Updates past due

Life has been a bit hectic around here.  Since before Christmas, we've kind of been in survival mode between sickness (both kids and myself) and the 'ol gallbladder (mine).  I talked about Conrey's headache issue and am happy to say that he has an appt on Feb 2 with an ENT.  Hopefully, the ENT will have some insight into this issue.  It may mean that he gets a tube put in that ear.  It may mean that he's referred elsewhere.  All that I care about is resolution.

Dec 8th, I had my first gallbladder attack, which was severe.  Since then, I have had 15-20 minor ones (if you can call any minor).  Last night, I had another pretty bad one.  I ended up back in the ER.  Unfortunately, I have to report that I still have the dumb thing in there and am waiting to have a HIDA scan performed.  Basically, they radiate me by pumping radioactive dye into my veins and then watch it on a camera as it takes rapid-fire pictures of my digestive system.  They will see if/how my gallbladder reacts and then determine if it is time for it to be yanked out or if there are other, less-evasive options for dealing.  As of right now, I'm on a no animal fat, no grease, no fat, no spice diet.  Sounds fun, right?  For lunch, I had a dry, plain, baked potato.  For dinner, I had white rice with some soy sauce.  DELISH!  My day has been blaaaaaaah!

So, that's what's up with us.  Thanks to everyone that has been praying.  Keep 'em coming!  :)

My baby boy

I'm asking for prayers for my mister Conrey.  He has been complaining of headaches since before Christmas.  The doctors are attributing it to ear pain/pressure, though his ears have not been infected.  Two strong antibiotics later, he's still complaining of the headaches.  Everyone (my dad included) are convinced that it is ear-related.  I certainly hope and pray that that is all it is.  When your 1-1/2-year-old is playing happily and bursts out in tears saying, "HEAD!  OWWWW!" it is truly heartbreaking.  On his first round of antibiotics, he didn't complain of his head as much days 2, 3, and 4 on the med, so I thought that it was helping.  Then, it got back to normal after that.  He probably complains of it 20-30 times per day and I am just so sad for him.  SO, if you all would be praying about that, I would appreciate it.

Now, on a lighter note, I have a story to tell on my funny little man.  He really has been hilarious lately.  From goofy faces to funny things that he says, his personality is really shining through.  My sister is now selling Premier jewelry and has a mannequin (named Meagan) that she uses to model her jewelry at her parties.  It is a dressform where it is just the body on a stand.  On Saturday, she had a party at my parents' house.  I came home from it to find Conrey running a high fever and actually complaining of his ears hurting (he hadn't been the rest of the headache time).  So, I decided to take him to the walk-in clinic rather than wait until Monday for his dr's office to be open.  Anyway, I took Cassie over to stay with my mom and Dani was still there with her mannequin, Meagan.  Conrey had been very lethargic and had had his head on my shoulder just laying there.  He wouldn't go to Grannie or Grandpa, which is highly unusual.  My dad gave him his favorite candy, Sour Patch Kids, and he gave them to my mom.  Those 2 things told me that I had a sick little boy.  All of the sudden, his little head popped up, his finger stretched out pointing at Meagan (the mannequin) and he said, "UH-OH!" with a very concerned look on his face.  I guess I should mention that Meagan had on a shirt and skirt, but was very obviously headless.  He reached out and touched where her head would have been and said again, "UH-OH!!!"  It was like, "Didn't you all hear me the first time?  That girl's got a problem!"  I said, "Oh, baby.  It's okay.  It's just pretend.  It's not real."  He looked at me, shrugged, and laid his head back down.

We all laughed so hard because he was just so worried about Meagan's headless state and it was funny that he even recognized it and questioned it feeling as rotten at he did!

Anyway, thanks for the prayers and I hope you got a chuckle out of my little story.  Peace out!

SUCCESS and BLESSINGS

I LOVE my new job!!!  Tastefully Simple has become my world lately outside of my home and I LOVE it!  I can be home with my children all day long and then go out and be with ADULTS and have intelligent conversations.  It's exciting.  It's fresh.  It's new.

Part of why I am loving it is because I am introducing people to new products that they've never tried before or even heard of.  A friend of mine said to me today, "I'm so excited to get my products.  I was surprised by how good the products were!  I really liked them!"  You have no idea how much that pumped me up and boosted my confidence in what I'm selling.  It is a product that is good and that is unique.  Some of the other home-based party businesses are over populated.  That's not the case with Tastefully Simple...at least not in this market.  It is exciting to surprise people.  It is exciting to introduce people for the first time to something that I am so passionate about.

Where has this success come from?  My hard work?  My great friends and families?  My cunning business sense?  No, yes, and no.  I have been feeling so incredibly blessed.  God put this opportunity in front of me.   He placed it on the hearts of my friends and families to have parties for me and to support and encourage me.  He has given me insights.  He has placed people in my path.  He has given me courage.  He has given me strength.  I have truly been blessed by this business.

So, thank you, dear Lord for this opportunity to provide for my family.  Please help me to use the talents that you've given me to your glory.  Help me to be your ambassador when I enter people's homes to present my product.  Help me to touch the lives of the families that I nourish through these products.  Keep my motives pure and my ambition in line with your will.  Thank you.

What BIG KIDS I have!

So, we've done some major renovations in our house this past weekend/week.  By major renovations, I mean projects that wouldn't be nearly as big of a deal had we not had 3.5 and 1.5 year olds running around in the midst.  Also, by "renovation" I mean a whole lot of painting going on 'round here.  Painting may not seem like that big of a deal until you add in said children.  I apologize for writing this post BEFORE I have pictures to post, but I am anyway, so deal.  :)  We have completed the kids' rooms (well, Conrey's is nearly done...) and have begun on our main living space.  The paint brushes and rollers turned out in grand numbers to dip, glide, and roll across our previously boring walls.  At Christmas time, Cassie was gifted a "big girl bed" AKA a twin complete with headboard, nightstand, comforter, sheets, and pillows.  She has done great in it from the getgo.  Her crib bedding had transferred to the toddler bed and so switching to the big bed was hard on mommy...giving up the precious baby bedding and all.  Anyway, we packed all of the baby stuff up and revamped her room into a total big girl hang out AKA "here's your new room so please get every single toy that you own out and wreck the place" hang out.  We did stripes on the wall that match her bedding and bought curtains to complete the look.  She has things hanging on her walls now (WHAT A CONCEPT?!?) and it is a very put together, completed room.  YAY for big girls!

With her transition, we had a perfectly good little toddler bed just sitting around needing a home.  Conrey is now 19 months, which is 2-1/2 months older than Cassie was when we moved her to the toddler bed, so we decided back at Christmas time to give it a shot.  NOT SO MUCH!  He freaked out the 2 times that I tried to put him to bed in the little toddler bed, so we just figured it was no big deal...he was still little and would be fine to stay in the crib.  We kept the toddler bed in his room so that he would get used to it, though.  He LOVES playing on it...just not sleeping.  Well, with the painting fun happening, we decided that we were just going to go for it and dismantled the crib *sob* yesterday.  We set his little toddler bed up where the crib used to be and painted big circles (balls in his mind) on the walls to match his bedding.  We reorganized the room into a more big boy room (got rid of the rocking chair and a few other things) and prepared for a few hard nights/naps.  We put him down for his nap there yesterday with no crib in sight.  He was really upset, so I laid down with him and he was asleep in about 2 minutes.  Last night, we put him to bed in his new big boy bed and he cried, but then calmed down and was just playing nicely and then we didn't hear anything else, so we knew that he'd gone to sleep.

FAST FORWARD our story to Cassie's bedtime after my sister and b-i-l had left.  We go back to his room and I hear Conrey snoring away in his room.  On second thought, his snoring sounded strange, like it was in the hallway.  I glanced around assuring myself that he was not in the hallway, but in his room with the door closed.  I try the door and can't budge it.  Mark got a flashlight and shined it under the door.  My baby boy was sleeping flush up against the door with his little mouth breathing right under the crack of the door.  He was sound asleep. 

A bit later, I went back to check on him and found him still in front of the door.  SO, I pushed the door a bit and he rolled over.  He woke up a bit and realized I was there, so he scrambled over to his blankie on the floor beside his bed and went back to sleep on it.  I picked him up and put him into his bed.  He was back asleep instantly.  I didn't hear anything from him until about 6 a.m. when I went in, gave him his paci back and put him back in bed.  He got up for the day at 7:00.

At nap time today, he had a harder time than yesterday, but he still did okay.

SO, my kiddos have both had momentus transitions to big kidhood.

Let me tell you about my Cassie girl, though.  We had planned a surprise for her with her room.  We were going to do glow-in-the-dark stars, moons, and her name.  So, we put her to bed in our bed Monday night so that we could finish up her room.  She looks at me and says, "BUT MOMMY!  If I go to sleep in your room, how can I see my glow-in-the-dark surprise???"  We couldn't believe it and aren't sure how she knew about it, but she apparently did!

Ok.  That's my update.  Pics to come.  Thanks for poppin' by!

What I've been up to...secretly.

So, I've had a secret project that I've been working on.  Nobody knows about it except for two people, my husband and my brother.  I guess, with this post, I'm kind of telling the world, though I only expect a handful of people to actually read this.  I have been writing.  I've been writing a novel.  That's right.  You heard me.  I've been writing a novel.  I don't know if it is or ever will be good enough to be published, but the story was in my head and wanted out...badly.  So, I've been writing.  My  husband has been grumbling.  My brother has been reading.  Mark has been good about it, truly.  It's just that, when I create a part of the story in my head, it has to get down before I lose it.  It is a story that I've written with a target audience of preteen, teen, and young adult girls, primarily.  It is a Christian romance that is heavily peppered with religion discussion, prayer, and awareness of God's will for the lives of the characters.  It is about love and real life in the midst of a fairytale-type setting.  Every little girl expects a fairytale ending, but that is not reality.  By creating a story base that is very fairytale inspired and then spinning it into the reality of life and real-life marriage and love, I'm hoping to inspire the young girls to have happier marriages in the future because they won't have a starry-eyed approach and then fall apart when things get rough the day after the honeymoon.  Please don't get me wrong.  I am ALL about romance.  It has its time and place in any relationship.  I just believe that one of the major problems in marriages today is that the couple is expecting fairytale and gets reality.  When it's not all kisses and roses, but rather dishes and laundry, they feel that they've failed from the get-go and that it is hopeless to even try.  Those of us who are happily married know that marriage takes work.  Those who have seen their parents married know that it takes work, but we still go into dumb.  :)  So, that's my novel.  I don't want to share the story, because it sounds dumb if I try to explain it in a short paraphrase.  Also, if I do ever do anything with it, I wouldn't want to spoil it for you.  :) 

On a completely unrelated note, I really, really, really, really want LASIK surgery.  I want it so badly.  I've heard, though, that you shouldn't have it if you intend to ever get pregnant.  Another baby is not out of the question for us, so I don't think that I'm eligible.  I don't really know, though.  That's just what I heard.  I just really want it.  Any insights into that?  :)

R-E-S-P-ECT

I have been having a very tough time with Cassie lately.  She doesn't listen.  She ignores me.  She literally goes around the house looking for things that she knows that she is not supposed to do and then she does them.  I don't know what to do about it.  I have decided that it boils down to 1 thing.  Respect.  She does not respect things.  She does not respect me.  I find myself trying every method of punishment/discipline and not a single one is working, so I'm at a loss for what to do.  I do not know how to teach her respect for things and people.  She started a new Bible class today (I started BSF).  She told me that all of the kids and all of the teachers laid down for quiet time and she just sat there looking at them all.  She refused to lay down.  How do I teach her this respect?  I do not know.  I haven't found a method that works for her.  Spanking: No.  Time-out: No.  Losing things that are important to her: No.  Losing TV: No.  Grounding from going to friends' houses: Sometimes, but generally no.  Paying me money: No.  Paying me toys: No.  Sitting on her bed doing nothing: No.  I am just at a loss.  SO, from this crying out mother to you, I beg for any and all suggestions.  Please, no comments about how this is "just a phase."  I might scream.  Please don't tell me that she'll grow out of it, I might throw something.  I want suggestions.  I want to hear things that have worked for others.  I want to wake up some morning in the not-so-distant future and realize that I have a respectful, obedient child and these problems are behind us (I'm not being a dreamer.  I know that there will always be occurances where she'll need reminders...).  I want to nip this in the bud before her brother starts catching on.

It is quite ironic, because in her BSF class this morning, their topic was "Who's the boss in your house?"  Apparently, she didn't listen to them, either.  The first thing she did when we left the classroom hallway was run away from me and refuse to come back.  Apparently, the answer is: "NOT ME!"

So, please, leave your comments.  If you come up with more suggestions, leave more comments.  Thank you in advance for helping me regain the control that I never saw slip out of my fingers until it was too late.

Tastefully Simple...TAKE ONE!

So, I had my first official Tastefully Simple party last night.  The party went great.  We had a ton of fun and we all (I hope) enjoyed it.  It was a bit of a bummer, though.  It was a small turn out and we didn't meet goal to make it an official party.  SO, I gave a book to my dad to see if he could drum up a few orders to make it a countable party.  I'm trying to get to my goal to earn some free stuff for my business...lapboards and more product for my displays.  I hope that we can drum up a few more orders so that my hostess (my wonderful sister) will earn free products and I can count it as a real party so that I can meet my goals for this segment of my training.  BUT, I did a good job on presenting and can't think of anything I forgot to say/present, so in that way, it was a success.  It was nice to have my first party be among friends.

That's my story.  Now that the first one is under my belt, I'm ready for more to improve my presenting and my selling.  Here I go off on this adventure to grow my business and to grow myself!

Good Riddance to 2009

So, Mark has been saying for many months that he will be glad to see 2009 hit the road and he wouldn't mind if the door hit it in the behind.  He has said it many times and many times I keep my thoughts to myself, because I know that they would not be appreciated.  You see, 2009 has been tough...really, really tough...but it has been one of the best years for me in some ways too.  We have been being held in the center of the fire where it is really uncomfortable and really hot.  We have grumbled and complained.  We have scratched our bites and licked our wounds.  BUT, we have grown.  We have stretched ourselves.  We have discovered things about ourselves that we did not know.  We have improved our marriage.  We have loved each other well.  We have had health.  We have had wealth in the midst of the dreaded unemployment.  We have had family.  I know that he has felt very alone in Wichita in many ways and I respect that.  I cannot concur with that for myself, though.  I have found friendships that I'd never imagined.  I've reconnected and refound lost friendships.  Yes, I left some great friends and still miss the constant contact with them.  Don't think that I don't mourn you, my KC friends.  I do.  BUT, God chose to bless me here with great friends, as well.  Our mom's playgroup has been a huge blessing to me.  Being near my parents has been such a great comfort and help to me.  The church has been so encouraging through prayers, personal notes of encouragement, support, and just random people that you don't even know asking how the job hunt is going.

2009 was definitely not the most fun year or the most comfortable year.  At times, it was downright scary trying to figure out how we were going to make it through tough times.  Then, the world shifted and it wasn't we...it was God and His amazing work through us and others that got us through. 

So, 2009, I'm not so sad to see you go, but don't think that I loathe you.  I am thankful for all that you provided in people, lessons, opportunities.  I am thankful for health and safety.  I am thankful for my beautiful, brilliant children.  I am thankful for life and love.