sweet.

God, please don't laugh at our plans to move. ;-)

Oh and something really great: Owen is crawling. The kid is on the move!! It's amazing how fast they pick this stuff up. He is better today than he was yesterday. Every day he gets better and better. I love it.

I love my kids. I love watching them be creative. For Valentines I got them play doh sets. A play doh duffel bag of play doh stuff with cutters, and a pasta maker, and a roller. They each got one. And they each got a play doh tub. One tub is for picnic stuff and the other is for animals. They have played with those for HOURS. They love it. Especially Dylan. :D I thought I would not like them having play doh but they seem to be doing pretty well with it.

Today we are going to go through more stuff to take to the dump. I wish I could snap my fingers and have this done. I am seriosly contemplating moving into our trailer NOW and just coming to the house to do stuff for the move. That way what I get done stays done. I don't know. That seems extreme. But it also would simplify things for me. If my sister in law (she does have a name btw, it's Teresa haha) comes I think we'll do that after she leaves actually. That is what we were going to do after the movers take all of our stuff anyway.

Okay, off to do something productive. I promised Sean I'd blog about the sweet potato allergy thing, so I will for sure be back this weekend with that. ;-) Check Sean out. He has a baby on the way. :D

Funny Ha Ha Friday

I forgot to add the funnies to my previous post about getting busted. ;-)

Here are a few funnies from the last week with the kids:

McKenna was running to the boys' room and she said "Lets go Dylan! You're tagging me!" and squeeled and ran off. hahaha!!! Kind of like a few weeks ago when she was running/hopping and I said "McKenna I said no running" and she said "I'm not, I'm hopping hip" (skipping) heehee Oh the things kids say. ;-)

I was putting the kiddos down for a nap and Aidan lost his paci one day. This is what happens....he has it and tries to hide from me (b/c he's not supposed to have it) and then he loses it somewhere in the house. Normally I take it from them and put them up, but this morning he left it in his bed like he's supposed to so I didn't think about it again. Anyway, I'm looking for this paci and getting IRRITATED b/c he can't sleep without it and I can't find it. I said "This is so stupid!" while I was looking through toys and stuffed animals. Then, from his crib, he says, "mommy, we don't say soopid. Soopid is a mean." hahaha!! I love when they correct me.Honest. I do. It means they know it. ;-)

Today the boys were taking their bikes to the backyard from the garage and Aidan was pushing his bike and said "I have BIIIIIIIG muscles!"

Earlier this week I caught Dylan and McKenna playing "baby." She was trying to nurse him. That was a fun game to walk in on! I had to explain how only mommies and babies do that sort of thing. ;-) haha!!

Also this week, Aidan found "cat poop" under the kitchen table one morning. We don't have a cat. Upon further examination I realized HE had pooped under the table. The night before. After bath. When we let them run naked for a few minutes. How this went unnoticed you ask? It was late, the lights were off, and we had already had dinner with no reason to go back to the table. I can't believe I didn't notice it. I did however SMELL it that night, but thought they just were tooting. Next time I think I'll follow my nose. ;-)

Dylan to McKenna: "Do you know what gooerish means? It means when I don't like something"

Dylan: "Mommy! Aidan says HE is Uncle Nate and he's not!"
Me: "Well it's okay if he wants to pretend to be Uncle Nate"
Dylan: "But IIIIIIIIIIIII want to be Uncle Nate!!"
Me: "You can be Uncle Nate too"
Dylan: "NO! I want Aidan to be Aunt Teresa!"
hahahahaha!!!!
He was literally in tears over this. Hysterically crying. haha!

BUSTED

Brent busted me!

Okay so I said I wouldn't be getting on here for a few days, and while I did really good the first day, the second day not so much. I did refrain from posting and commenting though. Now that is quite the accomplishment on my part. haha!

Even though I didn't completely stay away, I did minimize my time drastically. And what a difference it made! It was a good lesson for me in priorities, boundaries, and everything in MODERATION. Too much of anything IS a bad thing.

In my profile when I say I tend to get sucked into the computer once I turn it on....yeah, I wasn't kidding. Even though I am reading some amazing stuff and having some great conversations, or enjoying a friendly debate here and there, too much is too much. And when your kid tells you he feels gooerish about you being on the computer....well, that'll snap you to attention if nothing else.

I did accomplish a lot these last few days, and the best part, I was able to hear God without all the "noise" in my head. God knows my heart, and he knows what I am struggling with, but when I am so immersed in what I am doing elsewhere, I can't hear him. What I miss when I am not paying attention! All this time (last couple of months) I've felt like a failure at being a good mom, wife, homemaker. Brent reminded me that I am a perfectionist. Yes, yes I am. *Hi I'm Brandy and I am a perfectionist* meaning that I have this IDEA in my mind of how I want things to be, and I can NEVER reach it. EVER. And I know it. So instead of just trying to be good at stuff, I don't even try b/c I know I won't reach my level of perfection.....the unrealistic one I have in my head. Just being good is not good enough. It has to be perfect. And if it's not, why bother? See my problem? I have a feeling this is going to be a life long battle for me. Like an alcoholic is always an alcoholic. A perfectionist is always a perfectionist. Every day is a battle to "stay on the wagon" so to say, for lack of a better example at the moment.

I have always been a fan of the sayings "go big or go home" and "if you're going to do a half a$$ job, don't do it at all" and "there is right way and a wrong way and your way is not right" (haha). That last one is a testament to the fact that I can't accept help either. I am bad at that. And only I can fix that.

The other thing I have enjoyed these last two days: my kids. Oh the fun we've had! And that's always worth it.

So here is my attempt at adding a little imperfect "grey" into my life. Finding a middle ground. Setting some boundaries. Being imperfect. ;-)

Talk To Me Tuesday

Okay so my question today is, what do you do when you find yourself so overwhelmed with life to the point where you are not coping well?? How do you get back on track? How do you realign yourself??

I am so off track I just yelled at my son b/c he couldn't figure out his v-smile game. Not my proudest moment. At all.

So to realign myself, with my kids, with my husband, with my house, with my God, I am getting rid of distractions. For a while. And this, this has been a distraction. One I enjoy very much. Very much.

So I am off for a while to clean, to spend time with my kiddos, to spend time with God, to spend time with myself, to spend time paying attention to Jake. BUT, when I come back I want lots of advice on other ways to get back on track. Lots of advice. Preferably advice that would keep me from reaching this point of feeling overwhelmed. My sister in law says I am a black and white person. This is true. Very true. I need some shades of grey. ;-)

I'll be back, in a few days or so. And I won't be lurking (aww that was just painful to say).

Looooooooove yoooooouuuus!

Issues

Obviously I'm having blog issues. I'm not very happy about this. :(

My links will all be back up soon and I'll have a decent layout back up too.

I'm irritated. At myself. Grrrrr.

My Favorite Things

Beaming boy smiles and little baby kisses
Long brown eyelashes and magical wishes
Pulling around all their cars with a string
These are a few of my favorite things

Warm cups of hot chocolate and marshmallow minis
Special treats and good eats and magical pennies
Watching them run and gleefully sing
These are a few of my favorite things

Boys in blue jeans with dirt on their knees
Hearing "I love you" and "thanks" and "please"
Kissing their boo boos after a ding
These are a few of my favorite things

When my head hurts
When the dinner burns
When I'm feeling mad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

Mouthwatering Monday

<--- This is Aidan. Cute isn't he? ;-) He loves his coffee first thing in the morning, just like mom. And by coffee I mean Hot Chocolate in one of my coffee cups. We started doing this b/c he would really drink my coffee when I wasn't looking. I'd leave my coffee unattended for a few moments, to go do some other "mom" thing, and when I came back I'd have nothing left. Same thing happens to Jake's soda at night. Jake is a HUGE soda drinker. HUGE. He'll leave a 44 oz fountain drink out from the store down the road and come back to almost nothing. Just two nights ago I found Aidan sucking one down and took it to Jake and said "how much was left in here" and he took it and said "OH MY GOSH! It was at least half full!" and now it was empty. Aidan sucked it dry. And it's not like I don't give this kid something to drink all day either. I guess he just wants to be like mom and dad. You can't beat that. We'll take it while we can get it! And, just like mom and dad, he doesn't like to be messed with while he's enjoying his drink! haha!!

<--- Now this is a much nicer looking view of my boy. How cute he is! He is my lover and my snuggler. And he's at that stage where his talking is too cute.

"I wuv you mommeeeeee"

"I shump a biiiig one" (I jump a big one)

"das ma toyee over dare" (that's my toy over there)

"beebee Oweeeeen ish shup" (baby Owen is up)

"I wuv puppy rooooooniiiiii's" (I love pepperoni's-- last night at dinner)

"awww buuuuddy" That one he says all the time to everyone. We love it.

Okay that's enough bragging. Here's my Mouthwatering Monday recipe:

I got this recipe in one of my presents for my bridal shower. Jake and I LOVE it and it is soooo yummy. Don't pay any attention to the fact that it is probably not the healthiest thing you could eat, that would ruin the creamy goodness of it!

Jack Cheese Enchiladas

1dz corn tortillas

1/2 cup cooking oil

3/4 cup chopped green onions (I use more, I like them)

1/4 cup butter

2 cups Jack Cheese (again, I use however much I want)

1/4 cup flour

2cups chx broth

1 cup sour cream (me looooovs sour cream!)

1 small can chopped green chilies (sometimes I use two)

Directions: In skillet, cook tortillas in hot oil for 14 seconds (7 seconds each side). Place 2T cheese and 1T onion on each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in pan.

Sauce: In a saucepan, melt butter; blend in flour and chx broth. Cook stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and green chilies. Cook until heated through. DO NOT BOIL.

Pour over rolled tortillas. Bake at 375* for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and return to oven until cheese melts.

It is oooooooooh sooooooo goooooood! It goes great with rice and beans! :D Topping it with olives is yummy too! If you try it let me know how it turned out. :D

My sneaky sneaky husband!

<---- See that? THAT was my early Valentines present tonight, along with matching earrings. A few days ago Jake asked if we were going to go out for Valentines Day and I said NO b/c for one, Teresa and Kambrie would probably (hopefully) be here and for two, we NEVER go out for Valentines Day. We don't even celebrate it really. It's more of an annoying "dating" holiday I think. So for some reason he is really pressing going out for V Day which is odd, so we agree to go AFTER the actual day, either the 15th or 16th. Better that way anyway, avoid the crowds. I hate crowds. So tonight the boys went to my moms to stay the night. We didn't take them over there until about 8 b/c they took such LATE naps today. I normally wouldn't have put them down so late (3:30) but we had planned on going to church tonight and I didn't want them to be pills. Well, 5pm came around and they were STILL sleeping and I didn't have the heart to wake them. So, we didn't, and missed church. (sorry Deb! If you went)We can go in the morning. I am glad I didn't wake them b/c Dylan slept until almost 6 and Aidan slept until almost 7!! Normally I do NOT like them to sleep that late, but they played hard today and hadn't had a nap in two days. They needed it. So anyway, after we took them to moms around 8 I got in the shower b/c Jake insisted that we go out to eat since we were minus two boys. We kept Owen home with us. So, we go to Red Robin. Where the heck else would we go. I swear we should buy stock in that place! While we were sitting there, out of NOWHERE, Jake pulls this jewelry box from JCPenney out and and plops it down on the table and says "so, uh, I got a little somethin' here" and he kind of says it under his breath. He cracks me up. heehee I just BEAM and stare at it. I got all excited and asked what it was for and he says....VALENTINE'S DAY! hahaha! I said "It's not for another week" and he said "yeah but I wanted to give it to you ON that day, not after, so I'm giving it to you now" and I said "but it's still not ON that day" and he said "I'd rather give it to you earlier than later" hahaha! He is so funny! So, there it is. My pretty pretty necklace and matching earrings. LUCKILY I hadn't worn anything tonight. I just wore jeans and a long sleeve fitted black top so I was pretty bare and boring, but the necklace and earrings were the perfect touch! Thank you babe! I love them! :D oh yeah, and I love you too. ;-) heehee

<---- And this picture right here, that is how I ended my night. Isn't he cute????? This would be Owen, who you all prayed for. Such a beautiful and healthy boy!!! By the way, his problem, he's allergic to sweet potatoes. More on that later. ;-)

Have a great Sunday! :D

Funny Ha Ha Friday

So as I lurk through blogland (or blogosphere, whatever) I notice that a lot of people do a "wordless wednesday" or a "thankful thursday" or like my friend Tam at InProgress does, a "Fill In Friday" (which is really fun!) and I really like that they do this. Kind of simplifies things for when you can't think of something to blog about, or for when you are thinking of too much to blog about, which happens to be the case for me most of the time. I have been told more than once that some of my blog posts are little novelas. ;-) So today I was thinking about my blog and I thought I wanted to revamp a few things, and having a point to each day kind of strikes my fancy. ;-) Yes I said "strikes my fancy" just like I also say "draw the boys a bath" to Jake, to which he says "seriously? did you seriously just say DRAW them a bath?" Yes. Yes I did.

Anyway, I came up with a Monday through Friday theme and I have to say I am kind of excited about it. Plus, I think in the next few weeks (2 months about) when our lives will SO extremely chaotic with moving and everything that entails, it will be good to still post a blog w/o thinking much about it. I'll save the weekends for my outpours. Jake is home then and that will give me quiet time. :D

So this is what I came up with:

Mouthwatering Monday: For all of my easy family recipes that we love. They are so great I am always passing them on to friends. In fact several of my cookbooks are loaned out right now. I must get those back. ;-)

Talk To Me Tuesday: I'll post a question that has been on my mind that I wonder what everyone else thinks about. I often wonder what others think about things, or if others think about the same things. Tuesday though could also be Top Ten Tuesday, just depends on my mood. I haven't decided yet. haha! ;-)

Wordless Wednesday: I like the idea of this one and enjoy looking at others' wordless wednesdays. :D I see it all over blogland.

Thankful Thursday: This one really blesses me to read on other blogs. It reminds me to be thankful for the little things, not just the big things. One that I read said "tiny hands patting my cheek" and I instantly felt all warm and fuzzy thinking of when Owen pats my cheek or when Dylan rubs my arm or when Aidan runs his fingers through my hair. Lots to be thankful for! :D

Funny Ha Ha Friday: The boys are CONSTANTLY saying funny stuff. I am sure that I can find something to add every friday here. ;-)

So to start it off today Dylan said the most hilarious thing to me. I couldn't stop laughing. I was talking to him about moving to North Dakota, b/c he seems very nervous about it. He is always asking to see pics of where we are going and lately he has been very clingy and even climbing into our bed several times at night, just since we found out. He even asked once if we were going to leave him behind! :( This is how our conversation went today:

M: Dylan how do you feel about us moving to North Dakota? (after we had talked about it a bit)

D: I don't like it.

M: you don't?

D: No, I don't.

M: Why not? Does it made you sad?

D: It makes me feel gooerish.

M: Gooberish?

D: no, gooerish

M: GOOerish??

D: yeah, gooerish, not gooberish. (B/c there is clearly a difference)

M: Oh. Well what does gooerish mean?

D: Gooerish is when I don't like something.

M: Oh, so you feel gooerish about moving? You don't like it?

D: yeah, it's gooerish.

Okay then. ;-) hahahahaha! I love my kids! heehee

"I would like to thank the academy!"

I've always wanted to say that! haha!

My heart is blessed tonight by Mandy at MandyMom!! She has been so kind as to award me with the E for Excellent Blog award. WOW! Thank you so much Mandy! I absolutely love her blog and even though I only found it about two weeks ago, it has become one of my favorites. One that I look forward to reading when I log on. Please go check her out! She has a beautiful heart for God and she is an unschooling homeschooler, one I feel I have been learning a lot from.

To share the love, I'd like to pass this award on to Kassidi and Dakota.... otherwise known as InCahoots! They were my flower girl and ring bearer at our wedding and I have known them since Kass was 3 and Kota was about 6 months. Correct me if I'm wrong Brent and Tam! :D Kass and Kota just started up their own blog and I love checking it out. It's so cool to see how much they have grown up, although it does make me feel like a very old 26 year old. ;-) haha!

I think I should clarify....

....that blog before about vasovegal, I think I got carried away explaining that and just forgot to ALSO mention, that the other "cause" they are thinking of was just pure dehydration, which is also a trigger. They aren't saying yeah or neigh on the vasovegal. So at this point, we just don't know, but are so thankful he is okay now.
Just thought I'd clarify!

Vaso WHAT??

Okay so we went to the Dr's this morning and they really had no more answers for me at all. Dr. Hough was just stumped as to what it could have been. He was very happy that Owen was laughing and "talking" and seemed much more his normal self. Basically, we left with "well at least he's fine now" kind of summation about the whole thing. I asked Dr. Hough about what his wife had told me yesterday (also a dr, obviously) about the vasovagel syncope and he said that is the only thing that comes to his mind as well. I have now had three pediatricians tell me that. So, I guess that is what we are going with, which really still doesn't answer the question as to why he was vomiting. Here is a description of vasovagel syncope:

Vasovagal syncope is the most common type of fainting. There are a number of different syncope syndromes which all fall under the umbrella of vasovagal syncope. The common element among these conditions is the central mechanism leading to loss of consciousness. The differences among them are in the factors which trigger this mechanism.

Typical triggers for vasovagal syncope include:[1]
prolonged standing or upright sitting
stress
any painful or unpleasant stimuli, such as
giving a blood donation or watching someone give one
watching someone experience pain
hyperthermia, a prolonged exposure to heat
sudden onset of extreme emotions
hunger
nausea or vomiting
dehydration
urination ('micturition syncope') or defecation ('defecation syncope')
swallowing ('swallowing syncope')
coughing ('cough syncope')
abdominal straining or 'bearing down' (as in defecation)
random onsets due to nerve malfunctions
Pressing upon certain places on the throat, sinuses, and eyes.
High altitude

People with vasovagal syncope typically have recurrent episodes, usually when exposed to a specific trigger. The initial episode often occurs when the person is a teenager, then recurs in clusters throughout his or her life. Prior to losing consciousness, the individual frequently experiences a prodrome of symptoms such as lightheadedness, nausea, sweating, ringing in the ears, and visual disturbances. These last for at least a few seconds before consciousness is lost, which typically happens when the person is sitting up or standing. When they pass out, they fall down; and when in this position, effective blood flow to the brain is immediately restored, allowing the person to wake up.
The autonomic nervous system's physiologic state (see below) leading to loss of consciousness may persist for several minutes, so:
if the person tries to sit or stand when they wake up, they may pass out again; and
the person may be nauseated, pale, and sweaty for several minutes after they wake up.

Vasovagal syncope is rarely life-threatening in itself.

So I guess that does answer the passing out/unconscience part of the whole ordeal, although he was "out" for nearly 30 minutes. As far as the vomiting, who knows, but I'll surely never feed him sweet potatoes again! ;-)

Good things that came out of this:
Prayer. Lots and lots of prayer. Between our families, my myspace friends, and my blogspot blog, there was lots of prayer being lifted up for little Owen.
Faith. I had faith that God would take care of my baby and even though I knew that ultimately God could do whatever He wanted, whatever His will was for Owen, I had a peace that He would answer my prayers for a fully recovered and healthy baby....and HE HAS! It makes me choked up right now thinking about how awesome God is and how He gave me such peace.
Friends. I have awesome friends, and people I don't even "know" in "real" life were rallying with prayer. Thank you so much!
Blogs are awesome too! haha! :D
Not that I didn't already know it before, but it just really resonated in me how much I love my kids and how really, in an instant, you would trade places with them for anything. ANYTHING.

Off to lay down with my sleeping baby.

Back from the hospital with Owen!

Okay so we're back and just a quick update.....Still not sure what was wrong with Owen. His rotavirus test came back negative and that was kind of the only strand the doctors were grasping. We go in tomorrow to see his regular doctor and we'll go from there.

Tonight he is in good spirits and smiling and laughing and playing, THANK GOD. I am so thankful that he is okay but still wish we knew what it was that left my baby unconscious for nearly 30 minutes. Until we know more, I'll still be worried about it happening again. Until then, the kid isn't leaving my side! haha! ;-) He is still very sleepy and has slept a lot, poor guy has been through the ringer in the last 24 hours. :( I'll get to all of the emails tomorrow after I talk more with the doctor.

Thank you so much for your concern and prayers. I was absolutely overwhelmed at the messages I received. Thank you all so very much. Now stop making me cry! ;-) Thanks to Brent and Tammy who instantly made their way down to the hospital to talk and pray with me and Owen. That was so unexpected and thoughtful! And to Cheryl who BARELY caught us as we were loading up to go! Thanks Cheryl for taking the time! ;-) And thanks to Tara who came and kept me company the rest of the night and brought us home from the hospital so Jake didn't have to load up the boys!

Bran

Night at the ER with my baby

Just a quickie here....

Owen started throwing up last night (my exact timing is fuzzy) and then he became completely limp and unresponsive, his eyes were rolling around in his head and he could not make eye contact at all. Jake and my mom were both shaking him(more like jossling) and smacking his cheeks and all out shouting to wake him up. Meanwhile I was on the phone with 911, ambulance on the way.

Paramedics checked him out, couldn't get him to respond either, wanted to take him in.As I stood there watching them with Owen, I swear to you my baby looked dead. NO COLOR, NO RESPONSE, NO NOTHING AT ALL. You have no idea what you will think of in times like that, and all I could think of was "Did I take enough pictures of him b/c if he goes, I don't want to forget what he looks like. That is all I could think of as I stared at what looked like a dead baby. Even my mom said the same thing. The only one of us who didn't think that was Jake and that is b/c he got to hold Owen and feel the teeny tiny breaths he was taking. :( I was shaking and crying and just thinking "How did this happen? He was FINE ABSOLUTELY FINE 30 minutes ago"
Jake and I rode in ambulance with him to RVMC. Owen responded a little on the ride there, opened his eyes. My mom stayed home with the other two.

God and I had a serious talk on the way to the hospital and my nerves calmed as I KNEW He would take care of my baby. Still I was scared and worried for my child, but I had a sense that God would not take Owen from me. Thank you God!

At RVMC they tried TWICE to get an IV in, TWICE to get a blood draw, and TWICE to get a urine sample through a cathetar. Thank God he responded to all of that with crying. His eyes were still very uncontrolled and he was wobbly.

Urine came back fine, chest Xray came back fine, blood came back with too high of a white blood cell count. Wanted to keep us overnight. I stayed overnight with Owen while Jake went home to be with the other boys and relieve my mom.

This morning they did another blood draw, and his count had only gone down a little and was still considered elevated. They want to keep us the rest of the day, and depending on the blood results of yet ANOTHER blood draw later today, we could either stay or go home. We don't know. The doctors have NO IDEA why he basically became unconscience for a period of time. They are baffled, and worried.

Jake is there now with Owen, and his little helper Dylan. I came home with Aidan to take a quick shower and then I'll head back up for the rest of the day. Just wanted to post.

Thank you to Kim for coming down to check on us. That meant more than you know!
Thanks to my mom for her help and to Jake's parents for coming and checking on us as well, and for getting our truck to us.

If you felt like praying, that would be GREAT and muchly appreciated.

Headlines from 2029

This was posted by my new blogging friend Deb, who also happens to go to the same church as us, and we've met IRL! "Met" her through Tammy's blog. She came up with these headlines that I thought were pretty hilarious....so much so that I asked her if I could repost them on my blog. Obviously she said yes.
ENJOY! haha!!!


Headlines from 2029

Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern Unites States Crops and livestock.

Baby conceived naturally!!!! Scientists stumped!

Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage…

Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking……

Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to 17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only.

85-year, 75.8 billion study: Diet and exercise is the key to weight loss. Average weight of Americans drops to 250 pounds.

Global cooling blamed for citrus crop failure for the third consecutive year in Florexico.

Japanese scientists have created a camera with such a fast shutter speed they now can photograph a woman with her mouth shut…. LOL (sorry, thought it was funny…..)

Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative….

Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.

IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75%.

New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2030…..

Thoughtful Aidan

This morning I was making pancakes and Aidan wanted me to hold him so I picked him up gave him loves while I flipped his pancakes. I love that sleepy warm smell to his cheeks when he first wakes up. :D

While I was holding him Owen was in the living room in his Bumbo (on the floor, no worries) and he sneezed and Aidan, without being prompted said, "Bess you baby Oooweeen!"

Ahhhh, so sweet. I love when they say nice things on their own. Yesterday Dylan and Aidan even said "I forgive you" without being prompted when the other would apologize. :D Now granted, I would love that they didn't have to apologize for anything even better, but hey, ya gotta start somewhere! ;-)

Hungry Dylan

Dylan:

"Mommy, I am still hungry, just like the little catapiwer" (b/c of the book The Hungry Caterpillar)

"Mommy, I fink I'm about to get hungry" (he whispers to me EARLY in the mornings while I am still in bed)


I am sitting here going through GOBS of clothes and thinking about when Dylan and Aidan were babies. I am setting aside my favorites that all three have now grown out of. I want Jake's mom to eventually make me a quilt with scraps from all of them. As I was examining a Hungry Caterpillar pajama set to see if it was "worthy" ;-) I remembered the "catapiwar" comment from Dylan. It is SO cute that he says it. I love it.

Go Giants! And GO ME!

NY Giants 17, New England 14


YEAH! The boys had their faces painted in red and blue with "GO GIANTS!!" and "NYG" and footballs. They were so cute! Their team spirit payed off I guess! Yeah GIANTS!


I sat at home with Owen and watched while I spaced bagged all of the kids' clothes and got a HUGE pile for donations. Know anyone who needs boys clothes?? ;-) The house looks like a disaster with clothing piles everywhere (b/c I not done yet) but my brain hurts from all the sorting. I'm not naturally organized so thinking about it literally hurts my head. BUT, I've done a pretty good job so far! Go ME! :D heehee

Be thankful you aren't a thought in my head....

.....because you would surely get lost.

WOW the last few days have whizzed by! I can't even really remember what exactly has happened or gone on. Let's see if I can try....

Wednesday I watched the girls and thought that was my last day for the week and that I'd have Thursday and Friday to do stuff for me (translation: focus on my family and the purging that has yet to have happened in any significant amount). That night my sister called at the last minute for me to watch them early the next morning, which I didn't want to do, but agreed to anyway. Now, I LOVE and ADORE my nieces as much as my own kids, so not wanting to watch them had nothing to do with them. It had more to do with my sanity and stress level. When we found out about the move coming so fast, I decided I would not watch them anymore so I could prepare things (and myself) around here. I am REALLY feeling the pressure and stress as the time is really flying by. It makes me tear up just thinking about it. So anyway, I agreed to watch them, after a mini-argument with my sister about how I CAN'T DO IT anymore. I did say I'd do it on M and W b/c those are school days and my niece and Dylan go together, so no biggie there. But other than that, I really can't if I want to take care of our stuff. So all day Thursday I stressed b/c my sister was going to hire some RANDOM person she picked out of the newspaper to watch them. Someone who is NOT state certified BTW. I have issues with that. I don't trust people to watch little kids who don't/won't go through the neccessary hoops to make sure that they are doing it in a safe environment that is being regulated. Maybe it's b/c of all the training I had to go through to have my own daycare on base.....but it just KILLED me to think of my neices going to some random stranger watching my neices. Now I know what some may be thinking "not your problem" and maybe it's not. But would I be saying that if something happened to them? No, I would be saying "I should have just kept doing it b/c it was the right and loving thing to do." So, at the end of the day, making sure my neices were safe and somewhere they would be loved was more important than winning a battle with my sister (the battle being she kept asking me to watch them after I told her I couldn't, and I'm a pushover when it comes to them). So, I've caved and told her I'll watch them until the 12th. After that, I won't really have a house to watch them in. And if I do, I won't want it messed up with 5 kids around b/c that will be the week my sister in law is coming to help me purge and organize. Plus, my neices are going to stay with their dad for two months at the end of this month. :( That makes me sad. :( So does moving away from them. I told my older neice (3) that we were moving to North Dakota and she got really sad and said "I want to go with you." That broke my heart. I love her. I love them both.

Friday was my running around day. I don't think I have taken the boys out for a full day of running errands and such in MONTHS. They did really good too for not having naps....well, until later at dinner. ;-) We had a hair appt for Dylan and Aidan at noon:30 and then we went to see Daddy at work to see if he'd had lunch yet. He had. So, we went and got some lunch and decided to take it home b/c Dylan had to potty and Owen had to eat. While were home Jake called and said to come back and get him b/c he was done for the day. So, we got together after eating and picked up Daddy, only to bring him back home and change out of his BDU's. He said he didn't want people staring at him in the stores! haha! ;-) What is funny to me about that is on base, no one would give him a second look if we ran errands with him dressed like that. So funny. Even off base it wouldn't have been looked at funny.
We went to Target to check out the snowboots someone had told me they had on sale. Well it must have been a good sale b/c they were all gone. Bummer. :( Then we went to G.I. Joe's, or as it is now annoyingly called, Joe's. What's with dropping the G.I.??? Anyway, we found boots for the boys there. CAMO boots! heehee They are SO CUTE. We had picked out a blue pair for Aidan b/c they had it in his size but they didn't for Dylan so we found the Camo ones for Dylan. I REALLY like the boys to match (my SIL is rolling her eyes right now haha!) so I told Jake to check for Aidan's size. They had one up from his size so we tried it on and it worked. yeah! :D I figure with thick wool socks that'll make up the difference. heehee ;-) After that we tried on some snow bibs for them. The pants they had were all too big so bibs it is. And of course, they match.
After Joe's we went to Walmart. I'm not sure why, but we ended up loading up the cart on who knows what. I really don't remember now. ugh. I know we got Aidan a good jacket b/c he really needed a larger one. It's camo too, but the bummer is that Jake wouldn't let me get Dylan a camo one too! :( Dylan DOES have a jacket that fits, but a camo one that matches with brother would be so much cuter. I tried again tonight to get it but Jake said "NO" and I said "we'll see about that." hahaha! Those who know me best know I'll be getting that jacket for Dylan before we move. ;-)
After walmart we went to eat at Black Bear Diner. Dylan has been wanting to eat there for MONTHS. I kid you not, he has specifically been asking to go there and he never forgets about it either. Jake tried ALL afternoon to get him to change his mind to Red Robin but he never did. So, Black Bear it was. And that was the first, and most likely last, time we will go there. The service was less than, Aidan was downright disobedient, and the food was..... okay. That is a bit of a funny story. I can't eat meat with bone in it. At all. I gag, at the very least. So I ordered chicken stuffed with broccoli and cheese....sounded soooo good. It came with a side salad. Well my salad came and the BOYS devoured my salad. I didn't mind so much since it was probably the only veggie they had willingly eaten all day. Then the waitress came back (after about 20 minutes) and said that they were OUT of stuffed chicken. WHA?! Whatever. So I said I'd have the fried chicken. I don't know WHAT possessed me to order that, but for some reason I was thinking of a chicken breast when I said that. So when my plate FINALLY came (another 15-20 minutes) and I saw the BONE chicken...wings, thighs, legs, DRUMSTICK, I almost gagged. I tried to keep my face straight for the sake of the waitress. Jake was shooting me knowing glances and a hidden grin. As soon as she left Jake said "Well I don't know what YOU'RE going to eat for dinner tonight" hahaha!! Seriously. Thank goodness for the coleslaw and fried squash and zucchini that came with my meal. Oh and the HONKIN' piece of bread. I tried, really I tried to eat the chicken, but I almost threw it all up on the table after two bites. I couldn't do it.
I also ordered a blackberry milkshake to go. I didn't taste it until we were out in the truck. It was like I was drinking freezing cold tasteless paste with bits of tire pebbles. Seriously. No flavor. At all.
Jake wanted to go to DQ for his dessert, so while we were there I ordered myself a chicken strips basket! haha!! We stopped at his parents house and I ate my food and gave them the fried chicken (we took it with us b/c SOMEONE would eat it) and the milkshake. haha! Even my MIL thought the shake had no taste. I had a LAAAAAAME night of eating out. It's kind of funny thinking back on it though.

Today my mom said she'd take the boys so we could work around here unbothered. Well this morning the phone rang and I didn't get it and let the machine get it b/c we were still in bed. It was mom so I had Dylan get me the phone and I called her back. Apparently it was AFTER 9!! How in the world all five of us slept that late I don't know, but I was happy about it!! :D Told her I'd bring them over later. Jake took them around 11. I had a hair appt at 2 that I completely forgot about until Kathy (our WONDERFUL hair lady) reminded me about it yesterday when I was there for the boys. So we had a bit of time to clean before I had to go. Jake was going to drop me off and go to Sportmans Warehouse. After he dropped me off I called and said "come back and get me" b/c Kathy decided we could wait another month on my color. haha!! So we visited instead and she held Owen a while. ;-)

I went with Jake to SW and we both tried on snowboots. I got a REALLY cute suede pair. That was actually all they had for women...suede. But mine are really cute and don't even look like snowboots. They are temperature rated for -40* so I think I'll be okay. haha! ;-) We got some more winter weather accessories and headed out. We went back to walmart b/c we forgot stuff yesterday. I got a bunch of space bags for clothes and linens and we got a lot of household cleaners so we can really get to work on our move out checklist around here. We really want our full refund back. $$$$$ ;-) After all that we grabbed some dinner and picked up the boys and came home and we ate. Now we're just sitting around hanging out. Actually, me and the boys are hanging out. Jake is cleaning the bathrooms. hahaha!! Ahhh, this is the life. ;-)

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This last week I have spent a considerable amount of time online researching homeschooling. It really just sort of fell into my lap. I was browsing blogs and following links and happened upon this website. I really delved into it and have been totally captivated by it and the women that contribute to it. That has led me to other homeschooling blogs that I have really enjoyed. One blog is about UNSCHOOLING and it has really made me think about a lot as a mother. Her main blog is really good too.

All of the stuff I have been reading has been very inspiring and has led to blogs of amazing women. I feel very blessed to have "stumbled" upon these sites. I almost wonder if God is tapping my shoulder again? I've talked to Jake about some of it, just so he knows where my heart is wandering on this issue. I had thought a few years back that I would want to homeschool, and then I decided I didn't think I could be that disciplined and just kind of let it go. Now after reading all of this stuff I see that there are many different options for homeschooling. It doesn't seem that daunting actually. And after reading the unschooling blog, I see that I am already teaching them. I just didn't realize it. That kind of inspires me to take it to the next level.
I think I am going to give homeschooling a lot of thought in the next year. I will research it a lot and try to even incorporate some of it into our lives and see how it goes before I really commit to it for Dylans first "official" year. It IS something I really WANT to do, I just don't know if I am CAPABLE of doing it. I have a lot of reasons for wanting to do it too, one of which is b/c with our lifestyle, they would be changing schools every couple of years.

Another thing that I noticed was how much these women really trusted in God and tried to be good wives and mothers. It was a daily act for them to focus on what kind of wife and mother they were being. I think about being a mom everyday, but sometimes I'm not focused on how I can be better, I'm just focused on getting through the day. And I really don't focus on how to be a good wife. I just sort of wing it there. And to be honest, there is a lot of OLD resentments tied up there that I still have from years ago, and a few that are current that need to be addressed. But even still, I need to put more effort into being the wife GOD wants me to be, even if I am still holding onto past resentments. I am really thankful I found these blogs b/c they have been a great witness to me this last week, and I think will continue to be.

I have been watching the boys lately and really getting emotional when I see them playing together or when I think about moving them away from the ONLY home they have ever known, and grandparents, and cousins, and aunts and uncles, and taking Dylan away from school. He loves his teacher and going to school. I am also scared to be a mom away from my own mom and grandma. They have been there every step of the way and been a real help to me, and almost like second parents when it comes to the boys. Mostly b/c Jake worked so much I really depended on them for help and for company. It gets lonely being home all day when he would work such loooooong hours. I am nervous for that happening in Minot before I have a support system, which could be awhile. In the meantime I am thankful for the internet. ;-)

Jake and I have had a lot going on between the two of us as well. It's been very stressful and trying lately with all the details of this move and things at work are threatening to hinder our move date a bit. It's complicated so I won't go into it here. Mostly just paperwork stuff, but stressful none the less. I don't think he and I have done a very good job of remaining as one through this and it's starting to show. We really need to get on board with eachother and work as a team if we are going to come out of this stronger together. I think we've both just let the stress and shock of it all get to us in a bad way. Moving with an entire family really IS stressful, especially while dealing with our everyday stresses as well. Before when we moved Dylan was just one month old so it really wasn't that bad, and we didn't have NEAR as much stuff as we have now. More crap = more stress. ;-)

Sorry I have nothing funny or even substantial in this blog. It's more of a brain dump tonight. I've really been feeling the nervous butterflies lately and not in a good way. The countdown is on and soon it will be March and we'll be on our way to North Dakota!!