Bored w/ my hair again...

I am thinking about cutting it off short again.

Only downside...if my hair falls out in patches again, then I dont know what I'll do.
But...I'm bored w/ it now, and think I want to go back to shorter hair....

What do y'all think???


or...

(but obviously--I wouldnt wear it in my face like that!)

or...






....or, should I just get some shape added to my long hair, and maybe try some bangs?


What to do? What to do?

You know it's time to stop breastfeeding when...

Your son lights up a cigarrette (sp?) after each meal...

Your son can unhook your bra with one hand...

His school calls & says he's thirsty...all the other kids will drink out of the fountain...but your child is waiting on you to show up...

Your son asks you to pump instead, b/c he wants to dunk his oreos in his milk.

Your son can ask for it....

Your son asks if you'd feed his date too....

Your son's frat brothers start teasing him b/c of his "dietary choices" (aka: breastmilk!)

You are being asked to feed your grandchildren.

Your son's freezer is stocked w/ frozen breast milk, while all of the other college kids have Totino's pizzas & burritos in theirs!

While Nursing...you & your child compare tattoos.

The only other place he gets a beverage has a jukebox and asks for ID.

When you burp him you smell beer on his breath.

He asks you to go to a friend's party, not as his mom but as his potluck contribution.

Damon's Grandmother died this morning....

She's been on Hospice, and my mother-in-law has been down at her house for the past week....

Damon took Gage down there yesterday for a visit...

& then she died this morning around 4:15.


....on an unrelated topic....I'm very*very*very grouchy this morning.
Gage slept through the night, but I did not.

I want to go back to sleep.

Oh, Damon said that Gage woke up this morning, and he was rolled over onto his tummy.

Stolen randomness...

Okay, I stole this from Carole's blog...& filled in my own answers...



Four Jobs I've Had:
1. Social Worker
2. Waitress
3. Student Government Secretary (Yes, I got paid!)
4. Tech in a Trauma Unit

Four Things I Hope To Do Before I Die:
1. Dance with my son at his wedding
2. Have a daughter...maybe???
3. Meet my grandchildren
4. Get closer to my sister

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over:
1. Shag
2. Christmas Vacation
3. A Christmas Story
4. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1st one)

Four Things I Can't Do:
1. pee standing up (well...I could...but what a mess!)
2. speak FLUENT Spanish. (donde esta la biblioteca?)
3. I cant stand Pamela Anderson or Howard Stern.
4. program the tv...or vcr....or anything...electronic.

Four Places I've Lived:
1. Corsicana, TX
2. New Orleans, LA
3. Fort Worth, TX
4. Dallas, TX

Four Things That Attracted Me To My Spouse:
1. he's funny...
2. he's tall...I like tall...
3. he's smart...well, about some things! (everything that I'm not smart about--he's smart about...we complement each other very well!)
4. he's cute!

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Gilmore Girls
4. Love on the Rocks

Four Things I Say Often
1. "Your Turn. I changed the last one." (w/ regard to diaper changes...)
2. "Are you going to do the dishes, or do I have to do them?" (to Damon)
3. "Mommy loves you!" (to Gage, Eddie, or Dixon)
4. "I love you" (to Gage, Eddie, Dixon, or Damon...or anyone I love, really!)

Four Places I've Been on Vacation
1. Egypt
2. Italy
3. France
4. Puerto Rico

Four of My Favorite Foods
1. dill pickles
2. strawberry cake
3. macaroni & cheese (not the box kind w/ powder cheese though)
4. La Madeleine's tomato soup & their tea!!!

Four Places I'd Rather Be
1. Caribe Hilton in Puerto Rico...barside...sipping frozen drinks while Cabana boys shower me w/ attention.
2. In Austin claiming 50+ million dollars as I hold the winning lottery ticket.
3. Any of the glorious spas in Sedona...getting a massage...mud bath, whatever.
4. Penthouse on top of the new W Hotel in Dallas & being able to say, "I'll take it. Damon, call the movers."

Four Vehicles I've Owned
1. Convertible Celica
2. Jeep Grand Cherokee
That's it.

Wednesday....

Well, it's Wednesday.

Gage ate jar babyfood for the first time last night. He had 1/2 a jar (tiny phase 1 jar) of sweet potatoes. He LOVED them. And, I was trying to also feed him cereal. Once he got a taste of the sweet potatoes---oh, it was all over for the cereal. He would make a face everytime I'd put the cereal in his mouth....but the veggie spoonfuls---he just yummed them up!

Aaaaannnd....he sat up unassisted for the first time yesterday. For over a minute he just sat there before he toppled over. It was soooooo cute!

Not much else.
Oh--the dead squirrel smell is actually starting to go away. I'm sure the little rodent is about petrified by now.
Gross.

Rice Rice Baby...

Gage is our little Rice Rice Baby!

He had his rice cereal yesterday in his big boy highchair!
He used his new bowl & spoon set from GrandDaddy....UT of course!


This next picture really says it all...the whole "cereal thing" didnt take too long.
Per spoonful I offered, I think he actually ingested about one milliliter of the liquidy cereal. Pretty soon--he was DONE with the whole activity, and ready to nurse.


"Pleeeeeaaase Mom! Pick me up!"

Damon's dr called. Test results for Celiac & that other disease that we forgot the name of: Negative. Biopsy results...well, he doesnt have colon cancer! There was some mention of precancerous cells...but Damon doesnt know if that was negative or not. Men. I tell ya..... So, I'm going to have to call up there myself. The dr increased his daily dose of Aciphex...
So, that's all good news!

Damon's grandmother is going downhill pretty rapidly. Looks like she's in liver failure now. My mother in law is down there with her, & she told Damon that we shouldnt bother to visit b/c she is not with it enough to know who is who. So sad.
So, it could be any day now for her. She's 89 & her 90th birthday would be this Spring. And, she is Grandmother Gage...so, she is just IN LOVE with our baby Gage.
:)

Movie Review: Red Eye...it was okay. Not spectacular, but okay.

TV comments...

I really like the show, "How I Met Your Mother". I think it's really cute. But--I missed it last night.
Damon is a big fan of "King of Queens". I like it too...not as much as him though.
But---if I had to pick TV couples that Damon & I are most like--I'd say it's a cross between Ray & Debra (Everybody Loves Raymond) and Doug & Carrie (King of Queens).

...Damon has this habit of burning me out on shows.
For example...Seinfeld. He used to watch it every day at 5 or 6, and then again at 10. Then, when I complained that I'd seen every episode, and I'd leave the room everytime it came on---he switched to Friends. I got burned out on that too. Then he switched to Everybody Loves Raymond. Burned out. Now, it's King of Queens b/c they play reruns every day around 5:30. I can watch the new episodes, but the old reruns just wear me out.


...Gilmore Girls comes on tonight. Jamie likes that show too.

Oh, Jamie & I worked out yesterday. Woohoo!

And...I am down to 121 pounds. Woohoo! (not my pre-pregnancy weight...but I'm getting there!)

AAAAAAANNNNNDDDDDD....Today, all of my clothes, less my bra, are from my pre-pregnancy wardrobe! YYYYYYYYYYYYYYIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPYYYYYYY! I am seriously in a size 4 skirt!
I KICK A$$!

The Joys of Home Ownership...

...something has died at our house, in our house, under our house...somewhere.

I started smelling something Saturday.
Opened the hall closet that has the furnace...& WHOA. I just knew that some type of small something was dead in there.
Well, Damon got the flashlight & looked...he didnt find anything.
By Sunday morning--I could barely stand it.

So...Damon went under the house in search of the beastly odor....
Equipped with a garbage sack & a flashlight...oh, he's so brave!

What did he find????


Well...here's what he found...apparently a squirrel has eaten a hole through the duct/ventilation system under the house & it's surrounding insulation. And...he crawled up in the vent system somewhere & died!
And---it's been cold, so we've been running the heat. And, because he's in the vent system somewhere, and the heat is on---the stench is just being spread all over the damn house.

I just knew that when I got to work today, someone would ask, "Have you rolled in something dead?"


So, that was the gross part of the weekend.

What were the good parts????

Well, for one---Gage felt rain for the very first time.


Melissa & her boyfriend, Collin, came to visit.


We cooked hamburgers on the grill...and Megan & Stephen came over too!
We all had fun.
:)

(Okay...tell me they dont look like a family....like Gage could be theirs...)

Anyway...we cooked out...& we sat by the chiminea fire...

Gage loves his mittens!


Then we played cards...Bullsh*t & Poker. Megan was on a mega-streak. Stephen needs to take her to Vegas!!!! Melis & I....well, we should probably be at the remedial poker table....but, whatever. we all had a good time playing...

On Sunday...Gage slept late.
We took it easy that morning...
And hanging out...searching for dead animals...bathing the baby...feeding the baby...

And then Collin & Melissa had to leave...Gage was so sad.



Oh---I forgot to mention. Um...my hair was 3 different colors over the weekend. It started out brown...went to blonde...(too blonde!)...then red...reddish, I guess...then back to brown. I thought I wanted change...well, changed my mind. It just wasnt me. Had to undo the salon work I paid for, and dyed it back brown myself.

...oh, and on Sunday, Baby Gage held his own bottle .... again. (did it the first time on Christmas Eve)



What else?? Baby Gage had his 4 month check up this morning. Looks like he may have eczema...on his little left elbow for now. Yucky...poor thing!
But, he is 17.5 pounds & 25.5 inches long! He's above average in both of those percentiles. What a big boy.
We get to start feeding him cereal & jar food (veggies) woohoo!!!

Waiting on Damon's dr to call. Biopsy results were supposed to be back Friday or Monday. Well...we didnt get a call on Friday...

Damon is really taking his health seriously. He borrowed a treadmill from his mother & has been walking/jogging on that for the past 2 days. He's really been watching the calories & cholesterol in EVERYTHING we eat. We may have created a mini-monster! He did eat a hamburger & have beer on Saturday night...but, he held off on the Miracle Whip (he loves the stuff) b/c of the amount of cholesterol in it...

I'm just really proud of him though for paying attention & really trying.
He's down to 219 pounds. Woohoo!

:)
That's all for now.

Tuesday & Wednesday...

Tuesday: went to Damon's regular dr appt. w/ him.
He has really high triglycerides & high cholesterol. So much so, that it is affecting his liver functioning---likely has fatty deposits/buildup around his liver. (To quote him: "I'm so fat, even my fat has fat!") So.....major diet & exercise changes are taking place around our house! According to the dr---his cholesterol/triglycerides require "immediate action" & they started him on a drug called Tricor.

Tuesday night....poor Damon had to do this phospho soda stuff for his GI scopes on Wednesday. Ooooh Myyyy Goooodness. May I never, ever, ever have to go through all that. Let's just say, I'd take an enema over that nasty crap any day of the week.

Wednesday....Damon had to go in for his scopes (colonoscopy & endoscopy). Outcomes:
GERD (Reflux), they'll treat this with meds (Aciphex for now) & hopefully it will improve. Lots of people have this (not that it makes it any less painful....). Usually treatable with drugs...worst case scenario (we're not there yet!): surgery to but a band around the top of his stomach/bottom of the esophagus to keep the acid from entering the esophagus.

Diverticulosis: little pockets on the colon that bulge outward. The doctor thinks that was what he was feeling on Damon. No tumors seen! Anyway....if you dont know what diverticulosis is...here's a way to imagine it..... Imagine a country road that is smooth pavement with painted lines. That's no diverticulosis. Now imagine a city road with smooth pavement, but those big city bumps that sometimes mark turn lanes. Those would be the diverticula. The doctor saw no signs of infection in the little pockets at this time. People with diverticulosis can get infections in those little pockets, and that is called diverticulitis. Again---Damon doesnt have that now. He's got the little pockets, but they are not infected!

Biopsies: The doctor said that he is biopsy-ing (is that a word!!??) several areas along Damon's colon. He said that he does not think Damon has colon cancer. He said that he is testing Damon for 2 diseases. This is so terrible---but neither of us can remember one of them. The first one that the dr talked about has a really long name, and we cant even remember any details about that disease. But--we both remember this: the doctor doesnt think Damon has that---but he's testing him for it anyway b/c of Damon's symptomology. The 2nd one is Celiac disease. That's a condition where a person is allergic to wheat, barley, rye....things like that. In a person w/ Celiac disease, their body's response to the allergy is chronic diarrhea. So, he's going to test him for that....

So, the results will be back Friday or Monday.
Damon's in good spirits so far w/ regard to his results...diet changes...and upcoming exercise regimen.

Onto other things....

My personal opinion: Pamela Anderson & Howard Stern are mega-trash of America, and it is only fitting in my opinion that they get together. At the very least, Pamela should let Howard throw balogna at her a$$. (if you dont know what I'm talking about---do not ask!)

TV....

Meet the Barkers: why do I like this show so much? Anyway I do. But really---Travis is how old, and he'd never had Smores? That's so weird. I mean, his wife makes smores, and he thinks she came up with ingredients all on her own...like smores were her idea. Um....okay.

Dallas SWAT....Damon & I are big fans of this show. It's neat.

Gilmore Girls....Luke--what are you thinking? How could you not tell Loralei about your daughter? I know it was going to be hard, but look at how she found out...Come on.

Project Runway: I hate Santino. He is annoying.

That's about all for now.
I've got to get to work.
I'm missing Baby Gage this morning. He's been at my mother-in-law's since...Tuesday. I went to see him & take him some milk yesterday. I was only there for about 20 minutes. That's not long at all! I've just had my hands full with Damon, so Linda kept Gage for us. I cannot wait to get home & see him & hold him & hug him & kiss him & play with him & sing to him & listen to him "talk".

Ugh! I want to go home now, and I just got here! I'm missing Mr.Squidgy Pants!

"Mister Squidgy Pants
Mi-I-is-ter Squid-gy Pants-oh!
Mister Squidgy Pants
He's Miiiiiiiiister Squidgyyyyyyy Paaaaaaaants!"

(that's our little diaper change song...)

It's funny how when you have a baby...everything can become a song. Damon & I sing about everything...like we live in a musical or something....

"We're going to the car
Oh yes we are!"
We're going to the car
& then we'll leave!
We'll drive down the street
you'll look at your feet.
We'll drive down the street
so we can leave!"

Anyway....like I mentioned a bit ago...I've gotta get to work!

It's going to be a long week...

First & Foremost, look at my child.


That was his first time to sit in his highchair. Is it me, or does he look a little scared??!!!


"SIT!"

"Good Boy!"


That little one was pooped after playing all day.... He loves those "Linkadoos" (THANKS GIN!), & always grabs them & chews on them...He loves them! Anyway, after playing, he fell asleep holding onto them. So cute!

So, this week...
Tonight, Damon's dad will spend the night with us.
Tomorrow...Damon has a dr's appointment...I have to go downtown to do my vehicle registration...
Wednesday...Damon's colonoscopy & endoscopy. Bless his heart---he cant eat anything but clear liquids after 3pm today. Then, he cant drink anything after midnight Tuesday night. NOT EVEN WATER! And, his stuff doesnt start until 11am on Wednesday. He's going to be mega-pleasant that morning.... (note the sarcasm).

Then...on Friday....Melissa & Collin are coming!

So, no work for me on Tuesday & Wednesday. Woohoo. But in reality, I'd rather be at work if that meant Damon didnt have to have all of this stuff done....

Damon's blood work from his PCP came in the mail...Saturday. We have an appointment tomorrow to go over the results w/ the dr. He had a few abnormal results. We dont know what all of them mean.... I do know this: his cholesterol was high...just a little...but of that, his triglycerides were WAY high. His LDL was marked as an abnormal result for being abnormally low. Well, we can ask tomorrow...but since that is the bad cholesterol...I would think that really low LDL would be good. But...I'm no doctor...so we'll go over all of the stuff tomorrow.

Poor Damon---he cant take anything for his acid reflux for 7 days prior to the procedures on Wednesday. He's just soooooooo miserable.

The good news: whatever stomach virus that was plaguing my men....come & gone! Damon & Gage are both doing better.

What else???

Movie Reviews:

The Wedding Crashers...funny, but not nearly as funny as I expected.

Must Love Dogs...really cute. Damon & I both liked it a lot.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith...I LOVED THIS MOVIE! Loved it. So funny.

The Future of Food...you probably never heard of it...It's so good though. It's a documentary about farming, crops, genetically modified seeds...patenting seeds & the ramifications of putting a patent on a living thing...it's really very good. Damon & I both liked it.

The Ringer...we went to the theater and saw this. It's funny...but then there are times when you think: "I'm going straight to hell for laughing at this". (If you dont know...the main story is that a guy fakes being "special" so that he can enter the Special Olympics. He & his uncle bet a lot of money on the Special Olympics, so they want to rig it so they can win the $$).

Okay...that's about all I know for now.
:)

Christmas 2005....

Christmas Morning....Gage's First Christmas!!!

Look! Santa came!!!


The Dukes on Christmas Morning...


Gage had so much to look at!


He loved his new exercise dish...walker...thing...


...and his quacking duck puppet...


...and GrandDaddy was there....


...and he got a new playmat....


...and that was pretty much it. We had a big eventful morning...and then a pretty quiet day.

:)

Sausage Biscuit Saves the Day...

So, I'm pissy this morning. I went to bed last night before 10. Closer to 9 I think...right after Gage went to sleep...
Well, he was back up at 1.
He was up again close to 4.
He was up AGAIN at 5:20. Well, at 5:20, I asked Damon to take a turn so that I could get some sleep. I was sooooo tired.
What was his response, "I'm going to get up with him later."

So, I sighed, and I pouted, and I went to get Gage...changed his diaper...fed him...rocked him...and put him back down.

By then, I had about 20 minutes until my alarm clock would go off. So, I climbed back in bed....scooted all the way over to my side b/c I was so mad at Damon--I didnt even want his toes to touch me!

And, I waited...I waited...waited on my alarm clock to buzz, or waited to finally drift back to sleep. But, I was so mad that even my face felt hot. I knew there was no way I could fall back asleep immediately...so, what did I do? I laid in bed & "snoozed" for an hour. (meaning--my alarm went off every ten minutes...and I'd hit the button so it would buzz again!)

So, finally I got up at 7. Mind you, I work all the way out in Arlington, and have to be there by 8....but, whatever.

Left the house at 7:37. I of course was going to be late to work...
So, I thought--since I'm already going to be late, I might as well stop at Starbucks & get a coffee...but, I didnt.

So, a little while later, I'm at work & getting the stuff together to fix my own coffee. What happens? Well, I shake the creamer bottle, and the top is not screwed on properly, and I get creamer all over my hands until it is dripping off my elbows. I knew I should have gone to Starbucks!!!!!!!!!

But alas---someone (a vendor) brought McDonald's sausage biscuits to the main office, and that saved my day!
(unless of course it makes me sick, and I hug the porcelein god all day...)

Anyway...lets get back to this "middle of the night" issue. Sure, I may owe my husband an apology b/c I was all pouty about the whole thing....but I very RARELY ask for help during the night. And, the last time I did--I got a response very similar to this morning's response. After which, he apologized, and acknowledged that I generally do it all on my own. Well, so I ask again this morning--and I get the same crap. Maybe later he'll apologize, but "too little too late"! Seriously---thanks for the apology, but what I really want is a little help when I request it!

Oh...I forgot to mention something...I owe him an apology for something I said this morning, and how I said it. It was mean, and rude, and I was sleepy & mad.... He said, "If Gage starts crying, will you not turn the mobil on, and just bring him to me?" (keep in mind--he said all of this from his cozy little side of the bed, while I was getting up for work...) My response was, "No, if Gage starts crying, you are going to get your a$$ out of bed, and go get him yourself." I feel really bad for saying it...and saying it the way I did...

I know it seems like neither one of us wants to care for our child. Well, I'm sure it seems that way to those who dont have kids. Well, that's not it at all! I enjoy getting up with Gage 99% of the time...it's like our own little time when the rest of the house is quiet & everyone is asleep. It's just Mommy & Gage time. BUT--yesterday at work was completely draining....I had to work late...I had to stop & get gas on the way home...I had to sit in lots of traffic....& was pooped! And, I had already been up with him twice during the night. I just wanted a little sleep! I just wanted Damon to take one turn!

Here's one thing for sure....I'm NOT apologizing to him until he apologizes to me. Childish I know--but I'm tired of him just throwing out an "I'm sorry" & then nothing changing.

Old Photos found...Christmas 2004

Okay--so I'm Queen of never developing pictures...I used to buy disposable cameras all the time...take pictures...& then not get them developed b/c I'd either forget what was on there...or I'd misplace the camera for a while...

Well, I recently found a disposable camera & mailed it in to be developed.
Here's a Christmas Adventure from 2004...

We went out to a place where you cut down your own tree...



Megan & Stephen went with us...


Of course, Damon wanted the biggest tree they had...


Megan & Stephen got a normal sized flocked tree...


That tree was so big...we had to move some of the furniture out of the living room...I couldnt even get the whole tree in a picture...there was no place to back up enough for it to fit into the frame!


And one night we went out with Mark & Jana when they were in town visiting...


And Eddie Spaghetti loved his sweater....


And we went to visit Damon's sister, Ramona, & her family...


And we went 4-wheeling...


So, that was part of Christmas 2004. ...blast from the past!

:)

Hook 'Em Horns!!!!!

So far, today sucks.

I'm GROUCHY today.

There. I admit it.

I'm smiling!

Why am I smiling? Because Baby Gage slept last night from about 8pm, to 6:30 this morning! We took that picture this morning...just a little randomness in our day!

When I woke up at 6, I had to pump so that I wouldnt explode!!!

Happy New Year.

How was my New Years Eve? Let's just say it involved car trouble, KFC, & a man with blood on his face.
I havent had a good New Years in a while!!!!

Alas, my car is fixed, and drove very well this morning.

Had to work yesterday while the others were off. Whatever...saving the PTO.

Gage is teething. Not super excited about this. It's not super common to start at 3 months old...but it can. Also, they said that teething symptoms can show up about 2 months before the 1st tooth. SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPER! Sucks for us. Let's see...there's the diarrhea...low grade fever...restlessness....wakefulness (aside from last night b/c he was exhausted from no naps & fussing all day!)....biting while nursing (lucky me)....reluctance to nurse at times (frustrating for us both)...drooling...chewing on his hands....
oh, and we've got all these teethers...he could care less. And, he for sure doesnt want to be expected to hold them. He loves to chew on his silver rattle...which is so opposite of what I thought he would like. I thought he would like the water filled soft plastic/rubbery teethers...no, he likes the hard metal rattle instead. To each his own!

What else???
Damon's got a dr's appt. this week.
Gage has one in a couple of weeks.
Melissa & Collin are coming to visit soon. AAAAUUUGGGHHHH! I am sooooooooooo excited! Gage gets to meet Melissa! And, we all get to meet Collin!

:)
That's all I know for now...