Year in Review: 2012

Well, my year didn't get off to that ausipicious of a beginning. I can't even remember if anything interesting happened in January becuase that was, you know, 12 months ago. I remember February better. It started off with Brandon and I going to A Weekend to Remember at Hotel Roanoke. That was awesome because we'd been so stressed with fostering that we hadn't had a lot of time to work on us. We renewed our committments to each other and remembered why we loved each other in the first place. It was quite awesome and I highly recommend every couple do A Weekend to Remember because it is just that. February was the month that the three foster kids went back to their mom. I blogged before about how I felt when all that happened, so no need to relive that. I remember clearly going out to dinner with Brandon and Colby after the foster kids were gone. I remember being able to pay attention to Colby's smile and blue eyes and having a real conversation with Brandon that didn't involve kids. I realized that I while we'd done a good thing by taking in three foster kids, I had lost sight of what was important to me - real interactions with my family.

So for the months of March and April as I got bigger with pregnancy, I spent a lot of time hanging out with my boys. School was pretty decent around this time. I was trying to finish Romeo and Juliet and The Road with my year long kids so that the sub could do The Odyssey with them when I was out on maternity leave. My pregnancy with Carter was a lot like it was with Colby - uneventful!

Until the end that is...on May 11th I went in for a doctors appointment. My due date was a week away and I was excited to have a natural child-birth this time. But the doctor had other plans. He said my amniotic fluid was low and that he'd like to go ahead and do a c-section. I was sad, but the doc knows best. I called Brandon who was at work. Actually he was supposed to be guarding the Roanoke airport as Michelle Obama flew in to do the commencement address at Virginia Tech. I think he was disappointed to not be able to work since it was like his first real assignment with the Tactical Team, but all of that went away when he was holding Carter around 3:30 that day. So the rest of May was spend on maternity leave. This is probably bad, but I didn't worry one iota about school and didn't miss going to graduation in the least little bit. Carter, as it turns out, also has PKU just like his little brother so we spent a lot of time figuring that whole thing out. Unfortunately the special formula he had to drink made him pretty constipated, so we had to feed him a couple ounces of prune juice every day just to keep him regular. We did finally get him working right, but there was a lot of fussing in the meantime.


In June we went to Nags Head for a week. We went by ourselves (but in the future would love to go with others!). We discovered a new beach on the Sound side of Jockey's Ridge. It was awesome because the waves were pretty much non-existant and you could walk out at least a hundred yards without it going over your head. Colby had a blast playing with other kids and buidling sandcastles with his dad. Carter spent a lot of time sleeping under the umbrella :-) It was great to relax and recharge...I just love the beach! Later in June we went to visit my parents at Hungry Mother State Park as they were on their way back to Hampton from visiting Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore and lots of other places in between.

July and the remainder of August passed by uneventfully. I took Colby to the pool off and on and we got used to having two kids in the house with PKU. I started the weigh station early in July. It was tough, but I had promised myself that after I was done having a second child, I would lose the weight. I had a lot of determination when I started and I stayed determined for a long time! I got a little antsy to start school. I was thinking it seemed like it had been awhile since I was in a classroom and when I thought about it, it had been since early May! So in August we had our teacher workdays and I got two lovely (and large) honors classes and one (small, thank God!) academic class. Its been a good year at school right from the start. We got two lovely new English teachers - I'm helping to mentor one - and things have been pretty quiet. We have a lot of the same gripes, but nothing too crazy. The worst part about going back to school is paying for two daycares. I can't wait for Colby to go to kindergarten next year....wait...I say that, but I really CAN! I don't want my baby to grow up!

In October I turned 30...I know...wow! I can't believe I'm that old! I don't feel that old at all. Half the time I feel like a teenager still wondering how the heck I got to this spot in my life. Also this month I just happened to run into my three former foster kids. They looked good and they seemed to be really happy. I even talked to the mom for a few minutes, but she's not the best conversationalist in the world. It did my heart a world of good to see them and see how well they were doing. It gives me the courage to do it again in 2013!

In November I got to travel to see my family for Thanksgiving. This was special because I didn't get to go for any holidays last year due to having foster kids. Grandaddy made cheesecake...yum! And yeah, I took a break from my diet. I'd lost 33 pounds and was going to enjoy the holidays, but I was determined to not gain any weight.

And last but not least, December. We got out of school a week before Christmas and it's been an awesome season! I got to see Gwen, Jordan and Lindsey the weekend before. That was great because it'd been a while since we'd all seen each other. I just wish Brandon had been off and Jonathan had been in town...then that would have been the whole crew! We had Christmas breakfast at our house and Christmas dinner with Brandon's parents. Colby and Carter got some great gifts! The Friday after Christmas, Brandon and I tried out our presents to each other - .22LR rifle and a 12 gauge shotgun. That was fun! Colby shot Brandons lever action BB gun (zero kick). The .22 we great - I was pretty good sitting and standing if I do say so myself. The 12 gauge had a bit of kick that I was unprepared for, but I didn't come home with any bruises or anything. My parents came to visit too. They brought us a new recycle bin as that we don't have to hang bags off of drawer handles anymore. They also brought some awesome presents from my family who are so generous. After my parents left, I started my diet again. I did all protein until this morning. New Years Eve, as I write this, is pretty uneventful. I'm just hanging with the boys and Brandon is at work.

I only have two new years resolutions...

1. Lose another 30 pounds...I'll keep you posted
2. Blog more...I've been a slacker in this area and want to do at least one post a week. I hope you enjoy reading!

Emergency Preparedness

So, I've been doing this thing where you spend five dollars a week and buy something extra at the grocery store so that you'll be prepared in case of an emergency. Here's the website that I've been using to decide what to buy:

http://readynutrition.com/resources/the-5-a-week-shopping-challenge_09072012/

I bet a lot of you readers think it's silly and honestly I've felt a little silly at times. I bet the woman who checked me out today with my twelve cans of salt (seriously, they're only $.44 a piece) thought I was going to to open a restaurant or something with it. But with this "Frankenstorm" baring down on us I look through my supplies and wonder if it's enough. According to the weather channel, a power outage is likely for our area. I wonder what I'll do without power...if my in-laws or other family members have power I'm going there! But if we're all out...what will I do for heat? How will I cook? How will I keep my food from spoiling? What will I do for Carter's bottles? The list of questions goes on. I know it won't be as bad as I'm making it in my head...we're not stepping into an episode of Revolution or anything, but I guess being a mom makes me more of a worrier. All I know is we can probably go a week with what we have, which is pretty good in my opinion.

Book Review: Better Off

I'm currently reading a book called "Better Off". It's an intruiging read about a married couple who went completely off-grid for eighteen months in a community of Amish-like people. By off-grid I mean no electricity, no running water, no nothing. They grow their own food and don't use technology at all beyond a horse and whatever you can hitch to a horse. The community has a no car rule.

Now, no, I'm not going to be disappearing into the wilderness anytime soon, but I find it an interesting read. I wonder if I could make it without electricity. No AC, no refridgerator, no computer, no tv. In all honesty I think I could do without AC - I did it in college so I could do it again - but I don't think I could do without the refridgerator or the ceiling fans. I think I could do without a computer or tv for a while, but I think at some point I would miss it. I wonder what we could do with just wind power? Run the fridge and ceiling fans and the computer for a couple hours a day? Just a thought!

I think the hardest part of being off-grid like the people in the book would not being able to run out to Walmart. I think we, myself definately included, are way too dependant on Walmart or grocery stores in general. If the apocalypse happened I know that I would be screwed in a couple of weeks since grocery stores would quickly run out of food and there wouldn't be anyone to bring more. Yes, I have enough food to last for a bit, but it's only a short bit. The people in the book can every sort of fruit and veggies known to man and therefore have tons of food in their basements. They own chickens and pigs and cows and can slaughter them when the need arises. I think they are much better off if something drastic happened to change our way of life.

I think they're lives are extreme, but just think about what they are teaching their children - hard work pays off, community is important, family is important, pull your own weight, responsibility. Those things are nearly impossible to teach kids these days, but here these people are doing just that. It makes me slightly jealous, but then I go google something and I feel better about my technological life :-)

First Week of School

I just finished my first week of school. I'm so tired! I am not used to being in a classroom anymore and all this walking around makes my hips and feet so sore! And I'm not used to speaking for long amounts of time and catch myself saying "um" and "uh" a lot. By the end of the day I feel like I've given all I have to give.

Carter started daycare this week. He seems to be doing okay. I've been bringing his formula so that they can make it at school instead of pre-making it like I did for Colby. It's funny - Carter is usually napping or hanging out when I get there, never crying. But there's another kid named Carter that is crying in the morning when I come and crying in the afternoon when I come back. I'm super glad my Carter isn't like that, though he is fussy in the evenings sometimes. My theory is that he's tired when he comes home and therefore fussy. Generally, though, he's a pretty good baby :-)

Colby also started this week at school. Every day he's run into class and in the minute it takes me to sign him in, he's off playing with his friends. I get a bye momma and an I love you from across the room. I'm not complaining, though. That's a lot better than dropping him off and having him cry. He's been pretty tired and cranky when I pick him up, but I think when he gets used to the routine again, it'll be a lot better.

Now I know I need to clean up the house a bit...but it can wait until tomorrow because I'm going to bed after I make a couple bottles for Carter :-)

Oh! And I'm really excited that Brandon goes back to shift after labor day! Now I'll know his schedule way in advance and not the day before! Yay!

It's been a really good weekend. What did I do, you ask? Nothing! I went grocery shopping on Saturday with Carter. He'd been fussy and I wanted to get him out of Brandon's hair for a little while. That afternoon I sat out on the patio and read while Carter hung out in his bouncy seat and took a nap. I finished my Saturday by going for a walk at Wildwood park with the whole family. Colby rode his big boy bike while Brandon and I took turns pushing the stroller. I'd like to say that Sunday was just as nice, but with the weather being pretty nasty, it wasn't. We went to church and have just hung out this afternoon.

My Boys!

I love my bouncy seat!

My big boy!

My babies!

School is No Longer Out for Summer

We started school this week. I'm not used to getting up and staying up so early. During the summer Colby would wake up, I'd get him some formula and he'd turn on the TV and watch cartoons while I napped for a little while longer. I had been getting up around nine to eat breakfast. Now it's more like seven. Next week when Colby and Carter start daycare, I'm going to be getting up even earlier.

I'm pretty excited about school because we got new books. The books we were using were published in 1999 and were definetly showing their age. My books looked horrible and had vulgar things written all over them. Needless to say that if I see a student writing in these new books, they will be in lots of trouble. I'm also excited because I have not one, but two honors classes first semester. In some ways honors classes are more work for me, but in other ways it is less work. At any rate it's going to be good.

This week Brandon has been awesome enough to take off of work to hang out with the boys. I think they've been having fun :-) I think, though, that Colby is very ready for his school to start to see his students and his friends.

Looking for Land

So it's always been mine and Brandon's goal to buy some land, preferably about 5 acres, and build a house. So from time to time I go online and see what's out there just in case there's something awesome that we just can't pass up. Recently while looking online I found this property - 14 acres for $26,900 - out in Giles County. We looked at it on Google maps and the Giles County GIS and it looked like a decent piece of property. The price was obscenely low so we decided to go take a look. We figured it was worth a shot at any rate. We drive out ther and what we see is the side of a huge, steep hill and we are not impressed. I mean I'm talking a 45 degree angle. So the realtor takes us up a small gravel lane and onto another smaller gravel lane that goes into the property and ends at a turn around of red clay. We can't even look down the hill because the weeds are so tall and the red clay, a.k.a. the red glue, gets all over all of our shoes and I'm even less impressed. Then we have to turn around and we're in the van, not our four wheel drive Rav4, so I'm like there is no way we can turn around on the mud, so Brandon had to direct me to turn around in the middle of the gravel road while trying to make sure I didn't go falling down the hill. Ugh. So we went back to the realtor's office and her boss tried to sell us on the property, but I would have none of it. They showed us some other properties on their computer and we swung by to have a look at one on the way home, which was better, but we weren't in love.

Even though the looking was a bust, we learned a few things. We learned what to ask for when it comes to property around here and I learned that I REALLY do NOT want to have to find a new church, so we will be limiting our searching to within a reasonable driving distance of Radford. Brandon and I are making lists tonight to see what is important to us when it comes to land and homes so we'll be able to tell a realtor exactly what we want. We're not in a rush or anything so I think we can get what we want eventually for a decent price.

Olympics!

I very much enjoy watching the Olympics. Summer, winter, who cares I love to watch it. There's something about watching a high performing athlete compete at their very best and knowing that I can't even TOUCH how good they are. So far I've been watching gymnastics, volleyball - indoor and beach, water polo (which is where the hot guys are ;-) ), swimming and other random sports like rowing (which for some reason they call skulls) and kayaking. Of course Colby still wants to watch cartoons so I've been watching Olympics in the bedroom...but when I go in the bedroom Colby follows me, but if I change the station in the living room I get huge tantrums...sigh. I think that Colby and I have spent WAY too much time together because we're getting on each others nerves. School starting will hopefull fix that :-)

Carter has started sleeping for longer streches. That makes me happy because I like to sleep and I feel less of a need for napping...though maybe not carrying around all this extra weight is giving me extra energy!

Pumped for Coming School Year

I'm really starting to look forward to the coming school year. I checked my class load and I'm teaching 2 honors classes and 4 academic classes. I think this will be a really good year because I'm not taking any college classes, I'm not trying to finish an internship and I don't have foster kids and I'm not planning on having any until the next calader year. Plus I'm going to continue to lose weight and get some of my energy back! I feel like I can put my best foot forward and try out some new ideas especially in the area of writing. I also want to do more things online so that I won't have to grade as many things by hand. I only have a couple of concerns for this year - my class sizes range from about 21 to 26. 26 will be the most students I've ever had in one room. I'll need some more desks, that's for sure. Also, for the first time ever, I have third block planning, which is when all the lunches are. Last year they did away with lunch duty, but I fear this year they will reinstate it and I'll be stuck hanging in the lunch room for 25 minutes during my planning - boo! I mean seriously...I'm on a diet! The only food I need to be near is the food I'm allowed to eat! :-) But on a more serious note, I think this year is going to go well. Our principal was new last year and some things didn't work out well, but now I think he'll have a handle on things and get things moving better. He already hired an excellent SPED coordinator and kicked a nuisance back to the schoolboard office, so I think we're heading in a great direction!

Patio Facelift

Today I made good progress on the patio area. A while ago Brandon put up a picket fence to keep the dogs off the patio and away from the house. This created a nice area where we could spend some time when the weather is nice without being slobbered on. I love reading Better Homes and Gardens and I would love for my patio to look like something out of the magazine, but it's not going to happen...the things in those pictures are a lot of work and take a lot of money! So here's what I did on a small budget: I bought a triangular shade sail (basically a big piece of canvas) instead of building a permanent structure and mounted it on four by fours from another project that Brandon took apart when he moved the shed. I already had two chairs, so I bought two more and a small table (we had a large table that the dogs destroyed and didn't have the money to buy a new one) so now I have a nice sitting area under the shade. I ordered seat cushions from Amazon (still waiting for those) and I put a plant on the table and between two of the chairs. It looks great! I have some plants along the edge of the fence, but my goal will be to get more along with some candles to set around to keep the bugs away. I'm also thinking of stringing up some Christmas lights as a finishing touch. Now if only the inside of the house looked as good!

Fussy Yesterday, Fine Today, Go Figure

Yesterday I didn't make a blog post because Carter was far too fussy for me to have time. For some reason he had his diaper in a twist (not litterally!) and would not go to sleep for any length of time beyond a doze yesterday. He would cry, I would feed him, he would doze and then start crying again. I'm not sure why this was the case, but today he seems fine. He slept a bunch this morning and is taking a good nap as I type (quickly!). Maybe he was having a little growth spurt and just wanted to eat. Who knows?!

I got this itch lately to rearrange the living room. It's a super small room, so there's not many options, but I want to. I'm thinking of dismanteling the pack-and-play to move the loveseat around and moving the coffee table out of the middle of the floor so Colby can be his rambunctious self without kicking it half the day. I don't know, though...rearranging requires cleaning :-) I think once I get started I can do it and do it well...sort of like me tackling the front flower bed earlier this week. Once I got going, I pulled out all sorts of dead and dying flowers and weeds. Speaking of flowers - I went to Lowes yesterday and bought some plants for the back patio area, but I also discovered they are having a summer sale and I want to go back today or tomorrow for some plants for the front. All the perennials they are selling have already bloomed or are looking rather peaked, but they'll look fine next year!

Exercise!

So one of the things I need to do better at is exercising. Back when I was in high school I took dance lessons and played softball so much that I barely had and time for anything else. Now I chase kids around the house, clean and garden, which is a big difference and part of the reason why I need to lose weight. I feel like I don't have time to exercise because of the kids, but I think I'm just making excuses, but not today - today I loaded up Colby's bike and we went to one of the local trails and he rode his bike while I pushed Carter in the stroller. It was pretty sticky and hot (next time I'll bring water!) but it was pleasant and it was good for getting rid of some of Colby's endless supply of energy. I think on evenings after dinner if the weather is good, we'll do this again. It's not hard, I just need to DO it.

Wish for Today: That things that taste so good - ice cream, cake, pizza, chocolate - weren't so bad for you :-)

Carter's Two-month Check-up

Today I took Carter to his two month doctor's appointment. He had to get three shots and an oral vaccine :-( The poor guy cried and cried and when we got home we had to give him some tylenol to make him feel better. Other than that, the doctor said he looked good. He had some dry skin on his scalp and forehead that the doctor said was excema (no wonder since I have it) so I've been using some hydrocorizone and baby oil to make it look and feel better. I hope it goes away soon - I've been thinking people would look at it and think we weren't bathing the kid, but I assure you we have been!

Yesterday I went to the Homeplace to celebrate my mother-in-laws birthday (Happy Birthday Elaine!). If you've ever been to the Homeplace, you know this is not a good place to stay on a diet - any diet. It is a family style restaurant where the bring huge bowls of mashed potatoes, green beens, fried chicken, roast beef, country ham, apples and buiscits followed by a dessert of fruit cobbler a-la-mode. I could eat a whole bowl of mashed potatoes by myself on a normal day! But I restrained myself. I had green beans (which are very tastey!), roast beef and skinless chicken. Plus I brought a salad and strawberries to go with it (yes, I know it's tacky, but necessary since you can't ORDER a salad). As a reward, I was down three pounds this morning and still in ketosis! So far I have lost nine pounds and I haven't even made it a week! Yay me! I have to say that it's also getting easier. I'm more focused on what I CAN have and less focused on what I CAN'T have. I say this now, but I have a feeling that when school starts, this is going to be a lot more difficult...

No Wonder...

I occasionally read articles about why poor people don't eat very healthfully and today I found my answer - eating fresh foods is expensive! I went to walmart and spent approximately $90 on healthy fruits, veggies, and chicken, got less bulk than I normally do, and spent more! Heck yes it's cheaper to eat at McDonalds and probably tastier too unless one knows how to cook said fruits and veggies properly. At any rate I hope that the money I spent will keep me on track to lose more weight. When I weighed this morning, I had lost four pounds, though, I think it was mostly water weight from retaining fluids from eating badly early this week. Tomorrow I'm going to try my hand at making home-made whipped cream with diet-approved sweeteners so that I'll feel like I'm satisfying my sweet tooth just a little :-)

Getting Started is the Hardest Part

So, I started my diet today. And wouldn't you know, I've been starving all day! But I spent $150 to get started so I'm damn well going to get started. The thing about the Weigh Station is that it works really well AFTER those first couple of days. Those first couple of days are like running a marathon up-hill. The first couple of days all you can eat is protein and water. I had eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast, a hamburger (no bun or veggies) for lunch, and marinaded chicken (no sides) for dinner. That's it. Once I get into ketosis (the process during which your body burns fat) I can add in some fruits and veggies, but it's adios to bread, sugar, and dairy products for the forseeable future. I think I'll be eating a LOT of salad because I can have unlimited quantities of it. I just have to be careful about dressing!

In other news, Brandon took that day off today...I was glad because I miss having him around. I got spoiled after Carter was born having Brandon around 24/7. It's much easier to not get stressed out when there's another adult in the house. Plus he makes me smile :-) Plus, Colby has gotten into this crazy habit of talking non-stop. And he repeats himself unless you reply so I'm stuck having these crazy, long conversations with a four year old. I love him dearly, but I don't want to spend my whole day telling him what various animals eat. "Momma, what do alligators eat? What do whales eat? What do..."

Diet Starts Tomorrow - Pray for Me!

Tomorrow I start going to the weigh station. My goal is to lose about 80 pounds, which may take a while. I hope to lose over half of it by Thanksgiving. This means I won't be able to eat a lot of the foods I love - bread, desserts, chocolate, etc. So the last couple of days, I've eaten...mmm...not very healthfully. But I'm geared up to start my diet tomorrow. I'm excited. Really. And if I'm going to spend $100 on the first visit and $50 for every other visit, then I'm going to stick with it or it would be a HUGE waste of money. I've already decided to go ahead and start my diet with breakfast BEFORE my appointment. Go me! So wish me luck and eat a piece of cake for me! I'll post updates regularly so that you'll know how I'm doing :-)

Book Review - Dies the Fire

For the first time ever I read the same book twice. Several years ago I read Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling and this summer I decided to read it again because I enjoyed it so much. At first glance it is labeled a Science Fiction/Fantasy book, but it's rather low on that sort of material. There is an element of the supernatural in the premise of the story: on March 17, 1998 all electricity and guns stop working for no apparent reason, though there are hints that it has something to do with an event in Nantucket. From there it follows three people on their journey through a world where cars don't run, tractors don't plow, and people must grown their own food or starve. There are a lot of excellent characters including a wiccan preistess, an ex-marine, a history professor, and a Lord of the Rings-obsessed teenager. It's fun to see how they make it in this world that none of us can really comprehend. Of course there are your good guys and one REALLY bad guy, so it ends up being a story of good vs. evil, but I never minded. If you like post-apocalypse literature, or if you just like to get attached to good characters, this is a good book. Dies the Fire is the first in the "Change" series followed by The Protectors War (which I just finished and includes some details on how the rest of the world fared in the change) and A Meeting at Corvallis. These three books I feel are excellent. The saga continues when the wiccan preistesses son goes on a cross country travel in an epic quest for a magical sword while dodging the craziness of a cult obesessed with stoping him. While I enjoyed this spin-off series as well, I didn't like it as much as the first three book - Rudi seems to have fifty million lives, it takes TOO DAG-GONE LONG to get across the United States, and the magical elements are much more pronounced and likely to turn some people off. But, if you're looking for an interesting read for the end of summer, get Dies the Fire!

Projects - Not the Housing Kind

Today I started a new project. Nick's girlfriend asked me if I could take her old tee shirts and turn them into a quilt. Well, I'm pretty handy with a sewing machine so after I asked for some pointers from my mom, I started cutting up the shirts. I think cutting the shirts will be the most time consuming part because I have to be really careful...I don't get a redo. I cut up three shirts tonight and will continue tomorrow when I'm not so pooped. I'll post a pic when I'm done...I think it will look really awesome with all the tie-dye!

My other project is to clean my house...this is the never-ending project. The quilt will eventually be done, but the house-cleaning never will...sigh. However I think if I can get the house clean, I might...just might...be able to keep it that way...for a week or so :-) I think when I win the lottery I'll just hire a maid!

Disaster Averted

A couple of days ago I was standing in the kitchen and heard water dripping in the laundry room over head. We live in a one story house, so it wasn't an upstairs bathroom or anything. I looked and realized that, that spot was where the AC comes into the house and where the air intake is. I freaked - all I could think of was that there was something wrong with the AC and I'm going to have to call someone and spend lots of money. I called Brandon when I noticed a slight wet spot in the ceiling, which caused more heart palpatations. He told me to turn the AC off (no big deal because it was night-time) and when he got home...you wanna know what was wrong...the drain pipe on the drain pan was clogged...Brandon fixed it...and replaced the air intake filter...I felt stupid...but glad it didn't cost anything :-)

Today I took Colby to his first movie at the movie theater. First, Brave was a really good movie and Colby did a pretty good job of sitting still and paying attention. He's a four year old, so there was the expected fidgeting, but he did okay. The movie was cute. Geared more toward girls, but with the bears and such, it was okay for boys. I just want to say that I nearly choked when I shelled out $15 for the two of us to watch this movie at 12:40 on a Saturday. $15!!! For a kid and an adult!!! WTH!!! These prices are exorbitant!!! Talk about price gouging! At any rate, Colby and I had fun. Maybe Brandon can take him to see the new Ice Age movie...but maybe at a different movie theater!

Summer Continues

So my summer continues :-)

We went to the beach back at the beginning of June. We had a good time just hanging out as a family. We hit the sound-side beach near our house where the waves were tiny and the beach was filled with lots of other families with kids around Colby's age. Colby built sandcastles with Brandon and his new friends while I read an Carter slept. We hope that next year some other friends will be able to go with us, but it was plenty relaxing with just us.

After the beach we came home and Brandon went back to work and I settled down to enjoy my summer with Colby and Carter. I've been taking Colby to the park, pool, and library along with bike riding, playing in the pool, and hitting baseballs around the yard at home. There's been a couple of times when we've gotten on each other's nerves, but so far it's been a pretty good summer with Colby, though I think he'll be glad to get back to school and see his friends.

Hanging out with Carter has been pretty good too, but we've been having to deal with the unpleasant side-effects of his PKU formula. It doesn't really agree with his stomach and was causing lots of fussiness. I took him to the doctor and they said there wasn't anything they could do because it was the formula that was messing him up. Carter's nutritionist suggested prune juice, so I've been giving him one ounce of water mixed with one ounce of prunce juice every day. It seems to help him not be so constipated, but I have to say that the consistencey of prunce juice is NASTY and I think it makes his poos extra stinky! But as long as he's not crying inconsolibly, that's ok!

In other news I decided to make good on a promise I made to myself a long time ago. I promised myself that after I got pregnant and had a baby and was done breastfeeding, I would go to the weigh station and lose some weight for good. Today I made an appointment for next Thursday. I'm looking forward to looking in the mirror and liking what I see because all I see now is an out of shape woman who has CLEARLY been through two c-sections. Wish me luck!

Beach Trip?

Well, as of today I can pass through a metal detector without setting it off. Doc says I'm healing well, but I still have some pain on the left side of my incision. I'm not sure what that's all about, but I hope it goes away soon so I can lay off the pain meds. Carter is growing well. I swear he weighs more and more every day. I've been really tired today. Carter kept me up for a couple hours last night so I fell asleep watching Thor with Brandon this morning. I hardly ever fall asleep while watching a movie, so I definately was pooped! Today I came to the conclusion that I will not be able to talk Brandon into going on a cruise to Bermuda, so I've switched to plan B - going to the beach. We're looking at renting a house either the first or second week of June. Colby is old enough to have a blast at the beach and Carter...well he'll be barely a month old and not much trouble at all :-) Plus Brandon will be able to get his beach fix before the beaches get too crowded. And going to the beach for a week is probably much cheaper than going on a cruise, though maybe not as exciting.

Happy Birthday Carter!

Well, last time I wrote on my blog, I thought I had two weeks until Carter would be here. Boy can things change quickly! I went to the doctor on Friday May 11th only to discover that my blood pressure was high and my amniotic fluid was low. I was slightly irritated about my blood pressure because it had been perfect the entire time and I didn't have a lot of swelling until that day. At any rate the doctor said that I needed to go to the hospital and that they were going to go ahead and do a c-section. I was like "Oh man!" because Brandon was in Roanoke. He was supposed to be helping to lock down the Roanoke airport for the arrival and departure of Michelle Obama who was speaking at graduation at VT. So I called him, told him what was up and he did 80-85 down the interstate because we weren't sure when the surgery would be. He didn't have to rush though, because I had to wait eight hours since I'd had breakfast that morning. They wheeled me into the OR. My only thought was that last time I must have been really out of it because I felt a little overwhelmed and intimidated by the whole process. But Brandon sat with me and at 3:33 Carter Edward Gill was born and all was well in the world :-) He was 5 pounds 6 ounces and 18 inches long. I thought for sure he was going to be bigger than Colby, but he was a full pound smaller! My parents came down that day and my mother-in-law picked up Colby from daycare and they all got to meet Carter that day. I think Colby was a little unsure of the hospital and I think he was really confused as to why we were staying there, but I think he was excited to see Carter. He's taken to being a big brother like a fish to water. As I write this, Carter has gained back the weight he lost and then some and he's doing great! I'm feeling a bit sleep deprived, but that's nothing a nap can't fix. Thank goodness for good medicines because I think I'd be a pretty pathetic person without them. I still feel pain, but nothing I can't handle. I get my staples removed Friday. Well, speaking of naps...ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz

2 Weeks Until Carter!

Wow...I didn't know it has been such a long time since last I posted! I guess we haven't really been doing anything of note lately. I've been pregnant, Brandon's been working, Colby has been Colby. My pregnancy is going really well with two weeks left to go. About this time in my pregnancy with Colby my blood pressure had started to go all over the place and I was put on bedrest. So far this time around my blood pressure has been great (knock on wood) and I've not had any other issues. I've been trying to be really good about drinking plenty of water and putting my feet up when the opportunity knocks. The only thing that sucks right now is the fact that I'm really hot ALL THE TIME! At school I just burn up and at night I wake up sweaty. However, I'm really excited about Carter getting here and I hope that everyone else is too :-) I'm actually starting to get impatient...most people have noted how chill I am, but on the inside I'm really thinking that if he comes tomorrow I'd be okay with that! There's really not a lot going on right now. We're still working on our flower gardens and vegetable gardens. My peas, spinach and lettuce finally started to take off...I really thought I'd have something by now. We still need to work on the soil for our big vegetable garden or we're not going to have anything to show for the work we've put into it. I'm thinking of calling to have some manure delivered from a horse farm in Blacksburg. I guess I better get on the ball because we could really plant things now and they'd be okay. I heard they were already picking strawberries in Bedford so I think we're going to have a longer than usual growing season. School is going well. I feel really behind because our schedule this semester was really crazy and we had a lot of four day weeks instead of five. We took an extra week getting through Romeo and Juliet so now I'm not really sure if we're going to get to the Odyssey. I'm sure my kids are heartbroken :-) You can definately tell the end of the school year is within sight because my kids are really squirrely and I find myself being really snappy with them. Hormones might have something to do with my snappiness, but I have a pretty good excuse :-)

Thoughts on Gardening

Lately I've been thinking really hard about putting in a shade garden on the north side of the house. I went to Lowes this evening to see if they had any rhododendrons, but all they had were azealas and mountain laurel (same family, but not exactly what I want). I want to put rhododendrons along the back and put hostas, coleus and other shade plants in front. I'm just tired of looking at ugly empty space over there. Plus with the rhododendrons being evergreens, it will look okay in the winter time too.

I've also been thinking about what I want to do in the back yard now that Brandon has installed a fence to keep the dogs off the patio. A serious container garden would look good and be easy to install, but if I actually plant things in the ground maybe they'll last longer? I don't know...and I guess that's the beautiful thing about gardening - if you try something and you don't like it, then try something different!

Close to Paradise

So, I've been having a good time lately. I've been able to spend a lot of time with Brandon and Colby. I feel like Brandon and I are at a really good place in our marriage and honestly I wouldn't change a thing between us. I've been enjoying Colby - I love his facial expressions, I love the comments he makes sometimes and I love the way he says I love you. His comment of the day yesterday was "That's the deal!" Is it always paradise...definately not...especially when he threw himself on the floor in a full out tantrum this afternoon as soon as we walked through the door, but it's been pretty close.

Carter seems to be growing like crazy lately. He's been moving around a lot more lately which has been making me a tad uncomfortable. I didn't use to have any issues at school, but lately I'll stand up and whince because it doesn't feel great when your child is pushing down or out.

In other news I'm really happy with the way our front flower beds and planters are coming along. The pansies look great with the tulips blooming. The wildflowers are coming up and the butterfly bush looks like it's going to fabulous this year. I planted some lettuce, spinach and peas in three of the planters on the front porch and we started some other veggies inside. I can't wait for Brandon to get the big garden tilled so something other than dandilions can grow in it.

Life is good right now. I'm not sure what's going to happen with foster care in the future. We spoke with our case worker's boss yesterday and we talked a little bit about the future. We're definately open to doing foster care again, but we made it clear we wanted to have Carter and get to know our new family for a while before we do this again. We'll have to be a lot more careful about who we allow into our home and we will never be able to do three kids again. While we were reflecting on our experience, I realized that we had a great time with the two younger girls and not as much fun with Noah...maybe if we do it again it will be ONE baby - that would be ideal :-) But for now, I'm living in the moment and the moment is pretty good :-)

I want spring!

Today I planted some hanging baskets with pansies. I want spring to be here so bad! I don't want any more cold, wind and snow - I want flowers! I want sunshine! I want to go outside wearing my flip-flops!! And I want my skin to not be so dry! I'm kind of antsy to get my vegetables started too, but I'm trying to wait until the beginning of April because I can't plant anything outside until May anyway. In the meantime I hope we'll get some horse manure from Blacksburg to work into the garden and I also hope we'll be putting a picket fence around the patio to keep the dogs off and make a really nice place to entertain.

Brandon has been working on getting the truck running again. He replaced the battery, but now it needs new tires to pass inspection. We had an offer for someone to buy it, but we're hanging on to it for now...how else are we getting manure from Blacksburg? It's not costing us anything except for insurance and upkeep, plus it's a little blast from my past :-) I put many miles on that truck from Blacksburg to Hampton :-)

I wonder...

You know, not having foster kids has it's perks. The house has been cleaner for longer, I get to spend a lot more time with Colby and Brandon, we don't have to run around as much taking them to various appointments and I don't wake up in the mornings to the sound of Ariyana screaming. I can drive out to Walmart at almost any time since Colby is pretty good to go shopping with and I don't have to fight any small children into bedtime or naptime. I can spend time planning our gardents and which vegetables to plant where and when. But sometimes when Colby's engrossed in X-men and I am just sitting around avoiding housecleaning (like now) I miss the Rose kids. I wonder what they're doing, I wonder if Sahara is smiling, I wonder if Ariyana is using her words and if Noah is playing with his Barbies. I wonder what they're future holds and I wish God would just grant me one glimpse of their grown-up-selves so I'll know that everything turns out okay.

In other news, the English teachers pre-ordered their Hunger Games tickets. I'm going to find someone to watch Colby (March 23 if you're interested in watching Colby!) and go out and enjoy myself :-) I heard that it will be in imax so maybe Brandon and I will catch it in Hampton when we go visit my parents for Easter - a trip I'm really looking forward to! I think this movie will be really good and if it's not then it will still be fun to hang with the teachers outside of school!

Randomness...

My parents came for a visit yesterday. I haven't seen them since New Years, so it was good to see them. And of course my mom can't just sit still, she helped me clean up a bit. We focused on the dining room so now the chairs are less grimy and the table is now clean enough to actually use. It has me having thougths of actually inviting people over for dinner.

We're also flirting with the idea of fencing off the patio to make a really nice, usable space. I'll be keeping an eye on the Lowes sales papers to see if I can get some nice fencing and lumber for a good price. It's bound to go on sale with the advent of spring and spring landscaping. Speaking of spring, it's supposed to snow again tomorrow...what's up with this weather. It's almost 70 degrees one day and snowing a week later, grrr.

I get a little bit stronger...

The weather has been really good lately. Colby and I went outside today so that Colby could ride his bike and I could pull weeds in the flower bed. Truth be told, I can't really remember what we used to do before foster kids, but I do know that I'm enjoying talking to Colby and watching his facial expressions. He is quite adorable...not that I didn't know that, but I haven't been able to pay attention as closely to him as I should have lately. Colby's been asking about baby Carter lately. I think he's impatient to have Carter come out into the world. It's pretty hard to explain to a almost four year old that babies have to grow a little more before they come out...Carter has to cook for 11 more weeks!

One thing I've come to realize lately is that I have a lot of people that care about my family and me. It's really helped me get through this week...that and staying busy and enjoying the small things. Maybe this weekend I can clean the house...and have it actually stay clean for a little while! There's a concept :-)

Worst Day of My Life

You know how some people say that this was the worst day of my life, but they're really just being melodramatic? Well, when I say yesterday was the worst day of my life, I really mean it. I racked my brain to think of a day that had been worse, but I couldn't think of one.

On Monday our case worker at DePaul called and said that Montgomery County DSS had decided in it's infinite wisdom to send all three kids back on Tuesday morning. I believe all I did was cry after Brandon told me the news. It had always been the plan for them to go back to their mom, which I was okay with to a certain extent because I thought it would be a slow, gradual process to make sure that all the kids would get the best care they could get. But what happened this week was not in any plan that I had ever heard and it was a shock to me and a shock to the kids. Thank goodness for Brandon - he had already packed a lot of of their stuff by the time I got home...I'm glad he did because I think I would have cried the whole time. The worst part was calling everyone and telling them the news. It was really hard to verbalize what was going to happen because I simply didn't want it to.

Tuesday morning I cried just imagining them leaving in a few short hours. Brandon had to go to work wo when my case worker showed up, I helped her load their huge pile of stuff up and helped them get loaded in the car. About that point I started crying. I couldn't help it. I hugged Colby and went to the house and didn't even watch the car leave because I couldn't bear it.

To top off my Tuesday, I got to the bottom of the neighborhood on my way to work and I had a flat tire. I had to circle back to the house and pump it up. I broke the part of the pump that goes in the cigarette lighter when I was putting it away and had to buy a new one on the way to school. I got a papercut trying to call Brandon to tell him what happened to the tire and fell going up the stairs at school - I caught myself with my knees and forearms.

About the only thing that went right yesterday was the weather. It was a beautiful day so I took Colby to the park where he had a blast and I didn't have to think about my empty house.

Update!

So clearly I suck at blogging these days, but here's an update on how life is going.

It's been a bit crazy at our house as usual. The kids are non-stop balls of energy especially since Sahara is "cruising" around the house and almost ready to walk. She's also starting to show a little seperation anxiety when I block her out of the kitchen while I'm cleaning or cooking. Ariyana is talking better, but crying is still her go-to method of communicating especially when she's tired. Noah and Colby are partners in crime now more than ever, but at least we got them to understand that they can't go raid the refridgerator whenever the whim hits :-) I'm pretty sad that in a couple of months everyone will start transitioning back to their birth-mom. I feel pretty attached to them and don't want any harm to come to them (not that it would, but they'll be leaving my safe home for the unknown). I got a little teary-eyed the other day just thinking about it. But maybe God does know best - I'm to lose the kids I've been caring for and have become attached to, but I'll be getting my own bundle of joy to care for :-) The last month or so of foster care has been stressful for us. It seems like all of our hard work has largely been ignored by a few key players and we're just being criticized for stupid stuff (which I won't blog about because it would be rude). Brandon and I have discussed taking a break from foster care for a while after this...it's been a bit much, but definately a learning experience.

I'm starting to feel pretty tired due to my pregnancy and I'm also starting to feel my nesting instict kick in. I want things to be clean and organized but I don't have the energy sometimes. Brandon has been a big help lately with the cleaning aspect of our lives, but sometimes it feels like a never-ending battle with the kids running around and being mini tornados. And yes I do make them clean up their stuff, but it still seems like dishes pile up, clothes pile up and I never seem to make a dent in any of the mess I make because I'm busy making sure they don't destroy the house.

Last weekend was a really awesome weekend. We sent Colby to spend the weekend with Brandon's parents, the Rose kids were sent to respite for the weekend and Brandon and I went to stay the weekend at Hotel Roanoke to go to a marriage conference called A Weekend to Remember. We had some pretty decent speakers talk about marriage and Brandon and I got to spend a lot of quality time together that we've been missing out on. We got a small collection of books to read including a couples devotion book while we were there. We got to go out on a date to a local Mexican restaurant - we had pineapple fajitas! Yum! On Sunday I was sad to see the weekend end, but as it turns out, it snowed and I got an extended weekend when school was closed on Monday!

Snow days are good, but you know what isn't good? Everyone being sick! We all have colds. I've taken Noah to the doctor already and tomorrow I will take Sahara. Try explaining to a four year old that they can't go play in the snow because they are sick - logic is not really going to work unfortunately. But hopefully this time next week everyone will be healthy again. At least I've crossed my fingers and prayed really hard that, that would be the case!

Good Saturday

Today has been a pretty blissful Saturay right up until nap-time. Nobody woke up until 8 a.m., which doesn't usually happen. Usually everyone is up at like 6 or 6:30, 7 at the latest. Everyone played well together for the most part between episodes of X-men. The boys are addicted to X-men these days and ask to watch it constantly. This is fine with me because I get to clean or read while they are watching. Today I worked really hard on the kitchen. It's still not perfect, but it's much better than it was. Maybe this evening I'll take a stab at the living room.

Nap-time was another story. Since everyone slept in, the boys didn't want to take a nap. I threatened, I had them sleep on the living room floor and eventually they did take a nap. They HAD to nap today so that I could take a shower since Brandon worked so late last night that he just stayed in Roanoke. That's me with the kidos for at least 36 hours by myself. If I didn't take a shower during that time...well, I don't want to contemplate that. However, I am pretty excited that Monday I'm off, but daycare isn't closed and my awesome mother-in-law wants to keep the boys with her on Monday and take them to Chucky Cheese's! Fun times!

Mixed Feelings

I knew this day would come, but I didn't really want it to - our social workers are talking about sending our foster kids back to their mom. Being a foster parent has been frustrating and tiring at times, but we've developed a real bond with these kids and we love them like our own kids. It's been a real delight to see Sahara thrive and learn to crawl, to see Ariyana learn new words and discover running, to see Noah learn his colors and develop manners. It's going to be difficult to see them go, espcially when I'm not completely sure that it's the right decision to send them back. I don't know - maybe I'm trying to exert control over an out of my control situation by thinking that they'd be better with us. I just need to trust that the right thing will happen for everyone involved. I need to remind myself that even if they don't get to stay with us, we've taught them some valuable skills and given Sahara a decent start in life. At any rate, I don't know why I'm so worked up about it now...it will be months before Noah goes back and even more months before the girls go back. I think I'm just mourning ahead of time and I probably just need to snap out of it.

Melson Family Heritage

I went to go visit my parents last weekend. It was nice because I'm not sure if we've been to visit since the summer. Of course I've seen my parents here and there because they care enough about us to come visit occasionally. But I really enjoyed getting to see my grandparents. I don't know if many of my readers know this, but I am highly interested in my family's heritage and love to know where my family came from. I had traced a part of the family (not the Melson's) back to Germany and had been unable to get past the early 1800's with my family. Well, while I was home visiting, my grandfather showed me the work he'd been doing using Ancestry.com and a lot of their census information. He had worked the family back all the way to England to the mid-1500's! It turns out that the Melson's came to the "colonies" back in the late 1600's practically on the heels of Jamestown. It's really neat to see how things worked and how I came into being all these generations later. I hope one day I'll get everything together in one location and maybe even make a book to contain it all.