Sad

We lost Matt's cousin yesterday. He was young. It was a tragic accident. It's so sad. It's even harder to lose someone so young. I don't know what else to say. (Here's what Matt had to say...what little he could for now.)

Joe- you'll be missed! (This photo is from the family Christmas party, the last time we saw him unfortunately.) Please pray for the family this week. Thanks.

Evidence

My kid is strange.

Don't believe me? Here's a little evidence.

His favorite thing to do with his grandma, Matt's mom, (and anyone else who will pretend with him) is play "sleepover". She doesn't mind playing along, but he makes her sleep on the floor in his room.

Then there was the day I found his bear "playing" Wii.

And the morning I found his underwear on his doorknob. Not sure what this was about. (Also, I so need to repaint our doors.)

We went to the park with my mom, and he wanted her to be the "grumpy old troll". She had to ask him riddles, so he could cross. (Anyone else know what this is from? My sympathies if you do.)

And last night I went to get a cookie after Zachariah had gone to bed. This is what I found.*

What is wrong with my kid? Please tell me that your kids do strange things like this too!

*I was telling Matt about the cookie thing tonight. Zachariah overheard and said he was hungry one day when I was in the shower, so he got a cookie but he wasn't hungry enough to eat the whole thing. Ha! (It did totally crack me up when I found half a cookie put back in the container.)

Accountability

OK, who's keeping me accountable? Uh, no one? That's why I haven't blogged ALL WEEK! Well, I might be a little to blame too.

I put out this little challenge at the beginning on the month. The goal is to blog a certain amount of days that would be reasonable for you, but stretching you to make you blog just a little more than maybe you have lately. I chose 3 days a week.

A few other people have joined me in my quest. Andria and Kelsey have joined me in my adventure. And I must admit that I'm loving seeing more blog posts from both of them. I guess they still haven't spurred me on to blog more.

I won't give up, though. I'm going to keep on keeping on.

You want to see a few of my excuses? Of course you do!

Zachariah playing "sleepover" with Grandma.

PATRICK! My adorable nephew!

Cuddling with my new nephew and Zachariah's new cousin. He is in love with baby Patrick, so sweet and gentle with him.

Baby Patrick (my new nephew for those of you not following along) is home now with his mommy and daddy. He had to stay in the special care nursery for a week, but he left last Monday evening. He's doing fantastic! He's growing quickly and has gained almost a pound already. He really is a sweet cuddly baby...the best kind!

I love being an auntie! It's so much fun to have this little baby to cuddle and hold. It's just great. Now I'm patiently waiting for the next nephew to arrive (my sister's) in approximately 21 days.

Since Patrick spent a few extra days in the hospital and they had him in the hospital here in our town, it was easy to pop up there to see them every day. We were near them several times a week for Zachariah's swim lessons, so we'd stop to see the baby on the way home. I was glad we were able to do that. And I think that it helped that Matt & I could offer some support and wisdom with them from our similar NICU stay.

But the last two weeks have seemed crazy with our regular swim lessons, then throw in the new baby excitement, plus we took food to them a few times at the hospital and home, and all our regular other activities. It's been a little nuts around here. I am hoping it settles a bit this week. I could use a little more restful quietness. And maybe a little sunshine too. Would that be too much to ask?

Mother's Day

I hope that you have a fantastic Mother's Day!

May your children be angels all day long.

May you get to sleep in.

May you not have to cook all the meals today (I'd say any meals, but that's probably not realistic now is it).

May you get lots of love, hugs, and kisses!

Happy Mother's Day!

Nephew!

I have been a parent for over 4 years now. While I love the experience and enjoy being a mommy, I have yet to experience the pleasure of being an aunt. I have been looking forward to that for a while.

Being an aunt is just different than being a mom. You have a little more freedom to spoil the kids, because then you get to send them home for someone else to deal with. And believe me there is a lot of spoiling that I need to do. My son has been the only grandchild in both mine and Matt's families for 4 years now. He has had plenty of spoiling. It's our turn now.

We found out in the fall that Matt's sister was expecting her first baby. We've been so excited and filled with anticipation. Then at Christmas, my sister surprised us all with a pregnancy announcement of her own. So we find that we're having two nephews due a month apart. Talk about plenty to spoil!

Yesterday at 10:00PM (around then, I can't remember exactly, maybe 10:04PM) my first nephew was born. (Son of Matt's sister, C, and her husband, L)

May I introduce to you, Patrick Charles.

He weighed in at a mere 8 lbs 5 oz and 21 inches long. He has a head full of thick dark hair and has the softest skin I've ever felt.

As you can tell from the picture, Patrick is spending some time in the Special Care nursery. He's had a start eerily similar to our Zachariah. He was due on the same day of the month (just a different month) as Zachariah, we induced on the same day (different month) as Zachariah, got shipped off to the Special Care nursery like Zachariah, and is in the next spot over in the same hospital as Zachariah was. Strange. He seems to have the same sort of infection that's preventing him from being at his mommy and daddy's side.

It was so strange walking into her hospital room with no baby there. But it seemed familiar, it happened to me 4 years ago. As I walked through the same hallways with my brother in law, I was a little spooked at the deja vu-ness of the whole situation. Seeing him in that little bed under the warmest was just too familiar. Our Zachariah spent a week in that same nursery under the same warmers.

But we know that Zachariah came home after a week. He grew up big and strong, and he is a healthy (really healthy) 4 year old boy now. I have every reason to expect that Patrick will be the same.

And I have a little experience from the mother's point of view. Our breastfeeding relationship didn't start well. There are things I would change if I could go back and do that. So I pass that knowledge and wisdom along to my sister-in-law in hopes of preventing her the same problems.

Through all these thoughts and feelings, I'm so excited to meet my new little nephew. I'm thrilled to be an aunt, and I can't wait to get to know Patrick more and more each time I see him.

More Recalling

What a mess we have. In the last few days over 40 children's and infants over-the-counter medications have been recalled. I've been hearing about it on the news. I'm hearing about it on Twitter. And anywhere there are mothers with young children, we're hearing about it.

I'm with everyone else. I can't believe that this is happening. Why can't we have better controls in effect to save us from possibly giving our children things that are bad for them.

We do all we can to protect them from so many things. We strap them into their car seats and booster seats until they are 8 years old. We're told to cut our children's food into teeny bite-sized pieces until they're 4. We hold our infants off from trying certain foods to decrease the risk of food allergies.

There are so many things that we do without hesitation to protect our children. We have a whole list of restrictions that we start following from the moment we suspect we're pregnant or see that double line on the pee stick.

But when a product like over-the-counter Tylenol can't even be trusted, what can a parent do?

While we're lucky enough to not have been affected by the medication recall (seriously, I realize how totally lucky I am that I hardly have child medication in my house ever...maybe more about that on another post), we have been affected by another recent recall.

Before Zachariah was even born, I lovingly picked out items for his nursery to make it a place we would both love and enjoy. My parents offered to buy us a crib. I chose something on the cheaper side, because I didn't really have a preference and didn't want them to spend too much. I'm not sure whether that's where the mistake lies or not, but this crib that I hoped to last a while longer to be used with more future children, has been recalled twice now.

The first time there was a replacement part issued. I ordered it even though we were in the process of switching Zachariah to a toddler bed and tearing the crib apart anyway. I saved the replacement part and intend on fixing it when the crib is needed again.

Now, though, this same crib (yes almost 5 years later) has been completely recalled. They are telling people to please get rid of this crib. Please don't pass it along or donate it or use it. Please just get rid of it. Make sure that you check out the article if you own a Simplicity or some Graco cribs.

Now what? Now what do I do? I have a useless crib. I bought it 4 1/2 years ago. I really don't think that the store we bought it from will issue a refund, and that's assuming that I still have the receipt (which I think I might still have). Great!

I don't know about you, but I'm slowly (or maybe quickly) losing my faith in the agencies that are supposed to be protecting consumers. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that they are notifying us now that they are aware of these problems. But why has it taken them so long to find most of them? I don't get it.

A challenge of the bloggy sort

I have been averaging about 4 blog posts a month. Sad.

There are always plenty of things to write about. And even more lately with one sister's life drama, and the impending birth of two nephews in the next month or so.

I don't know why when I have plenty of things to say that I can't just get on here and put my words into cohesive thoughts lately.

I'm never lacking things to say, just ask my husband. Anyone who knows me in real life would testify to that fact. I'm a talker and a conversation starter. I'm outgoing and don't usually have problems talking to anyone.

I can't believe that April is already over and May is firmly in our grips. Doesn't seem like almost half of this year is gone already. Time just flies in circles around me. And at times it seems like I just stand there and watch the days go by.

I'd like to challenge myself this month in my blogging. Maybe I could blog every day for a month? I just don't know if I can keep up with that. But I might be able to commit to blogging for a certain number of days each week. Like 3 new blog posts each week. That shouldn't be too hard, right. And if I go over that number, then good for me.

That's it. For the month of May, I'm going to have a new blog post at least 3 days each week. Anyone else want to join me? I mean, if you're already doing that regularly (as I know many of you are) it's not really for you. Maybe you can challenge yourself on your blog in another way.

But if your blogging has fallen by the wayside and you really don't want it to, you should join me. We can keep each other in check. Make sure to leave a comment letting me know that you're taking the challenge (or a challenge of your own), so that I can check in on you too. Who's in?

Spring/summer sickness

I guess I need to pay a little more attention. I wrote this up and meant to post it here yesterday, but I accidentally posted it on my PS Mom Reviews site. Aww well...anyway... And before I forget, be sure to check out my review site. Today is the last day to sign up for the NEW Thomas & Friends DVD giveaway. I'll leave it open until midnight at least (most likely won't draw a winner until tomorrow morning, so I'll take entries until then). And for those interested, there is also an EvoraKids giveaway. It's a probiotic oral care tablet for kids to take after brushing. It's all natural and good for getting that extra bacteria left in there mouth. Check it out, there aren't many entries, so you have a good chance of winning. OK, I'm done promoting. Here's yesterday's post.

**********

You know, the only thing worse than being sick in the winter is being sick in the spring/summer. It is 80 degrees outside today and I don't feel like enjoying it. I've been fighting some allergy headaches off and on this week. Then last night my throat started getting scratchy and by the time I woke up I had a full-blown cold. Blah!

Making it worse, Zachariah woke up with the same problems as me. He seems much more resilient to illness though. It doesn't bother him at all, other than running in for a new tissue now and then. Me, I hate being all stuffed up. And the worst of it at the moment it the sinus drainage. It's making my tummy upset.

I'm hoping that this cold doesn't stick around. I know the warm weather isn't for now. So maybe by the time it warms up again I'll be ready to get out and enjoy it again.

A consolation of being sick is Matt doesn't mind doing things for me. I don't feel like cooking, and I'd planned to go to the store today to get things to round out a few meals. But I didn't have the energy to get out. So Matt offered to bring something home to eat. I'll take it. I don't need babied much when I'm sick, so the little things make me feel good.

Firsts

We've had a lot of firsts for Zachariah recently.

There was his first haircut-

Before:

During:

During:

After:

OK, so it wasn't technically his "first" haircut, but it was the first time that I've taken him somewhere and paid someone to cut his hair. I usually do it myself, but I didn't know how to cut it the way I really wanted it AND he wouldn't let me touch it. Ever since he went with me the last time to have my hair cut, he hasn't stopped talking about going to get his haircut too.

He loved every minute of it. I told the lady what I wanted done to it. Zachariah jumped up in the chair and sat very quiet and still the whole time. He enjoyed having the big mirror right in front of him, so he could see everything going on. And he knew what he wanted. When she was finished cutting it, she was messing around and gave him some spikes. He said, "Oh, I want spikes." It was fine with me, so she had to trim a little more to make that work. Then she put it in a faux-hawk. He said, "No, I don't want it like that. I only like the spikes." Personally I preferred the faux-hawk, but the spikes are cute too. Most days he wears it flat like he did before though.

Still, it was a very pleasant experience. He keeps talking about when he goes back even.

(And that is him in his little Easter suit in the last photo. I didn't get too many pictures that day. Also, thanks for your concern. My feet are feeling better. I still have to be careful with them, but it's getting better.)

*****

Then there was the first swim lesson yesterday-

Learning first to kick:

Jumping in & getting wet:

Swimming across the pool:

Learning to get out alone:

Jumping in the deep end:

I always think of my son as more grown up than he is. Is it because he's so smart and speaks so well with adults? Is it because I'm with him all the time? I have no idea. But seeing him all lined up with those other kids at swim lessons, he suddenly seemed so little. Yet, I was proud of him listening and following instructions.

The teacher that lead Zachariah's class won't be the regular teacher, but I kind of wish he was. He was fantastic with the kids and did a great job. I was impressed with all the things they worked on with the kids for just the first class. Zachariah learned to get in and out of the side of the pool himself. They got their faces and heads under water. They used the kickboard and went across the pool and back a few times. Then they even went down to the deep end and jumped in.

Now that was funny. Zachariah was last in the line of kids to jump in the deep end. I know he can jump in a pool, but he's always jumped to me or with a life vest. I was curious to see whether he would do it. When it was his turn he stood up just like he was supposed to. Then when it was time to jump, he sat down and tried to jump from the edge. The instructor made him stand back up. And he did it, he jumped right in.

Things I enjoy about the lessons. I get to sit back and watch my son in someone else's charge. There were a few other friendly mothers that I've already enjoyed talking with. The lessons are in the warm therapy pool (which is good for the kids, but it's really hot to just sit in there and watch). Zachariah should be a great swimmer and ready for summer soon.

For all your shopping needs

Have you checked out CSN stores before? Maybe you've visited one of their 200+ online store before and didn't realize it. I've gotten a few things from them before. They have just about anything you'd ever want for your home, children, and more.

They have everything from baby cribs to cookware. (And I could spend hours browsing all those wonderful items.) Every time I stop by their children's furniture store, I want to redecorate Zachariah's bedroom. But unfortunately I don't have the money to do that right now.

However, I've been fortunate enough to be asked to review an item from CSN. We were in the market for a new booster seat for Zachariah now that he's 4 years old. So I got to choose something from babycarseats.com. Come back soon to see my review and the item I chose.

Hop Along

I hope that you all had a Happy Easter! We had a pretty great weekend. It was filled with getaways, visiting family, meeting a soon-to-be sister-in-law for the first time, parties, candy, food, gorgeous weather, a wonderful sunrise Easter service at church, and much more.

The "hop" part in the title wasn't meant for the Easter bunny. It's actually a pretty good description of what I've been doing for the past three days. Let's just say I have the knack for making a grand exit in front of an audience.

I fell off the first step out my in-laws front door. I tripped with one foot, tried to catch myself with the door, but the door just swung out of the way. When that happened it swung me around and I ended up cross-legged on the ground. I hurt both feet.

My first concern was for my ankles, but after a little while it seemed they were horrible. The side of my left foot, however, was very painful. By the time we got back to my parents' house where we were staying, I could only hobble along and was hurting when I walked. Matt was quite concerned and worried that I would need a trip to the ER.

I missed out on Zachariah doing his Easter egg hunt at my parents' since I couldn't follow him around on two hurt feet. He had fun finding all the eggs that my mom and sister hid for him Saturday night before bed though.

The good news is that my feet are slowly getting better. The side of my left food has been the worst and I've hobbled around these last few days. My right side is mostly pulled muscles and things around my ankle and up my leg. Not too bad though. And I can feel it getting a little better each day. Boy am I glad I didn't do something worse. But what an Easter.

Baking

I love to bake. One of my favorite things to bake...cookies.

That's what I'll be doing for the next day or two. Lots of cookie baking.

We're having a weekend women's conference at our church this weekend. There is a speaker coming and other things. But this year they also added booths. We have a new activity center, so this is a great way to use it. They asked women from our church and other places to bring their homemade/handmade items or their other goods/services to share with other women. It's a great chance to network. Fun for people coming to the conference (shopping!) and good for the women selling items to get their names out there.

The lady from our church coordinating this event approached me at a baby shower about making cookies. I had made some for that, and she asked if I've ever sold my cookies. The answer is yes, many times. I've sold cookie trays for Christmas several years. And I've done other special orders.

Then I started thinking about the opportunity for me to sell my crocheted and knitted items. I have so many sitting here. I keep making things thinking I'll give them away for gifts (which I do from time to time) or open an Etsy store and start selling some.

So, I'm making several kinds of cookies and bringing all my crocheted/knitted things. It should be fun, and I'm hoping I can bring home a little spending money.

I'm also hoping to open an Etsy store before then, so I can get my site out there too. Maybe I can pass out some business cards. Thanks for your help in brainstorming a name, I still have some rolling around in my head but none that have stuck yet. If you have any more ideas, I'm open to them. If I chose your idea, I'll send you something pretty.

Well, bake to preparing for the weekend. There are lots of cookies to bake!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

*Pinch! That's for those of you not wearing green, you know who you are.*

Enlisting your help

I need your help. I am planning to open an Etsy shop. It will mostly be to sell crocheted and knitted items from me. But my sister would also like to list her paintings and things as well.

We want to keep it all in one store. We want to both be able to use it.

Here's what I need your help with. We can't think of a name for the store.

It shouldn't be anything too specific to what we're selling, because they are two different things.

It could possibly have something to do with "sisters" in the name. But that's not a must either.

Maybe using some form of "PS Mom" or "Saige" in the name. PS Mom is what I use for my review blog, so I could use a little tie-over there. (But that may not be the best option for my sister either.) Saige is a nickname I went by in high school, and I still use an e-mail for family and friends with that name in it. Plus it might have some appeal, because this sister is almost the only person who will still call me Saige from time to time.

Other ideas? I don't have many. My sister just started brain-storming, so I don't think she has much yet either. We're pretty open to ideas.

Help!

The Birthday Boy

Yesterday, March 3rd, was Zachariah's 4th birthday! I can't believe that he is already 4 years old. I'm pretty sure I say that every year though. It's still true.

Wanna see some past photos? Here are a few of my VERY pregnant with Zachariah. Then there are the first birthday photos. Wow, that seems so so long ago! The second birthday was a blast too, and it went by oh so fast. Now three is gone too.

I'm not sure having a 4 year old child is quite what I pictured. I'm not sure I ever took the time to picture it either.

We did have a fun day with Zachariah. We let him do what he wanted and planned a little evening out at Chuck E. Cheese. (That was a first.) He had a great day. Now we're just getting ready for the family party here on Saturday. Enjoy some photos of the birthday boy in action.

Pizza!

Games!

Presents!

Dad!

Mom!

Chuck E!

The haul! (He insisted on arranging it and taking this photo!)

Another present from a friend! And the cheesy boy is ready for bed.

A little time to play before hitting the hay!

Happy Birthday, Zachariah!

Moods- Take 'em or Leave 'em

I'm feeling rather moody tonight. I'm not sure whether it's hormone related (doesn't seem like it should be), or if it's just because I had a rough day with Zachariah.

I'm a woman...do I really need a reason to be moody? I just am!

This probably is the worse time to blog, but that's what my blog's for right? It's my blog and I can complain if I want to.

Zachariah was stubborn, disobedient, and quite rude to me today. Enough was enough, so I sent him to his room for quiet time. He was not allowed to get up until Daddy came home. (He was in his room for about an hour and a half or so.)

Then while being banned to his room, he spilled his water bottle and didn't tell me about. I found half of his blanket soaked when I put him to bed tonight. That made me even more upset about the situation. He also got his CD player taken away for the day/night, because when I escorted him back to his room (one of the many times) he had his robe over the CD player which I didn't think was safe.

Maybe I was too rash about some of the things I did. But I'm telling you, I tried my hardest to keep calm and handle the situation(s) at hand.

I felt like he was pushing my last ever-loving button.

Not my finest day as a parent.

Sweater

I finally did it! I had been wanting to knit a sweater for Zachariah for a while now. I didn't know if I'd be able to complete the whole thing. But, I did it!

I found an easy pattern from Lion Brand Yarn's website. I used I Love This Yarn acrylic yarn in Burnt Pumpkin from Hobby Lobby. Zachariah picked out the color. I was hoping for a nice green or blue. But it turned out great!

I was able to get it done so quickly. It took my less than a week, and that wasn't even working on it all the time like I sometimes do with a project. I think I'll be getting some more yarn and making a few more soon.

Edited to add: I almost forgot. I got this done just in time for Zachariah to wear it to church Sunday. So many people knew I'd been working on it, so it was neat to see it completed. The best part is he wore it all day then cried when I made him take it off to put his pajamas on for bedtime. Aww!

Fun Fact Friday

1. My sister is on her way here to spend the afternoon with us while her husband visits a friend in town. This is my 23 week pregnant sister! Who I haven't seen for about 4 weeks. I can't wait to see her belly! So exciting about my nephew on the way.

2. I have been pretty lazy lately. Not sure if it's because I wasn't feeling great with my period this week, or perhaps the fact that I've been snowed in for a few days, or maybe all the snow shoveling I've done in a week, or who knows. Yesterday I managed to pick up a little steam. I cleaned the house (or at least started it) and got some posting/reviews done over at my review blog.

3. Speaking of my review blog, I have two new giveaways. I have a new Thomas DVD and a Best of Bob the Builder DVD. Go enter, your kids will love it.

4. I had a successful baby shower for the ladies at church to celebrate my friend J's new baby last weekend. This is the first time a close friend has had a baby. It's so exciting. I get to see him once a week, but it's just not enough. ;) When I have my two new nephews (one due in May, the other in June), I'll have more babies to love on. Can't wait.

5. Speaking of babies, mine will be 4 in less than a month. 4! Did you hear that? Definitely time for another baby. I'm trying to have patience.

6. I'm in the middle of knitting Zachariah a sweater. Looks good so far. I am anxious to get it finished. He is very excited about it.

7. Hope that you all have a great Valentine weekend. No special plans here. Matt and I plan to go out for dinner Saturday with the little guy too.

Get Lost!

Hurray! I'm so excited that "Lost" finally starts again tonight.

I have been a faithful viewer since Season 2. Matt has been watching from the beginning. (I missed most of it the first season, because it started at 8 on Wed when I had choir rehearsal. But I have since caught up on that first season.)

Zachariah is already in his pajamas and ready for bed at just past 7:00PM. He's usually going to bed at 8:00 or just before. But I didn't want to chance missing a moment of "Lost" tonight.

I'm hoping for a great wrap up for a wonderful show. Don't disappoint me.

Anyone else a fan of "Lost"?

Off to a great start

So, I've done so well with my blog this year. Can you tell? I mean, 3 whole posts so far. And it's not any better on my other blog.

And it's not that I don't want to blog...or that I don't have anything to blog about. I've just lacked the motivation to even fathom putting my thoughts, feelings, etc. into words.

Matt upgraded his gym/YMCA membership to a family one. That was part of his Christmas gift to Zachariah and I. I've been slowly getting into going there and working out. It's a much needed change in my life. I have a long way to go, but I'm glad to have the chance to start.

Today I went to workout for a while and left Zachariah in the babysitting area. Have I told you how social my child is? Some people cannot believe that he isn't in school. He will probably be a social butterfly.

When I left him at the babysitting center, there were many kids, so he ran off to play. By the time I got back, there was only one other younger child in there with Zachariah and the two women working. He was sitting on the floor with both adults just talking away. Looked like they were having a great discussion.

They told me that he was telling them he wants to be a teacher (new to me). He was teaching them to spell their names. Ha ha ha! And his name too. So cute. He was literally quizzing them on things.

On the way out I was talking to him about wanting to be a teacher. He said he'd also like to work in a restaurant like the girl we saw the other night. Oh my.

When we were out to eat last week, Zachariah started watching one of the waitresses. We only realized after he started blowing her kisses. Then he told us, "She's cute". (I tell you, we're in trouble with this one.) Later she came near our table, and he caught her eye. He said "I was blowing you kisses." She sort of giggled and came closer to talk to him. I told her he thought she was cute. It was so funny. So now I guess he wants to work with her.

If he's like this now, what am I in for when he has raging hormones to boot?

Today's the Day!

Delurking day is upon us. Thanks, Shelly, for bringing it to my attention.

This is a day for all my blog readers to leave a comment. Especially you, you know who you are. The one peeking around the corner but never saying a word.

Are you just too shy and don't know what to say?

You can tell me how you got here, where you found my blog.

Or ask me a question.

Or tell me what color your hair is (maybe even your real hair color).

Or you can just say HI. I'd love to hear from you and see who reads this blog.

Come on, don't be shy. I know you're there. I track my stats, and I know people read this blog.

Plus, if you do a delurking day, I'll come over and comment on yours too.