I miss you, my blogity blog!
Posted on February 10, 2011
Wow…its been a reeeeally long time since I’ve updated! Really sad actually. I’ve been thinking of posting my 365 pictures here as well. The winter blues have hit me hard this year and I’ve been a recluse as of late. I’m hoping to come out of my shell very soon here. Prayers would be appreciated. 
Makeover!
Posted on March 11, 2010
No, not me. Why, do you think I need one?? No, my blog! I’m happy to show off my new layout by portfoliositez.com. I still have a few tweaks here and there that I’d like to do, but I’m really happy with it! Make sure you add the rss to your feed, and while you’re at it, if you havent already add me on facebook and twitter! Cuz I said so!
Enjoy!
Election Day!
Posted on November 5, 2008
Well, congrats to Barack Obama and his supporters! I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but I didn’t really think McCain was going to win, though I did vote for him. I wore my red shirt today and Melaina and I went this afternoon to vote. We both went in and showed our kids what it was like to vote. Ava was so funny, she was so excited this morning, she woke me up to “go voting!” She talked non-stop all morning about “going on a vote.” Finally, after we actually voted, I told her we were going to go out for lunch and she cried. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but after her saying “I don’t want to go out for lunch! I want to go on a vote!” a few times, the light bulb went on. She thought all day that we were going to go on a boat. So the idea of filling in ovals at a booth was a less than appealing event for her. I felt bad, but we went to lunch with Lain and the boys anyway and she ate spaghetti and meatballs (omg! yay!!) and she loved it. So, we went home after that and I did some work and checked the status online all day. Around 9pm, I was pretty sure that McCain was not going to be our new president, but I watched the numbers climb anyway. So then they called it around 11pm. Obama is our new president.
Like I said, I’m not ecstatic, but I’m not horribly sad either. I didn’t really expect McCain to win. I voted for him because, as a Christian and a republican, I agree with his stances and policies. There are many things about Obama that I don’t agree with. I do not like his idea of robbing from the rich to give to the poor. There are many people who could benefit from it, I understand that, but there are many people who already take advantage of the welfare system and all we are doing is enabling them to take advantage of taxpayers and sit on their butts and still do nothing to help their situations. Plus, I think people who have the money and want to give money to charities, they should be able to give it to who they want. They shouldn’t have to pay more in taxes than everyone else, just because they can afford it and then have that money be given to who the government chooses. It’s not fair. Period.
I also think it is pretty dangerous to pull our men out of Iraq so fast. I understand they have been there for a while, but they signed up for it. They put their lives on the line for our country, and God bless them. But that was their choice. If we pull out, it leaves us open and vulnerable to countries who are just waiting for us to cower away. Obama said this war was a mistake. But, I often wonder if the tables were turned, and if we were the country in need of brave soldiers leaving behind their families and their country to protect our rights and the rights of our children, if we would think it was a mistake. Or if we would be thankful to them for saving our lives and our children’s life. Whatever the cost. Because we are human beings, and deserve freedom and human rights just like them.
And yes, there are many other reasons, most of which have to do with my faith in God and my belief in the bible. I’m not going to get into them, but you can guess what they are. I don’t feel like debating, so if you don’t agree with me, we can just agree to disagree and I will respect your views and opinions and I would expect you to respect mine in return.
I was talking to my sister and my views on this election. This is the way I see it. I wanted strawberry jelly on my toast. I love strawberry jelly. But there was only cherry and grape jelly available to me. So, I chose cherry because it’s red and it’s the closest to strawberry. Either one would be a decent alternative, but I still really wish I had strawberry.
Regardless, I am proud to be an American. I think we are very lucky to live in a democracy and be able to choose and vote on our leaders. I am very proud to live in a country that will have it’s first African American president come January. I think that shows how far we have come with civil rights and I really think it’s wonderful. I really think that Obama will try to help our country, it might be his way, but I really hope he can help to better the economy. But, unlike many Obama supporters (in my opinion) I am not hypnotized by his melodious voice and I do not believe everything that comes out of his mouth. He is a politician you know. They’ve been known to lie. So no, I don’t think we will all be running through fields of flowers and rainbows and puppy dogs, all of us holding hands and singing songs of peace and change because Obama is president. But I hope things will get a little better around here. That would be nice. And I wont be one of those who say “Well, he’s not MY president!” or “Don’t look at me, I voted for the other guy!” I will support Obama as my president and I wish him all the luck. He’s got a hard road ahead of him. Our situation is crap right now. So if he can get us out of the crapper, great. I can’t be mad at him for that. So good luck and congrats Obama!
Happy Halloween!
Posted on November 1, 2008
We LOVE Halloween around here! When else can you dress up to be anyone you want, run door to door and get candy, and it’s ok to scare the heck out of people you don’t even know!? It’s great! Ava was Dorothy for Halloween this year and she totally played the part. She knew who she was and she would even skip from door to door singing “We’re off to see the Wizard!” It was pretty darn cute. I think she made a perfect Dorothy.
I woke her up this morning and we made “pumpkin” pancakes (no not pumpkin flavored, just orange food coloring and funny faces in the pancakes). Then Todd fixed up our Halloween decorations outside. He did such a good job this year. Unfortunately, we hardly ever get any trick or treaters. Maybe 5 at most. I think we are the best looking Halloween house on the block, but nobody comes to visit. 
This year we had one kid, and he didn’t even dress up. Awesome.
We decided to skip nap time and Ava and I made some decorations. She helped me make little spiders for the web outside (egg cartons, pipe cleaners and googallie eyes), and ghosts to hang from the ceiling fan (tissue paper and twine- they make creepy shadows on the wall inside and you can see them from the outside). We had a lot of fun!
Then we dressed her up in her costume and we were off to see the Wizard! She did SO well this year! She went up to every house and knocked (sometimes we had to push the doorbell for her) and stood back away from the door and waited until someone came out. She said “Trick or treat!” when they did and said “Thank you!” when she got her loot. I was so proud of her! There were a couple times that she got a little greedy though. One man gave her a handful of candy and then gave her a couple of cute pencils. She gave the pencils back and said “No thank you!” and asked for more candy! It was cute, but we had a little talk with her after that one haha! But overall she did a GREAT job!
After trick or treating (she lasted a whole hour!) we went down to our neighborhood bonfire for the first time this year. I’m surprised we never went! You could see the fire from our house! It was only a couple blocks away behind us, but it was still HUGE! I wish I had gotten a good picture of it. They had free delicious hot dogs and free pop, so that was awesome. We saw some old friends there and they had their little boy (The Hulk) running around with Ava. She had a blast and everyone thought she was the cutest little girl…I don’t blame them!
We only stayed for a half hour though for two reasons. One, we wanted to drive to the grandmas houses to show Ava off. And two, because we both felt a little uncomfortable there. There were families everywhere and little kids, so that was fine. But there were teenagers…and I’m talking 14-15 year old girls in the most revealing costumes I have ever seen. I’m not talking midriffs here. I’m talking super short miniskirts and thigh high stockings. There were twins with super short (I can see your butt cheeks) boycut underwear with little rabbit tails on their butts and they had bunny ears and low cut cleavage shirts on. There was one girl who I only saw from the side, who had a super short, hip high tutu on and thigh high stockings on with stiletto heels. I have NO clue what she had on her butt, but all I could see from the side was her butt cheek. I was sure she was wearing a thong. Now, I’m not a complete prude. If you want to dress sexy for Halloween and you have the body for it, great, have fun. But if you are underage, please, have some respect for yourself! It is TOTALLY inappropriate! I know those girls’ parents did not see their outfits before they went out of the house. And if they did, there is something seriously wrong with them! And these girls are old enough to know the dangers of enticing grown men like that. My poor husband! He wanted to leave because he felt like a pedophile! Imagine if there was a pedophile there!! It just really bothered me that I was at a neighborhood family gathering and I felt so uncomfortable there because of these girls. It scares me that I already have one girl and now I’m having another. Anyway, thats my little rant on that.
So after that we went to the grandma’s houses to show off Ava. She was a big hit everywhere she went! We finally made it home around 11pm and pretty much went straight to bed! What a long day! But (minus the peep show) we had a great Halloween!
Ava helping me make Spiders
Dorothy! Isn’t she adorable!?
Off to see the Wizard!
Trick or treat!
LOVE this one…
Our Halloween House!
Carving Pumpkins!
Posted on October 29, 2008
Drawing her pumpkin face
Getting in line to punch the FDA
Posted on October 27, 2008
Ok Becky, I’m on board. Ava got a little cough last night. Not a big deal, but I went looking for the last of the children’s cold medicine that I was hording and…I’m out. I couldn’t find any. Now, when I say “not a big deal”, I mean not a big deal if I can give her some cough suppressant. Ava has a sensitive gag reflex. She will puke if she coughs too much. So not only is she coughing and trying to sleep and there is absolutely nothing I can do but turn on the humidifier and pray, she is also in MY bed. She likes to come sleep with me when Todd is working. So yea. Here I am with a coughing, gagging 3 year old, no medicine, no sleep and a serious need to punch whoever came up with this new regulation:
FDA panel: No cold medicines to children under 6
Some highlights and arguments from me concerning this article:
“A cold does not kill, so people should just relax,” Rausch said. “Kids get sick and there’s nothing that people can do about it, but they will get better.” Seriously?? Ok, this person does not have children. How do I know? Because, when you have a child, the worst moments in parenting are the ones where there is nothing you can do to ease your child’s pain or discomfort.
“Earlier this year, the FDA completed a review that found that between 1969 and the fall of 2006, there were 54 reported child deaths from decongestants and 69 from antihistamines.” Ok you you’re telling me that in 37 years…since before I was born 123 children have died from taking decongestants or antihistamines? Well, that is awful. And I feel bad for the parents, really I do. But can you tell me how many of those cases are from parents overdosing their children- accidentally or purposefully? Can you tell me how many are from complications of the cold/sickness? Can you tell me how many of the parents are underage children themselves? Can you tell me how many of those incidents are from curious children and keeping the medicine out where children can reach?
Also, did you know that 1449 children died in incidents involving car accidents since 2001?
Did you know that roughly 1500 children die every year due to child abuse or neglect?
Did you know there are about 2,500 deaths per year in the United States due to SIDS?
Did you know that 48,589,993 abortions were performed since Roe vs. Wade in 1973?
I’m not trying to downplay the 123 deaths in almost 40 years. Its awful that that happened to all those children. But what I’m saying is, the FDA is freaking out. They are making a mountain out of a mole hill. They are punishing the children who could benefit from cold medicine because of a handful of tragic deaths- most of which probably could have been prevented by reading directions.
“Panel: No evidence that the over-the-counter medicines help young children” Really? Did you actually conduct these studies on children? Because I can tell you right now they work. Last night, I found a bottle of Robitussin Cough. It wasn’t labeled for kids, but it wasn’t labeled for adults either. It also gave instructions on how much to give a child under 6. A 1/2 tsp every 4 hours. Perfect! So, I gave that to her. And within ten minutes (after 1 hour of coughing) her coughing stopped. It doesn’t help? That’s pure BS. I no longer had to worry about her getting enough sleep, I no longer had to worry about her puking all over the bed. She got enough rest and she is fine this morning- no coughing. I know that these cough medicines do not CURE a child of their cold. They help them, and the parents cope with the symptoms. I know that giving more that the recommended dose is dangerous and will not make them better faster. Its common sense and reading directions and following them.
The AAP suggests:
Moisturizing the air with a vaporizer or hydrator Ok, got that. That actually works.
Using saltwater nose drops to dry up a runny nose Sure, try it yourself. The drama that ensues isn’t worth it.
Using a rubber nose bulb to clear up congestion Again…drama ensues. Not going to happen
Feeding the child chicken soup Um, did I mention she is a picky eater? So unless I force this down her throat, this is also not going to happen.
Consulting a pediatrician Her doc is closed after 4 and I’m not calling him for a cough.
“Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein headed the push that led to the FDA hearing. He became alarmed when four Baltimore children died after their parents gave them excessive doses of cold medicines.” Ok, so again, because of the bad decisions of some parents, we all need to suffer? That’s like punishing the whole class because one kid didn’t do his homework. Grrr.
And so, because of this, some of the leading manufacturers of these medicines have pulled their products in a voluntary recall out of caution. Not because of the dangers of the medicines, but because of the dangers of misuse. I think you are going to find a bigger problem on your hands now FDA. Mark my words, you will now have these same parents who are overdosing their child on children’s medicines and you have taken away the kids medicine. They will find a bottle of adult cold medicine and possibly give their child an adult dose. I think this is potentially more dangerous than having children’s cold medicine available OTC. What we should be doing is educating parents on the dangers of overdosing their children on cold medicine. That would be logical. But no. Thanks for the additional headache. Way to go FDA.
Exhausted!
Posted on October 26, 2008
Todd is at work today and I’m getting up the gumption to finish editing this wedding so I can put it up online for the couple. I had a pretty long day yesterday at a wedding, but it was a good one. The bride and groom paid for a permit to take pictures at Lake Katherine, but for the last two weeks we had been scrambling to find an indoor spot in the south suburbs to take pics because rain was in the forecast. I was so happy that not only was there no rain, but there was sun as well! It was freezing, but we got a LOT of great shots! That pretty much made my day.
Sometimes I forget that I’m pregnant and I need to take it easy. I’ll work a wedding like I’m not growing a baby in my belly. One that I’m supposed to be protecting. I feel bad when I push myself too much just to see if I can. It’s not about me, its about her. I usually will be on my 80% of the day, going back and forth taking pictures here and there, and come the reception I’m all over the place getting everything I can. I absolutely love it. I usually only sit down for dinner or when we are traveling to the next destination. Thats pretty much what I did yesterday. I worked 14 hours, and probably 12 of them I was on my feet. And I’m feeling it today. I’m usually pretty out of it the next day after a wedding, but with this pregnancy, it really takes me out of commission. I’m totally useless today! I’ll probably spend the day hanging out with Ava and maybe getting this other wedding up online.
3 more weddings to go till Im off for 5 months!! Yay!!
Its starting to get painful…
Posted on October 23, 2008
When I was pregnant with Ava, I found out that I had SPD – Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction. Sounds fun huh? Basically, when you are pregnant, your body produces a hormone called relaxin. It is supposed to give your pelvic bone (the symphysis pubis- the joint in the front of your pelvis and the sacroiliac- the joint in the back of your pelvis) a little bit of give while your baby grows. What SPD is when your body produces too much relaxin and your pelvic bone gives too much. It isn’t serious, but it is extremely painful. I can usually keep the pain to a minimum by keeping my knees together for the most part. Like going up a step at a time, sitting down to put pants on, rolling over in bed (which is probably the worst pain of all) with my legs completely straight, etc. If I do a lot of walking one day, the pain will flare up later on in the day. It’s not horrible, its just annoying, especially day after day.
When I was pregnant with Ava, there wasn’t a lot of information on SPD, and if I talked to my doctor about it, he told me it was just normal pregnancy stuff. I found some info on it on the internet but not much. But I did find quite a few other women who had that same pain. All I know was that by the end of my pregnancy, I was fed up. You can’t take anything but Tylenol when you’re pregnant, and Tylenol does nothing for me. The bigger Ava got, the more painful it got. It felt like someone was pulling my pelvic bone apart. I was pretty much ready to evict Ava by any and all means. I stuck it out all the way to my due date when I finally went into labor. I had Ava a day after my due date and the pain was completely gone after I had her. I can’t tell you what a relief that was!
So, when I was about 12 weeks pregnant with Smalls here, I started to get some of the symptoms. Clicking hip bones, small bursts of pain rolling over in bed, and a general stiffness in my pelvic area. I sat in the bathroom and cried. The worst thing (and only real problem I had) with pregnancy was SPD. And here it was again. I hated whining about it, complaining about the pain. I hated people doing things for me. I just wanted to have an enjoyable pregnancy! So now I am resigned to having this again. There is a lot more information on the web about it. And when I mentioned it to my nurse practitioner, she knew exactly what I was talking about. So that is really encouraging. So now there are several things I can do to relieve my pain, different things I can try to help, and they are working pretty well so far. I’m determined to enjoy this pregnancy even through this if I have to.
I’m 20 weeks now, and in the last few days, I have felt a lot more pain. I’m having a hard time getting up from sitting without pain. I have to ask Todd to help me up. Lifting one leg, especially my left causes me a bit more pain. Rolling over in bed, as always, is the worst pain. I can’t figure out how to really do it without pain. Last night, I thought “I’m starting to dread going to sleep.” Pregnancy doesn’t give you a comfortable sleep in the first place, but if I can’t even turn over without pain, it sucks. I remember last time with Ava, towards the end, just screaming every time I had to turn over. I’m really hoping that it doesn’t get to that point.
All I know is, I’m going to try everything I can to keep the pain from getting as bad as it was with Ava. I really want to enjoy this pregnancy, and so far I really am. I’d like to keep it that way.
Ok, I’m done whining. Haha!
Its a GIRL!
Posted on October 22, 2008
We are so excited! We wanted another girl! Its so funny, most of my family, except Cheryl and Chris said boy, but nope! When I got my ultrasound with Ava, she took about a half hour before she showed off her goods (or lach thereof). With this one, that was the first thing she wanted to show! On the ultrasound, everything looked perfect. She’s moving around like crazy. She kept covering up her face so we couldn’t get a good face shot, but we got a couple of great profile shots. And then of course the obvious girl shot. Well, it was more obvious during the ultrasound but the pic is pretty good. Anyway here are my ultrasound pics and my 20 week belly shot. Enjoy! Oh! And yes, we are going to be completely evil and when we actually pick a name, we will be keeping it a secret until she is born. Hehe…
20 week Belly shot!
The “It’s a girl shot!”
An awesome profile shot
Trying to be shy 
Ava Ballerina
Posted on October 20, 2008
Ava LOVES to dance. She has since she was really little. I had been thinking about putting her in some sort of dance class for a while, but I never got around to it. One day, we were at the park in my area and we had to run to the park district building for Ava to go potty. As soon as we walked in, the studio doors were open and there was a ballet class in session. “Wow!! Mommy look!!” She was so excited! I had to keep her quiet while we ran to the bathroom. When we came out, we started to walk out and she started crying hysterically. Not like temper tantrum crying. She was genuinely sad that we couldn’t go in and dance. She kept saying “No mommy, PLEASE!! I want to do ballet, PLEASE!” I felt so bad. So after I got her calmed down, I went back in, got a flyer and found out that classes had just started that week. There was a 3yr old class and she had only missed one class. So, I called up the teacher, Miss Teresa and asked if I could still get Ava in. No problem.
So, every Monday, Ava has ballet class. And she loves it. She loves Miss Teresa and she does so well in class. She has a bit of a listening problem, but I think she’s going to learn fast. Miss Teresa is a fantastic teacher. I love that she realizes these are 3 year olds and they are not going to be anywhere near precise. She shows them what to do and they do it. And they listen to her so well! I love watching Ava have a wonderful time learning something that she is so interested in.
This year the park district is having a big ballet show. There are 4 shows and the little ones (3 and 4 yr olds) are in one or two shows. I just got the paper today and I’m happy to see Ava is in two of the shows. January 16th and January 18th. I can NOT wait! Her first recital! I’m not sure yet about the costumes, they haven’t told us yet what they are or how much, but Ava was measured today. I’m hoping they aren’t too much. But I’m excited. I’ll probably invite family and a few close friends to the show. We’ll see!
Anyway, here are some pics from today. Not the best, but they move so fast! Enjoy!
One of her more graceful moments lol!
Leaping over “puddles”