Friday, July 15, 2005

You Push

The other night Thomas and I were going to make a "quick" trip to Wal-Mart. I am not sure if we even had a purpose but we went, there must have been a reason. From the ideas we ended up with in the buggy you would not have been able to tell. I made Thomas push. Me push a buggy that contained TWO different kinds of ice cream, pizza flavored Cheetos and strawberry margarita wine coolers in it? No way. We might as well have thrown in a jar of pickles. Who knows why we picked these items.

I have not had a SIP of any kind of alcohol since I got pregnant with Elizabeth. I had planned to sneak away from the hospital while she was still in the NICU just to have a small drink to help relax. My plans got nixed when 4 days after having her I developed a blood clot in my leg and had to go on anti-clotting drugs since. Apparently I have some mutated gene that makes me prone to clotting. Anyways I guess last night I momentarily forgot my fear of accidentally cutting myself and bleeding to death and I drank. It was not all that good, I guess that is what happens when you pay $2.47 for 4 wine coolers. Ha!

I am starting a new adventure into beading. Aren't you excited for me? I hope I make something of it and do not waste a lot of money trying to get started and then it bomb. I have some really cute designs in my mind for bracelets and such. One some of them I plan to donate part of the proceeds. Oh, that is why we went to Wal-Mart, to check on bead sizes...but Wal-Mart sucks on bead supplies. Anywho, I am waiting for my crystals to arrive in the mail. I was up til 3 am this morning trying to find the best deals on beads and such.

Tomorrow I get to make some extra moo-la taking pictures for a group of men. Naked men? No, unfortunately it is a bunch of old men who are in a club. At least they are paying customers.

That is all for now!

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Happy 6 Month Birthday "Itty Bitty"!!

Dear Elizabeth,

Today you turn six months old! It seems like it was just yesterday that I gave birth to you and we started this journey. You are an amazing little person. There is no one like you. I love watching you grow everyday, you discover something new all of the time. You have come very far since you were born. You had a rocky start and still have many hurdles to overcome but you have a very strong spirit and will. Some things you do now are:

  1. You have excellent head control, you have had this since the day you were born. At 3 days old you would pick your head off of the bed and turn it from side to side.
  2. You sit with little support.
  3. You try your best to roll onto your belly, you could do it if your owie was not in the way.
  4. You try to get traction to crawl when we place you on your belly but due to your owie you can't quite make it, again if your owie was not in the way I think you'd be on the move.
  5. You make kiss-smack noises.
  6. You recognize Mommy, Daddy and your puppy, Murphy.
  7. You eat formula with rice cereal and you LOVE solid foods as long as I feed you them with a feeder. You do not care for the spoon too much.
  8. You have great hand-eye control.
  9. Anything and everything you get your hands on goes into your mouth.
  10. I think you are teething, there is drool everywhere.
  11. You suck your thumb only when it is night-night time, you have not used a pacifier in about 2 months.
  12. You LOVE your Daddy, you can hear him from a mile away and start searching for him. Once you spot him your face lights up and a huge grin forms. I love watching you watching him.
  13. You smile and "talk" all of the time. You squeal when you are happy.

I snuggled with you in bed this morning and sang you "Happy Birthday" (my version) and you smiled at me and looked at me like I was crazy. I talked to you and wondered what you would be like in another 6 months. I am sure you will be even more amazing. I look forward to seeing you grow and develop you little personality. I love you VERY much and Daddy does too. You are a blessing from God and I thank Him for that every day.

Love,

Mama

Monday, July 11, 2005

Weekend

Over the weekend we had a nice time together as a little family. On Saturday we had to go pay bills and buy groceries. We also went to the mall and did a little window shopping. We did buy Elizabeth something for her 6 month birthday. We bought her a bracelet. It is made with Swarovski Crystals and sterling silver beads. It has a little cross charm on it. She is too yummy with it on.

Sunday we went to church. I almost did not get ready in time to go. My alarm clock is "Itty Bitty" and she decided not to go off until 9:30 am. Thomas got up at 8:30 am and went about his business and did not bother to wake me. I usually get up at the time he did, get my shower, put on my make-up, iron mine and Elizabeth's clothes, feed her, get her dressed and then wake Thomas. He knows it takes me more than an hour to get myself ready and her ready too. He did not seem to think about that. Oh well, I told him next time make sure to wake me if you notice it is past 8:30 am and I do not seem to be getting up. Luckily he dressed Elizabeth while I was in the shower and he got the bottle ready to go. She did not get to wear what I picked out but at least she was not naked. After church we came home and snuggled on the couch. We went to church in the evening and afterwards Thomas took me to Applebee's in Port Arthur. He was so sweet.

I got a call from my mom. I think they are planning on invading my house next Wednesday for a week. Lord, help me please. I am going to have them watch her while I go to my hematologist. That will be nice to be able to go to the appointment without having to worry if she will be fussy when I get in to see the doctor.

"Itty Bitty" will be 6 months old on Wednesday!!

Saturday, July 09, 2005

Potty Trained at 6 months

Okay, so she is not potty trained but don't tell her that. Elizabeth pooped not once but twice in the potty yesterday. No, she didn't voluntarily go poop on the pot. At the first sign of a grunt I whisked her away to the bathroom. She seemed very content pooping and looking around at the stuff in the bathroom. It was too cute to see her little 11 pound body sitting on a huge potty. I have pictures of poo to prove it.

Yesterday was SO boring. Thomas took off half a day from work. I thought it would be nice to spend some time with him. Wrong. All he did was sleep. He slept in the recliner then somehow managed to land his lifeless body across me and continue to snore. I made him move and he got up and found his way to the bed. I got fustrated with him. I want to spend time with him, not spend time watching or listening to him sleep. My day should have went like this:

1. Thomas calls and say "Honey, I'm on my way home to be with you and Elizabeth."
2. Thomas arrives home with a bouquet of flowers.
3. Thomas gives me a big hug and says "I love you."
4. Thomas tells me he is taking me out for a nice dinner.
5. We go out to dinner and a nice conversation.
6. Come home and put baby to bed and then put ourselves to bed.

Why can men not get hints? I don't mean subtle hints either. Hints like

ME: "There is Applebee's!", "I wish our town had and Applebee's, it sure sounds good."

Thomas: "Do you want something from Jack in the Box?"

Me: "No thanks, I'll pass on Jack in the Crack." "Applebee's is right down the road."

Thomas: "Ok." as he continues to drive past Applebee's.

How much clearer could it have got unless I said "Man, take me to Applebee's right now!!" I guess that is what I will have to start doing. I just want him to put a little effort in to being thoughtful, ya know?

Friday, July 08, 2005

$1.37 for 20 oz?

So I was having a Dr. Pepper fit last night as I have not had one in 3 days. I know, drink more water. Well water and everything else was not cutting it. I guess the 2 year old alcohol in the cabinet might work but I passed. I just want a Dr. Pepper. Thomas would not go buy me one so I left Elizabeth with him and drove to the corner store to get it myself. I had a free cap for a 1 liter but of course the store was not a 1 liter kind of store. I grab the 20 oz out of the cooler and head up to the counter. Cha Ching... "$1.37 Please", says the lady behind the register. I hope she did not notice my look of disbelief on my face. What happened to $0.98 drinks? I was disappointed in the price hike but needed my precious Dr. Pepper anyway. I savored every last drop of it because who knows when I can bring myself to pay that again. Probably in another 3 days when the I loose the struggle to resist.

So blogs are interesting, I have discovered this. Thank you Rachel for getting me addicted. I hope one day more people start reading my ramblings. For some reason reading about others life's is an intriguing thing. I did read one blog that was very disturbing. I found it off of Yahoo!'s homepage. It was the blog of the man, Duncan, who possibly killed 3 people and kidnapped Shasta and Dylan in Idaho. What is sad is he was posting about crimes and such and no one ever reported it.

My "Itty Bitty" is teething I believe. I can not see any thing poking through yet but the slobber gates are open. Swim at your own risk. Her gums also look swollen. Anything that gets near her mouth does not have a fighting chance of staying dry. She has been a bit fussy. Last night I don't know what I was thinking. Me? Alone time? No way. I got her to sleep, it was about 11:30 p.m., and I decided I would go sit in the jacuzzi tub and just relax in the peace. Half way through I heard this blood curdling crying coming from the bedroom. How could this be? Could she sense I was not in there and that I was actually trying to enjoy something? I think so. Out of the tub I got and by the time I got back to the bedroom there she lays, asleep looking like an angel. Sighs.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Rashes and Vomit, Joy!

Yesterday evening greeted me with rashes and vomit. You would think both were on or a product of the baby but only one was hers. I felt awful domestic yesterday and took advantage of it. I cleaned the house, did several loads of laundry, baked a cake and then made dinner. I was not able to get the cake frosted before Thomas came home because I did not have any frosting in the house. A quick call to him and frosting arrived when he got off of work. After I fed Elizabeth I handed her off to Daddy T so I could go frost the cake. Mid-frosting I hear this frantic "Amber come get her, get her now, get her now!!" I run into the living room while licking frosting from my fingers so I did not get her dirty. I guess I did not have to worry about that. During the pass off from Daddy T to me I get vomitted on. I took her to the changing table to wipe her off and to change her clothes and out came more of the slimy stuff. Needless to say a bath was in order. Apparently Daddy T was letting her suck and chew on his thumb and she gagged herself.

I was reading on the internet when Thomas asks "Do we have any allergy medicine?" I asked him "Why?" He said "Look." He raised up his shirt and his whole torso was covered in a welp. He has broken out like this before when he drank iced tea. Yes, he is allergic to tea. Only person I know who is. We are not sure what he is allergic to now. Could it be the Kool-Aid he drank?

After getting Elizabeth fed and put to bed and doctoring Thomas' rash I was able to enjoy my cake. Let them have cake!

Sand In My Toes Posted by Picasa

My Beach Baby Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Fourth of July Firsts

This 4th of July was Elizabeth's first. We had a great time! We slept in til around 9 a.m. At least Elizabeth and I did. Daddy T slept in til about 11:30 a.m. I can sleep longer normally but Thomas snores extremely bad which keeps us girls from being able to slumber. I got her fed, jumped in the shower, got dressed, cleaned the house and made something for brunch. We then sat around for a few minutes just talking an such. We saw the Noon News and heard that there were sharks swimming around close to the beach near where we live. I thought it would be cool to go down to the beach and see if I could get some nice pictures. So we loaded up!

It was a nice drive to the beach. I am the type of person who likes to just get out and drive and see the sights. We finally got to the beach and found an area that was not crowded with people. We took Elizabeth out on the beach in her stroller and let her look at it while still sitting in it. She seemed pretty interested and started trying to raise herself up to get out. We took her out and Daddy T held her and she just smiled and babbled while watching the tide come in and go out. She was aware every time a sea gull flew over and then the big bird that came down the beach really got her attention. Beach patrol was in a helicopter checking for sharks. Daddy T held her by the arms so she could "walk" on the beach. The tide would come in and splash her on the legs. I think she really likes the water. My little beach baby! We did not stay out there long because I did not want her to get sunburned. I think she really enjoyed her first trip to the beach. She threw a little fit when we left. By the way, we did not see any sharks.

After the beach we came home and got stuff together so we could go watch the fireworks. We drove into Beaumont around 7 p.m. On the way we saw a wreck. I believe a guy rolled his pick-up truck. It was a one vehicle accident. The truck was in the median of the interstate and the service road. People were gathered in the grass and when we passed by we could see the guy laying out there with blood on him. I hate to see accidents. It does give you an incentive to slow down and drive careful. So on to the more exciting stuff. We sat up our chairs on a nice grassy lawn. Inspected for ants and mosquitoes, all clear. We thought that it would be the perfect spot to view the fireworks. We sat and talked, played with Elizabeth and just watched the people until dark. "Itty Bitty" did very well. She was not fussy at all. It finally got dark and the fireworks started. Well our perfect spot was not so perfect. Pandemonium broke out when everyone realized that the lovely building next to us blocked half of the fireworks. People were running, chairs unwillingly being dragged behind them. We were more calm than the others, I guess all the others had never seen fireworks before. We made our way to a better view and Elizabeth was in awe. She turned her blue eyes to the night sky and watched as the brightly colored lights swirled in the sky. Not a whimper or a jump at the noise. I loved watching her. She is amazing!

We had a wonderful 4th with our little family. I hope everyone else did.

Sunday, July 03, 2005

Family Madness

So my parents came down this weekend to visit. I enjoy seeing them of course but why does everything have to be so difficult? They know Elizabeth has a schedule and I do my best to keep her on it. No, I'm not a drill sergeant. I just know that she does better when she knows what is going to happen when. I've tried to explain this but it does not sink in. They are ready to go out when it is about time to feed her. Let me feed her and then we will go out. Also there is this big thing about food with them. My husband and I usually only eat dinner and we do that on a whim. Everything is not planned out. So my Mom makes this huge dinner and then fusses because she does not like the meat. Of course since she does not like the meat she does not like any of it. In turn this makes Dad mad because he is the one who made the meat. I've noticed that she always has something to say about the food not being right no matter who makes it, it is this way if we go out to eat somewhere as well. Then because she would not eat last night of course she is hungry today. Nobody else is because they ate. So once again the great food debate begins!

Another thing, just because it is not your house does not make it right to trash it! My Mom is like a neat freak in her house, she is always cleaning. Very annoying. I keep my house clean but I don't have a broom in hand at all times. So I ponder this...If you can empty the coffee maker, the filter, put dishes in a dishwasher at home why does this not enter your brain when you are at my house??

I feel so worn out when they leave. Don't get me wrong I love having them here. I love watching them get to know Elizabeth and to watch her play with them. I guess I am just use to being by myself all during the week.

During the weekend I did get to go to Target. I LOVE TARGET. I bought Elizabeth two outfits. One is a dress and the other is a shirt and skirt set. I wanted to buy a little dress with a cherry on it but it was missing the bloomers to it. No problem I thought I would just get them to mark it down. Took it up to the customer service desk and asked. They would only take $2 off of it so I said "No Thanks." Geez, half the item was missing!

I need to get some pictures taken and post them. My "Itty Bitty" is awake so I must go.

Friday, July 01, 2005

100 Things About Me

  1. I am 25 years old.
  2. I am married to Thomas, almost 30 years old.
  3. Mommy to Elizabeth, 5 1/2 months old.
  4. I lived in the same town for 22 years.
  5. I've moved 3 times since I got married.
  6. I have a Mini dachshund, Murphy.
  7. I am a Christian.
  8. Stay-At-Home Mommy.
  9. Tried to breastfeed but failed due to stress, lack of sleep.
  10. My daughter was 1 month premature born w/ 2 birth defects.
  11. One is an Omphalocele.
  12. The other is Hemifacial Microsomia, Artesia & Microtia.
  13. I lived at Texas Children's Hospital Houston for 1 month 5 days.
  14. I love photography.
  15. Love animals, although sometimes they get on my nerves.
  16. I am 5 hours away from all of my family.
  17. I was home-schooled during high school.
  18. Sadly I've only done 2 semesters of college.
  19. I would like to have a total of 4 kids but right now 1 seems like enough at times.
  20. I am over-weight.
  21. I hate diets.
  22. Love chocolate.
  23. Enjoy being outdoors.
  24. Hate the heat though.
  25. I am shy and have trouble making new friends.
  26. Have a good personality once you get to know me.
  27. Good sense of humor.
  28. I am 5'8.
  29. This is hard.
  30. I live in a rinky dink town that smells because it is home to a paper mill.
  31. I go to a small church where most of the members could be my grandparents.
  32. They are all great though.
  33. I make most of my daughters baby food. Have you ever tasted jarred Sweet Potatoes? Acidic!
  34. One day I would like to go back to school and get a degree in Photography.
  35. I want to own my own Photo Studio.
  36. I would love to adopt a little girl from China.
  37. I use to play the flute.
  38. I can draw but do not spend much time at it.
  39. I love to cook.
  40. I dislike cleaning up after cooking.
  41. I wonder if anyone will ever read my blog.
  42. I don't think I have ever had a close best friend.
  43. My husband is my best friend.
  44. I would like to have one of those close 'girlfriends'.
  45. I dread the day my daughter has to have surgery for her birth defects.
  46. I want to be the best Mommy I can be.
  47. I miss hanging out with my little sister.
  48. I miss picking on my big brother.
  49. My Christmas tree is still in the living room, in a box.
  50. My husband is sometimes lazy, see above.
  51. I have a temper.
  52. I am working on getting it under control.
  53. I can't believe I am only half way though this.
  54. I met my husband on the internet.
  55. I bought my dog off the internet.
  56. I found my house listed for sale on the internet.
  57. Crazy, huh?
  58. I love E-Bay but have been banned by money conscious husband.
  59. My husband is a great singer.
  60. He is a twin.
  61. I love him very much.
  62. I can dislike things he does a lot.
  63. One day I would like to go to Ireland.
  64. I am scared of flying.
  65. I have never been in a plane.
  66. I don't like it when my husband and I are at odds.
  67. I dislike lying.
  68. I don't like the smell of cigarettes.
  69. I don't like racism of any kind.
  70. I get bored easy.
  71. I need a life.
  72. My tastes are too expensive.
  73. I am scared of my mother-in-law, she is too quiet.
  74. My husband and I started doing devotionals together.
  75. My daughter has a radar on her, it goes off when I try to eat or get on the internet.
  76. She is awake now, see above.
  77. I am typing one-handed, holding my daughter.
  78. I like collecting tea pots, I only have 3 though. Lame collection.
  79. I never have the money for one when I see one I want.
  80. I like frogs, have more of those than I have of tea pots.
  81. I have a really pretty set of china handmade from China that my grandmother got when they were stationed overseas.
  82. I'm not a well organized person.
  83. I wish I were.
  84. I miss my husband when he is at work.
  85. I wonder if he misses me the same.
  86. I want to write and illustrate a children's book.
  87. I am a worrier and a what-if person.
  88. I am a dreamer.
  89. I have a pen fetish, I love writing pens.
  90. I also have a thing for shoes and purses.
  91. My thing for purses has slowed down since my purse is now a diaper bag.
  92. I like just driving down old country roads to see what is down them.
  93. I am a people pleaser.
  94. My cell phone's ring is a baby laughing, people's reactions are funny to watch.
  95. I love being with family.
  96. I hate raw chicken, it makes my skin crawl. The smell, the bacteria...Yuck!
  97. I listen to crying, mad screaming, happy screaming, get drooled on and change diapers all day.
  98. I feel like I never have enough time in a day.
  99. I hope to make a difference in the world.
  100. I want to be the best Mommy, Wife, Christian that I can be!

Glow After the Rain

The area down here where I live has been so dry. We have needed rain very badly. Yesterday we finally had a good hard rain for about 20 minutes. I am not sure how much it helped but it was nice to see that rain still exists. I put Elizabeth in her swing in front of the glass door so she could watch and listen to the rain, give her a change of scenery. After the rain stopped everything outside had a glow about it. The dirt had disappeared and the beauty of everything emerged. It was a peaceful thing to see. I wish I could have captured it on camera but my battery had died earlier in the day.

My little one is asleep in her crib right now. This will be the 2nd time for her to take a nap in it, yesterday was the first time. She is another glow of peace when she is asleep. When she is awake she is a little firecracker non stop.

I've noticed on a lot of other people's blogs they do a "100 Things About Me" post so I thought I would join the masses and do the same. I am not to sure how to do all the things that are possible such as posting links to other blogs and such. I will learn!