Reunion

An old friend of mine is in town this week, so a bunch of us from high school held a mini-reunion on Saturday night.  It had been over 15 years since I’d seen some of my old friends, which is really silly since most of us still live in town.  I forgot how much I missed some of my old friends.  It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed introducing Ryan to everyone.  We are definitely going to need to get together more often. . .or at least before another 15 years passes.  

Friday, February 4, 2011

So, today we had quite a scary occurrence.  First off, I’ll start by saying that Olivia has a cold with a bit of a cough.  She was eating popcorn (because they had popcorn on Veggie Tales and she had to have some.)  Sometimes when you cough, you inhale beforehand and when she did, she inhaled a piece of popcorn.   Thankfully, she was crying and coughing, so I knew that her breathing wasn’t restricted.  She was in great distress, though.  I tried to remember my CPR training from when Olivia was an infant and helped her get it out.  The popcorn piece flew out just like you see on the movies.  The whole ordeal probably only lasted 10 seconds, but it seemed so long at the time.  Afterwards, she threw up and felt much better after that.  Wow, it was scary.  So, I started doing some additional research on the Heimlich maneuver and have found multiple sites tell you different things.  Fortunately, you don’t have to perform it unless the person can’t cry or cough and isn’t breathing. This was not the case with Olivia as she cried the whole time.  I think it would be a good idea for all of us to review these guidelines because you never know when something like that could happen.  I am trusting the Heimlich Institute website, but for those of you skilled in this area, any suggestions or guidance would be appreciated.  They state something different from what I was taught which was to turn the child face down and thrust with the bottom of your palm.  I’m still pretty shook up about the whole thing.

The Heimlich Maneuver

Anyway, other than that. . .our day went pretty well.  I am now the room parent for Olivia’s classroom since they have not had one all year.  That means I have a Valentines Day party to plan.  I’m a bit nervous as I have never done anything like this before.  All I really have to come up with are snacks, take home gifts, and decorations.  I got a cute idea from my sister-in-law, Shelley, that we are going to make next week.  They are pink heart shaped rice krispie treats on a stick.  How cute does that sound?  If anyone has any other cute ideas. . .I’d love to hear them!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

My dear friend, Amanda, sent me a prayer journal for my birthday. (She’s always doing unbelievably thoughtful and caring things.)  I have actually been meaning to start one for some time, so I’m excited to begin.  I’m always very honest in my postings on the blog, but there are still some things that I can’t talk about.    Things that worry me immensely. . .things that I need to ask God to take care of.  Some days it seems there are burdens too heavy to bear on my shoulders alone.  So, I look forward to seeing God work in my life and look back at the prayers He has answered.

In other news, I have a high school band reunion on Saturday.  I’ve never gone to any of my high school reunions.  About 90% of my friends were in band which meant they weren’t necessarily in my grade.  (I played the flute and bassoon for those who didn’t know.)  I will get to see many of my old friends that I haven’t seen in 15+ years. . .and I am in braces.  Great.  I guess it will be just like I’m in high school again.  LOL.  It should be quite the trip down memory lane, though, and I’m looking forward to it.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Olivia had another eye appointment today.  She is a candidate for a second eye surgery, but we’re going to hold off just a bit (assuming her eyes remain stable.)  She will probably, however, have another eye surgery before she starts kindergarten.  It may or may not improve her strabismus. . .that’s the frustrating part.  But, the big news of the day was what a big girl she was at the eye doctor!!  She didn’t even want mama to sit with her in the chair!  She sat all by herself, talked to the doctor and cooperated 100%.  It was amazing!  Who is this girl that now loves haircuts and eye doctor appointments?  What an answer to prayer!  She acted like she was an. . . .8 year old sitting there so maturely.  Amazing!

Here she is eating snacks and patiently waiting for the doctor to come in.  We’ve gone from having 3+ people holding her down for an examination to sitting in the chair by herself!  Sorry. . .I just can’t get over it.  Olivia brought her stuffed ducky along and I heard her later in the day saying, “I’m just so proud of you ducky.  You did so well at the eye doctor!”  Hmm. . .I wonder how many times I told her I was proud of her today. LOL.

Vroom Vroom

Saturday, January 29, 2011

With my birthday fast approaching, we celebrated with my family today.  No matter how old I get (and I’m getting quite old) my mom still gets me a birthday cake.  I chose carrot cake this year. . .yum! 

Olivia helped blow out the candles.

Her shirt says “I always feel Olivia-ish.”

She will always remain one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received. 

Jury Notice

The other day, I went to the mail box and there it was. . .a jury summons.  As I began to curse under my breath, I remembered. . .jury duty helped save Olivia’s life.  How is that, you ask?  Many of you already know the story, but Ryan had jury duty on August 27, 2007. . .the day Olivia and Logan were born.  He had taken off work to take me to the hospital a week prior when I was sent home on bed rest.  (I should have been admitted at that point, but that’s another story.)  The following Monday (August 27th) Ryan was off work for  jury duty.  I urged him to call and get it postponed since his pregnant wife was on bed rest, but we decided there wasn’t going to be any better time.  So, he went and was dismissed around noon.   He picked  up La Galette for lunch, which is one of my favorite places!  That entire day plays over and over like a movie in my head.  Instead of going back into work, we decided to go to the hospital.  It wasn’t because I felt I was in labor or in any immediate danger.  I just wasn’t feeling any better after a week on bedrest and since he just happened to be off work, I thought I’d get checked out again.  Little did I know, I was 2 cm dilated, which would progress to 6 cm dilated and 80% effaced thirty minutes later.  At that point, labor was imminent and three pushes later Olivia was born.  I think about that day a lot. . .well, of course I do, it was the day I became a mother.  But, I think about what would have happened had Ryan been at work that day.  I didn’t feel bad enough to make Ryan take off another day of work to take me to the hospital.  I probably wouldn’t have driven myself, so would I have gone into labor at home?  My children’s chance of survival without a NICU available would have been zero.  But, Ryan just happened to be off that afternoon. . .all thanks to a simple jury summons that he received in the mail.   It’s an annoyance to some, but it forever changed the way I look at life’s little inconveniences.  Of course, I still don’t want to go.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

We had hair appointments today (me, Olivia and my mother-in-law.)  Hair appointments used to be awful for Olivia, but we’ve been taking her to the same place every 5-6 weeks for about 9 months.  We used to have to hold her, she wouldn’t wear a cape and she would cry and cry.  New experiences are often very very difficult for her.  Last month, however, she did awesome!  And, it seems the trend is continuing because she now LOVES to get her hair cut.  After I get done, she crawls into the chair and says, “Olivia’s turn!”  I can’t tell you how much joy this brings me!!  She now acts like such a big girl and I’m so proud of her!  And, she’s getting beautiful hair!

Before / After

Well, our room makeover is complete minus a few small touches like a table centerpiece, items for the hutch etc.  I loved my old table and chairs. . .they were almost as old as I was and I grew up having birthday parties around them.  Sadly, after 25+ years. . .they got a little outdated.  I loved my baker’s rack, but it didn’t match our new table.  It found a new home with my sister-in-law.  I, however, did not love (or even like) my old carpet and linoleum in the dining room/kitchen.  I’m so happy with our new laminate floor!  I think it really gives the room (and the house) a very updated, classier look.  Well, besides the yellow towel on Olivia’s chair. LOL! 

Before

After

Before (notice the tape on the carpet.)

After

Before

After

Before

After

And some additional pictures. . .

Monday, January 24, 2011

How adorable is she?  I mean seriously. . .could she be any cuter? 

The other day I was cleaning out the litter boxes in the unfinished room in the basement.  Olivia came in and said, “Hey. . where are the guinea pigs?”  Yes, we used to keep the guinea pigs in that room, but our last one died in Sept of 2009.  Olivia was barely 2 years old at that time.  How funny that she remembered that!  I’m just glad that she is no longer talking about the scary hand from Halloween.  She’s moved on to the scary vacuum cleaner at Grandma and Grandpa Glunt’s house.  She calls it scary and yet she is enthralled with it. . .always looking at it, hugging it, wanting me to draw it.  She gets her mind set on one “scary” thing and runs with it.  Silly girl. . .always cracking me up. 

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Tomorrow is the big day. . .I get my new floors!  We had to move all of our furniture and our island out of the kitchen and dining room today.  That was a chore!  My anxiety prone cat (Autumn) and my daughter had a bit of a tough time figuring out why the dining room table was in the living room, the chairs were in the office, etc.  And, since we no longer had a table to sit at, we had a picnic on the floor!  It was a fun change of pace. . .even if it was Spangles.  And if we spilled something on the floor, it didn’t matter because the carpet is getting ripped out tomorrow anyway. LOL. 

I can’t say that I’m looking forward to two full days of being stuck inside the house with strange people, a 3 year old, a messy house and little access to my kitchen.  But, I think it will be worth it in the end!  While Ryan and I were busy moving everything around, Olivia was over at Grandpa and Grandma Sailing’s house. . .playing the piano, of course.  I know what she’ll probably be getting for her birthday. . .her very own piano.  At three years old, she seriously has a lot of potential!  And, as you know. . .she LOVES music!!  Making her own is absolutely thrilling to her!  I gotta say that I feel quite inadequate.  I took piano lessons as I child, but I remember absolutely nothing!  Poor Olivia asks me to play songs on the piano that I don’t know how to play.   Good thing there are a lot of pianists in the family.  And nothing makes my dad happier than to hear Olivia ask him to play the piano with her.

  

Our budding virtuoso (as my dad likes to call her.)

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Friday, January 21, 2011

I had an amazing day with Olivia and my mother-in-law.  We took Olivia for some much needed shoe shopping.  I have the hardest time finding shoes for Olivia, so we headed over to Little Feet Boutique.  They are a bit pricey, but at least I can find shoes that fit her.  I’m proud to say that Olivia is now a size 8.  It seems like she was in a size 6 forever!  LOL.  Then, we headed out to Towne East for some shopping at The Children’s Place.  Now, this is a place that I need to avoid at all costs. . .especially when we’re running low on our winter “cousin Katie” clothes.  We will hit a whole new slew of them, however, when we get to size 4T!   Let’s just say that Olivia got quite the wardrobe makeover today.  And that’s on top of the new coat that she got yesterday.  Her old coat was getting way too short, but she was very attached to it.  When I’d try to get her to wear a different coat, she would cry, cling to her old coat and tell me that she loved it.  Thankfully, she wore her new coat today without any tears.  She’s going to be a brand new girl with her new coat, new shoes and new clothes. . .sheesh.  I think she might be going through a growth spurt.  I have heard rumors that these things happen, but I’ll have to see it to believe it. 

Randomness

Here is Tobey in his new coat.  Isn’t he adorable?  My SIL Shelley bought this coat for her dog, but it didn’t fit.  We knew Tobey would wear it. . .he tolerates just about anything.   LOL.  Now, I feel the need to expand his wardrobe.  On second thought. . .I doubt my husband would approve.

Ryan and I have both been sick, but Olivia is the shining example of health.  I’m not sure how she has escaped it, but I’m forever grateful.

I get my new flooring installed next Monday and Tuesday.   I’m so excited!  Hopefully, it looks as good as I have envisioned it.

If only I looked this cute upon waking in the morning.

Mark your calendars!  The date for March for Babies is set.  It is April 16, 2011.  I am going to try to make new t shirts this year, so keep an eye out for information on that!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Well, I’m finally feeling better after an awful head cold.  I still don’t know how many boxes of Kleenexes I’ve gone through.  Thank you to Grandma Mary for watching Olivia so I could rest up.  Let’s see. . .what else has been going on.  We got our new dining room set on Friday and I’m in love.  I’m excited to post some before and after pics, but I think I’ll wait until we get our new flooring in.  That should be some time by the end of the month.

Today, we had a ham dinner over at my parents’ house.  It was supposed to be our New Year’s Day meal, but so many things prevented it from happening until now.  It was delicious!  Olivia loves playing piano at both sets of grandparents and did just that today with Grandpa Sailing.  Grandpa kept telling her it was a Yamaha and then he’d ask her what it was.  She could never remember.  Then, as we were getting her to bed tonight, out of the blue she said, “Grandpa has a Yamaha!”  It was too cute.  We made the mistake of leaving her “banklet” over there today and she was beside herself.  So, grandma and grandpa were kind enough to bring it over to her.  She sleeps with about a million things (and takes inventory of it all each night) but she cannot be without her two Gogums, her Lily and her banklet.  She is now sleeping soundly. LOL. 

And, here are some pics totally unrelated to anything that I just talked about. . .

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

It has been snowy and extremely cold the last few days (temps in the negatives!)  There hasn’t been school in two days!  And, I have been a bit under the weather.  Needless to say, Olivia and I have been holed up in the house all week, so we were thrilled to have visitors today.  Laura and my nieces, Julia and Rebekah, came over this afternoon.  I think my cat, Tobey, enjoyed their company as much as we did.  As ornery as he is. . .Tobey is one good kitty.  He loves people. . .especially children.  He was in heaven with all the attention he got today. 

Rebekah and Tobey

Julia and Tobey

Here is Tobey pretending that he’s a baby.  Yes, he’s definitely my social butterfly.  And where is Autumn during all this?

Hidden away from all the attention. . .waiting for her one on one time with me. 

And trying to stay warm in this cold weather.  Hope you are all doing the same!

In the words of Olivia, “my cats are silly!” 

We all love them immensely.  They add so much to our family!

Wal-what?

So, Ryan was almost late to work this morning because he couldn’t find his wallet.  Olivia had just woken up and he was looking all around the house for his missing wallet.  (He eventually found it and all was well.)  Later this afternoon, Olivia was taking a bath with a walrus bath toy.  Her eyes lit up and she said, “A walrus. . .like daddy’s.”  I didn’t catch on and I kinda laughed and said, “Daddy doesn’t have a walrus.”  She was very persistent in talking about daddy’s walrus.  Finally, Olivia said, “Daddy couldn’t find his walrus. . .it was missing.”  Then, I realized she was talking about his wallet.  I tried correcting her, but she wouldn’t accept that it wasn’t a walrus.  I had to chuckle at the thought of Olivia thinking daddy was searching all over the house for a walrus.  She must have decided a walrus must be pretty important because she carried it around all day.  She even named him “Comfy.”  That girl always keeps a smile on my face.

Wednesday, January 11, 2011

Since my cousins were in town for my grandpa’s funeral, we all got together on Sunday.  All of us were there minus my cousin David.  Here are our attempts at a group picture.

Take One. . .pretty good although Gus wanted in the picture.  I think Izzy took the picture.  She’s a pretty good photographer!

Take Two. . .thought Olivia might want in the picture. . .guess not.

Take Three. . .Best of the bunch and it came back blurry.

Take Four. . .We decided to have the picture taken on my grandparent’s old barstools.  Izzy and Olivia looked so cute sitting in them and then Olivia decided to jump out at the last minute.

Take Five. . .Olivia still didn’t want her picture taken and Abbey decided to reach up and lick Jeff’s ear.  Eh. . it’ll have to do.

Monday, January 10, 2011

I felt like a child tonight crossing my fingers and my toes in hopes for a snow day tomorrow.  The thought of getting out, driving in this weather and getting Olivia out in the cold. . .especially when I don’t feel good wasn’t a pleasant one.   And, I got my wish. Schools are closed!  Now, if only Ryan didn’t have to go to work. . . .

I haven’t felt up to taking pictures lately, so this will have to do.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

All three of Olivia’s babies are sick.  As you can tell, they all needed their own bottles of “Tylenol.”  Poor things. 

Now I’m getting a sore throat.  I may be in the same boat as they are come tomorrow. . .with my Tylenol in tow.  But, we’re supposed to get some snow, so it might be a good day to just stay in our pajamas.  It was an exhausting weekend.

My grandpa’s service was beautiful.  My dad played the piano and sang a song that he had written quite a few years ago.  My uncle, dad and cousin spoke and did an amazing job of expressing who my grandpa was.  Some of the things I didn’t even know. . .like, how much he volunteered for United Way or how he wrote down the dates of the pastor’s sermons in his bible.  It makes me wish that I had gotten to know him a bit better in my adult life.  There are so many things I did know, but never really talked to him about.  For example. . .his 46 years at Beech Aircraft as an aeronautical engineer, his service in World War II and the loss of his infant son.  He wore many hats, but I always just saw him as “grandpa.”  I wish I had spent more time getting to know him as a person.  He truly was amazing and will be so very missed. 

Saying Good-bye

My grandpa’s funeral is tomorrow and I can’t get rid of this pain in the pit of my stomach.  Maybe it’s worry as Olivia woke up early this morning with a fever.  Of all the times for any of us to get sick. . .this is not one of them.  And, I don’t do well being apart from my little girl when she’s sick.  Maybe it’s lack of sleep as I haven’t slept good lately.  One night, I get the call that my grandpa has passed away. . .the next night, I’m up with Olivia.  Maybe it’s dread as I have to say good-bye.  Maybe it’s sympathy for my sweet grandmother who wants nothing more than her husband back and for my mother who is missing her dad.  Maybe it’s the realization that we all get older and inevitably face the same demise.  Maybe it’s a bit of everything.  Losing your grandfather is a different feeling of loss than losing your son.  You know, that at some point, you are going to lose your grandparents.  The same does not hold true for your son.  It is still, however, an awful feeling of emptiness and pain and sorrow.  Ryan and I walked into a frequented restaurant today after the viewing of my grandpa and our familiar waitress noticed we were just a party of two.  “Where’s the little one?” she asked.  “With her grandparents,” we replied.  “Ah. . .there’s nothing like grandparents,” she said.  That hit home for me today.  There truly is nothing like grandparents and seeing how close Olivia is to hers really brings it full circle.  I can’t help but envision Olivia in 30-40 years time and finding herself in the same position as me. . .saying good-bye to her grandpa. . .one of the best men she knows.   Nobody is ever ready for that. 

I find great comfort in knowing that my grandpa is with our Heavenly Father.  He’s no longer in pain or afflicted with any worldly ailment.  I find comfort in knowing that he will be buried close by my son.  I don’t know why that makes a difference, but I feel a peace knowing that they are together in heaven as well as on earth.   These comforts are what help us through the hardships of life and they come directly from our Savior.  Amazing to know that my grandpa is there. . .with Him.  I can’t imagine the joyous reunions taking place and the smiles on my grandpa’s face.  It’s difficult to say good-bye, but we will meet again. . .my grandpa, my son and me.