Sleepy Mcsleeperson

Camden has been battling a cough the past few days and it has caused sleep issues like waking up early. The last few nights he has also fought going to bed, which resulted in this happening this morning. That would be someone passed out in his car seat. The last time that happened in the morning? Before he was a year old at least!!!

When I dropped him off at daycare,he even stayed asleep!!

Day in the Life: Fall 2012

This is a post about a Day In Our Life - Fall Edition. Linking up with Laura at Navigating the Mothership. 

I documented Saturday, October 20th.

 

I'll mention that the entire weekend was a whirlwind of busy, and that Friday night we drove round trip to Stillwater to partake in the awesome activties that are OSU walkarounds and enjoyed the housedecs. Afterwards we met up with friends, so we didn't get home until 12:30 or so.

 

Saturday Morning started off bright and early, a little too early for my liking.

 

8AM - Woke up to an empty bed, Husband had already gotten up, fed the dog and made himself eggs. He then agreed to make me some eggs as well, but I forgot to take a picture of it. It was super yummy Egg in a Hole toast.

 

830- Up and attempting to dress and put on my face. Fixing my hair.

 

900 - Leave the house, dressed and ready for the pumpkin patch. New camera in tow - so I can practice with it.

 

915 - Arrive at the in-laws to pick up the kid. We change him into a cute button up shirt - to which he throws a fit about having to change. We note that his cheeks are rosy and he is a little warm to touch, as well as extra snotty. Thanks teething. He still has one canine that has yet to poke through the surface. It surely won't be long. After epic meltdown and attempt to get the kid to calm by bribing with fruit snacks and other candy we head out of the house.

 

We drive to the pumpkin patch, and discuss where it is. Husband pulls off at the little roadside stand area that sells pumpkins. I disagree because how are they going to have camels and ponies here? Text a few friends and find out the exact location. Drive another three miles to more acreage where we find success. Crowded success.

 

945- We are here! We park and then begin the trek to the pumpkins. Camden is absolutely adorable when he says "Pumpkin" as it comes out like "Punkin". Love it.  He climbs all over them, refusing to hold still for a picture. Of course why would he cooperate? We show him the outdoor hay bale maze for little kids. He insists on going with the Husband first. After that he runs around and around and around, going again and again. We are able to sit on the hay bales and just watch. It was fantastic. We walk around and pet the other animals. Goats, alpacas and even a huge tortise. We show him the darkened maze. He goes in with Husband multiple times before daring to run in alone. He doesn't come out for a long time, so husband sends me in with my iPhone flashlight. I go in and hear people accuse me of "cheating". Ha! I can't find my kid, no judgies! Finally I catch a glimpse of his plaid and I call to him, and of course he runs away from me and towards the exit. I'm slightly irritated but mostly thankful, as it was pretty sweltering in the dark tent with haybales and lots of bodies.

 

We continue to walk around and look at the ponies and the camels. Camden keeps asking to "ride the pony". Someone walks by us talking to their kid about "riding the pony" and Camden answers her questions with an "OKAY!". We let him pick between pony and camel. He chooses ponies. We head back to pick out the pretty pumpkin we want. It's so stinkin' pretty. We pay for the pumpkin and then also buy a pony ride. Husband carries the big pumpkin all the way back out to the car, while Camden and I wait in the mile long line for the ponies. Finally after what felt like ages, Husband comes back. He takes Camden back to the hay bale maze and to see various things while I continue to wait in line. After what feels like an eternity, it is time. Camden walks up there and like a big boy lets the older gentleman put him on the pony. I ask the pony's name, it's Cherokee a cute little brown and white pony. Camden has on his serious face while riding the pony. In fact, I think he looks downright angry. Apparently that was just his focus face. He was focused the ENTIRE time. He would walk by and I would ask "are you riding the pony?" And all he could do was give me a serious and slow nod. It was adorable. He looked so big up there all by himself! He was so excited to ride them, and then so serious when he was done.  Love that kid.

 

We finally decide it's time to head out. We walk through the building selling jams and brittle and take a look, and stop and take pictures with some more pumpkins on the way out.

 

1145 - Finally get back to the car. Decide we should feed the kid before dropping him back off with the in laws.

 

12 - Arrive at Charlie's Chicken, which seems to be our go to eat out place. It has mashed potatoes, okra and ice cream. That's about all he will eat there. We take turns trying to bribe him into eating, notice he's talking less and less. Must be getting tired. I bust out my camera and fiddle with it while I take some pictures.

A weird Chicken. WTG Charlies!

 

1245 - Arrive back at in laws. Change Camden into comfy nap clothes and see if he wants anything else to eat before giving him some milk and laying him down.

 

115 - Tell Husband we better bust a move. We need to head home, let the dog out (since she's been having extra potty problems lately) and change if needed and head out.

 

215 - After doing all of that we leave the house and run to pick up my Mom at the Mall. We arrive a little early and run into Hallmark so I can get my ornament that goes along with the series I am collecting. Disney/Pixar and this years ornament is from Monsters Inc. We get in line and bust out our ornament card - to which they tell us they expire after two years so we can not add any stamps to it. Well my friends, that is just CHEAP. Who is going to buy 12 ornaments in the span of two years to get ten dollars off one? Not many people. I mean really, Joann's Hallmark. Really? That's just weak.

 

3- Grab my mom and head out to the casino. My Dad got us tickets to see Jeff Foxworthy and we were pretty excited for the getaway. It started at four and we arrived at 320 or so. Meet up with my dad and he tells us there was an issue with the other tickets, so he managed to use his smooth skills to get us upgraded to SUITE tickets. Yes, that's right! We get up there and there is TONS of food, desserts and drinks. All of it was free. It was fantastic! I nibbled on a little of everything and a couple extra of the desserts. The cake pops? Were moist and perfect, absolutely to die for. Before we knew it, it was showtime!

This is what a free drink looks like.

 

4- Jeff comes out and begins his show. He's super hilarious, and I love listening to him tell his stories. He swears that most of it is real life and that makes it even better.  A joke that I found really funny was a redneck joke at the end. He said "If your son's name is Dale JR, and your name isn't Dale.....you might be a redneck". HAHAHA!!!

It looks far, but it was awesome. And Suites for the price? WIN.

 

5:30 - show ended. We already had plans to go to the buffet in the casino - so we went and carb loaded on up. It was SO good, and I was SO full. I ate a fajita, BBQ chicken, chips and queso, and I probably had two dessert plates. It was SO good I had trouble deciding! After the buffet we decided to check out the new part of the casino and so we headed up to check that out and watched my Dad play some video blackjack for an hour or so.

 

Amazing. You could pick as many as you wanted!

By this point it was about 7:30. We pick up our car from valet, head back to town to pick up our little munchkin. When we arrive all the way across town its close to 8, little man tells us "no, I wanna stay with mama and papa". He loves it over there, it's pretty cute. We drag him out and make it home to watch Bubble Guppies and play with him for a while.

 

9:30 - Little man goes to sleep.

 

10:00 - Husband and I follow shortly after. We had a busy evening the night before, and a just as busy day. However, I wouldn't trade it for the world!

 

 

Mommy and Me :: A Day Off

Camden and I went to the zoo again the other day. By ourselves. We had a blast running around!

Isn't that lizard cool?

playing in the bamboo. Loved it!

my little monkey

The seal show! He was doing his impression
of a seal. Love those Sea Lions!

Again my little monkey!!

Do you see the snow leopard?

Petting the little baby goat. He was so sweet too! 

Maternity shoot :::L:::

 It's been a really long time since I have posted pictures. And I LOVE picture taking. These are a few of my beautiful sister in law that I took about a week ago in a flower field before it got cold. We started rapidly losing light before we got finished, but we are going to do a few more when my brother can be present as well. Isn't she gorgeous?!?

I can't wait to get into all the photos people are asking me to take. And then this little baby girl will be here and I'll have another newborn shoot!

New Camera?

I woke up this morning for work, bright and early on a Saturday morning. I grabbed my trusty iPhone so I could use it as a flashlight and dragged my bleary eyed self into the bathroom. My normal morning routine is to read my Bible verses (what did we do before YouVersion?) while I'm fixing my hair, then I will play around, check email, or read local news stories.

 

I hadn't read much in the news lately because sometimes it's better to NOT know, right? Ugh. So I pulled open my local newstation app and lo and behold, there is a top story involving my part of the city. I open the article and read the story, which turns out took place ONE MILE from my house.

 

Say what?

 

Upon further examination, the story was about an attempted break in to a house, in the middle of the day. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. Who does that? The story went on to say that the stay at home mom was home, heard people knocking but didn't recognize the man, so she looked at him through the peephole and then didn't answer. She heard him comment to another man, stating something about "they have a dog". She was on edge, so she went to the back bedroom, grabbed her gun, checked out all the windows and then sat down in the living room. She said that's when it happened as fast as lightning. They kicked in through the storm door and the front door, and were in the house in a matter of seconds. She shot off three shots at the men who went running. Serves them right.

 

So this story really gave me the willies. I was at home yesterday too. Me and my little boy. Playing with his toys, playing on the iPad, cuddling in bed, playing in the backyard. This story happened RIGHT DOWN THE STREET, for crying out loud.

 

My brother has been pestering me since my birthday in April, the one where he took me shooting, to get a gun. Interesting enough, I spent some of Thursday evening and Friday almost buying a new DSLR. A full frame that was from a local photographer. I mean, whoa was I close. Almost an impulse buy, but I have had requests from friends and family for family pictures, so I could REALLY benefit from a full frame DSLR. But it didn't work out. Maybe that is a sign that I should invest in that gun and a gun safe?

 

Something to ponder for sure!

Spot or Not

Things have been chaotic around these parts lately. If it's not one thing, it's another. We finally regrouped after the sickies of brain cysts, strep and teething (yay for finally getting those canines!) and have been out and about enjoying ourselves. Camden has been loving playing at the park at our nearby school, now that it's back after being under construction allllll summer.

 

Luckily for Husband and little C, they are healthy and happy. For me? I just can't quite win. I got rid of strep and found out about cysts and since then I have been growing little dry red patches on my skin. Ringworm maybe? Where do I get this stuff? I've been treating with antifungal cream but no avail. It is expired cream, so maybe it needs longer? It doesn't seem to be changing the spots, in fact, I seem to be growing new ones. Yet, Husband and C don't seem to have an awkward spots anywhere. So who knows? I have been told to switch to cortizone cream, thanks to Malissa. It looks like I need to make the switch. Maybe I need to go to a doctor? Oye. So over doctors.

 

Camden is up to a few new things. He and I get into a game called "I love you" and I will say "I love you Camden" and he will say "I You Momma", (I and You are kinda pushed together so he thinks he's saying I love you) and we repeat it back and forth until someone forgets or quits saying it. It's adorable. He is becoming a huge fan of red. You will ask him what shirt he wants to wear and he will say "red". If he pees on the potty he wants a red M&M (and we are in very short supply of those around here). He is fighting going to bed a little at nighttime, He just seems to have enough energy to stay up, like a 7th wind or something by that point. He's pretty stinking adorable, even when he's cranky. He has NOT been a fan of pants. It was like pulling teeth to get him to wear those. Also he fights putting on a coat in the mornings. But by the time we get to school? He refuses to take it off. Kids are so silly!

 

They are learning about community helpers at school and this week has been all about the firefighter. They painted pictures of a fire and even practiced dialing the 9-1-1 and calling for 'Help', then practicing the stop, drop and roll. And from what I hear it is absolutely ADORABLE. Can you picture a bunch of young two year olds working on stop-drop-roll? Love it.

 

I can see his communication just increasing and it's pretty darn cool. He is picky and likes things his way, so he has trouble when Mom and Dad want to do things their way. Of course, that's just how two year olds work, but man, that is some work. I can see how some people have kids and are all "one and done" type thing. It's hard to raise them right, definitely takes patience and perseverance!

He also has a nightly thing where he likes to get out of the tub/shower and I hide his milk in the kitchen and he has to find it. I take him in there and hold him and he just stares and looks around while trying to find where I have hidden it. It's so cute watching him look and talk it out with himself. He loves the game, and cries if I forget to "hide milk". 

He can count to fourteen and knows all of his colors. He is absolutely fantastic at matching shapes and working puzzles independently but he's still working on his ABCs. I am one very proud Momma! 

C and I are always looking at each other and saying, "he looks so big". He's getting so heavy to carry around and is so independent. 

Alright, time to go treat some spots!!

Monday Randoms..

Obsessing over: Knowing the results of my 'spot' and knowing that there's nothing to be done now. It's so freeing. I can just be for a while.

Working on: Getting back to the gym like I know I want to. I haven't been as faithful this summer as normal, and routines are crazy and then the sickies and it's just easier to not go. But I feel so much better when I do.

Thinking about: How I should change my eating habits. And then what I should eat at my next meal. You like how that works?

Anticipating: Taking Camden to a pumpkin patch, SOON! And doing more maternity pics for my SIL, and a few other family shoots here and there. Been looking into buying a new lens. Fingers crossed!

Listening to: Imagine Dragons. I am obsessed.

Drinking: Alkaline water baby, all the way!

Wishing: For it to be 85 degrees again. That really is my perfect temperature.

Happenings

We've been staying busy in our household! The sickies have left for a while, and we have been enjoying the cooler weather. We have NOT been enjoying the fact that the sun sets around 7p. We do manage to go to the park most evenings and let Camden run around like a wild banshee. He runs around, goes down the slides and is a little climbing monkey. I love it. I am SO not looking forward to winter and having to keep that little tornado cooped up in the house. He thrives being outside!

We have made a few changes in our routine in the morning and evenings. TV is left off, intentionally. He only gets like one episode of Bubble Guppies and he doesn't get milk until dinner. He is not a fan of waiting, but he was just drinking too much milk and not eating dinner. He's a mess. He's learning boundaries though, and getting him to obey is a work in progress. But what kid isn't a work in progress? He threw a fit the other morning not wanting to take off his PJs. He had to sit in Calm Down Corner for a while, eventually he gave in and let us change him. It wasn't easy, but it worked. He's learning!

I have been trying to work out in my head what I want Camden to be for Halloween. He still fits in his costume from last year, but I seriously doubt he will wear ANYTHING on his head. He's not into dress up or anything like that, so I don't think he's willingly going to wear anything. Oh well.

I am throwing a baby shower for my sister in law, L, in a few weeks. I am SUPER pumped, I can't wait. It's going to be packed, and I have a lot to do in a short amount of time. My house is a pit and needs crazy WORK.

Speaking of a pit, it's partially a pit because I have turned it upside down looking for my missing memory card. Why is it missing? Grubby little toddler hands seem to have pulled it out of my computer and walked off with it. I can't find it ANYWHERE. I sure have looked too. So maybe in cleaning for this shower it will turn up. Just praying that it didn't find it way to the trash, accidentally. 

Homecoming walkaround are coming up where I went to college and I can't wait. Here's hoping Husband and I can take a little trip up there for the evening!

I've been trying to intentionally cram in workouts. Hopefully, I get get a pattern and stick with it.

On another random note? My closet needs some SERIOUS cleaning out.

And can we talk about Grey's Anatomy here for just a second? I am NOT a fan of where this season is going. I understand they needed to kill off some characters but honestly? HOW MANY BAD THINGS can happen in ONE PLACE? It's absurd. And unrealistic. At the beginning it was so much more realistic. And fun. Now it's just sad and annoying. Oye.

Other than that, it's the same ol', same ol' stuff.

Sheldon: Part 3.

It appears I owe a Sheldon update, since I got more news last week.

I started calling the doctor that I was given my second referral to last Monday. They swore they never got my referral when I called, which frustrated me.

I called my doctors office to verify, they said yes it went through, that the referral lady was wrong.

I called the neurosurgeon's office back. The referral specialist said "oh yeah! I forgot to check the floor. I do have it but I will need a copy of the report". (The floor? Might not be the best filing system. Just sayin'.)

I'm at work so I'm thinking, "awesome. It's at home!" So, I call the sweet secretary at the MRI place and she is so SO helpful, offering to print it off and fax it over for me.

Tuesday comes so I call the doctors office back. She says she got the info and will call to set up an appointment later that day if she "finishes with her project" and if not she will call early Wednesday.

Cue Wednesday. She calls early, says the doctor read my report and can tell by where the offending spot is located that its a "benign cyst" and that I need a follow up scan in 6 months. She says the doctor told her that I could still schedule and appointment and pay the co pay, but he is still going to say the same thing.

I still have a question. So I ask the referral specialist to go back to him and ask how strict he is on the six months. Could it wait a year? Does it have to be just six months? How serious is it?

So she calls me back Thursday. She tells me that waiting 6-12 months is fine, I have no symptoms so its not a big deal and she will tell my PCP what they recommend.

Whew! Relief!!!!

And it saved me twenty bucks for now!

I am completely at ease with this. While it may sound like the neurosurgeon is blowing me off, I don't take it that way. I was given his name by two different people as being the best in town. If that's the case, I don't doubt his expertise. He says I can wait, I'll wait. He says it a cyst, then it is. God has given me so much peace through this and has really taught me so much about patience. It is so hard to live by it, so when we are forced to live it - it can really be a learning experience. This for SURE was one of those times. So as frustrating as it was to find out its nothing? To sit around and wait on doctors? It was teaching me that its really not all about me, and what I want. It's up to Him.

Such an eye opener! We just had a sermon in church talking about tithing and how when you return what is God's to him, you will see his blessings pour out. In fact, this is the one part of the Bible where God says "test me in this". Our campus pastor was sure to mention that not all blessings in return are going to be financial. We are faithful in regular tithing in our household. And this blessing of good health?

Simply means God's blessing me for faithfulness.

That I am beyond blessed and highly favored. And totally don't deserve it!