Update

Well, I've had a few contractions off and on all day long. Again...nothing painful, just uncomfortable. Here's the 4-1-1. I am on bedrest (as much as possible) until I go for a sonogram at 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning. What does this mean? Trying to figure out how to rest with a 2-year-old for a day. HA! Mark is home today, so that's good, but tomorrow we'll be exploring the boundaries of Cassie's independence. :) I don't have to be IN my bed. I just have to lay wherever we are. I don't want her to be a little TV monger, but she does enjoy her shows, so tomorrow will probably be a very TV-infused day just to make it through. If the rest continues after the sonogram, then we'll figure things out with family and such. Until then...I'm just hoping that as the UTI clears, this all does too and that there is zero change to my cervix, etc. etc. If there has been no change, then there is no worries and no bed rest. If there has been change, there will probably be bed rest and then check ups and then who knows what if the bed rest doesn't help. We're just going for the zero change, though, right? :)

Well, just wanted to keep you all updated. If you don't hear from me between now and Wednesday, it's because I'm laying somewhere resting. Have a good one!

SOOOOOOOO not time!

So, I had about 6 contractions within an hour and 15 minutes last night. They were not painful, but they were uncomfortable. Of course, I keep wondering how on earth am I supposed to decide if they're painful when I've FELT the PAINFUL contractions of later labor?!? I mean, contractions at the beginning hurt like crazy when they're the first ones you've ever felt, but let me tell you...they seem like kisses once you get into the throws of real labor!

My info sheet from the hospital (from my UTI visit) and my dr (my 3rd trimester visit) said to lay down on my side and drink three 8-oz glasses of water, so I did that. They must have stopped at that point, because I fell asleep. I had a few throughout the night, but nothing steady or anything. This morning, I was fixin to go get the phone book to look up my dr's number (if I haven't mentioned it yet, my cell phone and therefore my life, is non-functional...if you need me, call my home). Before I could get out of bed, the phone rang and it was the dr calling to check on me. I didn't ever call him last night since I fell asleep, so I thought that that was pretty amazing. :) Anyway, he is going to try to get me scheduled for a sonogram today just to make sure that my cervix is behaving. With my first pregnancy, I had a threat of an incompetent cervix at my 20-week sonogram. They put me on partial bedrest and the problem fixed itself. Well, if my cervix is shortening or responding to these contractions (which are from the UTI), then I'll probably be put back on either partial or full bed rest for awhile. He said that the sonography department had been crazy and he knew that they were really backed up, so if they couldn't get to me today then he wanted me to get in to see him and have an exam to check. He said that he'd rather do a sono, though, because then they could get a measurement of how long and thick it was AND it wouldn't be agitating my cervical tissues, which could potentially cause further issues. SO, that's my story. If I can get in to see the sonographer, I'm having a sonogram today. If not, I'm having an exam. WOO-HOO! Doesn't THAT sound like fun.

I'm not worried about the potential of him coming tomorrow or anything. It's just that we need to monitor things to make sure that he doesn't come early period. Obviously, at 29 weeks, that would be major bad if he were to decide it was time to come out, but he would make it through after probably some good time in the NICU. SO, we'll just get it all checked out and do what we need to to convince him that he's warm and comfy in there.

Does anyone else find this ironic after my whining about everyone having their babies or being close to having their babies? I REALLY didn't mean it that way!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My little wonders

I know I brag on here a lot about my kiddos...both the one in and the one out of the womb. :) I have stated the reasons that my son is a wonder...the fact that God is growing him in there and such. I've stated many reasons that I believe Cassie is a little wonder. She daily confirms my belief of such. Don't get me wrong...I think that children in general are wonders. I just get to see her's hour by hour and day by day. I get to experience firsthand why she is the wonder that she is. I'm not calling her a genius, but I will state that I do believe that she is ahead developmentally at this point. I credit that to several things. Number 1, God-given ability to learn. All children soak things up like a sponge. It is all in what they're exposed to. Number 2, largely expanded vocabulary. I kind of think that this is both a cause and effect of her being ahead. She is able to express so much more because of her vocabulary and can therefore increase it so much faster as she puts more together in her little mind and it all "clicks." The third thing that I attribute this to is devotion on my part to teaching her. As I've said before, I don't push her. I don't force her to sit and do "school" every day. I just have learning stuff available for her. I ask her questions. I engage her in conversation. I encourage her to explore. All things that I have found to be priceless as a result our (Mark and mine) decision for me to be a SAHM. I don't claim to have any special talents at teaching her, but I constantly talk to her and ask her questions. I believe that the potential is there for any child that has a parent who is willing and able to spend the time to expand their worlds.



Now, I certainly see this in my interactions with her, but I see it in her interactions with other people; adults and other children alike. I see her inquisitiveness and try to understand what is going on as those cogs are turning in her little brain. The other day, I kept my nephew, Jonah. After a while, she turned to him out of nowhere and said, "Mark's at work." Mark, being my husband, in case you don't know that. I just thought that it was cute that she knew that Jonah doesn't call her daddy "Daddy." She is always asking questions about what something is, what it does, or where it goes. She just is always problem-solving and thinking about things and I believe that it is one of the best ways to learn. On our cruise, I found out that she can count to 20. I knew she could go to 15, but not 20. She just kept going after 15 and got them all right (except that time she DID say "five teen," which I thought was pretty cute).



Like I said, I'm not saying that she's a genius or anything like that. I'm just saying that when they are this little and you give them the opportunity, they can learn SOOOO much and 1-in-1 or 2-on-1 or the likes seems to be the way to go for maximum potential.



So, talk to your kids a lot...no matter how small. Explain things to them whether they're 5 months old or 5 years old. Don't think that they're too young to understand...you never know what concept will "stick" that you'll hear them using at some later point!





Does this post sound cocky or anything, because I really, really hope that it doesn't. I don't mean it in that light at all. I am just a huge advocate for early childhood learning and the benefits of starting really, really small. Who knows, my next child could be complete non-verbal...completely disinterested in learning and then I'll have a new perspective. I just really think that there is something to this concept, though. Please let me know what you think and if you did take this post in a bad way. I've recently heard that I come off bad to some people and am trying to pinpoint what it is that I say or how I say things that comes off wrong. I'm trying to correct it so as not to offend anyone else. :)

6-Word Memoir

Well, before reading Bek's full blog, I knew I'd be tagged and already started thinking of lines. The one that I came up with and liked happened to be very close to the one that her other friend, Devon, came up with, but I'm using it anyway! I guess great minds (who happen to have the same name) think alike! You're supposed to do a 6-word memoir of yourself. Here's mine:

Work in progress in many ways.

Not too inventive or creative in wording...however, it has much in meaning to me. I actually thought of it because I have a materinty shirt that says "WORK IN PROGRESS." I'm a work in progress inside and out. I'm a work in progress as I grow this little baby in my womb. I'm a work in progress daily as I try to be more like Jesus (or say I'm trying...sometimes it's only words, but I try...). I'm a work in progress as I learn to manage a household and a 2-year-old. Yeah, I'm not trying to get that one mastered right now. I figure it will all go out the window once Conrey comes. I'm a work in progress as I learn how to be the woman I need to be for my husband. I am a work in progress as I learn how to teach my daughter life lessons, life skills, about the wonderful world around her, and most importantly as I try to instill the love of Jesus in her precious heart. I am a work in progress as I try to find time for God. I'm miserable at this and let me tell you, I have a LOT of work to do in this area. I am a work in progress as I learn time management. I am a work in progress as I learn to adjust to Mark's new schedule.

I AM A WORK IN PROGRESS.

Let me tell you, the list could go on and on. I have much work to do and know that some things are life-long learning, while others will be mastered or will be passed by as life changes around me and they are no longer a challenge. It has been said that if you're not moving forward, you're moving backward. There is no idleness in the world of self progress. I'm gonna keep moving forward. :)

Oh, yeah...now I'm supposed to tag people. I'm gonna do what Bek did and just say that you all need to do it! :) Come up with a 6-word line about yourself and then explain it. Then tag people. The end. :)

Ho Hum...

So, I'm feeling much better now. I'm not ALL better, but much better. It's been a looooong week, though, and my house is still a disaster! Anyone want to come get it under control for me? :) :) :)

The mysteries of pregnancy are never-ending, I've decided. As I'm sitting here acting as a human trampoline for little Mr. Conrey, I am amazed, once again, at the miracle that I am actually part of this process. I am growing a human inside of me. Now, don't get me wrong, all of the credit of the actual growing, nurturing, and life-breath of this little guy goes to God. To HIM be the glory without a doubt. I am just amazed that I am the vessel He has chosen to transport this little guy into life.

However, the agonies of pregnancy never cease, either. Remember how I desperately wanted to be pregnant and due this late winter/early spring? Remember how I had friend after friend contact me to tell me that they were due in Feb/Mar/Apr/May? Well, those babies have started the domino effect. Several have been born...several are days or weeks away from taking that first breath. Me? I'm just pregnant. Pregnant for 11 more weeks, give or take (and if you say "give," I will cry). I am ALREADY at the point of being tired of this pregnancy. I am jealous of those who have had their baby or know that they will within the next few days or weeks. I am tired of the pains, sicknesses, and hormones.

Now, let me say that I am absolutely thrilled for my friends that have had their babies and have made it through a round of labor and delivery. I am thrilled that they've had healthy babies. I don't want to take away their joy...I just want mine to be here sooner.

And then...I am reminded by a gentle breeze that God's timing is perfect. I am reminded that Conrey will be here when Conrey's supposed to be here. I am reminded that God has our whole lives written in His book, and Conrey's doesn't start quite yet. And I can be still in knowing that. I can be still in knowing that God has a plan for my little man. I can rest easy knowing that God is shaping him, molding him, growing him perfectly (and I mean this even if he has some sort of imperfection that we do not yet know about). I can be content...for the moment. It is just hard to remember it for longer than that...a moment.

Dear Lord, please comfort me and hold me in your hand. I know that your timing is perfect and that you are doing an amazing work inside my humble body. Please wash your peace over me until it is time for my darling son to make his arrival. Please give me strength to do what I need to do each day. Please give me motivation to do more each day than I did the day before, but the wisdom to know when I've done enough and should rest. Please be with the pregnant mommies that I know and love whom are close to giving birth. Give them strength that only you can provide to bring about the miracle of life as you intended. Above all, dear Lord, bring all of us mommas and babies through safely and in YOUR timing.
Amen

Sick and more sick

So, I still feel like crud. In fact, last night, my kidneys started hurting in my back, too. I am just kind of a wreck. In addition, I'm keeping my nephew today and then will pick up my other nephew from school at 3:40. UGH! Not so much what I want to do when sick. Cassie is doing better, though coughing up a storm at times. This is just no fun. Thanks for listening to me complain. :)

ER visit #3

Can this BE any more sad? I was in the ER at 5 weeks, 16 weeks, and now 28 weeks. UGH! This time, though, was not exactly an emergency...at least in my mind. AND, I wasn't really an ER patient...I went up to the labor and delivery floor and spent some quality time there. I thought that I was getting an UTI or urinary tract infection. All day yesterday, I had been peeing lots and when I had to go, I HAD TO GO! Plus, I had a weird burning in my groin. The problem? I had my 2 daycare kids until 5:00. My OB's office closes at 5. UTI's can cause pre-term labor, so they didn't want me to wait until today to get it taken care of. SO, I went up to the ER entrance, went up to labor and delivery, gave them my sample, was hooked up to monitors to check on baby, and watched Big Brother and other shows until they came back. They only thing that we found out about Conrey is that he is already living up to his name...Ornery Conrey. He kept moving away from the sensor. Little stinker! When they came back in, I got a shot in the rear (read that as the most painful shot I've ever gotten that burned like fire, made my butt hurt, and caused me to hardly be able to sit still today) and was sent home. Today, I got a prescription for antibiotics and am supposed to be peeing once every hour (which I was instructed to do all night long).

SO, that's my story. I figure in another 11 weeks (give or take since I have been there every 11-12 weeks), I will have already had the baby, so I'm now shooting for being back there in about 9-1/2 to 10 weeks to be in labor and pushing this guy out! My due date is June 15, but I wouldn't mind having him on the 4th...that's my m-i-l's b-day. She'd like that.

ALPHABET SOUP "E"

E...tough letter. The first one should be obvious:

EATING: I love to eat. I love to tantalize my tastebuds. I love food. :)

ELEPHANTS: I love elephants. They are so strange to me and they just facinate me. Elephants are cool. :)

ELECTRICIANS: Okay...I had to say it because my hubby is one...a master, at that! They really amaze me with the things that they can do. Lighting just makes the home in so many ways!

How sad is that? Only 3 little things that I could think of. I guess the recap post just wore me out! :)

Post 135--Our trip in short (HA!)

So, where do you begin to tell of a 10-day adventure? Do you start at the beginning? Do you tell highlights as they come to mind? Do you go day-by-day? All sound good, but all sound...well, impossible. I think that I WILL go day-by-day, just so that I can re-live it in my mind so that I can re-tell it with my fingers. Some days will be short and sweet and some will be more detailed. Here we go: *DEEP BREATH*

SATURDAY (3/15): So, we woke up early-ish and drove to Wichita. Pretty uneventful. We all loaded up into 2 large vehicles with my dad, mom, sister, David (Dani's boyfriend), Mark, Cassie, me, our 2 lovely drivers (my parents' best friends and my "other" parents), and 12 pieces of luggage and who knows how many carry-ons. Our first flight was a short one to Dallas. Our next flight was to be a 3-hour flight to LAX...too bad it was delayed 2-1/2 hours! We had to wait in the waiting area for a long, long time (we already had a 1-1/2 hour layover, so we waited 4 hours total) until getting to LAX. LA time: 9:00-something p.m. KS time: 11:00-something p.m. Bedtime after checking into hotel, showering, etc: 11:30 LA time/1:30 a.m. KS time. We were exhausted.

SUNDAY: Luckily, we didn't have to be back at the airport until 11:00 to catch our shuttle to the pier and our hotel was close. We met up with my 2 brothers and their families along with their additional 10-12 pieces of luggage and carry-ons, got in two 16-passenger vans, and travelled about 25-30 minutes to the dock. After going through cattle lines, we got all of our documentation done and then waited to board the ship. When we did...boy were WE surprised! First of all, it was definitely the most fancy of any cruise ships I'd been on. It was very ornate and gaudy (sp?) in a Romanesque sort of way. If that brings to mind statues, murals, etc., then you're picturing it well. If that brings to mind NAKED statues, murals, etc., then you're picturing it perfectly. My 6-yr-old nephew, Lucas, stopped mid-sentence as we enter the main atrium and just started cracking up. It is the typical thing for any cruise ship to have glass elevators in their grand atrium. As you went UP on these, you approached...well...DAVID in all of his glory and stopped at eye level with...well...his glory? Yeah...that was interesting... That day, we rested, explored, and then went to a fabulous dinner after getting our rooms sorted out, but that's a whole other story that does not need to be blogged here.

MONDAY: This was our first full day at sea. We did the typical walk around inside and out things. I got a massage in the spa, which was great, but my lady talked the WHOLE time! UGH! We didn't get in the pool, as it was freezing cold. That night was the captain's cocktail party where they serve hor'dourves (I think that I almost spelled that right) and free cocktails. This was formal night #1 and we all looked our best. :) Dinner included lobster and prime rib since it was formal night. It was a nice evening and Mark and I even danced up on the stage with about a billion other lovebirds during the cocktail party. After dinner we went to the first show that we were able to make (the first night Cassie was too pooped). All I can say is "voice lessons." The 2 headliner singers were NOT good. They were off most of the time and were just awful at the ending notes. You know, the ones that you hold FOREVER. When they were together, one was always sharp and one was always flat at the end. When they were separate, the guy did okay, but the girl was always a FULL HALF STEP off. It was just really awful.

TUESDAY: This was day 2 at sea. I forgot to mention on Mon that both of these days were WAY cold for what you think of with a cruise. It was windy and only about 68-70 degrees. After just doing random onboard things all day, we went to take Cassie swimming. She had been begging to swim. BRRRRRRR! Mark got in and said that there was NO WAY she was going to want to get in. Boy was he wrong! She chattered and shivered and laughed and kicked and splashed. She LOVED it and hated to get out, but after about 10 minutes, Daddy was DONE! We had another nice dinner this night and then Cassie and I went to bed early, because we had a port day the next day... Oh, wait...before bedtime, we went to the karaoke bar to cheer my sister on. She was auditioning for the "Carnival Legends" show in which she got to be Britney Spears in the show the final night of the cruise...more details on that on Saturday.

WEDNESDAY: We got off of the boat into beautiful Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We rented a 16-passenger van that took us throughout the city; both to the "touristy" spots and the local spots. It was really neat. It then took us up into the jungle where we ate at an authentic restaurant, watched people diving into natural waterfalls (one even blindfolded, which scared us all to death...it was a very narrow landing area), and then several of our group did ziplines through the jungle while the rest of us stayed with the kids. After that, we went to a native Tequila "factory" where they made Tequila the good-ol-fashioned way. It was firepits, a mill where they grind everything by hand via a huge rolling stone, and then a distillery of bamboo pipes, plastic jugs, and used Coca Cola bottles. :) They did samples and everyone agreed that this was nothing like Jose Cuervo Gold or whatever tequila you would buy here. In fact, this place only sells it's product AT the factory...they don't ship...they don't sell commercially. That's how proud they are of their product. We now have mandarin orange tequila waiting to be put into our freezer. All in all, this was a really neat day filled with culture, adventure (for some), and family bonding. :)

THURSDAY: This morning found us in Mazatlan, Mexico. Our driver from PV, Raul, had given us the name of his friend, Ivan, in Mazatlan. We hired him to do the same sort of tour as Raul had done the day before. We saw wild iguanas, lots of monuments, real cliff divers, ate at an authentic place, and then went to the beach. We all had a BLAST at the beach. Cassie LOVED it. Mom kept her in the shallow waters while Mark and I went further out. There were a few waves that were over my head. It was crazy, but lots of fun. They buried my nephew, Ethan, all the way up to his neck and made him have a mermaid body...that was pretty funny. Cassie enjoyed digging in the sand and finding shells and rocks. It was a long, tiring day for me, but definitely fun.

FRIDAY: Our last day in port was somewhat disappointing for us all. First of all, I was so sore and achy that day. I think that it was from fighting the waves and all of the walking from the 2 days previous. It was a struggle for me, for sure. My legs burned and were swelling by the time we got to our destination...the most disappointing whale-watching tour EVER. So, the guy that sold us the tour said whale watching, snorkeling, a stop at the beach, free snacks, free open bar (not that any of us are big drinkers, but it was one of the selling points in his mind), sight seeing, etc. We were excited. Once the boat left, however, our excitement turned to irritation. First of all, the boat owners, workers, and captain said that there was no whale-watching, as that season was pretty much over. That was the main reason we were taking this stupid boat! Secondly, the snorkeling was in an area that was murky and freezing. They didn't see any much besides a few tunas. In order to get to the beach, you had to get in the water and swim about 200 yards or more to get to the beach. RIGHT...like I can do that with Cassie while being pregnant. Mark didn't feel comfortable taking Cassie into the ocean when it was so freezing cold and we were still out in pretty deep water. SO, I missed out on snorkeling, beaching, etc. that day. The snacks were tuna salad with crackers OR chips with the kind of cheese sauce you get at the ball park...only not good. It was all kind of disappointing. There were lots of drunk people on the boat and we barely saw anything of note except for LOS ARCHOS...the famous natural archway made of rocks that is in the ocean. When we got back onboard, all I could do was laydown. I was in bad shape with my feet and legs. That evening was good with dinner and such, but I hit the hay earlier than intended so that Cassie and I could get good rest.

SATURDAY: Our last day at sea. Third verse, same as the first...2. It was chilly and windy. In fact, the top 3 decks were closed off due to wind advisory. It was just COLD! We did the usual onboard stuff including a game of Bingo. No, none of us won. BUMMER! The highlight of this day was the kid's talent show. My 3-1/2 year-old nephew, Jason, said that he wanted to "jump and shake his booty" for the show. OK... We all know that he likes to dance. It was just a funny way to put it. So, they call him up and ask his name. He tells them. They ask how old he is. He holds up 3 fingers. The lady asks, well, how old are you? He says, "Well, I don't know how old I is." They ask where he's from and he says, "Well, I don't know where I'm from!" She says, "So, you're going to dance?" He says, "NO! I'm going to JUMP and SHAKE MY BOOTY!" Everyone laughs and she tells him to go ahead. Now, without the visual, I can't do this justice. All I can say is that he jumped once, spun around, shook his booty side to side for a few seconds, and then ran back to his seat. With everyone laughing, we all prodded him to go back up. He said, "I DID IT ALREADY!" We got him to go back up and he did the same thing: jumped, spun around, and shook his booty to the audience. It was hilarious! I think that we all learned to take him seriously.

I'm going to start a new paragraph to talk about the Carnival Legend's show. My sister, as I mentioned before, was picked to be in the show as Britney. She wore a schoolgirl outfit and hideous pigtails/bangs wig. She had back-up dancers and sang "Oh, baby, baby" or whatever the title is of that song. She was really good. There were 9 other performers impersonating legends...all were fellow cruisers. There was Elvis, Ricky Martin, Madonna, Gloria Estefan (sp?), Aretha, Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Garth Brooks, and 1 more that I can't put my finger on. It was a good show and the best part was that the headliner singers only sang the first and last songs. :)

Before going to bed on Saturday night...by midnight, to be exact, you have to have all of your checked luggage outside of your door to be picked up by the baggage porters. This means that you have to keep out clothes for the next day and any ESSENTIAL (and non-liquid per the airlines) extra items, as they have to go in your carry-on. It's a pain, but our room sure was clutter-free that night! We got everything packed up and went to bed so that we wouldn't be total zombies on the way home.

SUNDAY: Debarkation is a miserable process...unless you get early debark privileges. How do you do that? Have an early flight home. We did. You are still herded like cattle and then taken to a large room filled with luggage where you must rummage around for your 25 bags (group total, remember?). We found them all...eventually...after my brother went back in to find their missing piece...got back into two 16-passenger vans...eventually after another small fiasco...and headed back to the airport. We hung out, ate, and then boarded planes home. We got to Wichita by 11:00 something that night, brought all the bags in and crashed. We got up the next morning, got around, and came back to KC.

One thing not mentioned was the progression of sickness on the trip. Saturday/Sunday (days 1-2), my sis-in-law, Amanda, and niece, Calllie were sick. By Monday, I had a sore throat, but that was all. Sometime in the week, my other sis-in-law, Laura, got sick (Callie's her daughter), and then little by little from Saturday on, we all got sick and now are all sick with the exception of 3 out of 16. It is crummy and no fun. We're all just glad that so few were actually sick ON the trip. Poor little Callie, though, was sick the longest. Amanda mainly only felt bad at night, but Callie was just crummy the whole time. She was soooo good, though, for not feeling good.

Well, if you've stayed with me thus far, you just went on a Mexican Riviera cruise AND you win an award for actually reading all of my drivel. Hope you enjoyed the recap. I'm DONE! :)

ALPHABET SOUP "D"

Well, we're up to "D" now. I guess I missed it while I was gone, so I thought that I'd catch up on it. I must say that I'm having trouble thinking of things...

DATE NIGHTS: I love the chance to spend quality, devoted time with my hubby. To be able to talk without interruption every 2 seconds...to be able to eat my food while it's hot...date nights are good and far too infrequent.

DINER DASH: It's a great game that is really fun. It is quite addictive to me, so I have to be careful not to get hooked on a game and lose all track of time.

DINNERTIME: I love to eat...I love to cook (as previously stated). I love sitting down as a family to eat together. I love it that Cassie knows that we hold hands and pray before we eat. I love it that we can catch up on each other's day. I just love that we're all together after a long day of separation.

DESSERT: Yes, this is another food item, but I love it. On the cruise, I ordered 2-3 desserts every night, because you can do that on cruises. :) I thoroughly enjoyed it all. I mainly like fruity things, but fruity and chocolate is good too. I will usually try anything as long as there are no bananas, coconut, cheesecake, or the few other things that I don't really care for that are in desserts.

DERIN, DUSTIN, and DANI: My siblings. We're all D's. I love them all dearly and crave time with them. It is always sad to say farewell when it's time to leave...especially Dustin and his family since we see them so rarely.

That's all I can think of right now. Sad list in comparison to my others. I'll try to add later. :)

Home...at long last

We are home...safe and sound. It was a looooooooong trip, but a great one. We enjoyed family time, food, adventure, and lots of laughs. I took 55 diapers and came home with about 7...pretty good, I'd say. We saw sights, played in the ocean and on the beach, sat on our balcony, and just had a great time. I will write a more detailed post when I have the energy. We all 3 came home sick, sick, sick with headcolds/sore throats/achiness. Not so fun, but that's alright. It started with a niece and sis-in-law and just kind of made the rounds. I think that MOST of us have gotten it by now. UGH! SO, as soon as I return to normalcy, I will post a detailed description of our adventures. If you aren't patient, you can read part 1 of the trip here on my brother's site. Otherwise, I'll catch you later to update on that.



In other news, I had an appointment today. My dr had an emergency, so I just saw a nurse. She measured me, did my blood pressure, weight, etc. I'm measuring 2 weeks big just like I did with Cassie. I'm just a big preggo lady. :) I'm up to a total gain of just over 25 lbs now. EEK! I still have 12 weeks to go!!! Oh, well...it all goes away...eventually. :) Baby sounded good and all is on track. I go every 2 weeks now for awhile and then down to every week after a few every-others. This baby is going to be here before we know it!


Speaking of babies...I wanted to do a BIG 'OL shout-out to my dear friend, Holly, who is expecting her 1st baby in...is it Oct, Holly? She has been patiently (yes, Holly...you HAVE been patient) waiting for her husband to finish dental school and then orthodontics school. He's done in August this summer, so they decided that the timing was right. It's been a loooooooong wait for her and she's lived vicariously through those of us who were able to start families before her, so I am so thrilled for them! We're praying for all THREE of you!!!

Well, that's all I can manage tonight. I haven't caught up on all of your blogs, but will as time allows. For now, though, I will say good night and sweet dreams to you all! :)

UGH!

You know how sometimes when you wake up to your alarm (assuming you have it tuned to the radio), the song that wakes you up is stuck in your head the whole day? Well, let's just say that today's song was A) a song that gets stuck in your head SOOOO easy, B) very today-appropriate, and C) already driving me nuts and I fear it will for the duration of my day. Let's just say "Key Largo, Montego, Baby, why don't we go down to Cocomo?" Very cruise-appropriate. Very annoying to have all those names in your head. Besides, we're going to the OTHER side of Mexico!!! :) There are worse things than the more serene voices of the Beach Boys, though...I guess it could have been heavy metal or something, neh?!? :)



You all have a fabulous one, alright? I'll catch ya later!

NOBODY had any suggetions for me on how many diapers to pack?!? *sniff* I guess I'm all alone in the blogosphere today. *sniff*

SO MUCH TO DO, SO LITTLE TIME #2!

OH MYLANTA! I thought I was doing good. NOW, I'm feeling a bit stressed. My list, as they seem to do, is growing exponentially. Between house stuff, packing stuff, and stuff to remember to take/do/send/take care of...OH MYLANTA! I just am feeling overwhelmed. I found my wheels spinning, however, so I thought I'd take a bloggy break. There is a poopy diaper walking around our home office waiting to be changed, but she is eating crackers. I can't really stomach her eating while I change her poo and she's intent on finishing the crackers, so it will have to wait a few. :)

SO, here's what I've determined with the diapers. If anyone reads this today and has any input, please give it. The deadline, however, is TODAY! :) I am taking 50 regular diapers and 20 swim diapers. We are gone a total of 10 days, which gives 5 regular diapers/day and 2 swim diapers/day for an almost-2-year-old. Does this sound reasonable? excessive? horridly unprepared? Help me out, ladies! :)

So, to completely change topics, I hate banks. Yes, I hate them. Why? Well, I hate the fact that they put through all of the debits before the deposits. I hate that they charge you for overdrafting even if it is your first offense EVER. I hate it that, when we deposit OUR money into OUR account, it sits there for 2 days before becoming available to us.

Let me explain our situation. Since Mark started this job, we've been super tight. His first paycheck was after working 2 weeks, but was only 1 week's worth of pay because of when he started. SO, for basically 4 weeks, we've lived on 1 paycheck plus the little bit we had before he started...not much. Today, his check with be direct deposited into our account. When? We don't know, as this is the first direct deposit. So far, it hasn't gone in. Well, our mortgage payment is pending on our account right now. It is sitting there ready to go through, but there is a 24-hour waiting period. Our balance, however, reflects that it has gone through and we have a negative balance at the moment, though it has not actually been taken out yet. IF our direct deposit goes in by 3:00 p.m. today, it will post to our account Monday. IF they do it before they do the mortgage...no problem. BUT, IF they post the mortgage before the dd, then we have ourselves a nice overdraft fee of $30 or $50...I don't remember. What I want to know is WHY they put the debits in before the credits? The ONLY answer I can come up with is to collect those lovely fees. It ticks me off. It especially ticks me off because we have ALWAYS been good with our account and have never gone even to nil, much less overdrafted...it's only because of this transition. Mark's mom offered to give us a loan to deposit before we left to avoid the problem, but if we had deposited a personal check yesterday, it STILL wouldn't have posted until Monday. UGH! I tried calling the mortgage company and, by law, they are required to process the check upon receipt...they can't hold it. It's just, at this point, a no-win situation, I feel like and I'm feeling defeated. If you read my brother's blog...does this sound familiar?!? :) Only difference is...this is our first offense. :) :) :) :) :)

OK...I have GOT to be productive. I'll try to post more this week as I'm able, but if not, I'll catch ya on the flip side...

ALPHABET SOUP

Well, after a quick perusal of my regular blogs, I was reminded that it's time for another edition of Alphabet Soup...the game where I talk about all things that I love starting with a particular letter. Today's letter: C.

Well, I can't start this list off without talking about:

CHILDREN: Specifically mine: Cassie and Conrey...2 great C's. I have always loved children. I have ALWAYS wanted to be a mommy (and teacher, but motherhood sounded better). I strike up friendship with children really easily and we always have a good 'ol time. I was always the teenager that was called by 3-4 different families on any given weekend to babysit. They all really hated it when I had someone I was dating! :) As for the "C" names, we didn't plan that. I just sorta happened. If we have a 3rd child, in all likelihood, their name will not start with a C, although the girl name that I like is Corrin.

COUSINS: I have a huge family. I LOVE my cousins. I am really close to many, many of them and enjoy all of the memories that we have together. OH, the stories we can tell! We have inside jokes (TWO CARROTS). We have memories that make us laugh (Bailey girls...I needn't say more...). We have memories that make us cry. Above all, I share with ALL of my cousins...on both sides...a strong, Christian heritage that will not be broken.

CARS: Most people that know me would never guess this. I'm not a car fanatic or anything, but I LOVE the Auto Show (so sad I missed it this year...SO sad...). I love looking at the concept cars. I love sitting in the cars that I'll never own! I never liked cars until I realized Mark was highly interested in them. I started being interested so that we could have that in common. Now, it's just fun.

CANDY: Specifically gummy candy. Yes, I know what they're made of. It's gross, but you just don't think about that! :) My favorite EVER is Gummy Cola Bottles. YUM!

COCA COLA: You got the right stuff with that, baby! I LOVE Coke, though have it rarely...even when NOT pregnant.

CHEESE: I love most cheese. I HATE cream cheese and most things containing it...yes, even cheesecake. ICK! I love cheddar, monterrey jack, colby jack, provolone, brie, gouda, feta. The more cheese the betta! Oh, I also hate bleu cheese and gorgonzola cheese. Anything tasting like feet is OFF my list.

CUSTARD: As in frozen custard. I HAD to get an ice cream product in here. Frozen custard is the ONLY food craving that has ever made me cry. I was 8 months pregnant with Cassie and Mark and our friends *coughBenandTracycough* would not take me to Culver's to get a mint shake. I literally cried. Silly, I know, but when you're pregnant, you sometimes can't help that. But, I digress. I love ice cream, frozen custard, frozen yogurt, you name it...I love it! I love the creaminess, the coldness, the smoothness. I love it plain or with stuff on/in it. I just love the stuff! I prefer a fruit flavor, cookies'n'cream, or vanilla over chocolate, but that has it's time and place, too. :)

Well, that's all of the C's I can think of for now. I hope that you all have a great day! Catch ya later!

WHAT FUN!

Well, this party is FUN! So far, I have new friends, new blogs to read, and new readers to my blog! How exciting to be fully immersing myself into the blogosphere like never before! I no longer feel like I'm standing in the doorway of the party trying to work up the nerve to go in. I have been ushered in and welcomed and I'm having a ball now! :)

My mind is reeling with intelligent/thoughtful/fun things to write. Hmmm...too bad I'm coming up blank. :)

I thought that I would talk about something that I love...the culinary arts. I'm no professional. I dabble a bit here and there. I cook. I bake. I mainly create. I love to try new things...to throw things together and see what comes of it...to make a feast for the tummy AND the eyes. On a previous post I wrote about my love in my "B's" alphabet soup post. I just really miss the days of K Tri-C with my cousin (referenced in that post). You can just be so brave when you have 4 hands instead of 2. I love to make something that tempts the tastebuds and makes your mouth water. I love to create a masterpiece with garnishes and sauces. If I didn't have a husband, daughter, and son-in-the-oven, I would really, really want to go on Hell's Kitchen. I'm sure that any of you who have seen Hell's Kitchen think that I'm a lunatic and the rest of you are wondering what on earth Hell's Kitchen is. Let's just say it is a boot camp for people that love to cook...who want to learn...who want to be subjected to torture. :) Basically, Chef Ramsey, while being a complete jerk and potty-mouth, teaches, inspires, and encourages (in his own little way) aspiring chefs in a competition with a tremendous grand prize...your very own restaurant of your stylings, your menu planning, your directing. Do I think that I could ever win...no. Do I think that the learning would be invaluable? Absolutely! I would just love to go and learn and be there.

A lot of what I make is nothing fancy, so I don't want to give off the impression that I do gourmet meals every night. FAR FROM THE TRUTH! I wish that I had a gourmet kitchen and gourmet time to make gourmet meals every night, but, uh...this is reality, NOT reality TV! However, I do strive to make nice meals with yummy food for my husband and myself. As for my daughter...I just hope she'll eat SOMETHING! So, I thought that I would share some of my crowd pleasers. I'm not sure of a better way to do this, so if anyone wants to share the secret with me of how you can do little linky thingies where you click to go to the recipes, please share. A few of them will be that way, because they are from Taste of Home. The others, will just have to be written out recipes. Hope you enjoy!

Garlic Apple Pork Roast

Anyone-will-like-it cauliflower: I'm serious with this one...I haven't had ONE person try this that didn't like it...even people who HATED cauliflower and I had to practically force-feed them. Try it, you'll like it! :) Oh, and you can do it with other veggies, too, like asparagus!
Preheat oven to 375. Cut cauliflower into bite-sized florets...they don't have to be the same sizes. Place in a 9x13 casserole dish in an even layer. Drizzle the entire dish with olive oil. You don't have to hit every piece and don't drench it...just a nice drizzly coat. Sprinkle coarse salt/sea salt over entire dish...again, just a nice sprinkling. :) Bake for 45 minutes or until pieces are browning. It's okay for some to be getting dark brown and some light brown. I actually prefer the darker pieces. ENJOY!

Cake Mix Cookies: This is SIMPLE and oh-so-yummy! I love the diversity it provides! Make ice cream sandwiches or sandwich frosting between the cookies! Make them with chocolate and then put PB in the middle! The possibilites are LIMITLESS!!! My favorite are cherry chip and strawberry.
1 cake mix of ANY flavor
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil
Mix all together. Roll into balls and place 2 in. apart on baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 min. at 350. You don't want them to brown, really. Take them out for sure by 10 minutes and let them rest. They'll set up.

I had 2 more that I wanted to link to on Taste of Home, but the site is just not working at the moment and I'm tired of waiting! :) If I can manage to get to the recipes, I'll link to them in a later post.

There are just a few recipes for today. I hope you enjoy them! Let me know if you try any and what you think of them! For now, everyone have a fabulous day and come back to the party when you get the chance!

WELCOME...to the party that is!

Well, I couldn't be left out by my friends, Meshellyn and Bek. When I heard that they were having a party, I just HAD to come!

Let me introduce myself. I am Devion. That is a nickname given to me by a friend of mine. "You know, like Evian?!?" That will tell you how to pronounce it. I am the mother of 1-1/2 children. I have a beautiful 21-month-old, Cassie, and a baby due in June who will be named Conrey. I have been married just over 5 years (Oct 26) and have no greater joy than is found in my family.

Let's see...background...I have 2 brothers and a sister. We are all super close. We are separated by a 16-year span from my oldest brother to my little sister. She is adopted and we couldn't have "picked" a better one! OK, OK...in all fairness, God picked us the perfect completion to our family. :)

My parents have been married for 38 years this Sept. and my in-laws just celebrated their 40th anniversary in Dec. Both have been a huge influence to the way I view marriage and the future of MY marriage.

I come from a large extended family. My mom's side is mostly in South Dakota and is not so huge. I don't see them nearly enough as I'd like to, but enjoy them greatly when I do. I have 10 cousins on that side, so there are 14 grands all together. My DAD'S side of the family, however, is very large. I have 35+ cousins on that side. My dad is 3rd of 10 kids.

As you can see, family is a very big part of my life. The Christian heritage that was passed down to me from all sides is my most precious treasure and I hold it a high responsibility to pass it down to my children and their children, etc.

Hmmm...what else would be of interest? I am a SAHM and take care of 2 children twice a week, though that will soon be over. I have always known that I wanted to be a Mommy. If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, that was always my answer. I would sometimes say and a teacher, but always first and foremost, a mommy. God made me physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually to be just that...a mother to all children that I have had contact with. Being a SAHM is not as easy as I would have thought, though. I struggle to find the balance between nurturing my daughter, keeping up with the house, providing meals for the family, and doing things for myself. Unfortunately, I think that I spend too much time on the latter, though I spend a large chunk of my time teaching Cassie.

Let's talk a bit about Cassie girl. I must say, though I MAY be a bit predjudice, she is a very intelligent little girl. By the age of 15 months, she knew her ABC's. By 18 months, she could count to 15. She conceptualizes better than many 2 and 3 year olds that I know and I really think that she is headed for great things in school. I know a huge part of this is the time that I spend with her daily in challenging her to think for herself and problem solve.

Have I bragged enough on my cute little doll? Let's do a bit more bragging...this time on my husband. He and I are as different as night and day...chocolate and vanilla...summer and winter. While I am an emotional person...a nurturing person...a happy-go-lucky person, he is a thinker...a doer...a worrier. He feels great pressure to provide for our family in the way that he feels he should, which is far beyond my expectations (if I've ever even had expectations). He is a master electrician. Until about 3-1/2 weeks ago, we were small business owners. We haven't discontinued the business, but rather re-evaluated our life at the present and he's pretty much set the business aside at the moment for the sake of our family. He currently is the master tradesman for the electrical department at Home Depot. This is a fairly new position in which they hire 1 per store to be the expert for the entire store as far as electrical things are concerned. I'm abundantly proud of my husband and find that opposites really DO attract. :)

This is getting lengthy, but I just can't help but tell the story of how Mark and I met. It's just too cute. :) Let's go back to 1981 (I was 11 months old). My family moved from Enid, OK where I was born to the Kansas City area for my dad to go to chiropractic school (Did I mention that I come from the largest chiropractic family in the world? At last count, I believe that there were 30+ chiros in my family including my dad and oldest brother). We started attending church and as I got older, I attended Sonshine School...the preschool at my church. Mark was in my class. *grin* Our parents were in the same circle, but not really close friends...just friends. Fast forward to the mid-1990's. Our older brother's were rivals in college, as they were in rival Christian bands. Mark's brother, Mike, moved back home and later my brother, Derin, moved to KC to go to...you guessed it, chiropractic school. This time, however, they forged a close friendship. When talk of siblings came around and they both realized that they had unhappy siblings around the same age (unhappy that we couldn't find Christians to date), they quickly realized that we were meant to meet. Eventually, we did...at Zio's Italian restaurant...and talked every day from there on out until we were married 9 days shy of a year of our meeting...all the while, I lived in Wichita, KS and he lived in the KC area. Three weeks after our wedding, my mom found a picture of us from preschool...Mark was kissing me. :) He was my first kiss ever! :) :) :)

OK...so, you may now be realizing that I am quite the rambler. I must apologize now for the length of this post. You see, as I mentioned before, I'm pregnant. I'm 26-1/2 weeks to be exact. Having said this, when I am pregnant, I tend to ramble...endlessly...until someone cuts me off or my husband tells me to go to sleep. I didn't even get into my interests or anything like that. I guess if you've read this far, you'll just have to browse through past posts, answer some of my "RANDOM QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK," and come back for more...later.

Let's stop this run away train. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll stop back by for a visit soon!

Not so random question of the DAY...

How on EARTH do you pack for 3 people (one being a toddler in diapers) for 10 days?!?!?

SERIOUSLY!

This is tough! I know, I know, Laura...you have 5 people to pack for, 1 being a toddler in diapers. However, you have 1 advantage over me. You have the allowance of up to 8 suitcases since you have 4 ticketed passengers. I only have the allowance of 4 suitcases...one of which HAS to be my hang-up bag, which just doesn't hold much!

So, I have had all of my stuff and Cassie's stuff laid out since some time last week and I've been adding to the pile and I come across something or think of something that needs to be added. It is o-v-e-r-w-h-e-l-m-i-n-g! We have to have regular clothes, beach/pool clothes, and dinner clothes for each day. Not to mention comfy clothes for evenings and pajamas. OH, MY! I just don't know how we're going to get it all into the 4 pieces of luggage allowed. So, there are always carry-ons, right? Well, with the restrictions and regulations on carry-ons these days, aren't we all just a little afraid to put anything in our carry on that might get taken away by security? My aunt got her manicure set taken away when they first made all of these rules. Bummer! I mean, I could put my toiletries in my carry-on, but they all have to be less than 4 oz. Do you SERIOUSLY think with all this hair that I can go 10 days on 4 oz?!? Uh, no! So, I am just going to have to economize and shrinkatize and consolitize (I know, I know...2 made up words...I couldn't say consolodate, because then it would have broken my trend).

Secondly, how many diapers do you take for 10 days? I mean, I can figure out I usually go through x amount of diapers per day. BUT, you figure you'll be using swim diapers a lot...what if she were to get traveller's diarrhea or something???...what if we run out?!? Not exactly a Wally World on the cruise liner. So, I figure maybe 5 diapers per day? Well, that's 50 diapers, my friend! That's half a suitcase of diapers! So, say we do 4 regular diapers each day assuming that we'll be using 1-2 swimming diapers...still 40 diapers and still a ton to pack.

Wow! So much to think about. So, why on EARTH am I sitting here blogging about it rather than packing? Look at the post below under "bad habits" my friend...you'll understand...

TAG!

Well, after linking to The Diaper Diaries, I went over there and saw that Jill had tagged me. It's my first tag EVER from someone that I don't personally know. How exciting!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

What I was doing 10 years ago: Oh, golly! Ten years ago...well, I was a junior in high school! HA! I was into choir and piano. I was dating a guy off and on since 8th grade, but then started dating another guy after prom, whom I dated until the end of my senior year. It wasn't serious, but it was a fun/great friends kind of dating. I was thinking about where to go to college. I was really, really sick that year (part of a 6-year span) and actually missed 1 less than half of the days of school.

5 Things on my To Do List today: Considering it is almost 7:30 at night I hope I can’t think of 5...I'm with Jill! Here goes anyway: Get Cassie to bed. Make Mark's lunch for tomorrow. Keep up with THE CHALLENGE. *grin* Put the dinner dishes away (do you see where my priorities are? Eat. Blog. Dishes.). Get some much needed sleep. I guess I did come up with 5.

Snacks I Enjoy: BAD question to ask a pregnant woman. Fuji apples, cake mix cookies, brownies, peanut M&Ms, most fruit, graham crackers with icing, cheese and crackers, Cheez-Its, okay...this one is going to make you all think I'm weird...Matzos (see below), Pistachio pudding, peanuts, the list could go on and on. As for the Matzos stuff, it's the big, flat, square cracker that is used for communion in our church, but is also used for passover and Sabbath celebrations in the Jewish faith.

Things I would do if I were a Billionaire: Pay off all debt first and foremost, buy a car that is new to us...we have vowed to never buy new off the lot again, help people that we know need it, move to a house that would be more accomodating to the three kids I want, donate to the church more, travel.

3 of my Bad Habits: Well, I'm happy to announce that "biting my fingernails" is no longer on this list! YAHOO! However, I still have plenty. I am going to be completely honest like Shalee and admit that I, too, fall into the temptation of going to bed without brushing my teeth too many nights. HOWEVER, now that I'm in the challange, I don't think that's going to be an issue... :) Kill 2 birds with 1 stone? Procrastination...that's a bad habit of mine. However, I am working at beating it and feel that I'm doing a decent job.

5 places I have lived: Born in Enid, OK. Moved to Kansas City, KS when I was 11 months. Moved to Wichita, KS just before age 5. Went to college in Edmond, OK. Married Mark and moved to Shawnee and then Olathe, KS at age 22.

5 Jobs I have had: I started "working" at my dad's clinic when I was 12 (CHILD LABOR!!! However, I BEGGED to work there). I filed papers all day. It didn't last long. I then worked at Dairy Queen. Then, back to my dad's office for 4-5 years. Then, I worked at Bath and Body Works for 3 days. Worst job EVER. They threw me out on the floor with no training or anything and gave me "goals" to accomplish each day. I hated it. Let's see. Worked at 2 other chiropractic offices besides my dad's. Worked down at the plaza for an accounting firm, RSM McGladrey as a receptionist/mailroom clerk/supplies manager/delivery girl/dirty job girl. :)

Well, there you have it. I tag: Laura (who only has a myspace), Bek, Amanda, B, and Meshellyn. Anyone else who wants to jump in is welcome and I'd love to know if/when you post!

THE Challenge Clarification

To clarify...the link I did was not a very clear link. It had too many challenges on it and I didn't do the right one. However, the challenge on The Diaper Diaries is a great challenge, as well. She does talk about THE challenge, but it's a little further down the page. SO, a better link so that you can see what WE'RE up to is this or this. The latter is the church that issued the challenge's blog about the challenge. Yes, that's right...I said a church. Weird for most of us, huh? However, if we want good, Godly marriages, things need to be addressed. If this seems so extreme to you that it's never, ever gonna happen in a hundred, billion years, then I suggest you try doubling your frequency and see where that takes you. If you're a "birthday and anniversary" kind of gal, maybe pick a few random days in the year (maybe Christmas and 4th of July?) as bonuses. If you're a once a month couple, maybe try every other week. If you're a once a week couple (I know weekends are usually the convienent time), try a mid-week surprise. I think that we'd all be surprised at how much this can help our marriage if we give it a chance. There are needs and desires that we, as couples, need to be fulfilling for our spouses. I would put a high bet on your spouse being surprise, encouraged, and thankful if you'd try to amp things up a bit. I can almost promise you that you'll not be sorry. :)

Oh, and just for the record...day 4... *wink*

Random Question and Trivia for the week

Welcome to the new addition to my blog...I decided that each week when I do my random question, I'll also do a trivia fact/fun fact that comes from the vast store of useless knowledge in my brain. Scary, but true, I am a trivia machine. Unfortunately, most of the trivia I know will never be asked in Trivial Pursuit. BUMMER!

Without further Ado...

RANDOM QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What is your favorite color? This is more of a "get to know you" question. I love colors. I love pink...I love purple...I love colors. HOWEVER, my favorite color is obvious to anyone that knows me. It's GREEN, GREEN, and more GREEN! I love all hues of green. I love green houses (though some hues are totally off-limits for houses...COME ON, PEOPLE!!!), green clothes, green walls, green accessories, green eyes, green everything. Don't worry, my home is not ALL green. My bedroom is blue, Cassie's is pink, and Conrey's will be tans and turquoises. My bathrooms aren't green, nor is the majority of the basement. However, the hallways, living room, and kitchen (which are all 1 space, really) are all a perfect shade of green. I love green! :)

RANDOM FACT OF THE WEEK: THE SCRATCH AND SNIFF STICKER
Oh, the joys of childhood. How exciting was it to get a good 'ol scratch and sniff sticker. I can STILL smell the Strawberry Shortcake stickers that I had. We had PB&J stickers, assorted fruit stickers, and stinky smell stickers (not my fav). I loved these amazing little stickers. But how on EARTH did the picture of Strawberry Shortcake and Custard (her cat) smell like strawberries? The answer is simple...the process is actually somewhat simple, as well. Put a SNS sticker under the microscope and you see something that looks kind of like teeny, tiny bubble wrap...you know, the kind that is so much fun to pop? Trapped inside some of these bubbles is an ether and inside some of them are an alcohol. Certain ethers and alcohols, when mixed, produce a certain smell. So, you scratch it, release the 2 chemicals, and VOILA you have that delicious strawberry smell. Similarly, if there is a certain smell that they are trying to create, they will simply make that single smell into a perfume and encapsulate that perfume into all of the bubbles eliminating the chemical reaction step. In old school/vintage SNS stickers, however, the chemical process was the magic.

SO, now you know that I love all things GREEN and you know how scratch and sniff stickers work. Don't you feel just a little bit more intelligent?!? :)

Full mind

Where to begin?!? Oh, my! My mind is so full of all life has been full of lately. I wasn't "online" this weekend, because I made a super fast trip to Wichita for my sister's recital. I will get to that.

First, the trip down there...EI-YI-YI! If you haven't heard that, you haven't watched enough Barney. :) He says it often. :) My trip down there was, to say the least, terrifying. I was all alone (Cassie stayed with Mark's parents) as far as tangible people were concerned. It was just God, Conrey, and me. I prayed a bunch, I sang, I tried to keep my wits about me. The snow that was supposed to be "flurries" was an awful, blowing, howling snow that made visibility very poor. The cars were going about 40-50...the semis 80-90! Not only was it a struggle to stay in your lane going 40-50, but then a semi would pass and you'd do your absolute best to stay on the road...much less in your lane. I saw about 20 cars who lost that battle and were in the ditch. On the way home, when it was all melted away, I saw at LEAST 50 sets of tire tracks going into the ditches. I imagine that what was behind me was worse than what I encountered. I'm just glad that God gave me the nudge to leave town early and helped all of that work out.

So, my sister...FAB-U-LOUS!!! Her senior solo recital was like none other. In fact, several vocal professionals commented that it was the best high school recital they'd ever attended and better than many college recitals. She was just wonderful. She did 9 opera pieces (3 German, 3 English, 3 Italian) and then 3 contemporary Christian pieces (1 where I sang backup and 1 where we did a trio with Derin). She looked gorgeous, she sounded gorgeous...the whole thing, really, was gorgeous. :)

Let's see...what else did I want to talk about? OH! I know...so, Mark and I have decided to go for "the challenge..." Oh, yes...I said "the challenge." We're not being hardcore about it or anything and we're not keeping a tally or making hearts on our calendar. We're just making a move towards more romancing. :) I'll let you know how that's going. Pretty convienent that at the beginning of "the challenge," we have a 7-day cruise... :) That should make it a bit easier to stick to it, neh? :)

Speaking of said cruise...ARE WE GETTING EXCITED YET?!?!?!?!?! WOO-HOO!!!!!!

Well, Cassie is bored of Seasame Street. Oh, nope...a glance at the clock tells me that SS is over and the show that she's scared of has started. No wonder the protest. Best go get her! More later!

101 Days

I looked up at my ticker today. I don't do that often. However, I was glad I happened to glance at it, as it told me that I only have 101 days until my due date! YAY! That's manageable, right? WOO HOO! Besides...I'm not planning on going all 101, so..... :)

The thing that I really wanted to blog about today is something that has been catching my attention and has really made me proud of my mothering abilities. I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything, but it really just comes naturally to me like someone who is really good at baseball or accounting or something...it's my "thing." If I've blogged about this before, I apologize, but I truly don't remember.

So, Cassie is sitting in her high chair this morning and says she's finished with breakfast. I ask her what she wants to do thinking the answer will be "Yo Gabba Gabba" (her favorite show right now) or "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" (favorite #2). Instead she says, "CUPS!" I knew the word she said, but couldn't figure out the meaning. She craned all the way around in her highchair (it has a really high back) to point at the dishwasher and said, "CUPS! FORKS! PATES!" She was asking to first empty the dishwasher that she knew we started last night before she went to bed! I have really encouraged her to help me with simple household tasks and she has started to prioritize them as "first things first." It did my heart good to know that I am "training her up in the way that she should go" in many ways. When the family room or her room start to get messy, she starts singing the "clean up" song and starts cleaning up. When we've been playing with Mr. Potatohead and I need to go to another room, she says, "CLEAN UP!" and will clean it all up before joining me. She helps with laundry. She is just really embracing all of this. She really makes me proud with the measure of responsibility that she already seems to be assuming. I know that we'll go through stages where cleaning up is the worst punishment she could ever think of. I'll wait for those and deal with them when they come. For now, I'm just nurturing these habits and trying to teach her that a Godly woman does her job to the best of her abilities and does the important stuff first. Both of these concepts do NOT come naturally to me whatsoever, so it is very hard for me to teach and model these. It is making both of us better people...me because it helps me procrastinate less and be more productive and Cassie because it is teaching her life skills at the tender age of 22 months. How powerful is that?!?

Like I said, I am really not tooting my own horn. God gets the glory in this one 100%. He gave me the abilities to nurture. He has given me the insight (some through my cousin, Cami) that I need to start training her young. He's given me the strength to be a better housewife for HER sake and for HER benefit rather than pleasing myself.

So, if you all have ways that you've trained up your children (or children you work with if you're a teacher or the likes) or are trying to or whatever, please comment. I would love to hear new ways to help my child become a woman of God.

ALPHABET SOUP "B"

So, it's time for the next rendition of Alphabet Soup...things I like that start with the letter "B." I don't have the cute little logo thingie that my friend, Meshellyn has, but oh, well. :)

Let's see here...B...first off, to steal one from her:

Baby Lotion: Yum-O! Nothing says "baby" like the pink stuff!

Babies: You can't think of the pink lotion without thinking of those little pink bundles themselves...and by "pink bundles" I'm speaking of their skin, not that I only like baby girls. :) I have always loved babies. I have always wanted nothing more than to be a wife and mother.

Brownies: These yummy guys would not generally be on my favorites list, but MAN I've been craving (and eating) brownies lately! YUM! I especially love the ones with the packet of Hershey's syrup that you put in the batter. OH, YUMMY!

Berries: I love all things berries. I love strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, shnozberries. I just love berries.

Board Games: To steal another answer from Meshellyn, I really enjoy a good board game. To cheat on the "b's," I also love card games and group games. I just love games. It is just always a good time to snack and relax with friends. If you haven't ever played "Settlers of Catan" or "Puerto Rico," I suggest you check them out. They're pricey, but FABULOUS!

Baths: I LOOOOOVE a nice, warm, serene, bath. Not only can I be alone for awhile, but they have been quite necessary during this pregnancy. I also love bathtime with Cassie. She LOVES the bath (minus the time surrounding the "incident") and just gets such joy out of splashin' around.

Bubble Gum: Yes, I'm a kid at heart. I love bubble gum. Give me a big wad (of course, it's hard to find the kind I can have these days since I'm allergic to all artificial sweeteners) and let me blow bubbles until the cows come home. I love the original and grape, but pretty much like any flavor.

Bubbles: Speaking of blowing bubbles. I do love bubbles. Well, actually, I more love the reaction TO the bubbles that children ALWAYS give. They just adore them and it is hilarious to watch them chase them around only to have them pop. Ah, bubbles......

Bread: If it's a carb, then it's typically on my favorites list. I love nothing more than a restaurant that gives you bread before your meal. It curbs your hunger until the real food gets there and is just plain tasty!

Bible: Though neglected, I do enjoy unraveling the mysteries of the Bible and reading the not-so-mysterious stories of the Bible. I LOVE Cassie's passion for finding Jesus in her picture Bibles. It excites me that she's already familiar with Jesus and is already learning about His love.

Blogs: I got this idea from M, but I rather like reading other peoples' blogs than actually blogging. I typically think, "Man...that was a whole lot of nothing. I'm sure people are really thrilled to be reading this rubbish!" I'm not asking here for compliments. I'm just saying...who really wants to read the random things that come out of my head?!?

Baking: I love baking. I LOVE being in the kitchen and wish I had more time for it. I LOVE creating something that turns out just right. I love eating something scrumptious and knowing that I created it. For me, it's ALL about the presentation...if it looks good, it just tastes even better. SO, I love making a fancy dessert or something and having people appreciate the asthetic (sp?) appeal that it brings to your eyes before ever hitting your tastebuds. My cousin, B, and I used to cook together once a week for our husbands. We called it "Kansas City Cooking Cousins" or "K Tri-C." That time period was truly the highlight of my early-married life. You know, you can be a whole lot braver when there are 2 of you cooking and I think that we each helped the other to become a better cook/baker/etc. by the time we spent together every week. Once, we made a triple layer chocolate/raspberry cake with homemade raspberry filling and homemade raspberry whipped cream frosting. It was pretty fabulous, huh B?

OK...I've written enough for one day. SHEESH! I could just go on and on with this game. There is ONE problem I have with it, though...have you NOTICED how many of my items are FOOD-RELATED?!? It just makes me HUNGRY! *sigh* Such is the curse of the pregnant woman. :)

Oh, and by the way, I'm over my "I-want-a-girl" funk. Back to Conrey Fever! :)

SPOILER ALERT!!!

WARNING FOR DUSTIN AND/OR LAURA (AND ANYONE ELSE IN THE FAMILY): SPOILER ALERT ABOUT THE NEWEST BABY IN OUR FAMILY!!! IF YOU HAVEN'T TALKED TO DERIN AND DON'T WANT TO RUIN IT, QUIT READING NOW!

So, here's my exciting news. My brother, Derin, and his wife, Amanda, had their sonogram today. As you'll remember, she's exactly 6 weeks behind me. WELL, they're having a girl! We're so, so excited for them. Mandy desperately wanted a girl and I am so glad for her that it has become a reality. Now, we just have to get baby Jessica (no, not the one that fell in the well some years ago...the one in her belly) here safe and healthy! I am juts thrilled for her.

Is it awful and selfish that, while I am so, so excited for her, I am also a little bit sad for myself and possibly a bit jealous? I am having, as far as we can tell at this point, a healthy, active baby. I am overjoyed by that. However, I still can't let go of the feeling that I was meant to have all girls. Does that mean that I wish I was NOT having a boy? NO! I am excited to learn the world of boys. However, I just am apprehensive about it, I guess, and therefore not looking forward to feeling like a fish out of water. I feel blessed beyond words to have a healthy baby growing in my womb. It just has changed the picture that I have always had in my head of a family of all girls. Besides the fact that I am thankful for a healthy baby, I know that Mark is more than excited to get a baby boy, so I am excited because of that, too. I just sound so selfish, I know. I'm sorry. It only hits me when I hear of someone else that is having a girl...especially this close to home.

We'll be praying for you that you come healthy and safe, Baby Jessica! Can't wait to meet you!!!

25-Week Doctor's Appointment

Well, I just got back from my doctor's appt. Everything is hunky dory. I've gained just about 19 lbs total now and baby seems to be doing well. When he was listening to the heartbeat, Conrey kept kicking. The doctor said, "It sounds like HE'S excited about Mexico!" He gave me all of his "regulations" about the cruise and water drinking and all of that. It was the typical listen to the belly and measure the belly appt.



The funny thing about this visit? Well, I called my sister-in-law, Amanda, who is 6 weeks behind me in her pregnancy before I left and gave her this tip: Don't eat asparagus before you have to go to the doctor's office and pee in a cup. MAN! That was embarrassing. If you don't know what asparagus does, it makes your pee a funny color AND it makes it smell funny/gross. OH BROTHER! Like they don't already hate dealing with people's pee and then I had to make it worse! I guess I learned my lesson to think about my day/week before eating asparagus, huh?



So, now I just need to fax my doctor's consent form and I'm ready to CRUISE! YAY! Now, if only that would hurry up and get here!!!

Still don't like this weather!!!

I'm still amazed and annoyed at the weather. OKAY, so yes, we DID get 2 days of 70's at the beginning of March...I should be thankful. However, it was SUCH A TEASE!!! Oh, well. I still maintain my theory (even through the complaining) that if it weren't for winter and summer, we wouldn't appreciate the fall and spring-like days when they're around.

So, I get a weekly pregnancy e-mail that is informational, supportive, etc. This week...not so much. I was really, really annoyed by it and wanted to find who wrote this particular article so that I could smack 'em around a bit. Call me hormonal (of course, if you DO, I might smack YOU around a little), but when it said, "You may start to experience some lower back pain in the next few weeks..." I wanted to laugh, cry, and cause physical harm all at the same time. You "may START experiencing..." OH BROTHER! I've had back pain for about 19 weeks! UGH! Of course, my desire to do a little hurtin' wasn't only directed to the people writing the article...it was also to all of those pregnant girls reading that saying, "Oh...my back is going to start hurting! That's not good. I better go buy one of those special pillows. I better go schedule some massages!" Yeah, those people need a little indian rugburn or something too...

OK...so...not really a violent person. Just wanted to clarify that. AND, I am extremely, extremely thankful for the blessing of being pregnant despite the pains, discomforts, and sickness that has accompanied this particular pregnancy. I didn't want anyone to get a different idea. I know that we are blessed beyond words to be having a second, healthy pregnancy and I thank God for it and for Conrey often. I am just not so thankful for those I-never-had-a-single-sickness-ache-or-pain girls. :)

On anther note, yet still Conrey-related: This boy can MOVE! He is sooo active in there that I sometimes worry about once he gets bigger. I definitely think that he's going to be a rough and tumbly little boy. He loves to torment me when lying on my side in bed. Of course, what he DOESN'T know is that that is my only option, so it's not very nice to jab repeatedly at the bed. :) He is just going to be a strong one!

As for Cassie, she has been really out of sorts lately. I don't know if she's getting #'s 3-4 of her 2-year molars or what, but she's been a bear one moment and then giggling the next. Last night, she bit (and latched onto) my belly because I wouldn't give her more goldfish crackers. Not so impressed with that move... Today for lunch, she mainly only ate ice and tonight for dinner, she barely ate anything. She tried to eat fruit snacks, but rejected them after just 1 (which got spit out). I am soooooooooo thankful that there are no more teeth after these until she's 5-6. I am TIRED of teething! Let's see...she started teething at 2 months, so she's been teething pretty consistently for 19 or 19-1/2 months. ICK! At least we'll be done early with the 2-years, though, and be done.

Well, I know that I'm horribly exciting to you all, so I'll end this rambling for now and catch up with ya tomorrow. Remember to answer my question below!!! :)

RANDOM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Hi, all! Hope you've had a great weekend. Ours is still in progress since Mark's days off are Sun and Mon. YAY! What is UP with this weather, eh? We have 70's for a day and a half and now snow is in the forecast for tomorrow? GIVE ME A BREAK!

So, I've been having really bad leg pains. I'm really hoping that I'm not developing varicose veins. That would stink. They hurt the worst at night...it's like the feeling you get with restless leg syndrome, but moving them doesn't help at all like it did when I was pregnant with Cassie. Oh, well...14 weeks left at the most!

Here is my question this week: What is the location of your dream vacation (hey! That rhymed!)? It can be somewhere you've been and you can tell about it or somewhere you'd love to go.

My answer is Australia. I would love to go to Australia and really be able to emerse myself in the culture. I'd love to see some of the wildlife (specifically kangaroos and koalas...I love them both!). I'd love to visit the Great Barrier Reef. I just think that it is such a different place than I've ever been. PLUS, I would just LOVE to hear all of the people around me talking in the great Aussie accent! :)

SO, tell me about your dream vacation and then go book it! HA! If ONLY it were that simple... :)

March is here

As I changed over my calendar today, I was pretty amazed that it is already March. I have sooo much to look forward to this month and in the coming months that I cannot believe that it is here. It all starts with my sister's senior solo recital next weekend. Just the words "sister" and "senior" in one sentence really tugs at my heartstrings. I've been in denial over the fact that my baby sis is a senior, but am finding it harder and harder to ignore as she gets college acceptance letters, room assignments, goes on scholarship try-outs, has her recital, and will soon be sending out those graduation announcements. Where, oh where, has time gone? It seems like the day we picked her up from the hospital nearly 18 years ago (she's adopted...we picked her up at 2 days old), was merely a few years ago...not 18! Anyway, I'm excited for her to get her grand moment to shine. Besides that, her dress for the occasion is absolutely STUNNING and I do believe will turn many heads on formal night on the cruise. :) Her boyfriend will probably really enjoy THAT one.... :) The neat thing about her recital, though, is that she is dedicating it to my 2 grandfathers that have passed away. Lots of people dedicate, but this one is a little extra special. My dad's dad just passed away in Jan 2007. The day of Dani's recital would have been his 95th birthday. I know it means a lot to my dad and grandma that she would choose that day. OH, and I get to go to Wichita ALL BY MYSELF...that's exciting too, though I'll miss my little stinker!

Speaking of which, you all KNOW I'm excited about that! What is the most exciting part of the whole trip, though? Not the cruise. The most exciting part is being able to spend SEVEN AND A HALF DAYS with my brother and his family who have lived in Oregon for almost 7 years. That would be Laura that you see posting on here often, in case you've missed her excitement over the trip, too. They have 3 kids, one of which, Callie, is just about 6 months younger than Cassie. We're super excited to get these girls together to see if they become fast friends. They played together some at Thanksgiving, but ignored each other quite a bit, too. :)

End of March, beginning of April will bring about the end of my daycare. I've got mixed feelings about that. Happy that I don't have the work of caring for 3 kids all day 2 days a week being big and pregnant, but sad that Cassie won't have that interaction and that I'll not get to be with those kiddos as much. However, with Jessica going down to 2 days a week with work, I hope that we can have playdates at each other's homes often.

Then, comes May...my sister's graduation and Cassie's 2nd birthday (I am planning a Strawberry Shortcake party). Finally, June when, Lord willing, our little Conrey will come out as a healthy, big (but not too big, Mister), beautiful baby boy.

Man! I've got a lot to feel blessed about, a lot to look forward to, and a TON to utter my thanks for daily...hourly. It is so easy to get wrapped up in everything and not stop and take the time to thank God for the small blessings that happen all around us all the time.

That reminds me: Cassie and I went on a walk yesterday. It was absolutely gorgeous here. If you've never been on a walk with a 2-year-old (or almost so), you have never been on a walk. I saw things that I certainly wouldn't have seen. I HEARD things that I certainly wouldn't have heard. I stopped and really looked at things that I wouldn't have even noticed, but were worth a second glance to teach her more about this wonderful world. She LOVED it and we will definitely have to make a habit of walking when it's nice. Of course, it took us 30 minutes to go half a block and back. She is SUCH A SLOW WALKER!!! I know that if you've ever walked with me, you're probably saying, "She's a slow walker?!?" because I'm a rather slow walker, but she makes me crazy! :) I just have to remember that it is soley because she is learning and taking everything in, so it is well worth the extra time. Anyway, we loved the rocks, sticks, birds, barking doggies, little piles of snow every once in awhile where people had shoveled into a pile, little stream of ice next to the sidewalk right by our driveway, people, and cars. It was a lovely walk...

WELL, I DO believe that I have blogged a novella today. I guess I'm just in a very thankful and positive mood today. I should be in bed sleeping, but alas, I have that almost-2-year-old...

Everyone have a great day, enjoy this beautiful world, and stop by again sometime...I'm sure I could come up with some more stuff to bore you with! :) :) :)