Sunday, December 30, 2007

GO TITANS!!!


Woohoo!!! Tennessee Titans beat Indianapolis Colts...16-10!!! San Diego, here we come!!!

We weren't too sure if we could win, but we did! Not too confident of our Playoff future, though. We'll see how far we get.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas Day 2007

Merry Christmas! We've had a pretty good Christmas this year! We did all of our traveling over the weekend so we could stay home today.

On Saturday, we traveled to my dad's and stepmother's. We just relaxed, visited with Dad, Patti (step-mother), Deb (step-sister), Michelle (step-sister) and Jeff (step-brother-in-law) and had a good time. Christopher enjoyed playing with Cooper (step-nephew), who's 13 months older than him. C's been a little interested in Thomas the Train for quite some time, but thanks to Cooper, he's a good bit more interested now. He loves watching Thomas on tv. Unfortunately, we only have 1 recorded show on the DVR (none on DVD) and it only comes on tv on Saturday mornings. I'm getting sick of the same show being played over and over! For dinner, we ate ham, which was really yummy. However, we should've been eating prime rib, but it got delivered to the wrong address! Christopher could've cared less about opening gifts, but he got a rocking horse (Christmas gift), Vtech computer (birthday gift) and a pair of toddler roller skates (birthday gift from my sister, Christy). Although it's for 24+ months, it'll probably be a little while before I let him try the skates just because he isn't the most stable on his feet yet. I forgot my camera, but here's one of him on his rocking horse that I got today:


















Mindy got some, so hopefully she'll forward them on to me. Christopher went all day without a nap and ended up falling asleep on the car ride home. It was torture for all of us trying to get him to bed when we got home! Then, he woke up at 4:00 in the morning and demanded my attention. Not fun!

On Sunday, we went to church where I worked the nursery (my assigned Sunday to work Extended Session). Afterward, we ran home and gathered stuff together and then headed to my mom's. We spent the afternoon down there visiting with her, Cheryl (my aunt), Mindy (my sister), Katie (my niece), Brian (Katie's husband) and Joshua (Katie and Brian's 25 month old son). We ate a ham dinner around 4:00...about the time Christopher decided he needed a nap and pitched a fit. Therefore, he missed eating with us. After dinner and Christopher's nap, we opened gifts. He got several good things, including an Elmo computer, an Elmo chair, a train set (from Katie), some books and an outfit. We headed home later than we'd planned, so Christopher had another late night.

On Christmas Eve, we didn't do much of anything at all. Shad was told on Friday that he could have the day off, which was really nice. Other than going grocery shopping for our Christmas dinner and making a quick trip to Wal-Mart for a couple of things (surprisingly not bad at all), we just lounged around until it was time to head to church for the Christmas Eve service that evening. Since there was no childcare offered, Christopher had to sit with us, which was a first for him. He surprisingly did pretty good for a 2-year old! He had a hard time whispering, but overall, was really well behaved. He was really cute when his friend, Anna Grace, went running after her mom: he yelled after her (while the service was going on), "Anna Grace! Anna Grace!" LOL! It was too funny! After getting home, we decided to use one of our gift cards and ordered a Papa John's pizza for dinner. After Christopher went to bed, Shad informed me that he wanted me to open one of my gifts then since it wasn't the best gift to open in front of your child. It wasn't too bad...just a gift card to Victoria's Secret...for a bra. He said he'd intended to buy me one, but when he got there, he was a bit overwhelmed. LOL! I told him not to worry because *I'm* overwhelmed when *I* walk in there, too! LOL! After I opened my gift, we watched Live Free and Die Hard (the most recent Die Hard movie) and didn't go to bed until around 12:30.

Around 8:30 this morning, I was woken up by Shad saying that Christopher was kicking the wall. It wasn't long before I heard, "Mommy!" so I went to get him up. I walked into his room only to find him sitting on top of his crib railing as happy as a lark! {gasp!} He wasn't even panicking this time! After rescuing him, the first thing he wanted to do was ride his new rocking horse. Then, I was able to convince him to go out to the living room to see what Santa brought him. He walked out and immediately recognized his gift: a Radio Flyer tricycle! I wish I'd had the camera ready for his expression! It was too cute! So, he started riding the thing around the house, went into our bedroom and what do 'ya know...he fell over. :( Poor thing was afraid of it for a little while, but we managed to get him back on later. We all opened gifts right away (yep, still in pj's and bed head!...not too many pictures as a result). Other than his tricycle, Christopher also got an Elmo phone, a bucket of Play-Doh and accessories and a cute little battery-operated race track. My other gift from Shad was Adobe Photoshop Elements (what I was expecting). Unfortunately, I won't be able to use it until we get a new computer in February/March...one that's capable of supporting the program, plus the video editing program, Elements Premiere. Shad's gifts from me were a UT license plate (to replace the one I broke) and a bluetooth adapter for his truck.

Richard came over around 1:30. After Christopher showed Granddaddy what all he'd already gotten, we opened more gifts. From Granddaddy, C got a Play-Doh activity caddy (we've got PLENTY of Play-Doh and accessories now!), a wooden UT Vols rocking chair from Cracker Barrel, a bunch of books and some Elmo dvd's. The really big thing was Shad's gift...a new gas grill! Richard wrapped the grill cover and gave that to Shad to be opened. The actual grill was being stored over at a friend's grandmother's house here in town. So, Shad and I went over and picked it up. Boy, was he surprised when he saw it! I should've had the camera! Here's a picture of it:














Since we'd already had ham 2 nights in a row, we decided to do something different and went with fondue for our Christmas meal. It was so good that I think we want to do that each year. We started off with an appetizer of a cheese mixture (cheddar cheese, mozzerella cheese, Velveeta cheese, pico de gallo and jalapenos). Unfortunately, we only have 1 fondue pot, so Shad just heated it in the microwave. We dipped veggies, tortillas and chips in it. For the main course, we had a flat-iron steak, chicken, shrimp and veggies. It was VERY yummy, but it sure was time consuming! We were so stuffed that we didn't even want to *think* about dessert! LOL! After dinner, Christopher stayed up watching his new DVD from Granddaddy (Elmo Goes Potty) and playing with Play-Doh. He finally went to bed around 8:45.

Shad has to return to work tomorrow, but Christopher and I have nothing planned. I highly doubt we'll venture out since stores will most likely be very crowded with returns and after-holiday sales. I've got some gift cards that I got and want to use, but will probably wait until later this week or sometime next week when crowds might not be so bad.

Here are a few Christmas pictures that were taken:

Grandma, cousin Joshua and Christopher
Christmas at Grandma's

Playing with Aunt Cheryl
Aunt Cheryl and Christopher

Playing with Aunt Mindy, Fritz and Gretchen
Playing with Aunt Mindy

Riding new tricycle from Santa for the first time
Riding new tricycle from Santa

Leading his rocking horse through the house
Leading his horse

Opening gifts with Daddy

Rocking in UT rocking chair from Granddaddy
Rocking in UT rocking chair from Granddaddy

Monday, December 17, 2007

2-Year Check-Up

Poor thing was as happy as could be...until we got called back to the exam room! LOL! He DID NOT like being weighed, measured, or ears, eyes, nose and heart checked! If he only knew that was the EASY part!

He got 1 shot: Hep A. He did as well as could be expected. Cried, of course, and said "Owie, owie, owie!" But settled down quickly when I gave him a sucker.

I asked about the recalled HiB vaccine and was told that the kind C got at his 18 month appt wasn't the same brand, so wasn't affected. Dr. Tammy said that if it had affected him, we would've received a letter in the mail letting us know. That made me feel MUCH better!

Other than a lingering cold, he's healthy! Dr. Tammy gave him a prescription for Zithromax (what we've found to work best with him), so hopefully the cough will soon be gone. Thankfully, his ears are all clear, so no EI's to deal with at the moment!

Here's his stats:

Weight: 23 lbs 8 oz (much lower than I was expecting but ok by Dr. Tammy; I was thinking more like 25 lbs)
Height: 32.75 inches
HC: 48.5 cm

Overall, he's continuing along his normal growth curve, so Dr. Tammy says everything's great!

Except for any sick visits, we don't go back again until his 3-year appointment.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

A Prayer Request

Please pray for my friends, Seth and Cheri. They just lost their almost-2-month old son, Mason, to Meningitis/MRSA on Thursday, December 13. He would've been 2 months old on Friday. :-( I know them from high school and they're both strong Christians. I know they'll make it through, but am so heartbroken over their loss! I can't imagine being in their shoes! I'm definitely VERY thankful for a healthy child and thank God every day!!!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

He's TWO already?!?!

Where's the time gone??? It feels like just yesterday when I was at the hospital preparing for his birth!!!

Today started out like most any other Saturday: we slept until about 7:45 when Christopher woke us up...this time by kicking his wall. I brought him to bed with us where he proceeded to turn on the tv to watch the end of Arthur and then Big Comfy Couch. After getting up, I had to finish getting things ready for the party. I ended up making a last minute trip to Party City (not fun on a Saturday 10 days off from Christmas!) to get some balloons (with Elmo), only to find that Richard ALSO got some balloons (with Elmo)! LOL! Christopher has plenty of balloons!

The party started at 12:00. Guests included: Richard (Grandaddy), Mom (Grandma), Cheryl, Mindy, Alanna and Journie, Jen and Lilly and DH and myself. Sebrina and John Ryan were supposed to come, but they found out this morning that John Ryan has strep throat.

We didn't do anything special for the party; just ate Slick Pig bbq, had cake and attempted to open gifts. Christopher mainly liked spending time and playing with one opened toy at a time. I think it was a bit overwhelming to him to have so much pressure to open so many gifts. Somewhere in the middle, he threw a tantrum, so we took a break for a while.

Gifts included:

- Bath toy set from Alanna and Journie
- TJ Berrytales and a Cookie Monster book from Mom and Cheryl
- A VeggieTales DVD (which we already had), a Rudolph snowglobe and a Grow with Me basketball goal from Richard
- Elmo storybook and doll from Jen and Lilly
- TMX Elmo, Simon Says sit 'n spin and Thomas the Train flashlight from DH and myself

Pretty good, if I do say so myself! He had so many things that he LOVED, that he had a hard time deciding what to play with! It was too funny to watch him go from one toy to another!

I didn't order a cake in time (wanted to get one from Wal-Mart), so I ended up making one myself...and I am NOT a baker!!! However, I think it turned out pretty good. Here's a pic:
















Here's a link to my Photobucket page with the rest of the party pictures (53 total): http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v644/tholloman/2nd%20birthday%20party/

After everyone left, he threw yet ANOTHER tantrum, so went to his room to pout. We noticed he got quiet, so went to check on him and found him ASLEEP on the floor behind the glider! LOL! He's NEVER done that before! DH and I have both even tried to get him to take a nap while laying on the floor and watching a video! I guess it'll only happen on HIS terms!

I gave him about an hour to sleep and then got him up so we could go to dinner atCracker Barrel. He wouldn't eat a bit of his dinner (chicken tenderloin and mac 'n cheese); probably since he'd filled up on tea and milk. Instead, he decided to be a defiant little 2-year old and INSISTED on LICKING the highchair seat belt, the highchair itself and the table!!! I just KNOW in about 2 days, he's going to have some horrible illness (he's already getting over a cold, so hopefully won't get that again)! With my luck, it'll be a stomach bug. After finishing dinner...before leaving...we decided to lounge in the rocking chairs at the entrance. Of course, they had the UT orange rockers (regular AND child-sized), which Christopher LOVED. He went back and forth between the two kiddie chairs there. When it was time to head home, he pitched yet ANOTHER tantrum. Yep, the Terrible 2's have been here for quite a while now. :p

We debated about going by the house in town with the Christmas lights syncronized to music, but since it was getting late and because of Christopher's mood, we decided just to head home. After getting home, Richard left and I gave Christopher a bath with his new bath toys.

He took a while to fall asleep and insisted on taking his new Elmo book with him. He's still dealing with a lingering cough, so I hope that doesn't bother him overnight. I forgot to give him any medicine or honey. :-/

Tomorrow is our normal morning church routine. There's a *small* chance of snow overnight tonight, but I highly doubt we'll get anything worth mentioning. They say the ground's too warm. :-( I can hope, though!

Monday is Christopher's 2-year check-up at 10:00 am. I can't wait to see how much he weighs now. My guess is right around 25 lbs.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Picture Outtakes

I thought I'd post a few outtakes of our Christmas card photo session before we got our "perfect" shot:

Shot #1

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Shot #2

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Shot #3

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Shot #4

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Shot #5

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AND OUR "PERFECT" SHOT - Shot #6:

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Sunday, December 09, 2007

Terrible 2's Are Upon Us!

Well, we've actually been dealing with it for quite some time, but it's really be at full blast lately! He's been cutting his 2-year molars for quite some time now and that hasn't helped any. He's been working on #3 for a week and it's STILL NOT IN!!! I'll be SO glad when they're all through!

I think he's starting his own bedtime ritual. For the most part up until recently, he's been GREAT at going to bed easily! His routine would go as follows: changing his diaper & clothes, giving him a small amount of milk, brushing his teeth, saying "night night" to Daddy, reading a couple of books, saying his bedtime prayer and then going down in his crib while awake. For the past 1-2 weeks now, though, he INSISTS on getting his milk in his room while reading and then me rocking him in the dark until he falls asleep. I deliberately put him down awake all his life so we WOULDN'T start a habit of needing me to rock him to sleep. I don't mind doing that occasionally. I just don't want him to become dependent on it.

He spent Saturday night at Richard's in Nashville and went to church up there this morning. I figured he'd either get a nap on the car ride home after church or after getting home. Unfortunately, he wouldn't have any part of taking a nap AT ALL! As a result, I believe the devil was making an appearance in our household this evening!!! I tried to get him to bed early, but once again, he wanted me to rock him to sleep. However, even though we were sitting in the dark with the radio on and me rocking him and not saying anything, he was still trying to carry on a conversation with me. So, I got fed up and just laid him in his crib. For about 5 minutes, I thought he was going to be fine. Then, he started WAILING. I tried not to go into his room, but since he's now climbing the railing (and getting stuck on top), I was worried, so had to go check. From there, it just all went downhill. I started the bedtime routine around 8:00 tonight and he didn't go to sleep until about 9:15!!! He finally gave it up when I stood up and swayed him while he was holding Big Teddy (the HUGE teddy bear that's now his best buddy thanks to Granddaddy! Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket). That probably took less than 2 minutes! I sure wish it had worked the first time I tried it!

I really hope the cause of him boycotting his naps and not wanting to go to bed is just a phase or a result of his new teeth coming in! I really don't want this to be a new trend!!!

Friday, December 07, 2007

Good News!

Shad got a raise and promotion at work!!! I'm not sure of the details, but he says he thinks it's going to be a lot better for him. They're moving to a new hanger sometime soon, so he'll be in a different office. Not his own, but there'll only be 1 other person compared to 2 others. They're also hiring a new guy to do the grunt work that Shad currently does. I'm *hoping* that'll allow him to take more time off around Christmas instead of having to take it all around Thanksgiving.

Also, here's the Christmas picture that we were able to get the other night. I'll be making Christmas cards out of it and sending them out sometime soon.

Merry Tossmas!

Here's a link to a video clip that I TOTALLY agree with. It's quite humorous!

Merry Tossmas!

Monday, December 03, 2007

It's DECEMBER already?!?!?!

I can't believe it's December already!!!!! Shad and I just celebrated our 7th anniversary, Christopher's turning TWO years old in less than 2 weeks AND Christmas is upon us!!!!!

Football season, for the most part, is done and over with...all except for the bowl game. We were highly dissappointed in UT's loss to LSU on Saturday in the SEC Championship game! It would've made a GREAT anniversary gift! We had it in us to win, but just couldn't pull it off. That seems to be the way UT works. :p

We've bought a few gifts for Christopher's birthday/Christmas, but still have some more to get. So far, from us, he's getting a Radio Flyer tricycle, a TMX Elmo and an Elmo phone. I still want to find a sit 'n spin and some kind of wooden rocking chair for him. I'll probably get a few knick knacks to fit in his stocking as stocking stuffers. He's learning this year who Santa Claus is, but I'm probably skipping out on having pictures done with Santa since I'm sure that would be a disaster.

We attempted Christmas pictures at Portrait Innovations this morning, but that DID turn out to be a disaster. Christopher wouldn't have any part of it. I re-scheduled for later today, but decided to cancel after having time to think about it. If he acted like that in the MORNING, he's surely not going to be any better in the evening! Instead, we're going to attempt a family picture in front of our Christmas tree at home. We've attempted that before when we had Brinkley and it didn't work out too well. Therefore, if it doesn't turn out like I want, our back-up plan is to go to a friend's house and use their fireplace as a backdrop. Hopefully, we'll get some pictures to use on a Christmas card some way!

Other than getting ready for Christmas, Christopher and I have been busy with school. We have 2 more weeks and then have a break for Christmas. Christopher's doing GREAT there and is learning things like CRAZY!!! He's coming home saying stuff that just amazes me! He's saying and recognizing most numbers, letters and shapes and is repeating most words we ask him to say. He's not much with putting long sentences together yet, but can do about a 4 word sentence, so still pretty good.

Mindy (my sister) and I took a quick trip up to Pennsylvania a few weekends ago (November 16-18) for our aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. It was a LONG drive and short stay, but well worth it to see everyone again and be there for my aunt and uncle! Christopher stayed 2 nights with my mom since Shad went to the UT/Vandy ballgame. He had a blast at Grandma's and came home quite spoiled!

Well, that about sums things up around here. I'll end with a few recent pictures of Christopher:

Halloween Costume:
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First time using ear phones:
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Playing at PawPaw's in his UT orange:
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A Temper Tantrum:
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Cheesing for the camera in between fits:
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Acting so sweet while playing on Mommy and Daddy's bed:
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Playing "night night" on Mommy and Daddy's bed:
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Picking up sticks with Daddy:
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School picture:
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Thanksgiving Day at MawMaw and Great-Granddaddy's:
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Sunday, October 28, 2007

Time to Catch Up!

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been keeping super busy! Here's how my schedule basically looks:

Monday - my only consistenly free day in the week
Tuesday - preschool from 8:30-2:30
Wednesday - work church nursery for a women's bible study in the morning from 9-12, back to church in the evening to work the nursery for evening activites
Thursday - preschool from 8:30 - 2:30
Every 2nd and 4th Friday - work childcare for MOPS from 8:45-11:45.
Saturday - UT Vols football games
Sunday - church in the morning and evening (work the nursery for evening activities)

Of course, the rest of the time, I'm dealing with Christopher and then family time in the evenings.

Today is the 1 year anniversary of Brinkley's death. :( I thought I'd have a more difficult time than I actually did. It's been a lot harder for me with the anniversary approaching. Last night was hard and I cried some, but I kept pretty busy today, so didn't have much time to dwell. I've been having some thoughts lately of getting another dog. Christopher's proven that he would do really good with one. Plus, I still want him to grow up with a dog. It's mainly Shad who's still dragging his feet. I do still have some fear of something happening to that dog, so am not pushing the subject now.

Like I mentioned above in the schedule, we keep busy on Saturdays with the UT Vols football games. I decided to go to the one yesterday against South Carolina even though it was a late game (6:45 pm central kick-off). I would normally stay home because of Christopher. However, we decided to spend the night at my dad's. He and my stepmother babysat Christopher while Shad, Richard and I went to the game. Boy, was it worth going to!!!!! We ended up winning 27-24 in overtime!!! We really didn't deserve to win since we played like crap, but a win is a win...especially against Spurrier!!! Next week is homecoming against Louisianna-Lafayette. However, my dad and stepmother won't be available to babysit, so I'm staying home. I was already thinking about skipping it since it's only homecoming and we've got 2 more weeks of home games right after that plus 1 more week before the end of the season. I'll have plenty more opportunities to go again.

Friday was Shad's 32nd birthday. He's been dreading birthdays for the last couple of years and this one was no exception. To top it off, he had a crappy day at work. It started off by him spilling coffee on his computer, which proceeded to display fireworks! Thankfully for him, though, the on-site repairman was able to fix it. Hopefully, it's still working when he goes in on Monday! We've sorta been celebrating (his birthday) over the last week or so. Last Friday (October 19), we took advantage of our church's Kids Night Out and dropped Christopher off for a couple of hours while Shad and I had a date night. We went to dinner at Fuji's (a Japanese hibatchi restaurant) and then to browse the brand new outdoor mall, The Avenue. On his actual birthday, we just did our usual Pizza Night at home since we went out the week before. I gave him two out of three of his gifts: a round of golf and an oversized blanket (to use while watching tv). Unfortunately, the blanket wasn't really any bigger than the ones we already have, so we're returning it to Old Time Pottery. I'll let him pick something else out instead. His third birthday gift, a pair of Bolle sunglasses, have been ordered and should arrive sometime this week. We didn't really do much celebrating on Saturday like we'd planned. We were originally going to tailgate in the park before the game, but since Shad didn't want to do the cooking (he's the only one who knows how to use a grill) and because of the drop in temperatures (not horrible, but a little chilly), he chose to eat at Moe's on the strip by the stadium instead. It was really yummy! We still had some time to chill and ended up hanging out at Moe's for quite a while and watched Georgia beat Florida. That helped UT out tremendously!

Well, it's bedtime, so time to end for now. I'll try to post some pictures sometime soon.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Left Behind

I feel blah today. Not physically, just emotionally. This is the second Saturday this football season that I've been left behind while Shad went to the Vols game in Knoxville. He took Jeff with him and met Richard in Lebanon. Last I spoke to them, they'd just finished eating at Moe's and were about to head to the stadium.

I don't like the late games at all. If there are anymore, I'm just going to suck it up and let Christopher spend the night at my mom's. He'll just have to miss church the next day and my mom and Cheryl will have to promise not to smoke around him. He'll be okay, though. Christopher needs that time with my mom, Cheryl and Mindy. He gets so much time with Richard and it's not fair to my mom that she doesn't get that opportunity.

In 2 weeks, we play Georgia in Knoxville. Of course, we don't know the time yet. I can't stand that they wait until the WEEK OF to announce the time! That totally goes against The Planner in me!

I put Christopher down for a nap around 1:30 and he'll probably sleep until about 4:30. We were supposed to meet a friend at the park after the guys left this morning, but that fell through. I do need to make a trip to Wal-Mart and will probably do that after Christopher wakes up. My friend, Sebrina, is working tonight at Arby's so I told her that we'd probably swing by there for dinner. She's a manager and told me to let her know I'm there before I place my order so she can give me a discount. That's so nice of her! Every little bit helps!

School's going well. Christopher's doing GREAT and is the "old pro" in his class. Out of 6 of them total, he's the only one who's a member of our church. There is another little boy a couple months younger than Christopher who comes occasionally, but his parents aren't members. He's the one who's having the most difficulty. In fact, his mother even comes to get him before naptime since "that would just be too traumatic for him." Before I'd had the little boy in the nursery a few months ago (when I still worked down there on Sunday mornings), the mother had NEVER left him with anyone else. Yes, he's the couple's first child.

He's a perfect example of why I started leaving Christopher in the church nursery from an early age. Christopher got his first taste at 8 weeks old. In the beginning, it was only for 2 hours on Sunday mornings and he's always been left with people that I completely trust, so that made it easier on me. A few months ago, I went ahead and moved him into the 2-3 year old class on Wednesday and Sunday nights since he was getting into too much trouble in the baby room (0-2 year olds are in one room with the 2-3 year olds in another). Therefore, that had him being left with someone else for about 5 hours a week, but he transitioned very well. He now spends those 5 hours in the church nursery, plus 10 hours a week at preschool and 6 hours a month in the MOPS nursery...a total of about 16.5 hours a week. However, I can now see how much good it's done him to be left on occasion. He's so much more independedent than his peers who aren't left with anyone other tham Mama, Daddy or a relative. When I drop him off in the nursery, he typically waltzes right in like he owns the place, starts playing and doesn't even notice when I leave. That makes things SO much easier on me than having to pry him off of me while he's screaming like it's the end of the world!

I finally finished Christopher's "About Me" photo album and turned it into his teacher on Tuesday. I think I did a pretty good job. I even included a picture of Shad's mom, Sandy, and one of Brinkley. I put them on the "Memorial" page. His teacher, Ms. Brenda, started doing a "Star of the Week" this past week. Each week, they'll focus on the "star's" photo album. I wish I could be a fly on the wall in that class on more than one occasion.

The assistant teacher, Ms. Tracey, is leaving after Tuesday. She's pregnant and due in December and is taking an early maternity leave. It's mainly a result of the hardship she's dealing with after finding out that her baby probably doesn't have a left ventricle to the heart. She did say, though, that even if everything was perfect with the baby, she'd still probably leave early as it's getting so much more difficult for her to work with the children.

My class is doing well. We only have a couple of criers and one of those has missed 3 days already. It's only going to be that much more difficult on her when she returns (if she returns) this week. We have Fall Break the following week (Oct. 1-5). Naptime is primarily her most difficult time. If she'd just come regularly, she'd more than likely get used to things within a month. At least, that's the experience of Teresa, the teacher I work with.

Well, Christopher should be waking up soon, so I'd better go make sure that I'm ready to run our errands so I just have to worry about him.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Crappy Evening

Just wanted to vent...

This evening was one of the worst in a long time! All was fine during the day...great weather, Christopher was in a good mood, I was in a good mood. Then, I left for church.

As I was driving down the road, I got pulled over for speeding. Thankfully, the cop let me off with a verbal warning, but it still sucked and scared me to death! It's only the 2nd time in my life that I've ever been pulled over. The last time was before Shad and I got married, so about 7 years ago. I got a verbal warning that time, too.

Then, I had a crappy night working in the nursery. We ended up having a couple of extra kids than normal. We typically only have a 15 month old (very good but very busy) and an almost-12 month old (very high maintenance and cries frequently) with a 17 month old (perfect angel but definitely a boy) coming in halfway through. This time, though, we ended up with a 5 month old and a 3 or 4 month old, too. I was holding the 3/4 month old and noticed he was gassy...or what I thought was gas. I lifted the baby up to set him on the floor and noticed that it was not gas at all, but POOP, which GOT ALL OVER MY SHIRT, SHORTS AND LEGS!!!!! I just wanted to cry! It was SO nasty! Thank goodness I'm a mother already or I would've TOTALLY puked! Since I've been there, done that, I didn't even gag, although my co-worker was (she's been in childcare for a long time, but isn't a mother herself). She was nice enough to take care of the baby while I cleaned myself up. Needless to say, as soon as we got done and I picked up Christopher, we went straight home where I removed my nasty clothes, pre-treated them and threw them in the laundry! Thankfully, after going through the wash, my shorts didn't stain (they're khaki, so I was worried about them)!

I'm really hoping that tomorrow will be better, although it's going to be another busy one. After being at church most of the day for school, I have to go back to work the nursery for a Life Group's bible study in the evening. I'm afraid Christopher's going to get burned out from being there too much, so I'm leaving him home with Shad. Shad and Christopher need some time together. They haven't seen much of each other the last few days since Shad's been working some overtime and then we had church tonight. I'll be home in time to put Christopher to bed.

Off to bed to end this crappy day!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Potty Training???

I guess I can say that we've sorta started potty training! :-/ We have both a seat that sits atop our regular toilet and a training potty for Christopher to use. However, I'm encouraging the regular toilet more often so as to not have to deal with a transition (not to mention the fact that I see more "accidents" happening on his training potty since he's a boy and the angle has to be just right). I started setting Christopher on the big potty about a month or two ago, but only tried a few times. I never really did much other than set him on it. Over the last week, I've sat him on it at least once a day. He seems very curious, but hasn't actually done anything. He can say "potty," "pee pee" and "wee wee." He's constantly following Shad and me to the bathroom when we go and says, "Potty!" He even followed a little girl to the bathroom at church on Sunday night while saying, "Potty!", which had the teacher quite impressed. I'm still not pushing anything by any means since he's not even 2 yet. I just ask him, "Do you need to go potty?" I then take him to the bathroom, set him on the toilet, give him a minute or two until he says, "All done!" and then take him off. At this point, he mainly likes to play with the little "boy guard" and himself. LOL! I don't expect anything to happen anytime soon. That being said, I'm sure a lot of it is timing on my part. If I just so happen to time it right and he does actually go, I'm going to be giving LOTS of praises!

Another sign that makes me think Christopher's close to being ready to be potty trained is that he can tell me when he's dirty. As soon as he'd pooped in his diaper this morning before school (just as we were walking out the door, of course), he held his rear end and ran right to his bedroom. There was no mistaking what THAT meant! I'm sure him telling me BEFORE he has to go will take a good while longer, so I'm not even thinking that far ahead yet. I'll just slowly work on getting him to pee in the potty for now.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

The First Week of Preschool

Christopher and I survived our first week of school! The first day (Tuesday) went very smoothly. Christopher waltzed right into his class like an old pro. It's his normal Sunday School room, so he's very familiar with it. As for naptime, I was told that he was the FIRST to go to sleep! All my worries were for nothing! LOL! However, he only slept for about an hour (compared to his normal 2-3 hours). He acted like he needed another one after we got home. I put him in his crib, but he only played for about an hour and then was ready to get up. He was fine the rest of the evening, though.

In my class (2-year olds), we only had 2 crying children to deal with and that only lasted about the first 20-25 minutes. The only other time we had any issues was at naptime and that only involved 2 girls. One didn't want to go lay down, but once she was on her mat, she was fine and went to sleep pretty quickly. The other girl started crying as soon as I tried to get her to lay down and continued to cry for the next 20-30 minutes. I just sat beside her and rubbed her back and she eventually went to sleep.

On Thursday, Christopher cried when I left him, but that was only because I messed up. I let him go into his classroom to kill time until our devotion (which we try to hold a few minutes before kids are due to arrive). He came looking for me, so since I was finished in my classroom, I went and sat in his room while he played. Well, another little girl playing in there decided to go look for her mom who went down the hall for a minute. Since we don't let the kids wander the hallways alone and she was PERSISTANT, I went with her. By the time I headed back to Christopher's classroom, though, parents started to arrive (earlier than they were supposed to). Therefore, I had to get back to my classroom and didn't get to say goodbye to Christopher. He watched me walk out, so that really upset him. I felt so bad and just wanted to go in to calm him down, but knew me leaving again would only make matters worse. Once he's distracted, he typically calmes down. Plus, I figured if I was needed, his teacher (Ms. Brenda) would page me. I never heard anymore about it, so he must've calmed down fairly quickly.

For his nap that day, I was told that he was the LAST to go to sleep this time. LOL! Thankfully, he never did fuss. He just rolled all over the floor and couldn't go to sleep. Ms. Brenda told me that she even tried to rock him, but he only layed there talking and pointing out all the other kids who were sleeping. He eventually fell asleep on the floor (off his mat, of course) and ended up sleeping for a little over an hour. I had to wake him up after all the kids in my class left.

Both of the nights after his long and busy days he slept GREAT! In fact, Thursday night, he ended up sleeping 12-1/2 hours STRAIGHT!!! I don't think he's EVER done that! Since he typically needs about 13 hours of sleep per day (nighttime and naps), he only needed about a 30-45 minute nap on Friday. We went down to Tullahoma to see Mom, Mindy and Cheryl, so that came in very handy. He did perfectly fine until just before we went to leave. He got about a 45 minute nap on the way home.

Our homework this weekend is putting together his photo album titled, "All About Me." I've been taking pictures of relatives and friends and now just need to figure out which ones to print and how I'm going to arrange them. I also need to include pictures/magazine clippings/etc. of his favorite toys (books and balls), tv characters (Elmo) and anything else that he really likes. I might even get a picture of spaghetti since that seems to be his favorite meal! LOL!

I've taken on another endeavor...helping teach a MOPS class at another local church. I've already filled out paperwork and am due to start this Friday (Sept. 14). I've been told that I'm needed in the 4 & 5 year old class. Thankfully, it's only 2 days a month...every 2nd and 4th Friday, for 3 hours in the morning. It's not a whole lot of extra money, but every little bit helps.

In addition to that, work at my own church nursery is picking up. I do the New Member's Class each month, we've got a Parents' Night Out coming up in addition to some Bible study nights. I'm not sure yet if I'll be able to work them all and need to discuss it with Shad first. Tomorrow, my schedule includes our regular church routine in the morning, go home to change clothes, I'll go back to church to work the nursery for the New Member's Class for approximately 2 hours (if any kids show up), go home for a few hours and then go back to church for the evening activites, which include my Discovery U class the first hour and then back down to the nursery for the second hour. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me!

Shad is on his way home from the Vols game in Knoxville. They played Southern Mississippi and won 39-19. Unfortunately, it didn't start until 6:00 pm central time (too late to have Christopher out) and it was on pay-per-view, so I didn't get to see it at all. He's not due to arrive home until about 2:00 or 3:00 am. He is SO going to be dragging his butt in the morning! I've already told him that I don't want to hear him complain when he has to get up for church at 7:00 am! I won't have ANY sympathy for him since he got to go while I was stuck at home!

Since we couldn't go, Christopher and I stayed home and were BORED. I thought we'd be getting together with a friend and her son, but my friend ended up having to work. We did manage to make a trip to Wal-Mart, though, where I had a ditzy moment. After shopping, I decided to get dinner at McDonald's. I placed the order, went to get our drinks and LEFT WITHOUT THE FOOD! Doh! I realized it as I was driving off (before leaving the parking lot), so turned around to go back. The manager was there waiting for me with my food. LOL!

I guess I'll stop rambling now. It's bedtime and Christopher just started crying. The tv probably woke him up. Oops!

Saturday, September 01, 2007

IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!!!!!

Football season HAS begun! Tennessee is playing Cal at Cal and is getting beat up pretty badly. It's a totally different ballgame compared to last year's! We're just not playing like we should. Right now, it's 31-38 in the 4th quarter. :p

Next weekend (Sept. 8), we play So. Miss. in Knoxville. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make that game or the Arkansas State game on Sept. 22 since they don't start until 7:00 pm central time. Too late to have Christopher out. It's a 3-hour drive each way, plus a 3-1/2 or 4 hour game, so Shad and Richard will be getting home VERY late (approximately 3:00 or 4:00 am)!!! And Shad thinks he'll be getting up for church by 7:00 in the morning? Ha!

The first few games never feel like it's football season with the weather still being warm. This year is no exception. We finally had a break in the heat wave this week with highs being right around 90 compared to 100+. I can't believe that lasted for about a month straight! We broke several records! To top it off, we're WAY below average on rainfall, too. I think this is the dryest Summer on record!

Christopher and I start school this Tuesday. I'm looking foward to getting out of the house and making a little extra money, but it's going to be an adjustment for both of us. I got an e-mail today from a friend from church asking if I'd be interested in being an assistant teacher at a MOPS program at another church in town. It would only be from 8:45-11:45 on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month. I went ahead and agreed to it. I'm suppposed to be receiving a call from the director within the next few days so will get details then.

Labor Day is coming up on Monday. Shad's off work, but the only plans I've made are with the MTM's (Middle TN Mommies). We're meeting at a park down the street at 10:00 am for a playdate and picnic lunch. Other than that, it'll probably be like any other Saturday for us. I'm looking forward to this playdate since there will be a few ladies/kids who don't normally join us for playdates since they work during the week. In fact, there will be a couple of kids that Christopher never has played with, so we'll see how he does.

Ugh! Cal scored another touchdown, so it's now 31-45 and the ballgame is almost over. I think I want to go to bed now! I'll end here with a few pictures of Christopher:

In my hat and Fall Creek Falls shirt at church























Looking at a Praying Mantis with Aunt Mindy
















In my swim gear at the lake

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Heat Wave and Drought!

Well, today will probably be the 14th straight day of 100+ degree temperatures. :p It'll also be the 22nd straight day of temps over 95 degrees. This is definitely the hottest August on record...ever! Add to the heat the lack of rain (we're 14.30 inches below normal for the year) and things are pretty bad around here. Shad said that he's only mowed *maybe* 5 times this Summer. That's it. Our grass is so damaged that we're afraid to even WALK on it. There are a few weeds that have grown tall enough that they need to be trimmed, but Shad won't do it for fear of damaging the rest of the grass. I figure, "What the heck? The grass is already dead!"

The lack of rain is so bad that some cities have enforced water restrictions. Thankfully, Murfreesboro isn't one of them. One recent enforcement involved farmers not being able to use city water for their crops and livestock. I consider that animal abuse, in my opinion! If they don't have access to ponds or they don't sell off the livestock, their animals are going to die! The city of Franklin is lacking so much water that if something major happens (lack of power, big fire, etc.), they'll be in big trouble. We really need rain!

I can't remember the last time I took Christopher outside to play. A few mornings here and there (if we're up early enough and have nothing else to do), we've gone for a walk before the heat kicks in. Other than that, getting in and out of the car and walking to the mailbox to check the mail, this child isn't getting any other outdoor time. I really can't wait for Fall! With our luck, though, we'll go straight from Summer to Winter. :p Then, we'll be stuck inside because it's too COLD outside. That's the South for 'ya!

Trip to the Doctor's Office

Christopher's been battling allergies, which turned into a cold for a couple of weeks now. The snotty nose went away last week sometime, but the cough has been lingering, so since it's been over 2 weeks, I called and made him an appointment for this morning. Dr. Tammy didn't diagnose him with anything specific, but said that the nose was still congested and the cough was probably from the drainage. So, she gave him a prescription for an antibiotic. Her first choice, Amoxicillin, was ruled out since Christopher's allergic to it. Her next choice was going to be Omnicef, but I mentioned that it was the Azithromyacin (Z-pack) that finally knocked out the last ear infection, so we went with that instead. He only takes it for 5 days, so his last dose will be on Friday.

For the weight check, he got to use the Big Kid scale instead of the baby scale! It was his first time. He was a little unsure about it, but stood long enough to get his weight, which was 23 lbs. Yep, he's still on the small side. I measured him at home with a tape measure this past weekend and he's about 31-1/2 inches tall, which is only a 1/2 inch difference from his 18 month appointment. I guess the growth spurts slow down around this age, so I shouldn't be surprised that he didn't grow much in the last 2 months.

Preparing For the Start of Preschool

Over the last few weeks, I've been busy preparing for preschool to start. Back on Saturday, August 4, the whole staff participated in a conference for church-based preschool teachers. Thankfully, it was held at a church here in town, so didn't require traveling anywhere.

However, that just happened to be the day that Shad decided to go camping with the guys, so I asked my mom to come stay Friday night and babysit Christopher on Saturday for me. Christopher did great and they ended up having a really good time together.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually enjoyed the conference and wasn't totally bored out of my mind! We all started off in a class with other teachers of the age-group we'll be teaching. I'm going to be working with 2-year olds, so was with my co-worker, Teresa, in the 2-year old teacher's class. In the afternoon, we split up into the elective classes. I chose to take one about biting and another about art.

We then had a break until this week when we decorated our classrooms. Teresa and I met on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 8:30-1:00. I brought Christopher along, but found that it was quite difficult when there weren't other kids around for him to play with! I got a few things accomplished, but Christopher kept demanding my attention (getting hurt, wanting me to play with him, etc.), so Teresa ended up doing a lot of the work. Next time I have to do something like that, I'm going to find someone to watch Christopher for me. Thankfully, we finished everything on Wednesday, so don't have to go back until tonight.

We have Open House tonight and tomorrow night from 6:30-8:00. I'll get to meet all the parents (and hopefully kids) and they'll get to pick up information from us.

I already know Christopher's teacher, Mrs. Brenda, since we go to church with her and she's watched Christopher before. Since I'll be busy in the 2-year old class during Open House, I went ahead and picked up my folder of information yesterday. I've found that there are a few more things I need, so will have to get those tonight afterall. One thing I'll have to do before we start on September 4 is to pick up a copy of Christopher's shot record. I wish that I'd known that earlier since we were just there on Monday. They can probably mail it to me, though.

After we're finished with Open House, I think we're done until school starts on Tuesday, September 4. I just realized yesterday that it's less than 2 weeks away! I'm excited and am looking forward to starting. It'll be sort of a new experience for me, so I'll have a lot to learn. Christopher will have a rough first few weeks during naptime since he's not used to sleeping on a mat, but in a crib instead. Plus, he's also not used to sleeping in a room with other people, so that'll probably be hard for him. I just hope that I won't be able to hear him while I'm in my classroom! I've got a feeling that he may have to come home and finish his nap for the first few times. We'll just play it by ear, though.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

House Hunting?

Shad found out a couple of weeks ago from a co-worker that there's a place in Lascassas (just outside M'boro city limits) up for sale. It's a double-wide on about 6 acres of land. We really want to buy something in that area with about that much land, so jumped right away. I was pretty skeptical about the fact that it was a double-wide and not a regular house as mobile homes tend to be tornado magnets. I kept an open mind, though, when we went to look at it.

The first thing I noticed was that it's on a permanent brick foundation, which nullifies my fear of safety. According to a friend, as long as it's bolted into the brick foundation, it's no different than a house.

DH and I both really liked the place. However, DH could've cared less about the actual house as he was most concerned about the land. We eventually would want to build our own house on the property, but we'd still have to live in the double-wide until then, which would probably be quite a few years.

The house has 3 bedrooms/2 baths, a living room and a den and a really nice kitchen. I like the idea of a separate living room and den; I could designate one room as a playroom. I love that all except the kitchen and back entryway/laundry area are carpeted since I'm so sick of hardwood floors! The master bedroom is on the opposite side of the house as the other 2 bedrooms, which would be good for us. ;) It has a walk-in closet (yay!) and a master bath with a jacuzzi tub and stand-up shower. It has a separate nook in the kitchen for a computer setup, so we wouldn't have to worry about a computer room or our big 'ol computer desk. I'm wanting to get rid of that thing anyway.

Unfortunately, the price is WAY out of our range. After speaking to the owner, we learned that the contract with the realtor is almost up and that the owner would be willing to negotiate when that happens. We still don't think it's something we could afford. First of all, I think they're asking WAY too much. We haven't done any research, but I think it's not even close to the appraised or even market value. But, what do I know?

With as much as we both want to buy a house on a decent-sized plot of land in Lascassas, I'm not sure that now's the right time. We probably shouldn't have even gone to look at the house and property, but we couldn't help ourselves. Maybe, if we're lucky, we can be out there by the time Christopher starts kindergarten as we really want him to go to Lascassas School (elementary and middle). That's about 5 years away (he'll be about 4 months shy of his 6th birthday), so we've got some time.

Softball season has started again. This time, it's co-ed. We were supposed to have our first game last week, but it was cancelled beforehand since a team dropped out. So, our first game was then supposed to be this past Tuesday...a double-header. However, I found out on Sunday that the schedule had changed again. Our first game was then scheduled for this past Monday at 8:30 instead of Tuesday and it was only a single game. Well, our whole team showed up only to sit and wait for the other team to NOT show up...not a single player. >:( I'm sure with all the schedule changes, they were probably just not aware of when they should've been there. However, I was still pretty aggravated since me being there meant missing Christopher's bedtime. A few of the people on my team wanted to hold a practice instead, but the majority of us threw that idea out! Even at about 9:00 (the previous game went late), it was TOO HOT! I broke a sweat just sitting down waiting for our game! I really wasn't looking forward to playing in that heat! Our next (first?) game is next Tuesday (Aug. 28). However, they need a guy to sub and have a few girls they can call, so when they asked if Shad could play, I just told them to count on him but get another girl to replace me. If it were earlier, we might both could've played, but since it's another 8:30 game (Christopher's bedtime), one of us has to stay home. So, Shad will play in the next game and I'll stay home, but that's fine with me as long as it stays as hot as it's been!

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

2007 World Breastfeeding Awareness Week - August 1-7

Today, August 1, starts the 2007 World Breastfeeding Awareness Week. I've decided to take part by adding a logo and link on the side of my blog and adding this entry.

Breastfeeding is so natural and a wonderful thing to provide babies! There are still SO many people out there that are uneducated and resort to formula because "they just don't know." I, personally, was unfamiliar with it and didn't know many people firsthand who had ever breastfed. My mother formula-fed all three of her children, so she couldn't offer any advice. In addition to Lactation Consultants at our local hospital, I was lucky to have an online message board (Waiting Women) where I could go for help. Thankfully, I didn't have any problems adjusting to our new temporary lifestyle. Christopher was a champion nurser from Day 1 and I had no discomfort at all. I only had 1 minor hurdle down the road, but overcame that quite easily. However, many women aren't that lucky and have a hard time learning how it all works. Those same women are more likely to give up when they get frustrated. That's where they desperately need all the help and support they can get!

Formula companies seem to have the upper hand. Sure, they say, "Breast is best," but they're ultimately trying to sell their product...formula. I absolutely understand that there are women out there unable to breastfeed and that have to resort to formula. However, I also believe that a woman should at least TRY to breastfeed before giving up.

I was fortunate to breastfeed Christopher until he was almost 17 months old. I only gave it up when I wanted to switch to my regular birth control pill (was told by my doctor that I could go back on it after I'd weaned). Only after I'd almost finished weaning Christopher did I learn that the only side effect of taking regular birth control pills while breastfeeding is a possible decrease in milk supply. If I'd known that BEFORE weaning Christopher, I'd have taken my chances!

We've come a long way in promoting breastfeeding! However, we still have a long way to go! Let's continue to spread the word!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Softball Tournament Final Results

Well, does this answer the question, "How did Third Baptist Church do in the tournament?"





















Yep, WE WON 1ST PLACE!!!!!! That's me on the front row on the far left.

For our first game, we played World Outreach Church and barely squeezed by in that game. We won 8-7. We started out really good, but it just got ugly from there. It's the win that counts, though! I was the lead-off batter and while running to 1st base (just after stepping on the base), the ball hit me in the ankle and left a nasty purple bruise. After scoring, I went into the dugout and put ice on it pretty quickly, which helped a lot. At least it's not purple anymore. I don't even remember how I did batting during that game. It's all a blur. I DO remember that we had too many get past us in the field. :p We weren't about to make that same mistake in the championship game!

For our 2nd game, we ended up playing Lady Elite (surprise, surprise!) since they won their playoff game and made it into the championship game. We won 8-4 (not by 1 run...YAY!). Boy, was that a VERY SERIOUS game! Oh my goodness! I haven't seen ballplaying like that since my sister played on tournament teams when she was 14, 15, 16 years old! The other team was actually purposely walking a few of our batters just to keep the force outs (which was mainly me :p). Thankfully, it didn't do them any bit of good since the next batter that was allowed to bat, had a good hit, so got me home with no problem. Of course, the game wasn't easy AT ALL! We fought with all we had and, thankfully, it paid off!

As far as hitting for me...I did pretty good. Nothing extraordinary, but I DID burn the leftfielder a little. She was playing me too shallow (wasn't expecting me to hit it there since I'd been hitting it up the center all night), so it went over her head, but she was fast and had an arm, so I only got a double out of it. I can't remember if I ended up scoring or not, though. I came in a few times during that game.

Out in the field, the only action that I really had was 1 fly ball that I caught. Otherwise, I think I stopped a grounder and got it into 2nd no problem.

Here's a picture of everybody taken before our games:





















Back Row (L-R): Danielle (LF), Jessica R. (RF), Kimberly (LCF), Lindsey (C/Sub/bookkeeper), Ashley (coach), Jessica F. (DH/Sub/bookkeeper), Robbie (1st), Sonya (1st/Sub), Jessica B. (DH)

Front Row (L-R): Caresa (SS/2nd), Tami (RCF), Rachel (C), Meagan (2nd/SS), Mary Beth (3rd), Kelly (P/coach)

So, softball season is now over...until co-ed in the Fall, anyway! Shad and I were always subs in previous years until I was asked to be a regular player last year. I don't know if I'll be a regular player this year, too, or not. I know that Shad would really like to play more this Fall than he did last year. I guess we'll see when that time comes. I have about a 2 month break.

We'll have an end-of-the-season cookout for our championship team at some point soon. Probably in the next couple of weeks. It'll be nice to socialize with all my teammates while not playing a game!

Now that softball's over with, I don't know what I'm going to do. That was my main source of exercise! Oh well...I'm still getting some upper-leg exercises at Christopher's swim lessons! LOL!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Second Night of Ballgames

So, tonight we played Lady Elite. Drum roll please.......WE WON!!!!!! :D Of course, it was only by 1 run, but WE WON!!!!! The score was 5-4 and THANKFULLY we were home team! We went into the last inning leading 5-2, but they had a rally on 2 outs (surprise, surprise) and scored 2 runs. Luckily, we got that last out because they had a runner on 2nd AND 3rd. Whew!

K was back and said that she was okay. She played pretty darn good, too, for having a knot on her head! She was wearing a ball cap tonight, though. I don't blame her! If it were me, I probably would've gone out and bought a batting helmet today!

I can't really remember how I did batting. I think my short-term memory is going. LOL! I do know that I got on a few times...had a pop fly once (they caught it) and got a double once. I did make a stupid decision to try to score when there was only 1 out. I was on third, someone else was on 2nd and nobody was on 1st, so the other team had to tag me. The ball was hit to the 3rd baseman or short-stop and STUPID me didn't even wait for her to try to throw it. Duh! I don't know how to slide (was never taught, but wish I could!), so didn't even stand a chance. :p Oh well...lesson learned.

We had to hang out a little while after the game to find out what time we play on Thursday. Lady Elite was playing World Outreach Church. We found out that we want Lady Elite to WIN (Blah!), which will give us 1st seed since we beat them. If I have it figured out correctly, if Lady Elite beats World Outreach, this would be the standings: 1st seed - US (1 loss).....2nd seed - Lady Elite (1 loss).....3rd seed - St. Rose Catholic Church (2 losses).....4th seed - World Outreach Church (2 losses). I think there's a really good chance that Lady Elite will win tonight, so if that does happen, we'll play World Outreach at 6:30 on Thursday night. If we win that game, we'll play in the championship game at 8:40 (most likely against Lady Elite). After those games, we'll be completely finished for the season. Of course, I could end up playing co-ed in the Fall, though.

Christopher has his 2nd swim lesson tomorrow afternoon. I'm hoping he starts to get used to things and does better. After swimming, we have church in the evening. I'll update again on Thursday or Friday with the results of the tournament!

Monday, July 09, 2007

First Night of Ballgames

So, tonight I played in two ballgames for the tournament that we're in this week. Our first game was at 6:30 against World Outreach Church. They had 2 teams during the regular season and I think they combined the best players from each team to create the tournament team. They beat us 9-4. We really just didn't play like we could/should.

Our second game was supposed to be at 8:40, but it didn't start until 9:00. Blah! We played St. Rose Catholic Church. They're the team that beat us in our last regular season game because we just didn't give a darn. We already had 2nd place secured, several of our really good players were missing and it was VERY hot. Tonight was TOTALLY different, though! We won 19-9! I even got a homerun! I hit the ball down the right sideline and burned the right-fielder. Nobody really expects little 'ol me (a right hander) to hit it like that, so I definitely caught them off guard! My homerun wasn't the only one either. Two other girls on my team also had one.

Unfortunately, one of our players got hit in the forehead. She was running from 1st to 2nd base and had reached the base with no problem. However, the outfielder fired it into the 2nd baseman, who missed the ball, which hit our player in the head. She said she was okay, but everybody was concerned that she had a concussion. There just happened to be a nurse who works at the hospital watching, so she came and looked at K's head. K didn't show any signs of having a concussion, but the nurse advised her to go to the ER anyway. K decided against it, though, and went home early. Since K lives alone, our coach called to make sure she got home okay. Even though she seems tough, I don't expect her to be at tomorrow night's game.

Yep, we have another game tomorrow night at 7:30. This time, it's against Lady Elite...the team that beat us by ONE frickin' run in both a scrimmage and the regular season! >:( We had them beat in both games, but they came back in the last inning and won. We are OUT FOR BLOOD now!!!

Whether we play on Thursday or not depends on the standings after tomorrow night's games. The first seed team plays the fourth seed at 6:30. The second seed team plays the third seed at 7:30 and the championship game is at 8:40 (more like 9:00). We don't really care what seed we are just as long as we don't have to play against Lady Elite again!

I'll update after tomorrow night's games.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Christmas in July

Oh. My. Goodness! Richard (FIL) proclaimed it to be Christmas in July last night when he was here for his weekly visit. He brought 2 big Toys 'R Us bags with toys for Christopher! As if we don't already have enough to trip over! He gave Christopher a toy golf club set because he wants him to be the next Tiger Woods (who started playing at 18 months old). *rolls eyes* Christopher seemed to do really well when shown how to use the clubs. However, he seems to prefer to hold items like that (and crayons, pencils, etc.) up at the very tip top, so we'll have to work on teaching him the correct way to hold things (eventually).

Richard also gave Christopher a Leapfrog Little Leaps (baby version of Leap Pad), but we can't get it set up since the manual doesn't include the code for our DVD player. >:( And of course, we figured this out about 15 minutes after the company closed! Therefore, I'll have to call them on Monday (as if I don't already have enough to do).

A tug boat that came with a Little Golden Book called Scuffy was the next gift. We'll probably make Scuffy a pool toy since he already has a boat for the bathtub.

Hmmm... what else? Oh, a cute little watering pail-type bucket for him to play with in the pool and/or bathtub. He LOVES to play with buckets, cups, etc. and water!

Richard also included a container of animal crackers for Christopher, a bag of Sour Patch Kids cotton candy and a bag of sour gummy candy from Cracker Barrel for me (can you tell I like sour candy?) and some kind of commerative UT Vols magazine for Shad.

Christopher's swim lessons start tomorrow afternoon. We'll go on Mondays and Wednesdays for 30 minutes a day for 4 weeks. I'm excited to see how he does with it all. When we went swimming with Sebrina and John Ryan, Christopher didn't like to be put on his stomach or back. I don't know if that's part of this level or not, but at this point, it'll take some getting used to for him.

This week is also our softball tournament. We finally got our schedule yesterday afternoon (Saturday)! We have games on Monday evening at 6:30 and 8:40 and Tuesday evening at 7:35. Whether we play again on Thursday is determined by if we win. On Monday, we're supposed to play World Outreach Church first then St. Rose Catholic Church. On Tuesday, we're supposed to play Lady Elite...the team that beat us in the last inning (we had it won up until then) and took first place in the league. >:( Dadgumit...we're going to beat them this time!!!

I need to call my neighbor (Wanda) to see if she can babysit Christopher until Shad gets home from work. If she can't, it's going to be a little hectic for me. I'll have to bring him to the game where a girl from church (Ali A.) will watch him until Shad gets there. After my game, I'll have to drive Christopher home since the seatbelts in Shad's truck don't work, so he can't transport Christopher. >:( I won't have much time, though, since I'll have to be back by 8:15. :P I'd have Shad and Christopher stay at the ballfield for my 2nd game except (1) Shad's ridiculously picky about getting home after being at work all day and (2) 10:00 is WAY too late to keep Christopher awake (that's about what time it would be by the time we put him to bed)!

Of course, my Tendonitis decided to start acting up again on Friday. :p I've been wearing my brace and taking Aleve every 12 hours since Saturday hoping it'll get to feeling better before my games on Monday night. They seem to be making a difference, but I'm not ready to take the brace off yet. Sleeping with this thing on is a whole different story, though! Talk about uncomfortable...and I like to sleep on my stomach with my hands underneath me. :p

Well, I need to call in my prescription for my birth control and go pick it up at Kroger, so time to go do that before Christopher wakes up.

Friday, July 06, 2007

My Friend's Big Question

I had lunch with Sebrina and Judy yesterday at La Siesta. Sebrina and I were planning on taking the kids swimming today, but Judy wasn't going to be available, so we set up the lunch date instead. Christopher and I still went swimming with Sebrina and John Ryan this afternoon, though.

Sebrina and her husband, Todd, will be celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary next June. They've decided to renew their wedding vows in April. While at lunch yesterday, she asked me if I would be her maid-of-honor. Of course I said yes! I've never been in any wedding other than my own, so this will be a totally new experience for me. It's just going to be a small, low-key ceremony. She is planning on wearing her original wedding dress, which probably means that I'll have to get a real bridesmaid's dress. I asked today what she had in mind and she's thinking the color Lilac or Lavendar. I like either color and, since it'll be Spring, think it's appropriate. I'm for any traditional, perky color and am not picky. Just don't stick me in something like a drab green! Yuck! We're gonna go shopping whenever we can get together and have the husbands keep the kids.

Thankfully, it's all here in Murfreesboro, so that means no traveling! She originally wanted the ceremony to be at a cute little back-woodsy wedding chapel in Gordonsville (about an hour away), but she was going to be over the maximum capacity by ONE stinkin' person! So, she chose something here in town instead.

Like I mentioned, Christopher and I went swimming with Sebrina and John Ryan today. Here are a couple of pictures:

Mommy and Christopher














Mommy, Christopher, Sebrina and John Ryan















That was the first time we were in a real pool this Summer. He's played in his little wading/activity pool in our backyard, we've been to the kiddie wading pool at Patterson Park Community Center, we've been to the waterpad in Smyrna (concrete slab with a bunch of waterpipes) and he's played in the hose here at home, but he's not been in a real pool this year until today. I started out by putting him in a little boat-looking floatie and he just seemed SO content floating around for about 10-15 minutes. Then, he was ready to try without the floatie. As long as I held him upright up against me, he was okay. He didn't like it when I tried laying him on his back or stomach. I did dunk him once and he didn't cry, but it scared him, so I decided not to try that again since we start swimming lessons on Monday and I don't need a traumatized child! He had fun "jumping" off the edge into the water (he was holding my hands and basically just stepping into the water). After about 30 or 45 minutes, he was all done and ready to get out. I could've stayed in that pool all day long! It felt SO nice and warm! I miss my pool from home!

My mom finally sold her house (still hasn't closed though). It's going to be so sad not being able to go down there to swim! That's the house I lived in from 1984-??? I guess I officially moved out when I got married in 2000. So, that was 16 years. I'd still go back and visit my mom there until she bought her current house back in 2004. I hate divorce! Even though I'm grown and out of the house, it stinks!

Nothing exciting on the agenda for this weekend. Richard will be down for his regular Saturday visit tomorrow and we'll probably go out to eat somewhere. I think Shad's planning to do a few household chores such as mowing, etc. sometime tomorrow, too. Other than that, though, we'll probably be bored out of our minds.

I can't wait until July 20 when Shad and I go to Fall Creek Falls for 2 nights. We're dropping Christopher off at Richard's (my first night(s) away from my baby!) on Friday the 20th and will be returning on Sunday the 22nd. I'm confident that Christopher will do fine (as will I), but it's going to be so hard for me to not see him for 2 DAYS! Plus, I'll miss putting him to bed 2 nights in a row! I know I have to take this step sometime, but that doesn't mean it's easy!

Well, it's bedtime. Shad went about an hour ago and has probably turned the lights out already. I told him I'd be in shortly, but I'm still not tired. I heard some neighbor shoot of a few fireworks about 10 minutes ago and just hope there's no more! I can't stand the days leading up to and after the 4th! We actually called the police last Friday night because some rude kids were riding their bikes after midnight shooting them off right outside ours and Christopher's bedroom windows! Shad literally got up out of bed, threw on some clothes and ran after them to tell them to quit! He was very angry! Thankfully, Christopher slept through it all! Okay, I'm really going this time! Good night!

Thursday, July 05, 2007

4th of July

Yesterday was Christopher's 2nd 4th of July. Last year, he was only 6 months old, so too young to enjoy the festivities. This year, though, he LOVED having friends over to swim and play in our backyard with him! We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and ended up having about 15 adults and 6 kids. The kids ranged in age from 3 months to 4 years. All the kids had fun swimming in Christopher's pool and playing on his swingset.

Despite not having his full 3-hour nap, I decided to keep Christopher up for the firework show. When it got dark, we walked across the street to an elementary school ballfield to watch the MTSU show. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see much since they either moved the show a little bit or the trees grew a lot (chances are better that the trees just grew a bit too much). The only ones we were able to see well were the Grand Finale. :P Some of the people with us decided to go around the school to see if there was a better view. When they came back, they said it was a great view, so we'll have to remember that next year.

Shad and a few other people who were near us shot off a few of their own fireworks before the MTSU show and it scared Christopher to death! Therefore, as soon as the "big" show was over, Richard took Christopher home and put him to bed for me. That was hard for me since putting Christopher to bed is MY job. Richard enjoyed it, though, and he's going to have to do it again in a couple of weeks when Shad and I go to Fall Creek Falls.

Here are a few pictures of Christopher and his friends in his pool:

Lilly (12 mos) & Christopher with Journie (3-1/2) pulling the wagon














Christopher just lounging under the palm tree


















Jenn (Lilly's mom), Lilly, Macy (18 mos) & Christopher














Christopher playing in the spraying palm tree

Monday, June 25, 2007

Water Day at The Discovery Center

Today was our first trip to The Discovery Center. My online friend, Kelly M, and her twins have a membership there and offered to let me and Christopher use a guest pass. We met at 9:00 for the Parents and Tots time. Today was the last day and the theme was Water Day. Christopher LOVED it! And, of course, I forgot my camera! Grrr! They set out a bunch of bins, buckets and pools filled with water, and included some sponges, squirt bottles, cups and rubber ducks. I need to remember to get some sponges for him to play with in the pool and the bathtub as he really liked them.

When the inside opened at 10:00, we ventured in to have more fun. There were a few things that Christopher could do. He had lots of fun playing in the playhouse in the Family area. He painted, drew and colored and played with clay in the Arts and Crafts area. He rode in the airplane donated by Daddy's work (Corporate Flight Management). However, he didn't quite grasp the concept that he was supposed to control the thing and I couldn't get in with him, so I ended up standing on my tiptoes to control it for him. He must have enjoyed it, though, since he started crying when I took him out of it. We stayed for about an hour and then came home.

After lunch, while I was cleaning the kitchen, Christopher was playing with a basket of clothes when he lost his balance and slammed his chin against the edge, biting his tongue in the process. Blood went everywhere and, boy, did he wail! Poor thing ended up taking a chunk out, so it's no wonder it hurt so much! I dabbed it for a little while with a wet papertowel and let him suck on an ice cube. After a few minutes, he was perfectly fine. He's too cute, though...whenever I ask to see his tongue, he sticks it out for me to inspect! LOL! I thought he'd have a hard time eating some foods, but I haven't noticed any difference this evening. We'll see how he feels tomorrow.

We're finished with softball now; our last game was last Tuesday. We lost that game, but it didn't matter since we already had 2nd place. If I'd known that before the game, I'd have requested that we just forfeit since 1) we played crappy anyway and 2) it was TOO HOT to be playing outside! Our team leaders have entered us into the district playoffs, which will be held the week of July 9. My only conflict might be on that Monday since I'm planning to enroll Christopher in swimming lessons that begin that day. Swimming lessons will be from 4-6 pm while a softball game could be that evening. Oh well...if I can make the game, I will, and they know that.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

First Bite

Well, Christopher's been initiated into the world of biting. Blah! It happened at church in his 1-year-old Sunday School class. The little 16 month old boy who bit him did so for no reason. Christopher was sitting in a rocking chair minding his own business when the little boy got him on the left cheek. The grandmother said that he thinks he's "kissing" and doesn't realize that he's biting instead. I was in the Crawler's class next door when Christopher's teacher came and got me. I could hear Christopher crying from my class, so ran right over there. Of course, I wanted to cry right along with him, but kept my composure for his sake. When I got to him, he had big puppy dog tears rolling down his face and he reached right for me. The bite wasn't too bad...it broke the skin just a little bit and left a nasty bruise, but all in all, he's fine. He stopped crying after a little while, but started back up a little while later when it came time for me to leave and go back to my class. After about 10 minutes of him crying off and on, I decided to go get him and bring him back to my class. Thankfully, the only kids in my class were 2 walkers close to Christopher's age (there's not room for them in the 1-year old class right now). He was perfectly fine after a few minutes of playing and has done good the rest of the day.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Christopher's First Airplane Ride

1 Year, 4 Months and 26 Days old

Christopher and I left on Sunday, May 6 to fly up to Cleveland, Ohio. It was Christopher's first ride on an airplane!

Our flight on Sunday left at 11:05, so we were at the airport by 9:00. Since we arrived in plenty of time, and because there was a non-stop flight leaving at 10:55, I was put on the standby list for the earlier flight. However, I decided to take my name off since (1) I'd miss pre-board for our original flight and (2) there was no guarantee I'd get on the first flight (plus, would miss pre-board for that one, too). Therefore, we took our original flight, which took us to Chicago Midway. From there, we had to switch planes and continue on to Cleveland. Each leg was about 1 hour long.

For the first leg, he basically cried off and on the entire flight. I don't think the pressure was an issue as I had him munching on Teddy Grahams during takeoff and landing. We sat in the front row (more leg room) by the window. Unfortunately, the flight was full, so Christopher couldn't get his own seat. Also, two men sat next to us, so that made a difference as women would've been more "fun" for him. The guy sitting next to us (middle seat) tried talking to him, but I could tell he wasn't a father or much into kids. The guy who sat in the isle seat kept the earbuds to his Ipod in his ears and pretty much ignored us the whole flight. I think he was some semi-bigshot football player. I can't remember his name to try to look him up, though. I know the BIG names and he wasn't one of those, though. The weird thing was that he voluntarily sat down beside us (I loaded the plane first and originally sat in the middle seat). I guess he didn't care since he was listening to his Ipod.

We had about a 1-1/2 hour layover in Chicago, but that was fine with me. It allowed us enough time to find our next gate (totally different concourse) and then get some lunch. Unfortunately, I wore sandals that didn't agree with all the walking I did, so I ended up getting a couple of blisters. Ouch! I am SO glad that I took the new umbrella stroller as that prevented me from having to carry Christopher the whole time!!!

The second leg (Chicago to Cleveland) was a little better since two women sat next to us. Once again, we sat in the front row by the window. And, once again, the flight was full, so Christopher had to stay in my lap. He kept occupied by playing with the window shade, the magazines in front of us and the two women next to us. He only fussed a couple of times, mainly because he needed a nap.

We arrived in Chicago where Mindy picked us up. We then drove the two hours back to her place in Erie. Of course, Christopher went right to sleep as soon as we left the airport and slept the entire car ride.

Since Mindy doesn't have a pack 'n play and I didn't feel like lugging it along, she concocted a bed for Christopher by putting the mattress from her rollaway bed in amongst a bunch of packed boxes. It turned out to work VERY well as he slept through the night each night we were there!

On Monday, May 7, we left Erie and drove 6-1/2 hours to Hanover. Christopher *might* have slept for an hour of that trip! Since the viewing was that evening, I was concerned with how well behaved he would be, but he did great! Courtney and Kaitlyn (his cousins) played with him for a while. Then, his Uncle Tim, Courtney and Kaitlyn took him across the street from the funeral home to play on the toddler playground. He had lots of fun there, but was VERY worn out! After leaving the viewing, we went to Christy and Tim's where we spent the night. Christy still had her pack 'n play from the girls, so that's what Christopher slept in. He ended up waking up once around midnight...probably because of the noise from the fabric when he moved.

The funeral was Tuesday morning at 10:00 eastern. I had planned on getting up around 7:00 before everyone else so I could get showered and ready. Unfortunately, Christopher decided to wake up at the same time I did! Therefore, I didn't get a shower until about 20 minutes before we had to leave! I believe I got ready in record time (I normally take 45 minutes to get showered and ready)!

Everything at the funeral was really nice and went well. However, since Christopher was up so early, he was ready for a nap by the time the funeral started and didn't want to sit still and be quiet. Tim ended up taking him outside where they took a walk around the nearby neighborhood. By the time they got back, there was only a few minutes left and he did just fine. From there, we went to the cemetary for the rest of the funeral. I neglected to bring the stroller (big mistake!), so had to hold Christopher the entire time. Of course, all he wanted to do was get down and run around.

After the funeral ended, we gathered at my Aunt Marian and Uncle John's house where they served lunch to the immediate family (Dad & Patti, Aunt Marian, Uncle John, both Uncle Jim's and their SO's, cousins Danny and Terri, sisters Christy and Mindy, BIL Tim, nieces Courtney and Kaitlyn, cousin Randy, his wife Tanya, their kids Sara and Ryan, Christopher and myself). We stayed and visited until about 4:00 eastern when we left to drive back to Erie. I somehow managed to keep Christopher awake for the entire day, so he slept the first 2 hours of the drive back. The whole trip total was about 6 hours and Christopher was awake for about 4 of those. He did VERY well, too! We only stopped twice for food/gas. The only time he got fussy was at the very end, but he made it.

Since Mindy thought she really needed to be at work for something specific on Wednesday, I booked our return flight for Thursday. Therefore, Christopher and I just hung out at her place for the day. Thankfully, she left the dogs in boarding, so we didn't have to deal with Gretchen (Boxer) and Fritz (Weimereiner)! After Mindy returned home, she took us by her office at Mercyhurst to show Christopher off to her co-workers. We got to meet Sherry, who made the cute fleece blanket when Christopher was born. From there, we went to eat dinner at The Olive Garden and then drove through Presque Isle State Park, which took us by Lake Erie. Unfortunately, when we left Mindy's place, I didn't realize that we'd be going site-seeing, so didn't have my camera with me. Plus, the one time we got out by the water, it was too cold and windy so only stayed out for a couple of minutes before getting back in the car and driving on. We got back to her place in time for bed.

Our flight left Cleveland around 12:15 eastern, so since we had to be at the airport by 10:00 eastern, we were up and at it pretty early. We got to the airport with plenty of time. When I went to check in, I asked if Mindy could go back to help me get everything through security (Shad was allowed back in Nashville and it helped TREMENDOUSLY!). Unfortunately, they wouldn't let her, which only aggravated me! Thank goodness there weren't too many people in line since it took me forever! A security employee had to help me put everything through the x-ray machine.

We were able to pre-board, but there was another couple with 2 children of their own (both lap babies). They ended up getting on before us and picked the front row. I decided to go ahead and sit on the isle seat with them. However, AFTER the plane was loaded (full flight), the flight attendant informed us that there were only 4 oxygen masks per row, so I ended up moving to the middle seat of the 2nd row. I think that ended up working out for the best, though. If he'd been next to the window, he would've wanted to play with the window shade. If he'd sat in the isle seat, he would've wanted to run up and down the isle. Since he had nowhere to go, he kept occupied with the tray table. The only time I had a problem with him was when he couldn't get his way with something (playing with the tray table during takeoff and landing, playing with the straw in his Sprite, etc.). Otherwise, he did GREAT. The lady to our left and the man to our right even complimented him on how well behaved he was! The worst part for me was when I went to open his sippy cup of WATER, it exploded and went all over me, Christopher AND the man and woman next to us!!! Oops! They were okay, though, and weren't mad. Thankfully, Christopher and I got the brunt of it!

We actually arrived in Nashville about 10 minutes early, so had to wait on Shad to get us. Of course, with Christopher not having a nap all day, he was sound asleep in the car before leaving the airport! He slept the entire 20-30 minute drive home where I transferred to his crib. He ended up sleeping about another hour when I woke him up to go to Shad's softball game (plus, I didn't want him sleeping too late in the day). He did really well at the ballgame, but was definitely ready for bed when we got home!

All in all, Christopher did GREAT! Next time we fly, Christopher will most likely be older than 2, so will have to have his own seat on the airplane. Plus, he'll need to be in his carseat. Even though it means spending more money, I think it will work out for the best as it'll contain him. He did VERY well on the car ride to Hanover and back, so I know he can handle a long trip again. Who knows when that will be, though.


Here are a few pictures taken from the trip:


On the way to Hanover
















Playing in Great Aunt Marian & Great Uncle John's backyard




















Christopher and Great Uncle John















Christopher pooping (didn't know it until after the pic was taken)



















Ryan and Sara (2nd cousins)
















Sara (2nd cousin), Danny (1st cousin), Mindy (sister), Terri (1st cousin)















Playing with Daddy after getting home















Playing with Daddy after getting home