Sunday, March 30, 2008

Why, Why, Why?

It seems that we have officially reached the stage of Adam's life where he asks "Why?" every time we tell him something.

For example:
Mom: "Adam, Mom needs to change your diaper."
Adam: "Why?"
Mom: "Because it is wet."
Adam: "Why?"
Mom: "Because you have drank a lot."
Adam: "Why?"
Mom: "Because you were thirsty."
Adam: "Why?"
Mom: "I don't know."
Adam: "Why?"
Mom: "Because I don't know anything. Go ask your Dad."

I am sure this is just the beginning...


Saturday, March 29, 2008

I Like to Move It, Move It

Earlier this evening Adam was running around our living room and all of a sudden he started singing a song. At first I really could not figure out what he was singing. Then it hit me. He was singing: "I like to Move it, Move it." If you have never heard that song before, you can click here to listen to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_r2psdrQkM

It is just amazing to me what kids can pick up! I am sure that Jeff or I have said that before, but it's not like we say that all of the time. Nothing is more hysterical than seeing a 2 year old run around your living room singing "I like to move it, move it." If only I would have gotten that on video. It was priceless.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Cooking Fun


Here are pictures from Adam and I attempting to make apple crisp. Adam insisted on helping! As you can see, he was a great big help.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Nothing like an old friend

Many of you that would be reading this know that I had a little "party" tonight. This was one of those parties that you host where someone demonstrates and shows a product. I am normally not a person who hosts these parties, however this stuff is really awesome and I thought that some of my friends and family members would enjoy it. So, I had a party. There were about 12 people that came over. Among those people that came over, was an old friend of mine named Sarah. After the party I started thinking about old friends. It is amazing to me how many friends that I have lost contact with. Because Jeff and Adam were not home yet and the house was quiet, I just took some time to think about those people and wonder what they are doing. Thankfully, Sarah is one of those friends who I had lost contact with but have recently been reacquainted with.

The history: Sarah and I used to work together during high school. She was a grade a head of me. We probably never would have become friends had we not worked together. We became really good friends at work and soon started hanging out with each other outside of work. We got together almost every weekend. Our supervisors and co-workers would always say that we looked like sisters and they would always get our names mixed up. I was Sarah and Sarah was Carrie. We had lots of fun during those late nights at work when the store was empty and no supervisors were around. I can recall one evening during the holiday season. The store stayed open late and there were no customers anywhere. The holiday season was the only time that the store would play music overhead, and of course it was Christmas music. So the only thing that Sarah and I could think to do to have fun was to dance to Mariah Carey's Christmas song "All I Want For Christmas." I am sure that we looked like the biggest dorks if anyone saw us, but we didn't really care that much. Anyway, we became good friends. But then life happened and some how Sarah and I lost touch. We would occasionally bump into each other at a restaurant or something, but we never really became "friends" again.

A couple of years ago, I started working at the place where I am now and through a business connection with Sarah's work place, we saw each other one day. We exchanged email addresses, phone numbers, etc. I never called her and she never called me. We would see each other very occasionally through our work places and it was always the same thing: "We should get together." "We should do lunch someday." So, over the next few years, we emailed back and forth a few times. Again, we would always end the email with the "lunch someday," "call me when you are free," "we really need to get together" stuff. Finally a few months ago, one of us (I really can't remember if it was her or me) said in an email that we just had to pick a date to get together because if we never pick a date it will never happen. We picked a date for the next Saturday for lunch. I will admit that at first, I was a little hesitant. I wondered "Will this be weird? We haven't seen/talked to each other for so long. What will we talk about?". I must say that I could not have been more wrong about the whole awkwardness thing. Sarah and I had so much to talk about. After lunch we even went shopping together. We had such a wonderful time. We decided at that point to schedule another lunch for the next month. So this last weekend, we went to lunch and then went to a movie. Next month we have plans to get together with our kids. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can go to the park and have a picnic.

Basically, what I want to say is that an old friend is probably the best gift that can be given to you. If there is that one friend who you always think about, but never call or contact - call them and schedule something! If you do not actually schedule a lunch or meeting, you will not do it. It took Sarah and me 2 years of going back and forth about saying we need to get together before we actually did it. It just makes me sad to think that I had this great friend out there that I let just slip away. I would have loved for her to be involved in my life in the past few years. She didn't come to my wedding, my baby shower, or visit me in the hospital when I had Adam. How I would have loved to have her with me during these times. And I would have loved to have been with her during her special times. What I know now though is that because Sarah is back in my life as a friend, I plan to keep it that way. I hope everyone who reads this has their "Sarah" who they can become friends with again.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Anyone want a cat?

I really do love animals. I have pretty much always had a pet my whole life. Let me just get that out of the way. I really do not want to come across as an animal-hater.

However, lately I have become less fond of our cat. I think it all started back about 2 1/2 years ago when we brought Adam home from the hospital. Prior to this day, our cat had always been our baby. He would lay on us on the couch, sleep with us at night, and was always around. He loved both me and Jeff. Now things are different.

From the minute we walked in the door with a new baby, things haven't been the same. When we first got home from the hospital, we set Adam down in his carrier on the floor and the cat walked up to the carrier, sniffed Adam and then threw up on the floor. Jeff and I didn't know what to think. The cat did that about 2 other times over the next few days and then after that, he just stayed away from Adam. Now, that seems to be the goal of the cat - stay away from the kid.

For those of you who know our cat, you know he is not the friendliest cat in the world. In fact, he is kind of mean to strangers (but always nice to us). Jeff and I were genuinely worried about how the cat would react to a new baby. Other than the puking, the cat hasn't bothered Adam at all - even after Adam chases him all around the house. The cat also doesn't really seem to care for me either. I think he associates me with that thing that makes him puke. He seems to only like Jeff anymore.

The cat is just getting on my nerves now. I guess I never thought of myself as a clean freak, but I just cannot stand the cat hair anymore. I try to keep our house clean, but no matter how hard I try there is always going to be cat hair. The other thing that is frustrating is that I have a good friend and a brother who is allergic to cats. It is hard for them to come over to our house because they start sneezing.

So, if you or someone you know would like to adopt a cat - please let me know. I can't bring myself to take him to the pound, so his fate is in your hands.
Did I mention he is really friendly and loving?

Friday, March 21, 2008

The Pressue's On

I have had this blog for almost 2 weeks and really haven't told anybody, except for a couple of people, about it. My goal of this is just to journal different events in our life and thoughts that I have. No big deal. But tonight I decided to bite the bullet and send it out to a bunch of people so they could read it, if they wanted. Now if no one reads it, I will try not to take it personally but it might be hard. Be kind to me. I think though that due to the fact the Jeff has not even read it once, maybe my expectations of who will read this are too high. If I can't even get my own husband to read this, then why would anyone else want to?

Now the pressue is on for me to keep this up. If I don't keep updating it, I am sure that at least one person (Brandi?) will be asking me about it. I promise to keep updating it, as long as I have something to say and people seem to care. So add our site to your favorites and visit often. Once I get better, I will update with pictures and videos. I'm taking baby steps.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

You Hide My Stuff...

I know that everyone has their own parenting style. Jeff and I are pretty similar, but there are differences. First of all, let me start by saying that when I was younger, I was convinced that I would be the "cool" parent. I was going to be lenient and just have fun with my kids. Now that I am older and hopefully wiser, I understand that some of the best gifts that you can give to your child are structure, constructive discipline, and unconditional love. Jeff thought that he would be the more strict parent.

Wow - how things change! I think Jeff is a great dad. He loves Adam so much and is very attentive to his needs. He can often obsess too much about some things, but he is always looking out for the best for Adam. I, on the other hand, have taken the role of the more strict parent. It's not to say that Jeff doesn't do any disciplining and that I am perfect at it because neither is the case in any way.

Nothing makes our different parenting "strictness" (is that a word?) more apparent than when Adam goes up to Jeff and wants him to pick him up. If we are in the kitchen, Adam will want Jeff to pick him up and put him on the counter. I can honestly say that Adam has probably asked me that question once - my answer was "No." I haven't been asked since. But for some reason, Adam continually asks Jeff to put him up there. Makes a person wonder - Does Adam stand up there when Mom isn't around? My guess would be yes.

So this past weekend, Adam finds my mascara and wants to continually unscrew the lid, take out the wand, and put the lid back on. Over and over again. I let him do it a couple of times and then he stopped and I put it away. Tuesday morning, I go to find my mascara to get ready for work and it is gone. Now I know that Jeff often hides things from Adam so he will not ask to play with it. My first instinct is that Jeff has hidden my mascara. So I ask Jeff where it is and he tells me that it is in the cabinet. Finally I find it thrown behind a bunch of other stuff. Let me just tell you that digging through your bathroom cabinet at 7:30 in the morning is not enjoyable. Then Wednesday morning, I go to put my mascara on again - and it is gone - again! Now I am completely annoyed. I asked Jeff where it was again and he gets up to find it for me (on the top shelf behind Kleenex boxes). Instead of getting mad at him, I think that maybe a way to get my point across to him about how annoying hiding my stuff is to me, maybe I should hide something of his. I decide to hide his razor. I almost went for the deodorant or toothbrush but then I figured he would use mine and that just grosses me out. He didn't think it was too funny later when I talked to him. He just called me a dork. NOTHING gets to this man! Maybe next time I will hide the remote.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Spring is coming...I think

This has been the weirdest weekend for weather. I woke up on Saturday morning and looked outside at it was snowing! The ground was completely covered. Then by the afternoon, it was pretty much all gone. Thank goodness because I do not think that I can handle any more snow this year. I thought that I would officially say "Good-bye" to winter this weekend by putting away all of my winter decorations. It's kind of sad because now my house looks bare. I love winter/Christmas decorations. I look forward to putting them out each year and hate putting them away. Not because I want winter to stay any longer, I just think the decorations are so cute. With the first official day of Spring coming on Thursday, I thought it would be best to put the snowmen away. Now, the only thing I have left to do to prepare myself for spring would be a nice shopping trip. Nothing brings in a new season better than new clothes.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Independent 2-year old

Why is it that when you ask a 2-year old to do something, he instantly says "no!"? But when it's him suggesting the same exact thing 30 seconds later, he is all about doing it. One example - We ask him if he wants to get dressed to go outside and play" (which he LOVES to do), he says "no." Wait 5 seconds and now all of a sudden, he is telling us that he wants to get dressed so he go can outside and play. It's almost like it has to be his idea. If it's not his idea, then he doesn't want to do it. He has been saying this a lot lately and it is driving me and Jeff crazy. At first it was pretty cute, now it's just annoying. I guess he is just showing his independence. Is this the beginning of something bigger? I have a feeling that Jeff and I better just get over this because there is worse to come - at least that is what I am sure my mom wished upon me!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

What a beautiful day

It's days like today that make me want spring even more! I hope everyone was able to enjoy the nice weather. Unfortunately Adam is still getting over being sick, but is doing much better. Thank goodness for medicine!

While watching my fave show tonight, (I won't say what that show is but the main people are Pat Sayjack and Vanna White) Vanna shared something at the end of the show that I thought was interesting. She said that when she gives her kids pancakes or waffles, she takes raspberries and smashes them up, then mixes them with a little bit of apple sauce and puts that on top of the pancakes. What a great idea! I hate putting sugary syrup on pancakes and waffles. Normally I just do butter. This would be a great alternative - very healthy! I thought this idea was worth sharing. I'm all about trying to sneak in as much fruit and vegetables as I can for Adam. Now, if I only felt that way about the way I eat...

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

My Inspiration

My inspiration for "blogging" comes from a few friends. First of all, Brandi and Kelly got me hooked on Rockstarmommy.com. Awesome blog - I read it almost every night. Then one day a couple of weeks ago, I go to that website and IT'S OVER! It's completely over. She is saying good-bye. There will be no more rockstarmommy for me. I cried for a little bit, but then got over it. However, I do still admit that I have checked back a few times just in case she has changed her mind. No luck - yet. My other inspiration has come from again - Brandi and Kelly. Brandi has a blog where she showcases her photography and Kelly has a blog where she documents things going on in her life. I really enjoy reading them, so I thought that I would give it a try.

Ok, enough about me and my blog-fever.

Poor little Adam is still sick. This is day number 6. We had visited the doctor on Monday, only to have him tell us to just continue with the Tylenol. We were instructed to bring him back in 2 days if his fever came back or if he wasn't getting any better. So, his fever went away on Monday, stayed away on Tuesday, but came back this afternoon. So, back to the doctor we went. This time the doctor ordered a chest x-ray. All I have to say about this is that I am glad that Jeff was there. He was able to go back with Adam and watch him sit in this little "torture chamber-looking" contraption. The x-ray tech ensured Jeff that it looks worse than it really is. The result: Adam has pnemonia. Now at least we have some medicine to give him and hopefully he will be feeling better very soon. It's sad to see him not act like his normal, happy, energetic self.

What I really want to share with you tonight though is how God can work in such interesting ways. I subscribe to a daily devotion email list. Everyday, I receive a devotion. (check out the link to Proverbs31 on my website) I want to share with you part of the email that I received today:

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
God Can Handle Even My Greatest Fears, Part One
Lysa TerKeurst
Devotion (only a small section):
Do you ever fear something happening to one of your children? For most moms, this is their greatest fear. You see your teenage son drive away from your home and fear grabs your heart. You hear of another child getting diagnosed with cancer and you start asking the “what if” questions. You watch the news reports on a child that has been abducted and you hold yours just a little tighter that night. You know that children die every day from drowning, accidents, and choking and it can make you feel helpless and overly controlling all at the same time.

This section of her devotion really hits me hard. Not only with Adam being sick today, but with what everything the future holds. It is so scary to see everything going on in the world and in my very own community. I hope that God helps me find this strength and power to overcome the fear that I have. It does make a person want to hold their child so close and never let them go. I never could have imagined what it was like to be a mother until I actually became one. I remember when I was pregnant thinking what my life was going to be like. Everyone says "It will change your life." Boy, that was an understatment. Not only does it change your life, having a child takes your life, puts it in barrell, rolls the barrell down a really large hill, flips it around, turns it upside down, and then just when you think you got to the bottom of the hill, you realize that your heart has jumped out of your body and is continuing down the next hill. It is in search of that one more thing that you can do to make your child be happy, healthy and loved more than anything you have ever loved before. So what do you do when you are faced with this immense fear that something out of your control might happen to your child? How do you let go of control? I have come to realize that God does have control as long as I let him, and that is all that matters.

Ok, this is probably the longest post that I will ever do. I hope I haven't been too boring. I will be back soon with something probably way-less intense. Until then, thanks for reading. I need to sleep.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

My First Entry

Ok, so maybe I will not be the best blogger that has ever lived - but I will try. This is my attempt, although it might be small, at documenting things in our family's lives. I hope to have this be a means of communicating information to friends and family who we may not talk to as often as we should. I intend to protect my family as much as possible to the weirdos who might be out there lurking on this thing we call the internet.

As for the title of the blog - I truly believe that we have a sweet life. Of course we have our problems (as every family does), but I feel really blessed with a loving family, good friends, and good health. I will attempt to share some stories, thoughts, frustrations, and questions on this blog. Feel free to visit often and leave a comment if you want. If you do not want to visit often, that is fine too. I will be here blogging away in my little world - my little world that I think is pretty sweet.