I'm aware...

It's National Infertility Awareness Week.

I'm aware.

{And what I reeeeeeally want is a rainbow ribbon, so I'll just have all my awareness issues covered by one ribbon. I'm just sayin'....}

April, April, Go Away.

Houston, we have a problem:

And it goes by the name of "Strep."

Yes, we went to the doctor this morning.
Gage has strep.
Good times.

We were up most of the night, and poor Gage was BEGGING at 5:30 this morning for me to (1) take him to the doctor, and (2) get him a shot that will just make him feel better.
You KNOW it's bad when your child is begging to go to the doctor & begging for a shot.
Poor Buddy.

In other news: I emailed my professor last night, indicating that I would hand my paper in later today before my evening class.
Um---just sittin' around HOPING that's okay.
At this point, what else can I do, right?

So---dr appt. this morning.
After that---CVS for Rx.
And then---drive thru @ Chick-fil-A, where MY child---the child who NEVER talks to people in public, like ever....well, MY child started yelling at the drive thru. "I want a 'nilla shake, and a lemonade, and nuggets and fries, and a fruit cup. But I don't like strawberries!" With all of his food & mine too---we spent $16. $16 for two of us to eat fast-food! CRAZY.

He was asleep before we got home. Bless his little heart. His eyes are so puffy with purple rings underneath because he's so sick & tired.

His rest didn't last long. He was up shortly thereafter, and won't eat. He's afraid it will hurt his throat. He said that he wants all the food to "have it" but he doesn't want to eat it. So, it's in the fridge until he's ready.

As I type this---we're sitting on the couch watching "Annie" from, what? the 70s???
I'm not sure if he likes it, or if he's just too tuckered out to complain.

Hubby & I were lamenting about April 2010.
We're ready to see it go...
April 1st was when my Papa died. After that, Hubby broke his back, I had a ruptured ovarian cyst {I was too busy to blog about it}, and now Gage has strep. A coworker is out for surgery, so I've been working extra shifts... I've had this mega-paper to contend with.
April has just been a beating!!!!
BUT---Hubby is recovering. Gage will recover. I'm done recovering {I guess...nothing hurts any more...}. The paper is done {it may not be perfect, but so what?}. And, I got a visit from my mom & a freezer full of her cooking! We have jobs, and health insurance, and food to eat, and a graduation to attend soon. So...as much as I complain, I really am equally (well, probably MORE) blessed than I mention.

...but I really am hoping that these April showers will bring May flowers!!!

Done & Done.

I'm done with my "revisions" for my mega-paper (thesis-equivalent).
I need to print it out in the morning & hand it in.

I'm done with my presentation in my other class. Only thing remaining: quiz for evening 4/28; final next week.

Internship: have some lose ends to tie up. As far as home visits go---I'm pretty much done. I have two more that I need to go see, but the rest of my open cases just need to be tied up. That's typing. I can handle that.
I'm going to stay on there as a volunteer even after I graduate. I've enjoyed my experiences there...

And so---graduation in just a few weeks. Thank goodness.

In other news: Gage has been running fever since Sunday late afternoon/evening. Hubby's back at work this week. Hurts him to sit for that long, but he's been a trooper. Mowed the yard this weekend. FYI: no, the lawn mower doesn't work exactly like a vacuum, and so the corners of the yard are a b*tch to mow.
What else?
We're out of coffee filters.
That's about all I've got.

TTFN.

*************
Addendum: right after I hit "post," Gage started throwing up & c/o his mouth hurting.

Hmmm....a stomach virus & the coxsackie virus??? Maybe???
Poor Buddy!

Please tell me that it's not contagious, whatever it is....

Catch Up.

Well, to say that I've been busy is an understatement.

When you somehow toot along thinking that you have it all together---Life has a way of bringing you to your knees.

Hubby was in a car accident last Monday. We thought he was just sore. Ummmm...well, he was more than sore. He broke his back. But, like I mentioned before---we are so very fortunate because he can walk & talk & his spinal cord was not involved, and we're just lucky.

But, he's been frustrated & useless, bless his heart.
He can't bend much. He can't get comfortable. He's worn out a path in the carpet going back & forth between the couch & the bed.

My mother in law's been super great about keeping Gage whenever we need it.
My mom was awesome to come up here & help me, and oh.the.cooking. She made meals for us. We had a fridge full of meals to just heat & serve. We have a freezer full of her cooking. It's been AWESOME.

What's not awesome: the fact that Monday night, Hubby was at the hospital, then got transferred to Parkland, and we toyed with the idea of me running home to let the dog out before he got transferred. Well, we decided that I probably didn't have time {we were wrong...}, and so I thought I'd just have to clean up whatever doggy mess was made. Tuesay morning when I got home, I thought I'd find potty spots on the floor. What I didn't expect to find was a bunch of blue fluff that looked like blue cotton candy.... turns out---it's the stuffing from the inside of the damn couch! He tore about a 10 inch hole in the damn couch cushion!
So, I'll need to find an upholstery person for that. Good times.

Hubby's planning on going to work tomorrow. We'll see how that works out. I don't know if he can sit up in a chair for 8 whole hours, but I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

Highlights of this week: intership stuff, revision of my mega-paper due, work 32 hours this week instead of my regular 24. It's going to be a very busy week!

TBTB

TBTB: Too Busy To Blog.

{seriously, I feel a little guilty for doing it right now.}

My husband broke his back in a car accident yesterday.
It's nondisplaced, stable, and has no spinal cord involvement, so that's SUCH a blessing.

But, he can't do anything.
He's been restless & unable to get comfortable, well because, you know---his back hurts.

Luckily---as I mentioned, it's stable & it could have been soooo much worse.

AND---my mom's coming to help me.
My mom's coming.
That right there makes me want to cry from relief.

I'm runnin' on empty.

It's a Major Award! ...followed by the indoor germ-a-palooza!

Okay, so last Friday evening, I got this award thing at school.

Luckily for me, Gage snapped a few pics.
AND---I even have a head in a few of them.



What did we do after that to celebrate???
Um---Chuck E. Cheese's, of course.
{Because CLEARLY every student over the age of 30 wants to celebrate his or her success at the indoor germ-a-palooza. Where else can you leave a piece of half eaten cheese pizza on the edge of an air hockey table & just walk away?[and by "half-eaten," I mean the cheese topping was methodically chewed off by some 3 foot picky eater]}

Okay, Okay, I complain a lot....but we really DID all have a good time.




(very serious for his horse riding expedition)





A good time was had by all.
And, Gage got to stay out in public until 10 o'clock (gasp!), and we even stayed awake at home until after 11 o'clock. Whooohooo. Big night!

:)

On the downside: right after work on Friday, I went to the campus bookstore to get my graduation clothing, and I'll be darned if I wasn't just a few minutes late. Ugh. So, I will have to try & get it Monday....

Sprinking Hide & Go Seek.

Well, it's been a bit of a wet weekend here.

...and, while it was just barely sprinkling last night (Saturday night), Gage & I got in a quick round of Hide & Go Seek {...but some people call it "hide & seek"...I grew up calling it both, so there ya go.}

Anyway, it was fun...until it started raining!




Game over.
"Rain, Rain, Go Away!"

Yesterday vs. Today.

Yesterday:



{{{why, yes, that IS mud all over him.}}}

Today:




{{{{{Even MORE Mud!}}}}}

But let me just tell you---he had so.much.fun.

Oh.Crap.

Well, guess what.
Apparently you’re supposed to order your gown & hood for graduation 5 WEEKS BEFORE graduation.
It’s currently 4 weeks before graduation.

I’m heading to the university as soon as I’m done with work to see about my hood & gown.

CRAP.CRAP.CRAP.


{caption with that: you just might be too late!}

Today.

I have a headache.
Excedrin will be my partner today.
I already had my morning coffee.
I already had my breakfast.
I still have a headache.



Feel sorry for me.

Easter Bunny: Don't You Know Better?

That's Gage. He's SORTING all of his Easter candy: that which he likes, and the give-away-because-I-don't-like-it pile.

{Lucky for us, most of the chocolate candy bars were in his toss pile!}

Baby Matthew....

I was lucky enough to attend Susan's baby shower over the weekend.
BreadWinners=mmmmmmmmmmm!
I had the salad sampler for brunch. I highly reccommend it.
Yummy.
And, I was very excited that my mom was able to come to.
I FAILED to snap a picture of my mom's little mini cakes for Susan & David, and I FAILED to snap a picture of the gift basket that I gave her. I had so.much.fun collecting these little things over time. Things that she might not think to register for...or things that she has no idea she'll need (like band-aids. lots & lots of band-aids). Another fail on my part: I forgot to put a package of batteries in there! {am I right, moms? don't we always need freakin' batteries???} And, like I told her---if I'd really been on top of my game, I'd have hit the Home Depot to buy a teeny-tiny screw driver. Why? For the back of all those toys that have the world's smallest screws holding on a piece of plastic where you have to replace the batteries!
Anyway, it was cute nonetheless.

My mom, me, Susan.


Megan, Susan, & me.


I couldn't see well so I moved up by Megan when Susan was opening her gifts.
Thanks mom for snapping about 25 pictures of us.
{someone's mouth was open in more than half of them, or at least one of us was blinking, or Susan's face was covered by a gift...but the sentiment was sweet mom, really.}
But this is what my mom was trying to capture:

Us. Together, and happy.

She said that she got teary just thinking about all that we have been through together. It's like a marriage, without any fighting. And well, without...you know. Okay, fine, it's not like a marriage. It's better! We miss each other when we're away from each other, but we have that safety net there that tells us we'd cross the US if we needed to be there. It's great. If one of us is busy, the others are understanding {you guys are understanding, right? you know I'll be done with school soon, right?}, and when we do get together, the boys (our husbands) don't seem to understand that we just don't want it to end! We don't run out of things to talk about. We can always pick up right where we've left off, and update each other on this/that/the other.{by now, I think the boys are starting to get it!}

They are some of my besties, and they're GREAT!

So, Baby Matthew will be here before we know it.
And, I can't waaaaaaaaaaaait to spend hours in the waiting room waiting for his arrival! I owe Susan, who slept on the waiting room floor because I was in labor for so long.

Susan, may your labor be short: very, very short. {but not so short that you miss the window for an epidural!}

Mmmmm. Cook it up!

When the cat is away, the mice will play!
So, last week, Hubby was out of town tending to the Father-in-law who was in the hospital.
I was single-momming it.

So, what did we do?
I let him bring DIRT {gasp!} in the house.
In fact, he "cooked" with it.

Care for an "Alien Eyeball, Car & Driver Soup?"






{you know you want to try it! actual ingredients: dirt, rocks, matchbox cars, action figure, leftover malted milk easter eggs}

Yes, I know he's wearing a regular shirt & batman pajama pants.
Some evenings just flow like that, don't they?

And---you'll note that in the final picture, he had to sliiiiiide it to me, like a bartender. I asked where he got that reference {well, I didn't use those words} and he informed me that it's from some tropical setting Scooby Doo.
hmmmmm.
I know *I* haven't taken him to a bar!
{Hubby, you may have some 'splainin' to do!}

((Also, please note his new love for collared shirts.))

Is there no end? No, apparently there's not.

#1:

McKinney dad accused of leaving kids in car during Dallas strip club visit

11:43 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 13, 2010
By JUSTIN UMBERSON / The Dallas Morning News

A McKinney man faces child endangerment charges after leaving his toddler and infant alone in his car for an hour and a half while he visited a Dallas strip club, police said.

The dad




Michael Galloway's 9-month-old and 3-year-old were discovered late Friday by a tow truck driver across the street from Pandora's Men's Club in the 10600 block of Harry Hines Boulevard. The windows of the car were up and the doors were locked, said Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse, a Dallas police spokesman.

"He was illegally parked," Janse said. "The tow truck driver spotted it when he was making a routine check of the area."

Galloway, 36, initially told police he was in the club for 20 minutes, but witnesses said they saw him drinking between 10:15 and 11:15 p.m. He had alcohol on his breath when police took him into custody, said Janse, who noted that Galloway would have been arrested even if he'd left the children for 20 minutes.

Galloway's wife picked up their children. She declined to comment when contacted today.

Galloway was charged with two counts of endangering a child with intent to return. His bail was set at $10,000.

****************************************
This is just disturbing on many levels.
Many.

He's lucky that it was random-tow-truck-driver-guy who found his kids, ALIVE.

....his poor wife.
*****************************************

#2:

Woman arrested in theft of SUV filled with children, taking them for a ride
Posted Tuesday, Apr. 13, 2010

By DEANNA BOYD

dboyd@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH -- A 29-year-old woman accused of giving five children an unexpected ride late Monday afternoon when she stole their mother’s SUV faces charges of auto theft and abandoning/endangering a child, police said.

Beverly Bates:



Beverly L. Bates, 29, was being held in the Mansfield Jail Tuesday with bail set at $7,500. In addition, she is being held without bond on an outstanding forgery warrant, jail records show.

The children, girls ranging in age from 1 to 9, had been left alone temporarily inside their mother’s running Ford Expedition as the 33-year-old woman peeked into a rental house on Sargent Street about 5:15 p.m.

“The mother reportedly told investigators that she left the vehicle running so the children would have air conditioning,” said Sgt. Chad Mahaffey, a police spokesman. “She also told investigators that she thought she locked the SUV before walking away.”

According to a police report, the mother told police that she had seen a woman wearing a purple shirt walking behind her vehicle. The mother told police she had walked to the side of the house and upon walking back, discovered her vehicle, children and the woman missing.

The mother called 911. A police helicopter immediately began canvassing the area, leading to the discovery of four of the girls in the 4700 block of Panola Avenue, the report stated.

Police said Bates had apparently dropped off four of the children, two still in their cars seats, at the location before driving away with the fifth.

Minutes later, police found the SUV abandoned in a parking lot in the 5100 block of E. Rosedale Street with the fifth child still inside. The site was about two miles from the location where the vehicle had been stolen, police said.

Bates was arrested on an outstanding forgery warrant out of Robinson, Texas, near Waco, after she was spotted walking away from the SUV with its keys still in her possession, said Sgt. Chad Mahaffey, a police spokesman. She was interviewed by detectives and later booked into jail on the forgery warrant and in connection with the carjacking.

Tarrant County records show that Bates has multiple convictions dating back to 2000, including for theft, auto theft, forgery and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Mahaffey said that at this time, it does not appear the mother will be cited in the case.

“The happy ending here is nobody was hurt, the kids were recovered and the auto thief is in jail,” Mahaffey said.

“However, the teaching point is do not leave your keys in the car. Even if it’s for a small, short errand, do not leave the keys in your car. Do not the leave the car running. Take the extra time to get the kids out, take them with you, lock and secure the vehicle and take the keys and put them in your pocket or purse.”

********************************
I think it's interesting here that the first teaching point mentioned is to take your KEYS with you; don't leave your KEYS in the car.
The most valuable thing stolen here were the children; not the keys, and not the car.

Even if the car weren't running, and even if the keys weren't in the car, the random criminal passing by posed a threat to those children.

I's just sayin'...

MMmmmm! Restaurant Review: Culpeppers!

I had not been to Culpepper's since 1996. It's random how I know that, but trust me---I know that.

So, we went Friday night when the father-in-law got out of the hospital and Hubby got home. It also happened to be Hubby's birthday.


Not only did we have a FUN time, but the food was WONDERFUL!

We started with a cheesy fondue with jalapeno bread, italian sausage, and grilled artichoke hearts. Delicious.

Hubby & I had one of the specials: 4 oz. filet mignon, and a FRIED lobster tail. Fried? Hmmmm. That's different.
Well, let me tell you---it was wonderful!
They detach the meat from the shell all the way down to the end, where they keep it attached. They must have cooked it all first because the shell was bright red; but then they batter & fry the meat.
It was unusual and delicious!

The dessert: creme brulee. The raspberry & lemon cake was okay...but once you taste the creme brulee, you realize that the raspberry & lemon cake pales in comparison.

Really, our meal was so great, that I called my mom & gave her a play by play of each course. I'm kind of nutty like that.

The food was great, and we all had fun.
:)

PF Store Updated Apology.

Well...this is a better apology...

"It was recently brought to our attention that an employee of our Los Angeles store made a negative Tweet about a mother breastfeeding. Paul Frank Industries sincerely apologizes for this incident. We support mothers and their right to feed their babies however they choose, whether it be breast or bottle.

Our stores Twitter pages are to be used for informing our fans of sales, new products, and special events, and not to promote the personal opinions of one store employee. We are a family company, and this tweet in no way represents our collective opinion. Action has been taken.

We thank all of you for your continued support of our brand!"

Easter Update Part Three

Hubby cooked up the Prime Rib, and he had to start early!


Darnin' was hard at work cooking too.


Then it was time for Easter Baskets and "The great Egg Hunt of 2010."
We had over 300 eggs for 2 kids to hunt.
Prepared much???









And afterward....the grown ups sat around emptying the eggs, sorting, and putting the plastic eggs back to be used again next year.

Good times.
:)